Pilgrim 7, p.31
Pilgrim 7, page 31
“Hi-hi-hi-hi-hi!”
Yet again, Danzen caught the stone midair with his echo and deposited it off to the side.
He returned fire. His Sunyatic blade struck the second hihi in the chest and yanked it down to the ground as it returned to Danzen’s hand. The creature let out a final death rattle and expired. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do that.”
“They may be aggressive, but they aren’t smart. Let’s get out of this area, before more show up,” Semya said. “I know a place where we can rest for a little bit before we continue on.” She motioned for them to follow her toward the east. “This way.”
“You actually want to go to the Dukha People with us?” Danzen asked her.
“Sure, why not? Someone has to keep an eye on what you are doing.”
****
The cave they found was even closer to Diyu than Danzen had expected. Even though he knew nothing had changed about the air, he could sense the presence of his father’s home, the former assassin aware of the fact that as soon as he found the final Fatebrick in the mortal realm, he would have to cross over.
“We have gone too long without eating,” Elder Bahjee said as he dropped onto his rear. The portly bakeneko let out a miserable sigh. “Someone needs to hunt something.”
“You’ll be fine,” Semya told him.
“I’ll be fine? When was the last time you ate, deary? It has been at least a day since I ate. No, it has been ages. Ages! Pilgrim, aren’t you hungry?”
“I am,” Danzen said just to quiet him down, “but there isn’t a lot of food around here.”
“What are you talking about? There are goats about, and all sorts of edible things. I don’t know what is exactly out there, but there has to be something. This isn’t in my area of the world. All I know is that if we don’t get some food in us, there is no way we’re going to make it to the Northern Passage. No way.”
“I can go out for something.” After Danzen placed a few of his things down, he set off, leaving Nomin and the others behind to get a fire going.
Danzen yawned as he reached an overlook, where he was able to scan several of the slot canyons below. In doing so, he realized this created a natural chokepoint for animals to go through if they wanted to reach the other side. Perhaps a goat could climb up the side wall of the canyon, but it seemed smooth to the point that this wouldn’t be a possibility.
All he had to do now was wait.
In the morning, they would set out for the Northern Passage. Perhaps by then, they would know of how Jelmay was faring. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need to get more of the seeds. Once they reached the Dukha People, Danzen would need to have a serious conversation with Sotgonn.
And he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a normal conversation.
Danzen was nearly certain now of where the final Fatebrick of the mortal realm was hidden. Getting it was going to be a different kind of challenge. This was one reason he needed rest. A younger version of him would perhaps continue onward, trusting his own power. Now, he knew it was better to recharge. Wake up later, bend his echo, and prepare for the worst.
As time passed, he fell into the meditation of a predator, one biding its time, waiting for its prey to finally appear. An hour passed, one in which Danzen never moved. The shadow cast onto him was currently making it harder for him to be discovered, but he knew that as the sun rose he would probably need to switch spots.
Luckily, it never came to that.
As Danzen sat there waiting, his eyes trained onto the natural exit point of a slot canyon below, he saw a pair of goats skitter by. He dropped, silent as ever as he crept to the edge, where he would get a better vantage point of the two goats. Were they siblings? Upon further examination, it appeared that one was either pregnant or nursing.
Danzen knew better than to kill a mother.
Instead, he sent his Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds to the air, the blade instantly connecting with the back of the other goat’s head. It pressed out the bottom of its chin, the animal dead before it knew what hit it.
While the other goat bleated and fled, Danzen floated down to retrieve his kill.
He cleaned his blade on the goat’s thick fur. Once his Sunyatic weapon was back in its scabbard, Danzen hoisted the goat onto his shoulders. From there, he followed the slot canyon to its exit, and looped back around until he reached the cave, where he found a fire going, the smell of smoke reaching his nostrils.
“I’m going to need you to clean this.” He set the goat in front of Elder Bahjee and produced one of his Astra kunai. “And careful with the knife. If you drop it, it will return to you.”
A smirk formed on Nomin’s face as the former elder of Verba village looked at Danzen in horror. “You want me to clean it? You must be kidding.”
“You know how, don’t you?”
“Seriously?” A look of dismay formed on Bahjee’s face as he glanced from Danzen to Semya. “Do I know how? It has been ages since I cleaned an animal. Ages, I tell you. Bah. They are normally cleaned for me.”
“It’s not that hard,” Nomin said, which was likely the first time she had spoken since Danzen had gone.
“Not that hard? Then why don’t you help me?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Semya said. “And you know what? I’ll help you. He caught it, we’ll take care of the rest. And the other assassin will stand guard. That seems fair to me. Get some rest, Pilgrim.” The female bakeneko approached the goat and squatted in front of it. “And let me borrow one of your knives too. I promise to be careful with it, and I promise to save you a goat leg.”
.Chapter Four.
Danzen slept for hours. He didn’t eat with the others, the former assassin only waking up later that night, at the point when the moon was already starting the set. The bakeneko were asleep now.
Danzen approached Nomin, who sat with her legs crossed beneath her near the entrance of the cave.
“Semya saved you some food.” Nomin gestured toward the fire, which was still glowing red. The goat leg was on a stone near the fire to keep it warm, one of its sides partly charred. Danzen went for it and returned to Nomin.
“Just a few more hours before dawn.”
Danzen nodded.
“How’s the meat?”
“Good enough.” He took another bite.
“And you have a plan for what will happen once we reach the Dukha People?”
“No, not exactly.” Danzen told her what he thought, his suspicions. Nomin didn’t question them. She’d had her suspicions about the people as well, particularly their leader.
“So it will be a challenge?” she asked.
“I would imagine so.”
“Then so be it.”
Danzen finished his goat leg and stepped away from Nomin. He found a secluded spot, a place where he would be able to bend his echo and warm up. He started by floating stones, gradually moving on to shattering them and reforming each piece, then dissolving each rock entirely.
How could he better use the skills? Danzen had been able to accomplish some rather remarkable things in a short amount of time, especially when he had been forced to use his powers on the fly. But there had to be more. There had to be set skills that he could practice. Even if he was creative, he would likely need to be shown how to do certain things.
Perhaps Abbot Monpo would be willing to teach Danzen more.
Once Danzen finished up, he waited alongside Nomin until the yokai woke up. They set off, Danzen and his companions traveling through a wild and rugged place full of deep canyons and buttes. The jagged peaks of the buttes rose out of the ground, their surfaces sculpted by time and wind. Everything about the area seemed uneven, the ground strewn with scree and scattered pumice rocks.
Eventually, they spotted Sansar lowering toward them. Danzen lifted his arm and Sansar took his perch, the raven then transferring to his shoulder.
“What about Jelmay?” Elder Bahjee asked, a hint of concern in his voice. “And what took you so bloody long?”
“I will check on him again tomorrow, but he will be fine. I’m certain of it. Usagi has already used the seeds to make the medicine necessary to treat Jelmay’s internal injuries. There has been progress. And to answer your second question, helping Usagi is what took me so long. There were a few other items I needed to fetch from the Asura Forest. But all is well, and Jelmay is on the road to recovery.”
“Did he ever get any food?”
“Of course he did,” Semya told Elder Bahjee.
“You should have brought some for us,” the bakeneko told Sansar, which elicited a laugh from Semya.
“You just had a goat.”
“And I could always use some more. It is important to stay well-fed. Anyway, I hope we don’t have to walk all day. I am so ready to get home.”
Danzen moved ahead once Sansar took to the air again, the consummate guide as they transferred from the mountains to the Northern Passage.
The horizon was now visible again, the mountains no longer obstructing their view. There was a fresh dusting of snow on the ground; Danzen noticed the tracks of animals both big and small. Trees lining the edges of the Northern Passage were weighted down by snow, their branches curving down toward the ground. It wasn’t as cold out as it should have been, yet the air was crisp.
He liked this kind of weather. Something about it matched his soul.
Hainu eventually came, the winged wolves touching down all around them to make sure that they were allowed to travel through the Northern Passage.
“I never did like those flying dogs,” Elder Bahjee complained after they had gone. “I suppose Galzo himself wasn’t so bad, but a pack of them? All that barking and yipping? Nope, not for me. It shouldn’t be for anyone.”
Danzen watched as the winged wolves flew away. It likely wouldn’t be long until they were greeted by one of the Dukha warriors. Things could get dicey from there, but at least he would see Kudzu again, and Yato.
That would make all of this worthwhile.
****
Danzen expected to be greeted by Dukha warriors, and he was right. The two men appeared on decorated reindeer, the warriors wearing thick furs, their faces obscured by woolen scarves. Without a word, mostly because they didn’t speak the same language as Danzen and the others, the two warriors led them to the Dukha encampment.
Spread at the start of a field covered in snow, the Dukha camp seemed as if it had grown since the last time Danzen had visited. There were numerous tents now, both large and small. The tents were made of wooden frames and covered in canvas and patchwork felt. Stone chimneys sticking out of the tents and yurts added smoke to the air that smelled of wood and roasted meat. It was cozy, and the homes were clearly warm.
The camp swelled into action upon the arrival of Danzen and his companions. Kudzu slipped into one of the tents and reemerged now wearing furs, the excited kitsune in her human form. By this point, Yato had already met Danzen and Nomin, the young assassin curious as to what had happened since the last time they met.
Danzen started with the attack that Loomi orchestrated on the Diyu Brotherhood that saw the death of White and Nyamdor. But it was what he told Yato next that truly had her concerned.
Her face went pale after he told her what happened in Arsi. “Soko is back? She is the woman in red?”
“She is, and yes, she’s back. My brother revived her.”
“And where’s Jelmay?”
“Injured in the fight. He is recovering. He will be here tomorrow. Now…” Danzen scanned the crowd to see Sotgonn approach, the elder of the Dukha People with his gleaming purple teeth. “Just the man I was looking for.”
“Pilgrim, you have returned.” Sotgonn spread his arms wide as if he wanted to give Danzen a hug. He lowered them once he saw that the former assassin wasn’t exactly excited to see him. “Why, is something the matter?”
“I’m just going to come out and say it. You know exactly what I’m here for.”
“Oh?”
“The Fatebricks of Sunyata. Your teeth. They are needed, and you are very well aware of that by now.”
Surprised by what Danzen had just said, Yato stepped over to his side, immediately joining the former assassin. She brought her fists back, ready to summon her gauntleted blades. It was clear that she would fight alongside him, even if it meant going up against Dukha warriors armed with Sunyatic weapons. She wasn’t the only one prepared for battle. Nomin was also ready to engage, leaving Kudzu to wonder what was going on. Luckily, the bakeneko had joined the kitsune, and the three were able to push back into the crowd to some degree, where it would be safer.
“You are challenging me?”
“If that’s what it needs to be. I have a feeling that that is what needs to happen for your people.” Danzen could speak freely due to the fact that the Dukha People didn’t understand the common tongue, only Sotgonn. It made the conversation easier, even if a few had picked up on his body language. “You can’t just give them to me, can you?”
“No, I cannot. You’ll have to kill me if you want them.”
“Are you ready to die?”
The statement brought a sad grin to Sotgonn’s face. “Am I ready to die? That is a question I haven’t fully pondered, if we’re being honest. It is a difficult question to answer. Am I ready to die? How did you know?”
Now it was Danzen’s turn to be surprised. “How did I know what?”
“I am already dying, Pilgrim. There is a cancer growing within me. Only a few know about it, and they are treating me with remnants. But it will only get worse. To be honest with you, dying like this would be a death of dignity. I am months away from deteriorating in a way that will leave me with incredible shame. Because of this, I will agree to a challenge, but I will not put up an easy fight. You realize I cannot do that, right? In defeating me, you will essentially become the leader of the Dukha People.”
“I will?”
“You will.” He grinned, his teeth shining bright with purple energy. “Now, I will explain to them that they will be free to elect their own leader, but that you will hold the teeth if you defeat me. The person that holds the teeth is the true leader of the Dukha People, and all the tribes left in the Northern Passage. And maybe that’s a good thing with the war that you plan to wage once you have collected all the Fatebricks of Sunyata.”
“How would you like to do this?”
“Tonight will be a night of ritual.” Sotgonn smiled out over his people, who had no idea what he was saying. “Tomorrow morning, we will fight in the field near here to give us plenty of space. I suspect that we are going to need a lot of room. And to be clear, I will do my best to kill you, Pilgrim. I will not back down. This will not be an easy fight, but I have a feeling you came already knowing that.”
Danzen nodded. There would always be part of him that wished things didn’t have to go this way, trial by combat, yet it was part of his life, and had been since he was a child. It was a given, something he was accustomed to. “I agree with your stipulations.”
“Good, I will explain to my people what happens next. They will not engage you in any way. A warrior’s challenge is to be expected, and its outcome is to be honored, adhered to. I wish you luck tomorrow. For the rest of the night, we need not speak of what is to come. I would like to be with my people, to be merry, and for you all to catch up with your companions and do the same. I know you have been separated from your party for only a short amount of time, but that doesn’t diminish how deep that separation can feel.”
“It will be an honor then.”
“Yes, yes it will.” Sotgonn cleared his throat and turned to address his people.
****
Danzen didn’t take part in the festivities. As the Dukha People chanted and danced late into the night, as they honored Sotgonn and feasted on wild game and stored grains, he found a place outside of camp to watch the proceedings.
It felt good to be away from the crowd. It felt even better when Kudzu joined him.
“How have you been?” she asked, even though they had already spoken earlier. Still in her human form, the kitsune sat next to Danzen after dusting away some of the snow, her body pressing into his. She now had a wool blanket draped over her shoulders, which she’d wrapped around her body once.
Kudzu shivered. Danzen placed his arm around her.
“Thanks. Humans don’t have enough fur.”
“They don’t. And to answer your question, I have been fine. I missed you,” Danzen said, the words coming to him before he could think about what he was saying. Why did it matter? Why did he always maintain a barrier between the two of them?
“I missed you as well. I wish I had been clever enough to disguise myself as a nun and go with you to Sainshand. Those bakeneko. That was a smart move on Jelmay’s part.”
“It was. And he risked a lot in the end.” Danzen remembered how it had been Jelmay’s idea to take the body of Tengir Gantulga, to try to help Loomi in her fight against Soko and Nomtoi. It was proof of the bakeneko’s willingness to sacrifice it all. This was why Danzen had worked tirelessly through the night to find the Asura seeds. It was the same reason he had asked Sansar to go back for the funeral jewelry, especially considering the fact that they didn’t technically need money.
“And you think he will be here tomorrow?” Kudzu shook her head. “Listen to me, concerned about that cat. I guess he truly is one of us.”
“He is. Sansar will fly to Osul later. If Jelmay is well enough to continue, he will return with him.”
The two grew silent as the Dukha People continued their celebration. Danzen could see Yato, the young assassin trying not to enjoy herself. He could also see Nomin on the periphery, constantly on guard, oblivious to the noise and the cold. He didn’t know where Elder Bahjee and Semya were, but he imagined it was wherever there was food to be had. And there was plenty of food.
