Gengyo caught back up with the group easily enough. As he progressed further underground via the wooden steps, they began to be replaced by stone. The air grew a good deal mustier, and he was overwhelmed by the humidity and dampness.
They had stopped before a barred iron gate, and were discussing what to do next. The iron poles gave a good indication of just how damp the area was, as they were covered in rust. It appeared – judging from the keyhole – that they would need a key if they wished to pass.
The corridor they had gathered in at the bottom of the stairs was entirely made out of stone. Had it been wood, or something similar, it would have rotted long ago from the damp. It was dimly lit by a series of torches, and they could see hinged steel doors hiding inside the walls. They could tell it was steel, because it was a degree less rusty than the iron gate they stood before.
"Miura-kun, you've caught up. We were just discussing how to proceed."
Jikouji informed him, glancing toward the bronze jar that he was holding.
"Do you want me to get it open?"
Gengyo asked, looking toward Nakatane.
"If you can, then that would make our trip down here a little bit less pointless."
He replied, as though the answer was obvious. The young man nodded. He had merely asked in order to get permission. He walked over to his men who were crowding near the bars.
"It's pretty grim down here, eh fellas? What do you reckon we'll find?"
They shared his sentiment. There was not a single man that wouldn't. Unless, perhaps, he had grown up with a family of rats.
"I'm betting on flour or grain."
Yoritomo suggested, given the coolness of the place.
"Stupid. There's no way you could store that down here – it'd go rotten in a day with all this damp."
Aritada retorted.
"Aye, it would. I dunno what you could stick down here, Miura-san. All of its gonna go bad."
Rokaku said, agreeing with Aritada.
"Well, let's check it out, shall we?"
From a distance the door looked to be mightily rusted. But close up, it was even more so. He ran a finger along the poles, inspecting the damage. He pinched one, applying a little bit of pressure. It crumbled straight into his hand.
He looked back toward Nakatane with a triumphant look on his face. The older man could only shake his head.
"Yeah, whatever kid."
He complained, motioning for him to get on with it.
He took his foot back, and kicked outwards toward the gate. His foot went straight through the few poles he made contact with, and loosen the rest. A second kick aimed toward the hinges, and it bent forward. After a third, it was completely on the floor.
He dusted the rust particles from his hand, before stretching his back out and looking upon his handiwork with satisfaction.
"Very subtle lad. Now whoever is down here got a nice warning signal."
The master commented, attempting to even the score.
Gengyo merely shrugged.
"They'll know soon enough. Draw your axes men, and let's get these door's cut open!"
His words were met with a roar of enthusiastic approval as the men charged forth with vigour, brandishing their tools, and setting to work on the doors. Those with sense aimed for the locking mechanism rather than the steel frame of the door itself, as it appeared to rather thick. They were able to move freely as Jikouji had suggested they leave their pikes behind – they would be useless in an altercation down here anyway.
They had to be careful of their footing as they swung, as the stone floor was slippery from the wet. It did not hinder them too greatly though, as a duo of guards who now served under Gengyo managed to pry the first door open.
Their commander wandered in after them, wondering what he might find. The first thing he saw were his men's backs stiffen, putting him on guard. And then he smelt the awful scent of pure sewage, and gagged, his eyes watering, blurring his vision as he looked upon the horrific mess of a person that lay on the floor, savaged.
In a pool of his own urine, and with his own faeces decorating the floor, lay the most malnourished man that Gengyo had ever laid eyes upon. His limbs lay by his side uselessly, as he stared up at them with his lifeless eyes. But he was not quite dead. His visible ribcage still heaved up and down in a resentful attempt at breathing.
He did not want to enter a step further into the room. He wanted to slam the door closed and never look back in again. But it was his duty, and his men looked to him for guidance. He stepped forward attempting to gauge the man's condition. He could not see any visible wounds, or anything of that ilk, he was merely starved. A drop of water landed on his head, and a tongue snuck out, greedily capturing the precious droplet.
"Can you stand?"
He asked the man.
There was not a single word of response. The man did not have the energy.
"Help him up. He needs food and water."
He ordered. His men moved forward, wrinkling their noses as they each slid an arm under the man's shoulder, and all but carried him from the room. Nakatane caught sight of the walking corpse, and called out, startled.
"Miura! What the f.u.c.k is that?"
"Exactly what it looks like, I'm afraid. A man half starved."
They drew the attention of the rest of the men, who took a break from their task and stopped to gawk at the skeleton-like figure.
"We don't have any food for him, I'm afraid…"
Jikouji pointed out guilty. They had not thought to bring food for this trip, as they had assumed it would be short.
"There's some bread and water upstairs!"
Kitajo called out, recalling the dining area that they had raided.
"Good. Kitajo-kun, will you lead the way to it? I dare not make this man wait a second longer."
The young boy nodded seriously, straightening his shoulders to bear the weight of the new responsibility placed on him. He moved forward at once, only looking behind him to make sure the other two men were following.
The stick-thin man did not say a word, but his eyes said it all. They were full of desperation.
"I hope… I really hope… that this is not the sign of things to come."
Gengyo muttered as he watched them go. He did not know if he could stomach much more of this. Such neglect was pointlessly cruel. To lock a man up for such a time, and to leave him until he got to such a state. It was an unfathomable cruelty.
Not a single man in the room could voice disagreement.
He glanced at the doors, trying to decide which was the closest to breaking.
"Who was working on this door?"
He pointed to one that had caved in near the lock area, and looked ready to fly open at any second.
Rokkaku raised his hand proudly – still cheerful despite the grim scene from early.
"Good. Continue."
He did not need much motivating. Rokkaku loved breaking things. Who did not? It was a rather satisfying process. Perhaps that was how he managed to always stay relaxed and upbeat.
With a few extra beatings of the axe, it was caved in enough to see part of the inside. A single kick later and the entire thing was off its hinges, falling heavily to floor, raising a few droplets of water along with it.
The young man shielded his face from their splashes, and when his hand moved down he was greeted with another horrific sight.
"…"
Everyone had crowded round to observe, but not a single one of them could find the words to describe what they were looked at.
There, against the wall, sat a single corpse. It looked to be that a woman, though it had become harder to tell due to the decay. In the corpse's arm it cradled a certain thing, as though it was the most natural image. Its own head.
The floor was black in places from dried blood, and a rat scurried past their feet, apparently done feasting. A large needle lay conspicuously in one corner, with a length of twine threaded through it.
"Don't tell me…"
He glanced toward the corpse's hand, and his suspicions were confirmed to be true. The end of a piece of threaded twine peaked out from through the corpses skin. It looked as though someone had purposelessly sewn her head to her hand.
"That sick bastard…"
Nakatane cursed – having seen it too – thoroughly outraged.
"Come. We can do nothing here, but there still might be some people in these rooms that are alive."
He reassigned his men to their tasks of beating down the doors, as he listened to Nakatane and Joukoji discuss what to do with the woman's body.
"We should just leave it here, Nakatane-kun. It serves no purpose out there. Even if we were to return it to the woman's family, it would only cause them grief. I mean, look at it!"
"But even if it's deformed, it's still the body of someone they cared about. They have a right to know what happened to her."
"Sometimes not knowing is a kindness in itself. This is not your responsibility. You don't have to dirty your hands with this kind of thing."
"If we were to cut the head free, then it could still be reattached. I imagine it would be a good deal less horrific than looking at this monstrosity."
Gengyo suggested.
"You want to go and snip each thread that tied it together? That's a grisly task, young man."
Jikouji warned.
"I think it's worth doing. We killed Toda – who was obviously starving them – granted. But I killed all their working men as well. There will be a good deal of animosity toward us. We should do whatever we can to build a stable relationship with the people, else Tobishima will only grow harder to govern later on."
Nakatane tilted his head, listening intently.
"Do you think the same should be done for the men that died on the battlefield?"
Gengyo shrugged.
"Perhaps. It would be a good deal of work, because if we wish to do it, it should be done properly, in the same style that we commemorated our own dead. But it would prove greatly beneficial in the long run. That, and if we offer them support with food. With this, it would not take them long to truly become your people."
The master sighed slightly. He knew what the young man was saying was right, but he still held his doubts.
"But is all that work really worth it? I do not want to sound cold, but what would I gain by taking care of so many people? It doesn't seem like it would be a mutually beneficial relationship, especially since they can't offer up fighting men."
"The majority of our income comes from selling the rice grain, correct? We would be effectively doubling it then. You saw the state of their fields – perfect. Even with the men gone, the women will be able to work them, and in time the children will grow, and there will be fighting men as well."
Jikouji raised his hand, as though to ask him to pause as he shook his head dramatically.
"Alright, the young man has me beat. It truly makes me feel old when I see the youth speak so enthusiastically. There is sense is what the lad says, Nakatane. We should treat these people as our own, and they will return us with favour, in time. An investment, I'd say."
//Author's Note
More grisly details to come! Even more than you might expect, because tomorrow there will be a triple upload. We absolutely crushed the powerstone goal of 260, thanks very much! I hope you enjoy the bonus chapters c: