“This looks appalling,” Saiyun said, holding up a pair of red and white striped trousers. “It’s indecent too. It would hardly go past my knees.”
Cai let out a long-suffering sigh. “Trust me, no one is going to be staring at your knees.”
Saiyun huffed and put the trousers back. They had spent the entire morning shopping in the marketplace. It was located in the very center of the city and surrounded by a black stone wall. There were many gates, each barely wide enough for a cart to pass through. From what Saiyun could see there were no permanent buildings in the marketplace. Every stall was shaded by a sheet of canvas held up on wooden poles. Some were large enough for several people to walk in and browse, while others were little more than one man with a chest. All of them looked like they could be quickly taken down and moved. Cai had insisted on finding supplies for the ship first, and after that, Tsen’s ink and paper had taken priority. “Aren’t there any other places to look?” he asked, fanning himself in the noon heat.
“Yes!” Cai said brightly. “But you’ll be laughed out of them if you walk in with just two gatl. Clothes either come really cheap or very expensive. This is all you’re going to get.”
“Wonderful,” Saiyun grumbled. Before this disaster began, he had a whole wardrobe of brocaded silks and linen to choose from. His only remaining set of official robes were beginning to reek, and he had no idea how to wash them. Now he would be forced to wear rags unless he wanted to reek as well. He wasn’t sure which was preferable.
“Pale as you are, you’re going to need to keep covered,” Cai said, pointing to a pile of loose, long-sleeved white shirts. "And light too. Striped trousers are what they have, so stripes are what you have to get. Three pairs should last you a good long time. Think about getting a hat too."
“Why?” huffed Saiyun, gritting his teeth and picking up the shirts and trousers.
“To keep the sun off your face,” Cai said, pointing at Saiyun’s headpiece. “Sell that thing too. If you weren’t with me that would have been stolen right off your head by now.”
“Absolutely not,” Saiyun snapped, tucking the pile of clothing under his arm. “This is the last sign of my station that I have left.”
“Make whatever dumb choice you want. Just don’t blame me when you get knocked over the head and it goes missing,” said Cai, throwing up his hands.
Saiyun paid for his new clothes with one gatl and received two bronze coins back. “Thank heaven that’s over,” he said, sighing as he followed Cai out into the street.
“Not yet,” the old man said, keeping a hand on his money purse as they made their way through the market. “Tsen went ahead to get summoning supplies. Hopefully, he hasn't pissed off the shopkeeper too much."
Saiyun mumbled an agreement. Tsen’s bluntness was best in small doses with lots of warning. Since there hadn’t been any guards rushing around, he must have been behaving himself. They wound their way through the streets of the market, shaded by the colorful canvas that covered the stalls. It seemed like everything was on sale here, from spices to knives to clothes. “I think I see him.”
Tsen stood in front of a stall with a very wide selection of silk thread and sewing supplies. He held a piece of thread held taut between his two hands, examining it closely. “Your timing is impeccable,” he said, moving the thread closer to his eyes. “I am almost ready to make a choice.”
“Great,” the irritated shopkeeper mumbled, rocking back and forth in his chair.
“I need to know one more piece of information,” Tsen said, putting the thread aside and turning towards Saiyun. “What summon have you chosen?”
Saiyun took a deep breath. The sheer amount of summons Tsen had access to was both shocking and unhelpful. With so many to choose from, it was impossible to choose. “I have yet to narrow down my list of nine.”
Cai rolled his eyes. “It’s not that hard. Just pick the biggest, nastiest one he has.”
“It’s not that simple,” Tsen and Saiyun said at the same time.
“Perfect, we have two Tsen’s now,” Cai grumbled.
“He is right,” said Tsen, picking up another thread to examine, much to the annoyance of the shopkeeper. “There is much to consider.”
“Larger ones take longer to learn,” Saiyun said, counting off on his fingers. "I also have to take into consideration what its medium is. Solids are the easiest to work with, but since I live on a ship now, they're hard to come by. Air is everywhere, but making an air summon could be beyond my abilities. I already have practice with seawater as a medium, but in an emergency, those are inconvenient because I'd have to throw the doll overboard. The doll is a factor too. A simpler design would take less thread. That's not even taking into account the function of the summon. Combat? Transportation? Scouting? There are many roles one could fill."
“It is a remarkably complicated decision,” said Tsen.
“Well, I’m sorry I had an opinion,” Cai sighed. “Can you just get enough to give you options?”
“Young man,” the shopkeeper said, leaning forward with a grin. “I’d guess you don’t have anything to work with, do you?”
Cai held up his hand before Saiyun could speak. “Plenty of supplies back on the ship. We just need to diversify our stock.”
“Well, you’d be surprised how many Vao lose their kits,” the shopkeeper said, pulling a leather bag with a long strap out from under the stall. “I’ve started stocking these. Everything a Vao needs to get started. A spool of silk, needles, scissors, stuffing, everything. Only four gatl.”
Saiyun’s heart sank. Even before he bought his clothes there wasn’t enough. “Cai, could you—”
“Let me see that bag,” Cai said, snatching it out of the shopkeeper's hands and pawing through it. "Tch, half a spool of silk, bent needles, blunt scissors, and the leather bag is cracked. Might be worth one gatl if you have a generous customer.”
"At that point, I might as well be giving it away for free. Three gatl, but only because I can respect someone who drives a hard bargain,” replied the shopkeeper.
Cai scoffed. “If that’s respect, I’d hate to see what you call scorn. One gatl and two bits of copper. That’s what it’s worth and that’s what I’ll pay.”
“I grow tired of this conversation,” Tsen sighed, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a single gold coin, and dropping it onto the stall. "I require three spools of this thread, four bronze needles, four iron needles, and a pound of stuffing. I assume from the look on your face that will cover my order as well as his."
Saiyun gawked at the coin. It was thick and almost perfectly round with the symbol for ‘prosperity’ stamped into it. “How did you get your hands on one of those? I’ve only ever heard of them.”
"I have traveled long and far," Tsen answered as the shopkeeper raced to get their purchases in order.
Cai rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea how much a gold Prosperity is worth to the right people? You could have bought a ship with that on the north shore.”
“I do not require a ship. I required silk thread and a quick end to this,” Tsen, taking a bag from the shopkeeper.
“Here you are,” the shopkeeper said, beaming as he handed Saiyun the leather bag. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
Saiyun looked over his shoulder and spotted a rolled-up piece of parchment. “What’s that? Do you have summon manuals for sale too?”
“Hm?” the shopkeeper said, following Saiyun’s gaze. "No, that's just a map of the Raoin sea. Used to use it to figure out shipping times, but with all the damn pirates around it might as well be useless."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Two copper bits,” said Saiyun, holding out the dull coins.
“My lucky day,” he grinned, handing over the maps. “I hope the Chuxa of Wealth smiles on you even half as much as he has smiled upon me this day.”
“We have a map on the ship,” Cai said as Saiyun unfurled the map to take a look.
“That’s Bill’s,” Saiyun said, rolling it back up again. “If I ever get separated from you, I’ll need to figure out where I am.”
Cai laughed. “If you ever get separated from us, figuring out where you are will be the least of your problems.”
Saiyun opened his mouth to reply, but the long, deep blow of a horn cut him off. The bustling marketplace went silent as the note faded and a chill ran down Saiyun’s spine. “What was that?” he asked as more horns began to blow.
“No no no, not today!” the shopkeeper snarled, pulling his wares off the shelves and throwing them into a canvas bag.
“What’s happening?” asked Saiyun, as other merchants pulled in their wares amid cries of fear.
“Some ennobled asshole is going to try and take the city again,” the shopkeeper snarled, tying the bulging bag shut. “Whenever someone tries to take the throne, their thugs ransack the marketplace if no one shuts the gates in time. We pay the guard; they better be on their toes this time.”
“Are you saying those horns mean marauding soldiers are coming?” Saiyun said, pointing to the south where more horns were blowing.
“Good luck!” the shopkeeper said, tossing the gold Prosperity into his mouth. He slung the bag over his shoulder and bolted away.
“Oh heavens,” Saiyun said, going pale and grabbing his clothes. “We have to run! Back to the ship!”
Cai grabbed hold of Saiyun’s shoulder before he could go anywhere, calm as can be. “Don’t be hasty. Best to see how this plays out.”
“Yes, the horns have only just blown,” Tsen said, taking a seat in the dirt.
“Did you not hear what he said?” Saiyun said, pointing at the empty stall. "The city is being invaded!" All around them the marketplace slowly went quiet as shops closed and their owners barricaded the doors. All while horns continued to blow.
“That’s not unusual on the south coast,” Cai said, letting go of Saiyun’s shoulder and taking a seat beside Tsen. “This is the best place to be. If we’re out in the streets it will be easy to run us down. If they break into here, there are a lot more tempting targets than us.”
“But what about the rest of the crew? What about Aven and Ji and Yazwa? She’s alone at the temple!” said Saiyun, heart throbbing in his chest.
“And what would you suggest doing about that?” Cai asked, laying down and stretching. “It would be three of us against an army. Nothing to do now but sit and wait.”
-
Hours flew by under the thick stone roof of the fighting pits. Aven leaned back against the bench as another eight-sided battle began. He glanced at Ji, who was hunched forward, eyes locked on the spectacle. Aven smiled at her intense focus, undiminished after more than a dozen bouts. “What do you see?” he asked.
"All armored, all with weapons," she said as the tip of her tail twitched back and forth. "The men with the hooked spear and the trident have the most range, but little armor. One man is covered in chainmail and a face-covering helmet but only has a short sword. Those three are the most dangerous."
“What would you do?” Aven asked, watching as the men inched their way closer to the center of the ring. The one wielding the trident lunged at the man on his right, a quick jab of the spear slipping past his ax and punching through his leather armor. The man screamed and staggered backward, falling out of the ring and on the benches to cheers.
“I would wait,” Ji said, tapping her foot against the ground as the fighters circled again. “I am unarmed, so they would not view me as a threat.”
“Right,” Aven said, giving her a smile that she didn’t see. “Then what?”
Ji cleared her throat. “Once the numbers had been whittled down, I would attack either the man with the trident or the one with the spear if either is left.”
“Why not the armored man?” asked Aven.
"The other two have greater range than me. They are more of a threat. I would wait for them to make a thrust at me and get inside their reach. With no armor, they are vulnerable to my fists. Hard strikes to the Fifth or Sixth Target will drop them," Ji said, eyes darting back and forth.
“What about the armored man?” Aven asked. The fighter in question charged the man with the hooked spear. His armor deflected the thrust and he sliced his opponent's arm open. "He'll be harder to take down."
Ji sat and thought as the crowd cheered on the carnage. “He has the shortest range. Disarm him and pull him to the ground. Twist his arms or choke him until he surrenders.”
The match continued and the armored fighter emerged victorious, sword raised in celebration to the cheering crowd. His opponents were carried off on stretchers to be tended to, moaning in pain. "You're picking this up fast," Aven said as the winner was replaced by the announcer, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“There’s so much to watch,” Ji said, stretching her arms. “I thought I knew how to fight, but this is so different. This must be what the Esgan wanted me to learn out here.”
“New fight soon!” barked one of the pits attendants, walking up and down the stairs between the benches. “New fight soon! Man want?”
Aven sighed, that same attendant had been trying to get them to place wagers ever since they sat down. “No bet.”
“No bet,” the man repeated. “No bet, fight. Man want fight in ring?”
“Did he say we could fight in the ring?” Ji asked, jumping to her feet.
“Yes!” the attendant replied. “Break. Get new fighters. Now crowd fight in ring. Man want fight?”
“Wait,” Aven said, but Ji had already vaulted over the bench in front of them and made for the ringside. Others were filtering down and Aven couldn’t help noticing they were all much bigger than Ji. He chased after her, pushing past the attendant and running down the steps.
“Ji,” Ji said, pointing at her chest as she spoke to the announcer. “No weapons.”
Aven pulled her away from the announcer as others came up. “You can’t just jump in like that. It’s too soon.”
"I've been watching all morning," Ji said, stretching out her legs. "You can't learn from just watching. You should come too!"
“I only fight when I have to,” Aven said, looking up at the ring. There were five very big, very muscled men and one skinny one ambling around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw they had no weapons. "You need more practice before you jump in."
Ji swiveled her head around when she heard her name called. “We’re leaving tomorrow, we won’t have more. Watch me!” she said, bounding into the ring.
“I should have seen this coming,” he groaned, squeezing into a seat by the ringside. The announcer shouted out their names, and Aven examined each in turn. The four big men looked like they handled heavy loads for a living, with muscles swelling their arms. The skinny one had bandages wrapped around his hands and was hopping from foot to foot as the announcer talked. The lack of weapons meant Ji was at an advantage. She could actually win this if she applied what she learned.
The announcer shouted for the fight to start and scurried out of the ring, Ji lifted her right fist to the sky and shouted “My name is Ji and I am an acolyte of En Chitei! I challenge you all!" With that, she sprinted across the sandy floor of the ring and jumped into battle with the skinny man.
Aven let out a groan, so much for applying what she learned. Their fight was brief but intense, with fists flying until Ji managed to land a solid punch to the skinny man’s right kidney. He went down with a gasp, and Ji whipped around, watching the other fighters closely. Aven realized then that there might be some logic in her moves after all. The skinny man, who was now being dragged out of the ring by attendants, was probably the only one nearly as fast as her. Taking him out early put her in a stronger position, but that win showed the rest of the fighters how dangerous she was.
Ji circled, keeping her distance as all eyes were on her. One man advanced, and she attacked, throwing a shower of punches that he blocked with his arms. Two landed, but his bulk absorbed most of the blow. One of the others came up behind her, but she danced away, keeping her distance. The crowd cheered, calling for more action. Two of the men came together in a ferocious grapple while Ji kept her distance. While they fought, Ji’s previous opponent rushed her, and she met him head-on. One punch slipped through his guard and slammed into his chest, sending him reeling backward. Ji pressed the attack until he was on the ground.
“Behind you!” Aven shouted, but it was too late. The other man came up behind her as she struck at the fallen man and wrapped his arm around her throat. Ji flailed as she grabbed his arm and tried to yank him off, but his grip was too good. After a few seconds of applied pressure, she went limp. The fighter tossed her aside and ran to join the grapple.
Aven leaped over the side of the ring and reached Ji before the attendants. "Hey!" he shouted, tapping her cheek.
“Uh?” she groaned, eyelids fluttering.
Taking Ji by the shoulders, Aven dragged her out of the ring and over the side, laying her out on an empty piece of floor. “Can you breathe?”
“Yes,” she wheezed, sitting up slowly and holding her head. “What happened?”
Aven looked over his shoulder at the ring, where the combat had devolved into a three-way grapple that had the audience cheering and laughing. “When you were focused on the opponent in front of you, someone came up from behind and choked you out.”
Ji groaned and punched her fist into her palm. “I could have won.”
Aven’s reply was interrupted by someone shouting from the top of the bleachers. They shouted one word over and over again and pandemonium erupted all around. The crowd bolted for the exits along with the fighters and attendants. “Shit,” Aven cursed when he recognized the word. "He's saying 'soldiers'. We have to get out of here. Can you walk?"
“Yes,” Ji said, grabbing his hand and hauling herself to her feet.
“Wait!” came a high-pitched scream. One man was running towards them, pushing past the fleeing crowds. He wore shredded rags and had a haunted, frantic look in his eye. “Wait!”
“Let’s go,” Aven said, grabbing Ji’s arm and hauling her towards the nearest exit.
“He’s calling to us,” she said, digging in her heels and slowing Aven down enough for the man to reach them.
“Is it true what you said?” he asked, eyes wide and chest heaving. “That you’re an acolyte of En Chitei?”
“Yes,” Ji replied with a shallow bow.
The man dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together. "Help me. Someone is trying to kill me!"