Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:43 am

Book 3: Chapter 40

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Ignoring the hard look he received, Garrett shrugged and finished the last few bites of his food. Pushing himself back from the table, he picked up his napkin and dabbed his lips.

"Well, Major, thank you for joining me for breakfast. I do have a considerable amount of work to handle today. Account books, unfortunately, don't double-check themselves.”

“If I need to ask you more questions, will I find you here?" the major asked and Garrett nodded.

"Yes. As you can see, I don't get around much, and I spend most of my days here."

For a moment, Garrett thought that the major might stop him from leaving but the moment passed, and Major Kinsmith nodded, pushing his own plate back and standing up.

"I'll probably have some follow-up questions for you at a later date," he said. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"Of course. If there's anything you'd like to know, just feel free to ask."

Giving Garrett another long look, Major Kinsmith called his men together and left the inn, as swiftly as he had arrived.

Sensing someone at his elbow, Garrett turned and saw Captain Coleridge, of the Cleaver's Edge mercenary group, standing there.

"Everything okay?" the mercenary commander asked.

"Yes," Garrett responded, giving the captain a grateful smile. "He just had a few questions about the defense."

"They're digging awfully deep," Coleridge said with a sniff. "They questioned us for hours yesterday, and now they're even looking for you. Anything to cover up their own failings."

Sensing that Coleridge might have an insight into what was going on, Garrett raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that we would have held even without them," Coleridge said, "and I heard that the Maragoth was taken down by one of yours as well, which means they were too late. Clearly, one of the generals thought they could sweep in here and take credit for the victory, but the defense went so well that now they're scrambling, trying to find an avenue to take that'll give them some credit."

"Good," Garrett said with a half smile. "That should keep them occupied for a long while. Do you and your mercenary group have any plans after this?"

"Nothing in particular," Coleridge said. "We're looking for jobs now, but I have a feeling that it's going to be pretty dry until everything is sorted with this whole mess."

"Well, you're always welcome to hang out here," Garrett said, "and though I have to talk to Cynen about it, we may have some work for you as well."

"Just let me know," Coleridge said before heading back to his seat.

There was one more group that Garrett was anticipating, and sure enough, that afternoon, a carriage pulled up outside the inn, and Henri, Chief Fellix, and Commander Larner all got out. They were shown to Garrett's office where he greeted them and gestured for them to sit. He had only met Gerald Larner once and was slightly surprised to see the highest-ranked exorcist in the city had come with Chief Fellix.

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" he asked.

Licking his lips, Chief Fellix looked at Larner, waiting for him to speak. After observing Garrett for a moment, Commander Larner gave Garrett an awkward smile.

"I want to first thank you for your work in defending this district."

Blinking in surprise, Garrett pointed at himself, as if unsure whether Commander Larner was talking to him or not.

"Me?"

"Yes," the commander said. "While you may not have fought directly on the front line, your forces were instrumental in preserving the lives of the citizens in this district. We want to recognize that and thank you."

"Only doing what needs to be done," Garrett replied. "This is our home, and we weren't about to allow a horde of zombies to overrun it."

"I understand that you also have a close connection with the Grave Walkers," Commander Larner said, causing Garrett to pause for a moment before he nodded.

"We do."

"I was wondering if you would be able to set up a meeting for us," the commander asked, leaning forward slightly. "We wish to speak with Cynen, the leader of the Grave Walkers. I'm afraid that her group may fall out of favor soon. But we, exorcists, understand the importance of the Grave Walkers’ role, and we want to do what we can to ensure their organization continues to thrive."

"What do you mean when you say they may fall out of favor soon?" Garrett asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

A flash of frustration crossed Commander Larner's face, and he let out a long sigh.

"The truth is that somebody has to bear responsibility for the attack, whether it was thwarted or not. Normally, with something like this, us exorcists would be on the chopping block. However, undead fall squarely under the Grave Walkers' purview, and the fact that the Dark Hand was behind the attack makes it worse. It's likely that the army, in looking for somebody to act as a scapegoat, will be targeting the Grave Walkers. But, as I said, they serve a vital function, and if not for their sacrifices, it's likely this entire district would have been overrun."

Garrett's expression eased, and he quickly nodded.

"Yes, I can set up a meeting," he said. "Am I to understand that you wish to help the Grave Walkers out of this predicament?"

"Indeed, the number of incidents in this city is only growing," Commander Larner said, "and we need to band together if we're going to keep it safe. That means working together instead of separately. If we move quickly enough, we should be able to shield the Grave Walkers from the worst of it."

Scratching his chin, Garrett thought for a moment.

"Do we need a scapegoat?" he asked.

Something about the way he asked the question caused the other three men to pause and look at him.

"I'm not sure I understand the question," Commander Larner said, his eyes narrowing.

"You seemed to imply that the army needs a scapegoat. Well, I know for a fact that Count Hotis has been involved with some pretty shady stuff. Beyond the supernatural disappearances of his wife and daughter, I wouldn't be surprised if he was hiding evidence that he's been colluding with necromancers."

Chief Fellix, forehead furrowed, looked like he was about to speak, but Commander Larner held up his hand to stop him. Giving Garrett a long look, the commander suddenly nodded.

"You know, I think you might be right," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll have to go and have a little chat with the Count. Maybe do a thorough examination of his property."

"Specifically, the basement," Garrett said. "Maybe in the back right corner behind that giant pile of boxes. But in the meantime, why don't I take you to meet Cynen? As it just so happens, I was going to be heading to a meeting with her in about half an hour. I'd be happy for you to join me."

Commander Larner nodded, and an hour later, the four of them were seated with Cynen in her office. Rather than reveal her glowing green eyes to the world, Cynen had taken a thick strip of black cloth and tied it around her face, giving herself a mysterious look. It was clear from the way she moved that she could still see perfectly fine, deepening the air of mystery around her. Commander Larner, who was familiar enough with Cynen, was surprised to find that she had grown stronger than the last time he had seen her, to the point where he felt a faint threat every time she looked in his direction. He could only imagine how much her hidden gaze was impacting the others, though Garrett seemed totally fine. After explaining the situation, he gave her his proposal.

"The exorcists and the grave walkers, for a long time, have been two opposite sides of the same coin," he said, "but the reality is that both of our organizations struggle with building political influence. We would much rather be doing the job we've been tasked for, but that's very hard given the environment in which we live," he paused. "My proposal is simple. I would like to work together to pool our political resources to ensure that both of our organizations can survive and gain the funding necessary to do so. I would like to coordinate with you directly. It's likely that you're going to be getting some negative attention shortly, and I think that we can help shield you from it. We have considerable connections among the nobles, and while that doesn't often directly translate into the coin we need, we can certainly provide you with some political cover."

"And in exchange, you want us to finance your operation?" Cynen said, staring at Commander Larner as if the cloth over her eyes didn't exist.

"Yes, pretty much," the commander admitted, his face slightly embarrassed.

Considering it for a moment, Cynen turned and glanced at Garrett.

"What do you think?" She asked. "You're a member of exorcists, right?"

"I am," Garrett admitted, speaking slowly. "I think it's a good idea. The more we can pool resources, the better. There are a lot of people who have their own agendas, and I think the commander is right. It's likely that you're going to face the full brunt of the army's pressure, and it wouldn't surprise me if they try to disband you to make a political point. So having the support the Exorcist Guild can raise for us would go a long way toward avoiding that fate. At the same time, I think our finances are good enough to make major contributions to the Exorcist Guild."

Pondering it for a moment more, Cynen nodded.

"Very well, we'll agree to work with you."

Shooting an appraising glance at Garrett, Commander Larner smiled and held out his hand for Cynen to shake. She gripped it tightly, and after a brief conversation, setting up some of the details, the exorcists left, leaving Garrett and Cynen alone together.

With a sigh, Garrett leaned back in his wheelchair, his mind working furiously as he factored this new development into his plans. It had always been his intent to pull the Exorcists closer, and even now he was carefully seeding their ranks with dream seeds. He wanted to be careful of Commander Larner, however, as the Shaper-level exorcist possessed an unusual soul spark that allowed him to see the truth of the world. So far, Garrett was confident that he had avoided alerting the Commander to the fact that the flowers were his, but he suspected that the Commander's main reason for getting close to him was to discover the source of them. Despite the danger, Garrett did think it was a good idea for the Grave Walkers and the Exorcists to join forces. He had no idea how things would play out, and his only real option was to wait and see. As he was on his way back to the inn, he felt a tug on his mind, and realized Somnia had something to report.

[My lord, Lady Delrisa has found three of the Necromancers, and is on the trail of a fourth. Two have joined her, and one was killed as an example.]

Do you know how many remain?

[No, though Lady Delrisa believes there may be around seven Necromancers who escaped in total. That number corresponds to the records I have.]

Thank you. Keep me posted.

Garrett hadn't been sure how he would feel about the Overlord Flower, but so far, Somnia had proven invaluable. The Overlord Flower could track all of the information coming through the Dream Flower network, and process it at speeds Garrett was entirely incapable of matching. He had originally thought that the Overlord Flower would have more of a personality, but instead, it seemed to operate a bit like a computer, making it easier for him to search and understand the information.

The next few days were full, but quiet. Slowly, the district seemed to be recovering from the attack. There was very little damage that had been done, though a few hundred people had lost their lives. But the army made a big show of patrolling the streets, alert for any undead who may have slipped through and infected the population. The truth was, a few of the zombies had actually made it through the defensive line, and even broken into some of the houses, infecting the citizens living in them. In each case, however, Garrett had been informed of the spreading infection by Somnia, and had sent teams of Awakened to deal with the issue before the army was alerted.

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