Lessons in Humility (closed)

[Nightstalker]

It was a rainy grey day that Akashima welcomed its two lost children home with.

Fortunately, Tristam owned a cart, so Gypsy, Grandma, and Uroki were all nice and dry inside, while Nightstalker was tasked with driving the cart. The two stallions, one black, and one white, plodded along slowly wondering what ill thing they did in a previous life to be here now.

Nightstalker relaxed and smiled as they drove past the crystal spire and the royal palace. He missed being home, despite his travels around the world. His mind wandered, and as it did, it replaced the city with a forest. Nightstalker realized he was daydreaming, but didn’t care.

He usually daydreamed when he was nervous; it took his mind off of what he was nervous about. He didn’t much fancy meeting Uroki’s grandmother, because it meant he’d have to sit around studying magic all day. It was the whole reason for this trip. Almost a full two weeks ago previously, he had jumped in a tank made from stolen Alerarian technology without thinking, and took on a goblin warboss. In the end, the magical engine was smashed, and Nightstalker inadvertently absorbed its powers, giving him magic he didn’t have before.

Nightstalker looked around his imaginary forest, and was startled to find a silvery nine-tailed fox running through it. He knew he had never imagined that on his own, and sat bolt upright.

“It’s a trick.” An odd voice said in his ear, as laughter echoed across his mind.

“Grandma, what did you put in that stew last night? I think I’m starting to hallucinate.” Nightstalker said a note of worry in his voice.

“I made that stew from wholesome fresh ingredients. Don’t you dare insult me by saying it’s making you hallucinate. More than likely it’s your magic acting up. Pay attention!” Grandma snapped irritably, having been awoken from a light nap.

Nightstalker drove on; more worried than ever, both about meeting Uroki’s grandmother, and about the onset of mild insanity, but was even more worried about the prospect of Grandma finding her wooden spoon to let his mind wander.

Soon enough they had left the city, and entered the rolling countryside as it gradually built up to the Shirayama Mountains. He knew Uroki had mentioned they were outside the main city, but not all the way to Ninyama.

“Oi! Uroki, how about coming up here and telling me where to go and how to get there, preferably before we miss your brother’s place.” Nightstalker said, hoping fervently they hadn’t missed the turn already.

[Princess Uroki]

"This one will ignore the western implications of that question and give you directions, 'Stalker." Uroki commented, climbing up to sit next to him on the wagon seat. Completely unperturbed by the rain, she settled in and glanced around.

On both sides were grass fields and rice paddies and there, just ahead on the right, she could she the giant Sakura that marked her brothers garden. Children played around it, being careful of the stone ishidoro at it's base. One tripped and fell into the pond. Splashing and cries for help filled the air. Uroki saw her brother come out the door, too far away to get there in time.

Uroki didn't hesitate. She jumped from the wagon and ran through the gardens by small, almost secret paths she remembered easily. She leaped over a last row of flowers and slid across the grass on her stomach to catch the boy's quickly sinking hand.

She pulled him from the water and up into her lap, patting his back gently as he coughed and spluttered. The other children gathered around her, only to be waved off by her eldest brother, the boys father.

"Hibiki!" He knelt in front of his sister, one hand on his son's shoulder. "Hibiki, what have I told you about running near the pond?"

"Hotaka-nii, don't pretend you never fell into that pond." Uroki reproved. The man looked at her and his face lit up.

"Imouto-chan!" He threw his arms around her and Hibiki, embracing them tightly. "What are you doing home so soon? We did not think to see you for another year at least."

She laughed. "This one fell into bad company, unfortunately. Her companions are in need of help from Obaa-chan."

"Ohhh." He rose, after taking the small child from her, and looked out at the wagon. He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "Still talking like a little boy, I see, Uroki-kun." He teased, ruffling her hair with his free hand. She pushed his hand away gently.

"Yes, this one speaks as she was taught by her eldest brother. If you wished this one to speak differently, you should have taught her differently." She retorted. Then she looked up at him, making her eyes go wide as she had as a child when begging for something.

"Nii-san. can this one's companions stay here while they seek out Obaa-chan's help?"

"Of course, Uroki-chan. your friends are always welcome at home. I'm surprised you have friends, actually. You were such a little homebody as a child. Only wanted to play with us boys." He put his arm around her and she waved for those in the wagon to come and join her.

[Nightstalker]

Nightstalker drove the wagon over, and parked in an appropriate spot. He jumped down and got out the wooden stairs. Tristam got out first, dressed in his finest garb, a white jacket, with a purple vest over a white silk shirt. White breeches and black shoes finished the ensemble. He held a hand out to his daughter, Gypsy, who was covered in a heavy green robe. Nightstalker held a hand out to Grandma, who gazed fondly at all the children with her empty eye-sockets. She momentarily forgot that not everyone was comfortable with someone who had no eyes in their sockets.

“Ahem, allow me to introduce myself, I am Tristam, King of the Gypsies, and this is my daughter, Gypsy Princess. Next to her is my mother, her Grandmother, Isabella, but everyone calls her Grandma. The young man on the end is known as Nightstalker.” Tristam said.
“He’s the entire reason why we’ve come, seeking help from your grandmother, but I shall let your sister regale you with the story of Nightstalker and the goblin siege tank.” Grandma said.

Nightstalker was slightly blue from the cold, and visibly shivering.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could we possibly go somewhere warmer, and drier?” Nightstalker asked.

[Princess Uroki]

Hotaka laughed warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Please, come in." He led the way inside where they were greeted by a beautiful dark haired woman.
"May I present my wife, Satomi?"
She bowed. "Welcome, please come in. The fire is going and I have tea made. " She led them into a sittingroom, where there was a large table surrounded by tatami mats. After relinquishing his son to his wife, Hotaka knelt on the mat nearest the open door leading into the south garden. Uroki showed Tristam, Gypsy and Grandmother where to sit, then directed Nightstalker to a spot near the fire. A few moments later Satomi returned with a young girl, each bearing a tray filled with full, round, handle-less
cups filled with hot green tea.

"Ahh, the other beautiful lady in my life. My daughter, Yuzuki."Hotaka introduced, making the small girl blush as she set cups carefully in front of Tristam, her father, and Gypsy. Her eyes widened as she looked up at Gypsy.

"Wow. You're beautiful." She said, awed.

Uroki took a cup of tea and brought it to Nightstalker. "Nightstalker, here, this wil warm you." She told him, then threw another piece of would on the fire. She turned, and, grabbing a blanket, draped it over his shoulders. Fondly patting his shoulder, she turned back to her brothers family as Satomi served tea to Grandmother, then insisted Uroki sit and have some as well.

She did so, asking, "How is Habiki, Satomi-Nee?"

"He is fine. Takashi is giving him a bath now." She answered, smiling.

Uroki smiled back. She was very fond of this little family, even though it was only a very small percentage of the full one.

[Nightstalker]

“Thank you, you are no less a beauty yourself.” Gypsy said, returning the compliment.
While Tristam puzzled his way through the handle-less cups, Grandma was already half-way through hers.

“Now that’s what I missed most about Akashima, a good quality cup of green tea. Oh sure they try growing it elsewhere, and importing it, but it just doesn’t taste right.” Grandma said.

“I miss my little cabin up in the mountains.” Nightstalker said.

He began to warm up a little, aided by the tea.
“Thank you Uroki.” He said, drinking a little of it. Mostly he used it to warm his hands.
He enjoyed the family feeling in the air about this place. Surely nothing would go wrong here, just some lessons in magic, and that was all. He wondered what Uroki’s Grandmother looked like.

[Princess Uroki]

Suddenly the door slammed open and a tall, fiery woman in a priestess' kimono strode into the room. Each step was certain and each movement intended. The air changed, becoming alive with controlled power.

Her face was worn, but still contained the last vestiges of what was once great beauty. Her hair was pulled into dozens of tight braids and her eyes were a fiery autumn brown.

Standing five foot nine inches, with a solid, trained body, and holding in one hand a white okiwa fan painted with the kanji for power, Toshiyokan Okina was radiated strength and power.

Without hesitating, she turned and pointed her fan at Nightstalker, speaking a single word that cracked like thunder, making the house boom. A wave of reddish light passed over the weary shinobi and dissipated.

"You. So much loose power rolling around inside you. I could smell you from the temple. Irresponsible, walking around with so much untrained ki in a place where there are so many children. MY GREAT GRAND CHILDREN! who are you, and how did you come across this power? It's obviously not actually yours." The woman rapped him on the head with her fan. "Answer me, boy."

[Nightstalker]

Nightstalker went pale with fear. He had faced down Death herself, beaten an unknown horror from the depths of the abyss, numerous dead warriors, an army of goblins, AND a tank made from stolen Alerarian technology, but this was a whole new experience for him.

“I, uh, I, that is I, earneditbydefeatingandkillingagoblinwarbossandblow inguphismagictank!” Nightstalker said, getting it all out at once in a rush afraid of what he might do if he delayed.

“You might try saying that a bit slower so someone can understand you.” Grandma said quietly, letting Nightstalker dig his own hole.

“I was in Scara Brae, with Uroki, working the carnival there. The Goblins attacked, raiding it to kidnap one of Scara Brae’s princesses. We rushed after them, mostly for the princess, but also to rescue Uroki and Gypsy who were also taken by the goblins. We succeeded thanks in part to a powerful spell from Grandma, but they retaliated by sending a magic tank, made from stolen Alerarian airship parts, after us. While everyone held it off, I bravely, possibly foolishly jumped inside to single handedly take on the goblin warboss. Over the course of dodging his club, I made him hit the magic crystals that powered the tank, making it blow up. The loose magic decided I would be it’s new host, and it was absorbed into my body. Grandma balanced it so I could live, but her magic is different, and so she can’t teach me, which is why my loose uncontrolled magic is here, hoping you would help me learn to control it. I would ask my master and Father, but he’s passed on to Lady Koriko’s domain.” Nightstalker said.

Seconds later he realized he forgot to answer her question fully.
“I’m so sorry; I forgot the first part of your question. I am Nightstalker.” He said, cringing backward and hoping she wouldn’t hit him with her fan again.

[Princess Uroki]

She hit him again anyway.

"When I ask a question, you will answer it promptly and completely, in under two sentences. I didn't ask for your life story. I don't care about it." she turned away from him and faced Uroki.

"Child you're more trouble than you're worth, falling in with such a worthless peasant." She informed her granddaughter irritably. Uroki embraced the old woman. "Yes, Obaa-chan. This one is aware."

The old woman grumbled and hugged her. When Uroki released her and stepped awaym the woman reached into the girls Obi and withdrew the tattered white lotus.

"I see." She stated. Uroki reached for it, but Okina held away. She examined it, then handfed it back, holding out her hand again. Uroki reached into her obi to pull out and hand over the flower she'd gotten from the crystal dragon. Okina sniffed it, pulled off a petal and ate it, then gave it back.
"Half illusion, half magic. Completely useless." She announced. Uroki just smiled and returned to her sat as OKina turned bzack to Nightstalker.

"You want to learn how to control your magic, boy?" She demanded, swatting him with her fan again to ensure he was paying attention. "It's hard work. You'll be exhausted long before the end of the day. I accept know whining or excuses. You do as I say or you wash out. Can you do it? Decide now, or don't bother me."

[Nightstalker]

“Ha! I back down from no challenge. If I can defeat a nameless horror from The Abyss, then training magic should be easy, let us start as soon as possible.” Nightstalker said.

Grandma smiled quietly, knowing what was to come, but saying nothing about it.
“If it is not too much trouble, might I sit in and watch? I love learning about other methods of magic.” She asked, finishing her tea. She looked in the cup, reading the leaves, though what she saw in there she told nobody.

The weather began to improve somewhat, as stray rays of warm sunlight broke through the clouds.

“I would enjoy looking at the garden, if it is permissible.” Gypsy said, standing up in a single fluid motion.

Nightstalker wondered what Tristam would do, but he continued to sit in place, lost in thought.

Meanwhile….

A ronin in black armor walked through Akashima, The rain didn’t bother him so much as the cold did. A white robe covered his black armor, obscuring his sword. His head was bowed as he walked along. He came to a dead stop in the middle of the road, and turned towards the path to Ninyama Village. He sniffed the air, and raised his head.

He had black hair, and skin that looked dry, and red, as though exposed to great flame. His eyes glowed yellow with dark magics, and his pupils narrowed into slits, like those of an Oni.

“Nightstalker.” He growled, and began walking towards Ninyama village.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina hit him again with her fan.

"Your answer should be Yes, Sensei. Don't bore me with hubris, Child. I have no patience for fools."

Uroki snickered. Yuzuki took Gypsy by the hand. "I'll show you the garden, Lady." She led her outside.

To Grandma Okina said, "Do as you like, witchwoman." Her attention was still on Nightstalker. Her fan was pointed at him.

"So, can you do it? Have you the balls to take commands instead of give them, to accept consequences for your foolishness, and to take beatings nothing in the abyss could have dealt out in a million years? Think carefully now, I won't ask you a third time."

[Nightstalker]

"Yes Sensei." Nightstalker said, bowing quickly. A second later he braved a question.
"Is there a special room, or does it particularly matter where I train?"

Gypsy let Yzuki lead her outside. Away from Okina and Grandma, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, but Grandma by herself is bad enough. I hope he straightens out fairly quickly, I shudder to think of what might happen otherwise." she said, making her own personal observation on the situation, whilst imagining Nightstalker going around with a bandage on his head from serious fan related head trauma.

"On the other hand, I hope my Grandma and yours get along fairly well." she said brightly, moving on to other subjects.
"But, Grandma is a bit crazy eccentric sometimes. She says she earned it for living so long, but I have my reservations on that concept." she continued a moment later. She was worried two old eccentric women set in their ways might cause unnecessary tension. But then, she knew Grandma excelled at diplomacy and making friends, so she was sure things would turn out right.

Meanwhile...

Tristam stirred himself out of his thoughts.
"Since I'm not the one learning magic, having no magic of any kind, I'm going to go tour the city of Akashima itself. Maybe see what I can see in the crystal spire. Same promise as always mother." He said, standing up. He bowed to Okina, turned, and left.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina grasped Nightstalker by the ear and dragged him into another room. "To train the magic, you must train the mind. You will sit here and you will focus your magic."

She sat across from him. "Close your eyes and feel for your magic, Child. Feel it and grasp it in your magical hands. Become your magical self."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Uroki followed Gypsy out to the garden and walked over to lean against the great Sakura. She watched her father's ishidoro.

[Nightstalker]

He did as requested, sitting cross legged and feeling for his magic. It was a new sensation for him, feeling magic budding within himself. Though his eyes were closed, he saw his magic he didn't just feel it, and it took the form of a black lotus bud. He smiled in spite of himself.

The Lotus had special significance for him. Though it was true, the lotus was traditionally associated with creation, purity, renewal, and the four elements in unison, it was also said that those who truly understood the Lotus Sutra gained the ultimate blissful treasure which transcended all, seeing others as merely empty. It also represented purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above attachment and desire.

But not his Lotus. It was true he strived for all the white Lotus represented, his was The Black Lotus, the karmic power that came to clear the fields of the living of the undeserving weeds that were the opposite of all the sacred white lotus represented. At least, that was what he thought his purpose was, according the the dreams he had as a young child.

That he saw within himself his budding magic taking the form of a Black Lotus on the very cusp of blossoming into full beauty only served as a reminder of the task he never told anyone, not even his father, that he was given. He remembered Okina's words, and grasped it in his hands, feeling it, cradling the delicate flower gently.

"I feel it, and it feels warm and soothing, like being in a hot springs." He said, mainly to indicate that he achieved what Okina asked him to do.

Meanwhile...

Magesha passed Tristam on the road to Akashima. Magesha stopped dead in his tracks after Tristam passed. He could smell Nightstalker on him. Maybe he was Nightstalker, only one way to tell.

"Hey, Nightstalker!" Magesha yelled out.
Tristam stopped, wheeled around, and trotted back over to Magesha.
"I'm not him, but I know him. Are you a friend of his? I'm sure he'd be delighted to see you." Tristam said, wondering how this stranger knew Nightstalker.
"Yes, I'm a friend of his. I had a gift to give him, but I was going to drop it off at his house. Could you do me a favor, and bring it to him?" Magesha asked, pulling a small parcel out of a bag. It was wrapped in brown paper, and seemed very stiff.
"Sure, doesn't seem like it'd be too much trouble. Who should I tell him it's from?" Tristam asked.
"The man he fought the yeti with." Magesha said.
Tristam put the package in a saddle bag.
"Sure you don't want to stop by and see him personally? He'd love to see an old friend while in town, I'm certain of it." Tristam said, trying to get Nightstalker what he thought would be a nice surprise.
"No, I'm off for a mission for my lord, and the sooner I get to it, the better. I was just dropping it off on my way." Magesha said.
"Alright, well, I'll give it to him." Magesha said.

With that, he turned his horse about, and continued on his way to Akashima, and Magesha turned and headed off again, following Nightstalker's trail.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina raised an eyebrow as her magic surrounded the two and watched his magic take shape.

"Interesting." She told him, tapping her thigh. "Now put yourself into that shape. Cram every drop of your magical self into that shape, and keep it small."

[Nightstalker]

Nightstalker tried to do as he was told, but the first few times, the magic shattered, then after that he got about halfway in, then got stuck for several minutes while he tried to get inside without ripping the lotus apart, again, Finally, several long minutes later, he succeeded, but the lotus bulged a little. Otherwise, he was completely inside, and the lotus was still small.

[Princess Uroki]

Watching with her magic, Okina saw that he'd succeeded at last. She watched him for a moment, then said, "Now let it go. Come back to yourself slowly. Yo've done enough today."

They'd been at work for several hours now, and 'Stalker was new to this. The idea, Okina knew, was to train him, not kill him.

[Nightstalker]

Nightstalker slowly let it all go, possibly a little too slowly, but he let it all go. He looked up, and glanced at Grandma and Okina.

"I was wondering, would it be possible to learn spells from another type of magic?" He asked, curious to know if he could learn a few of Grandma's spells too.

"I know where your mind is headed with this, and the answer is yes, but my spells aren't exactly suitable for your line of work. Even still, you don't yet have the skill to translate my magic, which often requires an extensive list of reagents and ingredients, to Chi magic. Now on the other hand, if she and I were to decide to swap spells we could. For instance Uroki's contract still has most of a year left on it, I could share a spell allowing her to contact my Orb, and in turn, speak with Uroki on occasion or I could contact a suitable equivalent of hers in return, such as a mirror or a basin of water unless she too has a crystal orb, whenever Uroki wished to contact her family. This is because we both have great experience with our magic, and the spell mentioned does not use many ingredients, thus making it all the easier to translate." Grandma said, indicating Okina and telling Nightstalker about a spell she did in fact wish to share with her for those very reasons. She felt it might make Uroki a little happier knowing she wasn't completely cut off from her family during her travels.

Meanwhile, Tristam finally returned home with Magesha's package.
Grandma froze in place, then whipped out her long handled wooden cooking spoon which began glowing dangerously.
"Demon." she growled menacingly, as she got up and moved quicker than most thought she could towards his presence. The scent of Demons hung heavily about Tristam, and with Grandma's sense of smell, which heightened tremendously after she became blind, she sensed it almost immediately.
"Mother?" Tristam asked as he saw his mother flying at him with her spoon.
THWACK!
Grandma hit him over the head with her spoon.
"What in The Abyss have you been consorting with boy? Answer me!" Grandma shrieked at Tristam as she hit him over the head with her spoon again.
Grandma's behavior might be considered to be a bit, extreme, but after being plagued by a demon prince for several years in a deal gone bad, she came to despise demons and their ilk and could not tolerate them.
"I just went to Akashima, browsed the shops, visited a tavern, watched a lantern near the Crystal Spire sing Opera when it mysteriously animated and came to life, I've not been near any demons, at least not knowingly." Tristam said defensively.
THWACK! Her spoon hit him in the head again.
"Then explain why you've got Demon scent all over you." Grandma growled, her spoon beginning to turn into a knife.
"I don't know. I meet a passing Samurai who said he knew Nightstalker and asked me to give him a gift. He said he fought The Yeti with Nightstalker."
"Magesha? He's escaped from Koriko's grasp? Grandma, I don't know that I would trust anything he gave me. He blamed me for taking his father from him, and I don't think he'd just change like that." Nightstalker said, who had wandered out to see what was going on by that point.
Tristam retrieved the package from his saddlebags, and opened it. The Horse, finally being able to sense the demon presence, went wild and ran off. Tristam dropped the package to catch the horse. From out of the plain brown paper wrappings came a dagger, made of flesh and bone, with an eye on the handle. It was alive an wriggling, as though it were naturally born a dagger.

Nightstalker's eyes went blank, obviously caught in a trance from the dagger.
Grandma used the paper to pick the dagger up.
"No, it's mine. I need it. I was so horrible to him, it was dishonorable. I need to restore my honor, and that dagger is the key. Hari Kari is my only salvation, the ritual suicide that shall allow me to die with some vestige of honor." Nightstalker said, but his voice wasn't normal, it was strained, a clear sign he wasn't in control, the dagger was.

Grandma would've destroyed the dagger, but was too busy holding off Nightstalker, who was trying to get the dagger from her, to do so.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina took in the situation in a glance and, reversing her fan, thwacked Nightstalker in the temple with it, a blow which knocked its target unconscious.

"Baka da." She declared in a calm voice. "That's quite a spell on that dagger. Oni. Same tricks all the time."

She traced a circle in the dirt, with a five pointed star inside it. "Place it here, Witchwoman. It'll confine the effects of the spell."

[Nightstalker]

Nightstalker fell to the ground and lay there quietly for once.

Grandma, relieved to not have to continue fighting off Nightstalker, set the dagger in the circle.

"Confinement is all well and good, but it should be destroyed. Unless you have an alternative suggestion, I shall immediately set to work on the standard spell. Once Nightstalker awakens, I think we should question him closely about this Magesha character." Grandma said.

[Princess Uroki]

"Truly." Okina agreed fervently. Containment was merely the immediate solution for the immediate problem. She turned to Tristam.

"You." She ordered in a no-nonsense-I-don't-give-a-crap-who-you-think-you-are tone. "Bring him inside." She indicated the fallen Nightstalker with her fan."My granddaughter will show you where to put him."

Okina knelt at the edge of the circle. "Come, Witchwoman. Let's plan the spell."

[Nightstalker]

Grandma stepped inside their parked trailer. All her ingredients were in there.

"I don't think we ever took the time for a proper introduction earlier, and I can't possibly just go around saying hey you whenever I want your attention. My name is Isabella, not witchwoman."

Grandma opened a dusty old trunk and took out a thick tome.

She sat down on a stool and rested the thick book on her lap. She cracked it open leafing through the pages, looking for a particular spell.

"It has been awhile since I've destroyed a demon item, so finding the spell might take a moment or two." She said.

She flipped to the index to speed up her search.

"Ahh, Demonic destructions, here we are. Page 986 of 3360." She said, flipping to the proper page. She read the ingredients off like she was reading a grocery list.

"Bat hair, Dragon's breath, Fish scale, Angel Dust. Hmm... Angel Dust, well, that's a one-of-a-kind-hard-to-get item. I know I don't have any of that."

She looked at the rest of the list.
"Nightshade, Mandrake root, Blood Ash, Ginsing, and the hair of a priestess. Darn, all out of Priestess hair. Now I'll have to go find one and convince her to give me a single strand of hair. Doesn't matter what kind of priestess, so long as she's a priestess. So, Angel Dust and Priestess hair, any ideas?" Isabella asked

[Princess Uroki]

"I am Okina, and I happen to be a priestess." Shereached up, selected a lock of hair, and dragged her fan across it. Then she put it into a small velvet pouch she drew from her pocket.

"as for Angel dust, didn't you know? It's a type of flower. A fairly rare flower, but I have some crushed and dried. "

[Nightstalker]

"Well, I know it's a flower, but it's still hard to get, being rare. I'm just glad we don't have to go traipsing up the side of a mountain looking for some. Rather, I'm glad Tristam doesn't have to. Now, I need my cauldron filled with normal well water, and I need a cooking fire. It must be out of doors, because the smoke is poisonous." Isabella said.

She poked about her trunk, gathering various items. Briefly, she set an eyeball in a jar of water on a stool. it looked at Okina and blinked at her once or twice, before Isabella put it away.

"GYPSY!" Isabella called.

Gypsy came over from the gardens.
"Yes Grandma?" She asked.
"Help me set up to destroy that wretched thing. You know I can't lift the pot anymore." Isabella said.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina disappeared into the house. She returned with a small jar filled with a silvery white powdery substance and a small boy carrying a large bucket. It sloshed with every step until she put her fan gently on his shoulder. Stopping briefly, the boy steadied and continued more slowly, no longer spilling. He set the bucket down and she swished her fan at him dismissively. Grinning, he ran off.

"Here is your water, Isabella. Now you can make your voodoo soup." She bickered goodnaturedly. While convinced her style of magic was superior, she didn't deny the efficacy of gypsy power.

[Nightstalker]

"Voodoo Soup? At least I don't sit around praying all day." Isabella said smiling.

First she took some Angel dust, about a pinch and a half, and sprinkled that in the bottom of the empty pot, then added a little water.

Almost like she was building a sandwhich, one at a time she would layer a spell ingredient and then add water, all the while chanting under her breath. She gestured at Gypsy, who got a pair of silver tongs, enchanted with Anti-magic, and she got the dagger. It squirmed knowing it's fate, trying to get away, but it was trapped. Gypsy dropped it in, and Isabella got the last ingredient, Okina's hair, and sprinkled it atop the glowing bubbling brew.

The entire thing congealed into a solid brick like substance, and slowly shrank until it was the size of a man's eye. Then it shot into the sky and blew up in a dazzling display of light.

Isabella sighed and turned to Gypsy and gestured at the pot.
"You're my apprentice, so you get to do the cleaning. Okina and I have a Ninja to interrogate. If we hurry, we'll get there right as he wakes up."

Gypsy smiled, glad she was out here and not in Nightstalker's place. Grandma got out her favorite long handled wooden cooking spoon, and marched inside.

Nightstalker was just waking up when he saw Grandma hovering over him.
"Grandma? What happened? I remember Tristam taking a package from his horse, and then, blackness."
"Don't worry about it, it's all taken care of. Tell me more about this Magesha." Isabella said.

"There's not much to tell. We both journeyed into the land of the dead, right into Koriko's domain, demanded our fathers back, and competed against each other for that very prize. I won and he didn't, and he swore vengeance upon me, but Koriko wouldn't let him go. I don't know how he escaped." Nightstalker said, recalling what little he knew.

[Princess Uroki]

Okina watched the entire production with distaste. so many ingredients. Too many variables, in her opinion. She raised an eyebrow at the light show and then followed Isabella inside, fan at the ready. After listening to Nightstalker's brief description of the time he'd crossed paths with Magesha, she tapped her fan, thinking.

"Either you're not telling us the whole story, or this Magesha is a very petty man." She informed the ninja.

[Nightstalker]

"Or maybe I don't know the whole story, did you think of that?" Nightstalker snapped.

Isabella backhanded him so hard across the mouth she drew blood.
"Speak more polity to your elders." she snapped right back.
Nightstalker held his lips in shock.
"Now let's try this another way. Grandma once taught a spell to an inquisitor to repay a debt. It was a most interesting spell. It pulls information directly from Time itself. If I find out you're lying, well, let's just say it won't be pretty." She said in a surprisingly nice tone. She yanked a particularly long strand of hair out of Nightstalker's head, pulled some dust and dirt from her pockets, and sprinkled it all in the air muttering something in an arcane language.

The items glowed and disappeared before they hit the floor. Everything fell away and all three were flying backwards through time.

They bore witness to Magesha's two attempts to talk Nightstalker out of the competition, which was as Nightstalker said, but then things went further back. They saw how deeply attached the man was to his father, and how deeply the sudden loss hurt him. The man was killed by an assassin, by Nightstalker himself. It was a painful death involving poison. Though Magesha never knew it was Nightstalker at the time, the spell flashed forward to after Nightstalker left Koriko's realm.

It showed Magesha trying to escape on his own, but getting lost, and wandering into the realm of Oni. The Oni whispered dark and terrible things into his mind, and twisted a petty hurt that would've healed with time, into a wound the fueled an unending hunger. Worst of all, they revealed to him that it was Nightstalker who killed his father, which made the problem become real, instead of illusionary. Fueled by anger and rage, Magesha sold his soul to the demons for revenge, and not having a sword anymore, they gave him a demonic blade forged from dark and evil essences. It was slowly eating his humanity, and turning him into a demon. In fact, he now qualified as a weak lesser demon, and was no longer Ronin, or Samurai, lost entirely to the code of Bushido.

The spell ended and everything returned to normal.

"But I didn't know that was his father!" Nightstalker protested.
"We have seen what we have seen. You better pay close attention to your training boy, because I'm not helping you against a demon you are responsible for creating. This problem is yours and yours alone. By sheer chance, Okina's mere presence will keep him at bay, as weak demons cannot stand the presence of any priestess that is not an evil priestess. So we're all out of danger, for now, unless he calls in a powerful greater demon, but that which was once known as Haidia has a better chance of freezing over entirely before any such entity is likely to respond, you're not that valuable a prize." Isabella said.

She got up and left, pausing only long enough to speak to Okina directly.
"Don't have mercy on him. He deserves none for what he has done. I despise demons, and that he is responsible for one, even indirectly, is more than I can stand. I'm going to go to my room and meditate until I can go five minutes without wanting to strangle him." Isabella said, and then she was gone.
"It wasn't my fault though, it was my father's last mission, and he couldn't complete it, so I did. How was I supposed to know the man's son would come across my path later and then get turned by demons?" Nightstalker protested, not seeing how this was his fault.

[Princess Uroki]

"Be quiet!" Okina snapped at Nightstalker. "I have to think."

She ran over what she had seen in her mind and came to a decision.

"I will do a fire reading. Follow me, Apprentice." She tucked her hands into her sleeves and led the way to the temple, stopping briefly in the yard to rest.

The temple was a small one, with stone steps leading up to a wooden building. she led 'Stalker inside, into a large room. In the middle of the room was a fireplace, tiers of sticks stacked high to contain a roaring blaze. she knelt on a mat and indicated for him to do the same next to her.

There was always a small fire going here, but as Okina focused her ki, the fire roared up into a great blaze.