Pilgrim 6, p.27
Pilgrim 6, page 27
“And this is where you want to hide it?” Jelmay asked. “Not a bad spot, honestly. This would be the last place in the kingdom that someone would look for the Fatebricks considering that it is cursed and it is heavily wooded. Also, if it is actually cursed, what about us?
I’m not superstitious like the kitsune, but I also do my best not to play with these sorts of things. It’s not really cursed, is it?”
“You believe it is cursed?” Semya asked Jelmay, the female bakeneko now sliding back to some degree, her whiskers suddenly more alert than normal as her eyes bulged. “Is this area cursed?”
Jelmay’s teeth began to chatter. “I don’t know, that’s what people are saying. Should we be here? Maybe we should find a different place.”
Usagi did little to hide his annoyance. “All of you, quiet! Your superstitious nonsense is the reason we can’t have nice things. They say that the temple is cursed because of the people that died here, but if that was the case, every place in the kingdom would be cursed.
I’ve been here before, but like I said, it was a long time ago. The forest has grown much larger and thicker since then, but I’m sure it is ahead. Now, stop your bellyaching, and if anyone is cursed, we all are cursed considering the risk we have taken to hide these rare remnants. Continue on, Pilgrim, I would like to be back in Osul by the early afternoon for my nap.”
“I miss taking naps,” Jelmay said as they pushed deeper into the forest.
It was about fifteen minutes later that they reached the terraced ledges, just as Usagi said they would. From there they began their
ascent, coming to another ledge every twenty feet or so. In its prime, the temple must have covered quite a bit of space considering it took Danzen and his companions nearly half an hour to reach the top.
Danzen recognized a doorway up ahead, one made of stone. It was similar to the pocket doors he had already dealt with at the two sanctuaries he had visited. In taking a look around, he saw just how well camouflaged the door was in its current environment, Danzen only noticing the door because he was looking for it.
He cleared some more of the underbrush away as he approached.
“Can you open the door?” Nomin asked Danzen once he turned back to the others.
Sansar landed on a branch not far from them, the three-legged raven speaking for Danzen. “He has in the past. But there’s no telling what is inside.”
“What do you mean there’s no telling what’s inside?” asked Usagi. “It’s an empty chamber, one that is protected by the stone door. How do I know? There’s an entrance in the back that I can fit through. Good place to hide these things, no? Check for yourself,”
he told the raven. “I’m sure you can fit through the space. The cats?
Fat chance. And you might be able to squeeze through there, kitsune, if you starve yourself for a week.”
Sansar circled around to the back of the structure. He returned a few moments later. “Yes, it is simply a chamber with a pedestal tipped on its side. There is nothing else in there aside from crumbled stones.”
“Do you think they’re safe here?” Kudzu asked Danzen.
“I don’t know if we have another choice at the moment,” Danzen told her. “The Fatebricks must be protected, and if they are here, mostly inaccessible, it will be an additional layer of protection for them. If we kept them at the nunnery, as you suggested,” he said, nodding to Nomin, “there could be a raid. Keeping them with us is dangerous, and if others learn about these items, it could be trouble down the road. Yes, I say we put them in there.”
“What about this door?” Jelmay asked as he stepped past Danzen. He knocked on the door with his paw. “It’s pretty solid. You sure you can handle it?”
“Believe me, I can take care of it,” Danzen said.
“So this is what we’re going to do then?” asked Kudzu, still with uncertainty in her voice. “Collect the Fatebricks and bring them to this abandoned temple?”
“Why else would I have brought you all the way out here? You worry too much,” Usagi told the kitsune. “This place is not only well hidden, but I’ll have a few of the yokai that owe me favors run patrols. I’m not expecting much, but if something does happen, I’ll be the first to know about it. And like I said, I can get inside and remove the items if necessary. Well, as long as they aren’t very large.
There’s no telling how large future Fatebricks will be.”
Danzen examined the door yet again, feeling his echo stir within him as he decided to tell Usagi about Nova and Timbero, who would also look after the Fatebricks. He knew that there could still be risk in hiding them here, even if it was off the beaten path. But it would have to do. While he didn’t like leaving the Fatebricks in the Asura Forest, Danzen preferred this to carrying the relics with him wherever he traveled to next.
It felt much safer this way. And there was always the fallen angel and the enormous raiju, who would be able to guard the Fatebricks.
This was the best path forward.
This was where the relics belonged for now.
Part Seven
.Chapter One.
After updating Nova and Timbero, it took Danzen and his companions nearly a day to reach the northern passage, the group eventually camping at the edge of the Asura Forest that night. The Fatebricks were now locked away in the abandoned temple, in a space that Danzen was uncertain would protect them. Even so, he trusted those around him and their opinions. Only time would tell if this had been a wise decision or not.
In traversing the Northern Passage, the almost barren stretch of land that they had opened up to transport remnants, Danzen expected to be greeted by the hainu. The winged wolves had been ordered by their leader, Galzo, to guard the territory, so he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see them appear in the sky, barking wildly.
Jelmay, who watched the yokai with his paw casting a shadow over his eyes, didn’t seem too excited to see them. “Even if they are on our side, I never liked hainu.”
“I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” Kudzu told him.
The first winged wolf to land approached Danzen. “How goes it?”
the wolf asked in a feminine voice.
“We are passing through to the Dukha people. Have there been any disturbances? Anything to report?”
She exchanged glances with her counterparts. “The Northern Passage has been quiet. We have had to run off a few yokai, and had trouble with a shokuin, but in the end, nothing that you wouldn’t expect.”
“A shokuin?” Jelmay asked her. “Sheesh. What else?”
“A kappa and a few other lesser creatures,” the wolf told him. “Do not worry, the territory is secure. Will you be venturing north to greet Galzo?”
“Undecided,” Danzen told the wolf. “But I’m sure we will end up there at some point in the future.”
“I see. In that case, good luck, and safe travels.”
The hainu left together, all taking to the air at about the same time. Danzen watched as the winged wolves shifted toward the horizon, the sun beaming their silhouettes to the ground.
Once they were gone his group continued onward toward the foothills of the mountain range the Dukha people called home.
Danzen began to see signs of their existence, reindeer droppings as well as the scrapes of their horns, not to mention other items that indicated that humanity had passed through here. He recalled Sotgonn telling him of other tribes, and wondered if the tribe he had once seen back toward Tachibana was related in some way to the Dukha.
As Danzen assumed would be the case, the tribe knew of their arrival before Danzen and his companions learned of theirs. This was evident as they were greeted by a pair of mounted Dukha warriors, their reindeer adorned with jewels, their snouts painted with horizontal stripes. One of the warriors nodded at Danzen, and he took this to mean that he wanted them to follow him.
Their trip took them higher into the mountains, where it had recently snowed, the air frigid and crisp. Naturally, Danzen’s eyes traced across the snow on the ground, looking for any suspicious tracks. Yet all he saw were reindeer hooves and the occasional paw prints that he assumed belonged to something like a mountain lion, or perhaps a yokai that he was unaware of.
They passed under a series of archways that resembled the rib cage of a giant, Danzen not familiar with this area of the mountains.
He tried to remember the surroundings of where they had stayed before, certain that it hadn’t looked like this. Unfortunately, with all the travel he had been doing over the last several days, the rugged terrains had begun to resemble one another, Danzen not able to discern their differences.
Soon, they crossed a stream filled with chunks of ice, where Jelmay and Kudzu crouched to drink. The bakeneko managed to peg the kitsune with a snowball, causing her to flare up and nearly attack him. In the end Nomin intervened, cutting the dispute short with her stark demeanor.
They moved on, walking until the sun had started to set. Their settings became increasingly familiar as Danzen recognized the cliff dwellings of the Akabori tribe. It appeared that the Dukha people had moved into their enemy’s territory.
As his group wound their way toward the cliff dwellings, Danzen recalled how they had stripped the remnant from the jubokko tree, how Shimo the evil spirit had operated through Yato to kill the ice yokai that had attacked them. It had been quite the night, yet seeing
the dwellings now, it was hard to tell that there had been a recent conflict here.
All of his observations seemed to fall away as Danzen spotted Yato standing next to Sotgonn, the young, dark-haired assassin wearing the thick leather and furs of the Dukha people. A smile crossed Danzen’s face; he had to mentally stop himself from moving faster to greet her. As he grew closer, he saw that his smile was matched by Yato’s, who seemed utterly delighted to see their group.
They hadn’t been separated for very long, yet Danzen could tell that there was something different about her now. Yato’s shoulders seemed broader, and there was something hardened about the look on her face, even if she was grinning. Danzen could make out the cut of her robes beneath her tribal furs, and he could tell by the bulk around her arms that she wore her gauntleted blades as always.
Kudzu raced to meet the young assassin, Jelmay picking up his pace as well. “Lady Pilgrim!” the bakeneko shouted as he threw his arms out wide. When she didn’t approach him he motioned her closer with his paws. “What? I don’t get a hug? After everything I’ve done for you?”
“We have never hugged before,” Yato told Jelmay.
“There’s a first time for everything, dear. Fine, fine,” he said once she didn’t approach. “I was hungry anyway. I don’t want to hug anyone while I’m hungry. I want to eat something. Is there food?”
Sotgonn, leader of the Dukha people, cleared his throat. As he spoke, Danzen saw the elder’s sharpened teeth, all made of remnants. “A meal will be ready soon. Yato, please show them to their quarters. Afterwards, we will join together and eat.”
Sansar landed on a small barrier made of stone. “We have much to discuss,” the raven told Sotgonn.
“Yes, I assumed that would be the case. I’m glad you made it, and I hope your journey wasn’t too strenuous.”
Jelmay, who stood nearby now stretching out his lower back and making a show of it, waved Sotgonn’s concern away with a single paw. “As long as there’s good food, I’ll be fine.”
****
The conversations ran deep into the night, Sotgonn listening intently as Danzen and the others told the tribal leader what had
happened since they had last seen each other. Discussions around the Fatebricks of Sunyata were purposefully left out, Danzen merely saying that they had located rare remnants and that they were now safely stored. Later, he planned to tell Yato what they had discovered, but it was best to keep the information under wraps for now.
Every time he shut his eyes and focused, Danzen could sense that Yato’s echo had grown in strength. It glowed brighter, and he was certainly excited to train with her the following morning. Yet again he noticed this feeling he wasn’t used to, that of a teacher seeing their student progress. It made him feel good, like he had actually contributed to society in some way, even if this wasn’t exactly the case.
There was one thing left to do that night as Danzen and Jelmay retired to the cliff dwelling where they would be staying. Since the cavernous homes were relatively small, Kudzu would stay with Yato.
While there seemed to be room in either of the dwellings for Nomin, the blind assassin had told the group she would stand guard, Sansar joining her.
It was certainly a cozy room, and all it took to warm the dwelling was a few stones that had been kept in ashes beneath the fire they’d had that night, the stones placed in a clay pot which also served as a nightlight. Once Danzen was certain that they wouldn’t be disturbed, he accessed the stone tablet and cast its projection onto an inner wall.
“I only wish I knew where we were in location to it,” Jelmay said, the bakeneko now seated on his straw mat, paws on his distended belly as he gazed at the map.
“This looks like the Northern Passage,” Danzen said after he examined it for a moment, “which would mean that we are around here.” He tapped on a location southeast of the center of the passageway. “We shouldn’t be too far.”
Figuring another set of eyes would help, Danzen stepped out of the cliff dwelling to find Sotgonn standing there, a curious look on the elder’s face.
“I thought you would be asleep by now,” the older man said, his breath visible.
Danzen lowered his head. “Soon,” he said, cursing himself for not hiding the stone tablet. There was a thick hide covering the doorway,
but where Sotgonn was standing, the older man likely would have seen the purplish glow of the map.
“Very well. In that case, I hope you have a restful night.” Sotgonn moved on.
Danzen spotted Nomin, and as he did Sansar, who had been perched on her shoulder, took to the air. The three-legged raven joined Danzen in a matter of moments. Once they were sure that Sotgonn was out of sight, they examined the projection together.
“I can begin my search in the morning,” Sansar said after they had discussed the location for a spell. “I believe you are right, however. The sanctuary is near.”
Jelmay, who had already started to snore lightly, awoke. “Did we figure it out?” he asked, one eye open now.
“More or less,” said Sansar.
“Good. Then I will more or less provide a distraction tomorrow so the two of you can slip out. We can’t have these people knowing what we’re doing, right? No more than they already do considering Sotgonn likely saw the glow of the projection map.”
“It was my mistake,” Danzen said.
Jelmay yawned. “I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. The Dukha people seem relatively harmless. If we are being honest, their warriors are meant to fight alongside anyone seeking to rebuild Sunyata. I don’t know why we don’t just tell them.”
“I believe you know why,” Sansar told the bakeneko.
“Yes, I know, it is a power that could corrupt. Do I need to remind everyone that we already told Usagi? And Semya as well. But I see your point, even though you haven’t made it yet. These people already abuse remnants successfully, to the point that I wouldn’t even call it abuse, I would say that they harness remnants. Then again, it seems relatively easy for Nomtoi, other assassins, and various demons, goons, and fallen angels to corrupt and exploit humans. So I take that back. We should keep it a secret. I’m getting tired and I’m not at the point now where I’m arguing with myself.
Good night.” And with that, the bakeneko turned and began snoring again.
Danzen hid the stone tablet this time before opening the covering over their doorway. Once Sansar was gone, he finished removing his weapons, and got as comfortable as he could on the straw mat that
he would sleep on that night. As always, he had a blade nearby, the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds next to Danzen as he slept.
It was the way of an assassin.
****
Danzen found Yato waiting for him the next morning, the female assassin crouched in front of his cliff dwelling, her gaze aimed somewhere on the horizon.
“Ready?” Danzen asked her.
Yato removed the hood from her head, one lined with white fur, and looked up at him. “I know a place.”
“Lead the way.”
Danzen followed Yato down a winding path that cut in front of a few of the larger cliff dwellings. From there she quickly scaled the wall using ledges that had been cut into the stone, Danzen surprised at how fast she was moving in the cold. It had snowed overnight, and there was still a little bit falling from the gray sky, yet not enough to disrupt their journey as Yato reached a cliff.
She approached the edge and turned to Danzen. Yato dropped backward, her hands keeping her stable as she hung from the ledge for a moment. She let out a short laugh as she reached yet another ledge below, one inaccessible from the pathway they had been on earlier.
Rather than travel the same way as the female assassin, Danzen simply floated down to the lower ledge and continued on. They pressed through a crack in the stone, Danzen glad he hadn’t brought his Blade of Darkness as it would have been cumbersome. Upon exiting on the other side they reached a flat overlook, one with a few large boulders on it, easily the size of a carriage.
“Here.”
“Watch,” Danzen told her as he drew his three Astra kunai. They began to float around him. “This is what is left of Astra.”
“So you did find the sword,” Yato said, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“What was left of it, yes.”
“I’m glad to hear.” Yato lowered her head; one of Danzen’s kunai separated from the others. It floated over to her and she began to
spin it in place.
