War Priest: The Complete Series, page 102
It was uncommon for someone to carry a hammer with them, but if Istvan got to the tavern early enough, he would be able to set it in the corner or something where it wouldn’t draw too much attention.
There was another reason that Tayaura had gone with Istvan to the tavern, one that had Arik pacing back and forth.
“You worry too much, disciple,” Meosa said for what felt like the seventh time.
“I shouldn’t worry, I know, but she’s putting herself at risk.”
Meosa’s water form took shape in front of Arik. He pushed his palms out into the disciple’s shoulders to prevent him from walking any further. “Have I ever told you the story about the kitsune that wouldn’t stop chasing its own tail? Or was it tails? I think this particular kitsune has six tails.”
“Move.”
Meosa’s watery face took shape. “You know she is better at these things than you are, especially at getting information.”
“We can do well together, you and I.”
“Yes, we can, but buttering up a handsome yet also humble water kami will get you nowhere. Let the illusionist do what she does. The same man that trained you in such a short amount of time trained the shinobi-ess her entire life. Have you ever thought of it that way?”
“I have.”
Meosa lowered his watery hand. “I can tell that you like her, that you have feelings for her. And you don’t need to deny it, but you need to know something: if you plan to truly pursue something with the shinobi-ess, you’re going to have to accept the fact that this is the way she is. She will act of her own accord, and sometimes, her decisions will be baffling. This is why I wouldn’t personally do it, but I’m not you. I’m much more risk-averse.”
“I don’t know what will happen to us. I just don’t like having to worry. But I know that it’s irrational. I know that she is well aware of what she is doing.”
“Can I let you in on a little secret?”
Arik turned to the kitchen, where there was some tea from earlier. He poured the lukewarm liquid into a stone cup. “What secret?”
“Your heart isn’t the only one that beats quickly when the two of you are together. Let’s just say it like that. I don’t want to be involved, but because of our relationship, I am forced to take part in whatever awkwardness is to follow. You understand what I’m saying here? About two hearts beating a little faster?”
“I do.”
“So it makes sense that you would worry about her. But she said it best herself. It is easy for a woman to extract information from a man. You may not like how she has to do it, but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that any illusionist would consider this par for the course. And you want to know where we’re going tonight, right? Or do you want to have to figure it out once we break into the Academy? Because if you ask me, it will be best to know ahead of time, even if I could theoretically race around the Academy and locate the room. I’d much prefer watching over the two of you. We’ve come way too far and fought way too many people to die in Mogra, of all places.”
“You really think that she’s going to show up here with water barrels big enough for both of us and some strategy for us to get inside? Not to mention the actual location of the room.”
Meosa laughed. “Are you doubting that she is able to do all of that?”
“No, it’s…” Arik drank some of the lukewarm tea. “I think I will meditate until she returns.”
“That’s probably for the best. Pacing isn’t going to speed up the time. I would suggest meditating or sleeping. She will be here when she comes. Now, you have to think about how you would like to look when she finally returns. Do you want to look like you’ve been worrying about her the entire time? Or do you want to appear as if you had full confidence in her from the get-go, so confident in fact that you were able to rest while she was out?”
Arik finished his tea. Rather than meditate, he moved to the mat on the floor.
Meosa laughed yet again. “That’s better. Rest, disciple. Let the shinobi-ess do what she does best.”
****
Tayaura returned.
As soon as she shut the door she let out a deep breath. The illusionist shook her arms out, which made the tassels hanging from her square hat jump left and right. Since her hat was designed for a female, the slit for the eyes in the front was much wider, allowing Tayaura to add curls to her eyeliner. In removing the square hat, it became clear just how accentuated her eyes were, red, white, and black painted from temple to temple. It was a great disguise. She looked beautiful and mysterious to the disciple, as always.
“How did it go?” Arik asked as he casually sat up. He hadn’t been able to rest, but he wanted it to appear as if he had, just like Meosa had suggested.
“The barrels will be delivered soon.”
“Here?”
“Yes, to the courtyard outside. It’s all been arranged.”
“How exactly?” Arik stood and approached her cautiously. “I mean how exactly are you planning to get both of us in the barrels and then get them taken to the Academy.”
“It has been arranged, disciple. But if you must know, I went and found the porters we saw yesterday. I told him that we ran a tavern and that we wanted to surprise the upperclassmen and their teachers with two barrels of our finest ale. It isn’t uncommon for the upperclassmen to drink with their instructors.”
“Crimsonians?” Arik asked.
“All that rigidity that you have likely associated with Thunderaura has to be released somehow. Oftentimes it’s through sparring and drinking. At least this far south. The porters will pick the ale up along the way, and will be hand-delivered to the Academy.”
“And you are certain that this will work?”
“There are still some things that we will need to make happen,” she said. “Kami. Since they will be letting us in the barrels, you need to help make that possible. We will also need to be underwater for that part. It has to feel authentic, the sloshing within the barrel. We will use a shinobi tool. Get out your makeup kit.”
Arik did as instructed. He handed it to Tayaura. She opened the small box and ran her finger along the inner edge, popping out something shaped like a reed.
“You want me to use that to breathe, don’t you?”
“Precisely. You and I will be in separate barrels. There will be water inside courtesy of our kami. We will have to position our heads back and keep these in our mouths to breathe while we are being loaded onto the cart. You could also just hold your breath, but this is just in case it is necessary.” She handed the breathing straw to Arik.
He tested it out, the disciple taking a deep breath using the straw. “And once we are inside? Were you able to access the Academy?”
“Yes. Istvan is at the tavern across from it, and there happened to be some of the kitchen workers there for an early drink. I got the information from them. After we reach the kitchen, we will need to head through the dining hall, and to the second floor of the upperclassman dormitory. We will be able to do so from within the complex, but we will be exposed as you move along the corridors. I have it all mapped out.”
“You got all of that from someone who works in the kitchen?” he asked, impressed with her espionage skills yet again.
“I was lucky. The chef was weak-minded. Had he been a little bit brighter and less inebriated, this would have been harder. I have it all, and now he is too drunk to make it into work today. Istvan saw to that.”
Tayaura turned to the door.
“Are they here already with the barrels?”
“They are.”
“And how are the people that are coming going to know which ones to take?”
“There will only be two barrels,” Tayaura told Arik.
“I understand that, but won’t they want to talk to someone?”
“They will talk to me, but through the door,” said Meosa. “This is making sense to me now. Smart thinking, shinobi-ess.”
“Let’s just give them a moment and then we will get inside. It will be difficult to bring weapons, but I have devised a way for us to each bring a single sword. I will show you what I mean in a moment.”
“Is there anything else I should do?” Arik asked.
“Prepare to be wet for a while. Take your boots off as well. We’re going to be barefoot tonight.”
After discussing their plans for a few more minutes, Tayaura and Arik left the space that they had been staying in. They found the two barrels. Tayaura removed the lid from hers and got inside. She then demonstrated what she wanted Arik to do with his sword as she sat with her back against it, feet against the other side. “What are you waiting for?” Tayaura asked once she was in position. “Get in, and, kami, put the tops on both of them and fill us up.”
Arik removed the lid from his barrel and got inside as Tayaura had instructed. He brought his knees to his chest and placed the soles of his feet against the other side of the wooden crate. He then positioned the Whispering Sword behind them, the Mask of the Fallen in his pocket as always. He was just looking up, the sun reaching through the opening of the barrel, when Meosa settled the top in place.
Water filled the barrel. Arik tested the breathing straw to make sure it worked. Once he did, the water began to dissipate.
“Do you know when they are coming?” Arik asked through the barrel.
“They should be soon. We’re going to have to sit in here until they get here. And don’t talk to me from this point forward. Just whisper to the kami. We can relax a little more once we are on the cart and inside the kitchen. But until then, we are stuck here.”
“How long do you think we will have to wait in the kitchen?” he asked the illusionist.
“I told you not to talk to me. But to answer your question, it could be several hours before we are able to free ourselves. Get comfortable, disciple. This isn’t going to be fun.”
****
Meosa removed the rest of the water, which only made things slightly more uncomfortable as Arik continued to wait inside the barrel. Arik knew from experience that he wasn’t able to remove it all. While his body and clothes were wet, he was also warm due to the sun, the rays of which seemed to be striking the barrel head on. With nothing to do but wait, Arik tried as best he could to get comfortable, his rear against the bottom of the barrel, feet pressed to the side, his sword behind them.
He was able to alleviate certain aches and pains using his healing power, but it didn’t make the position any less uncomfortable. Arik struggled a few times, and was finally told to remain still by Tayaura, who seemed to have no problem waiting it out in the oversized barrel.
Soon, he heard voices.
“Are these the ones?” the first man asked.
A reply came a few moments later, the second man’s voice much deeper than the first. “They said that the two barrels of ale would be here. Where’s the owner?”
“Those are the barrels,” Meosa called from an open window of the nearby home, the kami going with a shrill, overly dramatic voice. “I’m busy at the moment, young fellows. Make sure the blades get them, and I thank thee.”
Arik felt his barrel shift as the two men approached it, water instantly rising all around him. With the breathing straw in his mouth, Arik leaned his head back, sucking in air through it. It seemed like they were trying to remove the top, but Meosa didn’t let them. Soon, the two men gave up and lifted the barrel, secretly aided by Meosa yet again.
“Does something feel off to you?” the first man asked as they lifted the barrel onto a cart.
“Eh. not really. Let’s just grab the other barrel, and be done with it. The sooner we drop these off, the sooner we can have ourselves a couple of ales.”
Arik listened as a second barrel was placed next to his, which he knew contained Tayaura. Soon, he heard the sound of wagon wheels as the men started up, followed by sounds he would expect from a city of people moving about, negotiating prices, the snorts of pack animals, the creek and squeak of other carts, and women calling for their children.
“How is Tayaura?” Arik whispered to Meosa.
“The same as always. She’s just sitting in a barrel and brooding. No, not really brooding. She looks asleep. I think she may be sleeping.”
“Make sure she doesn’t drown.”
“Make sure she doesn’t drown? What kind of amateur do you take me for, disciple? No one is drowning on my watch.”
Arik lurched forward a bit as the cart came to a sudden stop. He let out a grunt, and then tried to cover his mouth with his hand, which dislodged the sword behind him. Because of the way the barrel was shaped, the blade only shifted to the right a little.
“You are bad at this.”
“At what?” Arik asked the waters.
“For someone with mastery over Revivaura, you aren’t very good at being one with water. Just relax, pretend you are having a nice bath at the finest resort on the island of Tsunk while being fanned by a palm frond by a scantily clad illusionist who looks exactly like the one crammed into the barrel next to you. We will get there, and then the hard part comes.”
“What if they want to look inside the barrels?”
“You and your bloody questions. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. The only other option would have been to fill the barrels with actual liquor, which wouldn’t be great for the two of you. Relax, my boy. This trip is far from over.”
It was about ten minutes later that the cart came to a stop again. After it seemed like they had sat for a while, Arik asked Meosa what was going on.
“The two men decided to have an ale early. I would entice them to continue on, but I don’t want to spook the two Crimsonians. We are close to the Academy now. Hopefully, this won’t be long.”
“Update Tayaura.”
“I already told you, disciple, the shinobi-ess is sleeping.”
How is she sleeping half-submerged inside a barrel in the desert heat? A smile took shape on Arik’s face. He expected nothing less of the illusionist, especially with all her training when it came to doing marvelous and austere things.
This also reminded Arik just how much he was starting to fall for her. He wouldn’t have dwelled on this had it not been for Meosa’s statement earlier, that there was something about the way she interacted with him that told the water spirit that she felt the same way as Arik. Was it true? Or was it simply an illusionist’s trick?
Now wasn’t the time to go down a lane like this, one of romance. They were in an enemy country, with a mission to rescue his sister, not to mention their quest for the Demon Charm of Katano.
It was best to let these feelings fall to the side, yet Arik knew that if he did so they would only surface even stronger. For now, it was best just to focus on what happened next. They would get to the Academy, and then rendezvous with Istvan outside of Mogra.
Anything else could wait.
It was about thirty minutes later or so, but the cart started up again, Arik sensing the driver was a little looser now. Something about the way the wagon wheels cut across the cobblestone told him that the two men were certainly inebriated.
“If there is any trouble once we reach the kitchen of the Academy and you need a distraction, do something with the drunk men,” Arik told Meosa. “Just make sure that they get the barrels down first.”
“I was thinking the same, disciple. Use the drunks to our advantage. It works every time.”
****
It was rare for things to go so smoothly. Even if they had a plan of action in case they were discovered, this never turned out to be the case. Arik realized this yet again as the barrels of ale were delivered, a new challenge presenting itself.
The wait that followed would be excruciating.
For hours, Arik and Tayaura sat in the barrels, occasionally updated by Meosa. Arik knew that they were in the kitchen storage room, that there were other barrels around them, that evening meals were being prepared. He could smell them.
Arik had been hungry before, but the tight quarters and the constant hunger pangs made waiting so much worse. Not only that, he constantly had to see to the cramps in his calves and lower back.
How much longer? he thought numerous times, yet he never voiced this feeling. For her part, Tayaura had yet to complain at all, and she didn’t have the advantage of being able to heal herself.
With this in mind, and noting his own weakness when it came to long-term pain tolerance, Arik kept his head down and waited. He found himself in a slight delirium, one that came from being in cramped quarters for an extended period. At some point, the delirium helped make the time pass, Arik revisiting so many memories as if they were playing out directly before him. It was dark in the barrel, and it was easy to imagine things: Hojo hovering above him; the first time Arik put on the Mask of the Fallen; his various encounters with yokai including Basha, the giant skeleton.
While he was relieved to finally hear some movement indicating that the kitchen was closing up for the night, Arik was so lost in his headspace he didn’t realize it was time to move until the top of his barrel popped off, courtesy of Meosa.
“Time to go, disciple.”
Arik tried to pull himself out, and failed at first. Once he was able, he brought himself to the top of the barrel. His right leg had fallen asleep, making it difficult to transition out.
