Emissaries - A Kai Side Story

Chapter 4: The Lost City of Krko

NOTE: I'm currently working on three chapters for the main story, alongside this series Chapter 4.5, the last one. That's because come September, I will get a lot more busy so I cannot work on Kai and the translations will take priority.

Discord: https://discord.gg/wEp44XuaT3

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Cent. Calendar 13/09/1639, Zarak, Whispering Flatlands, Quila, 15:45

As they passed the great, wooden gates of the town that had been opened to them, the Japanese expedition into Quila, with guidance by the warlord Olek and his men, entered the quaint town of Zarak in the northern hinterlands of the Whispering Flatlands. In spite of it being the warlord's hometown and the region's de facto capital (no regional capitals have been officially defined by the kingdom), Zarak was home to hardly a thousand or so people. The population of this region's supposedly biggest city was so small that it wasn't much of a stretch to say that the crowd that had gathered to welcome the bronco-riding Japanese must have been the entire town itself. Just like the tribesmen back at the Watak oasis, they were welcomed not with waving hands and eager smiles but with curious stares and loud hushes.

"We will go see my wife and my mother to inform them of your good intentions in this place. They serve as the administrative leadership of this town in my absence."

Riding the lead bronco was the warlord Olek, who turned around to inform his Japanese companions of what they're going to do. Izumi, the one closest to him, smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, but as soon as he turned around she grimaced. She then looked at Kita and Cecilia, who were both behind her, and started speaking in Japanese so as to keep their talk discreet from the beastmen.

"My god. We've just gotten out of the desert and you want us to meet the town's leaders? I'm sweaty, hungry, I've got sand in my camisole, and I haven't put on any makeup! Can't he give us some fucking time?"

In spite of her alien words, the beastmen were at least able to tell that she was not fond of something given her tone and heavy sighs. Ever the optimistic relief amongst the trio, Kita tried to console her best friend, who she knows have gone through a lot during their crossing of the Flatlands.

"C'mon, now. Olek's just probably considerate of our time and all!"

Putting on a forced smile and a dry laugh, she wasn't convincing anyone, much less Izumi. Cecilia, not wanting to put more instability on Izumi's plate, supported Kita's efforts.

"We're almost home free, Izumi-san. It's just like Olek said: Krko is just beyond that hill over there."

Her words didn't do much to alleviate the worries off of Izumi's chest but her pointing out where Krko was managed to distract her. To the northeast of the town's walls was a hill towering over the landscape. It appeared scalable but its sheer size and girth meant that it might take a lot of effort to navigate around the rocks and crevices on its slope. Off to the side of the hill just north of the town was a series of bigger rock formations that continued until a small canyon in the earth far away. In either case, there didn't appear to be an easy, straightforward approach into Krko but given the fact that people have gotten to the city before, there likely exists some sort of pass that leads there.

She then set these thoughts aside as soon as she saw Olek and his men disembark from their broncos. Following suit, the trio and their escorts Sato and Takada dismounted and followed the beastmen towards a sandy white building that had a dome on its roof as its most striking feature. Entering the undecorated entranceway, they were treated to a similar interior as the tents back at the Watak oasis: the floors were covered in rugs and carpets of fascinating colors and curious geometric patterns all underneath lit candles on holders that either hung from the ceiling or were placed on tall stands. At the center of the chamber sat two beastmen who appeared to wear elaborate gold arm rings on both arms, which were the region's traditional female accessories according to Olek. One of them, who also appeared to be the younger one, looked up at them with delighted eyes.