Chapter 12

Zarkin kicked the small rock away, using all his strength and walked quietly under the windows of the residential part of Yagn-Sho.

Kalena came back after a few days of absence. She gave the masters some secret message and for some reason avoided punishment for leaving the quarters. She spent several days in the palace with Galaspiael, but finally, the prince intended to stay in the city much longer than he had previously planned.

She talked about the wonderful riches palace treasures, the incredible weapons and jewels she saw, the mysterious passages, much more numerous than in Yagn-Sho and Okiani - representatives of the king in Kagolania's provinces. They came to the capital city, thus stopping her master.

Zarkin listened to this and felt his frustration growing. Galaspiael could dress Kalena in an elegant outfit, he could express sympathy after seeing her scars, but he did not make her a princess. The very fact she visited the royal palace did not make her any better from others, yet she behaved differently and started pretending to be an aristocrat to whom she was not even close.

Later a letter came. For Kalena. She took it with her everywhere, tenderly touching the paper, and cherishing it but she did not share the content with anyone. It annoyed Mizar and Kete. Together with Zarkin, they set a trap for her and, as she entered the pavilion, threw a mixture of ink and used oil on her head. The next day, during a combat lesson, Kalena challenged them to a duel and defeated all three. Master Rikken praised her for how much progress she made thanks to her additional training and stated that she is a great example of perseverance and self-discipline. However at that moment, most of the students were tired of her attitude, and this overt revenge only made it worse. Kalena was called Her Lowest Highness, and by the end of the class, this nickname stuck to her for good.

At the same time, someone started a rumor that Zarkin owed his uncommon archery talent to the fact that his left hand was longer than his right. This was ridiculous, because he had both hands the same length, but it was able to irritate him for long.

He spent a sleepless night because virtually every room smelled atrocious. It turned out that Kalena decided to burn a strange, previously prepared substance and categorically refused to put it out. The next day, exhausted and angry boy couldn't focus completely on his lessons. He did not pass the test of new moves, during calligraphy lesson his Lik suddenly broke down, and then everyone blamed him for falling asleep instead of going to the kitchen for his shift.

In the evening, the frustrated boy went outside the quarters. It was strictly forbidden, but he did not care. He had to rest. He felt that he might go crazy if he decides to stay in Yagn-Sho for any longer. This school was supposed to be a pass to freedom, and became another trap, to make matters worse, it was full of reluctant people.

  Beside the main gate, there were two other ways to get outside; the path of a thousand steps on the west, and "the road of spies" which could be entered from the garden. It was used by people coming to the quarters after they have complete a secret mission or obtained important information. Also, when an ally sought by the enemies came to Yagn-Sho, they used this passage.

It was important to keep in secret the identity of these unique Scribes, so this passage was built especially for them. In its heyday, it was packed with traps, but now none of them worked anymore. After the war, this place was forgotten and even some Yagn-Sho masters did not know about its existence. Zarkin found the plan of the quarters in one of the old books. He noticed the secret path and from this time he came there when he felt like spending some time alone.

If he walked along this path, he would probably reach the Forbidden Zone, but he wasn't ready for such a long trip. The air already started getting chilly. The boy sat on a cracked step and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the wind. The tears on his cheeks quickly became cold, so he occasionally wiped them with his sleeve.

He made a terrible mistake pushing everyone away because in moments like this he would give a lot just to have someone close around. The more he thought about it, the more it occurred to him that there wasn't a single person in the world that truly loved him. Master Rikken was only interested in his training progress. He instilled in him an unhealthy ambition, which, although it was a great motivation for hard work, caused difficulty in dealing with defeats.

Zarkin took a deep breath and realized his not likely to return. In Yagn-Sho he still felt like a slave, so he began to think of an escape plan. He could go to the Forbidden Zone, join the Searchers, and then sell what he would find there and then go somewhere far away.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the muffled sound of conversation.

The boy quickly hid among the branches of a tree that was easiest to jump onto and listened closely. He knew for sure that he wasn't alone. Someone was talking in the distance, or actually, some people were shouting at each other, but they didn't seem to be heading towards him. The sounds kept coming from one place.

Zarkin got down as silent as he could and then walked the completely wild path. The route was really difficult, but whoever was on it struggled with the same obstacles as he did.

For several months he had the habit of taking a small dagger with him wherever he went. At that time, it turned out to be extremely useful for tearing through dense thickets.

Finally, the boy saw a few people and almost felt his knees almost under him. Four young members of the Righteous Conspiracy stood a few steps away.

They were probably his age. He looked closely at their shaved heads and their characteristic orange robes. They were students, just like him.

"But why so is this school so high... oh?" stammered the tallest, probably the leader in their group. Zarkin was surprised to find that they were using his mother's tongue. He expected to hear Madegaldian or some other language he was completely unfamiliar with. He did not know the rules of recruitment for the Conspiracy, but until now he was convinced that they only accept candidates from their country.

  "It has to be high," said another. "Do you remember what the master said? They are not stupid, so they did not build their fortress on a small hill. Tomorrow we will come closer and you will see how everything looks. Pass the bottle!"

"But it's empty! Mei, bring something to drink!"

Another person appeared. The slave handed a fanciful bottle, reminiscent of a snake to one of them.

Zarkin snorted softly. It wasn't necessary to keep listening anymore because he already knew these people were exceptionally susceptible students of the master-spy who for some reason wasn't with them now.

The camp was skillfully set up, it was impossible to see it from the viewpoints of the quarter. The spies could observe for several days.

The boy pushed his blond hair back and tightened his fingers on the dagger. All he needed was the right moment to attack. Then one of the spies stood up and stretched. Zarkin slowly approached him until he was finally in the perfect place. Then he slipped out from behind and stuck a dagger into the heart of his first victim. Others realized what had happened when it was too late.

"Run! He's a Scribe! Run, it's the Scribe!" One of them got up abruptly, staggered and fell.

"Are you crazy ?! Fight him if you have any honor!"

"Fight yourself, I don't want to die!"

Steel glowed in the shade of the trees. Zarkin jumped on a large boulder, which was a much more stable ground, and immediately regretted not having taken a shen or bow with him. He didn't feel very confident, but his dagger had to be enough.

"What do you dogs know about honor?" He hissed. "You are to defend the camp and you can barely stand. Fight me!"

  As expected, the young Conspirators did not even form. They had an overwhelming numerical advantage over him, and they didn't even think about using it. They rubbed chaotically, without a thoughtful plan, did not combine the blow they now inflicted with the one they will inflict in a moment.

It was a child's play.

"You are a disgrace to your master. I will kill you because you only deserve to die," Zarkin added calmly, which frightened them even more.

The lowest student jumped to escape. Zarkin threw his only weapon at him and immediately regretted it. Another opponent knocked him over. Fear of death unleashed extra strength in him, so they struggled for a long time. In the end, he managed to crush Zarkin to the ground and grab him firmly by the throat.

Zarkin cursed himself in his mind for this ill-considered attack. It seemed like he would not be able to defend himself. Panic was beginning to grow in him. He fought with himself not to lose consciousness, but he knew that he could not resist for long. Suddenly the boy felt someone slip a large stone in his hand. He couldn't wait for another chance. He gathered all his strength and hit the opponent straight into the temple.

It wasn't until the embrace on his neck eased and the attacker's hand fell limp to the ground that Zarkin realized he had just murdered three people.

*

"Rikken, just where do you think we're going?!"

"Shut up!"

"How dare you! You don't have the right to speak to me like that, in the presence of my student!" The dark-haired woman pointed to Umi following them. "I don't understand why you insisted on looking here. You can see that no one has passed this way for a long time. Zarkin certainly wasn't there."

Rikken catches a few branches and stopped.

"Look at them. What is the possibility that they break so evenly? None. They were cut off by someone's blade. We can't be sure it was Zarkin's blade. You may not see it or pretend not to see it. After all, it was only my apprentice who disappeared, not yours. I don't know why I didn't ask someone else for help. You have always been like that. Even when we were students, you..." He paused, seeing a boy approaching them whom he didn't recognize at first.

"It's me, master," Zarkin stepped closer. His hair was stained with a mixture of soil and blood, and his clothes were dirty and torn. "I found the scumbags... I mean the Righteous Spies and killed them."

"On your own?" Umi's eyes lit up.

"Of course," he confirmed, "it wasn't easy, but I managed."

"Zarkin, but how did you kill them?!" asked mistress Asanala "Everyone? How many were there?"

"Four One or two can still be saved." The boy sighed and said good-bye with a polite smile. They followed him with their eyes.

"Four for one... If Zarkin were a little more punishable, I'd recommend him to the king of Sekania as the court killer," Asanala stated.

"Stop it!" Rikken said indignantly.

"What? This boy has talent. All the Sekanian assassins are young liberated slaves. They are the best for this job."