Episode 177 - Cat-acomb Crawlers

## Synopsis

The emerald-eyed Cat glared at the students, then shot Integrity with a sickly beam of energy. It asked “*Who approaches the domain of the Great Father, speak your names*”. The students asked what it meant, and it replied “*The Great Father of Cats*”, and demanded their names again. Winsler realised from its eye colour that this was not the same Cat who attacked him before.

He demanded the Cat move aside so they could enter the duct, it replied by sending a warning laser shot over his shoulder. Winsler asked the Cat if it was hungry, and the students prepared for battle.

Serinepth blasted more ice towards the Cat, missing and sending it bouncing around the duct. Winsler tried to teleport the Cat onto the boiler, but it held firm in place. Integrity grovelled at its feet to stop the fight, and was able to keep it at bay momentarily. She explained that they had simply wanted to explore the town and had accidentally fallen into the boiler room. The Cat looked around, and said “We can excuse humble exploration” but told them they were not allowed to enter its territory.

Integrity asked how long it had controlled the ducts, it replied only since the night. It then told them the Father had split, creating them, it’s children. The Cat again told them to leave, or die. Serinepth used the sending slate to say they should tell the Cat about the tattoo situation, as it might help. Not wanting to use her phone in front of the Cat, Integrity used her telepathy to ask her cousin if that was a good idea.

As they talked, the Cat addressed Winsler. It asked if he would follow the others and leave in exile forever. Serinepth walked in front of Winsler, and asked the Cat if it recognised him as the “Grandfather of Cats”, who they had come from. The Cat said it needed to consult with the Father, and disappeared into the inky vent. Winsler immediately fell over.

While it was gone, Integrity opened the grate with the blue chalk writing, saying they could use it as an escape route if needed. They all discussed the potential of peace talks, and an escape plan if they didn’t work.

Meanwhile, Mira and Graist descended a staircase to a rough stone floor, she received a message from Serinepth informing her of the situation. They reached the catacombs, finding the bones of giants wrapped and placed against the walls. The two talked about the trial and what they were meant to do down there, with Graist saying the others thought Mira might know something about the end of the current fire giant life cycle.

They bonded more over their frustration of people not taking their interests seriously, and Graist eventually asked what had taken them so long with the soothing stone. Mira told him about the tattoos, and asked that he keep it a secret. She warned him that she wouldn’t be able to bring him back again, and he joked that his death might actually solve all their problems.

Looking around, Mira saw a torn pile of bones and cloth. They examined it, finding bit marks and bones missing. Mira thought back to the kitchen, and warned Graist that the Squirrel tattoo might be with them.

Back in the boiler room, the Emerald Cat returned. It looked at Winsler and told him they were “*free from this foul boy’s skin*”, and started to charge its laser eyes. Serinepth immediately stood in front of her friend, and Winsler started scheming. He picked up some of the nearby ashes and threw them in its face, trying to blind it. Integrity started to crawl backwards into the vent.

The Cat shot its laser at Serinepth, hurting and poisoning her. The ashes Winsler threw failed to hit the Cat, but were able to put up a small smokescreen in front of them. Integrity got her magic rope to tie around Winsler to pull him back towards the vent. Serinepth stood in front of them and sent a *Lightning Bolt* straight into the Cat. It let out a yelp of pain, and retreated momentarily before returning with the Purple Cat at its side.

The students crawled through the vent to escape, but as Integrity passed over the blue chalk warning, it felt as if the air had suddenly gotten thinner and colder. The Cats jumped in behind them, but before anything else could happen, the vent shook and disintegrated. The students plummeted down into the darkness, eventually hitting water.

Winsler fell into the water and out of consciousness, while Serinepth and Integrity shakily managed to stand in the shallow pool. As Winsler lay there limp, he felt as though his soul continued travelling downwards, into a void. He heard the cracking of bones, a chewing, and a chanting in Giant.

Serinepth dragged Winsler and Integrity away from the vent, and turned them all invisible. Looking up they saw the Cats at the edge of the vent arguing about what happened to them. They eventually decided the intruders had died, and left to report back to the Father.

Mira and Graist continued through the catacombs. Above them they heard the breaking of stone and splashing of water, though this meant nothing to them. The two wandered through the darkness, into a large room with a high, vaulted ceiling supported by four massive pillars. On the ceiling was a mural showing the phases of the moon, with the current phase glowing with a pale, magical light. In the centre of the room was a large basin, containing what looked like an offering pool.

Back in the water, Winsler was coming ever closer to death while his friends frantically tried to help him and find an exit. At the same time, Mira looked into the basin and saw the grey, spectral form of Winsler being pushed underwater by ghostly hands. She called Graist over to ask what was happening, and he tried to grab Winsler’s ghost, failing but managing to break the spectral hands pushing him down. Panicking for her friends life, Mira reached in and attempted to cast *Spare the Dying*.

Her left, non-mechanical arm was able to reach him and she stabilised her friend. At the same time, Serinepth and Integrity saw a handprint glowing with moonlight appear on Winsler’s cheek. The spectral form of Winsler then disappeared from the basin.

Mira apologised to Graist for intruding in the pool, and asked what the water was made of, as it made her snake-cursed arm feel normal for the first time in almost a year. Graist looked at her in amazement, and stammered that he wasn’t sure, but wondered if what she just did could be the connection the giants were talking about.

## Trivia

* As Mira wasn’t present for the Cat fight, Luke joking had Sarah roll initiative for the wall