Chains of Fate

Seikatsu had been enticed to endevour into a forested area, unaware of what mysterious creatures lay within. The force compelling him to do such a thing, unknown even to himself. Perhaps is Seikatsu had known the area, known what lay inside he might have opted to turn about, and return to the safety of the land he already knew as any other man truly would have done. 'The unknown' is the greatest fear man has yet to face. It is the ignorance of the level of danger about an item, a person, an animal that causes one to either fear it and stay away, or attempt to slay it and remove the danger's possibility. Seikatsu is not one such narrow minded as to run, but rather he ventured towards the unknown to learn of its secrets. Perhaps this was the beckoning call that caused the young wizard to venture into the Lycan woods. Passing through, there were sounds that put even him, an experience survivalist, on edge. Clicking noises that came from multiple directions, snapping twigs where no twigs were present, and growling from the brush where no man had been. Following his instincts, Seikatsu pressed on, looking for something that peaked his interests, but what it was he would not know until he saw it.

Whilst traversing the area, Seikatsu came across a strange visage. A large stack of crates at first is what it seemed to be, and little more than such. Seikatsu approached the strange looking apparition, not fearing death should it come to him. The lamp on top would suggest it to either be an ambush, or to be a welcome face to this long, demoralizing place. Arriving, Seikatsu saw a man attached to the crates and lamp, hunched over in the ground. He knelt down at the man, placing a fist on the ground and a hand on his bent knee so as to not be standing over him. "Good sir." Seikatsu addressed him with respect. "You bear the visage of a vendor of sorts, would it not be wisest to sell you wares in a more... public area?" Seikatsu asked, wondering what sorts of wisdom this strange man would impart onto him as an answer.

The man's voice was coarse, and dry as if he hadn't drank anything for a deal of time. His face was hidden away from the world behind a mask, something Seikatsu had no need of. The man wasted no time in providing Seikatsu with words of the wise, as what he said was quite true. For a merchant, it doesn't matter the location as long as there is someone to sell his wares to, a lesson Seikatsu will commit to memory. The man gestured to Seikatsu with his bony fingers, which looked like they lacked any strength to even be held up at all. Seikatsu switched from his kneeling position to sitting cross legged with the man, and decided to engage him in conversation, one of the many things Seikatsu didn't care for but this man seemed strange enough that he might teach Seikatsu something others hadn't.

"I am Seikatsu. I hail from the Tribe of Souls, a long since dead tribe that holds only two members." Seikatsu said, his voice becoming sad mentioning the tribe's population. Seikatsu changes tone immediately as he suggested viewing the man's wares while the two of them enjoy a beverage together, and perhaps even speak of their tales of adventures. Surely, the man must have an exciting tale of his own as these forests hardly seemed to be as quite as they sounded.

Seikatsu looked at the small silver clock, it was dented in small areas from being so old, and in some area it was beginning to erode due to time taking its toll on the item. He gingerly picked it up and turned it around, examining the object closer still. "Good merchant, I fear you are mistaken of this item. For it does not permit the observation of one's past, it merely allows the observation of the present." Seikatsu said calmly. He placed the object down, and looked at the merchant with saddened eyes. "Even if the artifact permitted the observation of the past, I would not wish to relive it again." Seikatsu said sadly. Seikatsu looked at the next item, a handkerchief with some as in it. "You are also mistaken of the use of that dirt. It is the burnt remains of the Enola plant. The herb, in its untainted form, will bring a person who is at the doors of death back. But it isn't enough to undo death in full. If one was to burn the enola plant, it would become the ultimate poison, being able to take the healthiest of men, and turn them into a corpse." Seikatsu said as he pointed to the pile of ash. "Lastly, that is a squirrel which died quite some time ago. I advise removing it from your stock before it begins to attract the local wildlife to your throat." Seikatsu said calmly. Uninterested in the man's wares, Seikatsu got up. "However, your wares are quite interesting indeed, so as a show of gratitude and generosity for a fellow procurer of the unusual..." Seikatsu said before placing a sack of jewel in front the merchant. The souls wizard would leave, if the merchant had nothing of true importance to the man.

Seikatsu cut the man off when he said 'building' when he said "The Chief's home." in a blunt voice. "In that sack lays the ashes of my home." he said, clarifying what he meant by his previous statement. Seikatsu kneeled over, and picked up the sack of ash gently. Seikatsu rolled it around in his palm, getting a good feel. "These ashes contain fragments of the souls of the former chief, and his family. Additionally, the memory of the traitor who killed them all." Seikatsu said with a slight bit of sadness in his voice. "I am unsure how an outlander has acquired such an item, but I will be the one to take it off your hands. I thank you for allowing me to view your fine wares, but this is all that interests me." Seikatsu said bluntly before standing up again. He tied the sack to his waist and left the merchant to enjoy his sack of jewel.

What the merchant wouldn't foresee, is that Seikatsu was a master of the art of conning. His years of survival caused him to learn a great deal of trades, including how shards of glass, if cut properly, sounded exactly like jewel. Seikatsu walked away with his piece of home, and left the old merchant to enjoy his large sack of shaped glass, a worthy trade for a sack of ashes in terms of monetarial value. For Seikatsu, the ashes were unable to be priced with currency, but he didn't feel bad ripping off a man who would have ripped him off.

He could have sworn he'd heard the man call him by the meaning of his name, but he wasn't sure. Seikatsu had turned around and saw the old, decrepit man had vanished into thin air. Seikatsu was a bit surprised at first that the old man would move so quickly, but then remembered that he was the vessel of a demon. Nothing is surprising at this point. "So... the spirits hold secrets still." Seikatsu said under his breath before turning around and continuing his walk out of the Lycan Woods, having realized that his instincts took him to that man to reclaim his past.