Sarenith 25th, 4713 (mid-morning, Kasai)
Hatsue, 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.
It was Hatsue that spoke first, breaking the long silence. “I have not been to this village before, but it seems to be in the general region we were patrolling. From the looks of it, the bandits and probably not a few oni-led terror troops laid it to ruins.” I had no reason to doubt her assessment.
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 peoples’ 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, occasionally pacing impatiently. He has a forceful, commanding presence, but the two women pay him no mind as they focus on their task.
The mother is clearly exhausted and in pain as though she has been struggling to birth her baby for several hours. Each contraction is accompanied by an almost desperate lament, wordless pleading for it to be over. The midwife does her best to keep her comfortable, but there is little that can 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 inspects him and wraps him in linens. “It is a…healthy boy. Congratulations to you,” she says to the mother. The midwife’s smile and happy demeanor don’t quite cover the slight falter in her speech. This escapes the notice of the exhausted mother, but not the watchful man. The midwife suddenly remembers him and looks up into his face, fear clearly in her eyes.
The man walks over to the midwife, eyes locked on the her until he is so close she can feel his breath on her skin. He takes the baby and says, without looking away, “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 the weight of his glare. “Y-yes, of course, m’lord, absolutely, as you said. Never in my years have I seen such a beautiful baby boy born to any woman in Minkai.”
Finally, after a painful few seconds that feel like an eternity, the man turns, still holding the child in one arm. He walks over to a table, hands the infant to the assistant, and pours a small cup of herbal tea. The two women are busy attending to the newborn baby, and neither sees him remove a pouch from his belt and sprinkle additional herbs into the water. He carries the cup over to the mother as he speaks some encouraging words. “Well, Yuriko, You have a perfect, wonderful son who will bring joy to you the rest of your days. That was quite a difficult labor, though, one that easily could have taken your life. You are fortunate to have survived such an ordeal.” He hands her the cup of steaming tea and says, “Your midwife has prepared this medicinal tea. It will help you regain your strength.”
He takes the baby back from the assistant again, looking closely at the boy as the mother drinks. There is something unusual about the child’s eyes, but it is subtle. “Yes, you will do fine, my grandson. Very fine, indeed. You shall be named Takahiro.”
He looks up again at the sound of a tea cup shattering. The midwife’s assistant cries out in alarm as the young mother convulses on the bed before going still. A trickle of blood runs from her mouth and nose.
Without emotion, the man says, “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 spell to help me recover.
“Well?” Ivan asked, expectantly.
I nodded. “We have what we need.”
(early afternoon, Kasai)
My meeting with Meida’s handmaiden 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 with so few candles burning in the attic.
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 and ensure it remained sealed until then. Magical compulsion was my best bet for pulling it off. We’ll know later tonight 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 not only not look like me but also not be lit like a bonfire if examined with magic. 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 to him 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 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 as 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.