Sparrow on a Plank Chapter 18: Of Wild Parties and Annoyed Predators

The trip home was blessedly uneventful. There were sharks, whales, and the occasional seagull, but nothing attacked them or even appeared to follow them. Hajime and the other mages did a thorough search of the ship, looking for anything that didn't belong. They couldn't find anything, but that didn't mean that there wasn't anything there; it just meant that it was hidden rather well. Although they were sure that there was something hidden, they lacked the immediate means to deal with it.

When they had finally finished unloading the cargo, Captain Taylor gave Rick a small bag of coins, with instructions to rent a bar and a number of women of decidedly easy virtue and make sure that all of the crew were taken care of. He himself hired a security team to guard the boat for a few hours, and disappeared to a small, secluded tavern where he could wash up and then find some entertainment for the evening.

Sal and Hajime had their usual disembarkation rituals to complete, followed by a dinner with Prince Ta. Sal was beginning to dread their dinners together, while Hajime figured that it was just excuse to have a decent dinner on the government's coin. Nonetheless, the dinner was again at the Phoenix, so it shouldn't have been that bad.

When they arrived, they were shown directly to the table of Prince Ta. A veritable carnival of food awaited them, which they quickly started in on. There was a plate of deep-fried foods and another of seared fish, some vegetable soup in a large bowl, and a number of chopped vegetables. Each setting had a spoon, a plate, a bowl, and chopsticks. There was also a decanter of sake and several small glasses.

“Good evening, Prince.” Hajime slid into his chair and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

“Hope you are doing well this evening, your excellency.” Sal sat down, waiting for the prince to start.

He picked up his spoon and started stirring his soup. “Yes, I'm doing well. It's so nice to that you've returned. I hope that the ocean voyage was fine.”

Sal poured herself some sake. “It was actually interesting. The natives were quiet, but there was some interference at the mission objective itself.” She gulped her sake. “But it was easily dealt with.” She poured herself another cup.

Hajime was filling his plate. “We were successful, your excellency.”

Sal was inspecting a morsel that looked like a deep-fried anemone. “Yep, Prince; we even picked you up a souvenir.”

Hajime put down his plate and grabbed his satchel. He reached in and pulled out the book. “Heh. Sorry. Almost forgot.” He slid the book across the table towards the prince.

He pulled it towards him and opened it. “This should make for some very interesting reading. I only hope it matches its hype.” He put it down and looked at Hajime. “I hope that you read it in your spare time.”

Hajime was chewing some fish. “As per your instructions, of course. Mostly some allegory about Lord Set and how to properly think, but there is a chapter or two where there appears to be some actual history.”

Prince Ta stirred his soup, looking for some of the vegetables. “Interesting. Anything about an artifact, possibly heat-based? I'm curious why our Levitian friends were interested in it.”

“Yep. As would be expected, there is a weapon mentioned, as well as an island. However, it's not a fencing sword, as would be expected.” Hajime snatched some more fish with his chopsticks.

Prince Ta had found the vegetables. “Really...? What kind of artifact is it then?” He stuck the spoon into his mouth.

“A staff. And they didn't bother disguising its intent, either; the thing is covered with flames from top to bottom. But that's not all.” Hajime gulped some fish down. “There's a guardian mentioned, as well as a map. We just need the firepower to deal with the guardian, and I think it's possible to grab the staff.”

Prince Ta put down his spoon and folded his hands. “Give me a day or two to think this over. Something needs to be done about the Stygian Edge, certainly, but it needs to be done in such a way as to not alert those that are interested in it. Part of that consideration is that the two of you are no doubt being watched, if for no other reason than that you have been so closely related to this project.”

Sal put her own chopsticks down. “I would, your excellency, like to be involved in the close of this case, if for no other reason than to be able to finish it.”

Hajime was enjoying the fish. “Me, too, your prince.”

Prince Ta picked up his spoon and began searching for vegetables again, but quickly gave up. He poured himself and Hajime a cup of the clear liquid instead. “I think that it would be possible to acquiesce to both your desires for closure, and spoil the fun of our enemies as well.”

Hajime and Sal smiled at each other. They toasted their success, and then turned to their dinner in earnest.

* * * * *

The Green Dragon Inn was almost demolished by the Hell's Wrath Welcome Home Party. The crew started with 37 members, but 46 honorary members, mostly female, were added in just over four hours. The non-female members added were bartenders and some new drinking buddies. Roughly three hundred pounds of food were used in the celebration, with only half of that actually ending up in anyone's stomach. Roughly 150 gallons of various alcoholic substances ranging from grog and beer to bourbon and absynthe were consumed, with very little being wasted. Sixty pounds of various illicit substances were imbibed through various methods, most disappearing for later use. No less than twelve bands attempted to play for the party; nine ran in fear for their lives, two joined the party, and one learned through very painful methods that you do not play sea shanties for returning sailors (it wasn't that the shanties were played so much as they were played horribly).

When the pottery started flying, almost 73% of the Green Dragon's inventory was demolished, including (but not limited to) 643 plates, 503 saucers, 487 cups and glasses of varying description, 386 salt and pepper shakers, 257 utensils, 97 chairs, 18 tables, and 7 lamps, as well as a number of decorative pieces. It took no less than 15 constables to break up the party, and 7 cells at the local jail. The final cost is unknown, but involved two months wages for those involved, a small number of secrets being forgotten in order to cover up the mess, and a promise from various crew members to avoid a certain inn for a very long time. No less than 316 counts of assault, 209 counts of disorderly conduct while drunk, and 73 counts involving various sex crimes (including at least one count involving a goat) were filed by the end of the week following the big shebang (other crimes were filed, but those were the highlights). No less than six children would result from the activities.

In short, The Hell's Wrath Welcome Home Party was a rousing success.

Captain Taylor had disappeared from sight, but seemed to appear almost as if summoned when his crew got in trouble. Although he was aware that they would be telling the story of the party for years, and versions of it were already spreading through the islands, it was the sheer numbers involved that impressed him and made him smile. He had ordered his men to have a good time; based on the constable reports alone, that was exactly what had happened. He also knew that he needed to get his men away from Cyrill as quickly as possible; not just because it was a good idea, but the 47 lawyers involved suggested it.

Suffice to say, when Prince Ta offered to pay passage for Sal and Hajime to Tigouslan, Captain Taylor was extremely happy to assist them in any way. He put out the word that he was looking for cargo at noon, and was able to fill it up by high tea. However, it would take the crew almost until dinner to load the space due to their after-party glow. He had also been forced to hire roughly a dozen new workers to fill in positions emptied by sailors that had enough of the sea, sailors that were forced into “more honest” work by wives old and brand new (there was a reason he had prohibited priests from the party, but cunning women had brought some anyway), and other sailors leaving due to being forced to serve lengthy prison sentences. By the next morning, the party had finally worked its way out of their systems, and they were able to sail out of the harbor. Some were happy to see them go (such as the owners of the Green Dragon Inn), but most were sad to see them go (the party had been a temporary economic boon, after all).

They sailed into the sunrise, sails catching every possible wind. A very romantic picture, except for a single figure looking over the railing as her most recent meal joined the sea.

* * * * *

As Sal and Hajime headed for Jezreel's sole continent, Prince Ta sent out explorers to the corners of the globe. Each one was tracked by Lord Ashigaru, who had finally figured out who his opponent truly was. He had managed to finally infiltrate the crew of the Hell's Wrath due to the recent hiring boom, so Prince Ta's main operatives were finally covered. It still bothered him that he had no idea what they were looking for, but he had an idea how to solve that problem. He figured that he could either kidnap one of the two operatives or find a way to get someone to sneak a peek at the book, “The Origins of Stygia,” that had been recovered.

It still vexed him that somehow he had had the secret all along somewhere in his own backyard, and yet had no idea of its specific location. He only knew that Prince Ta's operatives were looking for one of Lord Set's ancient temples, and even then only because he had investigated what they had taken from the Levitian listening post. Prince Ta was a formidable opponent; Lord Ashigaru was only keeping up with him since he had found out that he was looking for the Stygian Edge. He needed to close the intelligence gap, and do so quickly. Fortunately, he had intelligence of his own to yet bring to bear, and when he did...that boy would suffer, and through him, hopefully, so would Prince Ta. And that attack would cost him dear. He smiled as he thought about the pain it would suffer.

It was time to order breakfast. No doubt Prince Ta had his breakfast already; the sun may be just rising on Bubastos, but it was almost lunch for the prince. He wondered if that few extra hours was part of the prince's advantage; he quickly dismissed the idea, as he was sure that he should pursue things on his own time. He just needed to figure out how the prince was ahead of him.

In the meantime, he was sure that bacon, eggs, and a lot of orange juice would clear his head. He was aware that the prince also ate something called waffles, with whipped cream and sprinkles, but was curious how a grain product would help. Only meat was good for a system; grain was what prey ate, and he was definitely a predator.

And predators were usually the ones on top.

[The last chapter cn be found here.]