It was astounding how much of a difference a full al could make. For Ryn, who had been surviving on rough bread and water for weeks, the two large bowls of stew with actual at looked like a feast, and she didnt wait for Garrett to start before digging in. Though he was just as hungry as she was, Garrett didnt begin eating right away. Directing the large n who were carrying furniture into the small room where to put the second bed, he made sure everything was in place before starting on his stew. He wasnt sure what sort of at he was eating, and he suspected he was better off not knowing.
Henrick had moved quickly after agreeing to Garretts terms, and the room he and Ryn would be sharing was cleaned out and filled with furniture, lending so dignity to the shabby space. Sensing that Ryn was looking at him, Garrett paused, his spoon hovering in the air as he looked up. She had practically inhaled her food and was staring at his bowl with undisguised desire. Finishing his bite, he fished out a chunk of at for himself and then passed the bowl over to her.
What? Arent you hungry? she asked, grabbing the bowl and pulling it toward her.
Shaking his head, Garrett started to chew on his thick slice of brown bread.
No, and besides, youll need the energy more than since youll be doing more physical work.
Ah, thats true, Ryn said, rapidly ladling hot stew into her mouth without even blowing on it.
They had co to an agreent to work together after Garrett had managed to convince Henrick to give him a chance, and Ryn was to be responsible for helping Garrett with things he needed as well as running errands. She had turned out to be the sa age as Garrett, seventeen years old, and had spent her whole life on the streets, giving her a wealth of helpful knowledge about the area.
After the al, Garrett sent Ryn back to the kitchen with the bowls and leaned back against the wall. Even with the little bit hed eaten, he could feel so strength returning to his body. The table had been pulled up against the side of his bed so it was easy for him to reach, and the account book sat on it. He had told Henrick he would need at least one night to go over it, as well as a new, clean account book to copy everything over. Promising to have one of his n deliver the new account book, Henrick had given the command to have the furniture brought to the room and then disappeared to do who knew what. The light from the small window was fading fast, but Ryn had secured a candle from sowhere, keeping the room well-lit.
Feeling like he had so space for the first ti since hed first woken up, Garrett closed his eyes and began to examine his condition. He had discovered a few startling things since waking up, and now that he had a chance to reference them against his mories, he was beginning to understand what was going on. He had no idea how he was doing it, but as he closed his eyes and concentrated his mind, he found himself able to sense his bodys condition.
According to his mories, this was called inner sight, and was sothing that only an Awakened could do. The strange spark of energy that appeared in the center of his chest was the second indication he had Awakened, which provided a clear explanation for why Garrett was still alive. Casting his mind back to the classes hed taken as the princes study aide, he reviewed what he knew about Awakening.
While not all soul sparks granted supernatural strength and speed, they all gave their bearer exceptional endurance, allowing them to survive wounds that would have killed even the strongest unawakened warrior. That explained how Garrett was still breathing, despite having his hand removed, his legs crippled, and being thrown into the river. According to what hed learned, soul sparks were divided into three main categories. Weapon Sparks were soul sparks that would form weapons, typically granting their bearer supernatural abilities with that type of weapon. For instance, soone with a Weapon Spark in the shape of a bow may have uncanny accuracy, no matter the distance they shot from, or the ability to control their arrows mid-flight.
Monster Sparks, which were rarer than Weapon Sparks, took the shape of a monster and granted their bearer increased speed and strength, as well as a feature of that monster. This could be anything from spectral claws to the ability to stick to vertical surfaces, or even powerful senses. The final type of soul spark was the rarest and was referred to as a Tool Spark, as they took the shape of specific tools. Tool Sparks carried varied powers that were practically impossible to quantify, making them highly sought after.
Though he could see the soul spark that rested quietly in his chest, Garret had no idea what sort of spark he carried, as it was still in the earliest stage, the lighting stage, and hadnt yet been shaped. Awakening was, as far as Garrett knew, a random thing, with most people Awakening at so point between the age of fifteen and twenty-five. At seventeen, Garrett was on the younger side, but the fact that he had a soul spark at all was shocking to him.
Following the lighting stage, in which the Awakened grew their soul spark from a tiny firefly into a roaring star, was the shaping stage, in which the Awakened would focus on the erging shape of their soul spark, condensing and polishing their soul spark until it was lifelike. The final stage, and one that Garrett had never encountered, even in his ti in the palace, was that of manifesting, when the soul spark could be projected from the Awakeneds body and used in the real world. According to the stories, the strength a manifesting-stage Awakened could wield was legendary, enough to split seas and crush mountains, but as far as Garrett knew all of that was simply hearsay.
Regardless, he was happy to discover that he was Awakened, even if he was only at the beginning of the lighting stage. With his eyes closed, he pushed his mind closer to the spark in his chest and suddenly felt a whooshing sound as his vision changed. Blinking in surprise, he found himself in the small room with the ornate chair. Once again his body was whole and a small window was floating in front of him.
Welco to the Dream. Your current objective is to gain your first level.
EXP: 3/10
Instead of standing up and leaving the room like he had the last ti, Garrett took a mont to carefully examine the room. Unlike what he thought the first ti hed appeared here, the room in the Dream wasnt an exact copy of his room in the real world. The furniture had appeared in the room, but the small window that let light into the room in the real world didnt exist. Instead, the light that filled the room ca from the throne he was sitting in. Furthermore, the room in the Dream was considerably bigger than the room in the real world. Unsure what caused the differences, Garrett could only shrug. Curious about what had caused him to leave the Dream the first ti hed visited it, Garrett tried to focus on the spark glowing in his chest, only to find himself back in the real world, the spark in his chest noticeably dimr.
Feeling like hed latched onto sothing, Garrett returned to the Dream, this ti standing up as soon as he arrived and walking for the door. Dismissing the now-familiar notification informing him he was leaving the safe zone, Garrett stepped out into the hallway. The ever-present haze was clearer than it had been the first ti, and as he walked forward it continued to vanish. At the sa ti, Garrett could see the soul spark that illuminated his surroundings was starting to fade in strength.
Though he wasnt exactly sure what was happening, he continued to pace back and forth in the long hall, watching as the hallway grew clearer and clearer and his soul spark continued to dim. Finally, with a shudder his soul spark grew dark and he fell out of the Dream, falling unconscious on his bed. When he woke up, hed fallen to the side and nearly slid off the bed. Gripping the side of the table with his left hand, he used his right arm to push his torso up.
He had no idea how much ti had passed, but from the pounding in his head and the weak light coming from his soul spark, he knew hed done sothing foolish. Letting out a groan, he reached for the mug of water that had been left on the table from lunch and sipped at it. Since his head was still pounding, he rolled over on his bed and closed his eyes, preparing to go to sleep, only to hear footsteps approaching the room. A mont later the door opened and Ryn ca bounding in, a thick, leather-bound book in her hand.
Heres your new account book. Oh, and more ink and a new quill too. Are you really going to go through that whole book and find gold? How does that even work?
Lifting himself up, Garrett pulled himself to the table and took the items Ryn offered. The account book was completely blank, though when he looked closely, Garrett could tell that a few pages had been cut out of the front of it. The quill, on the other hand, had never been used and the ink was in sealed vials. Running his hand over the smooth cover, Garrett smiled.
Chances are good that the gold is missing. If Henrick is as much of a penny pincher as youve said, he probably knows that the gold is gone for good, but knowing where it went is a different matter. Every entry in this book has been initialed, which ans that so long as we know where the errors have occurred, we should be able to track down where the money has gone. At the very least, it will give us a place to start. And by us, I an Henrick and his n. Well do the basic groundwork, and they can do the actual investigation to get the money back.
Wouldnt it be better if we got the money back? Ryn asked, her eyes gleaming as she imagined what a stack of gold would look like.
No, absolutely not. Youre no match for the n who took it, and neither am I. I an, I can barely move. What would we do if the money is in the pocket of soone like Obe? Better to let Henrick handle it. Besides, its highly likely all the money is gone already. This book goes back almost four years.
Ah, thats true, Ryn said with a disappointed pout.
Pulling the chair over, she sat down and watched dejectedly as Garrett opened the two account books up. Sitting in a strange inn in a strange world without his right hand or the use of his legs, Garrett felt like he should be going crazy right now, but strangely his mind seed to have completely adapted to his new situation. A wry smile crossed his lips as he stared at the two books. If he could identify any similarity between his old life on Earth and his new life in this world, it was staring at him in the form of the juxtaposition between the ssy account book and the clean new account book. This wasnt the first ti he'd kept books for those who skirted the edge of the law, and as he imrsed himself in the tangled numbers, he could feel himself relaxing.
At least numbers dont change. And people dont either.
Ti crept on and Ryn watched Garrett carefully. With only one hand, he moved slowly and wrote in shaky lines, but little by little the first page of the old ledger was copied into the new one. Though his new ledger didnt have lines in it, Garrett made sure to take his ti and lay it out in nice columns so lines could be added later. The pages of the old account book were packed with scribbles, creating a confusing ss of numbers, but Garrett didnt get flustered as he moved through them. Occasionally he would use a scrap of paper to record a bunch of numbers and do so calculations before writing them down in the new book. Noticing that Garrett was writing more numbers in the new book, Ryn leaned over to try to understand what he was doing. Seeing her interest, Garrett paused to explain.
This is called double-entry bookkeeping. Its a thod to ensure money doesnt go missing.
Oh! Thats how youre going to find the missing coins?
Correct. Using this thod, well be able to determine what money has co in and what money has gone out. Furthermore, we track the overall flow of money over ti. Its useful for our financial forensics, as well as setting up the data we need to find areas of improvent.
Looking at Garrett suspiciously, Ryn glanced down at the neat columns Garrett had created and then back up at him.
You just said a lot of words, but I didnt understand any of them.
Thats fine, Garrett said, waving his hand. It just ans were laying the groundwork for our second plan.
What second plan?
The plan where we make ourselves indispensable to Henrick, Garrett replied, picking up his quill and dipping it in the open vial of ink. But to get there, we have to do this first step properly. Would you mind fetching dinner? It should be about ti.
Nodding, Ryn got up, but her eyes kept drifting back to the neat-looking book Garrett was writing in, interest clear in her eyes.
Is this sothing youd like to learn how to do? Garrett asked, putting his quill down and looking at her.
eting Garretts gaze, Ryn was shocked out of her daze by the cold, calculating look in his eyes. The difference between the look in his eyes and the words that ca out of his mouth often shook her, causing her to wonder about the person shed rescued. He was weak as a sick cat but held the eyes of a predator, making her wonder what hed gone through to end up in such a disastrous situation.
Ah, no, I couldnt, Ryn said, shaking her head. I dont know how to read or write.
Do you know how to add and subtract?
Uh, if I count it on my fingers, Ryn said, blushing slightly.
Then I can teach you, Garrett said, picking up his quill again. For now, get dinner and then well discuss it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)