Enlightened Empire

Mere minutes ago, Corco had thought that his banquet had been thoroughly ruined when he had been gifted the Villca son’s head, and when the remaining Villcas had hijacked his party for their own private war. Oh, how naive, how innocent he had been. If there was one thing he had learned today, it was that there was no limit to how much the best laid plans could get screwed up.

His head filled with these thoughts and a million more, the king marched through the empty yard, towards the cracked plaster of the inner walls. Where there had been revelry before, now it was quiet enough for him to hear the gravel crunch beneath his feet. Shortly after the cannon had been fired, Corco had his warriors clear the yard under the pretense of security. However, of course he wasn’t too worried about the safety of his guests, not after they had done their best to ruin his plans for a fancy dinner. For now, his top priority was to find out just what had gone wrong to cause all of this mayhem.

"We’re sure no one got injured?" he asked while he stared at the heavy iron ball which had lodged itself into the inner wall of his castle. Curious, his fingers extended to touch the spot where the smooth metal met with the burst plaster.

"Yeah, there were two twisted ankles from the shock, but if you ask me, it’s their own damn fault for being so useless. Everyone else is fine."

A simple nod from Corco acknowledged Atau’s answer. "Send them some ice to cool their injuries. No matter how useless you might think they are, we’ve aimed to make a good impression all day and I’m not throwing that away now. In the end, it’s our negligence which caused all of this to happen."

"No master, it is mine," a voice came from behind. One simple turn and Corco was confronted with the newest member to his staff, Tamaya di Pluritac, leader of the ghost warriors. As usual, the silent girl had managed to sneak up behind them. This time however, she wasn’t in her familiar posture, upright and casual. Instead, she was kneeled down on the ground, her head lowered into the dirt.

"What in the fuck are you doing? Get up," Corco asked in disbelief as his eyes grew large at the bizarre, ancient ritual.

"This servant cannot comply." Rather than follow her master’s order, the stubborn girl pressed her head even lower. "It was due to this servant’s negligence that King Corco was put in mortal danger, and almost perished."

"No I wasn’t," the king replied, baffled at the girl’s strange insistence. "What mortal danger?"

"But if the cannon had not been redirected, King Corco would have-"

"Been fine. Nothing would have happened at all. You helped me design tonight’s entire setup. My seat during the banquet’s first half can’t even be targeted from any of the towers, or any dangerous position for that matter. Even the powder was kept separate from the cannons. We specifically made sure no sort of attack could happen."

At last, the girl raised her head again and looked back at Corco, a dark spot of earth and a blank stare of understanding on her face.

"Still doesn’t excuse the screw-up, if you ask me. You shouldn’t go easy on her just because she’s a woman." Although Corco couldn’t deny that his cousin had a point, he wouldn’t waste his time with infighting, not at the moment.

"I’m not interested in the blame game," he replied with a stern glare. "We can start playing that one as soon as we get through tonight without any more incidents. What I want to know instead is what exactly happened, and why, so we can readjust our plans." Again Corco looked back to the kneeling Tama. "Now you’ll either get up and get your hands fixed, or I’ll make sure that your worst fears will come true, whatever those may be."

At last, the girl had managed to wake up from her state of self-loathing. As they held onto Tama’s arms, Atau’s shovel-like hands pulled her back onto her feet like a child, before she managed to squeeze out an answer.

"Of course, King Corco."

With trembling hands, the girl dusted off her dress, though her attire had little chance for improvement at this point. Covered in streaks of dirt, grime and soot and ripped in multiple places, the expensive cloth wouldn’t be useful as much more than rags anymore. However, rather than the silk dress, the king was far more worried about something else.

"How are your hands?" he asked with a frown.

"Impeccable," she answered, and hid her red and swollen fingers behind her back.

"Girl, you should leave things to us until-"

"No!" An emphatic shout interrupted Atau’s interjection. After a few seconds of silence, Tama continued on, almost desperate. "For the moment, my own knowledge will be indispensable. As soon all the loose threads have been woven together, I will care for my own health. Please King Corco, any further delay could prove catastrophic."

Although Corco really wanted to send the girl away, her own appearance reminded him of himself, of all the nights he had spent without rest, as he wrote down every single piece of knowledge in his head, in defiance of his swollen wrists. No matter how sorry he felt about it, he couldn’t ignore Tamaya’s determination.

"Fine. Cousin, can you get someone to bring some ice and bandages? We’ll do the first aid here and then a proper checkup later."

"Sure thing. Make sure she doesn’t do any more stupid stuff until I’m back."

With a final jab at Tama, Atau went past Corco and away into the bowels of the castle.

While his cousin’s steps turned duller in his ears with every step, Corco focused on the essentials. The faster they got this mess cleared up, the sooner the stubborn girl would get proper medical attention.

"So where’s Epunamo’s attendant now?" he asked.

"Our warriors have him secured, together with Princess Sumaci."

For a moment, Corco had forgotten about the nosy princess and her role in the whole debacle. He decided to brush over it for now.

"And what about our mercenaries?"

"Dedrick’s men were, in fact, mostly unhurt. They received some minor injuries, but can be back in service this very day."

While they talked, Corco waved Tama to follow along and marched to the center of the yard, the place where tonight’s second great drama had taken place.

"No, make sure they take a couple days off. I won’t have anyone with a possible concussion responsible for my security."

"Understood," a shadow’s voice replied from right behind him.

*Maybe I should just keep her talking, that way she won’t sneak up on me anymore,* Corco thought.

"As far as I understand it, Epunamo’s man made a deliberate attempt to fire the cannon. That was the goal, right?"

"Yes. In my estimate, the plan was to place the blame on our warriors, to frame it either as a betrayal or an accident. This should be the very reason why both warriors had been kept alive once they were overwhelmed. Since the powder wasn’t stored in the tower either, it seems like the warrior smuggled his own. However, I do not understand what has come over young master Epunamo Villca. Even if he had made any attempt to kill King Corco, he would not have had a clean shot from within the tower. Who was his goal? Governor Mayu?"

"Nothing so convenient," Corco mumbled, while he stepped up to one of the tables near the center of the garden. "If only he had aimed at Mayu, then we could play negotiator between both sides and improve our status without any extra work. No, the goal of the attack was exactly the man a casual bystander would think of first."

"Uchu Villca, the bandit? Then this was a spontaneous attack to avenge Epunamo’s brother?"

"Maybe. Not as spontaneous as I’d like though." With worry, Corco looked down onto the table before him. All food and silverware had been cleared off by his servants, but they had left behind three pistols of different forms, lined up in a row.

"These are Princess Sumaci’s?" Tama asked with large eyes. She must have been horrified at the thought that not one, but three of these weapons had made their way past her controls and into the castle. On the other hand, Corco was far more lenient in this regard. After all, arming a weapon like this would take a long time and he was well-secured in his little alcove throughout the first half of the evening. Not to mention, any lord would risk his own life by using a weapon on these grounds. At least in that regard, he had underestimated the boldness of the verdant princess.

"Only one of them is," Corco held up the gun the princess had fired just before, the muzzle still covered in soot. Heavy and clumsy, it was a miracle the girl had managed to hide this thing inside her clothes at all. "Considering the poor make and the backwards design, it’s probably a product straight out of Chutwa. Now look at those two in comparison."

Compared to the Chutwa gun, the second weapon Corco picked up was much easier to handle. Lighter, with sleaker, more elegant curves, the wooden handle fit well into his hand. "These two aren’t Sumaci’s weapons. Epunamo brought them."

"Young Master Villca? How?" Once again, the girl reacted with shock. Before she could go back to another round of genuflecting, Corco did his best to relieve her conscience.

"No worries, you did nothing wrong this time. Epunamo properly gave his weapons up when he entered the castle and only got them back for his fight. You didn’t see the duel, did you?"

Only a short shake of a head responded to Corco’s question, so he retold the battle he had witnessed before.

"In fact, Uchu’s arrogance almost cost him his life. When the rules for the duel were established, Epunamo insisted on weapons, and on a fight to the death. Seems like the bandit was so excited to kill another competitor that he let Epunamo choose the weapons and rules all by himself. This is what the oldest Villca picked."

Again he held up the elegant pistol. Although the barrel was a lot thinner than the one on his own gun, the design was almost identical.

"It’s a wheel lock pistol, not something anyone can get. Especially not here in Medala. Where do you think he got the gun from then?" Corco asked with a sneer.

"Epunamo works with the northerners?"

"We already know that his father worked with Arcavian merchants back in the capital. You should have already heard what Epunamo said before the start of the duel. Seems like he suspects our involvement in his father’s death. That’s no good, obviously."

For a moment, Tama thought, before her eyes narrowed and her voice lowered to a dangerous volume.

"In that case, it would be best if young master Epunamo never leaves Saniya."

"What? No! Are you crazy?" Corco’s shout broke the built-up tension. "Just... can we calm down for a second here? If I kill one of my guests, the only guest from the north-east no less, how will I ever get any influence in the region? It’ll only spark more resentment. Seriously, I don’t want to deal with a civil war in the south the same year I begin my rule. Not when I’m about to go to war with Uncle Pacha already."

In response to Corco’s reprimand, Tama lowered her head again, though at least she didn’t reach the floor this time.

"In this case, may I ask for King Corco’s instructions?"

"For now, we don’t know how close Epunamo is with the Arcavians and if he has any connections to Pacha or Amautu at all. We also have no idea why exactly he tried to kill the bandit. We both know it’s not because he loved his dear brother so damn much, that’s for sure."

In exasperation, the king threw the pistol back onto the table, where it slid into its double before it came to a stop.

"At least now we understand his plan, somewhat. In a duel with pistols, the two combatants would stand a good bit away from one another, stock-still until the shots are fired. That gave plenty of time to line up a cannon shot. Still a dumb way to kill someone if you ask me, but if it works, everyone would think it was my fault, huh?"

With narrowed eyes, Corco looked back to the cannon ball that was still stuck in the wall.

"We might not know much, but for now, Epunamo Villca is our enemy. Increase surveillance around him."

"Yes, King Corco. What about the prisoners?"

"You can let the princess go, her family’s alliance is important and she did, technically, help us out after all. As for that Villca warrior, let’s hope Epunamo isn’t stupid enough to ask for his man back."

With a conspiratory smile, Tama moved closer to Corco and started to whisper again.

"Does that mean we will expose young Master Villca’s ploy? In that case, we could legitimately hold him, support the third Villca heir and sell him a favor."

By now the king had gotten much better at reading Tama. It appeared as if a lowered voice meant ’danger, bad idea ahead’.

"I said to leave him alone, didn’t I? If we expose his plan now, and how he almost succeeded, what does that say about our security measures? About the security of all the lords here? We’d have to end the banquet early. No, the festival has to go on as planned and it has to be a success. There is no other choice. It’s too important for the future of... everything really, to fail now. In the first place," Corco put on a smirk of his own, "why would we end the banquet over a simple misfire, an honest accident with the equipment? That’s no big deal, is it? Especially now that we have already punished our tardy warrior for his negligence. We don’t need much to sell the story either. The Villca heir will play along to hide his own malice, and the verdant princess better be on board as well if she wants us to forget about that weapon of hers."

Once more Tama affirmed Corco’s orders. However, the king’s mind was already far away, in the castle with the waiting lords, over in the eastern Cashan, where a fierce war for succession was about to begin and north in the capital, where forces of Arcavians and Medalans were hellbent in their plans to destroy anything Corco tried to build.

The noble portion of his banquet had been an unmitigated disaster so far. He just hoped that Ronnie would fare better with the commoners.