Pilgrim 2, p.2
Pilgrim 2, page 2
They breached the Third District, Danzen half expecting to hear children playing in the streets, as well as the overall commotion that he’d been greeted by several times before. But the streets were quiet; it was clear that there was still some fear after what happened at the tavern.
They headed into the residential area behind the main thoroughfare, quickly locating Khamdo and Sarnai’s quaint little home.
“I’m so ready for whatever Sarnai is making for breakfast this morning,” Jelmay said, licking his lips, Danzen just about to say something when the bakeneko continued. “I know, I know, behave myself. You’re acting like Kudzu these days. I think that little fox is having an influence on you.”
Sarnai opened the door, the cheery woman happy to see Danzen and who she thought was Dalan.
“Are you hungry for breakfast?” she asked, her baby in her arms. Leegan reached out to Danzen, and Sarnai handed her to him, the former assassin holding the child for just a moment, peering into her eyes. She reached up to his face and was just about to grab the side of his hood when Khamdo stepped out.
“I’ll take her from you,” the carpenter said, Danzen handing the child off to the carpenter.
They joined the couple in the dining room, Khamdo seated at the head of the table, his face a little redder than normal.
He kept clearing his throat, and had to excuse himself twice while they ate, Jelmay none the wiser. The bakeneko entertained Sarnai with made-up tales of giants and other things he had encountered in the mountains. At least Danzen assumed they were fabricated.
With Jelmay, they could very well be the truth.
“So what brings you to the village today?” Sarnai asked as she brought a bowl of homemade yogurt to the table.
“You’ll have to ask him,” Jelmay said, nodding to Danzen.
“Going to Chutham.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“I need to see Selden about something,” Danzen said, hoping not to elaborate.
“I like visiting his shop,” Khamdo said. “It’s a little creepy, but it’s not a bad place.”
“He’s the guy that sells yokai parts, right?” Jelmay as Dalan asked Khamdo.
“That’s him.”
“I haven’t seen him in forever.”
“Do you have something to sell?” Sarnai asked, coming right out with it.
“Just a few questions,” Danzen said. Sarnai’s eyes jumped from the assassin to his burlap sack, which hung off his chair and looked like it was full. His Blade of Darkness also hung off the side of his chair, Danzen not able to sit with it while it was strapped to his back.
“Well, I hope you find the answers you’re looking for,” she said. “Sunyata’s blessings.”
****
“I could get used to that cooking every day, I really could,” Jelmay said as they headed out of the Third District, making their way to the Second, and from there to the First, where Danzen had encountered the akaname at the sauna.
“What? You don’t have anything to say about the food?” Jelmay asked once the former assassin didn’t respond.
“It was gracious of her to offer us breakfast.”
“She offers you breakfast every time you come by, and when she doesn’t, her husband brings it to you. You’re getting spoiled in your old age, Pilgrim. You may not see that, but I certainly do.”
“Am I?”
“You are, and I have to admit, I’m a little surprised to see you in the village so soon. I didn’t think you’d ever come back here, even if you decide to stay. Did you decide to stay? That was never cleared up for me.”
“I’m here now, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, I guess it makes sense. Where else is a guy like you supposed to go?” A man riding a horse trotted past Jelmay, the bakeneko turning his attention to the steed. “It’s not a bad-looking animal. I really should get myself a horse.”
“A donkey would be more appropriate.”
“If you’re making fun of my stature, I’ll have you know that I am actually rather tall amongst my kind,” he said, motioning toward his body. It didn’t apply to his current form, Jelmay still shapeshifted as a hermit. “It sure would make traveling to the village easier. If I got a donkey, maybe you and I could go on little trips. You could ride Yama.”
Danzen shook his head.
“What? Think of how awesome you would look riding into the village with your hood over your head, blazing past on a magnificent stone lion dog. All right, all right, I’ll stop teasing you. But…” He grinned at the former assassin. “Just give it a thought, will you?”
They reached the city limits and pressed on, the two taking the path that stretched between Suja Village and Chutham. There were a few scattered homes near the road, the day starting to warm up the further they traveled. Danzen could almost smell moisture in the air, and he wondered if it would rain soon.
They came to a familiar garrison, Danzen reminded of his encounter with the snake-like nozuchi. He paused to look at the place, once again recalling what it’d been like, how one of the creatures had swallowed a person whole.
“You want to stop and say hello to the soldiers?” Jelmay asked after he noticed Danzen observing the place.
“This was where I had my first encounter with a yokai. Several nozuchi. I killed them, but not before they killed the soldiers inside.”
“Terrible things, but they have decent teeth for holding souls,” Jelmay said, “not to pat myself on the back over here.”
Danzen turned back to the road, eventually pressing his hood off his head, the heat making him wish he had worn lighter robes. A strand of his dark hair fell into his eyes and he swept it behind his ear, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face for a moment.
“So what’s the big plan?” Jelmay asked. “I’m assuming that you’re not done with the Diyu Brotherhood.”
“I am not.”
“And they’re definitely not done with you.”
Danzen nodded.
“Then what? Are we heading west?”
“I will head west,” Danzen said with a tone of finality. “This is my burden to bear.”
“When are you going to understand that you can still bear the burden yet distribute some of the weight? What I’m trying to say here is that Kudzu and I will join you. Do I want to? No, of course not. Am I interested in seeing you get revenge on the people that attacked us? Yes, I am, but that is just because I’m a curious cat. It’s in my nature, really. ‘Then why, Jelmay, do you even want to come?’ you may find yourself asking. The answer? I like traveling and wining and dining, in that order.”
“Good to know.”
“And I am handy enough with the sword, plus I can shapeshift into your brother. You haven’t forgotten about him, have you?”
“I have not.”
“Good. I wish my vision was clearer, but he will come one day.”
“For what?”
Jelmay sighed. “That, I don’t know.”
Danzen recalled the form that Jelmay had shifted into, the man with red hair and white robes. This was supposed to be his half-brother, who was fully demon, yet Danzen didn’t even know his name. He now knew his mother’s name, Shodren Ravja, and that she was alive. And he knew his father’s name, Tengir Gantulga, the ruler of hell itself.
But he still didn’t know who his half-brother was.
“I only have one request,” Jelmay said. “I know you told me that you traveled from the west to the east on foot, and that it took you two years. To be clear: it is not going to take us two years to get to the Brotherhood. We are going to travel in style. I have plenty of money to make that happen. We’ll take carriages, boats, palanquins, whatever has to happen. We’ll stay at fancy hotels too. We’ll show Kudzu the good life,” he said, a grin taking shape on his face. “She’ll hate it.”
“I don’t know if that’s necessary.”
“Come on, Pilgrim. You’re not fooling me in your robes and monk-like aesthetic. I know you have seen the finer things in life, especially in your former role. And Kudzu deserves to be pampered just once.”
The garrulous yokai wasn’t wrong.
Danzen had tasted many of the luxuries of this world, from the best lodging to exotic foods, and he didn’t really care for any of it. It had all been built on his ability to kill efficiently. He even had a fairly large sum in the bank back in Sainshand, blood money he would never touch.
As they grew nearer to the city gates, Danzen reflected on all that had happened since he’d moved to Genshin Valley, from his discovery of yokai to the friends he made.
It really was worth something.
“Before we get any closer…” Jelmay began to morph into a younger man, no longer in the form of the older hermit. “Just in case anyone knows this guy. It’s always good to change your skin.”
****
Danzen was becoming more familiar with the city of Chutham, the main road splintering off into various paths all leading to different areas that had their own vibes, their own businesses. He knew one of those paths led to Eva Yin’s expansive pleasure house, Danzen recalling just how odd the woman was, how she was able to shift her form to some degree.
He never considered that she was a yokai, but after seeing what Jelmay and Kudzu were capable of, this was certainly a possibility. Perhaps she had abused a remnant or bent her echo; only something like that would explain how she was able to morph her form.
The road was muddy, the thunderstorm last night apparently bringing rain to Chutham, puddles scarring what was normally a hardtop. It was much busier here than it was in the village, even Suja Village’s more popular First District. People from all walks of life were about, a few men on horseback guiding a transport wagon into town, schoolchildren chasing after one another, a pair of teenagers dragging a dead sheep behind them.
Life incarnate.
They reached the town brewery and turned to Selden’s Emporium, which sat across the street, partially obscured by shadows.
Jelmay mumbled something under his breath as they entered, the door chiming, the sound of hollow bones beating against one another reaching Danzen’s ear. He looked up at the chime to see that it had been crafted from an animal’s ribs, possibly yokai.
“Pilgrim,” Selden said, popping up from behind the counter. The few strands of hair on the top of Selden’s head had been slicked back. It looked like he had trimmed his bushy eyebrows, the hair no longer leaning over into his eyes. “I see you have brought a friend. Have we met before?”
“No,” Jelmay said, the bakeneko now in a different form, a younger man with blonde hair.
His voice was no longer jovial, a hint of animosity to it as he continued to take in the store and all of the items available for purchase. Everything from yokai fur to horns, handcrafted tchotchkes, and an assortment of odds and ends made Selden’s shop cluttered to a point that it was stuffy, a musky scent heavy in the air.
Jelmay coughed into his hand as Danzen approached the counter, where he retrieved the armor he had taken off the four sugawara.
“Another attack?” Selden asked as he examined the pieces. “A group of them, it seems. Makes sense.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, you killed one and now the others are trying to kill you. Or I should say, the demonic yokai that spawns these bastards has taken notice of your presence. To be honest, they will probably keep at it until you handle the original sugawara. You have made an enemy here, and I say this knowing full well that I told you something a bit different last time. But I looked into it, and my opinions have changed.”
Jelmay cackled. “Story of your life, right?”
“How do I rid myself of this enemy?” Danzen asked in a way that was so nonchalant that it took the shop owner off guard.
“Rid yourself? Sure, right. Well, the one spawning these lesser versions is somewhere in the forest; that, or perhaps the Panchen Mountains. You’d have to go after the original version.”
“Good to know.”
“You know, the armor they produce is quite unique. If you saved up enough of it, you could make some of it for yourself. It would aid you in going after the original sugawara. I’m assuming that being struck by lightning isn’t very pleasant, and to be honest, if you have been struck by it, I don’t know how you survived.”
“Make myself armor?” Danzen took a look at the rubbery pieces he had laid out on the counter. It wasn’t quite enough to make himself a full suit of armor, but it was close.
“If you add these two,” Selden said as he turned to retrieve something. He placed two more of the sets of rubbery armor on the counter, one of which Danzen had likely already sold him. “It would be enough to cover your entire body, or maybe make a large overcoat to protect yourself. There are people in town that could—”
“How much?” Danzen asked.
“How about a thousand kip? Seem fair? Then, once you kill the main one, bring me whatever you can, and I’ll give you much more than a thousand kip.”
“I’ve got money,” Jelmay said as he reached into his vest and returned with a wad of kip. “I’ve been meaning to buy you a gift anyway, Pilgrim. So happy birthday.”
“It’s not my birthday.”
“It’s someone’s birthday, so I’m giving you a present instead of giving it to them.”
“Most excellent,” Selden said as he folded up the armor and handed it to Danzen, who placed it in his burlap sack. He put the other folded armor in as well, his sack much heavier now.
“How’s the mask you bought?” Selden asked.
Danzen recalled the momiiji mask with its two little horns. He had worn it when going after Harsha’s father in Tudan, where he’d had his near fatal run-in with Soko.
“It’s fine.”
“That reminds me; I’ve got another thing I wanted to tell you. I may have a pair of those yokai books coming soon, The Night Parade of Genshin Valley Yokai and The Hour of Meeting. Maybe we can strike a deal. If you kill the head sugawara, that might work. And there’s another thing I could use. It’s traditionally called a gyokuto, but it’s also known as a jade rabbit.”
“Why do you need one of those?” Jelmay asked, suddenly interested in what the shop owner was saying.
“I’ve encountered most yokai through my years of running this place, but there are still a few that are either too powerful, or too rare for even a connoisseur such as myself to get their hands on. One is a jade rabbit. Dead or alive, but preferably alive, if you could bring that, I think it would be a fair exchange for these books.”
“What about a bakeneko? Ever encountered one of those?” Jelmay asked.
“The shapeshifting devil cats? Where do you think I got this?” Selden reached behind the counter and returned with a feline skull, which had symbols painted around its eye holes. “Supposedly, it’s supposed to bring good luck, so that’s why I don't sell it. I usually just keep it back here.”
“We should go,” Jelmay said. “I need to make a trip to the bank.”
“It was a pleasure doing business, Pilgrim,” Selden told the former assassin. “If you do encounter either of those things, the original sugawara, or the jade rabbit, the offer still stands. Of course, you could buy the books as well, but I don’t think you will like the price.”
Danzen and Jelmay left the shop, Jelmay spitting as soon as he stepped out the door, his form starting to shake, whiskers elongating.
“Careful,” Danzen told him.
“You don’t know what it’s like,” he said bitterly. “Imagine if I took you to a shop where they were dead humans everywhere and someone was selling their body parts. That’s what that store is like.”
“I never thought of it like that,” Danzen told him honestly.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t do business with the man, because he clearly knows his stuff and he has access to things that even your typical yokai doesn’t have access to, but you should be wary of him, and you should know what you’re doing is…” Jelmay shook his head as he motioned Danzen to follow him. “It’s sometimes wrong, sometimes right. I know there are worse things in this world; it’s just hard for me to go in there. And if I were you, I would never take Kudzu to the ‘emporium,’ as he calls it. What a stupid name. Trust me about Kudzu; that place would make her see red. You saw all the furs, right?”
“I did.”
“One of those could be a relative of hers.”
“Did you know the cat?”
Jelmay shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s head to the bank and get out of here. And I hope you enjoy your birthday present.”
****
After he helped Jelmay pull off whatever scam he was looking to pull off at the bank, the two began their walk back to Suja Village, Danzen glad that the bakeneko was quiet for once so he could think.
It made sense to go after the original sugawara, but he also needed to go to the west. More research was required for the jade rabbit, and Danzen appreciated what Jelmay had said about Selden’s shop. He would have to visit with that in mind now, that there was a possibility that some of the creatures inside were murdered in cold blood.
He considered just buying the two yokai books and being done with it. There were other ways to get money, and Jelmay seemed to have an abundance of it. Danzen had also been surprised at the bank to see Jelmay withdraw such a large sum of kip. To do so, the bakeneko had stepped into the alley to transform into yet another stolen form, but after that it had been relatively easy, just a few signatures and some red stamps.
So there was plenty of kip available, but Danzen didn’t know how he would feel to be in debted to the bakeneko.
“Up ahead,” Jelmay said, Danzen’s attention once again coming to the road.
