Sorry for the delay in updating. In the end, I figured there was no alternative but to split this chapter and the next one or the two combined would've been far too long.
In response to someone's question, I can reveal Alun is a Scops or Screech owl, such as are found in many places, including the Phillipines, which is generally considered to be Talim's home. I hope this keeps any owl fans happy.
Ch 12 Avenger
Hand in hand, Talim and Seung Mina clattered down a flight of stone steps, and dashed across the open plaza, dodging between brooding stone statues of dragons and ogres. Reaching the base of a round tower, they paused for breath. Hong joined them, wheezing slightly.
He said, "Ok, let's just rest a minute, we're nearly there."
Mina said, "Can't keep up? Have you been practicing fighting or eating?"
Hong gave her a good-natured cuff, but Talim made a sound of dismay. The sudden thought of food made her feel faint. She said, "I know this is terribly bad timing, but I haven't eaten since yesterday."
Hong gave Mina an exasperated look. "What, you didn't feed her?"
Mina protested, "You kept saying how urgent and dire everything was. I thought I'd best take her to the dojo as quickly as possible and sort out breakfast when it was more convenient."
"And its eminently convenient now, isn't it?"
Talim said mournfully, "Just a mouthful might make all the …"
Angrily Mina interrupted, "Drop the sarcastic attitude, Yunsung. Go get the poor girl some food, and be quick about it. Go on!" she urged, shooing him away. "And you can get me some too while you're about it. We'll wait here, and hide if necessary."
Hong winced, threw up his hands despairingly, and set off running in the direction they had just come.
Talim said, "Maybe you were a little hard on him there?"
Mina gave a brief smile. "Oh he won't mind. He knows what I'm like, and he's used to my quick temper. It'll all be forgotten in a short while."
The wind priestess shook her head. "I wonder if he really does mind. No one can be that happy about being talked to with so little respect. He's your friend, yet you make him run errands like a dog's body."
Mina said, a trifle crossly, "Oh, come on, it's nothing as bad as that! And if he's that bothered, why does he continue to let me boss him about? You get the respect you earn, and if you've so little self-respect to put up with that, you can only blame yourself."
Tactfully Talim replied, "There's something in what you say. Though perhaps he does these things because he cares about you?"
Mina looked down. "Of course he does! And I care about him – very much. There's no need for us to say it though."
Talim said gently, "Sometimes there is."
Abruptly Mina ducked into the tower doorway, pulling Talim with her. She made a shushing noise. Then, holding the wind priestess's hand, she hurried up the spiral staircase, to the top floor.
Going up to a window, Mina peered cautiously out. She gave a low whistle. "Well look here, what d'you know!"
Talim joined her at the window. Crossing the courtyard below was a party of about a dozen soldiers in a livery different to the palace guard. Stumbling along to their rear, still looking somewhat dazed and bemused, was Hwang, accompanied by an attractive woman of medium height, wearing the red robes typical of a noblewoman. She appeared to be helping Hwang along, and was constantly talking, as if berating him.
Mina gave a hiss of anger. Talim asked, "Who's that with Hwang?"
"That's Kamala. The lying, tittle-tattling bitch I told you about. I bet she's put him up to this."
"But he only just found out about me!"
"Oh, spying is one of her many talents! Another is poisoning people's minds. She probably got Hwang to the point where he was ready to distrust me." Talim could tell Mina's feelings about Kamala were similar to Taki's about Toki. The warrior woman continued, "The soldiers with them are from our country. So that could mean Hwang hasn't yet alerted the palace guard. I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone does."
Talim said, "We'd best not stay here then, in a place with only one exit."
"Good thinking! Let's just wait a minute, though."
Halting on a terrace opposite the fugitives' hiding-place, Hwang and Kamala appeared to be arguing. Eventually Hwang rather roughly pushed the noblewoman away, and signalled to his company to follow him. As they marched off, Kamala made a gesture of frustration, standing irresolutely.
Mina grabbed Talim's arm. "Come on, now's our chance!"
Talim resisted. "Now's our chance to do what?"
"To punish that harpy, of course!" Mina tugged impatiently on the priestess's arm.
"What, are you mad? You'll get us into trouble!"
"We're already in trouble. This might be my only opportunity to pay back the little sneak."
"What's more important, protecting Soul Calibur or carrying on your feud?"
"It'll only take a minute! And we might find out something useful. Look, I'll do it on my own if necessary."
Talim realised the hot-tempered warrior woman would not be easily pacified, and decided not to further waste her breath. Reluctantly she followed Mina as she bounded down the steps.
Kamala was on the point of leaving the courtyard when she saw Talim creeping along a sidewall. The noblewoman drew back behind an arch of the portico. The wind priestess appeared not to notice, and continued on her stealthy way. Kamala followed cautiously, trying to keep out of sight behind the palace stonework. Talim eventually reached the far side of the square, and disappeared round a corner. Kamala hastened in pursuit. As soon as she had passed the angle of the wall, Seung Mina grabbed her round the throat from behind and dragged her away into an alcove, where a worried-looking Talim was waiting.
Releasing the courtier, and raising Scarlet Thunder until its point pricked against her breast, Mina said pleasantly, "Kamala, what a nice surprise! Where were you off to in such a hurry? Trying a little espionage as usual?"
Teeth chattering in terror, Kamala managed to stammer, "Seung Mina! I don't know what you mean. I was just out for a stroll and I …remembered something I left behind, so …"
Cutting ruthlessly through the flannel, Mina said grimly, "A pathetic liar … to the last. I know what you've been saying to Hwang, and how you've been helping him. Now you'd best start talking or you'll dance on the end of Scarlet Thunder like a fish on a hook."
Kamala cried desperately, "But it was all Hwang's idea! He wanted to kill you all, so he called out his own men instead of the palace guard. He didn't trust Plaek to back him up. I only accompanied him to try to talk him out of his murderous rage."
Mina shook her head. "With you, its hard to pick the truth from the lies. I think you would prefer us dead, and you were trying to persuade Hwang to deal with the situation on his own. Why didn't the students raise the alarm?"
Kamala said, "Because Hwang locked them in the dojo. I told you, I had nothing to do with …"
Mina laughed. "Hwang was in no condition to think of that! It was you, you bloodthirsty, venomous vixen! Well at last you're going to get what's been coming to you."
Kamala gasped, "No, please, have mercy!"
Talim said uneasily, "Don't you think it would be less trouble to …"
Mina said, "Don't worry, Talim, I won't soil my hands with her blood. I've got a much better idea for a really humiliating punishment." She took hold of the courtier, who had gone limp with fear, then crouched down, back to the wall, forcing her captive to lie across her knees. She then jerked up her dress, and pulled down her panties to expose her plump buttocks.
Kamala wailed, "What are you doing?"
Ignoring the noblewoman's pleas and protests, Mina began to spank her hard. She continued in spite of outcries, imprecations and tears of rage and humiliation. Talim was torn between fascination at the spectacle, and alarm at the attention the shrieks and sobs might bring upon them. Keeping one eye on the distraught victim, and another on the open areas between the buildings, she used Alun's sensitive ears to focus on the sound of anyone following through from the courtyard. Fortunately the owl was able to partially tune out Kamala's yelps of pain, and Talim could hear the thudding of someone's running feet approaching the passageway. She stepped out to intercept them, rapidly drawing Syi Salika and Loka Luha.
It was Hong, carrying a pannier. He stopped in astonishment at the tableau presented by Seung Mina and Kamala. The latter was already flushed with shame, but her tormentor now also showed a roseate tinge of embarrassment.
Groping for words, Hong eventually exploded, "What on earth … are you absolutely out of your mind?! I could hear the din a whole block away! You'll bring the guard upon us for sure!"
A little sulkily, Mina replied, "I was just teaching your beloved a well-needed lesson. Perhaps you'd prefer me to cut her throat and be done?"
"I'd rather you'd tied and gagged her, which is what we'll have to do anyway. And she's never been my beloved, by the way."
Mina said, "Whatever, there's no time for that now." Lifting Kamala onto her shoulders, she headed towards a nearby pool, and dumped her into the water with a huge splash. The near hysterical noblewoman surfaced, vomiting water, hair in disarray, her wet clothing entrammelling her like a silken cocoon.
With a sweet smile of satisfaction, Mina said, "I don't think she'll be giving us any further trouble, do you?
Hwang gave a sudden grin. "You can be a real terror when you're roused."
Returning him an impish look, Mina said softly, "Make sure you don't get me all steamed up then."
Sensing the current that was running between Mina and Hong, and concerned that the moment for it was inappropriate, Talim said nervously, "I think we ought to get out of here before somebody … oh no!"
Two platoons of imperial guards were approaching from the more open ground near to the pool, spreading out to search the area in a methodical fashion. Behind them was Hwang with a fresh sword and a squad of his own soldiers, head bandaged and looking more in possession of his wits.
Hong said, "We can't fight through that lot. We'll have to double back, hide and hope they pass us."
Mina said, "It's probably too late for that." Kamala was already stumbling towards the guards, waving, pointing and shouting.
Hong glanced at her. "It's not like you to give up."
"I haven't. If I hold them here, it'll allow you two time to escape."
"No … no way … you'll die!"
"Maybe. Or maybe Hwang won't want to explain my death to my father. Either way, there's no time to argue. Get out of here – now!"
A distressed Talim looked to Hong for leadership. With a grimace, the imperial officer said, abruptly, "Alright, do your best; Talim, let's go." But the wind priestess had seen the eyes of the two friends meet, and knew how agonising the decision had been.
As Talim and Yunsung slipped back through the walkway between the buildings, Seung Mina strode out into the open, brandishing Scarlet Thunder.
She shouted, "Looks like we'll have to settle this the hard way!"
The guards started to run forward to surround her, and Mina backed off until she had the passageway at her back, and walls on either side to funnel her opponents.
Hwang hastened to take charge. He shouted, "Who strikes a mortal blow, dies! Take her alive!"
In response, Mina lunged out to send the halberd head quivering into the nearest guard's foot. She said, "Try that, and you're in for a world of hurt. Playtime's over!"
As they ran, Talim wanted to talk to Hong about leaving Mina, but one look at the imperial officer's unusually brooding expression told her he wasn't going to welcome discussing that subject in his present state of mind. In any case, silence was preferable, as they had to avoid several groups of guards hunting for them. Perhaps due to rumours of their comrades' unpleasant fate at the hands of the infiltrator, none seemed inclined to carry out the search with any diligence.
Within what seemed a short time, they reached a building with high, narrow windows. Hong paused in front of an oaken door. In a voice showing some relief from tension, he said, "This is the main library."
Apprehensively Talim asked, "Will it be guarded?"
Her companion laughed dryly. "I doubt it. There might be a curator or two who shouldn't bother us. For some reason nobody thinks books are worth guarding as much as gold, even if they're of far more use." He pushed the door open.
Talim said, "Wait a moment." She joined her thoughts to those of the bird still perched faithfully on her shoulder. Fly free, Alun, you can't come with me this time. When released from his hood, the owl gave her a last farewell peck, and flew up to roost at the top of a nearby tower. Tears in her eyes, the Last Priestess of the Wind followed Hong through the door.
The room they entered contained many more books than Talim had ever seen in her life. They were everywhere, stacked neatly on rows of shelves, bound in stout leather. The light in the chamber mostly came from high up, and was concentrated on the central reading area, which contained chairs, tables, lecterns and thick rugs patterned in subdued colours, leaving many areas to the side in shadow. There was a dryness to the air, combined with a faint smell of must.
Awestruck the wind priestess said, "There are more books here than you could read in a lifetime."
"Several lifetimes, probably, especially if it was me trying to read them. And this is only one of several rooms. Come on, the hidden part of the library is at the far end. Is something wrong?" He noticed Talim hesitating.
She gave a shiver. "I don't know, I thought I … felt something strange. I expect its just all the books; in our village, we had only a dozen or so, generally records or sacred writings. Most of our history and stories we remembered in song."
"Well that sounds more entertaining to me! I know what you mean, so many words stored together – it's a little daunting. Best not try thinking too much about it."
Taking the wind priestess's hand, he led her through the adjoining chambers, empty except for more book stacks and similar though sparser furniture. The silence and shadows began to play on Talim's nerves. She felt as though someone was following her, just at her elbow. But whenever she looked behind, no one was there.
They finally reached a wall lined with bookshelves, apparently able to go no further. Hong went to a small table, on which a lantern had been left, containing fireflies. Picking it up, he started counting rows of books from the left wall. Finding the one he wanted, he pushed one of the volumes inwards. Soundlessly, a section of the wall slid aside, revealing a dark opening.
Holding up the lantern, Hong made an attempt at a flamboyant gesture, and said with deliberate bombast.
"So here it is, our noble emperor's private library and personal bolt hole. And for now, it's ours."
"Nobody …"
Thwack, thwack, yeeouch!
"Takes me …"
Swipe, jab, oooff!
"Alive …"
Butt, kick, bite, aaarrgh!
"That easily."
Swing, chop, wallop, crash, ugh!
Mina paused to admire the impressive pile of wounded and unconscious opponents around her. For a split second, something deep in her psyche made striking a dramatic pose irresistible. And in that moment, Hwang lashed out with his sword, blocking Scarlet Thunder's downstroke, then reached out to take hold of the halberd's shaft, wrenching it away from Mina's grasp. Immediately the remaining guards closed in, confronting her with a hedge of blades. With a resigned look, the warrior woman slowly raised her weaponless hands, indicating surrender. She favoured Hwang with an insolent smile
Hwang did not smile back. Sheathing his sword, he took hold of Scarlet Thunder in both hands, and broke the shaft across his knees. He then threw the head of the halberd like a javelin into the nearby pool, sending the butt end spinning after it a moment later.
Mina watched, arms folded, her face quiet. Hwang turned back to her and said, "I know that you have a deep need for self admiration. On this occasion, it has led to your undoing. Perhaps this will serve to remind you of your weakness and folly, by teaching you the pain of losing a beloved weapon."
Mina said nothing. Hwang went on, "Now that we've established the basis for a more civilised discussion, I have one simple question to ask you."
In the interim, Kamala had rushed up, still struggling against the confining wetness of her garments, her face twisted with anger and hatred. She said, "Just allow me a few minutes, and she'll be begging to tell us the answers to any question you can think of. I'll make her squeal so loud …"
Smoothly interrupting, Hwang said, "I don't think there will be the need for any unpleasantness, Lady Kamala. I know Mina well enough to be sure that isn't the way to deal with her. You would get precisely nothing from her by such methods."
Kamala snarled, "Just let me try anyway. That she-devil needs paying back for what she did to me." She took a step towards Seung Mina.
Almostly casually, Hwang raised his sword to block her path. He then advanced the blade towards her, as she cringed away, eventually brushing the tip against her cheek.
He said calmly, "You heard what I said, my lady. No fun for you. Now take yourself back to your bedchamber where you belong. You can play sadistic games with your hand maidens, if that's what you wish."
Kamala turned a shade of purple with suppressed fury. She looked at Mina faintly smiling at her, then at Hwang's cold mien, and seemed to be counting up to ten under her breath. Suddenly she emitted a growl, which increased in volume until it was almost a bark, ending up as a kind of shriek, her teeth and fists tightly clenched. Having thus released her ire, she turned on her heel, and marched away with as much dignity as she could muster, her shoes squelching with water.
Hwang said, "Well that's got rid of her, and we can return to the matter in hand. You know I'm a rational man, and I reason thus. Most bravely, you stayed behind to cover your friends' retreat. By implication, you considered allowing them to escape to be more important than falling into my hands. That suggests you knew of their plans, and therefore where they intended to go."
Mina yawned, "I can't imagine how I previously survived the boredom of your company."
"Come, you can do better than that! Let's say I'm in a forgiving mood. I know how much you prefer to follow your heart. That's okay - a lot of the time. But then sometimes it's going to lead you into trouble. And that's when you need … someone to guide you a little. So you see how we two make one perfect whole – the ideal partners, one might say."
Mina wet her lips thoughtfully. She said, "Strangely I was thinking more of broken things."
"The past is past. Try to focus your mind on the future – our future." With emphasis: "Just tell me where they went."
Mina gave her former intended husband a brief smile, which he returned thinly. Looking directly into Hwang's eyes, as if considering his proposal, she said softly, "They went … somewhere you'll never find them."
Hwang nodded slowly. "An interesting turn of phrase! So they are hiding as I predicted. Now where in this palace might they go for refuge?" He paused as though in thought. "Ah-ah, I have it! The imperial library!"
Mina tried to avoid dropping her eyes, but it was too late. Woodenly she said, "The library sounds like a ridiculous hiding place."
Hwang smiled triumphantly. "But the imperial library isn't, well not quite. While Yunsung was still a loyal – some might say excessively patriotic – soldier and envoy for our country, he no doubt studied the reports of spies from this court. The same ones that I looked at before coming here. The emperor's pathetic hideaway was so well known, I'm not surprised he decided to flee rather than rely on it. Unfortunately for Yunsung, he doesn't appear to have shown the same wisdom." Speaking to two of the senior officers present, he said, "Each of you take a couple of your best men to the library, and await me there. The rest of you are dismissed for now."
Once the troops had marched or, in the case of those standing down, ambled away, Hwang said, "Alone at last! You can't imagine how disappointed I've been that recent events have prevented us from enjoying some quality time together." He reached out a hand to stroke Mina's cheek. She did not flinch, but turned slightly away from him. Encouraged he slipped a hand around her shoulder, unable to see the change in her expression as he did so. Trying to inject some warmth into his voice, he continued, "Don't you see how you've made such a poor choice of friends and allies: that idiot Yunsung will never amount to anything, no matter how many decorations he wins, especially when he's such a fool to become involved with an assassin."
Mina said, "Taki not Talim is your assassin. Talim was trying to stop her."
Surprised Hwang said, "Taki is here? Well, it doesn't really matter, so long as we turn somebody over to the emperor for a reward. Either of them will do." Kissing her gently on the cheek, he continued, "Then we can go back home, and your father will be delighted to see us finally get married."
She turned back towards him, smiling faintly, "Is it really that simple?"
"More or less. You can have the freedom that you want – provided that you're prepared to listen to my advice on … important matters."
She leant forward, and loosely draped her arms around his neck. "And that's all you want from me?"
"That and … the usual things, I suppose." He reached downwards to stroke her flank. "I've been so patient with you, because I've always wanted to know … what's truly in your soul."
"Really? Well in that case, you're about to find out …" Mina rubbed her nose against his, and drew closer. Then she brought her knee up into his groin, and almost simultaneously head butted him viciously, causing blood to spurt from his nose as it flattened and broke. He collapsed to the ground, eyes watering in pain, and Mina kicked him several times in the head, finishing by grinding her foot heavily on his crotch. He rolled up in a ball of agony.
"…That I'd never marry the kon ngoh who broke Scarlet Thunder. And if only I could find a small, sharp knife, I'd make sure you were never able to use your other weapon again, on me or anyone else. That's what I'll do if you ever try to touch me again."
With one last regretful look at the pool containing the shards of her zanbatou, Mina set off at a run.
The secret room was bigger than Talim expected, but still felt confined because, aside from being windowless, its ceiling was much lower than in the main library. The bookshelves were flush with the walls, and there was only a single wooden table and chair at one end of the room. This left an area in the centre which, though somewhat narrow, allowed enough room to swing a sword, even one the size of Yunsung's. The wind priestess felt a certain awkwardness, almost shyness, as if this were a tryst for lovers.
Hong pointed upwards. "Above us is a hidden trapdoor, leading to another concealed room. Or so I believe. I came here only once before to verify our spies' reports. There may be food and water there, but the emperor holds the key. So you will have to make do with what I've brought." He produced some rice cakes and fruit from the pannier. "Its all I could find in a hurry."
Talim was so famished that, in spite of her apprehensions, she could hardly refrain from snatching the food from Hong's hands. She crammed several rice cakes into her mouth, before becoming ashamed, and offering one back to Hong. He refused, saying he wasn't hungry, but eventually consented to share some of the fruit with her.
The intimacy of eating together seemed to relax them both. After a while, Talim ventured to ask, between mouthfuls, "Do you think Mina will be okay?"
Hong sighed. "I hope so. She may be right about Hwang not wanting to kill her. He may be a kon ngoh, but I don't think he's actually evil – well, not very. He's never liked me, and would happily kill me in a duel. But Mina – I think he did care about her, in his own way. Enough to marry her, even if he saw her more as a possession, a trophy."
Talim asked, "And what about you, what do you think of her?"
Hong gave a wry smile. "If you'd asked me that at any other time, I probably wouldn't have given an honest answer. But now … I've told myself for years that we'll never be anything beyond friends. That's what Mina seemed to want; someone that would put up with her bossiness and moods, and wouldn't judge her; someone she didn't have to worry about as another suitor. Yet when Hwang offered to marry her, and she accepted, I felt like I'd been ambushed, waylaid and thrown into a ditch. It wasn't only that I didn't believe he'd make her a good husband; I didn't want anyone to be closer to her than me and I hated the thought that I would lose her."
"Afterwards I tried to reconcile myself to the idea, telling myself things might not be so different, that in any case it just wouldn't work between us, that she never respected me in the way she did Hwang. Sometimes that made things seem better – and sometimes I felt I'd been a fool to let her go. Because I loved her, and wanted to be with her always."
Talim said, "You should tell her this. Give her the opportunity to choose."
Hwang said, "Perhaps I will if I ever get the chance. Which brings us to our present business. I'm afraid we can't risk putting it off any longer."
Talim said brokenly, "If there were some other way …"
"Without letting loose Soul Edge on the world, or without unleashing a confrontation between the swords that would rend the very fabric of our universe, I know of no other."
Talim bowed her head, "In that case … I am prepared."
"Then it is time for me to show you what I could not before. You first need to see with whom you must fight in true guise."
"I don't understand – I thought I had to fight you."
"That is correct – now see who I am."
With these words, Hong fell to his knees, an aura of white light surrounding him. In the midst of the blinding glory, his form seemed to melt, grow and change. The brightness was too much, and Talim hid her eyes.
When she looked again, in his place stood a figure of huge size and formidable countenance. Someone of the wind priestess's diminutive size was used to the feeling of being dwarfed, but this creature towered over her at well over seven feet tall. Its height was not however the most remarkable aspect of its appearance. From atop shoulders with the powerful muscularity of a bull, and of a size befitting the rest of its massive body, the white-feathered face of a falcon fixed its fierce, unbending gaze upon her. More terrifying still, a second head surmounted the same gigantic torso, facing in the opposite direction as the first, and having the elongated, pointed ears and snout of a dog or jackal. The creature was otherwise man-like, wearing a silver breastplate over light, tan-coloured robes.
Her mind reeling in shock, Talim was still able to perceive a strong resemblance between the two heads and those of the statues of the gods on the bank of the River of Souls. The latter had been stone, but the ones before her were vital with life. The pupils of the hawk's eyes contracted; the long, mobile canine ears twitched.
Before the priestess could otherwise react or move, the creature spoke. Its voice was as the rushing of water through underground caverns far from the light of day.
"I am the Gatekeeper."
