"How is he?" asked Misha, wiping the blood from his grandfather's axe.
"I think he'll live, but only if we get him some better treatment than this field medicine we have." replied Caroline. The otter-morph finished tending to the wounds and then looked up at Misha, "Did you see what he—?"
Misha just nodded.
A smell reached his nostrils like too much pickled radish. He had memories of pain, but now only a dull throbbing remained. Voices spoke in an unknown language about him. Slowly, Ryuo opened his eyes.
At first, he thought the creature before him was a tanuki, the mischievous pranksters of his homeland, but the colors weren't right.
Standing before him was something large and gray, with a black band across its eyes. It was speaking to him in that incomprehensible language once more.
"I don't understand." Ryuo said, "Where am I? What happened?" His last thoughts were of a ghost coming for him, and the rest was foggy. The (doctor, Ryuo finally figured out) obviously couldn't comprehend a word of what he had said, and sat there with a puzzled look on his face. Thinking briefly he pointed to himself. "Ko" he said. Then pointed to Ryuo.
"Ryuo. Musashinari Ryuo." he replied, hoping that was the answer Ko was looking for. "Ro? Lo?" Ko seemed puzzled, but Ryuo shook his head.
"Ryu-o-u. Ryuo." He repeated it once more, sounding it out syllable by syllable. "Riyo?" Ko asked again. Ryuo just nodded his head; close enough. With that he let the darkness grabbing at him claim him once more.
The child Wessex looked around at the healer and the others in the room. "What is it you needed me for again?"
Brian pointed to the still, mostly human figure on the table, "Him. I don't think that what is affecting him is part of the curse. Misha said that he had found him on patrol in the Giantdowns, about three or four days yet from the keep, and nobody knows who he is. Since you are the local expert on Nasoj's magic I figured you might want to have a look."
Wessex nodded, "I'll see what I can find out. If you don't mind...?" Wessex went over to the inert form, his hands passing in arcane motions as ancient words were whispered over the stranger's body.
"And what particular skills of mine were you hoping to commandeer for this endeavor?" Rickkter asked over Wessex' incantations, "I doubt you need my skills to open him up," he patted the knife on his belt, "And it appears you already have him patched up, considering..." Rickkter just gestured at the obvious.
"Actually, I was hoping you could translate," replied Brian. "From what I hear you've traveled quite a bit. Looking at him, I think that he is from somewhere in the east, but I am hard pressed to tell for sure. Either way, I can't understand a word he says, and I was hoping you would be able to help in that department."
The two moved over to the table where the patient lay. Spread out with nothing but a loincloth, the extent of the change could be easily seen. Starting from one hand, a soft layer of light-brown fur spread up the arm and over the body. Whatever spell it was appeared to be attacking from one side and slowly advancing on the rest.
One leg was bent digitrade, the heel of the foot appearing as a backwards knee, and the toes ending in fine claws. In contrast, the other leg was long and straight, with a small foot and mostly hairless. Human skin contrasted sharply with animal fur, and one would never guess that the two came from the same body unless they saw the twisted, misshapen hips.
As eyes wandered up the hips, past the small loin cloth that girded his waist, the change continued. The unconscious figure's main body remained the same size and proportions, for all anyone could tell, but one half was covered in a heavy pelt while the other side was left bare. The neck was mostly human, but the features on the face were a horrible mixture of both human and animal.
The jaw extended from the face in a short muzzle, and the ears were barely more than maltreated lumps along the side of his head, halfway up the skull. Black hair on the top of his head merged with the soft fur that ran down the left side of his body. His eyes were gratefully closed, and their almond shapes set wide, giving a slightly Mongoloid appearance to the deformed visage.
"From the North-east." stated Rickkter, looking at the face, "Is it safe to wake him up?"
"He woke up for a bit yesterday evening." replied Brian, "I think we can safely wake him up, but let's wait until Wessex is finished with his scrying."
"And how are you sure that he is from the North-east?" Brian asked Rick as they moved over to the patient.
Rickkter pointed to the armor and weapons that remained in a corner of the room; "I saw that. It's only the third or fourth time I've seen armor like that outside the north east."
Rickkter had just finished his explanation when Wessex spoke up. He was obviously tired, though from the examination or something else, it couldn't be said. "Well, the magic is familiar alright," he began, "But the style is slightly different from Nasoj's magic, and it isn't the magic of the Curse. In fact, I can't say for certain what affect the Curse of the Keep will have on him. Have you noticed anything Brian?"
"Not much, but he has only been here a couple of days." Brian shrugged.
"Well, if we don't see anything by tomorrow we might want to consider moving him out of the Keep's influence." Wessex suggested. Brian nodded, that had become more or less standard policy for any stranger who came to the Keep unless their injuries were so bad as to forbid travel.
As the two talked, Rickkter walked over to the table where the stranger lay. He took a wet sponge and slowly dripped water onto the face of this new patient to encourage him to consciousness.
For a moment, Ryuo thought he was outside, rain dripping onto his face. He quickly awoke to the truth however, blinking his eyes as he slowly looked around the room once more. Above him was the tanuki-like thing—no, he noticed this one was different. It was darker, and it seemed—less fuzzy. He couldn't think of the proper words, but he knew this would be a respectable adversary if it ever came to a fight.
The Healer, Ko, was still here, conversing with a human child. The one above him was speaking, and Ryuo turned to look at him.
Several phrases went by in strange languages as Ryuo watched this new almost-tanuki try to communicate. Finally, a phrase came across that Ryuo understood.
«Hello.» It was a simple greeting from the people of the mainland southwest of his country. He had been taught it as a language of learning, for it was said to be a place of great knowledge.
«Greetings.» Ryuo returned, «I am Musashinari Ryuo of Yamacho, defender—» Ryuo interrupted himself, remembering the crater, «—Ronin, masterless warrior.» Ryuo closed his eyes as the pain of his shame threatened to take him, but he refused to let the tears come here.
Ryuo's translator looked around the room at the other two, speaking briefly in the strange language they used. Even though he couldn't understand the words, it was clear that the dark one was translating what had just been said. As Ryuo waited, the translator turned to him once more and began to speak in answer to his previous question, «I am Rickkter, and you are at Metamor Keep. You were found in the lands to the north, called the 'Giantdowns', by one of our patrols. Why are you so far west?»
«I am looking for Metamoa-jo, Metamoa Castle. It is said that the greatest mages of the West live there, and I hope to find in them my own salvation, from this.» Ryuo waved to his body by way of explanation. As he rested his hand he cocked his head slightly as he pondered what Rickkter had said earlier, «Where did you say we were?»
«Metamor Keep. I think you have reached your destination.» Rickkter looked up at the others as Ryuo closed his eyes and thanked the gods in a silent prayer.
"His name is Ryuo, and he says he came here on purpose." Rickkter explained to Wessex and Coe, "He's looking for a cure of some sort, and apparently thought you guys could help."
"Did he know about the curse?" enquired Wessex, "I doubt I can do anything, if this truly is the work of Nasoj. I will give it some thought, though. I must attend to other things at the moment, but Brian, if you could mark any changes and let me know in the morning I would be most appreciative. I'll be back tomorrow to take another look, and I'll have my assistant dig up some materials that might help me in my work."
The form on the table was once more unconscious as the trio gazed one more time on this magical mystery.
"I didn't expect this." muttered Wessex, "It's too soon, the curse shouldn't be doing anything yet."
Brian replied, "But he's definitely recovering. I checked this morning like you asked me to. I even marked the extent from the day before.
Sure enough, the fur is slowly receding."
"I still don't know if it is the interaction with the Curse, but if it is, we may have just found a cure." Wessex's true age stared out from behind his childish visage as he stared at the prospects before him, "I will have to get some books from the library, before I'm sure. I'll be back soon."
By noon, every mage in the Keep had heard about the possible cure.
Well, they had heard something, anyway. Wessex had been too busy running around and flipping through books on magic theory to truly explain the situation, but the loose mutterings of his had caused quite a stir. Add to that the normal rumor mill of the Keep and soon there was a small mob waiting to get a look at the new arrival.
The door opened and a babble of voices could be heard on the other side as Brian squeezed into the hospital. "...other patients. Yes I know that this could be what we've all been waiting for, but Wessex has already explained that there is nothing concrete as of yet. No, I checked your teeth last week and I know that I already gave you something for that. You are not going to get in here that easily." With the last Coe shut the door and let out an exacerbated breath.
The tired healer turned an icy glare on Wessex, "While I agree that this could be an earth-shattering discovery that has been dropped into our laps I would prefer if you went about it with a little more discretion. If half of the Keep is going to try to come see what I've got stashed in here I would at least like some warning."
"Am I not enough for you?" Rickkter asked with a sly grin, "I could go clear the hall out if you really want me to."
Brian was not in the mood for jokes, "The last thing I need is more patients in here. As it is I'm already worried that someone will get the bright idea to REALLY hurt themselves just to get in here." Brian let out a tired sigh, "By the way, how is it that you are staying so calm, seeing as how we may have the savior of the Keep sitting on our table."
Rickkter shrugged, "Not everyone desires to see an end to the spell.
You remember what happened to Phil? To be honest, however, I would love to have my old body back, but frankly I don't think you will find the cure here. Nonetheless I wish our Wessex here nothing but luck in the endeavor."
"Still, what do we do with him?" Brian pointed at the figure that had once more fallen asleep. They had gotten him to eat some gruel, which he had turned down three times before they finally got him to try it, and then he had barely touched it. Brian's frustration was only compounded by the stubbornness of his patient.
Rickkter spoke up once more in answer to Brian's question. "Well, he did ask to come here, and it isn't as though whatever was going on before isn't going to continue outside. I say let him stay."
Wessex, who had been wrapped in his work, briefly added his tuppence, "If the two spells really are working against one another it might give us a chance to fix the Keep. Still, there is something wrong and I just can't put my finger on it. Either way, we will have to keep him under the Keep's influence if we are really going to study this change."
"Fine," said Brian, "But now for the next question: where are you going to keep him; because he is definitely not staying here." Brian looked at Wessex, "And take the crowd with you."
Ryuo was sitting on the floor when the child returned. He wondered what this 'Ueseksu' had to do with him, but he seemed to be some sort of mage. It amazed Ryuo that one so young would know enough to be put in charge of his condition, and it must show that this is truly a place of wisdom. Even the tengu assistant deferred to him as a master, and so Ryuo figured he must wield great power.
It had been a few days since he had left the infirmary, and just this morning Ryuo had been able to detect a noticeable change for the better. As the day had progressed towards noon, he had noticed the change increasing. Ueseksu had come in and seemed excited, but he couldn't quite tell why. The one called 'Rikktah' hadn't been by, but for some reason Ryuo didn't see him as the friendly sort.
The door opened and Ryu bowed gratefully to the floor.
Wessex still couldn't believe it. He didn't know how it had happened, but it did. Everything was going so well and then it seemed to just fall apart, and now Ryuo was succumbing to the curse; whether the Keep's or another he did not know.
He had admitted his failure to the others just today, and they tried not to let the disappointment show through too much. Things had died down quickly, once the news was out that the new arrival brought no miracle cure, and the Keepers had once again returned to their 'normal' lives.
Wessex had placed the warrior in his room, and Jessica had been looking after him; Wessex was staying elsewhere, and there was a free bed. It had not been too difficult, as the warrior seemed highly disciplined, and had not even tried to stray from the room, once he had learned where the chamber pot was and how to use it. Of course, he still didn't seem comfortable on the bed, and his frayed grass mat and a wooden pillow were all he used to sleep on, despite his injuries. It was on this mat that Wessex found him, bowing deeply to the ground.
It was obvious that the change was now almost complete. It had rebounded with such a force, and now there was very little human left about him; the fox-morph was bowing to him on the floor, and Wessex could only shake his head in failure. He was so close! He knew the answer had been before him, if he could only have seen it. Now the spell of the Keep was so intertwined with anything on this warrior-fox that he could not tell where one ended and the other began.
With a sigh, the mage strode towards the exotic foreigner to hopefully console him what he knew must be a difficult time.
Ryuo looked with confusion at the child-mage who stood before him, trying to communicate through a kind of charades. What few ideas Ryuo did pick out made him wonder.
It had failed? The cure? But that couldn't be, he seemed better than ever. Slowly, understanding dawned.
They thought he was a human! With eyes wide in understanding, tears of joy and barks of laughter escaped from his throat. They thought he had been changing into a fox, when all this time it had been the other way around! Musashinari Ryuo, Kitsune of the Inari clan, now made ronin by the destruction of his village and the shrine he was to protect, had been mistaken for a mere human, the fate he had been trying desperately to avoid.
For once Ryuo's conditioning was completely helpless to stop the surge of emotion that flowed from the cured kitsune's heart. It poured out into the room in a yipping, barking laugh that apparently caught the mage completely off-guard.
'Poor thing,' thought Wessex, 'It was too much for him, and he's completely lost his mind.' Wessex could only shake his head as he watched the warrior get up, fling him around, and then walk staggering out the door. Two tails waved with mad glee as he escaped around the corner.
Two tails? 'Must be a result of the mixed magics,' thought Wessex, nonplussed by the discovery. Turning, he looked out a window, where the afternoon sky was turning a bright orange. The sun had begun its descent into the western ocean, but it seemed to smile as it went down. Wessex took some heart, somehow knowing that things would work themselves out. They always seem to, here.
The sun settled peacefully into the mountains, with assurance that it would rise once more the next day. It felt like a golden day today, and so that's what it chose from its palette as a myriad of rays danced around the sky. Golden mountains surrounded a golden valley, where a golden keep housed golden hearts. And from inside the Keep, a new, golden voice laughed with the sun, which slowly sank below the horizon.