War priest the complete.., p.107
War Priest: The Complete Series, page 107
It was quite some time before Tayaura finally let go of Arik’s hand. She turned to him, the disciple locking eyes with the illusionist. For a moment, no words were exchanged. Yet Arik could feel what she was thinking, and he was not at all surprised to hear the next words that came out of her mouth. “We can’t use it for much longer. You can’t.”
Arik looked down at the Demon Charm of Katano. It was a helpful object to have on his person, especially with what they were planning to do. Why couldn’t they simply figure out a way to use it without any of its ill effects? He had essentially tamed the Mask of the Fallen, why couldn’t he tame the demon charm? It made no sense. “Are you sure? Are we sure that’s what needs to happen? If we used it wisely and sparingly, it could help us not only build our school, but make sure the realms don’t go to war with one another. Just think. Just think of what we would be able to do—”
“You can’t let it go to your head.” Meosa took shape. “You really can’t. You are not in control, and she isn’t wrong, my boy. We can’t use it for much longer. But I did glean something else from that conversation, a way for us to deal with your former instructor. You picked up on it, right?”
Arik nodded, recalling what Coro Pache had said about how he had used the demon charm. He tuned back in to what Meosa was saying.
“…We use the charm for that, to rescue your sister, and that’s it. Then, I will personally get rid of it. We’ll bury it deep beneath the waters outside of Tenrikyo, where no human can find it. It is an object that humans likely shouldn’t possess. And what was the War Priest saying about how it can corrupt you? Yet another reason that you need to get rid of the blasted relic as soon as you can. We got the information that we needed from Coro Pache. And we will utilize it. I say we leave it at that, and by that I mean we use the power, and then dispose of it shortly after.”
Arik found himself nodding in agreement, yet a voice at the back of his head reminded him yet again how helpful the demon charm could be. For what they were trying to do, and into the future, when they would start a school, being able to command others would aid them greatly.
Tayaura stood. She turned away from Arik, and as she did, his eyes traced over the illusionist’s form. There was apprehension in the way she held her shoulders. She didn’t always show her emotions in the way she stood. It was clear now how Tayaura was feeling. She looked down at the disciple. “We can’t keep it.”
With those words, the illusionist started back to the camp they had made for the night.
Arik caught up with her after gathering his things.
He walked alongside her in silence, keen to understand what was on her mind even if he had an idea of what it was. Arik had been around Tayaura long enough to know that she had the sixth sense about her, that she could intuit things. She wasn’t quite clairvoyant, but she was able to read people well, and it was highly likely that she sensed Arik’s hesitation to relinquish the demon charm when the time came.
They found Istvan sleeping on his side, the northern man snoring lightly, not a care in the world. Arik settled on a spot that overlooked the riverbank and relaxed onto it. He was surprised when Tayaura came and sat down directly beside him, their bodies touching. She lowered her head into the nook of his arm and stared up at the early morning sky, the illusionist watching stars fade away.
“I’m glad I know you,” she said at some point, the appearance of her voice startling Arik.
He cleared his throat and tried to seem as relaxed as possible. “I’m glad I know you as well.”
Tayaura turned, now with her hand across his waist. Soon, she was sleeping, Arik never quite able to rest.
He enjoyed the closeness, even if he didn’t quite understand.
It was something entirely new to him, yet it was something they could explore later. For now, he needed to focus, and in thinking of focusing, Arik also needed to decide the best way forward with the Demon Charm of Katano even if it had already been agreed upon.
There was always the option of getting rid of it. He was aware of this. But there was a bigger story at play as well, one that Tayaura had hinted at in her conspiracy about the leaders of the Onyx Realm colluding in some way. How helpful would it be to hold on to the item and really get to the bottom of what had happened, why Master Guri Yarna had betrayed the Academy of Healing Arts? Surely, with the two of them working together they would be able to have some control. It didn’t have to corrupt either of them. The charm could work to their advantage.
Having a Yokaura-powered item could put Arik directly in touch with the rulers of the realms. Not only that, he could have direct influence over their strategists. And what would Arik do then? What if it was true, that all of this had been a false flag operation from the Onyx Realm, Arik’s home? And then there was his former teachers and peers. Didn’t he owe it to them to get to the bottom of what happened? Didn’t he owe them that much?
There were clear advantages to having an object like the necklace, more than there were disadvantages. And it was going to be up to Arik to decide if he took this as far as it could go, or got to the point where it was safe to put the quest aside, and forge a better life for himself.
A decision would need to be made soon.
.Chapter Three.
“The only friends you can truly rely on are your weapons and those that have made the ultimate sacrifice to be here today, to risk it all and become Crimsonian Blades, defenders of our realm. Welcome to the Academy.”
–A quote from Combat Master Jurstrom Yinzo, as told to a group of incoming blades at the Double Sword Academy of Combat Arts, Year 787.
A gray mist hovered over Tenrikyo, obscuring the spires of the Crimson Realm’s capital city. Sun-bleached Crimson banners hung from enough balconies and flagpoles making it appear as if a rim of fire sat in the air, the plumes beating violently in the wind. Tenrikyo was nestled in a deep valley, the capital similar to Mogra in the way that there were ramshackle settlements on the outskirts that existed above the capital streets below. Arik couldn’t yet hear the ocean. He had been told that it was further beyond the city, behind a towering mountain, the peak of which was obscured by a silver cloud.
Arik certainly saw the telltale signs of the sea.
Seagulls soared through the sky, squawking and bickering with one another, carrying whatever they could scavenge. As they approached the outer settlements, Arik and his companions encountered fishmongers in square hats that had been domed off at the top and stitched with blue, the skin on their arms leathery to the point it obscured their primitive tattoos. There were other signs of a civilization that thrived by the shoreline, from tropical foliage and vibrant colors, to palm fronds used for thatched roofs and wind chimes made of painted conch shells.
It was looking to be a nice day, one that came after a beautiful morning sunrise of various shades of red that Arik had never seen before. The deepest hues in the sky resembled the flags of the realm, leaving him to wonder if it had been the sunsets on the eastern side of the country that had inspired their design. A breeze blew through several times, strong enough that Arik and his companions had to hold on to their square hats, the disciple always momentarily suspicious that it was Enenra.
Yet she never appeared.
Arik, Istvan, and Tayaura were now disguised as Crimsonians. They wore robes that settled somewhere between maroon and crimson, the square hats on their heads obscuring their facial features and providing much-needed shade from the sun. Around Arik’s neck now was the Demon Charm of Katano, just in case they needed to use it. He could already feel the charm’s effects on his energy levels. Yet he had pushed on, the disciple careful not to think commands to anyone. This took more willpower than he had expected, especially with the way his mind usually hopped from thought to thought like a drunken frog.
Arik and his companions had already discussed how they would get into Nobunaga’s royal fortress, which jutted up to the mountain that stood between the city and the sea, creating a natural defense. Their infiltration was yet another idea concocted by clever Tayaura. Yet before they executed it, they needed to find a place to call home on the outskirts. While she had heard that there was a Hidden Warrior retreat somewhere in the vicinity, the illusionist didn’t know an exact location.
Even so, she led the way, the group traveling along the outer rim of the city, at the edge of where homes and businesses had been constructed.
There was an anonymity in wearing the square hat that Arik appreciated. While the rectangular viewing space limited his vision to some degree, it also helped him hone in on what was directly before him, to his immediate left and right.
Arik’s focus remained on Tayaura, who now led the group, the illusionist pausing every now and then to take in their surroundings.
“We are going to have to do this for a while, aren’t we?” Meosa asked so only Arik could hear.
The disciple didn’t reply.
“Never, never would I have expected you to fall so hard for the master illusionist’s daughter. Argh. Humans and love. How many have risked everything for that fleeting feeling? No need to answer, my boy, I’m just wondering aloud here. And let me be clear: at your age, you should be in love. It would be strange if you weren’t. You should be starting a family, not single-handedly trying to save the three realms from war. What a hero you are, in that regard! Hail, our hero, the humble disciple—oh, what is she doing now?” Meosa asked as Tayaura crouched before another rock. She turned it over, examined it, and placed it back down on the ground.
The illusionist shifted directions, now heading into what Arik would have mistaken for a proper jungle had he not known just how close they were to the desert.
“She’s going to check under every blasted rock, isn’t she?” Meosa asked as she turned several others around. “We could be here for days. Should I help her? No, no, I should not. Let the illusionist toil in her own madness.”
Arik picked up on something in her actions as they continued on, Tayaura swiftly moving from stone to stone. The rocks grew increasingly larger, requiring her full effort to actually push them to the side. She even had Istvan help her, the muscled northerner glad to be of assistance. He was always one to use his might whenever presented with the opportunity.
“Don’t worry, disciple, he’s not interested in her,” Meosa said.
Arik already knew this was the case. He had seen how Istvan interacted with Tayaura multiple times now, the northerner cautious as ever, in a way that made it clear he didn’t trust her. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that Istvan would be attracted to Tayaura until Meosa brought it up.
Even so, Arik was glad that the water spirit had said something.
He knew it was entirely irrational, but at Meosa’s suggestion, Arik felt a tinge of jealousy, which may have forced a thought that would summon the power of the demon charm. As he watched them move another rock, Arik placed his hand over the object, sensing its danger, reminding himself to be careful with it.
He had a notion to take the charm off entirely, and he would have done so had Tayaura not grown excited about something she’d found. She showed the bottom of the rock to Arik. To the disciple, it looked like a typical rock.
“What about it?” he asked.
Tayaura brought it over to him. She took his finger and ran it against the rock, Arik noticing that the abrasions were different from what he expected. But that didn’t mean he could interpret it.
“It’s just ahead.” Tayaura carefully set the rock on the ground and turned to the north, the illusionist hurrying away. She drew her sword and began hacking away at the underbrush, the illusionist seemingly possessed, until she found a quaint wooden structure with a roof made of fronds. The sound of running water caught Istvan’s attention. Arik followed the northern man’s finger to find a waterfall near the Hidden Warrior retreat, one that fed into a pool of pure turquoise, the bottom visible, the rocks sparkling in the sun. “Now, to find the key.”
It wasn’t much later that Tayaura produced a key that Meosa had helped her get from a branch. By this point, Arik and Istvan had both removed their square hats and were holding them under their arms, watching the illusionist go about her business with utter confidence. Upon unlocking the door, she checked inside to be safe, and then called for him to join her.
“No traps,” she said, almost as an afterthought.
Once he was in the retreat, Arik removed his necklace and let out a deep breath. It was almost akin to absorbing someone’s energy and releasing it. He suddenly felt much better. Tayaura saw him remove the necklace, her eyes watching as he placed it inside the pocket of his robes. Rather than say anything, she opened several of the cabinets and rummaged for supplies. Every time Tayaura found something, she brought it to the table and set it out like a trophy.
By the time she was done, there was a makeup kit, a grappling hook, a pair of kunai, a small leather bag full of caltrops, a large leather bag, and other odds and ends that an illusionist needed to accomplish their tasks.
“This is a start. You and I will head to Tenrikyo tonight and make this happen,” she told Arik.
“What about me?” asked Istvan.
“You will stay here and guard the place. Once we have secured a room within the fortress walls, we will return to get you. Better yet, we will send the kami and he will lead you to us. That’ll make it easier.”
“Glad to be of service,” Meosa grumbled.
“You really think that you will be able to secure a place?” Istvan asked. “That you will just be considered a noble guest?”
“If everything goes according to plan, yes, I do,” Tayaura told him. “I’m confident it will work. We illusionists have our ways.” What she didn’t explain to Istvan was that they would be using Arik’s charm to make this happen, a detail Arik hated hiding from their companion. He would have to tell him sooner, rather than later.
“You are too confident,” Istvan said.
“In my abilities and our odds of success? I am confident because confidence is what we need right now. This is what I have trained my entire life to be able to do. Acting with hesitation will get us nowhere, and it will just leave us tripping over our own feet. In the meantime, we should look for some food around here, perhaps starting with the pool of water.”
“I can catch fish this time,” Meosa volunteered.
Istvan ran his hand over his bald head. He smiled at Arik. “I was sort of hoping to take a swim in the water out there. Wouldn’t that be nice? I feel like we haven’t bathed in a week. I hope it hasn’t been a week.” He sniffed his armpit and gave them a funny look. “It’s been a week, hasn’t it?”
“We will get the fish first, and then the two of you can swim all you’d like,” Tayaura said. “It will be nice to get clean.”
“And you, shinobi-ess?” Meosa asked. “Care for a dip with the boys?”
Tayaura raised an eyebrow in the kami’s general direction. “I’m not a big fan of swimming.”
****
Before Arik joined Tayaura in the Hidden Warrior retreat, he took a quick dip and washed the grit out of his hair, the disciple surprised at just how dirty it was. Once he was finished, and while Istvan floated in the pool at the foot of the waterfall, Arik helped Tayaura prepare the fish that Meosa had caught.
“We will need to better understand how nobles dress. We’ve seen them in Omoto and Mogra, but it will be different here. Especially for a coronation ceremony.” Tayaura gutted her second fish, the illusionist moving with precision. “While our current clothing will get us into Tenrikyo, breaching the fortress grounds will take better disguises, even with the charm. An alias or two is in order. I should rephrase that: we will easily be able to get into the grounds with the Demon Charm of Katano, but for those that see us from a distance, we need to blend in better so as not to raise suspicion. Remember, there will certainly be archers.”
“Back in my day—I won’t call them the good ol’ days because they certainly weren’t good—Tenrikyo imported loads of various resources from the Jade Realm, including tea. Teahouses are generally for the wealthy, otherwise known as nobles. As you may remember, disciple, you and I have experienced them before,” Meosa reminded Arik, the disciple recalling one of Hojo’s lessons in which they had to get into an exclusive teahouse of Avarga without any money and without being questioned. It had worked to some degree.
“And a teahouse will be open at night,” Arik said. “It won’t be hard for us to find one of the busier ones, and then trade clothing with someone. I’ve got to say, it is rather remarkable how much time this charm saves us. Before, we would have likely needed to draft the clothing custom made. It would have taken us much longer to accomplish the task of infiltrating the fortress.”
“That’s true,” Tayaura said, “but there is beauty in that approach as well. For one, you’re not wearing someone else’s clothing stripped off their back. You also aren’t under the corrupting influence of a demonic charm said to be cursed by one of its former owners. I believe my father would say something about our illusionistic skills, and how it is necessary to keep them sharp. What better way to sharpen them than to infiltrate a place that seems impenetrable? He wouldn’t like the Demon Charm of Katano, that’s for sure.”
Arik glanced over to his things, to the demon charm in its wooden box. Tayaura was right. Hojo wouldn’t have liked the relic in the long run, but Arik was convinced that he would have understood its usefulness, especially with what they were up against. They were going to try to sneak their way into a fortress full of the best blades in the Crimson Realm. Even with her confidence, nothing would be easy about the task that lay ahead.
