Chapter 16 - An Unlikely Ally

Plumes of smoke rose from the workshops and foundries of Issei’s markets, carried by the wind to loom over the city’s Serenican Quarter like an ever-present gray haze. Bits of ash often stuck to the walls and streets of the district, adding to the claustrophobia of its buildings, which were so densely packed together that privacy was often a luxury here. One couldn’t move more than a few meters without bumping into another, and the neighborhood was a chaotic mismatch of architectural styles, from the local pagoda-style apartment complexes, to the dark and angular stone buildings of a more Serenican style, it was neighborhoods like these that gave The City of Exiles its name.

Many of the district’s residents were refugees from Serenica, a supposedly once great kingdom to the west, now embroiled in a centuries long war against an ever-growing demonic horde. Many of the Serenicans here were Tieflings, who fled to escape persecution brought on by generations of war with the Infernals.

The Serenican Quarter was a community of the desperate. Outside of the Serenicans, many native to Issei and the Jade Sea would find themselves trapped here if they fell on hard times. The Syndicate and its Guilds rarely ventured into this part of the city outside of their search for fodder or cheap labor.

So when Tendo and the Order of the Spared established a temple here, they quickly became a ray of hope for the district’s people. Every day, a long line of the desperate and hungry stretched out from the temple grounds, and rounding entire city blocks, just for a bowl of curry and a warm place to sleep.

It wouldn’t have been Akaja’s first choice as a place to hide, but it was as good an option as any. She traded her old leathers for some simple robes and Yukiko had bought her some concoction that dyed her hair a platinum blond. Tendo had even given her a new name for the time being: “Sister Yuni.” All in the name of laying low.

Now, instead of spending her days mulling about the city, she stood by a pair of large pots, scooping up rice and curry for the seemingly endless line of people that came through the temple. The acolytes at the temple were nice enough to her, and everyone seemed to be proud of what they were doing. Even Akaja felt a warmth in her heart whenever she scooped up food for a wide-eyed little girl or boy.

“Sorry… excuse me!” Tendo nuzzled his way through the crowd. “Sister Yuni! How are you?”

“Well enough,” Akaja murmured. “Does this line ever end?”

“So long as there are people willing to help, there will always be people who need help.” Tendo said with a smile. “And we usually close the kitchen come sundown. Acolytes such as your self need the break, and it gives us time to prep the kitchen for tomorrow. Speaking of a break… I need to have a word with you and Andros. It involves… you know who…”

“Right…” Akaja let out a sigh of relief. She had been working since dawn and now the sun was beginning to set.

Tendo led her towards the back of the temple, where he and Andros had been setting up a small classroom. So far, there were a handful of chairs, even fewer desks, and a few chalkboards strewn about the room. Their plan was to open a small schoolhouse to teach the local children how to read and do basic arithmetic. Skills that Tendo was confident would be crucial in improving the community.

Andros appeared to be focused on trying to find the best layout for the classroom. Moving around various pieces of furniture with an almost manic focus. “Tendo!” He said as they entered. “We’re dangerously low on suitable reading material…”

“What do you mean? I’ve given you plenty of scrolls, tomes, and other things.”

“Well,” Andros continued. “Most of what you’ve given me to stock the classroom library are… philosophical treatises? Ethical texts? Essays on the moral implications of this and that, various transcribed debates between various philosophers and political figures…”

“The content in those works is valuable in the modern age. In addition to spreading literacy across Issei, I believe we also have a responsibility to ensure the moral future of the city as well. The works of Lao Shu and Shanarah Rhindau are especially central to-“

“Tendo…”

“Yeah?”

“The purpose of this classroom is to educate young children, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Many of these children are illiterate, or don’t speak the common tongue…”

“That’s correct.”

“You don’t think ‘moral relativity’ and ‘metaphysics’ are a little too complicated for children? You even have existentialist works in here!”

“I think it’s good that we expose them to a diverse selection of viewpoints an-“

“Tendo,” Andros said with a sigh. “I don’t think they’ll grasp the concepts.”

“You’ll probably just bore the poor kids to death,” Akaja said. “I have no idea what the things Andros just mentioned are, but can’t you give them… I don’t know… folk tales? Like the one involving the fox and the raccoon with the giant balls, or the thing about the giant peach. And be sure to include plenty of drawings, too!”

“Akaja is right,” Andros added.

“Yuki’s mother is a hot-shot writer too,” Akaja continued. “I’m sure she’d be more than happy to donate.”

“I see…” Tendo frowned in thought. “I suppose a shift to cultural enrichment would be beneficial as well.”

“Sure?” Akaja cleared her through. “Alright! Before you big-heads get to off topic. What did you call me in for?”

“Oh, right!” Tendo smiled. “There’s just one tiny little thing I want to mention before you begin your interrogations. I know you both have your mission, but… I really would prefer you to not make it a habit of bringing prisoners back to the Temple? This is a place of healing and learning, not a prison. Promise me Xue is the last one?”

“I promise,” Andros said. “No more prisoners.”

“We’ll just kill them next time,” Akaja teased.

Tendo stared at her, mouth agape, his pale silver skin somehow turning a bit paler.

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“Akaja!” Andros sighed.

“Joking!” Akaja said with a giggle. “We’ll find another place for them. Don’t you worry!”

“Thank you…” Tendo took in a deep breath, and exhaled, eyes closed, as he quickly calmed himself down. “Xue is out with some of the acolytes picking up groceries for tomorrow’s meals. She should be back by the time you’re finished questioning Talai.”

“Excuse me?” Akaja glared at the Dark Elf. “You let her go? Why would you do that?”

“Me, Andros, and Xue have a history together,” Tendo explained. “We’re old friends, and it just felt… wrong keeping a friend locked up. How would you feel if I asked you to keep Yukiko tied up in a room for a few days?”

“Yukiko never did anything that led to me being TORTURED,” Akaja argued. “And she’s also not in a relationship with the man who killed my-“ She trailed off, then sighed. “How do you know she won’t just go crawling back to Suzaku Castle? You could have a squadron of samurai on your doorstep at any minute!”

“Because I trust her,” Tendo explained. “Both Andros and I have spoken to her extensively over the past few days. She shows great remorse and shame for the situation she’s in.”

“I also cast a spell on her while she wasn’t looking,” Andros said. “If she leaves the district, we’ll know.”

“For a bunch of scholars, you both are so stupid,” Akaja murmured with a sigh.

“Regardless,” Tendo said. “She will be returning to us later tonight. I’m also having my acolytes watch her as well. Just… please promise me that you will use ethical means of questioning? No physical or psychological torture? No cruel or unusual punishments?”

Akaja frowned, then let out a long sigh. “Fine… we’ll be good.” She nudged Andros and gave him a wink.

The man rolled his eyes. “He’s done a lot for us, you know?” Andros said softly. “Can you at least do this one thing for him?”

They both arrived at the door to the small room where Talai was being held. A series of intricately drawn runes ensured the door couldn’t be opened inside. The room itself was both cramped and barren. Barely large enough to allow the three of them to stand in comfortably, with only a bed and a small nightstand as furniture. A small window allowed a minuscule amount of natural lighting in the room.

Talai herself, despite being a prisoner for five days, appeared clean and presentable. Tendo had given her fresh clothes during her stay here, as well as daily access to a bath if she desired it. A pair of lead bracers were locked around her wrists, disabling any magic she attempted to cast.

Her treatment here annoyed Akaja somewhat. This was the same woman who locked her in a dark dungeon, chained to a wall, for nearly a week. On top of that, she tortured her with cruel magics! Yet here she was, not looking like absolute shit, sitting comfortably on a soft bed, and eating a bowl of curry.

Talai’s Elven ears twitched as they entered. “Well, well… I was wondering when you would pay me a visit.”

“Shut up!” Akaja snapped. “I hope that curry is impossibly spicy! So spicy, in fact, that you’ll get terrible indigestion.”

“I actually prefer my curry on the spicier side,” Talai commented. “I prefer spicy foods, in general.” She let out a long sigh before setting her bowl on the nightstand.

“Tendo appears to be treating you well,” Andros said.

“He’s quite the gentleman, wouldn’t you agree?” Talai said with a smirk. “Is he single?”

“Actually, yes-“

“Don’t humor her, Andros!” Akaja said, crossing her arms. “Anyway… we’re here to ask you a few questions.”

“I figured…” Talai said. “Very well.”

“Before we do,” Andros pulled a card from his coat. He held it out in front of him and watched as it began to hover just above his palm, before suddenly shattering like many pieces of glass.

A small spectral tower, around Andros’ height, suddenly appeared in the center of the room, shining a radiant silver light that engulfed the whole room, before slowly fading away into nothingness.

“What color is your hair?” Andros asked.

“Red,” Talai answered.

“Akaja… tell me two truths and a lie.”

“Uhm… okay?” Akaja scratched her head. “I robbed Andros… I have a shellfish allergy, and…” She suddenly found herself unable to speak, the words refusing the form in the back of her throat. It felt as if somebody were choking her, but she could still breathe. “What the…”

“I have imbued the room is a spell that makes it physically impossible to tell a lie,” Andros explained. “Now let’s begin the questioning…”

“Right…” Akaja cleared her throat. “Who hired you?”

Talai frowned. “An Orc fellow. Big, green, and handsome. His arms were covered in tattoos. I forget his name, but he was Syndicate.”

Andros nodded. “What was your mission?”

“Capture Akaja, and procure a confession related to the murder of the last Admiral…” Talai said. “He wanted a written confession. Signed. The contents of the confession were already written. All I had to do was get Akaja to sign it.”

“And what were the contents of this confession?” Andros asked.

“An acknowledgment that she murdered the Admiral, and she did so at the behest of the Yanjing. The motive being her recent spat with the Admiral, and that this inspired her to work with foreign agents.”

“The Yanjing?” Akaja asked.

“The Emperor’s Eyes,” Talai explained. “Imperial agents and spies. They’re regarded as a sort of boogeymen in the Empire.”

Akaja frowned. “But why? Framing me for murder is one thing, but why try to connect me with the Imperials?”

“The Admiral has been sending ships and samurai northward,” Andros mused. “Close to Imperial waters. Perhaps he’s trying to justify an all out war? But why… if the Imperials sent their full might down here, they would sweep through the Jade Sea.”

Talai seemed to shift uncomfortably.

“Have something to say?” Akaja asked.

She shook her head.

“Didn’t Xue say he was trying to cut a deal with the Empire?” Akaja asked. “Or something…”

“She did say that,” Andros said. “Talai, do you have any idea why the confession mentions the Empire?”

“They did not pay me to ask questions,” she answered.

“This is getting complicated…” Akaja murmured. “We could just kill him.”

“And bring the whole Syndicate down on us?” Andros shook his head. “No… better we expose whatever he’s doing. What if he’s not the only head on his hydra? Anyway… I think we’ve got all the information we need from her. Talai, if we were to free you right now… what would you do?”

Talai fell into silence for some time. “I… will have to report this to my mistress.”

“Your mistress?” Akaja raised a curious eyebrow.

“The Pallid Lady, we call her. It appears I’ve been caught up in some conspiracy involving the Empire.”

“The Pallid Lady?” Andros asked. “’We?’ What are you talking about?”

“Simply put… we are a group of people that really despise the Empire. I can arrange a meeting with her if you like.”

“And why should we trust you and this ‘Pallid Lady?’” Akaja asked.

“If this conspiracy is truly entwined with the Empire, then I have a responsibility to put an end to it,” Talai gritted her teeth. “Allow me to assist you… I can arrange a meeting with the Pallid Lady. I know you may have reservations about that given our… history, but if you plan to go against the Syndicate, then you will need allies, yes?”

“It’s not a bad lead…” Andros murmured.

“What?” Akaja scoffed. “You’re not seriously considering agreeing to this?

“I don’t trust her completely either,” Andros said. “But I think its at least worth looking into. Plus, she’s physically incapable of lying right now. How soon can you arrange this meeting, Talai?”

“If you release me now, then at least within the next few days. You have my word.”

Akaja glared at Andros. This woman almost killed them earlier this week! But then again… she was only doing what they hired her to do. If it weren’t for Kazuki, none of them would even be in the situation in the first place.

“I understand this is asking a lot from you,” Andros said, turning to Akaja. “So, let’s get input from the rest of the group. We’re planning on meeting up to consolidate all our information tomorrow, anyway.”

Akaja let out a long sigh. “Fine…”

“Good,” Andros said with a nod. “We’ll have an answer for you tomorrow night, Talai. I appreciate your cooperation.”