Pilgrim 2, p.34
Pilgrim 2, page 34
Careful as ever, Danzen swiped the jar forward, hoping to catch one of the sayuribi on the outer rim of their cluster.
He failed, the tiny yokai fanning out again as he landed on the ground below.
“Almost,” Kudzu said.
“I’ll get it this time.”
Danzen waited for them all to return to their cluster. Once again, he shot to the air, this time able to catch one of the sayuribi in the jar. He placed the cork in on his way down, but was so focused on retrieving the sayuribi and storing it that he miscalculated his landing.
Danzen landed and immediately slipped. He fell backward, and started to spin.
He skated to the edge, and felt his body lurch forward and stop. Danzen looked back to see that Kudzu had latched her jaw onto his boot. He rolled to the side, directly onto his sheathed weapons, which pressed into his body and caused some discomfort as he sat up.
“I’m too old for this shit,” he said as he began wiping some of the mud off his arms. He gave up rather quickly, assuming he could wash them in a stream on the way back.
A grin took shape on Kudzu’s blackened lips. “You’re not the only one.”
“Thanks.” Danzen showed her the jar with the sayuribi fluttering inside. “I hope this is enough.”
“Dalan said we only needed one; now all we have to do is gather some of these mushrooms.”
****
The journey back to Dalan’s hermitage was much smoother than their trip to retrieve the medicinal herbs. Danzen’s robes dried out along the way, and Kudzu always kept him on his toes, the white fox playfully leading the way. The air still had a hint of moisture to it, and it smelled fresh and invigorating, the scent of a world quenched.
Upon arriving at the cave, they found Dalan frying a variety of mountain vegetables in boiled animal fat, smoke billowing out of the entrance to his cave.
As he continued to cook, Dalan had Danzen distribute all the mushrooms into an even larger jar with plenty of space at the top. He then told the former assassin to press the mouth of the jar with the sayuribi in it against the mouth of the larger jar, the flying yokai immediately making its way toward the mushrooms.
“And that’s it?” Kudzu asked once Dalan returned his focus to the vegetables.
“That’s all it really is to it. The mushrooms will release their spores, which are intoxicating to the sayuribi. The yokai’s flames will change colors after there is a reaction created within the jar. Tomorrow, all the mushrooms will be a truly vibrant green and the yokai will be gone, dead. You’ll see.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what condition does your sister have?” Kudzu asked carefully.
Dalan grunted. “She’s had the condition for quite some time, a cancer slowly growing within her. She’s been able to maintain it through talismans and the work she put in on her echo, but it is likely flaring up to the point that she needs outside medical help.”
“And you have made this for her before?”
He shook his head at Kudzu’s question. “No, but I have made it for herbalists in the village before, and I assume that she got some from them. She likely found out the source, and figured she would call in a favor.”
“It is right for you to help your family,” Kudzu said as she sat before him, her eyes dropping to the vegetables he was cooking.
“It is what it is. We’ll eat soon, and then sleep here. We can set off in the morning.”
The food turned out to be very filling, the vegetables thick and fibrous, some of the mushrooms almost the consistency of meat, which seemed to please Kudzu. The sun was already down by this point, and even though Danzen knew he could likely make it back to his monastery, the two stayed with Dalan in his cave. It was nice to sleep outside, the air much cooler here than it was around his monastery.
And he slept well. No dreams, no disturbances aside from the occasional cry of an animal or yokai; Danzen couldn’t always distinguish between the two.
Troubling thoughts returned to the former assassin when he awoke the next morning, as he remembered Thane’s attack. There really seemed to be no end to the amount of people that wanted him dead, which was further reasoning for him to become more like Dalan, far away from everyone.
Perhaps that was an option.
While he liked his monastery, perhaps he could move deep into the forest, or closer to Diyu, become a hermit. He could find a cave somewhere and spend the rest of his life there, living off the land, hunting in the mountains, and generally avoiding people.
But he really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
They set off the next morning, and as Dalan led them on the path he generally took to the village, Danzen and Kudzu caught him up on what had happened since his last appearance.
Danzen explained the attack at the tavern, and later how the nozuchi teeth had been bound with two souls, which were later rejected. He also explained how the bakeneko had taken his form, so Dalan should expect people to act as if they had seen him recently.
“I’m fine with that,” the older man said with a huff as they came around a large rock that was shaped almost like a beehive. As Danzen had seen before, back when they dealt with the giants, Dalan was bright for his age and while he couldn’t move with the same speed as Kudzu or the former assassin, he was able to keep up with them better than Jelmay could.
The sun bore down on them once they reached the pathway that ran alongside the Asura Forest. They headed toward the village from there, a crispness to the air after yesterday’s rain, the green of the leaves matching the mushrooms inside the jar that Dalan now carried inside his satchel.
As he had told them the previous night, the mushrooms had indeed turned green, a spiderweb-like mold covering their stems and caps. Danzen also saw that little crystals had grown on the mold that sparkled in the light.
As the three fell into silence, Danzen wondered where Dalan had learned some of these techniques. He assumed that Dalan had studied under an herbalist in either Chutham or Suja Village’s First District, but his knowledge of yokai and apparently how they affected local fauna was quite deep.
He truly was a treasure to Genshin Valley.
They passed the hill that led up to Danzen’s monastery, which meant that Jelmay’s place wasn’t far off. Even though none of them were speaking, both Danzen and Kudzu became even quieter as they walked in front of the bakeneko’s home, neither of them wanting to add Jelmay to the equation.
At first, Kudzu was going to head up to the monastery and stay, but then she decided to come along, Danzen and Dalan waiting for her at the bottom of the hill while she went up to change and morph into her human form.
“I’ve never seen her as a person,” Dalan said once she returned, Kudzu in her crimson robes, her white hair pulled into a sharp ponytail and her ears pointy. There was a glow about her skin, and as usual, a softness to her gray eyes when she smiled at Danzen.
It would have been impossible for the former assassin to notice the three-legged raven watching them from a branch of an enormous oak. It was too high for him to see, and the midnight-blue color of the raven’s body and wings only obscured it further.
It was only after they were away that the raven took flight, back to its master.
Once they reached the Third District, Dalan suggested they stop by Sarnai’s place for breakfast, Danzen at once reminded of Jelmay.
“She makes really good food,” the hermit said, as if he were able to discern the former assassin’s thought.
Sarnai greeted them with a big smile on her face, her baby in her arms.
She fed them, and as they ate, the housewife caught Dalan up on village gossip he may have missed, from the progress at the Suja Raksi Hall to trouble that Temur’s three boys had recently gotten into. It was only after they were finished eating that she asked why he had come to the village.
“I have something I need to check on in the First District,” he said politely. “And I do appreciate the food you’ve offered us. Again, I’m sorry to impose.”
“It’s quite all right,” Sarnai told him, a smile on her face.
It took longer to walk from the Third to the First District than it normally did, villagers constantly greeting the hermit, some stopping to chat or ask about ailments.
This was something different from the last time Danzen had come through with Jelmay morphed into Dalan’s form, the people seeming to be in the process of forgetting what had happened at the tavern.
They reached Eva’s pleasure house, the red door vibrant as ever, a mark of shame to some and a doorway to pleasure for others. Dalan now carried a look of shame on his face, the hermit trying not to make eye contact with the people passing by.
“I’ll go in and tell her you have arrived,” Danzen said.
“Yes, fine, at least we don’t have to go to Chutham anymore. Although…” He took a look at the door of the pleasure house. “I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.”
Danzen stepped up to the rather large building, once again greeted by the sweet smell of perfume, the outer walls with pink and red trim, something very feminine about the place, alluring.
He opened the door and entered the foyer, where he found two security guards, both men in armor who would have stepped in front of Danzen had it not been for the voice of Eva Yin telling them to stand down.
“Did you deliver the message?” she asked, something off about her form. Eva Yin still looked young as ever, no older than twenty, but her eyes were bloodshot, her overall demeanor telling Danzen that she was suffering.
“He’s waiting outside.”
“Lead him around to the back,” she said. “I have a private room there where we can talk. Thank you, Pilgrim.”
Danzen was just starting to turn away from her when he stopped. “Next time you have something for me to do, just ask me,” he said. “I don’t like owing people favors.”
Part Eight
.Chapter One.
As he had done multiple times by this point in his journey, Danzen made his way back to the First District, Kudzu at his side and in her human form. He knew that Eva Yin’s condition was private, and even though she said they could stay, Danzen felt it would be better to depart. Once again, they saw Yeni in the street, the teenager watering some plants that they recently placed outside of the general store.
Yeni batted an eye in Danzen’s general direction, her jealousy once again visible. If Kudzu picked up on it, she didn’t say anything, the two just passing the teenage girl when Danzen heard an unfamiliar voice call his name.
He turned to find a man in white robes standing before him, his hair fiery red, the man a full head taller than the former assassin, more muscular as well, blue veins visible under his pale, paper-thin skin.
Danzen’s hand dropped to the hilt of his famed blade.
“Brother,” said the man, baring his teeth, a redness to his eyes now as he looked Danzen over. “Or should I say, older brother. At last, we finally come face-to-face.”
The two were silent for a moment, Danzen already well aware of the fact his half-brother did not have a weapon. Yeni picked up on what was happening as well, but rather than run inside as she should have, she stopped what she was doing and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Can I help you, my lord?” she asked with a bit of attitude. “You’re blocking up traffic.”
It was sort of the truth; there were some people around, but most had sensed the strange energy radiating off the two men by this point, and those familiar with Danzen knew better than to stick around.
“It appears you have a fan,” the man said, a sinister smile taking shape on his face. He turned to Yeni, all of his teeth sharpened to fine points, as if he had a mouth full of canines.
“We can take this somewhere else,” Danzen said with caution. “Whatever you want to talk about, whatever needs to happen, it doesn’t need to happen here.”
“So you are setting the terms? Father said…” The man trailed off, his voice dropping into a growl. “A half-demon dares speak to me this way? I choose where this happens, not you, not ever.”
“What is your name?” Danzen asked, hoping that he could reason with his half-brother.
“You may call me Nomtoi, brother,” the man said as he looked at Kudzu. “You must be the yokai that has attached herself to him. A pity for you.”
Nomtoi lifted his right arm and clenched his fist together; a wave of energy swept into Kudzu, tossing her into the tavern, the walls coming down immediately. The wave fanned out, cutting into the buildings around it, ceilings collapsing, splinters spraying into the air. Anyone still around started to run.
The rage that came over Danzen at that point was unlike any he had experienced for some time.
It was almost as if his hellspawns had been unleashed, an incredible animosity surging through him as he shot forward to address his demonic sibling.
But Nomtoi was even stronger than he was letting on.
The muscular demon simply lifted his arm and blocked Danzen’s strike, his skin seemingly impenetrable. He blocked his next attack as well, Danzen putting all of his force into his next strike only for Nomtoi to grab him by the neck.
“So weak, so mortal,” said Nomtoi as he lifted Danzen, his grip tightening, the blood supply going to Danzen’s brain suddenly cut off.
Danzen was hurled into the Sarten’s Restaurant, spilling into the crowd. All of the people inside, including Naran and her husband, were already trying to leave. By the time Danzen had landed, he had crashed through the wall, through a table, and then after bouncing on the floor, through another table, his body covered in food and bits of ceramic.
Even worse—there were cuts on his arms, that familiar sensation coming to him, portals already starting to take shape.
As if Nomtoi wielded an invisible whip, Danzen was swept out of the restaurant, cutlery and plates falling on top of him as he was pulled through another wall, the front of the building starting to collapse.
“So this is your power?” Nomtoi asked as mangled hands started to appear out of the portals, claws curling in the air. A mist formed, the ensuing terror peppered by shouts and screams from the villagers. “You summon demons from Diyu?”
Danzen now was on his knees in front of his brother, trying to stand, every muscle in his body hurting. He had somehow sheathed Astra; he couldn’t recall when he had done so. His hand went to the grip of his Blade of Darkness. Danzen withdrew it from his back, and used its pole to help him stand.
“Father has taken an interest in you, considering you are next in line to the throne,” Nomtoi said as if there weren’t hellspawns crawling out of portals all around him, the monstrosities seething, teeth gnashing. “The ruler of Diyu interested in his half-breed son? There are no words to describe how shameful this is to me. But I am here to put an end to that, to show him just how weak you are, just as I have done to all of our brothers and sisters.”
Rather than start attacking the villagers, Danzen’s demons simply huddled around Nomtoi, as if they were awaiting orders. “Kill as many as you can,” Nomtoi finally said, gritting his teeth as he beamed a malicious smile at his half-brother. “On second thought, I will kill them myself. Back into your holes.”
The demons all turned at once and shuffled back into the portals that were starting to disappear, obedient as ever. Bleeding profusely now, Danzen’s focus jumped from his brother to the shadows pooling at the tip of his Blade of Darkness.
He swung his weapon forward, hoping that the shadows would do some damage to his brother. The demon leaped into the air to avoid his shadow attack. Danzen tried again, Nomtoi performing the same maneuver, laughing as he did so, as if he were toying with him.
Danzen struck him in the face with Astra, loosing his blade so quickly that Nomtoi wasn’t able to avoid it. While it didn’t pierce his flesh, its impact seemed to infuriate him, Nomtoi’s nostrils flaring, his eyes twitching with rage.
His face began to morph into that of a wolf with a long snout, several other eyes appearing as he hunched over, claws growing from his hands. Nomtoi in his wolf form was even more muscular than before, a dark cloud hanging over him now as he growled at his half-brother.
He struck Danzen so hard that it felt as if he had cracked every bone in his body. Nomtoi bit into Danzen’s shoulder with his razor-sharp teeth and tore off a huge chunk of flesh and muscle. Danzen tried to stop him from biting him again, only to be driven back into the ground.
He caught movement on his periphery. Khamdo and Temur appeared out of the rubble of the tavern, Kudzu nowhere in sight.
“No!” Danzen shouted over to them as Temur psyched himself up by slapping both his fists against his chest, ready to engage Nomtoi.
“Another power of yours makes itself known,” Nomtoi said, his breath reeking of death, his voice even more frightening now that he was in his half-wolf form.
Nomtoi grabbed Danzen by the neck with his big clawed fist and slammed him into the ground several more times. He then sent a wave of force toward Khamdo and Temur, both of them knocked off their feet.
Danzen tried to stand, but as soon as he did, his brother lifted him and started running toward the general store. With Yeni screaming somewhere, Nomtoi slammed Danzen through the wall, taking out shelf upon shelf of food as he charged with him through the store and out the back wall, splinters and powdered dry goods spraying into the air.
Nomtoi threw Danzen over his shoulders, the former assassin flying over the general store and landing once again in the dirt road out front, utterly obliterated.
Landing with a quake, Nomtoi approached Danzen, his multiple sets of eyes focused on his weaker half-brother. “Father will now see you for what you are,” he said as he began morphing back into the form of a human, his white robes torn and tattered, “a weak, pathetic human.”
Something struck Nomtoi from behind, fast enough that Danzen didn’t immediately catch a glimpse of what it was. All he saw was his brother stumbling forward and hitting the ground, the powerful demon pushing himself up immediately and turning to face his foe.
