Dreamer's Throne

Garrett had just finished exploring the area around the flower ghoul’s new nest when a bit of movement caught his attention. The nest was well positioned, sitting in a cave between three of the crypt’s passages. With access to all three of the tunnels, it allowed the ghouls a large range of control, cementing their hold on a sizable section of the tunnel system. Nearby were two large rooms that held countless interred bodies, which provided a guaranteed source of new undead monsters as the corrupted mental energy pooled.

The crypts had long been a point of frustration for the city as the massive collection of corpses it contained had caused undead monsters to spring into being from nothing. Even when he’d lived in the palace, Garrett had heard about the dangers of the crypt, since after an area was cleared, monsters would continue to spawn unless all the coffins were opened and the bodies of the buried were burnt. Though it was a slow process, it was unceasing, which could lead to serious problems if the numbers weren’t routinely suppressed. Since learning about the presence of the Dream, Garrett had wondered if the monsters were simply the manifestation of nightmares, somehow pulled from one world to the other.

Because of the ever-present monsters, there were always adventurers coming down to clear out the undead so they didn’t build up in numbers that could threaten the city above, to say nothing of thieves foolish enough to try their luck in the crypts. These incursions had given the ghouls that had held the area a steady supply of new bodies to add to their pile, and now that the flower ghouls had seized the territory, they were able to benefit from it. There were only three entrances to the territory and Garrett had already ordered the flower ghouls to keep watch over them, which they did by burying themselves in the ground, only leaving their flower heads above the ground.

With their teeth hidden, the flower ghouls looked like harmless underground flowers, making them excellent ambushers. These buried flower ghouls also gave Garrett great observation points. Through Observe the Dream, Garrett was double-checking the paths that surrounded the new nest, looking for any threats that might pose a problem for the flower ghouls. Moving back to a passage he’d already been over, Garrett noticed a creeping shadow on the ceiling and a curious thought popped into his mind.

The ghouls had no trouble seeing the Dream Flowers, which should only exist in the Dream. Wait, does that mean the flower ghouls will be able to see this wraith? I should check that out.

Flipping back to one of the nearby flower ghouls, Garrett commanded it to go after the shadow. To his delight, the ghoul darted along the wall and up onto the ceiling, seeming to have an instinctive understanding of where the Creeping Wraith was. With hardly a sound, the flower ghoul lunged toward the wraith, its toothy petals snapping shut around the ephemeral monster. With rapid bites, it completely devoured the Creeping Wraith before the nightmare had a chance to react, the glow of its mind growing slightly stronger in the process.

This is excellent.

Quite pleased with his discovery, Garrett commanded the flower ghouls to focus on expanding their numbers without ranging too far from the nest. He knew they would have to begin hunting in earnest if they wanted to maintain a larger group, but there were plenty of monsters in the catacombs and he was confident they would be able to spread without being discovered.

The night was coming to a close, so Garrett began to do his final check on the rest of his Dream Flowers. He had already met with Ryn in the classroom earlier that night and they had spent the majority of their time together discussing the potential problems she was facing. With Carraway as an intermediary, her discussions with the other soap manufacturers were progressing well, but the other challenge they had identified had reared its head. The Swamp Sharks, still determined to take Ghoul’s Tooth down a peg, had identified this new business as a good way to do it and were moving in, causing trouble for the people selling the soap.

Garrett had decided that the time had come to get rid of the Swamp Sharks for good but was still trying to figure out the best way to do it. The current territory the larger gang controlled was being picked apart by other gangs, and Garrett had no intention of grabbing such a hot potato. At the same time, if the Swamp Sharks vanished without anyone taking their place, a gang war was sure to break out, staining the streets with blood and dragging all the gangs close by into the fighting. Without any clear options, Garrett had to play this one carefully.

Carraway was currently sleeping, and a quick review of his day revealed nothing of particular note, so Garrett started cycling through the other Dream Flower hosts. Many of them weren’t at the inn anymore, and while they were almost exclusively in the common district or the slums, there were a few people who had crossed the river to what was called the center city. There was way more information than Garrett could properly process, so instead he cycled through it, trying to find anything out of the ordinary that might provide some benefit.

At some point, this isn’t going to be feasible anymore. There are already too many people for me to keep track of. I need to figure out a way to incentivize people to offer up interesting information. That, or I need someone else who can process it.

Shaking his head, Garrett moved on to the members of the gang and those people in the inn. By far the inn had the tightest web of Dream Flowers, which in turn provided a close to watertight information network. Garrett could see almost everything that happened in the inn, and he had been focused on improving that control ever since the cook had been murdered. As he was reviewing the information filtering in, he saw a few things that caused his brow to furrow.

Multiple gang members were frustrated, and as he dug into the situation it was clear they were all frustrated about the same thing. Swamp Shark gang members had been moving in on their territory, harassing both the soap sellers and the Ghoul’s Tooth gang members as well, stopping just short of escalating the situation into violence. The real frustration, however, had been coming from Henrick, who had commanded everyone to ignore the provocations and avoid fighting. Considering the credibility of a gang was largely based on its willingness to turn to violence, this had proven to undercut both the confidence of the locals who were paying for protection, and the gang members’ morale.

Huh, why didn’t I hear about this? It looks like Henrick spoke to them about it quietly, without letting anyone know. I wonder if Gorn knows something about this.

Switching his view over to Gorn, Garrett saw that he was asleep, so he stood up and walked out of the room, heading for the second floor where Gorn slept. As he walked, he admired the gorgeous flowers that covered the hallway and stairs. The beauty of the Dream Flowers never ceased to amaze him. Opening up Gorn’s door, he saw that the large man had fallen asleep at the table, a small book and a pencil sitting in front of him. Recognizing one of the lessons he had given Ryn, Garrett stopped, bemused.

Is Ryn teaching other people now? Huh. I didn’t realize Gorn didn’t know how to read either. I guess education is much rarer in this world. I probably need to assume that people can’t read rather than the opposite. This is good though. I wonder if I should invite him to the dream class with Ryn. Though that would be hard since it looks like they’re at different levels.

Garrett was getting quite adept at dream walking, and with a gentle touch he stepped into Gorn’s dream, appearing in the inn’s office where Gorn liked to spend his subconscious time. The Dream Flower planted in Gorn’s mind waved its petals happily as it sensed Garrett’s arrival, and even Gorn looked over, a warped excitement appearing on his face.

“Where have you been? I was calling for you, but no one knew where you were!”

Wearing Henrick’s face, Garrett quickly bowed his head.

“I… I’m sorry. I was telling the men not to get involved with the Swamp Sharks.”

“And who told you to do that?” Gorn asked, his voice getting dangerously low.

“I… I thought you knew.”

Jumping up, Gorn slammed his hand on his desk, causing it to shake.

“You think entirely too much! Your job is to do what I say, not run around creating problems. If the Swamp Sharks are moving in, then we end their miserable lives. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

With a snap of his fingers, Garret stepped to the side, returning to his normal three-piece suit and mask look. Losing sight of him, Gorn frowned and his mind created another Henrick who he could continue to berate.

It doesn’t seem like Gorn has any knowledge about Henrick’s command. This means he’s probably keeping it from Obe too. What is he playing at?

Unsure what was going on, Garrett shook his head and spoke softly.

“Don’t forget to water your flower.”

Looking like he’d been struck, Gorn’s eyes drifted to the large flower on the windowsill. Its roots had planted themselves deep into the wall of the room and three large flowers glowed in the easy light. His gaze brightening, Gorn picked up the watering can and walked forward, mumbling under his breath.

“It’s so pretty. I should water my flower.”

Glittering water mixed with Gorn’s soul spark’s energy trickled out of the watering can, nourishing the leaves and roots of the Dream Flower, causing the small bud that had appeared on it to swell slightly. Gorn’s energy wasn’t very pure or dense, which made for slow growth, but Garrett wanted to see if the Dream Flowers could actually grow on their own through their host’s soul spark energy without harming their host’s life force. So far the experiment was going well, albeit at a snail’s pace.

With a snap, Garrett left the dream and headed back downstairs, lost in thought. He was trying to figure out how best to use Gorn. Originally, Gorn had been his main candidate for pushing his influence in the gang, but more and more he was finding the antagonism between Gorn and Henrick to be a serious barrier. The idea of trying to replace Henrick with his lieutenant had crossed his mind, but Gorn was neither a leader nor strong enough to hold the position if Obe decided to step in. Furthermore, Garrett still wasn’t one-hundred-percent confident in being able to take Henrick down, and he was loath to make a move if he wasn’t sure of its success.

On the way back to his room, he peeked into the office, expecting to find Henrick, only to see that the room was empty. Frowning, he closed the door and entered his room. He’d been hoping to try stepping into Henrick’s dream, something he had never tried before, to get a bit of insight into what was going through the gang leader’s head. Returning to the Dreamer’s Throne, he sent out a question to the Dream Flowers that covered the inn.

Where is Henrick?

Almost immediately the answer came back, causing Garrett’s eyes to snap open, his face paling. Third floor, in the last room on the right.

That’s not his room. That’s the room the maids share.

Dreamer’s Inn employed two full-time maids who split a small room in the eaves on the top floor. They mainly worked to keep the rooms and the great room clean, while also assisting the cook with whatever he needed. Henrick had never given either of them more than half a glance before, so hearing he was up there gave Garrett pause. A sinking feeling was growing in Garrett’s chest, and he decided he couldn’t afford to ignore it.

Remembering that both of the maids carried Dream Flowers, he tried to access them, only to realize that they were gone from his mental space, as if they had never existed. Slightly frantic, he tried to access one of the flowers in the room, but just before he could his connection with the flower vanished.

Oh no.

Though he couldn’t directly access the flowers, Garrett still had Observe the Dream, and a moment later his vision shifted, showing him the hallway outside the room. Swallowing, he moved his vision forward, passing through the wall and into the room. What he saw caused his heart to sink into the pit of his stomach. Though Henrick was nowhere in sight, the two maids lay in their beds, their bodies stretched out, pure terror on their faces as if they’d witnessed something so frightening their minds had shattered.

Both of their bodies were torn open, revealing the empty cavity where their organs should have been. Just like the cook before them, the middle sections of their bodies had been removed completely and their entrails tossed aside. With a sickening feeling, Garrett saw the skin that had been removed from around their midsections was laid out on the floor, painted with crimson blood. There were three strips, each one showing a gruesome image.

The first image was of a closed eye, the second was of an eye half opened, while the final showed an eye fully open. Around each of the images were twisted symbols that filled Garrett with nausea. Even as he watched, the eye that was closed began to glow with crimson light, as if blood was starting to seep through the drawing into the world. Right after that, the second eye, that was half open, started to glow, casting a deepening red light on the third image. The room was awash with red light, but suddenly the third image lit up and all the crimson light was sucked into it.

All of the red sank into the final image, taking the color from the room as it went, making the room and everything in it return to a drab gray. As Garrett’s vision started to fade, he saw the third eye come alive, darting this way and that as if it was searching for him. By this point, the dread Garrett felt was palpable. With a start, he fell out of the dream, his back and hair soaked with sweat. The room was dark with only a faint light from the moon filtering in through the small window. Gasping for breath, he fumbled in the dark for his chair, pulling it close.

“Mmh? Garrett?”

“Ryn, get under your bed. Now!”

Startled into full wakefulness by his sharp tone, Ryn grabbed her dagger from under her pillow and scrambled under her bed, sucking in her breath as she slammed her ankle against the bed frame. Across the room, Garrett pulled himself into his chair and reached for the table. Tracing his fingers along its edge, he found the candle that he used and tried to light it. After wasting a few matches, he finally got one lit and light flickered into the room. A drop of sweat ran down his cheek, but he didn’t bother with it as he slowly pushed himself toward the door. Hearing a thump in the hallway, he stopped, his heart pounding.

With a creak, the door he was heading for opened a crack and Henrick’s eye stared in at him, glowing crimson and accompanied by a whisper that wrapped around Garrett’s heart like the cold fingers of death.

“I see you.”