Dreamer's Throne

After Obe helped Garrett to his room and said goodnight, Garrett lay on his bed, reviewing everything that had happened since lunchtime. Though it might have seemed as if his calculations were absolute, there had been entirely too many variables for his taste. He had analyzed his opponents and his allies meticulously, but all he needed was for one of them to have acted sporadically and the entire operation could have crumbled around him. The largest wildcard had been Henrick and the Chosen, but the monster had been just as arrogant as Garrett guessed he would be, allowing the perfect trap to be sprung.

Knowing that the Chosen could track him at night outside the inn, he had left through the basement during the day under the assumption that Henrick would have some way to tell, and then switched with Viper when everyone passed through the gate in front of him. It had taken him almost an hour to crawl his way back up the ladder, out of the basement, and into his room, and then he’d used Dreamer’s Cloak as soon as it was available to keep himself from showing up.

Arrogant as he was, Henrick had never once questioned if the figure who was with the gang was actually Garrett, allowing Viper to spring the perfect ambush. Combined with the flower ghouls who could absorb both Henrick’s life force and the Chosen’s mental energy, the trap worked perfectly, eliminating Henrick as a threat all together. Though he assumed that the Crimson Eye would send others after him, Garrett was just happy he’d made it through this round.

Vic had been much easier to predict, though there had been a couple moments when Garrett thought that the gang boss might go one way or the other. The biggest trick for him had been in the initial encounter. Garrett had been hoping that Vic and Hollice would attack him, as he had Viper hiding nearby and a dozen flower ghouls in a tunnel underneath them. Even though Vic had shown a lot more restraint than he had hoped, the bravado he’d shown had played into the gang leader’s pride, causing him to simply show up in force without actually understanding the force he was going up against.

He had also been rolling the dice on Obe, Ryn, and the other members of the gang. Fighting an impossible battle against overwhelming odds was difficult, but they had performed perfectly. Part of that was the boost of confidence their equipment and preparation had given them, as well as the morale boost from the Dream Flowers they carried, but at the end of the day, it had taken real grit to step out onto that battlefield.

All in all, things had turned out incredibly well, though Garrett’s job still wasn’t over. Closing his eyes, he sank into the Dream and joined his vision to Viper’s. His Guardian was standing in a small room deep in the crypt as the flower ghouls carried bodies toward the nest. The bounty they’d received from the battle would mean enough new flower ghouls to drive the expansion of their territory into a significant portion of the crypt.

This would put them in direct competition with other monsters that held territory in the crypts, but Garrett didn’t mind that. There was something he found comforting about knowing all the monsters lurking underneath him were under his sway. He was also counting on the flower ghouls to help in his coming conflict with the Skeletal Hand of Lesrak, the great ruler who owned the Dead Lands where the Dreamer’s Inn sat.

The flower ghouls were a strange creature since they could operate in both the physical world and the Dream, but he was hoping that would turn into an advantage when it came time to contest against the Skeletal Hand. So far he had discovered three of the great rulers, though for some reason, he still couldn’t see their names. He was unsure if that had to do with his level, or something else, but the system was blurring out the names.

At level four, Garrett was now a Shaper, one of the few in the city, though his power level was somewhat deceptive since he shared more in common physically with a mortal than he did with an Awakened. Still, he could sense that his body’s toughness had increased substantially when he got to level four, and he was excited to see what would happen as he continued to level up.

As a Shaper, his mental energy was also much stronger—so strong, in fact, that despite organizing that whole encounter, he still had over a quarter of his energy remaining, even without the replenishment from the Dreamer’s Throne. The thing he was most interested in, however, was the ability to invite multiple people into his dream at the same time that had come with his new level. Now that he could use his abilities through Observe the Dream, Garrett was planning on not only farming experience points, but creating a new dream experience for all those who hosted Dream Flowers.

First, however, he had to deal with the woman slumped over on the ground in front of Viper. Using Viper’s body, Garrett crouched down and reached out to poke her. With a jerk she pulled back, groaning as the wound on her chest began to bleed again. Retrieving his hand, he smiled under his mask, but on the surface his eyes remained completely calm.

“Your name is Hollice, right?”

Still disoriented, the large woman nodded her head, her eyes wandering around until they saw the flower ghouls slinking along, dragging bodies and body parts along with them. Terror filled her face as she looked at the monsters, her eyes soon returning to Viper and blooming with fresh horror. She had never even seen him before, as she’d been knocked out by Henrick and had only woken up now.

“Who are you?”

Her breath came in gasps due to the pain her wound caused her, but her formidable physique had already stopped the bleeding, so she wouldn’t die. Seeing Viper holding out something, her forehead clenched, but ultimately she took it.

“You can call me Viper. That’s medicine for your wound. Put half of it on the outside and then swallow the other half. You’ll be good as new in a few days. Why don’t you get yourself patched up while we talk.”

Nodding, Hollice sat up and began to dab the medicine Viper had given her onto the wound. Once he saw that she didn’t need help, Viper nodded and began to speak.

“You are now without a gang. I don’t think I need to tell you that your side lost. Or maybe I do. You lost everyone. All of them, killed down to the last member, because Vic believed that giving up was beneath him.”

“That sounds like him,” Hollice snarled, a surprising amount of malice in her voice.

Blinking, Viper pointed at something sitting on the ground by his feet. Looking down, Hollice was stunned to see it was Vic’s head, his eyes wide open in shock.

“Don’t worry, he was suitably punished.”

“Good, I hope he died a miserable death,” Hollice said, spitting on her former gang leader’s head. “He got so many of us killed over the years with his schemes, my sister included. It’s good to see him get his just desserts.”

Dabbing a bit more of the liquid on her wounds, she drank the rest and then handed the bottle back to Viper.

“Kings above, that tasted awful. I’m guessing, since you gave me that potion, you want to keep me alive. That means you want something from me. I’m not the prettiest, and I can’t cook unless you like your water burnt, but I’m strong and I keep good house.”

Bemused by this side of her he’d never seen before, Garrett pulled back, returning complete control to Viper. Blinking, Viper shook his head and reached up, pulling his mask off.

“Ruel!?”

“Hello, Hollice.”

“You!”

Reaching for his collar, Hollice felt him grab her wrist and, to her surprise, she was unable to shake his hand off. The Ruel in her memory had always excelled at speed, while strength was her thing. Now, though, it felt as if his strength had gone up considerably.

“Vic is dead, so you’re free.”

Dropping her hand, he stood up and took a step back, but she struggled to her feet and looked down at him.

“Where are you going?”

“I have a lot to do, so I’ll say goodbye here. The flower ghouls won’t hurt you, so you can take as long as you need to recover. I’ll make sure you get enough food for a few weeks if you decide to stay here. I’m glad you didn’t die.”

“Me too, but hold on! You can’t come over here and take your mask off like that and not tell me what’s going on!”

With a short sigh, Viper put his mask back on, his voice changing into the rough growl she had first heard.

“I serve a new master now, and there is much to be done.”

“So you’re going to abandon me on my own after killing everyone else I know in this blasted city? How inhuman are you? Okay, maybe don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. I don’t even have a copper on me and you’re just going to throw me out?”

“Do you need money?” Viper asked, pulling out a small bloodstained pouch and tossing it to her. “There is ten silver.”

“I don’t want your blasted money!” Hollice yelled, her voice cracking as pain from her chest assaulted her.

Hearing her shout, all the nearby flower ghouls who had been going about their business stopped and turned to stare at her, causing her to blanch. Hurriedly waving her hands to show she meant no harm, she coughed and lowered her voice.

“Come on, Ruel.”

“Viper now.”

“Viper then. You know what I want,” Hollice said, clenching her fist.

“You want power,” Viper stated, his voice even. “But at what cost?”

“Any cost,” Hollice replied, her eyes burning.

“Fine. Follow me. I’ll take you to my master and we’ll see if he’s willing to take you in.”

Pulling back from his view of Viper, Garrett scratched his head. He had fully intended to recruit Hollice, by force even, but Viper had known how to push her buttons perfectly. Originally Garrett had assumed that the best use for Viper was as a vessel for him to control remotely, but this encounter with Hollice seemed to underscore that that wasn’t always the case. Once again Viper had proved he could operate independently without any issue, and in many cases, better than Garrett.

Feeling a tinge of embarrassment that he’d assumed otherwise, Garrett could only sigh. Micromanaging was not, as he originally thought, the best way. He would have to work on his delegation. The question now was what to do with Hollice. He had thought to himself that she would make an excellent candidate for his second Guardian Seed as soon as he’d seen her, but upon further reflection, he realized she might be more useful as a loyal soldier under Viper.

I can use a four-stem flower to increase her loyalty without completely overwriting her personality since she’s Awakened, or a five-stem flower if she proves to be untrustworthy.

Having made his decision, Garrett began to check over the flower ghouls, making sure he had a good grasp on their locations and numbers. He was still wary that they might suddenly slip from his control. Though if they did, they very well might destroy the entire city if not dealt with promptly. Shaking his head at the thought, the last thing Garrett did was enter his personal dream.

He had been leaving it as a school room for Ryn, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t need it a whole lot in the near future. Still, it seemed a shame to take it apart, so he just added a few touches here and there and then snapped his fingers, forming a door. Ever since his mental energy had been upgraded, he had been feeling a sense of space in his mind, and after some investigation, he realized it was because he now had the capacity to upgrade his dream.

Opening the door he’d created, he walked forward, watching a large room roll out in front of him. Tables spread across the floor and an ornate bar stocked with spirits from Earth appeared in a U shape in the middle of the room. Blinking, he saw booths appear along the walls and a small stage popped up on the far end of the room. In complete awe, Garrett looked around, his mind jumping dozens of years back to his time on Earth.

The bar in front of him was the spitting image of his favorite place to go while he was on Earth and fit what he had in mind perfectly. With a happy sigh, his coat, gloves, and hat all vanished, reappearing on a coat rack by the back of the bar. Walking around behind the bar, he undid his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up as he scanned the bottles that lined the shelves. Taking down a few of his favorites, he mixed himself a drink and poured it into the glass that magically came to his hand. Lifting his mask and taking a sip, nostalgia flooded through him, causing him to sigh.

You know what this needs? Mood music.

Snapping his fingers at the stage, a quartet of musicians appeared, soft music drifting from their instruments. For a moment he was lost in the memory of another world, another life. There had been very few things in his life on Earth that he had truly enjoyed, but the moments he had spent here, listening to music and spending time with his only friend, had been among his favorites. Sensing a shift in his dream he saw a woman sitting at the bar, her face indistinct. With an illusive laugh, she spoke something in a voice too soft to catch and gestured for him to come and sit.

With his lips twitching into a wry smile, Garrett walked over and sat down, only to find that she had vanished. Closing his eyes to get his beating heart under control, he slowly finished his drink, his mind mulling over the strangeness of his new life. When he’d first appeared in this world his focus had been singular. Survive at all costs. He had thrown himself into the Dream and the gang, spending every moment trying to increase the likelihood that he would get to keep his new life.

Garrett remembered how he’d died on earth in excruciating detail, and he also remembered how he’d died in this world. The loss of his right hand had been but an afterthought to the Awakened soldier who had stabbed a sword through his spine, severing the nerves in his lower back. He had been left on the bridge as the prince was cut down before his eyes, buying time for the jewel of the royal family, Princess Eloise, to escape.

Just as the final moment of his life on Earth was firmly planted in his mind, so too was his last breath on the bridge. Yet here he was, in the body of a cripple, with the memories of both lives firmly planted in his head. Truth be told, he knew he wasn’t Paul Geller from Earth or even Garrett Klein from this world. Rather, just like the fusion of Dream Flowers transformed their hosts into a new person, the mixture of Paul and Garrett had transformed into someone new. Something new.

There was too much mystery surrounding him. Why two lives that had already ended had combined, why he had come back to life, why his soul spark gave him access to the Dream. Countless mysteries shrouded his life, making him feel like he was lost in a dense fog. And at the center of it all was the Dreamer’s Throne. Draining the last drop from his glass, Garrett sighed. Though it was impossible for him to feel entirely safe, especially considering the strength of the foes he faced, he knew that he’d achieved the objective he had originally set out to achieve. With the flower ghouls and Viper protecting him from the shadows, and the Dream Flowers and his new gang giving him influence during the day, Garrett was relatively safe. His life was no longer entirely outside of his control.

So what’s next?

With the freedom to pursue whatever he wanted, within reason, Garrett found himself at a loss. His life on Earth had been spent in the pursuit of power, and that had gotten him killed. Painfully. Without a desire to repeat that, he was left with the lingering regret that Garrett had died with, but in the end, he wasn’t actually Garrett.

“What do I want?”

Listening to the sound of his words hanging in the air, Garrett looked around him and his eyes lit up.

“I want to know. I want to know why I’m here. Why the Dream exists. What the Dreamer’s Throne is. Hah. I guess in the end I really am an observer.”

Clapping his hands together caused the glass to vanish, and with one last look around, he stood up.

“But right now, it’s time to welcome guests.”