He could feel the flower's poison take effect. His heart was racing, skipping here and there. He felt faint and lightheaded, his knees threatening to buckle underneath him. His stomach churned, threatening to upheave what little remained after breakfast. His vision was starting to blur as he stared at Lord Ii for a moment. Oleander was survivable in small doses but it felt like he'd consumed an entire plant all at once. It explained the symptoms Chou was exhibiting. The amount the mononoke was using was lethal.
He turned to look at Kayo as she attempted to help stabilize him. He leaned against the door, his hands digging into the frame as he attempted to keep from collapsing. "Charcoal medicine. Two doses. Quickly."
Kayo nodded, scampering to the medicine chest and nearly tripping over her kimono. She practically threw the ingredients into mortar and pestle, blending them and taking them back over to the door. She handed one to the medicine seller and one to Akinobu. She sucked in a strained breath, watching the medicine seller with worry. He'd put himself through a lot when countering mononoke, but she'd never seen him look so human before. If she had hesitated, she worried he might actually have died.
The medicine seller quickly downed the mixture, wrinkling his nose at the awful taste as he slid down the doorway and sat on the floor. This was certainly one troublesome mononoke, though the room staring back at him likely would be just as troublesome. He placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart begin to slow down. The best remedy for oleander poisoning was to wretch the stuff out, but right now he didn't exactly have that luxury. The charcoal mix was working well enough.
Akinobu leaned against the wall next to him, the remedy working well for him as well. Unlike the medicine seller, he only got a whiff of the smell before he held his breath, yet it was still enough to knock him off his feet. The medicine seller had barked the warning at the risk of his own health. "I really hoped to never hear that word out of you again, you know."
"It's hard to deny what was out there," the medicine seller said.
Akinobu frowned. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"What the hell is going on?!" Lord Goh demanded. "What is all this nonsense about mononoke?!"
"It's haunted," the lady in pink mused.
"Hime, please," the lady in purple next to her fussed.
"All old castles are haunted, Furi," Hime pointed out.
"That could be it, my daughter," Lord Oku said. "Many do have haunts in the walls."
"That would be cool, father," Hime agreed.
"It would," Lord Oku agreed.
"Enough of this nonsense!" Lord Goh hissed. "What's really going on here, Lord Ii?!"
Lord Ii tried to not start pacing back and forth. He stared at the ground, curling his hands uncomfortably. He had hoped to put all this behind him, to repair the han, and to look towards the future. Without his father's greed and forcefulness, he thought there wouldn't be anything to create a mononoke. He had hoped it would, at least, but something had.
But just as worrisome was the effects the mononoke had. Sure it wasn't smearing his samurai across the balcony, but that didn't make it any less deadly. He peered at the medicine seller, finding the merchant still leaning against the closed door.
Lord Ii rubbed at his face. "Mononoke are supernatural creatures that take on a grudge from someone who has died. But the problem is, no one has died."
"My daughter almost died!" Lord Goh said sharply.
"I know, I know, Lord Goh," Lord Ii sighed. "This is only the start of its attack. It won't stop until the mononoke is slain. What is it even using to attack?"
"Oleander," the medicine seller said. "The mononoke is using oleander to enact its revenge in lethal doses. It has turned it into an airborne poison, despite sniffing oleander being completely safe."
"Airborne poison from a supernatural creature. How wild," Hime commented.
"Hime, this isn't a game!" Furi jabbed a finger at her.
The medicine seller stood up, finally steady on his feet. "It can be countered. For now." He knelt down at the medicine chest, hooking a finger around the drawer that contained the more supernatural ingredients. "Miss Kayo, if you would assist."
Kayo nodded, taking the offered bowl. She could feel the nobles all with their eyes on her, and it bothered her more than it seemed to bother him. She hated how judgmental they could be, especially when faced with a mononoke that one of them likely created. These upper upper class sort seemed to be even worse, always thinking they could do whatever they want. Except for Lord Ii and perhaps that Hime and her father who both seemed far too calm about the situation.
He pulled several ingredients from the drawer, mixing them up before dropping them into the dish. He mixed a few more before finding a match and lighting it.
"That stinks," Lord Goh commented.
"It will stink worse if the mononoke poisons the room," the medicine seller stated sharply as he shut the drawer in the chest.
"You insolent merchant!" Lord Goh hissed. "Lord Ii, do something about him!"
Lord Ii sucked in a deep breath. He wasn't one to be irritated, but right now, this lord was grating on his nerves. He was beginning to understand why the medicine seller sometimes had such a sharp tongue and reacted the way he did. "Do not interfere with his work, Lord Goh. Mononoke are not to be taken lightly. If it isn't handled, we all could easily die."
Kayo tightened her grip on the bowl. That was definitely 'regional lord voice' if she ever heard it. Lord Ii normally sounded so calm, but that voice was enough to quiet Lord Goh and his annoying yelling instantly.
"Now then," the medicine seller said. "Has anyone died recently?"
Lord Ii shook his head. "Not at all."
"Missing?"
"Not that I'm aware of," the young lord replied. "No missing servants, no samurai, no guests. Only ones who have already left."
The medicine seller frowned, fishing the scales from the bottom drawer in the medicine chest. Without any recent deaths, the truth could be from another source such as strong emotions or an older incident that had only recently awoken. Or there could be something hidden that Lord Ii wasn't aware of. Likely the last one. Lord Ii liked to believe in the best of people, but the medicine seller honestly expected the worst.
"Actually," Hime spoke up, "I do wonder if this is related, Mr. Medicine Seller. The girl from the far reaches of this han, Matsu. I heard she was heading here as well, but when I arrived, she wasn't here."
"Oh~?" the medicine seller questioned, sending the scales around the edges of the room. They settled on the floor and walls before dropping their bells and falling quiet. "I do wonder what became of Lady Matsu."
"I heard she became ill and had to return home," Lord Ii said. "Though given the circumstances, I wonder if that wasn't what happened. Did you see her leave, Akinobu?"
"I did not, my lord," the samurai replied. "I received word of it from Lord Goh's entourage."
"That is curious," Lord Oku said. "To think she would not leave word with Lord Ii's people before she was left."
"And what exactly are you implying?" Lord Goh scowled. "My daughter found Lady Matsu sick in the garden and suggested she go home. I simply passed on the message."
The medicine seller pulled the taima sword from his sleeve. No reaction just yet, but they certainly were growing closer to the truth. The gathering in the room was a chaotic mess, much as he expected a group of high-ranking nobles to be when faced with a mononoke. Few ever took it well, especially when the information came from someone on the bottom of the caste system. But this time, he'd barely said anything. Lord Ii had done most of the talking so far, riling up Lord Goh considerably. Perhaps it was stress, but given his daughter was the first target, there was a chance he was somehow involved.
He stood up, shutting the drawer with his foot and tucking the taima sword back in his sleeve. There were times when mononoke reflected their truths back onto those who had caused them. "I do wonder if Lady Matsu was poisoned."
"A poisoning. How scandalous," Hime commented.
"This is just conjecture, Hime!" Furi jabbed a finger across the room at the medicine seller. "Stop fabricating things that aren't there! For all we know, someone could've slipped something into Matsu's tea. Same with Chou!"
"Except that Chou didn't drink any tea yet and you did," Hime pointed out.
Furi gritted her teeth for a moment. "I think you're remembering things wrong again!"
Kayo pulled at the medicine seller's sleeve, standing on her toes to whisper in his ear as the ladies squabbled over the details. "Lady Furi is acting like she's keeping a really big secret."
"Oh?" the medicine seller mused.
Kayo nodded. "See we servants tried to keep secrets from the masters of the house when we'd break a plate or something, and that's exactly how we'd respond. Squirming, attempts to cover it up. It's just high class cover-up instead of something at our level. Gossips just can't handle secrets."
He peered behind him at Lord Ii who was preoccupied with the ladies' conversation and consumed by worry. "Seems we're not the only ones who noticed." His lips curled just slightly downward as the bells on the scales rang out. The scales spun several times before simply pointing towards the center of the room.
Flower buds manifested on the tatami mats, blossoming in brilliant pinks and whites marred with red bloodstains. The flowers surrounded Chou, blossoming on her kimono as the branches and leaves attempted to pull at her bedroll.
"Get back!" the medicine seller barked, pushing Kayo and Lord Ii away from the flowers. Drawing his hand back, he flung the spell papers at branches, working to contain them. Whole flowers littered the floor as they fell from the branches during the attack. The branches reached out, attempting to grab anything within range.
Lord Ii untangled himself from the jumble of formal robes and Kayo as he pushed himself up from the floor. He stared at the flailing roots and floating flowers covered in blood. This was definitely different from the tatarimokke, and it was getting past the medicine seller's barriers. He gasped as one of the branches attempted to drag the medicine seller towards the center of the room by the arm.
"What is your truth?" the medicine seller demanded, sliding the taima sword out of his sleeve with his free hand. "What has made you so angry?" He brandished the sword at the branches, causing them to recoil. The strength and ire of this mononoke was intense, attempting to fight back against him.
"Get back, plant!" Akinobu demanded, slicing through the branch with his sword. It sliced cleanly through, the branch suddenly gushing blood at him and the medicine seller as it recoiled back through the ground, dragging Chou down into the darkness below. The samurai shook like a leaf, staring at the blood caking his kimono, armor, face, and hands. "It's…. It's bleeding?!"
The medicine seller plastered the hole in the floor with ofuda before rubbing his face with his sleeve. "It is tree sap, Sir Akinobu." He knelt down, picking up one of the flowers that had fallen during the fight. Tsubaki flowers that appeared to have been dyed in blood. Perhaps it was the same tree sap that had gushed like blood out of the cut roots. "The mononoke has claimed its first victim. It's form: furutsubaki-no-rei."
The sword chattered in confirmation. This could be troublesome.
….
Author's notes
chinese matches were different from what we know as modern matches. They were created much earlier around 600AD, made of pine and sulfur (used to light the pine on fire when struck). Since Japan does borrow from China, chinese matches might be in the medicine seller's chest! He has a lot of oddities in there
Tsubaki is the name of the Japanese Camellia. Tsubaki are very fragrant and have a wide variety of flower shapes and colors that have a rather odd habit. Instead of dropping petals like most flowering trees do when wilting, they just drop the whole damn flower.