FIRST BOOK OF THE PIPER OF MIRCHAEK TRILOGY
When the walled city of the gods, Dansarun, opens its doors for trade, Xuijae's ruling clan sends its perfect representatives: the troublesome prince, Kai-Se, who wants nothing to do with palace life, and...
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Nao-Zai stood in front of the low, mahogany table where his uncle was seated on a soft cushion. Despite the heat in the summer, his uncle, who also happened to be the head of the Yomaura Fortress, was decked in silk layers.
"So, Nao," his uncle began, addressing only the first part of his name. It's supposed to be because they're family and they're familiar with each other but it only brought a sense of dread in Nao-Zai's gut. Anything coming out of his uncle's mouth couldn't be pleasant. "You have been requested by a powerful client for an assignment."
Nao-Zai remained still. Those eleven words would have brought a normal warrior to tears but not him. If anything, he would rather be informed who this powerful client was before deciding if he should accept the offer or not.
"Don't worry," his uncle continued, taking a sip from his winkle rose tea. "I already took care of the necessary documents like transfer of liability and the actual acceptance slip. I even put your seal on it."
A million protests and curses flooded Nao-Zai's mind. This vile man—
His uncle clicked his tongue and stroked his thinning beard. "Ah, don't look at me like that, Nao," he said. "The clients preferred to have a fast reply. It would reflect poorly on our clan if you deny or if we took too long to answer. Considered an insult, even."
"Why me?"
The words flew out of Nao-Zai's mouth before he could swallow them, never to be heard again. His uncle studied him starting from his hair pinned up in a bun atop his head to the greaves protecting his shin and his dark, leather boots. "Simple," the fortress leader sniffed and cleared his throat. "You're the best among us."
Nao-Zai blinked. "What?"
"You and your perfect record of completed missions swayed the client into picking you for this important job," his uncle waved his hand in the air. "The cost of being too good at the field, I guess."
"Can I really not know who the client is?" Nao-Zai didn't dare step forward or his uncle would take it as a sign of challenge to his authority. Instead, he studied the brittle paper coating the windows and sliding doors painted with galaxy flowers depicted like they're swaying from their branches with an unseen breeze. Whoever did these, they've got great hands and a huge amount of patience.
His uncle shook his head. "They requested they remain anonymous," he said before popping a piece of rolled fish into his mouth using a pair of chopsticks. "Don't worry, lad. You'll know when you get there. I imagine you'd get a good briefing considering the client's standing."
Standing? That only meant it's one of the ruling clans. Nao-Zai narrowed his eyes at the porcelain vases lining his uncle's room, either propped in shelves or placed haphazardly with a number of items known to either be exotic or stolen from the barracks.
There's a lot of ruling clans that came and went and still maintained a bit of power in the present. That did little to narrow it down. There's the Jungro-Pyeong clan whose last monarch died off dynasties before the Minxiaseng Dynasty. Could it be the Fai-Dongseol Clan? Or the Gong-Saica Clan?
