Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Seventy-six

      Song-hee found Junseo in the stable. His friend was talking to the warhorse who had made such a difference in their recent battle. He looked past Junseo's tears and passed him a clean handkerchief. Then he waited. He figured it was enough for Junseo to know he was not on his own.

"It seems like Knight-Master Lie is kicking me out," Junseo admitted with a shaky voice.

"He can't do that it just doesn't make sense. Who else would lead the team?" Song-hee frowned.

"I'd guess San Jin or Hae-sung since they are older," Junseo shrugged. He really did not want to think about the team going on without him. It stung. Especially after working so hard to get through to the finals to help the new training league's reputation.

"Neither of them wants the hassle. Besides, they don't have the same knack for talking to different folks. They can't hide their education the way you can." There were other qualities Song-hee could mention but he went with an easy explanation. He knew how much Junseo helped in the forge and did not expect he would find a better partner and said as much.

"Me too. Maybe we should look for another maker who could take us both on once your contract finishes," Junseo suggested.

"Regular apprenticeships are just so expensive," Song-hee sighed.

"True but we already make saleable items so maybe a journeyman just setting up on his own might be interested. I mean it is hard to set up shop without helpers so if we can add a stake..." Junseo's voice petered out when he saw Song-hee shaking his head.

"Getting transfers approved doesn't come cheap. I guess it is to stop apprentices from moving around if they don't like their situation. Besides, transfers don't look good for either the maker or the student," Song-hee had researched different options in case his contract with Knight-Master Lie did not work out.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that for you," Junseo tried to think of some different options for himself but he could not think of anything appealing. He also did not want to stay at the dorm if he was about to be pushed out so hoped his friend Tai Yi was up for having a last-minute visitor. He sorted out his pack and then tasked Song-hee with letting the others know the situation.

Song-hee sought out Manager Doak to let him know Junseo had left for the palace. "I don't know what the Knight-Master said but Junseo is convinced he is off the team. I'm pretty sure San Jin will pull out if Junseo is not on the team, so I hope you have a separate deal with General Tan if you want to keep using the training yard." Song-hee couldn't stop himself from being a bit spiteful. Afterall, if Junseo wasn't good enough, he did not know who might be.

Hae-sung and Chenhui overheard part of the conversation and demanded to know what was going on. Even though Manager Doak tried to assure the boys nothing had been decided, Hae-sung was furious. "Why bring us all the way back to the capital if you are just going to send us back home? I thought we would at least get to finish out the qualifiers. That is some reward for everything we have just been through. Especially after Junseo wiped himself out trying to save people."

Chenhui tugged on his senior's sleeve to try to get him to calm down. Song-hee stood by watching quietly but he was glad Hae-sung had spoken up. He wished Junseo could hear what the others had to say.

Knight-Master Lie came over to see what they were discussing but the boys stopped talked when they noticed he was there. Manager Doak relieved the tension by suggesting the team should stay at the training yard tonight so the two injured boys had more time to recover. The boys excused themselves with chilly politeness.

"In case you are wondering, Junseo has gone to visit his friend in the palace. He left thinking he is being struck from the team and now the others think you are planning to go back on their contracts as well." Manager Doak waited for a swift denial but it didn't come. The silence between the two men stretched on and on until Manager Doak finally hissed "Coward" and walked away.

Wen-Hou wanted to call his friend back and explain but he was not sure Zhong-mi would understand. He saw Scout Jia was watching so went over to ask for advice.

"What should Zhong-mi understand? You went ahead and made your decision without even hearing his full report. You don't care the poison used is likely to provide a clear trail back to the assassins and their paymasters. Or that the team conducted themselves in ways that should make us all proud. Instead of praising Junseo for his skills and compassion, you are punishing him and the rest of the group." Jia Ying-so had more he wanted to say but they were interrupted by palace investigators coming to take statements and collect samples of the poison.

Healer Yang supervised the careful transfer of the smallest amounts of the liquid extracted from Il-don's little finger. She was obviously frightened when Manager Doak brought out Junseo's sword but was still fascinated by the way the silver chain had fused to itself and the liquid pooled into each link. She called Professor Yip over and asked him what he thought.

The thin man walked around the piece humming to himself. Then he said, "We would need to run more experiments but you are right. Between this, and of course the strength of the resonance the boys used, it might be possible to build a new protocol. At least until we can work out an antidote."

When the two realized the investigators looked confused, the healers admitted their two patients were the only known survivors of this type of poisoning.

"One of our officers said something like that but it seemed a bit far fetched. Their youth must have helped," the junior investigator scratched his head.

"This youth thinks I would not have made it without Junseo," Xuiyang pointed to the gap in his teeth, "He didn't hesitate to do what he needed to clear the rest of the poison."

"So where is this miracle worker?" The senior officer looked around and was extremely annoyed the boy had been allowed to leave the General's compound on his own. "Extra details were dispatched to guard this group and yet nobody thinks twice about a key witness wandering around the city with no protection?" He was looking for someone to blame for this lapse and finally hit on Knight-Master Lie.

"What kind of training master sends such an inexperienced team so close to the front and then doesn't properly debrief them when they get back? I expected better Knight-Master."

"And I expect citizens to be safe anywhere our King rules so we are both disappointed," Knight-Master Lie slipping into the dialect of the royal court signaled the investigator had overstepped badly. The team from the palace departed quickly and the healers soon followed. He turned to make a comment to Manager Doak but realized his friends had left him standing in the courtyard alone.

Wen Hou knew he put his foot in it with Junseo but the ramifications went beyond anything he anticipated. If he was honest with himself, he had not really thought things through. With Junseo going to the palace on his own it was also possible his efforts to protect the boy could end up having the opposite effect.