Enlightened Empire

Chapter 123 Light and Dark

"If this was your entire offer, then I believe we are done here." When they had met in private, in one of the dark hallways away from the great banquet, Epunamo Villca’s anger towards his brother Uchu had disappeared without a trace. However, even if he had put on a show for the other nobles before, Epunamo’s snide attitude, arms crossed and head raised into the sky, didn’t make Uchu feel any better about his little brother.

"Yeah, that’s it. For now. It looks like we can get along pretty well, huh? I’ll just accept that you didn’t have anything to do with that damned cannon." Unimpressed by his little brother’s haughty attitude, Uchu did his best to keep the pressure up, but Epu was just as unfazed.

"And I will accept that you had no part in my father’s murder, and no involvement with the false king."

"...right. Why would I anyways? I mean sure, the guy’s got some good grub-"

Before Uchu could give a more measured evaluation of the king, beyond Epunamo’s mad ’King Corco is my mortal enemy’, Guachimine hit his ankle from the side. In response, the big brother returned a playful smack of his elbow. Guachimine, ever the kidder, played hurt and toppled over in turn. Despite the exchange, Uchu understood that he had to pick a side here. Even if his haughty brat of a brother was annoying, he would follow the rat’s advice and placate little Epunamo. For now.

"-but no matter how good the food is, he’s still a bastard for keeping me here, trapped in a room with all the boring old geezers. I’ll cut off his head myself if he ever gives me the chance."

Again he saw that frown from Epunamo, as if a stray mutt had pissed in his exalted path, a filthy blemish on his perfect, noble day. Still, Uchu decided to ignore it for now and put on a heroic smile instead. Dealing with the king took priority for now, but that didn’t mean dealing with Epunamo couldn’t still come later. Plus, he was busy with other matters. The rat’s meddling reminded Uchu of an issue he had tried to address a while ago.

"By the way, brother, where’s that servant of yours?" he asked with a look at the empty space behind the proud noble. Throughout the evening, his brother’s glare had always been framed by the silent hulk of a servant. However, since the time of their duel, the Villca warrior had disappeared without a trace. For once, Uchu could read more than arrogance or anger on Epunamo’s face. Although the frown was almost the same as before, true worry showed through the little brother’s facade.

"I am unsure myself. Lado has been assigned a special duty, but he should have been back by now." Although his words were unusually frank, Epunamo talked more to himself than to his brother as he looked over his shoulder, to the empty spot his loyal servant would otherwise fill.

"Special duty? What, you’re trying to kill off that king tonight, in his own house? Bold move, brother, didn’t expect those kinds of guts from you!"

A wide grin on his face, Uchu stepped forward to slap his little brother’s shoulder. In response, he could see Epunamo’s goodwill crumble, as he turned his head back front and stared the bandit down with enlarged eyes.

"Are you mad? How could the great King of the South ever allow himself to be attacked in such a manner?" he said, his voice intensified just like his stare. Even though Uchu wasn’t one of those nobles who had grown up with a dagger under their pillow, he still understood that this wasn’t the place to talk about these issues.

"Well, it’s fine," Uchu waved off the urgency. "Doesn’t really matter whether or not you’re man enough. I’ll just do what I want. Whether you wanna come along for the ride or not is your choice, but you’ll have to live with all consequences either way."

His ultimatum given, he left behind one final "see you around, brother," and went on his way, back towards the lights of the crowded banquet hall.

"Brother, do you believe antagonizing Epu like this was wise? It seems just as rash as an attack on the king. For now we still need to be careful, at least until we are back with your men, back on the river. Maybe even until we have secured your position as lord."

After Uchu’s playful treatment, the rat’s squeak had become even higher, even more annoying. Still, the older sibling did his best to explain things to Guachimine, like the good brother he was.

"What, you really believe that bastard’s big talk? No matter what the little prick says, I won’t buy his peace offer. So long as he doesn’t give up on his rights to Cashan, Epunamo will always be our first enemy. As for that king..."

A frown ran over Uchu’s confident face as he thought back to his treatment in Saniya.

"...that guy isn’t anything good either. Remember how he forced us to stay in the castle all this time. With how much he’s stalled, he’s really testing my patience. If he doesn’t let me go soon, I might just snap and-"

"Shh." Just as the young lord was about to lay out his elaborate plan involving his fist and that king’s teeth, the rat dared interrupt him. However, before he could reign in his advisor’s arrogance, he saw the reason for the interruption, and had to agree with his judgment.

All this time they had walked through darkness. However, on his way back from his quiet, private conversation in the dark corners of Rapra Castle, a group of lights came towards him, to dispel the night which had crept into the halls all around. Soon the lights revealed the opposite party, and Uchu found himself confronted with the owner of this place, and the guy who had given him so much trouble all throughout today. There he was, with confident strides King Corcopaca marched towards Uchu, future lord of Cashan.

For a moment Uchu thought he could get his revenge. Of course he couldn’t kill the king in his own castle. That path would lead him straight to the underworld. While he wasn’t willing to take any lip from those grand nobles, his own life was still more important to him than something as worthless as honor. Still, at least he could have given the little man a bloody nose and show him who the boss along the Tunki River really was. However, even that plan wouldn’t work out, because the coward hadn’t come alone.

Behind him, a large array of over a dozen warriors and servants traveled, some with weapons or torches, while others held trays covered in cloth before them. From the bottom of the trays, an ominous smoke drifted down and onto the wooden floors. While Uchu was still busy judging the strength of the king’s entourage and his own chances to take them on, or get away if worst came to worst, the king had stepped closer and offered a greeting.

"Young Master Uchu, what brings you here, into the dark corners of my castle? Why not stay in the main hall and enjoy the great show I’ve prepared for you, in company of your fellow nobles?" This time, what answered Uchu wasn’t the snide arrogance he had felt from his brothers, or the cold indifference exhibited by his fellow lords at the banquet. Instead, the king, the man with the highest status here and the only one with proper real reason to hate him, showed a frank smile as he greeted him with open arms, the same way he had acted all evening, towards all the lords.

"Ah, just stretching my legs. Whoever’s in there, they’re not my company," Uchu replied as he motioned into the hall.

"Guachimine Villca greets King Corco," the rat spoke behind him like an idiot. And like an idiot, Guachimine was ignored in favor of the most important Villca in Rapra Castle.

"It’s not so bad, is it? If nothing else, you get to enjoy good food and drink, right? Worst case, you can always get so drunk you won’t notice the contempt anymore."

"You trying to say they look down on me?" Unhappy with the king’s casual attitude, Uchu stepped up and decided to challenge his foe. However, his large stride went short when he could see the weapons of the king’s warriors twitch in the torchlight.

"...of course they do. What, can’t you tell? I sure as hell can, more than you’ll ever guess." As if he was about to let Uchu in on a secret no one had any right to hear, the king lowered his tone and looked around like a thief. "I’ve been away from Medala for seven years. They’re the exact same stares an outsider got from the nobles of the eastern continent. I’ve been there, so I get it."

"That so? That make us brothers then, or something?" Uchu sneered, as he stepped back to restore distance.

"No, it doesn’t." King Corco spread his arms to underline his helpless smile. "Cashan and Saniya can be considered natural enemies, no tragic backstory is gonna change that. I’m also sure you don’t like that tall tale of me killing your father, whether or not it’s true. Still, I think we have more than enough in common, and more than enough common interests, to work together. You don’t strike me as the sentimental type. You’d let yourself get bitten by Hatun Supra, so long as it’s to your benefit."

"Ahaha, you got that one right. Still, I wouldn’t let any snake near me after he’s shot me with a cannon." Accompanied by his happy laugh, Uchu showed off his brilliant teeth, the ones he had bitten off ears and fingers with before. Down in the dirt, beyond the walls of the great castles, battles were hard work.

"Yes, what an unfortunate misfire that one was," the king replied, without a change in expression.

"Misfire? We both know that that’s bullcrap. Why would your cannons even be loaded? Why would you keep your powder inside that tower? I might not have any culture, or whatever you call this pretend play, but at least when it comes to war, I know what I’m doing. You don’t stash cannons in the same place as the powder, even I know that much."

"Yeah, it does seem pretty unlikely, huh?" The king’s smile widened. "My men are still investigating how this could have ever happened. Oh, what a strange and unusual tragedy."

"King Corco, you would not know about the location of young master Epunamo’s warrior attendant, would you?" the rat chimed in, his second attempt at getting involved.

"Oh, is someone missing?" the king played surprised, but he looked like a bad street performer in the process. Even for Uchu it was easy to see that King Corco was lying, and that he made no attempt to hide it

"Yeah, ever since the cannon shot, Epunamo’s warrior has up and vanished. That’s weird, isn’t it? During a duel, when I stand all by myself, completely still because my brother wants to go through with that weird pistol duel of his, my brother’s warrior disappears, and then a cannon shot goes off right after, from a cannon with no powder, and just about misses me."

"Yes, that is strange, huh? In all honesty: As the host for today, I can’t tell you too much. Exposing my guests would be bad form and such. Just let me say this: Be careful who you choose as your allies." Just like a merchant, the king finished off with a wink which only made his face appear even more punchable.

"And I’d assume you consider yourself the better ally?" Uchu asked, unconvinced.

"The devil you know, as they say. After all, I’ve never really done anything to harm you, at least as far as you know."

"You say that and yet you’ve kept me here all night, to make sure I’ll end up dead," Uchu shot back with narrowed eyes. For a second, he could feel the air grow tense as the warriors behind the king lowered their stances. However, a single loudmouth answer from the merchant king was enough to resolve the conflict.

"Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t want to keep you here for so long, and I definitely didn’t want to see anyone get killed in my place. It just kinda... happened I guess. Honestly, I just wanted to punish you a bit for ruining my evening with that gross head. Uhm... in that case, young master Uchu, I want to thank you for your gracious gift and attendance to my banquet."

To Uchu’s great surprise, the king bent down, with the same sort of stiff form he had seen from other nobles all evening.

"As House Villca thanks the king for his hospitality," the rat answered in his baffled brother’s stead. Just as well, since Uchu really wasn’t up to snuff on his hidden daggers.

"There, you’re free to go. Still, you sure you don’t wanna stay a bit longer? We’re just about to bring out the grand finale of the evening." Another one of those merchant smiles on his face, the king gestured his head back to the mysterious steaming concoctions under the cloths behind him. Although Uchu was intrigued, he had been nervous all night. He would leave now, while no one else could see him. With so many enemies around, his return would be safer when fewer people knew his location.

"Nah, I’ll be off," he replied, and tried to make his way out of the castle.

"That’s a shame. Oh, another one?" Corco looked behind Uchu to interrupt his exit, and the young bandit lord did the same, to find his brother Epunamo walk towards them, his angry face restored. His entrance seemed anything but voluntary, as he was dragged along by the warrior the king had called Atau, the big man who had swung that metal club around earlier today.

"Ah, cousin. This one’s been sneaking around all suspicious-like, stood around the corner and listened in," the tall warrior said towards the king, before he turned back over to his prisoner. "I’d say that’s not proper etiquette, even if you’re a young master of Cashan."

With a brisk gesture, Epunamo threw off the warrior’s hand.

"What would a servant know of these matters? This young master merely did not wish to interrupt the king’s conversation, which is proper etiquette for the noble. Now that the king’s conversation is finished, this young master will return to the banquet hall together with King Corco, if King would be so inclined."

"Of course," the king answered with the same frank smile as before, but Uchu was sure he could see it cramp up a bit at the corners. While Epunamo ignored the warrior who had led him here, the king left behind a nod and a grin for Uchu, before the two disparate nobles made their way back to their compatriots, surrounded by the king’s entourage. Uchu and his rat brother were left in the shadows. Once they had disappeared around the corner, the future lord of Cashan took a deep breath to release his tension. Unlike most people, Uchu preferred the darkness, preferred to move alone. In the dark, he would be hard to spot and hard to predict. Surprises had always been his specialty.

"Let’s get out of here. There’s a lot to digest," he whispered towards the rat, his only ally, before he disappeared into the dark of the night.