Fable - Ask There's Something About Nira

[Khari]

Khari smiled. "You're a terrible liar."

She knew that she was about a good a healer as Ichika was at baking cakes. Actually, she had no idea if her friend was good at baking cakes, but well that didn't matter for the comparison that was rolling around in her head.

A breath filled her longs, and she slowly slumped back against the couch.

Her head turned to regard the Daimyo's son, his eyes staring at the two women like daggers. There was a moment of pause, and then she turned back to Ichika.

"He's our ticket out of here." She said simply.

If there was one thing that Khari knew, it was how the Royals operated. She had been brought up to learn these things. Studying how the nobility tried to protect themselves had been central to her tutelage. She was an assassin after all, and it was paramount to understand how her targets thought. How they intended to escape if it ever came to it.

That was why, if she had to guess, she knew the Daimyo had a way out of Nira. A way she likely shared with her son. "And I bet our friend here will be more than willing to help us out after he learns what the General did."

Khari stared at Ichika as she spoke the latter half of the sentence.

 

[Ichika]

Ichika returned her friend's smile but didn't correct her. There wasn't any way to deny that her leg was still a scrambled mess. Even if it was a slowly healing scrambled mess.

An eyebrow was raised when Khari mentioned the cesspit of a man being their ticket home. Her eyes narrowed and nose scrunched as she looked him over. To think that a man she was ready to kill herself just a night ago would now be their savior, of a sort, was a bit of a shock. But it was as Khari went on that her ears really perked up.

"What the General did," she began to muse until she caught herself, "ah, yes, unbelievable."

In truth, Ichika really wasn't sure what Khari was getting at. She was pretty sure it was a bluff but that was more the daemonette's forte.

Muffled words came from the tied-up boys mouth and the Tsuri woman looked towards Asuka. "Would you please ungag him?" Now was the time for a dialogue between the trio. Asuka walked over towards the bound would-be prince of Nira and removed his gag.

"What did the General do?" he asked with a fresh panic to his voice.

 

[Khari]

Khari slowly lifted herself back up to a more demure position on the sofa, mostly so that she could have an actual conversation.

Her body objected to every little inch of movement that she made, muscles practically screaming. It was a wonder she was even awake still. She felt as though the weight of the world was tugging at the lids of her eyes. "There has been a coup."

The Daemonette began to explain slowly, though her words were interrupted by a loud gasp.

"WHAT?!"​

Almost as soon as the boy shouted Khari's retainer clapped a hand over his mouth. "Please...Don't do that."

She said.

"We can't have anyone coming in here, you understand?" There was a quick jerking nod, and Khari motioned to the Retainer. "When we went to visit your mother, confront her about the Coup...apparently the General saw it as an opportunity."

Khari continued to explain what 'had happened', her voice stern, focused. "They killed your mother, and seized control of the city."

 

[Ichika]

Oh, so it was half-truths they were spinning. Smart. Ichika wondered precisely when her horned friend had come up with such a plan. Had it been all the way back at the motel? Had it been even earlier?

Either way, it was impressive, and Ichika was more than prepared to play along.

"That son of a whore," the daimyo's son said in a low voice after Asuka's palm moved away from his mouth, "I'll see him hanged. No, I'll see that the skin on his back is flayed and then the..."

"Enough," the short-haired woman spoke in a firm, yet calm voice. "You will do no such thing as Nira is in the hands of General Timura."

If they discovered the boy the reality is he'd likely be given some special privilege's. Particularly if the General 'persuaded' him to nominate a friendly successor. But in this false reality, where it was Timura and his men that slayed the daimyo, where Timura had supposedly seized power... there'd be no need for the young man before them.

He was expendable.

Ichika cleared her throat and ignored the throbbing pain in her leg, "we need to get out of the city. All of us." She cast a look towards Khari before continuing, "and then you can plot your revenge."

 

[Khari]

The boy seemed to go quiet for a few moments, looking at Ichika, then towards Khari. There was no small amount of suspicion in his eyes, but what were his options? Lips thinned, and then finally he gave the two girls a reluctant nod.

"Okay."​

"Good." Khari said, trying to ease herself on the couch a bit more.

She still felt as though she were about to fall asleep. The lids of her eyes were heavy and she felt an odd pressure sitting on the rest of her muscles. It was as though her body were trying to forcefully drag her into a state of sleep. "We're going to need a route ou-"

Her words were interrupted by a loud yawn.

"Out." Khari finished.

Her violet eyes flickered back towards the boy for a few seconds. His face was one of consternation, as if he were trying to puzzle out just what he should do now. Lips thinned, then opened, then suddenly snapped shut again. Finally, he spoke up.

"I know a way out...might even work with all three of you along...but I'll have to word first."
​

Khari glanced at Ichika, a question in her eyes. This was her plan...but did they trust him enough to fulfill it?

 

[Ichika]

Despite her likely insistence to the contrary, Khari wasn't doing so good. While time was certainly of the essence they couldn't go on if the demoness was too exhausted to finish her sentences. Especially when Asuka was likely going to be on 'carrying Ichika' duty for the next few hours.

But the gambit seemed to pay off. The sleaze they had met last night appeared to be deceived. Seemed like he was going to aid them.

When her friend's violet eyes caught her gaze the heiress to the Tsuri family inadvertently twisted her lips. It was a tough call. The man before them could just as easily lead them to certain death as he could salvation. Still...

Shakily, wearily, the girl nodded.

He was likely their best, perhaps only, chance of getting out of Nira with their heads still attached to their shoulders. While it was a risk, and one she wished they didn't have to take, it appeared to be the only decision that the pair could make at this point.

"We should wait for nightfall," she paused for a second, expecting Khari to challenge her but raised her voice again before the challenge could come, "because of the patrols." It made some tactical sense... but it also allowed the two women to get at least another two hours or so of much needed rest.

"Perhaps you could untie me? So that I can relax a bit before we're off?"

"No." Her words were firm and quick. They'd unshackle the man only as they departed as far as she was concerned. And perhaps Khari would leave him bound until they were safely back in Dornoch.

 

[Khari]

Khari nodded her head. "Nightfall."

There wasn't much she could do to disagree. If she tried to insist on leaving now it would likely end up with her face down on the floor. Exhaustion was practically strangling her at this point, and she felt like she was about to fall into a month long slumber.

"Asuka." She said wearily. "See that he writes his letter and get it delivered."

Her head lulled towards Ichika. "I...need to nap."

The Daemonette slowly pulled her legs up off the floor and onto the couch, deciding that she no longer cared if the Daimyo's son saw her weak or not. She was simply too tired, too exhausted to go onward without some form of rest.

"We'll go at ni-" A yawn broke her words. "Nightfall."

Whatever path the boy had for them outside the city, it had to work.

If only because they had no other options left.

 

[Ichika]

Khari was out like a light but Asuka was quick on the uptake. Securing some parchment and a quill from the nearby desk.

He looked down at the tied up man, then at the writing implements, then at an already snoozing Khari, and then up to Ichika. It was like watching a child trying to take in every flavor of candy at a newly opened shop.

"Yes?" she whispered, though the woman was fairly sure the daemonette would've been able to sleep through her full volume.

"I can't write," Asuka admitted, "and I'm not supposed to untie him," a head bob gesturing towards the detained boy.

Immediately after his explanation a wide smirk formed on Ichika's lips. "I'll transcribe his letter for him. You can still sign your name with your hands bound, yes?" The question was aimed at their prisoner who nodded swiftly.

It only took a few moments for him to run the request by her, it felt good to write again. Less dangerous.

Asuka took off right after and the Tsuri woman found herself joining Khari in the land of dreams. At least until the sun had fully set.

 

[Khari]

Khari had no idea how long she managed to sleep for.

Her rest was an utterly dreamless one, filled with nothing but outright slumber. When she was finally shook awake by the touch of Asuka it was as though she were being dragged from the edge of death itself. A loud groan escaped her throat, eyes slowly folding open.

"Miss Khari. Miss Khari."​

The Retainer urged. "W-what?"

Her voice was hoarse, her expression that of a bear just roused from hibernation. She looked up at Asuka, making sure that no panic or wounds painted his face. When she found him unharmed a small part of her breathed a sigh of relief.

"There was an answer from the letter you had me send. The Daimyo's son seems quite...animated."​

"Ah." She said quietly, reaching up to rub a hand on her face. "Okay,. wake Ichika."

Khari said with a deep yawn. "It's time to go."

 

[Ichika]

Ichika rocked back-and-forth in the little canoe, fishing rod held loosely but ready to grapple with it if she got a bite. Beside her sat Khari, speaking a dialect of some Steppe language she'd heard on her travels but didn't understand, as the two shared a bottle of expensive champagne that sat nestled between them. Suddenly, she felt the line of her rod get taut, she reeled it in swiftly as the daemonette cheered her on. A gigantic half-man, half-fish, half-horse exploded from the waves and then she

A firm hand shook her shoulder and her eyes shot open. "Wha?"

She brought her wrist upwards to wipe a smidge of drool that had begun to seep from the side of her lips and she blinked several times to re-acclimate herself to her surroundings.

Night had fallen and a far too short rest had ended. They had to get moving now if they were going to survive to see tomorrow. Ichika tried lifting herself and found that the rune had worked well enough that she could at least get around some. Asuka was quick to hand her a brace.

"I can walk," she said meekly staring at Khari. Albeit with a limp and a slow pace. But she could at least walk.

 

[Khari]

Khari shook her head. "Asuka, help her."

The more Ichika moved, the more liable she was to hurt herself. There was no way she was going to chance that, not in the middle of the situation they were in. They had to be careful every step of the way now, one wrong move could send them to the grace.

Slowly she pulled herself up, dragging a hand over her face and rubbing the sleep completely from her eyes and she stepped over towards the Daimyo's son.

"Alright." Khari began. "What is this way out of Nira?"

For a few moments the boy seemed to look up at Khari, then to Ichika. A frown touched his face, but finally he relented and began to explain.

"My mother has a private dock. It's supposedly for day trips into the straits, but in reality there's a ship there. Only needs a crew of five. They are loyal to my family, and will take us. My Letter confirmed that. We just...have to get there."​

Khari sighed. "Where?"

"It's on the other side of the palace. In the Fisherman's quarter. Where no one would suspect it."​

Which, also happened to be on the other side of the city from the Grand Lotus.

 

[Ichika]

Ichika considered protesting. The thought of being a burden was something she hated. Ultimately she relented, realizing that Khari was right and she'd simply move too slow without Asuka's aid.

He at least could see the look in her eyes and realized it was a choice she wished didn't have to be made.

In a fluid motion he lifted her once more and she found herself being carried by her friend's retainer. It was dignified and it felt embarrassing but a bit of egg on her face was better than dying. Or getting Khari killed.

"Sounds like a plan."

They left the daimyo's son in his bindings, removing only the ones around his ankles so that he could walk before turning to leave through the window of the suite. It was probably best if the staff at the Grand Lotus didn't see the former ruler's offspring.

"Would be easier to climb down if you undid the ropes on my wrists," he tried to protest before they exited but Asuka nor Ichika dignified his suggestion with a response.

Once they reached the street level all they had to do was navigate through the darkened streets of Nira without anyone seeing them, or at least, recognizing them. Crossing an entire city with a guide who's hands were bound, with a wanted girl sporting two curved horns, and a half-giant of a man carrying a girl with a broken leg shouldn't be much of a challenge at this point.

At least, that's what Ichika tried to tell herself.

 

[Khari]

Khari's travel through the city streets weren't any easier now than they had been the day before.

Luckily she had managed to snag a scarf and a hat before leaving the Daimyo's hotel, but she knew the moment they passed a slightly too inquisitive patrol it wouldn't be enough. As they began their long trek Khari slowly leaned in towards Ichika.

"If they spot me, just keep going, okay?" Her voice was low so that only the two of them could hear.

The streets were not entirely devoid of people, but the crowds of yesterday were utterly gone. Nira was not a city under lockdown, and the commerce of the day more than reflected that fact.

"I can make it out on my own." At least, she was pretty sure. "You need to get to that boat."

No matter what. "And if he tries anything funny..."

She let the rest of it go unsaid.

 

[Ichika]

Ichika practically could've slapped her friend in the moment. Instead, she shot her a bewildered look and let her eyes do the talking before whispering back, "we both need to get to the boat. And if you're concerned about me getting to it, make sure you're on it with me."

There was no chance, after she'd offer for Khari to leave on her own, that Ichika was going to abandon the horned woman.

Besides, they'd come this far and the city seemed... quiet. Much quieter than yesterday.

They could surely pull this off. Particularly with the daimyo's offspring and his unique knowledge of the city (not to mention his access to a private boat). Khari was just being Khari... paranoid and overly protective. They'd get out of this, the both of them.

"Of course," she replied, taking her meaning about the possibility for the man's ill intentions.

After what he'd tried the night before the Tsuri girl figured the likelihood they would end up throwing him overboard before making it back to Dornoch was astronomically high.

 

[Khari]

Khari opened his mouth to object, but simply snapped her mouth shut and decided that further arguing wasn’t going to do her much good.

The fact of the matter was that Ichika had just as much will as she did. If they got into the whole discussion here on the street they were liable to raise the suspicion of a dozen guards before everything was resolved. A frown touched her lips for a brief moment, and she simply kept walking in their small group.

As they continued to walk down the winding street Khari took note of every guard patrol she could see.

It seemed that they were roaming the streets, each of them sticking to groups of three. Most of them seemed to be checking homes and hotels, asking for registration cards and putting up posters of her face everywhere.

“Why is it that they’re looking for you, but not me?”

The Daimyo’s son said quietly, looking to Khari.

”Who do you think it’s easy to pin the murder on? The Dynast’s personal assassin or her son that doesn’t stand to gain any power?” It wasn’t really a lie. ”They’ll parade me around the street, hang me publicly.”

Her head turned away from the boy. ”You? They’ll cut your throat quietly behind closed doors.”

The boy seemed to pale, looking at Ichika as if she might offer some form of reprieve.

 

[Ichika]

She would've been lying if she'd said the posters of Khari hadn't made her nervous. If there were one or two of them she could've dismissed it but nearly everywhere she looked she saw another visage of her friend. Boarded on doors, hung from rafters, attached to the stoneworks at the corners of buildings, and even loose copies being carried by the wind.

There was no doubt that the city was on full alert for her and Ichika's face went white as the nobleson started to connect the dots.

Luckily for Ichika her companion was quick on her feet and spun him another tale.

When he looked at her for encouragement she faked a look of concern. "I'm sorry..." was all she said at first. Then she added, "they might not kill you if you're caught. It's possible they'd just, well, no... I shouldn't."

"They'd just what?" he whispered expectantly, clearly his mind reaching for anything that wasn't certain death.

"Maybe, and I could be mistaken, they wouldn't kill you. They'd just castrate you and ship you off to the slavers in Cerak." Likely a fate worse than death.

The daimyo's son gulped and sweat beaded on his forehead while Ichika decided that she rather enjoyed this whole lying and deceiving thing.

 

[Khari]

Khari wanted to laugh as Ichika spun her own tale to the Daimyo's son.

Her head shook slightly, as though rueful, but in reality she was simply keeping herself from buckling over. The Daemonette knew that her life had been sheltered, but she couldn't imagine just how little the Daimyo's son knew about the world at large. She wondered if they could have fooled him into any number of things, though knew that now was hardly the time for it.

"So stick close." She said, looking back towards the boy.

"And don't use your real name anywhere." That was something they hadn't really thought of. Khari and Ichika already had false names...though perhaps they should change those too. "You're Toda now."

'Toda' made a face.

"But that's a peasants na-"​

Khari cut him off immediately. "Exactly. Peasants don't get their balls cut off."

Almost immediately the prince snapped his mouth shut and just nodded, looking between the two girls with about as much terror as someone like him could summon. "Good. Glad we agree, Toda."

 

[Ichika]

Toda was an appropriate name for the toady looking boy they now had to lug around. Luckily, they'd given their captive a few blankets and quilts to carry which concealed the fact that his hands were bound. Ichika had figured they could masquerade as merchants who had come to Nira to trade during the festivities and so far the illusion was working wonderfully to conceal both Khari's identity and that of the daimyo's son.

They passed one or two patrols, neither batting an eye towards the group, and a few locals who simply averted their gaze. The entire city seemed to be on edge.

Once they were just a few blocks from the private dock security seemed even lighter. "We're nearly there," Toda whispered to the girls, "just around that bend in the street and cross a few more blocks."

The bend in the road led them into a secluded alleyway where just ahead they could make out several packing crates blocking the road, with a narrow opening that only permitted one person to pass through at a time. A group of two men, an orc, a dwarf, and a half-elf all stood with morning stars hanging from their waist belts.

"This could be trouble," she said low.

A young human female with reddish curls for hair sat atop the crates, arms crossed, and a grin of satisfaction was plastered on her face. "Afternoon friends," she called to the traveling group, "this alley's part of the Doya Gang's turf. I just need your names and for you to pay the toll if you want to pass into our territory." The five males all snickered but instantly went silent as the woman atop the crates cleared her throat, "no one's got to be hurt, simple exchange of information and gold."

"I'm Toda!" the nobleson barked almost immediately after the woman had mentioned someone being hurt.

 

[Khari]

Khari was tired. Exhausted.

All she wanted was to get on that damned boat and get back to Dornoch. They had made it through the whole city, passed guards and Ogres. Close enough that she could smell the sea again. Then these fucking louts had to ruin their run of good luck.

Multicultural as the gang was, the Daemonette found herself unimpressed. Fingers tightened, though she knew her magic would barely be a spark at this point. Her lips thinned and she glanced at Asuka, then to Ichika. Neither of them would be much help now, an-

"I'm Toda!"​

Khari's head immediately whirled to the side, eyes drilling into the boys head.

"That's nice hun. Now, who are your friends?" The woman almost seemed to purr the words, watching the other three as though they were little more than rats in a barn.

"Do you really need our names?" Khari asked, reaching inside of the pouch on her belt. "Or do you just want gold?"

Her fingers fluttered open, displaying three large golden coins.

Eyebrows raised, and then suddenly the dwarf spoke. "Depends how much gold you got."

 

[Ichika]

Ichika’s eyes went a bit more narrow as the situation unfolded. This was still not shaping up how she’d have preferred. This gang of hoodlums was proving to be a bigger nuisance than any other obstacle they’d faced since slaying the daimyo.

”Plenty for you to forget we were here,” Ichika said in a calm voice while pulling out one of the last golden bars they’d brought to Nira.

Every single one of the henchmen’s pupils dilated. Their mouths salivated, and one of them even let loose a low whistle of approval.

“I said I need names too,” the curly red announced. Her own eyes narrowing, her nose scrunching.

Ichika could only guess that the woman was hoping to not only curry favor with whatever the new regime of Nira might be but also to cash in on the bounty that was out for Khari’s head. A golden bar would be enough to feed their little street crew for weeks but the bounty on the assassin of the daimyo was enough to feed them for life.

”Sira,” Ichika said gesturing to herself, ”and I’m the leader of this posse.”

A thumb pointed backwards to Asuka, who was still helping her limp around, ”this is Jameson.” Her index finger indicated towards Khari, ”and that’s Celia.”

Clearing her throat and staring at the curly redhead with a stern demeanor she added, ”we are simple merchants from Alliria and we need to pass. Let us through.”

She hoped that her bluff had worked and, if it hadn’t, she hoped that Khari had enough energy to fight off the motley gang before them.

 

[Khari]

Khari could feel her heart practically stop in her chest.

She tried to run through a dozen scenarios in her head. Every method that she could use to fight this band of bandits, every little bit of knowledge she had to see if they could win. A decade of killing went through her head, and at every turn she came up short.

The Daemonette knew the state she was in, knew the state Ichika was in. Asuka could fight, he had the training of a Royal Retainer, but one against this many? There was no chance. Particularly with Khari and Ichika in the way.

"See? That wasn't too hard was it?" The woman said with a shake of her head.

Khari grit her teeth, deciding it was best to stay silent. "Well, go on then. I suppose you have a boat to catch...after you give me that gold, oh, and whatever else you have on you."

"That was-" Khari bit her own tongue, fingers digging into her side after a second.

Now wasn't the time to fight. "Fine."

They didn't have much left, but it didn't matter. They had to get out of Nira. From her pocket Khari pulled out the rest of her gold, and alongside with what Ichika had offered, gave it up to the woman. "Good. Now off you go."

The woman said with a gentle wave.

 

[Ichika]

Underneath it all Ichika was fuming. It was one thing to be robbed and another to be robbed by more than what your robbers initially threatened you with! Had Khari not been so short with the red-haired criminal leader of this group Ichika was preparing to give her a piece of her own mind.

Instead, it was over, and she feared if she spoke up now the band of thieves would be after their clothes too.

The group of four scrunched through the tight corridor and walked out of the alley. The docks were visible now and they snaked through one or two more corridors to head towards where the daimyo's son had indicated the ship would be.

"I thought you were Dornoch's Butcher," the boy in binds whined, "we could've used that gold for the trip. Picked up some decent wine or food on the way to see the Dynast."

"Shut up!"

Her words were loud and piercing, forgetting the delicate situation they were in for the briefest of moments. She moderated her voice back to a normal volume and cut into the spoiled brat further, "do not call her that name. And be grateful that you're even still alive."

His demeanor deflated for a split second but then immediately bounced back as the group found themselves staring at the hidden dock with the private boat that would lead to their salvation. The only thing left to do now was to hope he hadn't exaggerated his position. Hope that they weren't about to be double crossed.

 

[Khari]

Khari tried to smile slightly as Ichika defended her, but it was a lost cause.

She was simply too exhausted, too far gone to really care anymore. Butcher. Murderer. Whatever anyone wanted to call her didn't matter.

Things back home were still more than unsure. Whatever her fate would be they didn't know. 'Toda' could certainly testity to his mothers plans, but she had no idea if he actually would. For all she knew even getting out of here was a death sentence.

Not that it really mattered much to her in that moment.

All she cared about was making sure that Ichika got out. As long as that happened she would count all of this as a success. "Is that it?"

Khari asked as they began to walk down the pier. A Maruko-bune sat there, the elegant ship crewed by two men that she could see.

"That's it...here let me...EIKO!"​

His voice boomed out, causing the Daemonette to Cringe slightly. One of the men on the ship turned however, his eyes opening immediately.

"Young Prince! We thought...perhaps...quickly quickly, come aboard, before anyone sees you. Come!"​

The man shouted, ushering the four of them quickly over towards the gangplank.

 

[Ichika]

The little boat bobbed on the water and shifted back-and-forth as the group climbed on board with Eiko.

"We need to get to Dornoch," Ichika insisted quickly, "time is of the essence."

They'd hopefully assume it was to keep the prince safe or for his benefit in some way. Ichika merely wanted to ensure they were disembarking and on course before discussions between 'Toda' and Eiko could progress to reveal that the two women hadn't been completely honest.

Asuka sat Ichika down into a corner of the boat before Khari joined her. Asuka himself sat with an arm dangled over the side of the boat, placing himself between the two women and the duo of men who manned the helm. Eiko quickly produced a dagger and sliced the binds off the daimyo's son with a look of concern.

Ichika placed her arm across the daemonette and whispered, "Khari, get some rest. Asuka and I will keep an eye on them and wake you if there's any trouble."

Before long the ship moved away from the pier and began to set sail outwards. Away from Nira and the troubles they'd faced there.