Journey to Yesod
Art drawn by: Bintang Hamal
Written by: Hunter Ake
Edited by: Lilliana Steele and Dee Dee Davis
Chapter 10 (Part 1)
Quinect 5th, 1258
Dulani, Sook, and Zenebe climbed up the steep mountain pass to the East as Pirouz flew above them to keep an eye out for any threats up ahead. They traveled in relative peace, aside from Zenebe’s horrifying gasps for air, allowing them the opportunity to take in the gorgeous view. Despite Zenebe’s complete lack of experience with mountain climbing, even he was able to take in the beauty of the sheer scale of the world when he turned around and desperately tried to catch his breath. The vista of the forest laid out before them, framed by the sheer cliff walls on either side, they could even see Capital Ydalia in the distance which further added to their impression of just how gigantic that city has been.
Dulani stopped and turned to look back at the forest, barely able to make out Abha’s cabin in the distance. “I should have told her about the enchantment. I was just worried about her kicking us out at night. Ugh, she got on my nerves, but I was actually starting to like her.” Dulani turned and continued following the path through the mountains.
“It’s not all on you, Dulani, we all had an opportunity to inform her, but we prioritized our own safety,” Sook called back to her from further up the path.
Zenebe was attempting to read the map while stumbling over stones, “Okay, so it looks like once we get through this mountain range, we’ll be nearing the subcontinent of Hinchusta. We’ll have to pass through the country of Bakist first.”
As the group crested the mountains, Pirouz landed back down on the path with them. “I worry about us continuing this way. Bakist and Ydalia have had significant tensions for quite some time now.”
Dulani smirked and put her arm on Pirouz’ shoulder, “Don’t worry soldier boy, you can dress a bit more inconspicuously and we’ll sail right through.”
Pirouz looked over at her and then at the others, “I don’t just mean for me. Ydalia had conducted a regime change in Bakist more than 50 years ago. The Bakistani people rose up and overthrew our puppet ruler about 15 years ago now. In those years, the Bakistani government has been a theocracy, worshipping Agina; a twisted version of Atchar.”
Dulani rolled her eyes, “So they call their God a different name, I still don’t understand why this matters.”
Pirouz brushed Dulani’s arm off of his shoulder, “Please, let me finish. I do not care what they call their God or how they worship him. The point I was trying to get at is that the country has been de-stabilized for quite some time and militant organizations have been making a lot of noise in the last few years. Ydalia has mostly stayed out of it for fear of making the situation worse, as well as having our hands full with the Luthenian War. These groups are not going to be welcoming to outsiders. We need to be very careful.”
In the city of Ladore, a familiar trio of individuals walked through the streets with their backs straight and their eyes facing nowhere but forward. The large man with metal cestus’, the woman in black, and the man with the voice of a snake were being followed. Young men and women in coats watched them walk through as if they owned the place. They didn’t realize these roads were already owned by someone and he didn’t like to share. The three strangers turned a corner onto another street to find themselves confronted by a wall of a dozen enforcers.
“You outsiders want to get through Ji-Ho’s territory; you have to pay the toll.”
The gangly man grinned that same inhuman grin before hissing, “You can tell Ji-Ho that he’s lucky we aren’t charging him for wasting our time and patience with this petty show of power. Now move aside, it’s not worth losing your lives over.”
The enforcers drew various weapons, from brass knuckles, to daggers, to clubs. “Your funeral, freaks.” The young gang members charged forward. The large man in the light leather coat with the mask stepped forward, stomping his foot into the ground. Large stalagmites jutted forward from the street in front of him, stopping the enforcers in their tracks. One young man was impaled through his shoulder for being too close. The woman in black got down on all fours; her nails sharpened into claws, canine teeth became more pronounced, and her pupils narrowed into slits. She leapt over the stalagmites and began tearing into the young men and women. The man with the metal cestus’ jumped over the shards of earth, meeting fist to fist with an enforcer wearing brass knuckles. The young man’s weapon gave, and so did his arm, when they collided with the other man’s fist.
A smaller group of Ji-Ho’s employees tried to sneak up on the tall man in the well-pressed suit jacket. He stood eerily still as his companions slaughtered their prey. One of them rushed his back with a knife. Much to her surprise, she managed to pierce his back; he lurched in pain. Suddenly, his body turned the color of water, and subsequently came apart, washing over her; soaking her clothes.
“Wait, he’s over there!” One of the young men pointed to the nearby alley where the unnerving man in the black suit was masked half in shadows. His grin was vicious as he held his hand in front of his mouth and blew. An icy cold wind from between his lips reached the soaked girl. Her clothes hardened first, then the water on her skin froze all at once. She screamed as the frostbite settled in instantaneously. She collapsed, shrieking in agony, as she became frozen stiff. The other four watched her screams slowly die, before locking gazes with the murderer; the vacant look in his eyes sent a chill down their spines. The remaining children ran away as fast as they could.
“Smart kids.” He then turned to survey the conclusion of the fight on the other side of the stalagmites. The woman in black stood up over a body lying prone on the ground; her teeth returned to normal as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her mouth. The large man in the mask held two people by their broken necks, their lifeless bodies dangled limply off the ground in each of his hands.
“We shouldn’t have to worry about any more rude interruptions on our journey. Our point has been made.”
The four enforcers who ran made it back to Ji-Ho’s music club. A young artist was playing a sarangi on a stage while dozens of people conversed and drank. A broad-shouldered man with dark hair and dark eyes stood guarding the back door when the group of youngsters sprinted towards him, stumbling over themselves in terror. “Hey, what are you four doing here?! You’re supposed to be on patrol ton-“
“It’s bad! They’re all dead! We need to talk to Ji-Ho! Now!”
A well-dressed man walked through the crowd over to a table where similarly well-attired individuals were discussing business. The man leaned over and whispered in the ear of one of the men. He was wearing an expensive white suit with a green undershirt, his dark hair slicked back and had a glass of whiskey in his bejeweled hand. The man was clearly irritated at being interrupted but his expression changed as he listened. “I sincerely apologize to you, my welcome patrons, but an urgent business matter has just been brought to my attention. I trust you all understand.”
A couple of the table guests raised their glasses as he walked away in a rush. The man in the white suit exited out the back door to find the four kids, still clearly reeling from the horrors they witnessed. “What happened?! Describe the people who killed them!”
One of them stammered, “They- There was three- three of them. They were strong and te-terrifying. One was huge, even bigger than you and- and he wore a mask. There was a woman too, she was short, wore all black, and had dark hair and dark skin. She looked like she could have been from Hinchusta or somewhere close by. The last one…” The young man stared blankly at the wall as he pictured that vicious grin, the cold, dead look in his eyes, and the expression on the girl as her body froze on the ground. “He was… definitely not from around here. He- he was tall and skinny, really pale skin and- and this creepy accent. We gotta- we gotta get them for this, Ji-Ho!”
Ji-Ho’s expression was pure terror. “Did Maryam headhunt them?” Ji-Ho muttered to himself before turning his attention to the kids, “No, count yourselves lucky you got away with your lives.” Then he addressed the man guarding the door, “Give them a bonus and let the others know not to patrol tonight. I’ll send a couple guys out to get the bodies and make sure they get a proper burial.” Ji-Ho returned his attention to the young enforcers, “You four, good job keeping yourselves alive tonight. Now go home and tell your families that you love them. I’ll take care of this, I promise.”
Quinect 7th, 1258
Dulani, Pirouz, Sook and Zenebe entered the city of Ladore in the early afternoon. Pirouz was on edge, looking over his shoulder at everybody that he could.
Zenebe whispered to him, “You realize you’re only making yourself more suspicious. You need to relax.”
Pirouz nodded and took deep breaths as they continued walking. Dulani noticed a couple of people watching them but wanted to appear as innocent as possible. People were crowding in front of a music club, yelling and shouting for retribution.
Sook whispered to her group, “Maybe this is something we might want to help out with.”
Pirouz grabbed her arm, “Are you insane? We need to keep a low profile and get out of here as quickly as possible.” Sook solemnly nodded and started to turn away from the crowd when she did a double take. Through the gathering, standing between the irate citizens and the front doors of the club was a man who looked eerily familiar. Sook began walking towards him in a trance.
“Whoa, Sook where are you going?!” Zenebe whispered loudly. Pirouz tried to grab her arm again, but she brushed him off.
She began shouldering her way through the press of bodies as she came face to face with the man who caught her attention, “Yeong… is that you?!”
The crowd quieted, none of them recognized this woman; she was an outsider. “Sook? There’s no way… how are you here?!” Sook and Yeong laughed in disbelief; embracing each other, confusing the locals by the door.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been searching for you!” Sook cried out with tears in her eyes as she hugged him tight.
“Oof, your bear hugs are stronger than ever.”
Sook opened her eyes in time to see Ji-Ho coming out through the front doors of the music club. Her eyes sharpened as she focused on him with evident rage.
“Oh my, is that little Sook?”
The Varanian woman broke her embrace and looked them both up and down while Yeong craned his neck around to see Ji-Ho. He turned back at Sook, putting his hands up to calm her.
“Yeong… do you work for Ji-Ho?!”
“Sook, please. You’ve missed out on a lot that has happened.”
Sook’s pupils narrowed to lizard slits, “After what he did to my mother, nothing I’ve missed could justify this!”
Ji-Ho stepped forward confidently, “My dear little Sook, I’m so sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that we had all found ourselves in back-“
Sook shoved Yeong out of the way and Ji-Ho’s jaw was met with the unexpected, passionate embrace of Sook’s foremost knuckles, knocking him back and forcing him to stumble over the stairs. The crowd watched in stunned silence. Some members began cheering for Sook while others began shouting to restrain her. Yeong rushed to separate Sook and Ji-Ho. “Sook, please, you have every right to be upset but-“
“But what?!”
“But this situation is really messy and you’re going to get these people riled up.”
“It’s okay, Yeong, let her go. I will speak with her in private. Please just keep the crowd under control until I get back.” Ji-Ho looked over Sook’s shoulder, noticing the three other strangers making their way forward. “Her friends may come in as well.” With that, Ji-Ho stood up, brushed the dirt off of his suit, rubbed his jaw, and walked back inside his building, motioning for Sook and her comrades to follow.
“So, we obviously have a lot to discuss. Please, take a seat. Would any of you like something to drink?” Ji-ho waved the handful of cleaners into the back kitchen, leaving the club empty for his new guests. The stage was surrounded by empty torch-mounts. Sook and her allies took their seats in the creaky wooden chairs around a large polished wood table. Pirouz glanced over at the bar and saw all manner of sinful exotic liquors.
“I don’t want to hear your honeyed words, Ji-Ho, and I’d never put anything that’s touched your hands to my lips.”
Ji-Ho shrugged his concession. “Look, I do truly regret my actions in the past. I have come to see the error-“
“Then say it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Say, out loud, what you did to my mother.”
Ji-Ho looked around at Dulani, Pirouz, and Zenebe whose collective gaze was a burning hole through him. “I assume this is a means of humiliating and shaming me.”
“Oh, you want to talk about shame and humiliation? The shame and humiliation you made her live through pales in comparison to what you’re feeling right now, does it?”
Ji-Ho closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, “About 15 years ago, Sook and her family were on the run from Beretan officials who wanted to cleanse their borders of migrants. I was running a speakeasy in a decent sized city on the border. One of the members of her band was a distant cousin of mine; so, I provided sanctuary for my fellow Varanians. I had to hide them. Of course, my money and influence only buys me so much goodwill when I’m also a member of a despised species. That was how I met Sook, Yeong, and yes, Sook’s mother.” Ji-Ho pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked down at the table. “I was struggling to accommodate all of them. My funds were wearing thin, and I approached Sook’s mother with a proposition. Some of the men in the band had already begun doing odd jobs for me but I was aware of my patrons and … exotic tastes. I asked Ji-A to-“
Sook suddenly slammed the table, “You keep her name out of your mouth!”
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