Knights of Alcea

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "Get out," she demanded. "I need to be alone."

  "Close the door," the young man said. "I am here to investigate the death of an officer."

  Rut-ki looked at the servant with disbelief. "I have already met the inspector," she snapped. "Za-chan does not send a servant to investigate accidents."

  "So," smiled the man, "you think it was an accident?"

  "Who are you?" demanded Rut-ki.

  "My name is Bin-lu," smiled the young man as he walked past Rut-ki and closed the door. "Tell me what happened."

  "I will say nothing to a servant," Rut-ki shook her head. "I am within my rights to force you to leave. Do not make me do it."

  Bin-lu smiled at the young woman. "It is obvious from your attitude that you have suspicions about the circumstances of the death. Do you think the attack was deliberate?"

  Rut-ki suddenly lunged at Bin-lu with an attempted debilitating strike. Bin-lu moved swiftly to one side and slapped the instructor's hand away. Rut-ki whirled, extending her leg to sweep Bin-lu's feet out from under him. Bin-lu leaped into the air to avoid the strike. Rut-ki dispensed with any pretense of being nice as she launched into a series of furious strikes against the servant. To her amazement, Bin-lu avoided each of her attacks. She suddenly halted her offensive.

  "Who are you?" she demanded.

  "I am Bin-lu," smiled the man.

  "That is not what I meant," retorted Rut-ki. "I am the instructor in the Imperial Palace because my skills are superior to all others, yet it is obvious that you are a man of considerable worthiness. Who are you?"

  "I am a Knight of Alcea," smiled Bin-lu. "Za-chan is aware of my presence in Ongchi, and he gives me free rein to investigate as I need to. While I would very much enjoy a bout with such a worthy opponent as you, it must wait. Tell me about the incident."

  "A Knight of Alcea?" echoed Rut-ki. "Why are you dressed as a servant?"

  "To remain invisible," shrugged Bin-lu. "I trust that my secret will not be repeated from your lips?"

  "If you can prove your assertions," Rut-ki replied suspiciously.

  "Very well," nodded Bin-lu. "There are two ways that I can do so. We can go before Za-chan, and he will verify it, or you can come to my room, and I will show you the tunic given to me by King Arik. I would prefer not to expose my interest in this matter to anyone at the moment. Will the tunic suffice?"

  "It will," Rut-ki nodded.

  Bin-lu opened the door to the hallway, and the two Lanoirians left the training room and walked to Bin-lu's quarters. Rut-ki noted that the quarters were in the diplomatic section of the palace, and when Bin-lu showed her the tunic, she nodded and sat down.

  "I am sorry to have doubted you," Rut-ki said softly.

  "I am pleased that you did," replied Bin-lu. "One must never take anyone at face value. Tell me what happened in the training room."

  Rut-ki told her recollections to the Knight of Alcea. Her telling was matter-of-fact without any indication of her true feelings on the matter.

  "According to your story," Bin-lu summarized, "each student had four attempts to try the technique being taught. Were any other kicks off the mark?"

  "None," replied Rut-ki. "It is an exceptional group of students. They learn very quickly, and they are well-skilled."

  "Including Wei-ra?" asked Bin-lu.

  "As I mentioned," answered Rut-ki, "this was his first session with me. It was obvious that he had had prior training. Still, I cannot come out and say that it was intentional. Even the best of us can miss once in a while."

  "True," Bin-lu conceded. "How did he land?"

  Rut-ki frowned. "He landed well. That bothers me a bit, but not enough to condemn the man. It was his first session. Surely, he must have been nervous."

  "Did he appear nervous?" asked Bin-lu.

  "No," conceded Rut-ki, "but we are trained to hide our emotions. Surely, you are aware of that?"

  "I am," nodded Bin-lu. "That does not mean that we always succeed."

  "True," agreed Rut-ki, "but he showed no nervousness that I could detect. It could have been just bad luck. It was the last kick of the session. Had he not slipped, there would be no investigation. It was a senseless death."

  "The last kick of the lesson?" echoed Bin-lu. "Did you not say that Wei-ra had just joined the group?"

  "I did," replied Rut-ki.

  "Then he should have been the tenth student," frowned Bin-lu. "Why was he not holding the dummy for others?"

  "He should have been," the instructor said softly. "He changed positions in the line. That bothered me at the time, but not enough to remark on it. He was new after all."

  "Was the dead man the ninth in line?" asked Bin-lu.

  "Mu-chen was his name," Rut-ki nodded. "He was ninth in line."

  "Interesting," mused Bin-lu. "Wei-ra would never have had a chance to strike Mu-chen unless he did change his position in line. That is one coincidence too many for me."

  "But why kill Mu-chen?" queried Rut-ki. "And why in such a way?"

  "Those are the questions we must find answers to," shrugged Bin-lu.

  "We?" questioned Rut-ki. "I am not an investigator."

  "I could use your help," smiled Bin-lu. "While Za-chan would certainly give me access to anything I want, it might draw some unwanted attention to the investigation. As the death occurred in your training room, certain questions coming from you would be taken as mere curiosity."

  "I am not authorized for investigations," objected Rut-ki. "I am an instructor."

  "As a Knight of Alcea," smiled Bin-lu, "I can authorize you. Will you work with me on this?"

  "What do you want me to do?" asked the instructor.

  "You have access to the records of your students," answered Bin-lu. "I need to know what the duties of Mu-chen and Wei-ra were. Did they know each other? Did they both know a third person in common? Was either of them working on investigations? Basically, if it was a murder, and I suspect it was, there has to be a motive."

  "Won't the Lanoirian investigator find that information and act upon it?" asked Rut-ki.

  "I would be willing to wager that it will be ruled an accident," answered Bin-lu. "It really is a clever way to silence someone without having to go into hiding. If Mu-chen was simply murdered in his bed, there would be a murder investigation, and all sorts of alarms would go up. As it is, it will be ruled an unfortunate accident."

  "And a blemish on my record as an instructor," frowned Rut-ki. "I will do it. What else do you need?"

  "I want to enroll in your class," replied Bin-lu. "Perhaps I can befriend Wei-ra."

  "My classes are only for officers," Rut-ki shook her head.

  "Then I will be an officer," smiled Bin-lu.

  "Can you do that?" questioned Rut-ki.

  "I can do anything," grinned Bin-lu. "Being one of your students will also give me a reason to be in your company. This is going to work out quite well."

  Rut-ki watched Bin-lu grin and wondered what she was getting herself involved in.

  Chapter 2

  Special Records

  Wei-ra flew through the air, his right foot slamming into the training dummy and his left foot following a second later. His hands dropped to the floor as his legs were propelled over his body. Rolling himself across the floor, Wei-ra suddenly sat as his legs scissored together, catching Bin-lu's legs between them. Bin-lu tumbled to the floor, and Wei-ra struck quickly. The warrior released Bin-lu's legs and jumped to his feet. As Bin-lu sought to rise to his own feet, Wei-ra delivered a swift kick to Bin-lu's ribs.

  "Stop!" shouted Rut-ki. "Your team members are not practice dummies. Simulate the attacks for now."

  Bin-lu inhaled deeply as the pain shot through his body. He grimaced as Wei-ra smiled and extended a hand to help Bin-lu to his feet.

  "My apologies," Wei-ra said softly to Bin-lu. "I guess I got carried away."

  "No apology necessary," gasped Bin-lu as he accepted the helping hand and rose to his feet. "Your attack was most efficient. You take to your le
ssons well."

  Wei-ra grinned as the training dummy was abandoned and the ten students formed a line waiting for the instructor to speak.

  "That will be all for today," announced Rut-ki. "Tomorrow we will work on a variation of the flying kick where you will face three opponents. Dismissed."

  The students bowed low to the instructor and began to file out of the room. Wei-ra approached Rut-ki and bowed once more. She waited silently to hear his words.

  "Has the investigator completed his investigation?" asked Wei-ra.

  "He has," replied Rut-ki. "It was an unfortunate accident, but you must learn better control, Wei-ra. Even today you struck another student. Perhaps you need more individualized attention in your training."

  "I apologize," smiled Wei-ra. "I sought only to show what my next move would be. It has been a long time since my previous lessons. I will be more careful in the future."

  "Very well," replied Rut-ki. "I trust you apologized to Bin-lu?"

  "Of course," declared Wei-ra. "He understood. After all, he is new here himself."

  "Fresh in from Barouk," nodded Rut-ki with a slight smile. "Let's not disable him before he gets to see the capital city."

  Wei-ra smiled and bowed to the instructor. As Wei-ra left the training room, he spied Bin-lu in the hallway outside the room. The new junior officer was leaning against the wall studying a map of the Imperial Palace. Wei-ra ignored Bin-lu and started to walk by him, but at the last moment he halted.

  "I must apologize again," stated Wei-ra. "I did not mean to follow through with that kick. Are you all right?"

  Bin-lu subconsciously rubbed his bruised ribs, but a smile split his face. "I understand. Your skill in the arts is quite impressive. Someday I hope to have half the skill you possess. A few bruises are a small price to pay for such knowledge."

  Wei-ra studied Bin-lu's face for a few moments before responding, "Actually, it has been some time since I had lessons. I need more practice to gain better control. Twice now I have struck accidentally."

  "The officer who promoted me said that fighting is not a game," smiled Bin-lu. "I can imagine it is hard to adjust from the battlefield to the classroom. On the battlefield one does not have to hold his punches."

  "Words of wisdom," nodded Wei-ra. "The officer must have thought highly of your skills to place you in Rut-ki's classroom. Did you fight well on the battlefield?"

  "I was not in the army during the war," Bin-lu shook his head. "My father would not allow it."

  Wei-ra's curiosity was aroused. Service in the army was compulsory during the reign of Emperor Hanchi and while Bin-lu looked young, he did not appear to be that young to have escaped such service.

  "How is it that you were able to remain outside the army?" he asked.

  "My father is a fisherman," answered Bin-lu. "Whenever the recruiting drives came to Barouk, he took me to sea for several days at a time. He does not approve of the military."

  "Yet you are now an officer," Wei-ra pointed out.

  "My father died two years ago," Bin-lu said sadly. "He could no longer stop my desire to join the army."

  "Only two years and you are already an officer," noted Wei-ra. "That speaks well for you. You must know someone special."

  "No," Bin-lu shook his head. "I am just willing to work hard and do whatever my superiors tell me to do. I want to be the best at all that I do."

  Wei-ra nodded as he gazed at Bin-lu contemplatively. He saw that Bin-lu noticed his examination and smiled defensively.

  "You are studying the map of the palace," stated Wei-ra. "Is there some place you need to go?"

  "Not need," explained Bin-lu. "I have no further classes for today so I wanted to see some of the palace. I have heard that there is an old shrine on the grounds, and I was trying to locate it."

  "Are you religious?" asked Wei-ra as he took the map from Bin-lu's hands.

  Bin-lu hesitated only briefly as he contemplated which way he should answer the question.

  "I do not follow any god," Bin-lu replied, "but neither do I deny their existence. I sought the shrine because of its historical importance."

  "It is right here," Wei-ra responded as he pointed to a spot on the map. "You must go through the gardens to get to it."

  "Thank you for your help," smiled Bin-lu as he bowed slightly to the higher officer.

  Wei-ra nodded and walked away. Bin-lu watched the man's back until he disappeared around a corner and then retreated into the training room.

  "Are you hurt?" asked Rut-ki.

  "A little sore," shrugged Bin-lu.

  "Why didn't you halt his attack?" asked the instructor. "I know you have the skill to do so."

  "And expose my skill?" retorted Bin-lu. "That would not have been wise. I must maintain my cover of a fresh junior officer."

  "Cover?" balked Rut-ki. "Wei-ra is obviously on to you. Why else would he have attacked you?"

  "To show his supposed clumsiness," answered Bin-lu. "I was not a chosen target, but rather a target of convenience. He wishes you to believe that he has been out of practice too long and that the death of Mu-chen was truly an accident."

  "Perhaps," mused Rut-ki, "but I am not convinced. I will keep you separated from him."

  "No," argued Bin-lu. "That defeats my purpose. I can take a few beatings to learn the truth about Wei-ra. I need to get close to him."

  "I do not think you will get close to him," countered Rut-ki. "He speaks to no one."

  "He spoke to me outside the room today," smiled Bin-lu. "It was idle talk, yet I felt he was sizing me up for some reason. I need to know more about him so that my answers become pleasing to him. What have you managed to discover?"

  "Not an awful lot," admitted Rut-ki. "Wei-ra's record is impeccable. I am sure that record was taken into consideration by the investigator, which is why Mu-chen's death was declared an accident. Before the war Wei-ra was assigned to a group that tracked down rebels in the north. He advanced quickly. He was known to be a ruthless officer, but he always got results. His unit was responsible for wiping out several bands of rebels, and he received a decoration from the emperor for his work."

  "What about during the war?" probed Bin-lu.

  "He commanded an elite group during the war," frowned Rut-ki. "I have not been able to discover much about the group, but it appears that their activities were centered around spying and interrogations. Many of the records are sealed, and I do not have access to them."

  "I will see about getting access," nodded Bin-lu. "What about right now? What branch does Wei-ra work for currently?"

  "Transport," answered Rut-ki. "He is an officer that handles the schedules for commodity transfers."

  "Transport?" frowned Bin-lu. "That makes no sense. A man of such a background should be far too valuable for such a lowly position. Were there any reprimands in his records?"

  "None," Rut-ki shook her head. "His record is spotless. There is not a single infraction in there."

  "Very odd," mused Bin-lu. "Something here is not right."

  "You said that you have the ear of Governor Za-chan," suggested Rut-ki. "Why not ask him to open the records for you?"

  Bin-lu stared at the floor for several moments without speaking. Finally, he shook his head.

  "That would not be wise at this time," he said eventually. "We are talking about an officer with high credentials. If he were a loner, going to Za-chan would be the right thing to do, but if he is involved with others, I would assume that they are also high level officers."

  "We are talking about a simple murder," frowned Rut-ki. "Why do you seek a conspiracy?"

  "Did you find any information that Mu-chen and Wei-ra even knew each other?" asked Bin-lu.

  "No," admitted Rut-ki.

  "Neither have I," declared Bin-lu. "If they did not even know each other, then why the murder?"

  "I don't know," conceded the instructor.

  "I don't either," stated the Knight of Alcea. "That is why we must not reveal that we are investigating this. Tell
no one of what we are doing until we learn more about what is going on."

  Bin-lu noted that the instructor was biting her lower lip in a display that was wholly out of character. He sighed with concern.

  "Who have you told?" asked Bin-lu.

  "I had to gain access to the records," answered Rut-ki. "That involved explaining to a number of people that I was investigating the incident in my training class."

  "That can be explained," posed Bin-lu. "One can expect you to be concerned about the incident. Did you ask the questions before or after the investigator made his determination?"

  "Both," answered Rut-ki. "He made his determination last night. I still was going through the process of getting the records this morning. Does that matter?"

  "It might," nodded Bin-lu. "It depends upon whether or not anyone is concerned about your questions and how closely they look at it. Perhaps I was wrong to get you involved in all of this."

  "I want to be involved," replied Rut-ki. "If Mu-chen was murdered in my classroom, I want justice served."

  "And it will be," promised Bin-lu. "I can accomplish that on my own. I will not endanger your life."

  "I can take care of myself," retorted Rut-ki. "I was not handed this training position because I have friends in high places. I can defend myself quite well."

  "I understand that," Bin-lu smiled thinly, "but you are getting involved in a different world. The types of people that I deal with do not attack you in the classroom. They poison your food and burn down your house. They sneak into your sleeping room at night and slit your throat while you are sleeping. It is not the type of combat that you can easily fight against."

  "Aren't you blowing this out of proportion?" questioned Rut-ki. "We have no real evidence that a murder has even taken place, and you are acting like there is a rebellion against the king."

  "It is events on the scale of rebellion that I am interested in," confided Bin-lu. "If it is a simple murder, the case will be closed quickly and quietly. I always suspect something more sinister."

  "I thought the Knights of Alcea were involved in protecting King Arik," Rut-ki replied with an expression of confusion. "What does that have to do with the Lanoir Province? Why are you even here?"