Bone Lord 4, стр. 56

Despite Gongxiong’s pleasant looks, an atmosphere of gloom and hopelessness pervaded the place. When the sun set and darkness settled across the town, I saw lightning raging in the black distance above the far horizon, and a howling gale began to blow. Even Zhenwan didn’t seem too happy to be back home. But he had pledged to accompany me as translator and general assistant to thank me for saving his life, so this was exactly where he had to be.

Rami-Xayon and Zhenwan had suggested that we split the party up and leave the undead army on the ships for the time being. I didn’t want to hide my presence here, but I also didn’t want the Emperor of Yeng to feel like I was bringing an invading army to his shores.

Zhenwan explained that there were two main roads to the City of Jewels where the Glorious Emperor’s Forbidden Palace was located. Each road passed through a different part of Yeng, and Rami-Xayon, Elyse, and Isu would take one, while I, Zhenwan, Anna-Lucielle, Friya, and Layna would take the other. Along the way, we would pick up whatever clues and information we could find. I’d ordered Drok and Rollar to stay on the ships with Percy and the pirates, in case anyone came and caused any trouble. As for my undead sea creatures, they would remain hidden in the depths of the bay.

Before any of us could disembark, some sort of government official and two burly warriors approached my ship. The official was a rail-thin fellow in his fifties with a long, drooping mustache in the same style as the Warlock’s. He wore a red silk robe with baggy sleeves, and a big, broad, white cloth hat of an elaborate design. His long, thin fingers were covered with jeweled rings, and barely concealed malice gleamed in his small black eyes.

The warriors’ armor was quite different from our Prandish plate and chainmail. It was made of thick, ridged sections of leather mixed with fluted sections of steel, all painted red, topped with full-face steel helms fashioned into the shape of aggressive faces. Their weaponry consisted of katanas, bows, and long poleaxes with thick, curved blades.

“Greetings to you, foreign traveler.” The thin man stroked the ends of his long mustaches and smiled condescendingly.

“Hello,” I said. “We’ve come to Yeng to see about purchasing some of your fine wares.” I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of this man because it might impede my quest.

“Are you here on business or pleasure, foreigner?” the man asked.

“A little of both,” I said. “But I’m no merchant, and I’m not bringing any goods ashore to sell, so if you’re trying to milk me for import duties or you’re fishing for a bribe, you can look elsewhere.”

“These are troubled times, foreigner,” he said, still smiling, “and whatever business you intend to conduct here, no matter how inconsequential you may feel it may be, must be declared in full to the Birds of the Glorious Emperor. Your business is our Glorious Emperor’s business, from the moment you step off that ship onto Yengish soil. No matter who you may have been in your land, you are subject to our Glorious Emperor’s laws.”

“And you’re one of his ‘Birds,’ right?”

“I am one of many.” The man bowed. “The Glorious Emperor has eyes and ears all across this majestic continent. So tell me, foreigner, who are you, and what is your business here? No more wordplay, no more games.”

Before I could say anything else, Rami-Xayon stepped forward and spoke to the official in a curt tone, jabbering at him in rapid-fire Yengish. The smug smile quickly faded from the man’s face, and a look of contempt entered his eyes as he stared at me. Still, he stiffened up, folded his arms defiantly across his chest, and muttered something to Rami-Xayon. Without another word to me, he turned and strode briskly away with his two thugs in tow.

“What did you tell him?” I asked Rami-Xayon.

“I explained that I was the Goddess of Wind, returned at last to the land of my birth, and that you were the great God of Death, leading me and the others on a quest upon which the fate of the world itself depends, and that he risked bringing our combined divine anger on his foolish head if he continued to antagonize us with his petty questions.”

I chuckled. “That’s a good way to put it. What did he say?”

“He said that he was too busy to waste time on nutjobs, but that the Glorious Emperor would be informed that some foreign madman and his lackeys had landed on his shores, claiming to be gods.”

“He’ll find out what’s the truth soon enough. At least you got him off my back though. Thanks.”

“Come, let’s head to the Five Phoenixes. It’s a tavern in Gongxiong. I know the owner well, and if there’s any recent news from my family, he’ll have it.”

“I think we could all use a drink on land after all that time at sea.”

We all disembarked and set off on foot through Gongxiong. Its cobbled streets were as eerily quiet as the harbor market. I suspected the chaos caused by the Warlock and his Spirit of Prosperity cult had spread to this part of Yeng.

The market extended quite far out into town. The sights and smells were all quite different to those I was used to back in Prand. Even the food and culture of the northern barbarians seemed more familiar to me than what I saw here. Strange-looking, colorful dishes with bizarre aromas abounded, as did all sorts of weird potions. There were a great number of aromatic spices, many of which I’d never heard of. Some stalls sold jewelry and ornaments of jade and ivory, carved into impossibly intricate designs. The local artists and craftsmen were legendary for their attention to detail, and it was fascinating to see this in the flesh.

Eager vendors offered