[Closed] Seasons of wither

[royaltyloyalty]

Who: Dokugakuji royaltyloyalty
What: Prayer with Erk (#30)
When: June 15
Where: Starting at Far Shore, then Near Shore TBD
Warnings: n/a yet

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[Now that Erk's had some time to settle in, Dokugakuji walks around until he finds where Erk's been practicing, Meji walking behind him out of sword form.]

Hey Erk. You busy right about now?

[He's a lot more casual around Erk than Alluka since he's another more or less adult guy and Doku's issues center mainly around kids and women. Alluka is both.]

Comments

[misterfrumpyface]

[Erk glances up from his open tome with a slight start, the gold glow of the runes on the page fading as his focus is diverted. He is a little busy, but he's not going to say as much if his god has need of him. That takes precedence over practicing his magic. He can always come back to this later.]

--Hm? What is it?

[royaltyloyalty]

[He motions wide with his hands.]

I heard a prayer. S'been awhile, but I figured if Alluka took the last one, that makes it your turn this time. If you want.

[He gestures over at Meji.]

I can bring Meji as back up just in case there's an ayakashi too, since we're still figuring a few things out too.

[misterfrumpyface]

[A prayer? Yes, that definitely takes precedence over practice. Finally, a chance to prove his worth as a shinki! A chance to fulfill his role and earn his keep. Erk tries to keep a handle on his eagerness, but it shows in the way his eyes light up.

He shuts his tome and fastens it away in its holster as his belt, then looks up at Dokugakuji and gives a resolute nod.]

Of course--I would be honoured! What do we need to do?

[royaltyloyalty]

[Dokugakuji tries to stop smiling, even if Erk's eagerness makes that hard, considering the seriousness of the topic at hand, but he appreciates Erk's attitude all the same. He'd had no doubt that Erk would earn his keep, but if the man's so keen to prove it, then he doesn't mind giving him an opportunity to do so. Not in the least.]

Ksitigarbha is a protector of children among other things, not usually taking vengeance against those who wrong them. However, in this instance... that may be required. I need to investigate first. There's apparently a lot of orphans on the streets of Patna, a city in the state of Bihar, India... and they're not getting adopted, but I can't do much to fix that. The bigger issue is that they're getting picked off, not by adoption agencies, by something else. We need to find out what - and try to stop whatever it is.

[He turns over his shoulder real quick.]

Mokki.

[And the one-eyed man turns into Doku's sword, that part done at least while Erk processes what Doku's said.]

[misterfrumpyface]

[The place names mean little to Erk; he's studied enough of this world's geography to know that India is a country in southern Asia, and a populous one, but most of his focus has been on learning about Japan.

Where isn't important, though. Orphans are being... picked off? Erk's stomach clenches, that information eliciting a deep-seated sense of alarm that catches him off guard. But quickly recalling that his god can sense his feelings, he takes a slow, steady breath and quells it to the best of his ability.

Where did that come from?

It doesn't matter--they have a duty to fulfill. Erk's gaze hardens.]

Very well. I'm ready. [He's got his tome, and what more could he need? Frowning, he mutters as he straightens his cloak.] What anyone could possibly hope to gain by preying on orphans...

[royaltyloyalty]

[Doku catches that quick feeling burst, but the nice thing about having been mortal - maybe not human, but having been part of a family - he understands Erk's feelings completely. This isn't some wild emotional directive that he requires like some gods to know the right thing to do.]

I don't like what's happening there either, Erk. Not even a little bit. It... hits close to home, honestly.

[He rubs at the back of his neck.]

Honestly I'm worried they're recruiting impressionable kids who don't know any better - for some army or crime ring, who knows what. Without parents, kids'll default to listening to big brothers and sisters over any real adult. And if the kids go missing or wind up in jail, no one'll notice or care.

[That said, he teleports them out to the city of Patna, on a rooftop so that they can get a look around. He's never tried teleporting more than one person, but he was sure the familiar presence of his sword would make it negligible plus Erk for that purpose. Better safe than sorry.

The climate is very close to how he grew up. Dokugakuji looks out toward the suburbs and further, the little villages very close to the kind hew grew up in too.]

It's midday, I think. So we have some time to look around before it gets dark.

[misterfrumpyface]

[Erk handles abrupt teleportation very well, apparently. Despite the lack of warning, he's quick to regain his bearings and begin taking in his new surroundings. He's not sure he's ever been this high up before, but the rooftop does afford an excellent view, even if the wind threatens to wrap his cloak around his head.

India's very different from Japan, or at least, what he's seen of it. But as much as he might like to explore and learn more, they're here to do a job.]

I suppose the most obvious place to begin would be to find some orphans. [He looks out over the city, turning around in a slow circle.] We should probably check the poorer neighbourhoods, or public places where they might receive handouts.

[And hopefully Dokugakuji will teleport them there, because there's absolutely no way Erk can get himself down from this rooftop.]

[royaltyloyalty]

[Dokugakuji nods at Erk's assessment.]

That's probably best. I'm not sure where a poor neighborhood would be...

[He starts walking around the edge of the building, not bothered by the height since it's nothing compared to sheer castle walls, but looking out at the city.]

If I had to take a guess, there's got to be some along the river there.

[He points out to the massive river Ganges along the city's border.]

And it looks like there's a bridge over that way. There's probably a handful or more of homeless people that would love to use it for shelter.

[misterfrumpyface]

[Erk nods, shielding his eyes from the sun and looking out at the river and the bridge.]

It's got to be as good a place to start as any. We should also be alert to anyone behaving suspiciously... [He hmms to himself.] Perhaps we should see about acquiring a map, as well.

[This is the first prayer he's been on, and he wants to make sure he gets it right. He doesn't want to risk overlooking anything that could be helpful. But he has clearly not been introduced to GPS or Google Maps yet.]

Prayer #10

[royaltyloyalty]

[Dokugakuji freezes up in the course of their conversation.]

Sshh-- ssh--

[He hears another prayer... and doesn't know if it's related to what they're talking about now or not, but it feels like it's in the same city.]

'I know that my daughter has been gone for more than a year, but I still can't bring myself to let her go. Please give me the strength and hope to keep waiting for her.'

... Shit. Erk-- There's a... father worrying about a lost daughter. Right here. You don't think...?

[Oh he's trying to keep it together right now but this being so close to the defeat of the other ayakashi, he's damn worried.]

[misterfrumpyface]

[The way his god abruptly freezes, and then swears, is alarming enough to have Erk reaching for his tome again, half expecting another ayakashi to appear. But instead, it seems to be another prayer... which, granted, could mean another ayakashi, but not in the sense that one's about to jump out at them right this minute. Probably.

He takes a deep, slow breath, forcing himself to relax and think, and then tentatively shakes his head.]

If he's her father, she's not an orphan. It may not be related at all to the ayakashi we just faced. [It was only preying on orphans... right?]

...Which means it could be almost anything.

[Ugh. He runs a hand through his hair, sighing. Despite the success of his first answered prayer, he really would've appreciated a breather before diving into the second. But there's no helping it.]

What, exactly, have you been asked to do?

[royaltyloyalty]

You've got a good point, Erk. There's lots of reasons kids leave their homes.

[He should know. Now that he's a little bit calmer, he can see some of that logic Erk's bringing to the table. Likewise, he'd been so caught up in the sheer local proximity of the prayer that he'd assumed they were connected.]

All he asked for was the strength to keep waiting on her. I assumed that meant bring her back.

[At least, that would solve the root problem, wouldn't it? No need to give a strength and hope if he's really got her back.]

[misterfrumpyface]

[It's very easy to see parallels between this new prayer and the one they just dealt with, especially considering that they came from the same place at the same time. And maybe they are related, but Erk is wary of jumping to conclusions. Going about this logically and methodically--as he'd very much prefer to do--means that they need more information, and until they get it, they can't afford to assume anything.

He's not liking the sound of the information he is getting, though, and he looks up at Dokugakuji uncertainly.]

'The strength to keep waiting'? [He suspects he's really not going to like the answer to the obvious follow-up question, but it has to be asked.] ...How long has he been waiting?

[royaltyloyalty]

[He shrugs lightly in response.]

'Over a year' was all I got.

[But he suspects Erk is onto something.]

Guess we can probably feel the guy out if he's somewhere in this town...

[He waves Erk onward and heads back towards the center of the city.]

And get his attention enough to tell us more about what's going on, yeah?

[misterfrumpyface]

[Dokugakuji moves onward, but all Erk can do is stare after him in confounded silence for a long moment before finding his voice.

He groans.]

Over a year? She could be-- [dead] --anywhere.

[Erk's not trying to be pessimistic. He's truly not. He knows that he should probably be trying to go into this with a positive attitude, for his god's sake if not for his own... but over a year? He would very much like to be proven wrong, but the voice of realism is screaming at him that this girl is dead. Or at the least, never coming back.

How are they supposed to help? How are they even supposed to provide the 'strength to keep waiting' after so much time?

Still, with a bit of a sigh, Erk hurries to catch up to his god. They'll just have to find a way, or fail in the attempt.]

[royaltyloyalty]

[Doku can fill in that blank too. He'd spent years wondering the same about his own brother. Still, a brisk walking pace has them back in the city passing that corner store where they bought the map.

Alright, so he's not too good with a compass, but thankfully this is more like feeling the tug of a string. He can walk down a ways, turn a corner, and start heading left before he realizes that's the wrong way and turns right instead. He could teleport all around but that wouldn't be nearly as effective as feeling this out. And thankfully the people are still treating him with that magic Far Shore dismissal, no matter how strange the both of them look.

So off Dokugakuji goes, meandering his way through the streets until they come upon what is labeled a Hostel.]

That's weird... this looks kinda big for one person to live in, doesn't it?

[But Doku's pretty sure the man is somewhere inside.]

Maybe it's a business... and he works here?

[misterfrumpyface]

[There's little Erk can do but follow after Dokugakuji and hope that they end up in the right place; he can't feel the tug of the prayer, after all. Still, this is certainly one way to see more of the city. Erk's soon opened up the map again, and he keeps track of their route and notes any landmarks they pass, for no other reason than he finds it interesting.

When they stop in front of a building, though, Erk quickly tucks the map away--he's getting the hang of folding it properly--and peers through the front window. Which might be rude if it is someone's house, but it really doesn't seem like one, and it isn't as though anyone inside will even notice him.]

Perhaps. There are several people inside. Can you pinpoint which one sent the prayer?

Prayer #6 - July 1st: Alluka and Erk

[royaltyloyalty]

[A little while ago, Alluka and Doku had gone off on their first prayer together. When he got a similar request, he just went ahead and investigated the situation in the big city - thinking he could just more or less repeat what he and Alluka had told the last person when it came to advice.

Apparently it was not so simple a matter.

Dokugakuji teleports back to the Far Shore, to his temple, and calls out for his shinki as if they didn't all have phones to solve this matter easier.]

Erk! Alluka! MEJI! MASAJI!

[He has to yell for them not because they're Soulless but because he's sure they're further up the path out of that small valley and thus less likely to hear him. He could call them all by their shinki names but doesn't want to treat them like that.]

[misterfrumpyface]

[Well, that doesn't sound good. Erk looks up from his book with a start. It actually sounds rather urgent.

Still, he takes half a moment to slip a bookmark between the pages before grabbing his magic tome and his cloak and hurrying from his room to find his god. He's still fastening the cloak around his shoulders when he arrives at Dokugakuji's side, looking up at the man in mild concern.]

Is something wrong?

[grants_wishes]

[Alluka, likewise, doesn't seem to be doing anything of any great importance... Possibly nothing at all? Regardless, she shows up fairly quickly at Dokugakuji's call, looking pretty bewildered about all of them being gathered up like this.]

What's going on?

[royaltyloyalty]

I need you all to help me defeat an ayakashi - before it takes out a whole nursing home.

[He makes a slight head movement in Alluka's direction.]

Awhile back we answered a prayer together, Alluka and I. Helping with figuring out how to pay for medical expenses, you remember that? I felt something similar... so I just thought I could handle it, no big deal.

Instead I get there and there's this big ol' ayakashi hovering in the sky like a serpent coiling on a nest of eggs or baby animals or something. Except it's all elderly folks in there. You two in?

[He knows he doesn't have to ask the Soulless if they'll join them, but they're only just now coming down the path and he does want to treat them as best he can, so he'll look to them in a second.]

[misterfrumpyface]

Of course.

[Erk doesn't hesitate. Despite the jolt of nervousness he feels at Dokugakuji's evocative description of the ayakashi they need to deal with... this is what he's here for. This is his duty, and he's eager to fulfill it to the best of his ability.

Besides, he did fine against the first ayakashi he faced. He can do this. He rests a hand against the tome holstered at his hip, its weight a source of reassurance.]

[grants_wishes]

[For sure, that sounds like a pretty spooky menace to deal with. Alluka's sense of danger and the fear that should rightfully come with it is, fortunately or unfortunately, rather absent, so rather than finding any sort of nervousness in the idea of fighting against an ayakashi, she's more amazed at the idea of actually facing off against the thing.]

We can go! [She does, after all, implicitly trust Dokugakuji to not put them in any situation the group of them wouldn't be capable of handling.] We should go right away, right?

[royaltyloyalty]

[He's glad they're both willing, and their trust in him makes him smile - a little. Yeah, it's a serious situation, but he's happy they're ready to take this thing out.]

That's what I'm talkin' about!

[He of course has to recall them in the order he met them.]

Mokki! Keiki! Kanki! Enki!

[His first soulless shinki, the one that looks like his old sword appears in his right hand first, followed by Alluka's pendant, then Masaji's lantern in his left hand, then Erk's ring. He gets a swell of pride at all four of them being here with him together.]

Alright!

[With that, he teleports down to the Near Shore, back where he'd come from - about a building away on the rooftop so that everyone can see the ayakashi he'd described earlier.]

[misterfrumpyface]

[That... certainly is a big ayakashi. Erk still has to puzzle at how he can even see in this form, but that's of no concern right now; their foe seems far more dangerous than the other ayakashi he's faced, and it looks as though it could descend on the nursing home and consume everyone within at any given moment.

...Hoo boy. Okay, it's all right, they've got this. There are five of them, and only one of it. They can do this. Probably.]

Do you have a strategy planned, or are we just going to attack it head-on? [Erk would prefer a plan, but whether or not there's time for one might be another matter. The way it's hovering there, ready to strike... he doesn't like it one bit.] If we could lure it away, perhaps...