Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:42 am

Book 2: Chapter 38

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Turning the bone cage that held the animal skull over in his hand, Garrett’s brow furrowed. This mysterious artifact was a strange one, and he wasn’t sure what it did. It was called the Butcher’s Trophy, but that didn’t give him any solid clues as to what it might do. The Hollow Warden who had carried it was a greater nightmare and Garrett guessed that some of its powers must have come from the mysterious artifact, but he wasn’t sure what powers it possessed. The team had brought it to him in Dreamer’s Rest, exchanging it for an upgrade to Estel’s mask that would give her greater reserves of energy, and he had brought it into the waking world to examine more closely. He was currently sitting in his office, looking at the skull, while occasionally glancing at the note on his desk. It purported to be from Carraway, but a moment earlier Garrett had checked the thoughts and feelings that he could glean from the merchant through their connection and had seen no sign of it.

Is this another trap? Who would send me a message from Carraway telling me that there is a serious problem? Is the goal to attack me on the way? This is strange.

Thinking about it for a moment, Garrett opened his drawer and took out the small hand mirror that matched the design of the Ghost’s Mirror, calling in his mind to Isabelle. Seconds later, the long-haired Dire Spirit drifted into view.

“Can you keep this in the Ghost’s Mirror?” Garrett asked, showing her the Butcher’s Trophy.

Thinking for a moment, Isabelle nodded and produced a small mirror of her own. A few seconds later the mysterious artifact was gone from Garrett’s hand and had appeared next to her, held in a strand of her hair.

“Thanks. Keep it safe, and let me know if there are any issues.”

Once again, Isabelle nodded before floating off, leaving the mirror to reflect Garrett’s face. Noticing a furrow in his forehead, he sighed and smoothed it out. A bad feeling was nagging at him, and he was hoping that it was a sign that he was too busy, and not an indication that misfortune was headed their way.

Obe.

Garrett had considered getting a bell of some sort so he could call someone to the office when he needed help, but then he had remembered that the flowers would work just as well. A moment later, Obe wandered in, looking like he had just woken up from a nap.

“Hey boss, what do you need?”

“I need to visit Carraway, but I want some company. Bring a couple people.”

“Uh oh. He do something he shouldn’t have?”

“No. It’s for his protection,” Garrett said, his forehead furrowing again.

“Sure. Let me grab some people.”

“Is Ryn out there?”

“Yup. Want me to send her back?”

“Yes, thank you.”

An hour later, Garrett, Obe, Ryn, and six others were in a carriage, heading for Carraway’s office. It didn’t take them long to get there, and when they got down, Carraway was at the door, all smiles.

“To what do I owe this pleasant visit?” the merchant asked, looking between Garrett and Ryn.

“Just hoping to get some advice from you,” Garrett said, looking around a bit. “Mind if we chat inside?”

“Sure, come on in,” Carraway said, inviting them in.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that just heightened Garrett’s suspicions, so he signaled to Ryn who got up and excused herself to the bathroom. About half an hour later she strolled back in and held up one of the new candles that were being developed.

“I hope you don’t mind, I swiped one of these.”

“No problem. Take as many as you’d like. And let me know if you like the fragrance, or if it’s too strong.”

“Sure.”

After a few more minutes of conversation, Garrett coughed and thanked the confused merchant for his hospitality, bowing his head. He was just lifting it when the door banged open and two dozen guards ran into the room, their swords drawn. Obe and the others immediately reached for their weapons but Garrett beat them to it, his voice echoing in the room like an iron band, causing them to freeze.

“Hold.”

Standing in the doorway, an officer with a scarred face and a mustache stared at Garrett, faint surprise in his eyes. If Obe or any of the others had touched their weapons, he would have ordered them cut down, but because they stopped just short, he had no justification for it. For a moment, the room was quiet, on the cusp of an explosion, and then the sound of the captain’s footsteps broke the silence. Walking into the room, he looked at Carraway whose face was pale and then glanced down at Garrett who was completely calm.

“My name is Jonas Fernek, Captain of the City Guard. I’ve a warrant for the arrest of one Garrett Klein, and one Eby Carraway.”

“What is the charge?” Garrett asked, his head cocking to the side.

“Doesn’t matter,” Captain Fernek said with a shrug as he waved the paper he held. “You just have to come with me.”

“May I see it?”

“Are you planning on resisting?” the captain asked, his eyes narrowing.

Laughing out loud, Garrett lifted his right arm, showing his missing hand and then gestured to his thin body with his other hand.

“I’m crippled, missing a hand, and weigh less than half as much as most of your men. How would I resist? I’m just wondering what sort of justice you’re willing to risk your career over. Let me guess, someone is accusing us of conspiring to evade taxes? Not reporting sales? Huh, looks like I have something right. Fine, take us in, and then start packing your bags.”

A faintly murderous look appeared on the captain’s face as he listened to Garrett’s words and he slowly leaned in close to Garrett.

“The city’s jails are a terrifying place for regular people, let alone a cripple like you. Accidents are very common there, and the warden is a friend of mine, so you might want to think twice before you threaten me.”

Chuckling, Garrett just shook his head, as if he felt sorry for the captain.

“I’m sure you have your reason to be confident, but believe me when I say that if something happens to me, you will not make it through unscathed. Besides, you’re not the only one with backing. Come, if you are going to take us to jail, do it. Otherwise leave us alone.”

From the way that his hands were twitching, it looked like the captain was holding himself back from striking Garrett across the face, but he managed to keep control and gestured for the guards to grab Garrett and Carraway, dragging them outside. It took two men to carry Garrett since his feet didn’t work at all, and they pulled him by the arms, throwing him unceremoniously into a large wagon with an iron cage on top. Gripping the side of the cage, Garrett pulled himself up in the corner as Carraway was pushed in through the small doorway. Stumbling toward Garrett, the merchant managed to stop himself from stepping on Garrett’s legs as he crouched down, his eyes trembling. Licking his dry lips, he kept glancing toward the second floor of the building.

“Search the building! I don’t want to see a single hiding place overlooked,” the captain said, staring at Garrett and Carraway through the bars, a mean look in his eyes.

By this point, they were past threats, so Garrett just shut his eyes. Obe, Ryn, and all the men who had come with them had been pushed out of the office and the soldiers set about their search, going through everything. When they didn’t find anything in the drawers of the desk, they began to smash it apart, throwing it out in the streets. The cabinets, bookshelves, and everything else followed suit. Tearing through the office like a storm, they trashed everything, even ripping the couches and chairs to shreds. The entire time, Garrett and Carraway sat silently in the metal cage, an ever larger crowd of people was gathering, staring at them and whispering as the soldiers emptied out the office.

Once they had finished, one of the soldiers came up to the captain shaking his head. Sneering, the captain just pointed to the apartment above the office and the soldiers went to town again, breaking through the door and driving the servants out with shouts and blows. The first thing to exit the apartment was a statue, leaving through one of the windows with a crash before shattering to pieces on the cobblestones below. Seeing Carraway wince, Garrett patted his shoulder.

“Was it expensive?”

“Huh? The statue? Oh, no, it was fake. Most everything in there is fake. Money is best used, not turned into decorations.”

Almost choking on his spit, Garrett stared at Carraway, who just looked at him, his expression innocent.

“What?”

“Nothing. That’s just a lot more, uh, pragmatic, than I was expecting.”

It took longer for the apartment to be emptied, and by the time they were done, it was late in the afternoon. The last thing to come down was the safe, which took four soldiers to get down the stairs, and even then, nearly crushed one of them. Seeing the sick look on Carraway’s face, the captain’s mean smile widened, and he gestured to it, his other hand resting on his sword.

“Open it.”

Knowing that he didn’t have another choice, Carraway crawled out of the cage and began to turn the dial. When the safe clicked, the captain pushed Carraway away and two soldiers grabbed him, holding him in place. Captain Fernek’s smile was wide enough to cover his face by this point and he stared straight at Garrett as he opened the safe for everyone to see. There was a gasp, and then a bit of laughter, and Garrett smiled back at Captain Fernek, looking amused. Sensing something was wrong, the captain turned to look in the safe and stopped in shock when he realized it was empty. Even the false bottom was hanging open, nothing inside of it.

“Where is everything!” the captain snarled, spinning around and grabbing the front of Carraway’s shirt.

The merchant was clearly just as lost as he was and only managed to stammer something unintelligible, so Captain Fernek shoved him away and turned to face Garrett whose smile was gone. It had been replaced by a cold stare that sent a shiver down the captain’s back. It was one thing to catch someone red-handed, and entirely another to subject a powerful merchant and a nobleman to a humiliating search in front of the public but ultimately come up short. Before he could gather his thoughts, Garrett spoke loudly, his voice silencing the murmuring crowd.

“Don’t worry Captain, you can just pick up some of those papers you threw on the ground and pretend they're damning evidence to save face. That way no one will know you’re perverting justice for personal gain.”

Seeing that Garrett was pointing, the crowd followed his finger and spotted a soldier holding a handful of papers that had clearly been hastily shoved into one of the many folders that were scattered on the ground. The laughter was uproarious as the crowd saw the embarrassed soldier drop the papers, letting them fall back to the ground. By this time, Carraway had gotten over his shock and his expression was starting to darken. The soldiers around him had begun to look away, hoping that he wouldn’t remember their faces, and the two that were holding onto him quickly let go.

Captain Fernek was caught between a rock and a hard place, as he stared at the absolute destruction spread across the street. He had been sure that he would find the evidence he needed in the safe, but now that he hadn’t, all of the assurance he had felt began to evaporate like dew on a hot summer day. It didn’t help that Carraway was staring at all the papers on the ground quietly. The Captain would have much rather heard the merchant blowing up, as that meant there could be some negotiation.

“Carraway, come on, this upstanding gentleman is taking us to jail.”

Garrett’s voice seemed to snap the merchant out of his daze, and without looking at Captain Fernek, Carraway pushed past the soldiers and climbed back into the metal bound wagon. The crowd, seeing him calmly getting back into the wagon, seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and grew quiet. Resisting the urge to swear, the captain gestured for the soldiers to close up the wagon and turned to survey the street once more, hoping that there was something they had missed.

“Bring them to the prison. I will follow in a moment. Second and third squads, I want you to go over all of this with a fine toothed comb! Find the account books!”

With a rumble, the wagon got moving, a squad of soldiers running alongside it as it bumped through the streets. If Garrett hadn’t been awakened, it would have been difficult for him to remain in a seated position, but he hooked his arm through the bars and held on. Next to him, Carraway sat in silence until they were turning onto the street that held the prison.

“All my life’s work, all of my contacts, all of the information I had gathered on prices, trends, all of it, is gone. It was on those shelves, in those cabinets.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll build it back,” Garrett said, a small smile on his face. “Just think of it as a chance to start fresh. You’ve already changed considerably, even from half a year ago. Let this be your opportunity to completely cut ties with your past self. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”

“Enough talking! Get out of the wagon!”

A loud voice interrupted them, and a wooden baton slammed into Garrett’s arm, causing stinging pain to shoot up it. Outside the cage a burly man in the uniform of a jailer glared at them, swinging his baton again before Garrett could get his hand inside,catching his knuckles. A nasty welt formed on Garrett’s hand as he looked at the jailer who just shouted at them again.

“I said get off! If we have to come in there, you’ll get a beating that you’ll never forget.”

Waving off Carraway who was looking at him with concern, Garrett flexed his hand to make sure it wasn’t broken and then dragged himself to the door. The jailer met him at the door and grabbed Garrett’s shirt, nearly ripping it as he pulled Garrett out, dumping him on the ground with a heavy thud.

“You must be the cripple,” the jailer said, showing his yellowed teeth. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take good care of you.”

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