Around the time Antaya and her two children were enjoying their afternoon stroll, Corco was looking through the list of doctors he had received from Tama just before she had left. Although he called it a list, it was a series of extensive documents, so they deserved a closer look. After a while, he put down the papers and mumbled to himself.
\"So in the end it's still Itzali, huh?\"
The documents contained all basic information about all the Chutwa doctors who had entered into contracts with the crown. Their ages, their abilities – or lack thereof – as well as their vices and their level of loyalty were included. As it turned out, most of the doctors he had tricked into their restrictive contracts weren't loyal at all, much to his shock and surprise. Even so, Itzali – the first Chutwa doctor Corco had convinced to join his cause – seemed to be the most sympathetic to his new master. At the very least, he was earnest in his work and seemed to be conservative with his life choices... which to Corco was a polite way to describe a coward.
After he had spent some more time with his own thoughts, the king turned around to the warrior behind him. Unlike most warriors, this one looked rather young, like someone in his teenage years. He also seemed frail and scholarly in his appearance. The ghost warriors needed to blend in with all kinds of crowds, so the man's harmless appearance was no surprise. Even less so since Corco knew about his previous assignment.
\"You already sent someone to get the doctor, right?\" he asked Naoka, the ghost warrior Tama had provided him with as a temporary replacement for Fadelio.
\"Yes, King Corco. He should have already-\"
A knock on the door interrupted Naoka, and soon after Doctor Itzali was ushered in by the guards outside. Visibly nervous, he stepped from one foot onto another as he stood in front of the king. With a quick, suspicious glance, he also acknowledged Naoka's presence, though he didn't say a word and instead focused on his master before him.
\"Doctor Itzali greets King Corcopaca.\"
\"Yes yes, greetings and somesuch. Take a seat.\" Much unlike the doctor's nervous energy, Corco was very casual about the meeting and waved in the vague direction of the chairs.
\"How's your research going these days?\" the king asked as the stiff doctor was still getting seated.
Since they were no longer at war now, there was no more need to follow the army and treat their wounds. As a result, most of Corco's doctors were spending all their time either on research or on the education of their new Yaku disciples. Of course, the research was what interested Corco the most, especially since he could see the progress of the students for himself every time he taught at the royal school.
\"Research has gone well, King Corco,\" he answered the king, though his eyes still flickered over to the warrior every once in a while. \"However, the work seems never-ending. At this point, so many tiny creatures have already been found by the great masters of the laboratory, and yet we find countless more every time we look through the microscope. There seems to be no limit at all, as if they multiplied in number every time we look away.\"
In response to the doctor's complaint, Corco had to stifle a laugh. After all, the doctor was more right than he realized.
\"Yeah, seems like you're onto something.\" The king smirked. \"Though you don't really need to find every last microorganism anyways. That may be a bit much to ask. It's fine if you just find enough of them to gain a base understanding and classify them into different categories. That's a solid basis we can work off of, the most important first step. Anything beyond that is a bonus, and can be done by specialists in the field later.\"
\"This master is relieved to hear king say so,\" the doctor replied in the stiff manner of the Chutwa people. \"In truth, many of the physicians would rather leave the laboratory these days and heal the ill again like they used to. There is more sense in practical experience in any case. After all, I am not a scholar, merely a master of medicine.\"
\"And as a master of medicine, you would love to go out and help people. I understand.\" Though Corco nodded, of course he understood that the doctors weren't really interested in the health of their patients. During the war with the north, some of Corco's doctors had abused their positions to take apart his soldiers and learn more about human anatomy. Once again, he was sure that they only cared about practical experience, and maybe about the money and prestige they could gain from their work. As the king expected, Itzali nodded in agreement, before he tried to reframe his wishes in a more positive manner.
\"Of course the great Chutwa doctors always wish to help those in need first and foremost. However, there is more to be gained for King Corcopaca than simply a few healthy commoners. Since our arrival in these foreign lands, the doctors of Chutwa have learned much about medicine, both about the treatment of injuries as well as about the treatment of illnesses. Yet if this knowledge cannot be practiced on others, all the knowledge is worthless. Without real, practical experience, the doctors will not be able to fulfill their duties once King Corcopaca truly calls on them. Even more, the local disciples also need to go out and experience real cases, or they will never become true physicians themselves.\"
\"Well spoken!\" With just as much fakery as the doctor, Corco stood up and clapped in a theatrical manner. However, after only a few claps, he slowed down and soon stopped, before he stared at the confused doctor with a harmless grin. \"In that case, you are in luck.\"
\"I am?\" Itzali shuffled back and forth on his uncomfortable chair.
\"Yes, and how!\" Corco plopped back down onto his own seat. \"You know, as far as I'm concerned, I would love for each and everyone of you doctors to simply go out and heal my people. That seems like an important service to the population, and everyone is helped by that, just like you've described. But there are two reasons why I can't do that. First off, you and the other doctors are currently developing a completely new understanding of medicine from a combination of my teachings, your own previous experience and the new discoveries in the lab. This new, theoretical framework will become invaluable once it's developed enough. In the future, it will save many more lives than any one of you ever could by walking around the countryside, so it's imperative we get that part done as soon as possible.\"
\"Agreed.\" Itzali had to nod with his master's opinion, whether he actually agreed or not. \"And in this simple physician's humble opinion, this physician has already done his part in the creation of these new theories.\"
Corco's fake nod mirrored Itzali's. All the while, he once again looked down onto his notes.
\"That's right, isn't it? Which leads me into my second point for why I won't let you doctors out into the wild.\" Again, Corco looked up, with his usual smile on his face. \"If I just let you walk around, you'll run away and betray me, spread all this knowledge wherever you go or sell it to the highest bidder, probably one of my brothers. There's just no way I can trust a bunch of guys I essentially tricked into coming with me.\"
\"This doctor is confused about King Corcopaca's meaning,\" Itzali said, now even more uncomfortable in his seat.
\"Yeah, it's great confusion all around, huh?\"
For a while, Corco held the strange tension in the room, before he chuckled in a carefree manner. However, his laugh only tensed Itzali's body further.
\"As far as I can tell, you guys aren't idiots,\" the king explained. \"There's so many of these non-idiots crammed together into a single lab all day. I won't believe for a second that you people haven't figured out how I deliberately offended the Flowing Water Sect's young master just to make life in Hueatlan impossible for you and yours. I mean, the threat from the sect was the only reason you guys signed your contracts and followed me here, right? I'm sure you've figured everything out, and now you not only despise me – uncultured foreigner that I am – you also resent me. Whether or not the move was actually beneficial to you, or the amount of good I have done for you doesn't matter at all.\"
Of course, Corco's conclusion wasn't the result of some complex logical deduction. There were far more reliable sources of information for him, but that wasn't something he would tell the doctor. After all, he didn't want to ruin the surprise.
\"My king, this mortal would never dare,\" the doctor replied, as his words tripped over each other.
\"I know you won't, which is why you're here. Over the course of the past year you have submitted new knowledge into my library...\" Again, Corco looked down onto the piece of paper, even though he had all the numbers memorized by now. \"...two hundred and seventeen times. That's more than any of the other doctors managed. By a lot, actually. Not only did you report every single new discovery you made during your research, you even willingly provided some of your own medical knowledge to the library, even though the information is spotty and sometimes deliberately vague.\"
\"That's...\" Confronted with every detail of his work over the past two years, the doctor didn't know how to react. However, Corco had never expected him to, so he tried to reassure his doctor.
\"That's a good record, all things considered. I should tell you that before you actually pee your pants... or robes, I guess,\" the king continued. \"You've done better than any of my other Chutwa doctors. That means you've been selected for a special, unique mission you get to have all to yourself. Aren't you glad?\"
\"Of course, my king. This servant is eager to fulfill his commitments. However-\"
\"Yeah, I'm sure you want to know exactly how I would know all those numbers, right? How do I know what's been going on in your lab behind closed doors? How do I know if your information has been false or incomplete? That's the big prize question of today, and the answer is right in this room.\"
Although he was sure that the doctor would never ask such a rude question of his powerful employer, Corco still wanted to answer. How else would he get the doctor to fall in line? Benefits alone certainly weren't enough, that much the private comments from the doctors had told him. At first, Itzali looked around the room in confusion, but soon his eyes focused on Naoka who still stood at attention behind the king.
\"Naoka?\" he asked the warrior. However, once again it was the king who answered.
\"Ah, yeah. Even though Naoka has been your disciple ever since you came here, he's actually one of mine. I hear he's a very good student though, so you shouldn't be too mad that I left him with you.\"
Large beads of sweat formed on the doctor's face as his wide-eyed stare refocused Corco.
\"All of them-\"
\"Don't be silly,\" the king interrupted again. \"We don't have nearly enough men to get everyone of you guys three spy disciples. Though we have more than enough to make sure you all do your jobs the way you were supposed to. Anyways, ready to listen to your newest mission?\"
Defeated, Itzali nodded his head. At this point, he would know that any little games his colleagues had tried to play would come back to haunt them.
\"Good, good. Your missions isn't anything hard either. In fact, it's exactly what you wanted. I just want you to go out and travel a bit.\"
\"Travel?\" a confused doctor asked.
\"Yeah, you know, see the world? Heal it while you're at it? I'd prefer if you didn't do so in Saniya though. We'll make sure you start somewhere outside of the kingdom, just so no one gets suspicious.\"
\"What-\"
\"-is the purpose you ask? Well, that's a bit more complicated. Also classified. For now, all you need to do is travel around and heal people, just like you wanted. All your expenses will be paid for, and we will provide you with more than enough materials, be they herbs, bandages, or whatever else. And you will even get a free assistant by your side. You've already worked with Naoka, so I'm sure your cooperation will go well.\"
Confronted with such a blatant overseer, Itzali's face sank. However, there was nothing he could do. In truth, Corco didn't like to force obedience like this, but the mission was too important to trust an outsider with, and the doctors had already proven unreliable in the past
\"As for your purpose...\" Corco's words drifted off while he looked out the open window, towards the north, towards Arguna. \"You'll find out in due time. Don't worry, it's nothing difficult. And if you succeed, you'll make a lot of people very, very happy.\"