The person who stood waiting on the porch of the manor home was a muscular man. He wore brown overalls over a white linen shirt. He had reddish-purple skin. No, that was flexible chitin. He had large blue-black multifaceted eyes, a tiny nose, and vertical ant-like mandibles. A pair of antennae swept back from high on his forehead. He stood waiting as the companions approached.
“G-greetings, t-travelers.” He said with a clicking stutter. “What business do you have here?”
Wali stepped forward, “I was sent here by my master, the Spirit Talker of the Colri, known as Longtooth.”
“Ahh, the madam will want to see you.” The man intoned. “Let me fetch her.” He turned back into the house, and the companions stood waiting. The manor itself was not huge; to Wali, it was simply a large five or six bedroom home. The bottom floor was river stone set in mortar, and the upper floors were cedar shake over timber. The red clay tile roof was pristine and seemed almost new.
A few minutes later, the man returned with a woman in tow. She was a tiny woman, not much more than 150 centimeters tall. Her silver hair hung around her shoulder and down her back to the middle of her back. She had pale luminous white skin, and her eyes were white with cataracts. Her skin was as smooth as a teenager, but she carried herself with the care and efficiency of someone ancient. She peered down at the companions. “About time you lot got here.” She fairly shouted, speaking with the loudness of someone who had difficulty hearing their own voice. She wore a clean yellow dress embroidered with little red flowers.
She gazed across Wali, Yacob, Vinny, and Sas’cha, then wrinkled her nose. She nodded and said to the man, “They stink. After they wash, we will have tea.” She turned back inside, and Wali noticed that her luminous skin was actually glowing faintly. Something about that glow pulled at his mind, a memory he had tucked away.
The man replied to her, “Yes, madam.” He stepped down the three steps toward the companions, “Follow me, please.”
As he stepped away, the others followed. Vinny said to Wali, “That’s her. That was Marsai,“ he said quietly. Wali nodded in response. The man led them to one of the outbuildings. This one was a large river stone building, though Wali noticed that the roof was set on short pillars above the walls, the gap between the walls and ceiling was there to let in air and release the thin stream of steam.
The man led them into the building, which was revealed to be a bathhouse. The central chamber had a steaming stone tub set into the floor the size of an apartment swimming pool. The steam smelled of herbs and mint, and two doors stood closed on the far wall. One side of the chamber had a series of washing stools and pails; soap and towels stood in piles next to each. The other side of the pool had an area for laundry, three large drums with wooden racks for hanging clothes to dry.
“I w-will ret-turn with some c-clean c-clothing for-or you. P-please leave all-all of y-your equipm-ment and I will r-return it t-to you c-clean.” The insect-man said as he stepped back out of the bathhouse.
Wali grinned at the others as he quickly began stripping off. This reminded him of a Japanese Onsen he had visited once in his past life. He poked his head into the first of the two doors at the far end of the room, and a wave of hot, dry air hit him. The room was set with cedar benches, and a large heat brick sat in the center of the room. It was a dry sauna; the air was breathtakingly hot inside. Wali looked forward to the opportunity to use it, but now was not the time.
Yacob and Vinny also began to strip down. They left their stuff in careful piles near the laundry area. Sas’cha had no sense of indecency; she dropped the cloak onto Yacob’s pile and moved over to the stools and buckets. Wali opened the other door and found a thick wall of steam, a wet sauna. He saw a huge drum filled to the brim with a roiling boil of water. Thick pipes moved out of either side. Wali assumed this was what kept the pool warm and cycled water to the lake.
Wali finally wriggled out of his pants and placed the leathers in a pile next to the other’s things. He padded over to a stool and took up the soap and scrub brush.
After scrubbing themselves clean, they soaked for a time in the tub. The insect-man had returned some time into their soaking and deposited simple blue linen clothing for each of them. Simple drawstring pants, a button-up short-sleeved shirt, underclothes, and leather sandals. They dried off using the provided towels, Sas’cha taking a bit longer because of her fur. They left all the towels and mess for the insect man by his request.
The bug person led them back to the house, where they were made comfortable in a beautiful sitting room. Two large overstuffed leather couches flanked a central coffee table, a pair of finely wrought padded wooden chairs set at the head and foot. One of them had seen far more use than the other. The walls were plaster, painted a soft gray. Tapestries were hung from brass rods on two walls. One depicted a mass battle between a city of humanoids defending from a swarm of monsters. The other was of seven white feminine faces in a ring around a large rune and glyph covered stone block, all on a white background. The other two walls had broad glass windows with lace curtains to diffuse the bright daylight.
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After a few minutes, Marsai came into the room. She sat in the chair, and her feet did not touch the floor. She was almost childlike in size, but a powerful aura surrounded her. Following her was the bug person who placed a tray with porcelain teacups and a teapot on the table. He poured for everyone and passed around cups. He stepped back, and Marsai said to him, “Thank you, Eiko. These folks will be staying with us. Please prepare the guest rooms and have a late dinner prepared for them.”
“Yes, m-madam,” Eiko replied as he stood and moved out of the room.
Marsai took a sip of tea and looked at each of the companions. Starting with Sas’cha, “You overgrown housecat, how did you get wrapped into this?”
Sas’cha laughed, “It is good to see you too, my old friend. How is the Warden business?”
“Oh, you know. We’ll chat more later. These boys are going to perish if they have to wait on us.” Marsai said with a companionable smile.
She turned to Vinny, “I guess you have done enough penance.” He looked ashamed, and she did some back-handed wave towards him.
A wash of power flowed over him. The transformation in him was stunning. His black hair and eyebrows shifted to a bright cobalt blue, his skin turning from pale white to a creamy coffee brown. His eyes flashed green as he saw the color return to his skin. He pulled a lock of hair forward as tears came to his eyes. He spoke in a far more normal voice, “I am sor-” he paused and held his throat. “My voice! Thank you!” Tears of relief streamed down his face.
Marsai turned to Yacob, “You young man are welcome here; as one of my children, this is now a home to you.”
He replied, “Umm, thanks,” confused.
She then turned to Wali, “You young man sure took long enough. But I guess that is to be expected. Prophecy be damned and all that. You are also welcome here as my child.”
Wali had a sinking feeling in his stomach, “Thank you, madam. I do have a question, what prophecy do you mean?”
She grinned, “My apprentice didn’t explain the prophecy to you, did he?”
“No, no one has ever told me about a prophecy,” Wali replied.
“One savior, three and six companions, nine-fold.
One hero, marked three by three, nine-fold.
One stranger, nine who are bound.
One who is godless to restore the fallen.”
She recited the prophecy rote. Her voice was more profound and more resonant, her skin visibly glowing white. “That is the prophecy of old, from shortly after the Demon Lords were bound into the earth and stone. This is from more than a thousand years ago, and I have been waiting for someone like you to come along since.” She paused and looked hard at him.
She continued, “My apprentice Longtooth told me that you had come. You see, there are things he never told you about. Do you mind if I spill your secrets to these three?” She asked.
Wali looked at Vinny, Sas’cha, and Yacob. “I don’t know if I have any more secrets to share.” He said.
She held up four fingers, “First, ‘three’’,” She said as she looked around at Vinny, Yacob, and Sas’cha. “Next is your six spirits, four totems, the Wily One, and the elemental.” She ticked a finger down.
“Next is the words ‘marked three by three’. These are your glyphs.” She said.
“I only have six glyphs, though.” He replied. The other three in the room stared at him.
“Six? Nine? I knew there was something more about you.” Sas’cha said with a grin.
“Normally, you Colri would have a third ceremony. At twenty-five, you become an adult in that society. That’s when you would normally have any final glyph marks revealed. I want to reveal the others you carry now.” Marsai said with a sly smile.
Wali could only nod; things were developing in a way he wasn’t sure he liked. “Sure, we can do that.” Marsai rang a small silver bell on the table.
Moments later, Eiko poked his head in, “Please, bring the Glyph Ring in, Eiko.”
“Y-yes, madam.” He said and closed the door behind him. Less than a minute later, the door reopened, and Eiko pushed in a circular table. It sat on a cart and had been prepared for this.
Marsai stood and waved the crew over to the table. It was a round stone series of concentric rings, a smaller version of the Totemic Ceremonial rings he had recently stood upon. Instead of a stone pillar in the center, there was a small bowl. On the table was a small thin-bladed knife. Marsai said, “Drip a little blood into the bowl, please.”
Wali looked at the knife and pricked his thumb. Squeezing the thumb, he dripped a bit of blood into the bowl. The blood seeped into the stone, disappearing. All of the glyphs lit up, glowing a faint blue. The glowing glyphs pulsed once, and the glyphs for Heart, Clever, and Spirit changed to orange. The glowing pulse came again; this time, Void, Magic, and Senses changed to orange. The third and final pulse came. This time, the Distance, Mind, and Blood glyphs turned orange. The blue-white glow faded, leaving the orange glyphs, which slowly disappeared.
“Nine glyphs,” Wali said. He breathed in deeply, trying to maintain calm. A moment later, he felt the glyphs burn their marks into his soul, awakening a deep well of power in him. His mind spun, but he did not black out as he had in the past. He grabbed Yacob’s shoulder for a moment as dizziness rocked him. He could feel something deep in his soul, like something opening up, something blooming like a flower opening to greet the sun.
“The nine-fold flower, “ Trickster said to Wali, being echoed by Marsai verbally. As Wali’s head cleared, Marsai had them all sit once again.
“The last two clues that make me sure this prophecy speaks of you come from Longtooth. You were a true foundling. You see, he knew that you did not come from this world, that you reincarnated here. He has also known that the Wily One has walked with you since you were a child. Longtooth always had a talent for reading the souls of people. When they found you in the river, he instantly knew something was different about you.”
“Wait, I had to wait on the border for sixteen years for this kid to grow up?” Vinny asked.
Marsai stifled a laugh, “Well, I didn’t want to, and you just happened along and decided to steal some of my flowers. I thought it was fortunate timing.” She said primly.
Vinny could only look at Wali, “I hate you.” he said darkly. “Really, I don’t, but I still blame you for all those years sounding and being forced to dress like a freak.”
Sas’cha interjected, “I thought the black looked good on you. Now, though, I don’t think it would be as good a color.”
“You would. You’re all black yourself.” he retorted.
“The best color.” She said with pride.
Marsai looked at them, waiting. “So you are a true ‘stranger’ to this world and are truly godless.” Everyone stared at Wali, clearly not comprehending. He smiled sheepishly.