Aside from a few disapproving looks from other travelers for riding with a neko, Kal guessed they assumed Kashka was a prostitute, the next couple of days were uneventful.
On the afternoon of the third day, three Azum men approached from behind.
"Ho there, outsider!" one called as they kicked their horses into a trot. "We would like to buy some time with your neko there."
"She's a free woman and not for sale," Kal replied as the men rode up on either side of them. He touched Kashka's shoulder as he felt her mind go perfectly still. "She's also a highly skilled assassin," he continued, pulling a side of her cloak back to reveal one of her daggers.
"Are you threatening us? I am the son of Lord--"
"I don't care," said Kal. "I'm an outsider. You said so yourself. I neither know nor care who your father is. But if you rode up to a stranger and asked to fuck his woman, I can't imagine he was a very good father."
The speaker's face twisted in anger, but another of the men burst into laughter.
"He's got us there, Nao. Father is a piece of shit, and the sooner he dies, the better. Forgive my youngest brother, stranger. He seems to think the world revolves around him."
"You only say that because you're the eldest, Ichiro," Nao snapped.
"You three are brothers?" Kal asked.
Ichiro nodded. "I am Ichiro, the eldest. This is Asahi, and you've met Nao, whose name means 'honest one' but, in typical youngest child fashion, has proven to be everything but. We are the sons of Lord Junichiro of Soma, a bastard of a man, but also the man who brought our family up from the dregs to be the second most powerful family in the city. We are traveling to the festival of Ikuno, are you as well?"
"My name is Kal, and this is Kashka. It's a pleasure to meet you," Kal looked at Nao, "That doesn't include you. We are going to the festival, though it wasn't our reason for going there. I have business in the village and only heard about the festival a few days ago. Could you tell me a little about it?"
Ichiro looked over at his second brother. "Asahi? You know more about the lore of this area than Nao or I."
Kal held up a hand. "Wait a moment. Ria, I think you may want to hear this."
Asahi watched with interest as the sprite flew up to Kal's shoulder. His expression became distant as he gathered his thoughts before speaking. "For thousands of years, Ikuno was merely a minor spirit travelers prayed to for safe roads and good weather along their journey. People built a small shrine to her on the side of the road that the local village took care of.
"About a thousand years ago, the monster girls appeared, and Ikuno's spirit absorbed enough of their magic to become flesh and blood. But she also took on some of their lust, which turned her into a spirit of love as well as travel. When not wandering, she would bestow blessings of love and fertility upon young couples. Many women unable to conceive had children after speaking to Ikuno, but as a spirit of travel, she was rarely at her shrine."
Kashka looked up at the mage. "Kal?"
"That hits a little close to home." Seeing the brother's curious looks, he said, "My mother was one of those who couldn't conceive and went to Ikuno for help. She's the reason I was born."
"Ah, so this business you have is repaying her?" asked Ichiro.
"That's part of it, but there's much more to the story than just giving my mother a child. I'd like to hear more of the area's history," he said, looking hopefully at Asahi.
"For many centuries," the brother continued, "things went on this way with Ikuno appearing every so often, bestowing her blessings upon those she met before moving on for sometimes decades and even centuries at a time. The last time she appeared was around two hundred years ago, during a troubled time in Azum's history. The emperor had fallen to an assassin's dagger, and there was much infighting among the nobles over the vacant throne. This left much of Azumbaho in chaos, and the lords were so preoccupied with seizing power they let bandits and cutthroats run rampant on Azum's roads. Ikuno appeared and began clearing the roads around her shrine and the village of bandits. So vicious were her battles with the marauders that people started calling her a spirit of war, but she rejected such a title.
"For five years until the new emperor was chosen and the fighting finally died down, the area around her shrine was one of the safest in Azumbaho. When the lords turned their attention back to clearing the bandits from the roads, Ikuno decided it was time to leave. The village offered her what gold and food they could as thanks for protecting them. She refused, instead asking for three young men and one young woman to join her for the night. As she and the villagers made their way to a local hot spring, she also invited a monster girl they met on the way.
"Though there aren't any details, it was rumored to be a night of debauchery and sex as the men and women pleasured Ikuno until exhaustion took them. When they awoke in the morning, Ikuno was gone, but her legacy remained. Both women conceived that night, a boy for the human and, of course, a girl for the monster girl, but she left the village before giving birth. The children were considered blessed, and in the village's council chambers, two seats of honor are reserved for the descendants of those children. Over two centuries, most of the town could claim to be the human woman's descendant, but no monster girl has ever claimed the other chair.
"In Ikuno's honor, the village built the roadside shrine into something worthy of their savior and has maintained it since. About a year and a half ago, several villagers came forward saying that Ikuno had returned to her shrine in spirit form. The news went out that they would be holding a tournament to be one of the three men, one woman, and one monster girl to greet Ikuno as she becomes flesh and blood once more."
"The sacrifices?" Kal asked
Asahi nodded. "Ikuno is said to be a giant of a woman, worthy of being called an oni. Tales say it takes time for her to become so large, but men's essence helps her grow faster."
"And the tournament?"
"The tournament is in honor of her battles to keep the village safe and will be a series of duels. For men, there are three different classes. The first is unarmed combat, the next will be armed, but only training weapons are allowed, and the last class is called enhanced, where magic and even magic weapons are allowed. Killing your opponent is an immediate disqualification."
"What about the women and monster girls?" asked Ria.
"Since there is only one tournament for the human women, it is training weapons only, though I imagine they would need to accommodate any unarmed fighters somehow. The messenger didn't mention anything about the monster girl's duels outside their existence."
"Figures," muttered Kashka.
"You don't need to compete if you want to sleep with the winners," said Nao. "We three are right here."
"I don't plan on competing, but if Kal decides to, all my bets are on him."
"Fancy yourself a fighter, do you?" Nao sneered at Kal.
"I think I'm fairly good with a staff and know enough magic to make things interesting," the mage replied.
"That means you and I may end up matched against one another. Assuming you make it that far."
