Jewel of the North [P]

Spoiler:

“Day 2.” It was Satorus 2nd day in the Land of Iron. It was a new day, and he had picked up a mission with the Iron Country that involved the retrieval of precious jewels. He had received a mission in a dream the night before; but that was not the part that concerned him the most. A mission was a job. So was a good job for him. A bad job…well, he did not like to think about it.

So it was that he walked through the valley of Mirabell, and wondered what could be ahead. At his back he had seen a particularly ugly troll and he was a little bit frightened of him. He had no other choice; there was no other way to go, he had to go through the troll’s territory. So he ran after it, dodging trees and shrubs, being careful not to run straight through any of the many gullies, and it wasn’t until he saw a clearing in the dense forest that he had seen the troll up close.

The troll was sitting on a large stump by the trees, making a big pot with leaves, and as he stirred the pot he looked up at Satorus, watched him a little, and suddenly laughed at the sight of him. He thought he had heard a weird laugh earlier in the valley and had been following it, and now he saw that the troll was the cause of the sound.

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“Oh, you’re not the sort to run away, are you? You’re not an easy target for the likes of me…a bit high and mighty aren’t you? Ah, that’s better. Oh, and I see you’ve brought a friend…this one might be trouble. You think you’re smart, don’t you?” The troll smiled a little as he looked at Satorus, and then pointed towards the stream behind the tree he was standing by. “That’s the way for you! That’s the way for you!” He suddenly jumped up and ran to the water. Satorus followed close behind, seeing that the water flowed towards a sharp cliff.

The troll stood at the cliff and began to swing from the side of the cliff, trying to go over it, and then suddenly he swung down at Satorus who barely dodged him, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the edge of the cliff. He held on tight, and the troll began to swing again and again, sometimes screaming as he tried to get away. It was a very strong, but also very long swing, and Satorus held on with all his strength. He turned and saw that the troll was holding on by one foot, and he decided to kick it in the other leg. The troll swung again and this time Satorus let go.

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But he had learned his lesson, and knew he needed to make his next attack strong enough to make the troll drop his foot and go back. And so he tried again, kicking the troll hard in the other foot, and this time the troll fell from the edge of the cliff into the river that was running below it.

Satorus looked up at the troll and laughed at him. “Why did you do that? Was your leg okay?” He laughed even louder. “That’s it, that’s it…” He held out a hand and helped Satorus out of the river. Satorus took a sip of the fresh, cold water and realized that this was a much better way to travel. It was much more pleasant than the way he had come.

“That was a long way down, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was…”

The troll laughed. “A long way down, and it was a good thing that you jumped in to save me. I was going to get my revenge for being called names by that joke of a nobleman. Why, in the name of the Great Mist, did you save me? Do you think you are some kind of hero, coming to rescue me from my fall?” The troll was still laughing.

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Satorus decided to make this troll feel as low as he felt himself. “No, of course not. I just don’t want you to get hurt, is all. I want to take you home to my friend. I will take you where you need to go. We can walk together, I don’t know the way, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Maybe you can, maybe you can’t. And who’s to say where home is?” The troll stopped and stared at Satorus. “It’s right here! Let’s go to the Great Mist!” He stepped forward and took Satorus’ hand. “But don’t you know that only fools go there?”

“I don’t know any such thing!” Satorus shouted, and shook his hand free of the troll’s. “Maybe he’s wrong, but you’re not wrong either!” He grabbed the troll’s arm and forced it back down towards the ground. “If you can walk to the Great Mist, then I know you can walk home!”

“No!” The troll stared up at Satorus with large, beautiful eyes. “I don’t know how to get back home, but I’ll figure it out. I’m not afraid of you. I know you’re right.”

“I am right!” Satorus was becoming a bit angry now. “Don’t you get it? I saved your life!” He pointed at the ground, indicating that the troll’s leg had not been hurt.

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“No, I don’t believe you. You just wanted to show off.”

“No! It’s true! And if you really did think that I would jump in the water to save you, you’re even dumber than I thought! You must be too stupid to walk home!” He took the troll’s arm again and pulled it back down towards the ground.

“You’re mean. I can’t stay here.” The troll smiled at Satorus and walked slowly off the path to a narrow wood bridge over a small, rushing stream. “Do you want to walk with me over there?” He pointed towards the river. “I know where I live, I just need to find the way.”

“No! You’re mean!” Satorus shouted, grabbing the troll’s arm again.

“I’m not, I’m nice!” The troll looked back at Satorus and smiled. “And besides, you’re not trying to hurt me.” He grinned and made his way across the bridge, walking sideways. “And besides, you don’t have to be nice to me. I could kill you at any time. I’m a troll!”

“No! I’m not going to kill you!” Satorus shouted, grabbing the troll’s other arm.

“But you will! You’ll be mine!”

“No! No, I won’t! I’ll never be yours! You’re just too big to fit through that tiny door! You won’t fit!” The troll laughed and tugged on Satorus’ arms.

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“Let go!”

“No! I’m not going to let go!” He laughed again and pulled harder.

“Let go!” Satorus shouted, and the troll laughed even harder.

“Give me the gauntlet!”

“No!” Satorus tried to pull away, but the troll had now become tightly wrapped around his arms.

“Give me the gauntlet!” The troll laughed.

“No!” Satorus shouted, looking down at the troll in disgust.

“Give me the gauntlet!” The troll laughed even harder.

“No! No, I’m not!” Satorus began to feel sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears. The more he thought about how big and bad the troll was, the more he hated him and wanted to hurt him.

“I’m going to find out where you live and I’m going to kill you!”

“AHA!”

The troll let go of Satorus’ arms, and the boy collapsed to the ground. “Hey!” The troll approached him with a malicious grin, revealing broken, black, rotting teeth. “You’re not dead yet.” He chuckled and picked up Satorus’ broken wrist and began to twist it.

“I’m the ruler of the entire moon light cave!” The troll roared with anger and slapped the boy hard across the face. “You’re a coward!”

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“I’m a Jugo.” Satorus repeated weakly. “I have a mission to finish. I’m not afraid of you.”

“No, you’re just a little boy who doesn’t understand the gravity of his situation.” The troll placed the back of his hand against Satorus’ mouth and pushed him down. “You don’t get to win in this situation. You aren’t worthy.”

“If I’m not worthy, then who is?” Satorus said weakly, his voice muffled, the troll was blocking his mouth with his hand. “You’re no better than me. You’re nothing but a little boy. You’re a waste, a nobody.” The troll wrapped his hand tighter around Satorus’ mouth and nose, and before long the boy could no longer breathe.

“I’m the ruler of this mountain side!” The troll shouted as he lifted Satorus up in the air. “You’re nothing but a coward!” He spat in Satorus’ face and he could feel the warmth of the spit burning his skin. The troll yelled as he slammed Satorus back down. “You’re nothing but a coward. You’re nothing but a nobody!” screamed the troll like an old tape recorder stuck on replay.

The troll stomped his foot on Satorus’ chest and dropped him to the ground. “You’re the scum of the entire world, and you’ll never be anything more!” The troll hit Satorus again, and the boy lost consciousness.

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Satoru awoke the following morning, a heavy piercing pain radiating through his chest. He struggled to raise his head but upon doing so noticed the cadaver of the troll that had previously toyed with him. Satoru shook his head in disbelief, he palmed the ground, pushing himself up to his feet. “Who could have done this?” he thought as his left eye flared up with the aid of his KKG. He clenched his jaw as he managed to finally stand to his feet, his surroundings empty.

He turned, and behind him stood a tall, scantily clad woman, smiling wide at him. “Welcome to Satan’s Castle Satoru Kakei, you’ve been chosen to become one of the ten Chosen Ones!” she proclaimed, and wrapped her hands around his throat. She removed her hands from his neck, and Satoru coughed and wheezed. “Is this a dream?” he wheezed out through his swollen lungs. “You will become one of the ten chosen ones,” she replied with a sinister smile. Satoru stumbled back, “…you don’t understand! I can’t join! I don’t even know you! I’ve never heard of the Nine Old Ones!” to which she giggled, beckoning him forward with her right hand. “I’m not judging you, I’m just here to take you to my castle,” she explained, “I will be taking you to the following events in history,” she threw a purple book onto the ground. "Fuck..." he thought. "This is definitely a dream... how the fuck do I get out of it?"

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Satoru picked up tossed to one side by the so called witch. “Welcome to the Book of Demon’s,” he saw the words written in plain tongue, he turned to the title page, the Demon King’s Compendium. The page which took up the majority of the front cover stated: “Drink deep from the oceans of the past, celebrate the death and the victory of the Great Witches of old, and witness the trials and tribulations of the battle between two demons who would become the makings of great heroes, such as…”. “You can’t read that!” screeched the makeshift witch. For a moment, Satoru considered that he might have been caugh in a Genjutsu but before he could react, he was interrupted once again.

The woman smirked, “I know you can, Satoru Jugo, I’m not blind,” she lifted up his cloak, exposing his face to the sunlight. “Why is your face stained like this?” she asked, pointing to his chin. He spoke, his voice hoarse from disuse, “I was involved in an accident…I got in a fight…A ‘fistfight’…” she stared at his eyes intently, “Do you remember dying?” “I remember being in pain,” he said, his voice now thick with tears, “I remember a mist forming around me, and then a light burning my face, and then nothing…”

In that very moment, he slapped his hands together, chanting "KAI", in an effort to release the Genjutsu that he was trapped in. Unfortunately, he was unsucessful on this occassion. "The longer I stay here, the greater the chance that I die to that fuckin' ogre" he thought, agonising over every detail that he had witnessed up to now in an effort to better understand the Genjutsu that he was under.

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Satoru felt a strange sensation, the feeling of an intimate caress of sorts. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, the woman leaned forward, peering intently into his eyes. “I shall make you mine,” she breathed in his ear. The forest rustled as the gates slowly swung open, the tall, two-faced Witch emerged.

She was naked, hair disheveled, but still somewhat beautiful, her eyes the deepest, darkest black. “I am Dorma Dorma” she greeted, her voice cold and demonic. “If you wish to be one of the greats you shall be known as…Satoru The Bloody,” she placed a finger to her lips, her sharp teeth glistening in the light. She snorted, her voice as evil as her appearance, “I am the goddess of pain, and I intend to use you as my cadaver” Satoru sighed, “Y-you mean?”

He hadn't a clue what the Witch meant, the ritual had started and he was its vessel. As his confidence built, the Witch pounced on him, her nails biting into his shoulders. “You must choose quickly” she sneered, “The smoke will only take you where the knife will never.” “Who am I?” he asked, “You know who you are, I’m right here,” she tapped his nose. His confidence grew, as the reality began fading into his memory. As both of the makeshift creatures began closing on him, he slammed his hands together for a second time, chanting 'KAI'. In that single moment he was back in the depths of the mountain.

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