A Medley Horror of Ancient Bones

Disaster / Destruction

Despite the horrific revelation stretched out before him in the depths of Wakigami Castle, Knight Commander Maxim waited patiently for the team of "mystical experts" to arrive and examine what looked very much like a portal to hell. All the while, the languid, blindfolded youth within the chamber worked away at his anvil, striking red-hot metal methodically, apparently forging by touch alone.   Finally, reinforcements were at his back. Maxim felt a chilly presence fill the air as first one, then a trio more red-skulled and black-robed Deep Wraiths glided out from the labyrinth. They were followed by Albionite wizard Mary Lyn, who greeted her countryman with a terse nod. Not to be left out from such a momentous discovery, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo herself* was in attendance last. Although personally far away, beyond the Veil of Sleep, Yoshitakatomo could act through her* Sheele, Hashinara Kiyowara, as though it was her* own body.

The so-called experts began exchanging theories about what might have torn this rift in the darkness below the castle. Ashiya Dōman, through his wraiths, expressed that he'd checked this area not so long ago, and no such portal had existed. Mary Lyn posited that, judging by the macabre bonework around its borders, this could very well be a direct portal to the land of the dead. In Japan, that could only mean Yomi. Kiyowara, meanwhile, examined the structure on a mystical level and spoke with Yoshitakatomo's voice: This was not the result of any spell or great feat of magic. An extremely powerful creature seemed to have torn open this rift with its own hands. Surely that could not be Izanami-no-Mikoto herself, however. If the Goddess of Yomotsu had the power to do such a thing, surely she would have fled prisonous Yomi long ago.   As they spoke, Maxim directed his attention to the boy in the center of the newly-opened chamber. Perhaps not as oblivious as he seemed, that youth had cocked his head slightly, so as to hear their discussion over his metalwork. Interrogating him proved to be fruitless, however. The boy spoke, in an exasperated sort of way, but claimed no knowledge of how or by whose hand this portal had come to be. By his own word, he'd come through from the other side and found this enclosed chamber to be perfect for him to practice his craft without distraction.   The youth claimed to be on friendly terms with Izanami, after gifting her a sword, yet would not give his name. That sort of information upset people when he gave it out too freely. Hearing this account secondhand through Yoshitakatomo, Matsumoto Ooawagaeri at least though that he might have a decent guess as to the boy's identity regardless. Finally, the youth expressed his doubts that the portal was, in fact, any danger to them. He'd been here for several days now, and nothing but himself had come through from the other side. Indeed, if they'd but shut the doors and leave them alone, he'd even give them some more details, like his name, in exchange.   Simply sealing away the rift and ignoring it seemed too dangerous a prospect to consider for the moment. This was especially true when they weren't certain exactly what might lay on the other side. As the bravest among them, Lord Maxim accepted the solemn duty of passing through the bonewrought portal to scout the other side. This was sure to be a dangerous mission, so Mary Lyn first offered to cast a spell to safeguard Maxim's soul, granting him an extra layer of protection from whatever might lurk in the abyss beyond. For this, she required only an item of some power through which to channel the spell.   Maxim considered for a moment, then brought forth the Vase Vitae. Remembering Kuranes' warnings, it might be dangerous to bring across the planar boundary regardless, and so Maxim reasoned that it would be prudent to leave it with Mary regardless. Muttering an incantation, the celebrated Court Wizard began to cast Tie Vital Essence upon the vessel she'd been given. The Vase was no ordinary artifact, however. It was designed to funnel souls into itself and, when presented with a portion of Maxim's, soon greedily absorbed the rest. The Knight Commander's eyes dimmed as he felt a great deal of power leave his body all at once. That, according to Mary, was not supposed to happen.   After they'd managed to reason out what just occurred, Maxim fortunately had a solution. He took the Vase Vitae back from Mary and pressed in on the simple, red human figure carved into its side. In a moment, the Vase's contents were discharged: Maxim's soul and one other. That was when the chamber's unseen occupant made her presence known.   With a mocking cackle, Kashin Koji claimed both freed souls as her own, flitting back to a point just above the portal with uncanny speed. There, she juggled the spirits malevolently, all the while calling out the lords of the Hashinara for allowing her to manage this twice in one day. Suddenly, a few things clicked into place for Yoshitakatomo. When Tōdaisen Nobuhara had contacted her with warnings of an "evil spirit" inside Wakigami Castle; a presence which had rapidly disappeared before they could react, he must have been speaking of Kashin Koji herself. No doubt the horrid little ghost was using this portal as a convenient staging point to harry and sabotage her begrudged enemies at every opportunity.   Understandably, Maxim took this turn of events rather personally. That was his soul floating up there in a mocking gremlin's hand; his very essence. With a sudden sprint and leap, Maxim pushed himself into the air, clawing at the smiling visage above him. He had not been at Miwa-myōjin, however, and did not know how Koji often operated through illusions. His grasping fist passed through the poltergeist's hazy form without effect, but Maxim's momentum kept him going. With a sound not unlike a pebble thrown into a lake, he passed through the ill-omened portal and into the nightmare world beyond. Loyal Evaine was not far behind.   What Maxim noticed first was the smell. Yomi stank like sulfur. The mere act of breathing in its yellowed fumes burned his lungs and sapped his strength. Much more pressingly, an enormous beast, a hundred feet of misshapen human bone, was towering now above him. The majority of this unnatural titan's bulk seemed to be crouched in a pit that began about twenty feet from the entrance. Up from this, on a mockery of a human spine stretched to impossible length, a skull larger than Maxim's whole body stared down at him with unthinking hunger. Like the cherry on this abominable cake, Kashin Koji lounged just at the top of the skull's dome, still throwing Maxim's lost souls around in her hand and taunting him to recover them.   Although he could feel his mortal strength draining with every moment he remained here, Maxim could not leave for reasons twofold. First, of course, was his soul. Added to that, he could not suffer a behemoth like this to pass through the portal behind him. An Ancient Gashadokuro of this size could cause untold devastation if it were released from Wakigami Castle's depths. For now, he determined to focus on Koji and the soul, lest she get away again. When Maxim looked up at her again, however, his eyes swam. There were now not two, but a full twenty-five souls floating and dancing around the giant skull. Two flamed up in its eye sockets, giving the perverse impression that it was staring straight down at him with burning pupils.   In defense of her knight, Evaine the White had drawn her weapon, and with it her power increased tenfold. Among other abilities, she gained an uncanny ability to pierce illusion, and so was able to confirm that not a single one of the souls dancing above was real. All were glamours. That seemed to suggest it was still stashed somewhere on Koji's person because she, and the skull she reclined upon, were fully real.   Maxim called to his squire and, with a great heave, hurled her up toward the grinning death's mask above. It was a risky maneuver, as the thing's great neck bobbed and weaved not unlike a predatory snake. Still, Maxim's arms were mighty and his aim was true. Evaine impacted the skull on its lower mandible, just below its rows of unsettlingly broad and straight teeth. She found a handhold there and hung on. With the Gashadokuro's constant movement, however, Evaine could not manage any progress further upward.   Taking advantage of his foe's momentary distraction, Maxim unsheathed Hokkuken and took his lion-crested shield in his other hand. A solid chop to the exposed bone in front of him confirmed the knight's suspicions. Although its ossified armor chipped and broke away under his blade, it would take much more than that to dispatch such an enormous creature.   The Gashadokuro itself had not been idle. It reached up with an enormous clawed hand bearing too many finger-bones to scratch at the side of its skull where Evaine hung. Although the White Squire did not lose her grip, her precarious position also made it impossible to bring her full defense to bear. Jagged claws dug into her back to tear through flesh and cloth alike. It must have been painful, but not a felling blow. Evaine kept her grip without crying out.   On the other side of the portal, Maxim's allies must have realized his plight, because reinforcements now arrived. Mary Lyn, perhaps recalling her days of fighting alongside Arthur Pendragon's knights, passed through the border. In her company was what appeared to be a small girl, her face and form hidden behind voluminous robes and a fox mask. Although they had not been formally introduced, it was not difficult to guess that this must be Matsumoto Ooawagaeri's sheele. Indeed, the Black Blade was able to act through the sprite like a second body, just as Yoshitakatomo. Its might was nothing compared to his own, but Kōyō still might be able to help. She began by advising that everyone hold their breath. This did indeed seem to slow, but not halt, the surrounding miasma's creeping influence.   Bolstered by Mary's presence and the protective magic she wove about them, Maxim's resolve to unmake this creature hardened further. He focused and entered into a particular combat stance, now focusing his blows on parts of the undead titan that showed no reaction to being struck. At least... not yet. Meanwhile, Evaine's situation was not improving. She had not managed to improve her position on the side of the skull. Another scratch, a few clackings of the creature's teeth, and even with the power of magic raging through her, Evaine the White looked only a few steps from death. In this horrid land, that somehow seemed even more final. Making the decision in a moment, Evaine let go.   She tumbled, a white speck among the off-grey chaos of bones that made up the Gashadokuro. Despite the length of her fall, Evaine managed to keep her feet upon landing. Through the bond they shared, Maxim absorbed a greater share of her pain and injury as she reverted to sheele form upon landing. Scurrying up from the pit and into the portal, Evaine made a temporary retreat. Maxim, meanwhile, was looking battered. Still bearing the hurt he'd taken from his squire, he'd also been battered a few times by the Gashadokuro's great skeletal bite. Although the titan's blunt teeth did little to pierce Hostimentum, each time they grazed his flesh, Maxim felt as though the nerves in that area started to deaden. After a few such strikes, he was finding it increasingly difficult to raise his weapon and shield. Surely he could not continue for much longer, but the strikes of his Hearthforged Zweihander upon the monster still seemed entirely lacking in effect.   Fortunately, Mary Lyn was not about to allow her ally to fall. With a steady hand pressed against Maxim's back, he felt warm magic channel through the legendary wizard and into him. In a moment, all of his wounds sealed themselves. The taint of Yomi and the Gashadokuro's malign influence still lingered, but he was no longer in danger of being struck down by the next blow.   As Maxim and the undead hulk continued to exchange blows, a new set of reinforcements entered through the portal. This time it was the Sable Fox, a sure sign of the Black Blade's influence. Following close behind came Shax, accompanied by Kiyowara, who had no doubt ordered the demon's involvement. Shax and Maxim had shared an unpleasant encounter not long ago, and the archdemon even now kept up a steady stream of acerbic remarks toward the Knight Commander as he fought for his life.   Perhaps seeing that the forces mounted against her were growing, Koji pulled up a bubble of force around the Gashadokuro's skull. Once it solidified, as Mary explained between coughs, it would be difficult for anyone or anything inside to leave. So, of course, the Black Blade's fox immediately shot inside. It seemed to be running around inside the skull at extreme speeds, but without any apparent effect. The giant just ignored it.   Some few reinforcements had arrived from deeper in the undead plains at this point. A pair of Putrid Jikininki, mouths gaping and stench nearly visible in the miasmatic air, slouched their way up the rough path around the Gashadokuro and toward the Hashinara still fighting there. One was stymied by a number of illusory Maxim clones conjured by Kiyowara. The other, however, saw through the farce with a single bite. It continued lurching onward, oozing eyes apparently set on Maxim.   Having heard great tales of the demon's prowess from her own thin lips, Yoshitakatomo chose now to put Shax to the test. Through Kiyowara, she* ordered the Marquis of Envy to steal Kashin Koji away from Izanami's influence. Seeming to take this as a welcome challenge, Shax got to work. She first pointed a wan finger at Koji, still floating above the Gashadokuro's skull. To Yoshitakatomo's mystic sight, it appeared that the demon cast Uselessness, a curse of middling power. That did not account for the speed or severity of its effect, however. Koji muttered something about it becoming hard to think, then fell face-first upon the skull below her. She lay there, twitching now and then, but apparently unable to move. When questioned, Shax would not reveal exactly what she had done, only that she'd "stolen" all of the little miscreant's usefulness. The phantasmal crows that crowded upon Shax's wide horns took off then, fluttering around Koji's prostrate form, as though preparing to pick her up and carry her away.   Such an abduction never happened, however. Sensing her opportunity, Kōyō, or Ooawagaeri through her, conjured up a powerful gust of wind behind Koji. Helpless to resist the magical gale, the ghostly servant found herself picked up, tumbled, and shot through the air at speed. It looked for a moment as though she was going to pass through the portal, but instead collided with the stony arch above it. As a ghost, Koji didn't splat or thud upon the wall, but instead passed through it with a curious "shoop." Shax wasted no time in berating Kōyō for the hasty spell. Of course a powerful ghost would be able to become intangible whenever such a state most well suited her. Complaining about her aching joints, the fragile Marquis vanished in a confusion of black feathers for the moment. Kiyowara, apprehensive of the immense bites that skeleton was taking, took her leave through the portal soon after. When such a chomp nearly ended poor small Kōyō by simple dint of proximity, she too retreated to the portal's edge.   All the while, Maxim fought on. He had lost feeling in most of his sword arm now, but was also nearing the culmination of his technique. Just a few more seconds...   At that point, a small white snake, unseen by either of them amidst the cracks on the stony ground, reared up and sank its fangs into Mary Lyn's exposed ankle. Her magical shield flared up a moment too late and the wizard cried out in pain as a shock of venom entered her bloodstream. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, then all of Mary's spells, including the protective aura shielding her and Maxim, fizzled away. It seemed her spellcasting ability hadn't been compromised in itself, but that thing's bite had somehow interrupted all of her maintained weaves. Kōyō disposed of the snake with another burst of air, snapping its neck from the impact and then hurling the corpse down the hill, nearly into the approaching Jikininki's mouth. The damage was done, however.   Mary no doubt felt exposed with the knowledge that her spells could, at any moment, be suddenly canceled. She made apology to Maxim and then, with one more parting spell to increase his inherent resistance to ill effects, retreated back through the portal as well. Seeing nothing else that she could do in the moment, Kōyō followed soon behind. That left Maxim alone, facing off against this ten-story monstrosity of twisted, steel-hard bone. As things stood, he was losing the battle, but if he could just hold out for a few seconds longer... No, with a heavy heart, Maxim took Yoshitakatomo's mental communication to heart. They would have a better chance of ending the battle on the Earthly side of the portal, if this monster could even make the passing. He prepared to abandon his technique and retreat. As Maxim turned away, however, a voice, smoldering and familiar, raised itself unbidden within his mind.   On the other side of the portal, Kiyowara and Shax bent over Kashin Koji's twitching form. The gremlin had no fewer than three loose souls upon her person and, despite Shax's unending mockery, Kiyowara thought she knew which one was Maxim's. Relaying this information to the Knight Commander, Yoshitakatomo was surprised when he responded that [tooltip: Maxim: Bishamonten +3, Ira Sathana +2, Izanagi -3, Susano'o +3]he would not be retreating. Either he or the Gashadokuro would fall before either of them passed back through that portal. In the meantime, they would do what they could to keep Koji from escaping once again. By her own admission, Shax could not keep her prey in this state for long, and put the burden of securing her in this realm upon anyone else.   Fortunately, great onmyōji Ashiya Dōman was already on his way. With a paper charm in hand and a subtle signal from Kiyowara, he completed a ritual to place Koji directly under his control. This could be made permanent with a binding, but for that he would require a vessel of significant presence. Perhaps one of the masks Yoshitakatomo seemed to favor would do? Kiyowara agreed, but held off for the moment, instead opting to ask Koji about the portal to Yomi. The ghost's answers were muffled, eaten by the floor in her prostrate position. It would seem that Shax had still not released their prisoner from her curse.   That would have to be solved another time, as Ryūzaki Sanosuke then made his entrance. He had been at a restaurant on the other side of the country, and Shigeaki Fujino taking care of business with the Saika Ikki, and so it had taken them a few moments longer to make their way to the scene. He took in the situation dispassionately, although perhaps with a bit of satisfaction at Koji's unenviable position upon the blade-strewn floor. Maxim was still in there, apparently fighting to the death with a powerful minion of Izanami. So it was that Sanosuke prepared to bend his legendary strength to extracting his nominal ally from the hell beyond that gate.   It had been a difficult battle, hard-fought and brutal. The miasma of Yomi had seeped its way into his flesh, and the Gashadokuro's malign influence dulled his limbs. All the same, Maxim did not require rescuing. With a flourish, he charged all of his energy into Hokkuken and released the technique he'd been building since the beginning of the engagement. All at once, every attack that he'd landed without effect upon the Gashadokuro realized itself in the same moment. There was a sound like a thousand pieces of pottery shattered as gouges drove through the immense skeleton's bones at carefully-chosen points. Alone they were not particularly damaging, but together they were too much for the creature's absurd skeletal structure to bear. Its head swung wildly on that uncanny neck before it snapped at the base. In a cloud of white bone dust, the Ancient Gashadokuro's skull crashed to the ground behind Maxim even as he slid Hokkuken into its sheathe.   Even the Putrid Jikininki and white serpent at Maxim's feet, both of which had met with no success in piercing his armor, seemed cowed by this display. The voice in his mind had been quelled. Filled with a sense of power and vengeance, Maxim strode back into the portal and returned to Wakigami Castle.   On the other side Ryūzaki Sanosuke was just striding into the dark maw when he was met with Maxim coming through the other way. Although his armor showed signs of wear and was covered with a sheen of chalky dust, Maxim was very much alive. Muttering something about another false alarm, Sanosuke released the power he'd been building up and returned to standing by. Maxim explained that the enormous bone titan had fallen, but other minions of Yomi might be through at any moment in his footsteps. Though they all paused for a moment at this horrible thought, nothing, not a Jikininki nor a serpent, passed through its inky blackness and into their company.   The languid youth, who had slowed but not paused his work throughout this entire encounter, voiced his opinion once again that they were in no danger of an invasion from Yomi. This portal, after all, was not new. Working through Kiyowara, Yoshitakatomo prepared Koji's still-prone form for transport to her* nearby laboratory. The portal would stay open for now, she* deemed. There was too much that could be learned from an open portal to Yomi and, if Izanami did not seem to intend to launch an invasion through it, such an opportunity was worth the risk.   That seemed to be the end of that, although the youthful smith once again asked that they leave him to his work. Maxim reunited with Evaine and found her wounded, but vital, while Sanosuke prepared for a short jaunt into the portal of his own.