Dorothy’s Forbidden Grimoire Novel - Chapter 439

**Chapter 439: Gloom Gold**

“The Gloom Gold Society?”

Inside the hotel suite, Dorothy remained seated on the couch, staring at the Sea of Texts Navigation<e/m> resting across her knees. Beverly’s reply glowed faintly upon the surface, and as Dorothy read, her expression darkened with concern.

‘So… this Gloom Gold Society is behind everything?’ she wondered, thoughts swirling. ‘Judging by the name, it must be tied to Gloomy Gold—that commerce-based deity from the Stone domain Beverly told me about long ago. She’d said groups dedicated to that god were called “Secret Merchant Societies,” so why is this one called the Gloom Gold Society? Could it be that Gloomy Gold is worshipped by several sects at once?’

Mulling over this inconsistency, Dorothy quickly grabbed her pen and scribbled her thoughts into the Sea of Texts Navigation<e/m>. She had to act fast while Beverly was still “connected”—the enigmatic mechanic had a habit of vanishing mid-conversation for who-knew-how-long.

She finished writing and waited, eyes fixed on the words sinking into the page. Before long, a new message emerged, Beverly’s precise handwriting unfurling neatly.

“Oh! Didn’t expect you to be up this late. I assumed you’d gone to bed already—my experiments have been keeping me up. Funny timing to catch you like this.

“Now, to your question: Unlike the Orderly Crucible—the craftsmanship deity that the White Stonemason Guild reveres—Gloomy Gold is regarded as the God of Wealth and Commerce. It’s one of the so-called Venerated Shadows, existing outside the core Trinity of gods. Worship of Gloomy Gold has always been kept quiet, mostly unknown to the general public. Groups that pay homage to it have long been called ‘Secret Merchant Societies.’ The Gloom Gold Society, though, emerged after a split within one of those societies. You could say it’s a breakaway sect that evolved from the original group.”

“So it’s an offshoot… a successor of sorts?” Dorothy muttered, her hand rising to her chin. She quickly jotted her reply. Beverly’s next message appeared swiftly.

“Sort of, yes. But the picture’s more complicated. The Gloom Gold Society wasn’t the only one to inherit from the Secret Merchant Society. Our Guild absorbed a large portion of the legacy too.”

“The Guild? You mean your Guild has ties to the Secret Merchant Society?” Dorothy asked, astonished.

“Indeed. The entire mercantile arm of the White Stonemason Guild traces back to that society.

“It might surprise you, but the Guild didn’t originally revolve around commerce. It started as a coalition of artisans—exceptional craftsmen coming together to share knowledge and pass on their skills. Trading came second to crafting. Internal bartering existed, sure, but it was small-scale and served only to keep things running inside the Guild. It wasn’t until much later that we took on a broader role in the hidden world’s underground economy.

“Back in the Fourth Epoch, the Secret Merchant Society ran that scene. They were the central marketplace for all hidden-world transactions, wholly devoted to trade and operating under the divine eye of Gloomy Gold, rather than the Orderly Crucible.”

“So the real merchant consortium was the Secret Merchant Society all along, not the Guild?” Dorothy wrote.

“Exactly. That’s how it was—historically speaking. Four centuries ago, the Secret Merchant Society was the dominant neutral trade body in the hidden world. That changed with the internal rupture that tore the society apart.

“No one outside a select inner circle knows exactly why the split happened. There’s talk of a deep, dangerous truth tied to Gloomy Gold at its core. On the day of the split, a massacre struck the leadership. Of the three Gloom-Trusted Nobles, only one survived. That survivor—called the Obsidian Coin Noble—proclaimed himself the living embodiment of Gloomy Gold. With that declaration, he seized command and pushed a radical new doctrine that caused the society to fracture.

“Many refused to follow him and broke away. In response, he deployed enforcers, ordering brutal purges. It was during this chaos that the Orderly Crucible—who rarely speaks—gave divine guidance to the Golden Triplet, instructing them to offer sanctuary to the defectors. That’s when our Guild stepped in, welcoming the refugees, expanding our influence, and absorbing a wealth of trade expertise.

“Those who stayed loyal to the Obsidian Coin Noble rebranded themselves the Gloom Gold Society. Under his leadership, they tossed out nearly every foundational value the old society once upheld. They embraced any form of shadowy deal-making, with no lines they wouldn’t cross, all for the sake of maximum profit.”

Dorothy read through Beverly’s thorough explanation, then swiftly followed up:

“When you say they discarded principles and act without scruples… can you give an example?”

“In short, for them, profit is the only law. Nothing else matters. They engage in operations our Guild considers unacceptable. The worst of it? Human trafficking. You already know that many hidden-world sects rely on human beings—‘raw material,’ essentially—to power their spiritual cultivation rituals. Rather than hunting these victims down themselves, some sects simply buy from the Gloom Gold Society.

“They’ve got a network spanning all three continents. They abduct ordinary citizens to meet the constant demand, and when they manage to capture people with non-ordinary attributes, those go for an even higher price.

“And that’s not all. They operate as an underground exchange—like we do—but without restraint. They offer usurious loans, contract killings, and keep connections with small factions skilled in deception and conspiracy. They’ve become the epitome of the hidden world’s darkness.”

Dorothy’s frown deepened. She’d long been acquainted with the grim practices behind spiritual accumulation. Most cults she’d encountered in the hidden world relied on horrific means—siphoning humanity into power.

The Placenta group used human sacrifice in their blood-feasting rites. The Eight Spikes Nest demanded captives to endure torment. The Black Dream Hunters harvested dream cocoons from victims to feed their moths. In the Underworld Coffin Society, Bone Carvers needed bones, while some Silence branches consumed souls…

There was endless demand for “material,” and vast profits to be made. Naturally, outfits dedicated to acquisition emerged—and Gloom Gold seemed to be at the top of that chain.

‘No wonder those two were so desperate to capture the Brandonite,’ she realized. ‘They were going to sell him. Non-ordinary humans are worth far more.’

‘So the Gloom Gold Society really is the black market arm of the hidden world.’

With that understanding settled, she resumed writing:

“If Gloom Gold works in commerce, I imagine that puts them in direct conflict with your Guild. Is that the core of the rivalry?”

“That’s one reason. After the Orderly Crucible’s command, our Guild ramped up its commercial activities. We transitioned from a craftsman-centric organization into what we are now—effectively replacing the old Secret Merchant Society as the main force in underground trade. Since the moment we took in their deserters, we’ve been at odds with Gloom Gold.”

Dorothy absorbed this, then asked another:

“Yet even though the Gloom Gold Society serves Gloomy Gold—the God of Commerce—they’re losing ground to you. Isn’t that strange?”

Beverly replied quickly:

“There are several factors. First, while we took in fewer members during the split, our trade philosophy stayed more restrained.

“Our Guild refuses to engage in certain activities. That’s earned us favor from major institutions. Churches, national security divisions—they’d rather endorse a manageable organization with boundaries than tolerate a society like Gloom Gold, which has none.

“If Gloom Gold monopolized the trade networks, their no-limits approach would revive demonic sects and trigger catastrophe. Officials know this. So we’ve been granted silent approval. We do trade with some shady players, yes, but we draw the line at things like mass human trafficking.

“This helps us serve a wide range of clients without forcing them to rely on Gloom Gold.

“That’s why state agencies label Gloom Gold as a malevolent syndicate. Meanwhile, we’re unofficially tolerated. That tolerance has helped us grow.

“As for Gloomy Gold itself… it’s cloaked in mystery. Documentation is scarce. Most references only appear within the old Secret Merchant Society archives. Few know what Gloomy Gold really is. But as I said earlier, the split stemmed from internal conflict. The Obsidian Coin Noble even claimed to *be* the god’s incarnation.

“Yet we rarely see genuine divine intervention in this era. Most strong cults that serve clear deities experience stability. That’s not the case with Gloomy Gold. Frankly, I suspect the god might not even exist—or if it does, something’s wrong with it.”

Dorothy paused, reflecting on the implications. With clearer insight into the two organizations, she continued her query:

“Given the hostility between your sides… does that mean the Guild crisis in Troyes is Gloom Gold’s doing?”

“No doubt about it. Our conflicts with them span everything—from trade routes to full-blown battles.

“One of their main strategies is stealth. They slip into Guild posts across cities, murder our agents, and assume their identities. Once embedded, they continue dealings with local clients while gathering intel. With that information, they later ambush those clients, abduct them, and seize assets.

“After bleeding a city dry, they vanish, moving on to a new location. The cycle repeats—siphoning wealth and sabotaging our standing. From what you’ve described in Troyes, it fits perfectly. And if you purchased items from them, they’ve probably marked you. Their products likely contain hidden tracking nodes like Path-Guiding Altars. Buying from them makes you a target.”

Dorothy exhaled and scribbled her response:

“Appreciate the warning. Though it’s probably too late—I already had two Wandering Walls come after me. Took care of them myself.”

“You dealt with two? Nicely done! That level of interest means they’ve taken serious notice. Defeating them solo is no small feat.”

“Just living up to my reputation…” Dorothy replied, letting a touch of pride seep in. Then she hesitated, tapping her quill before continuing.

“One thing still bugs me: are Gloom Gold’s fighters trained in some unique method? The two Wandering Walls I faced were classified as primary-‘Shadow’ and auxiliary-‘Stone’ Black Earth. Bullets bounced right off. It stalled my attack and drained more spirit than expected.”

Beverly’s next reply came with a sharp question:

“Who told you their configuration was primary-‘Shadow’ and auxiliary-‘Stone’?”

Dorothy blinked, startled, and wrote back quickly:

“An Ulster Security Bureau Hunter. He was dying after being ambushed by one of those assassins. Told me directly. Was that wrong?”

“Very wrong. Here’s the truth: Wandering Walls are an exclusive construct of the Gloom Gold Society. Hardly anyone else has them. The Eight Spikes Nest? They’re among the rare few that *don’t*.

“The ones you fought weren’t Eight Spikes Nest agents. They were Gloom Gold operatives. I mentioned earlier that Gloom Gold offers assassins for hire and handles murder-for-pay services. What likely happened is that they took a contract from the Eight Spikes Nest and acted on their behalf.

“Before entering a new region, Gloom Gold purposely circulates false intel across local occult channels. That includes deliberately falsifying the spirit make-up of their Wandering Walls.

“To clarify: Wandering Walls are built with *primary-‘Stone’* and *auxiliary-‘Shadow’*. Not the other way around. Your source from the UXB was misinformed. And that false data led to your misjudgment in combat.

“Technical misinformation like this is one of Gloom Gold’s strongest tools. They feed fake info into every new area they enter. That leads enemy forces to adopt the wrong strategies. It’s how they gain the upper hand.

“In the world beyond normal perception, technical alignment is already fragile. Communication systems don’t sync properly, and foundational knowledge often splinters between regions. Gloom Gold thrives on this disconnect. They weaponize misinformation.

“It’s become especially bad in Troyes. Even veteran spies from Prithuvi miss the signs. Only a few, like the old guard from the Tivian Continent, can see through their veils.”

Reading this final block of text, Dorothy froze. She’d been deceived from the start. The configuration wasn’t primary-‘Shadow’ at all—it was primary-‘Stone’, which explained why her bullets had been useless against their hardened bodies.

……

Well, that was a lot. Tomorrow’s already spoken for, and writer’s block is setting in as the new month creeps in. Time to rest and reset.