Qing's Quest book 2, Chapter 28: The Weight of Regret

The sun baked down upon the four of them as they stood on a roof, in front of the portal’s blue glare. Qing’s fists tightened, and his skin hurt, as if his skin was too dry, and he glared at Morgana.

“How can you joke at a moment like this? We gained nothing!” Qing shook with anger. “And Taj is dead!” 

Morgana met his gaze, not backing down for a moment. “We gained a princess,” she said, flicking her head at Ghida. “A hostage to exchange for Cleo?”

“You think about as well as you see, one-eye,” the princess said.

Morgana raised her whip with a snarl, but Qing grabbed her wrist, holding it firm without straining. He turned to the princess. “Tell me where in the palace Rufus would stay. He wasn’t in his rooms.”

Morgana pulled on her wrist and kicked his leg. Qing let go with a push, and she stumbled backwards. 

“I’m not sure,” Ghida said. “But he is frequently seen entering the grand vizier’s quarters, but few other places.” 

“Where is that? Give me details.” 

“Why?” Knut asked, stepping forward.

“We need to go at once,” Qing said. “The palace guard will still be dealing with the monsters and nobody will expect us to attack again so soon! Don’t you see? This is the perfect opportunity for us. You already have guard uniforms, and I’ll be at full mana and health by the time we get there. With the princess’ help we can—”

“We should have gone for Jenny,“ Knut said, voice calm but firm. “Heading straight for Rufus’ apartment…we couldn’t have made it any easier to trap us if we’d tried.”

Qing’s hands fell to his side. “I…”

“And you should have let me contact my network first,” Morgana said. “If we had more knowledge about the target location, we wouldn’t have been stumbling around inside like horny camels.”

“No,” Qing said. “That’s not it. I…was just too low level. If we hadn’t lost Taj, he’d lead us straight. That’s where it went wrong. If I’d been stronger, it wouldn’t matter if we walked into a trap. I’d have cut the mages down and forced Wazir to take us to Cleo, and then we could have gotten Jenny and walked out as planned.”

“No! You—”

“Enough!” The princess’ eyes glared and she stalked towards them, finger pointed like a sword. “Your reckless bumbling has ruined everything! Years of work gone to waste because you couldn’t wait one scorching day to throw yourselves onto the weapons of your enemies!” Her chest heaved as she stared at them. “Now shut up and let me think. I didn’t even get to bring my bag…”

“Already missing your makeup?” Morgana asked. 

Princess Ghida’s eyes narrowed, and she took a deep breath, looking down her nose at Morgana. “Even if I’d need makeup, your face has enough for any three women.”

They glared at each other, until Ghida sighed and looked away, waving a hand. “But no. My bag contains items needed to survive outside the palace. Items crucial to continue the fight against Wazir. Now…” She shook her head. “I’ll have to rely on Jorik.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Knut said, peering over the edge. “Why would a princess’ portal lead to Jorik’s roof?”

***

Qing rolled a cup between his hands. After appearing from the stairs with Ghida, Jorik had whisked the princess away and told his guards to clear the kirathaane, commanding the trio to wait. They had settled at the corner table where they had been only some hours earlier, except Taj had been with them.

Knut had taken a bottle from behind the bar and sat nursing a drink with Morgana. Qing had accepted a cup. The liquid burned his nose and went down even worse, but it felt appropriate. He owed it to Taj.

Qing’s anger had evaporated, and he missed it. He wanted to take out his feeling on someone, anyone. But he had been the one to push for attacking the palace at once. Knut and Jenny were right. He hadn’t wanted to wait, even for a moment. Even now, the thought of Cleo in Rufus’ clutches, what she must be going through, it made him want to get up from the table and rush to the palace, cutting down anyone who stood in his way.

GG’s words came to mind. To overestimate one’s abilities had been the downfall of many champions.

How did it go so wrong? We hadn’t counted on monsters in the sewer. Maybe we should have turned back then, after meeting the mud golems. Or maybe I should have grinded EXP, cleaning out the sewer. And the combat with the palace guard…it was too risky. They were heavily fortified and numerous. We could have turned back before pulling all the monsters, or even backed off after de-aggroing the mobs. 

He sipped the strong liquor and grimaced. 

And in the palace, I could have closed the door to the sewer and restrained the guards. Then we could have forced information from them before anyone knew we were even there. Why did we hurry so much? Why…

Qing squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head. “I panicked,” he said. “I thought I was in control, but it was all a rush. No time taken to consider the options. This is all my fault. I am so sorry.”

The table was quiet for a while until Morgana cleared her throat and said, “it’s ok.”

“To Taj,” Qing said, voice struggling, and raised his cup.

“It’s too soon,” Morgana said, shaking her head.

Guilt welled up in his chest. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t know the man’s family. He’d said they were dead or moved on.

“But—” 

Knut waved a hand, cutting him off. “The time for remembering and honouring the dead will come. But this is not that time.”

Qing slowly nodded, lowering the cup.

“Damn right it isn’t,” Jorik said, stomping across the floor. The eyepatch covered his left eye, and he glared daggers at Qing. Ghida glided along behind him, as if they were in a throne room.

“How reckless could you be,” Jorik said. “If you’d told me what you had planned… Knut, you used to be clever. What happened?” 

Knut just shrugged, not looking up from his cup.

“I ought to call the palace guard myself. Maybe we can convince them they kidnapped you,” he said to Ghida, but she shook her head and gently touched her fingers to his arm.

“It is too late for that, uncle.” 

Uncle?

“Wazir knows it was me. We escaped from inside the maze, and there is no way they would have made it without me.”

For a moment, Jorik looked about to explode. His jaw clenched so tight it trembled, and his whole body shook. Then it was as if someone let air out of a balloon, and he collapsed onto a chair. 

“This is terrible,” he said. “There will be no stopping him now.”

“Stopping who?” Morgana asked. “Rufus or Wazir?”

“It is time for another story,” Jorik said. “But first…Knut. Get me a glass and bring me a bottle. The one on the top shelf, third from the left.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. Saving anything for the future now is folly.”

As Knut did as requested, Princess Ghida looked around, hands clasped delicately in front of her.

I guess it’s my fault she’s here.

He stood and fetched the cleanest-looking chair in the room, sat it down by the table and wiped it off for her before returning to his seat. She gave him a thin smile before lowering herself onto the seat and arranging her dress, posture impeccable.

“This is no longer the land you once knew, Knut,” Jorik said as he grasped the bottle. It stood a meter tall and was so large that a child wouldn’t be able to close its arms around it. The big brother of any magnum bottle Qing had seen on TV.

With a pop, the cap shot off, pinging against a mirror, before spinning on the floor. Foam bubbled, and Jorik poured himself a crystal cup, using two hands while leaning the bottle on his leg. He licked his lips and took a sip.

“Damn the sun and spank the camel, that is good,” he said, closing his eyes and smacking his lips. “Its so good, in fact, that it can mean only one thing. The end of the world is here.”

Qing shared a glance with Knut, and Morgana before they all spoke in unison. “We know. That’s why we’re here!”

Qing continued. “Rufus Grimshaw is an agent of the Devil, working to free the ancient evil from hell and let him once again roam Elrydisan.”

“What is he doing in my palace, then?” Ghida asked, and he told them what happened in Shadowgrove. How they’d kept Cleo out of Rufus’s clutches, interrupting the summoning rite, and defeating the army of darkness.

“…But in the end, Rufus snatched her and jumped through a portal to the Gilded Hold. And we’ve followed here, hoping to make it in time before Rufus regains enough strength to complete the ritual.”

“This could not have come at a worse time,” Ghida said, shaking her head, and Jorik took over the story.

“After your banishment, Wazir started growing in power.” Jorik stared into his bubbles as if they offered the solution to all worldly troubles. “It was subtle at first. Your…meetings with the queen…the king took it hard. They started talking less. He started frequenting his harem more, ignoring his first wife. And Wazir was there, egging him on, enabling him. The man brought beautiful women, virgins and professionals both, from across the realm, building a harem unlike any seen before. Slowly but steadily, the king’s attention retreated from the realm, focusing on that narrow point between his legs. Forgive my Moorekeeshian phrasing, princess,” he said, with a seated bow. She waved a hand for him to continue.

“I tried to rebuild the bridge between him and the queen, but I failed. She climbed onto the green dragon, and he descended into the dungeons. And Wazir was there to snap up each scrap of power left behind by the king. I didn’t see how dangerous he had become before it was too late. The troubles of the court seemed natural, considering the king’s inattention. But then Wazir, who had by that time been raised to grand vizier, whatever that means, cornered me and gave me the choice. I could swear fealty to him or face banishment. I couldn’t believe he’d grown so bold, and I rushed to the king’s side, telling him everything. He brushed it off, said I was paranoid, that Wazir only acted in the realm’s best interest. Then he thanked me for many years of service and offered me an early retirement, which I grabbed and fled, careful not to speak one ill word, lest Wazir’s men would arrest me.”

“That is a tragic story, and while unfortunate for you, it doesn’t exactly sound like the end of the world,” Qing said.

“You didn’t notice your mana draining swifter than usual, did you?” Ghida asked Qing.