Chapter 39 - Pocket Change

“My name is Firuzeh Asvadani.” The woman introduced herself, then gestured to her companion, “And this is Kai Min Chuan.”

“Kai for short.” He winked at her.

“Char Char Zhao.” Char Char said, smiling with relief, “Do you really have Biltishroom? Would I be able to buy some from you?”

“Before we continue, first I need to know-“ Firuzeh said, “What is this Biltishroom going to be used for?”

“It is a medicine for a woman and her daughter.” Char Char said, “They-“

She paused as she realized that the description of the disease she was about to give was very strange, to the point of being unbelievable. The last thing she wanted to do was chase away her new friends with what sounded like a made up story. Vines and eyes growing out of a person’s body sounded like something one would hear in a myth.

“They have sores all over their bodies. And high fevers.” Char Char said carefully, “The Cleric who is treating them said that the normal remedies would only worsen the condition.”

The two companions shot a glance at each other before Firuzeh said, “Is there more to the disease? Perhaps something that happens as it gets worse?”

From behind her, Char Char saw Kai mime something popping out of his arm, wriggling his finger as it ‘stuck out’ of his arm. He had his arms crossed and he was looking around casually, as if trying to not draw attention to his strange gesture. It looked incredibly stupid to Char Char, but at the same time she instantly understood that this pair knew what she was talking about.

Firuzeh caught the line of Char Char’s gaze and followed it to Kai’s performance. Her expression relaxed as the corner of her lip curled into a knowing smile. “So you are aware of the Keeper’s Gaze.”

“Keeper’s... Gaze?” Char Char raised an eyebrow. “Is that what it’s called?”

“It’s one of its names. I’ve also heard it referred to as Glaztsvetok and Life Seeking Fern. ” Firuzeh said, “What do you know it by?”

“...Devileyes.” Char Char replied.

A sly grin grew on Firuzeh’s lips as she looked thoughtful for a moment, “An interesting take on the plant, I suppose. Though perhaps a bit dramatic.”

“But- You know what it does, right? To animals... and people.” Char Char added the last part softly, unwilling to imagine what would happen to a person if the parasite fully took hold.

“So the medicine you’re making out of Biltishroom...” Kai said, trying to piece things together.

“I heard that it’s meant to target the eyes. That it’s going to be tricky to do without... killing the patient... But that it should- no, it definitely will work.” Char Char said the last words with a decisiveness that came from her core.

“Hmm.” Firuzeh considered the use of the mushroom deeply. It reminded her of a folk tale about a corrupt King and a beloved Queen. The paranoid despot used his Queen as the official taster, believing that no one would risk harming her to take him out.

“Poison the wine to save the Queen.” Firuzeh said, quoting a familiar phrase to her, though Char Char had never heard it before. Firuzeh smiled in conclusion. “I see. In the hands of a skilled enough alchemist, perhaps an approach like this would work.”

“Is there another cure?” Char Char asked hopefully.

Firuzeh shrugged, “I don’t know. Truthfully, I know very little about it. Only that it used to be an uncommon but not threatening plant in a previous era. But now it seems to have returned.”

“Are you looking for an antidote too?”

“No. We’re-“ Firuzeh was about to reply when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Her hand reached up to touch the amulet hanging from her neck. The translucent white crystal shone with a opaline brilliance as the midday light reflected off of it.

Firuzeh closed her eyes for a second before she opened them and looked at Char Char. “We’re just on our way to meet our boss. Would you like to join us? He is the one who might be able to get you some Biltishroom.”

Char Char was about to agree to the offer when she felt a slight tug on her heart, holding her back. Her mind turned to Yuzu as she remembered that quite a bit of time had passed since they split up for a ‘half hour’. “Actually... It’s probably about time for me to meet my friend. Is there a way I can get in contact with you later? Or maybe you can come with me, it’s only a few streets away.”

Firuzeh gave Char Char an apologetic smile as she shook her head, “We need to get going too. But I will ask about the Biltishroom. Are you able to come back later? We can meet in a few hours and let you know.”

“Deal!” Char Char said.

They quickly coordinated the meeting time and location and said their goodbyes.

As the pair watched Char Char walk off, Kai shot an inquisitive look at Firuzeh. She read the wordless question and smiled quietly. The crystal on Firuzeh’s neck was a special item that allowed her to receive instructions and knowledge, though Kai was not aware how it worked.

“Did he say something to you?” Kai asked, referring to the higher entity which communicated with Firuzeh through her amulet.

“We have orders now to invite her to the headquarters.” She nodded while smiling. She touched her pendant as she looked off towards the departing girl “Apparently, ‘He’ is very interested in her.”

~

Yuzu stood next to Enoki’s empty stall with a mildly impatient expression on her face. She had arrived at the meeting spot after their half-hour time limit, expecting Char Char to be there and empty handed. Instead, Yuzu ended up being the one waiting.

Yuzu had already honed in on Char Char’s spiritual “frequency” and found her golden thread, but when she tried to follow it into the past to see where her friend had gone, the vision was blurry and incomplete. There was even a point where the vision completely went blank, and Yuzu couldn’t discern any information about Char Char’s actions or where she was coming from. Was it because Yuzu was not in possession of the chest, and somehow was lacking in power?

Yuzu tried accessing the strings of random passerby and found that she could follow most of them without issues. Only Char Char’s acted strangely. Yuzu tried to come up with a reason for the discrepancy but couldn’t think of anything.

During this time Yuzu even tried pulling on the string to bring Char Char to her, but the response was weak. She found that trying to pull too hard on the smoky strands just caused her fingers to pass through.

“I’m too clueless about all of this...” Yuzu muttered to herself. Even though she felt like she had grasped the nature of her powers, she was still lacking in knowledge. She would have to experiment and develop more familiarity somehow.

Yuzu frowned as she resigned herself to having to wait for Char Char to come herself. At the very least, the thread showed that Char Char would arrive eventually, Yuzu just wasn’t sure when. She tugged against the string impatiently at intervals until eventually the golden strand became more solid and naturally connected with Yuzu’s thread.

A few minutes later, Char Char came around the corner.

“You’re late.” Yuzu said, crossing her arms.

“Sorry,” Char Char apologized with a guilty smile, “I lost track of time.”

“It’s fine...” Yuzu grumbled, “I found Enoki. He said we can come back to the stall at five tonight and he’ll have a box. It might be as much as twelve marks.”

Char Char’s eyes widened in surprise as her smile brightened, “That’s great news! I met some people who might have some Biltishroom, too. I’m going to meet them tonight at nine. That’ll give us plenty of time.”

“Okay.” Yuzu said, her curiousity peaking. She met people? It must have happened in the period where she couldn’t observe Char Char’s thread. “Who did you meet?”

“A woman and a man... Their names were Firuzeh and Kai. They seemed friendly. Also-“ Char Char leaned in closer to say the next words into Yuzu’s ears, “They knew about the Devileyes.”

“Really?” Yuzu said, surprised. “Even the... eyeballs?”

Yuzu said the words with deliberate hesitation. Char Char had told her the entire story of the previous night, including the parasitized wolves, the Hunter and the Cleric, her grievous injuries and their subsequent healing. Her story matched Yuzu’s experience of the fight, although Char Char understandably had a much more limited and confused perspective. Since Char Char was honest about the fight, Yuzu also took her description of the events in the clinic as the truth.

However, Yuzu had run into a problem. That was, Char Char’s story was too unbelievable for a ‘normal’ person to accept. Yuzu wasn’t sure she wanted to share her newfound ability or experiences with Char Char, or with anyone for that matter. And so to keep up the guise of a ‘normal’ person, she had presented herself as a skeptical friend, a reluctant helper that perhaps didn’t quite believe the whole story but was willing to help out.

And so Yuzu humoured Char Char by ‘accepting’ the story while giving off the impression that she wasn’t convinced, but was willing to help out anways. This was already more than Char Char had hoped for.

“Yeah, even the eyeballs... They seemed to know even more about it.. Like it has other names, I can’t remember them now...” Char Char said, “Anyways, I’m going to ask them more about it tonight when I see them. You should come!”

Yuzu nodded. “Okay.”

“As for the money, I’ll need to go back home. If your friend is asking for twelve marks, then bringing the same amount for the people I met is probably reasonable, right? Maybe a bit extra just in case...” Char Char calculated out loud, “Thirty marks should be enough, right?”

Yuzu blinked several times as Char Char said the amount with utmost casualness. Thirty marks? That’s already more than some people make in a year!

Yuzu had agreed to Enoki’s maximum price without a problem, but she had expected Char Char to spend two or three marks at the most on the mushrooms. Yuzu recoiled inwardly as she tried to imagine the kind of lifestyle Char Char had that she would be able to spend thirty marks like pocket change.

“A-Are you really going to buy all of them?” Yuzu asked, trying to hide the shock in her voice.

“Why not?” Char Char said, “If it goes to helping people, then it’ll be worth it. And if not, I can sell it and make back the money, right?”

“That’s... not quite how it works...” Yuzu reeled once again as she tried to figure out a way to explain to Char Char the way the market worked. Char Char would be lucky if she could get half the amount back, if she could even find a buyer at all. Even then, what kind of buyer would she have to meet to sell thirty marks of rare, poisonous mushrooms?

“Maybe you could purchase a small amount first, and then if it works, buy more?” Yuzu suggested delicately.

Char Char scrunched her face, “That sounds annoying. I’ll just buy it and see what happens.”

“Okay.” Yuzu said blankly, giving up. If this conversation went on she felt like it would end with her strangling Char Char on the street. She sighed softly as a way of letting out pressure.

“What’s wrong?” Char Char asked, her eyes innocently bright.

“Nothing. How about we head back home first, and then head back here together at four?” Yuzu changed the topic to save her sanity.

“That sounds great!”