Dungeon Master 6

by Eric Vall

  “Wait!” Rana shouted and ran forward. “Please, wait!”

  The Kitsune paused with her back still turned from us and glanced over her shoulder toward the redhead. Rana ran a few paces forward and stopped beside the nine-tailed fox. Kukan’s eyebrows furrowed, and her lips parted about to speak, but Rana spoke up first before the nine-tailed fox had the chance.

  “H-how did we come to be? How did the Kitsune tribe create people like me?” the redhead asked in an emotional voice as she stared up into the angular, pale face of her ancestor.

  “Oh, my love, we’ve been around for thousands of years, some believe before the gods were even born, but you’ll never hear a god admit that,” Kukan giggled as she reached out a pallid hand and stroked Rana’s round, pink cheek. “But you? Your kind is new, formed sometime before humans forgot about gods and wandering spirits. Our kind was once believed to be auspicious omens of good luck or times of peace but that quickly changed when we started to feed and reproduce. You are a direct descendant of me, maybe not me specifically but another fox spirit that bred with a human man. Some of them died off; our offspring were shunned and thrown out of cities for being considered evil. Some of them found human husbands who would accept them, or some of them ran off to die alone.”

  “So, what happened? How am I here?” the redhead fox asked in a whisper as she hit her paw against her chest violently.

  “They found each other, the spirit children found each other in droves, and created their own colonies of our kind,” Kukan told the redhead, and Rana’s baby-blue eyes filled with tears.

  “T-there’s colonies of us? My--our people?” Rana questioned as her voice cracked and finally, tears spilled down her freckled cheeks. “I thought…I thought we were all alone…”

  “Of course you’re not alone, I am with you, and the mother Kitsune is with you.” Kukan smiled as she ran a delicate hand over Rana’s curls, and the redhead choked back a loud sob.

  “W-where can I find them? Do you know where this colony is?” Rana inquired as she grabbed onto Kukan’s hand right as the nine-tailed fox moved to turn away.

  Kukan smiled gently at the redhead, and though I could see the desperation on her face to return home, she was still tender and kind to my minion. The Kitsune’s burnt umber eyes moved over Rana’s features, and finally, the nine-tailed fox gave the redhead the smallest of smiles.

  “South of Canarta, on the small continent of Fuchse. They’re hidden in the mountains, go up the side of the mountain where the river flows, and once you reach the wooden pillars and arch, you’ve found the right place.” The Kitsune told Rana in a soft voice, and finally, the redhead’s hand dropped from Kukan’s as she let the nine-tailed fox go.

  “Thank you.” Rana murmured, and the Kitsune bowed her head respectfully.

  “There is no reason to thank me, the people of the Kitsune tribe deserve to know where their kind reside, I hope you find them and calm some of the pain in your heart,” Kukan murmured then turned toward the open vortex. “We weren’t always meant to be street-rats, thieves and pickpockets, please remember that. Through your veins the blood of people of the spirit realm flows, and that is more to say about you than those who hurl insults and curses at our backs. We are the closest thing to being gods than actually being a god, and we were shunned for it.”

  Kukan, the last Kitsune, let her hands drop to her sides as she took a single step forward. We watched on in awe as her body transformed, not like before when she shifted from female form to female form. The nine-tailed foxes faced elongated and pulled out into a thin snout of a predator. Her already cat-like eyes widened and filled out as she took a step and then lowered herself closer to the ground. Her pale, nude body shrunk and the same white fur from her tail exploded up her entire form. The only things that remained the same were her pointed ears and the nine fluffy tails that whipped out behind her. She was just as beautiful in her true form as she was in her human one, but this looked more natural to her as she hopped forward on her small paws towards the opening.

  Rana took backward steps towards us, and I caught her by the shoulders and held her to my chest as we watched. Kukan lifted her right paw and stepped into the splice in reality then swiveled her angular face to look back at us. The burnt umber of her eyes were alive and sharp, and for a second, I could have sworn that I saw a smile on her lips. The last Kitsune bowed her head to us as her ears twitched once then she jumped through. My minions hurried forward and peered into the opening of the spirit world as Kukan dashed about the woods. Her nine tails fluttered through the wind, and at the last second, the Kitsune stopped again and looked back at us. She looked regal, her languid, sleek body poised, about to run as she held up one of her front paws. I’d heard legends about these creatures, but I never thought I’d see one in person, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I held tightly onto Rana as the redhead cried, and I felt emotion build in my throat. We’d released Kukan, the last of the spirit women called the Kitsune.

  In one swift movement, the nine-tailed fox turned and ran off deep into the forest. We watched her move farther and farther away until she was gone into the massive ferns.

  We stood together in silence for a long time. Each of my women reached out to the visibly shaken Rana and placed a comforting hand on her. Deep in the redhead’s eyes, it looked as if she expected the Kitsune to reappear at any second, but we all knew it in our hearts that Kukan wasn’t coming back. She’d told us she wanted to find her mother’s resting place and make a nest there; she would never return to this place or our earth, it was her final wish as the last Kitsune. I glanced down at Rana one last time and noticed that her tears had stopped and dried on her cheeks.

  The redhead sniffled loudly, then rubbed at her nose with her sleeve. Her blue eyes met mine for a second, and we regarded each other in an emotional silence. The fox opened her arms to me, and I pulled her to me. The Kitsune’s release wasn’t a death, but, in a way, it felt like it. Kukan was the last of her kind, and after she was gone, there would be no more nine-tailed foxes. Rana and I held each other tightly, and when I pulled away from her, she wiped her tears away and sniffled.

  “Are you alright?” I whispered to her, and Rana nodded softly as she laid her head flat against my chest.

  “Yes, it feels as if I got a piece of myself back, a piece I didn’t know was missing,” the redhead murmured and I stroked her curls softly. “Thank you for that.”

  “For what?” I asked as I hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to mine.

  “For bringing us out here, for giving me answers,” the fox smiled as her baby-blue eyes glittered. “If we hadn’t met you, then I wouldn’t know the things that I do now, so thank you, for everything you’ve given us.”

  “I am your all-powerful Master and I will always provide.”

  Chapter Ten

  After the Kitsune disappeared into the spirit realm, I stood in front of the open portal and looked in for a moment. I’d never visited the spirit realm before, only peeked in a few times when I had the chance. It was beautiful there, and each creature I saw frolicking past looked at me with eyes that saw more than what a normal animal would. All living beings just outside my world were spirits in their natural habitat, and a few of them stopped and stared at me for a few passing seconds. They were beautiful and tranquil in their silent forest home, and I didn’t want to disturb them for much longer. I replaced the God Slayer into my pocket as my minions headed towards the stairs we’d climbed earlier. I held out both hands toward the tear in our reality and closed my eyes as I breathed in deeply. I tensed my fingers in the air as I brought my hands closer together. I didn’t see it, but I felt it as the slit to the spirit realm inched back together.

  I could hear the whisper of wind through the seam, and smell the fresh scent of rain in the distance as I healed the tear in our world. I sewed it back together with my power, and when I reopened my eyes, the tear was utterly gone, and so was the spirit realm beyond.

  There was
a heavy sense of emptiness here with Kukan gone, and I turned towards the stairs where my minions waited patiently for me. I went down the stairs first with my women on my heels, and they sensed something missing in the halls of the structure too. The flickering lamps pressed into the walls seemed to have lost their golden light, and their flames stood stock still. As we passed each one, they snuffed themselves out, and when I glanced back at Carmedy, her black ears lay flat against her head, and her emerald eyes moved over the wooden boards at her feet. We entered through the archway into the room filled with water, and the stepping stones stretched and widened for us to cross comfortably. It was like the entire structure sensed the absence of the Kitsune and shut itself down before our eyes.

  The large water creature we’d witnessed earlier didn’t rise to the surface, and we hurried across the water back towards the hall. Rana was the last to enter, and she peered over the foundation to look into the black depths of the water. I listened to her thoughts and knew she wondered about the dead pirates, but the redhead quickly brushed it off and hurried after us.

  We moved down the hallway, and this time, it was just a regular corridor, no tricks or puzzles to solve. At the end of it, we didn’t turn around and look, but I felt something building within the structure that I hadn’t before. When we stood on the roof, it felt empty, but now it felt incredibly full like the entire structure was coming to life under our feet. We scuttled down the uneven stairs, but they didn’t feel as skewed or tilted like before. We hurried out onto the dock, and my women piled in as I settled myself into the last bench at the back.

  I stared up at the massive structure for a moment then summoned a few of my Shadow Slaves to me. They settled into place at the oars, and we took off. We cut through the water quickly and headed back towards the tunnel we’d entered through. All of my minions kept their eyes toward the structure when suddenly Rana launched herself out of her seat and pointed up towards the roof of the building.

  “Look!” the redhead whispered as her other paw fluttered up and covered her mouth.

  I leaned my head back to look where the fox pointed and saw the tops of the trees. The opulent forest green of their leaves waved and weaved through a gale and before our eyes, they turned yellow and orange but gave off their own glow. That wasn’t right, not a glow but a burn. I stood up in the small boat and watched as a blazing fire consumed the whole top of the structure. The fire ate away at the trees and plants the Kitsune placed there so painstakingly in memory of her true home.

  We sat in the back of the boat as the fire slowly consumed the entire roof and then crept down the sides. The fire roared in our ears, and I pulled all of my minions closer to me as we drifted away from the cove. This was the final goodbye to the Kitsune. She’d put all of this in place before she either died here or was released.

  Fire ate up every last scrap of wood we could see, and as we sailed away, we could feel the heat on our faces. I glanced at my women, and each of their expressions was serene. They weren’t sad that the Kitsune was gone, more relieved that she was allowed to go home to her realm.

  Kukan was beautiful, not only in her human form but also in her natural, spirit body. I’d never seen a nine-tailed fox in my lifetime, and I considered myself very lucky to have witnessed her, the last Kitsune on earth and in the heavens. Kukan could rest now that she’d returned to her natural habitat.

  We sat together in a huddle as my Shadow Slaves rowed us out of the cove and for a long while we were able to watch the fire burn hotly in the night. The color of the flames changed the farther away we got, it turned from yellow and orange to the deep reddish orange that reminded me of Kukan’s strange, predator-like eyes. Like the first time we’d arrived here, it seemed like the nine-tailed fox watched us, but it felt entirely different. When we first entered, the smells and senses of this place were overbearing and oppressive, but now, there was nothing. It was completely empty like all the emotion she’d pushed into the walls and structure evaporated like smoke.

  “I’m glad it’s gone,” Annalise said finally once the cavern swallowed us whole, and the structure was no longer in sight.

  “What do you mean?” I questioned her as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to my side.

  “I have no problem going into dungeons and killing the gods inside because most of the time, they’ve done terrible things to be where they are, but beings like the Kitsune…she had to watch her whole species die out, had to live in this place by herself and tempt pirates to her from over the ocean.” The high queen stated in a firm voice as she leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees.

  “You do realize that she killed people and consumed their souls, correct?” Morrigan asked as she raised her white eyebrows.

  “Yeah, and without the nine-tailed foxes in the world, people like Rana would’ve never been born, and I don’t want to live in a world where my little fluffy butt sister doesn’t exist.” The swordswoman chuckled as she reached over and ruffled the redhead’s curls, but Rana paused as her mouth dropped open.

  “You w-wouldn’t?” the fox-girl asked in disbelief, and it took me a moment to realize that tears watered in the corners of the redhead’s eyes.

  “What?” Annalise chuckled nervously as she furrowed her brows and looked deeply into Rana’s eyes.

  “Y-you wouldn’t want t-to live in a w-world without me in it?” the fox sniffled as she used her paw to rub at her watering eyes.

  Rana was very rarely emotional but meeting the Kitsune had set her over the edge. Most of the humans the redhead encountered hated her because of what she was. People viewed fox-people as dirty thieves, people who scrounged for food in the gutter and stole from those more fortunate than them. We knew that to be untrue, while Rana did have a particular set of skills most would find unsavory, she had to learn them while surviving and providing for her family on the streets.

  I’d personally seen her pick locks and steal things, but her moral code never let her steal from those less fortunate than herself, and she prided herself on it. However, because of these things, she’d been beaten down and trampled on for most of her life solely based on her species. Carmedy, though a cat-girl, had never experienced those things and meeting the Kitsune had opened up the redhead’s eyes to a world where she was accepted.

  “Of course, I do…” Annalise whispered as she held out her hands to the redhead. “If there were no Kitsune, there’d be no Rana, no sarcastic remarks, and no silly sayings that Carmedy never gets. I love you for you and most of all, I love the way you love Master. I wouldn’t trade our sisterhood for the world.”

  Rana hesitated then hiccupped as tears finally spilled down her freckled cheeks. The redhead buried herself in the swordswoman’s arms, and I felt my avatar’s heart swell with pride. This was what I wanted; I didn’t want women who followed and loved me only. When I brought the five of us together, I wanted us to mesh and become more than just a family; I wanted us to be one. We moved and acted as a unit, and I’d molded each of my women into a perfect warrior. We were only missing one piece of our puzzle, and once we reached Haruhi, we’d be complete.

  I didn’t think much about how many women I’d bring into the fold eventually; in fact, I hadn’t meant to bring the sage in at all. The librarian had simply helped us out on Machstein, and I’d assumed that would’ve been the end of our contact with her, but my women insisted on reaching out to her when we defeated the Liebe. Once I heard her voice that second time, I knew I had her and I had to make her my fifth minion.

  The moon was up and bright against the dark fabric of the sky as my Shadow Slaves rowed us out over the water. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at the porous rock structure that the Kitsune built for herself. Through the cracks of the broken rock ceiling, bright orange flames licked at the sky, and I smiled faintly to myself. I hadn’t expected to encounter a being like Kukan out in the middle of an ocean, but I was glad that we had. She’d given Rana something that the fox could never f
ind within herself or society, that she and her species was more than just thieves, that she mattered to each one of us. The redhead was more than just a pickpocket; she came from a rich heritage and line of spirit beings. I glanced over at Carmedy, the cat petted Rana’s head gently as she whispered sweet words into the fox’s ears. I wondered for a moment if she were a descendant of some sort of unearthly being like Rana was, but the feline’s emerald eyes met mine, and she smiled softly to me as she shook her head.

  “The people of Canarta aren’t anything special like that,” the petite alchemist giggled as she sat back on the bench and squeezed her knees together. “Our history can be traced all the way back to when the first cat-kin was born. Humans, cats, boom, cat-people! We’ve been around for thousands of years; there’s no debating about where we came from.”

  “It still would have been cool if you had been,” Rana sniffled as she wiped away the rest of her tears and smiled to the cat-girl. “We could have been the special ones out of the group.”

  “Excuse me, but I am part of the purest blood family in the High Elves, and if you have not forgotten, Annalise is quite literally a queen,” Morrigan stated as she stared down her nose at the two hybrid girls, and they both gave the pale woman sheepish smiles.

  “I believe that all of you sometimes forget that you are special in my eyes, no two of you are alike, and I love each of you dearly.” I purred to them, and all eyes swiveled to me for a moment as they caught their breath from my meaning.

  “And you sometimes forget that you are the best Master, the best lover, and best husband,” the swordswoman simpered to me as she pressed herself against my side.

  The charter ship waited for us with lanterns lit along the deck and as we approached, the crew hurried over and lowered the same rope ladder for us. My women climbed up first and I could tell from their shaky limbs they were exhausted. I ordered them to head to our room and get some rest, and they obeyed with tired eyes. I came up last and watched as the crew hurriedly reclaimed the rowboat and lashed it to the side of the massive ship.