They walked up a long hallway until they approached another set of double doors. Once again, they started to open before they neared them, but once they stepped inside, Miroku saw no one who could have opened them.
Besides, he was too interested in the center of the room, and what it held.
There was a massive long table taking up almost the entirety of the room. All along one side of the table, sat 12 people.
Miroku assumed they were people.
Nine of them appeared to be human. They were of differeing sizes, colors, and appearances. One looked like some strange furry feline creature. One looked like a suit of armor with no one inside it, and the last looked like a floating red ball that glowed slightly.
Miroku tried to keep his eyes on the table instead of staring at any one individual too long.
"So, Senmin," one of the human-looking people spoke, "Why have you called us together?"
She looked like an old woman, though she wasn't wrinkled or frail. If anything, she seemed very strong. Her hair was steel grey and pulled back into a tight bun. Her skin was a strange color; a pale lavender. Her face had a very aristocratic air about it, and her eyes were a vivid purple. Her voice was clear and strong.
Mikado and Izumi bowed before the gathered people, Miroku hurriedly following suit.
Mikado spoke, "We greet you, Council, and give to you our respects. We have with us one who has need of your assembled knowledge- " she inidcated Miroku - " -to overcome a most dire situation he has found himself in."
"We are busy, Senmin," the furry feline-looking creature spoke, "And cannot be dragged away from our studies at your whim."
"I think you will find this most interesting," Izumi spoke up, "This is something I am sure none of you have ever encountered before."
The feline one snorted in disbelief.
"This man," Izumi said, motioning to Miroku again, "Has a Void in his hand."
Everyone sat up a little straighter, looking with interest at the monk.
"And-" Mikado finished, "Lately, a Void Dweller has taken up residence within."
"Preposterous!" the feline one announced, hotly.
"Is this true, Senmin?" echoed the hollow-sounding voice of one of those gathered at the table. It was the one that looked like empty metal armor. Miroku tried to see without staring too openly, but he could see gaps in the armor, gaps where one would normally see flesh. Yet the armor moved, showed signs of someone within.
"It is," Mikado said, dipping her head again.
"We will need to see this," another human-looking one said. He was a youngish-looking man with very black skin. His clothing was a long flowing robe with what looked like symbols in them. He was completely bald, and his long, slender fingers were interlaced as he regarded Miroku.
"We can do this," Mikado agreed.
"You have wasted our time," the feline one said again, looking annoyed, "I was in the middle of something very important!"
"I assure you," Mikado said gently, "We have not-"
At that moment, Kirara squirmed out from in under the monk's robes where she had been riding in comfort, and scrabbled up onto the monk's shoulder. She looked at the feline humanoid seated at the table, and hissed, puffing herself up like a giant fuzzball.
The feline-looking humanoid blinked in shock for a second, then narrowed his eyes. He leaned forward, and spoke to Miroku, "Is this your...pet?"
"Easy Kirara," Miroku said, taking up the small feline demon and gently petting her. He looked at the feline humanoid and spoke, "Pet? No. I don't think Kirara is anyone's "pet". She's a feline fire demon from my world. She has chosen to befriend someone dear to me, and as such has bonded with myself as well. For which I am grateful."
Kirara settled down in the monk's hands, still looking somewhat put-out, but settling.
The feline humanoid said something, in a language Miroku didn't understand. He realized he was speaking to Kirara, and not him.
Kirara turned her head away from the feline humanoid with that lazy, haughty expression only cats seem to have mastered perfectly, and the feline humanoid smiled, revealing long, sharp teeth.
"My apologies. I fear my studies have made me short tempered and sharp. Let us see what your problem is, human."
Thank you, Kirara. I'm not sure what you did, or said, but you turned him around neatly.
"His problem is that he seems to have an impossibility," Izumi spoke.
"This young man's name is Miroku. He has a...void...in his hand. He was born with it, the result of a curse placed upon his family."
Those gathered around the table murmured amongst themselves, surprised and fascinated.
"Would it be possible for us to see this void?"
"In time, yes," Izumi answered. She hesitated, then spoke again, "It is not the void itself that brings us here, but what is apparently in the void. It would appear Miroku has a Void Dweller living in his hand."
Now they appeared shocked, and looked at each other, as if trying to make sense.
"That's impossible!" one exclaimed.
"We've seen it with our own eyes," Mikado replied.
They fell silent.
Izumi stepped forward, and spoke again, turning to look at Miroku, "Do you mind, dear?"
"I suppose seeing is believing."
Once again, Miroku found himself standing with his hand out, palm up, Wind Tunnel uncovered. There were several gathered around him, peering down into his hand as Mikado made sure the barrier was in place.
Miroku himself was not looking at his hand, not really wanting to see that eye looking back out at him again. Once was enough.
There were some murmured conversation, and then they pulled back, allowing the monk to re-apply the prayer beads. He felt better when they stopped staring at him.
Izumi stood behind him as they waited for the Council to sit again, murmuring to each other in a series of different languages.
"So," Izumi spoke, "Can you help us?"
They talked a few seconds more, then turned as one to look at the three before them.
"You want it removed, I assume?" asked the apparently empty suit of armor.
"Yes, of course," Miroku said, "As quickly as possible. Have you any idea how it even got inside there?"
"Well..." one human-looking one spoke, the one that looked like an elderly, lavender woman, "I can honestly say that I have never encountered anything this extraordinary, Miss Izumi. Void Dwellers are extremely rare, and to find one living in a person, well..."
"It would appear Zoharu's theory is correct," spoke another human-looking one, "All voids must be somehow interconnected."
"That is impossible," spoke the small, glowing, ball of light. It's voice was high and pure, sounding very like a child. The ball of light softly flashed as it spoke, "There is simply too much void. If they were interconnected, we would see many more Dwellers."
"Not so," spoke the feline-looking one, "You are forgetting Damassas' rule, that all non-existing areas, such as voids-"
"Council, please," Mikado spoke, "I know this must be fascinating for you all, but not so for Miroku. He simply wants it removed. Do you have any ideas?"
They all fell silent, glancing at each other. Miroku started to have a bad feeling about it all.
"Well...to be honest..."
"I'm not sure..."
The feline-looking one spoke again, "No. To be blunt, no. No one here knows enough about them."
Miroku's heart sunk.
"However, we do know someone else who does. He has spent a very long time studying such rare and strange creatures. If anyone will know, he will."
"Who is this person?" Mikado asked.
"His name is Retorares."
Behind him, the monk heard Izumi speak, her voice suddenly sounding wary, "A strange name."
"Perhaps. Yet it is his name all the same. The Illithid can be found-"
"Illithid?!" Miroku heard Izumi's gasp. She laid her hands on his shoulders, in a protective gesture, "Surely you're joking."
"We are not," the small ball of light spoke again, "The Illithid is the only one we know of with the knowledge of Void Dwellers. If you wish it to be removed, you must speak to him. And you are running out of time."
"What do you mean, running out of time?" Miroku asked, growing alarmed.
The small glowing ball spoke, "Void Dwellers exist in a space nothing else can possibly survive in. We do not know how. They survive by devouring whatever has been unlucky enough to exist in there with them. Other, smaller Dwellers, for instance. Tell me, Holy Man, have you ever sucked up anything into this void in your hand?"
Miroku started to feel cold, "Yes. I have used it as a weapon."
The other murmured amongst themselves.
The ball spoke, "The Void Dweller will devour everything you have sucked into the void. Everything. Rocks, trees, things that were once alive. As it eats, it will grow. If it becomes too big, it will not be able to be pulled from your hand."
Miroku stared, horrified.
Behind him, Izumi spoke again, her voice sounding tense and strained, a tone the monk was not used to hearing from her, "With all your knowledge, surely you know of someone else with the wisdom we seek. To suggest we take Miroku to an Illithid-!"
"Retorares is, as I have said, the only one we know of with the knowledge of Void Dwellers. If you wish this removed from the monk's hand, you must seek him out."
"But we-"
"Miss Izumi," the child-sounding little ball of light spoke, "You do not have the luxury of time. While your obvious dislike of Illithids is understandable, your emotions are causing your human friend to waste valuable time. You came to us for help. For advice. This is our advice. Seek out Retorares for assistance."
There was a deafening pause, and then, behind him, Miroku heard Izumi's voice, lower, and apparently chastised.
"You are right, of course, Beltranissamarto. I thank you, and The Council, for their aid. I ask one more thing of you...directions to...Retorares' dwelling. I assume he lives on this plane?"
"He does not," came the echo-y voice of the empty suit of armor, "He lives on a distant plane."
"If you give me some form of reference," Mikado said, "I can take us there."
"There will be no need," the small ball of light said, drifting away from the table and towards them, "I will send you there myself, directly. I will take you to a path that leads to his dwelling."
Izumi's voice sounded awed, "A great honour, Beltranissamarto."
The little ball of light laughed, a soft peal of joy and delight, "I have enjoyed this monk's voice and soul. He is rare."
Miroku blinked.
"Plus," the little ball of light said, mischeviously, "It isn't often one gets to see the great and powerful Kul'tar so berated by one so small."
Behind him, the Council members grinned, save for the feline-looking one, who looked somewhat put-out.
The little ball of light rose, and hovered over the little group. It started to glow brightly.
Suddenly, the child's voice was inside the monk's head, speaking.
'A war is coming to your world. Powerful. Death, and ruin. Dark times lie ahead. A great attack is coming. Many will die. A terrible devastation. But not as expected. It will be in your blind spot, monk. Keep alert.'
Miroku blinked, startled, but before he could say anything else, the light grew to an intense, blinding beam, and he was blinded.
Seconds later, the light dwindled, then died, and blinking the after efects away, Miroku saw he was in a completely different world.
This place was dark, and the air was warm and damp. Rocks rose out of the ground around him, the walls around him seemingly made of stone as well. Some sort of mushroom or fungus grew in small cracks and crevasses, fungus that glowed softly, bringing a pale green light to the surroundings.
"Are we in a cave?" Miroku asked, rubbing his eyes. It was taking a while to adjust his vision after the intense light of the little ball.
"Of a sort," Mikado said. She brushed off a rock, and sat, "Sit down for a few minutes, Miroku. We'll need our night eyes for this trip."
Miroku settled down on a projecting boulder, "Forgive me, but can't you just..." he waved his hands in some obscure motion, and Mikado burst out laughing.
"You guys always do that. Wave your hands around like you're waving away flies. Yes, I can use my powers to make a light, but it will have to be very faint. Otherwise it will attract attention."
"Attention?"
"There are things that live down here, dear, that we'd rather not attract," Izumi said.
The monk looked alarmed, "Things that powerful?"
"Well...powerful, yeah, but not too hard for me. But it would take too long to stop them, not to mention it would attract other people that we'd avoid if possible."
"I don't understand," Miroku said, patting Kirara.
"There are a few peoples that live down here," Izumi said, "Not human, but similar. They worship darkness, and are rather...unpleasant people. They would likely know who Mikado and I worship. And while they wouldn't offer any real threat to us as Mikado could easily defend us, they would attack and attack, happily killing themselves in the process."
"Even knowing they can't win?"
"It's their way," Izumi said.
"Who are these people?" Miroku asked.
Mikado started talking, "Well, they've been called Dark Elves, or Drow, but-"
"It's not important," Izumi interrupted, casting Mikado a stern glance. She then smiled at Miroku, "No offense, dear one, but sometimes it's for the best if people from completely different worlds remain ignorant of each other."
"I see," Miroku said, feeling oddly defensive, like a child who had just had his hand slapped for reaching into a treat bowl.
He spoke again, "And yet it is ok if I meet this...Ith...Il.."
"Illithid," Mikado corrected.
Miroku noticed Izumi shuddered as if suddenly cold. He spoke again, "Lady Izumi, you said, 'live down here'. How far underground are we?"
Izumi looked stricken.
Mikado burst out laughing, "Damnit, monk, you're sharp. You can't hide much from him, Izumi."
Izumi sighed, and rubbed her face with a hand, "We're quite far down, Miroku. This world exists below the feet of others, far above. It's known as the Underdark, and all manner of unpleasant things exist down here. Including Illithid. And believe me when I say if there was any other way, I wouldn't have you go anywhere near one."
"What are they, exactly?"
"Foul," Izumi answered swiftly, disgust in her voice, "Foul and corrupt and evil. A race that should have never been allowed to exist."
Miroku blinked, a little shocked.
"Izumi," Mikado murmured, "It's not up to us to decide such things."
Izumi looked away, and as his night vision improved, he was alarmed to see she was trembling slightly.
"Miroku," Mikado said gently, "Illithid are...well...no one really knows what they are. It's not even known if they were created, if they belong to this world or if they came here from another place...no one knows. But they are intelligent. They are so intelligent it is beyond comprehension. The things they know..."
"What do they look like?"
Pause.
"They are...somewhat human in appearance. Two legs. Two arms. A head...all that. They are...physically...frail in appearance. Their arms and legs are thin. But their faces..."
Pause.
"Their skin is usually blue, or purple. Sort of...like a frog's. They have no whites to their eyes, and they have no mouths-"
"No mouths?"
"Well, they have a mouth, but it..."
Izumi spoke, her voice hard and sharp, "They have a mouth, Miroku, that is surrounded by tentacles. Think of an octopus sitting atop a human-like body. The tentacles help it feed."
Silence. Miroku's skin started to crawl, "And...what does it feed on?"
"They are known by another name," Izumi said, "They are also called MindFlayers."
"They eat thoughts," Mikado said, softly, "They're known as Psionics. They can often read minds, and can take over someone's body by ... compelling them to do things...even things against their nature. They can kill you without touching you, just by shattering your mind with their own."
Mikado stared at Mikado, horrified.
"They also eat brains, don't forget that part," Izumi said, her voice a little shrill, "and leave their victims mindless slaves, doing whatever they're told."
Another terrible pause.
"If they...eat brains..." Miroku said quietly, trying to make sense of what he was hearing, "Surely the people are killed? If the head is...is opened for access to the brains..."
"They don't open the head at all," Izumi said, angry and shrill, "That's what the tentacles are for."
"Izumi-" Mikado tried to stop her.
"They just slip those tentacles right up the nose and-"
"Izumi!"
The former Senmin suddenly stood up, and wrapped her arms around herself, and started pacing, "We should not be here, Mikado."
Miroku watched her, horrified, and willing his stomach not to dump it's contents.
"You know I can protect us, Izumi," Mikado said gently.
The taller woman shook her head - but not as a denial of Mikado's skills, more just a denial of the whole mess, and turned, walking a short distance away, back on to them, head down, shuddering.
Mikado sighed, and walked to Miroku, "I'm sorry."
"She...she's very frightened of them, isn't she?"
Mikado nodded, "Everyone has a fear, Miroku. Something they're terrified of, maybe even for no reason. Spiders. Bats. Ghosts. It's something that for some reason reaches down into the primal part of us, and triggers a strong fear. For Izumi, it's Illithids. It's always been that way, from the very first time she became aware of their existance."
"Was she ever attacked?"
"No. As I said, Illithid are very smart, and they easily sensed her power, and had no desire to attack. It's just one of those things. They terrify her. And right now, with no power, it's worse for her.
She's scared for you."
Miroku looked at the Senmin.
"Izumi makes friends far too easily, and she likes you and your friends. And right now, she feels very helpless to protect you."
"But you said you were capable of-"
"I did, and I am. That doesn't mean she doesn't feel helpless."
Miroku paused, and then nodded, "More alike InuYasha than she knows, I think."
Mikado nodded.
There was a pause, and then Izumi turned around, and walked back. Her face was set.
"Well, if we're ready, we might as well start."
