‘Oh yeah, I tell all kinds of stories about him. it’s kinda my job. Will hired me outside the Tower about a year ago to be his hype man.’ ‘Wow, that’s a sweet gig. Does he tell you what to say, or do you have a script, or a notebook, or…’‘Nah, all of ‘em come to me right off the top of my head. Here’s one for you: A powerful syndicate of criminals ambushed William Oh. They were caught completely off guard.’‘Wow, cool. Tell me more.’Jason Salazar to Melroy Erikson “You heard about the caravan?” Melroy asked, leaning up against the tables where dice were clattering back and forth as the local unsavory element amused themselves in Boss Sammohan’s gambling hall. Gambling was one of the few ways people could amuse themselves in Bakton Keep, what with how almost every other profitable pastime was forbidden.But people are cunning and resourceful, especially those who have reached the 9th Floor.Everybody was on their best behavior inside the walls of Bakton Keep, but in the Grinding area of the forest beyond, where all the monsters of the Floor congregated…Accidents happened.Due to the nature of the Floor, extortion and thievery was always a dicey prospect, but if the person died? That severed the thread of Debt, and all their possessions were free game.In many ways, the Debt system encouraged brutality.“Yeah, I heard about the caravan: bunch of kids, under the watchful eye of William Oh,” Sammohan said, exchanging ten-pieces that would buy entire farms in the Ring.Why didn’t more people retire while they were ahead? Melroy’s personal theory was that the Climbers realized on some fundamental level that those outside The Tower had no control. They were sheep in a pen, waiting for the slaughter. To retire to that ignorant bliss was anathema to people like them.Sammohan lost (...)