Chapter 17:
Reasons Without Reason
The Emperor's guards brought the Blades in one by one. Some came in on their own two feet, but others, like Minsc, were carried by pairs of soldiers and deposited roughly on the floor. All of the m were bound, even those that weren't conscious., as if the guards knew that even incapacitated the Blades were still dangerous. It was the sort of precaution that careful, capable men take to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Obviously the Emperor had more invested in whatever it was he was doing than met the eye.
Seven people followed the Blades. The first five, one man and four women, Brynn had never seen before. The man was horribly scarred and was missing one eye, but aside from that he seemed to be fit and trim, though his hair was graying somewhat at the temples. The eldest of the four women was probably about the same age as her male companion. She was quite beautiful, and held herself in such a way that she seemed at the same time very self-confident and properly demure. The other three women looked more than a decade younger than their two compatriots, and Brynn guessed that they were in their late twenties, maybe their early thirties. Two of them were identical twins, and all of them could have been sisters, though the third seemed a little off; a little too child-like perhaps.
She would have gone on considering the fourth woman, but when she caught sight of the last two people to enter the room she felt her heart nearly come to a halt in her chest. Touga and Yukiko were unbound, walking as if they belonged in this place, and no guards shadowed their steps. Brynn looked imploringly at her Master, asking him with her eyes what was going on, but as soon as he caught her gaze he looked away, as if ashamed. That was what sealed it. For some reason Touga had betrayed her and the rest of the Blades, otherwise why would he be unbound? Now she desperately wanted to know why he had done it. Why would her Master, a man she had known for nearly half of her life, betray her to someone she had thought was their mutual enemy?
"Excellent," the Emperor said, jogging Brynn out of her thoughts, "Our guests have arrived. Asako-san, go see if any of them has need of your attention; some look a bit worse for wear. " Asako stood up and bowed, then walked sedately over to the injured Blades. While she checked them, the Emperor continued, "I imagine you are all somewhat surprised, and I do apologize for the circumstances that necessitated this dishonest conduct, but admittedly, it was you who began it in the first place."
Imoen rolled her eyes and glared at him, saying, "Oh yeah, sure, we started it so it's okay to..." The guard nearest Imoen backhanded her sharply across the cheek, and she fell silent, stunned by the blow.
"I know you are Barbarians, however, your rudeness will not be tolerated, and will in fact be punished accordingly, though I grant you some leniency for your ignorance," the Emperor said coldly. "Now I wonder if I should even explain to you why I have brought you here at all, instead of having you killed in accordance with the law as I should have. Nevertheless, I am a benevolent man, so I shall put my doubts aside and be honest with you as to my purposes and intent. I will be brief, so as not to addle ineffective Barbarian minds. Touga-san, perhaps you should begin, and I will continue where you leave off."
"As you wish, Your Highness," Touga said, bowing deeply. "Please believe me when I say that it was not my original intent to have matters progress in thie manner," he began, looking at Brynn as he spoke. "I was honest when I told you that I wished to free Yukiko-san from her imprisonment, even if I did not reveal all the details of the situation. When I returned to this land after leaving Candlekeep, I was disheartened by the corruption that had become rampant in the Shogun's regime. I sought out Yukiko-san and found that she was working with a faction of men and women who wanted to take power from the Shogun and return it to the Emperor. Last year, Yukiko-san was caught, and only the Emperor's direct intervention saved her from execution. If she had bee a lower-ranking member of our cause it would not have been a great hardship to lose her, but she was an important part of our plans, and there was necessary information that only she knew. The Shogun suspected something, and so none of our men were able to speak to her before she was sent to the prison island, and so I returned to the one person I thought would be capable of accomplishing her rescue. That would be you, little one," he nodded at Brynn. "I did not expect you to want to your friends to come, nor did I expect to find him, now he glared at Yoshimo, "to be there either."
"So this is all my fault?" Brynn demanded, unable to keep silent any longer. "You could have been honest with me, and none of this nonsense would have been necessary! Didn't you think you could trust me? By the Gods, Master, you were like a father to me and..."
"Now, now, let us save that for later," the Emperor interrupted her. "I believe it is my turn to speak. Originally I was unaware of the growing number of my people that wasnted me to rule this land in more than just name, but my dear cousin alerted me to the facts soon after she joined the movement. It made sense for me to rule as my ancestors had; my divine birth gave me the right. However, there are men who refuse to acknowledge my rights, preferring instead to try and hold on to their power, though in the end it will prove their downfall." He turned to Brynn, smiling beneficently. "Now, Brynn-san, when Touga-san first proposed that he bring his Barbarian student here to help him rescue my cousin I was hesitant to allow it. He quickly changed my mind by telling me something of your past. It seems we have a great deal in common, you and I, for both of us are born of divine blood. I was eager to meet you, and arranged to visit the prison island on the day that you arrived. I must say that I was impressed with your skill. You are truly a superb fighter, worthy of your master and your heritage. I had you brought her so that I could keep and eye on you, and draw your companions to me as well, since I am under the impression that their skills are not less than your own. Now that I have you all here, I have a proposal for you. With your help the war that is coming to my lands would be shortened drastically, for I have no doubt that you and your companions are the equal of small armies. Join my cause and you will be greatly rewarded. I personally guarantee that none of you will be subject to the laws that would otherwise forbid your presence here in my empire." He looked at Yoshimo, "And further more I guarantee that those of you who have already found yourselves on the wrong side of the law here will be pardoned for your crimes."
It was all a little too much for Brynn; Touga's betrayal, hearing that he had known about her heritage before, and that on top of the biting ache from her wounds, made her dizzy with rage. She wondered what gave the Emperor the gall to ask her to help him after putting her through an emotional hell for the past fifteen days. She felt a rare sort of anger fill her. This, she relaized, was no the sort of anger that would fade with time, nore was it the sort of anger that could be assuage by apologies, and it wasn't the sort of anger that allowed for forgiveness. She looked at her friends, Imoen, Khalid, Jahiera, Aerie, Dynaheir, Minsc and Nalia all unconscious, their clothes bloodied and torn around their hastily treated wounds, Yoshimo, Haer'Dalis, Anomen and Jan all bound hand and foot, gags preventing the last three from attempting to cast spells. No their would be no forgiveness from her, not even to the man that had rasied her in cooperation with Gorion, developing her body as the sage developed her mind.
"How dare you," she said, her voice low and dangerous. She got her feet despite a sharp jolt of pain in her leg. "How dare you?" She turned and stared the Emperor down, and his eyes widened with surprise. "I've played your games," she went on, her lip twisting into a disgusted snarl, "not because I wanted to, or because I liked you, but because you threatened me. I played your games because I didn't want to be a cripple for the rest of my life and because I wanted to know why you kept me alive for so long, not because I had any respect for you. Damn you and your so- called honor, your worthless rules -your arrogance! You claim to share some sort of kinship with me because we were both born of the blood of Gods, but yet you treat me like a toy, a thing to amuse you! You insolent little piece of shit! How dare you? I may not be the result of centuries of inbreeding and pompous, elitist snobbery, but I'm one up on you in one respect: I'm not so far down the bloodline that the first of my divine, mortal ancestors is nothing but a legend. My father was the God of Murder, and if I had so desired I could have taken my place on his throne of blood and bones. For all that your armies might defeat me in battle you will never be able to claim that!"
Never before had she taken pride in her heritage, and she didn't exactly feel proud of it at the moment, per se, but she wanted to wipe that smug look off the Emperor's soft face. She hadn't faced down death again and again to be treated like crap by some pampered, conniving wretch. She was satisfied to see the Emperor's smooth exterior fall away for a moment, replaced by a look of horror, his mouth rounded into a little O of surprise.
The mask slipped back on again soon enough. His eyes went cold as ice, hard as steel, and he said, "Kill them all, starting with the thief."
Now it was Brynn's turn to feel horror as she suddenly understood just what releasing her pent up anger would corst her. She turned around and saw he armed guard by Yoshimo raise up his katana, and though, I can't lose him again! She started to move, but firsta piercing shriek filled the air.
"You can't hurt Yoshimo-kun!" A strange aura fell over one of the three women at the back of the room and coalesced in the shape of a black, fire-wreathed arrow that flew across the room and strunk the guard in the chest, right over the heart. None of the lacquer on the guards' brillian armor was even chipped by the magic arrow, but a moment later his face was frozen forever in the same expression it had been when he realized his entire body was being turned to stone.
All hell then proceeded to break loose on a scale hitherto unknown in the entirety of the Empire of Wa.
Reasons Without Reason
The Emperor's guards brought the Blades in one by one. Some came in on their own two feet, but others, like Minsc, were carried by pairs of soldiers and deposited roughly on the floor. All of the m were bound, even those that weren't conscious., as if the guards knew that even incapacitated the Blades were still dangerous. It was the sort of precaution that careful, capable men take to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Obviously the Emperor had more invested in whatever it was he was doing than met the eye.
Seven people followed the Blades. The first five, one man and four women, Brynn had never seen before. The man was horribly scarred and was missing one eye, but aside from that he seemed to be fit and trim, though his hair was graying somewhat at the temples. The eldest of the four women was probably about the same age as her male companion. She was quite beautiful, and held herself in such a way that she seemed at the same time very self-confident and properly demure. The other three women looked more than a decade younger than their two compatriots, and Brynn guessed that they were in their late twenties, maybe their early thirties. Two of them were identical twins, and all of them could have been sisters, though the third seemed a little off; a little too child-like perhaps.
She would have gone on considering the fourth woman, but when she caught sight of the last two people to enter the room she felt her heart nearly come to a halt in her chest. Touga and Yukiko were unbound, walking as if they belonged in this place, and no guards shadowed their steps. Brynn looked imploringly at her Master, asking him with her eyes what was going on, but as soon as he caught her gaze he looked away, as if ashamed. That was what sealed it. For some reason Touga had betrayed her and the rest of the Blades, otherwise why would he be unbound? Now she desperately wanted to know why he had done it. Why would her Master, a man she had known for nearly half of her life, betray her to someone she had thought was their mutual enemy?
"Excellent," the Emperor said, jogging Brynn out of her thoughts, "Our guests have arrived. Asako-san, go see if any of them has need of your attention; some look a bit worse for wear. " Asako stood up and bowed, then walked sedately over to the injured Blades. While she checked them, the Emperor continued, "I imagine you are all somewhat surprised, and I do apologize for the circumstances that necessitated this dishonest conduct, but admittedly, it was you who began it in the first place."
Imoen rolled her eyes and glared at him, saying, "Oh yeah, sure, we started it so it's okay to..." The guard nearest Imoen backhanded her sharply across the cheek, and she fell silent, stunned by the blow.
"I know you are Barbarians, however, your rudeness will not be tolerated, and will in fact be punished accordingly, though I grant you some leniency for your ignorance," the Emperor said coldly. "Now I wonder if I should even explain to you why I have brought you here at all, instead of having you killed in accordance with the law as I should have. Nevertheless, I am a benevolent man, so I shall put my doubts aside and be honest with you as to my purposes and intent. I will be brief, so as not to addle ineffective Barbarian minds. Touga-san, perhaps you should begin, and I will continue where you leave off."
"As you wish, Your Highness," Touga said, bowing deeply. "Please believe me when I say that it was not my original intent to have matters progress in thie manner," he began, looking at Brynn as he spoke. "I was honest when I told you that I wished to free Yukiko-san from her imprisonment, even if I did not reveal all the details of the situation. When I returned to this land after leaving Candlekeep, I was disheartened by the corruption that had become rampant in the Shogun's regime. I sought out Yukiko-san and found that she was working with a faction of men and women who wanted to take power from the Shogun and return it to the Emperor. Last year, Yukiko-san was caught, and only the Emperor's direct intervention saved her from execution. If she had bee a lower-ranking member of our cause it would not have been a great hardship to lose her, but she was an important part of our plans, and there was necessary information that only she knew. The Shogun suspected something, and so none of our men were able to speak to her before she was sent to the prison island, and so I returned to the one person I thought would be capable of accomplishing her rescue. That would be you, little one," he nodded at Brynn. "I did not expect you to want to your friends to come, nor did I expect to find him, now he glared at Yoshimo, "to be there either."
"So this is all my fault?" Brynn demanded, unable to keep silent any longer. "You could have been honest with me, and none of this nonsense would have been necessary! Didn't you think you could trust me? By the Gods, Master, you were like a father to me and..."
"Now, now, let us save that for later," the Emperor interrupted her. "I believe it is my turn to speak. Originally I was unaware of the growing number of my people that wasnted me to rule this land in more than just name, but my dear cousin alerted me to the facts soon after she joined the movement. It made sense for me to rule as my ancestors had; my divine birth gave me the right. However, there are men who refuse to acknowledge my rights, preferring instead to try and hold on to their power, though in the end it will prove their downfall." He turned to Brynn, smiling beneficently. "Now, Brynn-san, when Touga-san first proposed that he bring his Barbarian student here to help him rescue my cousin I was hesitant to allow it. He quickly changed my mind by telling me something of your past. It seems we have a great deal in common, you and I, for both of us are born of divine blood. I was eager to meet you, and arranged to visit the prison island on the day that you arrived. I must say that I was impressed with your skill. You are truly a superb fighter, worthy of your master and your heritage. I had you brought her so that I could keep and eye on you, and draw your companions to me as well, since I am under the impression that their skills are not less than your own. Now that I have you all here, I have a proposal for you. With your help the war that is coming to my lands would be shortened drastically, for I have no doubt that you and your companions are the equal of small armies. Join my cause and you will be greatly rewarded. I personally guarantee that none of you will be subject to the laws that would otherwise forbid your presence here in my empire." He looked at Yoshimo, "And further more I guarantee that those of you who have already found yourselves on the wrong side of the law here will be pardoned for your crimes."
It was all a little too much for Brynn; Touga's betrayal, hearing that he had known about her heritage before, and that on top of the biting ache from her wounds, made her dizzy with rage. She wondered what gave the Emperor the gall to ask her to help him after putting her through an emotional hell for the past fifteen days. She felt a rare sort of anger fill her. This, she relaized, was no the sort of anger that would fade with time, nore was it the sort of anger that could be assuage by apologies, and it wasn't the sort of anger that allowed for forgiveness. She looked at her friends, Imoen, Khalid, Jahiera, Aerie, Dynaheir, Minsc and Nalia all unconscious, their clothes bloodied and torn around their hastily treated wounds, Yoshimo, Haer'Dalis, Anomen and Jan all bound hand and foot, gags preventing the last three from attempting to cast spells. No their would be no forgiveness from her, not even to the man that had rasied her in cooperation with Gorion, developing her body as the sage developed her mind.
"How dare you," she said, her voice low and dangerous. She got her feet despite a sharp jolt of pain in her leg. "How dare you?" She turned and stared the Emperor down, and his eyes widened with surprise. "I've played your games," she went on, her lip twisting into a disgusted snarl, "not because I wanted to, or because I liked you, but because you threatened me. I played your games because I didn't want to be a cripple for the rest of my life and because I wanted to know why you kept me alive for so long, not because I had any respect for you. Damn you and your so- called honor, your worthless rules -your arrogance! You claim to share some sort of kinship with me because we were both born of the blood of Gods, but yet you treat me like a toy, a thing to amuse you! You insolent little piece of shit! How dare you? I may not be the result of centuries of inbreeding and pompous, elitist snobbery, but I'm one up on you in one respect: I'm not so far down the bloodline that the first of my divine, mortal ancestors is nothing but a legend. My father was the God of Murder, and if I had so desired I could have taken my place on his throne of blood and bones. For all that your armies might defeat me in battle you will never be able to claim that!"
Never before had she taken pride in her heritage, and she didn't exactly feel proud of it at the moment, per se, but she wanted to wipe that smug look off the Emperor's soft face. She hadn't faced down death again and again to be treated like crap by some pampered, conniving wretch. She was satisfied to see the Emperor's smooth exterior fall away for a moment, replaced by a look of horror, his mouth rounded into a little O of surprise.
The mask slipped back on again soon enough. His eyes went cold as ice, hard as steel, and he said, "Kill them all, starting with the thief."
Now it was Brynn's turn to feel horror as she suddenly understood just what releasing her pent up anger would corst her. She turned around and saw he armed guard by Yoshimo raise up his katana, and though, I can't lose him again! She started to move, but firsta piercing shriek filled the air.
"You can't hurt Yoshimo-kun!" A strange aura fell over one of the three women at the back of the room and coalesced in the shape of a black, fire-wreathed arrow that flew across the room and strunk the guard in the chest, right over the heart. None of the lacquer on the guards' brillian armor was even chipped by the magic arrow, but a moment later his face was frozen forever in the same expression it had been when he realized his entire body was being turned to stone.
All hell then proceeded to break loose on a scale hitherto unknown in the entirety of the Empire of Wa.