The 'Wizard's Rage' Project

Chapter 6

When Master Lin entered Calden's study he was furious, "For Kinea to give you the order of Shima is a slap in the face." He paced back and forth in front of Calden's desk for a few moments then said, "Like handing you a rotten apple infested with insects and expecting you to eat it."

Calden sat behind his large wooden desk and watched Lin get more and more agitated by the minute. "I don't understand why you are so mad," he said, "he gave them to me."

"I'm mad because this is just some trick he is using to get rid of something he doesn't want while making someone else look like a fool."

"Why would Kinea want to give them to me? Our encounters at the bargaining table have been rough to be certain but no more so than usual."

Lin stopped pacing for a moment and said, "Outside of unloading his garbage on you I don't know why he would give them to you. It's not a customary insult."

"I don't understand what is so bad about the Shima," Calden said. "I've heard some of the things these women have done to earn being in the order of Shima and I can't believe your people label them as worse than slaves.

"The women of the order of Shima have disgraced their family. Their names have been removed to further distance the dishonor from the family. Slaves are allowed to have names, the Shima are not."

Calden said, "Well I have to figure out what to do with them. I can't just turn them out on the street and tell them they are free."

Master Lin shook his head, "No, they would think you are displeased with them and probably kill themselves."

"Then I need to find a place for them in our society."

"You don't have to keep them," Lin said. "Take them back to Kinea. If you do so before midnight he can't dispute it, he must take them. The Shima themselves will simply think you've been angered by being given such a gift and will humbly go back to their former master."

Calden said, "I don't want to give them back. I wouldn't wish that life on anyone."

"So you accept the rotten apple."

"Is that how you feel about these women? That they should be treated like dogs? You've lived here twenty years, surely you can't still believe in slaves and the like."

"We don't treat the Shima like dogs! Dogs have names, they sleep in our homes, play with our children and when they are old enough, we eat them. I hold dearly to my home and the ways of my home. The Shima are the dishonored."

Calden was enraged. "Dishonored?" he asked. "One woman's husband cheated on her so she was banished to the Shima. The husband of another lost his business and sold her into the Shima to get out of debt. One of the younger girls had been in the Shima since birth simply because her parents never married. Stop for a moment and try to imagine never having a name."

Lin asked, "What are you going to do? Where do you plan to fit them into your society?"

"Are you kidding me? They already speak the language and they have some of the best hand to hand combat skills I've ever seen. I hasten to think that any one of them could easily defeat my best fighters, without weapons of course. They are obedient, healthy and intelligent. I'm considering keeping ten here and sending the rest to the king for him to integrate into his elite guard. Once he sees their fighting skills I'm sure he won't hesitate to dress them up like servants, maids and cooks. That's what I intend to do with them."

Lin said, "Humph, elite guard. You are too trusting."

"You think this is some sort of assassination attempt?"

"No assassin with honor would need to use the Shima to get in your presence."

A servant dressed in a white shirt and dark pants stepped into the study and said, "Highness, Mur Kinea has arrived at the castle and waits in the main hall."

Calden nodded and said, "Bring him in." As the man walked away Calden said to Lin, "I have a job for you, Master Lin," emphasis on 'master', "You now have fifty more students."

Lin started to speak but Calden didn't give him the chance, "I'll pay you the normal training fee plus one and a half times boarding fee for each." He pulled out his pipe and grinned.

Lin said, "They don't need to learn to fight, they are the Shima."

Calden said, "I want you to teach them to use weapons and how to read." Again Lin was up in arms but before he could say no Calden continued, "I'm sure you would love to stay and argue but you're running out of time. Mur Kinea is coming down that hall and for as long as I've known you I've never seen the two of you in the same room at the same time."

Master Lin stood silent for a moment then turned and left the room.

Calden pulled out his pipe and made sure it was full of tinner weed. He knew the smoke bothered Kinea; he considered it one of his little pleasures.

Mur Kinea entered the room followed by his usual entourage and walked up to Calden's desk. "I assume you want to return the Shima," he said.

"Actually I don't. I want to make sure I know what's going on here. First, Lin says I should be insulted, disgraced, upset or something of the like because of your gift.

"If you were Kamatsu you would be most insulted but know this is not the reason I've given them to you. If I suspected you would lose face in the matter I would not have given such a gift."

"Very well then. Why did you give them to me if not to insult me?"

Kinea turned and ordered his escort out of the room. "Calden," he said, "may we have some privacy?"

Calden nodded and ordered the guard to close the door on his way out. Once they were alone Kinea said, "I need your word that this will stay between us. More importantly that Lin never hears of this."

Calden said, "You have my word as Duke of Caldair that he'll never know of it by my doing."

"Duke Calden, my business adversary for many years, you have a wonderful city and happy people and I personally know you to be a good man."

Calden was taken back by Kinea's words. He gave a polite nod and said, "Thank you Mur."

"I'm an old man and for some reason the hard lines I followed in my youth seem too much. I saw an opportunity to make their lives better and I took it."

"I appreciate what you're saying but I've known you too long. This surely caused you a lot of trouble back home."

"There are very few who know of this in my homeland. Not even the crew of the ship that brought them knows who they are."

"You can't convince me you don't have a better reason for this."

Kinea said, "Perhaps the fact that one of the Shima I have given you is my granddaughter."