RADIO | NPC | THE BITE OF A GUARD DOG

[ironrule]

[Yes, you read that right. An NPC has gotten hold of a radio handset, and is broadcasting a message to the Foreigners -- and hopefully only the Foreigners.

Specifically, for anyone in a position to recognise her voice, it's Meisheng, Yunxu's former right-hand who vanished after Milyn's death two months ago. She sounds harried and rushed, but otherwise confident and unafraid.]

Yunxu ordered the hit. Milyn poisoned Shudder. They've both done unconscionable things aside from that, and I've been -- well, keeping quiet for much too long.

[There's a pause.]

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone thought he was innocent.

[And another pause.]

I have twenty minutes. If you want to know more, I'll tell you all I can.

Comments

[redlightgreenlight]

[Loud, but lovely laughter comes over the radio. Valdis is highly amused.]

And why should we believe you?

[ironrule]

[There's a measure of annoyance mixed with the harried tone of voice now. Meisheng's never particularly liked Valdis.]

I don't care if you believe me. If you want to take Yunxu's word over mine, more the fool you.

[redlightgreenlight]

Twice the traitor Meisheng?

[All traces of amusement are gone]

[ironrule]

I have not --

[She cuts herself off. Takes a deep breath. 'Traitor' is exactly what she is, isn't it? The next word comes out forced.]

Yes.

[There's the low murmur of another voice in the background. Too quiet to make out the words, but unmistakeably there.]

[redlightgreenlight]

What happens to you if they find out?

[She takes a long breath]

Do you need help?

[Said through gritted teeth.]

[ironrule]

I don't know. [She takes an audible breath. The low murmur in the background has stopped.] Yunxu told me to kill her, and I didn't. He's had others killed for less.

[She'd like to think being family might soften his temper, but...]

No. [A beat.] Thank you. I'll be fine.

[redlightgreenlight]

Did you know that someone tried to kill him?

[You can hear the shift in her voice, as if she's relaxing into a less emotional state.]

In addition, I suspect that the Cultists want discord and this most certainly would create such a thing.

[ironrule]

Yes. I don't know who or why, but whoever it is, but it may not have anything to do with this. Someone taking advantage, perhaps. Sowing chaos, like the cultists.

[God knows many of the kedan would love to kill Yunxu over entirely unrelated reasons.]

Or maybe he made the whole thing up to make himself look like a victim. I wouldn't put that past him.

[redlightgreenlight]

Why would he order you to kill Milyn, if he knew that you two were friends?

[ironrule]

[A hesitation, followed by a laugh. It's not a bitter laugh, precisely, but it definitely runs the gamut past amusement.]

Because he knew the two of us were friends.

[How to explain this to a Foreigner...]

In our culture, family is everything. In my family, loyalty is everything. Yunxu knew I was -- drifting, and he wanted to be sure I was still loyal to him.

As you said. I'm a traitor.

[redlightgreenlight]

No.

[It was quiet, but firm.]

If family truly is everything, then he wouldn't have hurt you by asking you to kill someone you hold dear. It sounds to me as if he betrayed you first.

[rawiron]

[In the distant background, there's an even, familiar voice:]

Ah, you see? I am not the only one who says so.

[ironrule]

[Such a look, Heojin. Such. A look.

But there's fondness in that look.

Back to Valdis:] It won't matter very much to Yunxu, I'm sure. I can't set foot in my own city without someone trying to kill me.

[Whether or not 'dead or alive' had actually been Yunxu's order, the Snakes were certainly taking it upon themselves to avenge what they believed was a betrayal. Or, at the very least, the small patrol Meisheng ran into stabbed first and asked questions later.]

[cherrywood]

Because she's telling the truth, dear.

[redlightgreenlight]

You poisoned...

[And she was trying so hard to trust you, Milyn]

[cherrywood]

Well, just a little bit, he got better straight away, didn't he?

[redlightgreenlight]

Why?

[cherrywood]

He was keeping a little too close of an eye on Jintou, I'm afraid, and I really did need to speak with Jintou in private.

[redlightgreenlight]

Do you know what Daseng did to him? Or was that you?

[She's definitely not amused anymore.]

[cherrywood]

Daseng isn't a surgeon, dear, he's an alchemist. We'd stopped speaking before that.

[redlightgreenlight]

So it was you...

[cherrywood]

I know what I'm doing, I didn't hurt him.

[redlightgreenlight]

Dardul, is he another victim of your experiments?

[cherrywood]

... Dardul is very special, to me.

[redlightgreenlight]

I'm sure he's very grateful that you didn't abandon him by a river to die like you did Jintou.

[Valdis' voice holds no venom, in fact it is oddly empty, almost tired.]