Chapter 2: The Lord of Alberta
Edward Kou sighs exhilaratingly as he steps in to Alberta, after a very tiring two-week trading expedition to Comodo. It had taken three days longer than his schedule, and there is a lot to be done now to make up for the lost time. For a starter, the vessel from Aldebaran has docked at the Main Port yesterday, and it is his job as the Head of Merchants to see to the unloading of the cargoes of gold and precious stones recently excavated from the Mjolnir Dead Pit. While normal cargoes of food, cloths, weapons and other daily household items can be loaded and unloaded by the usual crew and apprentice seamen, gold is considered a precious commodity and its handling in quantities larger than twenty crates must be overseen by the particular city's Representative of Merchant Association, with the exception of Alberta where the Head of Merchants resides. The Kou family has been in control of all the important trades both by land and sea for the past seven generations; they have the exclusive rights to the major trading routes from the North extending all the way to the South-eastern part of the land. Well, everywhere except for Sograt, that is! Edward gritted his teeth as the unpleasant image of a particular man comes to his mind; that of Lord Jin, the Commander of Thieves, the liege Lord of Sograt and its lands. In the eyes of a merchant, nothing good ever comes out of the scheming, dishonourable thieves!
"So what's for dinner today?" Edward turns and smiles at one of his most important friends and team members, Ishikawa Ryo. A renowned Royal Guard at the age of twenty-seven, Ryo is one of the best defensive swordsmen in the land, and has proven himself to be a great asset to the team in many dire situations. Looking at his hefty, muscular build, few people would have thought that Ryo's favourite pastime is actually devising new recipes for meat! Nor would they know that at this particular instant, the images of roasted lamb and grilled bird steak in spiced gravy are floating through his mind….."Turkey with lots of ale, I suppose" he says indecisively.
Both of them hurried through the overcrowded streets of Alberta, going towards southwest in the direction of Manor Alberta. The city is particularly packed on Saturdays when the weekly bazaar is held; in every street there are merchants hollering at the top of their voices, selling anything from armour to jewelleries to fruits and even rare, exquisite silk from Morroc. The merchants greet Edward enthusiastically when they see him; on the other hand Ryo is having a hard time refusing the various items pressed to him by little boys with trays hung from their shoulders. Sometimes it is disheartening to see boys as young as four or five selling cheap plastic combs and near-rusty razors for a few zeny each, hoping to bring home just enough to feed their hungry families. Those are the families which have lost their men at sea; a trader's job is not without its perils, after all.
Finally they reached the Manor; as soon as they go through the Main Entrance servants appear to greet them. The main gong goes off three times to announce the return of Lord Kou and Mister Ishikawa; more maids, butlers, men-at-arms and stable boys emerge. Home at last! Edward heads straight to the South Wing where the Main Hall is located; there is someone he has been longing to see for the past two weeks.
As soon as he steps in the Main Hall, a girl of about eighteen in age and with green hair not unlike Edward's lets off a screech and dashes down the winding stairways. Halfway through her right foot gets caught in the hem of her skirt, and she down she comes tumbling. Edward opens up his arms to catch his sister; as soon as he has her in his arms Yukari starts to hug and cling to him. Aunt Laura, the governess of the house, stands by the grand clock in the far corner looking thoroughly disapproving of the scene in front of her. "Lady Yukari, behave yourself, please!" she scolds in a rather motherly manner, and shakes her head. The girl in question laughs gleefully as she slides to the floor. "I'm sorry, Aunt Laura. I just miss Brother so much!" Aunt Laura sighs; "At this rate, we will never be able to marry you off to a good family".
At breakfast the next morning, five people are sitting at the table enjoying a very good meal of pork sausages in sour cream, and mushroom soup to go with it. Xerxes Carmichael is one of them, smiling as he listens to their little talk of the events that took place over the past two weeks; he is content with the peaceful scene in the Manor. For some reasons, he has been feeling ill-at-ease for a few days now; but as a Shadow Chaser trained to be both cold and emotionless, he has no belief in unfounded things such as premonition or intuition, or the sixth sense. As they are finishing their meal with coffee, Mr. Kang, Edward's right-hand man in the Manor approaches them and whispers a few quick words to Edward. Edward's expression changes noticeably, and he motions to Ryo and Rhys McQuillen, a Ranger and also the last member in their team, to follow him. Yukari attempts to tag along too, but is restricted by Xerxes. "No, let them be", he says.
The party of three enters a small sitting-room. "We have some trouble here", Edward begins grimly. "The inspection team found traces of raw Izidor in some crates from the land consignment coming in from Morroc last night. The contract is apparently for the sale of rare herbs, and authorized by the royal seal of Lord Jin himself". Ryo and Rhys look at each other anxiously. Izidor plant either in its raw or processed form is absolutely outlawed in the lands of Midgard. Two hundred years prior, Izidor powder was used extensively by medical practitioners and witch-doctors as a 'magic' strength-enhancer; however its effects on individuals and society was devastating to the point that almost a quarter of the people of Midgard were addicted to it. To counter the crisis, King Tristan I banned the planting and cultivation, possession, use, and distribution of Izidor and its products totally; those who are caught with it will be subjected to execution by either hanging or guillotine, never to be pardoned.
As the Head of Merchants and the Lord of Alberta, Edward has the absolute authority to confiscate the goods and imprison the individuals associated with them, until the Royal Court of Order hears the case and decides on a date for execution. However, the present problem is not as easy as it seems. Lord Jin Shou is an Aristocrat who upholds the sovereignty of Sograt; in the lands of South his influence is immense to the point that the current Ruler of Midgard, His Majesty King Tristan III has to withdraw all his armed forces from Sograt. Should Jin decide to rebel and launch a coup d'état, the whole Midgard will be in chaos. Therefore to go against him directly will upset the delicate balance of power in the South, very possibly with catastrophic consequences. However, Edward cannot possibly ignore the condemning evidence at hand now; plus he has to admit that he is one of the many people who wanted Jin dead.
Xerxes enters the sitting-room quietly from a side door. "So aren't you going to issue an order to detain his people now?" he asks. All three of them turn to see Xerxes, calm as always with the ever-smiling face that hides his emotions. It is no secret that the Shadow Chaser has always been the one with the deepest hatred for Jin; ever since Xerxes was exiled from Morroc on pain of death for a crime he did not commit, he has sworn to take Jin's life one day. His blinded right eye, together with the hideous scar below it may be appropriately covered by an eye-patch, but to Xerxes it is a constant reminder of the grudge he holds against Jin.
Edward purses his lips; once he makes a decision there will be no turning back. The Merchants and the Thieves have always been at odds with each other ever since the days of their founders; plus what he is going to do now is perfectly in accordance with the laws of Midgard. There is a hint of cruelty now in his smirk as he calls out to Mr. Kang and gives his orders.
"Arrest all the Thieves who came in with the cargoes; they are to be handed to the Court for execution tomorrow evening".
Behind the door left ajar, Yukari tries to hide her disbelief and vexation at the recent turn of events. Eavesdropping has never been one of her favourite habits, but everything seems to be going wrong for them this week! Yukari makes an effort to keep frustration off her face as she heads to the main quarters in another wing. Gone are their old peaceful days in Alberta; she instinctively knows there is no way the Lord of Sograt would withstand this disgrace inflicted upon his vassals. The memory of the man with golden eyes and jet-black hair haunts her in her dreams every night, and her heart beats faster with the thought of it.