The Taboo Dungeon

The long journey to Nekana Village was complete as the group finally arrived at their destination. The village was on the forest's edge, and the Nekana Tree was somewhere nearby.

“This place hasn’t changed one bit,” Evona happily acknowledged as she walked through the village.

The group, obviously not a common sight for the village catfolk, drew tons of attention, but luckily, none of it was hostile. As they walked around, someone recognized Evona.

“Evona? Is that you?” a girl asked upon seeing Evona.

Evona turned to the girl to see who called her. She recognized her as one of her childhood friends.

“Layla!” Evona exclaimed as she ran towards her friend for a hug.

“Evona! It is you!” Layla responded with a happy surprise. “You haven’t been back home in years!”

After the two finished their happy reunion, Layla started to address why Evona finally decided to come home for a visit.

“So what brings you back home?” Layla asked. “And I see with many new friends at that.”

“We’re here to venture to the Nekana Tree!” Evona said excitedly.

“The Great Tree!?” Layla said, surprised. “Evona, you know that area is off limits. Even with your connections, I don’t think you’ll be allowed to go…”

Layla seemed unsure about Evona wanting to venture to the Nekana Tree. Evona, in contrast, was more laid back, being confident that they’d all be alright to explore the tree.

As the two conversed, Kaito, Rina, and Khrom watched behind them. Suddenly, a large figure dropped from the trees and landed behind the group in a big crash. The landing of the figure almost felt like an earthquake, as it caused a loud sound and slightly lifted the whole group off the ground. With his arms wide, the figure loomed over Kaito, Rina, and Khrom intimidatingly. The figure then grabbed them all, alongside Evona, in a great hug!

“My daughter’s home, and she brought some friends!” the figure, now revealed to be just a large catman, announced in glee.

The sequence elicited a wide range of emotions: Kaito was extremely shocked, Rina initially had her guard up, Khrom was slightly embarrassed, and Evona was happy.

“Dad!” Evona yelled as everyone was stuck in her father’s tight hug.

“I can’t breathe,” Kaito managed to blurt out as he was stuck in the center of the hug.

As the father continued to hug the group, another catfolk woman walked up behind him and smacked his back extremely hard. This caused Evona’s father to promptly let go of the group, releasing his hug.

“Yona, let go before you kill them,” the woman demanded of the father.

“My apologies, Eve,” the father responded to the woman’s demand.

“Mom!” Evona yelled again as she ran towards the woman for another hug.

The woman who was Evona’s mom returned Evona’s hug, as she continued to scold the father. “You should be apologizing to her friends!”

“Oh, of course,” the father said in realization, turning towards the three of Rina, Khrom, and Kaito. “My apologies, you three, it’s been so long since our daughter left to become an adventurer, so when I got word she was back home, we rushed over. When I saw her, I couldn’t help myself.”

“No worries, we’re fine,” Khrom responded as Kaito eagerly gasped for air and Rina fixed her slightly messed-up complexion.

“So, why has my little kitten come back home?” the mother asked as she played with Evona’s cheeks.

“They want to explore the Nekana Tree,” Layla answered for the group.

“The Nekana Tree? Evona, you know nobody is allowed there…” the father told Evona, worried about her well-being.

“Evona knows, but surely Uncle Lyan will allow us to go!” Evona said with optimism.

As Evona’s parents looked towards each other, worried about their daughter, they decided to believe in her. The whole group, minus Evona’s mother and Layla, all went to try and get permission from Evona’s uncle, the catfolk chief, to venture to the Nekana Tree.

In the meeting with the chief, the group pleaded to explore around the Nekana Tree. Those who venture into the area without permission would be escorted out immediately, by force if necessary.

“No,” the Catfolk Chief Lyan decided with no second thought. “Humans and beastfolk that explore Nekana Tree alike have been going missing, especially as of late. Plus, even though these people are your allies, Evona, that does not mean I trust them not to have ill intentions towards the Great Tree. The tree may be dangerous, but it still protects us from greater threats.”

Evona’s father pleaded with Chief Lyan, “Brother, please! The tree continues to grow, and the whole village will be in danger at this rate! It’s about time we do a proper investigation on—”

“I will not change my mind, Yona!” Chief Lyan yelled, cutting the father off. “Of all catfolk, I’m surprised you want them to go. Evona was one of those who almost went missing.”

Evona’s father, Yona, could not combat the chief on that front, as he knew what it would entail.

“We as parents foolishly let our kids wander off towards the tree in the past, and my son never returned…”

The whole room went silent as the chief mourned his missing son. The chief was unwilling to give the group a pass to explore the Nekana Tree.

“Then we’ll just find him,” Kaito suddenly stated confidently, breaking the silence.

“Kaito? Don’t butt in,” Rina whispered to Kaito, trying to get him to shut up.

Kaito looked towards Rina, but didn’t plead her demand. He stood up from where he was sitting and continued.

“We’ll find your son and anyone else who went missing at that tree!” Kaito announced, staring directly at the chief with confidence.

Rina shook her head in disappointment as she didn’t want to escalate the situation. On the other hand, Khrom and Evona agreed with Kaito as they mainly wanted to help ease the chief’s sorrow.

“I will not allow it,” Chief Lyan declared sternly, staring back at Kaito.

“Please, just give us a chance,” Kaito asked smartly, not to sound overly aggressive.

Khrom and Evona added to Kaito’s plea as they stood up to bow to the chief. Following their example, Kaito bowed alongside them.

“No matter what you do, my decision is final,” the chief concluded, as he slightly calmed down and crossed his arms.

Kaito sensed this situation was getting nowhere, so he brought out his trump card.

“Well… WE’RE GOING ANYWAYS!!!”

Kaito took out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. While the rest of the congress was caught off guard and gasping for air, Kaito's party ran towards the Nekana Tree with Evona leading.

“No way I’m letting that geezer put an end to this long trip!” Kaito announced.

“We’re so getting into trouble for this,” Rina mentioned, ashamed at how things turned out.

“At least it’s more fun this way,” Khrom responded.

“I can agree to that!” Kaito said, liking the sound of that statement.

“Let’s go!” Evona yelled, excited at how things escalated.

Back at the meeting location, where Kaito set off the smoke bomb, the rest of the congress had finished recovering.

“Yona! Gather your forces and capture those fools!” Chief Lyan demanded of Yona, who was the captain of their army.

Yona remained still and didn’t listen to the chief’s orders. He believed in the group and wanted to see them succeed in ending the dangers of the Nekana Tree.

“Sorry, chief,” Yona responded.

“Damn it, Yona!” the chief growled in frustration, getting up to deal with the issue. “I’ll just do it myself then!”

Kaito’s group rushed towards the Nekana Tree, hoping to find it before they got caught as the chief hurried for his pursuit. It was a weird game of cat and mouse.