The Golden Room
A Touhou Project fanfic by Achariyth
The Golden Room follows All's Fair in Love and Thievery, "A Book for Her Pillow," and The Adventures of Master Kaku and Blessed Bell.
Prologue: The Star Lotus
Underneath Youkai Mountain, during the events of Subterranean Animism
Constant jets of water crashed over the deck of the palanquin ship Star Lotus, flinging spray into Nue Houjuu's eyes. Sputtering, the cryptid youkai staggered away from the railing, shivering as the wintry underground air wicked away the warmth from her bare skin. As the deck beneath her feet shuddered, she pointed up towards the cavern's ceiling, toward the sole sunbeam pouring into the rocky hold. "Get this crate into the air."
Behind her, standing in the shadow of the Star Lotus' mainmast, Captain Minamitsu Murasa pushed hard against the ship's tiller. As the geyser buffeted the ship, the tiller groaned under the ghostly captain's weight. "We're still aground." The geyser fell silent. As the Star Lotus tipped forward, she shouted, "Hold on!"
Nue leapt into the air, her chimera wings keeping her aloft as the prow of the Star Lotus dropped three meters, crashing against the stone floor. Below her, Ichirin Kumoi, a veiled Buddhist nun, clung to the mainmast. As the ship's wooden walls ground against the rocks, a pink cloud surrounded the nun and lifted her into the air, keeping her from falling. Suppressing a shiver, Nue touched down on the deck and wrung out the hem of her black skirt. "Is everyone alright?"
Captain Murasa swung on the tiller, hissing an unbroken stream of paint-curdling curses, much to Ichirin's pink-faced astonishment. For a thousand years, she had stood watch on the foundered ship while it was sealed underground with its passengers, until, minutes earlier, tremors and aftershocks had unleashed a maelstrom inside the cavern. At the first rumble, Captain Murasa had leapt for the helm and steered a course towards escape, but the waves always dragged the Star Lotus further into the Earth. "Where's Nazrin?"
"Hiding belowdecks," Ichirin called out as the cloud set her down onto the Star Lotus. "The Avatara's down there as well."
"Figures. We could use some divine help right now."
"She told me that everything would be alright." As Ichirin's hands flashed through a series of wards against disaster, a pink cloud rose into the air behind her. For an instant, a man's scowl appeared in the mist.
"That's easy for Shou to say; she's not doing the work." Captain Murasa stumbled as the ship rolled beneath her and cussed a blue streak while she found her footing. "Don't just stand there-"
Nue's eyes glazed over as the ghost barked a series of orders that, while still Japanese, might as well be a completely different language. What did it mean to do something handsomely? And why did the same rope get thirteen different names depending on where it was tied on the ship? Sometimes Nue thought Captain Murasa's endless naming was nothing but the sailors' dark conspiracy against those smart enough to avoid the water. However, Ichirin understood the captain's opaque commands. With slow deliberate steps through the constant spray, the nun crept away from the mainmast and hauled on one of the many seemingly interchangeable ropes.
"Get the other one, Unzan," Ichirin said. The pink cloud formed two giant hands and seized hold of another line on the opposite side of the ship.
A deafening rumble built underneath the Star Lotus. As the cavern writhed, Nue dove towards the staysail mast at the bow of the ship. The ship lurched skyward, slamming into Nue's chin, but the dazed cryptid managed to wrap her arms and legs around the mast
Nue's world was lost to water. The fountain tore at her wings, at her clothes, and at her hands and feet, prying her millimeter by millimeter away from the safety of the ship, until, without warning, the grasping waters fled back into the cavern's nether recesses. The Star Lotus fell forward, dashing its hull against the rock floor.
Nue banged her head on the mast. The cryptid girl spat what she hoped was saltwater and wiped her bangs out of her eyes. Slowly, the stars at the edges of her vision faded.
Captain Murasa's incessant profanity resounded in the vast chamber, rising in volume until the rock walls shook with one final bellowed curse. As the echoes faded, she said, "We have to hurry. We don't know how many more chances we'll get to escape." The wooden ship protested with a chorus of creaking planks. "Or how much more Star Lotus can take."
The ghost thought for a moment. "Ichirin and Unzan, tighten up the stays." Before Nue's eyes glazed over, Captain Murasa barked, "Nue, get over here."
The dark-haired cryptid flew over and grunted as Captain Murasa shoved the tiller into her chest. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Nothing, I hope. Keep it steady, and if you need to steer, turn the tiller towards trouble."
Nue first pushed then pulled against the tiller. The giant lever groaned in protest, unresponsive to anything besides muscle-burning exertion. "Where are you going?"
Captain Murasa untied a rope line and walked towards the stern. "Someone's got to unfoul the rudder." She dove off the side, dangling from the line.
Nue waited with her hands on the wooden tiller, straining for any call from the ghostly captain, but she only heard was stretching rope, settling boards, and the occasional grunt while Ichirin wrestled with the ship's lines.
The cavern shuddered, showering dirt across the deck of the Star Lotus. Nue hid her face in the crook of her arm, shielding her eyes from the falling grit. After the cascade relented, the tiller bucked out of her grasp. Hissing, the cryptid girl wrapped her arms around the steering rod and wrestled to the tiller while it lashed about the deck.
"Hold that poxy tiller still," Captain Murasa roared. The tiller shook as the ghost kicked the rudder.
Nue planted her feet and braced herself on the deck. The steering rod still jumped in her arms after every kick, but Nue now had the tiller under control. She grimaced as a trickle of grit fell down the back of her dress. "Any idea what's causing those tremors?"
Ichirin tied off her line to a belaying pin. "I just hope it doesn't stop before we can get out of here."
Nue looked up at the skylight. "We could just fly out of here ourselves." She shrugged her shoulders and spread her wings.
"Perish the thought." Ichirin stepped away from Nue, warding off evil with a sign. "I would never abandon the abbess."
The tiller jerked hard, knocking Nue over. She slid headfirst across the polished deck and smacked into the railing.
"Pull me up!" Captain Murasa shouted.
Ichirin pointed to a rope draped over the stern. Unzan grabbed hold of the line and drew it hand over hand into the ship. A petite ghost in a sailor dress dangled below the great cloud spirit.
Captain Murasa dropped to the deck. "That's fixed now, but we're listing because we're overburdened. We would have settled evenly on the keel if Nazrin hadn't hoarded more of her toys." She scowled at Nue. "Stop dawdling."
As the captain ran belowdecks, Nue found her footing and brushed clumps of wet grit from her black dress. With ginger steps, the cryptid girl took her place at the ship's helm.
"Oh, dear," Ichirin muttered.
Nue glanced at the nun and groaned. Unzan turned into a diffuse wisp, his focus drawn away by a distant image only he could see. As the sole member of the crew without the gift of augury, Nue fought her jealousy. However, while Ichirin's ever-present companion possessed the strongest foresight of the crew, Nue hated to lose the ship's muscle to visions when his strength was needed more.
Unzan coalesced until he was a solid mountain hovering above Ichirin, his face and flowing beard seemingly hewn from the granite that surrounded the ship. Ichirin looked up at him and paled. Although the cloud spirit's stern expressing never wavered, the nun nodded in silent conversation and drew in a deep breath.
"Tie yourself to the ship." Ichirin dashed towards the mainmast and wound rope around her waist. After tying a knot over her hip, she looped the free end around the mast in a complicated tangle and pulled the rope tight. Only then did the nun toss a coil of rope to Nue.
The dark-haired girl lashed herself to the tiller, taking care not to wrap the rope through her wings. She hoped her knotwork would hold; unlike Ichirin, Nue had few chances to practice since she spent most of her time avoiding Captain Murasa's work details. It would have to hold; Unzan only manifested so strongly for immediate threats.
The great cavern pealed like a tocsin bell, shedding streams of earth in its convulsions. Nue covered her head and clenched her eyes shut as the sand fell and the Sea Lotus heaved. The stone floor cracked and buckled, flinging arrowhead shards into the air. Ichirin screamed sutras as the rocks flew past; Nue just screamed.
The mountain fell silent exhausted by its tremors. Underneath the Star Lotus, rock snapped and fractured. Water fountained in thin streams through the fissures, sloughing away sheets of the stone floor. Pale and trembling, Nue clung to the ship's tiller, frantically trying to remember what Captain Murasa told her about steering.
Captain Murasa staggered onto the deck. "I don't know what ballast that packrat found, but Nazrin's filled an entire cabin with it." She slid down the slanted deck and leaned over the railing.
With a loud report, the ground beneath the Star Lotus gave way. Icy spray filled the air as the palanquin ship slid backwards, deeper into the cavern's maw.
"I don't care what Nazrin found, get it off my ship." Captain Murasa scrambled for the tiller.
Unzan glanced over to Ichirin, who nodded. The cloud spirit floated over the side of the ship. With stern disapproval, he reared back fists as large as tree trunks and battered the hull. The wooden walls splintered with each blow.
Captain Murasa gaped at the cloud spirit. For the first time since Nue had met the phantom, Minamitsu's vast salty vocabulary had failed her. Finally, her mouth caught up with her mind. "I meant over the side, not through it!"
"Is he trying to sink us?" Nue shouted.
"We're sunk if you stop him," Ichirin answered.
Unzan battered the hull in silence, unaware of the phantom's shout. Wood splintered, then shattered underneath titanic blows until he bored a fist-sized hole through the hull. As jets of water hissed around him, Unzan reached in and pried out broken beams until four men abreast could have marched through the gap. The cloud spirit cast the last ruined beam into the bubbling muck below and plunged inside the Star Lotus.
As the deck trembled beneath her feet and the clamor of splintering wood rose, Nue pursed her lips and cast her eyes to the sinkhole above. Maybe there was more room in whatever bolthole Nazrin was hiding in. But before the chimerical cryptid could tear away the knots binding her to the ship, a wall of water thrust itself high into the air, higher than the masthead, before sweeping over the Star Lotus. Nue's lungs burned as the wave tossed her hither and yon like a rat in a terrier's jaws until, at last, it drained through the ship's scuppers.
Nue groped for the knife at her waist, heaving up a draught of sulfurous spring water. The well-honed edge sliced through the rope without a tug of resistance. Looking skyward to the sinkhole, she spread her wings wide.
"Don't abandon the abbess," Ichirin hollered. The water had torn the nun's veil from her head, revealing her long blue hair.
Nue closed her eyes and drew her wings tight against her body.
"How much water have we taken on?" Captain Murasa leaned over the side railing and watched water drain from Star Lotus's holed hull. Thunder rumbled belowdecks, and one last gush poured out of the palanquin ship's side.
"Oh, my," Ichirin said in a breathless whisper. Her eyes grew distant and unfocused, enraptured by an unseen vision.
Nue shook her head. It was just like Ichirin to have her head so caught up in the heavenlies that she was no earthly good. She opened her eyes and froze.
Unzan floated free of the Star Lotus. Lightning crackled across the cloud spirit's granite face as he struggled to free a giant crate from the ship's hold. Gold gleamed along its surface. An unknown metalsmith had cast the box out of pure golf, taking special care to etch in each knot and swirl needed to mimic wood. No wonder Unzan struggled with the heavy burden. Nue could scarce believe the spectacle, for all the gold in the Heian court would not patch a scratch in the box's gold leaf. Despite herself, Nue drifted over to the railing.
Unzan strained as he pulled on the treasure room, the clouds that made up his arms bulging with effort. The golden box tipped out the Star Lotus's open hold and fell free, driving the cloud spirit toward the slurry of muck and burbling spray that made the cavern's floor. A golden door at the upmost end swung open.
Sunlight from the open sinkhole above reflected inside the golden room, illuminating silver filigree wall silks and an exquisite table setting cast in purest gold. Nue's eyes grew wider, even as she blinked away the glare. On top of the burnished table, a jeweled pagoda lamp burned. Before Nue could identify the gems that studded the pagoda, the room's door slammed shut.
"Nazrin's got some explaining to do." Nue blinked away the misty spray.
"Damn straight," Captain Murasa growled. As the golden room sank out of sight, the ghost stepped away from the railing. "I told her she could have a cupboard for her curios, not an entire becalmed cabin. Certainly not enough to sink the ship."
"You're just mad that she didn't cut you in on the action."
"I've drowned once; I'm not exactly eager to repeat the experience." The phantom of the fathoms spun towards Nue. "Which we're all going to do with that hole in the hull."
"Unzan will protect us." Ichirin wrung out her veil. "He can-"
The cavern exploded with water, throwing the unburdened Star Lotus skyward. Nue stared open-mouthed at the wall of water, then shrieked as she looked upwards. The cavern's ceiling rushed towards the ship, stalactite fingers reaching out to smash it to splinters.
"Get over here!" Captain Murasa pulled hard on the tiller. The ship rode the crest of the mammoth geyser, heeling towards the mouth of the sinkhole and the blue sky above. Nue rushed over and added her strength to the ghost's. The Star Lotus turned tighter, knifing a slow spiral around the surging column of water.
The ship banked too far, and thick white spray across the deck. While Nue wiped the water from her eyes, the Star Lotus rolled upright. The tiller jerked in the chimera girl's hands.
"Stop fighting me," Captain Murasa shouted over the roar of the waters.
Nue blinked the last blurs away. The skylight was now to the right of the prow, and, along with the rocks above, rushing towards her. Blanching, she pushed on the steering lever. The palanquin ship tacked back towards the sinkhole, but the cavern ceiling loomed ever closer.
"Hold on." Ichirin slid down the mast and tucked herself into a ball.
As the rock ceiling hurtled towards her, Nue shrieked like a buzzard and heaved against the tiller. The Star Lotus listed to its side and scraped through the sinkhole with a shower of splinters as the geyser hurled it free of the bowels of Youkai Mountain and into the air. Walls of sulfurous spray surrounded the ship as it flew toward the clouds, buoyed aloft by the water.
"To the sails!" Captain Murasa bellowed. The phantom dropped the tiller and raced towards the mast. Ichirin didn't stop to cut herself free before hauling on the lines. As the ship's captain pulled with her on the ropes, a great sheet of clean white cloth unfurled its way up the mast.
The geyser fell away. Star Lotus dropped toward the rocks below. Before Nue found the breath to scream again, the mainsail swelled with captured winds. The ship shuddered once before it soared above the mountain.
Captain Murasa shoved the lines into Ichirin's hands and rushed towards the staysail mast. "Trim the sail," she called over her shoulder.
As adrenaline left her, Nue fell to her knees, spent. She laughed uncontrollably and spread her wings out wide to dry, basking in the sun's warmth for the first time in centuries.
A shadow passed over her. "No loafing now, we're not done yet," Captain Murasa said.
Nue coughed and swayed to her feet. "That shouldn't have worked." She pointed to the billowing sail.
"Aye, but you know how the Honored Myouren Hijiri used cloth to make his bowl fly? His sister, our abbess, knows the secret to its making."
"So now what?"
"We set down, and while I draw upon the arts of carpentry and chandlery to repair my ship, you and the Avatara wake the abbess." The captain's voice grew stern. "Now stop hugging the tiller and fetch Unzan from belowdecks."
Nue rolled her eyes, but she crept towards the stern, savoring every sunbeam she passed through. Before she reached the stairwell, two grey mouse ears bobbed up from the hold.
Captain Murasa roared, "Ah, the packrat that foundered my ship finally scurries into the light. I have words for you-"
"It's gone!" Nazrin squeaked, waving a hand above her head. Nue reached down and pulled the mouse youkai onto the deck. "The Jeweled Pagoda is missing. We must go back, for the abbess's sake."
"You mean for your own, once the Avatara finds out," Nue whispered. She peered over the railing at the mountain prison shrinking in the distance. Glaring at Nazrin, who cowered below while sand and spray blasted everyone else, a seed of mischief sprouted in Nue's mind.