Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:42 am

Book 3: Chapter 16

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Over the heads of her zombies, the necromancer stared at Garrett with suspicious eyes.

"Parley? What's that?" she asked, causing Garrett to mentally facepalm.

"It means to negotiate," he said, rubbing his forehead. "It just means negotiate. I can grant you passage, so long as you give me what I want.”

“I can offer you many things." the necromancer started to say.

“Let's start with a name," Garrett interrupted. "You can call me Geller. What's your name?"

"Delrisa, the Bone Witch," she replied.

"Pleasure to meet you," Garrett said. "Now, you were about to tell me all of the amazing things that you can offer."

"You are clearly a man of resource with power of your own," Delrisa said, gesturing to the flower ghouls crowded around Garrett. "But the power you possess is nothing compared to the power of the Skeletal Hand of Lesrak. My master, Agma-Yoth, can grant you access to Lesrak's amazing strength."

"This isn't the first time I've heard your master's name," Garrett said. "But I've never actually met him. Is he really as powerful as you say?"

Fanaticism flared in the necromancer's eyes, and she nodded quickly.

"Yes. In fact, he is even more powerful than you can imagine. He commands a legion of undead uncountable, and from his seat of power, he will soon sweep this world, transforming it into a paradise for those who serve him."

"And for those who don't?" Garrett asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Death. No matter how hard they fight, they will be overrun and will soon join his legions," Delrisa said, nearly shaking with excitement. "And we who are on the front edge of this endeavor will reap the greatest reward."

"I don't know that I am particularly excited by the opportunity to hang out with zombies," Garrett said, shaking his head. "What else can he offer?"

"If power is not what you seek, he can grant riches as well. Tremendous amounts of gold are contained within these crypts, and all of it belongs to my master, Agma-Yoth," Delrisa said.

Her hand darted into her cloak and when it emerged, she held a gleaming bracelet made of three strands of twisted gold that had likely been taken from one of the burial chambers deep in the royal crypt. Black onyx stones were set among the twists, gleaming in the faint light of the tunnel. It was heavy, and even though it was tarnished, Garrett could clearly see just how valuable it was.

"There is no end to his wealth," Delrisa said, "and if that is what you desire, there will be no end to yours."

"Okay, now you're starting to get my attention," Garrett said, smiling. "What of knowledge? Can he allow me to see past the mists that shroud this world?"

A low chuckle escaped Delrisa's lips.

"Of course," she said. "That is the greatest of all he has to offer. Insight into the truth of this world. He has seen cities rise and fall and knows more than the mortal mind can bear, but for those of us who wield power, his power, we have the opportunity to catch glimpses of the truth. No matter what it is you seek, Agma-Yoth can grant it to you."

Taking a step forward, Garrett looked at her with excited eyes.

"That is what I want," he said, "to understand the mysteries of this world. To pierce the veil and grasp the truth. And maybe a few pieces of treasure. If this master of yours can give them to me, in return, I will agree to lead the way up into the city above. Do we have a deal?"

Pausing for a moment, almost as if she was trying to communicate with someone, the Bone Witch frowned faintly. Garrett could see that she was trying to connect with Agma-Yoth’s mental energy, but it was quite thin here and after a few minutes, she still had not been able to get her master’s attention. This suited Garrett quite well, and he quickly pressed her for an answer.

“What’s the matter? Do you not want to make a deal after spending so long telling me of the benefits of joining your side?” he asked.

Irritated, Delrisa shot a glare at him and shook her head.

“That’s not it.”

“Then do we have a deal or not?” Garrett asked, taking a step back into the ranks of the flower ghouls.

"Yes, we have a deal," she said.

"Good," Garrett replied. “As a show of good faith, I will lead you through the tunnels first, however, I hope you don't mind if we travel in darkness. There are places that we can only pass in that way if we want to remain safe."

Somewhat incredulously, the necromancer looked at the flower ghouls around Garrett and then the zombies that surrounded her.

"You don't think we'll be safe?" She asked, but Garrett shook his head.

"No, there are things that creep in these tunnels that are far more dangerous than either of us, and it would be best not to draw their attention. Come, I'll lead the way."

Still half-suspecting a trick, Delrisa watched as the flower ghouls began to retreat down the tunnel. Garrett gestured for her to follow and began to lead the way. After a moment of hesitation, she walked after him, her zombies trailing behind her. She was still wary of this strange man who wore a mask, but as they passed through the tunnels he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Soon the passages began to twist and curve as they got into the maze of the outer tunnels. Sometimes they were in the stone-covered tunnels of the crypts, but other times they walked through naturally formed tunnels or dirt-filled tunnels dug by monsters who lived underground.

It was in these tunnels that Garrett demanded they move in absolute darkness and silence, forcing the necromancer to feel her way along. A few times, she nearly protested as she grew uneasy with the situation, but Garrett was able to soothe her with a few words, and she continued to follow along. Once they had made it through the cross-tunnels and entered passages with torches, it became easier to see, and fewer and fewer flower ghouls appeared, making the necromancer think that Garrett was indeed leading her through his territory. Eventually, there was only a single flower ghoul leading the way as they got into the sewer system that ran underneath the district. As the flower ghoul walked ahead, Garrett turned and looked at the necromancer.

"Out of curiosity, what do you have against the Klein family?" he asked.

"You know them?" Delrisa asked, her voice carrying her suspicion.

"I do," Garrett admitted. "It’s hard not to know them, as they run goods in some of my tunnels. But as far as I know, they don't really bother anyone. Which makes me curious. What prompted this all out attack?"

"My master requires the head and heart of the cripple who leads them," the necromancer said.

"You mean Garrett? Why would you care about someone like him?" Garrett replied.

Faint confusion appeared in the necromancer’s eyes as she heard the question, and she felt a sense of resistance, but there was something about Garrett’s voice that made her want to answer. Thinking for a moment, she reached up and tapped her head.

“To unleash the power of Lesrak on the world, my master requires sacrifices, and beings of power are the greatest sacrifice. This is only the beginning of our plan to sweep away this world, and this Garrett will have the fortune of being the first to unlock Lesrak’s chains. In death, he will become part of the blade that sets the master free!”

By the time she was done speaking, Delrisa was panting, and Garrett was feeling quite creeped out. He was also starting to notice that the Beautiful Bewitchment ability was beginning to lose effect, and judged it better not to continue this line of questioning. Instead, he gestured to the tunnel ahead.

“The exit isn’t far. Come on.”

Back on the Dreamer's Throne, Garrett kept half an eye on the single flower ghoul, and the illusion that accompanied it, who was leading Delrisa and her army of zombies through the sewers, while most of his attention was on the teams of Awakened who were carefully herding the necromancers and their zombie army to the northwestern wall of the royal graveyard. Unlike the other walls surrounding the graveyard, here, they put up no resistance at all, instead leaving a route out of the graveyard for the undead army.

The territory on the other side of the wall belonged to the Brass Tiger Syndicate, a group Garrett had no love for. The research he had done into that gang had revealed that their leader, Paskal the Crusher, had earned his name by crushing the bones of anyone who opposed him, and even many who didn’t. He was a brutal gang boss, and ruled his territory with an iron fist that left everyone around him quaking in fear. His soul spark was shaped like a tiger with brass skin, and it afforded him tremendous strength and considerable agility, allowing him to excel in direct combat. Many of the gang members who served the Brass Tiger Syndicate or one of its affiliate gangs practiced the same casual brutality that marked their leader, and Garrett had no qualms about funneling the undead into their territory.

Using Leff, who was chasing the undead army, as a focal point, Garrett deployed his ability Observe the Dream, getting a sense of what was going on in that area. In many ways, sitting in the Dreamer's Throne, he felt as if he was playing a game. His ability allowed him to see vague scenes from across the battlefield. Some were clearer than others, especially when there were more dream flowers around, but many of these visions only gave him brief snapshots or small glimpses into the situation. From these, Garrett tried to puzzle together the truth of the situation on the ground.

On the other hand, when there were no dream flowers near, he was fighting blind, and could only do his best to guess where his opponent would send forces. The number of zombies entering the royal graveyard had slowed slightly, but Garrett wasn't able to get an accurate count even with Isabelle, fluttering through the storm overhead. Garrett was also starting to grow anxious, knowing that he needed to get back to Viper and Cynen, who were deep underground, still battling the two jackal-headed guards at the entrance to the first tomb.

He was looking for an opportunity to send the zombies across the wall and into the northern part of the district, and it finally came when Leff got close enough to spot the necromancer that he had been chasing. Though he was too far away for a shot to be effective, Leff raised his crossbow and loosed a bolt, sending it whistling through the air. Its head, shaped especially for this purpose, let out a long, drawn-out scream, alerting all of the Klein family forces that there was an enemy here. Already slightly disoriented by the stiff resistance they had faced, the necromancer heard the sound and a mix of fear and anger surged in him as he urged his undead minions forward. Ahead of him, he could see the wall separating the royal graveyard from the city, and if he couldn’t get over it, realized he would be trapped. To his delight, he found that there were no defenders and with a triumphant laugh the necromancer scrambled over it and led his zombie minions to charge into the city.

Watching him go, Garrett knew that he was taking a major risk. However, there wasn’t another good option. So far, his forces at the wall were holding strong, but that wouldn’t last indefinitely. Even the awakened needed rest, to say nothing about the mortal defenders he had deployed, and after a few hours of fierce fighting, the Klein forces were starting to show signs of lagging. In the sewers below the northern part of the district, Delrisa the Bone Witch was starting to grow suspicious at how long it was taking, but Garrett soon stopped and pointed to a sewer opening above them.

“Here you go,” he said, his voice clear despite the mask he wore.

“This is where the Klein Family resides?” Delrisa asked, eyeing the sewer exit skeptically.

Ever since he had spotted her, Garrett had been using his Beautiful Bewitchment ability, in tandem with the Illusory Dream ability and a healthy dose of his mental energy, to keep her from growing suspicious, but it was obvious that she was starting to realize something was wrong. Still, he kept up with the charade, figuring he might as well push it as long as he could.

“No, but they are close by. We’re north of them, but it’s an easy walk down the street to the inn that they call home. However, before you go, I want to speak of my reward.”

A sly smile crossed Delrisa’s lips at the mention of a reward, and she took a step closer to Garrett.

“Ah, yes, your reward. Let’s discuss what you have earned.”

Even as she spoke, her hand disappeared into the folds of her cloak, emerging with a mysterious artifact that looked like a bony finger on the end of a short golden rod. She took a few steps closer to Garrett and held it out, a wide grin on her face.

“This is Lesrak’s Touch, a powerful mysterious artifact that contains the power of my master. Touch your finger to it and you will experience his overwhelming majesty. Unlimited power awaits you.”

As Delrisa came closer, so too did a wave of power that Garrett didn’t immediately recognize. It was quite similar to Agma-Yoth’s power, but there were still considerable differences as well. Garrett could feel the power of the throne stirring as soon as the energy touched the flower ghoul and he realized that he had felt it before, from the coffin that Agma-Yoth hid inside of in the first tomb. Shaking his head, Garrett took a step backward and pointed up toward the surface of the city.

“On second thought, let's wait on the reward. You probably don’t have a lot of time, so you should really get up there and join your friends.”

“What’s the matter? Getting cold feet?” Delrisa said, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she watched Garrett retreat.

Faint shouts began to echo down into the sewer from the streets above, and Garrett looked up, as if he could see straight through the soil and stone that separated them from the city over their heads.

“Your allies have met the enemy, and are being crushed. I don’t join losers, so if you want to bring me to your master’s side, you’ll have to prove you can win. I’ll be watching.”

With those words, the flower ghoul suddenly burrowed down into the dirt, rapidly vanishing from sight. Garrett’s illusion vanished a moment later, leaving Delrisa staring at the now empty spot where he had just been standing.

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