Chapter 38 - Varying Levels of Success

A cold sweat gathered at the back of Yuzu’s neck as she stood in place recovering from the vision. The people in the crowd bustled around her, at times brushing against her, taking no notice of the girl who had a shocked expression on her face.

As Yuzu looked down at the illusory broken golden thread, not daring to touch it again, she noticed that several threads were tied around it that were coated in a sticky black substance.

The crazed eyes of the woman infected by the parasite flashed in Yuzu’s mind. They didn’t look human, more like a starving beast’s. They reminded her of the look in the wolves’ eyes. Suddenly, Char Char’s mission to find the cure for the vine-growing parasite became much more urgent. This wasn’t just about helping one or two people sick in a clinic. The disease was spreading!

Yuzu found Enoki’s golden strand again and focused on it. The shimmering fog of smoky threads around her faded as Enoki’s thread glowed brighter. The thread naturally continued into the future, where it disappeared around the corner as he ran away, but with an adjustment of her intent Yuzu was able to light up the thread in the reverse direction - going into the past.

Going into the past, towards the present. Yuzu thought to herself half amused as she took hold of the string and followed it in reverse.

Ten minutes later, she found herself at the base of a household appliance store. She looked up at the old three storey building, the blue paint on its walls faded down to the white plaster. The small windows that lined the second and third floors were deeply inset and dark. The upper floors were definitely residential apartments; Several of them had laundry poles sticking out of them with clothes pinned to the drying apparel hanging from the poles.

She paused at a metal gate next to the appliance store. It lead into a short hallway, where there were mailboxes inset into the wall before a stairway at the end went up out of sight. The golden thread of Enoki passed in and out of the gate several times. She tried to open the gate but found that it was locked.

She plucked through the illuminated golden strands that all belonged to Enoki. She pulled at them with her forefingers one by one while tucking the already examined ones under her other fingers. Each strand gave her a glimpse of the tanned, curved nosed man at various parts during the day, some were in the past, others in the future. She wasn’t able to figure out the strand that was nearest to the present, but she concluded that if she waited long enough, he’d eventually pass by.

She waited for five minutes before she came to realization that she didn’t have to wait at all. After all, she could manipulate the threads directly to make the connection happen! She picked a thread that wasn’t too solid or smoky and pulled it over to her own thread, connecting them right where the white thread came out of her body.

Her spiritual intuition triggered a few moments later as she heard some voices come down from up the stairs, and the sound of footsteps descending.

At the end of the hall, the shirtless red vested man with short, messy black hair and tanned skin appeared. He looked like he was in a sour mood as he walked down the hall and opened the gate.

“Enoki,” Yuzu said, catching his attention just as he was about to turn and walk away.

“Oh, Miss Xing!” Enoki’s sour face changed to one of surprise, “What a surprise to see you here.”

“It’s a lucky coincidence.” Yuzu said, “I was actually looking for you.”

“Ah? That is lucky. I’m in a bit of a rush, though, come walk with me.” He gestured for Yuzu to follow as they took off. “A few of my friends are nasty sick. Don’t know what it could be. Rashes and sores. Gotta pick up some medicine for them.”

“I’m here for the same reason.” Yuzu said, “A cleric told my friend that an antidote could be made using Biltishroom. Do you know of it?”

“Biltishroom?” Enoki laughed, “Unless you’re trying to ‘cure’ the life out of someone. Miss Xing, the only thing that mushroom is good for is poison.”

“I’m aware.” Yuzu said, “But that’s what I am here for today.”

He slowed his pace as he looked at Yuzu with a thoughtful look on his face. “I don’t sell it. I don’t stock items that will get me in trouble, you understand. Poison is bad for business. You sure you can’t use Hazelwit or Mossbloom? Those are common remedies for many diseases.”

“It has to be Biltishroom.” Yuzu said firmly. “I realize it’s rare and hard to find, which is why I came to you.”

“You really don’t want to make poison with it?” He asked.

“If I was really making poison, I’d choose something less difficult to find. Even if it had to be a mushroom.” Yuzu said, following the train of thought, “If I was really making poison, I’d use something that was common. Rare things like this are too easy to track. But poison as a murder method is really sloppy and unreliable. The police have many ways to track such a thing down.”

“You read too many detective books.” Enoki grinned, finding himself more at ease and convinced of the girl’s good intentions. “I should be careful of getting on your bad side.”

“The antidote is being crafted by a master potion maker, for a really specific disease.” Yuzu said, “Are you sure you don’t have any?”

Enoki stopped walking as he looked at her. She seemed to have a certainty to her question that made him believe she could see right through him. He found himself inexplicably starting to sweat as she stared him down. The truth was, she intimidated him. She was slightly taller than him and her eyes had a piercing quality to them that seemed to be able to tell when he was trying to pull a fast one on her. Or in this case, avoid the topic.

“I don’t sell it, Miss Xing... But I do have a private collection.” He said. “I bought a box of the mushroom years ago. Perhaps it’s still around...”

“I need it today.” Yuzu said.

“I’ll need to check my stock. You know where my stall is? I’ll bring it there tonight. Seven o’clock.”

“It’s only noon. Can you do five?” Yuzu pressed.

Enoki scratched his head, making an exaggerated thinking expression, “You know, it’s gonna take time for the doctor to make the medicine for my friend. It’s not like I’m on vacation, you know- I’m losing money every minute that my stall is closed since I have to take care of these bums.”

“Then here’s your chance to make money. Five o’clock. Yeah?” Yuzu said, “How much for the mushrooms? Since they’re rare I’m sure they’re hardly inexpensive.”

“They go for about twelve bells a head. The heads are about this size?” He used his thumb and forefinger to approximate an object the size of an egg. “How many do you want?”

“All of them.” Yuzu said without hesitation.

“I don’t have the whole box left. I traded some of them with other collectors. I’ll see how much I can bring you.” Enoki said after some thought, “Could be as much as twelve marks.”

“Sure.” Yuzu replied coolly.

Enoki did a double take as he looked at Yuzu to see if she was serious. Twelve marks was a large sum of money. Furthermore, the price was inflated because he had expected her to haggle and beat him down. He was well aware of her reputation as ‘Sharky’.

Maybe she’s doing it to help support me since I’m obviously having a rough time here. There’s no use in haggling with a beggar, after all, he thought to himself, feeling grateful that Yuzu had given him a break, for once.

As for Yuzu, she had no qualms about any price that Enoki proposed. After all, Char Char was the one paying.

~

Elsewhere in the market, Char Char found herself on a completely different street at the recommendation of one of the vendors. After a short walk she turned onto yet another packed road where the carts were filled with herbal medicines. There were ointments and tinctures, twisted gnarly roots and powdered herbs. One cart had shelves packed with glass jars filled with off-coloured liquids and all manners of strange looking objects suspended inside.

Once she arrived, Char Char realized that it made a lot more sense to look in this area of the market rather than the cuisine-focused section that Yuzu had left her in. She congratulated herself inwardly on her adaptation as she stepped up to a stand with a number of mushrooms on display. She scanned the name tags for the items but didn’t see what she needed.

“Excuse me, do you carry Biltishroom?” She asked.

The old lady behind the counter furrowed her brow at Char Char suspiciously, “Why are you looking for it?”

“I need it to make a medicine.” Char Char said, then quickly corrected herself, “I won’t be making it, though, I’m bringing it to a Cleric.”

The vendor, who had incredibly wrinkled skin shook her head, “Bah! Medicine! I’m thirty years too old to believe that. You should go back to your ‘cleric’ and tell him to find a more convincing lie.”

“I’m not lying-“ Char Char protested.

“Let me tell you something that I’m sure you already know. The only thing Biltishroom is good for is poison.” The woman said with a scowl, “You won’t find an ingredient like that here.”

“It’s not for poison, but I understand. Would you happen to know someone-“ Char Char asked.

“Go away!” The woman spat, “Find someone else! Better yet, forget about finding it at all!”

Char Char felt the curious and suspicious gazes of the people around her bore into her as she apologized and backed away from the furious old woman. Perhaps it was a bit inappropriate to ask around for such an ingredient. She had even been aware that the main purpose of Biltishrooms was for poison. It made her feel a bit naive and foolish, but at the same time resentful to the treatment she’d received.

“It really is for a medicine...” She muttered. The woman continued to glare at her as she turned away.

She noticed a young man with a purple vest grinning at her in amusement and she felt her cheeks flush out of embarrassment. She lowered her head and tried to disappear into the crowd.

Further down the street she found another stall selling a number of dried goods. The porcine man sat at the counter fanning himself as if he was extremely hot, despite the cool spring weather. She paused before approaching him, but he seemed friendly enough, and she was resolved to help with finding a cure, even if people wouldn’t believe her.

“Hi sir, I’m wondering if you have Biltishroom, or perhaps know where to find it?”

The man stroked his chin, “No, I’ve never heard of it-“

“Rosso! Don’t talk to that girl! She’s up to no good!” A craggy voice rose above the din of the crowd. Char Char frowned as she saw the old woman approaching on the other side of the stalls, leaning heavily into her walking cane as she limped forward. Was the grandma actually following her?

The large man looked over to the old woman and smiled, “Oh? What do you mean?” He turned back to talk to Char Char, but she had already disappeared into the crowd.

Char Char’s eyes were burning with frustration as she weaved quickly through the crowd. A block and a half further down the street she saw another stall that looked promising. She asked the question to the man and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I don’t know what that mushroom is, exactly, but I have a friend. I can tell you where his stall is-“

“Kavin! Stop right there! Don’t give that girl any help!” A nasally voice pierced through the crowd. Once again, the old woman came into view, a crooked finger stabbing through the air towards Char Char.

“Oh, come on!” Char Char moaned, clutching onto her hair with her hands in exasperation. “I told you it’s not for poison! Are you going to chase me through the whole market?”

“I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes to get you to leave us well enough alone! You’re up to no good! I can feel it!”

“Sorry, maybe come back another day.” The shopkeeper gave an apologetic look to Char Char, “She- ow!”

He was interrupted by a sharp smack on his arm with the woman’s cane. “Don’t apologize! People like her should stay away from honest merchants like us. All they do is cause trouble!”

“Right, right.” Kavin fended off the continuous, but not too dangerous strikes with a familiar gentleness that gave Char Char the impression that this sort of scene was not too uncommon for him. He shot another apologetic look at her. “Maybe you should leave.”

Char Char bristled with anger, shooting daggers with her eyes at the old woman, but once again a curious crowd had started to form around them. She realized that she had little chance to defend herself against the abrasive grandma and quickly swallowed her pride. She pushed her way through the crowd, this time exiting into an alley and not looking back.

She had made it to the next major street when she became aware of a voice calling after her. “Hey, hold up!”

It was the young man who had been laughing at her at the beginning of the whole mess with the old lady. He had spiky black hair and wore a dark purple vest over a sleeveless white tunic. He had numerous chains and belts hanging in various places, many of which seemed to serve no purpose except perhaps to serve an eclectic taste in fashion. He had a wide grin on his face, as if he was terribly amused by the spectacle.

Beside him followed a young woman with tanned skin and long black hair. She wore a light white dress with many thin, flowing layers. Around her neck was a crystalline pendant encased in a silver coil. She had an exotic elegance to her appearance and stature, making Char Char think she was from a far off land. They both were older than Char Char by several years, perhaps somewhere in their early twenties.

“What?” Char Char asked impatiently as she turned to face them.

“You’re looking for that mushroom, yeah?” The man asked. “You said for a medicine of some sort?”

“That’s right!” Char Char said indignantly, feeling the need to affirm herself.

“Biltishroom is not well known for its medicinal properties.” The girl added. She spoke softly, and her accent had a strange lilt to it. “It’s very curious that you are looking for it.”

“You really think I want to poison someone?” Char Char fumed.

“Not at all. Actually, we’re curious about what kind of medicine you’re brewing.” The man looked over to his partner, who nodded sagely.

“Indeed.” The woman nodded with an enigmatic glint in her eyes, “And if you’re interested, I might be able to help find you some.”