Pilgrim 2, p.16
Pilgrim 2, page 16
“I’ve got to get us some food,” the bakeneko said as he quickly morphed into a human.
“What about a hotel?” Kudzu asked.
“What? No, we’re not staying here. Do I look like the kind of bakeneko that stays at outposts?”
“I’m sure you’ve stayed in Tudan.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Got it, and for the record, I mean in Arsi. We should stay in Arsi, and he should rest before he departs.”
“Pilgrim? Rest?” Jelmay asked, looking from Kudzu to Danzen. “Has she really tamed you this much?”
Danzen didn’t say anything.
“Fine, fine,” Jelmay said as he made his way to the door. “I’ll get a meal, and we will find a fine hotel in Arsi. Believe me. The place has more hotels than sense, if you ask me.”
Jelmay returned to the carriage ten minutes later with food, Danzen noticing that he had procured meat pies similar to the ones that Sarnai made.
“The new carriage driver is young,” Jelmay said. “He’d better not get lost along the way.”
“Do you think that would really happen?” Kudzu asked as he handed her a meat pie.
“No telling. I’m just saying, if he gets lost, Pilgrim, you know what to do.”
“And what would that be?” the white fox asked for Danzen.
“Tell him to get a new job, or something. I don’t know. Stab him? It’s late, don’t blame me. Let me eat.”
It took them another twelve hours to go from the outpost to Arsi, Danzen awake the entire time.
Part of him wanted to go back to his monastery outside Suja Village, to hole up for a couple weeks. But he knew that he was no longer going to be able to escape his fate, and once again, it was important that he begin the process of bending his echo.
As they pulled into town, he looked at his hand, and slowly moved it to the air, wondering if he had experienced the process before. What would bending his echo feel like? Others had said before that he would be a natural at it, and that he would advance quickly through the ranks. Was this actually the case?
The carriage slowed to a stop and Jelmay stirred. After an obnoxious yawn, he pressed himself off the bench he had been sleeping on, snorted, and then transformed into a human once again.
Jelmay popped his head out the window and spoke to the driver, telling him about a hotel on the northern side of town. “That’ll make it easier for you to get to Bahlingar,” he told Danzen as the driver started up again. “Wake up, Kudzu, we’re home.”
“Home?” Kudzu blinked her eyes open and took a quick look out the window, grunting as she returned her focus to Jelmay. “I hate sleeping as a human.”
“Then why didn’t you transform into a fox?”
“It’s easier this way.”
They arrived at their location, which turned out to be an absolutely enormous hotel, the likes of which Danzen didn’t know existed in Arsi.
The outer walls were made of stone, and the place spanned an entire block, the rooftops painted in gold trim. The hotel featured an inner courtyard that had a small pond in it filled with koi fish, a man tending to them as the carriage driver opened the door.
They were greeted by a woman in silken robes, a cheery smile on her face she welcomed them. If she saw the blood splattered across Danzen’s clothing she didn’t say anything, the woman merely calling for a boy who ran over to them to carry their bags to their room.
“Bring up the water,” Jelmay told her, motioning toward Danzen. “This man needs a bath.”
“Yes, right away, my lord,” she said, her eyes falling to the wad of kip Jelmay started to produce.
“Also, we’re famished. Breakfast please, and make sure there’s some fish,” Jelmay said, motioning toward the ponds.
The woman laughed nervously. “Oh, no, my lord, not those fish. But we do have fresh trout caught this morning at the Sakai River.”
“Is that all right with you?” Jelmay asked Kudzu.
“Certainly,” she said.
Jelmay paid for the room and they were led to a spiral staircase. The hallway had an ambience to it that instantly made Danzen feel warm, the floor made of a wood that was nearly black, polished to the point that he could see their reflections. The room Jelmay had selected was divided into quarters, a separate bedroom, a large living space, and an even larger bedroom with access to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard and the city beyond. Everything was brand-new, clean, the linens crisp, the master suite trimmed in gold paint.
Once the woman who had greeted them was gone, Kudzu turned to Jelmay. “You have outdone yourself.”
“Only the best, as promised,” he said with a smile. “If the food is half as nice as the room, we are in for a treat.”
There was a knock at the door, Danzen instinctively going for his weapon only to relax his hand once Jelmay passed him.
“You’re going to kill the guys that are bringing you hot water?” the bakeneko teased. “At least let them bring the water in first.”
A group of men streamed in, each with a large bucket of water, which they poured into a tub made of stone that was in a room off the master, shuttered windows looking out to the courtyard.
“It’s all yours,” Jelmay said once the men were finished filling the tub. “The food will be here soon, Pilgrim, so don’t take too long. You have a big trip ahead of you tomorrow.”
“Tonight,” Danzen told him.
“What?” Kudzu asked, again with the concern in her eyes.
“I will leave tonight, after I rest. Can you secure a horse for me?”
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Jelmay told him.
“But you need longer than—”
“Tonight,” Danzen told her with finality. “The sooner I go, the sooner I can return to the Valley. Like you, I just want to go home.”
“Who wants to go home when we can stay in a hotel like this and exploit humans?” Jelmay dropped onto one of the couches and kicked his feet up onto a small table. He placed his hands behind his head. “I know you are going to say no, but you do realize we could live like this forever, with your power, and my ability to get wealth rather rapidly, right?”
“Who would want to live like this forever?” Kudzu asked.
Jelmay shrugged. “I’ll have them bring up some water for you to take a bath after him, fox. You tell me after that. And you still haven’t tried the food here yet. It’s the best in the kingdom.”
.Chapter Two.
Danzen Ravja left in the middle of the night. He had already said his goodbyes to his two traveling companions, making Jelmay promise to get Kudzu back to the valley in one piece.
He wore the dark-purple set of robes Jelmay had purchased, and he had his armor with him despite his protests. Danzen wanted to travel light, but Kudzu had insisted that he bring the armor and the helmet, which he eventually agreed upon.
Even if he had it on his person, he likely wouldn’t wear it when he finally met Nomin.
As Jelmay promised, the horse was waiting in the stables behind the hotel. Danzen took the back entrance rather than weaving his way through the courtyard and its myriad fish ponds. It was best that he moved on, Danzen hopeful to finish this leg of the journey and get home.
The stableman greeted him with his horse and Danzen mounted up, riding off into the night, heading toward Bahlingar. He knew the path between the two cities was dark, but there were forts and outposts along the way, Danzen not having to worry about encountering yokai.
As he rode, he wondered why the mythological creatures had stayed in Genshin Valley rather than move to the other parts of the kingdom. It really was a hotspot for them, Danzen wondering if it had something to do with its proximity to Diyu. He was certain someone had mentioned that before, but now, as he continued to ride, his horse occasionally snorting, hooves drumming against the ground, he couldn’t remember.
And it didn’t matter.
If he rode all night, he could be there by morning, the road to Bahlingar much busier during the day than it was at night. He preferred traveling like this and he would have gone on foot had it not been for the information he had received from his teacher. Danzen was lucky in that regard; last he had heard, Nomin was in the south, and if he had gone there, he would have had to follow her trail all the way back north. Not that this was an impossible task.
Asking about a blind woman walking around with a sword and shield would certainly net him results, which was one thing that was only going to make his fight against Nomin harder.
It certainly made her unique.
Many of the assassins found the usage of shields to be bulky. It was easier to kill discreetly, or to manipulate one’s echo by exploiting a remnant to the point that slaughter was a breeze. But Nomin wasn’t like any other assassin, and aside from her enhanced power because of the years of work she had put into bending her echo, plus the way her blindness aided her fighting ability, she also utilized a shield.
As Danzen rode, he realized he would have to change his stance when fighting her.
Throwing his sword wouldn’t work, and aside from that, it was cheap. He also wouldn’t use his Blade of Darkness. Again, another easy way out. He wanted to fight her as he had fought her years ago, when she had trained him on how to reach out with his other senses, disregarding his sense of sight completely.
He hoped to do this out of respect for her and what she had taught him.
It was also to be a challenge, Danzen wishing he had spent more time blindfolded. Maybe it was best for him to practice now…
He closed his eyes, Danzen taking in the sounds all around him, the way small bits of light painted across his pane of vision. Soon, he could see his own hands, the horse’s long neck and its head, the path before him outlined by tiny particles of energy dancing across his mind’s eye.
As risky as it was, especially since he was traveling at night, Danzen continued riding with his eyes closed. Everything suddenly became illuminated an hour into his experiment, as if they were moving near a star. Danzen knew this was in a fort or an outpost; he had ridden past several of those with his eyes closed, none of them were this bright.
It was something else, something within him, a connection he had made with the animal and the environment. With everything illuminated, the landscape stretched out before him, trees and rivers, hills and small valleys, all trailing down to Bahlingar, where Danzen would begin his search.
He was ready.
****
Roosters were crowing by the time Danzen reached Bahlingar, the sun starting to come up. An almost-clear mist tinged in shades of pink sat over the town, which was set in a valley that had waterfalls on its far end.
Years ago, the citizens of Bahlingar had demolished many of the rock ledges on the southern side of the city to make it easier to bring cargo in and out, Danzen able to see some of the ridgelines now, the black powder they used darkening the rock. It was a steady incline, Danzen’s horse taking it with ease as he headed to the first place he always checked when he was looking for someone.
He recalled that there were several taverns in the town, but any traveler stopping through would stop at the first one they saw, which happened to be a place set in a two-story building mostly made of wood, the rooftop crafted from the same clay material they used in Sainshand and on the nicer buildings in Arsi. The tavern also doubled as a lodge for weary travelers.
Not many people were out, but he did happen to see a young man carrying a bucket of milk toward the tavern entrance, Danzen calling out to the boy.
The youth set the bucket of milk down and came to him. Once he dismounted and gathered his items, the young man took the reins and quickly guided the horse away.
Danzen entered the tavern to find a buxom woman scrubbing the countertop. She had pudgy cheeks and beady eyes, the skin on her chest red, as if she had just had an allergic reaction. She placed her scrub brush down and looked up at Danzen.
“It’s a bit early to start drinking, my lord,” she said.
“I would like a room.”
“A room…” She walked to a different counter and checked a ledger. “We have one, on the second floor, room twenty-three.”
“I also have a few questions.” Danzen reached into his robes and got out the wad of kip that Jelmay had given them. Once the woman saw his money, her voice became sweeter.
“I’ll try to help you to the best of my ability, my lord,” she said, suddenly smiling.
“First, let me pay for the room.”
She charged him twice what the price should have been, Danzen knowing for a fact that the room he would rest in during the day wasn’t worth anything close to a thousand kip.
“Now, about those questions that you have…” she said after she took the money from him.
“Has there been a blind woman in here recently? She likely had a sword and shield with her.”
“A blind woman with a sword and a shield? That is quite the question, my lord,” the barmaid said, playing with her hair now. “It seems like this woman is very unique; I’m sure that someone would remember something like that.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Someone may remember something about her, but that someone isn’t me,” she said. “I could perhaps ask around, if you would like me to. But that means I’m going to have to take care of some of the tasks I have to do here later, and the owner doesn’t like that…”
Danzen placed five hundred more kip on the counter.
“What’s this for?” she asked, feigning surprise.
“Helping me out,” he told her.
“In that case…” The barmaid took the money and stuffed it into the front of her dress, between her bosom. “I’m going to need a little more than that.”
Danzen thought about using his Demon Speak ability just to be done with the bribery part of their interaction, but he really didn’t want to rely fully on the power, especially when money would do the trick. He placed another thousand kip on the counter and the woman quickly took it, stuffing it away.
“Here are the keys to your room,” she said. “You look like you could use some rest. I will do some asking around, and later, when I bring you lunch, perhaps I will have information for you. Perhaps.”
She turned away from Danzen in a flirty manner and went back to her cleaning duties.
Danzen headed upstairs and found his room, the key taking a moment to unlock the door. The room wasn’t much larger than his space back in the monastery, but Danzen didn’t mind. It would do for now.
He placed his sword on the table, his glaive next to it, leaning against the wall. He took off his boots. After he removed his robes, he laid down on the bed, noticing that the bed was stiff, the mattress stuffed full of straw that had a faint floral scent to it from an oil that the cleaning staff used. He eventually slept, only to be awoken several hours later by a soft knock at the door.
Naturally, Danzen went for his blade, holding his scabbard in his left hand as he approached the door.
“Room service,” the woman from earlier said after another light tap.
After he dressed, Danzen opened the door to find the barmaid standing there with a bowl of stew, its smell invigorating him.
“I might have found out about the person you’re looking for,” she said with a teasing smile, her teeth yellow and brittle.
“What have you learned?”
“Let me put this stew down first,” she said as she pressed past him and entered his room. She placed the stew on the table near his Blade of Darkness, the woman noticing that he was holding his sheathed blade in his free hand.
If this bothered her, she didn’t let on.
“So, it turns out there was a blind woman that stopped by a few days ago. A few people say that she is a member of the Diyu Brotherhood, but I wouldn’t know anything about that. They say she had a shaved head, a blade, and a shield. Is that who you are looking for?”
“Yes.”
“Because you asked, I dug a little deeper. The woman you seek is no longer in Bahlingar,” the woman said, smiling at Danzen.
“Do you know where she went?”
“To get that information, I would have to pay one of the stable men for their troubles…” she told him.
“I will pay you again depending on the information you’re able to get me. But not until then.”
“This information isn’t easy to come by, my lord,” she said, her brow furrowing. “I have other duties to attend, and here I am doing side work for a man I hardly know. Please understand, you are not only paying me to get information for you, but you are paying me to be discreet. The next person that comes around asking for a strange man who showed up with two large blades and a hood on his head won’t get any information out of me. I swear.”
Danzen highly doubted the statement.
Still, he went into the pocket of his robes and returned with more kip, which he handed to her, the woman placating him with a graceful bow. “Enjoy your stew, my lord. I will be up later to collect the bowl, and perhaps by then, I will know more information. Thank you for your patronage.”
She bowed again and stepped out.
Once she was gone, Danzen placed his sword on the bed and sat at the table, which faced a small window, Danzen able to see a glimpse of the city from where he sat.
Since it was close to the outer provinces, Bahlingar had to constantly be on alert for bandit raids. Its location in a canyon made it easy to siege, which was why there were watchtowers positioned outside of the canyon, Danzen knowing that there was a strong militia presence here, most of the able-bodied men and their sons proudly serving.
He was glad that Nomin wasn’t here.
This would give him a little more time to practice, and it wasn’t a great place to have a duel, not that he expected the two of them to actually do this within the city limits.
Both of them had too much respect for each other, and for the common citizens, to do something like that.
