Chapter 136 – Victims of oppression and new business partner

"Purrils, Rnurr you are back!" Exclaimed several furry beasts with hopeful expressions noticing the return of two members of their clan, but seeing the tails that were almost dragging on the ground on both returning home Black Mist cats, their enthusiasm at seeing them sharply diminished.

"I am sorry, brothers." Said Purrils with his gaze down, while Rnurr just stood with his head bowed down in silence.

"That bad?" Asked one of the Black Mist Cats coming up to him with a sad voice.

"We did all we could, Merrik." Answered Purrils, shaking his head.

"Come inside the hall, everyone is waiting to hear from you." Said the Black Mist Cat named Merrik, beckoning everyone to follow him.

All black mist cats swiftly jumped from rock to rock, quickly ascending through the unique mountain ridge where many vertical rocks with straight vertical wall-like slopes stood as pillars holding the sky. The upper parts of these pillar-like mountains had countless caves hidden by the lush and roots of dwarf trees that grew on the rocky ground of these mounts, leading into the depths of tunnels that ran all over inside these mountains. Several long ropes of vines were connecting nearby rocky pillars like bridges, allowing the dwellers of these mountains to cross from one mount to another without descending to the ground. This was the Black Mist Cat's hidden village in the mountain region of the twenty-ninth level inside the Moonhowl Labyrinth of the North Region in the Moonstar Kingdom.

As the cat monsters entered the caves and came into the wide cavern, they were met by a group of Black Mist Cats already waiting for them while sitting in a half circle on the floor covered with carpets and pillows. These were the highest level of monsters in the clan with the highest authority. Almost everyone had some kind of battle scars and mutilations. Ripped ears, burned faces, deep slashes across faces and bodies. Some even had stumps instead of beautiful furry tails. Quite a few of them had bloody clothes on their bodies, closing quite recent wounds. Behind these battle-hardened warriors sat a larger bunch of cats a bit smaller in size. All warriors of the clan have gathered.

"Purrils, Rnurr. Come tell us of your recent travel." Said one of the battle-hardened warriors sitting in the center of half circle.

As the group of newcomers came into the cave, two Black Mist Cats that went to the Vespertine house's ball sat in front of the gathered crowd, while other cats took place at the sides of the room. All attention was on Purrils and Rnurr.

Two Cats sat with their heads bowed as they retold the story of their attending ball. How they pleaded with other participants and the answers they received.

"So this cat observer is the only one we have to rely on…" Sighed the Black Mist cat in the center.

"I doubt any of the observers can be relied on, Byorrn." Said another warrior at the side. "None of them care for the lives of monsters. For them, we are the same enemy as any other monster in the dungeon."

"I know, Verrly." Answered the warrior in the center of the group. "But, what do you suggest? As you can see we have no one else willing to help."

"There is something else I wish to share." Said Purrils, interrupting them as he took out a round metal object from his pocket telling the story of how he had received it.

Byorrn and Verrly looked at the object with sudden hope in their eyes and asked Purrils to show it closer.

"So this, Count McDaniel is a mate of the esteemed Threadweaver house? If he has approached you on his own it could not be so simple as to just give you this thing. Did he say anything else? What is this thing even?" Said Byorrn holding the heavy medallion in his hands.

"That's the problem, brother. I don't know. Ever since that day, I have not felt anything from it. There is no magic or any device. It really looks like just a lump of metal."

"Could it be just a mockery? Did he want to make a joke of us?" Asked Verrly, gazing intently at the object held in Byorrn's paws.

"My beloved mate would never do such a thing." Said a female voice out of nowhere, surprising the crowd of monsters gathered in the cave. As they looked around surprised they noticed a black sphere appearing in the air above them.

Everyone jumped to their feet, unsheathing their sharp claws, wary of the sudden intruder that came into the very core of their home without them noticing.

A moment later the black sphere started to morph and huge spider legs stretched out of it and touched the ground as the body of a giant spider came out of it next, with a torso of a beautiful woman attached to it at the waist.

"Arachna! Run everyone! We will hold her down!" Screamed Byorrn as the monsters behind him suddenly turned into black mist filling the whole cave with black smoke

"STOP!" Screamed Purrils jumping in between the cats and the spider monster, surprising Byorrn and Verrly that were ready to jump at her. "Everyone stop! Don't be rude!" Screamed Purrils before turning to the spider lady.

"Lady Priscilla. I am very sorry for such unsightly behavior, your arrival has greatly surprised us."

"Lady Priscilla?" Murmured Byorrn at Purrils from behind. "The one whose coming-of-age ball you have attended?" He asked surprised.

"Yes. This is Lady Priscilla Threadweaver, the eldest daughter of the Duchess Threadweaver whom I had the honor to meet at the ball in Vespertine house." Introduced the newcomer Purrils.

Priscilla watched the cats that surrounded her with wary faces and smiled gazing at Purrils.

"I am glad you have recognized me, Mr. Purrils. Please forgive my sudden intrusion." She said making a small curtsy and lowering her body to sit on the pads, showing the other monsters that she was not a threat to them. "I assume you are a Black Mist Clan Head Byorrn. If you don't mind, may we have a small talk? I assure you that I have not come here to harm anyone."

As the cats stood staring at her in shock, Byorrn gazed at Purrils and saw him nod.

"I apologize for such an unsightly welcome, Lady Priscilla." Said Byorrn finally coming forward and sitting back down on his seat, beckoning other cats to back down. "Your arrival took us by surprise."

"I understand. The fault is mine."

"What brought esteemed Lady Threadweaver to our humble village?" Asked Byorrn.

"As you know, My dear mate and I have met your son, Purrils at my coming-of-age ball. Although I am not entirely aware of what is troubling your clan, my mate has asked me to come here today for a negotiation. So I would like to have a discussion if you don't mind."

Purrils and Byorrn gazed at each other questioningly and then beckoned to other monsters to sit down with them.

Priscilla watched as everyone took their seats, although the bunch that was at the back cleared away from the cave with the Black Mist cloud in the cave dispersing and clearing the view.

The room was a lot more empty now, but she could feel the gazes from all over the place as the cat's eyes were spying on her from different tunnels leading to this cave.

She smiled, finding them a bit cute before turning back to the warriors sitting in a half circle in front of her.

"As I said before, my mate would never make a cruel joke or participate in someone's bullying. If anyone, it is my dear mate that knows the pain of being ostracized and made fun of."

"I see. We apologize for thinking so. We meant no disrespect, My Lady." Said Byorrn bowing apologetically.

"Please don't, " said Priscilla raising her hands placatingly, but heard a bunch of fearful gasps coming from around her. She looked around and lowered her hands.

"If you don't mind, I would change my appearance to a more friendly one. As I did not know what would be your reaction to my sudden intrusion I took the most battle-efficient form." She said smiling and then her body started to morph, losing a lot of its size. While a human-like leg appeared from under the dress her human torso wore that hung loosely in front of her spider body.

Now she filled that dress well with her spider body reducing to only spider legs that protrude from her spine.

"I hope with this I look less threatening for your kin." She said smiling to the side where she saw the shining eyes in the darkness of the tunnels.

"We appreciate it, My Lady. May we offer any drink or food?"

"Oh, there is no need, really. To tell you the truth I am quite in a hurry." She said seeing the cats throw questioning gazes at each other.

"May we hear, how can we help you then, My Lady?"

"Actually, I was thinking I could help you. I apologize for this, however, my mate has been spying on your son at the ball, and as he did not take any risk of being rude towards us coming up to our group with his problems, Noah…Count McDaniel took it upon himself to approach Mr.Purrils on his own. My mate believes that your clan is facing a problem and he may have a way to help you if you are willing to accept his help offer of course." Explained Priscilla.

"You, wish to help us, My Lady?" Asked Byorrn with a new hope igniting in him

"Indeed. As you just saw, my mate has devised a way to sneak into your village unnoticed." Said, Priscilla. "And by sneaking into your village, I mean getting here directly from our Threadweaver Mansion where I have been just a few moments ago, directly into here without ANYONE noticing it."

As they heard what Priscilla said the eyes of all the cats around her bulged with surprise.

"T..this…you mean, that you came here, from your mansion? From Twin Creek Valley To the twenty-ninth level of Moonhowl Labyrinth? Without passing any…"

"Yes. Without passing any guards at the gates and level entrances. Without letting myself be seen by any Labyrinth managing clan members, without passing any inspections. I transferred here directly from outside the dungeon. And I can bring any amount of wares with me as well.."

"Please! I beg you, Lady Priscilla! Please help our clan!" Exclaimed Byorrn, suddenly kneeling on the floor, with his head touching the ground. Other cats jumped up a moment later and started to bow with him.

"Please, please. Don't." Said Priscilla hurriedly picking them up. "As I said, I came here to discuss business and offer you my help. No need for this."

"Lady Priscilla, as I understand you clearly understand our peril?" Asked Purrils standing up from the ground and sitting back on the pillows.

"Well, not entirely, but my mate has explained your trouble in a few words. In short, your clan is on the verge of destruction as the Moonhowl Labyrinth Lord wishes to get rid of you. Am I right?"

"We are truly ashamed to admit it, but lately we have lost the use for the Moonhowl Labyrinth and Moonstar Kingdom's Royal family, so they wish to exchange us with some other clan of keepers. But it is truly not our fault that this has happened, Lady Priscilla. As my son explained to your fellow Guardians at the ball, we were victims of this Labyrinth managing family. If we are given a chance we can serve the Kingdom well and still bring benefits. We truly wish to serve the great cause. If only someone gave us a chance and stepped up for us." Said Byorrn with a tearful voice.

"Before coming here, I made a few inquiries, and all of them suggested that the reason for your trouble was that you were too weak and could not produce the clan members that could feed the Dark Energy to the Labyrinth core and only wasted its resources, so White Mastiff Hound spirit beast clan decided to bring in new Keepers family in your place and get rid of you. But I come here to hear your side of the story and understand the true reason for your clan's downfall. So would you please share with me your story?"

"Thank you, Lady Priscilla." Said Byorrn, bowing his head again. "Even just for hearing us out. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts." He wailed with tears in his eyes. Priscilla noticed the tears in the other cat's eyes as well as they rubbed their eyes.

"We Black Mist Cats are not very strong monsters, compared to other Keepers. But we served this Kingdom for decades. However, unlike The Guardian families, Keepers are not a very much esteemed bunch and are pretty much considered expendables. We served the Kingdom with utter loyalty helping to sustain the Labyrinth that we lived in for many without a problem. But a few years ago, someone seating in the Kingdom's upper level of decision-making seat heartlessly suggested our clan's relocation to another Labyrinth. We don't know who and why decided to do it, but we are forced to obey any order coming from the Crown.

We Keepers are allowed to live in Kingdoms territory while being greatly bound by strict rules as you know. We can't leave the Labyrinth without special approval, we are bound to obey the Labyrinth ruling spirit beast family and we are not allowed to attack humans that dive into the Labyrinth to hunt monsters even in self-defense, while bound to keep allegiance to the humans a secret. We also have no right to disobey the Royal Family or their representative in the region, that is the Archduke family.

We bowed our heads and obeyed, relocating to the new Labyrinth that we were designated to. The Moonhowl Labyrinth becoming our new home.

However, as you may understand from the name alone. This Labyrinth is ruled by canine Spirit Beasts and Keeper families that are under their rule are all, more or less, canine types of monsters as well.

Saying that our clan was unwelcome here, was a very weak word. But if it was only the other Keepers families that we were against here, we would not be in peril. We are an old clan and we know how to stand up for ourselves. We had many struggles and rivalry for Labyrinth resources in our previous home as well. A fight for resources is a common occurrence in any Labyrinth. But in this Labyrinth, we had an enemy that we are powerless against. As you understand the Canine-type spiritual beast family is especially unfriendly toward feline types of monsters.

When we came here we were met with an unjust ill-disposition of the Labyrinth Ruler clan and were oppressed severely. We could not trade as other Keepers clans, we could not gain better hunting or mining grounds. And we were ambushed and attacked by other Keepers, with our enemies on many occasions having information of our movements that only could have been gained through the Labyrinth Rulers domain observation ability.

As you know Labyrinth Ruler can observe any floor through his connection with the Labyrinth core. Only in such places as villages where we can install anti-spying magic are we safe from their watch. On many occasions, we have felt that we fell victim to ambushes only because we were observed by this skill. In these years if not openly going against us, The Labyrinth Lord did everything to destroy our clan. And slowly he succeeded. One by one we lost all higher-rank clan members and as of now we have only low-rank monster clan members who can't produce enough dark energy to fill the quota.

If we don't produce a needed quota of dark energy, we will be stripped of our Keeper family title and be dealt with like any other mindless monsters dwelling in the Labyrinths and dungeons." Explained Byorrn while Priscilla listened silently sitting on the pillows with her hand crossed on her human knees.

"So what is it that you need that might help you? My mate has heard from one of Mr.Purrils' discussions that you are in search of resources, but if you can't produce dark energy to fill the quota, what use do you have of material gains?"

"We still have a chance to fill the quota, Lady Priscilla. If we produce at least one higher-ranked monster we will still have a chance. My son Purrils here is born with a high chance of evolution and if he required resources, he may evolve in a short time. As we faced this crisis we strangely produced a lot of young ones with the same talent for evolution as well. If only we had enough resources to evolve them all, we would regain our glory." Explained Byorrn.

"But with the Labyrinth ruler's oppression, we could not trade with anyone inside the Labyrinth or approach any Guardians that came to trade. We had no choice but to put our hopes on the clans from outside by approaching them ourselves. But as you know, occasions, where we can meet anyone from outside are quite rare as we are not allowed to leave the Labyrinth. But if such an occasion represents itself, the Labyrinth ruler has no authority to ban us from attending such an event. Your coming-of-age ball was one such occasion. We waited for this opportunity for a long time. However, when we begged and pleaded to everyone who was there, for some or other reason everyone refused to help us, either unwilling to confront the White Mastiff Hound Spirit Beast family or simply not interested enough to bother with us."

"I see." Said Priscilla thoughtfully. "I will be clear with you Mr.Byorrn, this ability to transfer to your village is not mine and belongs to my mate Count McDaniel. I am here only as his representative. Unfortunately, he is busy with a very important matter for him at the moment, but he strongly wishes to help your clan."

"We understand, My Lady. If Count wishes to help us we will agree to any price. All the resources we have in our possession stored over the years, we agree to exchange them all for the resources that may help us evolve a few youngsters of our clan."

"About that…" said Priscilla, scratching her cheek. "May I offer another kind of trade?"

"Another kind of trade?" Asked Cat Monsters after exchanging looks. "What else can we offer, My Lady?"

"He doesn't need your resources. As of now, he has quite a stable way to gain good income with high profit, and to tell you the truth we don't have any manpower to spend on searching for the resources you would need. So it is not your resources that are of interest to my mate." Said, Priscilla.

As the spider lady in front of them spoke the faces of the cat monsters fell with disappointment while their enthusiastically beating from side to side tails at the mention of trade fell motionlessly on the ground once again.

"In this case, I believe there is not much we can offer you and your mate, My Lady." Said Byorrn with a weak voice. "Please tell us, what else that your mate may need?"

"We want this." Said Priscilla pointing her finger at the black mist at the side of the room and a moment later the black cloud-like mist formed back into a cat minster with a surprised expression on his face while staring at the clan head with shocked eyes.

"You want us to sacrifice our young ones to you?" Asked Byorrn, with a hiss, squeezing his paws together.

"No! No, not that. We want this ability of yours. The ability of Black Mist Cat monsters. My mate wants your clan to work for him. Count McDaniel will agree to help you if you wish to offer your expertise to him."

"Work for him?" Asked Byorrn. "We are quite weak monsters. With such high-ranked monsters as you at his side, what use of us he may have?"

"You are right, he has strong fighters but it is this ability that allows your clan to turn to mist, hiding in the darkness, being unseen at night, your unparalleled skills as rangers and hunters that allows you to survive with this whole Labyrinth opposing your clan for years, your expertise in stealth actions and covert missions, that is what he covets."

Byorrn and the other cats exchanged another round of gazes, with silent murmurs of discussion, but as Priscilla noticed, their expressions were not quite approving.

"Please, do not misunderstand. I know that you heard of him being a tamer. But being slaves is not what we imply. My mate does not wish to take you as his tamed beasts. As I said, I am here to offer a business partnership, not a slavery contract. What we wish is to have an equal partner relationship. We will hire your service and offer our service in exchange." She said pointing at the round object that fell on the floor from Byorrn's hands when he was spooked by her arrival earlier.

As every cat in the room glanced at the strange medallion she continued. "This device allows my mate to use the transfer ability that allowed me to sneak in here. And not only can he transfer himself to this object but also transfer others. In other words, we will help you go in and out of this dungeon to the outside world as you please and do business with other clans and houses outside this dungeon. In fact, we are planning to unite many clans such as yours that are being oppressed or face destruction to help them survive by cooperating through our service."

A loud murmur spread through the cave as a crowd of cats discussed this news excitedly.

"This is indeed an interesting offer, My Lady…" Said Byorrn, however, Priscilla felt a great deal of hesitation in his voice. "But we don't understand why a human would go to such a length to help us. Also, this deal that you want to offer is quite dangerous. If he were to be found out, he may be accused of helping monsters break the rules and his house would lose some respect, you as the Guardian clan would barely face any punishment and that is only in case there is evidence of him or you involved. However, for us, expendable monsters, if we were to be found out or sold out by you or your mate we would be judged guilty of breaking Kingdom rules of not leaving the Labyrinth and face capital punishment. Our entire clan will be held accountable and we will be slaughtered to the last cat." Said Byorrn sighing.

"I understand your concern. You don't trust us spider monsters, but you don't trust my mate as he is human even more, am I right? For all you know, it may be another human plot to get rid of you by finding you guilty of treason, right? In fact, this is why your son Purrils never approached us on the ball. A human can not be trusted in this matter as it is in humans interest to find a way to exchange your clan with another Keepers family." Said Priscilla, surprising the cat's by seeing through their thoughts and saw them avert their eyes with shame.

"I know that trust can not be built in a single day. And there is nothing I can say that would reassure you. You will have to judge for yourself what kind of person he is. However there is one thing you should know about my mate, he never abandons those who he wishes to protect. Just like when I and My mother met him for the first time, our hearts were full of distrust, and as he is struggling to save one of his friends today, who has a heart full of distrust as well, he does not ask anything in exchange when his help is needed. He just helps. Because he is a person of principle and great morale. He would never participate in a plot to bully someone or hurt someone unjustly. That's why we are so infatuated with him. To tell you the truth, even this cooperation plan is not for his own benefit as well. It is his plan to help My family. My clan is facing danger no less than yours, Mr.Byorrn, and we need help. He could walk away and forget us. Instead, he is risking his noble title and honor with this plan."

"He must love you a lot." Said Purrils. "I have seen it in him at the ball."

"We tried to kill him when we just met. We used him and then wanted to get rid of him." Said Priscilla with shame written on her face, shocking the cats around her. "And he knew that. He knew what we planned but strangely helped us to the end. Because we needed help and he could help us, he did not run but faced the chance that we might kill him and continued to help us. A month ago our clan was considered a danger to the Kingdom. Now we've been honored by all Guardian houses that attended our ball and are being hailed as the next promising Guardian family that may produce many Guardians in the future. The Archduke of North honored that even with his presence. All of that because Noah faced danger and did not abandon us. I know this doesn't tell you much. But this is what kind of human my mate is. I don't ask you to trust humans, nor do I ask you to trust Him on my word alone. I ask you to give him a chance to judge him yourself. I know that he will do everything to not lose your trust."

Cats listened to Priscilla's words intently and then another round of murmur spread in the cave.

"Lady Priscilla, if I may ask?" Said Purrils while everyone discussed what to do. "This decision would need some time to be discussed, however when You arrived, you said that you were pressed for time. What did you mean by this?" As he said that silence was brought back to the cavern as everyone listened intently.

"To tell you the truth, I came here today to not only offer business but ask for your assistance. We are actually in need of your service right now." Said Priscilla surprising everyone again.