Alastair moved inside, glancing around to make sure it was empty, before heading in. Galoots followed. “The Mayor used another code to turn on the table, over there,” he pointed, “which opened the interface. I was able to engage it after that.”

  Galoots went to where Alastair pointed, then went into a trance again. As she came out, the table became translucent and then blue.

  “It took a minute or two to warm up, but once it’s gray it should show the city interface.”

  “You said that it’s a slider? Like at the monastery.”

  “Yes. It’s a five-by-five with two corruption points. You’ll excise the Lower Floodplain and Auxiliary Market. I had ten minutes, but I’m uncertain if the Mayor arbitrarily imposed that.”

  “I’m not good at sliders. It’ll probably take me the full time.” The screen had turned from blue to gray and then came into focus. “Wish me luck.”

  She entered a trance again, and Alastair sat and stared at the door. All he needed was for someone to come in and inquire why he was there. That would be just the wrong conclusion he needed to the day. But, hey, maybe if they killed him, his rage wouldn’t be worse for a bit. Come to think of it, it hadn’t been so bad at all today, even though he hadn’t partaken in any rage-reduction substances. Maybe he was maxed out.

  He called Etc from his interface, despite his concern about watching the door. The skvader popped into existence. “Hey, Edith. Did my rage cap out? I don’t know if I’ve felt the effects of it today.”

  “Nope. Perhaps it’s just so high that you can’t distinguish between the levels anymore.”

  “But I’m not acting nearly as awful as I have recently.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out, but I don’t have an answer for you. Or, ooh, maybe. Maybe it’s because you’ve given yourself an objective and therefore have something to focus on other than the rage. No, that couldn’t be that simple. Not distraction.”

  “Speaking of, how long has she been in there?”

  “Eight minutes by my count.”

  “So two to go. Do you think she gets a second chance if she fails?”

  “She was at two health, so maybe. You haven’t failed a slider yet, so I don’t know the consequences to health.”

  “Didn’t I lose health when I gave up on the codeword a while back?”

  “No. So that might as well be as good a basis of answer as…oh look, she’s coming to.”

  Galoots looked stunned, and after a minute blinked the stun away. “No go…that hurt more than being hit by a miner mouse. I’m going back in. If I die, I’ll meet you back here tomorrow for another go.”

  “Wait,” he said, but she had already entered the trace. “I wanted to beat the farm tomorrow.” He turned back to Etc. “Can you recall what she said about the Fibonacci sequence for unlocking interfaces?”

  Etc wiggled her nose then said, “Verbatim or general? Generally, the interfaces are likely unlocked when you pet a certain number of cats, and that number grows at the Fibonacci sequence, by speculation. Seeing as you have already revealed nine interfaces, and those do match the sequence, it goes that the sequence should hold. However, we can test that theory by petting another cat, which should be number thirty-four, which is the next number in the sequence, which would mean you’d unlock another interface.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Which means we should go cat hunting after this. I haven’t found any in the Manor. Surely there are one or two here.”

  “Would that I knew those answers, but we’ve already discussed how I work, and it’s not in knowing the state of the world.”

  “You’re entirely glib right now.”

  “Call it distraction from your rage, or something. Oh, look, she’s coming to.”

  “Okay, etc., we’ll talk later.” The bunny nodded and disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.

  Galoot’s eyes flashed, and then the interface shut down. Alastair noticed that the title above her head changed from “Galoots, Brawler 0” to “Galoots, Brawler 1.”

  “I did it! I was worried there. But still, it feels good. I feel good.”

  “It looks like you leveled up. Maybe that’s it.”

  “Ooh, nice. I feel like I could go hit some more stuff at the carillon. Or slam some beers. What do you think?”

  “Actually, I want to go find a cat to test your Fibonacci sequence theory, and then I want to call it a night so that we can complete the farms tomorrow.”

  Galoots sighed. “Okay. How about we find a cat and then I go and pound some beers at the monastery, and then you meet me there for bread and beer at seven? We can solve the farm by noon and then enjoy the rest of our day drinking beer.” She started walking toward the door and then up the stairs.

  “I see you have returned to single-focus, but at least we got you beyond the confines of the monastery.”

  “Yeah, I feel the draw to return strongly right now.”

  Alastair peaked around the corner, but fortunately still heard and saw nothing. They made their way to the entry, when a loud voice boomed, “Alastair Nova! I heard you were looking for me.”

  Under his breath, Alastair cussed, then said, “At least we’re not in the vault.” Then, turning, he said more loudly, “My Lord Oliver. May I introduce to you a fellow adventurer like me? This is the brawler Galoots.”

  Galoots knew a bit of decorum and gave a mighty courtesy to Lord Oliver. “My Lord. It’s a pleasure to be in your company.”

  “Rise, rise, young lady. What is it that you need of my attention?”

  “Well, my Lord,” said Alastair, “We have a game of finding cats and we’re informed that you might know the location of one or two of exquisite breeds.”

  “Huh,” said Oliver, surprised, “not really. Or, perhaps there are the stories of the Old and the Young, but they are mere stories, perhaps even ghosts around the Manor. I’m sorry, but you’ve been led astray to my lack of guidance, friend. You have my permission to hunt as you will, and I look forward to hearing of your eventual success.” Lord Oliver had already started to take his leave, and Alastair considered that he seemed a bit annoyed at what was probably a frivolous request.

  “My Lord,” Alastair said, bowing, as Oliver left. Then, to Galoots, “That went better and worse than expected. I thought he might have known you activated the city interface.”

  “Let’s go check the yards and then get on our way,” said Galoots. “I’m feeling overwhelmed with today.”

  They searched for about thirty minutes in the gardens before giving up the search. Alastair walked with Galoots back to the South Gate, thinking that was at least a kind thing to do.

  “We’ve both made great progress today. Let’s continue this streak tomorrow and get us out of here,” said Galoots.

  “Yeah. Something to be said for having an objective.”

  As they approached the gate, Alastair saw something scurry. Since he hadn’t seen rats in the city, he ran to it. A moment later, there it was, a scruffy-looking white cat with black and orange spots. He knelt and moved toward it slowly, which seemed to put it enough at ease that it moved toward him and nuzzled his hand.

  Congratulations! You have pet a cat.

  You have met Hotsauce. {Hotsauce is an older Manx. She was spicy when younger but has mellowed with age. Her favorite activity is chasing rainbows, but there haven’t been any recently.}

  Congratulations! You have unlocked the Maps 2!

  Galoots came over slowly and also pet Hotsauce. She then said, “Woot!” which scared the cat enough that she ran away. “Sorry, kitten, but I’ve just unlocked party chat!”

  “Nice. Shall we party so I can let you know when I’m heading there tomorrow?”

  Galoots has invited you to her party. Accept? Yes/No.

  Alastair selected yes and said, “See you tomorrow, partner.”