Dreamer's Throne

Laying in the splinters of his wheelchair, Garrett was having trouble wrapping his head around what had just happened. Though he knew this world was one where might ultimately ruled, he still hadn’t made the adjustment from Earth, where even the most aggressive criminal would have been cautious about using brute force in such a crowded space. With a muffled grunt of pain, he pulled a sharp chunk of wood out of his skin, trying to staunch the blood that dripped from the wound with his right arm.

Seeing Ryn slowly making her way over, he saw her hand was clutching her ribs. From the way she was favoring that side, it was likely her ribs were either badly bruised or fractured but, regardless, it was clear she was uncomfortable. The miserable expression on her face gave way to an even stronger look of anger as she looked at the shattered pieces of the wheelchair, and she shot a fierce glare at the backs of the adventurers.

Rolling off the broken wood, Garrett took a deep breath and pulled himself out of the main path, resting for a moment between two booths that were selling different sorts of fruit. There were at least a dozen merchants who had watched the whole encounter, but not one of them had stepped forward to help Garrett and Ryn. Hiding the sneer that rose to his lips, Garrett tried to ignore them, instead focusing on what needed to be done.

“Ryn, are you okay?”

Nodding, the young woman tried to smile while hiding the fury in her eyes. Noticing the blood on Garrett’s shirt, she was about to rip her shirt to make a bandage when Garrett stopped her.

“I’m fine, its not bleeding that badly. Can you head back to the inn and see if you can get someone to help us? Ask them to bring a cart or something.”

“Yeah, I’ll be back.”

As she turned and started to limp away, Garrett saw the nasty set of bruises forming on Ryn’s leg where Kolz had kicked her and his clenched teeth ground together. Once she had disappeared, Garrett tried to tug the remains of the wheelchair out of the road to clear the path but with limited success. It was nearly impossible for him to get the leverage he needed, and it was only after some time that he managed to tug the main chunk of wreckage out of the road. Just when he was about to finish up, he heard the heavy slam of metal boots on the ground and instinctively curled up, using his right arm to protect his neck and his left to cover his ribs.

He had just moved when a chunk of wood slammed into him, the force sending him tumbling to the side. More wood soon followed, hammering into his back as someone standing in the road threw all the pieces of wood at him. Peeking between his arms, he saw a squad of soldiers standing in the road. Leading them was an arrogant young man dressed in a gleaming silver breastplate. It was the young man who was throwing the wood at Garrett, a nasty smirk on his face. At his side, the captain of the squad coughed lightly.

“Ahem, sir, we should be going.”

“I know that, Captain Feltzsmith. But don’t you see that I’m helping this beggar move his broken things out of the road?”

“I can have the men do that, sir.”

“Haha, don’t worry. I’m done.”

Tucking himself into a tighter ball, Garrett’s mind whirled, preparing himself for the worst-case scenario. He knew the young man, or at least his soul from this world did, and had recognized the young officer’s nasal voice instantly. Dorelis Somen, the only child of Count Somen, was widely recognized as a waste and knuckle-dragger in the palace, so to see him in uniform and leading a patrol squad threw Garrett’s thoughts into turmoil.

In a twist of good luck, Dorelis lost interest in Garrett almost immediately and walked away, taking the soldiers with him. Only the captain looked back at Garrett, his eyes narrowing. Still, he didn’t stop as he followed the young nobleman away from the market. With two new bruises to add to his collection, Garrett let out a rueful laugh and brushed himself off. Ignoring the glares he was getting from the merchants on either side of himself, he slowly pushed the scraps of wood he could reach further out of the road.

His body hurt with every movement, but he ignored it and continued to try to clear the road. Without being able to use his legs, he was restricted to supporting himself with the stump of his right arm and pulling at the chunks of wood with his left, making it a slow and laborious process, but he just kept at it, his face completely calm. Occasionally people would walk by and give him sympathetic looks, but not one person stopped to help. Once he was finally done, he sat back against the wreckage of the wheelchair and let out a sigh.

What a day.

Letting his gaze wander over the crowd, he could only shake his head. He wasn’t surprised no one had stepped forward to help him, and in fact, he was just thankful no one else had piled on. Ignoring the twinges of pain that wracked his body whenever he breathed, Garrett tried to keep his head clear and his senses alert as he waited for Ryn to return.

“A king! A king! Fallen from his throne!”

Startled, Garrett looked over and saw a scruffy man whose tangled beard and hair looked like it had never seen a comb. A tattered robe covered most of the man’s body, though it was cut strangely short on one side, revealing one of the man’s abnormally thin legs. Seeing Garrett looking over, the man grinned, his parted lips showing broken and crooked teeth set in blackened gums, a clear sign of someone addicted to euphoria-inducing elemental crystals. With a hopping motion, the man drew closer, stopping when he was a dozen feet away and executing a bow.

“The mighty have fallen low! Gracing the gutters with their royal form! Yet no amount of filth can cover the shining truth!”

“Oi, what are you babbling on about?!” one of the merchants yelled, hurling a tomato at the beggar.

Shrieking, the beggar ducked, his hands covering his head as he scampered back. Yet a moment later, he straightened, his back becoming perfectly straight as he pointed a crooked finger at the merchant.

“A pox on you! For daring to insult this royal personage! Let your dreams be riddled with worms! And not the delicious, delicious ice-bound worms from the mountains!”

Falling into a daze, the beggar licked his lips as he thought of the ice-bound worms, only to catch a cabbage with his face. Letting out a shriek as the head of cabbage slammed into his nose, the beggar reeled, stumbling backward and falling into a crouch. Blood streamed from his nose but he didn’t seem to mind at all, tearing off a piece of his already torn robe and using the newly created rag to staunch the blood flowing from his nose. Crouching down next to Garret, the beggar shook his head darkly as he dabbed at his upper lip.

“These fools. They have no idea about the truth of the world. No idea who’s watching us from that darkness, waiting to devour our minds. Haha, but I know. Yes, I know. I’ve been to the real world before.”

Listening to the beggar’s rant, Garrett’s eyes narrowed. Amidst the babbling, he felt like he could pick up on a thread of some sort of truth, but he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination or not. Before he could ask, the beggar reached into his bag and pulled out a cloth, spreading it out on the ground. Written in bold lines was a sign that read “Fortune Telling and Palm Reading - 3 copper.” Underneath the large words was a small line that read “no refunds.” Smoothing out the wrinkled cloth, the beggar rubbed his hands together and looked around, his gaze practically predatory as he looked for his first victim.

Seeing Garret, his excitement dimmed and he made a shooing motion, as if telling Garrett to leave. When Garrett ignored him, a wicked look appeared in the beggar’s eyes and he sneered down at Garret.

“What, do you want me to read your palm? Can you even afford it? I’m a respectable fortune teller who can pry into the secrets of heaven! Always right, never once wrong, my fortunes are forever true! I understand your wish to bask in my presence, but you’re blocking my business, so remove yourself from the area.”

“You set up in my space,” Garrett said, his eyes narrowing.

The longer he looked at the beggar, the stranger the man appeared. For a little while now, Garrett had felt like there was something off about the man, even apart from the insanity he wore on his sleeve. It was a lurking presence that hovered around the beggar’s head. The longer he watched, the clearer the figure became until Garrett finally was able to see it. Hovering right behind the beggar’s head was a woman in a ghostly robe, her hands folded tightly together in front of her. Her face appeared to be carved from marble and a thick strip of cloth covered her eyes.

“Exactly! And it’s my space now. So you better crawl your…”

Spittle flying, the beggar was pointing at Garrett when the ethereal statue suddenly spoke, causing the beggar’s body to seize up and his rant to end prematurely. Drawing himself up straight, he pointed at Garrett and began to speak, his voice deep and strong.

“The dreamer awakes and takes his throne! The world twists as the seeds are planted, though no one but the gardener knows if they grow thorns or flowers! On the bones of the rulers, a new order shall come to pass, but shall it be the light of hope, or the call of the grave? Hail, dreamer!”

Collapsing to the ground under Garrett’s astonished gaze, the beggar rolled himself up in his cloth and bound to his feet. Without looking at Garrett again, he strolled off with the casual gait of a nobleman out for an evening stroll through his grounds. In total shock, Garrett watched the beggar until he had vanished among the crowds, only managing to snap out of his daze after he could no longer see the strange figure.

You have observed the Truth Speaking Statue, a dream artifact of uncommon value. You have gained 3 EXP.

EXP: 10/40

It was a moment before Garrett waved away the window that had popped up in his view. Putting aside the shocking words that had come from the beggar’s mouth, he felt like he had just made a breakthrough. This whole time he’d been assuming that the only way for him to gain experience points was to observe new beings in the Dream, but seeing the Truth Speaking Statute had completely shattered that perception.

Are there other things in the real world I could get experience points for? There has to be, right? I’ll have to do some exploring to see what I can find.

“Garrett! Are you okay?”

It was getting close to dark by the time Ryn arrived with a few men from the Ghoul’s Tooth gang, and Garrett was about to try and enter the Dream so he could call Gorn. He had never entered the Dream outside of the inn and was worried that doing so would deposit him in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on all sides by unknown and terrifying nightmares, so he had been resisting the urge. Resolving to try in a more controlled environment, Garrett patted Ryn’s arm to reassure her that he was fine.

“I’m okay, really. I’m very thankful to see all of you, as it would probably have taken me two days to inch my way back to the inn. If I didn’t get thrown in jail for being out past curfew first.”

“More likely to get murdered and dropped in the nearest sewer,” one of the gang members said with a laugh, picking Garrett up and putting him in the cart.

“All the more reason to be thankful you came,” Garrett said with a small smile.

“What do you want to do with this pile of scrap?” Ryn asked, kicking at the splintered remains of the wheelchair.

“Bring them along. This was a good design, and we can use it for reference as we improve the next one.”

Putting the scraps of wood into the cart, they began their trip back to the inn. The cart was being pulled by two of the gang members while another walked alongside with Ryn. Noticing that the man walking with the cart kept looking over at him, Garrett nodded. Taking that as an opportunity, the man stepped closer and began to speak.

“I never got to thank you for the supplies you helped us get. Our food has been great the last few weeks. Way better than that porridge we were all eating before. You know, I was curious how you knew about those warehouses just sitting there.”

Seeing the cold look in Garrett’s eyes, the gang member put up his hands and took a step away.

“Hey, looks like I’ve asked something sensitive. Sorry, sorry. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

The rest of the trip passed in silence until they got to the inn and Garrett was helped down. Seeing the gang member who had tried to strike up a conversation with him hanging around on the edge of the group, the worrying feeling that had been slowly building in Garrett’s chest grew stronger, and on an impulse he tried to use his Dream Flower ability. With a slight shiver, he felt one of his experience points vanish and an ethereal seed appeared above the man’s head. Emboldened by his success, he tried to send some of his soul spark’s energy into it, but before he could he was interrupted.

“Garret! What happened to you?”

Hearing a loud voice, Garrett looked over and saw Obe and Gorn walking up. Waving his hand, he greeted the two Awakened men, a rueful smile crossing his face.

“I ran into a bit of trouble at the market. Nothing worth getting worked up over.”

“Was someone messing with you?” Gorn asked, his expression growing cold.

“Like I said, it was nothing to worry about,” Garrett said. “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty tired. Would you mind helping me to my room?”

Nodding, Gorn picked him up and carried him back to his room, putting him down in his bed. Turning to go, Gorn stopped at the door and looked back at Garrett.

“I’ll get your wheelchair repaired.”

“Thank you.”

Left alone, Garrett waited impatiently until the space around his soul spark shivered and loosened up, signaling the beginning of night. As soon as it did, he closed his eyes and sank into the Dream, hurrying out through the hallway and back into the great room. Thankfully, the gang member he had just planted the Dream Seed on hadn’t left the inn yet. Not bothering with Dreamer’s Cloak, Garrett walked up to him, sending the Drudge Wraiths scattering to hide around the room. Reaching out, Garrett sent a thread of energy into the Dream Seed, allowing it to bloom into a single, gorgeous flower with five petals.