A Game of Chi Book III: A Sword of Dust

Chapter 7: Cragger I

CRAGGER

Cragger was walking through the streets of the Web, his new home as of yesterday. With his royal golden armour gone and a patch over his left eye, Cragger was enjoying his new life as a commoner in the Web. Having sold his armour for money, Cragger had managed to buy food and a new cloak in the Web to survive the past day, and despite being in an unfamiliar place, he felt at ease. There's no Crooler here, he thought. No Crokenburg. No Razcal. Nothing to remind me of what happened back home. Here, no one even knows me. I'm not Queen Crooler's brother, or King Crominus' son, or the traitor prince, or anything. I'm just a normal old crocodile living his life in the Web. And that's great. Cragger made his way to an inn which was further inside the city and paid for a room with a portion of his money. Nodding at the spider innkeeper, he walked up the sandstone stairs and into his tiny room, gawking in wonder. The space was a fraction of the royal room he once had, with a narrow bed, a dirty window and one wooden and cracked cabinet. A small, wooden table stood in the corner of the room, but there was no chair. This'll have to be my home for a while, he thought, undoing his cloak and tossing it on the bed. Until I find a job, I'll just have to stay here. Stretching and yawning, Cragger realized how tired and sore he was. He had just fought Crokenburg and his forces in the Crocfort two days ago, and then he had plummeted into the Diamond Sea in an attempt to kill himself. I barely slept last night, Cragger thought. I should get some rest now, even though it's midday. Locking his door and taking off his eyepatch, Cragger lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep.

Instead, he was haunted by memories. He saw himself coldly standing over the headless corpses of Lagravis, Cruz and Leonidas, their blood seeping into the ground. He saw himself savagely beating Crokenburg until his metal jaw came undone. He saw himself roaring at Crooler, who was innocent of the crime he had accused her of. You're a failure, he heard. You couldn't protect your friend, you couldn't protect your father, and you couldn't even protect your sister. You're a coward too; that's why you're content with this new life here instead of trying to go home. You're weak. You're useless. You're nothing. Cragger sat bolt upright, shivering despite not being cold. Okay, he thought. Maybe sleep isn't the best thing for me right now. A walk should clear my mind. Putting his cloak and eyepatch back on, Cragger left the inn and decided to stroll on the Web's western edge, where a long pier had been built along the Diamond Sea's coast. Trade between the Blacklands and the Web was always booming, so a massive harbour to accommodate dozens of ships had been built. As Cragger left, he saw a dark brown spider with extra legs jutting out of its back eyeing him intently. Clenching his jaw, Cragger kept moving and paid him no heed.

The buildings in the Web were all nearly identical in shape and design; they were domes with windows cut inside them. They stretched as far as the eye could see, and were built in concentric intervals like a spiderweb. Far in the distance, a large green and gold dome stood tall, and Cragger had learned that it was the domain of Queen Spinlyn, an aristocrat who held power in the Web. I'd heard that she was hideously beautiful, Cragger mused, or beautifully hideous. I wonder what that means. As Cragger continued walking through the city, his thoughts drifted back across the sea. I wonder what Crooler's doing right now, he wondered. With me gone, has her influence or her mentality changed? Her Queensguard is gone, so who's protecting her? He thought of his sister's entourage; of the blunt and disrespectful Rinona; the sly and murderous Razcal, the very same who killed his father; of the dim-witted Rukus; of Reegull, whose calm demeanour and odd personality would do little to protect her. Do I even want Crooler to be protected? he asked himself. She didn't kill Father, but she did order Lagravis' execution, and she controlled me into following her orders and doing terrible things. But do I want her dead? Shaking his head, Cragger absent-mindedly rubbed his eyepatch and kept walking, searching for a tavern to drown his thoughts. Unfortunately, there were none nearby. Damn it, he thought. I'm really hungry. Sighing, he was about to turn around when something hit him in the back of the head.