Chapter 2-1

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“We’re here.”

Kiwi woke with a start as he was dumped on the ground. He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times, trying to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was the roar of water. The second thing he noticed was the foul stench coating the air.

“I’m already missing those coins,” said Sune, glaring down at Kiwi. “Infinitely less of a burden.”

All Kiwi could remember from the previous night was an endless trek with the lute case strapped on his back. I must’ve fallen asleep at some point, he thought. Kiwi’s eyes widened. That means he carried me and that lute case all this way?

“You have my gratitude for the ride,” said Sune to an old man sitting on a wagon filled with fruits.

“Not a problem,” said the old man. “But I dunno why y’all comin’ to Mora. You ain’t heard of the water sickness?”

“Everyone and their mother has heard of the water sickness,” said Sune. “But regardless, thank you for the warning, kind sir.”

“What’s the water sickness?” Kiwi asked, watching the wagon roll off into the mist.

Sune glanced at Kiwi for a moment. When he realized that Kiwi wasn’t joking, he put his face in his hands. “What I would give to get my money back…”

Kiwi scowled, beginning to regret coming with this loon. “It’s your own fault for paying me to work for you. If you even paid attention a little you would’ve realized I’ve got no talents besides failing at everything I try to do.”

Sune jabbed a finger in Kiwi’s chest. “Listen here, boy. The least you can do is -”

“Sir, might you be Mr. Sune?” a voice interrupted from behind them.

A bald man wearing spectacles and a plain brown tunic stood several paces away, hands tucked into his sleeves.

“Yes, I am,” said Sune, turning away from Kiwi and extending a gloved hand. “I suppose you are the messenger of Lady Autumn?”

The bald man shook Sune’s hand and bowed before turning to face Kiwi, eyes gleaming. “Then you must be -”

“He is my servant,” interjected Sune.

“Servant? …Ah,” said the man. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Kiwi gave a brief node of greeting, still seething at Sune’s sour attitude.

The messenger turned back to Sune. “If it is not too much trouble, Lady Autumn wishes to speak with you right away.”

“Of course,” said Sune. “Please take us to her.”

Lady Autumn’s messenger turned and headed toward the mist. Sune turned around and motioned towards the lute case sitting by Kiwi. Muttering choice words under his breath, Kiwi hauled the lute case over his shoulders and followed Sune into the watery foam.

“Stay close,” called the messenger. “The mist has growth thicker ever since the water has been infected with Ghouls.”

“Ghouls?” Kiwi asked.

“Creatures which demons have completely taken over,” said the messenger. “Unlike the Possessed who are trained to control the demons in their bodies, Ghouls have lost control over the demons. Their minds become overwhelmed with hatred and violence.”

“You should know that,” Sune muttered.

Kiwi shot him a dirty look. “Where is this mist coming from?” he asked the messenger.

“First time in Mora?” the messenger asked. “Look up.”

Kiwi glanced up and for the first time noticed the giant mountain rising towards the sky in the distance. On the mountainside was the largest waterfall Kiwi had seen in his life, explaining the roar of water he had first heard upon arriving at Mora. The waterfall stretched across the entirety of the city from what Kiwi could see, depositing millions of gallons of water in what Kiwi supposed was a lake at its base. The wind combined with the sheer power of the water crashing downwards created a thick mist that coated the city.

Kiwi’s thoughts were interrupted as he narrowly dodged vomit splattering to the ground from a second story window. Kiwi opened his mouth to retaliate but was stopped by a hand on the arm from Sune.

“That’s the water sickness everyone is talking about,” said Sune.

It was then that Kiwi noticed that the horrible stench wafting through the air smelled like a mix of vomit and human excrement. The mist seemed to keep the stench from blowing away, instead intensifying the foul smell tenfold. Kiwi pinched his nose shut to avoid vomiting himself.

“The water sickness started when people started noticing the Ghouls,” said Lady Autumn’s messenger. “Mora used to be one of the largest sources of clean water in this part of the land. People were used to drinking directly from Lake Masu. Now after you drink the water, you vomit and diarrhea until the infected water is flushed out of your body.”

“That’s awful,” said Kiwi, grimacing. “Why haven’t you done anything about the water?”

The messenger glanced at Sune.

“My boy,” said Sune. “That’s why we’re here.”

A large pair of wooden doors lit by two small lamps, one on each side of the door, rose up through the mist. Lady Autumn’s messenger walked up to the front door and rapped a sequence of knocks. A panel slid to the side and a pair of eyes peered out, surveying the group. A moment later, one of the large doors slid open just wide enough for a single person to slide in. The messenger motioned at Sune and Kiwi.

Sune entered first, removing his rice hat to slip through the crack. Kiwi entered afterwards, doing his best to force the lute case through without causing too much damage.

“Got quite the security around here, eh?” said Sune, glancing at the group of five men standing behind the door. Every single one of them held a spear and had a sword strapped to his side.

“The people of Mora are not happy these days,” said the messenger. “Come. Lady Autumn has been waiting.”

As the messenger led them through the halls of Lady Autumn’s home, Kiwi realized that the home was more of a palace than a house. The palace was shaped as a square with a central courtyard and several floors. The hallways were floored with polished wood, as were the intricately designed sliding doors.

“When we meet Lady Autumn, let me do the talking,” Sune whispered.

“You didn’t have to tell me that,” Kiwi shot back.

The messenger raised a hand to halt them as the group came to a stop in front of a pair of sliding doors painted a deep blue. Two more armed guards stood at each side of the doors.

“Before you enter, we must search you,” said one of the guards. “And leave that wooden box.”

Kiwi glanced at Sune, who gave him a brief nod. With a sigh of relief, Kiwi slide his arms out of the straps and allowed the lute box to crash to the ground. Wincing at the sound, Kiwi avoided Sune’s glare and gingerly handed the box to the guards. After a quick search, both Kiwi and Sune were deemed to be unarmed. Only then did the two guards grab the doors and slide them apart, allowing Kiwi and Sune to enter.

The room was dimly lit by lamps hanging along the walls of the room. In the middle of the room hung a translucent curtain; Kiwi could make out the outline of a person sitting on the opposite end of the curtain, but the curtain was too thick to make out any specific characteristics of that person.

“Lady Autumn, I introduce Sune the Exorcist and his…servant,” announced the bald messenger.

Kiwi’s eyes widened and he shot Sune a glance. Sune ignored him, instead lowering his head towards the curtain, removing his rice hat with a gloved hand. “My Lady, it is a pleasure to be able to serve you,” Sune said.

After a sideways glare from Sune, Kiwi lowered his head too, thoughts racing all the while. An Exorcist and not a bard? What have I gotten myself into?

“Thank you so much for coming to the city’s aid,” said Lady Autumn from behind the curtain, voice soft and surprisingly high pitched. “You’re the first Exorcist to respond to the help request I’ve had my messenger Baru send out.”

Kiwi resisted the urge to blurt out his questions on the spot.

“We will do whatever it takes to solve the problem of the water sickness, my Lady,” said Sune. “If you may, please provide us with an overview of the issue that plagues your city.”

“Of course,” said Lady Autumn. “As you may already have heard, the water of Lake Masu has recently become undrinkable. Our entire economy revolves around exporting clean water to nearby towns, so upon the infestation of our waters, the city’s financial resources have been crippled. On top of that, the only sources of clean water nearby are not enough to sate the city’s thirst. If the water sickness continues, I am afraid we will soon be experiencing much worse than vomit or diarrhea.”

“I presume our ultimate objective would be to cleanse your water?” Sune asked, pulling out a deck of cards and riffling it in his hands.

“Indeed,” replied Lady Autumn. “I apologize if my request is broad, but I suspect the task will be of no large matter to an Exorcist.”

Sune peeled the top card off the deck of cards. After inspecting it for a moment, he looked up and smiled. “Your water will be clean in one week, my Lady.”

-

“You’re an Exorcist?” Kiwi hissed as they trekked through the mist. “I thought you said you were a bard!”

“That’s about the twentieth time you’ve said that,” said Sune. “Bottom line is I paid for your services, my boy, and provide your services you will.”

“Stop calling me your boy,” Kiwi grumbled. “You can’t be more than a few years older than I am.”

Sune grabbed Kiwi by the back of the tunic and pulled him back right before his foot dipped into the waters of Lake Maru.

“We’re already at the lake?” Kiwi asked, squinting through the heavy mist. “I can’t see anything.”

“Pay attention to the sound instead,” said Sune.

For the first time, Kiwi noticed that the roaring of the waterfall was overwhelmingly close, drowning out any other sounds in the vicinity. Sune kneeled and dipped both of his gloved hands into the water, cupping them and bringing a sample of water to his face.

“Are you going to drink that?” Kiwi asked, face twisted with disgust.

Sune ignored him. “What do you believe is the cause of the water sickness?”

Kiwi scratched his head. “That bald guy with glasses was talking about the Ghouls in the lake. I don’t see any Ghouls around here, though.”

“I suspect he was talking about the fishes getting possessed by demons,” said Sune. “But as you and I both know, demon possession under no circumstances causes any type of toxin to be excreted by the host.”

“Uh…right,” said Kiwi, not having known.

“That leads me to believe that there is an external force acting on this lake,” said Sune, dumping the handful of water back into the lake.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kiwi asked. “Of course there is.”

“It means that someone is poisoning this lake,” Sune said, walking along the perimeter of the lake. “And not from down here. From up there.”

Kiwi followed Sune’s finger up to the top of the towering waterfall. Up close, the waterfall was even taller than Kiwi expected, rising until it almost seemed to touch the clouds.

“You’re mad!” said Kiwi. “No one in the right mind would climb up there to poison a city of people!”

“My boy, we are not dealing with people in the right mind,” said Sune, beckoning Kiwi to follow. “It is the only reasonable conclusion.”

“Why do you say that?” Kiwi asked. “I don’t even know how you came up with the idea that the water is poisoned!”

“I already suspected it long before coming here,” said Sune. “But coming to the lake cemented my belief. Take a look at the water near the shore.”

Kiwi knelt and glanced down at the water. At first he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but upon closer inspection, he noticed a mass of tiny green particles swirling in the middle of the clear water.

“Yao Grass,” said Sune. “Usually ground up and consumed as a powder through inhalation. However, when ingested, it is known to cause severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. Furthermore, all of the powder seems to be conglomerated near shore. Because of the waterfall, water usually flows outwards, passing down the river that cuts through town. Any stray powder that doesn’t make it down the river is caught on the shores of the lake.”

“But how do we know that someone isn’t just coming to the lake and pouring some of that powder in?” Kiwi asked. “Why do they have to be at the top of the waterfall?”

“The people have said the water has constantly been fouled. That would mean someone has to be poisoning the water on a daily basis,” said Sune. “When the water was still clean, Lake Maru was a popular place for people to bathe or drink. Considering that there has been no evidence of a culprit being seen around the lake in the past and the present, there is only one logical location where they could be.”

“Hm,” said Kiwi, scratching his head. “You’ve lost me.”

Sune sighed and beckoned Kiwi to follow. “Come. Lady Autumn informed me of a secret passage up the waterfall.”

After spending the better part of the next hour feeling their way around the side of the steep rocky shelf which housed the gigantic waterfall, Sune discovered what seemed to be a set of steps carved into the side of the mountain. The steps appeared to head deeper into the mountainside before curving back out towards the waterfall, providing a steep but manageable incline. Without stopping for a reprieve, Sune began marching up the stairs. Kiwi sighed and pulled the lute case higher on his shoulders before following Sune up.

By the time they reached the top, Kiwi’s arms and legs were screaming with pain, not to mention his bruised and battered body still burned as well, courtesy of Plunkett. Panting heavily, Kiwi moved to haul himself up onto the top of the cliff but was stopped by Sune, who turned and put his finger to his lips.

“Give it ten more minutes,” said a nearby voice.

“C’mon man,” said another. “We been up here all day. It don’t matter if it’s now or ten minutes.”

“Don’t make me bust you,” warned the first voice.

Kiwi snuck up beside Sune and peeked over the edge of the top step. Now that he was given a breather, Kiwi noticed that the roaring of the water was now off in the distance and the mist was nowhere to be seen. The cliff itself was rocky and bare, with a wide river slashing through its midst and exploding off the edge as the waterfall. Beyond the cliff was a forest of evergreen trees, thick and masking all beyond the first row of trees.

There was a group of five raggedy men sitting around a fire, smoking pipes and eating fish. Kiwi’s stomach growled at the sight of food, reminding him he hadn’t eaten for about a day.

“Do ya ever feel bad about doin’ this?” one of the men asked, crunching away at his fish. He had a patchy beard that looked like his chin had been stuck in a fire.

“My wife has been sick for a while,” said another of the men, this one as round as a boulder. “As long as I make enough money to afford her medicine, I’m okay no matter what.”

Kiwi turned his attention to the large barrels sitting behind the men. If Sune was correct, those barrels would have the poison.

“What’s the plan?” Kiwi whispered, turning to Sune.

Sune was gone.

A moment later, there was a shout from the fire as a large rock crashed into one of the men’s heads, sending him crumpling to the ground. Sune sauntered towards the remaining four men, shuffling the deck of cards in his hands incessantly.

“W-who the heck are you?” the round man asked, rising to his feet.

“I’ve heard you boys have been doing some interesting things up here,” said Sune. He gave his cards a final shuffle and held the deck out to one of the seated men. “Take a card. Any card.”

“Don’t do it, man!” another man shouted as the first one reached out to do as Sune said. The first man sheepishly pulled his hand back.

“You don’t want to play the game?” Sune asked with a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll take one for you.”

Sune pulled a card from his deck and glanced at it before showing the men. On it was a large black ‘X’.

“What that mean, bro?” one of the men growled. “We don’t care ‘bout no card game!”

Sune’s lips curled into a smile. “I'm afraid you’re out of luck today.”

Sune hurled the deck of cards at the round man’s face. As the man was temporarily blinded, Sune dashed forward and used his open hand to smash the man under the chin. The man’s head snapped back and he staggered backwards several feet before collapsing onto his back.

The other three men whipped out knives from their belts and charged at Sune. As they approached, Sune reached up to his back and grabbed. His fingers grasped nothing but air. One of the men slashed Sune across the forearm, tearing his sleeve and gashing his skin. Sune managed to dodge the rest of the blows, leaping backwards to safety.

“Where are you, boy?” Sune roared.

“Right here!” Kiwi shouted from where he was still huddling at the top of the steps.

“Get your useless butt over here!” Sune shouted, trying to fend off the attacking men.

Kiwi gulped. He knew that there would be a point in his life where he would have to make a decision. That decision would define whether or not he was ready to become a man. He knew that he was ready to make that leap. He knew that it was about time that he took on more responsibility and became a man who his mother could be proud to say was her son.

Just not today.

“I’m not feeling too well!” Kiwi shouted. “I think I have water sickness!”

“You…you oaf!” Sune roared, turning on his heels and sprinting towards Kiwi. The men shouted and chased after him.

“What are you doing?” Kiwi screamed, tearing at his hair. “Don’t bring them with you!”

“I’m going to kill you!” Sune skidded to a stop and grabbed Kiwi by the collar. Before Kiwi could protest, Sune hauled him up over the edge of the cliff and hurled him towards the approaching men.

Kiwi hung in the air for a moment, wondering for the millionth time why he had agreed to join this crazy man on his quest for who knows what. The next moment Kiwi crashed back first into the three approaching men, lute case battering all of them to the ground. Kiwi landed facedown several feet away, lute case still strapped to his back.

“You useless dog!” Sune growled, grabbing Kiwi by the hair and lifting his head off the ground. “Nearly got us both -”

Sune trailed off, single eye narrowing and focusing on something in the distance. After struggling out of the straps of the lute case, Kiwi clambered onto his feet and followed Sune’s gaze.

Standing at the edge of the evergreen forest stood two figures. One of them was dressed entirely in black while the other one was dressed in white. From this distance, Kiwi could only make out two things about them. The first thing he noticed was that they both wore brightly colored festival masks covering their faces. Secondly, they each had a tail.

A tail?

“Ghouls,” whispered Sune.