Chapter 21 "Masters of Coercion"

~ TORIKA ALLEY, of Fonsa Myma ~

The morning of our first anniversary as driver and Blade arrived, and Nia and I were nowhere close to home. We ended up sleeping in an alley after the night-guardsmen kept shooing us around the city. Sadly, the money that we could've spent on a stay at the inn was needed for food and medical care yesterday.

"Happy anniversary, Nia…" I murmured to my partner as she woke up. "Nothing like starting your special day by the sewer."

"Happy anniversary, Rem…" She sat up and leaned against me, still half-asleep. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven." To me, it seemed darker than normal for a sunrise, but then again, we were inside a Titan.

"Guess we'd better report in." She stood up and yawned. "He said 'bright and early,' after all."

"We'll go with them just for today. Maybe they'll provide us with food and shelter." I doubted my own words, but it was worth trying.

~ URAYA MERC BARRACKS ~

We arrived at the Viltsbine Mercs headquarters as their men began coming out of their dormitories. A lot of them were confused by our presence. Perhaps they weren't around when GT-Han made fools out of us yesterday. Soon, he too, showed up, along with his Blade Gregorio.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is!" He sauntered over, clearly ready to resume having his way with us. "I'm surprised that you two showed up."

"I'm no shirker. I keep my promises, no matter how much I despise them." I stared him down with contempt.

"You've made my day, and it's only morning, yet!" The cheeky merc did little to hide his zealousness. "Normally, I lead the afternoon group, but I simply cannot wait to get you two started!"

"Have you no discipline?" Nia disparaged him.

"Discipline?" GT-Han feigned compunction. "Can't a guy have a little fun?"

"Sure, but not at our expense. We're only here to fulfill a promise." This conversation was already giving me a headache.

"Fine then." He signaled for two of his men to fetch a crate. Inside were a bunch of tools for the mission, mostly saws.

"You want us to choose our tools?" I glanced at the contents but refrained from showing any curiosity.

"No, you two are going to carry the crate for us!" GT-Han laughed unabashedly while his men snickered like sniveling sidekicks.

"That's quite enough. We'll chop some branches for you, but nothing else." It was time to reassert myself. "Furthermore, if we're going to join your mercenaries, then we must be treated to the same courtesies owed to the rest of them. In short, no pay, no way." He seemed dumbfounded, but he had to have known that we weren't free labor.

"Hmph… very well." He finally gave in. "Let's get movin' already!"

~ FONSA MYMA PORT ~

Down at the dock, we all fit into one ship that was designated for merc-use. Interestingly, it didn't require a blunt conductor for passage.

~ MINNET TERRACE ~

The ship made several stops around the Titan's interior, dropping off a few of us each time. Nia and I were assigned to the terrace near where we'd camped with my crew previously. Equipped with our hatchets and saws, we began our share of the toil.

"Not quite the special day I had planned for us." I cut off a few branches and started a pile with them.

"You'll make something of it, I'm sure," Nia tried to cheer me up. "Anyway, how's your arm feelin'?"

"It's sore." I set my hatchet down and cautiously flexed my arm until it started to hurt. "There's no way that I'll last a week doing this."

"Thinkin' of skippin' out?" GT-Han found us, probably not by accident.

"I told you, I don't break promises," I growled at him. "Besides, where would we go? Your Titan's one giant cage."

"Yeah, and it's getting overgrown!" He retrieved my hatchet and handed it to me. "Start chopping the next one. I want to see you do it!" The more he talked, the less I wanted to listen. We trudged over to the thin part of the terrace where a saffronia partially blocked the path. The leaves were undeniably pretty. It seemed like a shame to cut it down. "Well? Hurry up!"

"Alright already!" I stood near a branch and raised my hatchet.

"No, not like that!" he interrupted. "Chop it at the base! I want the whole thing out of here!"

"Why don't you get out of here?" Nia shot back.

"I'm not going anywhere 'til I see some results!" He crossed his arms and stood firm in place. Resentfully, I swung and hit the tree trunk with my hatchet. The collision aggravated my bruised forearm and I grunted in pain.

"Wait! Let me do it." Nia walked over to take my hatchet, but GT-Han grabbed her by the arm. She swiftly twirled around and threw him to the ground. "Stop touching me!"

"Alright! Alright! Lay off!" He got back to his feet quickly and looked around in embarrassment. "But I still want your driver to finish it!"

"I really shouldn't," I protested. "My arm is still hurting from yesterday."

"Do it if you want your stinkin' money!" GT-Han had me in a bind, and he was enjoying every agonizing bit of it. I tried to be careful by swinging my hatchet softly so I wouldn't hurt my arm further, but he noticed this and barked again. "C'mon! Harder! Swing it like you mean it!" I swung again, this time with more strength, and the pain increased. "Harder! You're barely making a dent!" I swung again, and it hurt more. "Keep at it!" It only got worse.

"Rem, stop! It's not worth it!" Nia was almost in a panic.

"It's… almost done…" Stubbornly, I swung one more time to cut through the trunk. As the tree tipped over backward, I fell to my knees and clutched my throbbing arm.

"That's enough… please…" Nia wrapped her arms around me and held me tenderly. "I hate seeing you like this." I leaned against her as she kissed my forehead. GT-Han let out an audible sigh.

"Okay, okay…" He rubbed the back of his neck and searched for words to say, but instead he turned around and walked away. We watched him disappear around the bend. (Can a guy like him feel remorse?)

"How bad is it?" Nia asked as she readjusted my bandage. "You really shouldn't have done it."

"I… just can't break promises." I looked up to her for solace.

"What promise?" She seemed disappointed in me. "He only mentioned that we had to tag along. He never got specific."

"I don't know, anymore, Nia. I haven't been thinking clearly lately. My mind's a mess. Everything's a mess. I just want to go home." Any confidence that I had yesterday was gone now. I sat back and observed the environment. Doubtless, this was the most beautiful Titan that I'd ever seen. And yet, as I'd put it acerbically before, it was indeed like one giant cage for us. After another minute's rest, I stood back up and picked up my hatchet. "Come on. Let's at least pretend like we're busy."

My arm was good enough for collection duties, so Nia and I helped clean up the scraps for the rest of the morning. We saw GT-Han a few more times, but he didn't say a word to us which was fine by me. Soon, their ship arrived to bring us back to Fonsa Myma.

~ URAYA MERC BARRACKS ~

The situation improved when we returned to the barracks. I received a modest sum of gold, and the mercs offered us food for the day. We spent most of the afternoon around them. It was interesting to see how differently they ran their operations compared to my own Solly Mercs back home. Surely by now, Chief Reynold was aware that we hadn't come back. I wondered if there was a search party for us. Nia and I were more than just simple mercenaries to them. Now that I had some money again, I decided to reach out to them by mailing a letter. (Maybe I can get them to sneak a ship into the Titan and…)

"Hey, you there," someone called from behind. I quickly flipped my unfinished letter upside-down and turned to see GT-Han at the door. "We've got a new mission for tomorrow."

"Bully for you." I was in no mood to talk. "Hope you have fun."

"You'll want to be on it. We're sending some stuff to Argentum." Suddenly he had my attention. "If you two went there as part of the export team, I suppose I wouldn't mind never seeing you again." Nia's look of surprise mirrored mine. We didn't need to be hinted twice.

"We'll do it." I tried to contain my excitement.

"Of course, by not coming back, you will be forfeiting your payout for the mission." He was right, but I didn't care. We were essentially being offered a free ticket out of here.

"I said we'll do it." I repeated, more seriously this time. He stared at me rigidly for a moment.

"Right, then. Same time tomorrow." And with that, he turned and left us alone to digest this sudden, golden opportunity.

"Rem," Nia whispered, "what if he's makin' it up, y'know, just to tease us?"

"Maybe we ought to ask around," I suggested. "If everyone's clueless, then he's probably lying." As it turned out, this was a weekly delivery for them. By sunset, some men began preparing products from the city for packaging. It was quite encouraging to see.

Since we weren't official Viltsbine Mercs, they didn't offer us a room in their dormitory. We had the necessary funds for a night's stay at the local inn, but like most of the markets yesterday, they refused us service. And so, we returned to the mercs' barracks and bunked on their patio. Despite the hard stone surface, we found it rather relaxing with the nearby waterfall coming from a fountain upstairs.

"Here's hoping we actually get to leave tomorrow, Nia." I kissed her goodnight.

"Goodnight." She snuggled close and drifted off to sleep. I stayed awake for another hour or two. My mind was restless. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

I closed my eyes and listened to the soothing waterfall…

When I awoke next morning, I found Nia leaning against the wall of the patio, entranced by the rushing water. My body was completely sore from two straight nights of sleeping on stone. Nia noticed my stiff movements and walked over to me. Our eyes met as she sat on her heels and smiled. (When was the last time I saw a genuine, happy smile?)

"Mornin', there." She playfully squeezed my cold knee with her warm hand.

"You're positively glowing this morning." I reached out for her hand. "Is your power coming back or something?"

"No, but we get to leave today. That's worth a cheer, yeah?" She was right, but I was wary.

"What if Han changes his mind?" My cynicism was as fervent as ever.

"If he does, then I'll break both of his arms," she vowed devilishly. "Speaking of which, how's yours?"

"Still sore as expected." I was lucky that it wasn't my dominant arm.

"You be careful today, okay? Remember, I can't heal you…" She stared at her empty palms like she'd done many times before.

"Don't feel bad about it," I assuaged. "When this is all over, we'll figure out what's going on with your powers. What's a Blade without her power, anyhow?"

"A human… that's what." She dropped her hands and looked at me empathetically. "No offense."

"None taken." I stood up and stretched. "Anyway, what do they have in the kitchen?"

"Just some leftover stale bread." She made a face of disgust.

"It's better than nothing." I wasn't about to turn down free food.

Another hour passed before the GT-Han showed up to put together an exporter team bound for Argentum. He called forth a few men and apprised them of the situation regarding Nia and me, specifically that they were to return to base without us. After an hour of loading the ship with the goods, we boarded ourselves, again without any hassle from the conductors. (Who knew that boarding as a merc would be the key to bypass?)

~ GOLDMOUTH RETURN PORT, of Argentum ~

We arrived at Argentum by noon, and the mercantile nation was bustling like usual. It almost felt like home after spending the last four days in Uraya. I tried to act stoic, but deep inside I was feeling a great amount of relief.

"All fish products go upstairs to the canteen, while the grains go to the confectionery and restaurant in the corner," GT-Han gave out the orders. "You all handle those while I deal with central exchange. No dawdling! Our ship back home leaves in two hours!" He looked straight at Nia and I with his hardened brows low over his eyes. I hated him for the harassment and humiliation, but the decent human in me wanted to thank him for giving us this opportunity to escape. Perhaps he was a decent human being after all. We nodded at each other and went our separate ways.

~ ARGENTUM BAZAAR ~

"Suzu thank friends for Urayan rice! Goes well in noodle soup, yes?" The Nopon restaurant owner gladly accepted the packaged grain and passed it to the chef. "Line is short. Will friends stay for a tasty meal?"

"No, no thanks! We're pressed for time. Maybe next time, though!" Truthfully, I wanted to stay for lunch, but we needed the last of our available funds for something more important.

~ GOLDMOUTH RETURN PORT ~

"Remi, over there!" Nia pointed to a Prudentian ship docked on the far end. "We can go home now!"

"Not quite." I led her to an Ardainian ship nearby. "As much as I really, really want to go straight home, we have to inform the Special Inquisitor first. I'm sure he'll arrange a free ride for us."

"You're expecting someone else to be convenient for us?" She sounded a lot like me.

"I'm still responsible for my crew," I insisted as I paid for our air fare. "The guilt won't go away until they're free. If I can't negotiate for their release, then the Special Inquisitor can." When we hopped aboard, the other passengers noticed us immediately. I was an awful, unkempt, odorous mess, and I couldn't be more embarrassed.

~ AYVILL SHOPPING DISTRICT ~

It took us several hours to reach Mor Ardain. The sun was setting, and the crowds were thinning as we roved through the main street.

~ NHARIL CENTRAL PLAZA ~

The entrance of the royal palace was in sight, and I was practically sprinting towards it. The soldiers on-guard wasted no time in confronting us.

"And where do you think you're going?" One soldier patted his palm with his rifle threateningly.

"We need to speak to the Special Inquisitor. It's rather urgent!" I didn't realize until I spoke that I was out of breath.

"The Special Inquisitor has no time for stray cats like you, now beat it!" He readied his rifle, and for a moment, I thought he was actually going to shoot.

"Hang on! Don't you recognize us?" Nia interjected. "We're Nia and Remi! We saved the Special Inquisitor and escorted your cargo to Indol!" The soldier made no response.

"Your brothers-in-arms are in danger," I tried a different angle. "Please get the Special Inquisitor, or Brighid! They know who we are." The soldier appeared to hesitate, although it was hard to tell with his face mask on. A moment later, he summoned the other soldier on-guard and told him to inform the company.

"If the Special Inquisitor doesn't recognize you, then we'll throw you in a cold cell!" The irony of his threat stung more than the threat itself. We waited awkwardly for ten minutes. When the other soldier returned, alone, they spoke privately before readdressing us. "You may proceed to the booth on the left. The Special Inquisitor will meet you there." They both went back to their posts and let us through.

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

"Driver Remi! Blade Nia! You're still alive!" Special Inquisitor Càidh was surprised but relieved to see us. "It's a miracle!"

"Yes indeed." Brighid wasn't far behind. "We had assumed the worst."

"What on Alrest happened?" He was anxious for the details.

"We were ambushed at sea," I began the long, arduous tale. "We were ambushed by a rogue, masked Blade. No pirates… no monsters… just one Blade!" I was sounding fanatical at that point, so I took a deep breath before continuing. "He subdued us and severed our ship from the carrier Titan. We landed in the Cloud Sea and drifted for a day before…" I paused again, anticipating a negative reaction from our hosts. "We were swallowed by Uraya… the Titan itself."

"Uraya…" Special Inquisitor Càidh muttered quietly. "How many casualties?"

"None," Nia answered for me. "I kept the crew alive." At first, I thought she was boasting, but she looked as serious as everyone else.

"And… where are they now?" He seemed afraid to ask.

"They're in the Urayan capital, in a prison ship," I regretted to say. "We were overtaken by their army, but they let Nia and I go."

"I see." He took it better than I thought, although his pacing back-and-forth made me uneasy. "What about the core crystals?"

"The crew resonated with a handful of them for reinforcements. The Urayans took away the rest that we carried from the shipwreck." Each question made me more tense.

"Now, about this… 'masked Blade'… Did he give any indication of his origin?" he asked next. "I wouldn't put it past the Urayans to send a hitman to take down our ships."

"Would they really send one Blade, though?" Brighid interposed before I could answer. "And for that matter, how could one Blade possibly take down an entire ship?"

"Through inconceivable strength, that's how. He slowly walked through the cabin and sliced through us like we were nothing. He looked like a silver samurai with long white hair, and he used some kind of ancient sword." My explanation started to sound like an excuse. "I'm sorry I let you down."

"A silver samurai with long white hair, you say?" Brighid ignored my apology.

"Brighid?" The Special Inquisitor turned to his Blade. "Something on your mind?"

"This Blade sounds familiar." She rubbed her chin like a detective.

"Oh?" His curiosity was aroused. "Have we fought one like that before?"

"No, not you and I specifically," she dispelled, "but my former self may have encountered such a Blade. In a past life, I had an ally named Jin who fits the description, according to my diary."

"You… keep a diary?" Nia asked with a tinge of doubt.

"Yes, and it is very important to me." Brighid appeared offended. "How else can a Blade retain memories from one life to the next?"

"Ahem… I'm sorry I've led us off-topic," Special Inquisitor Càidh cut in. "We need to focus on the crew that the Urayans have imprisoned."

"The Urayans were unbelievably vindictive," I warned, although surely, he already knew. "I tried to barter with the warden to let the others out, but he wouldn't budge. They intend to keep both the crew and the cores."

"At ease, Driver Remi. Brighid and I will handle it from here." He motioned for the soldier who was minding the booth to join us. "We the Empire of Mor Ardain cannot thank you two enough. Your remuneration has been waiting with your chief. We'll send you back home at once so you can collect it and recuperate." They shook our hands, ordered the soldier to take us to the royal dock, and started to walk away. (This meeting feels too brief…)

"Wait!" I wasn't satisfied yet. Our hosts seemed reluctant to come back. "Just what exactly are you planning? You're not going to start a war, are you? I already feel responsible for what's happened so far."

"We will try to avoid war as best as we can, but we must prepare for anything. I intend to negotiate for the release of our people, whether it's through money or… other means." The Special Inquisitor acted very suspiciously on that note. "No matter how it's handled, I'm sure you will hear of it in the news. For now, please go home and do not interfere."

I didn't like the sound of it, but it was in their hands now. The soldier escorted us onto a private ship and soon we were finally homeward bound.

~ SOLLERTA ~

By the time we arrived in Prudentia that night, everything in town was closed, including the Solly Mercs camp. I snuck into the admin canopy to write a note to inform everyone that Nia and I had returned but needed a day to rest. I wasn't bothered to wait a little longer to receive the largest payout of my life.

~ HAGAN ~

No armu-taxis operated this late, so we slogged up the road to our home village of Hagan. The familiar sights, sounds, and smells had me on the verge of crying again. And there, at the top of the hill, sat my humble little house. I took one step inside and collapsed in a flood of tears.

"Home sweet home, hon'." Nia got emotional herself as she locked up and helped me into the shower to cleanse my mind, body, and soul of all that I'd endured from the grueling adventure.

Never before had it felt this good to be in my own bed again. I was asleep in no time at all…

I slept through the morning and nearly past noon. Aside from a quick trip to the village market, we spent the whole day at home. Periodically, I turned on the radio to catch any news on the situation from which we'd been discharged. And then at night, we heard Special Inquisitor Càidh broadcast a speech worldwide.

"Good evening. I am Douglas Càidh, Special Inquisitor for the Empire of Mor Ardain, speaking on behalf of Emperor Nigel and his Royal Army. Tonight, I shall address the rumors of foul play following last year's Cloud Sea Championship. As we're all aware, the winning nation of Regideria was attacked and has since receded all forms of communication. After proper investigation, Mor Ardain claims sole responsibility for the horrid act and wishes to repair relations with King Dagas of Regideria. Furthermore, we absolve Uraya of any involvement in exchange for their full cooperation in the release of several Ardainian individuals who were found trespassing on their land last weekend. Mor Ardain holds its people to a high standard and will reprimand those who ran afoul with both Regideria and Uraya. I am personally sorry for all the trouble that we have caused. That is all for now. Thank you." His speech left us stunned.

"Those Urayans are masters of coercion. They twisted his arm the same way Han twisted ours." I sighed and turned off the radio. "But at least there's no war."

"You must be relieved of that." Nia scooted over for me to join her on the couch.

"I'm glad there's no war. I'm glad the crew has been released. I'm glad we're still alive." I leaned back and closed my eyes. "It hasn't quite sunken in that we're actually back home."

"Sure, but since we are back home," Nia changed the subject, "shall we… y'know, celebrate our anniversary?"

"Tomorrow night," I'd already decided. "First, we need to say hi to everyone at camp, and then I want us to visit Dosilla. That was the original plan."

"Tomorrow night, huh?" She licked my neck impatiently. "I can't wait."