Sparrow on a Plank Chapter 2: When The Sparrow Meets The Salamander

[For the last chapter, look here.]

Hajime walked into the Spectacled Rhino, and headed straight for the table with Sal. This was not the usual dive bar he was used to meeting her; the tables here were clean and there were people actually waiting on the customers. He had problems cutting through the curry in the air, but it was a welcome change from the smoke and cheap booze he generally associated with Sal's usual watering hole. 

He grinned, shaking his head, as he saw who was sitting next to her, as he was wearing clothes he felt the "common person" wore, but the clothes were new enough that it would be seen as a costume. Prince Ta tried too hard to be a "prince of the people", whatever that was, but the affectation was appreciated. Too bad that he sat on his coiled tail, and that his green skin marked him as a naga, one of the local rulers, but not one of the highest, thus allowing him the occasional lunch with those who served him. Nonetheless, he had the regal bearing, a Roman senator with the short black hair and thin beard and mustache apropos to his rank. 

Hajime had to restrain himself from turning the chair around as he sat on it, but at least he remembered the short bow before he sat down. Despite her calm, he could see Sal's hands frozen to the table, an obvious sign when you realized she was usually constantly in motion. He pulled out a sheaf of papyrus and handed it to the prince, who put the report down without even looking at it. 

"Excellent job, I suspect. Salmandra usually picks the best people, and it was just a quick surveillance job. I just wanted to see your attention to detail." The pronouncement deflated Hajime's pride a bit. "But it just means that you are ready for an actual mission." Hajime's ears pricked up. "I need a little bauble picked up, and I think the two of you could handle it easily enough."

Sal was attempting to eat some sort of noodle covered with meat and vegetables. The food was great; nonetheless, next time she was going to try and steer the meeting into a restaurant that used forks instead of chopsticks. "This could be interesting, Haj." 

Hajime was of a different mind; he was almost finished with the salad that had virtually appeared when he sat down. The service really was excellent. "Hopefully I'll get to wear clothes this time." He shoveled more of the greens. 

"I am hoping for that as well. At any rate, all you need to do is find is a particular necklace. Apparently some minor cult has found a necklace that explodes and thus we need to deprive them of it. Fortunately, we have some excellent intelligence on their headquarters." Prince Ta handed Sal an ivory cylinder; she handed it to Hajime who put it into his shoulder bag. "It should be an interesting little adventure for you."

Sal and Hajime shared a quick glance involving raised eyebrows. She looked at the prince first. "Well, let's hope it's not too interesting. The more interesting the the trip, the more likely we'll need replacements." She smirked. "And you know how hard it is for you to replace operatives." 

A waiter appeared with a menu, surprising Hajime that such wonders actually existed. "I seriously need to stop letting you choose the restaurant, Sal." He quickly ordered some meat and noodle dish. "But it would be hard to find such an experienced set such as we, Prince Ta."

Prince Ta cocked his head a little and then returned it to its normal upright position. "Yes, I'm sure it would be hard to find another set of operatives with your eclectic skill set. I'm sure that the thieves guild is out of rogues this time of month."

"And that's why I like you, Prince. Blunt and honest." Sal poked at her meal. "I guess I should have said that it would be harder to hire operatives."

"True. So very true. And I am having such problems hiring them now." He moved some of the meat around to get a better shot at the vegetables. "Too many are moving into guilds and adventuring groups. Someday soon there may not be any that I could hire directly, but through an intermediary."

 "And then you would pay us what we are worth." Sal smiled at the pained expression Prince Ta affected. "But don't worry; I'm sure that there will always be someone you can hire." She dug into her salad. 

 Hajime looked at the prince over his water glass. He put the glass down, still surprised that the water inside was clear. "This place is so unusual compared to our usual haunts. Clean water, good food, polite conversation; who would think that places such as this actually exist?"

Sal glared at him. "And that's why I love working with you, kid." She had decided that poking things was the appropriate way to use chopsticks. "So, Prince, what is our first stop on the quest for your necklace?" 

Prince Ta was looking into his tea cup, deciding if the remainder of the tea leaf at its bottom meant anything or not. "Well, it does involve hiring a boat. And that's always interesting." He decided that it didn't, and put it down. He went on to the remainder of his noodles.

Sal's eyes rolled up and settled quickly down as she speared her own meal, much to Hajime's amusement. Sal caught his badly disguised grin and knew he was going to suffer. She didn't know how exactly just yet, but she knew he would suffer. The rest of the meal was marred only by Prince Ta's attempts at small talk, but at least the food was excellent. Prince Ta left shortly thereafter, but left enough that they were able to order something to go and still leave a generous tip. Sal always did like doing business with him; the pay was miserable, but the perks were worth it.

* * * * *

That was on Cyrill, the deal-making center of water-covered Jezreel. On the volcanic island of Bubastos, two warriors were determining who was better. Santiago Bahamez was the champion of his local swamp, of the reptilian Hriss, he swung his battle axe with abandon. Blue scales under black leather, he dodged his opponent's rapier, swinging at every chance. Gryz the Whip, named for the flogging he had received on Auf Tien, poked and parried the battle axe with rapier, the first third reinforced to create a formidable fencing weapon. As this was a duel based on speed, the only sounds were the grunting of the warriors and the crunch of their footsteps.

The Levitian's swarthy brow sweated rivers as he attempted to find a weakness in the Hriss' armor. Every time he thought he had found one, it disappeared in one of Santiago's lightning dodges. At the same time, Gryz was able to easily dodge the predictable path of the axe, sometimes easily, sometimes close enough that rips appeared in his shirt. They could be desperate enemies only as best friends could be, and they were the best friends villains could be, but the match was necessary to determine leadership. With such stakes, each was fighting as they had never before, axe swing meeting rapier lunge, dodge versus parry. They would determine who was better, even if one of them left the pit under a sheet. 

Santiago managed to break past Gryz' defense, and swung his axe. Gryz fell to the ground, rolling under the swing. Standing yet again, he changed the direction of the blade, holding backwards, and then thrust towards Santiago, who merely stepped out of the way. Santiago swung from above, and it Gryz spun out of the way, using the momentum to spear at Santiago, who executed a back-flip to avoid the blow. Santiago attempted a sweep kick, but Gryz easily jumped out of the way. Gryz held his blade in a stabbing position, forcing Santiago to roll out of the way. 

Above it all, in a throne just above the pit in torch-lit shadow, sat Lord Ashigaru. As grunts came from below, his red eyes followed every movement without moving themselves. He watched the two warriors vie for the position of his third-in-command, the being that would command a fleet that would bring back the Stygian Edge, assuming it was where he had been told it was.  

The crunch of gravel below stopped. Gryz had finally tired of the precision fencing that was the pride of the Levitians, and had started just pummelling Santiago. A fist surrounded by the rapier's steel basket had finally knocked the Hriss to the ground, and Gryz put a boot on the axe, stopping its swinging. He had pulled back for a final blow, looking up at his lord for the signal to save or end his foe's life. 

Lord Ashigaru appeared to think about it for a moment. A smile crossed his scaled countenance, and he gave the thumbs up. Gryz smiled as he bowed, and then helped Santiago up. The two disappeared into the tunnels surrounding the pit, heading for the nearest bar for a round of drinks and lies about the fight. Lord Ashigaru knew they would have served the other well, but was nonetheless pleased that Gryz had won the fight; Santiago was an able strike leader, but hardly the admiral Gryz was. Nonetheless, a battle for leadership needed to be fought to ensure that there were no hard feelings. 

He smiled as he thought about the mission's target. The Stygian Edge would be his, and with it he would rule in flame and fear. It was a good day to be alive for Bubasto's serpentine ruler.

[For the last chapter, look here.]