Indiana Jones and the Talisman of the Gods
Chapter 5
The Dragon King of the Ocean
Yomi was barren, except for a few petrified trees that speckled the dark surface. Gray clouds swirled above, blocking the light from the opalescent moon. Dry rubble that covered the ground crunched beneath their feet as they ventured deeper into the deathly place.
"Remember," General Okidonomi called out. "You won't come out alive if you do not find what I seek."
Jones nodded and calmly walked. The place seemed empty, like there was nothing there. Yuki-onna looked back and forth hurriedly, checking for unseen threats. Shimizu had a look of disappointment on his face.
"I've opened up the door to Hell," he muttered.
They continued to walk until the doorway was out of sight. Night only lasted a couple of hours, so if they didn't hurry, they would be trapped. They needed more time.
It was nearing ten o'clock, according to Jones's watch. So far they had not seen a sign of life. They had been walking for three hours now. They didn't seem to be going anywhere, like they were walking in an endless circle.
Jones asked Yuki-onna: "Is Yomi supposed to be like this?"
She nodded. "The land of the dead has to be a big place. All of the spirits of those past reside here. They're hiding from us."
"Why are they hiding from—" The ground began to tremble and the rubble on the ground exploded into the air. A large beast was crying out. It was nearly twelve feet tall with monstrous hands and enormous feet. A large spiked club was held tightly in its hand as the being swung it around violently. "What is that?"
Shimizu tried to run away. "It's an oni!"
The being, an oni—the Japanese versions of ogres and trolls—stomped in long strides and picked Shimizu up. Shaman Shimizu's white robes stood out against the oni's red skin. The shaman squirmed in an attempt to escape the monster's clutches.
"Shimizu!" Indiana called out. "Stop moving!" If anything, squirming would make things worse. Hopefully, if he relaxed, the oni would let him go. Unfortunately, movement made no difference to the oni. The beast raised Shimizu up and was about to eat him when something unexplainable happened.
Right as the oni dropped Shimizu into his mouth a large blue claw zoomed past and caught the terrified shaman. In a blur of blue, Shimizu appeared standing in front of Jones and Yuki-onna. The oni tried to swing its giant spiked club, but the blue claw caught it. For that brief moment, the blur stopped and all three of them could see a magnificent and gigantic dragon in front of them.
The dragon opened its mouth and a deep sapphire fire shot out at the oni's face. The ogre stumbled back, grabbing its face, and then ran off. The large winged reptile turned towards the trio.
"Welcome to Yomi, unfortunate ones."
Yuki-onna and Shimizu kneeled. "We thank you, Lord Ryujin."
"Ryujin?" Jones gasped. "Dragon King of the Ocean?"
"Yes, Indiana," the dragon growled. "That's my title."
This was remarkable, Jones thought. He had now met three gods, a spirit, and a Japanese monster. He would never forget this adventure. "Why have you come, Ryujin?"
"Because I would like to assist you on your quest."
Yuki-onna looked up. "You want to help Amatsu-Mikaboshi destroy the entire world?!"
The dragon made a growl that sounded like a laugh. "I am going to make sure that Jones's plan succeeds."
"What is his plan, Great Dragon?"
The dragon tried to smile. "He knows what his plan is. There is no need for you to know now." He looked around and then lay on the ground. "Get on my back. Yomi is a large place. You don't have much time."
The sapphire dragon flapped its incredibly large winds. It soared high above the ground. Indiana was afraid. Not because of the height, but of the form of Ryujin. He looked like a long snake with two arms in the front and two large wings on the sides. Jones grimaced. He hated snakes.
Ryujin made a sharp dive towards the ground and pulled up at the last moment. The ocean god stopped gracefully and lowered his back. "It's time for your departure. I cannot take you any farther, but I will assist you. Good luck, unfortunate ones."
Jones, Shimizu, and Yuki-onna slide off of the dragon's back as it swooped up into the dark clouds and disappeared from sight. "He was a great help," Shimizu sighed. "I hope that he takes us back to the door."
The trio walked forward. Before long they came to a thicket of petrified trees. "It's a petrified forest," Jones said. "Do we just walk through it?"
"Yes, Indy," Yuki-onna was solemn. She now knew exactly what the object was, and feared for her life and for the rest of the world.
They walked through it and came out just as quickly. The forest was only a couple of yards thick and made a circular barrier around a large stone temple. The temple seemed to be about fifteen stories high with a large tower rising three more stories out of the top. It was made of a black rock; obsidian, perhaps. Jones approached with caution, while Shimizu and Yuki-onna stayed back.
"C'mon! The faster we get this thing the faster we get out of this place." He kept walking towards the door, and then Yuki-onna screamed. Jones looked back. She was pointing upwards. From up above, skeletal samurais were jumping out of the temple. Jones moved out of the way as the first to land began to strike.
Jones stepped backwards right as the samurai swung his blade. The sharp tip narrowly missed his chest. Jones pulled out his whip and caught the bony wrist of the warrior, pulling hard and causing it to drop its sword. Jones picked up the sword and swung at the samurai. He hit the skeleton and it burst into a puff of dust. Fairly easy, he thought. However, there were at least ten more standing in front of him.
Jones engaged in a sword battle with two of the warriors while Shimizu and Yuki-onna tried to fight them as best as they could. Shimizu ran away from them in an attempt to distract him while Yuki-onna used her radiant beauty to daze them. Jones destroyed the two samurais and attacked the one chasing Shimizu. He ran over to Yuki-onna and killed the skeletal warriors that were too hypnotized to fight back.
"We need to hurry before more come!" Shimizu ran over to the temple and pushed open a large stone door. Jones and Yuki-onna followed him into the torch lit corridor. The entire temple was like a maze, with its walls adorned with beautiful paintings and its hallways twisting back and forth. They went up three flights of stairs without any obstacles. It seemed easy to Jones, almost too easy. When they reached floor four, the trouble began.
The hallway's direction turned again. The three stopped in their tracks. What seemed to be a large yellow fox with nine tails sat in front of them. Behind it were two different hallways, each leading in different directions. To their surprise, the fox began to speak.
"There are two ways to travel through, but one way shall benefit you."
Jones smiled. "That's what I call a riddle."
Yuki-onna was frightened. "Indy, that's a kitsune. It's trying to trick us. It may even want to kill us."
Shimizu had a solemn look on his face. It was a brave look, one that made Jones worry. "Shaman, what are you going to do."
He gulped. "I am going to chose a hallway. If it isn't the right one, then I will call out. I was trained to protect the world from the tablet and all who seek it. Amatsu-Mikaboshi wants the tablet more than anything." He closed his eyes. "If I die, it will be to rid the world of Amatsu-Mikaboshi and all of his evil."
"Shaman, don't talk like that, we will make it."
He didn't listen. Shimizu took the hall to the left. He walked down the corridor, took a left turn, and continued walking. Jones and Yuki-onna expected to hear a cry, but instead Shimizu came back and beckoned. "This is it! I chose correctly!"
The kitsune walked in front of Jones and morphed into a man. "A man can make his own choices and doesn't listen to other's voices."
Jones pushed him aside. "Shut up, stupid animal."
The kitsune bared its fangs, even as a human. "Bad choices are big mistakes but are sometimes made for other's sakes."
Jones tried to go down the hallway with Shimizu, but the kitsune kept trying to stop him. Indiana pulled out his gun, but before he could shoot he heard a yell. Shimizu was gone and Yuki-onna had her hand over her mouth.
"He was taken away by a jikininki!" Jikininkis were evil Japanese spirits who feed on the corpse's of man, but sometimes have to make the people corpses themselves.
The kitsune smiled. "Follow him, have a slow breath. Take the other path, keep your breath."
Jones put his gun back in his pocket and he and Yuki-onna continued down the corridors going up and up. Along the way there were some obstacles, such as booby traps and a kappa that tried to drag them into a pong in the center of the hall. The continued to climb up and up, and before long were standing in front of a large door big enough for Ryujin the dragon to fit through.
"This is it," Yuki-onna sighed.
"What's inside?" He ran his hand through the deep crevasses on the door's surface, cleaning out the dust that had collected over thousands of years. A large character for power, 力, was etched deeply into the door.
Yuki-onna looked into his eyes. "The Talisman of the Gods."