I hide the amulet in my fur as best I can. If our unexpected company seeks the treasure--and why else would they be here in this obscure stone tunnel--then they won’t get their paws and slimy tail on it so easily.

Brown baboon and yellow-green python eyes lock onto yellow goblin, tigereye colored, and Siberian Husky blue wolf eyes.

Kasz spits on the ground in the space between us. He has no use for Ophion and Zuba. "You move. We need to go."

Ophion, the python, hisses. [You let a goblin be your master?]

Lobo defers to me, and I growl. [He’s no ordinary goblin. Show some respect. And what are you doing here, anyway?]

Ophion continues as the spokesman, or snake in this case. [We’re asking the questions.]

I bare my teeth and prepare to conjure my Shooting Stars. [Move aside.]

Zuba hangs back, less aggressive than Ophion. [Now, now, no need for hostilities. We are not in the tournament ring.]

Ophion reeks of smugness. [You’d lose, anyway. You will lose.]

They’re just trying to trash talk us and throw us off. But why? Why are they here?

Kasz waves his wicked-looking scimitar. "You leave. Now."

I growl at Kasz, yanking on his brown tunic. Glaring down at me, he says, "They’re in our way."

With a "mrrrrp" of agreement, I glower at Ophion and Zuba. [Our goblin friend is impatient. He’s also a chief.]

Ophion undulates backward and Zuba retreats, their eyes on Kasz’s thirsty blade that could make short work of even a python if Kasz’s arm was quick enough. Clearly, having Kasz around is an advantage that System didn’t predict. Shortsighted.

Lobo wags his tail aggressively. [No more Mr. Nice Wolfie. MOVE ASIDE.]

Zuba bares sharp baboon teeth. [Not until we get what we came for.]

Oh? What might that be? How many guesses do I get?

Lobo plays dumb. [What does that have to do with us?]

Ophion still hasn’t recovered, staying out of range of Kasz’s scimitar. [Since you brought it up, what is beyond this tunnel?]

I opt for a partial truth. [Some sort of ancient temple or gazebo, purpose unknown. There is nothing of interest there.]

Lobo just nods slightly, not overplaying our hand. Subtlety is our friend. The less said, the better.

Zuba hangs back, letting Ophion lead the questioning. The snake seeks a gap in my story. [Nothing of interest? Then why is it hidden?]

I shrug my shoulders. [Your guess is as good as mine. Have a look for yourself.]

[Lead us there.] NOW Zuba speaks, voice hypnotic and persuasive. [Show us.]

I growl. [If we can persuade the goblin. He isn’t telepathic, you see.]

Zuba snorts derisively. [Of course not.]

Lobo defends Kasz. [But he’s useful.]

I tug on Kasz’s brown tunic and point back in the direction that we came. His face becomes muddled with confusion, but I give him what I like to call the kitty cat eyes, pleading with him.

It takes a moment or two, but Kasz chooses to trust me. He spins about and marches back toward the temple-like structure. "Come, then. You will see that there is nothing, only an ancient, forgotten ruin."

Eloquent for a goblin. No wonder Ophion and Zuba follow us back through the narrow dark tunnel. While we make our way forward, or backward as the case may be, I check in with Lightning and Kaline. Both still sound asleep, both content. Lobo registers the same with Minette, and Gussie reports that the entire villa is quiet.

After a few minutes, we arrive at the shrine/temple/gazebo/pagoda, whatever one wants to call it. Kasz wisely replaced the lid on the golden box on the pedestal, with nothing disturbed.

Zuba scampers over without preamble and vaults himself onto the pedestal. May the baboon be myopic and unobservant and not notice that the dust has been disturbed. With a CLICK, the baboon opens the box, and hisses at the emptiness.

[Now, finders keepers! You call this nothing?]

He dangles something shiny in the moonlight. A near-replica of the amulet. How did THAT get there? One furtive glance at Kasz gives me the answer. That clever goblin replaced the treasure with a fake one, or at least one that looks enough like it. Who would know the difference? I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell on first glance if I hadn’t seen the real thing, and if it weren’t concealed in my fur. Unobtrusively, I make sure my fur looks matted around the amulet.

Lobo growls, playacting. [So? Do you think we care? A nice piece of jewelry, nothing more.]

Ophion shoots forward, posturing, allowing Lobo to see his lethal-looking coils. [Goblin or no goblin, we’re more than a match for you. You think the necklace is a mere bauble?]

Kasz growls. "Shiny thing, bah. Pretty necklace. I have a hundred of them."

My estimation of Kasz’s intelligence just climbed upward. Not only did he leave a fake pendant here just to fool anyone who might seek the treasure, but he also practiced his spiel just in case. Or he improvised on the spot. Either way, this NPC distraction is a valuable ally. Maybe his subroutines are going rogue against System? Or, like many AI-driven characters, is he responding to the way players treat him in the game? Player input has been around a long time, including Second Life, Roblox, Torn, The Sims, and Minecraft.

I blink, shaking myself out of the brief gamer history. [We’re not interested in your bauble.]

Ophion’s fangs glisten. [Then you won’t mind if we take it back to our Master and Misterss. And to think you all are our primary competition, allied with the once-great House of Lammermoor.]

Oh, that stings, but we can’t take the bait. Better than they think of us as fools. Because they are out there on their own, I’m betting that their tamers don’t know, or are pretending not to know, what they’re doing out here so late. So, they aren’t exactly going to go crowing about their victory to everyone. Of course, I could be wrong.

Kasz brushes past them abruptly. "We go home now. Jungle time is over."

Lobo and I follow dutifully, our tails between our legs, appropriately hunched over in a dejected and submissive way. Again, it’s not my favorite look, but it’s our best option to get away with our prize and avoid a potentially deadly incident. The Bottomsleys are haughty and love to showboat, and they would love nothing more than to publicly shame Lamant and Minette if we started a rumble in the jungle.

The master of cunning, Kasz says nothing until the starlit jungle appears and we step into the open air. Phew. From the tunnel, the rustling of snakeskin and the triumphant chattering of a baboon draw closer.

Kasz leaps on my back and says, "RUN."

He doesn’t have to tell me twice.

Through the jungle we race. Wet branches strike us on the rapid flight home. My legs burn, and occasionally I have to pause to catch my breath or to check that the amulet remains embedded in my fur. I resume racing when I feel the squeeze of Kasz’ knees. Beside me, Lobo keeps pace, and narrowly beats us home. We rush to the tiger den and splash through the water to cleanse the jungle scents from our bodies, then shake off. Kasz flops down on the grass and I pad over to where Lightning sleeps.

She didn’t wake up the whole time we were gone. The pregnancy has obviously tired her, ands lies as still and peaceful as an angel of the morning.

Lobo curls up close by. It’s not unusual for him to spend the night in the tiger den away from Minette, who sometimes appreciates a night alone with Lamant, which Gussie, a true romantic, happily accommodates.

His alert voice reaches me. [That was a close one.]

I exhale for the first time and check my amulet. I will have Kasz take it off and hide it someplace in the den. I’m not putting it in my Arsenal for System to discover.

[It was. I’m not even sure how Kasz knew about that part of the game. Did you know about it?]

He woofs sleepily. [There are rumors online of Easter eggs that are so secret that no one knows about them. Hidden in-game unlocks accessible to a handful of players.]

[Like your friends that play Ophion and Zuba?]

He hums. [They have been playing longer than we have. I think they were early adopters, or so they claim. I messaged them in-game to gloat about finding this secret and thanking them for their knowledge. No response.]

Something doesn’t add up here. [Well, that’s a mystery. The other enigma is Kasz. What NPC acts like this? Especially one designed to slow us down.] 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

[Maybe System has a few hidden flaws?]

I contemplate that, but my brain is too tired to go deeper. [Maybe. But for now, let’s tale the win. Tomorrow, we’ll see what this amulet can do.]