Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:41 am

Book 2: Chapter 13

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The room was filled with the afternoon light, and Gavon was filled with the disconcerting sense that something strange hovered just outside his line of sight. Garrett was sitting behind the big desk, his thin form and smiling face presenting a non-threatening picture that belied the truth that Gavon was coming to understand. For the briefest moment, the Delver gang leader felt like he could see a large shadow stretching around Garrett like the petals of a flower and a cold spike of fear shot down his spine as the petals transformed into sharp fangs that bit at him. Jerking back, his vision returned to normal and the reality of the situation settled on him.

“I guess we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” Gavon said, breaking the silence that had filled the office after Garrett’s question. “But I’ll warn you, we won’t agree to anything that takes away our autonomy.”

Nodding, Garrett pushed the agreement that he had drafted across the table for Gavon to examine.

“We don’t want to take away your autonomy. The truth is, we don’t even want to tell you what to do. We don’t have time to manage you, or anyone else, and I’d much rather you continue to do your thing. You might even think of this as a defensive alliance. You’ll be part of the Family and will receive the benefits and protections that come with that. However, you’ll also operate as an independent group and will be responsible for managing yourselves. As you highlighted, we’ll be using a syndicated structure, and as the Family continues to grow, that will mean that more semi-independent groups will be added.

“The rules are fairly simple, but will be enforced strictly. Do not make deals with anyone outside the Family without my permission. Do not harm the interests of the Family. Treat the members of the Family as you would your own kin. The flip side of the rules are the privileges. The Family pledges to support any deals you make and protect you and your assets from any outside force that would threaten you. Like I said, it’s a simple agreement. Finally, we do not encourage illegal activity, but if you would like to engage in something outside of the scope of the law, come and talk with me. If it can be done in a way that does not infringe on our rules, it will be considered.”

Reading the contract slowly, Gavon seemed to be struggling a bit, but he managed to get through most of it. Shooting a sharp glance at Garrett when he reached the last page, he put the papers back on the desk.

“Is something bothering you?”

Smirking, Gavon nodded.

“Yeah. Are you really going to stand against the Grave Walkers? They’re one of the ten seats. They have power and influence you can’t comprehend. The only reason that the Howlers could make them pause is that Howler had his own connections. But now he is dead. Do you really think that a small gang like yours is going to be able to stand against them?”

“Not a gang,” Garrett said gently, “but a family. And I don’t intend to go up against them directly, no. But even if they start throwing their weight around, I’m confident in being able to defend. At the worst, we’ll drag them down with us.”

Shaking his head, Gavon looked down at the contract and then back up at Garrett.

“You know, I’m not sure if I’m crazy, or you are, but even if this is a long-shot, it’s better than what we’ll get when the Grave Walkers come and make us an offer. Fine. We’ll do it. But if you don’t live up to your end of the bargain, expect to find our cleavers added to your list of problems.”

“That’s fair,” Garrett said, leaning forward as he handed the quill to Gavon.

Hesitating for a moment, Gavon appeared to gather himself before taking the quill and adding a shaky signature to the bottom of the document. Taking the paper, Garrett blew on it and stored it away carefully.

“Welcome to the Klein Family,” he said, his expression growing serious. “Now that you are part of us, there are a few things that we should do. We have badges that we use, and I would ask that each member of your group take one. There is no rule saying you have to wear it constantly, but it is good to have. We also have plaques that can be hung up by your doors that will serve as identification. This will let people know that you’ve joined us, and will help our patrols know where to go.”

“I don’t know that we need help patrolling,” Gavon said, the corners of his lips curling down in a frown.

It took a moment, but Garrett quickly realized why Gavon was reacting negatively. Holding up his hand, Garrett shook his head as he explained.

“We do not take protection fees. Our money is made through other means, and the patrols are there for safety, not extortion. Joining the Family is voluntary, and that goes for the businesses in our community, as well as individuals, so extortion is not tolerated. In fact, if any of our members are found to be taking money on the side, they will be punished. As I mentioned, we do not encourage illegal activity, and we enforce the rule of law quite strictly within our territory.”

Relaxing, Gavon gave Garrett a disbelieving look, as if he was still waiting for the catch to appear. The picture that Garrett was painting was almost too good to be true and Gavon was wondering where the angle was. Chuckling, Garrett shook his head and tapped his finger on the desk.

“Look, I know it might seem strange, but we operate on a simple principle. Stability. And the happier the people in the Family are, the more stable the Family will be. That doesn’t mean that we are opposed to violence, coercion, and general lawlessness. We just aim those things outward, instead of inward. There is plenty of pie to go around and no reason to harm ourselves for short term gain by hoarding it. Am I making sense?”

Chewing on his lip, Gavon nodded slowly, his mind turning Garrett’s words over.

“I think so. It’s really the same sort of principles that we have. I’ve just never heard of a real gang actually following it. Aren’t you afraid that one of your lieutenants will decide they want more power and try to take it from you?”

The slow smile that spread across Garrett’s face seemed to carry a terrifying pressure and for a moment, Gavon thought he saw that strange twisting shadow again. Leaning forward slightly, Garrett shook his head.

“No. I’m not worried about it at all.”

As he spoke, mental energy flowed out of Garrett, filling the room and seeping into the dream seed that rested in Gavon’s mind. Gavon’s soul spark started to flare, naturally resisting the foreign energy but the dream seed was having none of it. With a shiver, it dispersed the defenses, sucking up both Gavon and Garrett’s energy, quickly sprouting its first flower. A faint, rainbow glitter appeared in Gavon’s eyes and he sat up straight, the tension in his shoulders releasing as he felt the pressure of Garrett’s soul spark filling the room. The other two awakened shared startled glances, but before they could step forward, they found themselves suppressed.

“You… you are a shaper?”

Hearing Gavon’s whisper, Garrett held his finger to his lips as he restrained his energy, returning to the completely unassuming mortal that he had been before.

“I don’t fear anyone in this city,” Garrett said, answering Gavon’s question in a round-about manner. “That doesn’t mean we will look for trouble, of course, but it does mean that we can move in confidence.”

Though he had already signed the papers, Gavon had not been entirely convinced that he wasn’t signing his own death warrant, but now that Garrett had revealed his strength, all concerns evaporated. On the surface, there were only a few other shapers in the city, but Gavon knew a secret. Each of the gangs who held a seat on the council of ten were led by a shaper, so discovering that Garrett had a similar strength immediately elevated the Klein Family to the level of any of the ten in his mind. Standing up, Gavon gave Garrett a bow, his attitude completely different.

“Thank you for allowing us to join the Family, boss. We’ll work hard for you.”

“I look forward to growing together,” Garrett replied.

After Gavon and his men had withdrawn, Garrett spent a few moments reviewing what had just happened. It was his practice to mentally review each move he made to ensure that he wasn’t making any missteps or overlooking any important details. It had gone how he had assumed it would, and he was starting to understand the template he would follow with the next group they moved to absorb. Before that, however, he wanted to ensure that they completely absorbed the Delver Butchers without leaving any latent problems. First and foremost, that meant planting flowers in all of their awakened. Checking his experience points, Garrett grimaced. Every time he made progress toward the next level it seemed that he was dragged backward.

I really need to focus on getting to the next level, but I’m about seventy experience points off. I can mitigate some of that by dragging more people into Dreamer’s Rest, and hopefully the Dream Team can score some more. But I also need to spend some experience getting flowers down at the meat processing plant to provide some defense there, which means I also have to go wandering around the dream again. Actually, wait. Why don’t I just have the Dream Team clear the path?

Slowly, a plan started forming, and Garrett came to a solid decision regarding his next move. That night, he entered the dream and stepped into Dreamer’s Rest, looking around. Currently, the awakened dreamers gathered at a table in the center of the floor, but with a snap of his fingers, Garrett moved their table off to the side, putting it on a platform with a wide wooden ramp leading up to it. Ornate railings with carved flower motifs sprang up around the edge of the platform and a small bar appeared at the far side. This would be where Garrett would gather the awakened who entered his dream. Currently there was only one table, but as more awakened entered, Garrett would add more tables to the space, and even create more of these platforms.

He was still maintaining the prison that he had created, and didn’t have plans to get rid of it right now, so the space that he had to work with was limited, but he knew that as he grew in strength, those constraints would continue to loosen. Climbing the stairs, he added touches here and there, adding decorations and lights to give the platform a mysterious ambiance. Looking around, he chose a spot next to the bar and concentrated for a moment, creating a wide board that was split into two sections labeled Quests and Map respectively. On the left side of the board he conjured a single piece of paper that he pinned up under the word Quest.

The next step took a bit more effort, and five experience points, causing him to wince. But the result was a large map of Insomnium. Almost all of the map was covered by fog, but there was a small spot that showed Dreamer’s Rest and the areas around the inn that had been explored already. Small colorful flower markers revealed the placement of dream flowers, and gleaming stars showed the awakened dreamers who had just begun entering the dream for the night. Pleased with his creation, Garrett stepped back and got ready to welcome them.

Maren and Kinsley were the first to arrive, and Garrett went down to meet them, inviting them up to the new area of the bar. Up the stairs they found six chairs arranged around the table, each with a symbol carved into its back. Excitement filled their eyes as they examined them, looking for their symbols. Kinsley spotted the flame with a bolt of lightning in the middle almost immediately, and after looking over the others, Maren pointed at the tower with an eye in its center.

“That looks like mine.”

“Yeah, I think that makes the most sense. Let’s see. We have a sun with a feather, that is probably Estel. And the creepy ghost thing is Asher. Isn’t this cool? It’s like we’re members of a secret society,” Kinsley said with a grin, taking his seat.

“Or a cult,” Asher said, walking up the stairs. “We don’t know anything about this place except that we’ve been pulled into it by a strange man in a mask who is using us to clear the dream. What are the chances that he has our best interest in mind?”

Listening from the bar, Garrett coughed lightly into his fist, realizing that his questioning earlier had caused Asher to start wondering about the whole situation. Thankfully, the others were not as concerned. Estel, ever the pragmatist, took her seat as she addressed Asher’s concern.

“We’re already working for the Family, and this place is clearly tied to the Family as well, so if it’s a cult, we’re already in deep. But be realistic, Asher. Even if this was some sort of cult, would you give up your chance to enter the dream?”

“No, of course not,” Asher grumbled. “But I think we should know what we are getting into.”

Viper and Pax were the last to arrive, and as soon as they had taken their seats, Garrett walked over.

“Welcome, everyone, to the evolved form of Dreamer’s Rest. The layout has been rearranged for your convenience, and you’ll find two new items on the wall. The first is the quest board. Here, occasionally jobs will appear. Some of them are time sensitive, and must be completed within a time frame. Others are general, and can be done at your convenience. Next to the quest board, you’ll find the map. This will show you not only the areas that have been cleared of fog, but also where the safe zones are and where dream flowers are planted.”

Glancing over at the board, Kinsley saw that there was a quest on it so he jumped up to get it, returning a moment later with the paper.

“Quest. Clear the fog past Heifer Street. Time limit, two days,” he read.

“Heifer street is north of here, right?” Pax asked, looking at the map.

When Kinsley had picked up the quest paper a small yellow mark had appeared, outlining the area that the quest was referring to, and the group all got up to crowd around the map.

“It seems doable to me,” Maren said. “It’s a four mile stretch, but if we drop flowers along the way, I think we should be able to do it in two days.”

“We’ll accept the quest,” Viper replied, taking the paper from Kinsley. “It will be a good chance to kill nightmares along the way.”

Share