Chapter 8: Manipulated

Ishida woke up to the sound of chirping birds. It was already morning. 

Not long after this, the door swung open and Medietan soldiers with guns in their hands marched in. 

Lieutenant Monte also came in, holding a paper scroll in his hand. 

He soon opened the scroll and began reading.

“The rebellious people of Mount Lagoda rightfully owe the Medietan Empire five hundred thousand Koblos for the damage done to our armies sent here to stop this senseless rebellion. Furthermore, five thousand men from this mountain between the age of twenty and fifty shall be drafted into the Medietan Army. Signed, Emperor Derisus III of Medietus.”

The lieutenant closed the scroll and turned to the prisoners in the jail cell. A cunning smile emerged on his face as he carefully handed the precious paper to a soldier standing next to him. 

He took a deep breath and began speaking again.

“People of Mount Lagoda, hear me! I am not here today to demand war reparations from you,” the man finally declared. 

The prisoners began whispering.

“What does he mean?” Rhina asked Ishida, who shrugged. 

“I am here today to ask that you come up with a reasonable plan of how you are going to pay us the money,” Lieutenant Monte grinned. 

Some prisoners began weeping while others sighed in disappointment. Ishida’s face sunk into his hands. 

“You there!” Lieutenant Monte suddenly shouted, pointing at Ishida’s surprised face. “Yes, you! Tell me, who are your parents? Why...why do you look so familiar?”

Ishida stood up. “I am the son of Ise Sakai, sir.”

“Ise Sakai, you say? Ahh, good old Sakai!”

With the lieutenant's remark, the soldiers and prisoners started whispering again. Soon enough, the whispering rose to a clamor. Debates broke out between them, and the debates turned into violent brawls.

“Silence! You have not been permitted to speak,” the lieutenant shrieked. “Ise Sakai, eh? I've heard plenty of stories about him. He and his wife sailed many years in search of Ajens, but they both vanished before ever finding the city.” 

“No sir, he didn’t just vanish,” Ishida said defiantly.

“You think so?” Lieutenant Monte seemed surprised. “Well, young man, what evidence do you have to support your claim that he ‘didn’t just vanish?’”

Ishida thought for a while before reaching into his pocket. He felt a folded piece of paper, which contained an SOS message from his father, but he was reluctant to show it to the malicious lieutenant.

“Well? Answer my question!” Lieutenant Monte demanded. 

“If you don’t answer his question, that means your father is dead,” one of the Medietan soldiers scoffed. 

Ishida clenched his fists and tried to hold his anger. 

Rhina seemed to know what was going through his mind and whispered to him: “Don’t tell those greedy people about Ajens!”

The lieutenant and his soldiers smiled cunningly. 

“I suppose we can now safely conclude that Ise Sakai was a lunatic who searched for a mythical island and died a miserable death before he could ever find his fictional sea city,” Lieutenant Monte said.

Ishida’s head was boiling with anger, but he restrained himself from speaking.

“A lunatic orphan with a lunatic father!” another Medietan soldier laughed, spitting on Ishida’s head.

Ishida was unable to hold his rage any longer and yelled, “My friend and I are going to find the Great Sea City of Ajens. The city contains immense quantities of gold and priceless treasures— more than enough to pay for the war reparations. We will prove to you that my father was anything BUT a lunatic!”

“No!” Rhina whispered. “Don’t tell them, you’ll ruin it for us all!”

There was a moment of silence. 

Before long, the lieutenant burst out laughing. The soldiers followed suit, and soon all the other prisoners were laughing hysterically.

“Are you joking? How do you expect to find a city that only exists in legends and the heads of fools?” Lieutenant Monte chortled.

Ishida charged at the lieutenant, fists clenched. He was swiftly thrown onto the ground by the Medietan soldiers, but not before he was able to swing a good punch at the man who called his father a lunatic.

Lieutenant Monte was hit in the chin and lurched backward in pain. Blood dripped down his jaw and onto his neck.

“Stop laughing, you fools!” he yelled.

The laughter immediately stopped.

Lieutenant Monte grabbed Ishida by the collar and said to him, “Listen to me, genius. If you don’t behave, then your friend dies. So be a man and calm down.”

Ishida’s collar was released and he collapsed onto the ground.

“Search him, men! See if there are any maps, documents, or secret parchments in his pockets.”

The soldiers soon found Ishida’s folded piece of paper and handed it to the lieutenant.

It was dirty and worn out. Lieutenant Monte unfolded it, revealing some almost illegible writing, which was written in cursive. 

The lieutenant took out a magnifying glass and squinted his eyes. He dragged his finger along the writing.

“Soldier, do you know morse code?” he asked the soldier standing next to him.

“Yes sir. I used to be a radio operator,” the soldier replied. “It says ‘Emergency! I have found King Rexius and the Great Sea City of Ajens, but I am being caught in an avalanche. SOS! My coordinates are—’ and then it cuts off.” 

A broad smile appeared on the lieutenant’s face. “I have heard of the Lost City at Sea, my boy, and I know that your father has spent years looking for it. But what amazes me is your fiery belief in its existence. What makes you believe in those legends?”

Ishida remained silent. This was because Rhina had placed her hands around his mouth to prevent him from speaking. 

“Listen to me carefully, boy. You and the girl have seven days to find the Great Sea City of Ajens. Bring us some of the gold you find. It must be worth no less than five hundred thousand Koblos.”

“Why should we—” Ishida tried to say.

“Why, you ask? Why? Because if you don’t, my men are going to set fire to this mountain of yours and slaughter all of its inhabitants including the women and children!”

Ishida tried to act undeterred. “And you think I should care about this?” 

“You will have to care about it. We will burn everything down and sweep the ashes into the river. If you refuse to do as I say or fail to succeed, nothing will be left of your mountain.”

“You won’t dare burn this mountain down. The Medietan Empire’s economy will collapse if you destroy our factories.”

Lieutenant Monte broke into a hearty laugh. “You are a clever boy! So these threats won’t change your mind? I don’t want any harm to come to your friend, but it seems like you are simply forcing my hand—”

“No, don’t do it!” Ishida yelled.

“That’s it, boy! You are learning to be patient; to become a man.”

Lieutenant Monte leaned closer to Ishida and whispered into his ear, “Now, I want you to think really carefully. Think of all the riches you’ll get from this expedition! Or maybe look at it this way: you and your friend are going on an adventure!”

“An adventure? But how—”

“Yes, an adventure! You will get to trace your father’s journey and perhaps even find him alive. This is an opportunity for you to prove to the people of the world that your father was speaking the truth about Ajens.”

 “The truth about Ajens…?”

“This is an opportunity for you to discover your true self. You are going on an adventure, and the girl of your dreams is going with you!”

“What? She’s not the girl of—”

“Whatever, whatever. That’s not the point! Imagine what the world would be like once you locate Ajens and all of its treasures! There would be no poverty. There would be no starvation! Even you could buy a lakeside mansion in Lucada!”

“But—”

“But most importantly, imagine meeting your long-lost father after many years of living alone! Imagine meeting your mother, too! And imagine being praised by your townspeople for discovering the Lost City at Sea and not being the scum of society anymore!”

Ishida nodded delightfully. “I can see what you mean. An adventure, yes! An adventure!”

“Good! As for you, girl,” the lieutenant smiled, turning towards Rhina and whispering to her, “You will get to ride on a plane for the first time in your life!”

Rhina shook her head. “No, I won’t let you manipulate me! Stop talking!”

The lieutenant smiled craftily. “Listen, to me, Rhina. I know who you are.”

Rhina was caught off guard by this sudden claim.

“Surprised? Well, you should be! You’re probably wondering how I know who you are and what your name is. It isn’t that complicated: I am a close friend of your father, General Lucarius. I’ve been to his house in Lucada many times.”

Rhina gulped.

“And believe me, I’ve seen how that monster of a man has treated you. I’ve seen how he had locked you up in your room, isolated from the rest of the world, unable to go outside to see the bright sunshine of the countryside.”

“S-stop trying to manipulate me! It won’t work.”

Lieutenant Monte continued talking as if Rhina had never interrupted him.

“I’ll tell you something, Rhina: I hate being locked up in a room. I hate being isolated from the rest of the world. I hate not being able to go outside to meet the bright sunshine of the countryside! I HATE it! I hate it more than anything, do you hear me?”

“No, I don’t hear you!”

“You’ve tried to run away many times, but in all of those times, you have failed. I know the hard times you’ve been through. Only this time, you manage to escape Lucarius’ iron grip on you.”

“I’m not listening to you, so stop talking!”

“General Lucarius is very busy right now since the War of the Nations has just concluded. But soon, he will have less work on his shoulders, and he will set out to look for you. Surely he won’t let you hide from him forever...”

After many more minutes of manipulation, the lieutenant finally convinced Rhina to go on the expedition to search for Ajens with Ishida. 

“Make sure that your friend doesn’t try to run away as you did,” Lieutenant Monte said to Rhina. “I’m sure he doesn’t want his home to be torched, but see to it that he stays on task, alright?”

Rhina nodded, rather hesitantly. 

“As for you, young man, take good care of the general’s daughter. Protect her with your life, because if any harm comes to her, General Lucarius will take extreme measures to get his revenge. I’m quite sure that you don’t want that to happen. So, protect her with your life! Is that clear?”

“Very well,” Ishida answered.

The lieutenant then motioned for the two of them to come with him. They walked out of the prison cell and the door was closed with a loud bang. 

“As I’ve told you before, you have a week to find Ajens, but if you don’t come back in time, don’t be surprised if you find a heap of ash where your hometown used to be. By then, we would have set it ablaze,” the man warned him. 

Ishida solemnly nodded. 

The soldiers then cut their ropes and escorted them back to Ishida’s cabin.

As they left, one of the Medietan soldiers came up to the lieutenant and said, “Sir, do you realize what you’re doing? You’ve just sent those two youngsters on a mission without having anyone supervise them! How can you expect them to come back or not betray you, sir?”

“I actually don’t,” Lieutenant Monte replied frankly.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“All I care is that they find the Great Sea City of Ajens,”

“But sir…”

“I’ll tell you this, soldier: I have contacted a man named Paxis Pontellius who lives in Piletus. He is a descendant of Amadeus Pontellius, the founder of the Pontellius Clan who was killed in a swordfight with King Rexius on the island of Ponterrado, where all tides turn.”

“Paxis Pontellius, sir? Never heard of him.”

“That’s because he is keeping a low profile. Nevertheless, I have hired him to follow those two youngsters everywhere they go. Once they reach Ajens— I’m certain they will— Paxis will send me the coordinates of the place and I will travel there myself.”

“But what of the seven-day deadline, sir? What if those two don’t make it to Ajens in time?”

“Well, do you think I will actually burn this mountain to the ground and sweep its ashes into the river? Hahaha, of course not! That was just an empty threat to motivate them to stay on task.”

“Ahh, I see what you mean, Lieutenant,” the soldier said coolly. “In that case, I should get back to work. Good luck working with Paxis Pontellius!”