Mitsuaki watches him walk around the table intently looking at the map. “Golden Forest? Where is it?”
The Great Warrior comes to a stop and answers, “Way down south.” He points two fingers at the building. “I do not recall seeing a structure in the heart of the forest. Then again my memory is terrible at the moment.”
“I will have to say mine is not good either,” claims the mapmaker, slightly raising his left hand. “I do not even recall making that little temple or if I placed the crystal on it.”
“Crystal?”
Mitsuaki points a finger where the door of the temple is joining the wall. “There on the roof, a small greenish white stone.”
The Masked Warrior chuckles. “My I am not awake.”
They both laugh and the king goes on to question, “Is that a tiny illumination stone?”
“I would not know what one of them looked like. To me it has the appearance of jade.”
“I do see what you mean. I’ll say the spell and see if it begins to glow. Min sa ma.”
They both watch the tiny stone begin to flicker like a flame in the wind, then comes a steady bright light.
“Look there is another inside the forest,” says the young man, pointing to the light that is shining through the trees.
“And two more on either side of the building… I wonder what they could be representing?”
Mitsuaki claps his hands and suggests, “Perhaps this one in amongst the trees represents where a portal key lies and the ones around and on the building represent some kind of barrier?”
Yūrei gives him a hug and gently pats the side of his face. “You smart, lad, I think you are right. Good job one of us is using our brains. I think mine is still in bed.”
The young man giggles. “What has Harumi put in that blood? A sleeping draft?”
They both laugh and Mitsuaki trots off in to the kitchen to return holding cups of tea. “Here this should help,” he says, offering one to the king.
“Ooh, just what I need,” replies the Great Warrior and take a sip. “Nice. So, you heard nothing?”
The mapmaker nods. “My room though is at the other end of the house. Outside I found footprints in the snow that appear at the side of the house and another set lead to the well. I should say is no longer frozen.”
“Interesting, how did they unfreeze it?”
“Not with fire or a hot stone to make a hole. I am not lying, the entire well and the surrounding area are cleared of snow and ice. How is that possible?”
“With fire magic as that will leave no marks or odour. If that is the case then this map was made by a Soul Drinker or Elemental.”
Mitsuaki frowns and queries, “Really, Soul Drinkers can create fire magic?”
The Masked Warrior holds out his left fist and explains, “They hold a Fire Stone or Sun Stone within their hand and mutter a spell which makes the air around them go quite warm. I have seen others though just use their moving objects ability to break the ice. However, you did state you heard nothing, so they must have used a stone.”
The young man’s body starts to shake with silent laugher. “When I go to sleep I hear nothing, not even a storm or snow falling off the roof.”
“Back up, which side of the house has the snow gone from the roof?”
“Front right when looking at the house, why?”
“You did say the footprints appeared at the side of the house outside the workshop. Now if they had used a portal, I would have your neighbours coming and saying they heard an odd rubbling last night, for portals are not quiet. It cannot be an Ice Dragon otherwise he would be instantly frozen to death, nor are they silent. The only Dragons that are silent and can use their hot breath, without leaving a mark are Night Dragons.”
Mitsuaki points his hand at the map. “Well, giving how straight everything is i would have to agree it was done by a Dragon.”
“You are right it appears to be too accurate for a ground dweller. My friend Tenjō will be able to help us figure this out. I will go and see if he is up.”
“And I will ask the neighbours if they heard anything last night.”
“Good idea, lad,” answers the king as he disappears through a portal. He quickly makes his way around the back of Tenjō’s house and slips off his boots as he steps on to the covered walkway. Yūrei continues down to the Soul Drinker’s bedroom and is sliding open the door when he is pulled inside and thrown to the floor.
Tenjō gets on top of him and asks, “Why are you here so early in the morning?”
“I do not need to explain, for you are ready otherwise you would not be up to ambush me.”
The Soul Drinker strokes the Masked Warrior’s chest. “Then the map I saw in my dream is real, as in very real?”
The Great Warrior grips his friend’s waist and nods. “Yes, it is one hundred percent real. I just need you to take a look at it to see if there is anything out of place.”
Tenjō folds his arms and his brow begins to crinkle and his eyes narrow as he recalls what he saw in the dream. “There is a temple with glowing stones around it. Unless the temple is representing the shrine that lies in the middle of the forest. I do not recall it having glowing stones.”197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3Cx2cQboq
“Ah, come back with me and hear Mitsuaki, the mapmaker’s theory on that as I think he has a right idea.”
“Now you have got me very intrigued. All right, I will throw on some clothes and come back with you… even though I am enjoying this.” Tenjō removes Yūrei’s mask as he kisses him and places a hand inside his undergarment.
The king also strokes the Soul Drinker’s partly exposed chest and moves his hips. Then he carefully rolls him over on to his back making sure to keep his head up and smiles. “I prefer you like this with your legs around me.”
The Soul Drinker rolls him over so he is back on top. “This is better that way I am not chocking on my own fluids,” he states, going on to emit a soft cough.
The Great Warrior becomes concerned and again he strokes his chest. “Sorry. Are you all right?”
“I am fine, it is just my morning cough. I like tumbling around with you. We should do it more often it makes you all aroused.”
The Masked Warrior does not stop the Soul Drinker toughing him below, he just closes his eyes and emits a happy moan.
“I should stop before we end up spending the morning together for I also want to see the map.” Tenjō gives him a passionate kiss before he stands up and walks down to the far side of the room.
Yūrei puts his mask back on and watches his friend put on a thick light blue Kimono and holds up a pair of dark grey Hakama as though he is not sure. “They go all right with the blue.”
“Are you sure?”
“You know I am not lying,” sings the king and gives him a happy smile.
The Soul Drinker huffs at him to indicate he does not need him to say that and carries in getting dressed. “I should ask is the boy all right?”
“He is fine,” answers the Masked Warrior as he sits up. “Perhaps a little on edge. I mean I cannot blame him when someone has been in his workshop.”
“True, it must have been quite a shock to see a map that was not there the night before. All right, take me to him.”
They both step out on to the covered walkway to collect their boots from the step, then Yūrei opens a portal and leads his friend over to the mapmaker’s shop.
Lord Hanzō is having a look at the strange map. “I swear to you, lad, I did not hear anything last night. This through is a very detailed map.”
“It sure is, I think it out does mine,” claims Mitsuaki, nervously rubbing the side of his neck.
“Nonsense, you are the best mapmaker I know,” expresses the Great Warrior walking over to him.
“Thanks, Yūrei. Good morning, Tenjō,” says the mapmaker with a bow.
The Soul Drinker bows in response. “This is exactly how it was in my dream. This has clearly been done by a Night Dragon. What is he trying to tell us with the illumination stones?”
“Go ahead, lad, tell him your theory,” insists the Masked Warrior, patting the boy’s arm for encouragement.
Tenjō listens to the young man and is very impressed with his idea of what the glowing stones could represent for. “That leaves me wondering what could the Lost King be hiding in the shrine that it requires a barrier?”
“Connecting door, or just a simple portal,” implies the Great Warrior. “He could be using it as base to lock on to portal stones.”
“I am thinking trap,” interjects Lord Hanzō. “I mean he could lead you inside, and before you know it you are standing on a portal incantation and pop you end up in a completely different location with no way back.”
Yūrei claps his hands and pats the Lord’s shoulder. “Such a Murakami answer I like it. You see I was not going to go that dark this early in the morning.”
Lord Hanzō pats him on the chest. “Ah, you need to think of every scenario. I mean why has someone left this map if it is not to warn you of something bad is about to—”
A load raw comes from above making them all cover their ears. The Masked Warrior makes his way to the front of the shop just as something large and black flies over to crash land in the empty marketplace sending up plumes of snow.
The Great Warrior goes for his Katana only to realise he has left it at the inn. “Damn!” He hisses through his teeth. Then something is tapping his back he turns around to see it is Lord Murakami who is offering him a Katana. The king gives him a nod to thank him before he makes his over to the creature.
Yūrei has to dive out the way of a long tail and quickly ducks a back paw as it swings towards the ground. He can clearly see the Night Dragon is in trouble, it is almost like he is bound by invisible ropes that are tightening around him making him gasp for breath. The Masked Warrior dear not use the Katana incase he injures the creature instead he sends Ja sa to fetch Tenjō. A moment later the Soul Drinker appears he throws his left hand to his right shoulder and brings it down. The binding around the Dragon is gone and he rolls over on to his belly coughing and spiting out blood that hisses in the snow.
The King stokes the Dragon’s side and asks, “Do you require a Healer?”
“No, I will be fine, thanks to you Soul Drinker. I am Bāhén cì (Scar thorn) brother of Huīchén. I was coming to make sure you got my message when—” the Night Dragon coughs and takes a breath.
“Easy, you need to rest. You can tell us more later,” insists the Great Warrior, moving around so he can see him.
The Night Dragon's vertical pupil expands and contracts as it focuses on the Eternal. “You are him, the Masked Samurai known as Yūrei Samurai, right?”
“Yes, that is me. The Soul Drinker that set you free is my good friend Tenjō,” informs the king, giving the Night Dragon’s nose a stroke.
Tenjō walks around to the head of the creature so he can also see him and performs a slight bow. “I have never seen anything like it,” expresses the Soul Drinker, trying to show concern. “I could see this shimmering around your body, so I used a simple braking spell and it worked.”
Bāhén cì’s scale lips form into a smile and his eyes begin to close. “Thank you,” he whispers.
The next thing they hear is a portal opening and out of it steps, Einar, Guāngxiàn and Raven. They all dash over to the Dragon and the Healer is pleased to discover he is not too badly hurt.
“Sorry we are a little late,” expresses the Westerner, taking hold of his husband’s hand.
“It cannot be helped when you yourself is not well. You should be resting.”
“Do not worry about me, I am doin—” Einar starts to cough and there is a hint of a wheeze.
Guāngxiàn points his hand at the White Rabbit and orders, “You Soul Drinkers need to get inside this cold air is not doing either of you any favours.”
Raven hands Einar a bundle and asks, “Son, where is the mapmaker’s place?”
Yūrei points his hand to a small building that lies on the far side of the marketplace. “That is his shop. Father, it was Bāhén cì, this very Dragon who built it. Then he has been attacked with, what did you say it was, Tenjō?”
“Some kind of binding spell, the likes of which I—” he begins to cough.
Raven grips the young Soul Drinker’s shoulder. “I understand. Please take us to this map.” The Elder goes on to give his son a hug before he along with Einar follow the Light One over to Watanabe Mitsuaki place.
Guāngxiàn strokes the Night Dragon’s nose. “Apart from some bruising and a cut lip he is fine. Mèng, this has gone too far everyone knows you do not attack any Dragon. Dōngjì fēngbào is not going to be pleased.”
“I will go and inform of this,” offers the Great Warrior opening a portal.
The Healer gives a sharp nod and quickly tells him, “He might not be up yet, however, one of his children or grandchildren might.”
The Masked Warrior gives him a wave before he steps through and makes his way over to the front door of Dōngjì’s home. He is about to knock on the door when a slightly feminine voice calls, “Morning, your grace.”
Yūrei turns to the left and replies, “Chén, morning is Dōngjì around?”
“Yes, he is going through some documents. Come.”
The king follows him around the side of the building, down a covered walkway to a large room where the Father of the Gods is seated at a table with piles of neatly folded documents on either side of him. He is unfolding another one when he looks up and smiles. “Mèng, it is good to see you. Whatever is the matter?”
The Great Warrior goes informs them about Bāhén cì, the document falls from Dōngjì fēngbào’s hands and walks over to the king. “Binding spell… I do not like the sound of this. How was something like that placed on him?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. I am just pleased Tenjō was able to remove it.”
Chén places his hands behind his back and says, “It could have been conducted through the use of an Eye.”
“Son, what do you mean, Eye? Explain.”
“Sorry, Father. It is old magic the Eternals used before the Dark Time. The Eye is a creature that watches over them and warns of danger. However, they can also be used to place spells on people, which means the Eye must have been on the Night Dragon for the Eternal to inflict the binding spell, which again is old magic that comes from the Forbidden Arts.”
Yūrei claps his hands and states, “You mean a Watcher most of my family can produce one of them and so can I. There is no way to channel magic through them nor can they leave their master. Mine would always be seated upon my left shoulder or float around upon his cloud above a crowd to warn me of danger or tell my parents where I was. Come to think of it I have not summoned mine sine I was a child.”
“Ah, you are correct, however, the Eye is a slightly different spell,” express Chūn.
The Great Warrior smiles and declares, “Oh, I stand corrected, it looks like your knowledge of old spells is better than mine. It just seems a bit overboard to create such a creature to just destroy it when it could be very loyal to its master. I mean I could never kill any of my minions even though they are not actually living creatures.”
“It is because in a way you gave birth to them,” sates Dōngjì fēngbào, “you made them real, therefore those fatherly instincts are present. Where this person just sees them as a means to an end and does not care how many they get through. It has all the behaviour of Seong-yeog and as far as I am aware all of his children are under heavy guard.”
Chén raises his eyebrows to indicate to his father he should give the king a bit more information, when he does not, Chén does it for him. “We should explain all of Seong-yeog’s sons are highly unstable. It is the result of him using Dark Magic which he did not fully understand. He just wanted to become the most powerful illusionist and what he did not comprehend was the impact upon his own mind and body. The reasons his sons are like it, is because of the terrible incantations that were past on to them before they were even born. I will check with Jiseong, Leader of the Southern Healers if any of Seong-yeog’s sons have escaped. If they are all counted for then we are dealing with a copycat for none of Seong-yeog’s children have ever been allowed off their island, nor can they have children of their because the Healers made them infertile.”
The Father of the Gods clears his throat to make his son stop and gives his a stern expression. “That is enough, son,” he stresses in a sharp tone. “Now if any of them had escaped I would have been alerted straight away. However, son, please conduct your checks and I will go and see how Bāhén cì is doing.”
The Masked Warrior opens a portal back to town and is pleased to see the Dragon is now sitting up and talking with Guāngxiàn.
The Father of the Gods is shocked to see red and inflamed rope marks upon the creature’s body and front paws. “Bāhén cì, I cannot believe someone would do this to you.”
“It is because I know where the Lost King is hiding.”
“The Lost King is in prison and so are his sons. This nothing more than a copycat.”
“I am afraid it is no copycat,” stresses the Healer. “The Eternal that attacked both Zhìhuì and Bāhén cì is one of his sons. It has been discovered Seong-yeog had over twenty children.”
“What?! Why was I not informed of this?” Dōngjì fēngbào snaps.
A portal opens and Méiguī comes running over holding a document. “Father, you were informed.”
The Father of the Gods sighs and his daughter informs everyone, “We all have gaps in our memory. I have been helping father to recall the last two centuries. Nearly three hundred years ago, it was reported the Eternal that is after you, Mèng is Fēngshēng dī yǔ, Fēngshēng for short. I am afraid the motive behind it is unknown. As you are already aware the moment he catches we have to repeat the last two centuries. Now since time has been restored and you have more help this time Fēngshēng is beginning to panic, that is why he is going after everyone you know to take down your places of safety and your team. Question have you been seeing a Whisper in the form of a Samurai?”
“Yes, it has been warning us. Who does it belong to?”
“It is Prince Léiyǔ. According to this document, he has taken on task of trying to save you from Fēngshēng and also hopes to capture him. The Samurai Whisper is in honour of you after you became a noble warrior and member of the Ogawa Clan. It is purely to warn you whenever a member of your family, that includes your mortal family are in danger. Warning if there is someone standing beneath the Whisper it is Fēngshēng, for Léiyǔ is the true Whisper and not a copy. One last warning, Léiyǔ also stresses there is another member of the family after Fēngshēng, he writes, be on the lookout for crows made of mist that have blueish purple eyes. I am afraid he has not said who they belong to.”
Bāhén cì lies down resting his chin upon his paws. “Oh, so those crows were trying to warn me that I was flying in to a trap. I should have paid more attention to them. The question is, how did they both know where to find me? And how did they know I was giving our king information?”
Dōngjì fēngbào goes on to tell him what Chén said about the Eye. The Night Dragon’s eyes widen and some time later he responds, “He must have inflicted it on me whilst I was in the Golden Forest. The problem is I did not see or hear or smelt anything. Another thing is an illusionist able to summon an Eye?”
“As far as I know illusionists are incapable of summoning,” expresses Yūrei folding his arms. “Yet this Fēngshēng can? Could the mix be a factor to why he is unstable? Another thing I cannot understand is why me, why does he want to take me down? I just do not understand why he has such a grudge against me.”
“It is because you are, forgive me for saying, an abomination,” replies Méiguī, griping the king’s forearm. “You are a mix of Eternal and Elemental magic, this makes you impure, therefore you should not be leading your race. That is an elders attitude, so I am guessing it is mother is the one who hold this rage against you and is using her son to get you. I also think she is helping him with the locations because she has been watching you.”
“If that was the case, father, mother, Einar, Tenjō and Chūnfēng would have seen or sensed her.”
Guāngxiàn slightly rises his left hand and suggests, “She could be using some kind of concealment that comes from the Dark Time. It is made from Asian roses and jasmine, and something else. It will prevent even a Soul Drinker from detecting her and her son.”
The Great Warrior claps his hands then runs over to the mapmaker’s shop. “Tenjō, when we were in the Golden Forest hunting Paranoid Pixies, was I the only Eternal you were detecting?”
The Light One has a think and answers, “Yes, I never detected the one who summoned the Whisper. He just seemed to appear from nowhere. I am beginning to think he brought called those Pixies forth to keep people away from the shrine. I am keen to find out what he is concealing within. The problem is the weather prevents me from going and you cannot go alone.”
“Do not worry I will ask Chūnfēng to join me. This is a question for all of you have any of you encountered a lady who smells of a nice fragrance?”
Raven frown and pats him on the shoulder. “Son, that does not really narrow it down, for I have smelt a lot of nice ladies.”
“Sorry, Father. I mean did the sent of the perfume hide what she was?”
The Westerner starts to nod. “Yes, I was at an inn and there was this odd woman who was trying to get me to follow her back to her room. Of course I was not interested. Thinking back, I began to realise there was something not quite right about her. She was tall, slender and her hair had an odd shine to it. I was thinking she is an Eternal who is trying to be mortal and not pulling it off too well, mainly because of her hight. This though is no guarantee that woman was Fēngshēng's mother.”
“I agree with you, my love. Well, it is still something to consider that his mother could also be helping him to trap us,” expresses Yūrei, watching everyone nod in agreement.
Méiguī walks around looking at the map, she points her hand at the top of the forest and frowns. “If I recall there is an old Forest Dragon living in the north of Golden Forest. He is scared from the Battle of the Black Birds. He might know what is happening there.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” says Bāhén cì as he enters in his human form, holding his left side and being helped by Guāngxiàn who gets him to take a seat on the floor by the fire. “I managed to have a chat with him and he informed me if the child again threatens his forest with Paranoid Pixies he will personally deliver him to you Dōngjì.”
The Father of the Gods eyebrows rise to indicate he is surprised to hear this. “How is he planning to catch an illusionist?”
The Night Dragon emits a soft laugh. “He told me there is another after him and he will help him to capture the child. Méiguī has already mentioned him he summons black mist crows.”
Tenjō places his left index finger to his lips and sighs, which makes the Masked Warrior enquire, “Thought of something?”
“Matter of fact I was just thinking you speaking about Xiàtiān huābàn (Summer petals) or Natsu hanabira, because of the white petal shaped scales that are going gown either side of his neck, right?”
“Well remembered,” answers Méiguī with a smile. “You know him?”
“That town is my home, when the weather is good I pay him a visit. Natsu has helped my town many times, he is often seen in the marketplace and has a real thing for steam red bean buns. I can tell, Yūrei, you cannot remember meeting him.”
The Great Warrior presses his lips together for a moment before he responds, “Now we are talking about him, I do sort of recall him. How’s about we pay him a visit and see if he know where we can find the Eternal that summons mist crows.”
Tenjō gives a sharp nod. “Einar, care to join us for the weather down south is way better than here. It is like spring.”
“Then count me in,” answers the Westerner rubbing his cold hands together.
Raven gently takes his son to one side. “Warning from mother, do not step inside the ring of white stones, otherwise you will become trapped and he does not know if there is a way to get you out of it.”
“I understand, Father.”
“Stick with them and you should be fine,” insists the elder Soul Drinker, patting him on the shoulder.
The king nods and gives his father a hug before he follows his husband through the portal.
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