~~~ Chapter 8: Servants of the Gods ~~~

Location Unknown
Date Unknown

Kasumi Mizushima awoke slowly, feeling the reassuring firmness of a proper bamboo mattress through the bed's padding. There was incense in the air, faint but pervasive, and she could hear a low chanting from somewhere close by. It was bright, even with her eyes closed, a warm and steady radiance. Sunlight, perhaps? She opened her eyes, cautiously, and looked around.

A small chamber, though not a spartan one. Her bed was lined with sheets of Elonian cotton, threadbare but well cared for, and ringed on three sides with red sandalwood carved in a geometric lattice. The floor was sturdy bamboo, well worn and meticulously cleaned; the walls treated wood, sanded to near smoothness. Sunlight poured through the open window. Opposite the bed stood a writing desk in the traditional style; on it she could see an inkwell, a bottle of calligraphy ink, midnight black, and a set of brushes, neatly arranged by size and stiffness of bristle. On a low table beside the desk was a pile of scrolls, rice paper backed with vellum.

A scholar's bedroom and study, then, and one with a curious juxtaposition of luxury and minimalism. She sat up, carefully, and frowned at the complete absence of pain. She'd been pretty beat up, even before the golem, from her sojourn through the ruins. And when the golem exploded- Kasumi shook her head. She was lucky to have survived that particular miscalculation. It seemed the gods still watched over her after all.

The gods owed her that much, and more. Starting with some answers.

At any rate, she wasn't going to find those answers lying in bed. She stood, walked to the panelled sliding door, and- It rattled, but remained firmly in place. Kasumi blinked in confusion. Was there some clever latch, like the Ascalons were fond of using with those impractical swinging doors? Not that she could see, and- There. Yes, the door was definitely secured from the other side. She was beginning to grow tired of waking up in sealed rooms.

Well, nominally sealed. She walked over to the window. Apparently the room overlooked a small crop garden, carefully tended rows of some unrecognized grain. Sorghum, maybe, or millet. Or maybe not; somehow in all her travels she'd never quite gotten around to learning agriculture. Hadn't gotten her killed yet.

Although in retrospect, a little crop knowledge probably could have told her the season, at least. Missed opportunities.

The garden was useless, then. The window, not so much. No latch, let alone bars or other fixtures. A completely unsecured window. On the first floor. Whoever was responsible for locking her in here clearly wasn't very good at their job. Assuming it was their job to begin with - this wasn't exactly a cell, after all. Maybe someone was improvising. Badly.

Kasumi decided to wait for her hapless captor to show his or her hand. It might be an opportunity for some answers. Failing that, she rather doubted she would have any serious difficulty leaving, with or without a head start. Besides, she suspected she'd actually feel bad about just walking out. Whoever had set this up had clearly put some effort into it all, and it seemed churlish to disappoint them.

In the mean time, it looked like she had some waiting to do. She stepped back over to the desk, and-

The door rattled, and she turned as it slid smoothly open, revealing a man in what looked vaguely like cleric's robes. A devotee of Dwayna, judging by the blue trim and saffron threading, although the cut was unfamiliar. Not to mention unflattering; on second thought, not mentioning unflattering was probably a wise decision anyway.

At least he made an effort to look friendly. "I see that you're finally awake." His tone was warm, if a bit gravelly, and Kasumi thought she noted more than a hint of barely concealed strain in his voice and an unaccounted tightness amid the age-worn lines of his face. The friendliness wasn't entirely an act, but he was hiding something. "You've been asleep for three days. How do you feel?"

Three days? Not unheard of, for a deep healing, but not exactly common either. Still, those words at least rang with honesty, and Kasumi managed a smile. "Better than I would have, I'm sure." She stretched her arms experimentally. "I assume I have you to thank for not waking up in the underworld."

The monk harrumphed. "Impressive collection of scars you have, young lady. I take it this is not the first time you have woken in a healer's care."

True, although waking in a warm bed had added a pleasant bit of novelty to the procedure. Kasumi shrugged fractionally. "I've had worse."

The monk raised an eyebrow. "Worse than how I found you? The gods must watch over you to have survived such a thing."

"I have...had some highly skilled companions. Enough so to get me through a few close calls." All but one, of course. Kasumi unconsciously traced a line from thigh to breastbone, scarred by the betrayer's spirit blade in the courthouse square. That time, all the healers in Cantha could not have made a difference. Yet the envoys sent her back to wage war on one of their own.

Just as well. Twice she'd walked the underworld in the service of Grenth. She wasn't particularly eager to return as an inmate.

And on that note...Kasumi bowed deeply. "Thank you, respected monk, for your aid. I fear I have nothing but questions to offer in thanks."

The monk chuckled. "Age before beauty, I fear. Tell me, what were you doing in the ruins?"

He was direct, at least, but the strain was definitely back in his voice. Had she violated some taboo, perhaps? Wasn't exactly her fault, of course, but she'd learned that cool logic tended to be of little use when stepping on other people's superstitions. "I got lost," she said finally. An obvious lie, but without knowing more about the state of the empire she couldn't put together anything more convincing.

"Lost. Of course. And I suppose you just happened to wander into the old imperial shrines."

Kasumi tried a winsome smile. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you I wandered out of them."

He chuckled again. "Hardly. You were lucky indeed that the old guardian construct broke down when it did. It's set to kill intruders on sight."

Kasumi grimaced. "I noticed. Not very hospitable of you." She reached up to her scalp and felt a raised scar from that last fall. Funny. She didn't feel lucky at all.

The monk shrugged. "No matter. Dealing with trespassers is not my responsibility, although I'll have to petition the Ministry to assign a few guards. It would hardly do to allow grave robbers to ransack what remains of the imperial tombs."

"I take it letting me go back to the shrines would be out of the question. I have a few questions for the gods, as it were."

"I'm afraid not. You're welcome to wander the monastery here, but I must insist you not leave." The monk paused. "Besides, the gods have not answered our prayers in centuries. Why would yours be any different?"

Centuries. The word struck her like one of Argo's meteors. Unexpectedly her legs wobbled, and she sat abruptly on the bed. The monk stepped forward solicitously. "Dizziness? Headache? You took quite the blow to the head; such things can sometimes leave lasting damage without proper care."

Kasumi waved him off, her mind whirling. Centuries. That was impossible, of course. She didn't feel a day older than- when? She wasn't sure what she last remembered before awakening in the tombs. Still... "What...what year is it?" she managed to ask.

The monk frowned. "Loss of memory is not uncommon. It will return to you in time."

Kasumi stood abruptly and grasped the monk's habit by the neck, pulling him in close. "What. Year. Is. It," she grated out.

The monk merely shook his head. "I'm sorry, I cannot answer any of your questions. My instructions were quite clear."

"Instructions? From who?"

The monk raised an eyebrow. "Was that a question, child?"

Kasumi released his collar with a snarl. Damned fool monk didn't know enough to be intimidated. Even if he did- She could probably take him down, trash the room, maybe even the entire monastery, and she doubted he would be any more inclined to answer. Besides, he had saved her life. If nothing else, she was pretty sure that had been the truth. Smashing her way out would be a poor repayment for his kindness.

"Very well. You will not answer my questions, and you will not permit me to leave. I wonder if you are permitted to give me a tour."

The monk smiled. "Cleverly phrased. Very well; if you'll follow me, I'll show you around our humble home."

Kasumi sat surrounded by the gardens, her eyes closed, feeling the late afternoon sun warm her face and listening to the chirp and warble of birdsong. She couldn't remember the last time she had just sat, and let the world pass around her. Always some new adventure to explore, or some dire crisis to defuse. She tended to forget that it was these moments that made life worth fighting for in the first place.

Of course, without her, there wouldn't be many quiet moments for anyone. The gods had granted her many gifts, but peace had not been among them.

It seemed the gods had not been kind to the monks of this place, either. The stone bench had been delicately carved, once, but worn smooth by wind and rain and generations of cassocks. The walls once pristine stonework were a patchwork of masonry and wood-braced earthworks. The contemplative pool was dry, its tiled stones appropriated to patch leaking roofs and line the narrow paths between rows of vegetables. A place of beauty and meditation, converted to a pittance of farmland. It couldn't be enough, not even to feed the scant handful of monks she had seen.

Kasumi opened her eyes and looked over at the old monk seated beside her. The question must have been clear on her face. The monk smiled sadly. "My predecessors' records say that this place was once bursting with life. Dozens of monks lost in contemplation of the divine mysteries, visiting scholars to study a library unmatched across the empire, novices running and playing between their duties. But the gods have been silent too long. Every year, fewer people bring their children to be blessed. Every year, fewer of the injured ask for our healing. Fewer of the devout leave offerings, or make donations to support our ministry. Fewer novices to instruct in the mysteries."

Kasumi blinked in confusion. "But surely the other monasteries can lend aid-"

The monk shook his head. "Child, there are no other monasteries." He stood, and let his gaze pass over the gardens. "Grenth teaches that all things must pass in their time. Some say the gods themselves have passed, and the time has come for their disciples to follow. We few choose instead to keep their memory alive. The Ministry offers to give us what we need, but as long as our backs and our wills are strong, we will serve no masters this side of the Mists."

Kasumi stood, and bowed her head in respect. "I am certain," she said softly, "that such conviction reaches the gods no matter how distant they may become."

The monk smiled. "That is kind of you to say, child. Would that you had come to us under different circumstances. You would have made a fine priestess."

Now there was an amusing notion. Somehow she suspected a priest should spend more time praising the gods than questioning them - or cursing them.

Yes, she'd certainly had her differences with the gods in the past. Still, she couldn't imagine Cantha without them, or their servants. It was good of the Celestial Ministry to offer-

Kasumi frowned. Benevolence and charity weren't exactly traits she'd associate with those puffed-up bureaucrats.

For that matter- "Under different circumstances?"

The monk smiled tightly. "I'm afraid that robbing the Imperial tombs might disqualify you."

Kasumi bristled. A tomb robber? Her? That was- Well, she supposed that technically the Provernic crypts counted, although that was more about the lich than the treasure. Then there was the fallen city of Fahranur, but that didn't count. Either time. It wasn't *supposed* to be filled with the dead. The catacombs of Ascalon, those definitely counted, but she hadn't actually taken anything. For that matter, she hadn't taken anything of value from the Imperial tombs either, not unless her wooden slippers and burial robes qualified as national heirlooms.

Of course, if they really were hers, they just might qualify at that.

She broke from her ruminations with a start as a junior monk entered the garden with rather more haste than might be considered appropriately contemplative. He bowed swiftly. "Master Lim, the Ministry guards-"

Three men and a woman pushed in on the monk's heels, wearing identical white tunics with linked-circle insignia embroidered in gold thread. The woman looked to be the leader, her hand on a sheathed sword in the traditional Canthan style. Two of the others carried ready truncheons, and the last a coil of stout silken rope.

The woman gestured negligently at Kasumi. "She the one?" The old monk nodded, and in Kasumi's moment of shock two of the guards stepped forward to pin her arms behind her, the third already wrapping the rope's silken coils around her wrists as her stunned gaze fell on the upon the old monk.

He shook his head sorrowfully. "We serve no masters but the Gods, but we are no less bound to the law than the lowliest beggar. Confess, and they may grant you a quick death."

Kasumi's shock boiled over into fury. "This is outrageous! I demand a meeting with a magistrate! I demand-"

The woman officer casually backhanded her across the face. "The prisoner will be silent." She sounded bored, and the rational part of Kasumi's mind wondered just how routine these arrests were.

Kasumi felt a drop of blood trickle down from her cut lip and with a mental effort restrained her fury. "I demand to see the Emperor at once."

The officer raised her hand once more, but the other guards laughed, and after a moment the officer quirked her lips in what was almost a smile. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be seeing the Emperor soon." Dark amusement this time. Somehow that didn't feel like an improvement over her prior boredom.

"Child," the old monk said softly, "the Imperial line ended over a century ago. The Ministry rules Cantha."

With the rope tightly binding her wrists and those words echoing in her ears, Kasumi was shoved back through the door to begin her journey as a prisoner.

It was out of respect for the last monks of Cantha that Kasumi waited until her impromptu party was well down the path. They had betrayed her to the Ministry, perhaps, but it didn't seem like they had much choice, and it wouldn't do to wreck their home teaching these overconfident thugs not to underestimate her. Besides, the survivors might accuse the monks of helping her to escape - she suspected there was very little love lost there, and it might look better to their superiors than getting handily defeated by a single unarmed woman.

They had the sense to keep her hands bound, not that it would do them much good. There was far too much slack between her wrists and the guard behind holding her leash, and the two on either side had stowed their truncheons. Only the officer with her sword posed any real danger, and she was too far ahead to support her subordinates in time.

She smiled wryly. After all she had done for the Empire, this wasn't exactly the homecoming procession she figured she deserved.

Kasumi returned her attention to her bonds. A few surreptitious tugs had shown she was unlikely to slip out of the ropes on dexterity alone. Kasumi grimaced. Mai could have untied herself in a heartbeat, or Kisai could have chilled the rope into icy brittleness. She was going to have to improvise.

Ahead, the officer disappeared around one of the path's switchbacks, and Kasumi feigned a stumble, turning and falling hard into the guard on her right. Caught in the middle of his stride, he lost his balance in turn, and staggered off to the side as the guard to her left reached for his club. The latter stepped forward menacingly-

And Kasumi finished her silent incantation in a sudden burst of azure radiance, rending the silken bonds about her wrists into a flaming ruin. Her freed left arm came up to block the falling truncheon, channeling the shock and pain of the blow into her magic as she mouthed another supplication to her ancestors. It was going to be close. The second guard had dropped the remnants of her leash and was reaching for his own truncheon; the third guard behind her was almost certainly back on his feet and coming to the aid of his companions.

The club fell again, and she took the blow on her shoulder to avoid disrupting her ritual. The guard readied his weapon once more-

And from the path's worn cobblestones rose three ghostly figures with unnatural shapes and horrifying visages, the sockets of their eyes blazing with madness. Spirits of anger, hate, and suffering, bound to the earth with chains of raw spirit energy and bound to her service by sheer force of will. The guards before her froze in horror, and she heard a clatter from behind as the third guard's truncheon fell from nerveless fingers.

One of the guards screamed, and with a gesture she loosed her spirits onto her enemies, ghostly hands reaching up to grasp the guards in their deathly embrace. The spirit's touch began to swiftly drain the guards of their vital force, and each collapsed onto the cobblestones as the officer finally rounded the switchback ahead, sword in hand and bloodlust in her eyes. Kasumi focused her will and summoned binding chains of spirit energy, and with a negligent gesture wrapped them about the charging warrior.

The officer fell hard onto the cobblestones almost at Kasumi's feet, her arms and legs painfully bound by the spirit chains, and Kasumi smiled coldly at the reversal of fortunes. "Foolish girl. I cast down the Betrayer. I defeated the lich and sealed the Door of Komalie. Your pathetic excuse for a challenge isn't even deserving of my pity." Kasumi watched the officer struggle for a moment against the chains of otherworldly energy. "It's useless, you know. The more you resist, the more painful the spell becomes. Sooner or later, you'll not be able to move. Shortly thereafter, you'll be unable to breathe." The unearthly moans of her spirits mixed with the fading cries of the other guards. "Of course, once my spirits have finished with their prey, I will let them feed upon you."

"No," the officer choked out. Her breath was ragged from the pain of the spell and the tightness around her chest. "Whatever you want. Anything. Just don't let those...things near me."

Kasumi waved her hand, and the spirits dissipated into the evening breeze. She knelt down and took the woman's sword from where it had fallen. "Is it true, then? Has the Imperial line truly ended?"

The other woman laughed bitterly. "You want a history lesson? Now?" She coughed. "Fine. The last Emperor died over a hundred years ago. The imperial family with him, murdered by demons. The entire palace is a haunted ruin now." She glared up at Kasumi. "But then you'd know that, wouldn't you. Diabolist. You'll never get away with this, you know. The Ministry will find you, and they will burn you alive."

Kasumi shrugged. "The entire Kournan army couldn't manage that. I'll take my chances." She reached down and lifted the officer's chin, then looked down and watched the fire in her eyes slowly fade into resignation. "I'll release the binding chains now if you promise to behave."

The officer was silent for a long moment, then nodded. Kasumi smiled. "You see, I can be reasonable." She waved her hand, and the spirit chains faded into nothingness. "Your guards will live, and as long as you don't do anything stupid you'll all be fine in a few day's time." Her smile faded. "Of course, if you come after me, I'll send my spirits after you. You don't want that, do you?" The officer shook her head vigorously. "Good. I suggest you stay put for a while."

"One other thing. I'm going to need your coin purse." Kasumi smiled again. "I'd say it's the least you can do for the inconvenience you've put me through. Don't you think?"

The officer glared at her once more, but reached into the tunic of her uniform and pulled out a leather bag the size of her palm. She held it out to Kasumi with a grimace. "Anything else?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Not at all. You've been most helpful. I'll be sure to mention how...cooperative you were the next time I run into the Ministry."

Kasumi rose to leave, and then paused. "Actually, there's one more thing you can do for me." It was probably just as well the other woman couldn't see her smile. "I'm going to need your uniform."