by Guy Antibes
Grigar looked at his friend. “Are you the Pine Bear coordinator?”
“I am, and Takatai Minza is the leader of our military arm. No secrets,” Yoki said.
“Do you know where the Battlebone is?” Jack asked. If they had no secrets, then if they knew why wouldn’t they tell him?
“You seek the relic, do you?” Takatai said, “And Torii Ishoru is sending you on these missions before he will help?”
“It appears you know more than we do,” Grigar said. “Do you know anything about the bone?”
Takatai nodded. “It is in the capital. The emperor can’t use it since none of the current line has been powerful enough to use it. To keep anyone else from using it, we understand the Battlebone is hidden on the palace grounds. Please, eat. We have been talking when we should have been eating.”
Jack didn’t mind having some thinking time. He began to attack his plate. The food was better than anything they had prepared while on the road.
After a few minutes, Takatai Minza asked, “Did you learn anything during your Deep Mist training?”
“I learned the Pearl Mist play games. I think the best game players are at Deep Mist.”
Takatai laughed. “Not so. Torii Ishoru is the master. Those who live at Deep Mist are less focused on the games and more intent on honing their abilities. Ruki Sinda, with whom you share surnames, is the game master at Deep Mist. Those who want to dither are eventually asked to leave the training center in the south steppes.”
“Okiku?” Grigar asked.
Yoki chuckled. “Torii’s right hand. She wouldn’t be permitted to return to Deep Mist under any circumstances.”
If what the Pine Bears said was the truth, Jack had no idea what he was doing. He wondered if Grigar shared the same thought. He looked at Namori, who definitely looked uncomfortable.
“Do you have warriors equivalent to the Deep Mist wizard-warriors?”
Takatai sighed. “No. I wish I did. That is why Yoki will be returning to Yomomai with you. If Deep Mist joined us, we wouldn’t care as much about needing Pearl Mist help in the capital.”
“Why don’t you visit Ruki Sinda?” Jack asked.
“You are a Corandian, Sakoru.” Takatai said. “There are protocols that we must follow if we are to do things honorably.”
The man seemed sincere. Jack was glad that Grigar and Namori were with him. He wanted to get their opinion before he made any personal conclusions.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
~
A fter dinner, they were offered rooms at the manor. Grigar readily agreed, but he also agreed to a sparring match on Jack’s behalf.
They were shown to small rooms in a different courtyard, but Jack was not asked to give up his weapons, and there were no locks on the outside of the sliding doors. These were not cells.
Jack contacted Tanner and brought him up to date.
I will stay outside, Tanner said, although the sound of real food does entice me, you might need me as back up.
That seems to be a remote possibility, but it is your decision, Jack said. He didn’t give Tanner his opinion, but it matched the mercenary’s, so Tanner slept outside the walls, while they spent the night under a roof.
Grigar pulled Jack out of his room. Namori was at the older wizard’s side.
“I think it is time for a talk, don’t you?” Grigar said as he pointed to a bench in the middle of the courtyard.
“We three will be spending the night? Is what you want to talk about?”
Grigar smiled. “That was one thing,” he said, getting Jack’s hidden message. The Lajian turned to Namori. “Can you see any truth to what Takatai Minza said about the Pearl Mist?”
Namori sighed. “Their story holds together if Torii Ishoru is the real decision-maker. I haven’t understood why I couldn’t go to Deep Mist.”
“Perhaps your father is more neutral than you think. A few years at Deep Mist might make you more independent,” Grigar said, “and that might change your father’s mind.”
Jack had a different idea. “In a way, you might consider yourself a voluntary hostage, just like Tanner and Helen were for Grigar and me. Both of them would have fit in fine as Deep Mist warriors. I should know, I trained right beside other warriors.”
“You think Torii Ishoru has a tainted view of things?” Namori asked.
Grigar shrugged. “He is playing his own game. I haven’t heard anything tonight about any dark motives on the part of Pearl Mist. The Pine Bear faction is the one who wants to pursue an alliance. That helps the credibility of both parties. We probably should decide if we are Pine Bears or members of the Pearl Mist.”
“We are Corandians,” Jack said.
Namori frowned. “I am not, but I would like to talk to my father. I have learned too much tonight to be comfortable.”
Two men walked up to them. “Are you ready, Sinda?”
Jack stood up. “Sure,” he said.
They were led to Takatai’s courtyard. A gravel section was being raked for the match.
“First blood?” Takatai asked Jack.
“I’d rather not, but…first blood.” Jack didn’t like matches that involved a mandatory cut, but he had endured plenty of them at Deep Mist.
One of the men who fetched him removed his robe. Everyone wore uniforms that were black with deep-red trim. He had expected Pine Bears to wear something green, but what did he know? Maybe black and dark red hid the color of blood. Jack shrugged to himself.
He didn’t bother to remove his robe. He wore his lightweight armor underneath, but as he looked at his opponent, the man had some protection underneath his tunic too.
“I’ve never fought a Deep Mist wizard-warrior before,” the man said. “Go easy on me.”
Jack had heard that plenty of times while he trained in Masukai. Those who said it invariably tried their hardest to defeat him.
They bowed to each other, and the match began. Jack touched the void before they started and wasn’t too surprised that his opponent had learned the enhancement technique. The man started fast. He was at least as quick as Hidori, but with much better technique. Jack was faster, but a slip in concentration could lead to a wound. He didn’t want to get cut, but it was all Jack could do to keep from slicing his opponent open in any number of ways.
Jack swept his sword to make some space and purposely nicked his opponent’s knuckle. The Pine Bear swordsman dropped the point of this sword and looked up at the evening sky.
“I suppose this is as pleasant a way to lose as any,” Jack’s opponent said, sucking on his hand.
“I can close that up,” Grigar said.
“A healer, now?” Yoki said.
Grigar chuckled. “I’ve become a lot of things over the years.” He took the swordsman’s hand in his and magically closed the wound.
The man looked at Takatai. “He is a Deep Mist graduate and a good one,” he said to his leader. “Not so good on technique, but his magic makes him fast.”
“Nothing I haven’t heard before,” Jack said with a smile. “I am glad a split knuckle ended the fight. Deep Mist matches weren’t as friendly.”
“We know,” Takatai said.
“Deep Mist graduates have joined your group?” Grigar asked.
Takatai just smiled. “We can let you see the ledger tomorrow morning, and you can copy what you wish of it.”
Jack was leery about being given access to the book. What if it wasn’t the right one? He guessed it didn’t matter since Yoki should know much of what the Pearl Mist wanted to know. He still wondered if they were being treated to a night’s stay and a few meals to soften them up to receive false information.
The very fact that they were inside the compound and were able to observe what went on inside would be as valuable as the information in any book, Jack thought. Besides, Takatai seemed to be one step ahead of them.
~
Tanner joined Yoki, Namori, Grigar, and Jack on the road from the manor.
“I had to evade a f
ew patrols this morning,” Tanner said. “There were more today than yesterday.”
“That is because we were expecting your friends, but not you,” Yoki said. “You are Grigar’s other Corandian friend, the father of the baby girl?”
Tanner looked intently at Yoki. “You seem to know everything.”
The Pine Bear coordinator laughed. “I know a lot about a few things.”
Tanner looked at Jack. “Just like you, eh?”
Yoki directed a questioning gaze at Jack. “He referred to you?”
“I am a helper, one of Akkora’s blessed,” Jack said. “I only know a few spells, but what I know I can do well.”
“He knows more spells since we have spent time in Masukai, so I suppose Jack can’t use that excuse anymore,” Grigar said to his friend.
“Ah, that explains a few things,” Yoki said. “We were unaware of Jack’s status. He hasn’t been treated like one, you know. Akkora’s blessed are revered among our people. Isn’t that right, Namori?”
The girl colored. “Jack is Corandian, a stranger among us. He needed to assimilate into our traditions.”
Jack wondered if Namori and her father had been playing him, after all. “I accepted the training. My friends and I wouldn’t have gone far in Masukai without spending time learning how to fit in as best we can.”
Yoki nodded. “I agree with Kiro’s approach. You wouldn’t have lasted very long, despite your prowess with a sword.”
Jack was the one to blush. “I wasn’t particularly good before I learned the Masukaian meditation technique.”
“That only reinforces what Kiro suggested you do. I would say you are past needing any training to retrieve the Battlebone. You now require the proper connections, and it is doubtful the Pearl Mist will be of much help. “Yoki said.
“They will actively put barriers in our path?” Grigar asked.
“Haven’t they? So far that has been to your advantage, but from what Takatai and I have seen, you are far past the point of being able to fend for yourself in our country. I will do what I can to clear things up.”
“Anything you can do. Two years in this country at my age is more than enough.”
Yoki laughed. “I have spent far more than that, and I still love it here.”
Tanner slid back to ride alongside Namori and Jack, with Grigar and Yoki chatting up ahead. “Anything you didn’t tell me?” Tanner asked.
Jack told him everything that happened at the manor in detail. He kept Namori’s advances out of the conversation.
Tanner scratched his head. “I think I am confused. We don’t know who are the bad guys and who are our friends.”
“The Red Herons always come out on the bad guy side, just like the Black Fingers did, once they attacked the Grishellian monastery,” Jack said. “What is unknown is the true nature of the alliance between the Pine Bears and the Pearl Mist.”
“And Yoki Tirashima has been totally open.”
“Open,” Namori said. “He has been open about what he wants us to hear. Grigar needs to remain, friends, because I am sure Torii Ishoru won’t be telling us anything.”
Jack was surprised by Namori’s comment. It appeared that Takatai Minza’s words had affected her more than he thought. Perhaps she was more convinced there were political reasons that had kept Namori from attending the training at Deep Mist. Jack had always had his doubts, but he wasn’t as grounded in the culture.
“Are you fine?” Jack asked Namori.
She gave Tanner a sideways look. “I don’t know how I feel about all this. Everything makes sense, but I’ve been accepting of the Pearl Mist my entire life. It is easy to listen to the words, but not so easy to accept what is said. I wish I could communicate with my father, but…” she shrugged her shoulders. “What do you think now?”
“I know we’ve been delayed in our quest on purpose.”
“I had known that from before you were sent to Deep Mist,” Namori said. “But I assumed you knew that too.”
“I did, but we weren’t really prepared when we arrived at Yomomai. I understand that, but for some reason, Grigar and I were rushed through the training at the end. I got the feeling we weren’t as welcome there after our encounter at Zuri Mountain.”
Namori looked miserable. “No one expected you to excel, but I think they all forgot you were one of Akkora’s blessed. That does make a difference. Even I forgot,” she said.
Jack glanced at Tanner to see if he was listening, and it was obvious to Jack that he was. “We can talk later,” he said to Namori.
Namori nodded. “I’d like that.”
~
Namori tapped on Jack’s door.
“It is later,” she said.
Jack yawned. He was about asleep, but he spelled a magician’s light and slipped on a few clothes before opening the door.
“Can I come in?” She looked up at him. “Just to talk, nothing more.”
Jack let the girl in. They sat down on the floor, facing each other.
“I have been doing some thinking while we traveled,” Namori said, “and as I did, I became more ashamed. I didn’t think of myself as naive, but I’m afraid I still am. I want the Pearl Mist to have treated you honorably, but it was not entirely the case. As I reflected on how you were treated and how I have been treated, the pattern persists.”
“As Takatai Minza described?” Jack asked.
She nodded.
“What about the Pine Bear proposal to ally with the Pearl Mist?”
Namori folded her arms. “Do you really see that happening?”
“I’m not Masukaian. I don’t think like you do in everything. I’m pretty much a simple village boy,” Jack said. “I don’t think in terms of conspiracies.”
Namori put her hand to her mouth and laughed. “I’ve listened to your stories enough times. You know better than to dissemble in front of me when I know what people have done to you. Tanner and Helen have told me even more.”
“And you like me despite my habit of deflating myself?”
Namori smiled. “I like you better than some arrogant bore. You may be a bore, but you aren’t arrogant. I do have a problem with you.”
“That I’m a foreigner, a Corandian?”
She shook her head. “I am in awe of an Akkora’s blessed. I don’t know if there is one currently alive in Masukai. How could I get between you and Akkora?”
Easy, thought Jack. Akkora wasn’t a real flesh and blood girl.
“I was sent in hopes I would die on Zuri Mountain,” Jack said. “That isn’t a great deal of respect for my way of thinking. I’m not sure anyone cares, other than you.”
“It is true everyone has their own way of thinking.” She looked into his eyes, but it wasn’t with ardor.
Jack could see her mind whirring.
“I will set aside my feelings until you have retrieved the Battlebone. Once that happens, can we see if we still like each other?” Namori asked.
“That might be better,” Jack said. “We shouldn’t move too far ahead, personally, with the unknowns that we both face.”
Namori’s eyes glistened with emotion. Jack didn’t know what those emotions were, but she finally nodded and rose.
“One last kiss?” she asked.
Jack nodded, and there were a few kisses before she slipped out of his room. Jack knew he had missed an opportunity to enjoy more of Namori if he had sought one out. Her interest in him sparked his interest in return. Honor was sometimes a frustrating thing when his emotions asked for something else. Jack closed his eyes, knowing they had done the right thing.
Chapter Thirty
~
“I already know the way into the Pearl Mist academy,” Yoki said as they entered Yomomai, “but I think it will be better to wait at an inn for word from Torii Ishoru. If he stalls for two full days, please send a message.” The man gave a small scroll to Grigar. “Give him this introduction.”
Grigar nodded. Yoki knew the way to a very presentable inn not far from t
he Pearl Mist headquarters in Yomomai. He promised to wait in the inn’s lobby while Jack, Tanner, Grigar, and Namori found their way into the Pearl Mist academy and into Torii Ishoru’s meeting room.
“Your mission was a success?” Torii asked.
“It was,” Grigar said. “Namori memorized the ledger.” He pulled out a sheaf of papers from his robe and passed it to Torii. “However—”
“There is a however? I was going to ask how you procured this.”
“It was given to us by Takatai Minza,” Grigar said. He proceeded to tell the entire story.
“You want us to believe your long-lost friend is the head of the Pine Bears?” Okiku asked.
“You can talk to him yourself. Yoki was always an exceptional person when I knew him when we were both much younger.” He handed the small scroll Yoki had given him.
After Torii read it, he dropped the message on the small desk in front of him. Okiku picked it up and looked at it closely.
“I don’t see how allying ourselves with the Pine Bears will benefit the Pearl Mist,” Torii said.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Jack said. “You admitted when Grigar and I returned from Deep Mist that the capital was less stable. Shouldn’t you be talking to people who might help you bring back the stability that has been lost?”
“They have turned you away from us. I can see that now,” Torii said.
“Then you need some spectacles,” Grigar said. “I will admit we were told some things that disturbed us, but we returned, didn’t we?”
Torii’s gaze turned to Tanner. “You wouldn’t abandon your friend and her child.”
Tanner shook his head. “You imply that Helen and Jackie are hostages? That I was a hostage while Jack and Grigar spent all that time in Deep Mist?”
The leader of the Yomomai Pearl Mist blushed. “You weren’t hostages, even if you think you were.”
Jack perceived that as a partial truth. “Talk to Yoki. You know where he is staying. As I told you the Pine Bears know most of your secrets. I don’t see how you are out anything. If you don’t want to go to him, I can bring him directly to this room and take him back.”
