Chapter 15

Koji sat in the carriage, his mind mulling over what he had heard from Gregory’s mouth. While he was not inclined to believe that everything he said would be truthful, he still could not shake the feeling that Gregory had spoken at least some honest words during their meeting.

Which was why he was now sitting in a carriage headed for the shipyard. He reasoned that if what Gregory had told him was indeed the truth, he would be able to start there.

It was a long and quiet ride, with nothing but the clip-clop of the hooves of the unicorns pulling the carriage to keep Koji company. Eventually, he arrived and got off, paying the driver as he left.

The shipyard looked much more lively than it had been when he and Sylvia had come here for the raid. There were labourers, mostly large men, hard at work tearing apart ships’ hulls and piling the timber into large bundles, ready to be transported elsewhere.

After asking some directions from one of the workers, Koji walked over to the main office, where presumably they kept records of the vessels that were brought here to be dismantled.

The main office turned out to be a squat, stone building that was located in the middle of the shipyard. There was a wooden sign hanging outside that had a picture of a ship and a hammer and saw crossed behind it, done in bright yellow paint.

Opening the door, Koji heard a small bell ring. There was a skinny man wearing a white shirt with a blue overcoat on top. He wore a pair of half moon glasses and had an unlit cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was standing behind a large wooden counter that divided the room in two. Behind him were dozens of thick volumes, stacked neatly on a row of shelves.

“Aye, good afternoon,” the man said with a nod. “Name’s Hamish. What’s a young ‘un like you doing here?” He took off his glasses, cleaned them, and returned them to his face. “You with the Order of the Unbroken Path?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Koji said.

“You guess?” Hamish let out a small snort of laughter. “Either you are or you ain’t, what’s there to guess about that?”

“Alright, fine. I am with the Order,” Koji amended, feeling slightly annoyed already. “I’m here to look at your records, if you have any.”

“You’re damn right we do,” Hamish growled, chomping his teeth around his cigar. “Been playing clerk down here for nearly twenty-two years now. Which records do you want?”

Remembering Gregory’s words, Koji said, “I’m looking for the records of a ship called the Gallant Gale. Cargo galleon, I think. From about three years ago. Captained by a man named Thatcher.”

Hamish said nothing, but turned around to start searching through his record books.

Koji, for his part, stood there awkwardly while Hamish worked. Eventually, to break the silence, he asked, “So, uh, you must have been alive before the Order came to this city.”

Hamish snorted without turning around. “What do you think, genius? I don’t look that young, do I?” Then he sighed and said, “Yes, I was here before your Order came and took over. No, I don’t have anything to do with magic anymore. I already got grilled for this last week after your raid.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way…”

Picking up a record book, Hamish searched through it slowly, squinting at the tiny text behind his glasses. “Ah, don’t think anything of it, lad. Your Order wasn’t always as popular as it is now. Used to be, magic ruled over Behalan. Not anymore. Do I miss those days? I would be lying if I said no, but I’m not a fool. The Order’s here to stay, and everyone had best fall in line or leave. That’s just the way it is. Destiny, if you call it that.”

Koji couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he stayed quiet.

Hamish spent the better part of half an hour searching through his records, growing more and more irritated looking with every volume he pulled off the shelves and then found useless.

“Doesn’t make any sense…” Hamish said, slapping down the most recent record book. “You sure you have all the details right, lad?”

“Yes,” Koji said with a nod.

“Well, the Gallant Gale ain’t here. I know I’m not the best at reading, but when it comes to organizing these papers, I don’t let a single sheet out of place. So either your information is wrong, or someone removed the record of your galleon. And that’s highly illegal, that is.”

“Who might have done it? If it was stolen, I mean,” Koji asked.

“Look, lad. These here are just ship records. I don’t know why someone might steal it. Not unless there was something that someone wanted to keep out of the public eye. Still, whoever did it would probably catch hell if they were ever caught. Highly illegal.”

“As illegal as practising magic?” Koji ventured.

“Well, maybe not that illegal,” Hamish admitted. “But still, it’s a crime that can see a man in prison for a great many years. Just about the only people who could get away with it would be some kind of big shot in your Order. Not that I’m accusing you people. Just stating the possibilities.”

Koji nodded understandingly “Yeah. No problem.”

“Anything else you need, lad?” Hamish asked as he put the record books back into place. “Who sent you here, anyway? It’s a long walk from your Order’s headquarters to here.”

“Nobody sent me,” Koji said honestly. “And I took a carriage here. I was… curious about something that I heard up there about that ship and wanted to know more.”

“Hmph. Good to see that you’re not just blindly following your betters, unlike some other people I know,” Hamish smiled slightly. “Still, I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing.”

Koji shrugged. “Nothing I can do about that. I’ll just have to get another carriage back up there and see if I can learn more that way. Thanks for the help, Mr. Hamish.”

Hamish nodded and took the cigar out of his mouth. “Fair winds to you, lad. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

***

By the time Koji was able to return to the Order’s headquarters, it was beginning to get late. Still, he was not to be deterred. After getting out of the vehicle, Koji made a straight line for the barracks. He had to speak with Gregory again.

As again, the Order’s guards let him through without any problems. Koji entered the holding cells and turned to the nearest guard.

“I want to speak to the prisoner who was captured in the shipyard raid,” he said clearly.

However, this time the guard looked down at his little notepad and shook his head. “Sorry, sir. That prisoner was moved to a different facility.”

Koji did a double take. “Wait, what? What do you mean?”

“I just know that the man you want to speak to isn’t being held in this place anymore,” the guard said apologetically. “He was taken away less than an hour ago. I was about to get to cleaning his cell for the next occupant.”

“Well, do you know where he was taken?” Koji asked impatiently.

The guard shook his head. “Again, no. All that I know is that he was deemed too dangerous to be kept here and was relocated.”

“Too dangerous?” Koji repeated incredulously. “Are we not standing in the heart of the Order’s main base of operations? What’s more secure than this place?”

The guard could do nothing but shrug his shoulders. “I understand where you’re coming from, sir, but that’s all I know. If you want to know more, I suggest you speak to the High Lords. They might know where the prisoner was taken off to.”

“Then I’ll do just that,” Koji said, now feeling more than a little irked. Something wasn’t right here, and he wanted to know just what it was.

Five minutes later, Koji strode up to the doors to the High Lords’ meeting chamber. Pushing them open, he walked in, seeing the three High Lords on their thrones as usual.

“Ah, Koji Hagane,” High Lord Tristan said warmly. “Just the man we wanted to see.”

This gave Koji pause. “You were… expecting me?”

“Oh, yes. You must have received our messenger hawk?” High Lord Eliana said, a motherly smile on her face.

“No…” Koji said, a skeptical look on his face. “But I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“We had something to ask you, as well,” High Lord Tristan said with a nod. “If you don’t mind, we’ll go first.”

“Fine,” Koji said.

“We have something we would like to do for you, as well as something we would ask you to do for us,” High Lord Eliana said formally. “We will speak of the latter first. Sylvia tells me that your powers are growing more refined and mighty, and we High Lords have just received a tip off that the Magecroft Organization will be attending a major event in the Waterfront District two days from now. By all reports, this is their last stronghold in the city."

"This is not an opportunity we can afford to miss; if we can strike at them there, we will have gone a great way towards securing total peace in Behalan, with no more mages to trouble it. We have decided to send you, Sylvia, and a large group of our soldiers to put a stop to this event, and to apprehend anyone suspicious there.”

“We have already put together the rest of the forces that will form the strike team,” High Lord Sampson said in his baritone voice. “Now that you know about the plan, everything will be in order.”

“Yeah, about that apprehending people…”Koji began, but High Lord Tristan held up his hand, silencing him.

“We know that you have been working very hard for the Order ever since you joined us,” High Lord Tristan began. “And we wanted to show our gratitude to you. Yes, we have given you a house and a salary, but we feel that a true hero such as yourself ought to be properly recognized by all. Therefore, we will be throwing a parade in your honor tomorrow afternoon. It will be a celebration of epic proportions, letting you shine as you deserve to.”

“It will also serve as a warning to the Magecroft Organization and any who support them still,” High Lord Eliana said demurely. “Irrefutable proof that humanity can triumph and succeed without magic, and that we, the Order of the Unbroken Path, hold humanity to their destinies, not blasphemous magicians.”

In spite of himself, Koji was flattered. “A-A parade? For me?”

“Well, for you and your fellow soldiers in the Order,” High Lord Sampson clarified. “But most of the attention will be on you and your heroism. You have earned it.”

“Report back here tomorrow at midday and we will be able to get it all started,” said High Lord Tristan eagerly. “There will be food and drink aplenty, and it will be open to the public to attend. By sundown tomorrow, every person in this city will know your face.”

Unable to help himself, Koji grinned. He had become used to being called a hero by his fellow soldiers, but being recognized as one by everyone in Behalan definitely seemed a step up. He imagined the crowds staring up at him and chanting his name, cheering for him. It was a pleasant daydream, and Koji indulged in it for a few seconds before replying.

“I will be there, High Lords. Both for the parade and the mission you have assigned.”

Koji saluted and the High Lords dismissed him. He made his way back to his house with a spring in his step, all thoughts about Gregory and the missing records forgotten for the time being.