Chapter 17: The City that Tempted Fate Part 6: Ya Ya

They arrived at Fortune Square. Their attention was momentarily arrested by Lady Luck once again, as they discovered the wooden stairs and platform that had been there yesterday was apparently a temporary fixture, before moving onto the Grand High Roller's Hall. Tani had described the place as a "swanky looking building", but that was an understatement.

"By'eck. This place could be a flippin' castle!" Lofty exclaimed.

"Higgle!" The two higgledies agreed.

"Well he is more or less their king," said Aranella. "So it would follow that his residence would be just as grand."

"Have you thought about what our castle is going to look like, Evan?" Tani asked.

"Umm," Evan replied before confessing. "Not really."

"That's getting ahead of ourselves quite a bit," Roland commented. "We haven't even got our wood from Niall yet."

"Right," said Tani. "Guess we'd better get on that."

They approached the gatekeeper positioned outside the entrance to the Grand High Roller's Hall. He was a dogfolk man dressed in the standard dark blue and green robe and dark blue hat that seemed to be the uniform for government employees. "Hi there," Roland began. "This is King-" a sigh. "King Ivan Pennybristle Doldrum. We seek an audience with Master Pugnacious. We wish to petition him for aid."

"I am afraid the Grand High Roller is attending to business elsewhere in Goldpaw," the gatekeeper replied.

"Oh. I see." He was their leader, so that wasn't too much of a surprise, just inconvenient. "What manner of business is this?"

"That is not for us to know," the gatekeeper replied stiffly.

Roland raised an eyebrow at this. He hadn't expected the gatekeeper to know the exact details, but not even having a vague idea was unusual, unless it was personal. "So would you happen to know when he'll return?"

"He will return when the matter has been concluded. But I am afraid that I do not know how long that will take. So if you desire an audience with him, then I would suggest that you return here at a later time."

"I see." Roland looked back at the others. Needless to say they all looked disappointed, but then a thought suddenly occurred to him and he turned back. "Is there… is there someone else we could talk to, by any chance?"

"Well, actually. Second Roller Ya Ya is in attendance. She has the authority to handle your petition if you would prefer to settle the matter sooner rather than wait."

He couldn't believe their luck. "That's perfect. If you would?"

"Very well. If you would please follow me, I will take you to her." He glanced down at Lofty. "Ah, but I'm afraid your pet will have to-"

"Not this again!" Lofty screeched, causing the gatekeeper to jump. "Look hyur you lot, I'm no-one's pet! I'm a Kingmaker, you hyur? A Kingmaker!"

"Ah, b-begging your pardon, I had no idea," he mumbled. "Very well, in that case, if you would all please follow me." The gatekeeper parted the panelled doors and stepped through. He paused briefly to make sure they were following before proceeding inwards.

"What do you mateys think of that?" Chingis asked with a grin. "Seems like Lady Luck be on our side after all."

"Oh don't you start," said Aranella.

Roland had been puzzled and even mildly concerned by the apparent lack of guards stationed outside, but these concerns were immediately laid to rest upon the discovery that they had in fact been stationed just inside the doorway. They gave the party confused stares as they passed but otherwise did not interfere. The gatekeeper led them down the corridor to what was a throne room in all but name. Candlelit lanterns hanging from the ceiling, or standing lanterns placed around the room provided illumination, flooding the place with a soft, warm light. At the end of the room was a dais. On this dais was a seat made from painted red wood, wide enough to seat two and flanked by two golden dragon statues, each with a dice in its mouth. The seat was empty of course, but standing before the dais was a dogfolk man in polished, golden armour and a long red cape. "Captain Ya Pi," said the gatekeeper. "This is King Ivan Pennybristle Doldrum and his entourage. They seek an audience with Second Roller Ya Ya in order to petition Goldpaw for aid."

"I see," Ya Pi replied before glancing down at Lofty. "Why, pray tell, did you permit this-"

"Kingmaker!" Lofty cut in sharply and Ya Pi jumped.

"Ah… I see. My… apologies." Lofty humphed. Ya Pi returned his attention to the gatekeeper. "Return to your post, I will handle the matter from here."

"Very good, Captain." He turned to Evan and bowed. "Your Majesty." Evan nodded back, and then he was gone.

"Second Roller Ya Ya is in her office," Ya Pi explained. "If you would but wait a moment, I will have one of the servants send for her."

"Thank you," said Evan.

Ya Pi signalled one of the attendants. She bowed before disappearing through one of the doors that lead deeper into the estate. "Before Lady Ya Ya appears, allow me to formally welcome you to the official residence of His Excellency, the Grand High Roller Pugnacious. Please keep conversation to a minimum, and exhibit the requisite degree of decorum at all times."

"We'll try to do that," said Roland. "By the way, can I ask you what your opinion of Master Pugnacious is?"

"Why of course," he replied brightly."Master Pugnacious is a man of great compassion and integrity, and it is an honour to serve under him."

"What makes you say that?"

"Having been raised in penury, he has made it his mission to eradicate poverty in Goldpaw. It was for that reason that he sought to become Grand High Roller."

"Is that so?" A noble endeavour to be sure but of course it could all just be a ploy to cover up his greed.

"Indeed. Much of the taxes he has collected previously have been funnelled into various schemes designed to alleviate poverty, and there are many who have benefited from those schemes."

"Well, that's good to hear. What about recently?"

Ya Pi blinked. "Recently? It is not my place to monitor what happens to the money collected from the citizens, but with the tax rate having been sixfold for the past couple of months, Master Pugnacious will have had more money than ever to devote to the poor." He smiled. "All is as Lady Luck wills it."

"Lady Luck…Sure…" How would Ya Pi react to the knowledge that it wasn't Lady Luck that had been rolling Sixes, he wondered. Probably not very well. "How long has Master Pugnacious been Grand High Roller?"

"This year marks his twentieth."

"Twentieth?" Roland repeated in disbelief. "As in twenty years?"

"That is correct. But… why does that surprise you?"

"For some reason I'd just thought it was less than that. Much less."

"I see."

Roland frowned. If that was true, then… was there something to this broken heartedness after all? His frown deepened as Will's words echoed. "But what if he's doing what he's doing because he thinks what he's doing is right?" Lofty had said that a broken heart could be caused by strong emotion, was it possible that a strong ambition could do the job just as well? Is that how the darkness entered his heart? Or was it the other way round, with Pugnacious' ambition somehow drawing the darkness to him, with the darkness breaking his heart? But that begged the question why and more importantly why now? Roland didn't have time to ponder further as Second Roller Ya Ya appeared shortly after. She bowed politely and smiled. "Greetings and welcome to Goldpaw. I understand that I am in the presence of visiting royalty, and was told that you seek our aid. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Second Roller Ya Ya," Evan replied. "That's correct. I am, uh… King Ivan Pennybristle Doldrum."

"And I'm his Kingmaker, Lofty."

"And this is Roland, Aranella, Tani, Batu and Chingis, and… um…"

"Higgle?" Wiff-waff asked. But it didn't seem like she could see them so they shrugged. "Higgledy pig."

So Evan continued. "We understand that you may be… um, hesitant to offer us aid so readily, but um, if you grant us our request, we have technology that you may find interesting and are willing to share in return." He glanced at Roland who gave him a nod of praise.

"That sounds most interesting," Ya Ya replied. "As is customary in Goldpaw, such a proposition must first be put to the dice roll of Lady Luck."

"What?" Roland squawked, a sentiment that was echoed by the rest of the party.

"S-surely ye jest," Batu objected as Lofty exclaimed. "You can't be serious, mun!"

"Oh no," Ya Ya replied brightly, oblivious to their collective disconcertment. "It is our way. So if you would please follow me."

"B-but…" Aranella protested before finding her voice. "May we have a moment to, uh… confer?"

Ya Ya blinked. "Confer?"

"We didn't realise our request would be put on trial in so many words. It's a little… unexpected."

"Ah, of course you are new to Goldpaw and so would be unfamiliar with our ways. Very well, if you need a moment to confer amongst yourselves then you may have it."

"Thank you." They moved away and huddled together.

Aranella looked askance at Roland as Tani asked. "So what do we do now?"

"I was hoping we'd get taken straight to her office so we could talk in private," Roland replied. "But that won't be happening if we lose the dice role."

"Right, so what do we do?"

"Why not just be comin' out with it," Chingis suggested. "Tell'er we be'ere on be'alf o'Niall."

"It looks like that's our best option," Roland agreed. "At any rate, it is the truth."

"So we should tell Ya Ya that we're envoys of Niall?" Evan asked, for clarification.

"Right," he confirmed.

"All right." Evan nodded and the huddle disassembled. "Actually, Second Roller Ya Ya, we're here on behalf of Niall."

"Niall?" They repeated. "I think we will require proof of this claim," said Ya Pi, his expression now a scowl. So Evan showed them their proof and the scowl deepened. "So it's true. Then why did you not say so to begin with?"

"We apologise for the subterfuge," Roland said, stepping in. "But the reason he asked us to come here concerns a matter of great sensitivity."

"Should such a matter not be brought to Master Pugnacious' attention?" Ya Ya asked.

"Well, he's not here right now, so we thought it best to come to you."

"Is it urgent?"

"You could say that, but… in order to explain more, we'll need to go somewhere more… private."

"I see." Ya Ya and Ya Pi exchanged looks. "Then I suppose it would be best to take this to my office." She turned to Ya Pi and instructed. "Please inform Master Pugnacious of this development should he return before I do."

Ya Pi nodded. "Of course, Lady Ya Ya."

She turned back to Evan and his party. "If you would follow me." She lead them through the doors the attendant had disappeared through previously and down a corridor. As they progressed, Roland noticed that the walls were lined with painted portraits of all of the dogfolk that had served in the capacity of Grand High Roller since the nation's founding, with Pugnacious' portrait being the most recent and therefore, the one hanging closest to the main room. They arrived at her office. The door looked much the same as any other but a removable brass plaque upon which her name and rank was inscribed had been mounted on the adjacent wall, denoting the door as the one to her office. She held it open and gestured for them to enter. "After you, Your Majesty."

Ya Ya's office was either absurdly spacious or befitting of her status depending on one's point of view. The floor was a plush, red carpet and the curtains flanking the large window at the end of the room were gold and lined in an emerald green. Before the window was a large desk that had been carved from whatever the equivalent of mahogany was. A fireplace was to one side and placed before it were two comfortable dark green chairs and a two-seater sofa, and a coffee table of the same wood as her desk. Bookshelves sporting all manner of books lined the walls as did a cabinet filled with bottles of alcohol. Most of the bottles were mostly full – they were either new or had hardly been touched, it was hard to tell which, though Roland was leaning towards the latter. She took a seat behind the desk and leant forward, clasping her hands together. "Now then, what is this matter that is so urgent you could not wait for Master Pugnacious to return?"

They exchanged looks, and Evan hesitated to take the initiative so Roland asked. "E… Ivan, do you want me to handle this?"

"Um. Yes, please."

He turned back to Ya Ya. "Actually, this is about Master Pugnacious."

Ya Ya stiffened. "What about him?"

"We couldn't help but notice that he's broken hearted."

"Broken hearted?" She repeated before scoffing. "Don't be ridiculous. That's nothing but a myth."

Roland folded his arms. "So you haven't noticed anything unusual of late?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Well for example, the dice in the casinos being rigged?"

"That is a very bold accusation, Mr Roland. I trust you have proof of this claim."

"Sure do." He looked to Tani who produced the stolen dice from one of her pockets.

"That's government property!" She objected but then became very quiet when Tani demonstrated how the dice worked. She swallowed before continuing. "And what… what evidence do you have to connect this to Master Pugnacious?"

"Well it's not just the casino dice that have been rigged, it's the dice rolls of Lady Luck as well. The same source that informed us of one, also drew our attention to the other. And as you can see they were telling the truth, so we have no reason to doubt their claim that Master Pugnacious is the mastermind behind both."

"That's hardly evidence," she replied weakly.

"You're really trying to turn a blind eye to this, aren't you?" Tani cut in, her hands on her hips, the two higgledies mimicking her posture. "The casinos are operated by the state, aren't they? Or do you think they've all decided to start running a money-making scheme in order to line their pockets, all at the same time?"

"Which is to say nothing of what's been going on with the tax rate of late," Aranella added. "Three straight sixes in as many months? Is that really feasible?"

"Please, Second Roller Ya Ya," said Evan earnestly. "Niall sent us here to help. That's all we want to do."

"Aye," Batu affirmed. "We're none o'us'ere te be causin' trouble, miss. Ye can be assured o'that."

"All right," she relented at length. "Niall is well known to us here in Goldpaw and is a close friend of Master Pugnacious. So if you say that he sent you here to help, then I'll believe you. And… you're right, Mr Roland. I suppose until now it's true, that I have – as Miss Tani said – been turning a blind eye to what's been going on. Very well. A few months ago, a strange man in strange garb arrived in Goldpaw. He didn't tell us his name or where he was from but he claimed he had something of interest to offer us; A way to make Goldpaw more prosperous. But he had one condition, and that was that he would only tell Master Pugnacious and Master Pugnacious alone. Needless to say, he accepted this condition and so we were all sent out of the room."

"What did this mystery man tell him exactly?" Roland asked.
"We asked him the same question. He told us that the man told him that we already had what we needed. Of course we didn't understand what he meant by that but... it would seem that Master Pugnacious did. Ever since that day, he's been acting… strangely. Not so strangely as to be immediately apparent to the regular citizens but definitely to me. He's been keeping things from me when he never used to before; I had no idea the casino dice had been rigged, as my duties as Second Roller largely prevent me from attending on a regular basis. But the dice rolls of Lady Luck… how is it possible?"

"The dice is operated by use of a remote control," Roland explained. "In other words it's technology, not magic."

She went wide eyed. "I see. So that's how he's getting past the wards."

"Well this isn't good, mun," said Lofty unnecessarily. "The first bloke was bad enough, now there's someone else going around breaking people's hearts? This is some very bad news, indeed."

"Right," Roland agreed. So much for his broken heart being of natural causes, he thought.

"Ye can be sayin' that again," Batu seconded.

"Higgle," the two higgledies added, somehow managing to look very solemn.

"And we still have no idea if the Mystery Man had to break his restraint to fill his heart with darkness, like," said Lofty. "Or if he filled his heart with darkness and that broke his restraint."

"But even if we did know, we've yet to find anyone with the extra restraint we need to fix it," Evan added.

"Yes we have, mun! Who has more restraint than Niall?"

"You could've said so earlier," Tani complained. "Now we'll have to go all the way back to Niall to get it."

"Actually? It might be best to return to Niall anyway to bring him up to date with what we've found," said Roland. "He might even be able to give us some advice on what to do next; I'm afraid all of this is a little out of my league otherwise."

Ya Ya stood. "Very well. While you return to Niall, I will conduct my own investigation into the matter of the rigged dice myself. Thank you all for bringing this to my attention and… and motivating me to take action."

"I would tread carefully if I were you," Roland cautioned. "We don't know the full extent of what's going on, and more importantly we don't know why."

She looked down her nose at him, her expression becoming a light frown of disdain. "Young man, I was serving in the capacity of Second Roller while you were still going through puberty. You need not lecture me on the subject of discretion."

"Of course," he replied neutrally but with a hint of amusement, as the others stifled chuckles though for different reasons. Going through puberty indeed. "I meant no offence."

"The journey from Niall's forest took us over a day te complete," said Batu. "If the winds are not bein' with us, it may by takin' us as many as three days, maybe four te travel there n'back."

"If you made use of the waystone at the entrance to Goldpaw, that would certainly cut down the travel time of your return journey," Ya Ya observed.

"There was a waystone at the entrance?" Aranella queried. "We must've have missed it."

"We were hungry and tired," Evan pointed out.

"That's true. Not that it matters as I'm afraid none of us have knowledge of the requisite spell to make use of it… or at least…" She glanced at the Sky Pirates. "So I assume…"

"The Travel spell? Aye," Batu replied. "I be afraid that none o'us be knowin' it either. We'ave spell casters among us like any other, but very few. We not be a very magical people ye see."

"Well, your lack of knowledge is easily rectified," said Ya Ya. "Is at least one of your party magically inclined?"

"I am," said Evan. "Though I'm still learning."

"Worry not, Your Majesty, the Travel spell is a simple spell to master. And it will be a simple matter for you to learn." She pulled out an old tome from one of the bookshelves lining the wall and flipped to the correct page, she then took out a blank sheet of paper, wetted an ink quill and copied out the instructions. She blew on it to speed up the drying process before handing it over. "Here you are."

"Oh, thank you, Lady Ya Ya," he said earnestly.

She smiled. "Of course, it is no trouble. I also have another spell that you may find useful – the residents of our protectorate of Capstan-Upon-Hull certainly do. It's called the Wind Whipper spell. It calls forth a gust of wind in a direction of your choosing."

"Ah, that be most helpful indeed," Batu commented. "That'll send the skimmers flyin' back to Niall's forest."

"Aye," Chingis agreed. "It be a shame the rest o'us will not be able te make use o'it." Batu hummed in response.

"Before you go casting it however, you should note that it is not a spell that can change the weather, so it would be of no use in already stormy or blustery conditions," Ya Ya explained.

"I understand," said Evan.

She flipped to the correct page, made a copy of the spell and handed it over. "Now then. Is that everything?"

They exchanged looks. "I think so…"

"We were pretty lucky that you were in while Master Pugnacious was out today," said Roland. "But I don't think we can count on being so lucky a second time upon our return."

Ya Ya assumed a thoughtful posture. "Hmm. It will be difficult to arrange a rendezvous time considering the uncertainty of your outward journey. So I suppose there will be nothing for it. Upon your return to Goldpaw, instruct the gatekeeper that you are here to see me and I will make my excuses and leave. As for what those excuses will be, well… that will be for me to come up with."

"That leaves us with heading back to Niall, and you looking for more answers here."

"You mentioned a source earlier. Would I be correct in assuming that this source is one Mr Bradley Summers? And that he is the one who supplied Master Pugnacious with the technology?"

"It might be better for you to ask him yourself."

"I plan to."

"All right then, I think that really is everything now."

"We'd best be shakin' a leg," said Batu. "Even with a favourable wind, we still be'avin' a long journey ahead o'us."

Ya Ya escorted them back to the throne room. "Captain. I am heading into Goldpaw. Should Master Pugnacious return before I do, please inform him that something came up and that I am dealing with it."

Ya Pi looked mildly confused. "Yes, of course, Lady Ya Ya. What should I say is the matter that came up?"

"You will say that it was nothing that I couldn't handle and that he is not to be concerned. I will see that Master Pugnacious is brought up to date on the matter myself when I return."

"I see." He shot Evan's party a look. "As you command, my Lady."

"Very good." She escorted them down the entrance hall to the exit. "Safe travels, Your Majesty," she said and bowed before taking her leave.

"Let's get some supplies and visit the waystone before we head off," said Roland. Judging from what had been said, he guessed that the waystone was some kind of magic marker stone that facilitated fast travel in conjunction with the Travel spell. And acquiring one of these stones for the Kingdom to Come would definitely be something to put on their to-do list, he thought, if they were even possible to acquire.

"Right," they chorused. So they split up, Evan, Lofty, Tani and the higgledies with Aranella to gather supplies and Roland with Batu and Chingis to collect the skimmers from Lady Pekingese and walk them down to the entrance.

There by the guardhouse was something that he guessed to be the waystone. It was a small but clearly manmade standing stone. It glowed with a soft, blue light and bore a decorative symbol that as best he could describe appeared to be some kind of cauldron or other container spitting three streaks of… light? Something anyway. Whatever it was supposed to represent he could only guess at, and it looked out of place next to Goldpaw's extravagance. He wanted to say that it looked very old, but it was well-tended to, as not a single patch of the waystone's surface was blemished with either moss or lichen. Batu touched it first. The symbol glowed a brilliant blue and the pirate was enveloped in an explosion of gold light. Wordlessly, Chingis touched it next and then it was Roland's turn. When he removed his hand he felt inexplicably refreshed. Not the same kind of refreshed as a good night's sleep but… not far off either… It was hard to describe. "Batu. Did you have one of these at the Base? I don't recall seeing one."

"That might be on account o'us not carin' fer it as well these mateys'ere," Batu replied. "With it bein' dusty in the Canyon an'all, it were gatherin' a new layer o'dust everyday. But whether it be spotless or not, it be functionin' jus'the same so eventually we stopped seein' the point."

"Fair enough. What did you do with it?"

"It were' far too'eavy te carry by sky skimmer, so it were left be'ind."

"Hmm. Maybe we can put together a retrieval party to move it down to our new kingdom."

"Aye. Maybe we can. But if luck be on our side, there may be one te be recovered from the Old Ruins."

"I guess we'll see." He also wanted to ask who made them, but thought it more than likely that even those from Broadleaf would know the answer. The whole mythology aspect of broken hearts was one thing, waystones were still very much in use. He'd have to be content to wait until he could bring it up with either Aranella or Evan. Speaking of Evan, he and the others appeared shortly after. They attuned themselves to the waystone and then everyone assembled on their assigned skimmers with their respective pilots – Evan, Lofty and higgledies with Tani, Aranella with Batu and Roland with Chingis.

"All right, lad," said Batu. "Show us that new spell o'yours."

"A-all right." Evan consulted the instructions before calling forth his wand and drawing the casting rune for the Wind Whipper spell. The rune hung in the air before him for a moment before the wind picked up, gusting in the direction of Niall's forest. The higgledies cheered.

"Well done, lad. If this'olds up it'll be carryin' us a ways afore nightfall." They gunned their engines and were off.

One of the reasons for Goldpaw not being as memorable as the other kingdoms I feel, is that it's missing a character who functions in the same way as Leander and Bracken, so I fixed it. You can blame Doloran for that as well. :p