Rayko flashed him a smile of pure amusement. “It’s an Onistan. You of all people should be able to identify one of your own kind when you see one.”
Apisa pointed a clawed finger at Rayko. “Now isn’t the time for jokes or petty insults. Let’s get on with what we’re here to do!” Blood dripped down her hands and claws.
“S-she’s right,” Flara said. “We h-have to find the downstairs steps.”
Nori’s hands tingled with red hot vibrancy. He breathed in and out several times and even whirled around to avoid looking at either Rayko or her horrible expression of his people. The image of popping her skull blinked within the blackness of his mind, but Nori batted it away like smoke from a fire.
He moved in the same direction as the man who fled, and came to a set of stairs going up to the second floor. Nori grunted softly before turning toward the girls. “Damn, no good. We have to keep looking.”
Several armed thugs rounded a corner with weapons drawn, on the other side of Apisa and Rayko. At the same time, another pair of thugs moved to the top of the stairs.
Nori planted a foot on the bottom stair. “I’ve got two coming down.” He clobbered the stairs with his war club. Splinters of wood sprayed in the air, and the stairs crumbled into piles of debris. The thugs halted their advance, but they lowered their stances.
Flara stepped up beside Nori. Though she still shook a little, a unique glimmer sparkled in her eyes. “I got th-them.”
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if praying. Her lips parted ever so slightly, though she didn’t say any words. A strange purple and pink hue flashed up from the back of her collar, and moments later, an eerie hot pink mist floated up from her lips.
Nori’s stomach twirled about. The thugs crouched down a little more, but they held their weapons at the ready. Nori stepped in front of Flara, blocking her from the adversaries. Just as the thugs were about to lunge, a small brown ball of energy floated out from one of the wooden beams that made up the ceiling. Within seconds, the ball began to take a distinct shape. The top half of the ball became a small torso, complete with arms, a neck and an other-worldly face. The bottom of the sphere tapered off to a point, like that of a ghostie tail.
Flara stepped around Nori and gazed up at the entity with compassionate, excited eyes. “Can you please help us fight these guys? I d-don’t want to kill them. I just want to restrain them.”
The little brown energy figure nodded and then zipped back into one of the wooden beams.
The thugs looked around nervously.
Thick wooden arms stretched out from the walls and ceilings and extended toward the pair of thugs. The thugs’ weapons clattered against the solidness of the arms, but nothing could stop them from being grappled. Large wooden fingers grabbed their arms and throats. Both of the guards were lifted into the air and suspended above the ground.
Nori swallowed to moisten his dry mouth. “Was that a kami?”
Several panicked screamed echoed out behind them. Nori led the way while Flara followed closely behind. Five bodies littered the corridor, and each one of them wore grievous claw marks like badges of honor. A red liquid carpet covered the wooden floors. Apisa, Rayko, and the illusionary Onistan stood huddled beside one another.
“Other people decided to crash our little party,” Apisa said.
Rayko moved to the far end of the corridor. “Let us venture this way! Perhaps the stairs to the basement are in this direction.”
The illusionary Onistan ran just in front of Rayko. Nori took up the rear. A foreboding silence befell the house. Nori licked his dry lips as he walked behind Flara. In the absence of noise, Nori’s spirit clenched and unclenched like a fist.
When the group came to another intersection, a thug hopped out of a room and slashed at the illusion. The fake Onistan ducked under the blow and swung its crude club at the man. The club barely whisked past the thug’s face, but the thug screamed none the less.
Apisa sprinted through the illusion and tackled the man to the ground. The back of his head smacked hard against the floor. He tried to push himself up, but Apisa carved open the man’s chest.
After a few rapid swipes, Apisa hopped to her feet. She beamed over her shoulder. “I think it’s safe to say I’m winning.”
“Whatever,” Nori said. “Let’s just find those stairs.”
Apisa stepped over the bleeding corpse and moved down the right corridor. Rayko sneered at the body and jumped over it as if she were a bunny. Flara winced as she moved past it too. At the end of the hallway, the group came to a set of stairs going downward.
“Who wants the honor of going first?” Rayko asked.
Nori eased his way past the women and moved down stairs with caution. He descended into a lower level with several metal lanterns hanging on the walls every five feet or so. Soft candle light flickered within each of the lanterns. Shadows danced on the walls. The hallway came to a cross intersection, and then continued forth until it formed to a t-intersection at the far end of the basement.
Nori asked, “We have to find this guy fast. Should we split up?”
Apisa suddenly grinned, and then grabbed Flara’s arm. “We’ll go to the right. You two take left.”
An icy spasm exploded within Nori’s stomach. He glanced at Apisa and Flara as they disappeared around the corner, but then slowly maneuvered around to regard Rayko. The brunette illusionist cast a terrible glare at Apisa as she disappeared from view. Within moments, Rayko turned that hateful stare upon him.
She let out a sigh. “Well let’s get this begrudging ordeal over with then.” She gestured to the left corridor. “By all means, proceed. You are the brawny mountain savage, not I.”
Nori’s jaw tightened again and he stormed down the left corridor with rage-filled intention. His heavy feet slapped against the wood purposely, and Nori darted his attention all around.
“Please let someone jump out,” Nori thought to himself.
When Nori came to a room, he stepped in the doorway. His shoulders were squared and his tetsubo remained poised. Pillows and small tables filled the room. Little dirty plates and utensils sat on the table tops. Stains covered the floor mats. The next room also contained similar furniture. Nori peeked behind him. The fake Onistan traipsed behind Rayko. Its eyes were crossed at unusual angles, and the illusion’s tongue hung out of its mouth like that of a sick animal. Rayko slowly moved in his wake. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but she peered into the rooms with interest.
“Not there either,” Rayko said, perhaps to herself. “I do hope that he is alright. I would hate to see anything happen to that wonderful fellow.”
Nori scoffed. “I find it peculiar to hear anything nice coming out from your mouth.”
Rayko scowled up at him. “To those who deserve such grace and reverence, they receive it in plenty. Do not attempt to define me, you foul cretin. You know nothing of me.”
“And you know nothing of me,” Nori said. “You’ve been absolutely intolerable since I met you.”
“I know enough about you, you damned Onistan. You ogres are all the same.” Rayko brushed past him. “Let’s do what we came here to do. This pointless chatter with you is infecting me with stupid.”
Nori moved faster than Rayko and took the lead again. The hallway turned to the right and stretched down a little ways. They came upon a small storage room filled with barrels and sacks. Aside from food stuffs, there weren’t signs of any hostages. Nori let out a small groan and then ran down the hallway to the next doorway. Stealth be damned, they needed to find this man and be gone before things got really dangerous.
The doorway opened to a large room that contained several small wooden cells and various tables. Another door existed on the far side of the room. Torture tools rested on the table tops. Manacles hung from the walls. A single person occupied the room, and he hung from his arms from one set of the manacles. The man’s body was covered in blueish blackish bruises. Blood seeped from several little cuts alo
ng his ribs and limbs. His head hung down lifelessly.
Rayko gasped. “There he is. By all that is holy, please be alive.” She ran to the man and placed her hands on his neck.
“I’ll get the others,” Nori said.
Rayko didn’t acknowledge him, but she kept touching the captive in various places. Nori exited through the other door and moved down a hallway with haste. Within moments, he found Apisa and Flara inside one of the rooms. Flara crouched behind Apisa and had her hands interlaced together. Apisa stood up and had her clawed hands held up.
“Oh, it’s only you.” Apisa shook her head and allowed her hands to turn back to normal. “You can’t sneak up on us like that. I could have killed you.”
Nori said, “You couldn’t kill me. Come on, we found the doctor’s husband.”
One of the girls grumbled to herself, but Nori didn’t quite make out what was said. He stormed back down the corridor like a rampaging bull. Rayko stood before the man, and she applied some kind of liquid to his wounds.
“What are you doing?” Nori asked.
Rayko didn’t take her eyes off of the doctor’s husband. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m cleaning his wounds so they won’t get infected. Must I explain all of my actions to you?”
“You just happened to have antiseptic on you?” Nori asked. “I mean that’s great news for us, but I’m just surprised.”
Rayko let out an exasperated sigh and gave him a scornful sideways glance. “My mother is a doctor and my father makes medicine. I know the value of having these kinds of luxuries on hand.” She glanced past Nori. “Oh good, you’re here. Help me get this man free.”
Flara clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Just as before, a mysterious light emitted from the back of Flara’s collar. When she parted her lips, a stream of pink mist floated out and filtered into the air. This time, a grey blackish sphere of energy slithered out of the metal chains that held up the man. The sphere took on a shape of a half person, just like the kami from before.
Flara opened her eyes and turned her attention to the kami. “C-can you please break the chains so we can free this man? He’s innocent and we n-need to get him back home to his wife.”
The metal kami nodded and floated back into the chains. Within seconds, the manacles opened up, and the man fell into Rayko’s arms. She eased him to the floor and started examining him closely.
The ceiling creaked overhead.
Nori held up his tetsubo. “We’ve got company. From the sounds of it, a lot of company.”
Thunderous feet echoed from the hallway. Flara crouched by the man while Rayko and Apisa stood over the pair of them. The room had two entrances, one leading to the main hallway, and the other leading to the side corridor that Rayko and Nori had come down. Nori placed himself in front of the doorway leading to the main corridor.
Over a dozen armed men and women moved into the room, but they stopped once they saw Nori. On the other side of the room, eight more thugs came in through the side entrance.
An overweight, middle aged man pushed his way to the front of the crowd and gave Nori a critical review. He wore a vibrant red long sleeved jacket with a pair of black slacks. A blade with a gaudy hilt hung at the man’s side. He also had a bushy mustache that clung to the underside of a nose too small for the man’s face.
He snarled at Nori. “What in the Hell is going on here? Who the hell do you think you are to attack my home and kill my people?”
Rayko pointed at the chubby man. “You sir are a villain. What gives you the right to abduct people from their homes and torture them? You sicken me!”
The large man waved her off. “Shut the hell up, you obnoxious cow. This man’s wife caused my son to die, so I’m going to make her pay in kind.”
Apisa said, “Doctor Caosisti helps and heals people. She would never be the cause for someone to die. You’re a liar!”
“Am I?” The chubby man asked. “I came to her for medicine to help cure my son of Tyfyag Plague. The medicine she gave me didn’t work, and my son died.”
“Tyfyag Plague?” Rayko asked. “Don’t you know anything, you moronic glutton? Tyfyag Plague has a significant mortality rate. Once it hits your system, there’s little a doctor to do.”
“I don’t like your mouth, you dolled up little who…” the large man started.
Nori leaped forward and swung at the man’s face. The fat man froze, but the tetsubo sailed just over the top of the man’s skull. A savage wind trailed the war club. The fat man panted heavily. He stared at Nori with wide eyes, and his guards clustered around him.
“Enough of this!” Nori said. “We’re leaving with this man alive. Either move aside or make peace with your lives.”
The large man squeaked loudly. “K-kill them!”
Before the guards could move forward, Nori swung his tetsubo back around in a wide arc. The men and women stayed on the outside of Nori’s range, and none dared to move inward. Nori leaped at them as he roared out loudly. His war club slammed down on a woman’s shoulder. She buckled under the pressure and collapsed to the ground.
Other thugs slashed or stabbed at him, but Nori knocked their weapons away with his own. They tried over and over again, but they met with the same result. Nori countered when he could, and more often than not, those he struck failed to get up again.
When one person fell to the ground, another one lunged in to take his or her place. They all had the same looks in their eyes though: panic, unease, and uncertainty. Every consecutive fighter possessed a little less courage than the thug who preceded them.
Nori’s muscles pumped wildly, and his heart raced. He whirled to the sides as metal moved past him. When the last person fell to the ground under Nori’s massive strength, he turned around to view the three girls.
One of the guards kept swinging at Rayko’s illusion while a second guard had his sword blade pressed against Apisa’s forearm. The scales on her skin stopped the blade from doing any damage. A confident smirk lay plastered on Apisa’s face. Her tattoo flashed, and her muscles quivered ever so slightly for just a second. She pushed the man forward, and the man toppled backwards. He fell upon his back, and before he could get back up, Apisa grabbed the man’s head with her clawed hands. With a quick twist of her body, the man’s head came off his shoulders.
A great stillness fell over the room. Bodies laid everywhere around them, and most of the corpses were scattered around where Nori fought. Flara sat beside the unconscious man and watched both doors.
Flara said, “I th-think the b-boss got away.”
Apisa walked over to Nori. “Well, I’ll be. I can’t believe you took out so many of his henchmen. I was wrong about you. There’s no way we could have done this without you.”
Rayko sighed softly. “I’m going to have to agree. It seems there are advantages to having a barbarian following us around. Fancy that.”
Nori gestured his tetsubo toward Apisa. “Thank you for your kind words. If you carry this, I’ll carry him.”
Apisa took it in her hands and almost dropped it. “Wow, it’s heavier than I was expecting. I can manage it though.”
Nori bent down and gently lifted the man into his arms. Flara placed her hands under the man’s body until Nori had properly secured him in his grasp.
“Be easy with him, Mr. Nori,” Flara said. “He’s p-pretty banged up.”
Nori nodded solemnly. “I promise I’ll be as gentle as I can be. Lead the way and I’ll follow.”
Apisa gripped the tetsubo and ran ahead of the others. Nori came up last, but Flara moved right beside him. She never took her eyes away from the battered man.
THE SUN FELL toward the horizon and cast a brilliant shower of oranges and yellows over the land. The streets had become less crowded, but people still walked to and fro. More than a few of the citizens stopped and watched as Nori and his friends made their way down the street. When they finally arrived at Doctor Caosisti’s shop, she ran out to greet them.
Tea
rs fell from her cheeks as she gently touched her husband’s face. Nori couldn’t help but smile down at her.
“Thank you all,” Doctor Caosisti said. “No doubt my husband would be dead had it not been for you.” She took turns gazing at all of the girls, and then finally settled her attention on Nori. “All of you.”
Flara touched the woman’s arm. “I’m sorry to say the boss of the gang escaped us. Living in Jadai probably won’t be safe anymore. You might want to leave tonight.”
Doctor Caosisti caressed her husband’s face again. “I don’t know where we’re going to go. I know it’s necessary for us to start over, but …”
Rayko smiled at her. “You should go to Tolfalgas and seek out Dr. Radanashi. My mother is a practicing physician in Tolfalgas, and my father makes high quality medicine. They will help you get back on your feet.”
“Truly?” Doctor Caosisti asked. “That would be wonderful.”
Sweet warmth wavered in Nori’s throat. “You still have my lute case, right? I have the coins I’ve made from being a street musician. It’s not much, but you can use it to pay for a hotel room tonight and part of your ships passage.”
More tears fell down Doctor Caosisti’s cheeks. “Your collective generosity knows no bounds. Thank you.”
Nori stepped closer to her shop. “Collect some things to travel with, and then I’ll carry him to an inn for you.”
Within the hour, Nori, Apisa, Rayko, and Flara left Doctor Caosisti and her still unconscious husband at the Under Dock Inn. As they walked under the starry sky, Nori noticed the girls gave him sideways glances.
“What are you all gaping at?” Nori asked. “Do I have a wound on my face or something?”
Flara averted her eyes. “N-no, it’s nothing like t-that. I think we’re all just… surprised.”
“Why?” Nori asked. “I don’t recall doing anything unexpected.”
Rayko said, “You’re not like other vile Onistans. It’s both confusing and refreshing all at once.”
“Rayko!” Apisa said. “Can’t you stop being racist for once? We just survived something tough together.”
The Wrath Of the Forgotten Page 6
