4 Marked (2/2)

Arriving at the carriage again, Garett had a better idea of the situation, while he still had more questions than answers, he should be able to get some more information from other sources.

Maybe the Goddess clergy will be a lot more forthcoming with a believer like me... I should be able to probe more from them, there's a lot of books about occultism in the College as well, probably not all of it is rubbish... Garett traced a few ways he could proceed in his mind, he still hadn't had time to sort the things that happened and craved for some time alone.

”You can use the carriage to help you traverse the city the Goddess cathedral is a bit far. You may want to go home as well, and you don't seem to live in the Inventors Borough.” Lurmon sent him off with a nod, and after saying a few pleasantries left for the patrol quarters again.

”I hope we can meet again, Mr. Garett. Under less stressful circumstances that is.” Hilren bowed and left, leaving Garett alone with the coachman.

Finally free! Now I need to sort out the things that happened in the last week; if I'm still a suspect, they'll surely keep an eye on me as well... Maybe I should not do anything problematic for the time being, they expect me to head over to the Church of Mists... Garett nodded to himself and climbed the carriage, appreciating once again the expensive leather seats.

”Take me to the Market street, please. There's no need to hurry.” Garett added as he felt the carriage speed up.

I don't know when I'll be able to use such an expensive carriage again, let me savor it a bit... he thought with a smile on his lips.

...

Alighting from the carriage, Garett was met with the dirty streets that reeked of piss, the people all wore ripped clothes, having parts of their skins exposed to the foul air.

Ah, home sweet home... The familiar place helped him exit from his stressful condition, being exposed to all the weird things that happened, he still hadn't had the time to let it sink in.

Maybe I should visit my sister, I'm sure they are still monitoring me, and visiting family after everything that happened would be the natural thing to do... Garett walked a couple of streets, arriving home at 1277 Fisher's Row.

”This place seems okay at least, I was worried something had happened here.” He climbed the stairs, slowly taking in his surroundings, hoping to remember something.

Now I'm glad I didn't fix the door's handle, I have no idea where my key is... He stood before the door, half afraid of what he could encounter inside. Taking in a deep breath, he turned the handle and opened the door.

A moldy smell invaded his nostrils, many of the houses in the district had mold problems, and it wasn't unexpected to find this smell upon entering someone's home.

Nothing seems to be wrong... I suddenly feel very sleepy... Garett dropped on the couch, his eyelids slowly closing in.

”I can't sleep yet, I should take the time to study the weird knowledge from that book. I remember having a few eccentric books about occultism that I borrowed for fun, maybe I can find something there before going to the church.” Garett used all his strength in getting up and scurried all over the house in search of the books, after finally finding all three of them, he sat in a hard chair in the kitchen, knowing that the couch would win the battle of wills and he would get sleepier.

Before anything, I feel like I need to understand the concept of rituals, there should be something about that here... The three books were named 'Spirit Channeling and Offerings', 'Ritualism and Divinations' and 'Occultism for Dummies' respectively.

Why did I borrow this last one in the first place? It's obviously rubbish... Grumbling under his breath, Garett opened the book on Ritualism and started to search for relevant passages.

'Rituals mainly encompass ceremonies were one's soul connects to the spiritual body of some entity, usually the spirits of the deceased, and, in more advanced cases, even gods. After offering something or fulfilling the terms of a contract the ritual is estabilished, and the holder can receive something from the entity in question'... Then, when I signed my name in that book, did I fulfill the requirements of a contract? The knowledge I received is my reward for holding the ritual? But the entity should gain something out from it as well, the book doesn't comment about that... Garett kept searching for other passages, most of the things were quickly dismissed as gibberish.

I don't have the necessary knowledge to judge the contents of the book, should I find someone with more understanding and ask them for their judgment? That young patrolman seemed to know some things... Garett looked through the window, only to realize that night had already arrived, and according to the clock, it was just after eight.

Maybe I should go to the church... No, I'm too sleepy for that, I should use my time to catch up on my sleep...

Garett laid on the couch, not bothering to wash or change before embarking on a voyage to the world of dreams...