Chapter 4 - Palace District

Eight days ago; at sunrise during the Festival of the Last Summer Evening.

"'Can we have this in merchant notes, Master?' Mingmei asked as Master Miramoto handed out the palace notes that the group can use to purchase any equipment that they could possibly need for the mission. Master Miramoto was silent for a moment and was in deep thought. He nodded back at Mingmei and smiled.

"'That is clever. Very clever. By using merchant notes, you will not be traced as having any direct connection to the palace. You can go about the mission without anyone suspecting you. I like it. It's a clever move,' Master Miramoto said nodding. 'Unfortunately, the palace treasury only keeps palace notes and the standard coins of the empire. Let me know how this can be facilitated and I will do whatever I can,' Master Miramoto announced apologetically. He looked at each of the five faces before him for an idea that would make the conversion from palace notes to merchant notes easier for them.

"Mingmei was in deep thought and slowly threw a sideway glance towards Lynn. She was already staring silently at Mingmei; her beautiful expressionless face was studying Mingmei carefully. 'We'll take care of it, Master. I am sure we'll think of something before we'd have any need for them,' Mingmei declared with a slight smile. She turned to Lynn and me with a nod and we both smiled and nodded at Master Miramoto as well.

"'Very well. I am sure your resourcefulness will solve this little dilemma. There is no doubt in my mind. And just like what I told the two squad leaders, no contacts, no communications, nothing. You will send me a report anonymously. Use a secure method of your choosing so that I wouldn't know what to expect; meaning no one would know what to intercept when you send your report to me,' Master Miramoto took a deep breath and held the shoulders of Mingmei firmly. 'I will not make the same mistake of waiting for a month before expecting an update. I shall wait for a report every half-deck and if I don't receive one on the first half-deck, I shall send out your backup to retrieve you,' he said firmly. Mingmei nodded back at him without saying anything. Master Miramoto reached out his hand at Ianme's shoulder and then at Khyn's. 'Keep your group safe,' he said to them while looking straight into their eyes.

"Our group exited the Negation Chamber in silence. We did not mention the plan to get to a Cleansing Chamber before starting the investigation as we agreed while Master Miramoto was outside the Negation Chamber. We did not speak a single word until we left the palace through a rear exit that was used only by servants. The exit led to a small back alley that was lightly guarded. The alley leads to the barracks and the training grounds of the soldiers. We walked past the barracks and the training grounds cloaked the way servants are cloaked whenever they leave the palace. As an added security, Mingmei used a Minor Exclusion of Light on our group that made us virtually invisible to anyone except those who have very keen senses, but only if we stopped moving.

"Lynn led our group to a series of abandoned alleys that quickly took us out of the Palace District and into the red-light district of the city that was popularly and informally known as the Memory District—a place where people go to forget or to make pleasant memories. When we reached an area of the Memory District where the clientele looked like to be from a specific crowd, our group made a sudden turn to a backstreet. We then approached a well-hidden backdoor. Lynn took out her pendant that bore her clan's insignia and pressed it on a small blank area of the wall next to the door. She then made a few gestures with her hand and the door unlocked with a sharp click. To Mingmei's sensitive senses, however, she heard the light clicking of other mechanisms on the wall and the door. She may not have said anything, but the movement of her eyes towards my direction said all that I needed to know. Lynn opened the door and gestured us to enter the door first. When everyone was inside, Lynn entered and then locked the door behind her.

"The room that we entered looked like a stock room. It was filled with casks of ale, and baskets filled with different vegetables and spices. Freshly butchered meat hang from metal hooks on one side of the room. Lynn led us to another door that opened into a very busy kitchen that was filled with the aroma of food being cooked. Lynn nodded to what looked like the head cook and he nodded back at her without saying anything. She then led our group to a small metal door on the far kitchen wall. It was unlocked when she opened it. She entered it as we followed her closely. There was a small flight of stairs that led us to a windowless hallway with four closed doors. Lynn opened one of the doors and hurried all of us into the room. It was a small bedroom with decors that looked like it was made specifically to fit Lynn's preferences and style.

"'We will need to get out of the capital as soon as possible,' Lynn said right away after she locked the door behind her. Ianme and Khyn were both visibly surprised.

"'Leave the capital for a Cleansing Chamber and return, right? That's what you meant?' Ianme asked to clarify what Lynn's statement truly meant.

"'She meant to say that the people responsible for the abductions are not in the capital. If we want to find their headquarters and the people that they abducted, we will need to leave the capital,' I explained patiently in a low voice as I sat on the bed and relaxed myself on the soft headboard.

"'You look like you've been here before. Many times, before,' Ianme observed as he turned to me.

"'Of course,' I replied briefly without turning to Ianme.

"'Is it safe for us to be talking about the mission here?' Ianme asked.

"'Who do you think built the Negation Chamber at the palace?' Lynn asked.

"'I'm not so sure. The Fukura clan from the Kingdom of Iyaishi Zhii-Yu? They are known for their counterspells,' Ianme replied after a deep thought.

"'Do you think hiring a clan from a rival kingdom to build you a Negation Chamber would be wise?' Lynn asked with an amused smile.

"'Technically, they're not a rival kingdom anymore after the Imperial Dragon Treaty,' Khyn said pondering while scratching his chin.

"'But still. Would you hire them to do it?' I asked with a light laugh. 'Let them into the palace and expect them to just build a chamber for you where your kingdom is most vulnerable?' I continued with an amused tone of voice.

"'The Negation Chamber was designed and built by Mingmei's grandfather,' Lynn said pointing at Mingmei with her thumb. 'But before he built the one in the palace, he built five smaller Negation Chambers for our clan. Now ask yourself how many Negation Chambers the Jerboa Clan has,' Lynn said laughing.

"'Or the Omani clan. Who do you think advised the rulers of the kingdom to have a Negation Chamber built in the first place?' I asked with a playful smile and a wink.

"'It is safe for us to talk here, but only briefly. The most powerful Negation Chambers cannot hide the fact that we walked into this building,' Mingmei explained.

"'Even with your Negation of Light?' Ianme asked.

"'Someone will eventually figure out where we are and they could activate any scrying enchantments that they have on the objects that we carry and listen in to what we are saying,' Mingmei explained.

"'Let's start then. Why do we need to leave the capital to investigate the abductions? The abductions that all happened in the capital?' Khyn asked with a frown. He felt a little irritated that he couldn't figure out why the three ladies were suggesting that they needed to investigate outside of the capital.

"'The pattern of the abductions is leading us out of the capital,' I replied in a soft voice. it always amused me when the boys wonder how us girls could talk without saying anything that they can hear.

"'There's a pattern to the abductions?' Ianme asked surprised. He immediately turned to Khyn who looked just as surprised as he was.

"'Yes, all the abductions happened in close proximity to a water source. Wells are the most common in all of the abductions although there was a victim who was abducted near the port, two by the river and another by the irrigation reservoir,' Lynn pointed out as I slowly and carefully brought out a copy of the map of the capital that I concealed inside my qipao. Lynn smiled at me as I brought out the map. 'The things you hide inside your clothing always amuses me, Eunshi,' Lynn said teasing me with a mischievous smile.

"'We need to find out if there is a map of the aquifer underneath the capital and where that aquifer gets its source of fresh water,' Mingmei replied.

"'Where do you suppose can we find that kind of information?' Khyn asked. He felt baffled at the pattern that the ladies have pointed out as he and Ianme studied the map that I brought out. He quickly understood that the water sources were not marked on the map and the only way to know about them was if the person looking at the abduction marks on the map was a person who has traveled the streets and alleyways of the capital many times and knows them intimately.

"Just like his friends and himself. He stared at Mingmei with a slight surprise that she still remembers these places considering she has never been outside their house for the past sixteen years.

"'The capital was built by shuijii craftsmen and designed by shuijii engineers. We need to get to a settlement where there are a lot of shuijii engineers,' Lynn explained.

"'Haan-Dar City,' Ianme replied. He felt a little relieved that he was able to contribute something to the conversation that was starting to become entirely female-dominated.

"'At least now we know that you weren't always asleep during our classes at the temple,' Lynn teased Ianme.

"'Haan-Dar is at least more than a deck's worth of travel from here. Probably even twelve days or more. What are we going to report on the fifth and tenth day?' Khyn asked.

"'We're not going to send any report,' I replied flatly turning to Lynn and Mingmei and receiving a nod from both. Ianme and Khyn shrugged but seemed to have expected our reaction.

"'I think that is a wise move. That way, the reinforcements will be sent out sooner. We'd be in a better situation to make the rescue once we have the rest of the gang with us,' Khyn agreed while scratching his chin. 'I would rather complete the mission properly and rescue those abducted elderly than have someone else do that rescue,' he then paused and noticed that his friends were all staring at him. 'What? This is our first official mission with Mingmei. I will not allow anyone else to complete it for us,' he added sternly. We all nodded back at him with a smile.

"'However, we're not going to send any report for a different reason. The reinforcements will be on their way tomorrow or the day after at the latest,' Mingmei revealed with a serious tone.

"'Reliably predictable!' Lynn said teasingly with a broad smile. She nudged Mingmei's side slightly with her elbow as she spoke.

"'Are we talking about the same reinforcements?' Khyn asked puzzled. I giggled as I lightly slapped Khyn's shoulder. Khyn and Ianme looked even more puzzled as Lynn smiled and shook her head. Lynn covered her face as she erupted into a light laugh. Mingmei's face remained emotionless as she watched the two girls laugh at the two boys.

"'After we leave from here, we will need to split up. We will each exit the capital from each of the city gates,' Mingmei suggested. Lynn and I nodded at her suggestion immediately. 'We will then meet at the Village of Ichonodo at the eastern edge of the Imperial Road. That is the nearest Cleansing Chamber that I know,' Mingmei continued.

"'There are only four city gates, and there's five of us,' Ianme pointed out.

"'Lynn will exit from the West Gate. Eunshi will exit from the Port Gate in the east. Khyn will exit through the Imperial Gate in the north. Ianme will exit through the Pilgrim's Way in the south,' Mingmei suggested. 'I will exit last. I need to take care of the palace notes first. It is one of the easiest ways for them to track us,' she continued. Everyone nodded at her in agreement.

"'Any other questions, boys?' I asked with a proud and teasing smile.

"'Why does it sound like the three of you already have it all figured out and planned. We never spoke since we left the meeting!' Ianme asked surprised. He turned to Khyn for some answer be he merely shook his head at Ianme. 'Oh, why bother!' Ianme said as he threw his arms in the air in resignation.

"'Don't ask. They've been like that since we were kids, or have you forgotten already?' Khyn replied back to Ianme without waiting for any of the three ladies to speak. Ianme looked helpless as he shook his head.

"'Let's end this meeting. Everyone knows what needs to be done. We will talk more once we know that we are safe from any detection or scrying spells,' Lynn suggested and stared at each of her friends for a reaction.

"'See you all at the Village of Ichonodo. Keep yourselves safe until then,' I added as I held out my right hand like we always did when we were kids. The rest of my friends held out their hands as well with a serious look on their faces. They placed each other's hand on top of each other's hand and together we all whispered, 'For honor and the good of all.'

"We left the room silently and retraced our steps through the busy kitchen. We then immediately proceeded to each of our assigned exits without looking back as soon as we reached the backstreet once more. Lynn paused briefly to make sure that the backdoor was sealed after everyone has left. 'Take care of yourself, Mingmei. I don't want to lose you too,' Lynn whispered to Mingmei who stayed behind to watch Lynn seal the backdoor.

"Mingmei held her best friend tightly in her arms and whispered in her ear. 'It feels good to be out and spend time with you once more. And don't worry, I've had years to practice how to better take care of myself.' She then held Lynn even tighter.

"'Being out like this and actually being with you is way better than just talking in our minds,' Lynn whispered as she stared at her friend's eyes. 'But are you sure? Tomorrow or the day after?' Lynn asked curiously.

"'Yes. I am sure,' Mingmei replied with a slight nod. Her face suddenly turned once more to her usual expressionless mask.

"'They better find us sooner than that if possible. I do not like what I saw going into that meeting. I am not surprised that even Eunshi noticed something odd,' Lynn said with a tone of worry. 'This mission can easily turn sideways on us,' Lynn said, expressing her concern to her best friend.

"'I understand. I'll see what I can do to expedite their arrival without blowing our cover. We'd need all the help that we can get. And not just any help. Help that we can trust with our lives,' Mingmei agreed. A slight line of worry slowly creased across her forehead as she stared at Lynn.