Dreamer's Throne

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned and walked away, forcing Gero to hurry to catch up with him. He brought her to the end of the hall, and opened the door, leading her into a room filled with the sounds of laughter, conversation, and the clink of glass against wooden tables. The transition from imperious stone hall filled with mysterious figures, to what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill inn, like those found everywhere in the city, caught Gero off guard, a sight that wasn't lost on Geller. He turned to her, his eyes smiling behind his white mask, as he gestured to the room.

"Once you spend enough time in the dream," he said,"You'll get used to this sort of thing. But this is Dreamer's Rest, a sort of way station or rest house that exists in the dream. Those who have inadvertently or by design wandered into the dream typically find themselves here. It's either that or find yourself dead, as surviving outside these walls is dangerous beyond comprehension. Come, I'll show you the adventurer’s section."

As they walked through the crowds of people, Gero found that she recognized more than a few of them. Her expression grew more and more surprised, culminating in her stopping and staring when, having gotten to the top of the stairs and entered the VIP section, she saw at least a dozen members of her own gang sitting around a table talking with each other.

Over the last few days, Garrett had carefully been pulling members of the Ebony Association into Dreamer's Rest. He introduced them to the concept of hunting nightmares in the dream, helping them grow stronger in their abilities, while at the same time strengthening the hold the dream flowers had over them.

This wasn't the first time since beginning to interact with the Klein family that Gero had found herself with a shiver running down her spine. But this time, that shiver embedded itself deeply in her heart. Had she not been pulled into the dream by the mysterious Dreamer on the Throne, she would have had no idea that members of her gang had already been recruited. She could only imagine what it would have meant if she had persisted in pressing the issue with the Klein family. As if sensing her unease, the white-masked figure beside her patted her on the shoulder.

"The Dreamer's influence reaches far," he said, "but as one of the family, you have nothing to worry about. Instead, you can use this to your advantage, cementing your position as a leader by revealing yourself to those of your gang who have awakened. Come on, I can do the introductions."

Bringing Gero over to the table where Pax and the others sat, Garrett introduced her to everyone.

"This is Gero Twin Blade," he said, "Chosen of the Dreamer on the Throne. Treat her as you would treat me."

Immediately, everyone stood up, bowing as they looked at her with curiosity burning in their eyes. Every single one of them knew that Gero had not long ago been an opponent of the Klein family, and so to see her now here as one of their allies left everyone with more questions than answers. Deciding he would leave it to her to answer them, Garrett patted her on the shoulder again and took his leave.

He passed directly from the inn back to the Throne, taking a deep breath to calm his jumping nerves. It was a delicate process bringing another Shaper who wasn't completely loyal into his mental world, and he could feel the incredible pressure that it put on him. It had also taken him tremendous work to be able to juggle all of the uses of Illusory Dream that he had activated to keep it looking like he and Geller were different people.

With the increase in power he had received from defeating another great ruler, Garrett had been able to expand the amount of space attached to Dreamer's Rest. He had used the majority of it to create the Stone Hall, where a giant replica of the Dreamer's throne sat. He had been considering doing this for some time, creating a space for those who were directly under him, as he knew that number would continue to grow into the future.

In his mind, he was envisioning a three-tiered system. The main great room of Dreamer's Rest was where mortals who had awakened could gather, providing opportunity for them to rest, speak with one another, and coordinate. Additionally, it served as a fantastic place for him to gather information, since all of the conversations were filtered through Somnia, organized and fed to him. When combined with all of the information from the dream flowers scattered throughout the district, Garrett felt as if he could keep a close watch on the pulse of his part of the city.

The second area was for those awakened who had become dreamers, creating a positive feedback loop that allowed them to range out into the dream, expanding his territory in exchange for rewards. The system had been good so far, and all of Garrett's tests had turned out positive. Now, he was looking to expand its reach, beginning to pull in awakened who weren't necessarily part of his organization. Though he was taking it slow, Garrett's hope was that eventually, every awakened in the city would be part of Dreamer's Rest, creating an ecosystem that would naturally promote growth, both for himself and for others. The awakened Dreamer's missions provided a steady trickle of experience for him, helping him grow and expand as he brought more people into Dreamer's Rest.

The third space was for those who had entered the Shaper stage, or who served Garrett directly. That would be the Stone Hall. And once awakened Dreamers reached that stage, he would begin the process of inviting them into his service, creating a natural pipeline for grooming powerful supporters. He had already seen the signs of awakening on more than a few of the mortals who spent their time in the Great Room, and once they had successfully broken through to lighting their soul sparks, it was Garrett's intent to invite them up to the VIP section.

Pleased with the overall success of his encounter with Gero, Garrett spent the rest of the evening tuning his plans. Early in the morning, before the sun had yet begun to dye the dark night sky with gray, he sensed Somnia reaching out to him.

"Yes?

“My lord, it appears Ryn is about to engage in combat."

Frowning, Garrett opened his eyes.

"Show me."

Immediately, his vision began to change, and he saw Ryn standing at the edge of a building, which he immediately recognized as Dreamer's Inn. With a start, he realized that she was only a few dozen feet away from him. Her body blended into the shadow as she watched the alley that ran behind the Inn. There were five figures there, all dressed in black, with masks over their faces and darkened blades in their hands. They didn't speak, and instead communicated through complex hand motions.

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Though he was tempted to reach out and deal with them, Garrett was interested in observing what Ryn would do. Ever since he had commanded her to put a team together, he hadn't paid much attention to what she was up to. But as he expanded his awareness, he caught sight of a few other people in the area, and with a faint smile settled back to watch a good show.

With careful, quiet steps, the five men dressed in black approached the back door of the Inn. This would put them in the hallway right outside Garrett's room, and he could almost guarantee that he was their target, from the way they kept looking towards the corner of the building where his room was located. Even though that meant they were staring directly at Ryn, she didn't move, her soul's spark empowering the shadows around her to completely hide her from their view.

One of them crouched by the back door, carefully testing to see if it was locked, which it was, while the others stood around him. He took out a set of lockpicks and began to work on the door, standing up as it sprang open a few moments later. Still, Ryn didn't move, remaining completely motionless as she watched the group of men step into the Inn.

It was only when the third of the black-clothed figures had slipped in through the open doorway that she suddenly sprang into action. The shadows around her expanded like a pair of powerful wings, and she shot forward, literally flying through the air, her dagger heading towards the rearmost enemy's heart. He had been watching the alley, and now his eyes widened in shock as Ryn's figure appeared as if from nowhere, the dagger she carried flashing toward him.

He lifted his own blade to block, but one of Ryn's wings abruptly extended, wrapping around him and pinning him in place. Her dagger shifted slightly, cutting up through his throat and into his chin. It had happened so fast he hadn't had time to scream, but one of his companions heard the muffled thud as the hilt of Ryn's dagger caught on the man's jawbone.

Letting out a low whistle to alert the others, he spun around, only to find himself staring at the back of his trembling companion, who Ryn had just thrown at him. Inside the Inn, the first of the would-be assassins had begun to creep down the hall.

His senses screamed a warning at him, and he threw himself backward as fast as he could. It wasn't fast enough to escape the bolt that shot from Abbius' crossbow. As he stepped around the corner, the bolt ripped through the assassin's chest, leaving a large, gaping wound where his heart should have been. The bolt carried on, nailing the next assassin in the shoulder, causing his entire body to spin around.

The third assassin, who had just entered the inn, tried to scramble out backward, but before he could, a gleaming cleaver spun through the air and chopped into his neck. Striding down the hall, Francis gripped the handle and tore it free, ignoring the splash of blood that covered his apron. He lifted the cleaver into the air and brought it down, ending the man's life.

Ryn stepped into the doorway, looking over the three assassins killed inside.

"You didn't leave any of them alive?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"Was I supposed to?" Francis replied, punctuating his opinion on the matter by spitting on one of the corpses.

"It would have been nice, but it doesn't really matter," Ryn said. "I've been tracking these guys for almost a day and a half.”

“Do you know who hired them?" Abbius asked.

"Yes, one of Marcus Parrow's business partners. After we get cleaned up here, why don't we go and pay him a little visit?"

"I can take care of this," Francis said, gesturing to the bodies with his cleaver. "It'll be as if no one ever showed up. You guys go ahead.”

“All right, we'll be back. Soon."

Abbius trailed Ryn as they left the inn through the back door, and a moment later, Francis came out, carrying the three dead bodies. Garrett had been aware for a long time that his cook was awakened, but as the man had seemed to value his privacy, he had never dug into his past. Ryn, on the other hand, clearly had.

There wasn't long until dawn, so Ryn and Abbius moved quickly. When they arrived outside the mansion home of the man who had hired the assassins, Ryn had Abbius take position on a nearby roof to provide cover for her, and then slipped inside the estate. Even before she was awakened, she had been an expert thief, and now, with the powers over shadow granted to her by her ever-improving soul spark, she might as well have been invisible.

It took her only a few minutes to cross from outside the gate, past the guards, and into the mansion itself. From there, she made her way to the estate’s office where she began her search. Though she could have easily slipped into his bedroom and cut his throat, Ryn had a better idea. Instead, she found a hidden ledger tucked into the false bottom of a secret drawer in his desk. After perusing it for a few minutes, she grinned and put it back, before heading to the safe and going through its contents. Finding a large number of deeds, she stuffed them into her pocket and closed the safe before quickly making her escape.

She took a small detour to drop by Commander Fernek's office, and when she saw that his light was on, she climbed up to the window and slipped inside. He was busy working, checking through the massive pile of records, some seized from Marcus Parrow's estate and some turned in by the overseer, who had revealed all of his corruption.

Hearing a sound at the window, Commander Fernek looked up and then froze in shock as he saw Ryn standing there, lounging against the windowsill. She was dressed in black, her figure blending in with the darkness of the sky outside. On her face, however, was a black mask that seemed to be made of darkness, causing the rainbow flower splashed across the left eye to appear to be floating. Even as he saw her, Commander Fernek could feel his heart calming down. The symbol of the dream flower told him they were on the same side, and as she spoke, that feeling was only reinforced.

"Count Arben has some very interesting documents in his safe that will probably help you in untangling that mess. There's also a ledger that can help corroborate those transactions of Parrow’s you're trying to find. It's hidden in the bottom of the desk in Count Arben’s office. There's a hidden drawer in the back that has a false bottom. You'll find the book there."

Her words still lingering in the air, Ryn vanished, her body bleeding back into the darkness, leaving nothing but an open window and curtains that danced in the soft night breeze. Taking a deep breath, Commander Fernek had never felt so refreshed in his life. He had genuinely wondered if he had made the right decision by committing his lot to Garrett and the Klein family, but he was beginning to discover that the power of the Klein family was far beyond anything he had ever imagined.

Without them, even the rock-solid evidence that he had against Marcus Parrow would likely have resulted in nothing but a slap on the wrist for the merchant, and the signing of his own death warrant, when those above Parrow came to take revenge. Instead, like dominoes falling one after another, everyone even remotely involved with the corrupt merchant was being delivered into his hands, with ironclad evidence impossible to ignore, marching out to present itself in front of him.

Standing up, he walked to the window, gazing out over the dark city for a moment. Then, with a grin, he shut it tight. He walked back over to the desk, picked up the report he had been putting together that listed the names of those with potential involvement, and grinned. It was going to be a good day.