The Wrath Of the Forgotten (6 page)

Several of the adults started to move up toward their children. Apisa stepped out in front of Nori and placed her hands on her hips.

“Well, aren’t you all just the cutest?” Apisa said. “My big ol’ friend would love to play with you all, but we have to go meet some of my friends. He’s a wandering minstrel and can play music for you later, if you’re good and you mind your parents.”

Many of the children’s faces lit up, although the parents seemed less excited.

Apisa grabbed Nori’s arm and they started walking again. Though Apisa’s skin felt a little rough, it was much softer than his own. A hundred butterflies opened up in his gut. They disappeared seconds after Apisa let go of his arm. Nori averted his eyes as the sensation dissipated like a morning fog.

They walked down the road, and neither Apisa nor Nori said anything to one another. People filed in and out of residential buildings. More children ran around the streets, and they gazed up at him with the same sense of eager intrigue that the children at the fountain did. Parents grabbed their children and watched Nori pass by. Despite their apparent apprehension, a great deal of vitality existed in the cluster of homes. Several delicate smells filled the air, and not all of it originated from food.

Merchants had large carts along the road, and they waved their oils and lotions about. Flowers sat in various pots on numerous carts. The merchants even flagged down Nori and tried to coax him into buying something.

After passing through three street intersections, Nori and Apisa came to a little tea shop. A small sign that read
The White Pearl
hung over the shop’s front door.

“This is where we part ways,” Apisa said. “I was given specific instructions to lead you to us, but Flara wants her privacy. So do we.”

Nori nodded. “Very well, I’ll set up across the street and play.”

He turned to walk across the street. By the time that he sat down beside the side of a building, Apisa had already moved inside. He opened the lute case, but before he could bring out his instrument, Apisa had returned.

She carried a small table in her hands, and Flara and Rayko followed her with a pair of chairs. Other patrons from within the tea shop came out too. They all studied Nori with appraising expressions.

Apisa set the table in front of Nori. “Don’t think for a minute I forgot about the challenge. I mean to prove you as the weaker person.”

Rayko set a chair on Apisa’s side of the table. Her long brown hair had been styled so it fell back behind her. Rayko wore make-up and lip-stick, and her finger nails had been painted purple. Her sleeveless vest and slacks matched the color of her painted nails. She stood slightly taller than Apisa, but not quite as tall as Flara. Pure and simple, Rayko was gorgeous. Rayko had a tattoo on her left arm, but Nori couldn’t make out what it was without appearing awkward.

She patted Apisa on the back. “Show this mountain trash what real strength is, darling. After that, come back inside for tea. I have the most delightful gossip to tell you.”

Apisa grinned at her. “You’re not going to watch me whoop his butt?”

Rayko scoffed. “I have better things to do than watch you defeat a beast in a meaningless competition. I wish you great fortune though.”

As Rayko turned back to the tea shop, she cast a dark glare at Nori.

Nori stood up, and Flara brought him over a chair. She averted her eyes, and spoke in a whisper. “Um… you can sit on this.”

As soon as Nori took the chair, Flara maneuvered back around the table and stood beside Apisa.

Apisa sat down and placed her elbow on the table. A bright pink flash appeared on her right side. Her tree tattoo glowed brightly like a torch.

“Come on,” Apisa said. “Let’s arm wrestle.”

Nori placed his arm on the table and gripped her hand.

NORI EXITED THE
university water dispensary with two large buckets filled with water. He took careful steps as to not spill any of the precious water. Flara would still be in class for the next hour, so he had plenty of time to prepare for his day. The last few days had been the same routine over and over. Flara and her friends would go to class, and then they would go into Jadai and eat somewhere. After they ate, the girls would wander around to various places. Sometime before sunset, they would return to their dorms.

Yesterday, Apisa had finally greeted him somewhat warmly again. After he had beaten her in the arm wrestle, she took a neglectful stance toward him. Rayko glared at him every one and a while. Flara pretended that he wasn’t even there. Of all three interactions, Nori preferred Flara’s. Nori had become accustomed to getting outright hatred directed at him, but Apisa treated him like a sick homeless dog that needed sympathy or kindness.

Nori entered his room and reached for the small sack of coins that rested on the top of his dresser. Pretending to be a minstrel had paid off. People graced him with their fortunes. He didn’t need it, but it felt nice for people to at least honor him for something other than his muscle. He got dressed in comfortable clothing, grabbed his lute case, and then clutched his tetsubo. As he had the days prior, Nori positioned himself at the front of the university entrance. More than once, Madame Hao came down to listen to his music. When Flara and his friends left the university, Nori followed them, but at a distance.

Today had been exceptionally warm, a little too warm for his tastes. His homeland called out to him through his memory. Cool winds would caress his skin from every direction. Sweet mountain air would fill his lungs. Gigantic peaks would stretch into the sky. Nothing in the lowlands created the same sense of peace that his home did.

Nori had just started playing his third song outside the tea house when a woman ran down the street. Tears streaked down her cheeks. Her body heaved frantically. She ran to the tea shop door, and opened it.

Immediately, Nori placed his lute into the case and closed it. Within less than a minute, he moved across the street. Up until that point, he had never set foot inside the tea shop. The sweet smell of incense wrapped around him as soon as the door closed behind him. Curtains had been lowered in front of the windows. Darkness filled the interior of the tea house, but numerous lanterns forced the shadows away. A dozen patrons sat at various tables, but they watched one table in particular.

The woman who had entered the tea shop sat beside Rayko and across from Flara and Apisa. Rayko had her arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulders. Slowly, Rayko rocked the woman back and forth. Her usual scorn-fueled sneer had been transformed into a mask of compassion. As Nori got closer, he noticed Rayko’s tattoo. An elaborate chromatic tattoo of a diamond with little gems around it stretched down her left arm. Flara and Apisa spoke in hushed tones to the woman while Rayko simply rubbed her back in smaller circles. The woman wore a light green long-sleeved jacket and some slacks. Her brown hair had streaks of grey in it.

Nori stepped up to the table, and Rayko glared at him.

She said, “Oh what in heaven’s name do you want? Can’t you see we’re dealing with something here? Away with you before you infect us with stupid.”

The woman stared up at Nori. “W-who’s he?”

Rayko gently took hold of the woman’s face and turned her head away from Nori. “He’s no one, darling. Just a poor beggar minstrel who needs to leave us alone, right now.”

Flara and Apisa glanced back at one another, but neither one said anything.

Nori knelt down beside the woman. “Enough of your pretentious crap. If there’s something going on, then perhaps I can help.”

Rayko said, “Watch your filthy mouth, you disgusting brute. Can’t you see she’s terribly distressed?”

“But why is she distressed?” Nori asked.

The woman switched her attention from Rayko to Flara and Apisa. Her voice resonated with tremors. “Who is this guy? Is there actually a chance he can help?”

Flara averted her eyes. “He’s my …my b-bodyguard. I’m n-not sure how much help he can be.”

The woman turned to Nori and studied him for a moment. “Y-you have a weapon. Are you a warrior?”

“I am,” Nori replied. “But I’m more than a mere warrior. Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

The woman glanced over at Flara and Apisa. Apisa gave her a slight nod, and Flara kept staring at the flat of the table. The woman peered over at Rayko. Rayko rolled her eyes, but kept caressing the woman’s back.

“You might as well tell him,” Rayko said. “He won’t leave us alone until he sates his curiosity. Even if it is inextricably inconsiderate.”

The woman whirled around and gazed into Nori’s eyes. “My name is Doctor Caosisti, and my husband was abducted by the Kluflu Clan. They’re going to kill him.”

Nori’s brows scrunched together. “The Kluflu Clan?”

Apisa maneuvered around so she could whisper into Nori’s ear. “They’re one of the few organized crime factions we have in Jadai.”

Flara grabbed Doctor Caosisti’s hands in hers. “What were you doing that got you mixed up with them?”

Doctor Caosisti’s shoulders slumped. “It wasn’t our fault. We never wanted anything to do with them. They came to us. We didn’t know who we were dealing with until it was too late.”

Nori asked, “So where can I find this The Kluflu Clan?”

Doctor Caosisti frowned at him. “Find them? Are you intending on going after them?”

Nori placed his lute case on the table in front of Doctor Caosisti. “Yeah, we don’t have a lot of time. If what you’re saying is true, then we have to get in there now. Do you know where their base is?”

Rayko, Apisa, and Flara all gazed at one another, but remained quiet. The woman took several deep breathes before she explained where the Kluflu Clan base was.

Nori rested his hand on the lute case. “I’ll leave this in your care until I get back with your husband. Please take care of it, my father gave it to me.”

Rayko stood up and held up her hand. “You can’t be serious. Surely even you can’t be stupid enough to think you’re going to just march into that criminal stronghold without anything happening to you.”

Nori gave her a grim grin. “Oh, something’s going to happen. I’ll be back with her husband alive, or I won’t be coming back at all.”

Flara gasped as Nori rose up. He whirled around and left the tea shop. His grip on the tetsubo tightened. The blood in his veins zipped along with the speed of the wind. His legs pumped furiously as he moved about the crowd. Due to his haste, people leaped out of his way.

A soft hand grabbed his arm. Nori stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. Apisa, Rayko, and Flara had followed him into the street.

“Wait,” Apisa said. “You can’t go alone. We’re coming with you.”

Nori frowned. “You? But what can you do?”

Rayko stepped forward and poked him in the chest. Her deep blue eyes reflected a sense of passion. “You listen here, you big dumb brute. We have magic, and you only have that big club. If anything, you’re the one whose ill-equipped to handle this situation.”

Nori inched his face closer to hers. “You don’t know anything about me or what I can do.”

Flara stepped forward. She fumbled with her fingers. “Y-you don’t k-know what we can do either. We’re not weak. And b-besides, Doctor Caosisti is our friend.”

Nori regarded each of them closely. “I suppose we all have something to prove to one another then, don’t we?”

Apisa lightly punched him in the arm. “Don’t think this is going to be like the arm wrestling match. I’m going to win out this time.”

Rayko shot both Nori and Apisa dark glares. “This isn’t a game. An innocent man’s life hangs in the balance. Let’s go!”

Rayko took the lead and moved down the street with even more haste than what Nori had been using. Flara chased after her.

“Well, we don’t want to be left behind, do we?” Apisa said.

Nori followed after them. His warrior spirit ignited. His senses sharpened. The grip on his war club tightened again. In the midst of all that, a small degree of excitement also blossomed.

TOV EASED HIS
back against wall and held his breath. Silence lingered around everywhere, and it was deceiving. Slowly, Tov examined his surroundings. Dark stone and marble spanned the beautiful floors. The ceilings hung above him thirty feet overhead, and sky lights allowed for sun to filter into the grand corridors. Wonderfully calming scents danced on the air. Tov’s stomach turned. How could this place be so extravagant when in the streets outside, people starved?