Chapter Song Suggestion - "The Portrait Collector by Derek Fiechter"
They arrived at the ferry dock but there was no one in sight, save for a few dinghy boats. "How strange," Inka murmured as she looked around. "It appears deserted."
Kyou decided to reserve judgement, knowing looks could be deceiving. If he were to commit a crime against the Kingdom, he wouldn't be announcing it to the whole word either. "It's probably a façade to ward off unwanted guests." He spotted a stack of disorderly crates and barrels, picking one up to smash it.
"What are you doing?" Inka demanded in alarm, subconsciously glancing around. The way he was creating a ruckus caused her hackles to rise, which was silly because they wanted to be noticed.
"We need to get their attention," he panted before shouting at the top of his lungs. "Saru! If you hear me, show yourself! We were sent by the Oni."
A pause of silence.
Rattle...
Rattle...
"Dis you hear that?" she whirled around, her hand flying to her dagger.
"Hush," he lifted a finger to his lips, tilting his head to locate the source.
The rattling stopped.
Inka held her breath, afraid she might say something she shouldn't.
This time they heard the clarity of metal chains and Kyou zeroed in on the trembling floorboards. He frowned at the raised surface and pried it open. Effortlessly, it lifted, and he realized it was an in-built trap door.
Ingenious. This was doubtlessly the way into the rebellion's hideout.
"The Oni sent you?" a gravelly voice crept from the darkness, startling Inka.
She inched closer to Kyou and they peered inside, seeing no one. "Yes. We're looking for Saru."
"I am Saru." The voice sounded annoyed. "What business do you want with me?"
"We want passage to the border islands."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Bending down, Kyou lowered his voice. "We are supporters of Lord Kusunagi. We wish to join the rebellion and were directed here by the Oni."
There was a long pause.
"It's just two of you?" A resigned tone.
"Yes."
"Wait there."
The floorboards shuddered and Inka stumbled, grabbing onto Kyou's shirtsleeve. A stairway unfolded, leading into an underground passageway. It was dark and empty. A cool draft of wind filtered by, whispering through Inka's hair. Then, they heard distinct footsteps followed by a growing light.
A shabbily dressed man with a gold tooth and thinning head materialized with an oil lamp in his hand. Palms up, he demanded. "That will be a hundred gold coins."
"That's robbery!" Inka gasped at the exorbitant amount.
"Pay up or you're not going anywhere," the man snapped nastily, his beady eyes scornful. Inka became self-conscious when he stared at her hair longer than necessary. Quickly, she yanked her hood up and dropped her gaze.
Unperturbed by the fare, Kyou tossed the ferryman a bagful of coins. "Here's one hundred and fifty gold coins. I believe it's more than enough."
Weighing the gold in his hands, the man's demeanor changed. He instantly smiled. "Please, follow me and forgive my behaviour, sir. It has been a most distressing day. Of course, the rebellion always welcome new recruits."
Inka swallowed her scoff, doubting his apology and sincerity. If she didn't know better, she would think he was a swindler.
"Beware of the uneven pathway," Saru warned after shutting the secret entrance. Raising the lamp, he escorted them deeper into the drafty tunnel, their footsteps crunching on the dirt ground.
There was a lingering stench in the air suggesting the presence of water and mold. Inka's nose wrinkled. "Are we crossing the river?"
"Yes. Although technically, we are crossing from under it," Saru explained, his behaviour considerably friendlier than before. "This was a secret tunnel built by the previous lord to escape the war. The story goes that his entire family drowned to death during a storm flood. The locals avoid this place because it's rumoured to be haunted and most are afraid to use it during the rainy season. It's been abandoned and now serves as the rebellion's passage to the border islands."
"Are they many people living there?"
"Less than thirty families of fishermen."
"Do you work for Lord Kusunagi?" Kyou threw out the question, earning a curious stare from Inka.
Saru snorted. "No one works for Lord Kusunagi. Those who follow him do so of their own freewill. We are sick of that selfish and corrupted Daifuku whose pockets are lined deep with our money. He doesn't care about us."
"Has the King not been informed?" Kyou tested the waters.
"The King!" Saru spat viciously, lips curled in disgust. "King Kairyuu is an ignorant fool who believes everything those corrupted nobles tell him. He is unaware of what's going on behind his back. And he's more interested in how his actions reflect on himself. We call him the peacock prince."
Kyou grimaced. He hadn't seen Kairyuu since he was five years old. He remembered his older brother as a vain and carefree spirit who didn't particularly care about anything. While never unkind, Kairyuu was irresponsible. Shiryuu's decline was unsurprising but, he was amazed by the people's tolerance. For years, he never had a reason to pay his distant brother a visit. With their family's bad blood, the four princes rarely got involved in each other's lives. Apparently, that was no longer plausible. If Kyou wanted peace for the Kingdom, his brothers were one of the many problems on his list.
Kairyuu's negligence was a repetition of their late father's transgression and the repercussions lived on today – illness, poverty, crime, and corruption.
Kyou wished to avoid a war between the four states. As the capital of Xi, Beihai fell under Kyou's jurisdiction while Shiryuu, a desert province was governed by Kairyuu. The third prince Shuhei ruled Donggu – a rock nation, and their eldest brother Akio oversaw Nanyang — an agriculture nation. The unpredictable future was an uphill battle that curdled his gut and exhausted him regularly.
Inka felt waves of tension pouring off the Emperor's back, catching the tightening of his jaws. If memory served her well, King Kairyuu was his older brother and even she had heard rumours of the four Kings' estrangement. Was he thinking about them?
"Why would young'uns like you want to join the rebellion?" Saru asked, suddenly suspicious. "Your accents tell me you aren't local."
"We are here to avenge our cousin's death," Kyou simply answered, his voice assertive and laced with regret. "Lord Daifuku showed no remorse when our cousin died and left behind his pregnant wife. Her poor, infant son is now fatherless. We will never allow a man like that to rule our town."
"That's a tragedy," the ferryman shook his head. "But where did you say you were from?"
"We live near the Beihai border. I am a cattle driver, and my sister is a seamstress for our humble village."
"How did you find out about the rebellion?"
"A man told us about it in exchange for hiding him from the noblemen. You see, they had discovered his connection to the rebellion and were hunting him down. But don't worry, he managed to escape."
Inka was glad for the darkness because her dumbstruck expression would have given them away. She was astounded by Kyou's glib tongue, his lies falling out so easily. She hadn't pegged him for a slick liar because of his rigid attitude.
"What a fool he was! He could have exposed us all!" Saru cursed.
"We heard that the Emperor has caught wind about the rebellion and because of that, he executed the Ashina clan," Kyou flippantly lied.
Inka's gaze jerked to him, her brows arching in question. What was he trying to accomplish?
They were astonished when Saru chortled wildly. "The Emperor won't find us. He doesn't know about the border islands and even if word reaches him tomorrow, he will be preoccupied."
Kyou stiffened and he stopped short, controlling his emotions. "What do you mean?"
The ferryman shrugged. "Lord Kusunagi knows that the Crimson King is onto our tails. He has something planned to stall the Emperor."
It nettled Kyou that Kusunagi had planned this far ahead but, he trusted his Commander to handle the situation while he was away.
"We're almost there. Once you get to the island, you're on your own."
A few minutes later, they reached a dead end. Saru indicated to the makeshift ladder in the dirt wall. "This is the exit. Someone else will pick you up on the other side."
"Thank you," Kyou mumbled, testing the flimsy looking ladder. While he wouldn't fall to his death, he didn't want to risk a troublesome injury.
The ferryman gave a brief nod and left, whistling happily at his good fortune.
Climbing up, Kyou made sure the coast was clear before he offered his hand to Inka. Once the trap door was safely shut, she whispered furiously. "What were you thinking! One slip up and you would have exposed us."
"Errors are for fools who don't think before they speak," Kyou stated dispassionately. "That man was testing us, and it was necessary to let him believe what he wants to hear."
"You almost gave me a heart attack," she admitted, letting out a stunted breath. "He was so unpredictable I was afraid he would catch onto our lies."
He regarded her with open amusement, a recent habit he was developing around her. Kyou couldn't understand her fear. "There's nothing to worry about. I've been telling lies since I could form sentences. Only dimwits get caught."
"That's not an accomplishment to be proud of!" she retorted in disgruntlement, before adopting a look of concern. "But aren't you worried? Kusunagi's up to something."