by Nikita Thorn
Seiki had not fully told his friends his whole plan, and he thought now, in a private instance, was probably the time for a proper explanation. “Okay, I think the Bandits are up to something.”
Mairin blinked. “Like what?’
“To be honest, I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. Otherwise, why would they agree to give me full loot distribution rights?”
“Wait, what?” cried Mairin, her eyes widening. “I thought we were just gonna show them why they should stop messing with us. Are you saying we’re going to have full access to the Rogami vault?”
“Oh, uh, we’re not robbing anyone,” said Seiki. “I’m just trying to… uh… ”
“Speak to the manager,” said Ippei.
“Yeah, something like that,” said Seiki.
Mairin looked doubtful. “So, you’re gonna rob them but not rob… oh! Since you have full looting rights from the Bandits, you’re actually going to not take anything, and this way the Bandits can’t take anything, so the Rogami get invaded but not robbed, and in a way you’re… actually protecting the Rogami from the Bandits… uh, okay, I don’t know, Seiki. There’s something very dubious about that plan.”
Seiki chuckled. “Hopefully it’ll be enough to get this guy’s attention.”
“You’re gonna tell the guy to call off his dogs,” said Mairin, looking a little uncertain about the idea.
Ippei grimaced. “Can you please tell him there are just so many things that could go wrong with this plan?”
Mairin thought for a moment. “Well,” she eventually said with a little shrug. “I think invading the Rogami sounds like a lot of fun. The Social Guild is never going to invade anyone. Kiku’s not going to do that either, so if we’re ever going to do it, it’s going to have to be with Seiki’s underworld friends. Although… I’m not sure why we’re doing them a favor. They totally don’t deserve it.”
“I agree… but it’s really not about that,” said Seiki, wondering how he should explain. “I feel like we should pick our battles now. The best the Rogami can do is… maybe try to one-shot us as they ride by, but that’s going to become more and more difficult. It’s petty and wastes everybody’s time and they’re just gonna get bored at some point. The Rogami has, like, hundreds of members, and most of them don’t even know or care who we are. It’s just a few people like Rieko and her gang and, to be honest, after I killed Kojiro I don’t think I can make it any worse with that lot.”
Mairin smiled. “I wish I could have seen it.”
“Right now, I’m more worried about Kano Castle,” Seiki continued. “I feel like if we don’t settle this, it will be easy for Kano Castle to get the Rogami to do their work.”
Mairin paused for a moment. “Oh, like what they did at the Shussebora Cave.”
Seiki nodded. “Yeah, so if there’s a chance to take the Rogami out of the equation, I think we should take it.”
Ippei was looking at him. “So… it’s not about the Rogami. You’re trying to limit the tools Kano Castle can use.”
Seiki nodded. “And if you’re the first person to reach Level 30, you’ll definitely not want to become anyone’s tool.”
Ippei let out a long breath. “All right. That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard in a long time.” He thought for a moment, before a smile slowly crept over his face. “You’ve convinced me. You have my sword.”
“And my kitsune senses,” Mairin joined in.
“Uh…” Seiki looked at his friends, wondering what he was missing.
“Dang, we need another person for this,” said Mairin.
Leaving Seiki none the wiser on the matter, his two friends turned their attention back to the task at hand.
“From the top again?” Mairin suggested. “I mean… we haven’t talked to everybody yet.”
They continued to explore the Servants’ Quarters. At first, since the area was so full of people, they thought it a matter of finding the right NPC to talk to, but after a while, it was becoming clear that none of the servants had any knowledge of a missing sake shipment.
Ippei finally came up with the idea of figuring out the system. Indeed, the various NPCs were not there as moving props on the scene. Delivery carts came in through a side gate, where they were checked and then directed to three different locations: two storage buildings, or directly to the kitchen building. They asked the man in charge about the Kichigawa sake shipment, someone labeled Fifth-Rank Official Isoi, only to be told it was none of their business.
“Third-Rank Official Chiba asked us to look for it,” said Ippei. Lower numbers denoted higher ranks, and perhaps the samurai was hoping name-dropping would yield some results.
Fifth-Rank Official Isoi, however, simply frowned. “Then go tell Third-Rank Official Chiba that he has made a mistake. There’s no problem here.”
“The shipment’s definitely missing,” said Ippei.
“Says who?”
“The quest log,” said Seiki.
The official glared at him.
“Doing is a mistake,” said Mairin hopefully. “Three years for peach and chestnut. The stake that sticks out.”
The official looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “I don’t have time for riddles. Go find some other tasks to do.”
“A clever hawk?” continued the kitsune. “Clouds over the moon.”
“Guards!” yelled the official.
Laughing, they backed off before the stern-looking soldiers could move in.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Mairin, after they had retreated back to the middle of one of the side courtyards, away from people. They must have made their way around the area three times already, and there was no pattern or anything unusual they could see. “What are we missing? The bamboo that bends? Let’s see… bamboo…”
She trailed off breathlessly, her eyes fixed on something further away. At first Seiki thought she had managed to spot yet another bamboo cluster they had not investigated.
The object of her interest, however, turned out to be a girl by the corner of one of the houses, who was pacing in tiny steps back and forth, occasionally stopping to look at the front door as if waiting for someone to emerge. The girl was well-dressed for this place, with an elegant black and white kimono which sleeves reached her ankles when she held down her hands. Her hair was in a high ponytail, decorated with a red wooden comb that matched the shade of her red lips.
It took Seiki a while to see what Mairin had noticed. The girl’s kimono was black, and decorated with silvery white silk threads in a distinctive pattern throughout: perfect circles, each partially embroidered over with swirling lines that looked like wisps of smoke.
Seiki blinked. “Is that—”
“Clouds over the moon,” whispered the kitsune.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Seiki was not sure if the girl had been there all along, or if she only appeared after players had walked through the areas several times, and while the connection was a little obscure, it was their best lead yet.
Being lost in her own personal worry, the girl did not seem to notice the group approaching, and only when Mairin cleared her throat did her eyes finally focus on the group of three strangers in front of her. She gave a little start and took a step back.
“Sorry about that,” said Mairin. “Do you happen to know something about a shipment of sake from Kichigawa?”
The girl stared at them. Seiki noticed now she was very pretty, and perhaps even a little younger than he had thought. For a moment it appeared as though she was going to say she had no idea what they were talking about, but then tears welled up in her large eyes, and she looked like a child caught stealing sweets.
“I’m ruined!” she cried. “And so is my Lady. I’ve ruined us all.”
“That… worked,” said Seiki in slight surprise.
Beside him, Ippei let out a breath of relief. “Finally.”
Tears started streaming down the girl’s cheeks and th
ey left it to Mairin to calm her down and find her a seat on the raised porch of a house nearby. Through sobs, the girl told them she was called Tsukie, and worked as a lady-in-waiting for Lady Shiharu of the Inner Palace, who was very kind and very wise and well in favor of the Lord Shogun despite her young age and lesser noble birth than many of her peers.
“I’m sure your Lady Shiharu is an awesome person,” said Mairin gently. “But about the sake…”
The girl Tsukie wiped away her tears with her sleeve. “Kichigawa is my hometown,” she began. “It’s a small village near the town of Sadahigashi, deep in the mountains. Our village is small, but we grow good quality rice, and we brew the best junmai daiginjo sake.”
She paused to take a deep breath. “It’s difficult to travel home often. I haven’t gone back for a visit in four years. Last summer, one of my townsfolks visited Shinshioka, and my family sent me a bottle as a gift. I told Lady Shiharu, and she was keen to try it. She was delighted! So much so that when the Lord Shogun mentioned the Festival, she suggested that he ordered our Kichigawa brew for the celebration ceremony.”
“But…” said Mairin.
“This was a great honor for us. Our Kichigawa brew on the Lord Shogun’s table! The Palace ordered a large quantity, and Lady Shiharu asked if we would be able to deliver in time. We knew the time was tight, but this was such an opportunity. The village pulled together to fulfill the order.”
“How does that even work since the Rogami guy just got max level like, last Friday?” said Mairin. “No way your village’s gonna have enough time.”
“Technically, game time goes three times faster,” said Ippei.
“And how long does it take to make sake?”
“Six weeks, I think,” said Ippei with a chuckle.
Mairin blinked. “Oh, okay. Makes perfect sense. Sorry, Tsukie, please go on?”
“Since it was me who recommended it to Lady Shiharu in the first place, the village thought it would be a good idea to let my brother make the delivery. I would be able to see him, after four years! I was very glad when they sent me the message. I had been looking forward to it ever since. I got a message that he was in Manishi, which is only a day away. This morning he sent word that he had arrived in the city, and said he was figuring out his lodging, since he wanted to stay a few days to see me, and that he would be here later. He never showed up.”
“Maybe he’s just late?” said Mairin.
Tsukie shook her head. “I got worried, and so I went to ask if our sake has been delivered. The official checked and said the shipment already came in. But, but, it must be a mistake! It couldn’t have arrived without my brother!”
“Maybe he delivered it… then, uh, had to do something else?” said Seiki. Somehow, his thoughts led to many things that could happen to unfortunate NPCs but which would not help the situation right now. “And he might just… turn up later.”
The girl shook her head. “This is not like my brother. I’m sure something terrible has happened to him! I tried to tell Lady Shiharu, but she has gone to visit Lady Koba. So I’m here waiting for Fifth-Rank Official Ueno so I can tell him that something has happened to the sake shipment, that he should send someone to look for it. They make mistakes all the time at the storehouse, and at the time of the feast they will suddenly discover that the sake has not been delivered after all… and… it would be such a great shame to our village, and to my Lady Shiharu for having put faith in us. We’re ruined! All of us!”
She started sobbing, and Seiki glanced helplessly at his friends.
To his surprise, a notification popped up.
Objective completed: Clouds Over the Moon, Wind Over the Flowers. Just as gathering clouds obscure the sight of the fair moon, just as the wind disperses the delicate flowers, happiness is fleeting, fortune is fickle. Complete 2 more objectives to complete the quest.
“What?” cried Mairin. “Complete?”
“Apparently,” said Ippei, looking equally surprised as he glanced inward to check the notification.
Seiki read the text over again and wondered how they had managed to complete the objective.
The kitsune frowned. “I thought we were supposed to help her.” She sat down beside the crying girl. “Okay, Tsukie, tell us where you were supposed to meet your brother. And when did you last receive his message? Tell us everything you can and we’ll find him.”
The girl related her story, but what they got was minimal information. The brother went by the name of Maru, and was a young man of about twenty-five. Apparently, common NPCs had no access to the convenience of post pigeons, and so their plan was for him to wait by the front gate until she could find time to come and meet him.
“Start from the side gate again?” suggested Mairin. “At the very least we can go and shout ‘Maru!’ and see what happens.”
Seiki had a feeling they were going about it wrong, but since there was no other ideas, they walked back through the Servants’ Quarters to the entrance. Yelling ‘Maru’, however, yielded no results and simply got them annoyed looks from the guards.
“So the brother delivered the sake, presumably late, since the officials were looking for it for a while, but then he disappeared?” said Seiki.
“Did he, though?” said Mairin. “Tsukie was quite sure they made a mistake with the delivery logs, and given the looks of these people, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
With that thought, they went back to the delivery station and talked to Fifth-Rank Official Isoi again.
“How many times do I have to tell you there are no mistakes! The shipment came in fine!” cried the man. “I wish Lord Shogun had not had the idea of recruiting volunteers, since you’re more trouble than you’re worth!”
Ippei let out a long sigh. “These talking quests are worse than fetch quests. The whole thing is a bureaucratic nightmare. It’s starting to feel like…” He blinked. “I see. This is… all Inner Palace stuff.”
Without bothering to explain what he had figured out, the samurai suddenly smiled at Fifth-Rank Official Isoi. “Sir, would you mind us taking a very quick look at the delivery log so we could tell Third-Rank Official Chiba the problem has rectified itself?”
The official eyed him warily, and Ippei put on the usual earnest look that had somehow managed to sell so many charms for Kentaro. “Please, sir. We really need to be able to report back to Third-Rank Official Chiba that we have seen it, or he would simply send us back here again.”
Seiki and Mairin exchanged a look.
“No matter what he says, this guy actually loves RP,” whispered the kitsune.
Ippei turned toward them with a triumphant smile. “Sometimes the ends justify the means. As you can see.” He gestured to the official, who was rummaging through his documents to show them the delivery log.
“Thank you, sir. This is most helpful,” said Ippei, beckoning to his friends to come have a look.
On the page were several items listed in a neat grid: fresh plums, pickled fish, radish, sweet potatoes, dried squid and many others, all listed with their location of origin. Seiki quickly located the line that said ‘Junmai daiginjo sake’, next to which was the quantity of four hundred flasks. At the end of the line were two stamps. One of them was the official Palace Administrative Seal, while the other one said ‘Kiragawa’.
Before Seiki could add anything, Ippei said, “Thank you, sir. When I report back to Third-Rank Official Chiba I won’t fail to mention your kindness.”
The man looked up. “Have you ever considered a career in the Palace, young man?”
“Every day, sir. Just waiting for my chance,” said Ippei with a straight face. “Although unfortunately my humble birth is somewhat of an obstacle.”
Mairin nearly choked on laughter and Seiki shook his head in disbelief.
“You’ll do very well,” said the official with an approving nod as they retreated from the area.
“You see now why I very much prefer the Soldier’s Quart
ers?” said Ippei.
Mairin looked at him seriously. “But you’ll do very well, young man, despite your humble birth.”
The samurai laughed. “This is all Inner Palace crap. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you say but how you say it. People speculate there’s a linguistic check and a tone check.”
“Sounds… difficult,” said Seiki, not quite sure how to take the information.
“Good thing it’s optional,” said Ippei with a grin. “And you can spend your entire career in war.”
“Okay, so what was that?” said Mairin “The seal says ‘Kiragawa’ and not ‘Kichigawa’.”
Ippei let out a breath. “Sabotage. This is classic Inner Palace stuff. Like the girl said, someone’s probably trying to shame her lady, so they faked a delivery, so that her recommendation to the Shogun would fail and that would reflect badly on her and she would lose favor.”
“Oh,” said Seiki, again not sure how Ippei had managed to come up with all that.
“I never earned enough civil court rank to enter on my own, but I’ve been in group quests involving the Inner Palace and it’s all dialogue games,” explained Ippei. “And, you can cheat pretty much anywhere with Favors. It’s a different kind of resource management, I guess.”
Seiki decided the finer details of how the Inner Palace worked was probably better suited for another day. “Okay, so how does this help us complete the quest? I don’t suppose we could just barge in and expose the plot.”
“No, that would probably just get us thrown out,” said Ippei. “Bureaucratic stuff usually requires a bit more finesse.”
Mairin thought for a moment. “Since we can’t leave the Servants’ Quarters, that means Maru came in at some point, got directed somewhere else, and someone forged the document. So we should just go back to looking for Maru, I guess.” The kitsune was already leading the way back to the side gate.
“Is there no strategy to this?” said Seiki doubtfully. So far they had simply been wandering around until they stumbled upon something, although it seemed to be working to a certain extent, and he should therefore have nothing to complain about.
