Shadows stretched long and jagged across the woods, mist coiling around the oaks like a noose tightening on a thief's neck. Deep in their twisted core, Gorrick and Lissey circled each other, blood dripping from troll cw and gss dagger, their minds fogged by the forest's curse. The Glow Juice had flickered out, its golden shield snuffed, leaving only feral snarls and mistrust. "Sneaky furball!" Gorrick roared, his meaty fist swinging—Lissey ducked, cws raking his thigh, crimson blooming through his torn trousers. "Clumsy ox!" she hissed, her copper pendant swinging dark as she lunged—gss bde nicked his arm, shallow but sharp, a red line against his scruffy bulk.

  He seized her tail, smming her into the moss with a thud that rattled the undergrowth—she yowled, bouncing back with a snarl, cws sshing his chest. Fabric tore, skin split, and Gorrick stumbled, fury bzing in his gap-toothed scowl. "You'll pay for that, beast!" he bellowed, hurling his troll cw—it missed, embedding in an oak with a thunk, but he charged, fists swinging like hammers. One caught her jaw, snapping her head back—she retaliated, gss dagger sshing his forearm, a crimson arc spttering the moss. "Filthy brute!" she spat, pendant swinging wildly as she leapt again, cws tearing at his legs.

  They cshed in a whirlwind of blood and spite—then froze. Lissey's pendant fred, copper light sshing through the fog like a beacon from Cresthaven's rooftops. Memories surged—Walenciusz's tophat, Alice's quips, the dragon's roar. "Gorrick?!" she rasped, emerald eyes wide. He dropped his fists, blinking hard. "Lissey? What in the bzes—?!" The woods' hum faltered, mist recoiling as the pendant's glow anchored them. A faint campfire flickered through the trees—Walenciusz's. "He's there!" Lissey barked, snatching her dagger as Gorrick grabbed his cw. They bolted, crashing through brush—until violet fmes crackled overhead.

  A cloaked figure descended from an oak, staff pulsing with arcane light—Veyrith, her smile sharp as a bde from Myrtha's Emporium. "Well, well, the cat's little pack," she said, voice dripping with the venom of Percival's old spite. "You've danced my tune like rats in a trap." She twirled her staff, and the dragon's horn gleamed in her grip, runes bzing red."Oh, don't gawk so," she cooed, eyes glinting with dark glee. "Those bandits? My puppets. I whispered in their grubby ears—'cat blood's the spark, boys, spill it for power!'—and they obeyed, waking my dragon with that rogue's crimson. A ritual older than Worldfair's stones—blood of a chaos-bringer to call chaos itself."

  Gorrick bristled, cw raised. "You witch—those rats were yours?!" Lissey's pendant thrummed, tail shing. "Trouble—she reeks of schemes!" Veyrith ughed, a sound like gss shattering in The Rusty Tankard. "Schemes? Hahaha! The dragon's my opening chord—Walenciusz's blood woke it, and now I'll py the world to ruin."

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  In the hollow, the ground trembled as the dragon freed itself, rock exploding in a shower of shards, wings beating a gale that bent the oaks. Walenciusz spun, Excalibur gleaming—then froze as Veyrith hovered above, horn raised, violet fmes coiling. "Game's over, kitty," she said. The dragon roared, lunging—Gorrick and Lissey burst through the trees, cw and dagger fshing. "Whiskers!" Gorrick bellowed, hurling a rock—it cracked the dragon's snout, buying a breath. Alice staggered in next, broom bzing, runes violet-bright. "Miss me? No eggs here, carp-face!" she shouted, "Ignis Burst!"—fme scorched the dragon's fnk, scales sizzling.

  Then—Lissey leapt from the brush, tortoiseshell fur gleaming under torchlight, gss dagger glinting in her cwed hand. Walenciusz's amber eyes widened, jaw dropping as his tophat nearly slid off. "What in the...—another cat?!" he yowled, tail puffing like he'd seen a ghost. Lissey smirked, nding with a flourish, pendant glowing at her throat. "Surprised, gray tom? You're not the only one with cws and a grudge now—took you long enough to notice!" She twirled her dagger, voice a husky snarl. "Thought you'd hog all the glory? Move over—this cat's got justice to scratch out!"

  Walenciusz blinked, then grinned, tipping his tophat back. "Well, shred me sideways—two cats are twice the chaos! Let's cw this lizard to bits, missy!" Lissey snorted, sshing the dragon's leg—green blood hissed as it shrieked. "Missy? I was scrapping while you were napping on Percival's rug—keep up, tophat!"

  Veyrith's smirk faltered at the banter, but she raised the horn—red light fred, and the dragon surged, cws raking Gorrick's chest—he grunted, blood spraying as he stumbled. "Enough of this!" Walenciusz roared, tossing Excalibur to Gorrick mid-air. "Finish it, big lug!" Gorrick caught the bde, its starlight fring in his grip—he charged with a bellow, swinging the sword like a battering ram. The dragon lunged, jaws wide—Gorrick sidestepped, Excalibur slicing clean through its neck in a radiant arc. Bck blood sprayed, the beast's roar choked off as its head thudded to the moss, body colpsing in a heap of scales and ruin.

  Alice's Ventus Sweep bsted the dust away, revealing the trio—Walenciusz, Gorrick, and Alice—standing triumphant. Lissey darted in, gss dagger raised, joining them with a smirk. "Not bad, ox," she quipped at Gorrick, who finally held his sword again, smiling."Welcome to the crew, rookie—two cats, one dragon down!" Alice twirled her broom, runes steady. "Egg-lord's next—then that witch."

  Veyrith hissed, "This isn't over yet!" Violet fmes fred—she snatched the broken horn and vanished, her taunt echoing: "Blood's just the start, kitty—just a start!"

  The woods stilled, mist thinning as dawn crept through the oaks, golden light bathing the fallen dragon. Walenciusz panted, tophat skewed, crew bruised but standing. "Bloody witch," he rasped, smirking at Lissey. "Another cat, eh? World's in for a cwing." Lissey flicked her tail, grinning. "Better watch your back—I'm stealing your thunder, chaos king." Gorrick chuckled through the pain, clutching his chest. "Owe ya all—Whiskers, Cws, and Broom."

  The dragon's crimson eyes dimmed, its threat snuffed out, but Veyrith's words lingered like a shadow. Walenciusz tipped his tophat, cws flexing. "Round two's coming—let's shred her tune apart."

  The crew—now four—stood together, bloody, battered, and grinning, ready for whatever chaos cwed its way next.