The Hollow Ledger

LOCATION: HARROW HOUSE — GIDEON'S ROOM, A MESS

Gideon woke up face-down on a book.

Not the book. Just a regular one. Something about spiritual taxation law. He had used it as a pillow and regretted it immediately. His spine ached. His teeth hurt. His soul was, according to his dreams, slightly bruised.

The Ledger sat on his desk. Closed. Quiet.

Too quiet.

He narrowed his eyes. "I know that look. That's the 'you're planning something' look."

The book didn't respond.

Then it opened itself. Slowly. With dramatic page-flipping flair like it wanted applause.

Gideon sat up. "Alright, what now? Another name? Haunted toaster? Ghost with unresolved mommy issues?"

The book vibrated.

Then a voice emerged.

> "You are... disappointingly alive."

Gideon blinked. "What."

The voice was dry. Ancient. And sounded vaguely British. If sarcasm had a dialect, this was it.

> "I've worked with murderers, arsonists, necromancers with poor spelling. But you—"

"You are the only one who somehow weaponizes clumsiness and apathy."

Gideon stood. "Are you... talking now?"

> "Congratulations. You've unlocked Level One: Mild Communication. Pity. I was enjoying the silence."

---

DIALOGUE: GIDEON VS. THE BOOK

Gideon rubbed his temples. "Alright. What's your deal?"

> "I am The Hollow Ledger. I record, collect, and balance. I do not explain myself to... whatever it is you are."

"Hey! I've survived three ghosts."

> "Yes. And by 'survive,' you mean 'flail until entropy solves the problem.'"

Gideon crossed his arms. "You're jealous."

> "Of what? Your complete lack of training? Your ability to ruin sacred glyphs with the handwriting of a concussed goat?"

"That's not fair. That last glyph looked like a squirrel did it with a crayon, but it worked."

> "By accident. Much like your birth, I suspect."

Gideon grabbed a marker and scribbled a sad face on the book's cover.

"Boom. Now you look like how you act."

The face disappeared instantly. The book hissed.

> "Touch me again and I'll bind your eyebrows into your lungs."

---

LEDGER: GLITCH MOMENT

Suddenly, a page flipped on its own.

Then another. Then ten.

Ink spilled across them in a panic. Scrawled, sharp. Like the book was having a stroke.

> UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY

Debt: Tampered

Name: Unknown (REDACTED)

Location: Distorted

Interference Detected.

Gideon blinked. "Wait. What's that?"

> "That... is not mine."

"You're the book. Everything's yours."

> "Not this. This is someone rewriting debts from the inside. Corrupting the archive. Inverting balance."

"Inverting—okay, that sounds bad. On a scale of 1 to apocalypse, where are we?"

> "Tuesday."

"...I hate you."

> "Excellent. Hatred builds compliance."

The name began to smear itself. The paper wrinkled. Whatever had been written, it didn't want to stay.

Gideon took a breath. "What do I do?"

> "Go. Fight. Bleed a little. Maybe survive."

"Not very motivational."

> "Would you prefer a hug? I'd rather set myself on fire."

---

LOCATION: GRAVEYARD — RUINS OF ST. MORROW'S

Night. Again. Obviously.

Because ghosts are dramatic and hate daylight.

Gideon stood outside the rusted gates of St. Morrow's Cemetery. The wind smelled like metal and moss. The fog clung to him like a needy ex.

The Ledger pulsed at his side. Whispering. Muttering.

> "Prepare yourself. This one... is older."

"Older than you?"

> "Older than regret. Older than currency."

"Oh perfect. A vintage ghost. Do I need to bring cheese?"

> "Shut up and walk."

He stepped forward.

Inside the graveyard, time didn't feel... real. The trees bent too far. The tombstones pulsed slightly when you weren't looking.

And then he saw it.

A woman. Standing over a grave. Her hair was mist. Her eyes were gone.

> "Do you remember me?" she whispered.

Gideon blinked. "Uhhh. Should I?"

She turned. Her mouth opened—

And hundreds of flies poured out.

Gideon gagged. "Okay! Okay! We're skipping the emotional reunion!"

She lunged.

---

FIGHT: GIDEON vs. "MOTHER MEMORY"

She moved like smoke and bone. Her touch burned cold.

Gideon threw a glyph and it exploded too early.

She laughed. The sound made blood drip from his ears.

He ducked behind a gravestone and shouted, "Hey! Book! Suggestions?!"

> "Yes. Die with dignity."

"Helpful."

He reached inside his coat, found the silver pin he'd taken from Alar's desk days ago. Had no idea what it did.

He stabbed it into the ground.

The earth rippled. Glyphs spread like roots.

The ghost screamed.

Gideon screamed louder.

> "Balance the thing! Suck emotional closure, you nightmare!"

A surge of energy knocked them both back.

The ghost shattered into petals. The grave cracked. A name burned into the stone:

> MARGUERITE HARROW

Debt: Paid.

Note: Interference Source — Confirmed Lineage.

Gideon blinked. "Wait. She was—?"

> "Your ancestor. One of the first. One of the forgotten."

He sat down hard. "Great. So my own family's haunting me now."

> "You are a Harrow. Everything haunts you."

---

BACK AT THE HOUSE

The fire crackled.

Gideon stared into the flames. The Ledger sat on the table, smoking faintly.

> "You have inherited more than you understand."

Gideon sipped tea that tasted like ashes and anxiety. "Cool. Guess I'll die confused."

> "Not today."

"Then when?"

> "Soon."

"Coolcoolcoolcool. G'night, book."

> "Don't drool on me again."