Venturing Graces

Chapter Two: Cabbage Jack

(Cabbage Arc)

The man slowly stood up. "I.....Am....."

"Sir? Are you alright?" A young woman asked. 

"Cabbage Jack!" The man jumped into the air and flew off towards the woods. A singular cabbage lay where he once stood.  People gathered around all clamoring about. 

"Stay away from that cabbage, I have a bad feeling," Ren ordered. Hex attempted to take Yoru's hand but his spectral form failed him. The cabbage exploded and took out an entire stall. "Oh fuck." 

"What should we do?" Yoru asked. His amber eye was watering with tears. "That was Cabbage Jack."

"Yeah he just announced that he was to all of us," Hex said. 

"Whose Cabbage Jack? Besides being a guy with a cabbage head," Ren asked. They looked down at the boy. "He seems....I wanna say afraid, but he could just be overwhelmed by the cabbage," they thought. 

"Ren, he's afraid," Orochi said. 

"Legend says that Cabbage Jack was a vengeful spirit of a man. A man who ate cabbage soup everyday," Yoru whispered. 

"And then what?" Hex asked. 

"That's it. Legend says that he's a powerful spirit that feasts on blood to grow human headed cabbages," Yoru answered. Ren made a gagging noise. "He's real."

"I heard that it's because he hated cabbages that he became what he hated upon death." Behind Yoru and Ren stood a tall woman with waist length auburn hair and piercing golden eyes. She held a lit cigarette in her fingers. "He's a spirit who wants to make everyone taste cabbage."

"That's kinda lame," Hex said. He tired once again to touch Yoru's hand, "I the great Hex will exorcise him!"

"Actually this is a  mission for those magically gifted," the woman said. 

"I'm a mage! I can do it!" Ren jumped up and spun around. They fought the urge to spin around again. "I mean.......I can help out."

"But I am the greatest spirit ever," Hex added. 

"Great, I will need help. My name is Marima, and I work for the Great Magic Emperor," the woman said. "I'll need someone with good sealing magic."

"I can help too! I know a little bit of magic," Yoru said. He cleared his throat, "It's nothing emperor level but I can heal."

"Yoru!" The woman stormed over. "It's much too dangerous, you can't try to fight it."

"Shizuka, I'm sorry but I feel like I have to help," Yoru confessed. He held the fairy in his hand. "I just think I do."

"But you don't have too! It's too dangerous," Shizuka said. "Just come back."

"Ma'am, is this your son?" Marima asked. She approached Shizuka. "I will let you know that this mission will be very dangerous." The fairy held by Yoru flew up into the air. 

"Mariposa!" Ren called out. Despite their long graceful gazelle like legs they could not jump high enough to reach. Hex tried to float up to grab the fairy, but an amber dust sprinkled down. "Eww! Scales!" Ren screamed. 

"Scales, scales, scales," Orochi whispered as it snaked around Ren's neck. 

"Yoru, I'm worried about you. I can't risk losing you to Cabbage Jack. You only know how to use healing magic. And your leg," Shizuka said. "You only have one leg."

"Then.....Then.....I really need to go help! I want my magic to be useful," Yoru said. 

"My Aunt Rose is in those woods!" Ren yelled.