Floor 2: The Catgirl Huntresses

You don't get much chance to regard your surroundings when you hear a threatening click. It was one that you'd heard before, but rarely. The sound of a crossbow bolt locking into place. Glancing up, you see the offending crossbow trained on your chest. The one wielding it appears to be a woman with green feline eyes. She has pale skin, but dark hair with flecks of silvery white throughout. Her clothing consists of padded cloth with a patchwork leather outer layer covering the most vital areas. A vest that covered her chest and tassets tethered a belt to cover her thighs. A black and white striped tail sticks out from under her tunic and a pair of black cat ears adorn the top of her head. A large bag rests next to her leg, She speaks with a threatening tone, "Who are you? What are you doing in the undertower?"

"I-" You attempt to stumble out an answer, but you get immediately interrupted by the one next to you who pulled you through the door.

"Is this really necessary, Sora? He was just running for his life from a bunch of ratlings." Your head turns towards the voice next to you and you see a very similar-looking feline woman climb to her feet and walk over to the woman with the crossbow. Seeing them next to each other, they appear Nearly identical other than one pointing the lethal weapon at your chest and the other not.

The feline woman named Sora scowls at her companion, "You're too soft Saki, you don't know why he's down here. What he might be doing. He could be hiding away after committing some atrocity."

"Maybe, but you could at least give him a moment to catch his breath." The woman named Saki shrugs idly.

You take the momentary pause to chime in yourself, "I have no clue where I am...Or where I'm to be going...or what those things are. I only just arrived on this floor not long ago."

"How can-" Sora flinches visibly in confusion, "How can you not know where you are? Nobody comes to the undertower without knowing what they're getting into. It's disconnected from the rest of The Tower outside of specific locations and the Ratling tunnels and somehow I doubt you would just stumble into one of those by accident."

You realize that you have no clue about any of the workings of Circe's tower. There's no way you could bluff or lie to this woman without taking a bolt to the chest. "I came from below."

Sora rolls her eyes and lifts the crossbow into the air and away from the dangerous arc toward your chest and Saki responds, "See? He's just one of Circe's toys. No mass murderer or anything."

"I don't understand." Something about Saki's response makes you curious. Her comment suggests that not everyone here serves at the demon's beck and calls, "You say that I'm one of Circe's toys, but that's true for everyone here. Isn't it? I was under the impression that everyone or...thing was here because she wanted them to be here." You slowly climb to your feet and check to make sure you still have everything. Both of these women had weapons on their belts and you doubt you could take them in a fight, but you clutch at your blade reassuringly anyway.

"If Circe is involved with you, then it's even more of a reason for me or my sister to spend as little time around you as possible." Sora grabs the pack next to her and slings it over her shoulder. "Come on. We'll take you to the way up. Then we have a job to do."

"What job? Aren't you going to answer any of my questions?" You call after the crossbow-wielding huntress, but she ignores you and continues down the corridor.

With little other option, you follow along behind the women. However, you aren't alone for long as the one known as Saki falls a step closer to you. "We're hunters employed to help reduce the number of ratlings in the undertower."

"I get that ratlings are those rat-things that I was being chased by, but what are they?" You ask.

The huntress shrugs and responds, "I don't think anyone really knows where they come from. As far as I know, they've been here forever. Some say that they're some kind of magical experiment gone wrong while others say they're just rats that got warped and mutated by the latent magic in this place."

"They seem a bit dumb though. I mean, I kind of got the sense that they weren't chasing me so much as I was just in their way. Especially after you pulled me through the door and they didn't pursue." You hope to keep Saki speaking to build a rapport with her. She clearly has an interest in you, but you aren't sure how to take advantage with her protective sibling and the seeming urgency of Sora's desire to offload you as soon as possible.

"It's the weird thing about their kind. Individually, they can be quite smart. At least as smart as you or I. The more they group up, the less individually intelligent they seem to become...but they start to act strange. As dozens become hundreds and thousands, they start acting collectively and not really caring about the individual anymore. They become just a wave of creatures that eat, drink, and...you know. Circe calls it 'Vermintide'" The woman bit her lip briefly before continuing, "Our job is to clear out large swarms like the one that you encountered before they become a danger to the tower."

"I guess I don't understand since I'm an outsider." You shrug helplessly, "How does a bunch of mindless rats threaten a tower full of demons?"

Saki giggles gently, "Oh they don't, but there's more than just demons living here. I certainly don't look like a demon do I? Over the...I guess centuries? Millennia? Who knows how long? Many mortals have been brought here. They climb the tower and many of them find their homes here...Unless they get killed by monsters and demons obviously. Many towns large and small exist full of generations of mortals. They're mostly on the lower levels because more dangerous beasts and demons live farther above. My sister and I are examples of that. We were both born and raised in one such town. I don't think Circe cares much about the mortal settlements, but we do provide amusement for her on occasion I guess. So she sometimes offers her help and wisdom."

"So many mortals live here..." Saki nods and you contemplate that for a moment. Whole towns and cities living in the depths of whatever hellhole you're in. It's hard to believe...

"Here's the exit," Sora calls back to you and Saki. The woman points at a rope that disappears into the ceiling. "You have to climb it. There are no direct stairs that lead out of this level. Now that we've helped you find your way out. We have a job to do. So go up there and die however you see fit and let us out of it. Come on Saki."

The two catgirls walk off into a passage as your eyes travel up the rope. It appears to be sturdy and you don't think that you would have a problem climbing it. It would be easy for you to go up the rope and this floor would maybe be just as simple as the last one. However, your mind is currently elsewhere. You look off towards the catgirls and see Saki briefly turn and look at you before following on after her sister. Although Sora has a massive rod shoved up her ass, Saki would be an easy lay. Helping the ladies might get you in the good graces of both and who knows what may happen after that. You take a moment to contemplate your choices.