Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 30 Part 1

"You need to get through your return challenge, I'll come with you." Angst said loudly. "I had them prepare your bath when I heard the trumpet." He smiled. Silver shook his head in disgust.  Uninterested in our actions, he walked away. Emerald's expression turned darker.

Angst followed behind me excitedly, this happened every time I returned. Another reason I stayed out for extended amounts of time when I left the mountain. Angst thought of this process as a game to challenge the ranks. The truth was, he never cared about ranks, he knew they were fake to begin with. This was an elaborate game he created to toy with me.

Upon arriving back at Demon's Peak any master or elite ranking in the top five would have to go through a series of tests. After going through the tests, the returning person would have to fight any challengers. If nobody challenged, there would be no fight. If multiple people challenged they would take turns. If the returning person lost they would drop one rank and whomever won would take their place.

This system was a double edged sword. Some would get lucky and take a spot by chance, such as challenging the person after they'd returned heavily wounded or after losing to several other challengers. The next time those people returned to the mountain they typically found themselves challenged by not only the previous top five, but Angst as well. Therefore it was rare that anyone took advantage of such a system.

Away from the hub of the city, we walked towards the less populated area, inhabited only by the top of the guild. Each of us had our own dwellings, customized to our personal tastes. We followed the stone pathway upwards until I entered through the front gates that led to my chambers. Angst followed closely behind, delighting in the smell of dried blood that coated my existence.

The gates were large and typically closed, they were only open when the maids went in to clean. A stone wall surrounded my home and gardens, my piece of land could easily fit another six of my home dwellings inside. The stone wall wasn't necessarily to keep people out, if they were able to reach this point of the mountain they were plenty skilled enough to breach a wall. The purpose was to set boundaries, a separation of space.

Inside my gates, the stone path changed. Large smooth pale stones nestled into the ground and made a path to my home. The soft pure color was a stark contrast to the dark wood used on the gate. My dwelling was a mixture of dark wood and pale smooth stone. The house itself was simply built but very spacious. The one level floor plan with high ceilings gave ample amount of room to practice martial arts within. Immediately inside were two large rooms on either side of the entrance, nobody had ever used them, but I wanted them just in case. They were both simply decorated with hardly any furnishings. If I decorated them elaborately they would only become tainted after years of my poisons leeching into them. The doors to the side rooms were kept tightly shut, effectively blocking the majority of my toxins.

The hallway opened into a large open space, my bed was straight to the back. Panels of red fabric hung from the high ceiling, running full length to the floor around it. The fabric was washed often, fabric tended to hold the scent of my poison. At the foot of my bed, on a table, sat a beautifully crafted guzheng and dizi. At the head of my bed against the wall were several shelves of weapons, all of the finest quality. Not too far in front of my bed was a small table and pillow on the floor. Against the left wall was an area for a wash tub, including a drain to empty the tub when I was finished. In between the washing area and the front room were a few shelves stacked with scrolls and books, mostly about various poisons and herbs. Some about medicine. Across from that, near the other room was a wall of various medicine bottles and supplies to make medicine or poison. The air smelled earthy in that corner from the large amounts of concoctions I created over the many years.

In the space between the hall and my bed was a large screen, standing some distance from the side wall, effectively creating a room of its own. Behind it was a sitting area for my makeup and hair. My large array of hair pins, clasps, and jewelry were displayed on shelves. Against the wall were storage closets with my many outfits hanging inside. The closets were specially made to keep the outside air out and the inside air in. I tried to rid the clothing of my scent as much as possible before storing them back inside. There was a small screen door in the back corner of the room that led to the gardens, sometimes I'd keep it open for fresh air. The maids always opened the windows and doors upon entering. There were plenty of large panels that opened throughout the spacious room.

The center of my room was always left open for training. On the rare occasion I felt whimsical I'd move the guzheng and table out to play, typically at odd hours of the early morning when everything was silent.

I took a quick glance around while Angst followed, as  promised my wash tub was already filled with cold water and glass snakes. He grinned widely as he looked inside the tub, the glass snakes were invisible to the eye, they blended in with the water, but their slight movements disturbed the water ever so slightly. I dared not ask how many were inside, I could already guess.

"I'll wait for you outside." He smiled widely. He'd normally stay to enjoy the scent of blood as it rose up from the water, but on certain occasion he liked to have full control of his thoughts. Today he would take pleasure in challenging me to a fight. Only the two of us knew that I couldn't use my energy during our upcoming fight. Everyone else was oblivious, I never cared enough to set the record straight nor challenge his position. Silently I took his torments, which I felt were in some twisted way deserved, wasn't I alive after leaving a trail of corpses in my wake? What was a little suffering to me?