Chapter 108: Another Candle Burning Down

Chapter 108: Another Candle Burning Down

As the group shifted to accommodate DicingDevil and Sharak, Crucis found himself standing next to Deep Afterglow. While Fahiz carefully placed DicingDevil's text as a prompt for Endymion, Crucis glanced over a piece of writing that Afterglow was busily working on.

An extract from THE ENGLISH TRAGEDY

_by WILLIAM KIDD_

_ed. by L. FINCH_

The matter: After foiling Elyssa's plot to poison the King, Henry places her in the King's dinner as a substitute for the poisoned meat. The King, not knowing about this, is still worried about rumours of his beloved Elyssa's many affairs, especially given her aloof, indecisive behaviour towards him. In response, Henry gives a panegyric about the King and Elyssa, even though he has killed Elyssa and now plots to murder the King.

KING EDWARD. ...But I fear for Elyssa's affections.

HENRY. She mingles only among your court, how then

Should she dissent from the lord of the court?

Fear not Elyssa's spite! Even in the mighty arch

That gates this palace, are not the magnificent stones

Unsturdy as slipping pebbles stacked, and cannot fly,

All held high only by the keystone? So too Elyssa!

Her vaulting springer shall bow before its King,

Her stone heart wither to desire, and thus this weak

Sparrow that seeks to fly would embrace the hawk

Which upholds her beloved court. So forebear.

She shall be your prey in good time.

ED. You speak true, and so I will repose. It is the only matter that ached my heart.

EDWARD exits.

HENRY. A prey devoutly wished!—

And who could deny the wish of a King?

Not fate, not destiny — not the Heavens!

Surely he will voluptuously consume of her,

And she will do her part, be 'ate.'

Their stars have crossed, a perfect constellation!

Ah, the rotting court has a grisly order yet,

Just as a taxidermist can raise a lion-skin

To stand once more as King of the Afric plains.

After carefully starting up Endymion, Fahiz walked back towards Ibis and turned to the group. "So, it looks like Ibis just wrote up some information about DeathGang. I'd like you to -"

He was interrupted by the sound of hoarse screaming from outside the building.

"Oh dear, looks like it's another aggrieved visitor from the settlement," Sharak said.

"There was one last evening as well," Fahiz moaned. "And the one before. Do they have some sort of schedule? Ah well, most of the settlement is on good terms with us, so hopefully the protestors will run out soon enough."

"Can you take care of him?"

"Ugh. Sure. The fool would have me fight, when it's much more engaging to stay in here and discuss literature. Well, let's make it brief."

He rushed towards the doorway, and the party followed to watch.

An angry bald man stood outside the building, with heavily tanned skin and a wiry frame. He carried a pitchfork. Crucis noticed that his body seemed covered in faint bruises, possibly resulting from overwork.

"Foul necromancers, leave us be!" he cried.

Before he could enter the building, Fahiz stopped him with a fierce [Dragon's Breath], a Pyromancy move which emitted a geyser-like stream of fire towards the protestor. As he careened backwards from the attack, Fahiz followed up with [Carousel], summoning a circle of spiralling fire around the protestor.

As the protestor backstepped hastily away from the first attack, he collided with the ring of fire around him. Crucis saw that the protestor was now inflicted with the [Burn] status effect, and parts of his skin had become ashen black.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Q: Why does their god ask them to kill people?

A: He is made of torn flesh. So he asks them to kill and eat people, to replenish himself with the bitten flesh. I have seen it! It was a terrifying sight, Darys was eating our soldiers and I deserted out of fright.

Q: What is the DeathGang of Anarchy Battlegrounds?

A: DeathGang is a Guild of Assassins that inhabits the space near Kruxol, an area in the eastern edge of the map. The main business of the guild is the protection of the mining operation known as "Demon's Gate". The mine is run by Darys, a corrupt and sadistic mine owner. The mine is situated in a maze of underground tunnels, that are prone to frequent cave-ins, where workers and their families are forced to live if they decide to take the mining job. Cave-ins are a frequent occurrence in the mine, and the victims are always the same: the desperate and innocent workers. DeathGang also kills people who enter the area without authorization, or who refuse to join the guild. The mine owner pays the organization well for keeping order in the mine, and the mine is then run more efficiently.

Q: Who is the last known leader of the death cult?

A: It was once a man named Awdimir, but he was ousted by the current leader, DARYS.

Q: What does DeathGang do to dead people?

A: They perform a ritual called the Corpse Decoration, where they visit the graves of the dead, and dance over the corpses. It provides good entertainment, and a splendid display that enlivens this earth's prison. But it is very sinister.

Q: How many innocents has the death cult killed?

A: Several hundred.

Q: How many people has the death cult killed?

A: Several thousand.

Q: How can I become a member?

A: You must prove your loyalty to the DeathGang by killing an innocent man or woman. If it is monstrous, then they will let you in.

Q: Why is DeathGang celebrating?

A: They have won the war. But to celebrate, they will need to come to Kruxol. So there are plans to attack them as they approach, once it is late. The celebration is important symbolically, but the other side will try to interfere. If there is enough interference, it will embolden firmer resistance.

Q: What does the future hold for DeathGang?

A: Winning the war has increased their influence over the Kruxol area significantly, and if they invade it then they might be able to capture that town. Eventually, they will try to expand to Kaxil and other nearby territories.

"'Overmaster'?" DicingDevil laughed. "Fancy. He'd love that title."

"The recruitment policy would be sound, too," Akshel said. "Well, if they manage to get Guild sign-ups working, then we're going to have to round up some innocents for our new members to trial on."

"How would you decide on how monstrous it is?" Crucis asked. "A panel each giving it marks out of 10?"

"Why do you ask? Planning to join?"

"I might, but I'm willing to try my hand at the trial regardless."

"But where will you guys find an innocent man or woman? It seems to be such a task as would exhaust Diogenes' lamp," Sharak quipped.

"If Herod could do it, we probably could as well," Crucis shrugged. "It's not as if Bethlehem is so hallowed that it alone could procure Holy Innocents to martyr - and even if it were, our swords should not sleep in our hands till we have built another Bethlehem in this green and pleasant land."

"So, how accurate is this description?" Fahiz asked. "I'm assuming that some of it is spurious."

"Well, it does get most basics right," DicingDevil said. "It's actually quite interesting. Our leader is named Darys, and we are East of Kruxol. I think I've heard some folks throw the 'Kruxo-Nazi' epithet around, though typically it's just drunkards - they used to call the Hashin that, but now they recycled it for us. We did start in 'Virtual Anarchy' - not 'battlegrounds,' but small difference - as a group which were contracted to suppress rebellions, and Darys split away. Virtual Anarchy was a bit of a city-building game, where players teamed up to form cities, mines, etc., but could also rebel. However, we never had a previous leader named Awdimir -"

"Isn't that the Hashin vice-leader?" Akshel said quickly. "He's said to be popular enough that he's almost like an unofficial leader to many."

"Actually, yes, I think I've heard of that. But you'd know better than me, you keep tabs on the other Guilds well."

"Thank you."

"I guess it picked up on the Hashin vice-leader? Maybe because he's seen as a de facto leader, in competition with the real one? Anyway, some of the details are a bit off, like Darys worshipping the Midgard Serpent or Dravaistaya, or the Corpse Decoration. We also don't recruit in that way. Still, those make for good reading. But the last bit is fascinating, maybe it picked up on some players planning an attack on us? I'll tell Darys to keep an eye out."

"The part about Dravaistaya is an old conceit here," Fahiz said. "When someone is associated with many killings, or is a tyrant, then it's conventional to say that they are a 'disciple of Dravaistaya,' even if they don't. I guess it has become accustomed to that kind of phrase. Jormungandr is associated with people seen as stern, benevolent rulers, like the Kings Alkada or Tabila. So that seems to be what it means."

"That would make sense. In Anarchy, we were known as - aggressive, I guess, but somewhat benevolent. Though that became more controversial, and eventually we were one of the 'bad guys.' Kind of like saying that they're devil-worshippers, for us?"

"Similar, but a bit less strong."

"This piece is mostly good news," Crucis said. "I'm not sure that the children, etc., were killed in a Church, but it shows the mood. You can tell that the people in town are scared of DeathGang now, and some are giving up. That's what many of these rumours are pointing to. The more that DeathGang seem like demons, the more that people will shrink away and hope for an angel to save them."

"I also find its wild rumours quite flattering," DicingDevil said.

"Certainly."

While Crucis found the automaton's description of DeathGang to often be insightful, it also suggested that DeathGang were likely to stagnate over time due to their slow expansion. Their members mostly treated the territory as an alternative safe zone to the town, and would be resistant to the ambitious, violent expansion that would be necessary to keep growing quickly. Left to themselves, they would probably be brushed aside once Guilds doubled back to reach the East.

The Hashin's situation also seemed conflicted, especially given what he had just heard of Awdimir. Conflict between their members might make them vulnerable, but it also meant that their current structure was fragile. This gave him more confidence in interacting with them.