Ash stood next one of Eden’s wells, vigorously scrubbing a green blanket against a washboard. With a satisfied smile, he stretched his sore muscles, then wrung the water free. Since Khukri was busy with Miyoko, Ash had a chance to explore all Eden had to offer. As Conall indicated, there was a large off-limits building in an open field surrounded by guard towers. It wasn’t somewhere he intended to go... but that large open field seemed like a perfect place to hang a clothesline.
As he added his newest blanket to the long line gently flapping in the evening breeze, Conall led a group past him to the mystery building. After dropping them off, he doubled back. The monk adjusted his sash, smiling as he approached. “Very nicely done, Ashling.”
It wasn’t until Ash started wearing the monk robes that he noticed how often Connall adjusted them. True, they were a bit revealing on one side. Ash added an unbuttoned shirt to the robes to cover his back for exactly that reason, but it was a far cry from the island wraps... or the nothing most of Eden preferred. “Thanks Conall… hey, I know not to go there, but can you tell me what that building’s for?” Ash asked, nodding toward the distant structure.
“Many things. Some private, some not. I promise, if it ever has anything to do with you, I’ll let you know,” Conall said apologetically. “Thank you for your help today. I'll mark a hundred florins off the cost of your lodging for your efforts… Will you be seeking more chores tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure…” Ash said, brow furrowed. “I need to leave on business as soon as my girls get back… could I let you know in the morning?”
“Of course.” Conall gave a small, conciliatory bow.
After thanking his host, Ash retrieved his washbasin and waddled through the compound, giving residents polite smiles as he went. Back on the island, Ash thought he was isolated because he was an outsider, but it seemed that his solitude was a universal constant.
When he reached the house, a wide grin filled his face. Khukri knelt beside the door, tail thrashing madly as she stared at him, while Miyoko knelt on the other side with downcast eyes. After setting the basin down, he pulled Khukri to her feet and buried himself in her arms, drinking in the feel and smell of the girl he loved nestling eagerly against him.
When he finally broke away, she beamed, waving a triumphant arm to the cowering girl. “Master, I’ve retrieved Miyoko and explained to her why she was bad. I don’t think any further punishment is necessary, so long as we set proper boundaries.”
Ash grimaced. As much as he didn’t like Khukri’s methods, it was becoming quickly apparent that his own were woefully lacking. He needed to find some kind of compromise—harsh enough to prevent people from taking advantage of him, but without Khukri’s more… eccentric touch.
“I had the cage delivered while you were gone,” Ash said, crouching to look Miyoko over. The poor thing was still emaciated, with the outline of her ribs and collarbone raising the skin from her body. With his permission, Khukri had stopped at a blacksmith and fitted Miyoko with slave bracelets; metal rings around her wrists with a notch for tethering them to something else, or each other. They appeared to be similar to her collar... without the indecipherable markings the Azure Syndicate used in place of letters. His gaze swept along, settling on the girl’s arm. “She’s wounded…” Ash murmured, gently lifting her wrist to inspect the infected bite just above her elbow.
“She tried to kill me,” Khukri explained apologetically. “She got a knife from a hideout in the woods.”
“I’m sorry, Master…” Miyoko mumbled, keeping her eyes on the ground. Then she flinched as her stomach released a long groan of protest.
Ash’s horrified eyes jumped back to Khukri. “Have you been feeding her?”
“Food is a privilege for good girls,” Khukri said, meeting his gaze without a hint of remorse. “No one is entitled to your kindness. That’s something people need to earn, otherwise they won’t learn respect.”
As much as Ash wanted to argue, this was the second time Khukri had to clean up his mistake. “Maybe you deserve to starve for a few more days,” Ash bluffed, glaring at the rabbit. “Maybe then you’ll behave yourself.” He grabbed Miyoko’s collar and pulled her forward, forcing the girl to look at him. Her big black eyes trembled, though in fear or rage he couldn’t tell. “Convince me I'm wrong,” he ordered.
“Please, Master…” Miyoko said without hesitation, an edge of desperation in her voice. “Please don’t let me starve, Master. I’m so hungry… I promise I won’t disobey again.”
For a long moment he held her, as though somehow he could discern her sincerity. He couldn’t, of course, but it wouldn’t make a difference if she was lying. A proper knight always showed mercy to those he had power over.
His fist uncurled, allowing Miyoko’s head to drop. Khukri would likely still think him weak, but hopefully the display was enough to show he understood his failures. Trust and kindness may have convinced Khukri and Issac to back him in his hour of need, but if Issac had been like Rowan, or Khukri like Miyoko, his adventure would’ve ended in The Direwood.
“I’m going to the Petals to make a pot of mushroom broth,” Ash announced, rising and turning his attention to Khukri. “Secure her in her cage, water the strawberry bush, then meet me there.”
“She could join us, Master.” Khukri offered, dragging Miyoko to her feet. “I’m sure she’d be happy to show you how grateful she is for your forgiveness.”
There was a seductive undertone to Khukri’s voice, one that usually served as an invitation to her body, though Ash could never put his finger on how exactly he sensed it. Hell, maybe it was all in his head, and he was exactly the monster Miyoko feared. It was one thing when he lost control in bed with Khukri. For better or worse, the girl seemed to not only tolerate his inexplicable aggression, but revel in it. Miyoko though… He still remembered her cowering beneath him, requesting gentleness, and the monumental restraint it took to pull back. He’d shivered in anticipation at the time; reveled in her fear and helplessness as he planned to take her however he liked. In hindsight, that lust no longer filled him with delight, but disgust.
“No,” he grumbled, turning to the Petals so he wouldn’t have to see Miyoko. “We’re getting low on money, and we need to be ready for whatever tomorrow throws at us. We’ll handle the food. She’ll rest in her cage.” Ash briskly walked away, making it clear his was the final word on the matter.
* * *
The trip through Azure Junction was easier with a guide. Instead of stumbling around looking at everything, Ash kept his head down and followed Miyoko through the crowded streets. Despite his simple travel attire hiding his lupine tail, they still managed to draw attention… or, Khukri did, anyway.
It was his fault, given that he’d kept Khukri in her expensive armour, while leaving Miyoko in the more discreet black shirt and pants he’d gained from her ‘burrow.’ Ash inwardly cursed at the turning heads and curious expressions of those he passed. He’d have covered Khukri up more, but in the warming spring air, even Ash’s cotton clothes were enough to make him uncomfortably warm. It made little sense to protect the poor girl from arrows and blades, only to have her drop dead from heatstroke.
This time, they exited the maze of vendor stalls far from the ARC and made a beeline directly for the city’s edge. Blue roofs towered above the distant fortress wall stretching across the canyon - their target. Ash hurried after Miyoko, eager to see this ‘Azure Syndicate.’
Soon they reached the pavilion filled with rabbit-girls dropping off and picking up strange wooden packs. Miyoko stopped and threw a tentative glance his way. “Uh… Master? Did you want me to grab one?”
Ash hesitated, moving closer as he dropped his voice. “Like… Steal one?”
“No…” Miyoko blinked, pointing to one of the women in white robes behind a table with dozens of packs in a line. As before, the woman stopped another rabbit-girl, looked inside her ear, then scribbled something down. After that, the girl who had her ear checked picked up the next pack in line and rushed out of the pavilion, picking up speed as she zipped toward the gate in the distance. “I have an ASN, they’ll give me a package, then when we get to the gate they’ll give me… They’ll give you ten florins.”
That was what this was? Ash turned in place, jaw falling at the hundreds of tables with packages getting dropped off and picked up. “Wouldn’t it be easier to use a wagon? You could take fifty packages at a time.”
“They do, sometimes,” Miyoko admitted. “In theory, a package could get from here to the Tsu Empire in two days on the backs of forty different girls, but if you want to use a pass big enough for wagons, it’ll take weeks. They built a lot of tunnels and narrow mountain passes as shortcuts during the war, and supply runners started charging for express delivery. At some point an executive company took over, and now anytime someone moves from one checkpoint to another, they can grab a pack for spending money.”
As inviting as ten florins was, Ash had enough new experiences lined up for one day. With a shake of his head, he passed Miyoko and led his girls onto a field, staying on the grass far from the worn dirt paths girls zipped down. “What stops them from just… keeping the package?”
Miyoko hurried to his side. “They match the sending and receiving ASN’s at the end of the night. If you’re on the sending list and not the receiving one, your ASN gets flagged. It only takes a few days before ASN checkpoints start turning you over to metsukes.”
Idly, Ash watched the girls move down the roads in either direction, blurred legs kicking up small clouds of dust as they passed. Despite the speed, it still seemed a waste to have fifty people doing what a single aibax and a sturdy wagon could manage. As the next one flew past, he felt a stab of sympathy for Lenn. No wonder the man had to travel so far to get his own customers.
It took an hour trailing the dust clouds before Ash reached the gate. It was even more imposing up close. From here, the sapphire-blue roof tiles were propped up too far on the massive wall to see. The fortress blockaded the canyon with a mountainous wall of wood Ash speculated used to populate the empty stretch between here and Azure Junction.
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Miyoko forged ahead, leading them to one of the lines of rabbit girls dotting the structure’s base. To Ash’s relief, it didn’t take long, with a girl going through every thirty seconds or so. When it was their turn, Ash stepped through the wooden door into some sort of stone tunnel beneath the fortress. Upon Miyoko’s approach, an elderly rabbit-boy wearing the familiar white robe barely looked up as he grabbed her ear. He expressionlessly flipped through a book, made a note, then waved her through. His hand was already halfway to Ash before he hesitated, then waved them forward. “Go on then, welcome to the Azure Syndicate.”
The tunnel spat them out into a bizarre city beyond the fortress. Mountains to either side were shaved into flat stone walls, providing more room for a forest of square wooden towers that rose three stories before flaring out into blue tiled roofs. The city was a buzz of speech and laughter, with voices talking over each other into a blended cacophony.
Khukri’s warning growl snapped Ash from his daze and spiked his heart rate, though that settled once he realized it wasn’t for him. Having correctly interpreted the warning, Miyoko scurried back with an irritated grumble. “Sorry… Err, I mean… I’m sorry, Master. I thought you were right behind me.”
“It’s like the strip,” Ash muttered, turning his eyes skyward to admire the hundreds of towers blanketing the canyon.
“The material and construction are better… But otherwise, yeah,” Khukri agreed. “Still too many people though.”
Ash’s eyes lowered to the street bisected by three railings. On either side, hundreds of rabbits milled about in outfits ranging from brown robes and straw hats to attention-grabbing multicoloured outfits. Some moved with silent purpose, walking briskly past others who lounged on the building’s faces, loudly relaxing with friends. Most barely seemed to notice each other, even when they passed within a few feet. Between the railings, girls zipped down the centre at high speeds, most with a wooden pack in tow.
“Goddess help me… there’s so many…” Ash muttered, unconsciously taking a step back. “There must be more rabbits than deer…”
“I doubt it,” Miyoko said, thoroughly unimpressed and waiting for Ash to stop gawking. “There’s not a lot of places to live, so Azure animals tend to cluster. Tythic, on the other hand? Lots of room to spread out and set up farms.”
“Sorry,” Ash mumbled, pulling his eyes from the swarm.
“Don’t be. Anyone under a mercenary contract can leave, and anyone under an executive contract can cry themselves to sleep on a big pile of money.” Miyoko rolled her eyes. “It’s not even like I’m attached. I’ve only lived here a few years.”
Ash followed Miyoko through the sea of life, flinching uncomfortably anytime someone drew close. After five minutes a hand fell onto his shoulder and made him jump. “Relax, Master,” Khukri assured. “I’ll protect you.”
After another twenty minutes of tense marching down the canyon, Miyoko approached a building with two doors—one normal and one much larger, presumably for carriages… assuming one could safely navigate the tide of fur and flesh.
Moments before entering, Miyoko hesitated and folded her hands on her stomach. “This is it, Master. I worked with these people for years. Assuming they didn’t leave in the last three months, they can get you anything you need.”
“Master…” Khukri warned. “Are you sure you want to do this? They might not take kindly to you owning their friend, even if legally you’re in the right.”
“They’re not friends,” Miyoko spat, unconsciously fiddling with an ear. “They were coworkers. You get sentimental here, you’re just asking for trouble. Your money means more to them than my freedom ever would.”
“Relax, Khukri,” Ash assured. “We’re not getting very far without a good broker, but if they get hostile, we’ll leave.”
Ash pushed the door aside and escaped from the furry chaos into a far quieter venue. The large room had a long red carpet with a table in the centre, flanked by two couches. On one sat a short, heavyset rabbit-girl with black fur, and on the other, a muscled rabbit-girl with brown fur and giant ears who boasted a build a full head taller.
The black rabbit was the first to move, hopping to her feet and staring open-mouthed. “Ghost? You’re alive?”
The muscled girl rose to her full height next, sporting a set of leather armour Ash would’ve found impressive before his excursion to The Direwood. Her orange and black eyes swept over them, settling on Khukri for a long moment before she set a hand on the smaller one’s shoulder. “Aoi,” she warned, “It appears we have guests.”
Aoi’s gaze settled on Miyoko’s collar, then turned hard as it redirected to Ash. “So we do… what brings you here, Stranger?”
“Business,” Ash said quickly. “I need a broker, and Miyoko said you guys got stuff done.”
“Miyoko?” Aoi asked, eyes widening in shock.
The larger, brown rabbit sighed and turned to a set of stairs that led to a small door on the second level. “Say nothing, Aoi. I’ll get Hotaru.”
Miyoko’s ears folded back as she slouched. “Aoi, I’ll explain later, but this is my… master… and he’ll be calling me Miyoko since that’s what my ASN says.”
“Your ASN?” A look of confusion and disgust clouded her face. “I guess you didn’t get away after all...”
Another voice, an older one filled with authority, rang out from atop the stairs. “If Ghost got caught doing something, we wouldn’t have any idea what that was.” The room grew silent and Aoi’s gaze dropped to the floor as her jaw stiffened. The speaker was a rabbit-girl in her twilight years, with messy white and brown fur and ears that hung down to her waist. She leaped from the top stair to the ground floor, suspicious eyes moving from Miyoko to Ash as she rose from a crouch. “Ghost I know, but this is the first time we’ve met.”
“Ashling,” Ash said, holding a hand out with a polite smile. “As I’ve said, I’m in need of a broker.”
The woman’s hard eyes bore into him, but when he refused to flinch, she reluctantly shook his hand. “I’m Hotaru… I run this company. We’d be happy to honour any law-abiding request.” A strange stipulation to add… not the stipulation itself mind you, just the fact that the woman needed to state it. Hotaru’s gaze drifted back to Miyoko, who cringed slightly at the attention. “I can set you up with a broker immediately, provided you don’t mind if I have a word with your slave in private.”
Khukri growled uneasily, an emotion that rapidly spread throughout the room. “Shush, Khukri,” Ash admonished, turning his attention to the rabbit at his side. “Miyoko? Are you alright going with her?”
She turned, looking at him like he was an idiot. Well, at least he was familiar with that one.
“That’s settled then,” Hotaru said, turning to the stairs. “Sean! Get your ass out here! You have a client!” As Miyoko and Hotaru made their way up the stairs, another door on the ground floor opened, one that led to the barn doors out front if Ash wasn’t mistaken.
A male deer about Ash’s age… presumably named Sean, walked through the door and met Ash’s eyes with a surprised, but professional, stare. The man wore a slimming red dress, and unlike most of Miyoko’s old coworkers, had expertly removed his winter coat. He shut the door and sauntered across the room, pausing for a moment to glance at Khukri before offering Ash his hand. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a deer-boy client. Sean.”
“Ashling.” It took a second for Ash to catch up, then he hastily shook the hand and retreated to the couch. “Khukri, sit.” His seat rocked slightly as the wolf bounded over the back and landed next to him, eagerly curling into his chest to let him pet her. Ash smiled as his fingers slid possessively through her fur and over her ears. Of the approaches he’d tried, this seemed to be the fastest way to get people to understand Khukri wasn’t going to hurt them. “Good girl,” Ash mumbled, eliciting a pleased rumble from her throat.
“…Lovely,” Sean said, sitting across from Ash, pointedly ignoring Aoi’s urgent stares. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you need a broker for?”
“For starters, I’ve just returned from a season hunting in The Direwood and I have a cargo hold I need to unload.”
Sean’s face became serious. “I see. Aoi, could you grab a paper? I’m going to need to confirm the quantity and quality before I can sell those. Where’s the cargo being stored?”
“It’s still aboard my ship in Isle Point.” Ash hesitated. It occurred to him that with enough time and Khukri’s help, it might be possible to track down his stolen books… but what was the point? He’d read those so many times he could practically recite the issues from memory. “I’d also like issues 92 through 100 of ‘The Wolf Queen’”
Instantly, Sean’s eyes darkened. “And… you’re living in Tythic?”
Khukri turned about in Ash’s lap so her head faced Sean while they spoke, then she stretched and let out a long yawn that revealed all her teeth. With a gentle hand, Ash rubbed the side of her head and beneath her chin, trying to remind her that she could come across as threatening if she wasn’t careful. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“On this side of the border, no,” Sean warily admitted. “I’m familiar with the series… and that It’s been banned in Tythic since the coup.” At the mention of the book’s dubious legality, both Aoi and her muscled friend’s mood soured.
“I spent the hunting season up north,” Ash explained, patting Khukri’s neck for emphasis. “I made landfall less than a week ago, and spent most of that traveling here. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“The new queen made a few edicts once she was in power. One of them was to ban a bunch of foreign books for the-” Sean cleared his throat and straightened his posture for a moment- “safety and protection of our children, culture, and national identity.”
“That’s fine…” Ash grumbled absently. While frustrating, this wouldn’t be a major problem. Surely he could find a place on this side of the gate to read them. “It’s allowed in the Azure Syndicate though?”
Sean sighed, accepting a paper from Aoi and smoothing it out on the table. “I know a few people who can get you authenticated fan copies, although the price has risen since the ban.” He hesitated. “Well, except for issue 98, obviously.”
From what Ash remembered, Deianira had said something about issue 99 and 100 being false. It couldn’t be a coincidence that there was a problem with issue 98. “Why not that one?”
“Problems with authentication,” Sean said, pressing a quill to the page. “Back when the book came out there was a big stink about it. Every authentication submission got rejected. There was an entire case where a guy with a copy from the publisher and an unbroken seal from the Queen of Sibir was rejected for authentication. Eventually a syndicate lord had to check the authentication copy themselves.”
Ash frowned. There was a concerning amount of drama around this supposed ‘simple adventure series.’ “How did they know the authentication copy was legitimate?”
“The syndicate lords were accusing a queen of lying; obviously they checked their copy hadn’t been switched.” Sean was engrossed in his letter now; quickly scribbling something in that strange Azure alphabet. “Executives have contracts on the first edition of any book from Dusk Empire publishing houses, just like Tythic’s royal library. After a formal request to the royal family, they discovered the two matched.”
“Library?” Moments after the words passed Ash’s lips, Khukri’s teeth pinched his thigh through the fabric. Right, right, stop asking questions that everyone knows the answers to. I’m sorry, alright? He stared down suspicious looks from the others, but held firm until they answered.
“It’s a big repository of books held by the government,” Sean finally said, setting his quill back in the inkwell. “People who are authorized can go in and read them for free.”
Ash blinked in disbelief. That… that was exactly what he needed! The Wolf Queen was his holy book, and the only clue to the quest Deianira expected him to accomplish once he became a knight. With stakes that high, any risk of error was too much. If he wanted to know for sure, he’d need to visit the library and read the original. “I know what a library is…” Ash lied, feigning indignance. “I was wondering if they’d still have a copy, given it was banned.”
“Oh…” Sean said, sheepishly retrieving his quill. “Well, the case was a while ago, but the library’s always been pretty independent given how proud the whitetails are of it. Plus, a first edition in pristine condition isn’t cheap, so I can’t see them just burning it. No way to know for sure without checking for yourself, though. Which means us peasants are out of luck unless some royal is willing to lend out their library card."
A smirk twitched on Ash’s face as a stupid idea came together. “They give library cards to royalty? Like, all royalty? Even the ones pretty far down on the list?”
Sean made a final stroke, then sat back and wiped off the tip of his quill with a small cloth, raising a curious eyebrow. “Yes, why? You know someone in the new government who has a card?”
“Not yet,” Ash mused, “but I might know where I can find one.”