Eudaimonia: Maya's Journey

Mazake

They could clearly see the surroundings of the city. The four towers were placed at equal distance from one another and there was a high rampart between them. The large doors leading to the belly of Mazake were open and they watched as a large caravan composed of merchants and Nomadis were swallowed into it. The little troop reciprocated and entered the urban hub.

The houses were all at street level, and they noticed that the black tiles on the roof all ended with a swirl. The ground was not paved, and consisted of a mixture of dust and sand. Despite the early hour, the streets were already busy and stalls were being set up.

Before searching for clues for the road leading to the Ottaku Temple, they needed a rest and a nice meal. They stopped in the first guesthouse they found. The food was unusual, slimy sweet and sour, and they couldn't make out what kind of meat it was. Their host kept on repeating, "Michi curry" which meant absolutely nothing to them. After breakfast they fell asleep in no time.

Once they had properly recuperated, they immediately interrogated the owner of the establishment. He had never heard of such a temple. However, he advised them to head towards the old town, located in the heart of the city, there, they would find antique shops, traditional restaurants, a place where priests, philosophers, geographers, historians, and all sorts of intellectuals hung out.

They found the place quite easily and asked everyone they met on the street about the whereabouts of the Ottaku Temple. Answers always varied. They learnt there were thousands of temples spread across the territory and these temples all had different names and various functions. Most of them were dedicated to divinities, while others were used as refuges for travellers and poor people. The biggest and most famous one was the Samourais Temple, located in Sunu the capital, which housed the Empress Momoko.

They had been very unsuccessful with their request, so they decide to ask about the crystal ball with the strange powers, which the hermit had told them about. Lots of the merchants around the old city were selling crystal balls, but none appeared to be what they were looking for.

They went further into the old city. In a quiet back street, they crossed paths with an overweight old lady. They questioned her, and she directed them towards an apothecary. She told them the apothecary was an old cartographer and had an inconceivable numbers of maps. She added, "You always find what you're looking for at the apothecary," and she left.

When they reached the apothecary's shop, they looked through the window. There were hundreds of potions on the shelves, and, tiny, dry dead animals; frogs, rats, bats were suspended from the ceiling. They pushed the door open, which alerted the apothecary of their presence with a jingle jangle of little bells. In front of them, there was something vaguely resembling a brain in a jar, crystal balls were stacked in a corner, the walls were covered with maps of all sizes and shapes, there was an overpowering smell of old dust.

A small, skinny old man with a long grey Fu Manchu moustache, his arms crossed and hidden in his sleeves, appeared from a back room. He had a big grin on his face and they could not tell if his eyes were open or shut. He warmly welcomed them.

"Welcome to Togo's Apothecary. How may I help you?"

"We're trying to get to an ancient temple called Ottaku, would you know anything about that?" asked Maya dryly.

"Can you tell me more?"

"This temple shelters a crystal ball with great powers."

He seemed slow to register the information, he grabbed his moustache and caressed it slowly; and he appeared in deep thought as he looked at the floor. Suddenly he raised a finger and told them to wait.

He reappeared a few minutes later and in his hands he held a long roll of paper. He dusted it and unrolled it on the table. He revealed a map of Anishi with points spread across the country. Each black dot was associated with a name.

Togo explained to them that people in Anishi thought there were thousands of temples in the country, whereas in fact there were only thirty-nine original holy places corresponding to their thirty-nine gods, and only those could be called temples. And as such, Ottaku the God of War had one temple dedicated to him. However, a lot of those temples were destroyed during the War of the Worlds. When it came time to rebuild, villages started to challenge their exact whereabouts and their legitimacy. So year after year temples were rebuilt with neither coherence nor meaning throughout the Empire's provinces.

About fifty years ago an historian geographer had tried to identify the exact position of those sacred sanctuaries. He found only thirty-four of them before tragically passing away.

Pointing at the map lying in front of them Togo said, "Here's the legacy of this formidable man that I had the privilege to meet and serve."

"Where's the Ottaku one?"

"Sadly young lady, the temple dedicated to the God Ottaku, one of the most powerful gods, is one that is still eluding us."

"Shiiitt!" she couldn't help herself.

"Nevertheless, between local tales and written ancient manuscripts, we are almost certain we have pinned it down. Can you see the five red dots on the map?"

They stared at the red points.

He continued, "The problem is those locations are really difficult or very dangerous to get to and are some distance from each other. It would take months to identify the right temple and not to mention it would be a very perilous mission."

The old man withdrew from the table and Beramute and North looked at him intently.

Maya was absorbed by the map... one of the red dots particularly, kept her attention.

She focused on it, her head was spinning, and she felt faint.

Suddenly, she was transported into the middle of a forest. Surrounded by trees she noticed an odd shaped cabin. A tall man wearing strange armour, and a terrifying red mask, with a diabolical smile and horns, materialised right in front of her.

She screamed out loud and came out of her reverie. North and Beramute tried to comfort her. The apothecary was expressionless but intrigued, waiting patiently for an explanation. She was sweating, and out of breath, she described the scene she witnessed. She was convinced that this particular red point on the map represented the temple they were after.

Surprised, Togo said loudly, "The Catsu Wood!" Their gazes met his and he realised they had heard him. "The Catsu Wood is a forbidden forest where no one goes. No one dares to chance it. Legend has it that an evil sorcerer lives there. This sorcerer can yield people to his will, anyone who has crossed his path has become his slave." He thought harder. "His name escapes me."

"Let's go Maya," North said optimistically.

Togo asked them to wait a little bit longer. He went into a back room and came back a few minutes later with a scroll. He explained that the document he was holding showed all the existing roads in Anishi.

They asked how much they owed him but the merchant refused their money. Instead he made them promise to come back if they were ever successful in their expedition, so he could complete his mapping. He even gave them some food for the road.