Chapter 3:

The Prologue Chapter Part 3: The Chieftain

The Lone Swordsman


“So, this is Prosprin Village!” Jonah exclaims. A bustling village of people has opened up in front of Sabishi and Jonah. The wagon comes to a quick stop and the horses yell out as Jonah jumps out of the wagon. “It seems pretty peaceful, don’t ya think, swordsman!?” Sabishi turns his attention over from the village to Jonah and slowly smiles.

“Yeah, it’ll be a nice change of pace.” He says, as he pulls a pouch full of coins out of his kimono. He hops off the driver's seat and walks over to Jonah, before opening the pouch and pouring some coins out of it and into his palm. He takes Jonah’s hand and pours the coins into his hands.

“Jonah, how about you explore for a bit? I’m going to attempt to meet the village’s chieftain.” He explains. Jonah nods and runs out into the village. Sabishi watches Jonah run away with a smile on his face. As a man walks past him, Sabishi turns around and walks over to him.

“Hello, sir. Can I ask for your help with something?” He asks. The man turns around and his eyes widen when he sees Sabishi.

“Uh- uh sure. May I just ask you a quick question, though?” Sabishi nods. The man's eyes glimmer with hope and optimism as he begins to speak. “Are you one of the swordsmen from Japan? The ones that are gonna help us in the war with the demons?” Sabishi is taken aback by this.

So even normal citizens know about what’s happening right now? Interesting…

“Yes, I am one of those many swordsmen. I need to go and meet the chieftain.” He explains. The man grins. He points to the middle of the village. “You’ll find the chieftain in the biggest house.” Sabishi nods.

“Thank you for the help, sir.” Sabishi says as he begins to walk away.

“Don’t mention it. Just give those demon bastards hell!” He yells. Sabishi once again smiles and nods. But at the same time, he begins to realize something important.

I’m…smiling? And this isn’t just some forced smile either, it’s a real, genuine smile. He thinks of Chiyo for a moment. I haven’t been able to do that ever since she died…what’s going on with me? Meanwhile, elsewhere in the village, Jonah is attempting to buy bread.

“C’mon, vendor! I’m begging here! Have a heart for the poor orphan boy that has no money!” It’s not going very well for him.

“Look, kid. We all know damn well you ain't an orphan. Go and get your puny excuses out of here.” The vendor tells him.

“Huh!? Have a heart, you old bastard!” Jonah yells. The vendor stares at Jonah for a moment before he begins shaking. “Woah, wait, is there smoke coming out of your ears?” The vendor stops shaking and runs out from behind his food stand. He reaches out for Jonah, who dodges and quickly begins running away, The vendor chases after him.

“Call me old, will ya?! Lemme show ya what this old bastard can do, ya brat!” He screams. Jonah laughs and continues running away.

“Just try, old man!” He yells back.

In the meantime, Sabishi had found the chieftains house and was waiting to speak to him. The entire living room was filled to the brim with people from all over the village, waiting to speak to the chieftain as well. Sabishi sighs and waits.

An hour later, he’s finally admitted in to meet the chieftain.

“Mr…Sabishi? Sir Arnold is ready to see you.” A man says, walking out from another room. Sabishi nods and stands up, before heading to the door. He opens the door and walks in as the chieftain looks up from a big jumble of papers he’s holding in his hands.

“Welcome. You have some pretty unusual attire, but you remind me of a man that passed through here earlier. You must be a swordsman, right?” He asks.

One thing Sabishi’s been noticing the entire time he’s been in this village is that his outfit is attracting attention from people. Rightfully so. A kimono with long hair and being Japanese is bound to interest the English, but Sabishi doesn’t want to attract attention. That’s one of the many problems that he’s having as of right now. But he can’t do anything about it. Casting away his kimono would show a lack of pride in his country.

“Yes, I’m a swordsman. I’d like to ask for something, if it wouldn’t trouble you.” Sabishi says. The chieftain nods. He raises his hand and points to a chair.

“All in due time. Take a seat, swordsman. May I ask your name?” He asks. Sabishi looks over at the chair for a second before he walks over to it. He flops his behind straight onto the seat and sighs.

“My name is Sabishi Shūi.” He tells him as he sinks into the chair. The chieftain smiles.

“Well, nice to meet you, Sabishi.” Sabishi nods his head.

“Likewise, sir.” He says.

“Long journey, I presume? I know how all of you swordsmen are helping out our country and are working hard just to arrive here, so feel free to rest up in this village for however long you need.” The chieftain offers. Sabishi smiles.

“Thank you, it’s much appreciated. However, I’d like to ask you one thing. If you could explain the current state of England to me, it would be very helpful.” Sabishi asks. The chieftain tilts his head in confusion.

“Shouldn’t you already know that?” The chieftain asks. Sabishi shakes his head.

“No, you see I’ve been heading to any village I could find while going to London. But the last three villages and the last town I went to have all been destroyed or abandoned due to repeated attacks by demons. I have no clue of the current situation in England, other than more demons beginning to appear.” The chieftain sighs, before he gets up. He looks around the room for a moment before seeing a gigantic stack of papers on top of a couch. He walks over to the couch and picks the papers up, examining them quickly. Eventually, he takes one paper out from the stack and walks back over to Sabishi. He waves the paper around.

“The crown gives us one of these documents every two months. They go out to every village in England.” He hands the paper over to Sabishi, who slips it out of the Chieftain's grasp. “You’ll find everything about England’s current state within it. Give it a read.” He tells Sabishi as he sits back down on his seat. Sabishi looks down at the paper and he can barely hide his shock as he reads it.

Demons are all over the continent?! Ships carrying even more demons are arriving on the mainland?! Spirits are being spotted across the country?! What the hell-!?

“How old is this document?” Sabishi asks. The chieftain thinks for a moment while tapping his fingers against his head.

“I believe that it’s a month old at this point.” He says. Sabishi gulps and looks back down at the paper.

The Japanese had become allies of England a while ago, so they should be helping England fend off the Demons. But what worries me even more is that there’s been innumerous sightings of spirits around the country. And they’ve been attacking humans and demons alike, apparently. If this keeps up, they could become a major enemy to humans. And if we have to face off against spirits as well, Sabishi begins trembling as he recalls events from the past. His encounters with spirits had been eventful, and incredibly dangerous. Sabishi knows very well how powerful spirits are, mainly because of how they harness magic. He gulps. We’ll all be killed!

“Are you okay, Sabishi? You seem disturbed, unlike before.” The chieftain points out. Sabishi slowly gets up and lets out a quick sigh.

“Yes, I have a major problem that just came to my attention. I need to know what the fastest way to get to London is, sir.” Sabishi takes a few deep breaths while the Chieftain gets up and takes a map out from a cabinet. He spreads the map out on a table next to the chairs and kneels down. Sabishi walks over and does the same. The chieftain stares at the map for a few minutes before looking over at Sabishi.

“After you leave the village, you’ll eventually come across a split in the dirt pathways.” He places his finger on the map and trails it across the map. “The two pathways to the left lead to other areas and towns. The leftmost pathway is the one you shouldn’t be going on. Now, if you want a safe but long journey, you’ll have to go to the middle pathway. If you want a quick but incredibly dangerous journey, you’ll go to the right handed pathway.” He explains.

“So will these pathways lead to London?” Sabishi asks. The chieftain shakes his head, before placing his finger further ahead in the map.

“You’ll have to go through Oxford first, but after that it’ll be a pretty quick journey to get to London. Probably two days to get to London from Oxford.”

“And the pathways leading to Oxford? How long should they take?” He asks. The chieftain looks over at Sabishi.

“The safe pathway should take around three days to traverse. The dangerous pathway probably takes around a day to get through.” He tells Sabishi. Sabishi thinks for a quick moment before nodding and smiling.

“Thank you for all your help, Chieftain.”

“Call me Arnold.” The chieftain tells him with a grin. Sabishi nods and grabs the map off of the table, before stuffing it in his kimono and leaving the room. In another part of the village, Jonah was hiding in an alleyway. He had escaped the grasp of the shop vendor and was now attempting to catch his breath.

I wonder when the swordsman will be done… Jonah thought. He turned to his right and began to head out of the alley and head back to where he left Sabish. He continued wandering around the village, watching the children play and the women work. Street vendors continued to sell food and Jonah watched them. He watched happily as memories of his village flew through his mind. A calm place where everyone lived their lives to the fullest. Jonah smiled, turning his attention over to a group of kids playing football.

The game of football was something he was never good at, but still had a lot of fun playing. It was one of the last things he did in his village before the shapeshifting demon came and killed everyone there. He gulps and clenches his fist.

“I’m sorry…” He remembers his first meeting with Sabishi and scowls. Why can’t he shake off the feeling that there was something…weird about when he first met the swordsman? He hears Sabishi call out his name and looks over at the direction the voice is coming from.

“Jonah!? Where are you!? Let’s get going!” Sabishi yells out. Jonah sighs and turns over to the direction the voice is coming from. He presses against the ground and strides up to Sabishi with a scowl. “Why are you looking at me like that? Come, let’s head out.” Sabishi tells him, as he turns around. Jonah growls.

“You said we can stay here for the night!” He complains. Sabishi stops and turns around.

“We have to go. I need to get to London as soon as possible, right now. We can sleep along the way.” He explains, before placing his hand on Jonah’s head. He ruffles around Jonah’s light blonde hair and gives him a smile. Jonah’s eyes widen once more.

Another smile? What’s up with him? No, no. He looks towards the ground and grits his teeth. What’s wrong with me? He asks himself. Sabishi turns around and begins walking ahead. Jonah watches for a moment, before shaking his head and running after him.