Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:41 am

Book 2: Chapter 11

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By the time dawn came, Garrett was wiped out. He had not only burned through a dozen experience points, but had also orchestrated the death of seven awakened. All of them had been left in place, their bodies lifeless but otherwise untouched, as if their souls had been snatched away in the night, while the remaining awakened in Howler’s gang had been recruited, if somewhat forcefully, into his employ. On the upside, he had rid the city of a villainous gang, removing a direct threat to the Klein Family’s expansion plans. They had also, thanks to Ryn’s almost supernatural ability with locks, removed a considerable amount of wealth and all of the deeds, loan documents, and blackmail material that the Howler gang had been storing in the vaults.

After Ryn opened the safes up, Pax and the Flower Ghouls had been able to clear them out, transporting everything through the tunnels to the Inn’s basement where they hid it for Obe to pick up the next day. Sitting in the Dreamer’s Throne moments before the sun’s rays hit the city, Garrett could feel the powerful energy that radiated from the throne pressing into him, bringing a warmth that erased the night’s chill. A flicker caught his eye and as he blinked, a waterfall of screens popped up in front of him. Blinking again, he reached out to look at one of them.

A dreamer has killed a lesser nightmare. You have gained 1 EXP.

EXP: 73/160

There were fifteen of these windows, and it took Garrett a moment to realize where they had come from. Closing his eyes, he began to review the scattered images that filtered into his mind from the dream flowers and caught sight of an exhausted looking Asher in one of them. Realization hit Garrett like a slap and his eyes widened in surprise. While he had been out dealing with the Howler gang with Viper and Pax, the four other awakened dreamers had entered Dreamer’s Rest and then gone out to hunt, clearing out the lesser nightmares who had been attracted toward the dream flowers they had planted.

Over the course of the night, they had killed fifteen nightmares, netting him as many experience points. As he clicked through the windows, he saw all of the experience he had spent on his mission being refilled and a pleased smile crept across his face. When it finally stopped, it was at eighty-seven.

That works better than I thought. Even if they only average ten experience points a day, I’d crack the next level in just over a week. I should prioritize working with them for the time being, since that will allow me to get the next level of Dream Seed which will let the dream flowers propagate on their own. That’s going to save me a lot of experience points, so long as I can be patient.

Given the new development and the experience offset he got from the awakened dreamers, Garrett found himself in a good mood, his concerns over the cost of the mission assuaged. Overall, he considered the night quite a success. He had managed to eliminate a major roadblock to the Family’s expansion, while also plundering considerable wealth. Of even more importance than the gold coins, however, were the deeds and loan documents that they had grabbed. There was also a lot of blackmail material, but Garrett wasn’t interested in using it, as blackmail was messy and considerably less efficient than his flowers.

Morning had come and as the sun’s rays spilled over Insomnium, Garrett woke from the dream. He took a moment to lie still, staring up at his ceiling as he let his mind sweep through the inn. Ryn was back and Obe, who had gotten up an hour earlier, was already organizing the stuff in the basement. There was much to do in the aftermath of the mission, and Garrett’s primary concern was that the death of the Howler gang not be connected to the Klein family. The main issue, of course, was that it was possible that Pax could be tracked through the tunnels under the city, going from the looted safe room to the passages under Dreamer’s Inn, so Garrett sent a mental message to Viper, who was moving through the sewers with a few of the flower ghouls in tow.

Trusting Viper to deal with the issue, Garrett got himself ready for the day and settled himself into his wheelchair. Breakfast was served at his desk and for the next three hours he sifted through the documents that Ryn and Obe brought to his desk. The gold coins were added to the coffers where the proceeds from the soap sales were kept, and the Klein Family suddenly found themselves among the rich. To Garrett, the coins were the least interesting thing they had swiped, but from the way Obe kept glancing over at the coffers and Ryn kept stroking the top of one of the chests, he was clearly alone in his opinion.

Busying himself with the paperwork, Garrett sorted the deeds out, identifying which were used as collateral for loans, which were owned by Thomas outright, and which might be the most contested. The death of Thomas and the other awakened would cause the gang to splinter, and while there was still plenty of wealth for the taking, the Howler gang’s most valuable possessions were now sitting in a tidy pile in front of Garrett. At final count there were six businesses, a dozen buildings that were rented out as shops, nearly thirty homes being let to tenants, and deeds for almost thirty properties that had been used for loan collateral.

Most of the deeds were simple, and entitled the bearer of the deed to ownership of the property, which is why Thomas had been so interested in gathering them. Only those who were truly desperate would use their deed for collateral, as it meant that their land could be stolen right out from under them if he decided it was worth the effort. Instead, if the financial records were accurate, Thomas had been using that threat to demand excessive interest payments, collecting way more over time than the property was worth.

In addition to the deeds, there were close to a hundred loan records, ranging from as little as a single gold up to a whopping two hundred gold coins. A quick total revealed that the Howler gang had lent out close to three thousand gold coins over the last few years, and while Garrett suspected that some of these documents were now defunct, that was still a lot of money. Just like the deeds, these loan documents had been written in such a way that the person who held the loan document was entitled to the payments, a common practice among loan sharks, as it would allow them to sell the loan document to other gangs.

Once everything was sorted, Garrett wrote out a short note, signing it with the five petaled flower insignia of the Family, and sent one of the gang members to deliver it to the meat processing plant on Heifer street. Already, whispers of something happening to the Howlers were starting to spread through the grapevine, and they soon swelled into a dozen wild accounts when the city’s exorcists showed up and cordoned off the building. About midday, Garrett got Ryn to push him out of the inn, accompanied by Obe and four of the new awakened the Family had recruited. Flanked by Asher, Kinsley, Maximus, and Helger, their procession was an intimidating one, and people scattered to the sides of the street when they caught sight of them.

“Where are we headed?” Obe asked for the third time.

“We’re going to negotiate with the Howler gang,” Garrett said, his voice patient.

“Boss, they are all dead,” Obe whispered, his expression confused.

“Are they?” Garrett replied, his face the picture of surprise. “I don’t think that’s true. Besides, if they are, we don’t know anything about it. Now get your expression under control or I’ll send you back to the inn.”

Nodding, Obe tried to get himself in order as they entered the street where the Howlers had made their headquarters. Coming in the daytime was much easier than it had been to get to this location in the dream, but Garrett’s attention was occupied with the two dozen city guards who had established a perimeter around the property. As their group got close, a heavy-set guard held up his hand.

“This area is off limits to civilians.”

Giving the guard a wide-eyed look, Garrett gestured to the building behind the guard line. It was crawling with exorcists, which honestly surprised Garrett.

“Can I ask what happened? We were hoping to talk to Mr. Howler.”

“Heh, you’re out of luck then,” the guard said, his lips turning up in a nasty smile. “Mr. Howler is not available and won’t ever be available again. I told you, this area is prohibited, so you better leave.”

Garrett’s astonishment turned into a frown, but he persisted.

“We need to talk to a representative of the Howler group.”

“And I told you—”

“That’s enough.”

Cut off by a dry voice, the guard turned and saw a middle-aged man with a sandy mustache approaching, causing his mouth to snap shut. Recognizing the shock of blonde hair styled into a wave, Garrett remembered seeing the chief exorcist after his encounter with the possessed Henrick. Clearly, the chief exorcist remembered Garrett as well, and his eyes lingered on the other members of the group for a moment longer than was comfortable as he stopped in front of them.

“This is an active crime scene and the scene of a suspected supernatural event. Can I ask what you are doing here?”

Nodding, Garrett held up a small book that he had brought with him. Tucked in its pages was a deed, the edges of the document peeking out just far enough that it could be identified.

“I was coming to negotiate with the Howler gan… group, regarding a property that I’m interested in over on Heifer street.”

“That might be a bit hard,” the chief exorcist said, a wry smile on his face as a corpse was carried out of the building behind him. “The Howler group fell prey to some sort of strange condition, and they’re either dead or scattered. Remind me again who you are.”

“My name is Garrett, sir. I’m the leader of the Klein Merchant Group.”

“Is that a competing gan… group?” the chief exorcist asked, his tone amused. “You don’t have to answer that. Instead, why don’t you tell me what sort of interaction you’ve had with the Howlers recently.”

Quietly explaining the confrontation that they had experienced with Thomas Howler the day before, Garrett waved his book again.

“My hope was to come to an agreement with the Howlers so that they would focus their attention elsewhere, allowing me to make an investment into Delver Butchery. But if they’ve passed on, then it seems I’m wasting my time. Can you share what happened?”

Staring at Garrett for a moment, the chief exorcist suddenly nodded and called for one of the bodies to be brought over. The two exorcists carried it over and put it down, removing the sheet that covered the corpse to reveal the pallid body of a thin man with a tight goatee. It was bizarre, as the expression frozen on the body’s face was one of pure terror, but the rest of his body didn’t look like it had been tense. Rigor mortis had set in some time ago, but otherwise, it appeared that the man had died without struggle.

“Do you know what killed them?” Garrett asked softly, his eyes scanning the corpse of the awakened gang member as if he was looking for clues.

“It appears that he was frightened to death,” the chief exorcist said, his eyes firmly fixed on Garrett. “Almost like he encountered a nightmare.”

Drawing back, like he had been frightened by the chief exorcist’s words, Garrett stared at the blonde man, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“Can nightmares really kill someone?”

The question seemed to throw the exorcist off, and he frowned, his eyes searching Garrett’s face.

“Do you remember your encounter with the spirit that possessed Henrick?” he asked, as if he was trying to get a reaction from Garrett.

“Yes, I remember it clearly. It was terrifying.”

“Well, if a spirit like that enters a person’s dream, it could, theoretically, scare them to death. Though, we also can’t rule out the possibility of necromancy.”

“Necromancy? You mean the raising of the dead?”

“Necromancy is more than that,” the chief exorcist said, waving his hand. “It also includes the whole school of black magic, including curses and sacrificial rituals. This could be the work of a cult, or even a solo necromancer. We’ve been picking up increased traces of undead in the area, so it’s always good to be cautious. But so long as you keep to the streets and don’t go wandering around in the crypts under the city, you should be safe.”

Smiling slightly, Garrett patted his wheelchair.

“Not much risk of that. I’m not so great at wandering, sir.”

“Heh, I guess that’s true. If you think of anything you want to report, any suspicious behavior you remember, don’t hesitate to let me know. You can ask for Elvin Fellix at the local exorcist office. It’s located next to the adventurer’s guild.”

“I will. Thank you, sir.”

At Garrett’s signal, Ryn turned his wheelchair around, and their group left the scene, leaving Chief Fellix staring after them. As they walked away, Ryn wanted to turn and look back, but she resisted the urge until they were around the corner, missing the interaction happening behind them. As soon as Garrett and the others were out of sight, Chief Fellix looked to his right, to where the exorcists who brought the corpse over were standing, their expressions grim. Both of them were young and tough looking, and one of them held a small notebook out in front of him, its pages open. Walking over, Chief Fellix looked at the notebook and then up at the exorcist holding it.

“How is it?”

“I… I’m not sure. The Informant’s Ledger isn’t working correctly.”

“What do you mean it's not working correctly?” Chief Fellix asked, his eyes narrowing.

“It… the entry it made for that young man was scratched out as soon as it appeared. It’s unreadable.”

Drawing in a breath, Chief Fellix quickly turned to look down the street but Garrett and his group were long gone. Slowly, the chief’s gaze returned to the mysterious notebook. It was small and well worn, a simple brown leather book that looked like a million others that could be found in the city. But unlike the multitude of others, this was a mysterious artifact, one of the most important tools in the exorcist’s arsenal. What it should have done is recorded the basic information about Garrett, including his status as an awakened and what affiliations he had. Instead, the book had censored itself, covering the words that appeared on its pages with heavy splotches of ink.

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