Rise of the Crimson Order: A Crematoria Online LitRPG Novel

by Matthew J. Barbeler

  "I can see why King Malidar would want to put a stop to that," I said.

  "What exactly did you do for the King for him to owe you?" Ellie asked.

  James took a breath before responding. "It's not something that I am at liberty to discuss. The business between King Malidar and myself is one of a rather sensitive nature, and even though Lucas here has joined LSI, that is still something that I need to keep in confidence. You will understand that the longer you work here in Eldin and Dregswyk."

  "Are you absolutely sure he's going to help us?" I asked.

  "Of course he is. If he doesn't come through for me when I need him, then he is not going to be able to count on me when he needs me. Just between us? He needs me more than I need him most of the time. Anyway, let's focus on the task at hand, shall we? No more stops! We keep marching forward until we reach the Trash Palace."

  As we continued through the streets, I found myself overwhelmed. Everyone down here in Dregswyk seemed to be making the best of what they could with what they had, and what they had wasn't much.

  Almost everyone I passed was dressed in rags. They were, at first glance, the kind of people I would have normally crossed the road to avoid in the real world. Seeing how they lived down here in the dark, in the cast-off trash that the city above didn't want anymore, made me realize that I was a judgmental jerk. But even here there was a noticeable distinction between the haves and the have-nots.

  Mister Willoughby and Elan had stores full of wondrous goods and seemed to be doing well for themselves. Yet here, there were people literally digging through trash to find something to eat.

  The Trash Palace loomed closer with every step we took. Eventually, we arrived in an opening in the wall around the foot of the palace. There was a large open square in front of us, filled with a rag-tag army who were practicing their fighting.

  They wore mismatched uniforms covered in scrounged armor. They were made up of several different races, more varied than I thought existed within Crematoria Online. The only thing they all had in common were strips of brown fabric tied around each wrist. Every practicing soldier wore them.

  Nearby there was a squad of hulking turtle men training with various weapons. One of the turtle-men with a jagged shell wielded a blade-tipped halberd and tried to keep another smooth-shelled turtle-man holding a claymore at bay.

  "What are those?" I asked.

  "Those are Shellonians," James said. "They live all over the world and are as varied in form as the waterways in which they live."

  Ellie laughed. "Shellonians? Really?"

  "That's what they call themselves as a race, but their tribes have their own different and varied cultures," James explained. "It's the same as humans. We Imperials are far removed from the nomadic Erwysh or the power-obsessed Al Akani. We are civilized, whereas the Erwysh and Al Akani are barely better than savages."

  "Where I come from, Chelonian is the scientific name of the umbrella that all turtle and tortoise families fall under," Ellie said.

  She pronounced Chelonian with a hard c sound, like Christmas.

  "That makes sense," James said. "They're all related."

  "Oh, no, I mean," Ellie began but petered off. "Never mind. Shellonians, huh? That's neat."

  "How old do you think some of them are?" I asked.

  "Probably a few hundred years old," James said. "They are very long lived."

  "Do you think there are any teenagers?" I asked. A smile crept onto my face. "How about that one with the kunai? Do you think he might be a ninja?"

  Ellie chuckled.

  "I doubt that a Shellonian would have the requisite agility to study as a ninja," James said seriously.

  "Are you sure?" I asked. "Are you sure he isn't a teenage ninja turtle? He might be a mutant, too."

  James cocked an eyebrow. "I doubt it. It does not look as though he is tainted by The Bleed."

  Ellie laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the practicing Shellonians.

  "What's funny?" James asked.

  "Oh, nothing. Come on, let's go see the King," I said.

  We crossed the square between two marching platoons. The officers commanding the troops saw James as we passed, and I wasn't surprised when they nodded to acknowledge him. James offered lazy salutes to both of them, and I noticed something different about the officers. They still had brown fabric around their wrists like the soldiers, but theirs had been braided into ornate patterns.

  Someone crossed the square towards us wearing a flowing robe. He had terribly greasy hair and a badly crooked nose, as though he'd spent much of his life getting into bar fights. One of his cheeks were sunken in, which made one of his eyes appear to pop out of its socket slightly. He looked quite deranged.

  "Mister Treborn!" he announced, throwing his arms wide as James did the same.

  They embraced, and I expected the man to stink. There was a strong fragrance that accompanied him, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was floral, with a hint of masculine spice. Perhaps a little bit of leather.

  "Mordio," James said. "You're just the man we've come to see."

  Mordio broke away from James. I couldn't tell whether it was joy or suspicion on his face, or maybe, that's just how his odd face looked. "It's quite fortuitous that you've arrived. Dregswyk currently has its own share of troubles that we've been having quite a hard time trying to solve. Perhaps you'll accompany me to the throne room?"

  Chapter Thirty

  An Audience with the Rat King

  I couldn't tell whether we were in a landfill or a throne room. The throne was an amalgam of junk, set atop a pile of garbage. Chandeliers of twisted metal, splintered wood and discarded bone hung from the arched ceiling. It reminded me of a cathedral, with stains on the walls that were every bit as intricate and deliberate as stained glass. Guards stood to the side at intervals between us and the throne.

  It looked as though King Malidar was already in audience with someone else.

  The person standing before the King drew my eye. He wore a long black cape that flowed behind him, which matched the black hair that draped around his shoulders. The only discolorations were the two gray spots at his temples. The man in the black armor turned to look at us. He had something on his face that could have been plucked right out of a horror movie. It looked like a muzzle – the kind of headgear you'd put on a dangerous dog.

  James slowed his pace. His entire posture changed at the sight of the man in black. His cool swagger disappeared, and he approached King Malidar upon the throne with an apprehension that I hadn't seen before. It was very out of character. I had no idea who this man in black was and couldn't understand why James had such a strong reaction to his presence.

  Garbage was arranged in uneven stairs which led up to the throne. We stopped at the bottom as King Malidar conferred in quiet discussion with the man in black. He nodded with finality to King Malidar, and then took a short bow. He glanced down at us. As soon as he met James's eyes it suddenly felt as though the cathedral-like hall had grown very small. An energy passed between the two men but dissipated almost as quickly as it came.

  "Forgive my intrusion," James said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

  King Malidar leaned forward, and I got my first good look at him. King Malidar Rattus was a good name for someone who looked so much like vermin. From the beady black eyes to the overbite with buck teeth, his name was either manifest destiny or a life sentence.

  I expected him to look more regal than he did. The thin man sitting upon the throne seemed too small for his clothes. They swam on his slender frame, clumping up at the armpits and waist. His bony hands gripped the arms of his throne, almost lost in the huge sleeves.

  "Ah, but you're very good at interruptions," Kind Malidar said. "My guest was just about to leave."

  "Who are you?" James asked, addressing the man in black.

  The question lay heavy between us, as though weighted by some unseen anchor. The man in black didn't reply. He turned and walked towards us, then passed wit
hout a word. I thought I saw the hair on the back of James's neck rise as the man in black passed by.

  "He is quite private," King Malidar said. "But a good ally. Never mind him and tell me why you've sought me out."

  "Well, we're actually here to speak to Mordio," James said.

  "On what business?" King Malidar asked, glancing at his misshapen adviser who had just joined his side.

  "A boy has been taken from an orphanage on the surface, and we've been tasked with finding him. We found something in the sewers that is connected to his disappearance, but it's beyond our knowledge. We were hoping that you might be able to point us in the right direction, as we understand that the boy stole something from you."

  The King's interest seemed to be piqued. "Stole something, you say? What's the boy's name?"

  "John Byrne," I said. I held up the pictograph of the boy's face for King Malidar to see.

  "I do know of the boy, yes. Who might you be?" The Rat King asked me.

  I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do, having never been in the audience of a King before, so I fell to one knee in a gesture of supplication.

  "My name is Lucas Hutchins, Your Grace."

  The Rat King laughed. A hearty guffaw. "Get off the ground, boy! Don't kneel for me. I'm not some prissy fart from the surface."

  I stood, embarrassed. James shot me a withering look.

  "And who might this lovely creature be?" King Malidar turned his attention to Ellie.

  I felt her straighten even taller at the creepy comment. Her hands balled into fists at her sides. She looked like a coiled spring, waiting to be sprung. Ellie opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

  "Her name is Eleanor, and she's a mercenary along for the ride," James said. "Based on what we've seen so far, we figured we would need a little muscle."

  King Malidar snorted. "And you chose her?"

  I took a step forward, now standing in line with James. "With all due respect, Ellie can more than hold her own in a fight. She even went one-on-one with a Kigarian in the sparring ring near the markets and came out without a scratch on her."

  The King narrowed his eyes at me, pursing his lips. "Is that so?"

  "Yes," Ellie said before making an irritated noise.

  She stuffed her hand into her pack and retrieved a roll of parchment.

  She unfurled it in front of King Malidar. The scroll that had the pattern we had found beneath the cell drawn onto it. The one that had allowed John Byrne to walk through stone.

  King Malidar recoiled at the sight of the pattern. He hissed at it like the rat he was.

  James put an arm on my chest and pushed me backwards. He grabbed Ellie by the back of her armor and yanked her backwards too. She stumbled back, keeping the unfurled symbol thrust forward towards the Rat King.

  "This is what we're looking for! We found it at the scene of the boy's disappearance, and I found a wound in this exact shape on a murder victim in Eldin! We were told that you might be able to help us!" Ellie jabbed the parchment forward towards Mordio, but my attention was drawn to the shifting form of King Malidar.

  The wretched monarch's face bulged out at impossible angles. The whites of his eyes disappeared as blackness spread from his pupils over the iris and crept across the sclera like a hungering shadow. His mouth pushed out from his face in unnatural dimensions, sprouting into a wet, rat-like nose. His clean-shaven face grew a covering of mottled brown and white fur, emerging from the skin like a time-lapse of grass growing.

  Enormous whiskers erupted from the sides of his snout as his ears grew round and shifted further back on his head. Teeth rattled to the ground as a pair of gnawing chompers evicted the human teeth from his gums. The roots were still covered in chunks of flesh.

  His entire form changed as his inner rat took over. His slight frame became hunched and well-muscled as the beastly part of himself rose to the surface. Actual claws sprouted from the ends of his bony fingers. The sound of cracking, grinding bones filled the air as King Malidar's knees crunched to bend in the opposite direction.

  A great white hairless tail snaked out from under his robes. It whipped back and forth as King Malidar stalked towards us.

  He was a were-rat.

  His robes were no longer over-sized and flowing about him like a child wearing their parent's clothes. They fit his new were-rat form much better than they fit his human form. His shoulders were wide and imposing, taut with rodent muscle. His neck craned forwards over two powerful arms that hung by his sides. The ends of his claws almost touched the ground.

  A lump caught in my throat as he advanced toward us. His clawed feet dug into the soft trash floor around the Trash Throne. The savage anger melted away with every step as approached us.

  When he spoke his voice still carried the weight of authority but was deeper than before. "Please accept my sincerest apologies. The change can be brought on by many things, but when my fight-or-flight reflex is engaged, the beast always takes over. Now you see why they call me the Rat King."

  "This symbol terrifies you," Ellie said. She still held the symbol aloft. "Why?"

  The Rat King's eyes seemed to flick towards the symbol, then away again an instant later.

  He didn't want to look at it.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Mordio, then sighed. The Rat King stepped back and collapsed into the embrace of the Trash Throne. Like his robes, the dimensions of the throne now made sense. It was made to suit his were-rat form, not his human form.

  "It is an ancient symbol that has not been seen for an aeon," King Malidar said. "It is only recently that we have seen a resurgence. Our people are going missing, and that symbol is appearing all over Dregswyk. At first, we thought the spate of random deaths was another problem until we too saw the common thread that tied the disappearances and deaths together."

  I activated my Persuade ability before questioning the Rat King.

  "We know what this symbol represents," I said. "A set of jaws, but you need to tell us what it means."

  King Malidar sucked in a breath, which he then let out slowly. "Yes. Six jaws around a mouth that drains the life from anything that bleeds. The only things that are safe are the dead, risen or otherwise, the Florians with sap in their veins, and constructs. Golems and the like. If you have blood coursing through your veins, you're in danger. The ancients called them the Sanguine Scourge, and I fear that ancient evil has re-awoken."

  Mordio took a step forward. "We have been conducting our own investigations, and we believe that they now call themselves the Sanguinari."

  James made a face at that comment, but I couldn't tell why. Clearly, I was missing some of the necessary lore information.

  "How did the boy get mixed up in this business?" King Malidar asked.

  I shrugged. "We don't know. We just need to find him before something bad happens to him."

  "If he is wrapped up in this, you're better off forgetting about him. You won't find him alive." King Malidar said.

  "We can't accept that," I said.

  "Was the symbol scrawled in blood?" King Malidar asked.

  James and I shared a look. We both nodded.

  "The child chose this path, then." King Malidar snorted. "You would do well to return to the surface. There is no saving him if he had willingly submitted himself to joining their ranks. Once he has tasted the blood magic, he is forever tainted."

  Ellie considered this for a moment. "Blood magic? Of course! Sanguinari! Sanguine Scourge! That's why the victim I found in Eldin was drained of blood! These things feed on blood, don't they?"

  "It would appear that way," Mordio said. "Our theory is that they're taking some citizens of Dregswyk but killing others to sustain themselves. The name all but confirms it. Sanguinari means 'of the blood'."

  Ellie took a step forward. "What's to stop these things from coming up to the surface?"

  "My dear," King Malidar said, "It sounds like they're already there."

  Mordio interjected. "This is what I wanted to di
scuss with you, James. This threat, the Sanguinari, if they are allowed to continue their strength will grow. We need your help to stop them."

  "I can't stay," James said with a regretful look.

  "What?" Ellie and I asked almost at the same time.

  Then, I continued. "What the hell do you mean? We need you. We thought you were going to see this through with us!"

  James sighed. "Consider this your first solo mission now, kid. I have other tasks to attend to in Eldin. I was never going to stay with you until we saw this through, Lucas. This isn't a problem we can solve in a day, and I have other matters on the surface that require my attention. I'll come back when I can."

  "James, Eleanor, please stay here in the Trash Palace," the Rat King said. "You will be my guests, and I will give you anything I can to assist with your investigations."

  I looked at Ellie. I didn't want to volunteer us both without consulting her.

  "What do you think?" I asked.

  "We don't really have a choice, do we?" She swallowed nervously.

  "I guess not," I said quietly, then turned back to address the Rat King. "We'll do it."

  My quest updated.

  The Rotten Heart of Alluria

  Quest updated

  Completed objective: Seek an audience with King Malidar

  New objective: Investigate the Sanguinari

  You have gained an audience with King Malidar Rattus and have agreed to assist him with the investigation of the Sanguinari.

  I turned to James. "When are you coming back?"

  "When I can, kid. When I can. I'll let Langdon know you'll be missing in action for a while," James said as he walked back a couple of steps.

  "You're leaving now? Like, right now?" Ellie asked.

  James shrugged. "I'm not so good with farewells, so I'm just going to-" he didn't finish the sentence.

  He just pointed over his shoulder, pivoted on the spot, and walked away.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Dregswyk Days