Chapter 12 - Clothing Shop

Three days ago, early afternoon at Yeongsong.

"I never expected that I would ever feel worried about Izrik. I had never seen him without his weapon, even when we were kids, and seeing him now without a weapon makes him look so vulnerable. He was the first among us who carried a real weapon; his practice weapon was a real sword at age seven. At age fifteen, he successfully forged his first weapon. He forges a new weapon almost every two years—because it breaks during practice or mock duels against swordsmen much older than him—until we turned twenty. The weapon he lost during the Ritual of Cleansing was the first set that lasted for more than two years. He is one of the best fighters that I have ever seen, and I know for a fact how skillful he is even when he is unarmed, but Izrik without a weapon just doesn't look and feel right.

"We checked two more smithing shops after we had our lunch, but we still failed to find a suitable ore that meets Izrik's strict standards. He said that since he was going to forge a new set, he decided to incorporate the improvements that he was planning for the past seven years. His improvements may have made it harder for us to find suitable raw materials for his weapon, but I thought that it was appropriate. The changes that he planned to add to his weapon, this mission, our journey; they were all signs that we're no longer kids. We have responsibilities to the kingdom and to our clan that we need to honor.

"We walked towards the gate of the village when our path was blocked by two men in white robes and light horses. I am no expert on horses, but I saw right away that their horses were very tired and immediately needed water. The setting sun was on their backs, and we were not able to immediately recognize them.

"'First mission complete. Once more to go,' one of the voices on horseback said. It was a voice that I know very well. A voice that I have known since we were kids. But before I could crack something witty, I heard Guunnar exclaim and wrestle Liam down from his saddle. 'Wait, wait, I'm falling!' Liam screamed as he fell from the saddle to the sandy road of the village. Some of the villagers stopped and watched as the four boys wrestled a little bit. I had to keep my composure, we were still in disguise, and I have to maintain the role of a traveling merchant.

"'It's good that you have caught up with us finally. I expect the road to be more dangerous for merchants like me from here onwards,' I said loudly. I kept my face serious and unyielding. 'Well, enough playtime. Let's get you armed and outfitted properly before we continue on our journey!' I added. Liam and Yiiq-Yin were silent and didn't know how to reply. The villagers who were in the area watched our little group, and there were a few who gave us more attention than we'd like. Some probably recognized us as we went around the village looking for raw materials for Izrik's weapons.

"'That's right. What took you so long to catch up to us? Mistress Zhuyin here thought that you wouldn't arrive until we reached Haan-Dar!' Izrik said as he pulled Liam back to his feet. Yiiq-Yin jumped off his horse and made a brief bow to me.

"'A hundred apologies, mistress. One of the horses had a horseshoe problem, and we had to have that fixed before we could continue traveling,' Yiiq-Yin explained. His face was serious, and he looked as if he already understood that we have an identity that we had to maintain. Guunnar looked momentarily shocked. He obviously forgot about our cover when he saw our two childhood friends. A true sight for sore eyes after the long journey that we've had so far.

"'Get on up and hurry!' I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. 'We need to get you armed properly if you are to guard me. Those shabby clothes will just not do!' I said in the same loud voice as I pretended to inspect the white robes that they were wearing. The same robes from the Ritual of Cleansing. We also need to find a place to have their horses taken care of right away. They probably traveled nearly nonstop. Guunnar was already checking the status of the two horses if they were still roadworthy. The onlookers have already started to disperse after they heard me talk to my four guards about weapons and overseeing my security. In the Five Kingdoms, a merchant who can afford four to five armed guards is someone who is not to be trifled with. Most people even think that such merchants were always involved in illegal activities, and staying away from them would be the best course of action to avoid getting involved in anything dangerous.

"Liam slipped a small note into Izrik's hand. 'Your uncle sends his regards. He asked me to give you this after our completion ceremony,' Liam said. Izrik's countenance never changed as he listened carefully to Liam. 'Sounds like there's an urgent matter for you back at the guild,' he continued. Izrik opened the note and read the message briefly. He then rolled the message and kept it inside a chest pocket.

"'It seems that I will have to catch up to you along the road, mistress,' Izrik said as he bowed to me. He looked serious as he turned to each one of us. 'There is something urgent at the guild that I need to attend to,' he added with his clenched right fist over his chest.

"'Resolve it quickly then. And keep yourself safe,' I replied in the same professional tone. 'I don't want the money I paid for security to be not worth it!' I said hurriedly as I waved him off. He hurried out of the village towards the farm where we left our horses. If it was something urgent, he would need a fully rested horse.

"Guunnar and I immediately took Liam and Yiiq-Yin to the different shops where they can buy their weapons and equipment. We then went to the same shop to buy matching clothing for the two of them. I paid the shopkeeper in advance and asked for some wine that we could drink as Liam and Yiiq-Yin tried on their clothes. The shopkeeper was more than happy for the advanced payment and the money I provided for the wine. It was more than enough for the Yeongsong's finest. I asked for wine so that we could have the shop to ourselves and talk in private. We gathered in one corner of the shop as soon as the shopkeeper exited the shop and merrily went in search of wine. I used a simple eizou to seal the area for any scrying abilities.

"'Why is Izrik going off alone?' Guunnar asked immediately after I completed the eizou. My clan's specialty is protective and sealing eizou. The ones that protect against spying on the contents of the messages that we carry across the continent are always in our arsenal. My friends were all familiar with the eizou that I use, and they can tell when I have completed activating the necessary protections.

"'I second that question,' I asked immediately. If we weren't in disguise, I would've interrogated Liam and Yiiq-Yin in front of the village gate. 'You both know that he is weaponless because of the Cleansing Ritual, right?' I added. I sounded almost like I was accusing Liam and Yiiq-Yin.

"'We have no choice! It was a request straight from the palace,' Yiiq-Yin replied.

"'The palace?! He will travel back to Heung unarmed?!' Guunnar exclaimed. I was surprised too. I believed in Izrik's fighting skill but traveling back to the capital unarmed is taking that faith a little too far. I thought he had to backtrack to a previous village that we visited. Traveling back to the capital alone and unarmed is not what I thought he would be doing.

"'When we accepted the task, we didn't realize that he would be unarmed when we reached him,' Liam confessed. 'I thought you have already armed yourselves by now. And that Izrik has already forged a new set of weapons!' he added.

"'Who wanted him at the palace, and why?' I asked. I started to consider breaking up our half of the group to catch up with Izrik and escort him back to the palace. I was the best choice because I have eizou at my disposal. However, this also means that I should be part of the group that would hunt for Mingmei's group. Without a tracker in the group, it would take a longer time to find them without the use of eizou.

"'It was Master Miramoto. He said that because Izrik left the capital without notice, he was not able to give him his Writ of Passage so that he can travel anywhere in the kingdom without trouble,' Liam explained.

"'Writ of Passage?' Guunnar asked. 'Why is this the first time that I am hearing about this?' he added.

"'Yes, me too,' I replied. 'Is it for his family's exile?' I quickly added.

"'Yes, that's right. He is not supposed to leave the capital because of his family's exile, and the writ is supposed to give him the right to leave the capital and not be questioned for it,' Liam explained patiently.

"Guunnar and I were silent and stared at each other briefly. The two of us were the ones in our group who spent the most time with Izrik. And if there was anyone in the group who knew more about the terms of the exile of Izrik's family, it was Guunnar and me. At that moment, the story that Liam and Yiiq-Yin were given at the palace to send Izrik back smells more rotten than a dead fish left under the sun in summer. Someone wanted Izrik back at the capital, that was obvious, but it was not for the reason that Liam and Yiiq-Yin were led to believe.

"Guunnar slammed a fist into his thigh. He knew as I did that there was something wrong with sending Izrik back, but we were helpless to do anything about it at that point. If someone rode after Izrik, it would be unlikely that they'd catch up to him before he reached the capital.

"'Are you aware of the true terms of the exile for Izrik's family following their family's fall?' I asked. I wanted to finish the discussion fast before the shopkeeper returned with our wine.

"'What do you mean?' Liam asked with a puzzled look.

"'The terms of the exile are partially voluntary. If Izrik wanted to leave the capital, he only needs to tell his grandfather and ask for permission. That is all he needed to do,' I explained as Liam and Yiiq-Yin turned pale. I stared closely at Liam's eyes and then at Yiiq-Yin's eyes. 'There is no such thing as a Writ of Passage or any writ that Izrik needs in order to travel outside the capital,' I added.

"'That's utter hogshit!' Guunnar exclaimed.

"'Besides, and this will get you both even worse than what I've already said,' I started to say and waited for the anticipation to sink within Liam and Yiiq-Yin before I spoke once more. 'We're all to travel in disguise. And Izrik and Lynn are the best when it comes to going on a disguise. Do you think anyone would know that he had left the capital if he or his grandfather didn't want anyone to know that he left the capital in the first place?' I asked with a raised eyebrow. I can clearly see Liam and Yiiq-Yin stop breathing for a moment. Liam looked a lot more disappointed in himself than anyone in the room. He was born and raised in a clan that lived and breathed investigations. His clan was in charge of running the only police force in the kingdom. He understood that the experience and training he received from exposure to the cases that his clan handled should have made him more sensitive to that detail. He knew that we were all supposed to be in disguise, and he should have also known that a writ wouldn't matter at all since no one would recognize that it was Izrik who was traveling with us.

"'What makes this even worse is that the fall of Izrik's family happened more than two decades ago. Around the same time that we were born,' Guunnar reminded. 'That means very few alive in the capital knew or would remember about the details of that fall,' he added with a sigh. A sudden idea came to my mind, but it was something that I would need more time to think about. I might need Lynn's help with it once we meet later.

"'What we need to determine right now is why Miramoto wanted Izrik back. He wouldn't just kill Izrik. It would be pointless. Izrik didn't do anything wrong to any member of his family or clan,' I said as I analyzed the different situations in my head. 'For Miramoto to kill Izrik would be to jeopardize his position and status as well as the honor of his house and clan,' I concluded.

"'What if he plans to frame up Izrik for a crime that he planned to do himself?' Liam suggested.

"'That is possible,' I immediately went quiet and used the Wind Message to warn Izrik and hoped that he wasn't outside the range of my eizou yet. 'But why him? Why would Miramoto want to hurt Izrik when Izrik did no harm to him, his family, or clan?' I asked in frustration. 'And I doubt that a frame-up would work on Izrik of all people in our group. He cannot use any other weapon. And his weapon is always custom made for him only. It would be simple to tell if a murder was made by his weapon or not. More importantly, he is currently weaponless,' I explained.

"'This whole mission is starting to smell like a trap,' Guunnar said while shaking his head.

"'Yes, I feel like I have betrayed a very good friend. Miramoto has used us all as bait for a game that only he understands!' Yiiq-Yin said in frustration.

"'Then we need to understand the game that he is playing,' Liam said. 'We can match him once we understand what game he is playing.'

"'I can't figure out why he would do this. There is nothing we can do to him or his clan at our present state. They're the ruling clan. They have all the political power in the kingdom!' Yiiq-Yin added in frustration.

"'It is pointless for us to try and catch up to Izrik. I will need to buy some scrolls before we leave Yeongsong,' I said after some thought. The shopkeeper was on his way back, and his shiny clothing shone like gold under the light of the setting twin suns. 'I'd have to take a lesson from Mingmei and hope it works for us as well as it did for her.'