Two Swords: The Calling PT2

The Jubokko

The five travelers had left Lord Tanaka’s abode hours ago - after stocking up on their essential provisions - and set out on foot. Midori led the way, knowing that time was not their ally. Behind her strode Takeshi, head held high and eyes ever alert. Decius, a confident smirk upon his face, followed along behind his ronin friend. Trailing behind was Nartia, bow held lightly in her hands, and Satsu was bringing up the rear with her naginata over her shoulder in its usual resting position. 

By the sun’s position and the humidity reaching its peak it had to be the afternoon. Takeshi took a swig from his waterskin as he wiped his brow. He never tired of seeing the countryside of his homeland, the green hills and distant mountains. No matter how far he’d traveled and the wonders he had seen, nothing compared. 

“How long have you been back?” Midori asked over her shoulder. 

“Pardon?” Takeshi asked. 

“You’ve been gone from your homeland for sometime haven’t you?”

Takeshi smirked, “You are observant. What was my tell?” 

“You have many,” Midori replied, “You have blended bits of foreign clothing and accessories with traditional garb. The way you look at the countryside wistfully. The ease that you communicate with Decius.”

Takeshi let out a short breath that passed for a laugh. “Many tells indeed.” 

Midori smiled but briefly before she faced forward once again. “What was it that drove you away? Wanderlust, or something else?” 

Takeshi set his jaw. “My reasons were many. The one I served was dead: cut down by an honorless man that I once fought beside. His dishonor stained all of us... worse, he did not face punishment as he should have. He slipped away from the blade of retribution.” 

Midor said nothing as she let Takeshi continue speaking, “I had lost my purpose, and so I lost myself. I roamed the countryside in search of a new purpose, and the chance of a glorious battle. Eventually I found myself even further than my homelands.”

“Eventually you met me,” Decius called over. “On the battlefield.”

“Just as he says,” Takeshi grunted. 

“I’m sorry Takeshi,” Midori said softly, “If you need to speak further, I shall listen.”

Takeshi shook his head. “I have made peace with my past: I only look to the future.” 

Midori sighed. “Such a Samurai response. Just remember, the past has a way of finding us again.” 

Takeshi had a response in mind but the air was filled with a din of caws as a murder of crows flew overhead. 

“That is not a good omen,” Takeshi grunted.

“Death is near,” Satsu grunted. 

Decius popped his neck. “Reminds me of the Tengu and his swarm of crows that we encountered in the mountains.” 

Narita smiled. “Oh, yes, and we managed to defeat him by distracting him with snowballs.”

The group shared a laugh as Midori frowned, feeling she was left out of a private joke. 

“You’ll have to tell me that story,” she commented.

But the laughter quickly died as the caw of crows continued, and a stench filled the air. Decius and Takeshi’s faces hardened, they already knew what lay before them as the land became scarred from the tread of hundreds of feet and hooves. Cresting a hill they found the stench to be overpowering, as Narita covered her nose. 

The ground was littered with the remains of a brutal battle: shattered weapons, broken banners, and the bodies of fallen warriors, their armor scorched and bloodstained. Midori pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. 

“This... this was recent. There was no signs of war when I passed through here earlier.”

Decius, his face grim, stepped carefully over a splintered yari. “Let’s hope none of them are still around.”    

Takeshi knelt near another broken yari, examining the ground. “Agreed. The blood is fresh - no more than a day old. If anyone sees us, they might think we belong to one side or the other.” 

“Which is why we shouldn’t stick around,” Satsu said, her voice tight. “We go around this place, and stay out of sight.”

Decius nodded. “Wise choice.”

Satsu regarded Narita, trying to gauge how she was taking things. Narita had lost her innocence in the mountains when she had used her bow on the Shogun’s men. She still wished that had never come to pass. 

The crows chattered their cries as they gorged themselves on the carcasses of men and horses. The group skirted the edge of the battlefield, Narita finding a few extra arrows. Aside from the crows, the forest around the battlefield was eerily quiet. 

Narita paused, her hand delicately pulling an arrow from her quiver. 

“Do you hear that?” she whispered. 

The others stopped, listening. At first, there was only silence. Then, a faint rustling sound reached their ears followed by a soft, almost mournful, sigh. Takeshi’s hand went to his katana. 

“I hear it…” 

Ahead of them the branches of an ancient tree swayed, though there was no breeze. Its trunk was thick and gnarled, the bark dark and almost glossy, as though slick with sap. Crimson leaves rustled above, their vibrant color almost glowing against the gloom.

Midori gasped, clutching her prayer beads. “A Jubokko,” she whispered.

Decius frowned. "A what?"

“A tree that feeds on blood," Takeshi explained, his voice low. "It grows where many have died in battle, drinking from the fallen. Its branches are as dangerous as any blade.”

The group took a step back, but - as if sensing their presence - the Jubokko creaked ominously. Its branches shifted, extending unnaturally toward them, each one ending in sharp, talon-like twigs that gleamed with fresh blood red sap.

“We can’t fight a tree,” Narita hissed.

“We don’t have to," Midori said, her voice steady despite the terror in her eyes. "It’s drawn to blood. If we don’t provoke it, we might be able to pass without harm.”

Decius glanced at the others, his expression skeptical but willing to listen. “Alright. Lead the way, priestess.”

Midori stepped forward cautiously, murmuring a quiet prayer under her breath. The Jubokko’s branches quivered, but it didn’t lash out. The group followed her lead, moving carefully around the monstrous tree.

All seemed to be going well until a branch snagged on one of Satsu’s pauldrons, the lacquer scraping loudly against the bark. The tree shuddered violently, its branches whipping toward her with frightening speed.

“Move!” Takeshi shouted, drawing his katana in a blur of steel. He sliced through an oncoming branch, the katana severed the limb and it oozed thick, dark red sap and began to writhe like a serpent.

“So much for not provoking it!” Decius growled as he swung his sword at a branch that whipped towards him, his sword chopping through and more of the bloody sap sprayed forth. The Jubokko roared—an inhuman sound that shook the ground beneath them. Its roots began to shift, pulling itself partially free of the earth. Narita gasped as she fired an arrow into the abomination, but arrows were hardly effective against such a foe. 

Satsu slashed with her Naginata at a root that erupted from the ground. Midori had not drawn her sword yet as she spoke in a sharp tone. 

“Keep it occupied, I’ll try to calm it!” 

Decius, Satsu and Takeshi stepped in front of her, blades flashing as they cut down the tree’s attacking limbs. The branches seemed endless, regenerating as quickly as they were severed. Narita had withdrawn to a safe distance, bow held ready despite its ineffectiveness. 

Midori knelt, pressing her hands to the blood-soaked ground. She closed her eyes and began chanting, her voice rising in a desperate plea to the forest spirits.

“Whatever you’re doing,” Decius grunted, slicing through another branch, “do it faster!”

The Jubokko’s movements slowed slightly, its branches twitching as though confused. The ground beneath it began to glow faintly, and the crimson leaves darkened, turning brittle and lifeless. With a final roar, the tree’s branches froze, and the Jubokko fell silent. The glow faded, leaving only a lifeless, gnarled tree in its place.

Midori slumped forward, breathing heavily. “It’s done.”

Decius wiped bloody sap from his blade, shaking his head. “That was deeply unpleasant.”  

Takeshi helped Midori to her feet. “You saved us, priestess. Let’s not linger here. The spirits may not favor us twice.”

“Not to mention there are other unsavory things drawn to battlefields,” Satsu grunted. 

The group hurried away from the battlefield and the surrounding forest as the crows, with their sharp caws, seemed to be laughing at them. 

The party pressed on, putting as much distance between themselves and the cursed battlefields. There were no further incidents, and as night began to fall it was clear they had to stop for the night. They found a suitable campsite among a copse of trees that were thankfully perfectly ordinary. 

As they were debating on who would take first watch, Takeshi held up a hand. 

Decius frowned. “What is it?”

“I smell smoke.” the ronin stated. 

Decius nodded as he smelled it himself. The others all shifted.

“Someone else is camped nearby?” Satsu hypothesized. 

“Just ignore them,” Narita said.

“I say we see who they are, I don’t want to camp next to bandits,” Decius said as he stood up.

“Agreed,” Takeshi huffed.     

“I think that is wise,” Midori agreed. 

“We shall all go,” Satsu declared. 

One by one they followed the scent of smoke until they could see a faint glow. Silently the group fanned out and approached silently as they could, weapons at the ready. 

Takeshi crouched and frowned at what he saw. A solitary old man with a staff across his lap sitting crosslegged at a campfire. His beard was long and white, and his hair equally white, but balding. 

He admittedly didn’t seem like much of a threat, his clothes suggested he was a traveler of some sort. But looks could be deceiving. 

As the group prepared to double back the old man spoke. 

“I know you’re there, you’re not as silent as you think you are.”