Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Thirty-three

The morning was taken up by a pair of investigators calling each member of the group in one-by-one. Minister Go insisted on staying with each of the boys while they interviewed. He would have preferred to also have an advocate present but the roads to the Capital were closed. He did his best to not show any reactions but he did not like the tone the investigators took with his sons. They were even worse when it came to Park Junseo. It was almost like they consider him a suspect. He was almost ready to intervene when the investigators started to wind down.

"So, is there anything else about the incident you might want to share? Anything you are not sure about?

"I don't know. I'm not from around the Capital but I have to say your bandits are much better armed and fed than any I have heard about in G'Sang province. The stray horse we caught would stand out at any stable, so if they were mercenaries, they must have been extremely well paid."

The investigators looked at each other and nodded.

"Anything else?"

"Well, I know this is going to sound harsh but I don't think the house guards were simply incompetent. It was a familiar route, and all, but they were more than lax about keeping everyone together. Is there is anyone is unaccounted for?"

Minister Go blanched when he heard Junseo's question. His man-at-arms had hinted about the same thing but had a darker view. He had suggested the inside man would have been the first target of the attackers.

"Not really, but you treated the injured so would you say any of the wounds could have been self-inflicted?"

"There is no way to stab yourself hard enough with an arrow to have it go as deep as the wounds I treated. There was one chap with a just a slash from a sword on his calf but it was pretty deep so would take a lot of nerve."

"Or desperation," one of the investigators suggested.

Junseo shrugged. He did not want to get drawn into more speculation so was relieved to have the interview finish shortly after that exchange. He was keyed up so went to see if the Go brothers would be interested in running through a few sets with him before lunch.

Junseo found the familiar forms of the third dan moves Me Yan needed to practice very relaxing. He watched to make sure the younger boy was not stressing his injured knee and suggested a couple of modifications to make things easier. It was a matter of being sure to balance both sides by using some the lesser-known variations Junseo had first learned at the Moon Temple.

Once the brothers were comfortable with the pattern Junseo shifted to more freestyle arial moves. He hardly registered the wooden ball coming towards him, he just automatically adjusted his kick and sent it hurtling back to its origin. Junseo was more prepared for the second ball so tossed it back and forth for a moment before deciding where to send it.

When the master-at-arms caught the missile, he grimaced and tried to shake the sting out of his hand. The man then turned to one of the county guards and gestured for him to pay up. The other boys had stopped their practice when the first ball had come towards Junseo so were now frowning at the adults standing at the edge of the courtyard.

"I told them I sure from how you moved, you weren't exaggerating about the kind of practice you are used to," the man-at-arms grinned at the boys.

"Those aren't just Sun Temple forms though, are they?" one of the county guards asked.

"I haven't always trained there," Junseo did not offer any more elaboration.

Me Yan tugged on Junseo's sleeve, then nodded to the master-at-arms before dragging his friend back to their rooms.

"That was just plain rude," he complained.

"No. It was meant to be helpful." Junseo tried to think of the best way to explain.

"Junseo is right." San Jin interrupted before Me Yan could say more. "Like it or not, he is the one thing that is different about this weekend's trip so of course they have to put his story to the test."

"But seriously what level are you at? Not just for the qualifiers, I mean usually?" Me Yan asked.

"The Sun Temple is still trying to determine my ranking but I earned most of these when they were still calling me Park No Dan." He pulled his sleeve back to show the alternating bands of clear quartz and obsidian crystals he had earned from the matches in his home province.

The Me Yan just stared. Then looked accusing at his brother. "You already knew about these," he pointed at Junseo's collection.

"I have seen them but don't know their full story." San Jin admitted. Junseo blushed and rolled his sleeve down. He was not trying to brag by showing his collection, only using the easiest way to explain the situation.

"Does the qualifier's registrar  know your match record?" Me Yan asked. He could not figure out why Junseo would still be in with the juniors.

"It's no secret," Junseo paused before continuing. "I kind of got the impression the officials here did not think much of provincial rankings, even if I was a finalist on our senior team."

"Would Dad know about this?" Me Yan asked his brother.

"Why would a Minister be concerned with such small details," Junseo did not his ranking mattered much in the scheme of things.

What he didn't understand was that there were no small details when it came to who Minister Go welcomed into his family's orbit. Knight-Master Lie's endorsement was not the only recommendation he sought before welcoming the boy from Ilidan to his home.