Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:43 am

Book 3: Chapter 44

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If Garrett had ever wondered what it would feel like to be a butterfly pinned to a board and observed from behind a glass, he now knew. As Louise finished speaking, every single eye in the space turned to him. He had always considered his emotional control to be higher than average, but even he couldn't keep the shock from registering on his face.

In the stunned silence that followed, he heard the leader of Silver Song laugh, clearly pleased with the effect she had created. There were many questioning looks around the table, but no one said anything, simply waiting for Louise to continue.

“As for my reason, consider it a thank you for Cynen and the Grave Walkers' hard work. We have informants everywhere, and I mean everywhere. It's clear that the city only survived the undead wave thanks to the incredible sacrifice of your gang,” she said to Cynen. “No matter what anyone else says, we wouldn't have made it if not for you. This district would likely be lost. Similarly, the Klein family, though considerably weaker, supported fully and held the southern defensive line without any major breakthroughs.”

Across the table, Andrew Tellson's eyes narrowed as he looked between Cynen and Garrett.

“Is that so?” he said. “And here I thought it was the Adventurer's Guild and the Brass Tiger Syndicate that carried the majority of the burden.”

Unaffected by his sarcasm, Louise just smiled and nodded.

“It's true,” she said. “You blunted the main thrust of the attack, but that was because the Grave Walkers stopped them dead in their tracks. Additionally, the word on the wind is that it was Cynen who ultimately broke the back of the Necromancer's attack by carrying the fight to the Dark Hand underground, as well as one of the Awakened under the Klein family, who landed the final blow on the Maragoth.”

As much as he would have liked to protest and claim more credit, Tellson knew that she was right and fell silent. Gero, however, wasn't satisfied.

“I don't see why the Grave Walkers' subordinate guild should be promoted,” she said, “when it was the Brass Tiger Syndicate who had taken the most damage. Wouldn't it make sense, then, for the Dark Blade Collective to be the one to advance?”

Laughing lightly, the leader of the Silver Song covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head.

“The Brass Tiger Syndicate is gone.”

Despite her pleasant expression, her words were cold, completely at odds with the smiling expression on her face. “And any gang that can be wiped out in a single night doesn't deserve their seat anyways. Think of this as Silver Song's way of thanking the Grave Walkers for your incredible sacrifice."

Turning towards Cynen, Louise bowed her head, once again surprising everyone at the table.

"Silver Song has many members, most of whom are not awakened, or even trained to fight," she said as she straightened up, her smiling gaze sweeping the table. "Had the necromancers of the Dark Hand and their minions broken through the southern defensive line, it's impossible to know how many we would have lost. There is nothing more precious to me than my people. And so, this seems to me like a just reward.”

“Is it on that merit alone that you nominate them?” Thomas Gelavin asked, leaning forward in his seat, his eyes fixed on Louise.

The question caused Louise to laugh once again, her giggle filling the air like silver bells.

“No,” she admitted, “it's not. We all know of the tremendous growth of the Klein family, and how quickly it has established itself as a power. I must admit, I feel as if our council could use some of that spirit. Things have been stagnant for entirely too long, and I think it would be fun to stir the pot a little bit.”

“I see. Thank you.”

With a small smile at Garrett, Louise sat down, and the eyes at the table turned to Arthur Tellson. Garrett, on the other hand, was thinking furiously, even as a bad feeling rose in his heart. It had always been his intention to keep the Klein family as low-profile as possible, which is why he had passed over having Cynen nominate him. The bad feeling grew stronger as he caught a quick glance from Arthur Tellson, the leader of the adventurers. The balance of power in the city was delicate, a truth that had existed long before the recent turmoil, as the various groups vied for control over the people and the resources the city contained. Though Garrett was more than content to continue amassing as much strength as he could, his thought had been to keep it completely under the surface, ensuring the safety of himself and his people, without giving rise to new enemies.

All of that seemed to be out the window now. The adventurers' guild had been forced into fighting alongside the Brass Tiger Syndicate because of Garrett's manipulation, and from all of the reports, their casualties had been heavier than expected. As the Brass Tiger Syndicate had collapsed, they had been forced into carrying the main burden, on top of being pitted against the undead Maragoth.

Though Tellson didn't have any proof that he had been manipulated, it seemed that this was the first time he was hearing that the southern defensive line had not been breached at all. It didn't take a genius to realize that that meant the main thrust of the Necromancer's attack had gone north and east from the graveyard, straight into the Brass Tiger Syndicate's territory, and by virtue of proximity, the Adventurers' Guild's territory. After all that had happened, anyone would be suspicious that they had been played, especially considering that the Brass Tiger Syndicate had been wiped out in its entirety. All of these thoughts passed through Garrett’s mind in an instant as Guild Master Tellson rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping the room and lingering on Garrett for a moment longer than was comfortable. Suddenly, an easy smile appeared on his lips, and he gestured to Louise, the leader of Silver Song.

"I find myself in agreement with Louise," Arthur said, his voice smooth. "I think that Garrett Klein of the Klein family would make an excellent addition to our number. As has already been stated, we all know that the Klein family has grown significantly in recent days, and even before the tragedy with the Dark Hand, was rapidly consolidating control in the southern part of the district. I know there may be some concerns about having a direct subordinate gang holding a seat at the table, but we're not unfamiliar with that situation."

Here he paused and gave Carl Rackham a meaningful look, which the mercenary leader simply ignored. Unfazed, Tellson continued.

"What many may not know is that the majority of the underground routes are under the Klein family's control. The smuggling operation that used to belong to Ghoul's Tooth is now firmly in the Klein Family's hand, and has actually been extended considerably. From all reports, the family has been quite industrious, creating new paths out of and into the city, paths that we can all benefit from. Having them as a member of the table makes sense to me, given the Klein family's growing influence, and no doubt this will encourage Garrett to work together with us for the common good of the city."

The more Arthur Tellson spoke, the more clearly Garrett realized what was going on. Far from trying to suppress him, Arthur Tellson was doing the exact opposite, maliciously thrusting him into the limelight. It would have been simple for the Guild Master to use his strength and influence to suppress the Klein family, but he was taking a tack that was much harder to defend against. This method of killing with a borrowed knife seemed benign on the surface, but was actually exceptionally vicious. Anyone looking at Arthur Tellson would only ever imagine that he was genuinely interested in the Klein family's growth.

Feeling the gazes of many of the gang leaders in attendance, Garrett sighed inwardly and hastily amended his plan. He had been planning on demurely rejecting Louise's offer, but now that two gang leaders had pushed him forward, he would begin to look ungrateful if he didn't accept. Things worsened a moment later when Arthur Tellson sat down and Carl Rackham stood up. The mercenary gang leader was a loyal subordinate of the Moonlight Council, and everyone fully expected him to pass, deferring his vote to Thomas Gelavin. But instead, he gave Garrett a long look and then nodded.

"I agree. Let the Klein family take the seat."

With that said, he sat down, leaving the room shrouded in heavy silence. At this point, the Klein family had been pushed into taking the seat, whether Garrett wanted to or not. The only possibility to get out of it would be if Thomas Gelavin was interested in backing the Dark Blade Collective that Gero Twin Blade and Henry Janice had put forward, but Garrett caught Thomas' wink as the young nobleman rose, and any hope of that was dashed to the ground.

"Well, quite an unexpected outcome, I must say," Thomas said, looking around. "I know that there are many qualified gangs here, but I must say, the truth is, I was actually going to suggest the Klein family myself. To Arthur's point, I think the paths that the Klein family is creating under the city are too valuable not to be leveraged properly. And so I would suggest, along with the others, that Garrett Klein of the Klein family ascend to the empty seat at the table."

Garrett was pretty sure he could hear Gero Twin Blade's teeth grinding, despite the fact that she was across the table. And it was only the warning look that Karl Rackham fixed on her that kept her from jumping to her feet to argue. As it was, the situation was set, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. When there were no arguments, Thomas Gelavin gave Garrett a big smile.

"Of course, there's still the possibility of a challenge," he said. "By virtue of voting for him, the Moonlight Council, Rackham's Blade, the Hunters, and Silver Song have all waived their right to launch a challenge. That means the other gangs are allowed to put a challenge group together. The question is, would you like to?"

Gero Twin Blade slapped the table and stood up.

"Yes," she said, practically snarling. "We will challenge."

After a moment of thought, Vent Delland of the Marble Griffins also stood up.

"Yes," he said, his voice gravelly. "We will challenge as well, though only to determine the strength of the Klein family."

After a moment more, Henry Janice of Janice Manor rose to his feet as well, giving Garrett a wary look.

"We," he paused here for a moment, and then shook his head. "We decline to challenge."

A gasp rose in the room as he sat back down, but Thomas clapped his hands, calling for silence.

"That leaves the Grave Walkers and Telabron," he said, looking between the two gang leaders.

Waving his hand from where he sat, Jonathan Moran shook his head.

"We decline our right to challenge as well."

Her face expressionless, Cynen echoed his sentiments, and the matter was settled.

"Wonderful. The Ebony Association and the Marble Griffins will challenge the Klein family for a seat at the table," Thomas said. "The challenge will happen in three days here in the arena. Now, let us set the details. Garrett, as the challenged party, you are allowed to decide what sort of challenge you would like. Solo combat, team combat, or mass combat?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Garrett looked at Cynen before asking, "Are gang leaders allowed to fight?"

The question hushed all of the murmurs that had risen among the observers. There wasn't a person there who didn't realize exactly what Garrett was asking. Clearly, he wasn't going to participate in the fight, but if Cynen decided to fight on his behalf, it was unlikely that the Ebony Association and the Marble Griffins would be able to make it out of the challenge in one piece. The strength she displayed was higher than anyone else in the room, with the exception of Carl Rackham. And considering the flames she controlled, the fight could be considered over as soon as she stepped on the battlefield.

There was an awkward silence as Thomas looked at Gero and Vent. Of course, as far as most people knew, there was no guarantee that Cynen would agree to fight on behalf of the Klein family. But considering the Klein Family was a subordinate gang of the Grave Walkers, it seemed highly likely. Additionally, there were no rules that said a gang leader couldn't step into the arena, and in cases of single combat, it was actually fairly common.

"There are two of us issuing the challenge," Gero said, trying to look for some way out. "We can't do single combat with the two of us."

"A fair point," Thomas said. "To answer your question, Garrett, there is no rule against gang leaders fighting. But out of consideration for the two challenging gangs, why don't we take single combat off the table?"

Garrett didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a moment to think it through. A normal gang leader, after having been put in his situation, would likely have just agreed to whatever the Moonlight Council asked. So when Garrett did not immediately reply, many of the gang leaders began revising their understanding of him. After a moment, he nodded.

"That's fine," he said. "Let's keep it to five people, though.”

“Is that agreeable?" Thomas asked, and Vent and Gero both nodded. "Good. We shall schedule the fight for three days time in the arena. Until then, the Klein family is a temporary member of the table. You may take your place."

Seeing him gesture to the empty chair where the Brass Tiger Syndicate's leader used to sit, Ryn pushed Garrett's wheelchair forward. Before she got there, Cynen snapped her fingers, creating a bright green flame that flicked across the table. Almost instantly, the wooden chair transformed into a pyre, crumbling to ash in front of everybody's eyes. As the flames died down, Cynen waved her hand, and the ash seemed to melt into the floor, allowing Ryn to push Garrett's wheelchair into the place where the tall back chair had been a moment earlier. The entire time, Garrett sat quietly, his expression calm, as if nothing in the world could ruffle his feathers.

"I'd have you say something," Thomas Gelavin said, "but we'll save your address for after the challenge has been completed. Now, we have much business to discuss, so let's get started. Louise, would you mind going over the agenda for today’s meeting?"

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