[adamu]

Breakfast was a dream - Al hadn't eaten a real red, white, and blue breakfast in a month of Sundays - if the way to a man's heart really was through his stomach he was a goner for sure.

As he ate he contemplated Yao's offer. Of course, the only question was how best to play the man. Al supposed that according to Alyce's rules, if he took the man's cred, that obligated him to actually spy on his friend somehow. Well, Al had made it pretty clear what he thought of those rules.

So after breakfast he sidled up to Yao, looked down at the ground just enough for it to be taken as a subconscious expression of shame, shrugged outwardly, and gave the man a quiet nod before stepping outside. Check in the mail.

He worked hard on the loading. After years on freighters and docks, this was something he was very good at.

Then he listened with delighted fascination to the two trolls. He like them, and had been glad not to shoot them. And it was all one more reason to stick to his policy of never having any sort of wifi capability on any of his weapons.

"Whoa whoa there, gigantic kemo sabes. One question at a time, or yer like ta confuse Al. He ticked the answers off with his fingers. "The boat's crew - locals. An' Ling if'n he'll go with ya. The ride'll be the most comfterble, an' it's the only way you can be sure ta stay close to 'im." One finger down. "Out front recon's my job, unless you two luchadores done added an extra few lines ta yer resume while I was gittin' my beauty sleep. Believe me, I been pushin' these layabouts fer more aggressive scoutin' fer days, an' I'll be up there pathfindin' soon as the geniuses'll let me." Two fingers down. Three still up. He puzzled for a while, trying to remember what they stood for. "Oh yeah...nothin', no, an' yes. Peace out babies."

[Mercy Merchant]

The Trolls nod and all three return to the dock in time to see Alyce coming down the hill followed by her mule drone and the boys call out and wave her over so they can load the drone onto the boat.  Al checks to be sure that the rest of the equipment is stowed on the other boats.  The missionaries have done little to assist in anything, although, to be honest, Jiahui did get involved with loading the boat until Baozai had noticed several of the local boatmen watching her.  The final straw was when a tourist-type had come up to talk to the pretty girl.  Baozai had whisked her away from the young man, giving him a sharp piece of her mind as she did.  Jiahui had been squarely stuck sitting between the other missionaries ever since, her eyes cast to the ground in shame.  For his part, Po does not look too displeased to have the young missionary sitting so close to him.

The loading is completed just before 1100 and Al hustles everyone aboard their boats and looks at Yao Lung, who simply shrugs.  Finally, Ling Tse Tau and Kang wander down to the dock area and they board the boat that Al points out as the one having the best accommodations and the smoothest ride.  The boatmen tell Al and Yao Lung that the late departure will affect their arrival time in Chi Pat, but that the loss of Trader Jim's small post will allow them to make up a good bit of the lost time.

Alyce boards the boat Al indicates for her and sits patiently near the front.  She is leaving Sasha across the river to observe the dock area for a bit and rotating her other three drones as forward security. 

[adamu]

Al rode in the lead boat with Alyce and Yao. For all his talk about scouting ahead, he was mostly thinking of pathfinding a way up into the mountains. Here on the river the drones pretty much sufficed for the water. There was no real way to effectively scout the jungle to either side, as the canopy prevented good aerial surveillance, and there was no way anyone on foot in there could keep up with the progress of the boats.

Fortunately, there was no trouble - Al had not expected any, figuring the shaman was done with offense and would now play defense close to the goal. But because of the recent trouble, there was very little traffic, and it became more scant the closer they got to Chi Pat. He figured they probably hadn't needed to make and keep adjusting all those reservations after all - the place would probably be devoid of tourists and other travellers.

It was hot, enough so that Al uncharacteristically shed his brown bomber jacket, which he had a stubborn tendency to wear whenever he was out whatever the weather. Rather than one of the nice cotton T-shirts Alyce had bought him, he'd worn his old yellowing wifebeater in preparation for the heat. He spent most of his time whittling the charm Alyce had requsted. No point in talking much, he wasn't particularly interested in talking with Alyce while Yao was there, and he wasn't particularly interested in chatting with Yao, whom he'd come to dislike since the man had asked him to spy on Alyce. It wasn't that the man wanted her watched, it was that he knew Al was friendly with her and he expected that Al would betray that for cash. Well, he was taking the cash, the bastard had been half right. But all this intrigue among supposed co-workers, while not unexpected, gave him the heebie-jeebies. First time they stopped for a piss break for the missionary ladies (everyone else just peeing off the side), Al took the chance to be out of Yao's earshot with Alyce.

"Jist so ya know, yer boy Yao there's payin' me extra now ta spy on ya an' report back to 'im. So ya better be on yer best behavior," he mock-warned with his cigarette jutting from his toothy, wolfish grin.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce enjoys the ride upriver.  The water is peaceful and even though the day is hot, the motion of the boat brings a small relief in the form of an artificial breeze.  Her drone scouts let her know what is ahead of them and scan the banks of the river to the sides.  No human activity is noticed until they reach the area of the burned trading post.  A few spars and part of one wall are all that are left of the building.  Alyce feels a pang of guilt when the drones show her the remains of the dock and the two boats still tied up to it.  Several carrion eaters are busy at what is left of the dead tourists, their boatman, and the attackers that Al had killed and left on the dock.  Alyce does not turn her head as they pass the site, but feels tears running down her face and wipes at them.  The thought brings the little girl to mind and she spares a prayer that her family can be found.

During the rest stop, Alyce goes off with Al and listens to him then says, "Hmmm.  Yao is a smart man, Al.  He is testing you to see where your loyalties are.  I will be on my best behavior in the future, so feel free to report on me."

Once back in the boat, Alyce ponders Yao Lung.  From what she can see, the man is not on his game.  She goes over her memories of her earlier experience with him and that man is not the same as this one.  Back then, he had been forceful and efficient, but now he seems....................less.  The presence of Ling Tse Tau might explain that, but Alyce wonders if there is not something else.

[adamu]

Al grinned at her. "Woman, you wouldn't know best behavior if it grabbed yer ass an' kissed it. But I done made clear to ya where my loyalties are, an' that's where they'll stay, wherever I might tell ol' Yao they are while pocketin' his cred."

He resumed his work, and just as the evening lights of Chi Pat came into view, he presented Alyce with a small chunk of wood, roughly a two-centimeter cube, but with odd protrusions of varying sizes distributed around the surface with apparent randomness. All corners and points were rounded down, and there was a hole drilled in it, allowing it to be affixed by chain or cord in whatever way suited. "Won't make ya arrow-proof, but the voodoo gods ain't failed me yet."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce grins at the wooden object Al hands her, running her fingers over the shape and getting the textures in her mind.  Her enhanced touch clearly identifies every random knob on the charm and files it away in the lockbox that is her mind.  "Thank you, Al.  I will get a necklace to wear it on and keep it with me.  I hope that the voodoo gods see fit to protect me as well as they have you."

There is a good deal of interest in the small flotilla of boats as it arrives at the public dock area.  Al and Alyce have briefed Yao Lung and the others on the layout of the village, to include the hotel, the mining compound, and the bar.  Yao has given orders for people to stay clear of the bar as he does not want anyone getting drunk down there.  He authorizes careful use of the hotel bar, but sets up a rotating watch of the equipment that includes Al and the Gaxxins.  The equipment is off-loaded to the shore and moved to a temporary location near the hotel.  Ling Tse Tau and the missionaries go directly to the hotel, accompanied by Al, who sees them checked in before returning to the river and the unloading and movement of the team's gear.  Al's bearers show up to help, making the unloading go faster.  In their broken Khmer they tell Al that they will sleep with the equipment and get an early start on sorting things to be carried.

Once at the hotel, Everyone is assigned to rooms and personal items are dropped off.  Yao calls for a team meeting in the restaurant for a late dinner and short briefing.

[adamu]

Al leaves his pack in his room - there's nothing in it but a carton of cigarettes and his spare clothing - but keeps his shotgun with him. His rifle is with the rest of the gear under guard. Without even bothering to sit, he leaves the small chamber, noting as he moves down the hall where the others are quartered. Especially Alyce. He's been looking forward to this evening for what by now seems a very long time.

Naturally his pre-dinner destination is the bar, and he hasn't finished his first beer before the other men - Kang, Cheung, Milo, and Xander - begin to trickle in. As in Andoung Tuek, there is no furniture in the hotel that can start to accommodate the trolls. A call ahead from Alyce had arranged for the establishment to lay several spare mattresses on the floor of a large banquet room on the ground floor to make them as comfortable as possible for their last night under a roof, but here in the bar their choices were to sit on the floor or stand with their horns literally scraping the rafters. Without saying anything, Al raised his glass like a tour guide's flag and led the way into the once-grand lobby, where at least there was a dignified degree of headroom. While the others drank, he ignored them and studied and overlaid an array of digital maps - the publicly available information, the satellite imagery provided by Yao, and most importantly the local map he'd bought on their previous trip here. It's up-to-date markings and notations would make all the difference - if they were accurate - and in his mind he was coming up with a specific set of questions to ask the Pearic refugees in their camp after dinner. He had the commlink categorize and sort major permanent terrain features - the Chong language wasn't real big on things like longitude and latitude, and its speakers not exactly into digital topographic imagery - he knew even if he found the men that knew exactly where the shaman's base was, they would be explaining it in terms relative to the landmarks known to the local culture of the four villages.

Time passed quickly as he worked, and before he knew it they'd been called to the dinner meeting.

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce puts her things in her room and sits on the bed.  The trip here had been uneventful, giving her time to review what she knows about the mission, which is precious little when it comes down to it.  Tomorrow would be the first of several days of trekking through the lowland rainforest before actually beginning the climb up into the mountains to where the shaman and the book are.  She is pleasantly relieved to have the Gaxxins along.  From the CVs she has lifted from Wuxing data base, the corp guards were solid individuals.  They all had some experience in the section, but only Kang had any real time in the jungles.  The others were more sprawl oriented security guards and Alyce is not certain of their ability to cope with a rabid jungle shaman who could toss mojo around and control the minds of men.  The Gaxxins were a different story all together, even if most of their experience was mostly in deserts.  Their CVs were posted in the same circles that Alyce's is and she has already looked them over several times and is impressed by their coolness under fire.  Certainly, the firepower they have brought should be enough to deal with the locals, but mojo can be tricky.

Her chrono alarm goes off, announcing that it is time for dinner.  She grabs her pack and heads for the door, falling in with the missionaries, who are just passing her room.  Baozai looks in Alyce's room and sniffs.  "So how did you earn the private room?  No, wait, I can guess.  Probably the same way that tramp Mai Lin was getting presents."

Alyce smiles and replies with a shrug of her shoulders, "You could be right.  Or it could be because I am the menial who made the reservations.  Say, I have noticed that you have been scratching at some sores all day?  Did you not use the bug netting last night?  Some of these bugs can be killers if you are not adequately protected.  I have some cream I can give you for those bites.  And I would certainly recommend using the netting provided by the hotel tonight."

Jiahui looks grateful and asks her to stop by later with the cream.  Alyce adds, "I will be visiting the local Pearic camp after dinner.  I need to check on the welfare of a baby I delivered there a few days ago and the new mother.  Would you like to go with me?"

Jiahui looks over at Baozai with a question then back to Alyce before the older woman can answer for her.  "I would like to come, yes.  Thank you."

Baozai starts to say something and Jiahui cuts her off tersely, telling her that is going.  Baozai looks daggers at Alyce, who can sense the anger rising in the woman, but looks ahead as if ignoring her.

Dinner is noisy as the men are telling "war stories" about past expeditions.  Alyce joins in with some blood curdling tales of her own and most of the people seem to be having a good time.  Most.  Ling Tse Tau apparently does not like Trolls very much and has decided to sit at his own table in the dining room, and the older missionaries find little that is funny about the jokes some of the men tell.  Alyce seems to get on famously with Milo and Xander, a point that catches Yao Lung's attention.  And Al's.  The guide gets a questioning look from Yao Lung as the Wuxing man nods at the Trolls and the Keeb as they laugh loudly at some joke Xander is telling.  After the meal is finished, Yao Lung taps on his glass and gets everyone's attention to begin the briefing.  After giving some speech about bringing culture and religion to the indigenous masses, he makes sure that the waiters are gone begins the real briefing.

[adamu]

Yao's briefing was not long, but it offered some real pearls of information. Apparently he'd been holding some things back until the team was in-country and committed.

Helped by Al, he made some comments on final logistics arrangements, and promised Al would introduce the bearers in the morning. Al reminded everyone that the bearers were not armed and could not be expected to fight. And while acclimated to the mountain jungle environment, they were not Pearic and could not be relied on for accurate information about the area.

Xander ventured that there was a whole camp full of Pearic refugees just outside the village, and asked Al why he hadn't hired some of them.

"Because even with they families half starvin', no amount o' money would get a single one ta go back up there," Al replied, leaving the room in a moment of pensive silence.

A silence Yao broke with an explanation of the object of their mission. The language he used was nothing new to the Wuxing men, all being semi-permanently assigned to the Special Projects Division's Action Awareness Section - digging up or stealing magical artifacts was their stock-in-trade. Kang, who didn't speak English, smoked and daydreamed. It seemed safe to assume that as Yao's right-hand man he'd already had this briefing.

Yao put up an AR image (which Al accessed on the screen of his commlink) of an old book. It must have been a computer rendering, as he explained it was based on half a dozen references to the book's appearance found scattered across as many ancient arcane texts. But it had the clarity of a high-resolution photograph. "Clearly dates back at least to the Fourth World, though there are hints it was seen as a relic of some age even then. Known as the Kroog Codex, references carry the usual promises of immense power to its holder, but warn that a weak holder will himself be drawn into the diabolical orbit of the tome." Al thought Yao's English had suddenly gotten dramatically better, and looking at his eyes he realized the man had pre-written his speech and was reading it off his image link. "Al and Alyce's report seems to confirm another point the Print Awareness Section unearthed, that among its many properties, the book is indeed said to be the prison of an extremely powerful demon - what we now call a spirit, of course - named Mythryx. That, of course, is only the entity's common name. However, the true name that could be used to control it is said to be a secret passed down through the generations and still known to the local elders. That is why our intention has always been to spend time in the villages. Even though Al may now be able to take us in a more direct course to the site, we still need to find someone we can pry this true name out of. Al is probably right, the shaman is likely growing in power as the physical accoutrements of his mana site - the ancient ruin we seek - are reconstructed. But seizing control of his spirit enforcer could turn the tables on him, giving us the magical asset we quite frankly are in great need of, all our physical firepower notwithstanding."

Al resisted the urge to glance at Alyce, but he knew she was thinking what he was, about them already having the name, and wondering whether they should continue to keep it as their ace in the hole or share the info with Yao. When Al started thinking about what might happen to tight-lipped villagers, he figured they'd better just let Yao know soonest. He knew by now that torturing was against the silly professional badass clubhouse code some of the others apparently lived by, but he also knew Ling was the wild card, that he'd flay some village elder alive without thinking, and that Yao and the trolls would back him unquestioningly. And then they'd get the name anyway. But if they gave it to the team now, saying they hadn't realized its significance until this moment, then they'd get lots of bonus points with management, save themselves extra trekking around, and save some poor villagers' lives in the deal.

But he and Alyce had agreed to keep it as their hole card, so he texted her before saying anything: <<Running the angles in my head, suggest we tell Yao about the magic word right now.>>

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce listens to Yao's briefing and realizes that the word they had received from Trader Jim is probably what he is talking about.  His giving them the secret had been his undoing, much as he had hinted it might.  At the time, Alyce had thought it much of an act to get gullible tourists to but more maps and souvenirs.  Subsequent events have proved her wrong.  She looks over at Ling Tse Tau and realizes that the man would stop at nothing to get the word, likely going so far as to torture the elders of the villages for the information.  She is in the process of sending a text to Al when his comes to her.  She smiles at the notion that they have been thinking alike on this.  She edits her text to just say yes.

[adamu]

No sooner had Yao finished explaining the need for the spirit's true name than Al, leaning back in his chair with his dirty boots on the banquet table, let out a low whistle - which must have been a trick with a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Yo, baby, I think we gotcha covered there. Shee-it, that feller who got killed an' his place burned down after talkin' to us, he told it to us. Said it were some strong medicine magic fer the Pearics, but he din't buy into it so din't think much o' passin' it on. But now the way they been gunnin' for us, reckon it musta been the real McCoy. it's a mouthful to spit out, but Alyce done got it recorded anyhoo."

As he spoke, Alyce was streaming a text to Yao's AR view in plain English that he could understand.

Al stretched his arms above his head in a great, self-satisfied yawn. "Now, don't ever'one applaud all at once, we's here all night."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yao Lung was impressed.  "Thank you, Al, Alyce.  This may save us a lot of legwork and should allow us to go straight to the site."  The briefing lasts only a short while after that and people begin to separate.  Alyce picks up her pack and slips it across her shoulders, telling Al that Jiahui will be coming with them.  The young missionary looks at Al as if half expecting him to tell her she could not come, but Al just shrugs his shoulders and leaves with the two.

The walk in the dark is a bit difficult for Al and Jiahui, but Alyce is in her element.  Before long, the three arrive at the camp and Alyce nods to Al.  "OK.  We will be with the baby and his mum while you go talk to the men."  The two women go to the tent of the new mother and politely request to enter.  Everyone inside the tent is happy to see Alyce but a bit guarded about Jiahui.  That reticence goes away soon enough as the young missionary shows a surprising aptitude for dealing with indigenous tribes, even those she cannot talk to.  Before long, the witchy woman enters the tent as well and soon all are having a grand time passing the baby around.  Alyce begins talking in Latin as she unpacks her medkit and the witchy woman nods to her as she hooks the baby up to the biomonitor.  Everything is fine and Alyce tells the mother so amid huge smiles from everyone.  Alyce has nowhere else to be just now, so accepts an invitation for some conversation and some local sweets; a type of candied bug.  She pops several into her mouth and encourages Jiahui to do the same.  The girl is not sure and the other women have a good laugh over it.  Alyce leans over to her and says, "If you go to strange places like this, you will need to get used to some of the food they eat.  Try a couple and pretend that they are biscuits of some kind."

It is easy for Al to identify the correct tent by the laughter and singing coming from it.  There are far more people inside than the tent was designed to hold, so several women are seated on the ground outside the open flap when he comes up after finishing with the men.

[adamu]

Al had tracked down some of the same men he'd talked to on their previous visit, the ones that had themselves been to the site the shaman was rebuilding. They were scattered around the camp and he made a point of not gathering them together, knowing that memories changed, and were influenced by groupthink. But all their stories matched up, even though different men oriented the location to different landmarks. After an hour, Al was pretty sure he knew where the place was, and the men had given him the latest on the shifting jungle paths in the vicinity. Unfortunately, the site was just about as deep as you could get in that region of the mountains, steep terrain in dense vegetation. Once again Al reflected on the wisdom of hauling a bunch of charlatan do-gooders along.

Arriving at the tent, he was in no rush and stood outside smoking until the women emerged. "Big day tomorrow, ladies, reckon it's time ta beat feet back."

[Mercy Merchant]

Alyce and  Jiahui leave the the tent soon after Al arrives.  She nods when he suggests returning to the hotel.  The walk back is in silence, broken only by the sounds of the rain forest around them.  Once back, she heads to her room and sits on the bed, considering the text that Al has just sent her.  Her heart leaps in her chest at the implications of the message as it appears that perhaps Al has decided that he knows enough about her.  She takes her pack with her and slips into the hallway, moving quietly down to Al's door.  Her soft rapping is answered almost immediately and she finds herself wrapped in his arms.  "Do you want to undress me, Al?"

[adamu]

"Reckon I do," he answered, breaking their embrace to open her blouse - as usual, she hadn't left many buttons to undo. His text had gotten her here quick enough, but then he hadn't been in much suspense.

Some minutes later - he'd gotten sidetracked a few places along the way - she was nude, and he pushed her unceremoniously onto the bed. He savored the sight of her perfect form in the moonlight. He'd done it many times before over the past week, but this time his gaze was different - taut with anticipation.

He pulled his shirt over his head. There were things he wanted to say to her, but they'd have to wait....