Thursday 20th January 2011
My next Scheme was Delight in the Hunt. If activated, it would summon a 3/3 Horror and prevent all damage that would be done to my creatures this turn. I didn't want a 3/3 Horror. I desperately wanted my summons to be undamaged, but this was the day when one of them would die. I would not betray Yuriko, after all she had done for me. I did not activate it.
My regular card was Bootleggers' Stash. This was an unusual artefact in my opinion, because it seemed to represent both an underground chamber and the items stored within. I could summon it for a green and five generic mana, at which point all my lands would gain 'Tap to create one treasure token'. Seeing as each treasure token could be sacrificed to produce one mana of any colour, the Stash would effectively make all my lands whatever colour I needed at the time.
Six mana was a lot to cast today, because I also wanted to upgrade Artificer class, and I couldn't do both without sacrificing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of treasure for extra mana. I needed to do something, though, because I now had eight cards in hand, and the system would force me to discard one of them at midnight if I didn't discard one by then.
Working out how I wanted to do things was a welcome distraction, though, because if everything went to plan, today was going to be awful.
As per prior agreement with dad, I was down with the flu and did not attend school. Instead I forced myself to eat a late breakfast that tasted like cardboard and headed over to the Bards' house.
Yuriko had forbidden that I spend time with her before the attack, but some days you just have to pull rank.
I had a key to the house and let myself in while all four of its sentient residents were cleaning up from a breakfast at the kitchen table. A quick detour let me teleport an undamaged Alpha-Six to his garage.
"My lady!" said Jehan, catching sight of me coming through the hall.
"Sorry to disturb you so soon, guys. I'm going to spend some time with Yuriko but before we go, leaving you with the washing up, I wondered if you were interested in this?" I called the shield into my hands. "It grants toughness and sleepless Vigilance."
"Oh my," said Guillaume, "A cathar's shield from Innistrad? The cathars are the soldiers of the Church of Avacyn, staunch defenders against the darkness. We're honoured, my lady."
"That would explain the 'flavour text' that came with it," I said, stepping forward to meet the three bards, who looked set to kneel. "Stand tall!" The last thing I wanted was to hurt poor Guillaume's knees. "The flavour text for this shield reads, 'A leader can inspire courage, but it is the smiths and healers who truly keep hope alive.' I do not hesitate to count bards highly amongst those who fight back against the darkness of despair, and so it is my great honour bestow upon you this:" I knelt, and offered up, "The Cathar's Shield."
I tapped my Mox, my home, and the Taiga stadium to generate the mana to equip the Shield to the Bards. Perrette took it from my hands and held it with confident ease. All three bards bowed to me. I rose and bowed back, low.
Yuriko scowled at me, but went to fetch herself a large backpack. Yuriko's plate had been overflowing with food, a good portion of which had gone untouched. I could hardly blame her for that.
Once Yuriko said her goodbyes to her friends, her eyes dryer and her voice clearer than theirs, and we set out for a walk.
"Well done with the Shield, Taylor," said Yuriko, "They really appreciated the gesture, and, well, they're not going to be too Merry today."
"Thank you, Yuriko," I said, and smiled weakly at her.
We walked through town to Captain's Hill that abutted the mountains and overlooked the Bay. Once there we found a bench and settled down.
I couldn't think of anything to say.
Anything was better than nothing.
[I hate this,] I said.
[Me, too,] said Yuriko, [I am glad for the opportunity to do my duty, but I regret causing my friends pain.]
[And deprive us of your presence, your guidance.]
[The pain will pass, Taylor. And if you found my guidance useful, you are welcome.]
More silence.
I should have gone to school. At least there would have been distractions. Yuriko couldn't be enjoying this any more than I was.
Okay, school was useless. I kept turning up, despite everything, and yet how much had it prepared me for conversations like this?
[I would thank you for more than just your guidance,] I said eventually, [You made school bearable. Fun. You gave me hope. You gave me a friend, and I very much needed a friend when I met you.] I was crying, but I didn't look at her so she couldn't see so it didn't count.
[You are welcome. You were a pain in my neck, but you are a good leader, Taylor. You made good choices. Better ones than I would have made. I-- I get angry, like you, but I let my need for vengeance distract me from what needed to be done. I hope that this is a lesson that I can take back to Yuriko in Kamigawa.]
[Thank you, Yuriko.]
More silence. It was less painful than the talking.
[This is such a strange plane,] said Yuriko, [Regularly attacked by monsters that could do so much more damage than they do. I shall never know why. That is sad.]
[If it is any comfort, I doubt I will ever know either.]
[No, no comfort there. But.]
[Yes?]
[I would like to know. If you do find out, please visit Yuriko in Kamigawa and tell her.]
[I will. I will, Yuriko.]
[Or you could raise me. Or if you summon me again, I am sure that Yuriko would accept.]
I laughed weakly, [I have never seen the same card twice, but if I see yours in my deck again, I shall summon you.]
[No, I mean, raise me. From the dead. Planeswalkers can do that.]
"Wait, WHAT?!"
Yuriko looked at me with confusion. [You are a planeswalker. You can raise the dead.] She stared at me. [You did not know?]
[No! I did not know!] I leapt to my feet and started pacing. [How-- how do I do that?]
Yuriko shrugged, [It is a spell. Or there are spells. Or there are rare people and creatures that can do that, and you can summon them. Oh! Please do not raise me as a zombie or an artefact or an abomination; I do not think I would like that. But if you find--]
[Yes! Yes, Yuriko! I will raise you the first chance. I can ask for cards. Next Monday, I shall demand the spell to bring you back!]
[No!] said Yuriko firmly.
"Huh?"
[You do not have time, Taylor,] said Yuriko, [After Lung falls, the Empire must fall soon after. Do not lose sight of your mission! Raise me if you want, but it must be after the Empire is dealt with. I shall be very disappointed otherwise.]
Dammit. [Yes, Yuriko,] I said, bowing my head to her, [I shall destroy the Empire 88 first. ... Um, speaking of advice and guidance, do you have any tips on how to do that?]
Yuriko smiled. [Just the basics: destroy the status quo, but maintain the balance. Leave Kaiser in charge as long as you can -- a united group will be an easier target to strike. Here,] she brought out a leather-bound notebook that looked heavily used, [These are my notes on Brockton Bay. Maybe you will find something there. If not? You may need more information, and the Bards may be good at gathering that.]
I took the notebook, and leafed through it. There were pages of analysis of the various factions, a map of the Bay with interesting locations highlighted. There was a lot to take in, but there would be time for reading later.
Yuriko rose to her feet. [Every second we talk is another second that bastard Lung gets to draw an unearned breath. It is time. Please summon the blade you would give to me.]
I nodded, and channelled my mana, summoning the Squire's Lightblade which jumped straight to Yuriko's hands. It was sheathed, but when she drew the blade I saw that it was a wavy-bladed shortsword that glowed with a bright light and gave off blazing motes of light that looked like flames.
[Good,] said Yuriko, examining the blade, [They will think it a tinkertech blade, purchased in desperation. Be sure to let them examine it briefly before recalling it.]
[Yes, Yuriko.]
Yuriko looked me in the eye. [I say again. I am sorry to do this to you. I know that you wish to be a hero. This will not be heroic, this will be murder.]
[I know,] I said, swallowing, [I can either be a hero, or I can try to save Brockton Bay. I can't do both. I don't know how.]
[So?] asked Yuriko.
I had to force out the words. [Go. Kill.]
Yuriko sadly saluted me with the blade, and then sheathed it and hid it in her pack. She walked briskly down the hill. She didn't look back.
I sat at the bench, watching Yuriko head down the hill. When she was out of sight, I stayed there but shifted my attention to seeing through Yuriko's eyes, feeling through her senses.
She headed through the city towards the ABB territories, which were on the other end of town, near the Docks. Once there, she slipped into a public restroom, entered a stall, and donned her disguise. She changed her makeup and her hair, and stepped out. When she glanced at herself in the restroom mirror, it was a stranger that I saw. One with a haggard expression and bags under her eyes.
Yuriko then went unerringly through the streets of Brockton Bay's unofficial Asian enclave. She found a large residential building with gangsters lounging outside, and walked through the entrance, hunching in on herself as the gangsters hurled insults and lewd suggestions at her. She brushed past one gangster that propositioned her, hurried into the building, and started climbing the stairs. She straightened her posture as she started climbing with long, confident strides.
On the fourth floor, she pulled a parcel wrapped in string and greaseproof paper from her bag, and kept going up. On the fifth floor, there was a double door guarded by more gangsters, but these ones were alert and standing guard. They stopped Yuriko as she approached, but let her through when she explained that the parcel was a delivery for 'Ms Lee'. The layout of this level looked very different from the others that Yuriko had passed.
She kept going, past several doors until she one that she seemed to recognise, and opened it without knocking. Yuriko took in the room on the other side of the door at a glance. It looked like a waiting room -- there were threadbare seats, a sofa, a coffee table, with an over-flowing ashtray on it. There were two other doors in the room -- one set of double doors, and another that Yuriko went through. Through that door was a kitchenette, with a slim young woman sitting at a table, wearing heavy geisha makeup and wearing a kimono, smoking and reading a trashy cape gossip magazine. She leapt to her feet with alarm, but fell to a savage blow to the face from Yuriko before she could make a sound. Yuriko examined the woman, confirming that she was unconscious, and then stripped her with businesslike efficiency. She took a crystalline pill from one of her pockets and put it in the woman's mouth and then rested her on the floor, a cushion under her head.
Yuriko tore open the parcel she had brought with her to reveal a lot of makeup. She rapidly applied makeup to her face to match that of the now-unconscious woman, redid her hair to the woman's style, and then donned the woman's earrings and kimono, and some shoes from the bottom of her pack. She tucked the Squire's Lightblade in the kimono. She took a small capsule from a case and carefully placed it under her tongue. She finally relaxed a little. There was a clipboard on the table, listing a handful of names and times. She scanned it, seeming satisfied when she saw the name 'Ren Zhihao'.
She familiarised herself with the contents of the kitchen area. She tidied her backpack away (it still contained a few items, which were presumably unneeded contingency countermeasures). She kept an eye on the clock.
When the clock hit 9:45, she busied herself making up a tea tray from the fixings that were already laid out. She pulled a letter from her bag and put it on the tray before picking up the tray and heading out of the kitchenette and through the double doors.
Yuriko's gait changed from confident strides to many small rapid steps as soon as she was out of the kitchenette, and an empty professional smiled fixed itself on her face.
The area past the double doors was a short hallway leading to another set of doors, this time decorated with heavy dragon iconography. More guards, but she hurried past them with barely a word, and they didn't glance too hard in her direction.
Yuriko was now in Lung's lair, a palatial and lavishly laid-out space. A powerfully built bare-chested man with a dragon back tattoo was sitting in the middle of a long leather sofa watching television, ignoring both the two young Asian women leaning close to him on either side and a more elderly men sitting at a nearby table who appeared to be talking to him. A quick glance at my unsummonable cards showed me that Lung's was glowing slightly. It was good to get confirmation that he wasn't a body-double or something. There were five men with holstered weapons sitting at another table. A few heads turned when Yuriko approached, but they saw the tea lady and didn't seem too bothered. Lung ignored her.
Yuriko bowed her head to the men in turn, and put the tea tray down on in front of the elderly man. She picked up the letter and carried it to Lung, offering it to him with both hands and a bowed head.
Lung scowled, and snatched the letter from Yuriko's hands. He tore open the envelope, and as he was unfolding the letter it blocked his sight of Yuriko. That gave her plenty of time to draw the Squire's Lightblade and stab Lung through the letter and into his heart.
[Murderer!] she screamed.
Yuriko didn't stop there. She pulled out the knife and stabbed him again and again and again, as fast as she could, to his chest, his throat, his head. The blade sunk deep every time, Lung not even able to fall back or move aside, trapped by the sofa and the two shocked women. He'd raised his hands defensively, but it was already too late for him. The card in my unsummonable list dimmed as he died.
I could pull her out now! I could save her!
I didn't.
[Shit-souled cowardly idiotic waste of-]
Yuriko's shouts were silenced by a thunderous retort and a sudden shattering agony and Yuriko was thrown to the ground, her left arm pulverised and useless, a massive unfathomable pain in her side. Yuriko had enough presence of mind to swallow the packet in her mouth.
She needn't have bothered.
One of the guards with Lung rushed forward and kicked the knife out of Yuriko's hand. He had a large-bore revolver, a Brute-killer as they were known, and did not hesitate to aim it at Yuriko's head and pull the trigger.
It was a long time before I stood up from the bench and trudged home, wiping tears from my eyes several times. I called the Bards. They'd been waiting for my call. "It is done," I told them, and hung up.
I went straight to bed when I got home. I lay on the bed, stared unseeingly at the wall, and didn't think.
Time passed.
It was dark. Enough time, surely. I recalled the Squire's Lightblade to me and dropped it to the floor. They wouldn't get to keep it. The blade of the knife was burned clean with its fire, but the handle was stained in blood.
I wanted to curl up and hide from the world.
Dad checked in on me when he came in, and I cried on his shoulder as he hugged me.
"There's nothing on the news," he said, which was about the only comfort I could take. The plan was working.
I didn't eat.
Midnight brought complications. I had eight cards in my hand, for some reason, and I needed to discard one of them, immediately. There was a slowly-building mental pressure to get it done, and I was in no mood to fight it. I really didn't know why I had eight cards, not seven though. I'd started the day at seven.
The new card was a random one that I had drawn at some point during the day before. It was called Talon Gates and it looked complicated and also not particularly useful. It allowed me to postpone casting spells rather than pay their mana cost, I thought, but if I couldn't afford the mana cost I probably wanted the card sooner than the Gates would allow. There might have been some hidden value there, but I was more interested in casting the right spell at the right time rather than throwing everything at the wall and hoping that something stuck. I wasn't interested in thinking. I discarded the card and the pressure went away.
The 'Talon Gates' card appeared in my Graveyard. Alongside--
Nope. I looked away.
Spoiler
"Well, Doctor?" asked Zihao Ren.
"The damage done by the bullet was extensive, but I am moderately confident that the assassin did not have a corona pollentia. She was not a parahuman."
Ren nodded. "Good. Did you learn anything else?"
Doctor Koto shrugged, "She had high degree of physical fitness -- a large heart, lean muscle. The body of an athelete, or a gymnast. Young; older than 18, younger than 25. Healthy. Mixed diet."
"Mmm," said Red, "There was a newly arrived young woman looking for her sister seen about the quarter recently."
"Maybe she found her," said the doctor, finishing the thought, "Will the story hold?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Which story? That there were gunshots in Lung's residence, some young idiots showing off? That story will already be out. That the Great Lung was injured by an assassin wielding a Tinkertech blade, and the wound is taking longer than it should to heal? Everyone who knows that story, knows that story must hold until Lung recovers. It shall last a week, possibly more. That Lung is dead? Less than a dozen people know that, and they all know the consequence of word getting out. It will hold for long enough. I shudder to think what would have happened if someone from the council hadn't been there, though."
"As do I. What do you want me to do with the assassin's body?"
"The usual. Seon will be around in the morning. It can wait until then, and we must not appear hurried. Do you have the knife as well?"
"No? I didn't see it."
"Hmm. The Oni must have taken it. One less thing to worry about." Ren sighed. "What a mess." He rose to his feet, "Well, we have long days ahead of us. You must be seen to be discreetly tending to Lung's needs, and I must find the Azn Bad Boys a new dragon."
Author's Note:
Taylor has misunderstood the nature of the Talon Gates card, but she isn't interested in leaving Brockton Bay, so unlocking Planar cards wouldn't have happened if she'd read the text anyway. It was the first zero-casting cost 'worthless' card that Queen Administrator found in the library.
I'd like to thank Jemini for their advice in this chapter.