Chapter 10 - Mounting Problems
Ryu Kosaka skulked down the street, Sora perched on his shoulder and rubbing her head against his affectionately as they walked. She might have had the temperament of a house cat at times, but even a birdbrain like her could see the mood he was in.
He appreciated the effort to raise his spirit, but it was hard for Ryu to stop thinking about the ruins. The cells they had found… the skeletons… they brought up memories he didn’t like to think about.
Ryu had spent nights in the local jail during some of his unluckier times as a thief. They had been rough, often sleepless nights, but freedom would come in the morning when Sumire or Zach came and paid the fine. There was only so much space in the jail. The guard didn’t need to waste room on stupid elves with minor charges against them.
Of course, that meant there were those that stayed. Those were the ones that would always watch Ryu leave with a jealous hunger. At his low points, Ryu imagined he was one of those faces seemingly forever behind bars. Those were the moments when he wondered if he feared death or just dying down in a hole like that.
Like those skeletons in the ruins.
Squawk!
Ryu came out of his daze to see Sora pointing her beak towards the southern gate. He was surprised to see a familiar face walking their way from the gate.
“Devon?” Ryu remarked.
The tavern doorman looked up tiredly, apparently just as surprised to see Ryu and vice versa. Ryu nearly had to make a doubletake to make sure that it really was Devon. His hair was a mess and his clothes weren’t much better. He looked like he had been rolling around in the forest all morning.
“Kosaka,” Devon said, quickly taking up his usual composure even it was a bit at odds with his disheveled state. “Funny running into you.”
“Same to you,” Ryu replied. “What were you doing out there? Thought you were a city boy through and through.”
Devon shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s my day off,” he said. “Thought I’d stretch my legs and see what it’s like on the other side of the walls. City gets a bit suffocating after a while, you know?”
“Yeah,” Ryu nodded along. “So… what? You went out for a stroll?”
“Something like that.”
Ryu continued nodding, schooling his face to stay as friendly as possible. The day Devon took a nature walk was the day every game parlor in the city shut their doors. Besides, he looked like he had taken his walk well off the beaten path. Like he had been looking…
Crud.
“Well, don’t let me hold you up,” Ryu said. “You look like you could use a bath, man.”
Devon laughed. “I could,” he said with an easy smile. “See you around then.”
“See ya.”
The two waved each other off. Despite Ryu keeping a convincing smile on his face, Sora bristled on his shoulder as Devon passed. Once he was gone, Ryu looked towards the city gates before continuing on.
New thoughts swirled in his head. Still relating to the ruins, but now his concerns were more for the future than what had happened in the past.
Ryu could only sigh in frustration as he marched on towards a familiar church. He was happy to leave research to Zach. Heaven knew he was better suited for that than Ryu ever was. That didn’t mean he didn’t want answers, though, and Ryu knew at least one place where he might get some.
The church staff gave him about as warm a welcome as Ryu had expected, that being they largely ignored him. He paid them about as much thought as he made his way towards the infirmary.
It was easy to find who he was looking for. The mystery man they had pulled out of the ruins was in the same cot they had laid him in the day before. Despite still looking like little more than skin and bones, it seemed that Reinhart had been keeping his word about caring for them. The rags had been changed for fresh clothes that the figure seemed to be swimming in. Some color seemed to have returned to their face, though it was honestly hard to tell.
Standing beside the patient’s bed with a pitcher of water was an acolyte Ryu recognized. What was her name? Evelyn?
“Oh, hello,” she greeted warmly when she turned to see Ryu. “Is something the matter?”
“No,” Ryu replied, gesturing towards the cot. “I just came to see how he was doing.”
Evelyn smiled and pulled a curtain out, separating her and Ryu from the sick bed. “I am glad you were concerned enough to check on her,” she said brightly. “However, I fear she is not well enough for visitors.”
“She?” Ryu remarked.
“Oh, yes,” Evelyn confirmed. She leaned in and whispered in a low voice. “It gave one of the other acolytes quite a surprise when we were changing her clothes.”
Ryu glanced over at the curtain off bed. “Can you tell me how she’s doing?” he asked.
“I am afraid she is still quite weak,” Evelyn said. “She seems to be suffering from severe starvation and dehydration. By the grace of the goddess, she was able to awaken for a short time. We tried speaking with her, but she does not appear to be able to speak yet.”
Goddess, Ryu thought. Just how long had she been stuck down there?
“Are you sure she could even understand you?” he asked. “Did you try talking to her in Kyamese?”
Evelyn tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I tried a few words I have picked up,” she replied. “She seemed a little responsive to them, but I fear that was all. Oh, we were able to try and have her write a message.” She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a folded scrap of paper before handing it to Ryu. “Would you be able to read what she wrote? I fear I cannot read Kyamese.”
Ryu unfolded the paper and looked over its contents. His eyes widened before he schooled his features.
“Chicken scratches, I’m afraid,” he said evenly. “Hopefully her penmanship improves as she recovers.”
Evelyn frowned, but accepted the answer. “I expected as much,” she sighed. “Thank you for at least looking.”
“No problem. If she writes anything else, let me know. I’ll be happy to take a look at it.”
“That would be much appreciated.”
Evelyn gave him a polite bow which Ryu reciprocated before slipping out of the clinic, pocketing the mystery patient’s message. He felt a little bad about taking it from under Evelyn’s nose like this, but he knew who would be able to read it.
Ryu made his way up the street and out of the Quarter as he headed for the Scholar's Guild. The campus was more bustling than it had been yesterday with students and apprentices in between classes at the moment. Ryu had hoped to blend in with the crowd, but a half-elf Yoru dressed in second-hand clothes tended to stand out some.
Or maybe it had more to do with having Sora perched on his shoulder.
He ignored the looks he was given as he headed for the dormitory and knocked on Zach’s door. The boy opened the door, almost beaming.
“Ryu, perfect timing,” Zach said as he pulled the boy inside. “You won’t believe what I’ve been able to learn from the relics we brought back. Those fire traps weren’t just flame crystals . They had sun and lightning stones set in them, too.”
Ryu stifled a sigh and took a seat on the bed while Zach fussed with the crystal apparatus on his desk. He briefly mused over how long Zach had been itching to share his findings.
For her part, Sora nestled down on Zach’s pillow and made herself comfortable.
“If I’m understanding the arrangement of the crystals,” Zach continued excitedly. “The sun stones react when they’re exposed to light, energizing the lightning crystals, and triggering the flames. It’s amazing!”
It really was. Ryu couldn’t help but be glad that he hadn’t been a thief when traps like this might have been commonplace. There were few enough old thieves as it was.
“What about the purple one?” Ryu asked, gesturing towards the odd lamp fixture Zach had brought back as well.
It looked a good sight odder than the other relic. Metal etchings seemed to be fused into the stone. There seemed to be a slot at the bottom with some yellow fragments sticking out.
Zach looked at the stone and frowned. “Not sure,” he replied. “I think it might be a moon stone. Their supposedly linked to Night magic, but the notes I’ve found so far are pretty sparce.”
“Night magic? Wouldn’t a sun stone be better for a light?”
“Probably. I’m not sure what effect it’s meant to have beyond being a wall lamp.”
“Well, if it’s got you stumped,” Ryu chimed, deciding to use this as a chance to bring up why he had come in the first place. “I’ve got something that might pique your interest.”
He pulled out the paper he had taken from Evelyn and handed it over. Zach unfolded the note and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Where’d you get this?” he asked.
“From our mystery woman from the ruins.”
“From… wait, she’s awake!?”
Ryu nodded. “She was up for a bit before I stopped by the church. The acolytes tried to talk to her, but she didn’t seem to understand.”
Zach looked down at the paper in his hand. He seemed to piece the rest of the story together on his own.
“But this is…” he began, holding up the note.
“Imperial, I know,” Ryu finished solemnly. “I recognized it from what we saw on the dagger. Think you can translate it?”
“I’ll have to go by the library again, but yeah,” Zach said. He shook his head. “Seriously… what’s going on? We find someone deep in some ruins and she’s writing in a language no one’s used in centuries. Just who in the blazes is she?”
Ryu shrugged, wishing he had answers as well. “Our best bet of finding out is translating whatever it is she wrote,” he said.
“You’re right. Anything else that brought you by?”
“I think Arthur might be sniffing around for what we’re up to,” Ryu sighed.
“What!?"
Ryu filled him in on bumping into Devon by the city gate. Zach took the news better than he had anticipated. He only smacked his desk once.
“First Sumire, now this,” Zach muttered, massaging his palm.
“Sumire…” Ryu mumbled. He gritted his teeth as realization dawned on him. And she thought he was reckless!
“Do you think he found anything?” Zach asked, stirring Ryu from his thoughts.
“I’m not sure. I’d like to say I would be able to tell, but… well… there’s a reason Devon always took my money when we’d play cards.”
“Think we should go check the cellar?”
Ryu shook his head. “All I can see happening from that is leading Arthur straight to the ruins. Even if he and his goons have already found it, we might get lucky and one of them will get torched with those fire traps.”
Zach cringed at his remark, but Ryu shrugged it off. They had a fondness for those working at the Hare like Cassandra and Devon, but it didn’t extend to everyone Arthur employed. Ryu had gotten on the bad side of the broker’s hired muscle more than once when he had just started as a thief. Back then, it had served as a good motivator to improve his skills.
Now it just made him pray that they hadn’t found anything.
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