The first thought that came across Alex’s mind when he stepped into the tent was that the River King was wide.
And Alex did mean wide. The man wasn’t fat, though he wasn’t exactly not fat. He wasn’t muscular either. He was wide. There was no other word that could have more aptly described the River King. He was simply wide in every manner and meaning that could possibly be attributed to the word, to the point where that calling him a man felt like a misnomer.
The River King sat about three heads taller than Alex stood. His head was bent forward, pressed up against the tarp of the tent above him. It was tilted at an angle that couldn’t have been comfortable — but, judging by a complete lack of anything separating his head and shoulders, he probably wasn’t about to get any neck pain.
Two bodybuilders standing side by side might have just barely managed to match the River King’s gargantuan wingspan. A suit of velvet, clearly of incredible quality due to the fact that it had managed to avoid splitting at the straining buttons running down the center of his chest, adorned his body. Around his neck was small tie that was far, far too tiny for anyone of the River King’s size. It looked like it belonged on a child’s Halloween costume.
Even the man’s head, if he could actually be called a man, was proportionally wide. His lips stretched from one side of his face to the other in a flat smile. If someone had somehow managed to miss every other aspect of his odd proportions would have made it clear that he was anything but human. Alex probably could have stuck his entire skull into the River King’s long mouth and still had room to move it around without coming into contact with anything.
Thick, stubby fingers like Russian sausages rested interlaced upon the River King’s stomach. Each of them was adorned with a number of glistening rings. Some were unadorned gold while others had been studded with gemstones the size of a baby’s fist.
Diamond-studded bangles strangled his wrists in a losing fight. The extravagance continued up to his neck, where a dozen chains of various size and make hung down to partially cover his amusingly tiny tie. There were several large adornments hanging from each his earlobes and running up their sides. Each of them was, of course, made of gold or embedded with precious stones.
The man also had a Rolex.
The River King’s lips parted, peeling from one ear to the other as if his very face was splitting open.
“Ah. You’ve arrived. Lovely,” the River King said in a brassy tone. It was surprisingly rich, like that of a trained opera singer rather than the monster trying to burst free from the stretched man it hid within. “I’ve heard so much about you both. What a pleasure to finally meet in person.”
Alex nearly stepped back before he caught himself.
What the hell happened to the guy I saw in the Local Leaderboard? And didn’t Alyssa say he was kind of like a not-so-cool uncle? The only way there’s anything uncle-adjacent about the River King is if he ate the damn uncle!
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Claire said from beside Alex, not so much as missing a beat as she saved them from an accidental faux pas. She didn’t seem surprised in the slightest at the River King’s appearance.
“It is,” Alex managed, snapping himself back into focus as he pushed down the warning tingle in the back of his mind. He didn’t need the System to tell him that the being before them was an Anomaly. “You look a bit… different from the last time we met, River King.”
The River King inclined his head, which was really an impressive feat when one didn’t have a neck with which to incline. “Ah, yes. During the Local Leaderboard, wasn’t it? I have improved my body in the time since then. I understand that my appearance may be a little unseemly, but we must all make sacrifices in the name of gain. Such is the law of the world. It always has been. The only change the apocalypse brought is what we sacrifice. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Not really,” Alex said before he could stop himself.
A chuckle shook the River King’s huge body. “An honest answer. There’s a rarity. What do you take this world for, then? What else has changed?”
“I’d say there are a few monsters roaming around now that might not have been there before,” Alex said. “And, you know, magic. That bit’s new as far as I know.”
“So it is,” the River King allowed. “A shift of circumstances, but not a change to the way the world works. There were always monsters. They just wore different skin.”
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Is this meant to be some kind of philosophical take about how there were a bunch of evil people that existed before the apocalypse? No shit, man. But they also definitely didn’t have wings and fly around blowing cities up.
“Right,” Alex said. “I like your tie.”
Claire shot him a look.
The River King didn’t seem bothered. He smiled, adjusting the small scrap of cloth with two fingers. “Thank you. I rather liked your outfit during the Local Leaderboard. It seems as if all semblance of fashion and propriety has been lost in these past few weeks.”
“I’ve still got it,” Alex said, pulling his cloak back to reveal the top of his tie and dress shirt. “Just trying to avoid drawing unneeded attention. Don’t want to drag your entire camp into a fight before we even make it into the Ancestry.”
“A wise decision,” the River King said. He shifted forward with a grunt, dragging his head along the top of the tent so he could get a better look at Alex and Claire. “But I digress. We wouldn’t want to take up too much time with pleasantries. I have been very interested in meeting you, Ash, but I have not yet been properly introduced to your companion. Would you do the honors?”
“This is Claire,” Alex said. “And you can just call me Alex.”
“A pleasure. Then you may both call me Maurice,” the River King said. “From one Nativeworlder to another. Where were you from, Alex? Before it all happened?”
“Texas,” Alex replied. “I was in college.”
Maurice’s lips twitched in amusement. “College? So young. I was in New York. Manhattan. We’re both American, then.”
“Not anymore,” Alex said. “And can we really be called that when neither of us managed to bring a gun to the apocalypse?”
Maurice let out a roll of booming laughter as Claire sent a confused look in Alex’s direction.
“Speak for yourself,” Maurice said. He reached behind himself, and his hand came back into view a moment later with a large crystal decanter. Glossy brown liquid sloshed within it, and a golden patch on the front of the bottle marked it as some kind of alcohol. “Do you drink?”
“Not right before fighting,” Alex said.
“I prefer my senses unaddled,” Claire said. “Getting drunk tends to lead to unintended consequences.”
“Of course,” Maurice said. He pressed his thumb against the top of the bottle. There was a sharp crack as the entire neck of the bottle snapped clean off. Alcohol spilled down his fingers as he raised the whole thing to his lips and downed it like a shot. Maurice dabbed at his mouth with a napkin that he procured from within his suit, then gave them a wide-toothed grin. “I hope you’ll forgive me for partaking on my own. The doctors told me I had to stop a few years ago, but I’ve found alcohol no longer has the effects on me now than it once did.”
“I assume there’s something you want us to get for you or somebody you want us to kill in the Ancestry?” Alex asked. “Because this feels like the part of the conversation where you give us a deal we can’t refuse.”
“You’ve watched too many movies,” Maurice said, his smile never leaving his face. “I simply wanted to meet the people I’ll be working with. I’ve always fancied myself a good judge of character, but you can never really do that properly without a real face-to-face.”
“So you don’t want to ask us to get you something from the Ancestry?” Alex asked. “There isn’t some secret quest that you inexplicably need our help for?”
“No,” Maurice said. “Alex, we aren’t friends. On the contrary. I’d imagine we’ll be enemies soon enough. If I had some secret information about an advantage, I wouldn’t be giving it to you. You will be of use to this coalition, and I’m certain you’ll find a way to get value from the Ancestry on your own. You don’t need my help.”
“What makes you so sure?” Alex asked.
“Because you’re a Nativeworlder that hasn’t gotten crushed yet,” Maurice replied. He studied a gemstone upon one of his rings. “Those of us that have made it this far and have real power to show for it… we’re threats. The Outworlders brought great riches to this world with their presence. They aren’t the only ones that can claim that power, though. And I think we both know that.”
“Not to be rude, but is there somewhere you’re taking this?” Alex asked. “Because you don’t strike me as the type of person to like waffling around. Time is money, right?”
Maurice’s smile stretched even farther still across his lips. “So it is. I did want to meet you. That wasn’t a lie. But there is something I’d like to request of you.”
“What is it?” Claire asked. “We can’t commit to anything.”
“I don’t need you to bring me anything,” Maurice said. “I already know what I’m at this Ancestry for, and I won’t need assistance with getting it. I want you to keep an eye on Alyssa.”
“Alyssa?” Alex asked, blinking. “Why?”
“Because she, like you, have enemies,” Maurice said. “And I need her alive. And I’ll pay you for it.”
“With what?” Alex asked.
“Information,” Maurice replied. “Information that you want.”
Alex and Claire exchanged a glance. Maurice wasn’t exactly asking for the moon and stars here. It wasn’t the most unreasonable of requests… although something told Alex that Maurice wasn’t the type to look after someone for no reason at all.
“We can’t promise to babysit anyone,” Claire said. “But I think we can say we’ll interfere if someone tries to do something while we’re present.”
“That’s all I can ask for,” Maurice said. “Thank you.”
“What about that information you mentioned, then?” Alex asked. “I trust we get that before we go into the dungeon?”
“It wouldn’t do you much good otherwise.” Maurice’s smile grew cold. “The families aren’t the only ones here. You need to watch your backs. I have it on very good word that Absolution is going to find a way into the Ancestry.”