Giselle - No One Sitting On Couches

No one sitting on couches at the top of Golden Cherry Blossom Pagoda could believe what had happened. Giselle was in the business of killing people who needed killing. By not believing things, she made her job easier.

"We can't accuse Iba Algi of trying to cover anything up," she said.

"If the Princess released the vampire as an astral projection," said Consort Jin, "and took no further action, we would never have figured it out. By taking the mansion's residents into the crypt, she shone a light on what she had done. Then she told Esmaralde about it. So you're right. She isn't hiding anything. But the Emperor will always find something to be suspicious about. By shining a light, he will say that the Princess is hiding something else in its glare."

Alistair sighed.

"The Emperor is like that," he agreed. "At the same time, the Princess may be hiding something."

"Iba Algi visited Marquis Yue's mansion to get the little painter," said Giselle. "In doing so, she advanced the culture of Great Yao. Because the mansion's residents chose to go down into the crypt, we know that a powerful commander from Dragon Turtle Society infiltrated Tianming Town. We didn't know that before. The Princess has therefore done our job for us. We could be a bit more grateful."

"I am not ungrateful," said Sand. "However, it's because the Princess can do our job so well that the Emperor is so wary of her."

"There was someone who ran away," said Parsifal. "Is he dangerous?"

"I know Pin Fun," said Giselle. "Jian Peak Abbey's top male escort is not known for fighting or being dangerous, but his shadow techniques are strong. And now he has a magic sword. It's too bad Lady Wu fought to the death. I would have liked to have talked to her."

"That might be why she fought to the death," said Sand.

"I would have shown professional respect," said Giselle. "In addition to dealing a significant blow to Dragon Turtle Society's command structure, however, Iba Algi showed them a hoard of priceless relics – and snatched that hoard away."

Alistair Sand leaned forward.

"That's right," he said. "I hadn't considered that."

"You're saying the Princess advanced our plan," said Parsifal, "before we were able to do it ourselves. But with Lady Wu dead, how will word of the hoard make it back to Dragon Turtle Society?"

"Esmaralde won't hold her detainees indefinitely," said Consort Jin. "Following other people into a vampire's prison is foolhardy but not illegal. Even anyone proven to be a member of Dragon Turtle Society could only be detained longer if they were linked to specific criminal acts."

"We want the detainees released," agreed Sand. "I'm glad you threatened the Censorate."

"I was worried they would try to arrest Iba Algi," said Parsifal.

"They might have," agreed Sand. "They will certainly argue for keeping the mansion's residents detained for 'more aggressive' questioning. They have petitioned the Emperor to overturn your order. So far, he has not acted. The leash will come off eventually, though. We want the detainees free before the leash comes off so the ones who are Dragon Turtle informants…."

"Can inform," chuckled Giselle. "Should we invite the Crown Princess to our meetings now?"

"No," said Sand. "She is a force of nature. It's best if she follows her own path."

"That's all she's going to do anyway," said Parsifal.

"We will want to look at the booty she recovered," said Giselle.

The Grand Preceptor advised the group that Esmaralde had already sent several pieces over for analysis. He called for his minions to bring them.

"They're extraordinary," he said. "I'd rather not give them to Dragon Turtle Society."

"We'll only send a couple," said Sand. "One at a time. Then we'll sprinkle in additional relics we find through our own efforts."

"We'll need a story for how our agents got them from the Crown Princess," said Giselle.

"Kiss the truth," said Sand. "The Goddess of Glaives doesn't give a crap about baubles. She handed them over to the Ministry of Antiquities and went back to fighting."

"And when she sent the baubles to the Ministry of Antiquities," said Giselle, "some fell out of a crate?"

"It happens," said Sand.

"There's also the kid who escaped," said Parsifal.

"We can use that as noise," agreed Sand. "But don't identify Pin Fun as the source. He knows he only took the sword. While not a criminal per se, he is a player in the Floating World."

"He's taking that sword back to his abbot," said Giselle. "The loyalty is touching. I wonder what he will do with the ancient vampire king's weapon when he finds out Jian Peak Abbot is dead."

"It would be foolish to keep such a relic," said the Grand Preceptor.

"There are a lot of fools in this world," said Giselle.

"Your comment about loyalty reminded me of something else in Esmaralde's report," said Consort Jin. "The young man Esmaralde calls 'Renjie's bubble-bottomed Bon Bao' said Pin Fun told him three disciples from Jian Peak Abbey had been abducted. Bon Bao did not have a grudge against Pin Fun for trying to get the sword to his master, but did propose that his first loyalty should have been to finding his brothers."

"You think the abduction is something we should look into?" asked Sand.

"The Grand Preceptor's premonitions have been validated," said Consort Jin. "Princess Iba Algi has taken an extraordinary action. But the Grand Preceptor also told us there are other parties – and that their actions have been more subtle."

"You think Tianming Duke is abducting heroes?" asked Parsifal.

"I have reason to believe," said his mother, "that Tianming Duke is playing a shell game with his own people. It's close to – but not quite – the 'usual jockeying.' Whether these activities extend to abducting others, I don't know. Grand Preceptor? What do you think about the three abducted members of Jian Peak Abbey?"

"One of whom is that sect's Most Golden of Golden Children," added Giselle.

The Grand Preceptor stood. He walked through the shadows cast by his celestial mechanisms. Then he walked to one of his chess boards and moved a piece. He waited. An unseen hand moved its own piece in response.

"Yes," said the Grand Preceptor. "The abductions relate to the end of the world."

"Sacrifices?" asked Giselle.

"That's not the right word," said the Grand Preceptor.

"Do you have a better one in mind?" asked Giselle.

The old man closed his eyes and thought for a while.

"Offerings," he said.

"Soldiers," said Parsifal, "for the God of War."

Sand looked at Giselle. She looked at him.

"Find the abductees," he told her. "Do whatever you have to do, as quietly as you can do it. Have our agents focus on helping you – for as long as it takes."

"The giant cults are strong in Gargogryeo," said Consort Jin. "Dragon Turtle Society is good at smuggling people along with weapons or burial goods."

"Lady Wu may have known more about what was under Marquis Yue's mansion than she let on," said Parsifal. "That may be why death was preferable to capture."

"Yes," agreed Sand. "Yes. We've been complacent."

"Do we still want to bring the Great Turtle here?" asked Giselle. "Should we call off Sorrow Woe Society altogether?"

"We want the Great Turtle here more than ever," said Sand.

"So we can kill him?" asked Giselle.

"Yes," said Sand. "As for the other societies, we want them focused on internal affairs. They will concentrate their forces in order to select new leadership. That will make them less vulnerable to abductions – and better able to plan counterstrikes."

Giselle laughed.

"It's Iba Algi's defense," she said. "Taking out their masters was actually doing them a favor."

"If any parties involved in releasing the God of War made plans with the sects," said Consort Jin, "those efforts involved the current masters. Taking out those masters undoes all that work."

"Esmaralde's witnesses said Jian Peak's disciples were looking for weapons," said Sand.

"One succeeded," said Parsifal. "I had reservations about killing so many masters. But If Jian Peak Abbot had gotten his hands on that sword, it would have accelerated his effort to touch the sky by ten years."

"Jian Peak Abbot was more sinister than his abbey's sordid reputation suggested," agreed Sand. "With respect to our plans for Jade Palace Mound, it's no longer just about relics. We must find the God of War's prison."

"Is that prudent?" asked Giselle. "We might let him out ourselves."

"We're several steps behind in this game," said Sand. "It's time to cheat."

Giselle smiled. He was learning after all!