Continued Discussions - XV

His reaction is subtle but obvious. A twitch of his head, a small flare of his nostrils. I'm not quite sure what it is, but the answer lies at the heart of the statement I just made.

“Okuri. When I spoke to one of your Lagnitians staff earlier, they mentioned owing you a debt. That you'd helped them in a particular time of need. Seeing as they were beginners in the Ineo language, I can only assume they came recently.”

This is a lie, of course. I've done no such thing. But if Okuri thinks that I have, then it makes him much more willing to open up. In the end, I decide to gamble on that slim chance, and pose a question.

“I've heard the same answer many times. Okuri, do you by any chance smuggle Lagnitians? You have a pronounced sympathy for those escaping persecution and a history of leaving yourself.”

This is somewhat of a long shot, of course. Guesswork, built from circumstantial evidence, and my own assessment of his character.

I watch the wolf-man, studying his reaction.

Okuri lets loose a long exhale, as if releasing some long pent-up feeling. Perhaps my deduction was right.

“No, Gamoun. I do not smuggle Lagnitians. I do not waltz across the border and bring them in under the cover of night.”

“But you do pay someone to do it.”

“Yes. Of course. A few bribes here, a few connections there. You’ll find that a great many people are willing to look the other way when compensation is involved. What of it?”

“Smuggling is a profession in itself, Okuri. It demands skill, time, and as you say, connections.” I take a few steps forward. “The tensions are high these days, Okuri, and many find great difficulty in crossing these borders. Yet, just this evening, my apprentice was attacked with a Lenvelen curse. In other words, a Northern assassin found their way into this city, with none other than your assistance.”

His former composure is reduced. “That’s absurd. Absurd. Why would I do such a thing?”

“Money. Opportunity. Anything a man of your profession would enjoy coming across.”

“Yes. Those are things I enjoy, to be sure. But you’ve no proof it was me, besides pointless accusations.”

“Accusations they may be, they’re far from pointless. You must be hiding something, Okuri. After all, you did send me to Alemi. A man who wished me dead.”

“And what relation has this to a Northern assassin?”

“There were a dozen of them waiting. As if they’d prepared for this very moment. Feeling for the daggers at their hips, and the chance to kill Gamoun the Gallant himself. So tell me, Okuri. If you have nothing to do with the ploy to kill Prince Jasi, why did you try to cover your tracks? Why are you sweating, like a man cornered?”

There’s a moment of stunned silence, as Okuri fidgets in place, and his nose draws air. Behind him, his two bodyguards share a similarly disturbed expression. I’m approaching something.

All I need is one, final push to get it out.

My claws flex out from my paws, inching closer to Okuri.

“Well, Okuri, I think me and you are finished for the evening. You’ve unloaded all the information I need and more.”

“A cute bluff,” he says, inhaling. “We know you don’t kill.”

“Not usually, no. But then again. Presented with such a morsel of evil, and the man responsible for my own apprentice’s suffering. Who’d complain if I cut away a few bits?”

“Stop.” The voice isn’t Okuri’s. It belongs to the one behind him. A young, blonde woman, with a hand outstretched. “I believe you’ve gone far enough.”

She hops forward on one leg, putting herself between me and Okuri.

“If you wish to ask something, then ask it of me.”

I pace backwards, putting my attention on her. “Why did your master help smuggle assassins into the country?”

“He’s not as evil as you think. Master Okuri believes in client confidentiality. There were figures who came and asked for assistance, but that’s all.”

“He didn’t ask about their identity? Who they were? Why they were doing such things?”

“No,” she answers. “The individual who asked was a member of the White Hands. Someone whom Okuri can confide in. So he had no reason to suspect something was amiss.”

“I see. And what of Alemi? Am I to believe that he just so happened to have assassins in-wait, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice?”

Stepping forward, Okuri’s male bodyguard speaks. “It was not a coincidence, true. But Okuri did not send you there with the intent of getting you killed.”

“Then what?”

“We were… visited by a strange letter. It implicated Okuri in the Prince’s murder. That unless we did as bid, that great trouble would come upon us. It said that you’d be coming, and that you ought to be led to Alemi’s place, so that you may die.”

“Where is this letter?”

“Burnt. As per the instructions written. We were in no position to refuse. It was even written that we shouldn’t tell you this at all, otherwise something terrible would befall us.”

It’s convenient for them, but the story does add up. Certainly, there’s still a plethora of questions, but it does answer some of them.

Assuming it’s true, then Okuri was responsible for helping smuggle someone into Ineo. The question is who? If they’re Ineo, then it stands to reason they’d have the necessary documents to come into the city. Unless they were criminals, and actively escaping justice, but that’s a low possibility.

The most probable answer is that they were a Northerner. The curse inflicted on my apprentice was Lenvelen in origin. So, it’s possible the assassin who killed Prince Jasi was a Northerner too.

Yet, to me, that seems like such a convenient answer. Okuri helped smuggle a Northern assassin in. It just so happened that Prince Jasi was killed by a Northerner too.

Therefore, the two must be related. Therefore, there’s a definite, secret ploy by Lenvel to murder Prince Jasi and turn everything asunder.

Do I believe that?

No.

This may just be an attempt to throw me off their trail. In the end, Alemi having a Northern assassin proves just that. They could have emigrated from Lenvel, long ago. They could have been a half-breed, and studied Northern curses, using it to the aid of Ineo.

Yes. There’s no objective proof a third party is involved. It could very well be that the White Hands killed Prince Jasi, and that’s all. Of course, I’m not planning to discount the possibility of a third party either. But reaching a conclusion here and now seems improper.

“And the letter?” I ask. “Did it say what would happen if you told me what was written?”

“Are you saying what it threatened?” asks the boy.

“Yes.”

“Death, of course.”

“You must’ve been quite afraid, then,” I say. “You knew I wouldn’t kill, and yet, hired such a large number of guards. You feared what would happen if I lived, and the ones who blackmailed you found out.”

Okuri shifts from foot to foot, straightening himself as he does. “And, I assume,” he says, with a concerned tone. “That by finding me here, you rendered my large number of guards… indisposable?”

“They’ll live.”

“Live, yes. But be in a position to protect me? Perhaps not. I assume you know what this means, Gamoun.”

“I do.”

It’s possible the ones who blackmailed him shall return. It’s possible that those very blackmailers were the assassins with Alemi. In such a situation such as his, with bodyguards wounded, that something most horrible could occur to him.

There’s a certain tension. Okuri smiles, before gesturing with his hands. “Then you know what you must do, Gamoun.”

“Okuri,” I say. “You’ve caused a man his life. Wounded my apprentice by way of your antics. And what’s more, helped those involved in the Prince’s murder.”

“All things true, yes! But what of it? What of it, Gamoun? Surely, that will not stop you, yes? A man’s life hangs on a thread, Gamoun, ready to be snipped at a moment’s notice! Are you going to let that happen?! Are you going to stand idly by as assassins come unto me, and tear me apart?!”

I turn on my heel and walk away. Marching with quiet steps across the carpet floor.

“You’re a hero, Gamoun! A man of honour! You save all those who need saving, and all those who don’t!”

I keep walking, going through the hall.

“Dammit, Gamoun! Turn back this instant and protect me! I’ll give you money, I’ll give you anything!”

I don’t heed his words. I leave the space and head outside, feeling the cold wind brush me by, and his voice rings hollow.