Qing's Quest book 2, Chapter 12: Planning

Qing’s entire body shook in anger and he smashed the piece of wall onto the floor, splattering like chalk.

Damn it all to hell! How am I supposed to find Rufus? He can be anywhere. And without finding Rufus...we can’t get to Cleo. And without getting to Cleo... I have to save Cleo. For her sake, Kaela, and without saving her, I’ll never see my family again. Maybe another champion will complete their quest and save Earth, but what would that mean for me? Would I be stuck here forever?

He leaned back and stared at the stars. They were different here. He was no astrology expert, never had a strong interest. But he’d looked up at the night sky enough times to know a few of the constellations. And nothing looked familiar here. No Big Dipper. No North Star. They all looked strange.

How much time did they have before the Zylphadian army would find them? A few police officers they could take care of, but an army? Not a chance.

He needed to come up with a plan. But a plan for what?

Qing started pacing back and forth on the roof. There were only two real options. One was to hunt for Rufus, and the second was freeing Jenny.

But where would they even start looking for Rufus in such a big city? Could they hire a private detective? Did they have that here? Raul’cad had been in the court, but none seemed to react to the name Rufus. But the Vizier, Wazir, had he been too uncaring?

He knows more than he let on.

The King had seemed oblivious. Even if they had gotten a chat with him, it was doubtful any help would have come from that side. And that was before they were branded for execution.

And then there was Jenny. Knut had said they would take her to the harem.

Poor bastards.

A smile forced itself onto Qing’s face as he thought of them trying to force Jenny into a skimpy bikini. But the smile quickly faded as he realized what they would likely do to her when she refused. His jaw tightened in anger.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

“What would you have us do?” Qing asked.

Morgana walked over and leaned on the wall next to him, her shoulder just brushing against his. “We could...”

“No,” Qing interrupted.

“You don’t know what I’m going to say.”

“You’re going to tell me that we should do a tactical retreat, get to safety, and from there find a position of strength from which we can attack them?”

“I—” she started, but faded into silence.

“Do you know what we would have done if it had been you they captured?”

“Of course,” Morgana said. His shoulder felt cold as she leaned away. “I know my spot.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“You accepted me along for two reasons,” Morgana said. “One, you didn’t want me going back to the village in case I’d cause trouble. And two, you took pity on me, didn’t you? The dumb girl, tricked into working for the enemy.” She huffed. “That bastard, Cyril. He only wanted me for one reason…never once did he give up trying to fuck me. And then you come along, a knight in shining armor. First you save my life, and then give me a shot at redemption?” She spat over the wall. “Oh, I understand exactly how far that gets me. Why do you think I fought so hard to get away from the throne room? You think I wanted to kill that guard?”

The silence stretched.

“Well, I didn’t. But there are no second chances for people like me.”

“No second chances, Morgana?” Despite himself, Qing chuckled. “You’re making no sense. You just said that this is your chance for redemption. If that’s not a second chance, then I don’t know what is.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, snapping. “I meant there’s no second, second chances. No third chances.” She glared at him and rubbed at her eye patch.

“Fine,” Qing said, holding up a hand. “Maybe there are no third chances. Not for redemption, anyway. My grandma always says, once is never, twice is always.”

“What does that mean?”

“Give people a second chance, but never a third.”

“Oh.”

“But you need to realise that if it had been you they captured, we would have come for you. Just like we are going to go get Jenny. And do you know why?”

Morgana stayed silent, and he turned to look at her. She squirmed under his gaze.

“No.”

“Because you are part of our team. And it’s the right damn thing to do. So, I want no more talk of tactical retreat, running away, or giving up. You got that? You are free to leave anytime, but as long as you stay, remember that we have each other’s back until death, because that may be what it takes to succeed with this quest.” Qing took a breath and raised his voice. “Isn’t that right?”

“You know it, my friend,” Knut said, joining them with a platter upon which sat three steaming cups. “So, to sum up, we are rescuing Jenny, hunting down Rufus, saving Cleo, and saving the world from being destroyed by the devil. Anything I forgot?”

“Yeah. We’re also getting my damn camel back.”

***

After enjoying the hot beverages on the rooftop, they retired to a corner booth to figure out a plan, inviting Taj to sit with them.

“Do you know anyone who can help us find out where Rufus is?” Qing asked, keeping his voice low so none of the other patrons would pick up the conversation.

“I could get Jorik to ask around, pretending that we are looking for a friend,” Knut said, running a hand across his shaved scalp. “I’m loath to drag him into it, but there might not be any other options. If we don’t stop Rufus, he’s going to end up dead, anyway.”

“I might have some connections,” Morgana said, “but I don’t want to make any promises. It has been over five years since I last visited, and don’t know who is still around. Tomorrow I’ll go for a sniff around and see what I can dig up.”

“Good,” Qing said. “I wish Cedric was here. He may be able to locate Rufus magically, but we can’t expect help from him for quite a while yet.”

“What about the town portal that Cedric opened?” Morgana asked, before swiftly raising her hands. “I don’t mean as a retreat, merely to get reinforcements or additional supplies from Shadowgrove.”

“No,” Knut said. “The one portal site here is inside the palace grounds and heavily guarded at all times.”

“What about you, Taj?” Qing asked. “Are there any you trust who could help us? A rebellion stirring, a dissatisfied faction within the court, anything?”

“None that I know of,” the man said. “It is an open secret that it is Wazir who aims the king’s iron fist. Anyone speaking up has been quashed long ago. While the king gets his…needs taken care of and the queen gets to ride the dragon, the vizier is as good as a shadow king.”

“What does he want?”

“Power, I guess.”

“But why?”

“Nobody knows. Or, I should say, nobody I know knows. But I do know someone who can help get us into the palace unseen. I used to be in charge of the princess’s security before Wazir rose to power. But it would require stealth. Is that among your skill set?”

Morgana and Knut shared a glance.

“I think we can handle it,” Knut said. “But we might need to give this walking terror a few lessons.” He pointed at Qing.

“Good. Then we have a plan. First, we find out where they are keeping Jenny. Whether she has been taken to the harem or if they are keeping her anywhere else. Then we sneak into the palace, rescue her, and find any information on Rufus and get out. And while there, if we find Cleo is in the palace, I’m going to go get her,” Qing said, “no matter the cost.”

“So we’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Morgana said.

“Yes.”

“We’re taking on the whole damn kingdom?”

“Yes.”

I really hope I’m ready for this.

“So, how do we get prepared?” Morgana asked.

“The first thing we do is get a good night’s sleep,” Knut said. “Then tomorrow morning, you’ll see why I brought you to Jorik’s.”

***

Qing wiped the sleep from his eyes as he walked down the stairs, but froze as the common room came into view. The rhythmic beat of drums had awoken him, and the vibrant sounds of a lute had joined. The room was unrecognisable from the gloomy watering hold of last night. Light streamed in through open windows, illuminating the entire room. It was as if the dark, broody, tavern-like place had turned into a Sunday’s open market.

Men and women sat engaged in games of chance, laughter and curses punctuating the air. Servers hurried between tables, trays laden with mouth-watering dishes and stacked with cups. In the back of the room, two walls were covered with a makeshift market. From his point of view on the stairs, he spotted swords, spears, crossbows, armor, gems, jewelry, and other items. It seemed that during the day, Jorik’s was a place of treasure and fortunes. And the owner himself strutted around like a baron in his domain, with a laugh here, a whisper there, money swiftly changing hands.

“…and then she said, ‘It wasn’t him. It was the donkey!’” The men around the table roared in laughter, and Jorik clapped their backs, a massive grin on his face.

“Wow,” Morgana said as she sidled up beside Qing. “I’ve heard about your Jorik's, but I never thought I’d get to see it.”

“Why?”

“Look at the queue.”

By the doorway, three guards stood, inspecting every person they let through, and a long line could be seen outside. Even as they watched, the guards turned away a duo, cursing up a storm as they left.

From a table across the room, Knut waved at them. As Qing navigated through the maze of tables and patrons, his gaze was drawn to a myriad of artifacts adorning the kirathaane that he had not noticed in yesterday’s gloom. Behind the bar hung a rusted scimitar. A tattered map, the first one he’d seen since coming here, hung by the doorway. A glass orb shimmering with an inner light sat on the bar desk that had not been there the night before. And on top of a pedestal, covered in a glass dome, lay a set of intricately carved bone dice.

“Good morning,” Jorik said, calling over to them, his voice filling the room. “I hope you’ve had a satisfactory sleep. Take a seat, and I’ll be with you in a moment. I have news of your friend, Mr. Rufus.”