Ashkii Dighin- The Hunt for the Hypnotist

by Adam Lynch

  “It’s the only lead you’ve been able to uncover about it and it’s the only lead it had wanted revealed. But why? It’s almost like it’s challenging us to chase it. Like it wants us to play its game.”

  Dyami nodded, standing up. “Yes, and we will play—but with an advantage it won’t see coming. You see, Ashkii Dighin, by it lending us this lead, it had directed our attentions at assigning the right people for the job. I’ve told you why I needed you, Ashkii Dighin, and I’m convinced that with your tactical sense and the Spirit Bow that you wield, you’ll be ready for whatever monster or monsters come your way. But with your partner, who’s immune to hypnosis and all illusion-based magic, you’ll have an edge on the Hypnotist that no one before you has had. Step forth, Kelanassa Kaliete.”

  Not only was Ashkii surprised to hear that he was going to have an accomplice, but who his accomplice was going to be. Light brimming on her face from her perfect grin, the girl with orange-yellow eyes and scarlet hair stepped forth beside the chief, facing Ashkii. Ashkii, rendered speechless, lost his glance to the intensity of this girl’s fixation. She seemed excited to work with him—but he felt just the opposite.

  “No—I can’t. I’ll find and defeat this Hypnotist another way. I don’t do well with other people.”

  “So I’ve noticed. This will be good for you, Ashkii Dighin. Perhaps the next time we speak, you’ll be more pleasant to speak to.”

  “I will not agree to this.”

  “You must, Ashkii Dighin. With the Spirit Bow in hand, you may have the power to pierce through any magical and physical force, but without Kelanassa’s guidance, you’ll be lost and victimized to the Hypnotist’s games. She won’t slow you down. Kelanassa has worked with hunters in the past fighting sirens, succubi, wizards, witches, vampires, yousei, kitsune, and all other creatures and humanoids who use illusion-based magic. She is well trained using the Hunting Knife and Bow of Embers—more rare and valuable treasures. Ashkii, if you’re the hunter I believe you to be then I know you’ll find Kelanassa to be much more than a talented dancer and actress. She has many hidden gifts and talents, and she will be a valuable asset to your team.”

  “Her value is not the only thing that concerns me. I simply prefer to work alone.”

  “Ashkii, in times of war, we all have to make sacrifices. I’m sure with the reward motivating you, you’ll find a way to make this work. I wish you both the best of luck. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a task to get started on.” His indirect communication was expressed clearly in his eyes when he passed, patting Ashkii’s shoulder.

  The whole situation made Ashkii uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to being told what to do, doing things that he didn’t want to. It made him feel alienated, anxious. He wanted to completely ignore her, get out of here, and begin his task—but with his attention lost, everyone pacing out of the room, and knowing that he knew nothing of where anything in this village was, he was forced to acknowledge her. He looked at her, studying first her stylish dancer apparel, and then up to her always penetrating eyes. She looked like she had a lot of interior interest in him, but Ashkii wasn’t interested in knowing what that was. Yet, that didn’t stop her from displaying bold interest.

  “Hello, Ashkii Dighin,” she said, unable to keep herself from grinning.

  Kelanassa Kaliete

  Abody. Take me to one,” ordered Ashkii, getting right to the point. “I assume this clan does well in preserving them? The more bodies I have to examine, the better.” Instead of replying with the urgency he was expecting, Kel chuckled, throwing off his train of thought. “Have I said something funny?” he asked, perplexed.

  “Yes, I’ll most certainly take you to them,” she replied. “But after I get dressed.”

  In less than a seconds notice, Kel stripped naked from her dancer costume. Shocked, Ashkii flung his gaze across the room. Other entertainers were still present, making their way out. None of them reacted, however. They continued as nothing was out of the ordinary. And she certainly displayed no shame. To regain his concentration and composure, he had his back face her.

  “If this is your idea of ‘working together’ then this union is not going to work,” he said.

  “I have get naked before I change into another pair of clothes. Why the fuss? You act like you’ve never seen a nude woman before.”

  “Not in a public place, no.”

  “Well I can’t venture in a dancer’s costume, can I?”

  Ashkii didn’t know what to say to this so he changed the subject. “Is there anything you can tell me about the Hypnotist? Something you might have uncovered with your immunity after examining the bodies? It’s likely the Hypnotist could be using hypnosis to cover up clues we can use to gather up leads.”

  “I haven’t examined the bodies...”

  “My mistake in assuming. I was told you were an investigator.”

  “I work with investigators. Primarily, I am an entertainer. If I was able to do all of this by myself, then the chief wouldn’t have needed to summon you now, would he?”

  “No, he wouldn’t.”

  His words had a harsh tone. A brief silence followed, but she didn’t give up. “Dyami had not mentioned this, but our spies have reported murder sprees sprung by the Hypnotist in all four regions of Seasons—not just Autumnum. In order to uncover all the missing pieces of this case, we may need to investigate all these areas.”

  “If our leads get us there, yes.”

  She paused a moment. “Have you ever been to any of the other regions?”

  “No, but I’ve read a lot of books about them.”

  “Is that where you’ve studied creatures as well?”

  “Yes. I know all that dwells in Autumnum. I’m fairly familiar with the other regions.”

  “Which creatures do you think the Hypnotist could be? Any theories at the top of your head?”

  “That’s tough to answer with how little I know. But from what the chief has told me, the Hypnotist or leader of this terrorizing organization could be almost anything. Of course for it to conduct hypnosis, it would require a natural gift or education of the magic arts. There are specific species that specialize in hypnosis: shamans, sirens, succubi, witches, vampires, kitsune, yousei, demons, and wizards. It could easily be any one of those, controlling an army of beasts and skilled warriors. I’ll have to study many of the Hypnotist’s victims to know for certain what kind of beasts and warriors it has working for it, based off the evidence of how the victims were killed. But because their leader is a master of hypnosis, it could have easily manipulated the evidence of its killings to appear however it wishes. But having you at my side will reveal the truth how these victims were killed. Only then will I be able to come up with some more definite theories.”

  “Wow,” she said. “You came up with all that from just what the chief said? That’s pretty impressive.”

  Ashkii made no response, his face blank, though he felt something lift him on the inside.

  “So… have a look.” She changed her tone to a more inviting one. What do you think of the new me?”

  Assuming this meant she was fully dressed, he faced her. Her new apparel was nearly a direct reflection of his. She wore a tight and long-sleeved tunic made of dark leather, leather arm bands to tighten the sleeves—decorated with golden feathers—a breastplate and choker made of bone, dark leather leggings and leg bands to tighten them, mukluk footwear, and a leather quiver decorated with tassels and feathers carried on her back—a hunting knife sheathed onto it as well.

  “Ta-da,” she said again, a provocative grin on her face. Ashkii gave no reply, his facial expression difficult to read. This seemed to bother her, encouraging her to be more persistent. “Do you like it? Why don’t you tell me what you think?”

  His attention was mostly fascinated by her weapons. The Hunting Knife and Longbow of Embers… Ashkii had remembered reading about those once. They were highly valuable treasures…

  Examining him carefully, she eventually took notice
of his thoughts.

  “The Knife of Embers,” he said, drawing her attention towards it. “May I see it?”

  Pleased in unmasking his interest, she pulled it out, handing it to him. He took it, examining it thoroughly. It didn’t show on his face, but he felt a small thrill inside from holding it. The Knife and Bow of Embers were rare treasures—not legendary like the Spirit Bow—but rare and most valuable treasures. Anything the knife had pierced, its flames aroused. Any arrow strung on the Bow of Embers shrouded in flames before being released. They were powerful and dangerous weapons.

  “Would you like to see the Longbow of Embers as well?” she offered, pleased to gather his attention again.

  “Yes,” he answered, Kel lending it to him. She watched him examine it, pausing, then spoke again. “I bet you’re wondering why I haven’t asked you if I could to hold the Spirit Bow.”

  “It’s a question I get asked incessantly when seeking work at a village. I tell them all the same answer, but no one listens until they try it themselves.”

  “No one can touch it… no one but the one who touched it first.”

  “It saves me the hassle of dealing with thieves.”

  “Then the legends are true. You are Heaven’s chosen Spirit Gatherer.”

  “I read into it. The written prophecies claim I’m called to be some sort of unifier—a gatherer of nations. Sounds like a fantasy.”

  “Sounds like fate.”

  He looked up to find penetrating eyes gazing into him—though it hadn’t swayed his stance. He cast his eyes back on the weapons, lending them back to her. “Where did you find these?” he finally asked.

  “Winteria,” she said, excited to satisfy his curiosity. “Far north.”

  Ashkii nodded, a brief gaze, then turned his glance toward the exit. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing and walking on.

  “Most certainly.”

  ○

  Kelanassa led Ashkii out of the room, only to bring him into another at the end of the hall. This wasn’t where he was expecting to go. It wasn’t the exit. It wasn’t towards the grave site, where all the bodies were mummified and buried after the clan’s usual rituals. It was a small room, empty—nothing but a trapdoor present. Opening it, there was a stairway that led to a narrow underground tunnel. “Where are we going?” he finally asked.

  “I’m taking you to the bodies. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

  “I’ve read about the Golden Eagle clan’s death rituals. They don’t dispose of their dead in underground tunnels.”

  “No,” she said, walking on. They do not.” Using the Knife of Embers, she ignited a torch and used it to light the way. Obviously, she knew something he didn’t, so he entertained her mystery a while longer, progressing through the tunnel. “As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, this place was made to be the chief’s emergency escape route,” she informed. They paced a distance further until Ashkii suddenly felt a massive drop in temperature—like he’d stepped inside an ice-cold spring. Furthermore, something smelled of rot. Was it the dead bodies? He didn’t see anything unusual. The dirt path was a straight and narrow one—a two-way tunnel. But Kel stopped them here suddenly, turning to face him, smiling. “You feel that?” she asked.

  “Yes, that sudden drop of temperature can’t be natural. Either it’s some sort of magic manipulating it, or it’s—”

  “An enchanted treasure? Yes. It’s the ice stone—also found in Autumnum by the way. The ice stone was found by this clan’s shaman a long time ago, but never used it until I made the suggestion that we should use it to preserve the Hypnotist’s bodies instead of burying them according to the clan’s usual ritual.”

  “You’re saying that the bodies are here?”

  “Yes, all around you. Can’t you see them?” Ashkii didn’t understand her meaning. There was nothing but walls around them, a straight and narrow tunnel. “Oh yes, I had almost forgotten.”

  She closed her eyes, opening them a second later, her gaze on him suddenly intense. “Now—can you see them?”

  Hearing this, Ashkii pulled from her, looking around again. He was immediately staggered. Suddenly, he saw everything. They were in a spacious room, six bodies lying on six wooden tables. Many gifts and offerings were set beside them. The ice stone, which was bright enough to illuminate the entire room, sat on a tall wooden table—just behind where he was standing.

  To ensure he was seeing reality, he closed and rubbed his eyes, opening them again to get a second peek. Everything was still there. He wasn’t seeing things. It was all there.

  “You act like you’ve never seen an illusion before,” she said, intrigued by his reaction.

  Ashkii, not replying at first, blinked many times, shaking his head. “I haven’t,” he answered honestly.

  “It was an illusion set up by the shaman to keep this place discreet by all except him, me, and the chief. I was privileged with the information because it was my idea and I was a part of this mission. These six victims were killed by the Hypnotist just after Autumnum’s strongest Spirit Hunter. No other known incidents occurred after these.”

  “When was the last one found dead?” he asked, walking over to examine the frozen, naked bodies.

  “Seven days ago,” she said.

  “Just before my arrival?”

  “Yes.”

  Ashkii nodded. Interesting, he thought, but he hadn’t known why at this time. So he focused his attention on the bodies, studying them carefully. Kel paced herself in joining him. “So...” she uttered intriguingly. “Anything stand out?”

  Ignoring her, he paced from body to body. He wanted to examine every one thoroughly, but he was already working up a theory in his head—a theory that he needed answered now. He saw everything that the chief had informed him about. The signs of death that were inflicted by swords, spears, arrows, fists, claws, poison, and sorcery. In fact, these signs were so obvious that Ashkii was convinced that they were all forged there by the Hypnotist—in order to cover up its true killing pattern.

  He saw the Hypnotist’s mark on the neck of every victim. A bright orange tattoo that said in the Hypnotist’s cursive signature: peace. There was nothing apparently distinctive in any of the bodies when he had finished glancing at each of them... but this was probably because Kel hadn’t yet unveiled the illusions that the Hypnotist was masking. “Okay, Kelanassa. Unmask the illusions. Let us see how these victims were really killed.”

  But Kel gave him a confused look. “I did,” she said. “It was done the moment you could see the bodies.”

  This surprised Ashkii, but not as much as it confused him. “Then let me see the bodies as the Hypnotist had intended everyone to see them.”

  Kel did just that—Ashkii had assumed. But there was no visible change of any kind. All the bodies looked completely the same—no difference anywhere. All the signs of death were still the same in each body. This amazed Ashkii.

  “There’s… nothing different, is there?” Kel asked, looking to Ashkii for his input.

  “No,” he said, shifting from body to body. “But that tells us a lot.”

  “What?” Kel asked, curious. “What does it tell us?”

  Ashkii gave eye contact, seemingly excited to voice his thoughts aloud. “It tells us that none of these signs of death were illusions made by the Hypnotist. It was never trying to mask its murder pattern. The Hypnotist is capable of all these kinds of murders. This means that it’s a humanoid and beast of many different sizes—which gives strong evidence that the Hypnotist isn’t a sole mastermind, but a leader of a cult or organization. It has a wide range of beasts and warriors working for it, and with the mark, it wants everyone to know that these murders were done by it and its cult. The question is why? The answer to this question would reveal its motivations and intentions. But you’re sure you reverted the Hypnotist’s illusions, right?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded, going back to studying the bodies. Kel peered over him, seemingly curious about whatever
else he was thinking. “Have you found anything that could be used as a lead?”

  “Not yet. But how about you unmask all of the illusions in the area again just in case.”

  “Certainly. And I’ll offer you a second pair of eyes, going over them in case you missed something.”

  Ignoring her, he continued, his focus intense. Kel did as she said she would, dispersing all illusive magic in the area and searching the room for anything they could use to help conduct something about either the Hypnotist’s identity or location.

  “Ashkii, wait,” she said suddenly, studying a body across from him. “What’s this?”

  His attention caught, he sprang over to her, his eyes aiming in the direction she was pointing. “That wasn’t there before, was it?”

  For a moment, Ashkii hadn’t answered, amazed by it. “No, it wasn’t,” he said, studying it a bit longer. It was the Hypnotist’s mark on the victim’s neck. It was... glowing—not something the other marks did. But how had he not caught this before? He would have definitely noticed something as obvious as this.

  “Flash the illusion spell,” he told Kel. She did just that, flickering the spell on and off. But nothing changed. The glow was always present. No alteration.

  “It’s not an illusion...” Kel said, confirming Ashkii’s thoughts.

  “But it was not always there.”

  “You might have just missed it.”

  “I didn’t. It wasn’t there.”

  “But it is now. So what does it mean?”

  “You’re saying you’ve never seen this before?”

  “Never. This is new.”

  Here was that distinction he was looking for. But why this body? And what did the glowing mark mean? It definitely meant something. The Hypnotist used symbols to communicate specific messages. The marks gave indication that the murders were of the Hypnotist’s doing. It wanted everyone to know which kills were its. So what did the glowing mark mean? What was the Hypnotist trying to communicate this time?

  “You know what?” Kel asked, her tone suddenly raised. “I might have something.” She waited until his attention was given. “Several days ago when I traveled to another village for an entertainment gig, I remember hearing a group of Spirit Hunters chatting about a Red-Blood werewolf they saw in Winteria who had a glowing mark on his neck.”