Chapter 18

As Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit entered the territory of Tulgadan, the wetlands began tapering off at an even more rapid rate, the ground firming up and leveling off before turning into a regular plain of tall, yellow, steppe grass interspersed with sporadic foliage. To the Southeast, the Tashkek loomed at the edge of the Cursed Lands. Beyond that point was a cracked and blasted desert of wild magic and odd monstrosities, scourged remnants of the lands around Denandsor, a City abandoned after the Great Contagion decimated the lands it ruled. Tashkek, where they were supposed to bring Grellthorpe's opium package, was still roughly a week's travel from their position.

Tulgadan's border patrols had been stepped up at the same rate as Peshmi's had, however, Tulgadan's Border Troops were far more easily swayed to let Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit through. Varsiyag Emirs tended to all know one another, and the second Shi Hou dropped Grellthorpe's name and mentioned they had a package from him for Arslan Beg at the Dry Siaka, the Patrol of Mounted Archers waved them through. Apparently, Grellthorpe supplied half of Tashkek's taverns and Opium Dens with Opium, which turned a pretty profit that Emir Tardush of Tashkek received a large amount of taxes from. The Patrol Captain wanted no part in delaying that, as the last thing Tulgadan needed was an incident that might cause Tashkek to invade them while they fought Peshmi.

Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit traveled along the Grey River for three more days before finally reaching Tulgadan itself. The city was built of sandstone quarried from the nearby canyon of Alexios' Tomb, so called because it was the sight of a battle between Basileus Alexios the Seventeenth of what was then the Iolkoi Ecumene and the Varsiyags coming out of the Cursed Lands ahead of the destruction that saw Alexios Slain and was a prelude to Varsiyag Dominance of the Grey River. Those sandstone buildings were all capped by domes, some of lapis lazuli, some of bronze, and the ones of the Emir's Palace of solid Orichalcum. The walls were likewise thick and sloped to prevent siege munitions from easily punching through.

It was an impressive sight, made all the more so as the sunlight gleamed off the domes of metal and semi-precious stones, giving the entire city an aura of mystique in the dawn light. As they passed through the city gates, Shi Hou counted two gates, the first a portcullis of latticed iron and the second a more traditional gate of iron-banded hardwood. No murder holes, though, and certainly no thaumaturgical enhancements. On those fronts, Onehill had Tulgadan beat. The Guards at the Gate were armored in chain shirts and helms with round shields, spears, recurve bows, and slashing swords. They were clearly alert, checking everyone who entered the City. It took Evening Rabbit a few minutes to prove their bonafides and allow them into Tulgadan.

When they entered the City Proper, Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit headed immediately for a tavern, bypassing a small bazaar at the gate selling various spices, miscellaneous liquids, and trinkets. Evening Rabbit identified the liquids as snake oil and the trinkets as overpriced, non-mystical jewelry, while Shi Hou recognized the spices as overpriced. It was effectively a sucker's market, catering to naive merchants with little experience and no guild ties and foolish travelers. Nothing there was worth any of their time or silver. Instead, Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit moved further into the City of Tulgadan in search of a tavern.

A few moments later, they found a suitable tavern. The Hunter's Sabbatical was a two-story Tavern in the Mercantile District whose sign sported several Plains Strider Claws dangling from the painted wood. Looking inside, Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit spotted a number of stuffed and mounted hunting trophies along the walls, at least as far as the section they could see. Deciding this was as good a place as any, the Pair entered the Hunter's Sabbatical, resolving to get breakfast and a pair of rooms.

As they did so, they never noticed the Raven watching them from atop a yeddim hitching post nearby with oddly-intelligent eyes. . .

XXXX

Further outside the City of Tulgadan, in a small fishing boat out on the Grey River, Cathak Sen and Ziva No-Clan waited. Cathak Sen was wrapped in a hooded cloak, disguising his crimson-red hair and beard as well as his jade chain shirt. Ziva No-Clan, on the other hand, wasn't bothering with a disguise. She refused to enter the City unless it was absolutely required of her. Honestly, just by sticking with Cathak Sen for this long, Ziva No-Clan was exceeding the remit of her orders. The Circle of Furious Elements had clearly failed, Ziva No-Clan should report back to the Old General, Johoda with news of the Circle's Failure.

Cathak Sen was clearly not even enjoying himself anymore, judging by the grumbling he was doing while seated on the other half of the small, two-person, fishing boat. The Boat itself had been liberated from a drunken fisherman for the purposes of this scouting mission. The Fool likely would have tangled himself in his own net had he taken the boat out and been dragged underwater to drown, that's how drunk he had been. Honestly, they had done him a favor by pilfering the boat.

"Is that one of yours?" Questioned Cathak Sen, pointing. As his words broke Ziva No-Clan out of her thoughts, she looked over near where he was pointing to find a Raven soaring out from the City of Tulgadan and heading for their boat.

"It is." Intoned Ziva No-Clan, flexing her essence to entice her feathered friend to land on her outstretched forearm.

The Raven did so, claws digging into Essence-reinforced flesh, but failing to draw so much as a single drop of blood. Ziva No-Clan flexed her essence once more and began to converse with her avian scout. The Raven let her know that he had seen their Prey entering 'that nesting place with all they fouls-smelling carrion on display' and that, judging by the amount of time they'd been inside, they were likely to have 'made a temporary nest' as the Raven put it. Ziva No-Clan, thanks to her familiarity with the area and her essence giving her the language of birds, was able to parse the Raven's Meaning within a few minutes. Cathak Sen, on the other hand, was more impatient.

"Well?" Queried Cathak Sen.

"They've taken rooms at the Hunter's Sabbatical. I suspect they will be in Tulgadan until tomorrow morning." Informed Ziva No-Clan.

"I see. Keep your friend in the air and have him return to us when they leave the city. I want to shadow them to see where they are going next. Anathema generally don't have the teachers to be able to fight evenly with Dynasts of my Circle's caliber. They may be heading for a hidden teacher and I want to know if they have any associates." Ordered Cathak Sen.

"I cannot do that. He is a living being, he cannot stay in the air for a full day and night. He will grow tired and fall ill from exhaustion." Huffed Ziva No-Clan.

"Is that so?" Asked Cathak Sen.

"It is so." Nodded Ziva No-Clan.

"Then it sounds as if you've just volunteered for lookout duty. Now row us back to shore so we can set up camp within sight of the City Gates." Commanded Cathak Sen.

Ziva No-Clan snarled at the order but complied. This mission was getting worse all the time, and if Cathak Sen was going to start ordering her around like some Delzahn Chief's Son with more bollocks than sense, she might as well gut him and say the Girl's Bodyguard did it in her report. She'd give it some time out of loyalty to the Guild and her Adoptive Home of Nexus for bringing her out from the shadow of Delzahn retribution. Cathak Sen would only get one more strike, however, before she turned on him.

After all, she had killed people with far more power over her than him for similar indiscretions in the past. . .

XXXX

The Hunter's Respite was run by an old Varsiyag, Taspar Beg. Taspar was, as it turned out, an Enlightened Mortal who had served as a Monster Hunter and Bounty Hunter in his youth but had since retired. The trophies that lined the walls were from his various hunts, proof of the deed for the Bounty Collectors the Guild runs through the Guild Mercenary Office. Shi Hou noticed several interesting trophies from the stuffed heads of Plains Striders and Metagalapan Roc Eagles to Half-Burnt Plains People Banners and Broken Nexusite Swords. He even had a stuffed River Dragon suspended above the bar on iron chains.

Likewise, Taspar Beg had stories to tell of past adventures and goings-on throughout the region. He'd let Shi Hou and Evening Rabbit know all about what was happening in Tashkek the second that Shi Hou had opened his mouth and mentioned their destination. The News was somewhat unfortunate, but only if they planned to stay in the City for an appreciable length of time. Apparently, there was a major Gang War going on there at the moment.

"There's two Major Factions in Tashkek right now both vying for a bigger slice of the City's Illicit Trade. Firstly, there's the Sons of Sextes Jylis, they're led by an Exiled Lookshyan Wood Aspect, Hanzo, the Black Yushoto. They say he's mastered Chaowin Registrophe's Version of the Even Blade Style along with Falling Blossom Style. His Lieutenant, Ma Xing, is a Godblood from Great Forks whose primary capabilities are as an assassin and spy. The Sons of Sextes Jylis primarily deal with Arms and Artifact Smuggling." Began Taspar Beg.

"Sounds like they have a decent racket, given all the ruins in the area." Mused Evening Rabbit.

"You don't know the half of it. A lot of the expeditions going into the Cursed Lands in search of First Age Relics wind up getting strong-armed into hiring a member of the Sons of Sextes Jylis as a Guide and Consultant for exorbitant fees. If they find something, the Sons' guide ensures the Sons get the best pick of the trove, if they don't, they still get their fee." Scowled Taspar Beg.

"What about the other faction?" Questioned Shi Hou.

"That'd be the Sewer Rats. They're all Rat Beastmen who live in the sewers and canal tunnels of Tashkek and run illegal drug smuggling into Tashkek via the Sewers. They're led by the Triumvirate of Rodents, Solkan, Sholvor, and Simglot, a trio of Essence-using Rat Beastmen of varying skills." Informed Taspar Beg.

"I thought Opium was legal in Tashkek? Why smuggle it?" Queried Evening Rabbit.

"It's legal, but it's also very heavily taxed. The Sewer Rats smuggle Opium in via the sewer tunnels, sell it for a bit cheaper than the legal dealers in the Taverns and Opium Dens, and then keep all the profits without paying taxes. Because of how much the legal dealers get taxed, the Sewer Rats can sell the Opium for cheaper and still make more money on the black market than the legal dealers can make with taxable sales by a decent amount. Plus, it's cheaper for the citizens of Tashkek to buy from the Sewer Rats than Legal Dealers too." Informed Taspar Beg.

"Another decent racket. How many members does each gang have? Which has the smart Dinars on them to win?" Asked Shi Hou.

"They have roughly equal numbers, around two to three scales worth of combatants apiece. Their advantages lie in different areas. The Sewer Rats have more Essence Users, but the Sons of Sextes Jyllis have better essence users. The Sewer Rats are better fortified, while the Sons of Sextes Jylis have better equipment. It's early days yet, though so it could go either way." Answered Taspar Beg.

"What about the Emir? Surely he's going to send in the Guards to crush the gangs?" Questioned Evening Rabbit.

"Not yet he hasn't. He's content to sit back for now and kill with a borrowed knife." Scoffed Taspar Beg.

"What?" Queried Evening Rabbit.

"Kill with a borrowed knife. It means he's planning to let the Gangs fight for a bit and weaken each other before moving in with his guards to sweep up whoever's left standing." Explained Shi Hou.

"That's unconscionable! People will die in the crossfire before he steps in!" Fumed Evening Rabbit.

"That's also not our problem. We're just there to deliver Grellthorpe's package and move on." Intoned Shi Hou.

Evening Rabbit's face turned sour at that and she proceeded to give Shi Hou the silent treatment for the rest of the day as Shi Hou bought supplies and readied for the next leg of their trip, as well as into the night before bed. Shi Hou was afraid she wouldn't speak to him again, as they'd gone to sleep with her still mad at him. Fortunately, that wouldn't be the case as the next morning things were reasonably back to normal between the two. They left Tulgadan two days later heading southeast for Tashkek.

Neither noticed the Raven circling overhead, nor the two figures shadowing them as they did. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so a few things in this chapter. First is that the tensions between Cathak Sen and Ziva No-Clan are beginning to flare up outwardly instead of just mockingly in their internal monologs. That in turn lays the groundwork for a potential betrayal by Ziva No-Clan of Cathak Sen if she feels she's been slighted too many times.

Secondly is set up for events to take place in Tashkek with the Gang War currently ongoing there. You guys didn't think I'd go to all the trouble of actually naming key players in the Tashkek Gang War and not use them, did you? Suffice it to say, this isn't going to be as easy as simply delivering Grellthorpe's package. There's also Cathak Sen and Ziva-No Clan Shadowing them and having the potential to mess with things further while in Tashkek.

At any rate, the next chapter will cover the arrival at Tashkek.

Stay tuned. . .