War priest the complete.., p.114
War Priest: The Complete Series, page 114
Arik’s sister did as she was told. She tucked the square hat under her arm and continued to stare straight ahead.
“Good. Come with me.” Master Kojiro led Mori Ehara to one of the beds. He had her sit, and then he found a stool to sit on so he could be at eye level with her. “I’m going to examine you. Please do not be alarmed.”
The raccoon dog proceeded to examine Arik’s sister with some of the instruments he used. He finally did something that the disciple had seen him do before. Kojiro brought her hand to his snout and sniffed it. His sense of smell was stronger than a human’s, and Arik had seen him detect things before that Arik had later gone on to heal, things like small tumors.
Kojiro stopped. His brow furrowed, and for a moment he simply looked down at the ground. Finally, he turned to Arik and Tayaura. “Are you familiar with Hidden Warrior Sickness?”
Arik felt all the blood drain from his arms and legs. “Yes. Why?”
“I’ve never seen it in someone this young, but she shows signs of it. It is experienced differently depending on the person. When was the last time you saw her? Actually, I take that question back, disciple. That part doesn’t really matter. Even if you saw her and she was acting normal, it could still affect her differently than it affected someone else.”
“So, you think it is Hidden Warrior Sickness?”
“Or a variation of it, yes.”
“What do we do, then?” Arik asked the tanuki.
“There is this herb, one known as a ning root. You’ll find it northeast of here. Well, you probably won’t be able to find it on your own. It is well hidden within a territory mostly held by yokai.”
“We can ask Koharu,” Meosa said, referring to the shape-shifting bakeneko that they had once encountered. Arik knew that Meosa had a keen sense of direction. He could probably find his way back to where they had last seen her. “Obviously, don’t reply to me, but that is an option, disciple. It is in the direction of Avarga. Just get as much information from the tanuki as you can, and we’ll see if Koharu can’t be of service. I’ll tell Tayaura. I’m sure she’ll agree. The bakeneko does sort of owe us a favor, does she not?”
A favor? What for? Arik wanted to ask. Instead, he simply smiled at Master Kojiro. “We’ll do our best to find the root.”
****
Arik and his sister stayed in the infirmary, while Tayaura went out to gather supplies. As they waited for her, Kojiro continued his tests while Indra prepared food. The tanuki was never able to get Mori Ehara to speak, nor did she ever indicate through a facial expression what she was feeling. She merely sat there until food came, which she ate with all the manners of a princess.
It was hard to watch.
Arik tried to busy his thoughts with what needed to happen next. They needed an herb known as a ning root, which grew at the base of something known as a Jubokko tree. Kojiro knew little about the tree, but Meosa had a fair understanding of it, one that he promised to share with them later when he could speak to Tayaura as well.
“And you are sure the root will work,” Arik asked the tanuki for what felt like the tenth time.
“I already told you that I wasn’t, disciple. You will use the ning root to make a tea. She should have the tea once a day, at night. A kitsune interested in herbs wrote the recipe several hundred years ago. I just happen to read it during my studies. It is the only option I can think of off the top of my head.”
“Your sister seems to be aware of things, she just doesn’t speak or make eye contact,” said Indra. “I do hope the poor thing doesn’t have to live her life like this. But if she does, at least she has her brother with her. That’s more than a lot of people can say.”
Arik knew that Indra was referring to all the slaves who took part in the tournaments, how lost many of the men were. How had they ended up on the border? And what of their families? It was something Arik would wonder about too while he went about healing the combatants.
The conversation shifted to what they were planning, the school that Arik and Tayaura would eventually open. This piqued Kojiro’s interest, evident in the way the tanuki’s ears shot up. “Will the school, by any chance, have need for services from a pair of trained medical professionals?”
“I haven’t actually thought that far ahead,” Arik told him, the disciple not getting into the fact that they might be taking a major detour to pursue the conspiracy they had started to unravel. “The school will be teaching Chimaura and Revivaura, so healing will be covered.”
“I assumed so, disciple. But if it is indeed your plan to merge these various styles of chi, it would be helpful to have someone there who has an understanding of herbal medicines. Two people, to be exact.” The tanuki motioned from Indra to himself. “I’m referring to us. And let me ask you: what better way to augment a medical practice than recognizing some of the other options out there? Not just that. We can’t do this much longer. I’ve been needing a break for ages.”
Arik looked at Indra to find her nodding. “What city did you say it would be in?” she asked.
“Iga.”
“Ah, Iga. I can’t remember the last time I was there.”
Kojiro clapped his hands together. “Then that settles it. I love that city. The history, the buildings, the warrior pilgrimages—I’ll always have clients. The temperature is better than here; it rains often, which I like, and it is a bit closer to family. Now, I know you have heard me go on and on about one’s duty to help those in need, but I have been helping those in need for…” His eyebrows raised as he tried to count the years he had been working in the colosseum. “Too long. Or should I say, long enough. Working in a school would suit me well. During academic breaks, I could visit other cities in the Jade Realm and gather books on herbs and ancient medical practices, the good kind.”
“I don’t see why that would be a problem at all,” Arik said.
“I didn’t think you would. This is probably the best idea I’ve had in a decade. Indra, my dear, you and I will journey to Iga in three months or so. I’m sure we’ll be able to find you, disciple. If not, we will find that other fellow that was with you the last time you showed up here unannounced. What did you say his name was?”
“Istvan.”
“Yes, him, the bald fellow with the flaming hammer. He’s pretty hard to miss, and if we’re being honest, I’m pretty hard to miss as well. And surely by then word will have gotten out that a new Academy is set to open its doors.”
“Yes, hopefully it will.”
It was about thirty minutes later that Tayaura returned, the illusionist now in her conical hat, her face partially obscured by shadow. Arik had his hat too, the one given to him by Hojo with the slit in the front. He placed it on his head, and joined Tayaura at the door, ready to begin their journey east.
The illusionist now had a satchel of supplies with her. She also carried a small wooden box, one with tiny holes in it that had been tied by a thick leather strip that hung over her shoulder.
“What’s that?” Arik asked her.
“I’ll explain later.”
Meosa began to laugh in the disciple’s head. “I don’t know why she has that thing.”
What thing? Arik was about to ask, but then he turned to Kojiro and Indra to find them with their hands tucked in front of them. The two bowed their heads at the illusionist, the disciple, and his sister.
“Good luck on your journey, and we will see you in Iga in three months,” Kojiro said, his whiskers twitching as he smiled at them. “Three months, give or take. It might be a fight for me to close my doors here, but I’m no indentured servant, and it is high time that I head to higher ground.”
Tayaura didn’t ask him what the tanuki meant by joining them in Iga until they were heading toward the town exit. Once Arik explained what they discussed, Tayaura merely nodded.
“What do you think?” he asked her. “What if they joined us at the academy?”
“I think it’s a great idea. Plus, he can help with your sister if the ning tea doesn’t work. Kami, if you will take it from here,” she said.
“Wait, what about the box you’re carrying? What’s in there?”
The next words that came out of Tayaura’s mouth took Arik by surprise. “It’s a Mogra Red.”
.Chapter Three.
“If you can’t find a friend, find a yokai.”
–Madame Noll Arimask in her Scroll on Better Order, later published in the Jadean Book of Proverbs, Year 1475.
Meosa told Arik that he would appear once they got far enough away from civilization, that maybe this would get his sister’s attention. Seeing how his sister had responded thus far, Arik didn’t think this would work, but it was worth a shot. They now walked along a wooded path, one that seemed to wind endlessly toward the east. Arik was at the lead again, the kami guiding him to the last location they had seen Koharu.
“You care to tell me what you plan to do with the Mogra Red?” Arik asked Tayaura. As casually as ever, the illusionist carried the wooden box in one hand, a toxic spider inside. He hadn’t actually seen the spider, but based on what Tayaura had told him, he knew it was in there.
“You recall what it was like to fight Saiyo Haro,” she said, which didn’t exactly answer his question. “It will not be easy. He can block attacks with the gloves that he wears. He is faster than both of us. He can strike the kami as well, at least if he sees you coming. We have the Whispering Sword, and we have this.” Tayaura showed Arik the box. “I know a way that we can utilize it.”
“How?”
“There are numerous options. We will see which one presents itself.”
“Ah my favorite type of answer, a non-answer. I suppose now is as good of a time as any.” Meosa came alive. Water swirled in the air as the kami formed into existence. He hovered in front of Mori Ehara, who merely stopped and shifted her gaze to the ground. “Hello. Can you hear me, my girl? It’s your brother’s favorite water spirit, an entity that should be respected. If you can hear me, blink. I’m waiting. Does that blink mean that you can hear me and understand me? I don’t startle you in any way, do I?”
“She doesn’t seem bothered by you, kami.”
“She should be. I am a terribly violent, horribly malevolent, grouchy kami that has rained watery hell on his opponents for hundreds of years. I am an entity to be feared!” Meosa’s form started to grow larger, his face morphing into that a demon, not unlike the image presented by the Mask of the Fallen. “Pay attention to me, my girl!” A column of water lifted into the air and splashed onto the ground, washing over Mori Ehara’s feet.
She stood strong.
Meosa quickly deflated. “Well, at least I tried. It’s clear that she isn’t going to be intimidated by a terrifying spirit like me, even though she should be. Bah! I was secretly hoping that would work, and we could simply move on to Avarga and do what we need to do before we lay the foundations for our school, or whatever it is we plan to do next. Please don’t say we’re going to the Onyx Realm after we deal with your shinobi rival.”
“Our school?” Tayaura asked as she continued on, the shadows from her conical hat obscuring her face. “What do you mean by that?”
“Would you prefer I call it our academy? Why don’t we see the building first before we go throwing grand titles around. You were planning for me to be a lecturer, were you not? These future students of yours will need sound history lessons. Who better than a kami who actually lived in the past, one that is highly educated, pedantic, and always willing to lend a helping hand? Not only that, but as the two of you improve, you will come to understand Yokaura further. Well, I can help there.”
“I didn’t know what you were planning to do after this,” Arik admitted. “We never spoke about it.”
“Because it was clear that I would be staying with the two of you. Obviously, we are going to be going around everywhere together, just like we are now. I mean, sure, I’d like to get my old life of luxury back. I suppose there are better places to live than Iga, but that tanuki was right. The weather in Iga is nice year-round, and it’s a great location for exploring the Jade Realm, not that I will be doing much exploring. But it’s always nice to have sound travel options.”
Tayaura laughed softly to herself.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, kami. I’m just thinking about how odd the staff at the school is going to be for our first-year students. A disciple-turned-illusionist, an illusionist who uses Revivaura, an old tanuki, an even older kami, a nursemaid, and a northern man with a fiery hammer. But I suppose stranger teams have been assembled in the course of history. It is fall now. If we work hard enough, we can have our first intake of students next fall, or maybe the year after. We should probably ease into it, just a handful at first. Maybe orphans. Our ages will present a problem, but that wouldn’t be the case with orphans. Only thing about orphans is we’ll have to get approved by the Jadean Government, which isn’t impossible, especially if you know the right people to talk to.”
“Don’t forget the funding from the Crimsonian government,” Arik said.
“He’s right, shinobi-ess. Some money would go a long way in greasing the hands of the government official required to approve our paperwork.”
“I haven’t forgotten that, but I don’t know if it is something that we should pursue early on. We don’t want to owe Sonjin any more than we already do.”
Meosa shrugged this statement off. “The way I see it, we don’t owe him anything, and we won’t even if he helps fund the start of our school. He owes us. We’re the ones who saved the day, not him. Had he gone with his plan, the coronation would have been even more of a bloodbath than it already was.”
The group continued on for a number of hours until the sun set. They made camp at the base of a large tree, one with carvings in it that told Arik that people had stayed there before. Meosa found a couple of rabbits, which Tayaura prepared and cooked while Arik sat with his sister.
It was only after he had been sitting in front of Mori for a while, the disciple subtly healing her even though she didn’t need it, that he realized he’d missed something Meosa said in their earlier conversation. They had yet to have a serious discussion about pursuing those responsible for betraying his academy within the Onyxian government itself. Most of their conversation over the course of their journey had been about the school, and laying the foundation in Iga. Yet Arik couldn’t forget what had happened at his Academy, the betrayal that led to the deaths of so many. Not only that, someone was responsible. They would come to a crossroad soon—either start the school, or continue the quest to unravel the truth and then start it.
Arik suddenly felt bad for not being clear to Master Kojiro and Indra back in Omoto. He hated to think that they would leave for Iga and arrive to find no signs of a school. But there were ways to send messages to them, and perhaps he would do so after they finally settled on what would happen next.
Once the rabbit was ready, Tayaura distributed it to Arik and his sister. Mori Ehara ate quietly, her gaze always on her feet. Arik could see that this was starting to affect her posture, her spine curved to some degree once it reached the back of her neck.
“Mori,” he said at one point, but she never looked over at him.
“Tomorrow, we’re going to meet a yokai known as a bakeneko,” Tayaura told the quiet girl, the illusionist speaking to her in a friendly tone. “She is a sweet one, and she’s going to help us find a root that will allow us to make a tea for you. I’m sure you’ll like the tea. Your brother and I have gone to great lengths to get you. There’s a lot to our journey. And maybe we should tell you about it. Would you like that? Disciple, Arik, why don’t you start?”
“Tell her everything?”
“Everything. Well, not everything, let’s just start at the beginning, at your Academy.”
Arik finished chewing the bite he had just taken and started up: “It was my graduation ceremony, and I was taking part in a ceremonial match. I had just completed the coursework for the Divine Branch of Wound Transfer. You were there with Mother and Father. We were attacked. I nearly died after falling from a high window. I was taken as a slave, and assumed that all of you had been killed. It was only later…”
A pair of tears streamed down his sister’s face.
She didn’t cry fully, but the tears certainly were there, and they certainly hovered at the tip of her chin before finally dropping. Mori Ehara never made any other indication of what she was feeling, but seeing those tears, knowing that she actually heard him, brought a painful comfort to Arik.
He told the story up until the point that he met Hojo. By now, all were done with their rabbits. “We can continue the story later. It is time we get some rest.”
“It goes without saying,” Meosa told Arik privately, “but I will keep an eye on her through the night. If she goes anywhere, I will stop her from leaving. You and the illusionists should rest. In the morning, I will tell you about the Jukkobu tree.”
****
Arik was surprised to wake up and find Tayaura standing before him, holding her sheathed blade, an intimidating look on her face.
“What’s going on?”
“It has been a while since we trained together. I figured we could do it now, while she is still sleeping.”
