Dreamer's Throne

The room was practically overflowing with precious items, and Ryn’s desire to take everything she could get her hands on was radiating through the dream flower’s connection. It was also clear, from her practiced movements, that she was quite familiar with situations like this. Yet rather than pick up the jeweled comb on the desk that she was eyeing, Garrett saw her look away, searching for hiding places.

What about the back of the closet?

Shivering slightly Ryn’s gaze flicked to the ornate closet and she crept over. As soon as she saw the panel in the back of the closet a smile graced her lips and she carefully pushed the panel aside, revealing the safe. Watching her closely, Garrett was about to give her the combination, but paused when he saw her get out a leather roll and lay it out on her knee. Selecting one of the tools from it, she placed it against the edge of the safe and then used her other hand to turn the wheel on the front.

Watching the tool she was using carefully, she continued until she had watched the wheel go around once and then, after putting her tool away, spun the wheel skillfully. In shock, Garrett watched as the safe door swung open, revealing the contents of the safe. Her eyes lit up when she saw all of the things in the safe, especially the gold, but once again, she surprised Garrett by first taking the black book and papers.

She had been making tremendous progress in learning to read during their dream sessions, and after spending around half an hour trying to work out what the papers were about, her expression shifted, and the blood drained from it. Casting a murderous gaze at the fat merchant laying in the bed, her hand strayed to her dagger, and for a moment, Garrett thought that he might have to stop her from murdering the man, but ultimately, she let go of her dagger and instead took three of the thin gold plates, arranging the others so it looked like nothing had been taken.

Closing everything back up, she crept out of the room, and Garret could sense her leaving the property, her spoils tucked neatly into a bag on her back. Watching as she left the apartment, Garrett checked his energy reserves and saw that he was still mostly full. He had originally intended to destroy Carraway’s mind, which would have taken almost all of his energy, but now that he was no longer walking that path, he wasn’t completely sure what to do. Considering it for a moment, he double checked on all his flowers, taking in the situation at the inn, and checking in on Ruel, who was still in hiding. With nothing else to do, he spent a few more hours giving Carraway a magnificent dream in which the merchant cooperated with Garrett and soon grew even more powerful and influential, gaining the adoration of the city’s citizens.

When he started to get low on energy, Garrett crept outside and headed back to his body, resolving to wait. He had just settled down when he heard something interesting.

[A being is attempting to connect to your dream.]

Sitting up Garrett waved his hand and the alleyway shifted into his dream, becoming the classroom where he’d been teaching Ryn to read and write every night. Now that he wasn’t distracted, Garrett could feel the gentle pressure on his mind as the light that represented Ryn sought a connection with him. Accepting it, he saw a door open up and Ryn walked in, her expression full of worry.

“Welcome to class, Ryn. Is something troubling you?”

Looking up, Ryn saw the familiar masked figure who’d been teaching her for the last few weeks. The blank white mask he wore still threw her off, but she’d gotten used to the strange way he dressed and seemed to find some comfort in it.

“Huh? Oh, no, no, everything is fine,” Ryn said, shaking her head. “I’m ready to begin.”

“Good. We’ll pick up where we left off last night,” Garrett said, tapping his rod against the lectern. “Take a seat.”

The lesson lasted for the rest of the night as Ryn buried herself in her work, only ending when the Dream began to shift and stretch, indicating that the sun was rising. Giving Ryn her final instructions, Garrett watched the dream unravel, and a moment later he woke up on the cold, hard, stone street, only a few blocks from the soap factory. The shift in his perspective was sudden, and it took him a few moments before he was able to get his bearings. His back and arms were terribly sore, and he could only imagine that if he’d been able to feel his waist and legs they would have been sore as well.

Hearing a noise, he held himself still. He could feel Gorn just stirring at the inn and was able to sense Carraway in the apartment above the soap factory, but neither would be able to help him if he was discovered. To his relief, the people walking through the alleyway paid no attention to the pile of boxes, just passing by, and a moment later Ryn dropped down from the roof to stand guard over his boxes. With a sigh of relief, he let himself relax as he tried to meditate, not wanting to waste any time.

It was almost an hour later when Gorn arrived to get him, greeting Ryn with a wave before helping him up into his wheelchair. Ryn had bought some hot food from a nearby vendor, and after spending the night in the cold on the hard ground Garrett was very thankful for it. As he ate the porridge and sausage that Ryn had bought, he found himself glancing at her, curious to know more about her. The skilled way she had entered the apartment and cracked the lock on the safe spoke to more than a little training, and while she had mentioned being able to use thieves tools she had never revealed even a hint of the extent of her abilities.

“Are you sure things will be different today?” Gorn asked, the skepticism in his voice heavy.

They were sitting in the alleyway, looking out at the factory in the distance, but this time Garrett looked disheveled and Ryn’s nervousness had been replaced with a smug smile. Swallowing a piece of sausage, she wiped the grease from her fingers and pulled out some papers from her bag.

“Check these out.”

Putting his bowl down, Garrett accepted the papers and rested them on his lap as he leafed through them. A few were business documents, but at the bottom of the stack was a letter written on high quality paper. Scanning over it, Garrett’s expression hardened and he glanced at Ryn who nodded grimly.

“And there are receipts to prove it,” she said, waving a black book in the air.

“What are you two on about?” Gorn asked, glancing between them.

“Carraway is part of group of merchants who smuggled soldiers from another city into Insomnium,” Garrett said, his voice quiet. “Soldiers who attacked the royal family. He has also been cheating the merchant’s guild out of a significant amount of money by misreporting the quantities of goods he is selling.”

Letting out a low whistle, Gorn shook his head.

“Merchants, sometimes you wonder what gets into them. Anything for a profit, I guess.”

Handing the papers back to Ryn, Garrett nodded.

“Well done, Ryn. I won’t ask where you got them, but good find. We can use this information to our advantage if Carraway doesn’t want to play nice. Come on, lets go give it another try.”

They had just gotten to the door of the office when it banged open and Carraway hurried out, his face pale and slick with sweat. The change he had experienced overnight was startling, and the even impressive bulk he’d boasted the day before had shrunk considerably. Hurrying over, he gave Gorn and Ryn a small bow and then bowed to Garrett.

“Master Garrett! I’m so glad you came back! If you hadn’t, I would have had to come to you. You would not believe what happened to me last night!” Carraway said, his voice bursting with excitement. “Please, come in, come in. We have much to discuss.”

Ushering them into the office, Carraway stuck his head out into the hall and called for someone to bring wine. A few moments later a servant entered the room and poured wine for the four of them. Waving for the servant to leave the bottle, Carraway toasted Garrett and then drank his entire cup down. Pouring another cup from the bottle, he gestured to himself.

“You must be wondering what happened, to create such a change in me. Well, I can assure you, it’s not just physical. I tell you, I’ve seen the light! But let me not get ahead of myself. Last night, after you left, I had another visitor. I was in the middle of my eighth course when suddenly, I got the strangest urge to go to bed. Without even finishing the rest of my sixteen courses, I did just that. But after I had gone to bed when the most astounding thing happened.”

Lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Carraway looked around to make sure no one was listening before speaking.

“I was visited by the prince! Prince Everan himself! I know, I was shocked as well! Prince Everan, who is rumored to be dead, appeared in my dream and showed me the truth. The truth of this amazing plan. Executed correctly, it would be life changing! This morning, as I awoke, I felt like I had been reborn. I’m telling you, the change in me was astonishing. It’s like I suddenly shed the weight of the world, seeing through the haze of the mundane world into the spiritual realm!”

Taking a quick turn around the room, the merchant filled up his glass and downed it again, spilling little dribbles of wine down his chin in his haste.

“You must understand. I have seen true beauty, true grace. And I must ensure that others are awakened to it as well.”

“Uh, this sounds a lot like a cult,” Ryn whispered, earning a fervent nod from Gorn. “We should probably leave before he tries to recruit us.”

Undeterred by her muttering, Carraway stood up and rushed over to his desk, grabbing a piece of paper and waving it at them.

“I know this is hard to believe, but the truth I’ve seen has completely changed me. I now understand what it was that the prince wanted to do. I confess, I was blind before, unable to grasp the breadth and depth of the prince’s plans. Now, however, I have finally understood! Here, look at this.”

Grabbing a box from his desk, Carraway brought it over to the couch and gave it to Garrett. Gesturing for him to open it, the merchant took a turn about the room, his words revealing his excitement.

“I had someone cut down a bar of soap this morning. Normally a box like this would cost a single silver, but we can sell these smaller bars for a single copper and still make a great profit. In order to increase the attractiveness of the smaller bars, we’ll press them with these four images that, when put together, create a beautiful flower!”

“Hold on, what do you mean we?” Ryn asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Ah, I apologize, I misspoke. I will provide the soap to you at ten copper a bar, which is enough for me to still make a profit, albeit a small one. And you can sell the cut-down bars at a single copper each, making a total profit of thirty-eight copper on each bar.”

“Ten copper? That’s a bit low, isn’t it?” Gorn asked, thoroughly confused.

“Not at all. My profit isn’t the important thing here. Rather, the important thing is that the beauty of the flower be communicated to the masses. The five-petaled flower washes away the dirt of the world, revealing the truth and bringing enlightenment. Isn’t that right, Ms. Ryn?”

Staring at Carraway in openmouthed shock, Ryn didn’t know what to say. The merchant’s words echoed in her head, bringing visions of a book-filled room and the five-petaled flower motifs it held. Stuttering something, Ryn glanced at Gorn, only to realize he had a strange expression as well. Taken aback, she was about to speak when Garrett interrupted her.

“That sounds good. Thank you for being willing to work with us on this. Ryn will be the main point of contact for this, and Gorn and I will be assisting her. I’m responsible for the accounts, so financials can come to me, but any questions will go to Ryn. Are you able to cut and stamp smaller bars before you deliver them to us?”

“Of course, though that will likely require me to increase the price per large bar by, say, two copper a piece.”

“That’s fine. We’ll be recruiting salespeople, but the first delivery can come to Dreamer’s Inn, where we’re staying. When should we expect it?”

“It will take some time to retool the machines for this sort of thing, so I would say in a week. How many bars would you like?”

Seeing Garrett look at her, Ryn swallowed and spoke in a trembling voice.

“We’d like a whole gold’s worth. Which would be…”

Smiling encouragingly at Ryn, Garrett waited for her to do the math.

“Umm, that would be two hundred and seven. Wait, two hundred and eight bars.”

“Deal,” Carraway said, smiling and reaching out his hand for Ryn to shake.

There were a lot of details to take care of, but Carraway had been in business for a long time and had a good grasp on what needed to be done. With his newfound passion and enthusiasm, Ryn found herself swept along as he instructed her on the things she’d need to arrange and manage. Listening to Carraway talk, Garrett found himself with nothing to interject and instead was entirely confused.

He had not grown the flower that he infected Carraway with to four flowers, so he knew that the merchant was not being completely ruled by it, and as far as he could figure it out, he was witnessing the true power of the Beautiful Bewitchment ability. The dreams that Carraway experienced appeared to have embedded themselves in his subconscious, drastically amplifying his desires for wealth and status and sending him hurtling down this path.

Taking note to be especially careful in the future with those who had weak minds and intense desires like Carraway, Garrett simply allowed the merchant to arrange everything. On his end, Carraway played his part perfectly. When they finally left it was late in the afternoon, and Carraway sent a whole bag of gifts along with them, ranging from high-quality soap and perfume to small stone statues and delicate sweets.

The group was silent as they headed back to the inn, each lost in their own thoughts. Ryn, still shell-shocked from the lesson in business Carraway had imparted to her at blistering speed, pushed Garrett’s wheelchair mechanically, while Gorn walked beside her, carrying the bag of gifts. As for Garrett, he was exhausted, both from staying up all night and from having to listen to Carraway chatter for an entire morning and afternoon.

“Well, I guess we didn’t need those papers after all,” Ryn said, her voice only loud enough for Garrett and Gorn to hear.

Shaking his head, Garrett smiled at her.

“No, they’re still important. They carry a lot of information about the other merchants in the city and will come in handy in the future. None of us could have guessed that he would have such a change of heart.”

“True. He was like a whole different man,” Gorn said with a snort.

When they finally made it back to the inn, they found it quiet, with only a few people hanging around. Sending Gorn to report to Henrick and hand over the bag of gifts, Garrett pushed himself into his room and lay down in bed, his body aching all over. He’d always considered his mattress hard and uncomfortable, but after lying on the street all night, the lumpy fabric felt like a cloud. He wasn’t hungry, since Carraway had insisted they eat lunch with him and had practically thrown a feast. With a sigh, Garrett closed his eyes and reflected on the last day and night.

He'd been fully committed to the path he was on, but seeing what had happened to Carraway had sobered him. There was something about seeing the Dream Flower shift someone’s thoughts by amplifying their desires so strongly that Garrett couldn’t reconcile with. As the day had progressed, it was clear to Garrett that the merchant was no longer the Carraway who’d mocked him the day before, or even the Dream Flower Garrett had created and grown. Instead, the new Carraway was exactly that—new.

Much like Garrett was neither Garrett Klein or Paul Geller anymore, but another person formed from their pieces. Each of the memories, desires, and abilities of the two men had fused together to form something greater than the sum of its parts. There was no doubt in Garrett’s mind that he was his own person, and the same thing appeared to have happened to Carraway. The knowledge and memories the merchant carried had melded together with the flower’s desires, shifting Carraway’s decision-making matrix. Suppressing his shudder, Garrett shut his eyes and sank into the dream, hoping the warmth of the Dreamer’s Thorne would be able to erase the chill running up his spine.