by Nikita Thorn
His energy was running low, but there was just about enough. He spent everything on his well-practiced combination. His palm hit the thick wood of the door, and he felt energy flowing through, almost spreading out against whatever enchanted resistance it had.
The door gave, and Seiki felt himself falling amid broken debris onto the hard dusty wood floor of the dimly-lit interior.
A notification appeared before he could pick himself up.
Objective completed: Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight. Perseverance is a virtue. You have completed at least 3 objectives. You may now speak to Third-Rank Official Chiba to complete the quest.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The building appeared to be empty. Seiki had half-expected to find sake bottles here, given the theme, but if the space had been used as storage at all, someone had already removed all its contents a long time ago.
“All right, regardless of what we find in here, we’re done.” Ippei sounded relieved.
Seiki got to his feet and dusted himself off. “How did you know it was going to work… Oh, of course. It’s… literal.”
The full objective read ‘Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight’. Seiki shook his head and chuckled. “So you just have to try seven times.”
Somehow the objective description put him in a strangely good mood, as it reminded him of something an old swordsman would say. “And each of these phrases seems to be… half of a proverb?” Twice a pattern starts to emerge. Thrice pretty much confirms it.
Seiki looked around for clues. The floor was covered with dust and chipped wood and a splotchy trail of brown liquid that had now dried.
Seiki froze as he realized what it was. “Blood?”
“No,” Mairin gasped, before adding in a quiet voice. “Maru?”
Seiki’s eyes had adjusted enough to see that at least nothing in the building looked even remotely like a lifeless human body. They proceeded cautiously into the storage house.
The blood trail led to the far right corner, where they found a pile of loose ropes. Under it, the wood floor had more dark stains of dried blood.
“It’s Maru. I’m sure,” said the kitsune unhappily. “They… hurt him.”
“He’ll live,” said Seiki. “If they get you right above the eye, it bleeds a lot…” He trailed off as he realized he was not getting his intended message across.
His friends were looking at him, and Seiki grimaced. “Uh, what I mean to say is… you can bleed quite a bit and it can still be non-life-threatening.”
Mairin gave him a smile. “Thanks, Seiki.”
Somehow she really meant it, and Seiki suddenly had no idea what to say. He turned his attention back to the floor, but the blood trail did not stop there. It continued along the length of the wall, although it seemed to have split into two.
Ippei thought about it for a moment. “I think… he was tied up with these ropes, and he crawled over there, and then back.”
At the end of the blood trail, they found a loose piece of wood, which looked like it had come off a wooden plank, like the ones piled outside the building. Mairin picked it up. Under it, scratched directly onto the wood floor, were four lines of crude, mostly incomplete characters.
Kichigawa
Ambushed. Sake stolen.
Man with red-jeweled dagger
There was a last character, but it only had two starting lines and could not be made out.
Mairin nodded. “It’s definitely Maru! He crawled over to leave a hidden message here. But then the bad guys came back, and so he covered it up with this piece of wood and went back to the corner so they wouldn’t suspect anything.”
“Then he was rescued,” said Ippei from the corner of the room. In the samurai’s hands were the blood-stained ropes. “These ropes were cut. If they killed him or moved him, there would have been no reason to do this. And when he left the room, he wasn’t bleeding anymore, or not enough to leave a blood trail on the way out.”
Seiki nodded. “And if it was the bad guys who moved him, they would have done something better to cover their tracks and not leave evidence everywhere?”
Whoever had come for Maru had made no attempt to hide the rope or clean up the blood stains, and had enchant-locked the door on their way out to keep the captors from suspecting anything.
“Okay, so maybe Tsukie found him and saved him?” Mairin sounded a little hopeful.
Ippei rose to his feet. “Well, so now we have some idea what happened. The nobles are plotting. Maru got caught up in it. But then someone rescued him. Maybe his sister managed to get her Lady to do something. And that’s how it goes in the Inner Palace and we can now finally finish our quest.”
“Let’s check with Tsukie just to make sure,” said Mairin.
They made their way back to where the girl had been earlier, but she was nowhere to be found, and Ippei guessed that the relevant NPCs despawned after their objective was completed.
With nothing left to do, they returned to the front gate of the Servants’ Quarters. As to be expected, Third-Rank Official Chiba was back in his spot, handing out tasks to what Seiki assumed to be copies of real players, who were labeled ‘Festival Volunteers’.
Mairin hailed the man. “All right, Official Chiba, we know what happened to the sake shipment. It’s a long story.”
“Is that so?” The official looked up and raised an eyebrow.
As Mairin quickly related their findings, Seiki glanced at his quest log, where three objectives had now been crossed out.
Of flowers, the cherry blossom
The stake that sticks out
A clever hawk
What has happened twice
The bamboo that bends
Doing is a mistake
When in a hurry
Three years for peach and chestnut
Clouds over the moon
Lapis and quartz
Catching sea-bream
Fall seven times
You have completed at least 3 objectives. You may now speak to Third-Rank Official Chiba to complete the quest.
This meant there were nine other clues hidden in the instance which they had not even spotted, except, perhaps, for the girl with the hawk-shaped pin, and he wondered if it would be possible to complete them all, especially now that they had learned the pattern.
Third-Rank Official Chiba grew paler and paler as Mairin went on about their discoveries and he cleared his throat several times in an attempt to say something, but the kitsune gave him no opportunity to interrupt.
“So, there’s something dirty going on with the Kichigawa shipment,” Mairin finally concluded. “And a man’s life might be at stake.”
The official finally breathed a sigh of relief. A smile returned to his face. “All right. Thank you for your contribution. Your help is no longer required. I will make a glowing report on your clan’s contribution.”
Do you wish to complete the quest now?
“What?” cried Mairin at the notification. “So what are you going to do?”
“I see that I have made a mistake. There’s no problem with the shipment. Thank you for your help in clarifying the issue.”
Mairin blinked. “Uh… are you glitched?”
“No. He’s just going to turn a blind eye,” said Ippei. “Unfortunately that’s the prevalent attitude in the Inner Palace, which is why I stay away from it. They want you to play the long game with all the scheming and watching your back, and then maybe months later you’ll get to see your enemy disgraced in front of the Shogun.”
“I would… rather be killing demons.” Seiki could see how, compared to straight up combat, these quests could be extremely frustrating.
“Me too.” Ippei made a face. “Some people like the… slow-burn. And I have to say it attracts a disproportionate number of obake. Take that to mean whatever you like.”
Mairin turned to the official. “Well, that’s not acc
eptable. So, no. Quest is not done.”
The quest is not yet completed. You have completed at least 3 objectives. You may now speak to Third-Rank Official Chiba to complete the quest.
Ippei let out a groan.
“Come on, we have to expose the plot,” said the kitsune. “Otherwise, what is Lady Shiharu going to do? She’s innocent. Not to mention poor Maru. Maru might still need to be smuggled out of the palace to safety, since Tsukie is still probably hiding him somewhere.”
Seiki had no idea where she got the last bit from. “Will that work?” he turned to ask Ippei.
Mairin suddenly dashed off. “We have to find out. I’m going to talk to the Head of the Kitchen. He needs to know that the sake has been tampered with.”
Seiki glanced at Ippei as they both ran after her. “Will it work?” he asked again.
Ippei let out a sigh. “I’m kinda hoping it won’t.”
The Palace Kitchen was a large building connected directly to the back of the Banquet Hall, located near the western end of the Servants’ Quarters.
To accommodate the extra traffic of delivery workers and assistant cooks during the Festival, the sliding panels that formed the front wall had been removed, leaving a wide open doorway. Inside the building, a long plain wooden screen hid much of the interior from view. There was no sign to mark the place as the Palace Kitchen, but sounds of knives on chopping boards, the clinking and clacking of utensils, as well as the appetizing smell of bonito broth could not be mistaken for anything else.
Seiki and Ippei caught up with the kitsune by the crowd at the door, where people had organized into a loose line. Similar to everywhere else in the Palace, the building had heightened security for the Festival. Four Palace Guards [Level 35 Elite] were stationed at the entrance to check if everyone had the right papers. They also occasionally glanced at a stern-looking man with a slim mustache in gray and white kitchen uniform, labeled Third-Rank Kitchen Master Gomi [Level Unknown], for his signal to let the delivery staff through.
Ippei let out a deep sigh as he saw the guards’ uniform. Unlike the Shinshioka Patrols, these men had an extra white five-petaled flower badge on their coat to denote them as the Shogun’s own. Seiki was slightly puzzled by his reaction, but the samurai said nothing.
Mairin had managed to squeeze herself into the middle of the line. Luckily none of the NPCs seemed to mind as Seiki and Ippei pushed their way past them to join her.
“So what exactly are you going to tell the Head Kitchen Master if you even get to talk to him?” said Ippei. “You know, there might not be scripted content for this.”
“I know,” said Mairin. “But they wouldn’t let the mystery go unsolved. It’s a celebration Festival, so they owe us a nice, happy ending, right, Seiki?”
Seiki had no actual opinion on the matter.
Ippei laughed. “From an Inner Palace quest?” He shook his head. “This place reminds me too much of real life.”
Mairin looked at him. “What? Office politics?”
“No,” said Ippei. “Real life as in… the world.”
Mairin smiled. “I guess it’s time to change that.” The kitsune waved her hand and cried, “Excuse me, Third-Rank Kitchen Master Gomi.”
The man was talking to a staff member with a large sack of leek and paid her no attention.
“Sir,” said Ippei.
“Sir!” Mairin added.
To Seiki’s surprise, that got the man’s attention. The Kitchen Master made his way toward them and looked her up and down, before recognizing the Clan Volunteer’s Badge hanging on her obi. A pained look spread over his face. “Yes?”
“We believe the Kichigawa sake has been sabotaged.”
The Kitchen Master frowned. “Do you have evidence for this?”
“Uh… we’re… pretty sure.”
“Words of a worried sister, an overheard conversation and a missing prisoner,” said Ippei. “Technically, we don’t even know for sure.”
“Oh, come on. If the Kichigawa sake was really unfit for the feast, they wouldn’t have had to kidnap Maru and steal it.”
Third-Rank Kitchen Master Gomi frowned, but before he could open his mouth, a shrill voice interrupted him.
“What have we got here?” A rather elderly man appeared from behind the front panel. His uniform was not like the kitchen staff’s gray and white, but was black silk with red trimmings. His face was lean, with deep lines of care etched into his features. “Trouble, Gomi?”
Kitchen Master Gomi hastily bowed. “Lord Chamberlain Mazutomo!”
Seiki was not well-versed on how Palace ranks worked, but from Kitchen Master Gomi’s fearful deference, the newcomer was most likely someone of great authority who should not be here. The Chamberlain looked at the group, again, his eyes taking note of their Clan Volunteer’s Badges, and a cold smile flickered on his lips. “Yes? Did you say something about the sake from Kichigawa?”
Mairin’s eyes narrowed. “We would like to speak to the Head Kitchen Master please.”
“As for that matter…” the Chamberlain continued as if he had not heard her. “There has been an annoying misunderstanding concerning the sake, but I’ve personally seen to it that it has arrived safely in our storage.” He nodded toward the kitchen, where Seiki could glimpse the doorway to the left wing of the building. “It is awaiting review by the Head Kitchen Master later today.”
Mairin smiled at him. “You couldn’t even spell Kichigawa correctly on the fake delivery log.”
A spark of anger flared in the man’s eyes. “I’d suggest you stick to what has been assigned to you and let those with more authority on the matter do their job instead of making ridiculous claims without evidence.”
“Okay, he’s in on the plot,” said the kitsune. “Give me cover.”
“What?” cried Ippei.
Mairin swept out her hand to the side and white smoke burst out all around her, as nine phantom foxes dashed outward in every direction, causing all the workers in the line to cry out in alarm. The kitsune herself was gone from sight, disguised among her foxes, running toward the kitchen door.
“Get her!” cried Chamberlain Mazutomo.
The guards burst into action. Seiki grunted and threw himself in their way.
“Don’t hit them or you’ll lose Honor Points,” said Ippei. The samurai turned around, apparently accidentally stumbling into one of the assistant cooks waiting to report for his shift. The man lost his balance and fell in front of the nearest Palace Guard just as he was rushing toward the kitchen. “You gotta find… other ways.”
The stunt had bought them a few more seconds, but the guards were back on their feet in an instant and Seiki was not sure how he would be able to delay them further. “How many Honor Points?”
He had backed into the kitchen and he could see the white fox dodging one of the cooks who had rushed out to catch her as she continued making her way toward the storage section.
“Quite a bit.” Ippei had managed to knock another delivery worker at the guards. “If you have to do it, grab them on the sleeves.”
“Oh, okay, the gi game.” Seiki backed further into the kitchen, his eyes on the advancing guard.
“The what?” said Ippei. The fallen worker was struggling to his feet, and the samurai quickly extended a hand to help him, only to use this opportunity to block two more Palace Guards.
The lone guard who had made it through the kitchen door gave Seiki a stern warning. “Get out, Unit Chief. You don’t have permission to be in this building.”
Shouts had risen from behind Seiki as more of the kitchen staff tried to chase down the kitsune.
“But, oh, you can’t intend to grab,” added Ippei, as one of the Palace Guards finally lost patience and yanked him out of the way.
“What?” cried Seiki.
There was no more time to ask for clarifications. The Palace Guard in the kitchen rushed forward. The man was full of openings, and it would not be a pr
oblem if it had been any other opponent, but now Seiki had no idea what he was supposed to do. “What do you mean I can’t intend to grab?”
“You can’t have any intention to resist in any way upon contact.”
The narrow space between the wall and the wood screen meant there was not enough room to dodge either, and the Palace Guard seemed determined to physically drag him out of the kitchen. An idea flashed, and Seiki burst forward with a short Slide with full force, before abruptly cancelling it. The forward momentum threw him off balance, and as Seiki sailed past the man, he twisted his body to grab the guard’s upper armguard to break his fall.
They both landed on the polished kitchen floor, and Seiki rolled off. He was prepared to utter a fake apology, hoping his intention had been honest enough.
Unlike the Shinshioka Patrols who always seemed impartial figures of authority, the Palace Guard’s eyes burned with rage as he grabbed Seiki by the collar and slammed him against the wall. Seiki wondered if defending himself would count as resisting, and so he did nothing and simply winced as his health dropped by a quarter.
“Arrest them!” cried Chamberlain Mazutomo.
“My pleasure, Lord Chamberlain.” The guard leapt to his feet and grabbed Seiki by his arm, his free hand waving in a circle.
Instinctively, Seiki raised his hands to protect himself. What followed was, however, not a blow. His surroundings dimmed, and the air tightened around his body. Colors rushed inward, as if the room was about to implode. After a second of vertigo, Seiki found himself on a wood floor in an unfamiliar tiny room. The guard’s grip was still firm on his arm.
Seiki blinked to orient himself. The room was only about twelve feet across and about twice as long, and was divided into two equal halves, separated by sturdy wooden bars and a metal-reinforced door.
“Oh, the Palace jail?” said Seiki, as the Palace Guard dragged him to his feet and shoved him through the door. Another guard faded into the room with Ippei, whose health had somehow dropped to less than half.