Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior, wielding a magic sword, stepped forth to oppose me.
Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time, and flung him into the future, where my evil is law.
Now, the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku.
~***~
When I stepped into the common room of the inn, the heat and noise were a relief from the chill pouring rain and howling wind outside. Not that it was a comfortable place - it was dim, smoky, loud and smelly, full of rough types who were just itching to start a fight. You could barely hear the thunder outside for the din. Had the weather been better, I would have slept outside instead of spending the night in this dive. But I had no other options. I pulled off my hood, shook some of the water off my cloak and took a look around the place.
The common room was square, constructed of dark wood. Oil lamps hung from the walls and ceiling, casting (barely) adequate light to see by. Directly opposite the door, in the far wall, was a big stone fireplace. To the right of that was a swinging door that led to the kitchens – maids with trays of food and drink, or empty plates and cups, were walking in and out of it. On the wall to the right of me was a long glass window, through which I could see nothing but darkness – except when the lightning flashed, and then all I could see were shapes distorted by the driving rain against the panes. To the left of me was a long wooden counter, where the innkeeper checked in customers. Beyond that was another door, which probably led to the stairs and thence into the rooms.
There were round tables throughout the common room, and all of them were occupied. People were sitting around the tables, doing what people usually do in places like this – drinking, singing, eating, having conversations at the tops of their voices, and making lewd comments at the maids. I went to the counter and arranged for room to sleep in. Then I looked for a table.
I was soaked and chilled to the bone, so I made my way to the tables closest to the fire. One was occupied by a couple of thugs engaged in an arm-wrestling match – no good. A fellow with green, scaly skin and webbed fingers was passed out drunk on another table. I considered dislodging him and taking his seat, but decided against it. He was twice as big as I was, and if he came to I'd be in big trouble. So that wasn't an option either.
The third table, which was right in front of the fireplace, seemed like the best option. The sole occupant of said table was a man in a white robe, with a wide-brimmed hat of woven straw on his head. He was eating what looked like steamed vegetables out of a small bowl – that in itself wasn't unusual, but he was using a pair of little wooden sticks to lift each morsel of food to his mouth. He was sitting with his back to the fire, ignoring the general ruckus going on around him. As I walked around the table to speak to him, I noticed the strange sword he wore at his side. It was long, slender and slightly curved, with a narrow grip wrapped in black cloth.
While there were many weird folk in the inn that night, most of them were a familiar sort of weird. They were normal weird. This guy, however, was in an altogether different class of weird. That made me pause for a moment. Most other people would have left to find another table.
My curiosity is going to get me killed someday.
"Excuse me," I addressed him as politely as I could, though I had to shout over the din.
He turned and looked up at me. Now I could see his face clearly – he was somewhere in his mid-twenties, with high cheekbones, a straight nose and oddly tilted eyes, so deep brown that they were almost black. He regarded me carefully for a moment. "Yes?"
"Would you mind if I sat down here? I'm absolutely soaked and I need to dry off." I put on my best smile. "Please?"
He looked me in the eye for a moment, which made me sort of uncomfortable. Then he nodded. "I do not mind at all. Please sit down." He surprised me by standing up and moving to an adjacent chair, so that I could sit closer to the fire. He was polite - very weird indeed.
I thanked him and removed my quiver of arrows to hang it on the back of the chair he had vacated. I also checked the contents of the attached bow case to see if they were dry – they were, so I didn't need to restring it. Satisfied, I sat down and called over a passing maid to order some warm cider and something to eat. While I waited for my supper, I regarded my quiet companion, who had resumed eating his food. I wondered where he came from – not anywhere I knew of, certainly.
"Thanks again for letting me sit here, mister…I don't think I got your name?" He looked up again.
"I am called Jack," he told me. I didn't even consider asking whether or not it was his real name – I knew the answer already.
"My name's Ketiya. Pleased to make your acquaintance." I inclined my head politely. He did the same. "So…what brings you to the middle of nowhere?"
It was then that the maid brought my supper. She put it on the table and I gave her a silver coin to pay for it. Then I turned to Jack again.
"I am only passing through." I should have guessed that I wouldn't get a straight answer out of him.
"I'm on my way to the coast. Trying to find something to keep myself occupied and my purse full." I picked up my knife and fork and started cutting the steak on my plate. "Where are you from?" Okay, so that wasn't exactly subtle, but I'm not good at subtle. At least, not in the conversational sense.
"A long way from here," was his reply. Ah. So. Now I saw it as a challenge – I just had to find out something about this character.
I wondered about how to do that while I ate my supper. I was so occupied with the challenge that I didn't notice the big guy in bearskins until he hauled me out of my seat by the front of my tunic. He held me uncomfortably close to his face – I nearly passed out at the smell of his breath. I judged that he'd recently imbibed some very strong alcohol.
"You're in my seat," he growled. Well, I certainly wasn't in it anymore, but it would not have been prudent to point that out. The common room had gone quiet – almost everyone was staring at us.
Even if he was in the wrong here, I didn't want to press the issue. Hey, I'm not a coward, but I'm not that stupid either. "Sorry, sorry…didn't know it was your place. I'll move, really. Just put me down." With a sinking feeling I realized that it wasn't about the chair I'd been in, but the mood he was in. Which meant that I was in big trouble. I got ready to pull a dagger out of my boot, hoping that I could do unto him before he did unto me.