Sunstone - Dishonor's Bane (Book 2) (12 page)

Chapter Sixteen

~

S
hiro panicked and turned his back
to whoever had touched him and changed his appearance. Now looking like Kinoru, he growled to whoever disturbed him. “Don’t bother me, I’m tired!”

“Where did you get that boat?”

“Is it yours?” Shiro said. “I found it here and used it for shelter from last night’s rain.” Kinoru had always been a surly sort and he would emulate his friend’s behavior.

Shiro climbed out from underneath the boat and looked into the eyes of two fishermen.

The men squinted at Shiro. “What are you doing in Upio?”

“Is that where I am? I’ve been wandering for so long, I have no idea where I am.” Shiro gave them a silly grin. “Do you need a field hand? That’s what I do. I can drive a cart!”

A hand grabbed his shoulder. “This boat has writing on it. That’s no fishing boat.”

Shiro didn’t like the attitudes of the two men. He shrugged. “A peasant such as I can’t read. I have some meat. Would you join me for breakfast?”

The expressions on the fishermen’s faces softened. “Meat?”

“I found a dead boar and have managed to catch some rabbits. There is some of each. A worker’s got to eat, you know.”

“Indeed. Show us the meat and we will start a fire.”

“I’ve already cooked some of it, so you just have to heat it up. Is there any water around here?”

“Just up the pathway,” one said.

Shiro slid back underneath the boat and brought out the remains of his leaf-wrapped meat. “Here it is!” He shoved it out underneath and threw some dirt over his sword.

Much relieved, he sat down with the fishermen who both preferred the boar meat. Shiro had hoped he could have used it for a few more days, but filling these fishermen’s stomachs seemed to be a good investment.

“Any farms around here?” Shiro said, making sure he filled his stomach as much as his guests.

“Not for the likes of you. We can’t help you anyway, since we are fishermen. We’re all working people down here. No one hires anybody. We all have lots of children who do the work for free!” The two laughed. Most of the farmers in Koriaki pursued the same strategy. How many children would Shiro have by now? The oldest could do little more than play at weeding between the rows when he died. He sighed at the memory.

“Then where should I go?”

Head north for an hour or so to the main road and then follow it towards Rumoto. They’ve got the most fertile fields on the South Isle. Shiro put out his hand for another morsel on the boar’s carcass and nearly withdrew his hand. The tattoo that the Guild had put on this wrist would show him to be property of the Guild, but in Kinoru’s guise, no tattoo showed. He’d have to remember that or try to remove the tattoo with magic.

“What else do you have?” one of the farmers said, pointing the knife that he had used to cut meat from the boar carcass. It was only a shard of metal with cloth wrapped around the tang. It had an edge and would damage him enough.

Shiro raised his hands. “A few personal possessions, nothing more. I have no money. Why would I be out here underneath someone else’s boat if I had anything of value?”

“Go get everything.” The friendliness that had come to the men disappeared. They meant to kill him. Shiro refused to use magic against a non-magician. He scrabbled back under the boat and uncovered his sword. Wouldn’t they be surprised?

“Come out!” the other fisherman said. Both of them were now on their feet and Shiro could only see up to their knees from underneath. “Now, or we will kill you!”

How many other travelers had these men robbed and plundered? Shiro took a few deep breaths and levitated the boat. It floated above his head as he struck out with his sword. Even with his clumsiness with the Sunstone sword, the pair laid at his feet in a moment.

Shiro took a deep breath and knelt down by each one, asking for forgiveness. He had no other alternative but to kill them. They were his first, not counting the man with the fever and his unwitting contribution to Boreko’s death. With hindsight, he could tell the men were set on killing him from the beginning. They just wanted Shiro to cook them a proper breakfast first. 

He didn’t like this start to his freedom and felt manacles of guilt tighten around his wrists. Why had the gods given him Affinity? It killed his wife and led to the deaths of Boreko, the feverish man, and now these two men. He sighed.

The pair had no more possessions on them than he, except for a purse on each of them with a few coins. They wouldn’t need those in the future and Shiro reluctantly put the coins in one of the simple cloth purses and left after re-wrapping his sword in the boar skin along with clothes from the dead men to hide the shape. He used rabbit skin strips to bind the sword and made a strap, that wouldn’t hold up for long, to sling it over his back. He’d head north until he could find a track heading west.

He used his power to dig a large hole. He laid both of the men in the boat, covered them with leaves and then replaced the dirt. He replanted the bushes that had grown over the hole and used his power to water and revitalize them. Would that they had been Abe, Mira, Yushidon or Roniki. He couldn’t help grinding his teeth at the revelation that Abe had killed Boreko on orders from Roniki. Yet, he had killed these two men who both might have had families. What was the difference? Shiro wished he could take all of his worries and bury them with the two fishermen, but that wouldn’t happen.

If fishermen were as ruthless as this pair, Shiro would have to reconsider taking the boat north. He’d head for Rumoto, for he had no other strategy other than to get as far away from Sekkoro and Ashiyo as he could. Roniki and Yushidon wouldn’t return to the prison island if they thought Shiro was dead. He wondered if Mira had ever told them about her shield spell. He could only hope she had kept that as a secret, in fact he didn’t even know if they knew she had Affinity. He recalled that she had remained in her disguise the entire time of the confrontation.

He cut down a pole to use as a staff and his spirits lifted a bit as he found the west road after emerging from the woods that rimmed the coast. He looked at his wrist. In his guise, the tattoo didn’t show but Shiro wanted it removed. He tried to recall if a sorcerer had applied the ink. No… it had been a guard. Perhaps he could use magic to remove it.

Shiro walked hours until he reached Rumoto, a bit larger than Koriaki. He hadn’t eaten since morning and found a modest inn to have a meal. A painted sign hung over the entrance. The White Chrysanthemum. He removed his shoes and waited for someone to escort him into the main room. The smells of cooking mixed with that of soap and water. The boards were still wet. He set his sandals aside and stepped up to the main floor.

“Hello? Master of the house?” he called.

A middle-aged woman waddled into the room. She stopped and peered at Shiro in the gloom. The woman came no closer.

“What do you want?” Why did she speak with such hostility?

“I’m a traveler in search of a meal and then I’ll be on my way. That is all.”

“No you are not,” the woman said. “Are you a sorcerer coming to drag me away?” The hostility turned to fear, but she stood her ground.

“I’m just a traveler.” Shiro knew he tread on delicate ground. An intricate pattern in the gravel that he didn’t want to disturb… then it hit him. He had his magic shielded. He released his glamour. “You can see through this can’t you?”

“Indeed I can and I’ll fight.”

Shiro stood and held up his hands. “There is no need. I am a refugee and sought by the Guild, as are you.”

Her voice softened. “From Sekkoro?”

“No, from Boriako. Ashiyo captured my friend and I. I escaped after spending months at a prison island.”

“Did you meet a woman?”

“Mira?” Shiro said.

“Ha! Is that what she calls herself?” The old woman walked into the room and stood a few paces away. “That is why your glamour is so easily detected. I was afraid that the Guild had learned the spell.”

Shiro sensed the tension leave the room. “And the magic shield?”

“You do that well enough. Wait here. I will fetch you food. It won’t be a minute.”

The woman returned with a bowl of rice and soup. Little circles of fresh cut green onions floated on the top.

“One of my servants is fetching tea for the both of us.” She sat down at the table and slid the tray over.

“If you don’t mind, I haven’t had anything since this morning.” Shiro began to consume the rice and drank the soup from the bowl. Once he had something inside of him, he asked the woman a key question.

He kept his voice low. “I suppose that the White Chrysanthemum is part of the White Rose Society?”

“From my behavior isn’t it obvious?”

Shiro shrugged. He didn’t know of another answer that wasn’t offensive.

“She told me, Mira, that the society banished her.”

The woman sighed. “That part is true enough. She and her father are practiced at deception and use it to make money. She has strong Affinity and trained with us until we sensed her true nature. The both of them were captured trying to fool a noble. ‘Mira’ as you know her, gave up a member of our society in trade for a lenient sentence. The father and daughter went to Diakko Island.”

“They never told me its name,” Shiro said, “and I worked there for more than half of a year.”

“How did you escape?”

Shiro paused and the issue of trust raised itself. He was past it at this point. “I was swept out to sea in a storm. I found a boat and the wind blew me towards South Isle. I landed on the coast and found a road, following it north, away from Sekkoro. Now I am just wondering what to do next.”

“And you just happen to find one of our establishments?”

“It never dawned on me that your inn’s name would so closely match the name of your organization.” Shiro said.

Tea came and the woman poured a cup for both of them. She offered one to Shiro, holding it with both hands.

“Not too difficult. We have some inn or shop in most towns west of Sekkoro. The Guild finds a few of us a year, but they haven’t aggressively tried to stamp us out in generations since we have kept a very low profile until recently.”

“And can you mask your disguises?”

“Indeed. Here,” the woman said while pulling out a marble. “Hold this.”

Shiro knew what it was. “What is the spell?”

“The usual, Piki Paki Poki.”

“Piki Paki Poki.” The marble didn’t change.

“Now remove your barrier.”

Shiro repeated the initiation spell and the marble pulsed with red and blue, lighting up the empty inn. He put it on the table to stop the colors.

“Never have I ever seen it do that!  Who are you?”

That brought a smile. “I am Shiro of Koriaki. I used to own the best farm in the village… number 22. Over a year ago, sorcerers tested me. They sent me to the Guild in Boriako. The Masters banished my mentor and me to the Barren Lands in hopes that we would die. We made it through…” He showed her his tattoo.

The woman shrugged. “I don’t know the meaning of the wavy line. I’ve been told that no one makes it across the desert. There are bones to prove it,” she said.

“We were more prepared than others,” Shiro smiled at her surprise. “My mentor knew a man called Ashiyo.”

The woman nodded and sipped her tea. “We know of him. You say he put you on Diakko?”

“He did indeed.”

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I believe you. Ashiyo is not really an enemy. Your life was likely saved by his act.”

Shiro furrowed his brow. Saved? Then he remembered something either Roniki or Yushidon said in complaint about him.

“My mentor was killed by a poison Abe had me unwittingly administer. I talked him into teaching me to heal and I had the opportunity to be in the right place when the storm hit. Here I am.”

The woman nodded. “I’m sure there is more to your story, but that is enough for now. Let me teach you the proper spell to disguise yourself. Any of the adepts in our society would instantly know you used the wrong spell as we would know of Mira’s disguise.

The words were whispered in his ear and it contained two more phrases. He intoned the spell and Kinoru reappeared. “Is that better?”

“You are a quick learner, as well as a sorcerer of great power. No wonder they wanted you far from the Guild. My name is Shiuki. You may stay here for as long as you like. I could use a stablehand.”

“I would be delighted until I determine what I am to do with my life.” So Shiro had become a stablehand, but not at a guild house. He had to smile.

Shiuki laughed. “Take as long as you like. It’s not often the White Chrysanthemum hires men.”

~

The White Rose Society took women with power into their midst as Mira had said, but the persecution wasn’t quite as vigilant as she let on and Shiuki introduced Shiro to a number of women in the town who had enough power to shield their Affinity.

“How many women hold power?” Shiro said as he groomed a horse in the White Chrysanthemum stable in the guise of Kinoru. He’d been at the inn for the past few weeks.