{C-5-B}

You hear the incantation reach a crescendo, and a bright glow emanates from somewhere above your head. The glow fades abruptly, and the pet shop owner lets out a sigh of frustration.

“It didn’t work!” he growls to himself. “I must find the right one!”

You try to sit as still and quiet as possible as you hear him take off the latches on the animal, and then see him walk over to another table where he places it into a dark colored box.

“You’re no use to me,” the pet shop owner says as he turns around to leave.

Your foot has gone numb from crouching in the same position, and as you shift slightly under the table, you make a soft scraping sound on the floor. The pet shop owner pauses for a moment, and you hold your breath, but he seems not to have heard you and walks away, disappearing through the doorway leading up out of the chamber.

You wait until you can no longer hear his footsteps up the stairs before you dare to make another sound. Finally, you quietly emerge from under the table and almost trip over Neko-chan as he stretches his tiny leg out.

“That was a cramped space,” he says as he stretches the other leg.

“Seriously? That must have been really tough for you,” you say as you’re trying to regain the feelings in your foot.

You inspect the table for any clues as to what just happened. You don’t see anything that could be used as a light source.

“Where did that light come from?” you ask.

“I guess either from the pet shop owner or that animal,” Neko-chan says. “Wherever it came from, we need to find out what’s going on.”

You look at the dark box that contains the animal and then you look at the doorway where the pet owner went out.

You say:

“He’s definitely up to something, and we need to find out what, now!” {C-6-B}

“What’s in the box?” {C-6-A}