Dokeshi March: Chapter 50 (Patreon)

Chapter 50

“Get to the point, Beans, before I decide your skull would better serve the world as a potted plant on my mantle.”  Grant didn’t actually have a mantle, but he was pretty sure the clown got the point.

“No need to be so hostile!”  Beans still took a step back, and Frank rounded the corner further down the hallway to be closer to his brother.  Just in case.  “I just wanted to offer my services as a finder of lost persons.  In fact, if you come with me, I can guarantee you will find her safe and sound!”

<You can’t.  They have a trap set up for you, and if they managed to capture Suki, they will be able to capture you.>

“And if I don’t go with you?”  Grant had unconsciously pulled his sword a few finger lengths out of the scabbard, causing Beans to swallow hard, and Frank to shift his feet uncomfortably.

“Well, if you can’t find it in your heart to follow me in a desperate search for your companion, I would hate to speculate about her fate.”  Beans fanned his face, as if he was overheated.  “I’m sure it wouldn’t be anything good.”

<It doesn’t matter.  If you go now, both of you are done for.  We will come up with something else.>  Grant sent the sword a feeling of acceptance, but didn’t move beyond staying focused on the spot where the clown’s neck had a small pockmark scar.  That is where he would slice to remove his head.

“Um, does that mean you will follow us?”  The clown could sense Grant’s killing intent, and it was making him start to sweat.  “Or, should we come back later or something?”

“Go.  Tell your master that if he harms a hair on her head, I won’t use his skull as a potted plant.  I will drink my wine from it as I laugh about the hopeless fight he tried to put up against me.”  Grant didn’t know where this rage was coming from, but he could feel it coming off of him in waves.  His chest got that straining feeling, like something was trying to insert itself next to his heart, but he was too angry to pay it any attention.  “If he has any doubts, ask him if he could have beaten Lord January, or bested Lady February.”  Grant took a step forward, backing the clown up against the wall.  “Soon enough, he will be nothing more than another notch on my sword!”  His heart was pounding, and at some point he had unsheathed his Uchigatana and pointed it at Beans’ face.  The blade of his sword was shimmering, like it did when it upgraded itself.

<Grant, you need to calm down.  I don’t know how you are doing this, but you are burning through your mana.>

He glanced at his sheet and saw that he was already down to three remaining points.  It hadn’t recovered all the way from his use of the Apprentice Repair spell, and now he could feel a headache starting to settle behind his eyes as the numbers ticked closer to zero.

“U-um, i-is there anything else y-you want me to s-say?”  Beans’ mask was askew, and his fear-filled eyes were visible.  “I don’t know if I can remember all of that…”

“Just get out of here.”  Grant took a step back into his room and slammed the door in the clown’s face, immediately dropping to one knee and grabbing at his chest in pain.  The sensation was like a burning coal being shoved into his chest.  He forced himself to take deep breaths, and it faded into a dull ache.  “What in the abyss was that?”

<I’m not sure.>  Grant was surprised to see his health was still full, and even happier when his sword went back to normal.  His mana dipped two more points, but leveled out when he still had one point remaining.  <Whatever you just did, it was quite the show.  I think that clown might have wet himself.>

“I needed to change into a ruler, someone who passes judgement on those who are doing wrong.”  Grant got back to his feet, and put his ear to the door.  Taking a moment to remove the pack that contained all of his recent winnings to lighten his footsteps, he cracked open the door to an empty hallway.  “No time to worry about it now, anyway.  I need to catch up to those two, to see where they are going.”

Grant stepped out, avoiding the puddle in front of his door.  The clowns could only have gone one direction, so Grant moved as quietly as his frame would allow.

At the end of the hallway there were two directions they could have gone, so Grant took the one that smelled faintly of urine.  It led into a part of the casino that he hadn’t been to before, where more of those wheeled games that took coins sat in long rows, cold and forlorn-looking as they sat in the dark room.  There was no one in the room besides the clowns, and Grant was forced to duck behind a row of machines before he was spotted by Frank and Beans.  They were talking to someone just out of sight through an open door marked ‘Employees Only.’

“No, you don’t understand!”  Beans was visibly shaken, and his voice was a little higher pitch than normal.  “He didn’t seem to care.  He just talked about killing the Dokeshi, and using my skull as a potted plant!  The man is crazy!”

“Heehee… a potted plant, you say?”  The voice of Cuddles made Grant’s skin crawl.  He now knew how that had captured Suki.  “And did he say anything else?”

“The Wielder stated that he would use the Dokeshi’s skull as a vessel to drink wine from if any harm came to his female companion.”  The third voice must have been Frank, who had a surprisingly formal way of speaking.  For a homicidal clown, anyway.  “And I believe there were statements made about his demonstrated battle prowess, which includes taking the Lordship from January and February.”

“Oh, how glorious!”  Cuddles sounded genuinely excited.  “I do love an opponent that thinks themself a challenge!  It makes it all the more glorious when the hope fades from their eyes… heehee.”

“What do you want us to do, Vassal Cuddles?”  Frank’s voice came from farther away, as if he was already moving into the hallway.

“Stick with the plan.  The Dokeshi knows what he is about.”  The sound of a slap rang out followed by a body hitting the floor.  “And you, get yourself cleaned up.  You are an embarrassment.”  Cuddles’ voice lost all sense of playfulness as he slapped Beans to the floor.  “Get out of my sight.”

The sound of footsteps faded away, and Grant carefully made his way forward.  The door wasn’t quite closed all the way, letting a hint of light leak into the room from the glow orbs on the other side.

<You can’t ambush them with the system in place, and the moment you walk through that door you will no longer be protected by the Dokeshi’s rules.  Are you sure you still want to go through with this?>

Warning: You are about to leave the casino proper.  Going any further will void the protections put in place by the rules.

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”  Grant pushed through both the doorway and the notification that popped up in his vision.  “I can’t leave Suki to these monsters.”

<I’m not disagreeing with you, I just wanted to make sure you had considered all of your options.>  Sarge sounded happy with Grant.  <I can easily say I would have made the same decision, were our positions switched.>

“Thanks Sarge.  That really does mean a lot.”  Grant moved deeper into the recesses of the building, still following the faint scent of urine the entire way.  There were enough twists and turns in the bowels of the casino that Grant was almost convinced he was back in the Labyrinth.  Finally, after over half an hour of stumbling along quietly in the dark, he saw a light up ahead.  As he carefully stepped into the room, he instantly recognized its purpose.

<That is a whole lot of knives and saws.>  Grant could only agree with Sarge.  The row of sharp metal hooks along the ceiling meant this was the casino’s meat processing room.  The abundance of large-grated drains meant they preferred to slaughter their animals on site.  It meant they served the freshest meats possible.  And it also made for a very uncomfortable place for Grant to stumble across.

“I was beginning to wonder if you would ever get here.”  Beans stepped out from a doorway across from Grant, and he wasn’t alone.  “Frank decided to bring some friends to the party.  I hope you don’t mind.”  Frank and Beans were joined by a double-handful of men that all were holding meat hooks that had obviously come from the racks in the ceiling.  “These fine gentlemen haven’t eaten in quite some time, and they would like to show the Dokeshi why they deserve to join his ranks as a Vassal.”  He grimaced, and took a moment to adjust his mask.  “There have been some new openings recently, and he needs replacement soldiers.”

“This isn’t going to end like you want.”  Grant pulled out his Uchigatana and waved it around the room in a dance that showed both his skill, and his prowess.  He sheathed his sword and looked at the men stretching out in a line in front of him.  “Did they tell you that those openings were created by me?”

“It doesn’t matter.  These men are ready to lay down their lives for the mighty Dokeshi!”  Beans apparently hadn’t taken a poll, because the looks on their faces said otherwise.  “Attack!”

Combat initiated

Action: Attack with Spell

Result: Damage of 92 increased to 101 by Lightning Attunement.  Various levels of damage done to opponents.  Abundance of steel surfaces causes additional damage based on target resistances.  Three opponents defeated.  Seven opponents stunned for nine seconds.

Opponents remaining: 9

Actions: Please select one option from the following list

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon

Run: Attempt escape

Grant decided that opening up with his trusty lightning spell was a good option, and he was instantly proven right.  He had to fight off a wave of dizziness from using his mana again, even though he had completely regenerated his missing points during the search for Suki.

“Are you going to tell me where you have hidden Suki, or do I have to kill more of you first?”  Grant selected ‘Attack: Lethal’ and used Iaijutsu to remove the upper half of the face and head of a man just starting to climb back to his feet.  “I don’t mind either way, really.”

Action: Attack: Lethal

Result: Critical Hit! Damage of 73 increased to 110.  Opponent killed.

Opponents remaining: 8

Actions: Please select one option from the following list

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon

Run: Attempt escape

<Grant, I don’t know what happened to you, but this is a level of being ruthless that I haven’t seen from you before.  Are you okay?>  The rage shimmering in his chest was at a low burn, as the mantle of a judge tried to fall on his shoulders once again.  Grant shook his head in an attempt to ignore the distractions, and selected ‘Attack: Lethal’ a second time.

“Y-you can’t just-”  The stuttering voice of Beans was cut off when Grant chopped into the upraised hand of another opponent, removing the offending limb and the metal hook it was clutching in its grip.  The sound of the hook clanging off the ground seemed to snap him out of his daze.  When his eyes met Grant’s he flinched, then dropped his scepter and backed against the wall.  “I’ll make a deal with you.  Spare my life, and I will sacrifice my weapon, and tell you where your companion is being held.”

“Now we are getting somewhere.”  Grant used the flat of his blade to knock one of the cultivators still trying to get into some form of battle formation into unconsciousness.  “And you?”  Grant was looking at Frank, who had separated himself from his brother.

“I am of the strong belief that you are not nearly as powerful as you seem.”  The well-spoken clown held up his scepter in front of his body like it was a sword, and stood on the other side of a steel slaughtering table from Grant.  “I do not wish to make any bargains.”

“Fine by me.”  Since the stun had worn off, Grant had to wait until one of the cultivators behind him used a turn before he could act.  As soon as a hook bounced off of his shoulder, he raised an empty hand to point at Frank while his sword was angled to protect himself from the cultivators behind him.  “I prefer it this way.”

Grant selected ‘Spell,’ and activated Time is Space.  When he had danced around in front of the clowns at the start of the fight, what he was really doing was ensuring his sword had been everywhere he could easily reach in the room.

“Nooooo!”  Beans dropped to his knees as the last inch of Grant’s Uchigatana appeared between Frank’s eyes.  The Vassal fell backward, his final breath escaping as he crumpled to the ground.  “Not like this.  It wasn’t supposed to end like this.”  Beans leaned over to close his brother’s eyes, while Grant dealt with the notifications trying to block his vision.

Action: Attack: Spell

Result: Critical Hit! Damage of 73 increased to 110.  Opponent killed.

Opponents remaining: 0  (1 surrendered, 5 attempting escape)

Congratulations! Your new battle count moves from [6 Wins / 3 Losses] to [7 Wins / 3 Losses]. Remember, the lucky rise to the challenge!

“Where is Suki?”  Beans must have been one of the lower-ranked Vassals, because his weapon merely cracked down the middle and fell into two equal halves.  Grant used his sword to lift the mask off of Beans, revealing a pockmark-faced man only a year or two older than himself.  “Tell me, before I decide to find a nice plant to liven up my living room.”

“She’s inside the room with the number seven on the door.  It’s one floor up from this one, through there.”  Beans looked at him with hatred in his eyes.  “But you won’t make it that far.”  Grant ignored the helpless former Vassal and stepped through the door into a narrow hallway.  He took two steps before he heard a click from the floor under his feet.  “You forgot, Grant Monday.  The House Always Wins.”  Beans’ words followed him as the tiles under his feet disappeared, and Grant tumbled silently into the dark abyss below.