Rise of the Crimson Order: A Crematoria Online LitRPG Novel

by Matthew J. Barbeler

  We walked through the open door into Willoughby's Haberdashery. Enormous spools of fabric lined the edges of the room in all manner of colors. There was a large wooden counter towards the back of the store which also served as a cutting board. The top of the counter was scored with thousands of tiny cuts, and there was a roll of fabric sitting on top. A pair of closed scissors sat next to it.

  "Mister Willoughby?" James asked.

  A short man with a thin black mustache and a thick head of salt and pepper hair appeared. He smiled warmly as he recognized James.

  "Mister Treborn! It has been far too long!" Mister Willoughby said as he shuffled across the room towards us.

  He was so short that he came up to the middle of my chest. I had met children taller than him.

  "What's the occasion?" Mister Willoughby asked.

  "I'm afraid It's not a social call. We have a new recruit at LSI," James said motioning towards me. "He's a little provincial, as you can see. I need you to tailor a suit for him. One that will look the part and help him in our investigations. I imagine we might be seeing quite a bit of danger in the days to come. After we seek an audience with King Malidar."

  Mister Willoughby inhaled sharply, then wheeled around to peer at me. "You were intending to present yourself to King Malidar wearing that?" It felt more like an accusation than a question.

  "Well I certainly didn't anticipate that I would be in the audience of a King when I dressed for the road," I said. "I only arrived into Eldin from the provinces this morning, and now I find myself here. I feel quite fortunate, if I'm being honest."

  "Hmph. Quite lucky. Yes."

  "Spare no expense," James said. "I'm paying, and Lucas here will be paying me back once he starts earning his keep."

  This caused Mister Willoughby to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "As you wish. Shall we begin?"

  I nodded. Mister Willoughby turned and walked towards the back room. I followed him, and once we were inside, he closed the door.

  "Please remove your current garments, leaving your underwear in place," he said.

  I chuckled at that. "Of course I'll leave my underwear on. Who just drops their underwear in front of a stranger?"

  Mister Willoughby sighed. "You would not believe how often it happens if I told you."

  I removed my clothes and neatly folded them on a nearby table. A message appeared above the clothing.

  Would you like to return your equipment to your Inventory?

  I thought in the affirmative, and the stack of clothes disappeared from the table top. I turned back to Mister Willoughby to see if he would react to the stack of clothes disappearing right in front of his eyes, but he didn't. He simply looked at the empty table and began to unravel his tape measure.

  "Arms up," he said, and I obliged.

  He took my measurements, jotting them all down on a scrap of paper with a piece of sharp charcoal. Eventually he put the tape measure away in a box of odds and ends, then pulled a trunk out from under the table. He opened the lid, then took a strange looking instrument out of a felt bag. It looked like a magnifying glass, except that I could hear some kind of energy crackling through the azure lens.

  "What's that?" I asked.

  "It's a Statiscope. It allows me to see your true strengths, your weaknesses, and a brief glimpse into the path on which you are currently walking. I need to understand everything if I am to weave this new suit into your fate."

  "You mean you can see into my future?"

  "Not clear details, but yes. I can see a glimpse of what is to come."

  I immediately wanted to correct him and assert that there is no such thing as fate. The future is not something that is set in stone.

  It was a real-world response that wasn't really applicable here in Crematoria Online. I needed to stop treating this game like it had the same rules as life in the real world. The rules were different here, and I knew that I would be having much more fun while stuck in this world if I just leaned into it and started role-playing a little.

  "What does my future show?" I asked.

  Mister Willoughby lowered the Statiscope and looked me right in the eyes. His brown eyes had flecks of gold in them.

  "Darkness, my boy. Darkness. One that comes for us all, and I see you standing right in the center of it. I cannot tell whether you bring it, or whether you're standing inside the tempest, fighting against it."

  "What do you think is going to happen?"

  "I haven't the faintest clue. However, as it happens, I have a suit in your exact measurements ready to go." Mister Willoughby waved a hand towards a mannequin wearing a stylish looking slate-gray suit. "I'll just need to take a few strands of your fate with me and weave them into the fabric."

  Mister Willoughby began snatching at the air around me.

  "Uh, what are you doing?" I asked.

  "I just told you. I'm collecting some strands of fate that you've gotten yourself all twisted up in."

  "I don't believe in fate," I said.

  "That is unfortunate, Mister Hutchins, because it seems that fate believes in you."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Along these fine strands of destiny, I see great and terrible things that may come to pass at your hand. The Statiscope allowed me to see that your strengths are influence and intuition. You are no genius, but you work hard. You do not give up easily but being stubborn is not always a virtue. Asses are stubborn. While being driven is also a virtue, your temerity may be tempered by your anger. By your hands, cities may burn. Empires may fall... Or rise. Even Gods may die." Mister Willoughby took a sharp breath as he gathered the invisible threads into one hand, then approached the suit on the mannequin. He paused, then turned back towards me. "I must admit something to you, Mister Hutchins."

  "What's that?" I asked.

  The weight of his words seemed to settle about my shoulders like thick black clouds.

  "I am hesitant to bind these threads of fate to this suit, knowing that this suit is for you. You may be responsible for wonderful things, Mister Hutchins. I also see in you the possibility for great darkness. You were brought here by fate, and now I must decide whether I will help you on your quest. Am I helping a future hero, or someone who will bring great darkness down upon Crematoria? Tell me, Lucas. Tell me who you really are."

  "I'm still working that out," I replied, activating my Persuade ability. I needed that suit, and regardless of what that meant, I wouldn't be leaving Willoughby's Haberdashery without it. "I am not the darkness. I am the torch that burns within it. I bring light where there is none."

  The words tumbled out of me. They felt as though they had come from within me, but I had no conscious recollection of forming those thoughts. The Persuade ability worked though. My Persuasion skill level went up, and Mister Willoughby's eyes flicked to his hand that held my strands of fate.

  He sighed.

  "I hope that I do not live to regret this," he said, opening the gray coat on the mannequin. He appeared to be inserting those strands of fate into the coat and affixing them somehow. His fingertips glowed pale blue as he moved them over the seams, clasps and buttons. He unbuttoned the waistcoat and repeated the motions, binding the threads of my fate to it. He did this for the shirt, the pants, the pair of leather shoes, the tie, and even the underwear! Piece by piece he tied the invisible strands of my fate to the outfit.

  Finally, he stood back from the suit and admired his handiwork. It looked no different to me, but I sensed a change in the atmosphere of the room. There was an energy in the air that was not there before. One moment the suit was on the mannequin, and the next it disappeared. A large black box tied with a silver bow appeared on the table next to me.

  "There you are," Mister Willoughby said. "Your new suit. You might want to put it on before you leave. Dregswyk doesn't take too kindly to men walking about in their undergarments. I shall leave you to dress."

  I was still almost naked. The moment someone finds out about their epic destiny should have been a dignif
ied experience, but here I was standing in my underwear.

  I opened the box and was surprised to see two other accessories that I hadn't expected. There was a pair of glasses sitting on top of the suit. They had thick black frames, and they gave me a boost to my Perception primary attribute score.

  Detective's Glasses

  +0 Armor

  +1 Perception

  Sometimes solving problems with a keen eye is better than using a sharp sword.

  I put the glasses on. The world didn't look any different, but I already felt like I could see more.

  Also sitting on top of the gray jacket was a curved pipe. At first, my reaction was that there was no way I was going to use that pipe. In the real world, smoking tobacco was terrible for you. You were volunteering for a death sentence.

  But here in Crematoria Online, I could do whatever I wanted to without affecting my real-world body. I wondered whether smoking in Crematoria Online might have any negative consequences for my avatar in the long-term. There was really only one way to find out.

  Detective's Pipe

  Usable item

  Can be used to smoke various substances which can have effects on the detective's abilities and skills.

  A detective without a pipe is like a Hellkin without horns.

  I put the detective's pipe to the side. I would need to find something that I could use to test out how it worked.

  Then came the main event. The suit. The reason I found myself in Willoughby's Haberdashery.

  I'd worn suits before and hadn't found the experience terribly enjoyable. I felt constricted and out of place. Like an impostor. Like everyone could tell how uncomfortable I was.

  I slipped off my starting underwear, which disappeared back into my inventory. For a moment I was standing there naked in the back of Willoughby's Haberdashery, a little terrified that Mister Willoughby might come back before I was done. I found a new pair of underwear and looked at their stats. There wasn't anything all that interesting on them. No bonuses, just a small resistance to cold.

  Stylish Boxer Shorts

  Cold resistance: 1%

  The most stylish way of not going commando

  The Stylish Socks, the Stylish Belt, the Stylish Undershirt and the white button-up long-sleeved Stylish Shirt didn't contain any noticeable bonuses to speak of. Just cold resistance. It wasn't until I put on the pants that I really started to see why James had been so insistent upon coming here.

  I put on the rest of my outfit and took some time to look over their stats.

  Stylish Pants

  +2 Armor

  +1 Fortitude

  +1 Strength

  +5% Cold Resistance

  +2% Influence

  Stylish Waistcoat

  +2 Armor

  +1 Endurance

  +1 Resilience

  +5% Cold Resistance

  +2% Influence

  Stylish Tie

  +1 Charisma

  +1% Cold Resistance

  +3% Influence

  Stylish Shoes

  +1 Charisma

  +1% Cold Resistance

  +3% Influence

  I took a second to look at myself in Mister Willoughby's mirror.

  I looked damn fine.

  In the real world, my beard had never looked as good as my avatar's did, but there was still one thing left to put on. The coat. I took the collar of the coat in my hand and let it unfold. It hung down from my grip, almost reaching the ground. The fabric had a texture to it that I hadn't expected. I couldn't figure out what it had been made from. All I knew was that it felt like a dream.

  It felt even better after I slipped it on.

  Stylish Detective's Coat

  +3 Armor

  +1 Fortitude

  +1 Strength

  +7% Cold Resistance

  +5% Influence

  It's not just ladies that go crazy for a sharp-dressed man. Everybody does!

  Now what I was wearing the whole set, I felt as though I was complete. A notice appeared in the bottom of my view.

  You are now wearing a complete set of clothes! You have gained the following set bonus:

  Stylish Detective's Garb

  +5% Influence

  +2% damage to any critical areas uncovered by your Expose Weakness Ability

  +10% chance to uncover extra clues while investigating

  That would certainly serve well in the adventures to come. Adding up all the bonuses to Influence on my new suit, it came to a 15% boost. Then, adding in the other 5% from the set bonus, it meant that all my abilities that affected how I could influence others were 20% more effective!

  All up, this new set of armor gave me some awesome bonuses to my base primary attributes.

  +4 Armor

  +20% Cold Resistance

  +1 Perception

  +2 Charisma

  +2 Strength

  +1 Endurance

  +2 Fortitude

  +1 Resilience

  I looked myself over in the mirror again. I had never looked or felt this good. I grinned at myself. I was beginning to feel more like myself here in Crematoria Online than I ever had in the real world. Well, more like the version of me that I had always wanted to be.

  I headed back out to the front of Willoughby's Haberdashery, and I was not expecting Ellie to be there waiting for me with James.

  Her jaw dropped so low that I was surprised it didn't fall off.

  James clapped his hands together. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The Path to the Palace

  Ellie had a hard time looking me in the eyes, and I thought that I saw a little bit of a blush there on her cheeks. I wanted to know what she was thinking, but there was no way I could ask without arousing suspicion. She looked great in her new armor. It didn't have the same presence as her Judiciary armor, but it did hug her curvy hips in a way that I appreciated more with every passing moment. The way she avoided my eyes made me think that she might be feeling the same about my new outfit.

  James spoke to Mister Willoughby, then handed him a small pouch of coins. It looked like it was pretty full, and when James dropped it into Mister Willoughby's hand it sounded like it landed with some weight behind it. Mister Willoughby pocketed the bag and spoke to James in a quiet voice that I couldn't quite overhear.

  A new quest notification popped up, which auto-accepted itself into my quest log.

  Reparations

  James Treborn has paid for a suit on your behalf. You have entered into an agreement to repay him for it. Pay James Treborn 500 gold to cover the cost of the suit.

  Type: Payment

  Time Limit: None, however your relationship with James Treborn will degrade for every 14 days that an installment that is not made.

  Difficulty: Moderate

  Rewards: None

  I balked at the cost. James had just paid 500 gold on my behalf for this suit! Now I owed him. Big time.

  "Thank you, Mister Hutchins!" Mister Willoughby said. "It was a pleasure serving you. I just hope that you, in turn, serve the people of Crematoria."

  "I'll keep him on the straight and narrow," James said, smirking at me.

  In response to this, Mister Willoughby raised an eyebrow. "My dear sir, I don't believe you've ever been within spitting distance of the straight and narrow."

  James clapped Mister Willoughby on the back. "Good. You've been paying attention. If I told you about some of the things I've done for this city, you might appreciate me a little more."

  "Keep your adventures to yourself, my boy. I don't want to know the details. I'm quite happy living in ignorance. Mister Hutchins, you just come on back here to me if you ever need those clothes repaired. And you!" Mister Willoughby turned to address Ellie. "If you ever need something more elegant for a special occasion, please come and see me. Gowns are one of my specialties."

  Ellie snorted. "A gown? Oh, I don't think there's ever going to be a need for that."

  Mister Willoughby
ignored Ellie's dismissal. "Still. If you ever have need of one, you know where to find me. But now I suppose you all have much more important things to get on with."

  "Yes, I'm afraid we do. We're off to seek an audience with King Malidar," James said.

  Mister Willoughby looked at us with a bemused look on his face, as though he was trying to work out whether James was telling a fib. "You were serious about that? I assumed it was merely a jest!"

  James tapped the side of his nose and gave Mister Willoughby a knowing look as he rejoined us. We left the store and headed back out into the market square.

  The Trash Palace loomed before us with its misshapen spires and innumerable balconies. Signal fires burned from the parapets. Using my new Farsight ability I saw the shadows of guards marching back and forth along the ramparts.

  There was a strange sensation as my eyes focused in detail on something so far away. It was almost like I had my own zoom lens implanted into my eyeballs. I could zoom in and out with ease. The only negative was the lurch of vertigo that came with each zoom.

  The sheer scale of the palace was almost beyond comprehension. When a structure is built upon the crust of the world, it is easier for a human mind to understand the scale of what it's looking at. But something of such a size built within a cavern? It was hard for my mind to grasp.

  "So how exactly we going to get an audience with the Rat King?" I asked.

  "I'm guessing it's not just going to be a matter of us walking up to the front doors and knocking," Ellie said.

  "Well, actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." James turned back towards us and flashed us that knowing smirk. That damned smile was starting to annoy me. "King Malidar owes me. It's as simple as that really. He had his chance to take the kid but chose not to. King Malidar won't want him dead. Besides, if there is some kind of cult that can walk through stone walls by using some arcane symbol, King Malidar is going to want to know about it. A man who has that many secrets won't abide a group that can walk through walls."