Chapter 11

The portal closed behind them as Ronin looked out around him to his first other-realm visit. They stood on large, openplains of grasslands on a crisp, clean sunny day. A soft breeze blew at them and reminded Ronin of summer days near his childhood home in Washington State. The soft, pleasant scent of lilac wafted with the breeze. Off to the left were some ruins that were being rebuilt by some local people and a couple of huts to the right that looked big enough to be the sleeping quarters of the work crew. Edenians were human in appearance, but from the references that he had read about, Ronin knew them to be exceptionally long-lived humans, as the 10,000 plus year old Bo Rai Cho could attest to. He could see an outdoor kitchen facility near the hut with the biggest living being he had ever seen in his life working with all four of his arms, 'probably preparing for the next meal time', Ronin thought to himself.

Ronin and Kung Lao walked toward the kitchen and its twelve foot tall, four armed chef. The cook had a reddish brown skin tone with black tiger stripes on his back when Ronin felt a tensing from behind him. He looked to see Kung Lao steeling himself for battle. Ronin asked: "What are you doing Kung?"He said: "Lord, that is the Shokan, Kintaro. He and all other Shokan are the historic enemies of the Edenians and the Earth Realm since their ruler, Goro was allied with Shang Tsung." Ronin said: "I read in the journal that my predecessor left me that he helped negotiate a peace treaty between Kitana and Goro. In fact, before Goro's death prior to the forming of the Deadly Alliance, he and Kitana actually became friends so perhaps you should relax and give the Shokan people a fair chance before judging them."

Kung Lao winced at the gentle rebuke and said: "Yes Lord. You are right. I must remember not to judge a whole people on the actions of their rulers." As the two travelers got within earshot, they heard the cook singing quietly to himself, quiet to him maybe, but loud enough to be heard clearly by the two humans. It sounded like a ballad though the language was unknown to either Ronin or to Kung Lao. Ronin spoke first: "Greetings Kintaro. Could you please tell me how to find Princess Kitana?"

The Shokan stopped what he was doing and turned around to literally look down at the, to him, diminutive humans standing in front of him. His voice, when he answered was a pleasant bass without being too deep, and carried a cultured accent to it that seemed out of place in someone so big. "I don't know you mortal," he said to Ronin. Looking behind Ronin to Kung Lao, he said: "But you, human, I know you. I never forget a face." The Shokan stepped around a food preparation surface that was scaled to his height, and facing Kung Lao, executed a flawless bow, using both sets of hands in the same type of position that Kung Lao himself used "Or as highly skilled an opponent," the being named Kintaro said.

Dumbfounded by the show of respect when he had been expecting an invitation to kombat, Kung Lao stood there a moment before returning the gesture. Kintaro stepped back around to his cooking as he said: "I haven't seen Queen Kitana since she granted me pardon for my crimes against her and her people. I know she can usually be found in her palace which lays several days' journey to the southeast, but other than that, I can't help you. I'm sorry." Ronin said: "Thank you. That is more information than we had. How do you and Kung Lao know each other? If you don't mind my asking that is?"

Kintaro, concentrated on his recipe a moment, added some spices, tasted his soup and mumbled: "Almost there." He turned to face the two as he began kneading some bread dough and said: "I first saw Kung Lao at a pre-kombat feast, a few years ago. When I did face him, in the tournament, he defeated me in the opening round yet chose to grant me mercy. After that, I went from job to job until I was assigned to act as warden to a prison facility in the 'ass end of beyond' as you humans say, and forgotten." Kung Lao asked: "How did you end up here?" Kintaro answered: "I took up cooking to pass the time and came to like it versus fighting on thecommand of dictators like Shao Kahn. After Kahn's demise at the hands of the Deadly Alliance, I freed the prisoners who were their unfairly in the first place, and left it behind."

Kintaro continued on: "Again I wandered from place to place, job to job when a mob found me. I didn't want to fight anymore but the mob knew my face and history. They nearly killed me by sheer weight of numbers, when a contingent of palace guard came to investigate the disturbance. They identified me as a wanted criminal and got them to stand off. I had hurt several of the mob in self-defense, no fatalities, thanks be to Raiden, and hauled away to the palace dungeons. I don't know how long I was there but I wasn't mistreated. I requested an audience with Queen Kitana, plead my case and was granted a pardon. I've been the cook for this work crew for many months now and have become friends with them all."

Kintaro's narrative stopped there. When Ronin and Kung Lao turned to the sound of crumbling stone, they saw some of the ruined roofing start to collapse. Beyond thought of danger, Ronin teleported to the center of the worksite to see some of the workers huddle in the center as the roof fell in on them. Using his lightning bolt attack, he blasted several of the smaller pieces to dust, as the center section fell in one big chunk. Not knowing if he could or not, Ronin brace himself as he launched into the air and caught the piece. Weighing several tons, even as a god, Ronin felt the weight as it pushed him to the ground. Redoubling his efforts, he braced the chunk over his head. The workers had seen everything to this point as Ronin managed to say: "This . . . is really . . . really . . . heavy. Can you . . . hurry it . . . along and . . . move?"

By this time, Kung Lao and Kintaro both, had run over and entered the collapsing structure to get the workers out. As Kung Lao, ran out with the last man, he yelled out: "CLEAR THE AREA!" Taking that as his sign to get out, Ronin teleported again to the safety of the outside just as the roof smashed to the ground with a resounding crash.He reappeared next to Kung Lao who was already helping Kintaro administer first aid to the injured.

Fortunately, there were no deaths among the workers. Just cuts and scrapes. Kintaro as it turned out, was a competent field medic as well as cook despite his awesome appearance. When all the scrapes were cleaned, the cuts bandaged, Kintaro took a moment to ask: "Just who are you human? Now that I notice, there is an unmistakable air of power about you. The way you teleported and threw lightning . . . only Raiden could do that and you don't look like him." Ronin said: "Actually, I am Raiden, just a different person filling the office."

At the mention of his god-name, one of the workers overheard and exclaimed "Raiden!" and dropped to his knees in a posture of worship. Other voices took up the announcement until the whole work crew were on their knees. Suddenly and acutely uncomfortable with the attitude of worship, Ronin said: "Please, everyone, rise and look on me. I appreciate the thought, but I don't require it." The workers started to stand one-by-one until they were all standing when Kintaro said: "While I know nothing of Raiden being an office, I do know what I saw and what it marks you as to me. May I offer you and your companion a meal as recompense for your aid, Lord Raiden?" Ronin looked to Kung Lao a moment, saw a slight nod, and said: "We would be honored to join you Kintaro. Thank you for the invitation."

Dinner was served and while simple fare, was no less an excellent meal than could be had in Ronin's palace. After dinner was cleared away, the workers all gathered around a large fire and brought out some musical instruments and began the nightly entertainment. The instruments, while appearing to be a variety of simple woodwinds, percussion and string, produced a startlingly rich and diverse sound. The songs were of course unfamiliar to Kung Lao and Ronin but were no less wonderful. This went on into the night until the crew left the fire pit and went to the shelter of their hut. Kung Lao and Ronin were both tired from the unexpected excitement of the day and accepted the offer to stay there for the night.