24 - Walumaq

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"Are you sure it was them?"

Siunqi whispers his question to me as we walk, arm in arm, through the field and back to the palace. Occasionally, I look over my shoulder to ensure we're not being followed nor overheard, seeing nobody of consequence from my brief glances to check. We're in the middle of the swarm of Tapeu nobles in their eccentric and tight-fitting outfits, all moving together to follow the path into Chalaqta like a school of fish. Though the uli-poqmatch was long, the midday sun has only just begun its descent into the horizon, its warmth still caressing my face.

"I'm certain," I say, leaning his direction while matching his lowered tone. "Both Aluxeqwel and Teqotlo departed during the calamity at the match, and when I followed them to the tent where they met, one of the people present dropped the coin." Instinctively, I clutch the gold coin, etched with the flaming eye symbol, as it rests inside my satchel.

"They were searching for it when I left," I say, "so they'll be aware it's missing and possibly misplaced."

"Then we'll have to make sure they don't know that you have it," father says, "so we can preserve this evidence for presenting to Iatuq if the matter arises."

"Do you think presenting it to her will be enough?" I ask.

"Most certainly not," he says, sounding a bit disappointed. "We can't prove any of them possessed the coin, nor that the conversation took place, as well as not knowing which other nobles are involved. We'll need to find out more, then weigh our options when the waters get clearer."

I anticipated this would be the case, but I'm still dismayed nonetheless. Whoever they are working with has connections with influential people inside the capital and could leverage a lot of authority to advance their agenda.

"To make matters worse," I say, almost as a continuation of my internal train of thought, "knowing they may use Pahua as part of their schemes complicates things greatly."

"The child already has an issue with authority," Siunqi says, "so not only do I expect he will be easily enticed to support them, but hearing from me to stand down while we sort out what's happening is likely to encourage his rebellious nature. We'll need to handle him delicately, so he doesn't react irrationally and with malicious intent."

"So what do we do?" I ask, gravely concerned that, if we mishandle this situation, we could endanger not only the warriors we've brought to the mainland, but our Sanqo people on the island.

The streets of Chalaqta grow more crowded while people hurry about, the colorful nobility clashing with the plain, neutral tones of the citizenry. The air is buzzing with shouts and laughter, the typical bustle of a busy city. By now, most of the attendees from the uli-poq match have interwoven themselves with the other townsfolk, the disjointed procession leading to the palace.

"It will be a multi-pronged approach," Siunqi says, raising his voice slightly so as to be heard over the traffic. "We'll have to seek out additional information to verify the connection between Aluxeqwel and Teqotlo with the insurgency. Find out the others with whom they were speaking, and determine what their agenda actually is.

"Along with that, we need to analyze just how great a threat these 'flame eyes people' are. What are their intentions, what are their capabilities, what is the potential impact should their agenda succeed.

"I will consult with Iatuq, see if she knows of anything and how Tapeu plans to proceed. But any discussions with her will have to be generalized and vague. We can't give her the impression we're on the side of the insurgency—not, of course, unless there's a legitimate reason to join them; we've fought one group of tyrants, and we can do it again."

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