“Well, look who the cats dragged in. Sparks, Flor, it’s nice to meet you in person,” said Galoots. “Alastair, Maelstrom, long time no see. Let’s go get a beer and then there is a little garden spot I can show you and we can chat about our way forward.”

  “Let’s skip the beer and just get to cat hunting,” said Maelstrom.

  “I must offer my devotions to the goddess,” said Sparks.

  “I’ll take you up on that beer. Clear out the road dust. Flor, the beer is fresher here than elsewhere on the island,” said Alastair.

  “Let’s just get it done. And nice to meet you too, Galoots.”

  Sparks and Maelstrom peeled off. Galoots directed them into a galley and then grabbed a loaf of bread that smelled fresh and amazing. She then drew herself a beer, took a swig, and then topped it off.

  Flor grabbed both since the bread smelled even more amazing than the beer. She followed Galoots out the door to a small garden with a bench.

  Flor noticed the dry bench and asked, “It doesn’t rain here?”

  “Not until later. There is a shower mid-morning, but it passes quickly. Unlike the deluge that occurs over the city.”

  “Something Alastair said last night about the Widow’s Siege. Why couldn’t we have started with that luxury? Or this luxury?”

  “Could be worse. It sounds like there is a player stuck in the tower. I can’t even imagine what that’s like.”

  Alastair said, “So you’re in for attempting the rescue, then?”

  Galoots looked at Flor. “I’m uncertain if Al told you what I do outside this game.” Then back at Alastair and said, “For the chance, a real chance, of getting into that place and having advanced intel on it. I’m in, even if you have to drag me kicking away from my beer here.”

  “So, you write game guides or reviews of games or something?”

  “Yes, close enough. Anyway, yeah. So tell me about this Fausta?”

  Flor was curious, also.

  Alastair said, “Well, there isn’t overly much to tell. He is a Solar Cell-produced AI plugged into this server just yesterday to assist the player in the tower.”

  “Why just yesterday?”

  “He didn’t say, but maybe because they didn’t know about us or the other player until yesterday or the day before. He said there would be more AI-like players coming online today or tomorrow to work toward the objective of freeing the player in the tower, but that it would take extra days to get them upgraded enough to make it to the tower. And that makes it risky for the health of the guy in the tower. We really need a nickname for him or her.”

  Flor considered. It seemed like Galoots was doing the same. She said “Stuckard,” while Galoots said “Pineapple.”

  Alastair looked at them both. “So, Stuckard or Pineapple. I don’t know what to go with.”

  “Pineapple is silly. I don’t know where I came with it. But what about Stuckard?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  “I was thinking that they are stuck in the tower. But I’m not good at making bad nicknames – that’s Alastair’s job.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know he had that skill. What’s your recommendation, then?”

  Alastair looked thoughtful, then said, “I was going to say Spike. Because he’s in a tower.”

  “Well, how about we shelf it for now and see what ‘stuckards’ later.”

  Flor glared at Galoots, who held up her hands defensively.

  Alastair jumped in, “So, back to task. Let’s find cats. How many do you know are around here?”

  “Best guess is twenty-four. I stopped petting at thirteen, but I could find those thirteen again. They are all metal names, here.”

  “Metal, like heavy metal or like iron metal?”

  “Like iron metal.”

  “So, where do we start?”

  Galoots said, “Well, I estimate roughly two cats in each zone. There should be one or two here in the Gardens.”

  “Let’s spread out and look, then.”

  Flor wandered toward the pond where several ducks lazed about on the water. A little duck house was on stilts a bit set back. She realized she hadn’t looked around yet at the buildings in general. She was in a small vegetable garden, but a bit further in a few trees separated a small apiary. A clock tower rose on one side, more like a clock on a lightpost than the carillon in the city. There was a matching set of shrines just past the gate, and what looked like empty stables past them. The temple rose behind the shrines, fairly large compared to the surrounding buildings. She knew the purpose of the kitchen, but could only guess at the purpose of several other buildings. It was quiet, peaceful, and suitable for rest.

  Galoots walked up next to her as she looked around. Somehow, Galoots had a fresh full mug of beer. “So, any luck yet?”

  “No. I’ve been looking around at this place in general. There don’t seem to be many people here.”

  “With you and the team, it’s right around thirty. I’m not sure if you’ve realized yet, but they all took a vow of silence for coming here, so unfortunately the monks and clerics aren’t helpful with finding the cats.”

  “It seemed unusually quiet. It’s like they filled the city and neglected to build these other areas.”

  “I expect that’s something that’ll get fixed by the beta tests. This game functions well despite glitches like having a player stuck in the tower.”

  “Yes, it’s functional alright. I’m ready to be out of it though.”

  “A few more days shouldn’t be so bad.”

  “Speak for yourself. Even with the rage reduction I’ve been doing, I detest this place. It’s like, the rage reduction isn’t reducing my rage really, but rather just allowing me to hide it better. I’m not sure that’s healthy, or that I could last much longer at this rate.”

  “Yeah, the rage factor isn’t something I anticipated, and I don’t think I have a good handle on how it works. Like, the counter keeps rising, but it doesn’t seem to affect me otherwise.”

  Flor considered that she hadn’t thought about it much. There was something noticeable. “Is irritability something that grows? Maybe I’m more grouchy than normal. I can’t stand certain people because they get on my nerves. That’s the effect on me, I think.”

  “Huh. That’s something to consider. With a name like ‘rage,’ we’d be gorillas wanting to throw stuff at each other or fighting. I should ask the others what they think their rage controls. Oooh, be quiet for a second. I think I see a tail over there.”

  Flor looked where Galoots was pointing, through the trees toward the apiary. Sure enough, a tail pointed straight up just past some flowers. Flor walked as quietly as she could in that direction. As she got closer, she noticed the prickly tail belonged to a tin-colored cat. {Which is just a middling grey (or gray) for those who don’t know. Oh, look, the footnotes are back!} The prickly tail continued down to prickly fur that ended in a cat that looked frozen. A closer inspection revealed that the cat was staring crossed-eyed at a butterfly alight on its nose. Flor knelt, gave it a quick stroke, then watched it blink.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

  You have met Tin. {Tin is a tin-colored cat. (Developer’s note: Remember to replace the cat name and add descriptions before going to the alpha test).} {Developer’s failed at that one.}{empty footnote no punctuation}{For beta readers, this spot is for sale! Buy now and have your cat immortalized in this book! Only $.99! (tax and service fees not included)}{I’m not charging - if you want your cat immortalized, just let me know and I’ll add it}{Developer’s note: remove the comments about selling cats. We don’t want bad press.}

  Petting the cat had reset it, and it shook its head causing the butterfly to flutter away. Tin blinked in surprise, looked at Flor, and bounded after the butterfly.

  “Well, there is another. Is that one you pet before, Galoots?”

  “No, that’s a new one, I think.”

  “Well, one down, twenty-three left. Let’s get to it.”