Chapter 8: Into the Heart of Darkness! The Infiltration of Haiirosen
Haiirosen is more depraved than anyone thought possible.
PREVIOUS: Chapter 7
NEXT: Chapter 9
Ryuji and Hina's boat disembarked on a riverbank.
Hina used her wand to keep the water from seeping into both of their sandals, but once they were away from the bank, Hina handed her wand to the boatman. If this infiltration was going to look convincing, neither Hina nor Ryuji could be armed.
But there was a second element to the plan as well: Hina needed to look like a captive. To that end, the boatman took a length of rope and tied Hina's wrists and ankles, then gagged her with a small cloth. Ryuji put the now-restrained but still conscious Hina across his shoulders.
"We should be able to waste their time long enough, especially with the village chief coming down. Haiirosen's got a big head start, after all," Ryuji said.
But the boatman had a look of dismay, his skepticism clear.
"Machida's original plan was the smarter one, if I'm being honest," the boatman said.
"I know, but this one" -- he tilted his head to indicate Hina -- "insisted on going. What happened happened, and we can't change it, so we've gotta move forward with what we've got."
"Right, but...I'm certain a war will come," the boatman said.
"Guess all you can do is be prepared."
"Right. Well, it was nice knowing you two."
"You're acting like we're gonna die."
"Just acknowledging reality. I might die too, you know."
And with that, Ryuji went on his way, with Hina in tow.
#
Ryuji walked quite a distance carrying Hina, who pretended to be unconscious. Even though they went most of the way in the boat, they couldn't stop at the pier and give the game away, so they had to stop somewhat ahead of it. That said, it still brought them near Haiirosen's area of control.
But even this pushed Ryuji to his limit. It wasn't that Hina was heavy; she kept fit and maintained a good figure. It was that lugging a weight over one's shoulders for miles put an extreme strain on even the strongest body. More than once, he laid Hina down and picked her back up to save his energy.
His perseverance was rewarded; he spotted a house that stood next to a huge fenced-in area full of cows. Inside that fence were several young men on horseback, rounding up the cows into small groups. The fence was covered in barbed wire, and the house had gray-striped cloth adorning its sides.
Ryuji carried Hina to the house, then knocked on the door, at once, a man in a dull brown kimono answered.
"What's going on here?" the man asked. But then he noticed Hina's clothes. "Hold on, isn't that one of those lower witches from Gaikyo or something?"
"She is. I'm taking her to Haiirosen as a hostage," Ryuji said. Hina stayed limp to keep up the appearance.
"Keep her in my bedroom. My wife'll guard," the woman said. "Name's Shigefumi, by the way."
"Ryuji Oyama. The girl's name is Hina."
Ryuji stepped into the house, which was compact but well-kept. A spear and a bow hung on the wall, as did a gray-striped bandana. But as Ryuji made his way to the room, he glimpsed something strange: a table with an odd stain on it. He ignored it for now and instead focused his attention on a woman in a flower-print kimono whose face was as worn as old sandals.
"Bring her here, I'm Uten, by the way," the woman said. Uten guided Ryuji to the room, where there was a cushion on the floor. Ryuji set Hina down, then backed off as Uten shut the door. Uten got in front of the door as if to block it.
"How long are you planning to stay?" Uten asked.
"Until the sleeping hour, if you don't mind," Ryuji said.
Shigefumi chimed in. "That's perfectly fine."
But now, Ryuji wanted to address the thing that was bugging him.
He gestured at the table in the center of the house, a smooth rectangular stone that exuded cool air. On its surface was a prominent brown stain.
"What's the story behind that?" Ryuji asked. But to Ryuji's surprise, Shigefumi got agitated.
"Let me ask you something: you come from Gaikyo?" Shigefumi asked.
"I did," Ryuji admitted.
"Figured, but let me make something clear -- stay out of stuff that's not your business, or you and your little witch will be out on your ass. You got that?" Shigefumi said.
"Loud and clear," Ryuji answered. Why'd he get so defensive? It's just a stain.
But both Shigefumi and Uten's moods changed. Now they watched him warily, like he couldn't be trusted with anything.
But Ryuji also saw an opportunity.
"I noticed some people outside rounding up your cattle. Getting ready to take them to town?" Ryuji asked.
"Why does that matter?" Shigefumi asked.
"Maybe we should kick this guy out now. We can take the witch without him," Uten added.
"I hadn't considered that! Good thinking, dear."
Now Ryuji had to save this. "If you're gonna do that, can you at least give me a ride to Haiirosen? I'll be out of your hair, and I won't see you again."
"Don't see why I should. My cows and your witch have value; random interlopers do not," Shigefumi answered.
"Be honest with us -- what are you hoping to gain?" Uten added.
"Heard that things were better in Haiirosen than they could ever be in Gaikyo, but the folks at home had a problem with that, so I took the girl," Ryuji said. It hurt Ryuji to lie like this, but he had to gain these people's good will. Shigefumi's fit over the stone didn't help matters.
"Or maybe you're a common thief making up stories. Don't see why we should take your sort to the city," Uten answered.
"Circumstances moved me to desperate measures. Gaikyo trades in unfairness -- you know that," Ryuji said.
Now Shigefumi spoke, "What do you bring to the table?"
"Knowledge of the city and everyone in it. They're preparing defenses against all the dino attacks that have been happening recently. I need to tell Lady Akane about them so that they aren't used against your people," Ryuji said, careful not to let on too much lest Haiirosen be provoked into war straight away.
"Can't we get that same information from the witch?" Shigefumi asked.
"She wasn't as involved. I'm your best bet," Ryuji answered.
Shigefumi thought on it for a moment. After a few minutes, he gave his answer.
"I'll trust that you're telling me the truth, so I'll take you."
Ryuji counted himself lucky, since this could have gone much worse. But still, he could sense an undercurrent of mistrust. Ryuji had to stay alert.
#
Shigefumi himself didn't take Ryuji and Hina to Haiirosen; instead his eldest son Yashiro did. While Ryuji and Hina rode in a wagon cushioned with hay, Shigefumi's younger sons guided a herd of cattle along with them. The bandana and the bow from the house were being carried by one of the younger sons.
Hina feigned grogginess as he pretended to wake up; as a small courtesy, Ryuji removed her gag. "This is a lot better, but these ropes..."
"They're staying on. You don't get a chance to slip away," Ryuji said in a mock threatening tone.
Yashiro, who was driving the wagon, cut in. "Word is that they've been having dino problems up near Gaikyo, so they're proposing an alliance to take them out. It'll be a second Savage Hunt."
"Should've taken out all the dinos back then," Ryuji said.
"Nah, Takuo didn't have the means, but we got the Tempest Archers and Lady Akane. It's gonna be a bloodbath for the dinos, and I'm here for it."
"VENOM didn't exist either, so we've got something too."
"That's right, and bringing one of them as a hostage will keep them honest. Hope you're planning to bring more than one or at least an upper witch, because she's not gonna cut it."
"Hey, it's a start!"
Ryuji and Yashiro kept chatting, with Yashiro talking about his prized cattle and Ryuji bragging about the hogs he's killed ("We don't chase hogs, we raise 'em," Yashiro had said in response.) Yashiro then revealed that he was a Tempest Archer, and that he couldn't wait to put his skills to a real test. The equipment from the house was his.
"Also, there's something I saw up near Iwamori-"
One of Yashiro's brothers shouted. "Don't say anything about that."
"Right -- my bad," Yashiro answered. Ryuji wanted to know more, but considering how Shigefumi had reacted when he asked about the stone, Ryuji didn't want to push his luck.
"That reminds me -- don't ask about Iwamori when you get there. If you get me in trouble, I'll murder you and your whole family," Yashiro said.
"Got it," Ryuji answered.
#
After a while, they reached the walls of Haiirosen. However, they didn't go in the front gate, since it wasn't even close to wide enough to handle so many cows; instead, they went to a much longer gate in the back, which had more archers and foot soldiers protecting it than the front did. The gate was slid into the walls by two men, and Yashiro drove the cart inside along with the huge herd of cattle. The gate led directly to the slaughterhouses, and the sound of cows screaming as they died painful deaths filled the air.
"Hear that? That's the sound of good eating," Yashiro said as he stopped the cart on a side street. He opened the carriage door and let Ryuji out, but when Ryuji headed over to grab Hina, Yashiro stopped him.
"I'll be handling her from here," Yashiro said as he slung Hina over his shoulder. "By the way, how is she?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ryuji asked.
"When you make love to her! How is she?" Yashiro asked.
Ryuji's palms sweated when he realized what could happen, but before he could say anything Hina herself spoke up.
"What are you gonna do to me?" Hina asked.
"That's for Lady Akane to decide, but if it were up to me, you'd have a hard time sitting down or eating solid food," Yashiro said.
One of his brothers added to the grisly conversation. "Think you can fetch more lower witches? I wanna keep one for myself."
Another brother spoke, "Screw that, I want an upper witch, maybe even the Chief Witch."
"But enough of this chit-chat. Ryuji, I need you to go to the toy store and wait for me. If you're gonna be one of us, you've got to put in the work. It'll be tough with you -- you probably won't be seeing home for a while," Yashiro said.
Despite a fear for Hina's safety, Ryuji agreed. The alliance had to happen, after all.
"All right," Ryuji said, Yashiro walked away while Hina looked up at Ryuji in utter terror.
Ryuji buried his sense of dread and did what Yashiro told him. He ran from the slaughterhouse, if only to get away from the screaming. He didn't normally care about the animals he ate, but just hearing these noises made him reconsider, if only for a little while.
He walked the streets, asking for directions to the toy store. In a short time, he found it: like so many buildings in the city, it was festooned with gray-striped cloth. A sign across the top of the entrance read NAGATO DOLL SHOP, and in the window was a variety of finely crafted figures. Hunters, ranchers, farmers, and so many others were carved of wood and painted with intricate detail. Even the clothing looked lifelike, as if tiny hands had sewn them. One set caught his eye -- Heroes of the Hunt. At its center was Takuo Isesaki mounted atop his brown charger with a gray-striped headband on his head and a bow in his hand. To his right was a screaming shirtless man swinging a hatchet -- Wild Geki Machida. There was also a lovely woman in an outfit that left little to the imagination and bore the familiar blue square wave pattern -- the witch Eri Iijima, who became Takuo's wife. There were seven figures in total, and the sign made it clear that they would only ever be sold as a set.
"You like those? I carved them, you know," a female voice said behind Ryuji.
He jumped, but when he turned around, he was faced with an image of beauty. Before him was a young woman with a huge black flower in her smooth brown hair. Her kimono was red with a pink flower print on it, and the hemline was quite high, showing off smooth legs. On her feet were sandals with raised wooden soles, which made her look taller than she was.
"Either you work for this Nagato guy, or you're his daughter," Ryuji said.
"The first one. The name's Sakurako by the way," the young woman said.
"Ryuji. I'm new here."
"Gaikyo, right? I heard about what's going on. How many dinos have you killed?" Sakurako asked with a smile.
"More than I could count. I'm pretty good at hunting, but right now, I'm looking for a different kind of prey," Ryuji said.
Sakurako smirked, knowing what Ryuji was driving at. "Oh, so we're going there?"
"We've gotta strengthen the bonds between our cities. Now you know a place where we can get a bite?"
"You hungry?"
"For a couple of things."
"You're gonna have to wait for that," a male voice called out.
Yashiro showed up, dressed in his full Tempest Archer gear and riding alongside three other fellow archers.
"Saku honey, get outta here," Yashiro said.
"Of course," Sakurako answered, giving him a sultry gaze. She left, and Ryuji stared at her ass as she walked away.
"You know I've turned her inside-out a bunch of times," Yashiro said with pride.
"What?" Ryuji asked, dumbfounded by the very question.
"I fucked her ass till it bled, while the only thing you've fucked is your hand. Now I need you to do something for me," Yashiro said. He waved his hand at his comrades, then one of them brought over a saddled horse.
"If you Gaikyo boys are gonna run with us, you better be good at riding. Get on this horse," Yashiro said.
"I'm sorry, but I can't ride," Ryuji answered.
"Guess there's a first time for everything. But that's tough, because we're not gonna wait around while you soft yams try to catch up on foot. Get on the horse," Yashiro said.
"Fine," Ryuji answered. He had to gain this city's trust, however the difficulty.
He approached the horse and climbed on. When he fitted his feet into the stirrups, they slipped this way and that, as common sandals weren't fit for horse riding.
"I think I need boots," Ryuji said.
"What you need is guts. Now go!" Yashiro said. He struck Ryuji's horse with a small crop and sent it running.
Ryuji gripped the horse's straps as it rampaged through the streets. People dodged the frightened animal as Ryuji pulled on the straps in a futile attempt to control it.
The best I can hope for is not crashing into anything, Ryuji thought. After a near-miss involving an old woman, Ryuji just pulled the straps back hard, and the horse slowed to a trot. The animal shook its head and moved steadily through the street now. By pulling on the straps, Ryuji could guide the horse, but it only seemed to work half the time; the horse just did what it wanted the other half of the time.
What's even the point of this? Ryuji asked himself. How am I supposed to know I did this right?
But he stayed on the horse, because he had to show that he was willing to learn what was valuable to Haiirosen. He couldn't steer the animal well, but at least it wasn't trampling anyone.
Then he got an idea.
Ryuji yanked the horse's straps to stop it; at least he could do that much. Then he got the attention of a random kid.
"Hey, have you seen this girl named...what was it...Sakurako or something? Flower in her hair, short red kimono, and all that?" Ryuji asked.
"Who's that?" the kid answered.
"Never mind," Ryuji said. This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. Unless...
Ryuji did his best to steer the horse. It rarely went where he wanted it to go, but he faked control by making it look like he was guiding it. Yashiro and his crew were nowhere to be seen -- and it didn't seem as if they cared what happened to Ryuji anyway.
But all the eyes on Ryuji convinced him that he was on the right track.
If I do this enough, Sakurako will see me, Ryuji thought.
He kept faking his control of the horse, going wherever it guided him without complaint. No one would ever mistake him for Takuo, but he didn't need to be so skilled. All he needed was for the right people to see him.
And she did.
Ryuji picked Sakurako out of a crowd of people gathered to watch the 'idiot from Gaikyo' try and ride a horse. As best as he could, he nudged the horse her way.
"Hey there," Ryuji said as he rode up to the young woman. He tried not to think about what Yashiro had said way earlier.
"Didn't know you could ride," Sakurako said.
"Who knows? At this rate I'll be a master horseman," Ryuji said.
"Oh, that's what you wanna be? You know it takes a lot to be one. Can you shoot bows?" Sakurako asked.
"No, but I'm pretty handy with a spear," Ryuji answered.
Sakurako thought for a bit, then answered. "Come with me. Bring the horse, too."
At long last, Ryuji dismounted. He twisted and stretched to loosen himself up, then grabbed the strap to guide the horse along as he walked. The crowd dissipated as the two left.
But as Ryuji and Sakurako moved through the streets, Ryuji noticed the lanterns. Instead of a piece of wood or bamboo, they had stones inside them.
"During the dark months, do you burn stones? I mean, VENOM's library had books that speak of black stones that can burn, but..."
"Everything will become clear in due time," Sakurako said.
"On that note, where are you taking me?"
"To a place where you will prove your commitment to our city," Sakurako said, with all trace of mirth gone from her voice.
"Wait, I didn't say I'd become one of your archers," Ryuji said.
"But you Gaikyo people did say that you wanted us to join forces against the dinos. We just need some assurance," Sakurako said.
"Just who are you?"
"A girl committed to the protection of her city. There's so much here that we've been able to accomplish -- I'd hate to see it all get crushed between a tyrannosaur's teeth."
"So...a witch."
"You could say that."
Sakurako guided Ryuji and the horse to a house in the city's residential quarters. It didn't look too different from the other houses, except for a list of names carved into the door's threshold. When Ryuji saw that Yashiro's name was the last one, he realized what that list was.
Ryuji tied the horse to a nearby lamppost, then entered the house. It looked a bit empty; it was clear that she was the only one who lived here.
"So, what's all this about?" Ryuji asked.
"Come -- let me show you something. I started during the previous dark months, and I didn't really talk about it with anyone in the beginning, but I'm done now. Look!"
Sakurako brought Ryuji to a workshop in the back of the house. It was covered in sawdust to the point where Ryuji sneezed as soon as he entered. Tools lay on several tables, ready to be used whenever Sakurako had an idea.
But the real showpiece was in the back of the room, opposite the entrance.
A huge display was erected in a stairstep pattern, draped in deep red cloth.
At the top was the bull-shaped form of Moloch, dressed in a purple kimono with the front open, revealing seven small indentations. He was seated upon a small gray brick.
Seated on the lower levels were baby-shaped figures, all dressed up in kimonos and finely crafted, as the ones Ryuji saw in the toy shop. Nearly every single one wore gray stripes and was seated on a brick just like the Moloch figure. The one in the middle represented Takuo, identifiable by his bandana, but there were several figures above him.
But it wasn't those that got Ryuji's attention, it was the lower levels of the display that did. Akane was represented, identifiable by her mouth scars, but Ryotaro was also represented, as was Ichiro of all people.
"Wow, this is...it's stunning," Ryuji said.
"Isn't it? I consider it my masterpiece," Sakurako said.
"Yeah, the craftsmanship is just...wait..."
Ryuji took a closer look. It wasn't just that all of the figures were sitting on bricks, it was that all of the figures except the wooden Moloch figure on the top had lifelike textures.
Too lifelike.
"How did you make these?" Ryuji asked.
"We made them from the children of our esteemed citizens, graciously donated to increase our collective powers and honor Haiirosen's First Family," Sakurako answered.
"You mean...those are..."
"That's right, Gaikyo boy. And you're gonna have to accept it," said a male voice -- none other than Yashiro.
"But why would you do something like this? They're just children!" Ryuji shouted.
"Shut your stupid mouth. The Abbess's outmoded laws have no power here."
Yashiro stepped into the room holding a young boy, little more than a toddler. In Yashiro's hand was a tanto dagger, pointed at the child's head.
"Lady Akane has shown us the truth: we were not meant to live lives of toil. The magic that VENOM teaches, magic powered by unending physical effort, is little more than torture imposed by a goddess who wishes to deny us the free and abundant life our ancestors enjoyed," Yashiro said.
"I don't recall the hunters of old talking about living easy -- quite the opposite, in fact," Ryuji said.
"It's not that story we've heard a million times. I'm talking about before -- way before," Yashiro said.
Sakurako walked up to the display and bent over at the waist to pick up the bricks that Ryotaro and Ichiro's figures were sitting on. As she did so, her kimono slid up, showing her well-shaped underwear-clad bottom; it was clear to Ryuji why Yashiro had done what he did with her. Sakurako brought the bricks over and placed one in Ryuji's hand.
"Brick by brick, we're building what was denied to us, and screaming brats aren't gonna get in our way. The children died so that we could enjoy the life our forebears did on planet Earth. Now, when I leave the room, speak into the brick," Sakurako said. She not only left the room but left the house as well.
Ryuji put the cursed item close to his mouth. His hand jittered, but he gathered his courage and spoke.
"What does this thing do?"
"It communicates over long distances," Sakurako answered, her voice emerging from the bricks.
"Talking? From far away?" Ryuji said.
"Indeed. It's only a small taste of the power Lord Moloch has gifted to us," Sakurako answered.
"And this power can be yours, too. You people from Gaikyo say you want an alliance? Well, let's see how committed you are. You are going to slit this child's throat, then you will tell everyone in the city what you did. After that we take you to the Temple of Moloch, and you'll get a powerful weapon," Yashiro said.
"I'm not murdering a kid," Ryuji said.
"Oh, so you intend for Venerians to suffer forever, dying of diseases and injuries that these powers can easily prevent. This child lost both of his parents when their bulls trampled them. He wants to be with them," Yashiro said.
"That's right -- I want to be with mommy and daddy. Please, kill me," the young boy said.
This can't be real, Ryuji thought.
"I won't give you all day. Either you make your decision in the next ten seconds, or I make it for you and you lose this opportunity," Yashiro said.
"And if you don't, you've also shown that all this talk of 'alliance' is nonsense. Understand that we don't tolerate people who would take away the life we're fighting for," Sakurako said.
"There you have it. Choose," Yashiro added.
And at that moment, Ryuji made his decision.
PREVIOUS: Chapter 7
NEXT: Chapter 9