The sound of his boots rang off the stone walls as Captain Lockler walked down the fortress hallway towards the keep's armoury. Following at his heels came the young woman who had been assigned as his second in command, First Lieutenant Shimada Kaida, a former private with three years of experience in their self-defence force. He would be lying if the thought of giving orders to the Dragon-blooded young woman wasn't terrifying, but so far she seemed eager to learn.
As they walked, dodging around makeshift beds for the injured, his second was reading aloud the list of necessary equipment that their company had yet to be issued. She had been reading it since they left the palace and seemed to have only had zero issues maintaining a stream of unending words despite the crowded halls and having descended at least one flight of stairs.
"...in short sir. We've haven't even been issued enough sticks to actually start even putting all of our men through training on how to handle a spear. The only thing we've been issued properly is today's rations." She finished, sidestepping a rushing pair of soldiers carrying a large crate that clanged with ever step.
Lockler sighed. He had been given command of five hundred men to train and lead, all of them new as of late the night before. "The quartermaster better be out of weapons." He muttered. The boy had promised that their new stores of weapons would be sorted and distributed by breakfast. Now it was half-way through the morning. Still, he was one of the Dragon-Blooded…
He stifled a groan as they reached the armoury, its steel reinforced doors hung open and he could see the quartermaster surrounded by a small group of other dragon-blooded officers and mortal soldiers. He looked rather frazzled with his cloth uniform rumbled and his hands gesturing with urgency as he discussed whatever it was that had his attention. For a moment the former sergeant hesitated by the door. Usually, when the Realm had ruled Greyfalls, inserting yourself into the path of a harried Dragon-blood was a recipe for censure or punishment.
"Sir?" Kaida asked, and he spared a glance for the young woman.
Of course, he was now an officer. Of the same rank as the quartermaster in fact. He also had a second who he was supposed to set an example for. Cowardice and hesitation were poor behaviours to encourage. "He looks rather busy. Let's find out how things are going." He said before matching word to action and striding into the armoury, his boots thudding heavily on the floor. "Quartermaster!" He called.
The young quartermaster and the surrounding men and women all turned to him. The young man's eyes widening as he spotted the armoured captain before his head turned to a stack of crates and weapons off to one side. He cursed, loudly, before turning to Lockler again.
"Captain Ragara. Here for your weapons, I assume?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.
Lockler stopped by the large desk near which all the people had clustered. "Amongst other things, but it is a bit hard to train a man to stab people with a stick when you don't have sticks to train them with." He said, trying to keep his tone light and jesting. The young man chuckled politely.
"Yes, I suppose it would be." The young man ran a hand through his greasy hair. "I'll have my people bring your weapons down to you within the hour. I'm sorry I forgot to send your equipment down, but I've been rather busy today."
"We're all rather busy," Kaida said, "we are preparing for war after all." Lockler sent her a warning look and she stepped back. He'd talk to her about that later.
The Captain, however, didn't seem to notice the disrespect. Probably because he had been, until the day before, a mere corporal. He probably was not used to having authority yet. "Yes well, I've been dealing with something that isn't simply getting weapons into soldier's hands." He sighed and sat down at his desk.
"Can you two keep things quiet?" Tatsu asked.
"Is this some secret that we should know about?" Lockler asked, frowning. Knowing when to share something was as important as knowing if it was allowed to be shared.
The young man waved a hand in the air dismissively. "It's not a secret, but I'd prefer it not become common knowledge." He said, "We've had one of our own disappear."
"By one of our own, who do you mean exactly?" Lockler asked, a sinking feeling settling in as he considered the possibilities.
"One of us." He gestured to himself and the other dragon-blooded officers. "Last night Private Tanaka left the fortress with Sergeant Ito. He hasn't been seen since."
"What about the Sergeant?" Kaida asked, speaking up again. This time Lockler didn't give her a silent reprimand. It was a good question.
"I've spoken with him. We're still looking into his story. For the moment though, could the two of you keep an eye out for the private?" Tatsu asked.
"We can do that," Lockler said, nodding while making a mental note to talk to his other officers. This was something that they'd need more than just his and Kaida's eyes on. "Now, about my supplies."
The young man chuckled. "Let's get that organized before I get distracted again." He said.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Tangled Fate
Chapter Eleven
Seductions of Broken Fate
By: Grounders10
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ryouga was conflicted as he lay curled on the marble tiles of the back courtyard, his head in his paws. Being conflicted was nothing new to him, it happened with regularity. Sometimes it was about Akane, other times Akari, or Ukyo, or one of the other girls he tended to run into. Really a lot of the uncertainty he tended to run in was about girls. Well girls or, like now, Ranma who just happened to be a girl for the foreseeable future. Which irritatingly combined both issues.
Ranma who happened to be the reason he was out in a snowy courtyard. Not that Ranma has asked for him to follow her outside and join her. No, he had done that himself when he had seen her headed outside into the early morning snow. He had decided to curl up in the corner of the courtyard beneath a large bush that only covered some of him and watch her twirl through the motions of kata after kata as the snow fell around him silently, though with his thick coat he barely felt the chill in the air. It just nipped a little at the tips of his ears and nose.
The center of the uncertainty he was feeling was a change he had noticed over the last few days that was centered on his old friend and rival. Friend… well, maybe not an old friend. He growled lowly to himself as he considered that idea. They had been friends of a sort when younger, but that was a time that was long separated by years of his own anger. Anger that had faded quite a bit over the last few years. Enough that maybe he could consider Ranma a friend again, though only just.
Which made what he was feeling even stranger.
He watched the redhead swirl, twirl, and dance through the motions of a tai-chi inspired kata with the grace of a peerless dancer, yet it was nothing he hadn't seen before. The kata was an old one he had seen even way back when Ranma and he attended the same boys school. He could do it just as well if he felt the need. Though, maybe not. Her steps seemed more precise, her motions more fluid. To the eyes of an ordinary observer it would be imperceptible, but to someone who knew her so well, who had fought many desperate battles with and against her, it was obvious. Her skills had been refined by exaltation beyond what even their talent could have managed.
And it had not even been three days.
It was not the inhumanly perfect grace and skill that drew his eyes. It was her eyes. For a moment, as she paused for the briefest second, their eyes met and the Lunar felt a shiver roll down his back as something behind them glinted and shimmered with a familiar and enchanting glow that he couldn't quite put a finger, or a paw, on. For that moment all he saw was her eyes glittering, her hair as it shimmered amidst the snowfall, and the swirling end of her braid.
Then their eyes parted as she spun away into the next strike of the kata. He shook his head and buried his snout under a paw. He ignored the cold sting of the snow as he jammed his nose into it.
The hell was wrong with him? It had started after that first quick nap he had taken on their first day. A quick snooze to catch up on some missing sleep. They'd fought through the entire night, and it wasn't like there was anything for him to do at that point. They were waiting for people to show up, and a nap was a perfectly fine way to waste time.
He couldn't remember that dream, if it even was a dream. All he remembered was red hair and blue eyes. The last couple of nights hadn't been any better. Dreams, long dreams, about… someone. Someone with red hair that shimmered in the light, and blue eyes that glinted with a hidden golden light. A light just like what he was seeing in Ranma.
That had been why he had consented to assist with investigating the deaths. Despite the danger, it gave him something to do, something that wasn't just spending his day staring at Ranma trying to figure out… figure out something. It was like he already knew whatever it was, but just couldn't remember. It was frustrating in the same way as when he couldn't find the damned door. Like he should know this, but didn't. Somehow.
A foot came down upon the end of his tail. It didn't hurt, but it did snap him out of his mental loop as instinct reared its head and he sprang to his paws with a growl on his lips as he twisted to face whoever had just stepped on him. He stopped, his lips curled back enough to reveal the long canines he had grown, as he found himself face to face with a startled and scared young woman.
"I-I'm sorry Lord Hibiki." The girl, Sung Ya, bowed quickly to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't see your tail under the snow." She blathered a few other apologies as he relaxed and with a thought, he shifted back to being human. Fur and fang giving way to flesh and silks.
"You stepped on my tail." He said with a frown as he suppressed the urge to snap something worse at her. It had been a mistake but his new instincts were calling for something harsher than a few words.
"Don't be getting too mad at my new helper Ryouga," Ranma said, with that infuriating teasing lilt to her voice as she walked over. "You're the one who decided to try and become a snow wolf." He turned to snap at her and his words tumbled away into the wind as her eyes found his. She looked up at him, smirking that normally infuriating self-satisfied grin.
He swallowed and huffed, stepping aside. "Still should have watched where she was going." He said, trying and failing to salvage the situation.
Ranma snickered as she stepped passed her. "So, Sung Ya, the news?" She asked authoritatively.
Her new handmaiden bowed. "A message from General Kumon. They are ready to begin the inspection whenever you are ready." She said formally.
Ranma sighed. "Already?" She pouted and Ryouga looked away. "Fine, didn't even get an hour in." She sighed.
"An hour, milady?" Sung Ya asked.
Ranma shrugged. "First time I get to chance to practice in three days and its not even an hour long? I'm going to get rusty at this rate." She complained.
Ryouga rolled his eyes and scoffed. She 'hmmed' and glanced at him."Something to say Ryouga?" She asked with a smirk.
He carefully avoided looking her in the eye. "You'll have plenty of time later when we aren't in such a rush." He said.
She laughed and elbowed him in the side. "In a rush? Says the guy who just sits around as a mutt doing nothing." She mocked.
He bristled and turned to face her fully. "Who're you calling a mutt?" He growled.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "How many puppy dogs do you see around here?" She taunted.
"I am a wolf." He growled, his canines lengthening as he did. They stopped as he met her eyes and he felt his heart jump a beat as she smirked arrogantly. The smirk became a frown as he just stood there for a moment.
Finally Ranma scoffed and walked passed him. "Well then wolfy, let's go." She said, grabbing his arm on the way passed.
She dragged him along as he shook off whatever that thing she did was. "Stop doing that!" He growled, "And why are you dragging me along?" Behind them, Sung Ya followed, an odd look on her face.
"Do you have anything better to do today?" She asked, ignoring his accusation. "Other than sitting around as a wolf and creeping on me I mean."
He flushed at the accusation. "Who do you take me for? Happosai?" He snapped. Just because he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on did not make him some bizarre pervert.
She stopped and looked up at him with a smirk before dragging him along again. "I'm not hearing a no."
He spluttered as she dragged him into the Palace.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The snow crunched loudly as Ranma stepped out of the palace several minutes later clad in a warm winter cloak of fur-lined blue silk. While the weather hadn't bothered her too much it was much nicer to be warm than chilly. She glanced behind her as she walked down the path to the front palace gate where the new Captain Kita waited. Ryouga was following, having finally capitulated after several minutes of rather awkward arguing.
Honestly, there was something odd about him today. He couldn't seem to stop staring at her, and he went red and just froze up whenever she looked at him. She frowned as he stumbled when their eyes made contact. There it was again. Well, it was clearly something about her that was bugging him, but what on earth was it?
She turned away with a sigh. "Idiot." She groaned. With everything else going on she did not need one of the few people she… sort of, trusted to be at less than their best. Hopefully dragging him with her would help. If nothing else maybe she could find something for him to do rather than layabout since Lily had, rather firmly, requested to continue her investigation without him.
"Your Grace." Captain Kita saluted, a clipboard under one arm. The five men in Legionnaire's dress beside her saluted as well, their fists slamming into their chests with a loud thwack of leather and metal.
"Captain," Ranma said as she paused, taking a moment to examine the men. While she wasn't a soldier she was a martial artist and she could see that the five men were not new to fighting. Each bore scars and held themselves and their weapons with the firmness of those who knew how to use them.
"May I introduce Corporal Adalwulfe Engle, formerly of the Imperial Legion, and the rest of his fang." The Captain said, "They will be your escort today."
"Because Ranma needs an escort." Ryouga drawled sardonically as he joined them. Ranma spared him a glance. He was dressed much like she was in a large blue fur-lined silk cloak, though where her's had white fur his was black.
"Less for her own needs, and more to keep others from being foolish." Kita replied curtly, "Sometimes what you need is more bodies rather than more power." Ryouga snorted.
Ranma nodded her agreement. "I'm sure the corporal and his men will do fine." She said looking up at the tall legionnaire. Blonde with pale European features, though what that translated to in Creation she hadn't a clue, the man was easily a foot taller than her, and so was most of his 'fang' except for a small almost dwarf-like man with a head that resembled a potato.
"We are honoured by your confidence in us Your Grace." The Corporal said. He and his men bowed to her. "We stand ready to fulfill any order you wish."
Ranma blinked, startled. That was a fairly firm declaration of loyalty. She glanced at Captain Kita. The older woman smiled. "I selected the Corporal and his men because of their enthusiasm." She said.
"Her Divinity Setarial has named you the Lady Castellan of Greyfalls." The corporal said, "It falls to us to obey." Oh, wonderful, they were
religious as well.
"And there is that as well." Kita said unrepentantly as Ranma gave her an annoyed stare out of the corner of her eyes. Suppressing a sigh Ranma instead smiled at them. It wouldn't do to antagonize them needlessly.
One of the men coughed into a hand and Ranma spared him a glance. He seemed flushed and she smiled further. Some awkward shuffling ensued with the rest of the men. "Well, I'm sure they'll do fine." She finally said to Kita, "Where is Ryu?" Her new 'General' was nowhere to be seen.
"Just through the gate." Kita replied.
"Well, I won't make him wait any more." She said as she stepped passed the older woman, "Enjoy the day Captain."
"I will try." The Captain said, "Corporal, keep her safe."
"Yes ma'am. Fang, fall in." The Corporal said. The five men fell in behind her and Ryouga as they exited the palace grounds into the controlled chaos of the armed encampment that the fortress had become overnight.
Thousands of new recruits were swarming the yards, yet even the thousands of troops seemed to only fill a fraction of the yard's capacity. Still, it was very busy with squares of hundreds of soldiers being taught how to hold their weapons by loudly shouting ex-legionnaires or being led on runs around the perimeter of the fortress grounds. Ranma attempted to make a count, but from her position, it was impossible to get an accurate read on the numbers without suddenly gaining another foot or two of height.
"Ranma." Ryu greeted as he spotted her. Beside him was Colonel Akiyama.
"Greetings Your Grace." Akiyama bowed formally. He was dressed like he had been the day before with the addition of a red sash running from his left shoulder to right hip.
"Good morning." Ranma greeted, "Zeriah's lesson went well?" That morning Zeriah had begun to teach short hour-long classes on the intricacies of being dragon-blooded. Things that were normally taught to Dynasts when young or just after they exalted.
The two dragonblooded nodded. "It was interesting," Ryu said looking at and flexing one hand. A small dusty sphere flickered into existence for a moment before breezing away on the wind as dust. "Some of it reminds me of the Yamasen-Ken. Anchoring yourself, feeling the wind, shaping your ki. Similar, but this is on a far more primal level. More instinctive and powerful in its own way."
Ranma nodded, trying to picture it. Perhaps it was like the Hiryu Shoten Ha. After a while she had developed a sense for how the winds flowed and shifted. Even now she could feel the flow of the light breezes that swirled through the courtyard, some of which seemed to be lingering remnants of her Hiryu Shoten Ha several nights before. Stange, they usually dissipated faster.
"Very different from my own abilities," Ranma said, gesturing for Ryu to take the lead. He started down a path towards between two large blocks of drilling recruits. "My ki moves before I do at times." She said. Her ki flowed with her movements and unlike before it suffused more than just her physical acts. During moments of stress, it would enhance her mind, clearing aside distractions and allowing her to see true. Doing so was so instinctive that unless she was as adept with Ki as she had become over the years she doubted she would have noticed at all. When her emotions burned hotter it tended to stoke them further. A feedback loop like those which sometimes occurred while using emotion channeling ki attacks.
"Not always a good thing," Ryu said and she had to agree silently. It hadn't gotten her into trouble yet, but a moment of poor self-control could be bad. "What about you Hibiki?" He asked.
Ranma looked back at Ryouga who shrugged. He seemed to be staring at one of the towers nearby. She glanced up. One of their few trained archers was walking the battlements. A young woman with dark hair. Hmmm…
"Not too much. My Ki isn't all that different." Ryouga shrugged, "Being a wolf is easier than being a pig."
Sure it was, Ranma frowned, and that had nothing to do with him literally snarling at Sung Ya earlier. As a human no less.
She pushed it out of her mind, there were much more pressing things to deal with than Ryouga being moody again. "So, how has progress gone since last night?" She asked as they stopped by a large group of recruits being taught how to grip their spears so that their thrusts were straight and precise. Ex-legionnaires walked down the ranks correcting recruits while a wounded legionnaire, his left leg heavily bandaged, sat on a crate in front shouting instructions and holding a spear up to demonstrate gripping the spear.
"We're looking at thirty-two hundred recruits since last night." Akiyama said as they watched the demonstration. "Recruiting numbers have slowed immensely, but we've overshot our expectation by quite a ways. Five thousand seven hundred thirty-three men total. We've ordered the least physically capable moved into the Staedtler's City Watch. About five hundred and fifty or so. They'll be more use helping keep order."
"Do we have room to take more?" Ranma asked as she watched a young woman amongst the recruits nearly stab another in the back as her grip slipped on the spear and the weapon slid out of her hands. One of the instructors moved to correct her.
"It's not room that is the issue." Ryu sighed, "We're running short of weapons. Sergeant Taylor is down in the Canal Gate district trying to coordinate the forging of more weapons from the local smiths, but making weapons isn't the same as making pans or horseshoes. The time estimates aren't looking very good."
"They can't just make spears?" Ryouga asked, his arms crossed as he focused on something deep into the crowd of trainees.
"Even spear making can be time-consuming for people who don't do it all the time," Ryu replied with a sigh. He sounded tired to Ranma. She turned to look at him and frowned as she realized he had first signs of bags beneath his eyes.
"How much sleep did you get last night?" She asked.
"None." He said, "I spent the entire night organizing the expeditionary groups." He gestured onward. "This way." He started walking again. This time he was headed towards the main gates.
Ranma 'hmmed' as she followed him. "How are the recruits coming?" She asked, putting aside his tiredness. She'd done worse herself over the last couple years.
"Only the first day, it'll be most of the week before I can say for certain. I've never run training before." Ryu admitted.
"Most of our work today is to get them organized into groups and drill the basics into them," Akiyama said as he cast a glance towards the group they just left. "This will be slow going even if some of them are taking instruction fairly well. I just hope we can finish before the army arrives."
"That's not happening." Ryouga said sighing, "Just look at them. Most of these guys can't figure out which end of the pointy stick to use on the enemy." Ranma had to agree there. Most of the people had clearly never held a weapon before.
"Maybe we should help out with the training?" Ranma suggested, looking to Ryouga, "Once we're done with the inspections?"
"Yeah. Lend a bit of our…" Ryouga trailed off as he met her eyes for a second and he shook himself, looking away again. She frowned. "Lend a bit of our expertise."
"Do you know formation fighting?" Ryu asked.
"We're fighting inside a city." Ranma said, "Personal skill is going to be more important to living than knowing how to stand in a line."
"A fair point Lady Castellan." Akiyama agreed, "And it would probably be the best use of your time now that things are settling in. At least outside of our morning and evening strategy meetings."
"I'll need to make a bit of time for my own practice as well." Ranma frowned, shooting a glance at Ryouga. Something odd was going on with him. Again. "I've only had an hour to practice since we got here."
"I'm sure you can find the time. You've offloaded the bulk of the organization problems to myself and Staedtler now." Ryu said with a sigh.
"Well, you should make time for sleeping." Ranma replied dryly, "The enemy won't be kind enough to let you take a nap before they attack." That drew a snort from both young men and a chuckle from Akiyama. "And you should probably find some time to practice yourself."
"I'm good," Ryu said, his posture going stiff. "Not that much I can practice these days anyway."
Ranma frowned. He had used quite a bit of both the Saotome School and another school outside of just the Yamasen-Ken. So why wouldn't he- Her eyes narrowed. "Ryu, how much of what you fought me with was the Yamasen-Ken."
"Excepting a few things from my family's school, everything," Ryu said, stopping to face her. "Everything I used was written in the scrolls your father gave mine. With very little context."
That last bit did not surprise Ranma at all. Her father was incompetent at everything that didn't directly involved punching something or hiding… or stealing for that matter. "You used a lot of Saotome School technique when we fought. Things I know aren't part of the Yamasen-ken." She said as she watched him closely. A surprised look crossed his face.
"Everything I used was on the scrolls your father gave mine. They were bundled together in a box labeled Yamasen-ken." He said, "I assumed they were all part of it."
"He must have simply added more to the box then." Ranma sighed. He father's incompetence struck again across worlds. Wonderful… She tilted her head as a thought occurred to her and she frowned at Ryu.
"Is something wrong Ranma?" Ryu asked.
"Just realizing I'm being an idiot." She sighed. Ryu was a terrifying combatant every bit her equal when he had been allowed to use his entire arsenal. Twice he had nearly killed her despite her not holding back. Twice. Only Ryouga had a better record and that was because of just how many times Ryouga had tried. "Ryu." She said, straightening her posture and adopting a stern look.
"Yes, Ran- Lady Castellan?" Ryu noticed the change in her posture and corrected himself.
"You are strong, skilled, and, as the last few days have proven, honourable." She said, "And right now we are in a very desperate position. We need everyone we have at their best and that includes you. As of now, I release you from your oath and declare the Yamasen-ken unsealed. Do not make me regret this." The Yamasen-ken was the most lethal martial art she knew of. Its lethality surpassed even that of anything that Amazon's had shown her. Really it was hard to believe her bumbling father had invented it, but then he was a master for a reason.
Ryu blinked, his jaw dropping open. "I-" He swallowed and shot a glance to Akiyama who merely smirked and bowed his head. "Lady Castellan, thank you." He bowed low, "I swear I shall not make you regret this."
"Good." She relaxed and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she smiled. "Now, we have a tour of the docks to get to."
"Yes, we do Ranma." Ryu said as he shook off the shock, "It is a bit of a walk though. I've arranged for a carriage to speed us down there."
Ranma shook her head. "I think I'd rather walk." She said. This was a perfect opportunity to see the city, preferably before it was burned down in a war. If she was going to lead them the least she could do was meet them in person.
"If you wish." Ryu conceded.
"I do wish," Ranma said before stepping passed her general. The honour guard followed her as she set the pace towards the main gate. Ryu and Akiyama shared a look as Ryouga reluctantly followed.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Kodachi ran a hand along the chilly blade. Her fingers tingled with the cold and a thin layer of ice formed over them that instantly vanished as she lifted her hand. Her fingers didn't even feel damp from the experience. She was sitting in one of the sitting rooms of the palace, the only building that hadn't become absolutely freezing from the weather, but the blade was certainly dropping the temperature with every moment it was outside its sheath.
"A strange weapon." She mused as she turned it over in her hands for the dozenth time since Ranma had walked her through the meditative process of attuning her ki to the blade. She could feel it as a sort of cold and very personal 'otherness'. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. She had limited experience with ki before her arrival and feeling something both inside and outside of her was disquieting yet somehow comforting.
She sheathed the blade with a sigh. The room began to warm up again. She ran a hand along the hilt of the blade. "I wonder why Ranma gave you to me." She asked the sword as she caressed the hilt. The blade had been given as a symbol of the city's surrender and yet Ranma hadn't wanted to hang onto it despite the excellent workmanship and balance the long blade possessed.
A voice replied, "She trusts you to care for it of course." Kodachi looked to the doorways, startled by the presence of someone else. She found, smiling in the doorway, Hinagawa Miyu. The older woman walked into the room and took a seat across the small coffee table from her. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms. Kuno, however, you looked like you could use an ear." She said.
Kodachi smiled in spite of herself. "It's fine Mrs. Hinagawa. I'm sure you have better things to be doing than listening to me talk to an inanimate object." She paused, that came out wrong. "Umm…"
The older woman chuckled. "And don't you have better things to be doing than talking to inanimate objects?" She asked in return.
Kodachi sighed. "Not really? I'm the daughter of a wealthy family who has no notable skills aside from poisoning and treachery. What could I do to help?" She said and toyed with the blade in her lap.
Miyu hummed quietly before drawing a leaf of papers from the satchel she kept at her side. She held it out to Kodachi and the young woman took it. On one side was a list of pharmaceuticals that Kodachi could recognize easily. She had made most of the list herself at one point or another while learning. She flipped it over. The other side was a list of materials, their quantity, and what appeared to be pricing from different merchants.
She looked up at the older woman with a curious look. "This is a list of medicines. Mostly." She said giving the paper a second look, "Some of these though are… This is a paralytic, very easy to overdose someone with." Her finger tapped the poison on the list.
"You are aware of my position." Miyu said and Kodachi nodded.
"I never would have thought of you as a spy." She admitted. The older woman had seemed to just be an ordinary single mother.
The older woman giggled. "Agent. Not spy. And that was the entire point. Not that I have done much, hmmm, spying in recent years." She shrugged, "But one of the tasks I have been given is seeing if certain needs can be met with local materials. Dr. Zutter asked me to look into acquiring certain medicines and other materials. Acquiring anything like what we have at home is impossible. The locals best offerings are mixed. Mostly herbs and other older medicines. Some things have been concentrated into something resembling modern medicine, but most of those are opioids and are highly addictive."
Kodachi scowled. Her grip crumpled the paper in her hands. "I see." She glanced down at the list. Most of it was medicines. "You're hoping I can make these." She said, biting her lip.
"Can you?" Miyu asked.
The raven haired young woman ran a finger down the list thoughtfully. "I would need equipment for all of this." She said.
Miyu nodded. She had obviously been expecting that. "Chemistry, or at least something resembling it, is not unknown around here. I have located a complete laboratory within the central Nellens compound in Alder Plaza. While I'm sure it have nothing on what you're used to it should be sufficient."
It was something Kodachi could, probably, do. Maybe. She frowned and ran a finger down the list again. Pain killers, antibiotics, and other medicines were on the list. Some she could make in minutes or hours, others were the work of days or weeks to isolate the correct material and encourage it to grow. Penicillin was one of those. Simply isolating the material would be hard without the correct equipment. Assuming it existed here at all, and if it did growing it in the quantities she needed without contaminating the materials…
"And you need me to do this?" She asked. Surely there had to be someone else with this sort of knowledge, right?
"All of our trained medical personnel are busy dealing with the casualties of the Castellan's battle." Miyu said, "You are the only person I can find who has the experience, skill, and time to do this."
Something about that sounded a touch off. She stared at the paper again and silence stretched between them for several minutes. "I don't feel right making poisons anymore." She said finally.
"I will not ask you to then. The medicine however?" The spy asked.
Kodachi nodded. "I can do that." She looked up at Miyu who smiled thankfully. "I would like to see the laboratory soon. I can't say what I'll actually be able to provide without seeing what I have to work with."
Miyu glanced at her watch. "I have a few things to finish here first. A few people who I need to ask a few questions of. Once I'm done with that I can walk down with you. Should not be more than an hour at most." She said.
Kodachi nodded and smiled. It looked like she would be doing something more productive than just admiring her new sword after all.
"While I'm doing that, perhaps you should take the moment to get some practice with your new blade?" Miyu suggested as she stood, "The Lady Castellan was using the back courtyard earlier. It should still be empty right now."
The young woman shot a glance out the window at the falling snow. "It's a bit… cold out there." She said.
"Didn't seem to bother her grace."
Kodachi blushed and turned to the woman who was slowly walking out the door. "Ranma is special that way." She said lamely.
"So you say." Miyu giggled, waving goodbye over her shoulder as she walked out.
The Zenith sighed as the older woman disappeared around the corner before shooting a glance at her blade. It flickered eagerly against her Ki, a cool presence that called to her. She glanced outside at the snow then sighed and stood up with the blade. The blade was more her brother's area of obsession than her own, but she was like any proper scion of an old samurai family and could wield one ably… though it had been a while.
Resigned she followed Miyu out of the room, pocketing the list of medicines as she did, and headed in search of the rear entrance so she could practice with her new blade.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The little girl giggled as Ranma produced the blossom of a flower from her sleeves and slid it into the little girl's hair. Ranma and the mother spoke quietly for a moment before the redhead moved on, inevitably greeting some other man, woman, or child who caught her eyes as they slowly made their way down the streets of Greyfalls towards the docks.
Ryouga watched as she spoke with labourers, merchants, housewives and prospective new soldiers. Ranma had always had a somewhat awkward charisma. A natural talent to talk with people when he felt like it, though her reasons were as often to provoke a battle as it was to console. Actually, it was more often to provoke than console, but Ryouga had seen both over the years. Still, even at her most earnest, it had never been smooth. A result of growing up on the road leading to innocent insensitivity at even the best of times.
That awkwardness was gone now. She was hardly Nabiki, who was able to charm nearly anyone she laid eyes on, but she was moving from person to person with the sort of ease that most politicians would cut off their left arm for.
"This has become a lot slower than I intended," Ryu complained quietly next to him.
Ryouga chuckled. "You don't plan for Ranma. You plan around Ranma." He replied as his eyes tracked the redhead as she was in the middle of a half dozen worried women of mixed ages. Judging by the hand gestures and expressions she was trying, and succeeding, in reassuring them about whatever matter they had. It had been like this almost from the moment they had left the fortress. Ranma had made it a point from the moment they reached the base of the ramp to greet someone every few hundred feet.
Eventually people had simply started coming to talk to her themselves, especially after they had reached the city hall where Staedtler had been organizing the new interim council. It had taken nearly an hour to escape the city hall and Akiyama had excused himself to return to the fortress and check in with the officers.
The Scotsman, Colonel Roberts, had joined them at that point. "Ain't that the truth." The Scotsman said, "The way the girl is going she's making some politicians I know look like rookies."
Ryu grumbled and Ryouga just shook his head. Ranma was hard to keep a handle on when she had an idea in her head. Impossible was probably a better description actually.
She glanced his way as the women dispersed and for a moment he felt his breath catch as their eyes met. Then she looked away. "Come on." She waved at them as though they were the ones holding her up and started down the main road again. Her five guards formed up around her and helped clear a path towards the Canal Gate entrance.
He shook his head to clear it and followed her. What was that he was feeling? It felt… familiar…
-0-0-0-0-0-
Canal Gate was, essentially, a trading district. Merchant houses, tradesman workshops, and warehouse after warehouse made up the majority of the district. There were homes, but most of them were atop shops or buried in the backstreets behind storefronts and warehouses.
For Ranma walking down the main thoroughfare of the district; surrounded by her guards, handmaiden, advisors, and Ryouga; was eye-opening. Though perhaps not in the same way it would have been for others. Ranma had, years before, wandered the less known and forgotten backwater towns of China. While most towns possessed pavement and asphalt some places were far less fortunate. The closer they had gotten to Jusenkyo the worse the roads had become and the worse the conditions of the towns.
Greyfalls as a whole reminded Ranma of those towns that were somewhere in the middle. Not decrepit enough that their roads were dirt, but not so modern as to possess asphalt. As she walked down the uneven cobblestone road, under the swaying paper lanterns that hung from buildings, and passed the people moving goods with hand carts it was like she was back there. Back in China where no one spoke the same language. Back where people boiled their water for fear of disease.
She stopped by a shop. Judging by the shoes in the fuzzy windows it was a shoemaker's shop. Through the window, she could see a man, perhaps as old as her father, speaking with a young man who was perhaps her age. It was impossible to make out what they were saying, but the sharp gestures suggested it was nothing nice.
"Is something wrong?" Ryu asked.
She frowned and glanced at him before returning her gaze to the arguing man and boy. "It's like being on the road to Jusenkyo." She said.
"We're not exactly in China." Ryouga drawled.
Ranma snorted. "And how would you know?" She snarked. He grumbled. After a few moments, she sighed. "We're in a city that doesn't write in the same language we do." She gestured to the sign above them. The sign was decorated with a blue boot surrounded by writing in that same form the Realm used. "In the backwater of China you'd find places that hadn't seen a car ever. Places that didn't know clean drinking water, or which paved their roads like this." She kicked the ground with enough force to chip the cobblestone. She glanced at Ryouga and for once he didn't seem to freeze, being lost in his own thoughts. He did nod, however. Undoubtedly he had his own experiences with places like this.
"Um.." Ranma looked to her handmaiden as the girl cleared her throat. "Is Greyfalls so different from your home Lady Castellan?" She asked quite curious.
"You've seen the cars parked by the palace wall?" Ranma asked.
"Yes. I've seen them move as well." Sung Ya replied.
Ranma nodded. "Back where we come from those cars are commonplace. Nearly anyone who wanted one could afford one. Even if they didn't always have a place to put one." She said. The girl's eyes widened.
"For everyone?" She asked.
The redhead shrugged and smiled. "Yes, enough for everyone. Though finding a place for them could be a problem at times." She said.
Sung Ya looked a bit confused. "How could space be an issue?" She asked.
"Tokyo, the city we come from," Ryu began, getting her attention, "is massive. Millions live there and not everyone has a free spot to put a vehicle like those cars. It's not even the most impressive thing running around back home either."
"Really?"
Ranma smiled at her. "Yeah, there's even machines that can fly." She said, "Millions use them every day." The girl's eyes went wide and let out a soft "oh". Ranma looked around at the stone and timber buildings, the rickety signs and the masses of humanity that swirled around them, parting before the authority of her guards. "This place… It could be so much more." She mused aloud before shaking her head.
"Come on." She said, turning and heading down the street. "We still have places to be."
They walked, in contemplative silence, until they reached the docks themselves. The area was busy. Men, some half-naked despite the cold, ran about pushing carts and carrying logs that were being unloaded from barges that were plying back and forth across the river. On the far bank, she could see men dragging logs to the pier. Undoubtedly from the teams, they had arranged to send out the night before. They needed lumber and there was a convenient forest just a couple kilometres out of the city.
At the foot of the stairs leading into the largest warehouse along the waterfront, Guon Fan was directing workmen from a chair that had been set up with a desk. Papers, held down by a variety of bronze statuettes, littered the table. Several large, and empty, bottles of what was presumably alcohol were collected along one side of the desk. When the guild leader caught sight of Ranma she waved their group over.
"Welcome Castellan." She said, raising a cup of something golden before downing it in one fell swoop. "Aaah, this is a proper drink. Nothing like that fruity wine Setarial insists on serving at her parties." Something behind them caught her eyes as she then shouted, "Don't drop that box Xen! I can see you!" A muffled reply caused her to scoff. "Damned newbies."
"You seem rather busy," Ranma remarked as she watched another dozen men run up the steps of the warehouse carrying logs.
"That's because we are. 'Course I'm the manager here so I've got time to talk. A little anyway. You're late by the way." She pointed an ornate dragon-headed pipe that she had dug from somewhere on her person at Ranma. One of the bottles on the table was uncapped and from within a came an odd-looking stick with a small bulb on the end.
"I haven't seen a match like that in years." Colonel Roberts said before Ranma reply, "Chemical matches like that are fairly expensive I imagine."
Guon Fan smiled and twirled the wood and glass match between her fingers expertly. "Fairly. Only place that produces them is the Realm, though I don't think they'll be anywhere near as easy to get as they used to be." She sighed. "Rather convenient really."
Roberts snorted. "Dangerous more like." He said as he fished a small box of matches out of his pockets. "Here, let me."
Guon Fan watched with bemusement as the Colonel struck a match and lit her pipe. She pulled on it gently and breathed out. "Rather convenient those things." She remarked.
He shrugged. "We can probably figure out how to make more, assuming there aren't a half dozen people up there that already know how. They aren't that complicated." He said.
The guild leader pulled on it and smiled as she breathed out a plume of smoke. "Now, nice as this is," She brandished the long pipe at Ranma, "You are still late."
Ranma rolled her eyes. "We were sidetracked." She said.
"By her." Ryouga said, pointing at Ranma. Everyone else nodded along with him
The redhead rolled her eyes. Honestly, it needed to be done. She knew a lot more about the people who called the city home now. She shot an annoyed glare at Ryouga who looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks. Oh, now he was embarrassed. She sniffed and turned away, annoyed. "We were sidetracked." She repeated to a visibly amused Guon Fan.
"Sure you were." Guon Fan breathed out a breath of smoke and Ranma wrinkled her nose at the smell. How could anyone stand it? The guild leader slid a paper out of the mess of her desk and leaned forward. "Gather round and take a look." She said.
Everyone, except the guards, gathered close. On the table was a detailed map of the Canal Gate district with notations in Realm written on it. The older woman tapped on one of many circles spread across the district. "I've marked the best places for building trebuchets. More places have flat open ground around here than you'd think. And that lack of wall means we don't have to worry about anything more than getting the projectiles over the roofline, not the wall."
Ryu traced a line on the map. "That would be the main thoroughfare here?" He gestured to the cobbled road next to them.
"Mhmm."
Ranma examined the map and compared it to the area around them. That was definitely the main road. "Which means we won't be able to use the main road then." She said.
"Not a chance, unfortunately," Roberts said, "It's wide open and unless we want to start knocking down houses for materials there's no way I can see us filling in a gap this large. Not with the time we have."
"Then we don't," Ryu said. He turned to the warehouse and pointed to the door. "Machine gun nest in there. They won't be able to push through here without heavy loses."
Ranma nodded as she pictured it in her mind. The gun would force the enemy out of the open once they realized it was a kill zone. "Do we have enough ammunition for that?" She asked.
Ryu snorted. "We've got plenty for the machine guns. We were lucky there at least. We only have a couple so it's not like we're going to go through our stockpile too quickly. So long as we're sensible." He said.
"Just going to abandon the docks then?" Guon Fan asked. She sounded merely curious.
"Going to have to aren't we?" Roberts said as he looked about. Something must have caught his eye as he paused. "Gimme a second." He said before striding off to the south. They watched him go before turning back to the table.
"Right." Ryu frowned and leaned over the table. "If we put the wall out from either side of the warehouse we should be able to get enough materials to finish it before we're cut off from the forest."
"Wouldn't that give the enemy options other than running into the open ground?" Ryouga asked, pointing to the buildings to either side of the open docks.
"That's what the booby traps are for." Ryu said, "We don't have enough machine guns to cover everywhere so we make them choose. The gun, or a gauntlet of traps."
"Right," Ryouga frowned, rubbing his chin as he stared at the buildings around them.
Ranma tilted her head to the side. She recognized the signs of him actually thinking for once. "Something wrong?" She asked.
He stepped out onto the road and looked down it towards Nooji Plaza then back in the other direction. Several workmen swerved to avoid walking into him, nearly spilling their loads in the process. The lunar nodded and walked back. "Yeah. You're planning on building a wall from wood, and then planting traps that cause fires." He said.
Ryu closed his eyes and muttered a few curses. "We'll need a fire break as well then. Fuck. That means tearing down a few buildings." He said.
"The owners of those buildings won't be too happy." Guon Fan remarked blithely, "You want the buildings on the left side torn down? Straight line to the Canal itself?"
"That would probably be for the best." Ranma sighed, closing her eyes. The idea of tearing down part of the city was terrible, but if they simply could not hold the area then they had to make sacrifices to hold what they could.
"I'll have my men start mapping out the area for demolition… What do you want to be done with the people there?" Guon Fan asked.
"Ask Staedtler to get their names and inform them that they'll be compensated. Either with money or a new building once the siege is over." She looked to Ryu who nodded.
"I'll make sure it's done." He said. They lapsed into silence for a little while as they continued to study the map and compare it to the area around them. Then, striding from the crowd, Roberts returned. The Colonel had a large oil drum over one shoulder. In his other hand he was holding the collar of a tattered brown robe that a mousy looking man with greasy hair was wearing.
The Scotsman set the drum down roughly. "Sorry 'bout just running off. Caught sight of this little guy trying to wrestle it into a storehouse by himself." He said, sitting down on the drum as he pushed the little man in front of him.
Ranma turned to face the little man, though he was just a touch taller than her. He squirmed as she faced him. "You're name?" She asked.
He swallowed loudly and licked his stained lips. His teeth were shades of yellow and had bits of black visible inside them. "I is Veng Yuloon Your Gracefulness. A simple merchant, a collector of exotic items and miscellaneous trinkets. Far beneath your notice."
In other words a dealer in stolen goods and other people's property. She recognized the type. "Well, it seems you've managed to find something valuable." She said, giving the drum a look. Unfortunately, she had no idea what was in it since the label appeared to be in… that was either Italian or Spanish. Possibly both.
"Not the only thing he found. He's got a pile of stuff in the back there. Over a dozen drums just like this one, a pallet of boxes and I think I saw a TV in my short glimpse through the door." Roberts said.
"I found this." The man said in a whiny voice, whacking the drum with a hand. He hissed in pain and waved his hand in the air as it rang dully. "I found thems. They're mine." He insisted.
Ranma nodded, thinking. Ryu sighed. "You can't be taking him seriously." He said.
"He did the same job we should have been doing already." She said. "Did you find these near anyone not... Native to the city?" She asked.
"No." The man shook his head. "Found this one back behind ol' man Simple's shop. Not anything he'd ever use. No one round. Same with the ot'er things. No one round, just stuff lying in the alleys. Real fancy looking stuff some of it." He seemed to realize that she wasn't going to try and just take everything.
"Corporal Adalwulfe I need a runner." She said to her guard.
"Ma'am. Breitbarth, you're up." A broad-shouldered man with a beard that hung nearly down to his stomach.
"Your Grace." The man bowed.
She smiled at him. To her amusement, he blushed and bowed deeper to hide it. She ignored the low rumbling sound coming from Ryouga. "I need you to head up and have Staedtler send a man down to speak with mr… Veng was it?"
"Is I." The man said, "But uh, if you is going to send someone to buy me stuff. Just tell them I prefers silver. Realm money not goin' ta be no good no more."
"Make sure to mention it while you're there. Then come back and join us." She said.
"As you command." Breitbarth bowed.
"Go." She waved him off and the large man ran off up the street. She turned back to the small man. "Now, Mr. Veng. I expect you to return to your warehouse and stay there. And if I find anything you have has made its way to someone other than us." She glared and held up a hand. A small ki light flickered into existence. The small man paled dramatically. "Do you understand?"
"Y-yes your grace. I's understands perfectly your grace." He bowed and scraped and blubbered.
"Go, and this drum stays here." She said dismissing him. He scuttled away and disappeared into the crowd instantly.
"He runs fast," Roberts commented with a raised eyebrow. "And that last bit might have been a bit much your grace."
Ranma rolled her eyes. "I've dealt with those like him before. They're annoying and never do as their told unless you give them a good reason to." He reminded her of a more vermin-like Gosunkugi.
"Like having some unnamed supernatural horror hanging over their heads?" Guon Fan said. She chuckled. "He'll do as you've asked without too much issue. Staedtler's going to find him a headache though."
"Hmm... Anyway. Colonel." Ranma turned to the older man. "We've been taking stock and we're thinking we're going to need to remove a few buildings as a fire break."
The Colonel rubbed his chin and looked back the way he had come. "Yeah, you'll need it. The buildings are packed like sardines." He said after a moment. "If we want to use traps around this much flammable material we need to be ready for the scenario."
"Our opponent is going to be using enough fire against us without us adding to the damage." Ryu sighed.
"How is the Gunpowder going anyway?" Ranma asked. There hadn't been any news at that morning's meeting.
The Colonel chuckled and smiled. "Quite well. Better than well really. I've got good news, and exceptional news." He said.
"And that is?" Ranma asked.
"The good news it there is enough saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal to get started immediately. I've even managed to locate some additives to give it a bit more kick." Roberts said. His mouth split into a wild grin. "The exceptional news is that we're not going to risk running out of saltpetre anytime this decade."
"And how do you figure that?" Ryu asked.
"Did you know that there's a cave system on the north side of the city? It runs through the cliffside and is home to a really large bat population, including a minor god who works for Setarial." The Colonel asked. "House Nellens made a deal with them to harvest saltpetre once a year from the caves and as luck would have it, they were a bit late this year. So they've got several tons of the stuff waiting to be shipped out. It was supposed to leave this week, but with the Realm stealing all the big ships."
"It's stuck here," Ranma concluded. That was good fortune for them. "Any idea on what was promised to this bat god for it?" And that was an odd thought, striking a deal with what was probably a giant bat so they could harvest its poop.
"They've already been paid for last years harvest, if we want to continue the deal we'll need to find out for next year. I imagine it won't be cheap, however." Roberts said, getting nods of agreement from everyone.
"I'll get someone to look into it later then." Ranma said, "Now, how much sulphur and charcoal do we have?" She asked, moving the conversation along.
"Tons and tons of charcoal. It's used for a lot. Sulphur… Not as much as I'd like, but more than enough for our needs at the moment." Roberts conceded, "Give me a week and I can have half our perimeter rigged to explode."
"Less than helpful inside the walls," Ranma said, getting a shrug from the Scotsman. "Focus on getting the flanks of this area rigged, but only once we've pulled back. I don't want people losing limbs because they walked into a trap meant for our enemies."
"Understood your grace." Roberts bowed.
"Well if we're done with the sideshow, perhaps we should begin the proper tour?" Guon Fan asked, standing up. "Figure out where you want walls and where you don't?"
Ranma nodded. "Sounds like as good a place to start as any." She agreed.
The shipwright nodded and turned to the warehouse. "Oi Benny!" She shouted.
"It's Bensworth girl!" An older gentleman stepped out of the warehouse. His robes were in good condition and looked fairly high quality. "What is it?"
"Take over here. I'm going to walk the Lady Castellan around the area. See where she wants the palisades to go." Guon Fan said as she stepped around the table.
"Fine, fine." Benny said, taking the steps down two at a time. "Lady Castellan," He paused upon reaching them and bowed to Ranma. "Bensworth Benjamin the second at your services milady."
His bow was quite formal. "A pleasure Mr. Bensworth." She said politely, successfully suppressing the twitch that came with being called 'milady'.
"I do apologize for Guon's… indiscretions." He said, rising. He ignored the annoyed muttering from Guon Fan. "She means well, most of the time."
Ranma snickered as the older woman muttered mutinously. "It's fine. She's been quite helpful so far." She said honestly.
Benny bowed to her again. "I do still apologize for anything she may say or do today."
"Enough old man." Guon Fan finally said, getting a slight bow of acknowledgement from him. She huffed. "Come on, let's look at the area along the main road first." With that the shipwright walked into the crowd of workmen, a path parting for her as she puffed her pipe like a train's smokestack. Ranma led the the rest of them after her, still snickering.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"So I'll get my boys to start measuring things up for construction." Guon Fan said as she marked the map in her hands one last time with a piece of charcoal. She turned back to them. "Right, that's the last of it for now. Unless anyone has any other objections?"
Ranma looked about the group. Colonel Roberts shook his head, as did Ryu. Ryouga couldn't seem to care less and Sung Ya hadn't said more than a word or two the entire time. And the guards may as well have been statues for all the noise they made most of the time.
"I think we're good." Ranma said. She certainly didn't have any objections with the plans they had made.
"Excellent. I'll coordinate with Staedtler and get some people down here to do the demolitions works on the westside within the day then. Sooner we're done with that the sooner I can put walls up." She said, bowing to Ranma. "I'll keep you updated Lady Castellan."
"Keep Ryu up to date as well." He was in charge of the army and, unlike Ranma, actually had military training.
"It would make things simpler while planning." Ryu agreed.
Guon Fan nodded. "I'll make sure you're included then." She said, "Now I need to get back to my boys and start organizing crews. Your Grace." She bowed again to Ranma before turning and walking back up the cobbled stone road towards the docks. A low humming floated back to them as she walked away with the plans under one arm and her pipe spinning lazily in the other.
"And now that we've got that dealt with. I need to get back up to the Heights and make sure Akiyama hasn't decided to reorganize the entire army while I've been gone." Ryu sighed, rolling his shoulders.
"I should head back up as well." Roberts agreed, "There was a chemist who offered to help after he was done attending this morning's classes. He should be there by now."
Ranma hummed. "Mhmm." She looked around at the street they were on. It was a narrow side street just off from the main road where the second floors of the buildings loomed out over the street, blocking most of the dull winter light. Was this an average street in the Canal Gate district? She didn't know. Greyfalls was a mystery to her.
"I think I'll stay out here for a while." She said. This was an opportunity to learn about the city.
Roberts nodded while Ryu frowned. "I'd say it could be dangerous, but then it is you we're talking about." He conceded after a few moments of thought.
Ranma laughed. "I'll be fine." She gestured to the guards. "You should be more worried about them than me." Really anything that could hurt her would just go straight through the guards.
"What is your plan milady?" Sung Ya asked.
"Exploring." Ranma replied, "I need to see the town. Are you familiar with this district?"
"Only the market." Sung Ya said, "I'm afraid my father thought that anything outside Alder Plaza or High Quarter was too dangerous for me most of the time. Though he has brought me to the market here before."
"I can act as a guide if you wish Your Grace." Corporal Adalwulfe said, "I grew up in the Canal district."
She smiled. "And that would be great. Thank you." She said.
"Well then it seems you have a plan then." Ryu said, "I'll be heading off then."
"As will I, Your Grace." The Colonel said, bowing to her.
"Stay safe," Ranma said, dismissing her General and the Colonel. She waved after them as they walked off before turning to Ryouga who was leaning against a nearby building. He was looking at something over her shoulder. "And you Ryouga? Sticking around or do I need to send someone to escort you back up?" She teased. It occurred to her that it was fairly amazing he hadn't gotten lost yet. It was almost a record.
He scowled. "I could find my way back up just fine. Haven't had problems so far." He said with a shrug. "But I'll stick around for now." Ranma rolled her eyes. He'd probably get lost the moment he wandered off and he knew it. She would be so very annoyed if he disappeared right before the battle.
"If I might ask, where might Your Gace wish to start?" The corporal asked.
Ranma considered. "You mentioned a market?" She asked Sung Ya.
Her handmaiden nodded. "Yes, milady." Sung Ya said, "The market plaza is the center of the district and the largest market in the city."
"Nearly anything in the district can be reached by going through the market, so it would be a good place to start." Corporal Adalwulfe said.
"Then we start there." Ranma decided. The soldier bowed and turned to the other three men. A single order was barked and the group moved out with the Corporal in the lead. As they walked they went deeper into the not-quite warren-like maze of streets that formed the Canal Gate district away from the central road. The streets grew narrower as the buildings grew closer together and the tips of their roofs came within feet of touching each other and within feet of blocking out the light entirely.
As it was they walked through a near twilight gloom that flickered with the occasional flake of falling snow that made it through the gap above. It was beautiful, in a somewhat depressing way. The streets were grimy with unidentifiable debris and a faintly foul stench seemed to grow stronger until they took a turn off the street they had been following onto a wider one where the homes were far enough apart that the sky could be seen as more than a faint sliver of light.
The area they had started in was primarily homes and taverns, identifiable by their decorated signs, and other places. Many Ranma was sure fit the description of 'less than reputable' to a T. That and the way that Sung Ya would blush red as they passed certain places which advertised their services on large boards painted in a bright scarlet red paint. Some included carved lurid images that made it clear what they offered even to the uneducated.
It reminded her of the shadier areas of Shanghai or Hong Kong. Though those places had tended to be far more discreet with their displays. The laws here were probably far looser than they were in China.
As they walked Ranma kept one eye on her surroundings, mentally creating a map of the area as they walked. Her other eye, however, was kept firmly on Ryouga. The bandana'd Lunar had been acting strange all day and, not that she had time to think about it, had been acting a bit odd ever since their arrival. Still, it had gotten quite a bit worse today. The freezing up, odd twitching, and the way he seemed to refuse to meet her eyes was getting really quite annoying… and a might bit concerning if she was being entirely honest with herself.
As they walked she caught sight of him watching her, his eyes tracking her while he had this odd expression on his face that she couldn't quite place. It was almost like what she had seen when he looked at Akane. Almost, but not quite. It was strange. When he inevitably spotted her covertly watching him he would do one of two things. He would stumble on nothing and then look away, or he would simply look away immediately without locking eyes.
She doubted he really considered the buildings around them that interesting, though she felt a slight bit of amusement at the blush that would form every time he caught sight of the brothels they would occasionally pass. His reactions to such things were amusing to her and always had been, there was a reason she loved taking the opportunity to tease him.
"Here we are." Corporal Adalwulfe said as the street they were on spilled out into a very large plaza. Wide boulevards ringed a large open area where several large canvas pavilions in bright colours were set up. One of the corners had a tall three-story permanent store with a red tiled roof set up. A short cobbled path, bordered on either side with shrubbery, led from the main roads to the front door of the building.
Unlike the side streets, where they had passed maybe three people, the market plaza was, while not quite bustling, busy with dozens of people at a glance.
"It's quiet today." Sung Ya observed.
"It would be. With everything going on right now I'm surprised anyone is even open right now." The corporal observed.
Ranma hummed thoughtfully as she observed the crowd of people. Many looked, if not poor, not particularly wealthy. The sort of people would could be said to be not-quite in a middle class. Others had the look of the more well to do with bright silks and cloaks of well cared for furs. Carts, some pulled by hand others by horses, were being loaded or unloaded near the edge of the large pavilions.
"Looks like something is going on though." Ryouga said, pointing to the entrance to the furthest pavillion. Ranma followed his hand and spotted the issue immediately. Men, dressed in black cloth armour and wearing silver edged bowler hats were blocking access to the pavillion.
"Let's go find out." Ranma said, "Corporal, a path."
"Yes ma'am. Clear a path men." The Corporal ordered, leading the way down the gravel path to the small crowd that had formed. As they approached the Corporal started shouting, "Move aside, move aside! Make way for the Lady Castellan." Some people moved immediately, others required some judicious prodding with the blunt ends of spears and shields before they would move.
Ranma rolled her eyes, but said nothing. It was annoying, but she had developed something of a blase attitude to being called 'Lady Castellan' and the dozen or so other respectful titles people seemed to insist on calling her. Of course she also had the urge to strangle the Corporal for shouting out her title like it was a magic word that would solve the current issue. It did, however, appear to be working to a degree. As people pulled back many of them spotted her and murmuring spread through the crowd as some of them turned their attention to her rather than the guards at the door.
When they pushed through the crowd the Corporal stood aside to let her through. "Her Grace, Lady Castellan Saotome Ranma." He proclaimed.
She suppressed the urge to twitch. Perhaps she hadn't quite developed an immunity to that title yet. "Thank you, Corporal." She said with a smile, not a trace in her voice of the sarcasm she was so dying to unleash.
The two men at the door exchanged looks. The older looking one cleared his throat. "The ah- um, Lady Castellan was it?" He asked.
"Are you deaf?" Corporal Adalwulfe demanded. He stilled as Ranma placed a hand on his arm. She didn't need the soldier to start a fight with his belligerence.
"I am the Castellan." Ranma said, examining the two men. One looked like he couldn't have been older than she was, while the one who had spoken looked like he was probably as old as her father. Both carried wooden clubs at their hips along with several lengths of rope.
"Yes well, I'm sorry to say I've never seen the Castellan before." The older man said nervously, "I- um, Apologies milady, if you are the Castellan, I have my orders. No one is to interrupt Lord Adams while he deals with the situation inside."
Adams? She cocked her head to one side. Did he mean Adams Benjamin? The FBI agent? "Adams Benjamin?" She asked.
The man nodded. "Yes ma'am. He's been appointed by the Duke to head the City Watch. Showing us how to do things he is."
"Then you won't mind sending someone to get him, will you?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"I- no ma'am. Boy, go inform Lord Adams that the Lady Castellan is outside." He said to the young man next to him.
"Right away." The boy ran into the pavillion, the cloth door falling shut behind him. Ranma could hear the his feet as they pounded on the tiled floor within. Despite the temporary design of their exterior it appeared to be far more permanent than she had first thought.
"What's going on here?" Ryouga asked, his eyes on the crowd who seemed to have cooled a bit with their arrival. Anger replaced by curiosity.
"Just some people having issues with some of the Duke's directives to prepare for the siege." The man said before clamming up. Ranma let him stay quiet as they waited. There was no need to press the man since Adams would be there soon.
A few minutes passed before she heard the sound of footsteps from within. The young black FBI agent she remembered from earlier brushed aside the cloth door as he stepped out. Following at his heels came the other guard. "Ah, Lady Castellan." The FBI agent bowed. "I wasn't expecting you."
"I'm just here on a little side trip. I felt it best to get familiar with the Canal District before the siege." She said.
"It's certainly got a few twists and turns to it." Adams agreed, "And I guess the commotion caught your attention."
"It did."
The black man nodded. "Right, come on in then." He said lifting aside the cloth flap as he went back in. Ranma ducked inside. The rest followed quickly.
The inside of the pavilion was much warmer than the outside with braziers burning every few meters. The pavilion was roughly circular with stalls laid out around the outer edge and in clustered moving further inside. Each stall, whether a small one with room for a single standing man or a large one with a half dozen heavy oak tables, was clearly marked out with red poles at their edges between which hung a kaleidoscope of colourful fabrics. More of the guards could be seen walking patrolling the empty and abandoned stands in pairs.
"I was sent down here by the Duke," Adams said. He sighed. "It's been annoying, to say the least."
"What did he ask you to do?" Ranma asked.
"He sent some of the new city watch down here to secure non-perishable foods from some of the merchants and to see about recruiting some of the blacksmiths who sell their wares here. Offered the merchants market value for their goods. Market value before this entire mess mind you. That's what some of them took issue with. Didn't think it was worth it." He paused as they turned a corner to on a hallway that led towards the center of the pavilion. "Then they found out someone was hoarding things from our world."
"We came across someone doing that earlier." Ranma said, "We managed to persuade him to sell them to us. At a fair price." Or she'd be having words with the ratman.
"Well, the one here refuses to accept the finders fee that Staedtler offered. He said he could get ten times that price anywhere in the hundred kingdoms with ease. It's become an armed standoff. I had some of my men clear the building out." He said.
"How bad is it?" Ranma asked, frowning. An armed standoff with merchants was not a good thing. "And what is he refusing to turn over? If this is over a box of erasers or something like that."
"We don't have a good count on everything he has, but we've spotted a few important things. Including a pair of US Army portable generators." The Agent replied.
Generators were something they needed. Of course, they probably ran on gasoline or diesel or something like that. She frowned. Still, if they had them they might be able to retrofit them for power from some other source. Maybe. "Too important to let fall through our hands." She agreed.
"I've been trying to talk them down. No success so far." Adams said, "They seem to have the opinion that I am 'too low of station' to be worth negotiating with on something like this. God knows where they get their arrogance."
"Maybe they'll think a Castellan is worth listening to." Ranma said, "Where are they?"
"Round here." The turned a final corner at the end of the hall to find a single stall about the size of a moderately prosperous shop. Over a dozen men stood around it, shields and clubs in hand, all of them wearing the cloth uniform and bowler hats of the watch. The tables of the stall had been moved aside along with the boxes behind them to reveal a large trapdoor in the floor. "The largest stalls have basements." The FBI agent added. The door was at present shut except for a thin sliver where it met the right-hand side.
"So I see." That made this irritating. "Well let's get on with this then."
Adams nodded to one of the older men. "Give it a knock." He ordered. The man nodded and carefully walked up to the door and carefully, though not gently, rapped it twice with his club.
There was silence for a moment. Then a deep voice shouted through the door. "Bugger off you smarmy gits. This stuff is mine and I ain't handing it over to so minor functionary who thinks he's the biggest tit around."
Ranma snorted at the flat look of annoyance Adams sent the door. "If I wasn't trying to make our first big action not involve bloodshed." He muttered. "Bashing that bastard's face in would be so cathartic."
The redhead stepped forward, raising her own voice as she did so. "Would you negotiate with the Castellan then?" She asked loudly.
There was a long momentary pause. "Pull the other one. Ain't no way a tit like that moron went and got the Castellan herself. I'm no damned fool." He replied.
"Says the man locked in his own basement." She replied dryly. She could see the appeal to just ripping the door off its hinges and bludgeoning the man unconscious, but that would probably be a bad thing to do in the long run. She walked closer to the door, listening carefully to the sound of the man shifting around below. She had to wonder if there were stairs that led down, or if it was a ladder of some kind.
"An I wouldn't be in here if those self-appointed goons didn't threaten to take my prizes. They are not the Realm, I will not be threatened like this." HIs deep voice somehow got deeper as he shouted at her. As he went silent she could just faintly make out something in the background. She strained to identify it, her ears tingling with the effort.
"You were offered fair compensation." She pointed out.
"A pittance to the worth anything like this would bring elsewhere. I'm a merchant and I get to say what I sell my goods for. Not you." He replied, "Now iffen you are the 'Castellan'," She could hear the sneer as he said her title, "Maybe we can agree to a… more equitable arrangement."
She frowned, not at his words, but at the noises behind him. It sounded like breaking rock and… why could she hear it coming faintly from her right as well? She waved a hand to Adams and pointed in the direction before pointing at her ear. The Agent nodded and grabbed a couple of men before moving to investigate. She needed to keep him talking.
"And what might that be?" She asked, keeping an eye on Adams as he and his men started clearing boxes and tables away in the next stall over.
"Now, artifacts in this sort of condition are rare. 'Specially useful ones, and don't tell me these ain't useful. I recognized that look in your agent's eyes when he showed up. 'E knows that something in here is useful." The man chuckled, "Now even something small can go for entire talents of Jade in Nexus. Course I'd have to get it there, so let's not be greedy. Fifteen talents and the lot is yours."
She raised an eyebrow and waved Sung Ya over. "Fifteen Talents?" She asked quietly.
"Sixty-eight pounds of jade. It's a standard measurement used by the Realm." Her handmaiden replied. "Worth about five talents of Silver." Which would make it worth about three hundred and forty pounds of silver for each jade talent, and over five thousand pounds of silver for his offer.
Ranma shot a very annoyed glance at the trapdoor. As if she had needed any more reasons to believe him to be a greedy shortsighted fool. There was no way she would agree to such a price. He had to know that… She glanced over at Adams who nodded and mimed opening a door before pointing at the floor. She nodded. That clarified what the noise she was hearing was. Shifting rock? The moron was trying to hammer an exit into the neighbouring basement and escape while they were all focusing on this one.
"Fifteen talents is grand robbery and you know it." She replied, "No more than three."
The man scoffed. "I've been in this business for fifteen years. I know a prize when I see it, and these items will sell well elsewhere. I say fifteen."
She glared at the door. He was trying to stall for time. "Four." She said before stepping back, directing Sung Ya to get some distance in the meantime. Adams made his way over to her.
"There's cracks in the stonework down below." He said quietly, "You can hear them pounding on the wall."
She nodded. "Thought so. Get some men down there to greet them. I don't know about you, but I doubt he's honestly trying to make a deal." She said.
He nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me. What do you want to do?" He asked.
Ranma frowned. She could just try and make a deal, but given nature of the man she was dealing with and the outrageous sums he was demanding it was unlikely she could make one she would be happy with. "I think it's come down to taking what we want." She said with a frown.
The FBI agent frowned. "Doing something like this feels wrong." He said, "but we've run out of options if he won't negotiate."
"I'll lead the way in," Ranma said, unclipping her cloak and handing it to Sung Ya. Her handmaiden took it and back away behind the line of guards.
"Try not to break him too hard if you don't mind." Adams said. She just smiled.
"Fourteen and a half." The man shouted through the door. She raised an eyebrow. Only half a talent difference?
"Someone's greedy." She noted to Adams, who chuckled.
"Well why don't you show him something he can't buy his way out of?" He suggested.
"I will." She walked over to the trapdoor. She ran a finger along the side of it. There was plenty of room near the locks to get her fingers in. "That's still far too much for someone who's locked himself in a basement." She gripped the door. "Here's my last offer." She lifted the door, ripping the lock right off as she did so.
A large man, broad-shouldered with the look of someone who had just started to let himself go, stared back at her with wide panicked eyes before his hands went for the blade sheathed at his hip.
She moved before he could draw it even halfway out of its sheath. She slammed him into the wall, the blade snapping along with the fingers of his hand. He smacked his head against the wall and crumpled to the ground. She kept him from sliding down the stairs before stepping past him. As she descended into the surprisingly large room four men came running from behind boxes and crates. They drew blades and charged at her.
The first came in with his blade held high. She stepped inside his guard and sent him to the ground with a simple throw. He crashed against a large crate labeled in another language she couldn't recognize.
The second swung at her side and she caught the blade in her fingers before breaking the arm attached to it and flipping the man over her shoulder to land on the first one. Neither rose, though she could hear pained sobbing from the second.
The third came from the far side of her and she was forced to turn her back to the last man as he charged in. She caught the blade between both open hands and snapped it before slamming her elbow into his chest. The man was thrown back into another stack of crates. He groaned but managed to pull himself together enough to stand straight and drew a dagger from his hip. It was longer than what was left of his sword.
She didn't even bother giving him a chance to use it and simply punched him straight in the face. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious.
There was a whisper of wind at her back as the last man swung his blade at her. Her hand was already moving to intercept it when a larger than normal, slightly clawed, and partially furred hand grasped the blade of the weapon. The steel snapped, shattering into a hundred tiny pieces as Ryouga crushed it. His other hand caught the man swinging it in the stomach and slammed him across the room. The Lunar stood between her and the man breathing heavily for a moment before shaking himself. The fur along his arms faded away as did the claws.
"Ryouga?" She asked. He glanced at her with… there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't recognize at all. Then it was gone as he shook himself again and walked back up the stairs, nearly bumping into Adams on the way up.
That was strange. Really strange from him. Something was going on and she needed to get answers from him. And she was going to get answers from him. One way, or another.
"Nice work, though you couldn't have left someone conscious?" Adams asked as he came down the steps. He glanced at the crates. "I don't think this is Realm. Might as well be moon-speak for all anyone here is likely to be able to understand."
She shrugged. "I didn't even get a workout." She sighed, "Honestly, they're rather bad guards." She snickered at the look Adams gave her.
"We have different definitions of bad obviously." He said as he looked about. "There they are." He pointed to a pair of large plastic totes marked 'Property of the United States Army'. They walked over the the agent popped one on. The generator was just small enough to fit inside the large plastic box. "I'll look around and see what else is here." He said.
"Good. I'll leave the rest to you then Agent." Ranma said as she looked distractedly after Ryouga. More men were coming down the stairs now.
"I'll see a copy of my report makes it to you, Your Grace," Adams said before turning to his men and barking orders to clear a path for her. She smiled thanks and quickly rushed back up the stairs.
As she popped out into the pavilion once more she found Sung Ya waiting for her. "Your cloak milady." She held up the garment. Ranma waved her off.
"I'm fine without it for the moment." She said, scanning for Ryouga. Her old rival and friend had found a seat on a box and was leaning forward, his elbows balanced on his knees while his chin rested on his hands. He glanced up as at her before looking away again. "I could use something to drink right now," Ranma said.
Sung Ya perked up. "Alcoholic, or would hot chocolate be fine?" She asked.
"You can get hot chocolate around here?" Ranma asked. She had thought something like that was a more recent invention.
Her handmaiden nodded. "The three-story building you saw on your way is Khanzar. It's a shop specializing in chocolate-based delicacies and especially drinks." She bit her lip and sighed softly. "They're really good."
Hot Chocolate was a favourite of Ranma's, and after this mess something sweet would be perfect. "That sounds great. Just let me get Ryouga." She said. She stepped passed Sung Ya and walked over to Ryouga. She could hear Sung Ya following.
"Hey." She said when she reached Ryouga.
"Hey." He didn't look at her. She was tempted to say something about that, but this was neither the time nor place. He would be, like usual, obstinate and stupid and probably try and play it off like he normally did when there was a problem.
She ignored the small part of her that pointed out that that was exactly how she normally handled these sorts of things.
"Sung Ya knows a place around here that has hot chocolate. You going to mope, or are you coming?" She asked.
He was silent for a moment before sighing, more groaning really, and standing. "Yeah, sure." He said. He still didn't look at her. She frowned. What on earth was wrong with him?
She put it aside and turned back to the rest. "Corporal, we're leaving. Ya, lead the way."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ryu stood on the edge of the parapet overlooking the parade grounds. In the time he had been gone Akiyama had managed to sort out most of the pressing issues regarding supply. Those he hadn't solved were the sort that couldn't be solved by shouting at a few people and issuing a few orders. Even then he had finalized arrangements for a number of blacksmiths from High Quarter to work on weapons along with the young and talented Miss Winegate.
Still, none of that was at the top of his mind as he watched the thousands of men and women run through drill after drill under the spread thin instruction of dozens of legionnaires. Ranma was what was on his mind. Ranma and how she had just, out of the blue, granted him what was one of his greatest desires. Without him even having to ask.
"Why?" He muttered as he turned from the yard and started walking along the wall. He had tried to kill her with the exact skill set. He had nearly succeeded even, which was a lot more than most of Ranma's opponents could say. If it hadn't been for the interference of Ranma's father Genma he would have succeeded. Of everyone in existence, Ranma had the least reason to give the Yama-sen-ken back to him. And yet…
He turned to face the open sky over the city and took a deep breath before striking out as he had done thousands of times before. His hand cut the air, ki trailing behind in a crescent as it formed the monomolecularly sharp ethereal edge of the blade. A ripple of air, nearly invisible to the naked eye, cleaved out into the sky beyond. It continued on at least until Ryu lost sight of it some hundred meters on.
He sighed. That took more effort than he remembered, but it was better than the last four attempts he had made. Each one was closer to what he had been months ago when fighting Ranma.
"And I had barely scratched the surface back then." He sighed, "Now wasn't I just a damned fool."
"That would be your opinion, Sir." Ryu looked down the wall as Akiyama exited the nearby tower. "Getting some practice in?"
"I need it." He sighed, "After six months it felt like I could barely remember how it worked. The Yama-sen-ken required constant practice just to keep up back then. Just forming the blade requires months of training on top of an already years-long training regiment."
"I'll take your word for it." His second said, "I didn't get a chance to ask earlier, but did everything go well down below?"
"Went well enough. We're sorted and organized at least. Guon Fan is… interesting. Inexplicably charismatic and madder than Colonel Roberts. Though he seems to find her charming so who knows who's madder." He sighed.
"I see." Akiyama chuckled, "As you can see I've gotten this lot beaten into some shape. We're actually making progress now."
Ryu nodded. It was about time they had some good news. "Wonderful."
"Sirs." Ryu closed his eyes and sighed as a legionnaire came out of the same tower Akiyama had. His tone of voice was not encouraging.
"Fuck you too Murphy." He muttered before turning to the soldier. "What is it?"
The man saluted. "Message from Captain Tatsu. They've found Private Tanaka."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Khanzar was, as Sung Ya had said, the three-story building sitting in the south-west corner of the market plaza. Built in a very old style European fashion it was a very typical example of the favoured style of architecture in the district. When she asked Sung Ya why the buildings in Canal Gate were so different from High Quarter and Alder Plaza her handmaiden said, "They can't afford the costs of the building style used elsewhere in the city. At least that's what father told me."
Khanzar differed from the surrounding buildings by having a fairly substantial area to itself along with beautiful red tiled roofs. Gardens, at present covered in fresh snow, and shrubbery lined the cobbled path from the road to the entrance. A young woman was using a broom to sweep the light snowfall off the path as they approached. She was humming a cheery tune.
"Miss Marie!" Ya waved as the young woman looked up at them.
"Lady Sung." Marie stopped sweeping as she looked up at them with surprise. "Out here on a day like today, and without your father around?"
Sung Ya blushed. "I am here with the Lady Castellan, as her Handmaiden." She said.
Marie's eyes widened her gaze shifted from Sung Ya to Ranma. She swept into a hasty curtsy, somehow not dropping her broom as she did so. "Apologies Your Grace. I did not recognize you." She said.
"You aren't the first to say that today." Ranma sighed, "Its fine. I'm new." She shrugged. The girl rose from her curtsy with an unsure look.
"Is your father's shop open today Marie?" Sung Ya asked.
Marie nodded. "Khanzar is open today as usual." She said.
"Wonderful. We're hoping for some hot chocolate." Sung Ya said.
"Then don't let me hold you up. Please follow me in." She bowed again and then started heading back towards to the door. They followed, the snow crunching beneath their feet.
Marie took the steps up two at a time and opened the door. As she stepped inside she called, "Father! You won't believe who's here." She stepped aside and held the door open, bowing to Ranma as she entered.
The interior of Khanzar was... rustic. Booths lined the walls on either side of the door beneath large foggy glass windows. Several tables set for four were set in the middle of the room and at the back was the counter. On the counter were several covered trays with small labels next to them. A trio of coloured glass bobbles hung above the counter. There was a door leading further into the building behind the door and a staircase off to the left side leading upstairs.
"What are you shouting about Marie?" A man, presumably Marie's father, stepped into the room through the door behind the counter. He was a thin and tall man, though Ranma couldn't quite bring herself to call him gangly since he had a fair amount of muscle on his frame. He wore green embroidered tunic, equally embroidered brown silk pants, and a brown waistcoat that was equally fancy. His features were, like his daughter, angular while his black hair was swept back. Grey hair could be seen along his temples.
"Ah." He stopped at the counter as he noticed the guests in the doorway. "Lady Sung, welcome." His eyes wandered across the rest of the party. "And without your father I see. Well then." He stepped out from behind the counter. "Welcome to Khanzar, Chocolate Emporium. We create in many forms of chocolate delicacies, however, I can assure you our true specialty is drinks made from chocolate of which Greyfalls has no equal." He placed his left hand upon the center of his chest and bowed low. "I am Bonneville Walter, proprietor of Khanzar and ranking Guild representative within Greyfalls. I bid you welcome Lady Castellan."
Ranma blinked. "You recognize me?" She asked. That was a surprise. No one else had realized who she was before she had introduced herself… at first anyway. There had been a few up in High Quarter who had come to meet her after hearing of her presence.
"Word of your beauty is already making the rounds." He said as he rose from his bow. "I must say for once words do not do it justice. Your beauty incomparable anyone who has graced my shop's doors until now."
"Father." Marie scolded.
He ignored her. "Please, pick a seat either here in the main room or I can offer a private room away from the public eye up the stairs if you wish." He said.
Despite herself, Ranma felt her cheeks heating at the compliments. "A private room would be great." She said.
"This way your grace. Marie, the menus please." He ordered his daughter as he led the way up the stairs to the left. Ranma followed him up the stairs. Paintings of men and women in fine clothing hung from the walls of the stairwell. Beneath each was a short inscription that Ranma could not read.
Walter led them down the upstairs hallway and opened a door near the end. "Our best room." He said, bowing as he held the door open. Ranma nodded to him as she stepped inside.
The room had a single table by the window with four very impressively carved wooden chairs around it. More paintings hung from the walls. A picture of a battle scene with Dragon Blooded commanders glowing brightly hung above the rooms merrily crackling fireplace. A coat hanger stood next to the door.
"Is it normally this quiet here?" Ranma asked as she unclipped her cloak and hung it from the coat hanger.
"We are quieter just after Calibration as a rule, but we normally have at least a few guests." Walter said, "I can only assume that it is the current atmosphere that is dissuading people from patronizing my store."
Ryouga pulled out one of the chairs and fell into it. "Thought it was too quiet." He said.
Ranma nodded her agreement as she claimed the chair directly across from him in an effort to put herself in his line of sight. It only somewhat worked as he shifted his chair so he could see the door better.
Sung Ya hesitated as she hung up her cloak. "I-" She faltered and frowned.
"Sit." Ranma pointed to the chair next to her.
"Yes, milady." The other girl claimed the indicated chair quickly.
"My men have taken up security in the hallway." Corporal Adalwulfe said from the doorway, "I will be just outside. Call if you have need Your Grace." Ranma waved him off and he disappeared into the hallway.
Marie stepped inside her arms filled with several small leatherbound books. She placed one in front of each of them. "Our selection your grace." She said. Ranma looked down at the book and then glanced over to Sung Ya, who was trying not to giggle.
"Um.." Sung Ya giggled, "Neither of them has learned the written form of Realm."
Marie blinked and blushed, removing the two excess menus. "I see. My apologies."
"No way to know. Learning is just something we haven't had a chance to do yet." Ranma explained.
"It does explain your exotic accent, Your Grace," Walter said, "Marie will be your server today. If you have any questions please direct them to her. Do enjoy your time here, Your Grace."
"Thank you, Walter. I can call you Walter?" Ranma asked.
He bowed. "You may, Your Grace. Enjoy your stay." He excused himself and left the room.
Ranma watched him go before a grumble from Ryouga caused her to look at him. For once he was looking at her and their eyes met. He stiffened and the scowl he was already wearing deepened. She blinked, confused. What on earth was going on with him? "What?"
He huffed and turned to Sung Ya. "So what should we start with?" He asked.
Ranma stared at him as Sung Ya began to speak with Marie and Ryouga. She was flipping through leatherbound menu furiously as she asked questions. Ranma paid them no mind as she considered the strange behaviour of her friend and rival. Something had gotten into him and every moment this odd behaviour continued she was getting steadily more annoyed. It wasn't even consistent odd behaviour either. One moment he couldn't look at her at all, the next he was sneaking glances or scowling at her. It was infuriating.
A hand on her shoulder broke her out of her consideration of Ryouga's…. Whatever it was. "Milady?" Sung Ya asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just thinking was all." She said with a forced smile.
"We were asking what you would like to start with?" Marie said, "Perhaps just our standard Hot Chocolate while you consider more?"
"That sounds great." Ranma agreed. Marie made a few marks on a small pad of paper.
"Okay. I'll be back up with them." Marie said. She excused herself and left, leaving Ranma, Ryouga and Sung Ya alone.
Ranma sighed and tried to push whatever was going on with Ryouga to the side as she leaned back into her chair. For a wooden chair, it was surprisingly comfortable. She stretched and yawned. "Ever since we got here it's been nothing but talking." She complained.
"You're the one who keeps calling meetings," Ryouga replied.
Ranma rolled her eyes at him. He was once again looking away at the painting over the fireplace. "And you have a better idea for how to try and organize this mess?" She asked sharply. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he did so. She scowled at him.
"Um, milady." Sung Ya began nervously.
Ranma turned to her. "You can call me Ranma you know." She said.
The raven-haired girl shook her head. "I cannot milady. It would not be appropriate if someone heard me addressing you so." She said and Ranma just sighed.
Ranma considered making it an order but decided against it. It was likely she wouldn't even obey it out of propriety. "What would suggest from the menu?" She asked.
Sung Ya brightened and opened the leatherbound menu. Soon they were embroiled in a discussion about the many, many, many chocolate treats on the menu. Actually, as it turned out it was both the menu and the list of the many products that the shop was willing to either deliver or arrange for pick up in large quantities.
"Chocolate is grown in fairly large quantities by the guild in the south of the Scavenger Lands. Near where it becomes the southern jungles." Sung Ya explained, "Greyfalls has a lot more excess money than other kingdoms plus it acts as a gateway to the Realm. Acted anyway. Sheer volume made it cheaper here than most other places."
"That's not likely to last though." Ranma frowned. She loved her chocolate treats, maybe she could get some sent up to the Palace later?
"Not likely, no." Her handmaiden agreed.
Their discussion continued until Marie returned to a platter of three tall glasses filled with hot chocolate. "Here you go. Fresh hot chocolate, our specialty." She said as she set the glasses in from of them. "You may want to give them a moment to cool though. They came out a little warm." She apologized.
Ranma touched the glass and shrugged. It didn't feel that warm. Beside her, Sung Ya snatched her hand away from the glass the moment she touched it and was blowing on her hand frantically. Ranma lifted the glass up and took a long drink from it. It was warm like Marie had said, but it was also rich, creamy and sooooo chocolaty. She sighed happily before drinking more.
As she set the glass, now empty down, she blinked as she noticed the other three were staring at her. Ryouga's glass was hardly touched and Sung Ya's stood untouched. "What?" She asked. Ryouga, face flushed, coughed into a hand and looked away.
"You were making… noises milady." Sung Ya said politely.
Ranma flushed. "Oh." Whoops. She looked up at Marie. "Can I get six more?" She asked, "And after Sung Ya is done we've made a list of things I'd like sent up to the Palace." If she was going to be stuck with command of this mess she was going to get her sweets out of it.
"I'll bring them up, and Lady Sung can come down once she's done. I'll let my father know you have an interest in a bulk purchase." She said, making a few more notes before leaving again.
Ranma sat back in her chair and let out a disappointed groan. She really wanted another hot chocolate. She glanced up and met Ryouga's eyes as he was staring at her flushed again. Her eyebrow twitched. Had she embarrassed him with her display or something? He looked hurriedly away again.
Beside her Sung Ya carefully began to drink her own hot chocolate. A small moan crossed her lips before she went briefly red and went quiet once again as Ranma quirked an eyebrow at her. They were relatively quiet, other than a few small exchanges between the three of them, most of which left Ranma with a growing irritation with Ryouga.
Marie returned before it grew to the point where she strangled him. She set the platter of drinks down in front of Ranma. "Here you go, Your Grace. I hope you enjoy them as much as you did the first one."
Ranma plucked one from the plate and was already half finished before Marie finished speaking. She stopped before she finished and smiled at the young woman. "It's delicious." She said.
"I'm happy to hear that." Marie smiled.
Sung Ya finished her glass with a sigh. "It really is delicious Marie." She said earnestly before standing. "Let's go talk to your father Marie."
"This way Lady Sung." The two of them left, though Sung Ya nearly tripped over Ranma's chair leg on her way out.
Ranma drank the next several glasses of hot chocolate more slowly as an awkward silence enveloped the room. Ryouga had seemed to realize that he was now alone in a room with her. He tried to look nonchalant but failed to do more than look adorably nervous and confused.
She stifled a snort at the idea of Ryouga looking adorable anything. She glanced at the door to the room. It was shut and rather thick. She could try asking him what was going on now, but… He glanced at her then immediately went back to examining the painting over the fireplace.
Ranma scowled. "What's going on?" She asked bluntly. There was no point trying to dance around the subject with Ryouga.
"What's what?" He continued to look blankly at the painting.
"This." She waved vaguely at him, "You've been acting strange all day. Shifty looks, blank stares. You were watching me practice this morning for god sake."
He flushed but continued staring at the painting. "I've been thinking." He said after she stared at him for a long moment.
"About?"
He shrugged. "Nothing you need to know."
"Pull the other one, it has bells." She snarked at him, "You've been acting like a fool half the day."
He looked at her and scowled, then he met her eyes and it faltered. "Nothing you need to know." He repeated as he glanced away.
Her eyes narrowed. He'd faltered for a moment, maybe this needed a more personal touch? She stood up and he looked at her in surprise. Two strides took her around the table before he could react and she flopped into his lap with a smirk.
"I," She drew the word out, "think it is my business."
He scowled, but didn't push her to the ground like normal. He just looked down at her, his hands gripping the armrests. One hand was buried under her legs, the other rested against her back. "I'm not telling you." He said, "Get off."
"No." She shook her head and grabbed one of her hot chocolates and leaned into him as she drank it. "You've been giving me weird looks, glances, and then there's that thing that happened under the pavilion." She said as she finished her drink and set it aside.
"There's nothing to talk about. He was going for you I stopped him." Ryouga said firmly.
"Hmmm, you don't normally break six ribs when you stop someone." She said, sitting up and pressing herself against him in a way that empowered the already flaming blush that was across his face. She reached her left arm around his back and pulled herself closer while toying with his hair. "Something's wrong, you're all on edge. I can't have you flipping out now." They were practically nose to nose as they stared into each other's eyes.
Ryouga licked his lips and broke their staring contest. Her right hand came up and pulled it back. "Ryouga." She said warningly.
He gulped. "I'm not telling you I find-" He froze, closed his eyes and clammed up.
"You find what?" She demanded, her voice rising a bit. "Ryouga!" He shook his head.
Then the door swung gently open and in came Walter, Marie, and Sung Ya. Both Ranma and Ryouga froze, his eyes flying open as Ranma turned to stare at the returned people. It was, she reflected, a very compromising position to be caught in. She had practically welded herself to Ryouga in her attempt to draw answers from the stone that was Ryouga Hibiki.
Perhaps this had not been the best time or place to try and get those answers from him.
Walter, to his credit, stared only slightly before politely clearing his throat. "Your Grace, while I understand how emotions can flare up if I could trouble you to not carouse with your consort on my premises." It was amazing just how embarrassing a single sentence delivered in a perfectly calm tone could be.
"We weren't/I wasn't." Both of them babbled before looking at each other again. Ranma could feel the blush creeping under her collar as she got off Ryouga and scrambled back to her seat.
"He's not my consort." She said after a long, long few moments getting her blush under control.
To her horror, the proprietor merely nodded and said, "Of course, Your Grace. My discretion is absolute." He paused, "At least you aren't like the couple my daughter found one-day several years ago. She was quite mortified."
"Father!" Marie had gone scarlet herself and looked liable to beat her father over the head with the platter she held in her hands.
Walter merely smiled and chuckled. "Now, about your order." And like that, they were onto business. "I can meet your request in the short term, at least the next several months. Depending on circumstances passed that period I can promise nothing."
Ranma nodded, her blush very slowly receding. "That is more than good enough." She said politely.
"Excellent. I'll see to it that the order is shipped up come tomorrow morning." Walter said, "The first is on the house. I do hope you enjoy it, Your Grace."
Ranma blinked, then smiled. "Thank you, Walter. I will." She said.
The sound of pounding feet in the hallway drew their attention. Corporal Adalwulfe hurried into the room, another legionnaire at his feet. "My apologies for interrupting, Your Grace." He gulped, "Something has come up." He seemed rather worried.
"What?" Ranma asked.
"It's about a Private Tanaka."
That name was familiar, "The missing one?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yes milady. Message from the General. They've found him. He's dead, and you need to see his body. He said nothing more."
Ranma closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Now one of the JSDF men was dead. She picked up the last hot chocolate and drained it. "I'm sorry to dine and dash Walter." She said.
"On the house, in honour of your first visit Lady Castellan." The proprietor bowed.
She nodded her thanks. "Corporal, Sung Ya, we're heading up back." This was going to be unpleasant in the extreme.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Prison within the Garrison Height's dungeon was unpleasant, to say the least. Dark and dank with hygiene issue that were best left out of the bard's tales. His bed was at least off the ground, though wooden planks were far less comfortable than anything he normally slept on. In a way, straw would have been preferable, at least it was soft. Softish.
Bengtsson Gehard sighed as he sat on his bed. One hand rubbed the shadow of a beard that was starting to form. This was not how he had expected to end his play for the throne. Oh rotting in the cells of Garrison Heights had always been a possibility, but with the Realm removed he should have had a clear shot. Except…
He shot a glare out of his cell at the one across where his eldest son sat like a miserable oaf on the ground of his cell. His son, damn his son. Had the boy just done as he was told neither of them would be in this position. Oh, there was no chance he could have taken the throne. That much was clear now. However, he could have made a play like Sung's. Control over the entire south would have been a massive step up in his family's fortunes. Now who knew what fool would earn that coveted title.
He sighed. It was pointless to speculate, there was nothing he could do. Right now he was, to put it simply, utterly finished. There were no plans that could be made, no speeches that could be said, or actions that could be taken that would allow him to escape from this prison. Each cell had been hewn from the rock of the plateau and the walls between cells were several feet of solid stone. The cell bars were made from Jade-Steel alloys and intended to hold recalcitrant dragon-blooded as easily as a mortal like himself.
The sounds of footsteps caught his attention. Someone was coming down the hall. Was it their next meal? No, it couldn't be. Their last meal hadn't been that long ago… had it? Time was impossible to tell without natural light.
The footsteps got closer and one of the legionnaire guards walked into view escorting a very familiar man.
"You," Bengtsson growled. The man smirked in a way that caused his skin to crawl and his hair to stand on end. It was too wide and despite being wide enough to see his teeth all he could see was the blackest void he had ever witnessed within the man's mouth.
"Me." The voice was wrong, but the guard didn't seem to notice.
"Don't know why you want to talk to this guy. Waste of time if you ask me." The guard said.
"Don't worry about it." The man said as he leaned down to the guard and patted him on the back. "In fact, just forget I was here. Ever." Something black passed through the air and the guard's eyes turned into blank black orbs.
"Never here." He repeated.
"Go back to your post. Forget me." The man said.
"Back to post, forget. Back to post." The guard mumbled before turning and walking away with a slight stumble that was already vanishing as he disappeared from sight.
"Excellent." The man said before turning back to Bengtsson.
"Dad?" His son stood up and came to the bars.
The man, thing, creature glanced over at Bengtsson's son and said, "No one is here, ignore us."
His son blinked and nodded slowly before stumbling over to his bed and sitting down.
"What do you want?" Bengtsson asked as a pit of worry opened in his stomach.
The thing smiled. It was too wide and the void within too dark to be natural. "Young Bengtsson Gehard. My masters are interested in you, and they have an offer for you."
He licked his lips. What sort of masters did this thing serve? "And that offer?" He asked nervously.
"We offer freedom and power. Enough to challenge even the heavens." The thing said.
"Big words." Bengtsson said, "Who are your master's to make such a claim?"
"The ancient master's of the Gods, those who suffer as you now suffer." It said, "All they ask is that you aid them as they shall aid you now, and they will give you the ability to achieve anything you desire. Anything."
"Anything? Even that redhead on the throne?" He asked.
"Especially her." It held a hand through the bars. Black shadows wisped off of it in ethereal streamers. "Do you accept?"
He stared at it for a long while, considering, weighing his options. Its smile widened like it knew his thoughts. Finally, he reached out and clasped its hand in his.
"I accept."
Its smile widened beyond the human limit and seemed to split the entire head. "Wonderful,
Master." The world was consumed in shadows while a mad laugh rang through his skull.
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Well, this is the most thoroughly edited chapter thus far. Thank you to
@Gekkou_Yoko for her aid~
