Chapter 282 - Springing the Trap

As the sun set on the small Fuha village, a group of boys were playing amongst the reeds just beyond the edge of town. These were Nilya’s friends; Mikas, the eldest with tan skin and monkey-like ears, Taylor, the introspective boy who had recently had many supernatural experiences due to Yuzu’s interventions, and Pip, the youngest boy of the group.

They were playing a game they had made up, ‘oji training’, pretending that they had been chosen by a guru-chi to become the next chosen one.

The stories of Nilya’s extraordinary strength and agility on the night he was taken in as the guru-chi’s mentee sparked their imaginations. They had often tried to secretly follow Nilya when he went to train, but always lost the trail. Thus they didn’t have any idea what the training was actually like, nor had they personally seen any of Nilya’s actual capabilities as an Exalted candidate.

This left the boys with complicated feelings of excitement for their friend, but also jealousy.

“I use mudball!” Pip yelled, throwing a piece of muddy moss toward Taylor, “If it hits you, you can’t move.”

“That’s not even a real move!” Taylor protested as it splattered against his arm.

“It is so!” Pip shouted.

“Ok, well I use my super strength and I break the mud.” Taylor dramatically shook off his arms and ran at Pip, who screamed and ran away while protesting.

Being the smallest of the group he resorted the most to imaginative long-range attacks.

Mikas was playing the role of guru-chi this time, providing judgement and keeping things ‘fair’, but a figure in the distance caught his attention.

A tall, slender man was walking in the swamp. A deep hood with dangling charms and strands of leather obscured his face. The cloak hung loosely over his shoulders, under which his lanky figure was was clad with leather that had the texture of rough bark. 

His legs and arms were thin as twigs and unnaturally long. The cloak did not extend past his lower back, emphasizing the strange physique of the man. He gave off an eerie aura as he stalked the marsh with the red orb of the setting sun behind him.

The hanging talisman and leather belts instantly conveyed his identity to Mikas.

“Guru-chi!” He half-exclaimed, alerting his friends. “Th-there’s another guru-chi!”

The boys instantly stopped their play, ducking behind nearby reeds as they felt the need to hide themselves.

The guru-chi didn’t seem to have noticed them. His figure was stooped over as he turned back and forth as if looking for something. Each of his long steps were deliberate and meticulous, as if he were a crane stepping through shallow waters.

 He approached, coming closer to the boys, though what he was seeking was not directly in their vicinity. Their hearts pounded as they didn’t dare to make a noise, while also being unable to wrest their gaze off of the eerie, lanky figure stalking the marsh.

“What’s that sound?” Pip asked in a whisper.

“Shush!” Taylor put his hand over Pip’s mouth, his voice trembling.

Like the previous guru-chi that had spent a few weeks in the village, this guru-chi had an unmistakable aura around him. Being around the guru-chi made people feel a pressure against their spirits, like the air was just a bit heavier to breathe, like they were being watched— and judged.

But the other guru-chi had a feeling of solidness about him, like standing in front of a massive stone statue. Being around him elicited a feeling of awe and smallness.

This lanky guru-chi gave off a different feeling. One of the wilderness, of a creature prowling the marsh. There was power there, but it was like looking at a hundred year python as it slithered through the reeds. Calm, but deadly. A predator in search of prey.

As the guru-chi’s head swayed back and forth, a sound came from beneath the hood. A sharp sniff of air, the wet click of his tongue. He was tasting the air, tracking down a scent.

Something caught his attention.

He bent down, reaching out to an object submerged in the shallow, watery mud. His long, black fingers picked up a string by his fingertips. He lifted it out of the water, holding it out in the air to take a good look at it.

Brackish water dripped off the talisman made of leather strips and beads of carved stone.

At that moment his spiritual intuition triggered as the action of disturbing the talisman activated a trap!

In a wide area around the guru-chi, dozens of scattered seeds suddenly burst, expelling a putrid, green cloud gas.

The boys who were at the edge of the range instantly wrinkled their noses as they caught a whiff of the most disgusting, rotten stench that they’d ever smelled in their lives.

Pip let out a half retch, half cough as he instinctively started running away back to the village. The other boys were not far behind as they fled the stench.

The guru-chi’s blood curdling scream of rage struck fear in their hearts as they ran as fast as their legs could take them.

“Somm!!!” Bacchi swept his arms in a wide circle, inciting a sudden gust of wind to blow away the noxious fumes. The green clouds instantly dissipated, but it was too late. He fell to his knees as he vomited uncontrollably. His nose and mouth were thoroughly coated in a putrid oil that penetrated into his lungs.

He growled and spat epithets even as he threw up, his limbs trembling as he thrashed about in the shallow marsh water.

A day’s travel away, Somm’s eyes lit up as his spiritual intuition sensed that his trap had gone off. His lips curled into a mischievous grin as he chuckled to himself, taking glee as he pictured the torment his elder brother must be going through at this moment.

“It seems you were right.” Somm turned in the driver’s seat toward Yuzu, “Bacchi did indeed arrive at the village.”

“Your arrangements succeeded then.” Yuzu nodded, having already seen that future in the strings before they had left. She made sure to suppress her own amusement, not wanting to give away how much she knew. 

In fact, she had made some small adjustments to the strings herself, keeping the boys at the edge of the town just long enough to witness Bacchi’s arrival.

“Indeed.” Somm chuckled to himself, “Though my ‘trap’ will not deter or stop Bacchi. It will only inconvenience him and slow him. One thing is for sure, once he recovers his sense of smell he will be very careful about overly relying on it to get close to us.”

He noted inwardly that Yuzu did not seem surprised at all by his news, as if she were already certain that Bacchi would show up at the village. It had happened just as she said it would.

Somm had now confirmed through his own methods that if he had stayed in the village he would have been ambushed by Bacchi. Before, he could only trust in Yuzu’s words. Since the danger that she warned of was so great, he had no choice but to follow. Now he knew that there was substance to her warnings. His impression of Yuzu improved greatly.

~

In the village, the news of the second guru-chi had already been spread by the boys. Many of the village folk were already inside their houses for the night, but upon hearing about the guru-chi, they came out and prepared for his arrival.

Guru-chi were mystics from afar. They were greatly revered and respected. The first guru-chi had been greeted warmly, and the villagers even prepared gifts to present to him to gain his blessings. This was a reception that guru-chi were used to throughout their travels.

Though the second guru-chi’s arrival didn’t have the same excitement as the first, the villagers still gathered to show their respects.

Some time later, two figures walked into the small Fuha village.

The first was the guru-chi with long limbs, Bacchi, who had been seen by the boys before he had encountered Somm’s trap. The second was a young man with sunken eyes and a pale complexion.

This young man did not have the tanned skin or the pronounced cheekbones of a typical Fuha person. His hair was sandy blonde, he wore a mix of leather and hempen clothing that was loose fitting, but tied firmly with straps at various points. 

He followed behind Bacchi by several steps, the way a student would follow a master. However today his steps lagged, and a troubled expression was clearly written on his face.

“Keep up!” Bacchi snapped under his breath irritably. “What’s wrong with you!”

“Yes, master.” The young man said.

Even saying so, he did not move any closer to the guru-chi. Instead he withheld the urge to gag after being forced to inhale to respond to his master.

Because at this moment, the stench coming off of Bacchi was unbearably potent!

As Bacchi entered the village a ring of people were waiting respectfully at the village gate around a number of lit torches.

“Greetings, honourable guru-chi. We welcome you to our—.” The village elder’s smile faltered as his nose wrinkled uncontrollably, “—to our, we welcome you tonight—“

A shocked murmur spread through the crowd as the ring of villagers backed up with each step the guru-chi made down the road. Even though they tried to show respect for the mystic, they couldn’t override their sense of smell. Somewhere in the crowd a baby started crying.

Bacchi’s scowl turned ugly as he cursed Somm from the depths of his heart.