Though he hadn't explicitly said it, the three mercenaries were quick enough to put two and two together. Stories of Garrett Klein and the Klein family's meteoric rise over the last few months had swept the city's underworld, and everyone knew that the Klein family's leader was confined to a wheelchair. Now, hearing that the young man in front of them, who fit that bill, also had the name Klein, made the three mercenaries quite nervous. If Garrett was who they thought he was, then their involvement in this affair would cause quite the mess.

Swallowing, the one who had threatened to break Garrett's arms and leave him face down in the gutter looked nervously at the other two and took a step back. Garrett, who was still ignoring Davis in favor of watching the three mercenaries, saw the move and smiled mirthlessly.

"We've been having such a good conversation, though. Don't tell me you want to leave now."

Though Garrett and Ryn were alone, and neither of them was exuding any aura, the three mercenaries all felt their hearts drop. If nothing else, the absolute serenity Garrett was displaying was sign enough that they had delved into troubled waters. Before they could make their excuses and escape, however, Davis erupted.

"Get him!" he snarled, and the squad of brutes he had brought along sprang into action, lunging for Garrett and Ryn.

Immediately, Ryn sprang into action, darting to the right and landing a fierce punch on one of the men's faces. Though she was half his size, the blow sent him flying back through the air, his feet not touching the ground until he slammed into a post at the side of the road. Before anyone could blink, she was already on the other side of Garrett's wheelchair, planting a foot in another one of the thug's guts. Her speed was too fast for any of those watching to follow, including the three mercenaries, causing beads of sweat to break out on their brows as they watched her single-handedly thrash all six of the men who had charged towards Garrett.

The fight was over in a few seconds, ending with Ryn standing menacingly over the last of the thugs, who was moaning and holding his thigh, which she had snapped with a casual kick. Shooting Davis a disdainful glance, she slowly walked back to Garrett's wheelchair and took up her position behind it once more.

The three mercenaries were more sure than ever that they had stumbled into a bee's nest, and each of them wished nothing more than to be as far away from here as possible. As for Davis, he was staring in absolute shock at Ryn, unable to believe that she had so easily bested his men.

A realization occurred to him, and with a shiver, he slowly stepped back, quickly looking toward the three mercenaries who he had hired. He had only brought them along in case Garrett happened to have an awakened protector, and as that had turned out to be exactly the case, he was now hoping that they would bail him out of the sticky situation he had gotten himself into. The three mercenaries wanted no part of it, and without a word, one of them pulled out a sack of coins, which he tossed at Davis's feet. The sack split as it hit the ground, gold rolling this way and that.

"It's a refund," the mercenary said. "Double what you paid."

Swallowing, he bowed to Garrett, and then turned and walked away, nearly breaking into a run a few times. The other two mercenaries cursed him under their breath, wishing that they had thought of that first. Glancing at each other, they quickly repeated the action, throwing more gold at Davis's feet before bowing to Garrett and escaping as fast as they could.

Garrett and Ryn were left alone in the middle of the street, with six groaning men lying on the ground around them, and one incredibly flustered nobleman frozen in front of them. Garrett and Ryn both found the situation amusing.

"Do you want me to go after them?" Ryn asked, her eyes cold, as she stared into the darkness where the mercenaries had disappeared.

"No need," Garrett said. "I'll talk to Rackham the next time I see him."

Those words sent a shiver down Davis's spine. Up until this point, everything that had taken place had been utterly confusing, but now he was starting to realize that the mild-mannered individual in front of him was someone he never should have messed with.

"What do you want to do with him?" Ryn asked. "I could drop him in the river, and no one would be any the wiser."

Those words caused Davis to tremble, and it was only with supreme effort that he managed to keep himself on his feet. After pausing far longer than the young nobleman liked, Garrett shook his head.

"I've got a better idea," he said.

To Davis, it appeared as if a strange five-petaled flower bloomed in Garrett's eyes, and a sense of dizziness overtook him, causing him to stumble. It passed in a moment, however, and when he stood up, he found he didn't feel any different than normal.

"You know," Garrett said, watching the young nobleman, "I don't know why it is that we can't be friends. I understand that you're interested in Henrietta. Is that right?"

"Yes," Davis stammered, wondering if he had only imagined the sight of the flowers.

"Well, considering my pending engagement to Henrietta, it seems to me that you and I should get along."

Davis wasn't quite sure how that made sense, but the more he thought about it the more it did.

“As you can see," Garrett continued, "I have a considerable number of disadvantages, and so I could really use a strong and influential friend like you."

Straightening up, Davis couldn't help but feel proud that Garrett had recognized his influence.

"I'm sure I'll have plenty of things that need to be taken care of, and being friends with the heir to the Von Ketter household is practically a dream come true."

Garrett's words weren't sharp or forceful, but they seemed to worm their way into Davis' heart, and he found himself nodding along.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You're right," he said. "My apologies, I shouldn't have attacked you."

"No harm, no foul," Garrett said, ignoring the fact that the six thugs rolling around on the ground and moaning had certainly been harmed. "I look forward to our continued friendship."

"As do I," Davis said, his eyes gleaming.

A hazy thought tugged at his mind as he watched Garrett and Ryn get back in the carriage and the driver climb up into the driver's seat, but it seemed to blow away in the night air before he could grasp it. Realizing that the thugs were blocking the way, Davis walked over and kicked one of them, commanding him to crawl to the side of the road, and then grabbed another and dragged him away himself. As he stood there, he saw Garrett wave from the window, and with a wide smile, he waved back, and then watched as the carriage vanished into the darkness.

"Huh, he's such a nice guy," Davis muttered to himself, completely oblivious to the ethereal blooms casting rainbow light above his head. "I think we'll be good friends."

As they crossed the lower bridge into the northern district, Ryn glanced down at the dark river below.

"I still think you should have let me drop him in," she said.

"Allies are more useful than enemies," Garrett replied, "and it'd be nice to have someone to ward off the rest of the trouble that's going to be coming my way from the noble circles."

"You think he can?" Ryn asked.

"I do. Don't look at his poor display this evening as an example of his power. His real power comes not from himself, but from his backing, Earl Von Ketter. If he had gotten his father involved, it wouldn't have been so simple as a bunch of thugs on a dark street. This was just a bit of childish petulance, and while we're used to dealing with strength on a different scale, mortals have their own advantages. Overall, I think it was a profitable night.”

“And I think if you're not careful, you're gonna find yourself really marrying that girl."

"A valid observation," Garrett said, nodding. "I'll make sure to clarify things with her soon."

For the next few days, Garrett was on high alert. Planting dream seeds in Davis Von Ketter was a risk, as he didn't know whether Earl Von Ketter would have any way to tell his son had picked up uninvited guests. While the dream flowers were benign towards their hosts, at least on the surface, they still counted as a parasitic entity. And ever since Garrett had encountered the resistance from the mysterious artifacts worn by Dodgson and Veroni, the two merchants from Port Reverie, he had grown more cautious about who he infected.

There didn't seem to be any movement, and when Garrett connected to the blooms Davis carried and used them to spy on the young nobleman, he didn't detect any danger. This was strange to him, and he was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with the city. The fact that so few individuals seemed to understand the threat of the dream world made Garrett wonder if there was someone actively suppressing information about it.

The exorcists clearly knew about mysterious artifacts and could feel the intrusion of the dream, but even they were woefully unprepared to actually deal with it. Thanks to the many people who had been entering Dreamers Rest, rumors had spread throughout the city of the mysterious dream world where it was possible to interact with others, but nobody had yet connected it to the source of the mysterious artifacts scattered throughout the world.

Most of Garrett's days were spent issuing missions to the awakened dreamers, checking in on the Ebony Association as they began their comprehensive exploration of the swamp, and observing the development of the noble district in the dream world. Since the number of experience points he needed to get to the next level was so high, Garrett thought it more efficient to completely solidify his control over his current territories. Moreover, the addition of a third territory had given him another slot for a chosen, leaving him with two free. He had a couple of people in mind, but thought it better to wait and see how things developed before making his final selection.

One morning, a few days after the party, through his network Garrett saw a royal carriage leave the palace, and a premonition struck him. Instead of going to his office first thing, he spent a bit more time getting dressed, donning his nicest suit. After that, he asked Ryn to wear something nice, and then invited her to have breakfast. Sure enough, an hour and a half later, the royal carriage pulled up in front of Dreamer's Inn, and a dignified man with white hair and a trim mustache got out. Ignoring the people loitering around the entrance, he walked into the inn, quickly spotting Garrett and Ryn.

"Are you Garrett Klein?" He asked, walking over to where Garrett sat.

Pushing himself back from the table, Garrett nodded. "I am. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Kristoff, one of the butlers serving Her Majesty the Princess. If it's not too much of an imposition, she would like to invite you to meet her in the palace today."

"It's not an imposition at all," Garrett said. "My schedule just so happens to be cleared."

Looking around the room, Kristoff took in the way everyone else was dressed, and then looked back at Garrett and Ryn, both of whom were wearing significantly nicer clothes, the sorts of clothes that one would see in the palace. Realizing that they were already ready for him, Kristoff was slightly confused, but still bowed and invited them out to the carriage. He wasn't quite sure how Ryn was associated, and hesitated before allowing her to get in, but Garrett informed him that Ryn was his attendant, gesturing to his unmoving legs as he did so. Relenting, Kristoff stepped out of the way and allowed her to seat herself next to Garrett.

Once he had entered the carriage, the driver snapped the reins, and the horses started off. Though the carriage Garrett normally rode in was nice, this carriage was a step above, and they hardly felt a thing as they clattered over the cobblestones. The royal carriage was distinct, and no one dared stand in its way as it came down the street, so the trip to the palace was easy.

Since Kristoff was sitting across from them, Ryn didn't voice any of her questions. She had long since gotten used to Garrett and his mysterious ways of knowing everything before it happened, as well as his tendency to play his cards close to his chest, so given the circumstances she didn't bother saying anything aloud.

When they arrived at the palace, the gates were opened, and they swept through, entering into the large front courtyard, before passing through a second gate into the inner courtyard, where a large statue of a regal-looking man stared down at them. As the carriage passed around it, Ryn craned her head to the side, looking up at the former king's imposing visage. According to legend, this was the first king, the man who had established the city.

The carriage came smoothly to a halt, and a moment later the door opened, and Kristoff got down. After Garrett and Ryn had both alighted, Garrett looked over the palace. It was an imposing affair, and he could feel a faint field rejecting his mental energy. Even now, at this close range, he found it hard to connect to Princess Eloise, as if something was constantly interfering with the signal. He was curious to find out what would happen when he actually went inside, and a thread of nervousness grew in his chest as they got closer.

The others didn't seem to be able to feel it, including Ryn, who pushed him along while looking around in wide-eyed wonder. This was her first time in the palace, and Garrett's first time back since he had fallen from the bridge six months ago.

When they got to the door, Garrett felt a popping sensation, almost as if he had walked into a bubble. At any moment he expected a wave of pressure to come crashing down on him, but instead he found that the inside of the palace had next to no inhibition to his mental energy. His connection with the dream flowers the princess carried, flared, and information began to rush into his mind. At the same time, his connection with all of the dream flowers outside the palace grew spotty, allowing Garrett to realize what was going on. Whatever was shielding the palace formed a barrier around it, but it didn't seem to have any effect inside. Furthermore, now that he was this close, Garrett could sense an odd haziness to the barrier, as if it wasn't operating at full strength.