Chapter 19 of 35 · Book 4, The Gate of the Feral Gods

Chapter 19 — Orren

Book: The Gate of the Feral Gods · Previous: Chapter 18 — One · Next: Chapter 20 — Gwendolyn Duet · Floor: Floor 5 — The Bubbles · Series: the series

Opening

It only took the repair subs about thirty seconds to mend the damage.

Summary

Repair subs mend the trailer in thirty seconds, and the teleport lands Carl and Donut in a small office in the Desperado Club. Orren, Syndicate Liaison: a tall hooded figure with dark purple hands and a British professor's voice, an independent fact-finder retained by the Syndicate — 'Not quite a sheriff. Not quite an attorney.' — called in when the kua-tin's report and the AI's contradict each other. Fifteen admins have died to crawlers this season already, a disaster; Lucia Mar has killed two and signed a confession both times. 'every single admin murder from the first crawl until this very moment all have one thing in common' Orren's reconstruction: the toy's charge enhanced by sitting on Carl's sapper's bench, the disco ball's residue eating the tamper-proof Zentix panel, Loita's rebreather moisture running it along the edges, Carl engineering the moment she got up — 'one of the most brilliant assassinations I have ever seen a crawler execute. And I applaud you for it.' Donut: Carl doesn't do 'secret Asian man style murders'; his plans always go off the rails. A blank confession, then a full one; then an offer: name the outside source — not Agatha or her helpers, not Odette — and get a Legendary box that guarantees survival to the ninth floor. Carl's source is the Cookbook, which would vanish if named, and the true method was nothing like Orren's: a fingernail cut three-quarters off and pushed under the panel's tab as a shim, practised on the toilet with the first doll's salvaged back plate; the disco dust was only to make them leave the toy in the green room. 'I wish I had thought of this […] but I wouldn't have wasted the opportunity on some low-level bitch like Loita.' 'And who would you have used it on, then?' No answer.

No consensus, so the matter closes; Borant is punished for the floor with a ban on third-party teleports, and Odette has already appealed. 'That was lucky. I admire your grit.' The kua-tin intervened because certain crawlers are too valuable to throw away off screen; Orren's own recommendation to remove Carl was overruled in council, and 'if the rumors are correct and we do take over after the next floor,' his people will listen. Five days have passed. As Orren looks up his hood slips: a bowl of liquid where a face should be, and in it a Valtay worm. In the personal space Mordecai was gone the same five days under a liaison hold; Katia, level 41 and back on the top ten above Carl, flew the house to the land quadrant with Louis's help (something had to be done to the house that Louis did to his van), has been killing scorpion men and arguing with Gwen, and sends the boys back as pilots. Zev is their temporary PR agent again. Chris and Maggie are still entombed under Langley's watch. Carl shows Mordecai Loita's rebreather, looted into his waistband. 'Wait until you hear what Carl said to my sponsor!'

Characters

• Carl — The fingernail; refuses the Legendary box; 'the luckiest motherfucker in the dungeon right now'; 'I will break you all.'
• Princess Donut — 'Secret Asian man'; Brad and the Bahamas; a Perry Mason episode.
• Orren — A Syndicate liaison with a Valtay worm for a face; applauds, and would remove Carl.
• Loita — Reconstructed; her rebreather in Carl's boxers.
• Lucia Mar — Two admins killed, two confessions signed, still crawling.
• Agatha — Ruled out by the Syndicate as a source, 'or any of her helpers'; 'Them critters already know I'm here.'
• Odette — Cleared as a source; Carl's next appearance on her show cancelled; an appeal filed.
• Katia Grim — Level 41, on the list above Carl; five days of scorpion men.
• Mordecai — Five days gone; 'Next thing you know, the lawyers will be here.'
• Zev — Temporary PR agent again.
• Louis and Firas — Pilots now; the house fixed the Tiddy Twister way.
• Langley — Watching the tomb for Chris and Maggie.
• Chris — Still entombed.

Locations

• The Desperado Club — An office with a Turkish rug and a liaison behind the desk.
• The Royal Palace of Princess Donut — Reached from a pub on the land quadrant.

Motifs

• The count — Investigated, applauded, unproven; fifteen admins dead this season.
• The Syndicate — Liaisons, councils, a confession form; the Valtay inside the Syndicate's investigator.
• The Valtay Corporation — A worm in Orren's face; 'we do take over after the next floor'
• The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook — The source they want named; 'If I mentioned it, it would disappear.'
• Borant — 'Mudskippers'; punished with a teleport ban; chose the crawlers over their admin.
• 'You're not going to break me' — 'I will break you all,' unspoken.
• The leaderboard — Katia back on the list above Carl; Carl and Donut about to slip off.
• The show — No third-party teleports for the rest of the floor.