Dreamer's Throne

“Who are you calling a cripple?” Gorn growled, stepping forward.

Lifting his hand to stop Gorn, Garrett smiled faintly and spoke gently.

“Please state your name and group.”

Seeing that Garrett was looking at him like he’d never seen him before, Kolz smirked provocatively at Gorn.

“The name is Kolz.”

“And Estella,” the female adventurer chimed in.

“We’re representing the Green Dragon adventuring team. We have four members and specialize in direct combat and monster hunting.”

“Thank you. Do the terms of the agreement suit you?”

“Yeah, they’re fine.”

“Please have a seat. We’ll be posting our decision tonight. Next.”

Since the conversation began Garrett hadn’t once looked at the female adventurer, a fact that seemed to irritate her, but before she could speak Kolz pulled her away. Just like One-Eyed Erik, Kolz glanced back at Garrett, but he was already onto the next team, his expression still serene.

“Is something wrong?” Estella asked, noticing the twisted look on Kolz’s face.

“I think that guy might be wrong in the head,” Kolz whispered, sitting down with the other two members of their group.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, look at him. The last time we saw him ended up bad for him, so I would have expected him to react at least. He should feel something, right?”

“True. But maybe his brain is damaged,” Estella said. “After all, he didn’t even look at me once.”

“Maybe that’s because the last time he did, he almost died,” Amer, the braided adventurer, said in a heavy voice. “If we miss this commission because he doesn’t like you, we’re going to have words.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Kolz sneered, looking at Garrett again. “You saw how scared he was of us.”

“You think he’s scared?”

When the last member of the group spoke, the others fell silent, turning to look at him. Close to fifty years old, the adventurer had a close-cropped white beard and hair peppered with silver. Currently he was watching Garrett as the young man checked in the adventuring teams. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head.

“Kolz, if you try to bully him, you’re on your own. Henrick owns this inn, and the boy clearly works here, which means messing with him is the same as poking that nightmare.”

“Henrick?” Estella asked, looking at her other two companions.

Shuddering, Kolz spoke quietly, almost as if the large innkeeper might hear him.

“The Bloodless Divider. That’s what they called him since his chops are so clean the two sides don’t bleed. I thought he was dead.”

“He should be, but somehow he must have crawled out of the sewers,” the old man said. “I almost didn’t recognize him, but he was the one sitting at the bar.”

Completely oblivious to the conversation happening at the nearby table, Garrett continued to calmly check people in. He could see Gorn occasionally sending glares at the Green Dragon adventurers, which was reassuring, though not for the reason some might think. He could feel the interference blocking him from connecting with Gorn’s Dream Flower starting to loosen, and with that came an even stranger feeling, almost as if the Dream Flower had fused to something else.

It only took an hour to get through all the adventurers, and just when Garrett was going to close down the recruitment, another figure stepped up, this one in a long black cloak. The only part of the figure that could be seen was their face, but even that was covered by a mask. About ask his question, he saw the front of the cloak twitch and a gloved hand appeared, holding a piece of paper.

“Viper. Solo adventurer specializing in combat and tactics,” Garrett read, “is that correct?”

Not saying a word, the robed figure nodded his head.

“Thank you. Do the terms of the agreement suit you?”

Again, without saying a word, the robed figure nodded.

“Perfect. You’re hired. Here is a room token. Please stay in the inn overnight. The team will leave tomorrow morning. We will be hiring another group as well.”

To everyone’s shock, Garrett handed the robed figure one of the wooden slips the inn used to assign people rooms, waving his hand toward the stairs leading upstairs. Up until this point he’d never once deviated from his regular set of sentences, so for him to suddenly change things up and hire someone on the spot was a surprise. Even the robed figure seemed taken aback, but after glancing at Gorn, as if afraid the Awakened gang member would stop him, he took the token and fled up to the second floor.

“It appears that was our last person. Let’s go talk to the boss about what he wants to do.”

Unsure what just happened, Gorn was about to say something, but ultimately he bit his tongue and pushed Garrett back to the office. After forty-five minutes he returned, this time holding a piece of paper he put on the bar. Looking around the room, Gorn jerked his thumb at the paper.

“The decision has been made. Check the paper.”

“Can’t you just read it out loud?” one of the adventurers called out.

“Nope.”

Without giving them any time to argue, Gorn plopped a couple room tokens down next to the paper, spun on his heel, and left, his expression terrible. Shoving his chair back, One-Eyed Erik stood up and strode over to the bar, picking up the paper. A scowl crossed his face as he looked over it, but he still read it out loud.

“Farsight team, Green Dragon team, Viper.”

“That’s it?” the adventurer who had asked Gorn to read the paper said, incredulous.

“That’s what it looks like,” Erik said, waving the paper.

The old man from the Green Dragon team stood up and walked over to Erik, taking the paper with a frown. Even though the ghoul nest they were going up against was small, it was strange that only two teams had been chosen. Typically, three or more teams should have been selected.

“They’re probably going to use their own Awakened as a team,” he mused, thinking about Henrick.

“Which means trouble,” Erik said, his frown deepening. “What do you think, Maroc? Are you going to take it?”

Nodding, Maroc picked up one of the room tokens and gave Erik a crooked smile.

“Clearing a nest that only has six ghouls? Are you serious? That’s like money just waiting to be picked up off the ground. We could clear them by ourselves. This many teams is already overkill, but they’re probably just trying to be safe. Yeah, we’ll take it. What about you?”

Clearly torn, Erik finally let out a sigh and picked up the other token.

“Yeah, fine.”

Later that night, Garrett opened his eyes on the Dreamer’s Throne, a cold look flashing across his face. Information flooded into his mind from the Dream Flowers spread throughout the inn, feeding him feelings and scenes from the course of the day. After processing all the intel, he focused his mind on his connections, searching for those who carried Dream Flowers. To his dismay, he’d discovered that once someone lost a Dream Flower, it was impossible for them to carry another Dream Seed, leaving him with twelve gang members who now lacked a connection with him.

Thankfully, the inn had a consistent influx of new people every day or two, and there were still targets for his ability without having to leave the inn’s grounds. Tonight would be a busy night as he harvested experience points, but before that Garrett had something else to do. Rising from the throne, he glanced at Ryn, who was stretched out on her bed, and strode out of the room.

Every night Ryn knocked on his dream, seeking lessons. Most nights he answered, spending a bit of time to teach her directly. Nights like tonight, however, he did not, leaving her to practice on her own in her room. He didn’t quite understand why she could connect with him no matter the distance, but it provided a cautionary warning. Anyone he invited into his dream seemed to have an instinctive understanding of how to return, making him cautious about who he invited in.

A far cry from the dim, foggy sight he’d encountered the first time he entered the Dream, Garrett could see clearly as he walked through the inn thanks to the bright blooms that dotted the walls and ceiling. It almost looked like a fairy tale scene from a painting, though Garrett was fully aware of just how quickly the dream could turn into a horror. For a moment he wondered if he’d made the wrong choice in picking Beautiful Bewitchment over the Soul-sucking Thorns.

The more involved he got with people stronger than him, the less confident he was in being able to come out on top. His main advantage at this point was that he was still hidden, but as soon as someone figured out what he was doing, he would be a sitting duck. His lack of personal strength was starting to weigh on him, but he’d already come too far to change his path.

Hopefully, after tonight that will change.

On the second floor, he stopped in front of the second room on the right and opened the door. Sitting on the bed was Viper, the robed figure who he’d hired that afternoon. Unmasked, the solo adventurer was someone Garrett knew well. Ruel, the former Swamp Shark lieutenant sat in a cross-legged position, unmoving, almost as if he was meditating.

Garrett had been subtly influencing the Swamp Shark lieutenant to come out of hiding over the last week, encouraging the thoughts that had led him to join the guild as a masked adventurer with a false identity and then accept this job. It had been slow work, but over a few days he’d been able to plant suggestions that led Ruel here. He was hoping to strengthen the Dream Flower that Ruel carried to gain a bit more control, but even as he reached out to enter Ruel’s dream, Garrett saw his eyes snap open.

Taking a quick step back, Garrett watched as Ruel put his cloak on, leaving his mask on the bed. With careful steps, Ruel began to leave the room, making sure to be as quiet as possible, a long dagger in his hand. A bad feeling began to grow in Garrett’s heart as he followed Ruel down the hallway to the stairs and then down to the first floor. With a cautious glance around the corner, Ruel appeared to be making sure that the hallway was clear before continuing on silent feet.

Seeing him staring at the door to Garrett and Ryn’s room, the worried feeling in Garrett’s heart grew overwhelming and he rushed past Ruel to the room, hurriedly sitting down in the throne. With a flash, he left the dream, his eyes snapping open in his dark room. He could feel Ruel’s presence outside in the hall and could feel the animosity radiating from Ruel through his connection with the flower. Swallowing, Garrett tried to remain as calm as he could as he sent out a thought to the approaching man.

What am I doing? I should go to bed.

Stopping, confusion coloring his eyes, Ruel hesitated for a moment before shaking his head resolutely.

No, the only way to get back into Vic’s good graces and rejoin the Swamp Sharks is bringing the head of one of the officers from Ghoul’s Tooth. This advisor who has been helping them so much should do the trick.

A faint pain rippled through Garrett’s head as Ruel rejected his suggestion and began to move toward the door. Rolling over in bed, Garrett hissed at Ryn who was in a deep sleep.

“Ryn!”

Immediately, Ryn bolted upright, the dagger in her hand gleaming in the faint light from the window her hand and her eyes scanning the room for threats. Seeing Garrett’s pale face, she grasped that something was wrong, and when he gestured to the door, she picked up on what was wrong. Like a wraith, she slipped out of bed and flattened against the wall next to the door, half crouched and with her dagger in her hand, ready to strike.

A moment later, with hardly a sound, the door began to open, and Ruel slipped into the room, his eyes darting around. As he saw Garrett, Ruel felt a hint of danger, and with supernatural speed, shifted to the side as Ryn’s dagger stabbed through the air where his side had been half a second before. If he had not dodged, the attack would have skewered his kidney, but as it was, Ryn hit nothing but air.

Sneering, Ruel kicked Ryn, causing her to gasp in pain as she was sent tumbling against the wall, but even as she landed, she was jumping up, her dagger held ready, allowing her to block the chop of Ruel’s dagger. Backing up, her only option was to jump up on her bed, but Ruel darted after her, his face set in a malevolent grin.

On the other side of the small room, Garrett was wracking his brain for a solution. Since Ruel already carried a Dream Flower, Garrett should have been able to influence him, but a madness seemed to have consumed his mind, making him impervious to any suggestion. With no other ideas, Garrett sank into the dream and poured out all his energy into the only skill that might do anything at all, Dream Seed.

Sitting in the Dreamer’s Throne, Garrett was getting a constant supply of mental energy from the golden light that spread from it, and all of that energy was now thrown at the flower on Ruel’s head. Like a dry sponge, the flowers shook and grew brighter, their colors casting scintillating light across the room. Even as Ruel lunged for Ryn, nearly pinning her against the wall, a fourth and then fifth bud began to bloom on Ruel’s head.

Throwing herself to the side, Ryn managed to dodge another strike from Ruel, but his blade left a long cut on her arm, causing her to draw a hissing breath. Kicking off of the wall, she tried to return an attack, but he casually backhanded her, smashing her lip and sending her tumbling across the room. Losing her grip on her dagger, she scrambled to pick it up as Ruel turned around slowly, a cruel smile on his lips. In the dream, Garrett continued to send energy into the flowers, watching as the two flowers bloomed and a sixth bud began to form.

[You can now transform your Dream Seed into a Guardian Seed. Would you like to do this?]

Accepting the prompt as quickly as he could, Garrett saw the six flowers that were planted in Ruel detach themselves and spin around, moving in tighter and tighter circles until they suddenly combined in a dizzying crash of rainbow light, collapsing into a rainbow-colored seed that sank into Ruel’s head. Energy was still flowing into him, and as he took a step closer to Ryn, Ruel suddenly shivered, his expression growing blank as a new flower burst to life above his head in glorious color.

Though at first glance it looked like any other Dream Flower, this one had six petals and carried an air of suppression around it, as if simply looking at it could steal away a person’s soul. Hovering in the air for a moment, the six-petaled Dream Flower suddenly spun and drilled back into Ruel’s head, taking root in his soul spark. A faint image of the flower appeared on the adventurer’s forehead.

[You have planted your first Guardian Seed and bloomed the Guardian Flower.]

Turning his head, Ruel looked at Garrett, a fierce sense of loyalty in his eyes. Exhausted, Garrett quickly issued a command and Ruel responded immediately, rushing past Ryn and fleeing down the hallway. The commotion had started to attract attention and with a crash, Ruel smashed the window at the end of the hall. Instead of diving through it, however, he darted up the stairs, slipping into his room and putting his mask on.

A moment later, people boiled out of their rooms, looking around cautiously as they tried to figure out what was going on. In Garrett and Ryn’s room, the young woman laid against the wall, her breath coming in great gasps as she tried to recover from the mad scramble she had just been through.

“What was that?! Garrett, are you okay?!”

Dragging herself to her feet, Ryn saw Garrett nodding, his face pale. Even though she was shaking badly as the adrenaline fade, she kicked the door open, her dagger held tight in her hand as she looked for Ruel. Instead, she found herself face to face with Henrick who was staring at her with a fierce expression in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when the pressure from his soul spark slammed into her, but she managed to keep a hold of her dagger.

“What is going on?” Henrick asked, taking in the scratch on her arm and her bloodied lip.