DT4 - Chapter 11

DT4 - Chapter 11

He listened quietly as they described the terrifying adventure they had just been on, and when they spoke of the ship, he found himself mystified. There was simply too much that he didn't know, and he felt like new information was coming at him like a freight train. From traveling merchants who visited the various rulers, to strange, mysterious objects and terrifying floods, Garrett found himself almost overwhelmed. When Pax mentioned that they didn't really fancy going back to the southern part of the city, Garrett couldn't blame her. After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

"I think that's fine," he said. "In that case, focus your efforts in the east, clearing everything to the city wall. We're going to be expanding in that direction."

Sharing a knowing glance with Maren, Pax nodded.

"Will do, boss."

Pondering everything he had heard, Garrett left the inn and returned to the Dreamer's Throne. There were only a few hours before dawn, and he had a few things he wanted to do. The first was relatively simple. He took out the map and the Primordial's Dagger that he had purchased from Karn and examined them. Both looked perfectly fine, but when Garrett gathered the power of the Throne and used it to shroud the map, a faint black mark soon revealed itself.

The mark seemed to be struggling against the Throne, and when Garrett saw that, his eyes narrowed and he redoubled his efforts. The mark was simple, but to Garrett, it looked exactly like the dark markings that Karn wore on his cheeks, chin, and forehead, creating an identifying pattern. He had no idea if it was actually connected to the mysterious merchant, but Garrett wasn't about to take any chances.

How the map was made, he had no idea, though he was sure that if he could procure enough items with enough value, Karn would undoubtedly tell him. The merchant was mercenary beyond belief, seemingly willing to sell or buy anything. Some of the suggestions he had given Garrett when he had asked for the price of the Primordial Dagger had bordered on horrific, and it had taken considerable restraint for Garrett to keep from throwing him out.

Karn clearly had no regard for life of any kind. He had asked first for human souls, a request Garrett refused roundly. It had taken a considerable amount of time before they found something Garrett was willing to offer and Karn found valuable enough to trade. It had necessitated Garrett calling Delrisa to bring him a full liter of her blood, and Garrett had felt rather bad about it when he saw her gaunt appearance but after she had cheerfully told him that it would be easy to replenish with a visit to the prison, all of his feelings of sympathy had vanished, and he dismissed her with a wave. He hadn't been aware that the blood of a greater vampire like Delrisa was so valuable.Thi/s chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.co/m

As he watched the dark image on the map burn away, Garrett considered Karn further. The truth was, he was suspicious about this mysterious figure who had shown up out of nowhere. At the same time, he recognized that Karn had the potential to be quite useful. The trick was going to be making sure that he wasn't the one who ended up being used.

It was no surprise to him that the map had some sort of trick attached to it. After all, it's exactly what he would have done had he been in Karn's position. Once the black symbol was gone, Garrett examined the map once more, paying careful attention to the areas that weren't part of his territory.

To the northwest, sprawling over the rest of the district, was an area tinged with a brownish-orange. When Garrett concentrated on it, the image of a spiked bull appeared, reminding him of the Chosen of Gath he had seen stalking the streets. The territory to the northwest belonged to the Burning Pain of Gath, and from what Garrett could tell, the Great Ruler was headquartered in an old ore refinery. That made sense given the spike-covered bull's metallic nature, but also boded ill for Garrett, who would quickly find himself in conflict with the Burning Pain of Gath if he continued to expand his influence.

Unsure what to do, Garrett turned his attention to the south. Directly to the south of the inn, across the river, were the slums, a large section of the city walled off from the nobles who were directly west, near the palace. From what Garrett understood, the slums had originally been an area built outside of the city wall. An enterprising king, many hundreds of years ago, desiring to expand the footprint of the city, had built a second wall surrounding the slums, which at that point were simply neighborhoods, and begun construction.

The king's untimely death left the project unfinished, however, and the king's son made that part of the city the dumping ground for anyone deemed undesirable. What had once been a meticulously planned set of neighborhoods designed to extend the noble district turned into a rat's warren of crumbling buildings built over top of one another. With narrow streets and hidden passages, the slums were jam-packed with people, and though Garrett had never been there himself, from what he understood, it was close to another world, and felt nothing like the rest of the city.

STATUS

NAME: Garrett Klein

PATH: Dream Ruler

SUB-PATH: Dream Gardener, Path of the Watcher

LEVEL: 6

EXP: 417/640

Ever since the sudden glut of experience he had received during the battle with Agma-Yoth, Garrett felt as if his experience gain had slowed to a crawl. He knew this was just his perception, and not actually accurate. He had been making steady progress over the last week. Balancing the growth of the family and the network of Dream Flowers with his own personal strength was tricky. He felt like he had found a good rhythm, steadily creeping forward, even as the roots of the Dream Flower network spread outward. By this point, his heart and mind had become completely calm. Closing his eyes, his fingers brushed lightly over the throne's armrests. He could feel the throne underneath him as he slowly guided the energy it produced into his body, carefully searching every nook and cranny for what he feared he might find.

In his cursory searches previously, he hadn't discovered anything, but the worrying tendency to become emotional caused him to think that something was wrong. For over an hour, he carefully examined himself, but didn't find anything abnormal. Still, he didn't get frustrated, and instead began the process again, paying careful attention to his soul spark. It wasn't until the third time he swept his body for changes that he noticed it. The faintest discoloration on part of his soul spark. As he concentrated on the slight shift in color, he immediately realized what it was.

After defeating Agma-Yoth, a portion of his opponent's power had been forcefully sucked into his body, and he had absorbed it into his soul spark, rapidly increasing his progress towards the manifesting stage. Though that power had been relatively pure, it didn't mesh perfectly with his own power, which had originated from the dreamer's throne. Once he noticed it, however, it was obvious, and he began to see more and more spots of faint discoloration all over his soul spark.

A deep sense of fear spiked through him, and as it did, Garrett saw those spots turn darker for a moment, before fading once more. Under him, the throne trembled, as if affronted that such impure energy had taken its shape, and abruptly unleashed a wave of power that nearly knocked Garrett from his seat. He gripped the armrest tightly, a low groan slipping from his lips, as the power the throne exuded began to attack his soul spark.

Faintly, as if echoing through panes of glass, Garrett heard a terrible scream, and the fear he felt spiked again. The throne's power poured into him, burning the dark spots, much like it had with the symbol hidden in the map. It was an intense experience, and though not quite painful, Garrett would have been fine for it to end at any time. Yet it continued, as the power of the throne chewed through his soul spark, inch by inch. What was left in its wake was gleaming in gold, a level brighter than it had even been before.

When it was finally done, and the power faded, so too did that faint scream. Garrett took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a clarity he hadn't felt in days. If his suspicions were correct, he had nearly been caught in a plot, staged by Agma-Yoth. The great ruler had clearly known what would happen if he lost, and if Garrett was guessing correctly, had hidden his soul, or at least a piece of it, in the power that was torn from him as he died.

That power, which Garrett had absorbed, had carried a corrupting force, slowly transforming Garrett from the inside. Had Garrett not discovered it, and brought it to light, it's likely that he would have transformed into a completely different person, or maybe even become Agma-Yoth himself. There was no way to know precisely what would have occurred, but Garrett was sure that it wouldn't have been good.