Chapter 229: Chapter 230 – What Ate The Swarm Cats?

Once inside, Peter points to the inn. “You guys go ahead. I want to go find out what is up and the local head is the best place to start. After my meet and greet with them, I will come back to critique your defense.”

Jason shrugs at this, he doesn’t need to worry. Rosha and Courtney on the other hand are a little tense, but before they can respond Peter has already left.

Off across the waystation, we catch back up to Peter as he is knocking on an office door. Just a small two-room building with one room having been taken over by paperwork. There is a loud grumble, and the door opens to reveal an elf with bags under their eyes and a pen clutched in their hand as if they were about to write something. In fact, Peter catches the pen twitch a few times as they speak up, as if to write out what they are saying. “Whowah? Already enough nonsense today so better be a good reason.”

Peter laughs, “Su! You haven’t changed a bit. Paperwork isn’t the end all be all you know?”

Su squints their eyes at him. “This close to the city it bloody well is you fool. I don’t know what Gregor saw in you, but here we are. So let me repeat, you better have a good reason to interrupt me or you’re going to have a good reason to go visit a healer.”

Peter shrugs, “Su, you know I wouldn’t interrupt you without reason.”

Su squints harder at him and Peter looks away before continuing. “Well, I wouldn’t right now because I’m on a bit of a System quest run around. So I was heading back to settle in with Gregor for a decade or so until the wanderlust returned and got the swarm cat cleanup pushed onto me. Along the way a few stations back, I ended up helping another station head intercept a group that came out of the forest.”

Su waves their hand, “Backstory, blah, blah, blah. Get to the point.”

Peter smirks, “Well then, long story short, I fobbed off the pest control quest on them but the System turned it around on me. Now I have to guide them while we make it towards the city. So here we are coming up on your station and yet there wasn’t a horde of swarm cats around the walls. As the System has me by the short hairs on this, I remembered I had a friend here to ask what’s up.”

Su shakes their head, “Of course you would. Let me guess? You argued with the System again for no good reason?”

Peter is about to answer, but Su cuts him off. “Don’t bother answering. I can see the answer on your face as clear as day. Though since you’re sort of a captive audience at the moment, let me tell you about my troubles.”

“It started as most truly troublesome things do. With an unnatural silence. Lunch came and went, yet the midday swarms didn’t show up. Any other waystation would sit around on this, but I’m not an idiot. I messaged the city right away to get some scrying done. Seeing as I am sort of a big thing, they didn’t complain too much about the cost. Anyway, you’re sort of screwed and have a lot of work to do.”

Peter groans, “What’s eaten the swarm cats.”

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Su laughs, “What else besides the classic pseudo-swarm menace, predator of massed monsters, and now your problem. The yubjub! As the station head, I officially change your quest from controlling the swarm cat population to exterminating all the yubjubs that popped up between here and the city.”

Peter massages his forehead, “Yubjubs? Seriously? Sigh, that means I have a busy night ahead of me.”

Su grins and wags their finger, “And miss such an excellent learning experience?”

Peter hears a nearly silent ding but avoids looking at his new message. Instead he sighs and shakes his head at Su. “You had to go and say that?”

Su shrugs, “You and me both know the System would eventually pick up on it. I sped up the process of you being alert to it. Much better than being out in the middle of the night only to find out the trip was wasted. Now let me get back to doing my paperwork. While a natural predator to swarms a yubjub outbreak doesn’t just appear.”

Back with the party, Rosha is complaining about Peter’s guidance today. “Isn’t he supposed to be guiding us? Then he goes and tells us to just figure it out! What’s up with that? He points out all the different ways to defend yet doesn’t give a suggestion on what to start with.”

Courtney shakes her head, “He did more than most would. More than attack, more than your special moves, defense has to come from the heart as it were. So many idiots come into NeoRealm thinking they will rock the classic sword and board. Yeah, that doesn’t work. Peter wasn’t lying when he told us to figure it out on our own. You can’t be fumbling around with a shield you thought would be cool to use.”

“Plus, he didn’t even list half of what is common knowledge. Instead, he left things as vague as possible. Pointing you in a specific direction, even just slightly, could cause troubles later on. Many larger sects and families have a problem getting high break powerhouses because of this. Their foundation allows them to build up many decent elders. But you will not cap out by following your ancestors and elders.”

Rosha rolls her eyes, “You think we have a chance of capping? Well Jason might but you and me?” She shakes her head, “I’m not saying I won’t go far, but there are some limits you need to admit to. We might not be part of one of the big families, but we aren’t going it on our own.”

They move onto another topic but don’t get too far when Peter shows up.