Sarenith 25 (Kasai, Mid-Morning)
H
atsue, Ivan, and I popped into the middle of a field of ash and rubble. This was, at one time, the village where Soto Takahiro was born. I expected it to still be here, but I guess that was too much to ask. We took in our surroundings. Whatever happened here? It happened some time ago.
Hatsue had never been here before, but it was in the general region she and Jiro had been patrolling. From what she could tell, bandits and probably more than a few oni had laid it to ruins.
I sent Nihali up to keep an eye on us just in case, but there wasn’t a living soul in sight, and barely enough standing ruins for one to hide behind. My teleportation spell had brought us to what seemed to be the center of town, perhaps a marketplace with shops. We picked a direction and walked until we found what looked like the remains of people’s homes.
I was frustrated, and I let it show as I pulled out the specially crafted incense. “Unless someone has some insight into which pile of rubble is the right one, here is as good a place as any other. Whenever you’re ready, Ivan.”
He cast a spell, and I felt good fortune flow through me. I soaked it in for a moment, then cast my spell: the one that was our whole reason for coming here. The incense was consumed in a brilliant flash, leaving only an aromatic smoke behind.
The world around me faded to darkness.
A woman lies abed in the throes of labor, attended by a midwife and her assistant. A middle-aged man stands nearby, intently watching and occasionally pacing. He has a forceful, commanding presence, but the two women pay him no mind as they focus on their work.
The labor has clearly been long and difficult. The mother is exhausted, each contraction accompanied by a desperate, wordless plea for it to end. The midwife does what she can to ease her discomfort, but there is little to be done.
At last the child is delivered. He cries, he takes his first breath, and the assistant cuts the umbilical cord as the midwife examines him and wraps him in linens.
“It is a…healthy boy. Congratulations to you.”
The midwife’s smile and happy demeanor don’t cover the hesitation in her voice.
The exhausted mother doesn’t notice.
The man does. The midwife looks up and finds him watching her. Fear crosses her face.
The man walks over to the midwife, takes the baby from her, and says, “He looks perfect to me. The very best any parent could want in a normal, healthy human child. Don’t you agree, midwife?”
She shrinks visibly under his stare. “Y-yes, of course, m’lord. Absolutely.”
There is something unusual about the child’s eyes. It is subtle, but unmistakable.
The man turns away, still holding the child. He walks to a nearby table, hands the infant to the assistant, and pours a cup of herbal tea. While the two women attend to the newborn, he removes a pouch from his belt and sprinkles something into the water.
Neither sees him do it.
“Well, Yuriko, you have a perfect, wonderful son who will bring joy to you for the rest of your days. That was quite a difficult labor, though. You are fortunate to have survived such an ordeal.”
He hands her the steaming cup of tea. “Your midwife prepared this. It will help you regain your strength.”
As she drinks, the man takes the child back from the assistant and studies him closely.
“Yes, you will do fine, my grandson,” he says to the child. “Very fine, indeed. You shall be named Takahiro.”
The teacup shatters.
The assistant cries out as Yuriko convulses on the bed. A trickle of blood runs from her mouth and nose. Then she goes still.
The man watches without emotion.
“It seems I spoke too soon.”
I was lying on the ground. At first, I thought I was on the beach in Sandpoint, Jefy Theern looming over me. But my hands were covered in dirt and ash, not sand.
Ivan and Hatsue helped me to my feet, and my confusion faded as my strength returned. One of them had cast a spell to help me recover.
“Well?” Ivan asked.
I nodded. “We have what we need.”
Sarenith 25 (Kasai, Early Afternoon)
M
y meeting with Meida’s handmaiden, Mio, went well after a somewhat rocky start: her idea of a discreet meeting place was the gardens on the grounds of the Imperial Palace. This was a questionable decision since it’s difficult to have privacy in a space that is open to the public with people walking through it. I had to insist that we get out of earshot to discuss a matter as sensitive as Meida’s secret pregnancy. For reasons only the gods understand, she found this suspicious. It’s hard to believe she has survived for any length of time in her position.
Once we got away from bystanders, however, her attitude changed dramatically. I put on the ring Isao had found for me, and which I had prepared in advance with potent persuasive magic, and from that point on I could do no wrong. The fact that I actually knew what I was talking about became largely irrelevant.
The whole point of the meeting was to slip a message to Meida without someone else seeing it (the plan to actually kidnap her never got past the “crazy idea” stage because there were just too many factors outside our control). For that, I had to trust that the handmaiden would accept and deliver a sealed package to her mistress, and ensure it remained sealed until then. Magical compulsion was my best bet for pulling it off. We’ll know later tonight or tomorrow whether or not that worked.
Preparing for this little visit was something of an ordeal. Because I was walking into the lion’s den, I had to look like someone else without arousing suspicion if examined with magic. Once again, that meant no magical disguises, and also stripping myself of most of my magical gear. Zosi was able to alchemically darken my skin and whiten my hair so that, with the help of silver and purple robes from Koya, I looked like a servant of Pharasma: exactly the sort of look you’d expect in a professional midwife. Once my hair was tied up in a bun to hide its length, even I didn’t recognize myself.
I am actually a little bit worried that Pharasma will find this deception more than a little offensive. Logically, I can tell myself that it’s all for the greater good, but my gut also knows that the greater good is used to justify any number of terrible acts by well-intentioned people. Ultimately, I want Meida out of this fight, or her role in it diminished, so that her baby won’t suffer for her mother’s sins.
Hopefully that motive is pure enough.
We also have some light reading for Takahiro. Getting that into his hands was a more daunting task, so I took a chance on the Raven Prince and asked Ivan to send to him.
Have a story for Takahiro. He’ll love it. You will too. Willing to deliver? I promise there’s no trickery, no magic. Just words.
He didn’t even hesitate.
Sounds intriguing. Deliver it to the place gate. I’ll make sure it’s received.
It’s been an eventful day. This morning saw Takahiro’s first real retaliation for the mayhem we’ve been causing. Since he doesn’t have hostages to threaten and doesn’t know where we are, he had no victims. So he simply made some up. The homes and businesses of two prominent merchant families were completely gutted sometime before sunrise. The heads of the two merchants were found impaled on pikes, and their families have vanished. Each was accompanied by a public notice, accusing them of having raided the palace, and thus they were executed for treason.
Olmas spent the morning doing damage control, and even left a similarly public response at one of the scenes: The Amatatsu brought you food. The Jade Regent brings you death. Which do you support? I thought it was a nice touch.
I am actually surprised this sort of thing hasn’t happened sooner. It serves as a reminder that the longer this drags on, the harder it will be for us to keep the momentum. And also that time is not on our side: there are a lot of people in Kasai that Anamurumon can kill out of spite. We can’t protect the whole city. The only way to put a stop to it is to go straight to the people in charge.