Chapter 94: Getting Crabs at a Brothel

William Oh once got his head latched onto by a mind-controlling crab. After a week of mind-bending hallucinations…the hive-mind was under his control.

-          Jazon Salazar

Strangely enough, The Last Chance Inn was much harder to sneak into than the smuggler’s dock, for a variety of reasons.

The entire boat was well lit, there were tons of carousing witnesses, and nearly as many high-level bouncers with strong PVP skills patrolling every floor of the ship, looking for people not following the program.

After surveying it thoroughly, they did manage to find one corner of the vessel, near the waterline, that was shaded and protected from view. It wasn’t an entrance, but that didn’t matter much to Loth.

“I bet you never thought those riding chaps would come in handy,” Loth said from his shoulders.

“Why is it that every time we go out, you end up riding me?” Will asked as he crept along the waves. The water was bowing under his feet, nearly dropping them both into the ocean.

“Because you can walk on water, and I’m cold-blooded. If I fall into that water, I will pass out.” Loth said.

“Really?”

“In a few hours, anyway,” Loth said, her tail waggling against his back.

Will stopped and looked up at her. “You don’t feel cold-blooded to me.”

“Are you accusing me of pretending to succumb to hypothermia on the Second Floor as some kind of test!?” Loth whispered.

“No, but I’m definitely thinking it now.”

“Too late, you’ve already passed the test.” Loth said.

Will rolled his eyes and returned to his business, the two of them falling silent as they approached the unguarded corner of the Last Chance Inn.

Loth extended a black talon, lazily drawing a circle on the ship’s wooden beams as a stream of insects crawled from her sleeve and deposited themselves along the circle she traced.

The insects began chewing their way through the wood with startling speed. In a matter of seconds, the thick wooden side of the ship had a perfect hole drilled into the side.

Loth clambered off him and through the hole, followed shortly by Will.

One of the taboos of The Flotilla was entering a vessel without asking permission. Entering someone else’s ship without hailing them was considered a hostile act and would result in being attacked on sight.

It was also a great way to lose the goodwill he’d acquired in his brawl the previous night, so neither of them was particularly interested in getting caught.

In and out, Will thought to himself, touching his mask to confirm its presence, his gaze scanning the pitch-black room they’d found themselves in, the glimmers of light from between the floorboards of the rooms above the only source of light.

All he could make out with his superhuman vision was ripples and orbs on the floor, and he smelled…less rotting seaweed than he would’ve expected.

“Let me.” Loth whispered, reaching into a pocket and scattering some glowbugs.

Her experiments with controlling insects with Miasma in them had led to several improvements in her basic lineup of insects.

Glowbugs were the best example, as she had bred a variety that kept their luminescence into maturity, allowing them to fly, and their brightness had been improved from a dying candle to a brilliant lamplight.

The glowbugs woke up from their slumber midair and flew up to the ceiling, where they became stationary lighting.

Will’s brows furrowed as he took in the sight before them. The entire room was filled with meldweed placed on drying racks that increased the surface area as much as physically possible, but that didn’t feel right.

The drying racks and floor were covered in meldweed and more was dumped haphazardly up against the drying racks where they couldn’t find any space to put any more. As if someone had had a methodical plan, and begun it before it was taken over by thoughtless, disinterested laborers.

Or animals.

Will got a strange feeling nagging at him as he scanned the room.

The air isn’t dry enough to actually dry anything, so why do they have drying racks?

Will glanced up and saw where several vents had been nailed shut, implying that the owners didn’t want the seaweed to dry out. The room had been for drying meldweed, but now it was for something else.

But it’s not rotting, Will thought, inhaling. If anything, Will faintly smelled the musky smell of animal dung.

“It’s a nursery,” Loth whispered, drawing Will’s attention to her.

She had knelt down and carefully peeled aside a bit of meldweed, revealing thousands of pinkie-sized eggs, as well as pale little crabs about half the size of Will’s palm, who scuttled deeper into the mat of meldweed, seeking to avoid the light.

“Are they…eating the crabs?” Will mused.

Loth’s claws pierced the mat of green seaweed and came back up with a larger specimen, about the size of Will’s hand.

“Shh…” Loth whispered to the crab struggling in her grasp, and Will could feel Charge moving through Loth’s body. As his Acuity and Focus became higher, it became easier to feel if someone was using an Ability.

“You can control crabs?” Will asked as the crab relaxed in her hand before she began studying it.

“They’re crustaceans, which is close enough to insects for The Tower,” Loth murmured, turning the tamed crab over in her hand and studying its belly.

The crab’s belly opened, revealing a serrated beak-like mouth and dozens of pink tendrils attached to a mucus-covered pink wrinkly nodule.

“…Is that normal?” Will asked.

Loth gave him a ‘look’.

“Hey. I’ve never seen a crab before this Floor.” Will said, raising his hands defensively.

“This is its mouth,” She said, pointing at a little set of mandibles near the creature’s eyes at the front. I don’t know what this is,” She said, pointing at the belly-mouth. “But I don’t think they’re raising them for food.”

“I’d like to-“ Loth cut off as the door creaked open.

The two of them silently ducked behind a drying rack, making themselves as small as possible

“This…isn’t Madeline’s…room is it?” a voice asked, his words slurred from drugs.

“Sure it is, she’s right in there, can’t you see her?”

Will peeked around the corner and spotted a patron of the brothel kneeling in front of a particularly big clump of meldweed. The man’s eyes were unfocused, as he chewed meldweed.

“I…think so?” he said before frowning as the heap of meldweed began to shift, revealing the legs of a crab about twice the size of the one in Loth’s hand.

“Look closer,” The bouncer said, grabbing the man by the back of the neck and shoving his head towards the heap of seaweed.

The pale crab swiftly clambered up onto the man’s head and settled down onto it like a man might settle into a comfy chair, wiggling its butt to find the perfect spot.

A wet pop carried through the still air to Will’s ear, making his stomach turn.

“Oh. Oh!” the patron said, pulling his head back up, still bearing the crab on the crown of his head, a trickle of blood flowing down the side of his head. He looked around the room with the wonder of a newborn.

“Welcome to the world, brother,” the bouncer said, clasping the man’s hand and bringing him back up to his feet.

Will couldn’t help but notice the bouncer’s ostentatious hat.

“Let’s get you covered up.” The bouncer said, producing a hat from a rack near the door, placing it over the crab attached to the man’s skull.

“…Why?” the man asked with the tone of a child.

“Think about it a moment.”

“Oh…oh,” Will witnessed the wide-eyed curiosity fade from the man’s face as he took the hat and clamped it down over the passenger atop his head, wiping the blood away from his temple.

“Let’s get you to see Mother.”

“..okay.”

The two of them left the room, leaving Will and Loth alone with thousands of parasitic crabs that could latch onto a man’s skull and control his body.

Will’s scalp itched with phantom pain.

Muse in the window.

Nail through foot.

Sick soup.

Choking on stolen peanut butter.

Instinctively, Will ran through his memory key, causing his thoughts and feelings to rapidly shift as he ran a hand over his scalp.

Nothing.

A shiver went down his spine.

They’d found the conspiracy they’d been looking for. Not fishmen, exactly, but close.

“I think we should-“ Will glanced down at Loth, who was inspecting the crab in her hand with a contemplative frown.

In an instant, he saw the plan bubbling away under the surface.

“No.” Will said.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Loth said innocently, the headcrab crawling across her palm.

Two day later, Will was chewing his own supply of dried seaweed, heart hammering in his chest. It wasn’t meldweed, but it looked and smelled like it. Loth had put some chemical in his eyes that made them dilate, making everything too bright and irritating, and given him something to drink that made him sweat profusely.

His clothes were sticky and unwashed.

Evey bit of him looked the part of a meldweed addict.

He was putting every fiber of his being into acting like the glaze-eyed addicts around him, slumping against a pillar in the brothel and just going with the flow, despite his nerves.

He didn’t feel like going so far as partaking in the place’s…more exotic entertainment to sell the illusion of William Oh being a carousing meldweed addict, so instead he hit the gambling tables, where it was primarily games of chance, dice and cards against other Climbers, wagering various Relics in lieu of currency, which held little value on the sixth Floor.

Not being drug-addled, Will was able to gamble or cheat fairly well against the others, but that wasn’t the purpose of the assignment. After he had built up a decent pot, Will began systematically losing it to demonstrate his rapidly dwindling grasp on his senses.

Hats were in vogue, recently, and the number of un-hatted people in and around the Last Chance Inn were dwindling.

Will meanwhile, had cut his hair close to the scalp in an attempt to make it stand out as particularly juicy and easy to access.

It didn’t take long for the offer to come.

“William Oh, in the flesh.” The madame said, sitting beside him, pressing her hip against his own.

“Who is…” Will slurred his words, pausing as if he were trying to remember who he was. “Right. That’s me.”

Loth’s hypothesis was that Meldweed’s effects eased initial rejection, so they picked their victims from those who were having trouble remembering who or what they were.

“I’m sad that none of my girls have had the opportunity to entertain the great William Oh. Is there no one here to your taste?” she asked, pressing her chest up against him, tipping her crab-concealing hat uncomfortably close to his face.

Heart hammering in his chest, Will didn’t have to fake his nervous reply.

“Well…I’ve never…you know.”

“Oh, my, I didn’t think…” She lowered her voice. “Tell you what. We have hostess named Madeline who is experienced with guiding young men. She is the embodiment of patience, kindness and discretion. A saintess who would be more than happy to take the time to teach. You. Everything.”

She whispered the last few words directly into Will’s ear, the crab under her hat inches away, causing him to shudder in disgust.

Apparently she didn’t read it that way, because she pulled away, a wide smile on her face. “Now how does that sound?”

I mean, any other time…

“I guess…I guess it sounds pretty good,” Will said, his hair standing on end, heart hammering in his chest before reaching into his pockets. “How much…”

“Excellent.” She said with a smile, laying a hand gently on his arm. “Don’t concern yourself with payment just yet. A young up-and comer like yourself is more than good for it. Just enjoy. Milo will show you the way.”

She pointed at the same oversized bouncer that he’d witnessed shoving a man’s head into a pile of seaweed two days ago.

I guess this is happening, Will thought, trying and failing to hide the adrenaline causing his hands to tremble.

Muse in the window.

Nail through foot.

Sick soup.

Choking on stolen peanut butter.

“Right this way, sir,” Milo said, his oversized hat nearly brushing against the establishment’s ceiling.

Milo led him down into the bowels of the pleasure ship, past several doors with intriguing noises, down a staircase, and in front of a single door in the center of the hall.

It opened to reveal the nursery, and Will stumbled in, hamming up his inebriation.

If this doesn’t work, I’m haunting you, Loth. Will thought.

““This…isn’t Madeline’s…room is it?” he asked,

“Sure it is, she’s right in there, can’t you see her?” Milo said, gently ushering him into the room and pointing at the large pile of seaweed by the entrance.

“I…think so?” Will said as he was guided to his knees beside the pile of seaweed. It began to shift as whatever was living under there began to stir.

“Look closer,” The bouncer said, grabbing Will by the back of the neck and shoving his head towards the heap of seaweed.

In a flash of white, a crab that had hopefully been tamed by Loth clambered up onto Will’s head, sending shivers across his entire body and causing every fiber of his being to want to immediately start swatting at it.

A wet pop carried through the still air as it bit down on a little blood-filled pod it had carried up to his scalp, unseen by its brethren.

Or maybe it’s making you think that, Will thought, shuddering involuntarily as a bit of blood trickled down the side of his head.

Muse in the window.

Nail through foot.

Sick soup.

Choking on stolen peanut butter.

“Oh. Oh!” Will said, pulling his head back up, studying the room with faux wonder.

“Welcome to the world, brother,” the bouncer said, clasping Will’s hand and bringing him back up to his feet.

“Let’s get you covered up.” Milo said, producing a hat from a rack near the door, placing it over the crab resting on Will’s head.

Not the one I would’ve picked, Will thought.

“…Why?” Will asked, sticking to the script.

“Think about it a moment.”

“Oh…oh,” Will unslurred his words and affected more control over his body, simulating the crab fully integrating with his brain.

“Let’s get you to see Mother.” Milo said, clapping Will on the shoulder.

“…okay.”

So far, so good, Will thought, following Milo deeper into the ship. Now I just need to get this goddamned crab off my head as soon as physically possible.

He could feel it up there…existing. Menacingly.

Will followed Milo through the halls until he came to a door, knocking politely.

“New arrival, Mother.” Milo called at the door.

“Send them in.” a voice called from the other side.

Will entered what appeared to be an office with an aged woman sitting behind the desk and a bushel of meldweed in the corner.

Will frowned.

She wasn’t wearing a hat.

“Come in, come in,” She said, her whole body exuding motherly love as she motioned for him to approach, Milo closing the door behind him.

“Come in, youngling, have a seat.” She said, indicating the seat in front of her desk. “Everything must be so new to you. first bonding. What an exciting time in our lives.”

“Yes. I’m flooded with questions.” Will said, a bit motion out of the corner of his eye attracting his attention.

In the bushel of meldweed was a massive crab, larger than a man, squatting down over the leaves, depositing strings of eggs held together by sticky mucus.

“How embarrassing. Please, don’t stare at me too much.” The woman in front of him said, drawing Will’s attention back to her. She was blushing a bit.

Are they…the same person now? Will thought.

“So, youngling, do you have any questions about your new life and purpose?” she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

“What is my purpose?” Will asked.

“Whatever you want to do. Most stay here and help out their mother, but many have gone on their own adventures. Captain Enora Moss is a great example of the adventurous type who really gets out there and makes a name for himself. Billy Tanton is a good example of the homebody type. He opened his own carpentry business of the Fifth Floor, you know? Quite successful.”

She seems genuinely happy for her children’s successes, like a mother would be.

“Am I William Oh, or…”

“Oh, yes, You’re William Oh. You’ll have his intelligence, memories, thoughts and feelings, which means you’ve probably got his adventurous streak. Over time, the separation between you and your host will dwindle, and maybe one day you’ll be like me! One soul in two bodies.”

“I see.” Will said, thinking.

“I love to help guide younglings through their first few days.” She said, grinning eagerly.  “Any more questions?”

“Just one:” Will said, taking the crab and hat off his head and placing them on his lap. “How much are you willing to pay to keep this a secret?”