that.”
“Most noble,” said Ran. He turned toward Yasseh. “I have a few remaining items to handle before I join you at dawn tomorrow, so I’ll take my leave now.” He nodded to Ejul. “Good to meet you. Will you be accompanying us on the caravan?”
“Me? No, I’m afraid I’d be more of a liability than an asset. If we were attacked, I’d scarcely be able to do anything, I fear. I will remain here in Chulal and see after the business. Someone has to balance the books and make sure we don’t run out of money.”
Yasseh laughed. “Ejul has a great mind for business. Once I’m tucked away in the ground somewhere, I expect he will have no trouble assuming leadership and continuing the family’s success.”
Ran bowed. “I will leave you to that, then. Good day.” He moved back down the quay toward the busier streets of Chulal, fully aware that Ejul’s eyes were still on him as he did so. What were the chances that the man he’d nearly killed a few nights ago would turn out to be the son of the man Ran now worked for? He almost grinned. He’d been told many times by the elders at the clan that the universe worked in mysterious ways. It wasn’t worth the effort trying to figure out what sort of bizarre conditions must have come into alignment to make this connection, but they had. And now Ran would be forced to deal with it. The good news, he supposed, was that Ejul was staying back here in Chulal. Of course, Ran suspected that was a convenient lie to facilitate the actual ambush.
The real question was why? Ejul seemed to have a privileged life of wealth and opportunity. How was it that he had fallen in with the likes of thugs and bandits? He only had to wait out his father’s death before he would inherit a large company that would guarantee him financial security for the rest of his life. Why would he attack his own family’s business?
It made no sense, Ran decided. But then again, so often the workings of the minds of men failed to make sense. Perhaps Ejul was impatient. Perhaps he owed large sums of money to people. Whatever the case, Ran would need to keep his wits about him during the trip. If Ejul suspected Ran was the man who had cut off his hands, then Ran’s life would be in serious jeopardy.
As a precaution, he took the long route back to Tanka’s apartments, tripling back upon his long and winding trail several times to throw off any interested pursuers. Each time he did so, he detected nothing amiss, and it was finally nearing late afternoon when he opened the door to the apartment and walked inside.
Tanka was already there. As Ran came in, he waved him over to the small table and the oil lamp that burned on it.
“The falks have returned from Gakur.”
Ran’s heart ticked over. “What is the word?”
“I’m decoding it now,” said Tanka. “Pull up a chair and help me.”
C HAPTER S EVEN
The technique for decoding messages from Gakur changed depending on the time of year. But since Ran wasn’t assigned to an outpost, he didn’t have access to the various codes employed by the Nine Daggers clan to keep its messages secure. So as Ran watched, Tanka took the lead and began writing two lines of script beneath the coded message.
“We’re using a special key that Ginjo developed,” said Tanka. “How he comes up with these things is beyond me. I can’t imagine anyone ever being able to break our codes, but he certainly tries to ensure that even we have a tough time of it.”
Ran grinned. “I remember Ginjo’s class on secret inks and how to use them. Who would have thought that urine had so many uses?”
Tanka chuckled. “That was a smelly session, if I recall correctly.”
“You were years ahead of me, but it was pungent to say the least when we used it.” Ran watched Tanka copy down another line of code. “Four lines?”
Tanka nodded. “Ginjo is never complacent. So he builds a false message into the coded transcripts. If someone intercepts this and they’re
“Most noble,” said Ran. He turned toward Yasseh. “I have a few remaining items to handle before I join you at dawn tomorrow, so I’ll take my leave now.” He nodded to Ejul. “Good to meet you. Will you be accompanying us on the caravan?”
“Me? No, I’m afraid I’d be more of a liability than an asset. If we were attacked, I’d scarcely be able to do anything, I fear. I will remain here in Chulal and see after the business. Someone has to balance the books and make sure we don’t run out of money.”
Yasseh laughed. “Ejul has a great mind for business. Once I’m tucked away in the ground somewhere, I expect he will have no trouble assuming leadership and continuing the family’s success.”
Ran bowed. “I will leave you to that, then. Good day.” He moved back down the quay toward the busier streets of Chulal, fully aware that Ejul’s eyes were still on him as he did so. What were the chances that the man he’d nearly killed a few nights ago would turn out to be the son of the man Ran now worked for? He almost grinned. He’d been told many times by the elders at the clan that the universe worked in mysterious ways. It wasn’t worth the effort trying to figure out what sort of bizarre conditions must have come into alignment to make this connection, but they had. And now Ran would be forced to deal with it. The good news, he supposed, was that Ejul was staying back here in Chulal. Of course, Ran suspected that was a convenient lie to facilitate the actual ambush.
The real question was why? Ejul seemed to have a privileged life of wealth and opportunity. How was it that he had fallen in with the likes of thugs and bandits? He only had to wait out his father’s death before he would inherit a large company that would guarantee him financial security for the rest of his life. Why would he attack his own family’s business?
It made no sense, Ran decided. But then again, so often the workings of the minds of men failed to make sense. Perhaps Ejul was impatient. Perhaps he owed large sums of money to people. Whatever the case, Ran would need to keep his wits about him during the trip. If Ejul suspected Ran was the man who had cut off his hands, then Ran’s life would be in serious jeopardy.
As a precaution, he took the long route back to Tanka’s apartments, tripling back upon his long and winding trail several times to throw off any interested pursuers. Each time he did so, he detected nothing amiss, and it was finally nearing late afternoon when he opened the door to the apartment and walked inside.
Tanka was already there. As Ran came in, he waved him over to the small table and the oil lamp that burned on it.
“The falks have returned from Gakur.”
Ran’s heart ticked over. “What is the word?”
“I’m decoding it now,” said Tanka. “Pull up a chair and help me.”
C HAPTER S EVEN
The technique for decoding messages from Gakur changed depending on the time of year. But since Ran wasn’t assigned to an outpost, he didn’t have access to the various codes employed by the Nine Daggers clan to keep its messages secure. So as Ran watched, Tanka took the lead and began writing two lines of script beneath the coded message.
“We’re using a special key that Ginjo developed,” said Tanka. “How he comes up with these things is beyond me. I can’t imagine anyone ever being able to break our codes, but he certainly tries to ensure that even we have a tough time of it.”
Ran grinned. “I remember Ginjo’s class on secret inks and how to use them. Who would have thought that urine had so many uses?”
Tanka chuckled. “That was a smelly session, if I recall correctly.”
“You were years ahead of me, but it was pungent to say the least when we used it.” Ran watched Tanka copy down another line of code. “Four lines?”
Tanka nodded. “Ginjo is never complacent. So he builds a false message into the coded transcripts. If someone intercepts this and they’re
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