Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Of Names and Numbers

I groaned as they freed me from the constriction of that stupid armour.

It was most likely possible to get loose of those laces and buckles that hold the thing together without their assistance but when every movement hurt and stung, I was happy to let the monsters do the job. It was Tama with Miwah right now, as most others scattered around to drag the bodies away from our new “dwelling” as they put it.

Two of their smaller variants lurked nearby as well, playing at being guards. One of the monsters, particularly bloodied of the ‘Purifiers’ one, even had a helmet and had armed herself with a spear. I looked away before she got ideas, fire foxes were clingy as it seemed.

With my outfit off, I sat once more on the stairs of the looted shrine and inspected my slightly battered torso, with more than a few bruises sensitive to touch.

I moaned in displeasure at the mere movement, ignoring Miwah and Tama that kept me company.

“Does this hurt, Master?” Miwah asked

I winced, it was almost like a jolt of electricity passed my entire body. The subsequent rubbing of the spot didn’t hurt as much, at least not always.

“This?” Another question, “And this?”

I shook my head, at the moment I probably had to let those two examine me, however, I doubted they had any medical proficiency whatsoever. I had, after all, none myself and merely want to see how bad it looked.

And it didn’t look well.

“There are more black-and-blue marks on your back too. I believe that you would be in much more pain than that if your ribs were broken.” Tama said: “We certainly shouldn’t let any humans near you in the future, Master.”

“Especially that woman,” Miwah added.

This briefly pulled my attention away from how I felt, and more towards what I was going to do about my situation.

“There was something very unsettling about her,” Tama said and pushed herself closer to me. She leaned in, in an almost theatrically seductive way and looped her hand around me in what felt like a possessive gesture. It didn’t feel natural for the human, but she wasn’t one, after all, with her fur-covered body, vulpine features and lashing tail. Perhaps acting out the strange romantic movie was in line with the fiery anthropomorphic vixen.

I paused, keeping silent and thinking of the woman I ordered to be released. While on one hand, I had no desire to keep anyone locked in the cage, let alone one random lady I had never seen before, I still felt that with her gone, my chance to ever talk with natives was growing ever thinner.

“She can’t speak to you that way! You are Master.” The werewolf seemed agitated suddenly, with the snarling undertone to her normally feminine voice.

“Who? Tama?” I asked, slightly confused.

“No, Master. That human woman!” She replied.

“You understood her? Do you understand the local language?” I looked at her.

“No, Master.” She didn’t hesitate in answering. I wasn’t particularly good at reading the expression on the canine face, but she didn’t even flinch when I looked at her and gazed at me with blue, wolfish eyes. I wondered if it mattered who looks away first.

“So, why were you so upset by what she said if you didn’t understand it?”

“She felt wrong,” Miwah answered immediately

“Just looking at her made our skin crawl and our fur bristle.” Tama supplied while holding at me even tighter. It did make a certain amount of sense. Well, the monster’s clinginess didn’t, but I believed it was just the part of how they were, it’s not like they weren’t affectionate before.

But I had experienced a very strange sensation from that strange woman's presence as well. All monsters seemed to be irked by her existence just the same as far I could recall, so it did add up.

“Her tone was so infuriating, especially after you were hurt….” Miwah leaned closer. Normal women usually didn’t try to act openly affectionate, and receiving this level of attention from the two meters tall werewolf was, at least slightly, embarrassing. It felt that she was genuinely worried, judging from the tone of her voice, I could be misreading her. Was it because I was knocked out for a while, I wondered? Their level of protectiveness did puzzle me as I didn’t think random people would normally care.

“Thanks for defending me.” I tried to direct the conversation elsewhere and raised my hand to touch her face. Or muzzle rather, which was even more awkward, and would just invite being bitten if she was a normal animal. She seemed to be receptive though.

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“If there were more of us we would have overwhelmed them before that brute could get close.” She said.

It in this way confirmed that they indeed had memories of the event before their death.

Truth be told, with no real plan, no real solution and no way out, unless I had a tangible way to leave this nightmare, siding with the monsters given to me was probably for the best. However, their numbers rose after they killed enough people, and I didn’t want more violence. Recollection of the past events slipped back in, disturbing and sickening, and I felt like I was breaking at the seams. I shook my head almost as if I wanted to shake the creeping thoughts off. It didn’t help the slightest.

Without answering, I let her be and looked away, thinking, trying to hush my thoughts to focus on something slightly more manageable.

If I only had a way to get rid of the aches plaguing me right now. Problems of the body seemed easier to solve than problems of the mind.

The sudden sensation of Miwah’s claws slowly skimming over my skin made me twitch. It was gentle, and it tickled in a way, but I had seen the werewolf tear the man’s throat with those before. It made me shiver.

“Careful with those claws.”

“I would never harm you, Master.” She answered, purring and pushing herself even closer.

I wasn’t comfortable with this level of attention and wasn’t too keen to receive it, especially from the anthropomorphic wolf and fox, but with a sigh, I resigned to protest against it.

I was tired.

“Are there any beds around here?” I wondered aloud.

“They certainly had bedrolls, perhaps there is something in one of those houses,” Tama said. There were four small buildings, aside from the pagoda structure, and only one of them, and all were broken into already.

“Could you please go and check?” I suggested and felt immediately guilty for ordering them around. But was equally uncomfortable to use a werewolf to keep warm.

“We are more worried about you since you were wounded.”

“I’ll be safe. I have guards.” I argued, gesturing towards the other two who seemed quite alert, and quite jumpy. “Go find us a bed.”

“Yes, Master.” Both Miwah and Tama answered in unison. I realized too late they could take this in a weird way, but I let it pass.

I stood up, albeit with some difficulty as my whole body protested, and walked inside the shrine hoping for some peace and quiet at the moment.

While relatively spacious inside, and several stories high looking from the outside, the shrine itself was mostly limited to the single chamber dominated by the four massive supporting columns, and the altar built to the wall opposite the entrance. Carvings were intricate, and in a certain way even opulent, reflecting incredible skill and dedication.

An outside glance didn’t give this pagoda justice - most of it was drowning in shadows from the outside, but it came alive standing inside under the reflecting lights coming from the windows on the floor above. Mirrors were expensive in the times of old, so setting up this must have cost a fortune.

Instead of the statue of the Buddha, which I would expect to see all around various Asian countries, was the very detailed carving of the Eastern-styled dragon looking down from the heavens, scrutinising petitioners that would gather there with its gaze. At least, I think that was what it was supposed to depict, judging from richly painted backgrounds, as the rest was ruined by looters who had pried and torn away most of the golden decoration it was seemingly supposed to have, at least judging from the bits and pieces still around. Some gold pieces were set in more firmly than others, so the artwork wasn’t yet completely stripped out of the parts made of all precious metals they once contained.Some symbols, possibly letters I couldn’t read were torn away while others still remained, the statue looked like someone took the potato peeler to once gleaming scales, with remnants of the gold plating still holding on some spots, and the statue’s empty eye sockets gave it a creepy visage.

“I guess you aren’t going to tell me how to get home?” I said in the direction of the altar.

There was no response, as I expected.

Celestial Dragon visualised by this intricate yet heavily damaged artwork was most likely imaginary after all. Or he could be very real, who could tell - in a strange world among monsters born from ruby mists it didn’t seem that crazy concept. Perhaps he was too busy plotting the terrible revenge against those who desecrated his temple.

I sat on the ground, cross-legged, and called for the status screen, mostly to bring my mind away from the situation I couldn’t resolve.

“Overview.”

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