Em hadn’t worn a suit in years. The vest and the collar of the shirt, tightened by a bow tie, felt uncomfortable, but what bothered him most were the leather shoes.

Still, the discomfort was not enough to fight the urge to snooze, a feeling fuelled by a few hours of sleep and the rattle of the carriage. To keep his eyes open, he paid attention to the details of the streets of Amarvatti, something that little really mattered to him.

The stagecoach had already left behind the dirty and chaotic streets of the port district and was already entering the middle zone, but the rubbish and pestilence were still present. Amarvatti was one of the largest cities not just in Tampra, but in the entire South, and with more dwellers than its infrastructure could handle, it seemed to crumble in its own filth. The middle class neighborhood was just as bad as the mercantile areat, with the only difference that here people dressed a little better and fewer bums and criminals.

Mr. Kishnet, A Parni lawyer working for Marie, Didn’t stop talking since they left Macha at the docks’ inn. His chatting about the Palace and the Rajah’s family was surely important information for the meeting ahead, but Em couldn’t help but ignore all of it.

“For someone like you, I suppose that will be humiliating, but I assure you it is an unavoidable formality.”

“What again?” Em said.

Kishnet readjusted his specs and sighed. “The foot. You will need to bend at the floor in front of the new Rajah and he will put his foot over you. Is the Tradition of submission .”

“New Rajah?”

The lawyer blew in frustration. “Mr. Em, please. I beg your attention! The Highness Shurat Kun died a few months back. Now the Rajah is his son Merak Kun. He is only a kid, but still you need to show homage.”

“Whatever it takes to get Ivy out of that plantation.”

Kishnet readjusted his glasses again, a quirk he kept doing every time before speaking. “The Rajah has no actual power. Only Kumar can do that. He is the one holding your girl. But meeting the Royalty will put pressure on the Society. There is a war of powers in here, and if we meet the Rajah, and especially his Uncle Gupar Kun will draw the attention of who we want.”

“Just get me a meeting with that man.” Em said, going back to the window views, now passing by the clean streets of the upper city, full of luxurious gardens and well-dressed people. The area near the Royal Palaces was a wonder to the eyes. Buildings of marble and gold and mansions and villas surrounded by showy gardens were part of a completely different city; nothing alike to where the common people had to struggle.

The stagecoach stopped in front of a great wall of green and blue stones governed by an immense black wooden gate. As they got out, Em winced at the main square and the surrounding temples. “don’t forget this.” Kishnet said, giving him a bowler hat and white silk gloves.

Em looked at his hands and growled. “I understand the gloves, but the hat?”

“Rules of etiquette,” answered Kishnet, urging him toward a colonnade that led to an inner courtyard.

Even to someone like Em, who never appreciated the beauty of architecture, the views were astonishing. Kishnet noticed and smirked, inviting him to enter a small room guarded by two bear-like soldiers.

After an endless walk through corridors filled with expensive furniture and pretentious decoration, they reached the waiting room, where a servant received them with a slight greeting and a guard frisked them carefully.

The Royal Hall was the largest room he had ever seen, and surrounded by long marble columns, even taller than the Ballerina‘s mast. Following Kishnet’s whispers, they advanced to the end of the hall, where the Royal family was eating over big divans surrounding an empty golden throne. Right next to it, sitting in a more modest chair, was a middle-aged man who, being surrounded by an extremely obese family, didn’t seem as fat as he really was.

Kishnet moved first and at and at the foot of the steps, he knelt down over a huge cushion bending his face to the ground. The stocky man shook his hand and crossed his legs, moving a bare-foot in lazy manner. “Consider yourself blessed,” he said.

Bent to the waist, Kishnet walked back towards Em. The captain didn’t move yet when the hand of the Rajah’s uncle raised. “Don’t need to do it again and again. Let’s get over this.”

“I want! I want!” yelled a shrill voice from behind, while a little rounded boy tried to get off the divan with difficulty.

The Rajah’s uncle grimaced in frustration and motioned for Em to come closer. “The Royalty of him, the Rajah Merak, Son of Shurat, Blood of the Holly Kuns, ruler of Tampraparni and its domains, wishes to bless you with luck.”

The Rajah, with fat and clumsy legs, needed the help of two servants to get down the stairs. When he did, Em took off his hat and crouched down like the lawyer had done moments before. The boy’s stubby foot patted the back of his head while his toes played with his hair. Something that made the child giggle.

With great eloquence, Kishnet explained the situation to the Rajah’s uncle, who responded with a speech full of empty words. Em, not expecting much, amused himself by watching the Royal family.

Women and children of different ages, possibly mothers and wives of the former Rajah, with all his offspring, were just hanging around, paying no attention to the Country’s matters, and wasting food and drink that could feed dozens of their people. As Em let out a snort of indignation, the Rajah spit food at one of his little sisters, who retaliated by throwing an apple at one servant, a deed the rest of their siblings found extremely funny. “Spicy!” yelled the Rajah, who began a sonorous tantrum that one godmother tried to quell by nursing him.

It was not the first time Em had seen the world of the nobility, but surely that moment was the most nauseating by far. He bowed and followed Kishnet outside, glad he didn’t have to see that bunch of leeches anymore and also wondering if at least that waste of time would drag the Society’s people out of their hole. “I hope you are right,” he whispered to the lawyer.

“I am good at what I do. Look, there’s the assistant of Kumar.”

A short man with a stressed expression and nervous ticks was waiting for them at the end of the waiting room. He introduced himself as Mr. Raisin and invited them to follow. “You won’t get any help from the Royal Family,” said the assistant.

“We got what we needed from them already.”

“I see. Mr. Kumar was right, then. You are not as stupid as we thought.”

Em sneered at Mr. Raisin. He was small and skiny, enough to break in two parts easily if he decided to slap him for the insult. Of course, he didn’t and instead followed his fast pace through more halls and corridors. The further away from the Royal hall, the more austere.

“Only him,” said Mr. Raisin to Kishnet.

The office was large and with the walls full of books and filing cabinets except for the back wall, where there was a large window that overlooked the palace square. Between the window and a huge wooden desk, there was a tall man with a broad shoulder, his hands clasped behind and his attention fixed to the street. He did not turn or talk immediately, and Em waited in the middle of the office in silence.

“What do you think of our majestic city, Mr. Em?” he said finally, still enjoying the outside views.

“It’s Capitan.” replied him, trying to hide the frustration that grew every minute.

“I could spend the whole day enjoying her beauty. Her perfection. But I’m a busy man.”

“You should look at the city port. That should put you to work straight away.” Em took off his gloves and untied the bowtie. He then left the jacket over the chair and unbuttoned his vest. Kumar turned, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Em pulling up his shirt sleeves. The president of the Society seated on his enormous chair and brushed his oiled black hair back.

“I thought you were a smarter man, Mr. Em.” he said, taking a small pistol from a drawer and leaving it over his side at hand’s reach.

“I’m tired of the suit, that’s all. And it’s Capitan, if you don’t mind.”

Kumar chuckled with amusement, taking Em’s reply as a coward’s excuse. Perhaps those people knew his name, but little did they know what the old wolf was capable of. Em had no intention of picking a fight, it was true that his clothes bothered him, but there was a clear intention behind his actions. See Kumar’s reaction. Study him.

His suit was meticulously cared for, his hands manicured, and his harsh, squared face perfectly shaven. Still, Em could see that Kumar was something more. Nobody got to that privileged position by being a perfectionist or only being smart. That man in front of him was fearless, and he surely knew how to handle a weapon.

“Let’s get to the point, Mr. Em. I’m a busy person. You wonder why I have retained your cabin, girl. Well, I want you and your gang of misfits to bring me that woman who supposedly traveled with you from the far north. As soon as she is with me, I’ll release her.”

“Gang of misfits?”

“Your self proclaimed Kingdom, whether or not it has a king, it does not have any kind of sovereignty.” Kumar’s tone turned gruff, challenging. “You are just an inconvenience to which I have not put a solution yet due to lack of time.”

“You seized my ship. I need a release letter to-”

“May your friends provide you with another. It’s not my problem, but yours.” The longer he spoke, the more of his rage surfaced, an anger that seemed the consequence of nothing in particular and that Em recognized as false, only his turn to challenge the captain’s patience. Now it was Kumar who was testing him. “I think that woman is hiding amongst the filth of your reefs, but I don’t care. Find and bring her to me. Period. Am I clear, Mr. Em?”

“Cap...tain.”

“Looks like you still haven’t figured out who you’re still challenging. You and your blue friends are on the edge of a cliff and I’m running out of patience. And by the way, I know you’ve found the girl’s location already. I suppose you won’t be so stupid to try something illegal. If you do, I assure you all the might of my army will erase you from the oceans of the Ring!”

Em sighed before answering. “I’ll inform your red mercenaries when I have some information.”

“No. You will talk to me directly. Or to my man in Ujan. Now, get out of my sight.” Kumar waved his hand reluctantly and opened a small book on the desk. “And take those filthy clothes from my office.”

Em slammed the door shut and strode away through the corridor without waiting for Kishnet. When the lawyer caught up with him, he asked how it had gone in a whisper.

“Good news is the Society and the Kraken are not on this together.” Em said.

“Any bad?”

Em grouted. It was clear now the problem was not only about Lim. Kumar was using the hunt to involve the Blue Kingdom in a political game; a game that did not seem very friendly. “Bring me back to the docks. I have another meeting, and that’s the important one.”

The return trip happened with a sigh. Em spent it with hundreds of thoughts buzzing in his head, too exhausted to get any clear idea worth considering.

When the stagecoach stopped at the inn’s entrance, Em shook Kishnet’s hand and headed to the peer. On the deck of Charles’ ship were Oleg, one of Ced Rangers and Macha, who showed a witty smile when Em boarded. “How was it?” He asked.

“I need a drink. Is everyone inside?” Answered Em, moving straight to the vessel’s cabin. In the galley, all those summoned were waiting, who without delay or questioning had traveled to the capital of Tampra to Em’s request.

At the round table there was Chan’s younger brother, Lee, a man with infinite resources and eternal gratitude to Em. At his side, there was Luang He, one of the few Golden officers still alive. When the Dragon King crushed the revolutionaries, he was still young and little known, which saved his life.

The Golden Companies officially no longer existed, although there were still hundreds, perhaps thousands, waiting in the shadows for the opportunity to rise again and the sparkling in Luang’s eyes, was proof he was wishing Ivy’s rescue would be the moment they were waiting for.

Also seated were two members of the Ujan freedom fighters, AhSel and Chung, Charles’ men and trusted friends. Shin Zu, the only one standing, was looking at a map of the main island of Muet with interest. He was a young man with the long braid and black clothes typical of the northerner Dragon island. A man Em didn’t know but had been assured was extremely trustworthy.

All stared, waiting for the captain to speak. Em seated and poured some tea on a mug. “The Society is hoping that we continue with the rescue plan.”

“I knew it.” Said Oleg from behind him. “My guys have been telling me for a long time that Tampra is waiting for an excuse to attack us.”

“Another reason we should let the buccaneers do the dirty work like Em proposed yesterday,” Lee said, with a hoarse voice that matched his corpulent body.

“We cannot trust that scum!” shouted Chung. “Let us the Freedom fighters rise the Blue Pendant! We are not scared!”

Luang frowned, staring at Chung as if his words were a poisoned dagger. The Golder officer clenched his fist and thumped the table. “We are all gathered here as friends, Luang. And we will resolve any issues that arise as such.” Em said.

“We are not cowards. I said the Golden pendant will not rise. We’re not ready.” Luang’s words surprised Em greatly. If anyone he believed was going full tilt on this endeavor, it was the Golden warriors. Realizing the fire in his eyes was nothing after all, it felt like a bucket of ice over the head. “Sorry to disappoint you, old friend. But I assure we will send some weapons and a couple of dozen men. Younger kids need training.”

“We will send hundreds,” Chung said. “But don’t rely on the Geckos, I tell you.”

Shin Zu turned and put his hands on the table. “”Your men know nothing about raiding. Neither do the Kingdom Rangers. Not even the young lads who make up the Hanan companies these days have actual experience.”

“Then? Shall we all agree to young Macha’s plan?” asked Lee.

“The fortress of Siam governs the bay from a great height.” Shin Zu said. “It is only accessible from the center of the island and through a staircase. Send hundreds, thousands if you want and they will erase you from existence. The port also has a fort, and there are barracks of soldiers in the adjacent towns. As soon as they see you showing on the horizon, instead of dozens, you’ll have hundreds of soldiers waiting for you. A night incursion is your best shot.”

“And if that cave the kid talks about is not there anymore?” asked Oleg.

“Of course it is! Why would a cave disappear?” said Macha, fueled by excitement.

“Because you used it years ago to escape. If they found out how, that beach access is closed by now. Simple as that.”

“We leave the assault to the Geckos,” Lee said. “If they fail, Tampra will have just a bunch of buccaneers to blame.” Shin adamantly affirmed while Chun and his partner hesitantly denied. Oleg, who had approached the table, frowned, continually poking his lips nervously.

Seeing Olegs' doubts, Macha spoke again, confident of his plan. “I led the party of lizards through the mountain into the village. We take Ivy and go back the same way with no one realizing.”

“And if something fails,” Em stood and strolled towards the map, letting out a visceral rage that grew with each breath. A rage growing stronger as he remembered Kumar’s arrogance. As he remembered that parasitic family that ruled a country of petty soldiers and corrupt bureaucrats. “Let them storm the fortress. Then we may have a chance to shore and take the port. Lee’s ships and Chung’s men can wait here and here for a sign. If Macha cannot rescue Ivy unnoticed, Tampra’s plantations will burn.”

The glances of each of those present crossed with no one saying a word. They all knew the consequences of engaging Tampraparni openly. “Aye?” asked Em, clenching his teeth.

“Aye!” Macha answered.

Chung heaved a great sigh that inflated an already big stomach. “Aye, of course!” Zhen’s affirmation came right after, less enthusiastic but still resounding.

“We’ll arm Lee’s ships and Chung’s men.” Luang said, spitting his own words with obvious shame on his face.

Em turned towards Oleg, waiting for the answer of the last of them. The ranger moved the head side to side and snapped his tongue. “You sure the Harpy’s daughter can put a leash on the Swan?”

“Aye.” Em said with a bluntness that overshadowed a hint of insecurity.

“All right then. But still, I will land with a few of my men. We are not leaving young Macha alone with the buckos.”

“Of course.” Em’s stomach knotted. Even with the lizards on their side, he didn’t want to leave Macha alone with them, either. When the original plan came out, He was ready with no discussion to be part of the landing group but the tunnel they had to cross was partially submerged, so no matter how stubborn he was, there was no place in that party for a man whose floating prosthetics wouldn’t let him dive.

Em patted the Ranger on the shoulder, appreciating his commitment to protect the kid and left, leaving the group to discuss details. Oleg’s last question about the Lady of Cards and the buccaneer’s boss was repeated over and over inside his head until he reached his cabin. Each time, he repeated the same response and, with every ‘Aye’, insecurities that seldom tormented him became unbearable.

Exhausted from overthinking, he dropped his body over the bed and used his feet to ease the shoes off with extreme pleasure. Then, with his arms under the head and eyes lost in the dark, he cursed.