Chaos Rising: The Realms Book Six: (An Epic LitRPG Series)

by C. M. Carney

  Learning such awful truths about your god was liable to set any man into a rage, much less a priest, but for Lex, the full truth was much worse. Not only did Lex bear the soul of the traitor god, but he was Cerrunos or at least a part of him. The traitorous Old God had split himself into five aspects, each the carrier of some part of his burden. Lex was the bearer of Cerrunos’ hope. Which explains my cheery demeanor, he thought wryly.

  Lex tried to be easy on himself, for he knew everyone made mistakes, that nobody was perfect. People get through the grind of daily life by believing they are good, that they are brave, and will do what is right; if only given the chance. To learn he’d faced those challenges and failed was a revelation devastating enough to lay even the strongest man low, and Lex had never considered himself a strong man.

  “You planning to stand there naked and miserable all day?” Vonn asked from behind him. “Or do you want to get the hell out of here?”

  It surprised Lex that he didn’t jump. The damned rogue’s stealthy approach often startled him out of his skin. “I don’t think I can do this.” He did not try to hide his nakedness, nor attempt to cover his shame.

  Vonn sighed and walked to face Lex. He put his hands onto Lex’s shoulders and waited until Lex met his gaze. “You are not Cerrunos, no matter whose soul you bear. Yes, you act the fool, rushing in without thinking, but rush you do, especially when your friends need you.”

  “That’s cuz I’m programmed to.”

  “Not true. You are your own man. Your idiotic comments prove that truth.” A small grin forced its way to Lex’s lips, but Vonn had more to say. “I have known many cowards in my life, and despite your unfortunate heritage, I see no coward in you, Lex. I am honored to go into battle with you.”

  “Thank you,” Lex said, meeting his friend’s gaze with confidence.

  “Good.” Vonn smiled at him, and then his face filled with snark. “Now get dressed. We need you on deck. Simon flew through some weird anomaly and now we’re lost.”

  “Of course, we are, cuz why wouldn’t we be.” Lex grimaced ruefully and pulled his fresh robes over his head.

  26

  It turned out that Vonn had been generous with the phrase lost. The ship floated in a nebula-like cloud of rust-colored mist that smelled of cinnamon. The deck lurched as they stepped onto it and Lex realized the ship had canted to port, causing them to move in a slow, lazy circle.

  He cast a worried look to Vonn. The rogue shrugged as if saying ‘this is your problem all mighty leader.’ Lex gave a return scowl that said, ‘thanks for the support, dude’ and marched towards the helm. Before they’d managed two steps, something large and hairy parted the clouds and bounced off the starboard forequarter. It flipped, changed direction and disappeared into the haze.

  “Was that a big ass foot?” Lex asked in alarm.

  "Looked like it," Vonn said with a shrug that suggested being pelted by unnaturally large body parts was a normal occurrence. "We passed through a shower of incisors a ways back."

  Lex held the rogue’s gaze for a moment, before turning and marching up the stairs. Simon stood at the helm, both hands wrapped around the steering globe. To his left, Errat was bent at the waist, his mouth near a brass tube shaped like the bell of a trumpet.

  “Stupid helm isn’t working,” Simon raged and smacked his palms against the glowing sphere. He shifted the device to the right and then the left, but Lex detected no discernible change in their flight pattern. Simon turned to the tall warborn. “Tell those idiots I want to go straight.”

  Errat turned to the brass tube and spat a slew of guttural nonsense. The sound made Lex cringe, and he brought a hand to his throat as if the words were shredding his vocal cords. A moment later a high-pitched burst of noise erupted from the tube. Though he couldn’t understand a word of it, Lex realized he was hearing an argument between two of the surviving bläärts.

  “They have agreed to turn,” Errat said to Simon in a calm voice. A moment later the ship lurched to starboard and for the briefest of moments they flew straight. Then the deck lurched again, and they were now drifting in a slow starboard orientated circle.

  “Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Lex demanded, startling the undead teen.

  “We’re flying the ship, what does it look like?”

  “It looks to me like we’re drifting in aimless circles not getting anywhere fast.”

  Simon turned, full of rage and teenage frustration. “Yeah, well, maybe you should be the one to deal with those little blue idiots. But, oh no, you’ve spent the last hour taking a nice bath while the rest of us have been up here getting pelted by giant body parts.”

  “There’s been others?” Vonn asked.

  “Yes, there has,” Simon growled. “A rib bone speared through the sail, a blinking eyeball hit the deck and stared at me all creepy like as it bounced over my head, and the worst yet, I got knocked onto my ass by a huge ear. Not only was it filled with goopy ear wax, it also acupunctured me with its old man's ear canal bristles.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Lex admitted with a grimace. “But it doesn’t explain why we’re going in circles.”

  “That is what we are trying to uncover friend Lex,” Errat. “I have been conversing with the bläärts.”

  “Since when do you speak Bläärtinese?”

  “My understanding grows the more I listen to them. I suspect it has something to do with surviving the Phage.”

  The Phage was a virulent, chaotic infection that enabled the Princes of Chaos to possess a mortal host making that host their avatar. Errat, with the help of Gryph, had survived the Phage, but it had left him with an odd connection to chaos. Apparently, that connection included the ability to decipher chaotic languages.

  “I have enjoyed conversing with the bläärts, but some things are better done in person. Would you care to join me?”

  “Not really, but when do I ever get what I want,” Lex said, then looked around. “Where’s Seraphine?”

  “Acquaintance Seraphine claimed to suffer from seasickness and went below decks.”

  “Which I believe is thief speak for pilfering the joint,” Vonn said.

  Lex noticed Errat’s use of the word acquaintance instead of friend. It appears he doesn’t trust her any more than the rest of us. Perhaps he is not as naïve as he seems. Lex considered giving the order to stop her thieving, but then remembered this was the Master’s ship. Not only was the man, if he was a man at all, a slaver, but also a disturbing fetishist and amateur torturer. He deserved worse than having all his swag stolen, but for now, that was the best justice Lex could deliver.

  Lex motioned for Errat to lead them below and told Vonn to keep an eye on Simon. “Don’t let him get us more lost than we already are.”

  “I heard that,” Simon whined. “If you think you can fly this thing better than me, it’s all yours.”

  “You’re doing great,” Vonn said and clapped the kid on the shoulder. “Well, below average, if I’m being truthful, but keep doing what you’re doing.”

  Lex followed Errat down to the lower deck. On the stairs, they ran into Seraphine. Her eyes widened, and she paused. “Find anything good?” Lex smiled on seeing her momentary look of guilt turn to a shrug of admittance.

  “Not much, this Master guy is…”

  “Weird?” Lex finished and made his way down the stairs.

  “That’s a word for it.” She turned and followed them. “I suggest we burn this boat when we’re done with it.”

  “Errat agrees. The Master’s activities have stained the Aether that surrounds this ship. Only by destroying it, can it be cleansed.”

  “Great.” Lex’s mouth screwed up in distaste as they descended deeper into the morass of foulness. “Could this day get any worse?” He immediately regretted saying so and the deep sense of foreboding filled him. Think good thoughts, think good thoughts, he said to himself and pushed the hatch to the engine room open.

  A Bläärtinese argu
ment flowed over him as he stepped into the engine room. The chamber was long and thin, extending from the middle of the ship all the way to the stern. A greasy contraption that looked, to Lex, like a steam engine built by a drunk inventor from plans that were both incomplete and upside down, dominated the center of the room. Despite its design flaws, it was clear the contraption powered the dual jet engines Simon had used to burn the dire chaos abomination to a charred husk.

  Two rows of what looked to be stationary bikes ran along each side of the engine. A chain attached each bike to a gear and shaft system that disappeared through the aft wall of the ship. It took Lex only a second to realize that the bikes powered the propellers protruding from the stern of the ship, and another few to discover why the ship was moving in lazy circles.

  Five bläärts pedaled like maniacs on the left side, while only four worked the right. Another bläärt, this one taller than the others, clomped back and forth between the two rows, screaming through the wrong end of a dented tin bullhorn.

  “What is he yelling about?” Lex asked Errat, noting the stilts the new Bläärt wore.

  Errat cocked his head to the side and listened. “He is telling them they are pedaling wrong and that he is the Bläärt of bläärts. That last part he keeps saying over and over.”

  “Insecure much,” Seraphine said.

  The problem was obvious to everyone, except the bläärts. Their uneven numbers caused the circular flight path. Lex suspected they’d gone from circling one direction to circling the other because the bläärts had switched sides.

  “Errat tell Bläärt to join the bläärts on the right side and start pedaling.”

  A variety of noises that sounded like an out of tune orchestra powered by cow flatulence passed between Errat and Bläärt and with a grimace Errat turned to Lex. “He says he is the Bläärt of bläärts now, so he does not pedal.”

  Lex hung his head and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.“What kind of idiot uses bläärt powered bikes to power his ship?”

  “The cheap kind,” Seraphine said.

  “Well, we have an engine. Let’s use that instead. Errat, tell them to start it up.”

  The warborn gave the order and Bläärt protested vehemently. Errat turned to Lex and sighed. “He says they are out of fuel.”

  “They didn’t fill up before we left?”

  “He says nobody told him too, and he was not Bläärt then, so it is not his fault.”

  “Typical middle management,” Lex muttered and eyed the small blue man, but his ire had no effect on the foul creature. “Ask him where we can get more fuel.”

  Half an hour later they stood on deck watching a volunteer bläärt flying from the deck on a pair of mechanical wings. The volunteer clutched the end of a large accordion-like tube with a fearful death grip. The tube snaked around the hull and into the fuel tanks below deck. Lex had threatened, cajoled and finally bribed the blue man before he'd agreed to undertake the mission.

  “Errat is not looking forward to spending quality time with this bläärt.” The warborn grimaced up at the flying blue man, his expression suggesting he had some hint about what the phrase ‘quality time’ meant.

  “I’m sorry, man,” Lex said, a part of him guilty that his influence had eaten away Errat’s innocent nature. “But it was the only thing that got him to agree. You should take it as a compliment.”

  “Errat prefers to stay humble and not desired by bläärts.”

  “Don’t worry big fella, we probably won't live long enough for him to collect,” Vonn said. Lex eyed the rogue with mild ire before turning his attention back to the sky-mining operation.

  For once, luck was on their side. The fuel that powered the engines was common, if dangerous to harvest. It was a combustive liquid found floating in odd pools throughout the Realm of Chaos. According to Bläärt, they were passing close to several such pools, a fact that made the irritating blue man question Lex’s Master-ing skills.

  “Is it my fault the entire Realm of Chaos is filled with things that explode?”

  “You did get us lost,” Simon muttered.

  “I got us lost? You were the one that said you could fly the ship.”

  “Fly, yes. I said nothing about navigating.”

  Lex stared at the undead teen in disbelief, but before he could say anything a gurgling cheer drew his eyes to the flying bläärt. A pool of syrupy liquid the color of old blood shimmered above their heads like a floating soap bubble.

  The bläärt zipped forward on buzzing wings, shoved the open end of the hose into the bubble and pulled down hard on a rusty lever. A raucous noise louder than any commercial vacuum blasted Lex’s ears and the pool of fuel began to chug through the pipe and into the tanks below.

  “How long will this take?” Seraphine asked, her eyes searching the surrounding sky. “That damnable noise is certain to attract attention.”

  She was right, but they needed as much fuel as they could get. “Keep your eyes peeled. We’ll head out as soon as we fill the tanks.”

  “Head out where?” Simon asked again, his voice brimming with smug teenage dickishness. “We’re lost, remember?”

  Lex wanted to show the kid his middle finger but knew he was right.

  “Maybe all this racket will attract something willing to give us directions,” Vonn said, one-upping Simon’s smugness.

  Lex began to tell the half-elf off when a thought occurred to him. His lips spread into a smile, one that saw his friend’s cockiness and went all in.

  “Clear some space boys. It’s time I had a chat with an old friend.”

  The others gave him a quizzical look that bordered on suspicion but backed off as requested. Lex rolled his shoulders and shook his arms out. Then he summoned the silver-white of Order Magic to his hands and began to cast Commune.

  Vonn’s eyes widened, and a distant suspicion tickled the edge of Lex’s awareness. He would have asked the rogue what was bothering him, but he’d already started casting, and Commune, unlike Order Bolt or Minor Healing, was a complex spell. Once begun, any cessation risked spell failure and the painful back surge of mana feedback.

  Let’s hope he’s just being a nervous Nellie, Lex thought to himself, wishing he sounded more confident. The mana rushed down his arms and the world slowed. A haze, like an early morning fog, rolled across the deck and Lex relaxed a bit. So far, so good. Everything is normal. Nothing to see here.

  As the fog rolled in, Lex focused his thoughts. Previous experience with Commune had taught him the importance of precision when asking his question. The answers were always truthful, yet not ‘easy to understand.

  The obvious question, ‘how can we escape the Realm of Chaos?’ was too broad. They already knew that Odymm Tal, the Deacon of Order and part-time space pirate, was their best chance to find a way home. They needed to find Tal. Lex settled on the wording of his question and returned his attention to the mists.

  Something moved deeper within the mists and Lex squinted. “Come on Rubik, old pal, don’t let me down.” The shape pushed through the fog, but then slowed and stopped. The mists rumbled and waves of fog rushed towards Lex.

  A brilliant white light flared like a miniature sun, and Lex threw an arm up to shield his eyes. A moment later a wave of sound like a dozen heavenly horns rumbled over him. The sphere pulsed and a wave of light expanded in all directions, pushing the mists before it. Lex blinked his eyes clear to find an odd, semi-mechanical creature hovering above the deck.

  The automaton was a DuoQuodrata, a low-level construct native to the Realm of Order. During their first encounter, Lex had named it Rubik, after the ubiquitous puzzle toy from Earth. Since then, Rubik had evolved, but the name remained. Instead of one large cube, Rubik was now a pair of dull gold cubes, one on top of the other, connected by a gear-shaped junction.

  A pair of spindly, almost rubbery arms extended outwards from the sides of each box and a pair of large, never blinking eyes stared at Lex. One of those eyes was a perfect, if larg
er, match for Lex’s own. Lex shivered remembering the pain and terror he’d felt when Rubik had torn the eye from his skull, popped it into his mouth like it was nothing more than a grape and then grown a copy for itself.

  That horror had happened during one of Lex’s innumerable time loops, so technically it hadn’t happened at all. Yet, somehow the next time he’d cast Commune, Rubik had floated up still possessing Lex’s pilfered eye. Staring into that eye now was a grim reminder that sometimes Rubik demanded payment for his services.

  Lex tried to portray an air of confidence as Rubik floated close. “Hey Rubik, it’s good to see you buddy.” Rubik said nothing, which was no surprise. It was a cube of few words and when it communicated it was via an odd version of telepathy.

  The automaton floated closer than was usual and Lex tossed his hands up in a defensive posture. This time, if the bastard stole his eye, Lex wouldn’t get a time loop do-over. He took a step back and watched Rubik list to the side, like a drunk man stumbling to avoid running into someone on his way to the bathroom.

  “You okay pal?” Lex asked, then cringed hoping he hadn’t wasted his one question. Rubik’s eye twitched and the slit of its mouth rippled back and forth. A single “pffffttt” pushed past Rubik’s lips and a trickle of drool dripped down its chin.

  Something isn’t right here, Lex thought, taking another step back. He bumped into Vonn, which was odd since the only other time he’d been able to drag others into his chats with Rubik had been through Gryph’s Telepathic Bond, and then only as spectral non-physical versions of themselves. How was Vonn here, in the flesh?

  “Does it always do that?” Simon asked, causing Lex to spin in alarm.

  “You can see him?”

  “If you’re calling the weird, floating trash can thing him, then yes.”