Favor for a Friend
1 October 1994
Roanapur
4:30 P.M.
It was late afternoon when Harry and Yakumo were dropped off by Dumbledore via portkey. Thankfully, the ICW Being Rights Division had come through far more swiftly than was counted on, as Dumbledore unshrunk a briefcase full of cash before handing it to Harry. Harry swiftly counted it before signing the Receipt of Delivery. Dumbledore assured both Harry and Yakumo that the slaves under the purview of the ICW would get the very best treatment possible before they were placed back into the world. In turn, Harry told Dumbledore that once their treatments were complete, and as long as they were willing to obey the laws, all of the slaves would be welcome on Yamatai once it was less ruined.
Dumbledore floo'd away (his status as Supreme Mugwump overriding his status as a British citizen), and Harry went ahead and paid Yakumo the sum previously negotiated upon with Green Tooth Johnny. A bit later, Johnny came out of the bag, accepted the remaining $350,000, and told Harry that he'd be in touch in a few days about the rest of the trunks.
Two hours later, Harry was relaxing in the rear apartments of the upper story of the Yellow Flag with Zara, as Madame Flora regaled him with all of the latest (very juicy) gossip going around the city.
As far as Harry was concerned, he was mostly interested in the gossip about himself and his friends.
Like the one how Revy and Rock had secretly gotten married and had adopted Harry. Or Revy and Eda had. Or even the one that had Harry as the secretly adopted son of Balalaika and Mr. Chang, as the two led a secret and torrid affair while they plotted the mutual takeover of both their organizations.
Or about how a lot of people (mostly long-time residents and business owners) were wondering exactly who Harry was dating; was it one of the girlfriends? Revy? Sawyer and Shenhua? Were the girls beards, and Harry was actually secretly Dutch's Cabin Boy?
Rumors of Harry coming to the rescue of the Russians had also made the rounds. Namely, how Hotel Moscow was planning on repaying Harry for his assistance. The rumors got progressively more lurid as time went on, ranging anywhere from the Bratva offering Harry ownership of one of their businesses, to them offering Harry his own Captaincy of a branch, to Balalaika herself personally 'educating' the younger man on the pleasures of the flesh.
And then there was the speculation on various influential people and groups. Rumors concerning the Italian Mafia's intentions toward Harry were relatively calm, but slowly building; the juiciest so far was that they were eyeing Harry for recruitment once he left Roanapur, looking to make greater inroads into British Africa, a rumor largely guessed at by Harry's accent. Another was that Mr. Chang had taken a direct interest in Harry, and was collecting information on his background in preparation for something; the leading theory was for Chang to arrange a marriage to Harry with his own daughter. Flora did scoff at that, as nobody in Roanapur was had any idea whether or not Mr. Chang had family.
Of course, Harry having made a large purchase from the Church of Perpetual Violence was remarked upon. Sister Yolanda personally making the sale was of especially juicy note, as she almost entirely went through her subordinates, mostly Eda, excepting only her absolutely preferred customers. The rumors flew wildly on that on that one. To Harry's embarrassment, he did reveal to Madame Flora that he and Sister Yolanda enjoyed tea together while discussing his rather sizeable purchase, with Brother Rico there to support Yolanda because Eda was out of town. Nothing untowards occurred, and certainly nothing salacious.
Later that night saw Harry and Zara wandering the streets of Roanapur once more, grazing their way through the food stalls while chatting before ending up at Harry's apartment. Zara would not leave until very late morning, and that was only after Harry took down the wards to almost completely seal the room from exterior influence. Zara was a very enthusiastic lover, and Harry never knew that a wall could be such an erotic place for sexual relations.
Monday rolled around, with Harry personally escorting Zara back to the Yellow Flag. On the way back, he got a text from Sawyer asking him to meet her and Lotton at a location, and to bring food.
Three hours later, Shenhua, exhausted on her feet, walked into her apartment to see Lotton and Sawyer sitting on the floor in front of her couch, playing a video game on her television, while Harry was behind them on the couch, reading a book.
"What all this?" she demanded, hanging her jacket up. "What, I become den mother now? Why you use up my electricity, hm?"
"We wanted to... surprise you," Sawer spoke up, still shooting something on-screen. "So I let us in. Harry brought... food, and you've... been hanging out... with Lotton a lot."
"That's right," Lotton agreed, applying a healing item to Sawyer's character. "You and Harry have both been working a lot, so Sawyer and I felt that a night in among friends would do you both good."
"They pitched it to me," Harry said, "and I agreed. And let's face it, you and I have been working hard. We're all friends, so we should back each other, right?"
Shenhua smiled at the outpouring, saying, "Okay, fine. We sit, hang out. I go shower. Harry, what you bring for eat?"
"I brought Thai from Sala Rim Naam, Chinese from Wong Fu Chun, and Italian from Benetti's. Lotton brought drinks, and Sawyer brought something for dessert."
"I grabbed... cake and muffins from... the Korean bakery... near Priyachat's."
"Sounds good," Shenhua admitted, her shoes already off. "I shower, then we eat."
Two hours later, all four were fed and relaxing in Shenhua's living room. Sawyer had cuddled into Harry's lap, while Lotton's head was resting on Shenhua's thigh. All four had small glasses of a light dessert liqueur in hand.
"Have to admit," Shenhua stated, running her fingers through Lotton's hair, "we needed this. Chang be going hard on new idiots, has me running. Good pay, but still."
"I understand," Lotton replied, sipping at the blackberry cordial. "My father has me running and training hard. He says he's making up for lost time, but I know that he's getting me up to the level of American Hit Wizards."
"My own management... has more paperwork... than anything," Sawyer commented as Harry's arms were firmly wrapped around her. "Not much in... disposal right now. But the pork... is in high demand."
"I agree," Harry said, his voice a little muffled from his face being in Sawyer's hair, his breath against the back of her neck. "The work for Johnny was tough, and all the training I've been doing has eaten up a ton of my time. At least little moments among friends like this make it all worthwhile."
"Harry, what you do when you leave Roanapur?" Shenhua asked curiously.
"Probably back to Hogwarts," Harry admitted, his voice tinged with regret. "I don't know if I'll be able to fit back into my year, though. I've learned a lot of really advanced stuff here. I will really miss this city when I leave. Good friends, an honest city, lots of good food... Plus the weather," he chuckled out. "Southern Thailand never gets below fifty degrees, whereas Scotland in winter is... Yeah, that's gonna suck. A lot."
"Have you gotten... winter clothes yet?"
Harry sighed, his breath across Sawyer's sensitive throat making her shiver. "Not yet. I should do that before I leave. I plan to hit Northern Japan on my way out, and it won't be July when I do it this time."
"That's an excellent point," Lotton cut in. "Getting that done here would be a significant savings thanks to the military surplus going around. Not to mention all of the new Soviet gear making it's way here thanks to the Fall of the Iron Curtain."
"All good points," Harry admitted, caressing the back of Sawyer's hand with his own as she gently rubbed his thigh. "But I'm mostly trying to figure out what to do with Yamatai. I got historians on-site, I got a communications specialist to look at the old radio gear, and I have a dozen or so freed slaves working there to get things up and running faster... My first citizens," he said with a smile. "Not to mention Sawyer's cleanup crew; I'm told that they're really making headway on the corpse problem.
"But the rebuild... That'll take a lot of time," Harry mentioned, planting a kiss on the back of Sawyer's neck.
"All worthwhile things take effort," Lotton said, getting up to wrap his own arms around Shenhua.
"I know. I guess I'm just being impatient."
"Umm..." Shenhua began, nervousness tinging her voice even as Lotton's fingers caressed her stomach, "I want to ask for something."
"Go ahead. Worst... that happens is we say no."
Shenhua sighed, pulling away from Lotton's grasp. "I need attention. No distractions, yes?"
Harry and Sawyer pulled apart, now sitting side by side even as they maintained holding hands. Shenhua stood up, pacing back and forth, muttering in Mandarin Chinese. Harry caught bits and pieces, but most of it was too modern for Himiko's language skills to process.
Finally stopping, Shenhua eyed all three of them. "Okay, before I tell that I descent of Wūshī, Chinese wizards, yes?" Lotton and Harry nodded, while Sawyer shrugged; she hadn't been coherent for that part of the conversation at the Lagoon docks. "Well, was part lie. Or not all story. I great-great-grandaughter of Chinese Emperor Puyi, last legitimate Emperor, and last magic Emperor through number one concubine. Current emperor something like fourth cousin, shill for Socialists. While not have magic, I still have right to throne. Follow?"
All three nodded, and Harry could hear her nervousness; Shenhua's english always got more jagged when she was ruffled.
"I am having plan," Shenhua admitted, pacing back and forth once more. "I want steal back seat. Relocate heart of Magic China. No can do on own. But I no having pay for nasty work. See problem?"
"I think so," Lotton replied. "Basically, you want to steal the symbol of Chinese Magical Authority, but you lack the funds to pay a team to get it done."
"Is exact!" Shenhua crowed. "Not can ask for free. It not right."
"So you come... to your friends... to see if they can... help. If not the... job, then ideas for... planning it out."
"Also true," Shenhua replied. "Sawyer, you me good at assault. We make great team, but no subtle or sneak. Lotton, you have weird skills, and are good distract. Harry, you plan like beast, make impossible idea real. I think we plan something, at least."
"I think we can work something out," Harry replied, leaning back into the couch. "Depends on the information that you have, but I'm sure we can come up with something for the future."
"I agree. We four can... think of things... that will help. Friends do that."
"Agreed," Lotton commented, draining his cordial. "What are we doing tomorrow?"
"I have my work at the clinic in the morning, and I think you and I can put off training for a day," Harry said, mentally going over his schedule. "Sawyer?"
Sawyer shrugged. "I am all... caught up on paperwork. Nothing until... almost New Year's for... U.G. Pork. Other work... can wait a bit. Other teams... can pick up disposals."
Shenhua smiled, flopping back down next to Lotton, promptly laying her head in his lap. "You guys best friends I ask for."
The rest of the night was highly educational for Harry. He'd never heard of partner swapping before, and had to admit that while it could be a lot of fun between close friends in the moment, the coordination was very difficult to actually accomplish. He learned that Sawyer was fairly vanilla, but Shenhua was a solid freak in bed, while Lotton was bisexual and incredibly open-minded. And he got a new bit of wisdom from Lotton: "It's only gay if the balls touch." By that standard of wisdom, that night got really gay.
Still, he not only learned that Salim couldn't speak to him if he wasn't wearing the gauntlet, but also that he was really proficient with his contraception charms.
The next morning, Harry was back at the clinic. Gurrimurra was practically hovering at his shoulder as she worked him hard, jabbing him with a pointy stick every time he forgot the half-circle cast of the painkiller spell. Harry accepted that, even as he was worked through almost the entire repertoire of skills that the elderly healer had taught him over the last two months.
After Harry got cleaned up (a non-magical patient had come in with a nasty case of a lot of boils that needed lancing), Harry had been handed several thick tomes, as Gurrimurra said, "Harry, your apprenticeship is complete. I've never seen anyone adapt to medicine as well as you have, and it does my heart good to see someone take so well to my teachings. Well, with the exception of the painkiller spell," she ended with an amused smirk.
"Thank you," Harry replied, a smile on his face. "I've really been enjoying working here. I wasn't looking forward to leaving this behind, but here we are."
"Your new pin," the elderly healer said, handing it over. "You are now a Journeyman Healer, and will be eligible for far more advanced instruction than I can give here. In fact, the education that you've managed to cram in the last two months would be about the same as two years of Pre-Med school, and will be accounted for as college credits."
"I-I don't know what to say," Harry responded, his face a little flushed and a couple of tears in his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I never thought I could do something like this."
"You are more than welcome, young man," Gurrimurra answered, smiling kindly. "You came here, uncertain of yourself and your skills, and I'm proud to see that you've made your own path. The books that I've given you are all the latest copies of our Healer's Tomes. You've earned them."
A couple of hours later found Harry back at Shenhua's, where Lotton and Sawyer had already gathered. Harry saw that they'd cleared the living room, and had pulled out a folding table. Harry joined by rolling out a green chalkboard from his bag, setting it up in front of the television.
"Okay, here what I got," Shenhua began. "Target is Dragon Throne," she said, putting out a photograph of an ornate, uncomfortable looking throne. "Have old maps of Forbidden City; apart from damage repair in Cultural Revolution, is unchanged. United Nations make World Heritage Site in 1987, so maps solid.
"Here is room of throne," she continued, pointing to a spot on the map. "Ways in are tricky. Much guards, cameras, and such. Outer Court be heavy travel, Inner Court less. We out of tourist season, so there that.
"All path lead to throne, here in Palace of Heavenly Purity. No doubt heavy patrolled, cameras, maybe motion sense. But not much; U.N. rank means minimal altering, little tech installed. That work in favor, yes?
"To get to, must go through Imperial Gardens," she continued, pointing at the larger map. "Not know how get; that why we plan here. Through gardens, into Outer Court past guards. To Inner Court, to Palace of Heavenly Purity. Steal throne, leave to... Crap. I not know from there," Shenhua admitted.
As Lotton pored over the maps, Harry considered. Closing his eyes, he momentarily dove into his mindscape looking for some information that he'd come across some weeks prior.
Harry's eyes snapped open as he grinned. "I have an idea," he began, with all three looking to him. "I am the Sun King of Yamatai. Himiko had a mutual defense treaty worked out with Emperor Wen of Sui, during the Sui dynasty; roughly 600 A.D. It was never abolished.
"Hear me out," he continued at their confused expressions. "I may be a late-comer, but since the treaties were never abolished magically, that means that, on the magical side, I can render more advanced assistance than anyone else would be able to. Shenhua, what's your intentions for after you snag the throne?"
"Not know," she admitted. "Hope to bring in Chinese magicals, survivors of Socialist purges, but not know if they come or where put them. I could act as magic Empress, but not know if be valid on bigger scale."
"About how many of the Chinese magicals do you think there are left?"
"Hm. By rumor, maybe three thousand, top," Shenhua admitted. "Is lot less than before, but Socialists butcher all but fastest or meanest. Most days, they found in Chinatowns across world. Why you ask?"
"Because," Harry began, pulling out a different map, "I have a magical kingdom of my own. This," he continued, pinning the map to the chalkboard with a magnet, "is the Kingdom of Yamatai. Roughly twenty by thirty miles in size, some mountainous terrain, and not a small amount of workable land. The palace city is here," pointing at a spot, "above a shanty town. Other buildings are scattered across the island; I'm betting that they were small villages of the period.
"My idea is that, as a magically allied nation, I can extend the offer of friendship and political sanctuary to the Magical Chinese that fled the Socialists if they're willing to throw in their lot to help rebuild in exchange for safety. The ICW might decline my application for membership, but I don't think that they will, and neither does my lawyer. Either way, it won't really matter.
"So," Harry continued, eyes a little manic, "we set down the Dragon Throne on Yamatai. Rig up a different building than my own throne room, but in the same complex. Equal size, decorations, and so on. Two nations, equally powerful and representative. One in exile in the non-magical world, but united in the magical. With me so far?" All three nodded at the suggestion.
"So, I'm looking at the maps," Harry kept going, "and I'm seeing a lot of different spaces. Shenhua, do you know where the Socialists might have stashed the magical stuff collected by the Emperors over the centuries?"
Shenhua blinked at the question, and then frowned, going over the maps. "Not sure, really," she admitted. "Might be in Forbidden City, might be in warehouse in mountains. Not way to be sure yet."
"Tricky," Lotton added. "Not knowing the contents makes things a great deal more doubtful."
"Agreed. If we knew... more about the... storage, we could... plan a lot better. This looks like... some recon is needed."
"We'd need an insider," Harry murmured. "Someone who either knows the place, or has been there and knows magic."
"I may have someone for that," Lotton put in. "It will be costly, but it's possible. And a little bribery would go a long ways towards finding any manner of warehouses."
"Good point," Harry added. "Shenhua, you have my support here," Harry said, looking the older woman in the eye. "Politically, we can probably get away with this on the magical side. And helping out the Magical Chinese who are on the run will get us a lot of support from the ICW. This idea helps you, it helps me, and it helps your people. So what do we need?"
"We need reliable... intel on the site," Sawyer began. "Guard shifts, cameras... all that. We also need... to find the... magical storage places. Getting all of... the Imperial stuff... under the control... of the Dragon Throne... would be aces."
"Is good, yes. But how we do this?" Shenhua asked with a sigh.
"I recommend," Lotton began, "that we bring in one more person for this. Yakumo has contacts that we lack in Hong Kong. I'm fairly certain that he can get information for us."
"And if we can get the magic stuff," Harry began, "including the lore, then that might put him closer to his own research. Ah, Yakumo's looking for something, " Harry added to the questioning faces, "and there's not a lot of stuff out there on it. I figure that if we can get the old scrolls and such, he might find something that'll help him in his own personal mission."
"That's a good point," Sawyer noted aloud. "If Yakumo can... get up-to-date... intel and find... the warehouses, we can... make a good plan... for looting."
The next day had the four planning once more, only now Yakumo was in the room. "I have to say," he began, "things are never dull around you, Harry."
"I never actually try to make things interesting," Harry commented. "It just tends to fall that way. So, what do you have?"
"Mrs. Long, my sponsor in Hong Kong, really likes the idea of getting ahold of the Imperial Chinese records," Yakumo began, "and she agrees that the records could be crucial in finding what we're looking for.
"To that end, she has sent me all of her paperwork on the Forbidden City by overnight international courier," he continued, setting down a rather thick briefcase. "According to her, this includes the latest in floor plans, guard details, and security. Her people have been looking at the old Imperial places for years, trying to figure out where everything is.
"Now, I didn't tell her about the Dragon Throne; that's not any of her business, and she's not magical. According to what you told me, Harry, the Statute of Secrecy would apply to her, even if she knows about demons. I also didn't mention Yamatai. Her interest is the records so that we can find some things.
"Next is the warehouse," Yakumo continued, laying out more papers. "Apparently, Mrs. Long's people have been aware of where the PRC has been stashing all the magical stuff. It's here, under the Hall of Union. Apparently it was used as a royal mint and treasury at one point, so the PRC went and repurposed the whole thing. That's where the enchanted stuff will be, as well as the magical records.
"As for the outer stuff, none of the old wards are running. The PRC hasn't maintained them, has no idea how to maintain and charge them, so they're all worthless. It's just guards and cameras now."
"Good, good," Harry murmured. "Yeah, this is coming together. So, we know the targets, that's good. Now we have to plan for in and out. Ideas?"
"If you're willing," Lotton began, "I believe that invisibility spells would be our go-to for entry, Harry. Shrink the throne, get into the Hall of Union, more shrinking charms there to shovel everything away, and then leave."
"Not bad. If we were... to take a portkey out... would anyone... recognize that?"
"Maybe," Harry mused aloud. "I guess that would depend on how paranoid the ICW is with non-magical China. I honestly have no idea."
Harry paused, and then grinned. "I got it. We clear it all out, I transfigure a fake throne to throw off detection, right? Then you all pile into my bag, and I leave on my broom. I get some miles away at low altitude, and then trigger a portkey to just off of Hong Kong, and then another to Yamatai. We drop everything off, I check in with people, you guys pile back into my bag, and I portkey to just off the coast of Thailand and fly us in. What do you think?"
Quite a lot of nodding went on before they packed everything up. "One question, Harry," Yakumo mentioned. "How are we going to go through the information if it's on your private island?"
Harry paused, considering that. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Depends on how it's sorted, I guess. That's a real stumper, man."
"Mrs. Long is going to want to go through it," Yakumo reminded them, "and with this much information, I don't want to keep her waiting."
"I guess we'll have to... Shit," Harry exclaimed. "I don't want non-magicals on Yamatai yet; it's not set up. But at the same time, I don't..." Harry trailed off, blinking rapidly. "Got it. I use magic to reproduce all of it. I hand you the shrunken copies, and keep the originals. If I use enough power, they'll stick around long enough to get them all transcribed; at least two years," Harry added. "That way Shenhua and I keep the data, and Mrs. Long gets her research. Sound good?"