Enlightened Empire

"It seems like it is my victory after all, Official Atau."

In response to Epunamo"s declaration, Atau nodded his head. A quick look over the state of the game was enough for the captain to see that he was out of moves.

"Seems like that"s the case, huh?" After his indifferent response, Atau looked up again, towards the frowning man before him. In terms of appearance, Epunamo Villca very much took after his father. Tall, brawny, with strong eyebrows. To his great misfortune, even at the young age of thirty, Epunamo"s hair showed first signs of his father"s famous sparsity. However, unlike the dead lord of Cashan or most other Medala n.o.bles, the young master"s hair was kept short and practical. To top it all off, his red silk tunic was more reminiscent of a northern n.o.ble as well. With his preference for the more "civilized" north, Epunamo wasn"t Corco"s prime candidate among Villca"s sp.a.w.n to become the next lord of Cashan, but he was first on the list nonetheless.

"However, this lord would not be so petty as to be upset by defeat. Official Atau should have fought with his full strength rather than try to pander. This Lord is convinced that Official Atau could have provided a much more satisfying challenge had he taken his time between turns."

In defense to the nonsense accusations, Atau raised his hands. He also decided to ignore the young master"s self-imposed t.i.tle of "Lord".

*No reason to get caught up on details like this.*

"Ah, don"t misunderstand, young master Villca. I don"t have a habit of letting people win just to gain a favor. It"s only that I have no patience for these sorts of games. My early game tends to be terrible, since I"d rather not spend half a day on a single move."

Appeased by the explanation, Epunamo"s face relaxed and showed his usual indifference instead. "Indeed. Official Atau"s play became markedly better in the endgame, with fewer pieces on the board. A few times throughout the ending, the official"s tricky moves almost caught this Lord off guard."

Rather than deal with the awkward compliments, Atau picked up one of the white pieces off of the marble board and observed it in detail. All the white figures had been carved out of beautiful, sparkling quartz, while the black ones had been created from black obsidian.

"These are beautiful pieces. It"s really true that Cashan has the most beautiful stones in the world."

Another frown answered Epunamo, but this one wasn"t directed at the captain.

"It is unfortunate that we will not be able to add to that beauty for the moment. These stones are old heirlooms as well. Since father"s journey, the third b.a.s.t.a.r.d stole the mines for himself and has since hunkered down within the mountain pa.s.s." As he complained of his troubles, Epunamo s.n.a.t.c.hed the piece in Atau"s hand and began to put away the game with routine movements.

"That"s exactly the kind of trouble King Corcopaca would like to a.s.sist with. As the first born of Emperor t.i.tu, King Corcopaca understands young master Epunamo"s pain, trying to retain his birthright and honor his father"s wishes. I am sure there will be good cooperation between our sides."

"Of course," the eldest son of Villca answered with a shallow smile. Atau had noticed before, but Villca"s oldest heir switched through emotions at a rapid pace.

*Too easy to read,* he thought, before Epunamo switched back over to his frowning state.

"This lord would not require a.s.sistance otherwise, but father"s unsolved murder has created serious, unnecessary problems."

"Unsolved? As far as I heard, Lord Villca was the victim of an a.s.sa.s.sination carried out by the Prime Minister, who had been instructed either by Great Ancestor Viribus or by King Pachacutec."

This time, Epunamo combined frown and smile for a face of grim determination.

"If this lord were to believe these rumors, he would be just as great a fool as all the other men within Cashan. The notion that either of these parties would kill father is nothing short of ludicrous. After all, neither the King of the Center nor the Great Ancestor had any reason to do so. I have received father"s letters home and thus am well aware that up until his death, he had close ties to both parties. Why would they betray him after they had achieved their mutual goals?"

"Sometimes, those closest to us are those most eager to do harm. Maybe they had agreed on a commitment they were not willing to uphold? After all, the powers of Arguna have done their best to fight against the Sachay over the pa.s.sing months."

"Yes, perhaps." Deep in thought, Villca"s heir stopped his cleanup work, a black piece left in his hand. Instead, he stared down the king"s messenger before him. Uncomfortable, Atau tried his best to keep the conversation going.

"Not to be forward, but who would young master Epunamo consider a possible culprit, if not King Pacha?"

"If one wants to find the culprit, the best question to ask is: Who benefits the most? Which man would gain from the death of my father? And which man would gain from laying blame at the feet of the central powers in Arguna?"

Atau could feel his body tense by the slightest fraction. Fighting his instincts, he tried his hardest to look natural and avoid suspicion. Meanwhile, Villca"s heir continued, unperturbed by or unaware of the mental state of his guest.

"King Amautu would have a good reason to create more tension between his younger brother and the south, as would some of the overambitious southern lords who wish to replace House Villca. What about the church? The Pacha priests must be worried about the influx of new religions into Medala. And they have shown in the succession war that they have no qualms about getting involved in politics. My brothers cannot avoid suspicion either, of course. Under normal circ.u.mstances, there would be no trouble in my succession of House Villca, but now that father has been "killed by northerners", my own, more civilized proclivities are seen as traitorous. Truly a marvelous coincidence for my good brothers to take advantage of. Finally, as a last possible culprit, there would also be..."

Deafening silence reigned the room while Epunamo simply stared at Atau, nothing more. Both of them knew what the young master had implied, but neither would say it out loud. It was too delicate a topic to be forthright about, at least at this point. In the end, the captain had to guess just how much the oldest heir of Cashan knew of the truth. Working with Epunamo might be risky business, but this was not a decision for him to make. Thus, he simply rea.s.serted the reason he had been sent on his trip in the first place.

"I"m sure the King of the South would be very interested in young master Epunamo"s theories. Saniya is more than willing to a.s.sist in the attempt to clear up Lord Villca"s death and bring the real culprits to justice. Surely, young master would enjoy a talk with King Corco about the matter at the great banquet planned for the autumn harvest this year."

"Of course," Epunamo said as he looked down onto his invitation, another frown building across his face. "Since this lord has never met the young King Corcopaca, it would be a good chance to get acquainted and speak of the matters of Sachay."

"In that case, I will excuse myself for today. There is still a long journey ahead and still many lords to invite."

"Hmm." With only an inarticulate noise, Epunamo waved Atau towards the door. He wasn"t even looking at the captain anymore, more focused on his box of stones and uninterested in the captain"s further presence. Atau had heard that the eldest Villca heir had no patience for niceties, so he wasn"t surprised that the king"s official messenger didn"t receive a grand welcome. In fact, the captain despised the nonsense of the courts as well and had a lot of time for the younger Villca"s att.i.tude and personality. However, with what they had done to his father in Arguna, Epunamo"s frank personality and keen intellect would become hindrances rather than a.s.sets to their cause. Keeping the heir around would be dangerous.

As he thought about their next steps, Atau walked through the halls of the ancient city of Cashan. Unsurprisingly, He found more white plaster and exposed woodwork, as almost anywhere in Sachay. Cashan had always been an archetypical southern town, but under its previous master, the entire estate had been redesigned in an attempt to style themselves as the definitive southern lords, as representatives for all of Sachay. No wonder the oldest son with his more Medalfocused ideas was unpopular among the officials and Elders of Cashan. It spoke of Epunamo"s own abilities that he was still compet.i.tive at all in the face of his stiff opposition. Opposition, in fact, like the men who awaited Atau at the entrance of Epunamo"s Cashan mansion.

"Ah, warrior Atau di Pluritac. What a great coincidence." With a fake laugh and faked glee, Khune, second son of Lord Villca, casually insulted Governor Sonco"s son in his simple greeting. Despite their great differences in att.i.tude, the two Villca brothers were almost identical in appearance. The only safe way to tell them apart were the rustic pelts Khune wore for clothing.

"Young master Khune, what a great honor to meet you," Atau answered with stiff etiquette.

""Young master" is not the correct address, servant. By all right, the t.i.tle should be "Lord Villca"," another voice corrected from the side. Guachimine, the fourth-born son of Lord Villca. It was unfortunate for him, but he hadn"t ever been a realistic contender in the fight for the seat of lord. As such, Guachimine had decided to throw his lot in with the second-born Khune early on and earned a spot at his brother"s side in return.

"No, the t.i.tle isn"t wrong. I won"t address anyone as Lord of Cashan, not unless they deserve the t.i.tle. I won"t play along with fantasies," Atau answered in a stern voice. He wouldn"t indulge the inflated egos of these children, neither the ones out here nor the one he had just left behind.

"Oh, I wonder how servant Atau addressed my cheap brother then? It seems like the servant was very eager to meet with my elder brother, ready to strike a deal before offering this lord so much as a proper greeting." His chin still raised, Khune lorded over Atau, derision dripping from his voice. Unused to this level of contempt, the captain felt like teaching the spoiled brat some manners. Not even Atau"s own brother had ever been so openly condescending. Like with Epunamo however, the captain once again controlled his impulses. Diplomacy was hard work.

"That is not the case, young master Khune. During our meeting, I have addressed Epunamo as young master just like I would all the other potential heirs of the Villca House."

"Is that so? If all the heirs are equal, why would servant Atau visit my brother first then?"

"His name came first in the alphabet," Atau answered in a dry voice.

"...excuse me?" baffled, Khune could only return a dumbfounded look. Maybe this diplomat business wasn"t so bad after all, Atau thought.

"Since King Corco couldn"t possibly know the situation I would find in Cashan, he had to decide on an order to visit the heirs of Cashan in without any prior knowledge. He also couldn"t show any favors and offend a potential ally. Thus, in his wisdom, the king decided to go alphabetically. It"s pure chance that I ended up visiting young master Epunamo first."

"In that case, I wonder if official intended to visit this lord next?" Khnoe asked the critical question.

"Yeah, I was just on my way, but young master didn"t give me the time to show any good will, or even explain myself." As he was talking, Atau reached into the bag he carried by his side and retrieved a letter. "Here is an invitation, hand-written by the King of the South, asking young master Khune to visit Saniya in Autumn, in order to celebrate the harvest and debate on the future of Sachay."

Though Guachimine tried to reach for the letter, his older brother s.n.a.t.c.hed the paper away first. While he read through Corco"s sincere and humble invitation, Khune developed an ever-deepening frown. Finally, Villca"s second-born looked back towards Atau, his head lowered in a humble att.i.tude.

"It appears there is need for me to apologize. I was under the impression that the king had ignored right and justice and sided with my brother, even after he had begun to work with the despicable northerners. It was an error caused by my own hasty judgment. Please tell the king that I will pay more heed in the future, and that I will be delighted to attend the king"s banquet."

At last, Atau had achieved a breakthrough in Cashan. As the tension lifted from his body, the captain showed a frank smile, for the first time since he had entered the city. "King Corco will be more than happy to hear that."

"I also need to apologize to young master Atau for my previous rudeness. I tend to become defiant in the face of blatant disrespect, even if it is but imagined. I believe that we should speak about the king"s plans in more detail. However, an entrance is hardly the place to do so. Young master Atau, please follow me into my own court. There is still much to be discussed between our sides."

With a silent nod, Atau followed along the man who seemed fully transformed from his earlier, self-important persona. With Epunamo and Khune out of the way, he had delivered two out of three invitations to the sons of Villca. However, the hardest challenge still lay ahead.