Dokeshi March ~ 10!

They finished eating hastily, then started packing up without exchanging a word. Grant was even nice enough to give some broth to Fluffy Fingers, though he had to ignore the disapproval coming from both Suki and Sarge. The enemy Vassal was quiet, clearly contemplating what Suki had explained to him. It was clear the clown was conflicted about hearing that his District was fundamentally broken, but Grant didn’t have any clue about what to say to the man.

<She’s right, you know.> Sarge interrupted his thoughts, and he glanced down at the sword on his hip. <It’s something you need to remember going forward. The people and cultivators in the Districts we will travel through depend on Wielders and their Vassals for many things, and their defense and protection are the most important role those offices must fulfill.>

“I agree; of course I do…” Grant paused to gather his thoughts. “It just feels odd, you know? Having people depend on me. Saving Leapkind in District January was one thing, but that was a relatively small number of people. It kind of just fell in my lap. To think that there are even more people out there who depend on me is… well, almost scary.”

<That’s why you train. You must be prepared for the role you must fill.> Sarge sent a pulse of reassurance through their mental bond. <Don’t worry too much. I will help you where I can, and Suki clearly understands the importance of a Wielder. You won’t have to fight alone.>

“What should we do with him?” Suki interrupted their internal conversation, lifting her chin to indicate the clown tied up on the floor. “If he doesn’t get to a healer soon, he isn’t going to last much longer.”

“The main road should have some patrols pass through here eventually.” Grant knelt to untie the ridiculous amounts of twine holding the Vassal in place. “We can drop him off there, and they will see to him quickly.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.” She hefted her pack onto her back and twisted her pink hair up into a coil. “The broth you fed him should provide the energy he needs to keep him alive until then.”

“Yeah, I meant to ask you about that.” Grant looked at her out of the corner of his eye while struggling with the knots. “Where did you learn to cook like that? The soup you made was the best thing I have eaten since District January.”

“Who do you think was responsible for determining which recipes and foods were acceptable for the people in District February?” Suki put her hands on her hips in a proud stance. “I was heavily involved with the process, and I learned to cook from several master chefs.”

Grant couldn’t help it. His heart skipped a beat, and his cheeks reddened until they felt like they were on fire. The woman he was supposedly betrothed to was a master chef? Maybe he should rethink his reluctance about courting her…?

<Looks like your knowledge of knots is not a lot. The twine will rot before we can trot.> Grant stared at his sword in shock. Sarge was quiet for a second, and a distinct note of discomfort tinged his voice. <Grant, we need to get out of this District. It’s beginning to affect my speech patterns.>

“I was going to ask you what that rhyming was about, but I certainly can’t argue with that. I got this.” He gave up with the twine and stood over the prone figure. His sword cleared its scabbard in one smooth motion, then flashed out in swift succession, slicing through the fibrous strands without breaking the clown’s skin. “There. Now we can go.”

Suki’s eyes had definitely widened at the show of skill; Grant had already shown improvement from just the small amount of training he had accomplished while she had gone searching for food. It wasn’t the same level of impressiveness that the fight against Fluffy Fingers had shown. The whirling blade that had deflected the majority of the items thrown at him was one thing, as his skill had been enhanced by the obvious battle trance he had been in. By contrast, the control he had shown in cutting the twine was without the aid of adrenaline. She couldn’t help but be reminded that she had seen her own defeat at the hands of the man as well. “Beginner…?”

“Get up. I don’t want to drag you down the stairs if I don’t have to.” Grant helped the still-pensive Vassal to his feet, trying to avoid injuring the damaged man any further. His focus on their foe made him oblivious to Suki’s surprise toward his capabilities. “The sooner we get you in the street, the sooner you can get back to your crazy boss.”

The three of them tromped down the stairs and onto the empty streets. The smoky haze covering the area was thick; Grant could smell more than just wood burning in the air. He had to concentrate to keep his meal of soup from escaping when he realized he wasn’t getting a whiff of cooked pork. The expressions of horror on the faces of the clown and Suki confirmed that he wasn’t the only one who had made the terrible realization.

“It wasn’t this bad earlier. Something must have changed.” Suki peeked around the corner and glimpsed a mass of shadows blur across the main road into an alley. “I think the monsters from the sewers got stirred up by the fires.”

“Regent’s sharpened teeth!” Fluffy Fingers took an involuntary step back in fear. “You can’t leave me on the streets if those things are swarming! They go after people until the only thing left is bones-!”

“Are you saying you are aware of the threat?”  Grant turned with a growl, grabbing the man by the front of his shirt, his knuckles cracking from squeezing so hard. “You people know how dangerous it is out here for your citizens because of your system of control, and you did nothing?”

Grant saw red at the corners of his vision as he slammed the clown against the wall. “How many innocent people have died so you can continue your power games?”

He battered the Vassal against the wall once again before tossing him into the middle of the road. “I doubt you’ll really see the how stupid your choices are without facing the dangers personally. If I see you within ten seconds, I’ll kill you myself.”

The clown turned pleading eyes to Suki for support, but her stony countenance was no place to find it. Cowering, he turned and limped in the opposite direction, quickly disappearing down an alleyway between two abandoned buildings, still clutching his broken hands to his chest.

<Now you begin to act like a true Lord of the Month.> Sarge’s utterly content voice in his head broke Grant out of his fuming rage. <Even so, remember not to let your emotions control your actions. If you don’t rule them, they will rule you. Don’t be a raging barbarian, be->

“If you tell me to be a samurai one more time…” Instead of finishing his threat, Grant turned to walk down the middle of the empty street, the haze making it hard to see farther than a dozen yards in front of them. Suki was also silent, her face expressing no emotion beyond the anger that had to be mirrored on Grant’s own features.

They continued quietly, both of them trying to keep the noise of their passing to a minimum. It wasn’t discussed, but it was a unanimous decision to avoid walking down the darker streets. The sun was still far from the horizon; however, the smoke from the incinerated buildings made the shadows nearly as deep as twilight.

Desolation from uncontrolled fires, the riots of starving people, and the already rundown appearance of the District set a pall over their moods. This was no place for someone to live. Grant was filled with the determination to put an end to the reign of terror which the mad jester was perpetuating on his people.

“What was that?” Suki perked up, peering into the darkened alley in the distance. Grant was scanning their immediate surroundings, searching the rooftops of the dilapidated buildings around them. She pointed toward the left of the approaching intersection, where their path intersected with a wider side street running perpendicular to the main road. “Down there. I think I heard something step on glass.”

“I’ll cut through this building and come out on the other side.” Grant nodded over his shoulder at the ramshackle storefront one doorway back from where they stood. “You stay in the middle of the intersection and try to draw the attention of whatever is waiting over there. That way, I can sneak up on them.”

“Will do. Just don’t take too long.” Her gloves morphed into the giant metal gauntlets she used to pummel any opponents stupid enough to confront her. “I don’t relish the idea of facing another rat swarm without someone to watch my ankles.”

Grant gave her a sharp nod and took off, doing his best to stay quiet. He had traded his stealth for the Reflective Skin skill, but his lack of a proper ability didn’t mean he couldn’t keep his noise down.

<Don’t skulk in the shadows and sneak up on enemies. Just go defeat them properly.> Grant opened his mouth to argue with Sarge, but the spirit kept talking over any objections. <Wait… no. A good general knows the importance of surprising a foe. Just make sure you know the difference between a tactic and cowardice.>

Grant had absolutely no idea what a general would do in that situation, so he just followed his plan. He was already about to exit from the back door of the empty building anyway. The narrow street behind the shop was littered with the debris common to the poorer regions of most Districts. This one was choked with more smoking rubble than most others they had passed, so he picked his steps carefully, doing his best to avoid alerting anyone that he was approaching.

As Grant rounded the corner, he instantly realized the monumental mistake he had just made. There weren’t people lurking at the intersection to attack passersby. Instead, a trio of large beasts lay waiting to ambush anyone foolish enough to enter their hunting grounds.

<This is great!> Grant flinched when Sarge shouted in joy upon sighting the creatures. <I didn’t know an Ushi-Oni would ever leave their water source! The Dokeshi must have paved over their home, and they have been living in the sewers or something. This will be a fantastic way to test your skills!>

“Ummm…” Grant had never seen this kind of monster. The grotesque creatures each had the head of a bull and the body of a giant spider. Their horns curved up and forward, perfect for charging straight into anyone stupid enough find themselves in range. He couldn’t hold in the shudder at the sight of their hairy spider bodies. “What is an Ushi-Oni?”

<Well, specifically, that is a ‘gyuki’. An ox demon, found only in the most remote areas of the world.> Sarge chuckled a bit, which didn’t make Grant feel any better about his situation. <I wouldn’t call them a ‘demon’, personally; just a monster that people fear, due to their ferocious temperament and ability to kill quickly and without remorse. Now that I think about it… that’s probably why people call them demons.>

“Well, I’m not going to fight those things. There is only one of me, but there are three of them.” Grant took a cautious step back, already planning a way around them. “All I need to do is stop Suki from attacking them, and then we-”

“Die, evil creatures!” The pink-haired streak that was Suki left a corridor through the smoky haze as she sprinted through it, ending her battlecry by slamming an uppercut into the jaw of the Uchi-Oni nearest her.

“Never mind. Die, foul beasts!” Sarge’s shout of joy blended with Grant’s bellow as he ran into the fray, uchigatana leading the way. “No backing out now!”