It smelled pleasant as the door cooked under the heat of the lava, and the bluish haze of it filled the hallway. A board painted with a woman reclining with a dog at her feet hung askew on the wall before her. All the other doors stood closed as Kichi prowled to the stairway. She pictured herself without a weapon, descending into a common room filled with corrupted city folk with black stares. That seemed like a bad idea, so she turned back and tried a doorknob, and it let her into a room with no one in it.
The wooden second story overhung the first stone one, and she stuck her body out of the window into the night air. There was no great way to climb down. The daub and wattle exterior had a hole where some woodpecker had knocked out a chunk. It provided a good foothold and let her down a few feet, but not very far. She had no choice but to let go.
The ground shot towards her faster than expected. Her knees crashed into her torso, and it knocked her breath out. She pitched forward and faceplanted into the ground, gasping and holding herself. Then, as soon as lungs allowed, she stood and spat, tasting dirt in her mouth.
“You there,” said a man rounding the side of the inn. Before she turned to run, Bin was an orange spot that shot from the trees and landed on the side of his neck.
She picked up a stone and realized that she had the power to melt it. Not that this was the case for it. This called for regular violence. She darted forward and launched it into the man’s head.
Busy with Bin, the stone thudded into the side of his face. He toppled and didn’t get back up as she scoured for another stone.
She ran for the trees. “Come, Bin.”
He grunted, covered a bleeding scalp, and cursed. He sat up and swung his head in search of her, but he couldn’t see her in the shadows.
The spaces between trees were wide and clear of brush, and the only obstacles were the occasional gnarled bough that seemed to reach for her. Kichi ran on a carpet of pine needles, which softened her steps. The city lights shone between the boughs.
Bin jumped from her shoulder and waved with a tiny paw.
She crept to the edge of the trees and looked. In a yellow street lamp, an iron cage hung by a well. Was this the well Hach spoke of back at the inn?
Movement in the cage caught her eye, and it took a second to recognize the form of a man. Maybe he was a criminal. Or, she feared, perhaps it was a victim of Hach.
She made a clandestine zigzag into shadows along shuttered shops. Then, she peered into the cage. The man didn’t notice her, and that made her feel confident in her sneaking ability. She noticed cropped blond hair, nice blue fabric, and a plate on his shoulder.
“Who are you?” he said without looking back.
“My name’s Kichi. Who are you, and what are you doing in there?”
The man turned as best he could and grabbed the bars. “I’m a Knight Masahide of Mount Tempar. And a possessed man named Hach put me in here. Unclean spirits often delight in humiliating those like me.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
She walked around so he didn’t have to twist his neck to look at her. However, she didn’t want to stay long in the pool of light and risk discovery. “I need to get you out then.”
“You’re awfully quick to trust. Though I’m not complaining.”
“No, I trust my gut. So, how do I open this thing?”
“You’ll need a key unless you can cut through thick iron.”
“I don’t have a key, and I can’t.”
“Well, the server girl from the tavern called the Lion Cave told me Hach went to his house after he locked me up. And then he slept all day. If he doesn’t have the key, he might have left it there.”
“Okay, I’ll get you out. And then you have to help me get the body of Whitebeard. He was a great knight and must be treated with respect.”
“Deal.”
“Where’s the house?”
“There’s a white bridge over the creek just upstream. Follow the trail to the first hill, and it’s the home with a broken cart in the front.”
“I’ll return,” she said and darted back into the shadows. Three of the men at the tavern walked past. She didn’t directly recognize them, but they had black veins around their eyes.
It was impossible to cross the creek without running out into the open and being spotted. The directions made sense from her vantage. Beyond the bridge, the road vanished, but a trail angled into the wooded hills. She sprinted to the bridge and went underneath. She took off her boots and stepped into freezing water. She gasped and ran across and sat to put boots back on plaid feet.
A group walked along the road with lanterns. It seemed to be women with a few guys demonstrating some harrowing tale. They may have been a little drunk, but none appeared affected by the well. That was a good sign, but she didn’t risk discovery and instead ran to a hedge behind a low wall and finally into the trees.
They stopped on the bridge and leaned on the wall.
She hurried along the path uphill and found the house with a broken cart in its front walkway. There were no lights between the shutters. She circled but found no way in.
The cart was heavy, but it would get her above the foundation and to the windows. She pushed it against the wall and pried a shutter open.
The house inside was in disarray. Food rotted on a pine table, and the stench almost made her gag. Luckily, after the glank, she felt far more resilient to bad smells.
The house was big enough for a family, but no one was there. The bedding lay strewn on the floor. Then, she found a folded piece of parchment. She read the poor spelling and sloppy scrawl. It was Hach telling how sad he was after losing his wife and child during childbirth. It said he was going to the graveyard to join them.
As she was ready to give up, having searched the stove and rooms, she found a key next to a stinking chamber pot. She held her breath and picked it up. Perhaps this was it.
She returned to the front yard, but instead of turning back to the city, she turned the other way. On the subsequent rise, there was a shrine and, farther, a graveyard. Somehow, she felt this was important to learn what happened to Hatch. How did he end up taking over the inn and perhaps the city?
The shrine had offerings, and a flying bandit crawled on it and grabbed an offering. It stared at her and sniffed the air before it took flight. Beyond that, gravestones and tombs stood in the gloom. After poking around in the dark, she found a length of rope wound around a tree. The rope had frayed, and a piece lay apart from the rest.
She froze as a ghoul stiffly walked past her.
A voice like gnawing bones spoke from behind. “Have you come to join the restless?”
I don’t have my pure sword.
Kichi
Level: 4
Focus: Prescience
Secondary focus: Lava
Weapons: pure sword - 3% pure