The Jongurian Mission (40 page)

A few moments went by while Grandon digested what had been said.
It was a lot of information to process, Leisu thought from his spot along the wall. Much of it was new to him. He had no idea that his master had known about the sailing of the Adjurian ship, or the conference that had sent it. But then he realized that it was really that
he
who did not know. There was much that Zhou kept from him. The look that he had been given at the mention of the ship, however, gave Leisu the impression that Zhou knew about the incident with the boy. But did he know that Leisu had ordered that the ship be sunk, and then had changed his mind? Which course of action would his master have agreed to? Leisu’s thoughts were broken when Grandon looked up and spoke once again.

“I still don’t quite understand why you wanted me off of that island,” he said.

Zhou leaned back in his chair once again. “That was more your nephew’s desire than mine, I must confess. He thinks that you would be of aid when he begins to make his move against the throne.” Zhou put up his hand to stop Grandon from speaking, as he seemed about to do when he suddenly leaned forward. “None of this will be happening any time soon, I think,” Zhou said, casting another glance toward Leisu.

“I don’t see what aid I can be to him in Jonguria,” Grandon replied.

“Nor do I.” Zhou got up and moved from behind the desk to it’s front, sitting on the edge closest to Grandon. “You see Grandon, I’m trying to cement my own power here in the southwest of Jonguria. Very soon I will make a move against some of the other warlords to the north and east of me. If I’m successful, which I have no doubt I will be, then I’ll be in a good position to challenge the emperor. You can help me in this, Grandon. You have experience usurping a king, and I can use your perspective. While it’s true that your nephew has plans for you in his grand design, those won’t come to fruition for some time yet, I think. While you’re waiting I hope that you’ll act as an advisor to me.”

Zhou
’s words hung in the room for several moments while he looked down at Grandon. The man seemed to be weighing his options, but Leisu was in no doubt as to the choice he would make. To side with Zhou held the promise of wealth, power, and success, while to go against his wishes held only the promise of a painful end. Grandon seemed to come to that conclusion himself and looked up at Zhou.

“It seems that I’ve been given a second chance at life and I don’t mean to pass it up.
If you would seek my council in matters, then I would gladly give it.” It was Grandon this time that put his hand up to stop Zhou from speaking too quickly. “All I ask in return is that I be given more information concerning my nephew’s plans and my place in them, as well as how you fit into them. An alliance between Adjuria and Jonguria, even at a level such as this, is unusual, you must admit. I know there’s more that you’re not telling me, but I also know that there’s a time for everything.”

“Precisely,” Zhou said, edging off the desk.
Grandon took that as his cue to rise, and both men shook hands again. Zhou put his arm to Grandon’s back and began to escort him toward the door. “Now, if you would excuse me for a moment, there are a few things I need to discuss with Leisu. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to concern yourself about, just some frivolous matters pertaining to our operations here in Bindao. Ko will see you out and to your quarters.”

Grandon nodded and Ko opened the door for him.
Zhou stood smiling as they both exited, then looked over at the other guard, who quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. Zhou turned around, the smile having been replaced with seriousness. He moved around the desk and motioned for Leisu to take the chair that Grandon had vacated. When they were both seated he looked across the desk at Leisu for a few moments before speaking.

“Tell me what happened with that ship in Weiling.
I’ve heard the account, but now I want to hear it from you.”

Leisu sat up straight and steadied himself.
He hadn’t been expecting thankfulness or praise in his retrieval of Grandon; he knew that Zhou did not give such things. Either you pleased him and continued in his employ, or you did not, and weren’ heard from again. Leisu hoped that his handling of the incident in Weiling pleased his master.

Zhou’s emerald eye seemed to bore into Leisu as he answered the question.
“We were finishing the process of taking on supplies when the ship came in about an hour after we arrived,” he recounted.

“What was Grandon doing off of the ship.
I gave explicit orders that he was to remain hidden until he got to Bindao.”

“He would not listen, master,” Leisu explained.
“The man is used to having his own way, and five years of exile has done little to change that. I told him that he was to remain on the ship and he asked me what I planned to do when he did not. He suggested that my only option would be to physically restrain him or harm him, and I knew that neither of those options was prudent. There was little I could do.”

“So what happened with the boy?” Zhou asked
after a moment.

His master really did know all of that had happened there.
Leisu hadn’t mentioned the boy to anyone, so how did Zhou know? He had little time to think it over, as the cold, emerald gaze from across the desk demanded an answer.

“All of the Adjurians had gone into the town to meet with the imperial representative, a man name Yuan Jibao.
I found Grandon and ushered him back to the docks, but when we were outside the offices the boy suddenly came out and saw him. It only lasted a moment, then he ran back into the building. Grandon was convinced that the boy knew who he was, however, and not just some unknown and mysterious Adjurian, but the False King. After that it was easy to get him back to the ship, although he was already sure that the damage had been done.”

“And you?” Zhou asked.

“I wasn’t so sure,” Leisu said, his eyes darting down to his hands for a moment before meeting Zhou’s once again. “I thought that the boy was too young to correctly identify him and that when he recounted what he saw to the others, they would simply write his story off as an overactive imagination.”

“So what did you do then?”

“At first I was uncertain as to what action to take, troubled as I was from Grandon’s sudden change in demeanor after the encounter.” He looked up at Zhou. “It…troubled me.”

“Go on.”

“I stopped one of the men about the docks who I’d seen escort the Adjurians to Yuan. I told him to deliver a message to the man telling him that I wanted their ship sunk before it could return to Adjuria. When I thought it over for a few minutes, however, I realized that that might cause us more harm than good. A missing ship full of Adjurian diplomats is quite another thing entirely from a young boy’s outlandish tale about an exiled king. I decided that the former would draw more questions, so told another dockworker to find the man I’d just spoken to and have the order rescinded.”

“And was it?” Zhou asked, his eye narrowing as he looked to his lieutenant.

“I’m not sure, master. I wanted us to get out of Weiling and to Bindao as quickly as possible. We had weighed anchor and left the harbor before the Adjurians had even returned to their ship.”

“I see.”
Zhou said as he once again put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “So you know nothing else of the matter, then, I take it?”

“No, I assume the Adjurians are
on their way back home by now,” Leisu said.

“I only wish that was the case, but it appears not to be.”
Zhou leaned forward in the chair again. “It would seem that your second order did not reach the man who you had given the first to.” Zhou paused and stared at Leisu for a few moments before continuing. “Two ships were sent out with orders to sink the Adjurians shortly after they’d left Weiling. I know from reports that not a single cannon was seen on the Adjurian ship, so it’s puzzling to me why the two ships did not return by the next day.” Zhou raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner, but Leisu knew enough not to speak. “When another ship was sent out to enquire as to their whereabouts, it returned with word that it had seen wreckage indicative of a sea battle involving several ships. Word was put out to the local fishermen to begin scanning the southern coasts for any sign of survivors from the three vessels.” Zhou leaned forward and folded his hands onto the desk in front of him. “Word came just an hour before your arrival that several Adjurians meeting the description of those that were seen in Weiling had been spotted on the coast north of Nanbo and to the east of Bindao.”

Zhou leaned back in his chair once again.
Leisu was not sure what to say to the news. It was so much information so fast. His first reaction was to be angry at the man that did not carry out his second order, but there was little for that now. It was obvious that Zhou was unhappy with how the events had unfolded.

After a few moments Leisu straightened in his chair and in a slow, careful voice, went over the options that were quickly forming in his head.

“There is nothing to do now but hunt these men down,” he said. “They should be unarmed and easy to find.”

“Not rescue them and send them on their way back home with our heartfelt apologies at such an outrageous accident?” Zhou mockingly
asked in a raised voice.

“
It’s true that pirates could have come upon their ship and attacked it, but it’s also unlikely, and the blame would still lie with Jonguria,” Leisu said.

“Which could work out for us,” Zhou responded.
“More pressure on the emperor.”

“Yes, but the Adjurian boy’s tale of spotting Grandon will now have more credence with the botched attack upon them.
Most likely they’ve already decided that was the only likely cause for such provocation.”

“I agree.
These men mustn’t be allowed to get back to Adjuria. Before the boy was rather harmless, but now that’ all changed.” Zhou folded his hands up under his chin and peered down at the desk for a few moments before speaking. “Since you’re responsible for this situation, I’ sending you out to remedy it.”

Leisu made no protest, glad that he was not being punished further.
“And what would you have me do when I find them, master?”

Zhou leaned forward and the light from the window behind him caught his emerald eye, causing it to twinkle.
“Kill them,” he said.

TWENTY-THREE

The next morning a heavy mist covered the forest floor and the sky was still cloudy and overcast above the thick canopy.
They broke their fast on the same bread, cheese, and salt pork from the day before and washed it down with water. Trey had found a small spring the night before so they filled up their water skins and washed away some of the dried sweat from their faces. The fire had gone out in the night and the charred wood was damp with dew. They scattered the ashes and burned logs and did their best to make the clearing look as undisturbed as possible before continuing the push westward. Iago took up the lead of the column, his longsword better suited to hacking the vines and branches, while Willem followed behind to clear away what he missed.

The going was a little faster than the day before.
Around midday the forest seemed to take pity on them. The trees grew further apart and the undergrowth wasn’t as dense. Overhead the canopy became thinner and more light shone through. They were able to see further ahead and to the sides, and Iago and Willem put away their swords. An hour later the forest abruptly came to an end in front of them and a well-worn dirt road could be seen beyond its edge. Iago called for them to stop, and after a few quick words, Willem, Halam, and Sam headed up to the forest’s edge to get a better look.

“It’s a well-used road that seems to go from north to the southwest,” Iago said when they came back a few minutes later.

“I’d bet anything that it leads to Bindao,” Willem said.
“There’ll probably be a lot of traffic on it, so we best stay clear of it.”

“If it goes to Bindao this is our chance to stop this madness,” Pader said.
“How much longer do you think we can scramble through these woods before someone gets injured or our luck runs out?”

“Whether that road leads to Bindao or not,” Rodden said, “You can be sure that if there
’re men out looking for us, they’ll be sending patrols up and down it. They know we’ll have to cross it eventually.”

“Then I think that we should wait for one of these patrols and inform them of our plight,” Millen said.

“We took a vote yesterday and decided that we’d continue on past Bindao,” Halam replied.

“That was yesterday and this is today.
I say we take another vote.” Pader looked around at the others. “Who’s ready to stop running scared through these forests and go to Bindao?”

He put his arm high into the air and was followed by Millen, Conn, Jal, and Fess, the same as before.
After a moment Flint put his arm up as well.

“I’m sorry, but I’m meant for the seas, not the forests,” he said wearily.

“Well, it’s now six-to-eight, so we still continue on,” Halam said when it was evident that no one else was going to change their mind.

“So how do you propose that we get across this road without being spotted, then?” Pader asked.