Depthless Hunger

Chapter 70: Accusations and Deception

Since he'd fallen asleep in his pants, Kai simply pulled on his tunic and grabbed his shoes on the way down. It looked like Zae Zin Nim would sleep straight through the shouting, despite its growing volume. As he leapt down the stairs, he could hear it getting even worse.

Half-way to the crowd, he barely remembered to drink one of his new Class potions.

Not a moment too late, because when he hit the bottom of the stairs, he saw chaos in the main room. There was a whole mob of hunters, some dressed as city guards and others in uniforms emblazoned with the symbol of the Corinin clan. They looked like they were trying to break into the inn, and the only things holding them back were a small group of citizens and social propriety.

Kai considered the group briefly, noting their power was between 30 and 50 on average. Not that strong for seasoned guards, but it didn't matter. What they brought against him wasn't raw power, it was the rule of law.

"There he is!" One of the Corinin hunters jabbed a finger in his direction and suddenly the entire group was looking toward him. "You there, are you a hunter?"

"I..." Kai knew he shouldn't hesitate, but the question itself made him stumble. That had been his mental identity for so long... but here, given the situation... "No. I went through formal training, but I'm not officially a Goralian hunter."

"That's obscuring the truth." A man wearing extremely fine Corinin robes took a step forward. "This man is an ex-hunter banished from a northern city for his crimes, yet the Lantrian clan is hiring him to do their dirty work."

"Do you have any evidence other than hearsay?" The new voice was Razzagah Lantrian, who Kai hadn't even noticed up to that point. He couldn't face off against the hunters, but he stepped up to the Corinin official. "You haven't showed us a contract, a warrant, or anything else. This is a flagrant misuse of the city guard."

"The evidence is standing right in front of you! If you have any honor left at all, ex-hunter, tell us the truth about how Razzagah Lantrian hired you to guard his caravan."

All eyes turned toward him, especially the city guard. Razzagah shot him a pleading glance, but Kai couldn't afford to meet his gaze or he would look suspicious. He bought time by clearing his throat, desperately considering how to answer. Normally, he would have said that it was always the best policy to stick to the truth. Considering that policy had gotten him banished...

But this confrontation was clearly about mixing truth and lies. Assuming no extra layers of deception, the Corinin clan had felt comfortable sending mercenaries everyone knew were theirs out to destroy the shipment. That would never pass if normal testimony was accepted. If so, then the accusation was just a ploy and the real question was plausible deniability.

"I was never hired as a hunter," Kai said. "We were traveling together when mercenaries attacked our group for unknown reasons. Because I took an injury defending the caravan, Razzagah paid for recovery at this inn, but I didn't perform any services as a hunter."

"Exactly!" Razzagah shot him a barely concealed grin and then turned to the officials in outrage. "I hired a dozen guards for my journey and every single one of those contracts is on record at the Hunters Guild. Pretending that I was making illegal contracts is entirely spurious."

It seemed that Kai had said the right thing, because the city guard shuffled back awkwardly. The Corinin official looked displeased but made another attempt. "And why are you hiding the other unlicensed hunter who participated in the attack? What are you trying to conceal?"

"Do you accuse every traveler coming to Rayakan?" Kai stepped past Razzagah to look the Corinin man in the eyes. "If you somehow have witnesses to the fight, bring them forward. Will they testify that my companion could possibly be from Goralia? She's willing to come down and answer the accusation."

Just as he had hoped, the official paled. He must be high up enough in the Corinin clan that he had spoken to the mercenaries and heard about exactly what happened. It would be insanity for him to press the issue, both because Zae Zin Nim was obviously foreign and because they could never send their own mercenaries to testify. The entire accusation had been an attempt to push Kai into making an error, but they had nothing.

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Well, nothing but a raw power advantage. Kai hoped that his implication that Zae Zin Nim was still healthy had landed. Given that both mercenaries had been knocked away, they might not have seen her collapse, or at the very least they might believe she had recovered easily.

"Is this any way to treat guests to Rayakan?" The innkeeper put her hands on her hips and scowled at one of the guards. "I expected better out of you. Now, all of you go away and deal with your clan business somewhere else! You're bothering my customers."

That finally broke the conflict and the guards began filtering out. It looked like the Corinin hunters might not leave so easily, but as they started to get a good look at Kai, their confidence diminished. Even with his soul thoroughly cloaked by his most recent potion, he would look like a veteran. Since his numbers could do the talking, Kai kept his face neutral, as if he was just a traveler who didn't care about the clan politics.

Once they were all gone, Razzagah turned back to him and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank fuck. I was terrified that you were going to say the wrong thing and get us all in trouble."

"What," Kai said, "you expected me to march down here and announce that I had violated the terms of my banishment?"

"Well, no offense, but a lot of hunters aren't quick thinkers and you look like you spend more time cracking heads than using yours." His tone was surprisingly light, despite the implicit insult. Razzagah stepped closer and grinned again. "But that was perfect. If you'd said I gave you nothing, they could have used the records of me paying for the inn against me. This way we're on solid ground: there was no formal contract and they can't prove that any illicit money changed hands."

"But they can just use the city guard to make accusations? Sorry, but that's not exactly encouraging. And what were you doing here?"

"They were trying to get to you first, maybe get you to testify in their favor. But I was tipped off that they suborned the city guard, so I arrived first. Not first by long, or I'd have talked to you, but it's probably better this way. This way there's less suspicion that we conspired together first."

That gave Kai pause, though he tried not to let it show on his face. It was possible that, if the Corinin clan had arrived first, they would have spoken to him honestly. Razzagah might have intercepted them and twisted the confrontation to his own ends... but that was getting a bit hard to believe. Kai had to admit that Razzagah had been fair with him so far.

"Anyway, I thought you might want to know that everything has worked perfectly." Razzagah's grin welled up again like he was struggling to hold it back. "I made a small fortune on those silks, and more importantly it's a mercantile coup. The Corinins are worried that others will try to cut into their markets, which is why they're retaliating. It's fantastic to see them on the back foot for once!"

"It will be less fantastic if their next retaliation involves sending elite mercenaries to attack us."

"Oh, I don't think they'd do that in the city." Razzagah finally stopped smiling and faced him seriously. "But I understand why you'd be concerned. Your best defense might be to take a formal role here in the city. They're willing to attack unknown travelers, not targets who would draw more attention to them."

"But I really am banished. I can't join any Hunters Guild."

"Did I say anything about the Guild? No, I mean that you need to make a public appearance at one of the clan balls. Doesn't matter if you're Clanless, they like to have visitors, especially if they bring in any exotic flavor. Northerners are welcome, and of course your companion would be as well."

"She'll decline." Kai folded his arms and scowled as he considered the matter for himself. He hated the idea of participating in southern social culture, but he couldn't dismiss the offer out of hand. "What exactly is going to be involved here?"

"Just attending a dinner or two at the Hunters Guild. I'd formally invite you to join the Lantrian clan, but given the accusations..." Razzagah shrugged helplessly. "That doesn't mean that we can't work together off the books. I've been thinking about what you said earlier... you know, about needing a mana pool. We may be able to help each other?"

"How?"

"Best not to get into it here. By tomorrow I'll know more... we'll meet at noon, alright? Wear whatever your best clothes are - no, never mind, I can bring something."

As Razzagah headed out, Kai wondered just what he was getting himself into. The promise of getting access to a mana pool was tempting, but part of him just wanted to abandon the city entirely. Getting entangled in the conflicts of merchants struck him as a headache.

When he headed back upstairs, he found Zae Zin Nim sitting up in bed, so he explained what she hadn't been able to hear. She nodded quietly, following the clan politics despite her lack of familiarity. Then, when he started to explain his reluctance, she surprised him by immediately shaking her head.

"No, you need to get involved. Maybe not with Razzagah, but somehow. I'm not just saying that because I need a mana pool. This is your best chance to move forward."

"And how is that?" Kai asked.

"I like merchants even less than you do, but they're necessary. So far, you've been fighting opponents with weapons you've put together out of sticks and mud." She settled back against the headboard and closed her eyes. "The mana is dense here... denser than I've ever felt in Cloudspire, even if it doesn't compare to the qi. And it's being controlled by the merchants and other powers. You've gotten far on your own, but eventually you need to take advantage of those resources."

Kai sighed and accepted that he didn't have a choice. Not only was he getting involved in the clan politics he'd always tried to avoid, he was doing it along with a Lantrian.