Murugan grimaced against the flood of dirt and grit that pelted the front of his body, borne by a feverish gust that had blown from the south with no signs of abating for some time. Coarse grains scraped the skin of his exposed, weathered face as they settled into every crease and fold. He held his expression fixed, and as uncomfortable as it made him seem he knew the slightest change would only make it more painful. The sensation, like tiny embers settling on his skin and lightly stinging before they burned out, continued to wash over him as he leaned into the relentless wind. Nothing about this was pleasant, and the only hope he currently had of release was to keep going.
As much as he wished the dust storm would simply sweep him away much as it stripped off the dry, barren Honjo topsoil like dead skin, he knew his current traveling companions would find him again no matter how he might escape. There was no avoiding the debt they intended to collect. Murugan's deepest regret in all of this was that it was misfortune of his own making. That, and the fact it might still be the end of him despite his plans.
Alongside him lumbered Kanbo, the russet-colored oni that was the leader of this gang. He and the five other oni accompanying him seemed to be faring much better against the elements than Murugan, no doubt because of their supernaturally hardy constitution. There were four beastfolk traveling with them as well, some sort of jackal breed. Although they were not keeping up as well as the oni, Murugan still envied them for the protection afforded by their tawny fur.
"Cheer up, Murugan," Kanbo's voice boomed through the low wail of the wind directly behind and to Murugan's left. "If what you say is true, there isn't much left until we reach this secret boneyard. And if not, we may just decide to cut or losses and head back with your bones instead."
The oni chuckled, but Murugan knew it was more a threat than a genuine attempt at humor. The bone raider and his crew had made it clear that if he failed to keep his promises it would cost him his life. After several lackluster bone finds that barely netted them a profit back in the capitol, Murugan was buying as much time as he could on this excursion. One way or another, he would not be making the journey back this time. The only thing that remained to be seen was if events played out in his favor or not.
"I assure you, master Kanbo, what awaits us ahead will be worth all our efforts." Murugan strained his voice to be heard above the driving wind but did not turn to face the oni. The feigned subservience of a slave was hard enough to muster in the best of circumstances, and it tested every bit of his composure to defer to the loathsome ogre out in these blasted wastes.
The oni huffed indignantly as they continued to tread across the withered, lifeless plain. One of the beastfolk approached Kanbo from the side. "Boss, it's been a while since we stopped to camp and take water. It's hard to tell with this wind, but I think I catch the scent of a small stream back towards the way we came."
"Interesting. Our trusted guide and fortune teller didn't say anything about being close to water a few hours ago. Why could that be?" The oni stopped in his tracks, the beastman following suit. Murugan plodded on for a few more weary, pained steps before pausing. He didn't need to turn around to know the two of them were glaring suspiciously in his direction. None of them had trusted Murugan even when he was able to lead them to the bones they wanted. As his rate of success had lagged more recently, the gang barely bothered to mask their contempt and hostility toward the diviner.
Murugan swayed where he stood, struggling to breathe deep without inhaling dust into his nostrils. They were close to the destination, and he wondered if in his current weary state he could play this out to the end without them killing him. It might have been a fool's gambit from the beginning, but he would be damned if they suddenly decided to turn back now.
Perhaps I am damned already, and it is hell that awaits me ahead. He brushed away the errant thought from his mind, blaming it on the rigors of the journey. Reminding himself of its purpose, Murugan focused on the predicament at hand.
"My fine fellows," he turned and gave a wry smile to the two beings eying him. "As much as I dearly wish there was a place to take provisions nearby, I'm afraid there isn't. I know this country well from the time I was a child, and there are no sources of water on this leg of our journey. Luckily, it will only be a short while before we reach the boneyard my divinations indicated. There we may camp and take a much needed rest when we acquire what we came for."
Murugan was not counting so much on his charm, which had worn thin at this point, as their eagerness to reach the end of a long, arduous journey. Reminding them they would soon have their promised reward was the surest, and only, incentive he could offer now.
Kanbo glared broodingly at the diviner, clearly intent on tearing him apart if the oni didn't get what he wanted. After a moment of contemplation, he raised his eyes from beneath a jutting brow to the path ahead.
"Very well. We'll keep following what the fortune teller says since we're in his homeland. We can take camp before heading back with the bones."
Murugan nodded slightly to the oni and ignored the look of scorn from the beastman as he stalked off to join the others. While Murugan might be no better than a lowly slave to them, his understanding of their ceaseless desire for wealth was still something of an advantage.
"A wise decision, master. I assure you that more than my price in bones will be fetched from what awaits you."
After walking for close to an hour, they came to a small valley tucked into the mantle of the plain. Nestled among low hills, it was just the sort of place where a stream might flow. It was clear that was not currently the case, but any bone trader worth his salt would know that in wetter seasons it would collect water for a time. And such a collection of water would attract living creatures until it was gone. Once those creatures in search of water had nothing to drink, their inevitable end would leave only one thing. The very bones the gang was searching for now.
"We are here," Murugan proclaimed gravely as the travelers settled along the crest of the nearest bare hill. The wind had finally died down, and now it was nothing but a faint moan off in the distance. Light was beginning to fade from the bleak, cloudless sky above them, making it fortuitous they had arrived when they did.
As the others heaved sighs of relief and began to unpack gear from the large carts towed by some of the oni, Murugan kept silent and glanced around grimly even as they began to relax for the evening.
"The spot seems promising, fortune teller. Maybe you were worth keeping around after all." Kanbo peered down approvingly at Murugan, no longer as distrusting now that he and his men could begin raking the valley for signs of bones.
Murugan made no reply, only gazing at a hill up ahead before taking slow steps away from the oni. "My lord.. this direction was foretold of most auspiciously in my divinations. Might I suggest you begin surveying there?"
Kanbo set out ahead, no longer really interested in following behind Murugan to keep a close eye on him. The diviner kept pace as best as he could with the towering oni, losing sight of his hulking form briefly as he rounded the hill's base.
Reaching the other side, Murugan saw Kanbo peering across a section of the valley floor that spread wide and flat before being cut off by a long, low ridge. This would be the best place to camp and process bones. Kanbo bellowed to the others over the hill and a handful came running with equipment.
The ground beneath their feet was covered with a layer of brown-grayish dust that shifted and puffed in tiny wisps with every step. Oni and beastfolk alike began to attack the dirt all around with picks, shovels, and other tools. The strength of the oni would make it short work, so Murugan hung back and watched while tracing a rough perimeter of the site as he observed. Walking out to a spot halfway between the workers and where Kanbo had gone ahead, he spotted a line of irregularly shaped stones abreast of where the oni now stood. Murugan stooped to look at the nearest stone and placed his palm against its porous surface. A single row of symbols and sigils had been painted in chalk white along one side, curving to continue across the adjoining stone and stretching down the rest of the line. Following with his eyes, Murugan could see the stones arcing out further and connecting with a larger, carved stone set at a distant corner of the valley. More stones succeeded on the opposite side of the stone marker and linked it with a larger circle that could not fully be glimpsed from were Murugan currently was.
A strange sight to be sure, but had Kanbo noticed? Murugan quickly discovered that his attentions were elsewhere as a beastman came running with something jagged and black grasped in one hand. He could be barely overheard as he spoke to Kanbo.
"So you found some bones, and what?" Kanbo's annoyed utterance carried across the valley.
"Yes, boss. But the thing is... they're all burned. And these bones, they look human. There's loads of them buried in ash just below the dirt. Been there for years, by the looks of it."
Murugan next heard Kanbo's loud steps as he strode over to him. Murugan did not stand or look at the oni despite noting his rising temper from his breathing growing quicker and heavier in frustration.
"What is the meaning of this? I didn't have you bring me all the way out here just to find a bunch of burned, useless human bones. What is this place, fortune teller?"
Murugan's palm remained pressed against the stone, grasping it without touching the markings. "It was a temporary village years ago. People lived here. My people. Until everything burned and they died. Because of people like you."
Kanbo growled, reaching down to easily hoist Murugan off his feet. Gripping the back off his neck in one huge hand, the oni brought him close to his face. The hot breath from his flared nostrils fanned across Murugan's forehead, his eyes blazing at the man as his snubbed horns nearly grazed the smaller ones of the diviner's headdress.
"This was a trick. To keep your pathetic life and waste my time. Well, now you get to die in this ruin of a village that your miserable kind called home."
With his free hand, Kanbo reached around to take a heavy iron club that was strapped to his back. The weapon was easily as tall and broad as Murugan. He watched calmly as the oni raised it above both their heads.
"Perhaps you are right, Kanbo. But take a 'fortune teller' for his word on this. More than one person is going to die here tonight."
Murugan looked down at his own hand, dangling limply at his side. Still held in its grasp was the stone, plucked from the section of the divine barrier it had kept in place. The writing on the other stones flashed a pale, ghostly blue, circumscribing the entire circle branching across the foothills before fading into the dim twilight around them. A low rumbling was heard beneath their feet and the voices of the crew who were out of sight rose in alarm.
All at once, an unearthly howling filled the air and darkness descended on all sides. Kanbo was momentarily distracted by the chaos and only looked back when the beastman next to him was snatched away by a massive skeletal arm that lashed through the dark overhead. Both he and Murugan saw the yowling beastman flung helplessly high into the air. As he sailed over the top of the nearest hill, an impossibly huge skull, empty sockets ports of impenetrable shadow, loomed into view. Its fleshless jaws and bared teeth closed around the jackal, who disappeared within as Kanbo and Murugan watched in horror.
More oni and beastmen came running to their position, but halted in their tracks as the malevolent spectre pulled itself over the side of the hill with both arms. The giant skeleton's spine ended abruptly with no hips or legs suspended beneath. The cavernous rib cage that was its torso hunkered down and the skull gnashed it's teeth wildly, clattering with a hollow, thunderous sound. Before any could flee, a knotted hand with fingers like temple pillars swept through the throng and scattered them as they were sent tumbling.
Kanbo hurled Murugan down at last, but did not divert his malice from the diviner. The oni whipped his club around to send it crashing into his prone target on the ground. The skeleton Yōkai had continued to assault the camp, however, and one of its blows caught Kanbo in the lower legs. The oni stumbled, and instead of landing his blow squarely on Murugan's back the club went wide so that only one of the spikes that studded its length gouged the diviner's side when it thudded against the earth. Murugan wailed in pain as Kanbo roared, enraged. The oni was quickly plucked up by two of the skeleton's fingers and dragged away, his screams fading into the tumult that tore through the gloom in every direction as the Yōkai mercilessly annihilated the crew.
Murugan knew he was lucky that the oni's club had not shattered his ribs, but the tear it had made in his side was still bleeding and gnawing at him with a pain that shortened his breaths. Consciousness was slowly leaving him as his senses became overwhelmed, but he could not falter if he ultimately wanted to make it out alive.
Crawling cautiously and trying to stay low to the ground, Murugan sidled toward the stone circle. The piece he had kept in his hand was still intact, and he hoped the inscription that imbued it with divine arts would still be effective. Nearing the gap he had made in the circle, Murugan carefully lowered it back into place to restore its original configuration.
A deafening keening pierced the air before an eerie silence broke out. As he collapsed from exhaustion, Murugan no longer heard the terrible thrashings of the Yōkai. The only sounds that came to his ears through the still darkness were the muted sounds of agony from the still living who would soon expire from the slaughter he had unleashed. Content that they would be unable to harm him, Murugan closed his eyes and succumbed to oblivion.
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Murugan came to before the sun had fully set. All was quite around him, and there were no sounds of other survivors stirring. If any had somehow made it out alive they had most likely fled in terror and would be claimed by the wastes before reaching the capitol. Murugan would be presumed dead or beyond saving, and it was unlikely they would search for him anytime soon.
He almost felt at peace, but was reminded by the pain in his side that all was not well yet. Murugan slowly brought himself to a sitting position and then got on his feet with some difficulty. He gingerly probed the torn flesh below his ribs and winced when his touch brought forth a new trickle of warm blood. Staggering weakly, he made it to a hill on the opposite end of the valley whose position sheltered one side from the wind. There, his hopes were answered when he found something that had existed there even before the villagers were killed and their remains covered by years of dust. Like the circle of stones that priests had set to contain the horror he had unleashed there in his younger days, this hillside helped him to forget his greatest mistake for the time being and feel thankful that not everything out on the plains led to death and destruction.
Short stalks of yarrow carpeted the hill, strong enough to survive the driest seasons. While the plants were not in bloom, Murugan could still use them to make medicine to treat his wound and staunch any further bleeding. After walking back to the wrecked camp and claiming an unbroken water skin and what other basic supplies he could find, Murugan sat down to start a fire and boil the ingredients he had gathered. He would rest during the night and contemplate his next actions. The dead silence in the wake of the Yōkai attack afforded him precious time to think about how to exercise his new freedom.
He sat posed in meditation and bathed by the firelight for several hours until the polstice on his wound was well set. Murugan's deep concentration was abruptly broken by the sound of soft padding footsteps in the dirt coming closer. He opened one eye to peer through the night at the sound's source, not wanting to make any sudden movements without knowing the nature of what approached. All Murugan saw was the glint of two small eyes reflecting the light of the fire. They blinked several times and swayed low to the ground as if something was sniffing there, but without getting close enough to make out the shape of the creature. Judging from its apparent size and behavior it was most likely a fox.
Unsure of how to react given the dormant supernatural forces he knew were present, Murugan stayed quiet and did not move. He had never fully seen the thing that wiped out the village, and the skeleton Yōkai was presumably only a kind of conjuration to mock him for what he had done. Still, he could not rule out a Kitsune being responsible all along. Given their tendencies, it would not be out of character for one to try and trick him even now in this way.
Keeping its distance, the animal's eyes winked out and disappeared to be replaced by another glow. An azure flame lit the dark, outlining a long, thin shape that seemed to hover in midair. Suddenly, the flaming object dropped and its luminescence grew so dim as to be barely visible. Murugan got up and walked over with trepidation clouding his mind. The object was at his feet, but there was no sign of the creature who left it. The fox had either dashed off silently into the night or completely vanished. Looking closer at what it had discarded, Murugan might have been shocked if not for what he had already seen.
There on the ground, still faintly glowing blue, was a leg bone. He could not be sure what kind it was, but Murugan strongly suspected it to be canine. Without hesitation, he reached down and grabbed it, the last of its cold light fading as it touched his skin.