In the Court of the Crimson King

Nearly a year had passed of dungeon crawls, and neither Tsubaki nor the expanded party could recall how many friends had died in the last several months. Although they had cared deeply for most of these fellows, it was an unspoken understanding that when they pushed open the LA sewer cap there was a good chance they weren't all coming back. The party had grown and on this particular day six people had arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. Maglio stood strong still, he had an incredible luck when it came to resurrections. Over the course of many expeditions he had become an impressive gunslinger, and had matured when he had learned it was his destiny to restore Gilead. He was stalked day and night by visions of the dark tower, and his sworn enemy Martin. A new Pyromancer had appeared a few months back, conveniently a day after the death of the previous one. His name was Ivan and he had an intelligence that was only matched by his ability to be entirely ridiculous. He had this neat trick of compacting two spells into one however, and he was a respected friend. A strange woman had joined the group shortly after our last tale, who can only be described as dragon like and slightly creepy. She was one of the old Draconian race of dragon lords, and although Willow seemed friendly enough no one could quite shake the chills her history gave them. The Draconian dragon lords were known for torture and excessive slavery, just because she left didn't mean her hands were clean. She didn't talk about her past much- at least with the party. Sometimes she could be seen sitting with her sword Pablito muttering to it. Seen next to this character was a Paladin oddly enough. His name was Uther, and he was a babe. Tall, muscular, and totally celibate Uther was a frigid and pious man. Those of bad morals had trouble even being around him, he had a very literal aura of Law. Shortly before leaving town, a Psionic had approached the dungeon crawlers and had asked to join. Her name was Mary and she was an incredible human being, legend has it that her constitution was 18+5. She was not tough in any traditional sense but her power brain thrust spell was as dangerous as her wit. Among these fine individuals Tsubaki stood out a bit, and not just because of the absurd eyebrows. He had changed somehow, there was a clear sense that this was not the person to mess with experienced by those who met him. He now carried a dagger, which had informed him it was named little Datura. People of this world may know of the little flower that when eaten drives many people to insanity, Tsubaki was to kindly speak a bit thick- and just knew the dagger had incredible power. As the six of them approached the heavy metal disk that had LA sewer district written on it in a foreign dialect, they could see two men standing a few feet from it. As they caught sight of the group, they moved forward and addressed Tsubaki.

"I am Don Juan, this is Emile, are you the one who carries little Datura?' they pondered and when Tsubaki confirmed this, they continued on "We wish to trade you a weapon of equal value" they informed the Dwarf. An exchange ensued over what sort of blade they offered, and it all became a bit confusing. Uther was saddened to see these two were clearly on some sort of drugs. After a few moments Tsubaki had agreed to the exchange, and these two who identified as men of power said they would return soon. As they departed, some spells were cast to learn of them. The gunslinger Maglio had a nifty conjure knowledge, which informed the party that these men conversed with plants. Somehow, their power came from this interaction. Slightly caught off guard by this encounter, the group entered the dungeon.

They saw a familiar room as they shambled down the ladder that stood in the small opening, the sunlight highlighting a small circle of muck on the ground. Just beyond this first door they would find Rupert the pelican, who was a fun bird. He mixed up all kinds off odd concoctions and could be counted on to totally lie about what they do. He was nice, but dangerous. Anyone who agreed to ski would find themselves propelled towards the nearest tree at 60 mph. Pharmaceutical mascots, am I right?! On every plane of existence they are chaotic and self willed creatures... Ivan really liked him though. As the pushed the door open to Rupert's lab, they were greeted by red. The walls were splattered with blood, and the corpse of the Pelican was in a corner. Ivan cried out, and a moment of horror was experienced by all. Rupert was a pain sometimes, but who would kill him? Unable to find any evidence of the attacker, the party moved forward with caution.

The hallway beyond Rupert's realm was unfamiliar and split in two directions almost immediately. "Pablito says we should go left" Willow said in a voice that seemed to indicate perhaps that wasn't all the blade had to share. It was best not to go against Pablito, he was chaotic and interested in his own advancement only- but he was a valuable ally in a pinch. It would not be quickly forgotten that just weeks ago they had found themselves surrounded by 50 bugbears and were making peace with their gods, as Martin laughed at them from a distance. Maglio had begun sinking into the woe of knowing he was the cause of the parties demise, when Pablito had stopped time! No one died that day, and Maglio had gotten one step closer to his destiny. Although we did not meet Martin in battle that day, as he predictably teleported away once again, we did find something. A letter to Maglio from his father sat next to a belt of bullets, an improbable and exciting find! As always his father encouraged him to remember Gilead, and the gunslinger sat with his memories for a time.

As the party turned left, and proceeded down the hallway a heavy sense of Chaos came over many of them. This was so unpleasant for Uther that he had to question their path. The Psionic Mary also felt uncomfortable, something was making her skin crawl. Tsubaki felt a tingle on the back of his neck, but this only brought happiness at the prospect of a battle. This was indeed what they found as the entered the only door at the end of the hallway. In front of them stood three robed men, the black cloth of their garb barely distinguishable in the dim room. They were lined up in the middle of the large cave like area, and the man in the middle spoke first "Pledge your lives to Ball and you may live." he stated plainly. The two that flanked him giggled, and one cackled "Ball! Ball! Ball!". The paladin drew his sword in the same instant, this was more than he could reasonably handle. These men needed to be cleansed from the earth. As the party moved forward to strike Tsubaki, Willow, and Uther took the lead. Ivan began concentrating, his hands glowing with flame and lips moving in incantation. As Maglio shot at the man in the middle, he pointed his finger at Tsubaki "Die." he commanded. For a brief instant Tsubaki froze, and a strange feeling explored his body with it's cold hands. He shook, and resisted the cold. Tsubaki had just survived the fearsome spell known as a finger of death! As his breath continued, the bullet hit the man and it was hard to say which thing caused his look of surprise. He reached for his side, as Tsubaki introduced a hammer to the side of his face. Uther struck at the man to the right, dealing a fair amount of damage as Willow dug Pablito into the falling man in the middle. The disciple of Ball to the left stuck out wildly, cursing them "You will never stop Martin!" he cried out. He made contact with flesh, and somehow did no damage whatsoever. Tsubaki who would be called the Bruiser after this battle, killed him in a fluid motion as Maglio fired at the other man. His shoulder exploded with a crimson arc of gore, and suddenly a fireball shot from Ivan's hands engulfed him. He was dead before he hit the ground. There was a discussion as the group panted from the fight, since when were the followers of Ball aligned with Martin? This was not welcomed information, they were incredibly lucky that the middle Priest did not have an opportunity to cast a second finger of death. If he had not been foolhardy by sending it at a Dwarf, they could very well be mourning a loss.

They looked around this area for a time, some still uncomfortable as if someone was watching them. In a chest a few cure items were found, along with a gorgeous dragon egg! These were split up, the egg going to Willow who was drawn to it for obvious reasons. as they passed to the other side of the room, they once again found only a single door and pushed forward. After several moments of walking down the silent corridor they turned a bend and came face to face with a small group of people. Immediately Uther didn't like these folk much, but didn't feel duty bound to act on it. A small woman who exuded power seemed to lead the group and addressed Ivan "Your presence is requested in the court of the Crimson King next month. We have noticed your skill with Pyromancy and would enjoy your company at our next ball." Although no one had met the Crimson king, they all had heard of him. A formidable and powerful man such as him did not request visitors, and Ivan understood that the only option was to agree. The warriors surrounding the small woman did not react to this exchange, but it was likely they would have drawn their weapons had he declined. The woman nodded her approval, and her group headed the way the party had come from. As the hallway continued the walls changed after another bend, and became a shiny white tile that most had never seen before. A flight of stairs stood ahead, and it was agreed that they would see where they went. As they ascended them, it became brighter and eventually took them above ground. The sun was shining, and what you would recognize as cars were zooming along a paved street. A collective gasp could be heard as the party took this in, brick buildings taller than any had ever seen stood closely together lining the road. There were signs everywhere that no one could read, and that Mary quickly pointed out were written in the same lettering as LA sewer district. Almost instinctively the group merged into the flow of foot traffic on the paved path that sat between the buildings and road, Willow marveling at the smoothness of it all. Draconian cities were some of the most advanced, but this was a whole new league of skill. As they passed an alleyway a man called out to them, and they turned in to see what he wanted. He was about ten feet into the alley, and as they approached him two other men jumped out from a doorway with guns in their hands "empty your pockets and no one gets hurt" they said with grim expressions. I can't speak to the caliber of criminal that attempts to rob a group that outnumber them, but I can attest that they were shortly very dead criminals. As they dealt their final blows to those foolish gents, another man ran down the alley towards them with his hands up in gesture that showed he was unarmed.

A photo of the Crimson King, from Stephen King's Dark Tower series

"Goodness... I tried to catch up... glad you are safe" he huffed out in gasps. As he caught his breath he introduced himself as Frank, steward of Dr.Strange. "If you have the time, he would appreciate it if you allowed me to lead you to him" Frank continued. "Sure why not" Tsubaki said "but if you try anything you'll be as dead as these idiots." he finished with extreme elegance. "He seemed very willing to help us just a moment ago, calm down!" Mary scoffed. And so the group followed Frank down one street after another in what he called New York city. He was incredibly polite, and spoke of an increasing crime rate in the city- going so far as to apologize for their awful experience. He explained that Dr. Xavier who ran a school for gifted children, had worked diligently to mend a shattered relationship between groups he labeled the mutants, and the government. He said that there were two factions of mutants however, and that the league of evil mutants was not content with equality- they felt they should rule. This had caused a whole slew of problems in the city, including an increased crime rate. It turns out that when you are worried about being killed by evil mutants, you will do whatever it takes to receive the money needed to move away from it. A twang of guilt filled the paladin Uther, and he regretted that those men had to die in such a sad situation. "Well, here we are" Frank had halted in front of an expansive mansion with a fountain gurgling merrily amid the vibrant and well manicured garden that preceded the house. As they approached, Tsubaki sensed that there were people hidden in the garden. As he finally caught sight of one, he called it out to the party "What do you make of this?! Not trying to trap us, eh?" he said as his hand fell to Datura's hilt. "Now now, I've just told you how dangerous this city is. Dr. Strange cannot stay focused on his work if he also has to worry about security!" Frank pleaded. At this moment the front door swung open, and an eccentric looking man stood in it's frame. "*Please, come in." he said, gesturing with one long fingered hand that appeared weighed down with rings.

Inside Mary and Dr. Strange became fast friends as they vibrated in tune across many fields of discussion, that no one else fully understood. He encouraged her to visit Dr. X and warned of the dangers an evil mutant encounter could spell out for the party. His bushy steel grey eyebrows furrowed as he spoke of Magneto, a brilliant mind wasted on forging Chaos. A shadow that perhaps was caused by the collar of his robe that stood stiffly parallel to his ears, crossed his face as he continued on. "At this rate it won't be long until they take over NYC" he sighed. "I fear the Crimson King is helping him..." as he trailed off Frank entered the room with refreshments. They sat in a comfortable and impressive library with a domed glass ceiling, on the most comfortable chairs they had ever had the pleasure of falling into. As sandwiches found grateful hands Mary and Dr.Strange continued to dominate the conversation. Eventually others chimed in with various questions, and found Dr. Strange to be consistently knowledgeable on the workings of the city. After a time, Tsubaki had relaxed and produced his dagger with questions about it's nature, and the men of power they had met. "Ah little Datura, an interesting thing to carry" he chuckled. "Well, if they intended to do anything other than give you their idea of a fair deal I daresay they would have already done it." he mused, taking a moment to sip his tea. "Well, unless anyone has further questions, I think it is best if you turn in here for the night" The hospitality was welcomed, and that night everyone slept in beds that seemed to be made of clouds. In the morning Frank and Dr. Strange escorted them across the city, back to the stairs that led to the Dungeon. They gave some odd directions on how to get out of the city, that didn't seem to touch the reality of what was actually just below these stairs but they thanked them all the same.

As they returned below ground, everything was as it had been before. They traveled back along the path they remembered, until they got to the room the priests of Ball had been slain in. There was now another door in this room, and they debated over entering this one or the one they knew to lead to the exit. Curiosity won out, and beyond this new door they found a red brick hallway about 20 feet long. At the end of it stood an impeccably dressed Gent who was still obviously a guard. A smile broke out on his face "Here to see the Crimson King already?" he sneered. The group turned around, and were met by the small woman and her guard. She nodded as she passed by, and they noted that a salamander had joined her. As it slithered past, the room quickly warmed up. These were creatures of flame. Ivan looked on potentially erect and visibly excited, as the guard addressed the woman. "Ah, fire witch. Good to have you back my Lady" he said never looking her at her face, as he bowed his way out of her path. She looked back behind her before she entered the ornate door to the court, her eyes twinkling with amusement. The party continued out of the dungeon, thinking that at least they knew where to find the Crimson King. Who was this fire witch that commanded so much respect though? Somehow the encounter left a hollow feeling in Maglio's stomach, and a look of concern passed between he and Uther.

The title of this story is the name of a King Crimson song, which many believe to have inspired the character in Stephen King's dark tower series. The song certainly inspired the character in my father's dungeon, and the structure of his power. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you'd like to know more about the character! The class Man of Power comes from the Carlos Castaneda book the Teachings of Don Juan, as does the character Don Juan. I think Dr. Strange and Dr. X are famous enough that you've probably enjoyed their many representations, however both were added to this dungeon before any of the movies came out and may have slightly different natures. My Dad is a big comic book guy, and gave Dr. Strange an incredible amount of power out of admiration I believe. Thanks for reading another Tsubaki adventure! Cheers Steemians!