Kal Chul pulled the hood on his cloak forward to better hide his face as he slipped through the back entrance to the Riverside Inn. He found his way to the private meeting room slid through the door without knocking. He made the most perfunctory of greetings, his bow coming within an inch of insolence. The former regent frowned then waved toward a seat.

"Your venture is getting expensive," he said without preamble.

"The returns you are looking for require some risks," Kal Chul answered.

"We agreed to risk not recklessness. It is best you remember you place." The heavy-set man poured himself a drink but did not offer anything to his guest.

"And what place do you think that might be, My Lord?" Kal Chul's smile turned into a sneer.

"As close to the gutter as you might crawl. Remember even if you are Lord Sun-Gye's get, your mother was just a servant."

"That is what comes from having parents on the wrong side of history. Do your think your bloodline any purer? Haven't you ever wondered why you don't have much of an affinity for your house stone?" Kal Chul wrapped a string of different colored crystals around his hand and caused each one to shine in turn.

"Knock it off. You know the Prince has his pet Rainbow-maker wandering about. If the palace takes you, we can do nothing to stop them."

"You didn't do much to stop this either," Kal Chul let his hood slip back to show the many lumps and bruises he had sustained. He had obviously tried to set his own nose but it was still crooked.

"You are here now. The boat will leave a sunrise you have until then to settle things for your boys."

Kal Chul swallowed hard. He knew as soon as the gang members managed to get him out of his cell, his time in the Capital would be limited. He gathered the travel papers and money off the table, ducked his head, then slipped out of the room. His first task was to get his lieutenant free. Then they could go gather the outstanding marks so the gang had the funds to lay-low for a couple of months.

Lord Choi waited until he was certain all the gang members were gone before coming out from behind the ornately decorated screen at the back of the room. "You are going to keep him in play then?" He stared down at his seated partner.

The man from Psyonan province nodded, saying "A blunt knife can still cut."

"It can also slip," Lord Choi said.

"Possibly, but the misdirection of the guards looking for at least two crystal adepts, maybe more, is useful. There are enough different trails out there to have them tied in knots for some time."

"And Knight-Master Lei's trainees?"

"Will be no threat. The new lord of Gonlang is going to be extraordinarily busy when the monsoons start."

"As long as the country's overall defenses remain strong," Lord Choi cautioned.

"I guess that will depend on how many allies our new friends can rally for themselves." The Northerner showed his teeth but it wasn't exactly a smile, more like a wolf's warning. The look was remarkably similar to the one Kal Chul showed the prolific gamblers he aimed to collect from.

"I just need another chance my son will help us find a way to square up. He is in thick with Knight-Master Lei's crew," their cowering victim pleaded.

"Too late for that now. You didn't follow our instructions so pay up," Kal Chul cracked his knuckles.

"I already gave you everything I have. There is nothing left."

"We'll see," Kal Chul signaled to his group and the swarmed in to strip the man bare whipping him with his own cloak until he was a blubbering mess. They managed to score some hidden coins and a promise for more and moved on to their next mark without a backward glance.

When they finished their rounds, Kal Chul cautioned the boys seeing him off not to take unnecessary chances.

"We'll be smart," one of the youngest boys promised.

"Smart enough to stay away from nobles and their ambitions," the new leader of the group said with a sneer.

Kal Chul ignored this rebuke, choosing to leave with the gang's salute. He sighed quietly when the boat pulled away from its dock and went to find a quiet corner for the trip down river. Two well dressed men approached his spot. He gave them a menacing look but their guards stepped in from either side.

"Show us your stones," a deep voice demanded.

Kal Chul pulled back his right sleeve to reveal a worn leather strap with two pairs of low- quality stones.

"Now the rest," the man insisted. Kal Chul hesitated, looking for an escape route before pulling out the bracelet he had tucked away. He tried sending a shock of energy into his stones to get the stranger to drop them. The crystals flashed briefly but then dulled.

"Thank you for confirming our suspicions," the other man said while holding out a handful of glowing stones. "The dragon calls you Kal Chul."

The guards reached down and pulled him to his feet. They dragged him away to another boat that took him upstream to a channel running out of broad cave. The boat scraped along in the dim light until he was deposited on a small island.

"Make peace with the water-mother," a voice instructed before the boat rowed away. Kal Chul sat in the dark, put his head into his arms and wept.