The Ghost King's KeeperCh7 - The Dispatched Messenger

In a small town not far from Manjo, stood a desolate compound, with huge stone menhirs located on a pedestal, each one taller than 5 men standing on one another’s shoulder. These stone menhirs were used for posting bulletin news that could be seen by others once they reached up the pedestal.

So the public would often traverse through the rough patchy fields and climb the pedestal to look for announcements shared. lcWrhy

It was desolate for a reason though, for it belonged to the Ghost King. A piece of land that would forever be shadowed in clouds and rain, a place which never adjusted to the sunlight outside its border, always and forever cold. The startling transition was so apparent; the locals dared not pass the boundary of the complex in fear of accidently triggering the wrath of the King. But out of necessity a few brave ones would tread in to see the announcements and share with others.

More often than not, the announcements were never good. Either they requested heavy Ghost revenue, or they would deliver ominous news regarding approaching war and battles. The Ghost king according to the public was someone who was a mythical being, a revered majesty who was a silent shadow living among them but also not. A person who was no longer considered just an entity or a persona, but a supreme immortal upholding the reign of many provinces and kingdoms.

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And such a personality always evoked fear in the hearts of men. Reason why any property belonging to the Ghost King was left untouched and uninvolved.

“You should go and see, I think… I saw the blue robes this morning, in the very least it wouldn’t hurt to check for news,” a man told the other as they both stood at the edge of the property, marked with a single stone archway demarcating the entrance. The gateway of stone brick would have been a pleasant welcome sight, if not for the toothy stone arch sitting on the thick old piers that also seemed like a monster’s jagged teeth that could close anytime and bite the person who entered to bits. g5DMbj

Although the phenomenon was only natural because of old age, and not made to appear so hideous and horrifying, yet the men who saw this couldn’t shake away the feeling that it was intentional.

“The blue robes?” the other man finally asked in surprise, he had never personally seen one, but it was said that the Ghost King’s personal army always wore blue. The fear of angering the King was so great that the color blue was rarely seen on clothes. Only brave hearts would wear that color and proudly exclaim their beautiful taste.

Blue inks were favored but rarely used by locals, blue flowers were kept for worship and economically strong families would keep blue stones as proof of power.

Since Manjo was nearer to the Ghost King’s domain, the subjects were even more wary than what would be considered normal. Till date nobody knew what the Ghost King looked like, some would say he was frightening, some would say he was beautiful, others would say he was a shapeshifter. But everyone knew he always wore only shades of blue.

So his men as well were known as ‘blue robes’, anyone not knowing this fact was probably considered mental.

However, despite everything, the subjects respected the Ghost King as they would their ancestors, it wasn’t just a rumor or folktale or a thing of talks. Because the Ghost King had stopped several wars, he enacted justice, and he was the sole heir of Izzat. A weapon known to uphold ‘prestige’ and ‘honor’ in the name of Ghost Sovereignty.

So even if they shivered while standing in front of the archway, the two men were not actually trembling in fear, but trepidation that came with nervousness and the unknown result that awaited them if they were stepping into a supreme’s domain. This ‘fear’ they all held within their hearts wasn’t out of disgust or horror, but out of apprehension.

“I will go.” The first man decided as he took in a deep breath and stepped inside the property, passing the archway as the temperature changed abruptly and a deep seated cold seeped into his veins. Even the unnatural clouds shadowed over the sun as a dark mist enveloped him. wlANUb

Goosebumps rose on his forearms, legs and neck, but he resisted stepping back, for a mission awaited him.

Slowly but surely he saw the higher ground which was the man-made pedestal, layered with stone and forming a platform that was twice a man’s height above ground.

To reach the platform, one had to take the stairs that ended up at the alter in the center of the pedestal, and that was where the bulletin stone stood, in all its glory overlooking the small town weighing them with its presence alone.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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The man noticed that a new menhir was added to the arrangement, and a single word was engraved on it, because the language was so complex that a word would often represent a sentence.

He paled, recalling what the word meant… he was suddenly quivering, the strong urge to flee was definitely there. So he did just that, not lingering there anymore than was necessary.

Upon coming out, he almost cried under the rays of the sun and the warmth that engulfed him. His friend stood not far, looking pale for him, as if he knew what was going to be said. 1sFLl6

“What happened, you look like you have seen the Ghost King himself!”

The man sighed, noticing that his friend tensed under his gaze, he himself felt out of sorts, “The messenger has been dispatched, looking for a Keeper.”

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The other man no longer kept up his demeanor, the sudden change in his facial expression would have worried many for his health, but both of the men knew it was just a minor reaction compared to the loud outburst that would spread over like wild fire once they reiterated what was written on the bulletin stone.

“This has never happened before, why now?” qdmp1

“We don’t know the reason, but hopefully that messenger doesn’t search around our town.”

“…hopefully, because we could never…”

“…yes.”

~~ XbdI19

The news did spread like wild fire, scorching and untamable. Those who heard about it were left aghast, and those who did not were told about it even if they weren’t aware. The time it took to travel was surprisingly quick and no matter who it was, they would wonder why the sudden call. Who was even worthy to be the keeper, and who would want to be one?

With no contender for such an announcement, obviously a messenger would have to be dispatched to make sure the demand was met, and as for who the worthy one would be, the subjects were patiently waiting to know.

One of the patiently waiting third party was God of the East Wind, Kazebalam. “Has this man finally gone old?” When he received no response, his mouth parted to add on, “how is he doing these days, Kahaba?”

Upon being directly addressed, Kahaba, the loyal retainer lowered himself to answer back, “He is currently busy with the border complications in north, I have heard the ghosts there were being mistreated and used for war purposes.” XvUy28

Kazebalam smiled with a bit of mischief, “Send out a local deity, make haste, I want a proper scouting done. Find the culprits and hang them.”

Kahaba winced, “Pardon me my lord, but I believe the Ghost King would not like interference in his work.”

Upon hearing the words, Kazebalam couldn’t hold in the twinkle in his eyes, his solid physic shaking with his boisterous laugh that erupted abruptly. It was an indication enough for Kahaba to worry less and do what he was told, even if he did not deem it right for his lord to take such a step.

Because however playful, a God of wind’s actions wouldn’t go unnoticed and would have certain impact leaving an aftermath. VE4K3I

~~

Somewhere off to West, Ruzen was unaware of what was going on with the world, since his current predicament was food and water, again.

The ghost that was his wayfarer, had gone into deep hibernation, and he himself was left with a few bites of dry bread and a solid ghost stone kept under a wrap of cloth hanging on his back.

He had patched up his forehead with a bandage and even over one of his eyes to seem like an injured and blind person. At least that was able to save him some trouble and he had somehow received some water from a traveler like himself, only, that traveler did not have enough food for him to share and nor did he know which way was Manjo, so Ruzen had settled with going to a small town not far, where the traveler had visited earlier to sell his ground nuts. DtaOxH

“There it is,” heaved Ruzen, as he saw a bunch of small mud mounds and trees. It was a desert town so the houses were all shaped like desert igloos with straw roofing, with irregular trees arranged haphazardly. There was no oasis around, but the cluster of man-made landmarks, houses and sittings gave an impression of heaven to Ruzen.

When he reached the outskirt of the town, he saw several people under a tree discussing something and also several children playing inside and outside the houses with their mothers working on weaving clothes. It was a very domestic scene, and everyone was busy with their own work which  they did daily.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Ruzen was just thinking of how to approach, when a middle aged woman saw him, she was not sitting that far, just under a tree shade next to her house, so he wasn’t surprised that she found him first. Her reaction at first was one of shock, then it slowly morphed to that of pity.

She stood up from her perch patting her long dress, which was a long robe with colored border, her hair was up with pins supporting the bun and she wore a simple piece of decoration covering part of her hair like an intricate net. dfNhAL

For a middle aged woman she was very beautiful, and her big eyes, full lips really made her look young. Only if she didn’t have a kid, Ruzen would have believed she was younger.

Her son, he guessed was right around the corner, playing with a stone wheel, a half-eaten bun in hand, the shorter shirt and pants loose on him.

Their dress up told him he was actually not that much of an outsider considering he himself wore loose shirt and pants, exactly matching up with the smaller kid. So maybe he could just pretend to be familiar with them and their customs to fit in enough to be receiving free hospitality.

“I am looking for food and shelter for a night,” he politely asked when the woman got closer, he just hoped he could get those since his stomach was growling again. DdIh6n

For a minute he thought the woman would shun him, but maybe she didn’t see his cursed mark under his bandages and thought he was half blind, so she smiled at him instead, nodding and saying, “Sure, we actually do have an inn for guests, my husband is the owner.”

He smiled back, so maybe that is why she approached him so readily, her husband’s business made her more flexible towards strangers.

“How much do you take for one day?” he asked her before she could speak, he was in a hurry to feed his growling stomach.

Seeing his impatience, the woman also responded quicker, “5 shells for one night, 9 for two.” 4boVGY

Ruzen frowned internally, he did not have money to offer, so what else could he try, “I was attacked on my way, I cannot pay you that much, so can you share a bit of food with me? I am from around, I just got lost after losing my way.”

The woman hadn’t expected him to say that, so she did show a slight hesitation in letting him stay, her gaze flickering towards a few men not far, who were actually looking Ruzen’s way, their eyes aware and watchful.

Ruzen was sure they would attack him if he even looked wrong at the woman in front of him. He was well aware of how such communities worked, they were more united than what was apparent, and they were also more dangerous than the people in bigger cities.

“I will work for you in free if that could compensate…” GWRJ4Y

The woman’s lips turned into a grimace but she nodded slowly, looking every bit reluctant yet also not unkind. “I will talk to my husband then, please stay here.”

So Ruzen did as he was told, watching as the woman took her son with her and walked straight towards a tall man who had been watching them for quite a while.

Ruzen saw them converse as a few more people gathered around, all of them throwing him fleeting glances as he waited.

Finally, an older man came to him, his clothes similarly lose and plain, his hair short and eyes sharp. “Welcome to our town brother, I heard you were attacked… can you show me your injury? We also have healers with us.” IfRudr

“I do not need your healers, I can’t pay you back.”

The man nodded gravely, “I understand your concerns, I am sure the encounter wasn’t a good experience, but let us help you. We would then give you free lodging, we are pretty hospitable when it comes to treating our guests well. You could pay us back with your blessings if not something else.”

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Ruzen sighed in his heart, why can’t they just believe his lie and go with it? If they kept inquiring he would be in a pickle, and if they learned of his lie, they would really target him with their best, even if he was a cursed one.

And he also didn’t see any ghosts around, which spoke for the town folk’s physical strength. They must be strong enough to defend themselves well without ghosts, were probably self-reliant, and that meant it was dangerous here. Dangerous for him if he got caught. udyFzn