As I approached the city there were no lines for getting in. The local farmers knew it was best to steer clear for a little longer. I had felt confident in my disguise earlier, but now as I approached an armed guard that confidence wavered. “State your business!” he barked. “I’m just reporting in to the outpost of Yollari” I replied flashing Kolya’s Yollari medallion. I realized I was imitating Kolya’s voice and I cleared my throat. The guard waved me through for the standard fee and said “best watch yourself” and that was it.
The city was far dirtier than I remember. A couple days ago when we were in the city it had a nice breeze and the smell of exotic teas and tobacco. Now the air was stagnant and the city had garbage piled ahead and the place had the aroma of unwashed hind parts mixed with sulfur. There was almost no one on the streets and the people that were in the streets scurried away quickly without making eye contact. Our actions had had a profound and terrible reaction.
I approached the intersection to turn to the outpost of Yollari. Copper now added itself to the symphony of foul aromas. I was getting closer to where the confrontation had happened I could now even taste the copper. Not garbage – Bodies. Bloated stinking piles of flesh. I could see from here there were casualties from both sides, but luckily from what I could see without getting too close there were not innocent casualties. Instinctually I covered my face more and looked down picking up my pace. If either side saw through my disguise I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I pushed through the doors at the outpost. Laid out over a map of the wilderness surrounding the city was a more detailed map of the city with various tokens and markings. There was some shouting coming from the back “Make sure you give them the good ones or there will be hell to pay”. I cleared my throat loudly “Hello?”.
A man with a grim face walked over and eyed me up and down. “You aren’t fooling anyone here with your trinkets. Also, you are dripping on my floor”. He through a rag at me. Looking down I could see a couple droplets of blood. Tracing the blood to the source I realized I had been biting my lip and it was now split and bleeding. How long had it been bleeding? I couldn’t say, but it throbbed as I released pressure. “I’m not here to fool anyone just to ask for assistance on behalf of one of your followers – I have payment…” I started. “You mean followers of Yollari – I don’t have any disciples” he snapped. “When you’ve plugged your leak and cleaned the mess on the floor we can discuss your inquiry”
Sheepishly I complied. After explaining the situation with Kolya for the second time he scratched his head. “This has nothing to do with what’s going on in the city, right? – because we don’t want trouble.” I again assured him the death was at the hands of several Oni and that Kolya had died protecting others. He blurted “Chikaradzuyoi”. “I’ve heard of power word magics. Is that how he can be raised?” I asked. “Something like that - come with me and you will see your friend returned”.