Important Discussions

▲

Having busied herself with work for four long months, enjoying the subtle heat of a Parthevian summer, Zubaidah admired the Ash Company’s warehouses. Those behemoths of Parthevian industry with their long and straight avenues of Tisifuni fashion; the big door swinging noiselessly; the dim light of hooded lanterns, casting shadows on silk and cotton; the little railed-off spaces amongst piles of merchandise where the newly-hired clerks from the Ash Company work-drive wrote rapidly and in silence amidst the din of working Nazairi spinsters and Toad members shifting cases to muttered song.

In the small offices next door, Zubaidah and Amnet had worked hard with ensuring the Ash Company’s books were correct and the Reiman trading-bloc stayed stable, holding meetings with representatives from the Louve or the Osteri. Well, they had also begun discussions about expanding their trade network further abroad, but the Ash Company was uncertain where might be best. Would they consider another Reiman tribe or move further into Parthevian territory?

When she began work on this day, however, Zubaidah was visited with a new business-partner, unannounced and unseen within Tisifun before this moment: ‘If it isn’t Jiryu! I heard your arrival from the rukh, dear Magi. But what could someone like you have for a little old nobody like me? It can’t be that there is some new world-ending threat again!’

▲

‘What high praise from a Magi!’ Zubaidah offered him a freshly-brewed cup of tea, straining the new batch of Kounese leaves, ‘I am sure that your kings would learn alot from us dancers.’ Blowing on the piping-hot liquid, she listened intently to what Jiryu had to say, her brows raised in curiosity, ‘Well, I should hope this means nothing dangerous, I hope? We have only just recovered from the events concerning Kosrow here in Tisifun. Our headquarters might be refurbished and business booming, but northern Parthevia suffered some heavy damage.’

Pausing for a small moment, dwelling upon the recent vigils held for Parthevian losses, Zubaidah answered with a different attitude, ‘Hmm, actually, I care not if it is dangerous. I shall gladly take whatever assistance you offer, dear Jiryu. I am sure that your intentions as a Magi will benefit more than just myself. So then, what guidance do you have for me?’

▲

Once the Magi had departed, leaving her with concerns about Reim, Zubaidah turned her attention back towards Parthevia. After all, her main concern was revitalising the trade between northern and southern Parthevia, was it not? If Reim had problems, many of which were well-known to Zubaidah, then they should be solved by the Council or Senate.


Shaking her head, and setting her priorities back to Tisifun, Zubaidah called for her steward Batuttah, ‘I have received advice on meeting a merchant caravan six days eastwards.’ ‘Hmm, six days, you say? Well, that would place him around Palaiz. I had not heard of any merchant caravans heading there.’ ‘And why is that?’ ‘Last I heard, it had become the haunt of pirates. It seems they all gathered there after the war in Heliohapt scuppered their usual hideouts in Saffat.’ ‘What might a merchant be planning there?’ ‘They say ‘risk invites reward’, do they not? Palaiz has always been a free town where the newly-furnished men and women from Isidora and the old Parthevian capital went to make and spend their money. There were more than enough theatres, dice-houses, taverns and even casinos from Balbadd, perfect for merchants to take advantage of.’ ‘I wonder whether it has held up so well…’

Walking with Batuttah into the new Tawrez estate, where the Ash Company had taken residence, Zubaidah would soon gather an expedition into Palaiz. Since the journey by foot consumed too many resources, and the journey by carriage did not suit the uneven terrain, Batuttah concluded that the journey should be taken by canoe down the Urkadi river. After making preparations for the Palaiz expedition, including several items for negotiation, Zubaidah would wave goodbye to Batuttah and begin her adventure upon the gentle Urkadi.

▲

Shortly after their departure, drifting slowly down the Urkadi river after a small digression into contested territory, Zubaidah heard a curious splashing, as if heavy ropes dropping in the water, and the prolonged song of ship-workers. Through the thick fringe of bushes hiding the mouth of the creek, she saw the tall spars of some Heliohaptian-rigged ship overtopping the summits of the palm trees. A brig was being hauled out of the small creek into the main stream. The sun had set and, during the short moments of twilight, Zubaidah noticed that the brig was heading in the direction of Palaiz itself. Concerned about what a Heliohaptian vessel might be doing in Palaiz, she called for her Ash Company retinue that they should continue towards the main harbour without her and headed out for the main river into one of the many narrow channels alone, hoping to survey the ship from another direction.

Her canoe brushed the water-palms, skirted the short spaces of muddy bank where sedate alligators looked at her with lazy unconcern and, just as darkness was setting in, shot out into the broad junction of the two main branches of the river, where the brig was already at anchor with sails furled, yards squared, and decks seemingly untenanted by sailor. Thinking that it would be safer to examine the ship while it was still anchored, Zubaidah headed further downstream towards a nearby jetty where she could inform the Ash Company if the matter was more problematic. As she moved through the still waters, she watched the lights twinkling from Palaiz’s suburbs, built high upon the river-banks. The hum of voices, the occasional cry of a child, the rapid and abruptly interrupted roll of a wooden drum and some distant hailing in the darkness by fishermen returning home accompanied her onwards.

She hesitated a little before approaching the small jetty, however, the sight of such an unusual object as an Heliohaptian-rigged vessel causing her some uneasiness, but she wagered that the river in its wide expansion was dark enough to render a small canoe invisible. She urged her small craft with swift strokes of her paddle, crouching within the bottom and bending forward to catch any suspicious sound while she steered towards the small jetty, following the strong light of a paraffin lamp shining from some whitewashed verandah. The jetty itself, under the shadow of the bank overgrown by drooping bushes, was hidden in thick darkness and primed for her investigations.

As she approached it, however, she heard the hollow bumping of a large boat against its rotten posts - and then the murmur of whispered conversation from the same direction. Shadows turning the jetty dark than before, Zubaidah looked above herself and soon realised that she was directly under that Heliohaptian-rigged vessel. Stopping her course with fast but slightly infuriating motions from her paddle, however, she managed to remain beneath the stern and out of sight from anyone looking below.

As she crouched within the bottom of her small canoe, Zubaidah wondered how so large a ship could have outpaced her from the river’s mouth to the Palaiz suburbs - and one so recently anchored within the muddy waters. It was clear that this vessel belonged to one of the Saffat pirates which Batuttah had mentioned before, having turned towards Palaiz after the war in Heliohapt. But who could have commandeered this ship so expertly through the Urkadi? As she tried to peer closer at the main deck, eyeing up the captain at the helm, Zubaidah saw a crimson coat, purple hair and double cutlasses, but looking even closer…

‘What’re you looking at, lass?’ Her heartbeat doubled, panic clutching Zubaidah’s chest when she thought that the captain had spotted her, until she realised that they were barking at someone else, 'Nothing, miss, nah, nothing at all!’ She recognised that timid voice from her post-crusade stay in Reim, when her letters of commendation had been stolen by thieves calling themselves the Ganzak Three, and Yolanda here had been one of them, ‘If it’s nothing, then you shouldn’t be dawdling! Can’t have you shirking your duties, can we? We got big plans ahead for this ship - and little time.’


‘That holds for you two as well!’ So it seemed Octavian and Ganzak were present as well! ‘I know you might be the famous Ganzak Three, but celebrity status doesn’t hold if you don’t show me why you’re famous, hey!’ But why had they joined a pirate ship in Parthevia when, last she heard, they had bought sizeable shares in the Ash Company? Should they not be enjoying their riches in one of their old haunts around the Reiman capital… ‘When have we ever not lived up to our reputation, eh?’ ‘He means ‘of course’, misses Jawhab, boss!’

Why the hell are the Ganzak Three here with Jawhab? In fact, what is that damned Jawhab even doing here so far from Saffat and Heliohapt! Ugh, this must be what Batuttah meant by Palaiz becoming a hotspot for pirates. Well, I cannot afford to deal with Jawhab for now, so I have no other option than meet my Ash colleagues in town...

Hoping to sneak away while they discussed matters amongst themselves, Zubaidah slowly paddled closer to the worn-down jetty until she could safely dismount. As she heaved herself out of the water, however, her canoe knocked onto the jetty’s posts with a loud and audible bang”: ‘Seems we’ve got company!’ ‘Do they intend to join us for tea - or something less savoury, eh?’



‘What the hell are you doing here, Sukh?!’ Her eyes blazing as they alighted upon Zubaidah, it seemed that Jawhab was fully prepared to draw her cutlasses and jump down from the main deck for a battle. ‘Wait, wait!’ She was only stopped when, coming out from the captain’s quarters, arrived an eccentric-looking man with Parthevian features, a misplaced smile confusing the atmosphere between Jawhab and Zubaidah, ‘I believe the lady Mansur has come to do business with me!’

‘And you are?’ ‘I am the humble Achaemenes, merchant by profession, at your service.’ ‘And how did you know I would be here?’ ‘I was informed by our mutual acquaintance, Jiryu, of course!’ ‘What do you know of the Magi?’

‘Hmm, what do you mean by Magi? I know him as my business-partner in the Kounese tea-trade! He has some wonderful taste-buds, you know? He told me that you would be a useful partner to have in Parthevia. But, more importantly, that you wished to add some spice back to our homeland.’

▲

As the evening sun came upon Palaiz, he saw Zubaidah sitting within a quaint tavern with Achaemenes and Jawhab’s crew. ‘I suppose I still have one question for you, Jawhab.’ ‘Oh, sure, fire away, prissy.’ ‘No need to use names, captain!’ ‘Don’t worry, sir, I’ve heard much worse from her. Now then, onto my question. Why were you helping Achaemenes?’ ‘Just a whim - ’


Out from nowhere came a broad-chested man with garnet hair, his voice warm and honey-like, pulling up a barstool next to Zubaidah. ‘So you were behind this then?’ She had only met this man once or twice in person before, but they had traded many letters as fellow head-mentors in the Hashashin, with Zubaidah unable to mistake this absolute specimen of a man for anyone else, ‘Of course!’ He broke into a sly grin, taking Zubaidah’s hand into his own for a kiss, ‘It is my pleasure to be in your presence again, Sukhainah.' She returned his welcome with the typical Hashashin handshake, ‘And yours mine Darius.' And then looked him up and down once more, admiring his sun-kissed physique, ‘How long has it been since we last found an excuse?' ‘Any excuse to see you should have been good enough, I think. I certainlly would not have declined our meetings in person had the Gawhur business not made us so busy.’ ‘Well, I do quite enjoy the build-up to our meetings,' Gazing into his emerald eyes with a playful glint, Zubaidah twirled a strand of lavender hair in her fingers, ‘But the pay-off is much better, is it not?

‘We’re still here, prissy.’ ‘Oh, I’d hoped you would be gone by now.’ ‘Now, now, lady Mansur, she has given us considerable help in our efforts!’ ‘I know, I know. Whatever her reason, it’s good enough. Even if it’s just that Kut asked this sister-loving pirate to help…’ As Jawhab lunged for her cutlassess, Darius stopped her with the wave of a hand, prompting Zubaidah to turn towards the Ganzak Three, ‘But why are you helping? I mean, this cannot be a particularly lucrative venture. What do you stand to gain from helping?’

‘Same reason as you, boss.’ Ganzak spoke up first, his looks less rugged under the tavern's warm light, ‘I want myself a home again. You know, I’m tired of being a wanderer. Reim’s good and all, but it’ll never be home. Even when we stayed in Balbadd, I never really fit in! Fancy that, a city of gambling and casinos, and I didn’t fit in…’

‘Well, gambling might be my calling, but it doesn’t matter how good you are at cards if the house cheats you of it just cos they think Parthevians are ‘lowlives’ and ‘scum’. And you know, that’s what we’ve become to everyone else.’


‘And I’m tired of it. I’m no thief cos I want to be. None of us are. We’re thieves cos our livelihoods were stolen from us - and we had no other way to get it back. Homes. Families. Countries. There are too many of us who’ve had it all taken from us - and been forced to keep taking from others. It ain’t gonna stop until we make it all equal again. It won’t stop until us Parthevians have somewhere safe to build a home, raise a family, have our own country again. We need Parthevia otherwise we’re gonna be thieves till we die.’

‘And what about you two? You’re from Reim and Heliohapt. What do you two want from Parthevia?’

‘Well, miss, I might’ve been born in Helio, but I sure as hell don’t belong there. No home or family left there after that whole kerfuffle at the Pyramid. Not that I ever liked them. The road’s more home than Helio could ever be.’

‘Indeed, much as these vagabonds are more family than Reim ever gave me. I had a father with an influential position in the Senate, you know? I had the most comfortable life that anyone could want, until he voted against abolishing slavery. My own father cast the deciding vote towards the most vile and inhumane practice the world has ever seen. But when I spoke up against him in the Forum, suddenly I was the target of all the vitriol Reim could offer. My friends derided me behind my back. My estate and inheritance was confiscated. My father even disowned me.’

‘But they took me in. They gave me a new family. One which I chose for myself.’ ‘Just like you said Parthevia would be, boss.’ ‘A country anyone could call home.’ ‘One they can choose for themselves.’


‘You don’t need to say anything, miss.’ ‘It is our place alone to speak; and to say thanks.’ ‘What you’re doing here ain’t something small, boss. You’re giving people a future. It’s so much more than you could give it credit. And we’re all in this together.’

When she heard these words, something cracked within Zubaidah’s heart. It was like some invisible wall had finally been torn down, and she realised for the first time that they were not alone in Tisifun. There were others in Parthevia who wanted the same - and who were willing to pour their blood, sweat and tears into this effort; into making a new world with Parthevia there again. And she realised that the burden could finally be lifted on more shoulders than just her own.

‘You get it now? You’re not alone in this, lady Mansur. No, we aren’t alone. I have my own contacts in Parthevia who want the same as you.’ As he spoke, the Ganzak Three raised their mugs to Zubaidah, joined by Achaemenes, Darius and even Jawhab, ‘I really thought Tisifun was alone in this. To see that Palaiz, Salehi and even Lamet’s nomads believe this venture…’ She felt her pokerface drop, but did not put it back up, letting it fall even further as she no longer concealed her feelings, ‘We could really build Parthevia back.’

Feeling a hand rest on her shoulder in support, Zubaidah was surprised to see that it was Jawhab, ‘I know that I’ve not been the most supportive of you, Sukh, but we’ve all been trying to do the same for years. Darius has been single-handedly keeping Reim out of Parthevia for decades now. Achaemenes has been slowly growing his list of merchant contacts across Parthevia, keeping the supply-lines viable. Ganzak and his lot have done what all other Parthevians have been doing, namely continue to survive. Even I was just trying to keep Heliohapt out of Parthevia, even if you disapprove of my methods.’ ‘I’m sorry for doubting you, Jay…’ ‘Ugh, don’t apologise to me like that, prissy! I’m not saying you do have to approve of our methods. All I’m saying is you have to realise that there are many more who want the same as you! You just have to find them.’

‘Luckily enough for the lady Mansur, I have already found two merchants willing to help in re-establishing north-south Parthevian trade. You might have heard of Artarushu, the previous treasurer of Khabis under the Shah Rahman. He claims that he will assert his allegiance and share his resources once he has discerned your plans for the Kavir supply-chain. As for Ghanim, head of the merchants’ guild under Parsif, he says that he is willing to help, but cannot publicly shift resources until next month due to shahzada Gawhur banning consistent interaction with northern Parthevia.’

‘Damn, I knew that she’s been the biggest road-block, but now Gawhur’s decided to bar all semblance of trade?’ ‘She is getting even more brazen by the minute! How could she do this after us head-mentors explicitly asked that she lift her trade embargoes…’ ‘She’s even fortified Parsif against the land and sea routes due to the Heliohaptian war. Holed herself up in the old capital, thinking she could shield herself from the aftermath, but stupidly left Khabis vulnerable. I hear that some bandits have even tried to mount an offensive against it.’ ‘Well, good thing that I sent Ashraf - ’

Zubaidah held her hand to quieten the group, gesturing towards the now-empty tavern, ‘I think we’ve got more immediate problems.’ Silence met her words, spreading unease across each member, until a dagger whistled towards the bar-counter. ‘Jay, get Achaemenes out of here!’ Catching the blade in midair, Darius threw it back towards the unknown assailant with Fanalis reflexes. Hearing the crunch of metal against wood, Zubaidah realised that they had not been quick enough. Drawing their own blades, Darius and Zubaidah scanned the room with their enhanced senses, her ears pricked for sounds from the rukh and his nose trying to pick up the assailant’s scent,


A gunshot sounded from the tavern entrance, and the iron scent of blood entered Darius’ nose, as Jawhab held a steaming magic tool towards a black-robed figure. Without a moment’s hesitation, they ignored Jawhab and rushed towards Zubaidah with a Dance of the Blades, slashing at Zubaidah’s right arm and left shoulder. Kicking a barstool towards the first clawed attack, lodging his blade in the wooden seat, she would find herself left vulnerable to his second claw, metal rending through her flesh like butter...


In the next moment, despite parrying Jawhab’s next shot of Ice Magic with a Dance of the Stream, the assailant was slammed against the opposite wall by the brute force of Darius’ fist, splintering the wood with an uncomfortable crack. And yet they simply stood up again, clicking a limp arm back into place with a loud crunch. ‘Who are - ’ ‘Run, Sukh!’ Not quite registering the confused scene before her eyes, debris and barstools strewn about her surroundings, Zubaidah would barely recognise the garnet, scarlet, crimson, vivid sparks in the assailant’s chest.