“So are you sure that the dungeon is going to be okay with us just walking into the casino? No hard feelings or anything?” Edwin asked as the four of them walked to the warehouse.

“Er no, in fact, Mr. House showed me where the hidden room was,” River replied as they tried to forget being escorted out.

“Well I’m in the mood for a rematch,” Odez said with a grin.

“Odez, you don’t even have your staff,” Morgana countered.

“Not to mention that the dungeon scion had a barrier spell that completely deflected your stone missile,” Edwin added.

“Yeah, well, I’ll think of something,” Odez replied, “hey is it starting to get crowded here?”

Sure enough, the closer the four of them got to the casino, the more and more people they saw walking in the same direction they were.

“The casino must have gotten popular,” River said as they noticed a group of what appeared to be dock workers passing in front of them.

“I mean it makes sense, we’re showing up at about the same time that most people are getting off work,” Edwin shrugged as the four of them turned a corner to be met with a line that wrapped around the block.

“Maybe we could have planned this better,” River said.

“Well we’re already here, let’s find the end of the line,” Edwin sighed as the four of them trudged forward.

***

“Finally, everyone left!” I exclaimed as I directed my [stray cat] to the ground, “now I just need to figure out where the boss keeps the records.”

Fortunately the Skisfink storehouse was set up in a similar way to how my warehouse was first set up, so I managed to find the main office fairly quickly.

Luck was on my side today because the door to the office had been left slightly ajar. It seemed like everyone was leaving in a rush today for some reason.

I had the [stray cat] scratch at the edge of the door until it popped open.

“Too easy,” I thought confidently, “although most security isn’t designed to keep out cats.”

I jumped up on the top of the desk only to find parchment and quills scattered in a disorganized mess.

“Ugh, this is going to take a minute,” I sighed before pawing through the closest stack.

***

“Ugh, finally we’re in!” exclaimed River in exasperation.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Edwin shrugged, “the dungeon is just making sure nobody comes in armed.”

“Yeah I know, I just wish there was a faster way to do it. Come on, I’ll show you the fountain,” River sighed as they began to walk through the bustling casino.

“This place looks different at night when there’s people in it,” Odez said, dodging someone’s legs.

“No kidding, I barely recognize the place,” Edwin replied.

“Maybe if we get put in a cage again, It’ll look more familiar,” River joked.

“Heh, don’t remind me,” Odez chuckled as the group approached the fountain.

“Okay, all we need to do is get the cat- hey, where’s Mori?” asked River, suddenly realizing that Morgana wasn’t with them.

The three of them looked around in different directions before Edwin spotted her coming back with a sandwich on a plate.

“Sorry, I saw someone going past with some food and I remembered that I forgot to eat dinner,” Morgana apologized as she jogged up to the group, “anyone want some? It’s really good.”

“Uh, no thanks Mori. Just let someone know if you’re going to split from the group next time,” River said.

The four of them approached the fountain where a cat was lounging on top of.

“Now what?” Odez asked as the cat seemed to give the four of them an appraising look.

“Just give it a second,” River replied before the cat ducked into a lion’s mouth next to the fountain, and with a slight click a section of the wall depressed slightly.

“Okay, let’s go,” River said.

The four of them opened up the passage and slipped into the corridor before the door shut behind them.

***

“Well I can say with confidence that the records weren’t on the desk,” I thought as my [stray cat] hopped to the floor, parchment crinkling under my cat’s paws.

“Hmm, If I were an important document that might implicate me in nefarious activities where would I be?” I thought as I scanned the room.

Suddenly, my [stray cat] caught the scent of something that immediately registered as a rat, and a dead one at that.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Ugh, I thought they smelled bad alive,” I thought as my cat winced its nose in response.

It seemed to be coming from under the floorboards in the middle of the room.

An idea struck.

The layout was suspiciously similar to how my warehouse had been laid out. Maybe it had been made by the same builders and there was a spot in the floor for a safe.

Sure enough, there was a hidden latch in the floor.

“Now how do I open this without thumbs?” I wondered, “ah right!”

I had my cat place its paw on the floor and I assimilated the hidden door.

My lucky streak continued as the black dust cleared to reveal a safe with the key still inside of the keyhole and a dried out rat that was tucked in the space between the safe and the floor.

“Well at least the safe will just be awkward to open and not impossible,” I muttered as I bit down on the key and carefully gave it a turn.

***

“Woah, this place is fancy as hell!” Odez exclaimed as the four of them took in the secret room.

“Okay River, so how does this all work?” Edwin asked as he stared at the slot machine in confusion.

“Well first you take some gold, or a magic item and put it in this chest then the chest swaps it for some weird coin, you take the coins and play the games, and after you win, you take the coins and put them back in the chest for a chance at a prize,” River explained, “you can read more about everything on these pamphlets. Just be sure to read the back.”

“Oh it says here all you need to do is put in a chip, I guess that’s what the coins are called, and pull the lever. That sounds easy,” Morgana said as she walked over to the ornate chest and exchanged her money for chips.

“A gamble followed by a gamble. That’s-” Edwin stopped as he looked at the prize list and stopped as he looked at the top spot.

“Hey River, did you know that your circlet is being used as the grand prize?” Edwin asked with an annoyed edge to his voice.

River sighed.

“Okay, yeah I’m here to see if I can get back the circlet,” they said, “but not before everyone can get back their equipment.”

“River, that’s not the part I’m angry about,” Edwin said.

“You’re not?” River asked, clearly confused.

“I’m angry because you keep doing these things without talking to the rest of the team. First it was the letter from the guildmaster’s office, then it was charging the dungeon’s voice without any provocation. Now you’ve been up at all hours trying to get your circlet back. Just talk to us and maybe we can help!” Edwin exclaimed.

An awkward silence fell across the hidden room.

“Sorry for shouting,” Edwin mumbled as he broke eye contact.

“No, Edwin you’re right,” River apologized as they touched his arm reassuringly, “I’ve been a bad teammate and a bad friend. I’ll try to be more aware of when I’m getting too ahead of myself and I’ll do my best to listen when someone says something is a bad idea.”

“Okay, let’s get our equipment back,” Edwin muttered bashfully before turning to the exchange chest.

***

“Finally got that damn thing open,” I muttered as I nursed my cat’s jaw, “now let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

Despite the lack of care and organization that I’d seen so far, the ledger was very well organized.

“Hmm, I’m going to need a way to keep track of everything once it’s out of here,” I thought.

The shelves were organized by aisle and shelf numbers that corresponded to a family or business as well as an address. I could try and recreate the shelves back at the casino, but I really didn’t have the space to put a bunch of shelves up without moving around my office or the [cat-kin’s ] living area.

“If only I could make folders in my inventory,” I thought out loud as I looked for a way to sort by date instead of the default alphabetical sort.

The menu decided to work with me for once as a notification popped up.

[Create sorting box?]

>Allows users to separate items inside of the menu

>Y/N?

“Man, I am on a roll. I should buy a lottery ticket or something,” I joked to myself before I felt someone putting coins into the chest in the secret room.

“Oh neat someone’s going for the big prizes. Hey Carmen, we have some VIPs in the secret room,” I thought to my scion before exchanging the coins for chips.

“On my way, House,” Carmen replied.

It was kind of strange that I could talk to everyone at a distance, but I suppose my “brain” was still in my core back at the casino and everyone was still on the premises.

Besides, I needed to clean up all of the paper and fix the hole in the floor if I didn’t want to make it obvious that I had been here.

I sighed.

This was going to be difficult without thumbs…

***

“I swear it’s two steps forward and one step back on this damn thing,” Edwin swore as the slot machine flashed red and let out a sad musical sting.

“More like two steps forward and two steps back with the occasional stumble forward,” River replied, “I forgot how frustrating these things are.”

“I don’t know what you guys are complaining about, I’m on a roll!” Odez exclaimed before being met with his own red flashing lights and sad musical sting.

“I’m on my last few chips,” Morgana said, her half-eaten salami sandwich forgotten in her lap.

Suddenly a small furry shape jumped into her lap with a trill and began to eat the salami from her salami sandwich.

“Oh you’re such a cutie!” Morgana whispered as she gently pet the cat with a strangely gold sheen to its fur, “do you want to help me?”

The cat purred in response and settled itself in, contently enjoying its snack.

At the same time, the white scion quietly teleported onto the card table and examined the situation with a knowing glance.

“All right kitty, let’s go out with a bang,” Morgana whispered as she fed the last of the chips into the machine and pulled the lever.

First one, then two, then three cherries lined up and the machine exploded in joyous lights and sounds.

“Woah, Morgana, looks like you got a big one!” exclaimed Odez as chips poured into the trough at the bottom of her machine.

“Do you think this is enough for our equipment?” she asked.

“Not quite enough for the three of you,” River replied, “we need to account for a few misses.”

“So should we keep playing?” asked Edwin.

“I think it’s best if we don’t push our luck with these things. I’d hate to loose it all,” River grimaced.

“Oh! the card table has a dealer now. We can play Storm the Castle. Granny and I would play with the embalmer and the undertaker all the time,” Morgana said as she stood up with the cat in her arms and placed her plate to the side.

“How fitting,” River grinned as they grabbed a bucket and helped Morgana scoop up her winnings.