Chapter 295 - Secret Planning

“I took some time last night to find some information about the location where you told us the White Maiden’s shrine is located.” Firuzeh said, continuing the conversation.

The brief, wordless exchange between Firuzeh and Char Char passed without any significance or fanfare, but Char Char was certain that she had not imagined it.

The look in Firuzeh’s eyes had been intensely vulnerable. The message had not been planned, it was a subconscious reaction to realizing that Char Char had noticed that something was wrong. A split second where her careful exterior persona had shown a sliver of a crack of something broiling deep inside her before it was covered up.

“The place you indicated on the map is about an hour out of Plunes, in a place Hasan Walled City. Contrary to its name it isn’t a proper city but rather it’s centered around a community of wealthy estates. It doesn’t sound like the kind of place you’d find a shrine.” Firuzeh said, “Are you sure the spot is correct?”

“The location should be right…” Char Char said with a frown, though she was not sure herself. After all, this was only second-hand information which she had received from Finn. Still, Char Char had no reason to believe that Finn’s information was wrong. “Maybe it’s hidden somewhere?”

“It’s possible…” Firuzeh frowned as well.

“Hasan Walled City is closed off from the public. The outer sections can be entered by permit, but movement is restricted. Only the city’s residents and their visitors are allowed to enter the inner sections.” Corbin said from the couch with a casual tone, “I met with one of our close business contacts today, he is expecting us this evening for dinner. This will allow us to enter the walled city this afternoon. Once we’re inside we won’t be closely watched, we can take our time.”

Before too long there was a knock at the door and Kai entered the room carrying several bags. He set the luggage down and then the four of them gathered around the table to discuss the plan around the shrine. This was not something they had discussed in detail previously, but rather had left it to this moment where they could speak in private without any risk of eavesdroppers.

Although in theory Char Char was in charge of the mission, Corbin took the initiative to speak first.

“The walled city is not a normal neighbourhood, it’s separated into districts, where each district is owned by a different family. There are paths connecting the districts which are considered public space, but most of the city is privately owned.” Corbin explained, “There aren’t many guards within the city, so if we keep our movements natural we can take our time to explore the area.”

Firuzeh pulled out her map of Plunes, it was a fairly detailed scroll, hand-drawn, with the major roads and plazas marked in thin, precise lettering.

“That is a good map.” Corbin said with appreciation, “And recent, too.”

“I thought it worth the expense.” Firuzeh said, “But unfortunately only the outline of Hasan Walled City is shown. The cartographer said the layout of the Walled City is kept private and out of public knowledge.”

“Let me.” Corbin took out a quill from his pocket and examined the map carefully, “I’ve been in the Walled City several times, I can draw a rough outline of the various estates.”

Light scratching sounds accompanied thin, meticulous lines as Corbin marked down his knowledge onto the map. The group listened as he described the various families that lived in the area, ranging from nobles to land owners to merchants. Some of the estates even had notable features such as fountains, elaborate gardens and monuments.

“None of these places sound like they’d hold a shrine.” Kai said with a frown.

“Do you have any details on where exactly the shrine is, or what we’re looking for? Is it going to be similar to the shrine in Chenmai Forest?”

“These are all reasonable questions.” Char Char stroked her chin thoughtfully, her eyes scanning the annotated map carefully.

At Finn’s behest Char Char hadn’t revealed the existence of the map that Finn had given her. Even though the group knew that Finn was backing the mission, it was understood that Char Char was the chief holder of the confidential information about the exact locations on the map.

Respecting this arrangement, the group didn’t ask about the exact information that Char Char had received. Char Char had previously pointed out the approximate location of the shrine outside of Plunes to Firuzeh, on one of her maps that showed the whole province of Kumin. This rough location to the southeast of the city was what Firuzeh worked off of to get to this point.

Now Firuzeh had bought a detailed, expensive map, and Corbin had shared his knowledge to better narrow down the location.

The problem was, Char Char didn’t actually have any additional information! The map that Finn had passed her which had seven locations marked in spiritual ink was at the regional level of detail. It showed not just the province of Kumin, but also Huan and even part of the Fuha Wastelands to the south.

The map itself was also not precisely drawn. On that map, Plunes was just a circle, and the dot for the shrine was drawn just outside the city in the middle of a curve that Char Char could only assume was a river.

“Very reasonable questions…” Char Char mumbled as she felt the eyes of the three adults on her. Each person in their group was showing their value and putting in their best effort, thus Char Char felt an immense pressure not to disappoint. Her eyes frantically scanned the map as she identified a line marked by Corbin that looked similar to the curve on the map, “What’s this?”

“It’s a small stream that runs through the estates. I believe it was diverted from the river to the north for scenery reasons.” Corbin explained.

Char Char hesitated, then pointed to the center of the curve formed by the stream, where Corbin had also drawn a box, “I think it should be here.”

“That… would be an impressive coincidence.” Corbin said after a moment of hesitation, “That’s the main compound for the Rezas, the merchant family that we are visiting tonight.”

“Then— we’ll be exactly where we need to be!” Char Char forced a nervous smile.

“Are the Reza’s very spiritual? Perhaps they built their home around or near the shrine.” Firuzeh suggested.

“The older Reza has a love for mythology, though I wouldn’t say he’s ‘spiritual’. Proper maintenance of a shrine carries a lot of customs and considerations with it too, it would be strange to build his home directly at the location of one.” Corbin gave the theory serious consideration, “It’s possible, I suppose. I’ve never actually been to his estate.”

“I’m not sure about the exact location—“ Char Char said meekly, not feeling comfortable with how readily everyone accepted her shaky declaration.

‘Since we’re guests, we can bring up the topic. If the shrine is close by we’ll hear about it.” Kai shrugged, not looking bothered by Char Char’s hesitation, “It’s the kind of thing rich people like to brag about.”

“Agreed.” Firuzeh said, placing a hand on Char Char’s shoulder, “We should also be able to scout the area ourselves at least a little.”

“We’ll play it by ear.” Corbin nodded, “Shall we get going?”

They stood from the table as Corbin walked over to a tasseled cord by the door and pulled on it. A chime rang out, and shortly after there was a small knock at the door as the attendant arrived.

“We’d like a private exit by carriage out of the southern gate.” Corbin said, handing over a few coins to pay for the service.

Strictly speaking, this was an unnecessary arrangement. There was nothing strange or secret about Corbin visiting the estate of a business partner, and they did not have to report their movements to the police anymore.

However the beautiful man who had attacked them two nights previous was still at large. He had not shown up since his escape that night, and neither the police nor the Red Lion Security Company were able to discover information about him or his motives, leaving the group in the dark.

Given this situation it was natural to keep their movements at least a little secret.

Kai was busy with checking the bags and Corbin was finalizing the arrangements with the attendant as Char Char awkwardly watched Firuzeh roll up the map.

A feeling of guilt filled Char Char as she felt that she had mislead her teammates by haphazardly picking a location at the map. She frowned, deciding to come clean.

“Firuzeh… About the location…”

Char Char’s sixth sense went off as her intuition triggered out of nowhere. Her attention was drawn to Firuzeh, who was bent over the map with her face obscured by her long hair.

Firuzeh’s lips moved silently without making a sound, as if she were speaking voicelessly to herself.

However Char Char’s intuition told her that Firuzeh was absolutely aware that Char Char was watching her. There was an unnatural stiffness in Firuzeh’s posture, an uncharacteristic trembling in her hands as they casually rolled up the scroll.

The world seemed to darken around Char Char as she hyper focused on what Firuzeh was desperately saying to her.