The keeper of the treasure


"Sesshomaru-sama," the greenish creature called out loudly. His words echoed faintly as the high rocks echoed them back. Although he shouted the name out again, it went unheard, for the one so addressed was far away. Jaken sank exhausted to the ground and his head stick fell unnoticed into the grass next to his body.
His master had been gone for at least ten days now and five days earlier he had not been able to stand it any longer in Musashi near Rin and had followed the silver-white-haired dog demon to the west. Jaken wanted to find Sesshomaru's residence because he had been there before and remembered the approximate direction. Surely his master needed his help, just forgetting him in a hurry.
At the beginning he was familiar with the path, and until he crossed the plain of Musashi, the area where he had previously lived himself, he made rapid progress. But then he reached impassable area, had to take a few detours and lost his orientation in the middle of the night. So he wandered around the dark forest for a while, afraid of the shadows, before settling down.
The gnome only rested until after sunrise and as soon as the sun appeared as a glowing red ball on the eastern horizon, he had an approximate direction, he got up and ran on. The path he followed all morning suddenly ended. Large and small chunks of light rock, tree trunks and earth piled up in front of him. Since Jaken didn't want to go back, he climbed the hill that was created by a landslide. He climbed laboriously over the rocks, slipped several times and almost lost his staff.
Then he did it, stood on the top and looked around. Forest, nothing but forest lay before him. Every now and then lighter spots shimmered, which indicated clearings in the dreary dark green, strewn with flowers. Suddenly his eyes widened, he raised his little hand, pointed in a direction, although no one saw it.
Nevertheless he said in a low voice: "There!" And was in a hurry to get to the path below. In the distance he thought he had spotted the western property and could hardly wait to get there. He slid down the rocky hill more than he climbed. But he didn't care because he was in a hurry. At his pace it would still take at least two days to reach his destination, but he had no idea of ​​that. At that moment all that mattered to him was that he was on the right path.

As soon as Jaken left the pile of stones behind, he began to run. Often he got stuck with his head stick in the bushes or caught it in the thick thorn bush and was even thrown away by the centrifugal force. Every now and then he stumbled over roots, fell. For this reason, he reduced his speed and paid more attention to the way, and now actually got ahead faster because the involuntary stops were no longer there.
Around noon he stopped briefly at a stream, drank water and picked berries. He found a few mushrooms that he took with him to eat in the evening. To do this, he wove a makeshift carrying basket out of thin branches.
Before it got dark, the forest thinned, the trees receded more and more and the gnome was already happy to finally see another landscape. But he was disappointed because as soon as he went outside, as he believed, he found himself in a clearing. A spot that Rin would surely have liked, as countless flowers were in bloom here. The many white flowers stretched their little heads towards the sun, while countless bees and other insects swarmed around them.
Jaken was bothered by the humming, as it reminded him of the giant bees Narakus, whose sting had once nearly killed him. So he turned back into the forest, used the great distance between the conifers, ran through there to leave the island of flowers behind him.It shouldn't be the last clearing he would step on his journey. He followed a small stream that led him to a valley where he spent the night, because distant, gruesome wolf howls frightened him. The next day he continued to run and was surprised by a rain shower.
With his arms crossed he crouched between the thick roots of a tall tree, whose wide, leafy crown offered him protection from the wet. The steady dripping of rain as it pearled off the leaves and fell to the ground on flat rock lulled the gnome and he relaxed. A little later he fell asleep and dreamed of his master doing great deeds together.

A pleasant warmth woke him up as the first rays of the new morning made their way like stripes through the fog that had come up in the night. The light that appeared in the gaps between the thick trunks and that crept through the rare gaps in the leafy branches gave the area a mystical touch. But none of this interested Jaken because he was annoyed by the unwanted delay. He grabbed his staff, wandered off and went to the stream to feast on the cool water.
Then he got up and walked west to get back on the path. He passed a clearing that was overgrown with tall grass. As he squeezed through the stalks, as they towered over him, he glanced up to where the fog had now evaporated. White clouds wandered across the blue sky and one of them was almost in the shape of a dog demon.
Jaken sighed and thought: 'Sesshomaru-sama, where are you?'
He almost wanted to repeat the words out loud when he felt a demonic aura. It passed its location far away, and moved quickly to the east, yet the gnome was sure it could only have been its master.
Resigned, the frog-like creature plopped to the ground and stared after the golden ball.
'He didn't forget me, did he? ', a thought crossed his mind happily instead of trying with a loud shout. When he finally remembered, the dog demon was long out of earshot, but he began to shout and now turned back to the east.
So he ran, often stumbled and occasionally fell. At some point his voice was hoarse, his strength exhausted and he staggered. He was barely able to take his steps forward, so that he stopped, sank into the grass and resigned again.

Jaken lay there for a long time until he heard a voice. Hoping his master was looking for him, he opened his eyes and saw white clouds in the sky. Again he imagined that one of them looked like a dog. Tired, he wanted to go back to sleep, but the voice rang out again. A whisper as if the wind was brushing through the trees, touching dry leaves.
"Jaken guard the treasure!"
The gnome struggled to his feet, trying to find out where the barely audible words came from. To do this, he turned on the spot and struck a large copper vessel with his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes because he was sure he was still dreaming. He never thought he had seen such a bulbous container with a handle. Especially when he came here, the cauldron was not yet in this place
Jaken took a few steps backwards, looked up and examined the contents. Round, yellowish discs piled up in the vessel and blinded him. When he realized what exactly his find contained, his eyes widened, sparkled in unison with the thalers and he mumbled, driven by an inner greed: "My darling!"

He basked in his find for a while and then wondered whether he should leave it here or go with it. Would he even be able to transport the kettle?He just tried it, raised his staff, put it under the handle and tried to shoulder the kettle. Strangely enough, its prey seemed to have no weight. He lifted the container with ease, then stomped across to the forest. He would find shelter under the trees and certainly a hiding place.
So he went there for a while. However, since he was a demon who needed food at a certain distance, he paused, put the kettle down and froze. His gaze hung as if spellbound on the copper vessel, because at least half of it was missing.
"How can that be?" Asked the gnome and searched the area. He must have lost quite a few thalers. He partially went back the way he had come. But for fear someone might steal the kettle, he turned around and just saw how the contents continued to diminish.
Assuming a small, mischievous fox demon was invisible at work here, Jaken struck with his head staff, but he only hissed through the air and didn't meet anyone.
"Strange", he exclaimed and he had to watch as another thaler disappeared.
A thought grabbed him, took possession of him and imprinted itself like a mantra: “I have to look after the treasure!” So ​​he grabbed his prey, stormed off, deeper into the area that was spreading in front of him, in hope to find a hidden valley.

So he ran there and looked over and over again at the ever decreasing content. Often enough he got the feeling that people were nearby, looking for him because they wanted the thalers. He ran all day, deeper into the western mountains, accepting impassable roads just to find safety. Only towards evening did he allow himself a short rest without really finding peace.
The gnome looked around, his gaze almost haunted. But he couldn't make out a pursuer. So he soon stamped forward again, struggled up a path and since there was less bush between the trees, he left the path and ran across the forest. The moss under his feet felt so soft, comfortable, almost like his master's fur. For a moment his mind wandered to the dog demon, and he almost dropped the cauldron to hurry east, but the greed to be the keeper of the treasure prevailed.
A little later he happened to look sideways and discovered a dark hole in a rock. He paused, walked closer, and examined the area. It wasn't just a hole, but the entrance to a cave. If he pushed aside the long tendrils of the wild wine far enough, he and his kettle could easily get in there. The leaves of the plant hid the opening and so he could hide here. Immediately he brought the thalers into the cave, dug a deep hole in the soft earth and hid the kettle in it. On top of that he pushed long green branches, lots of dry leaves and later collected moss, padded the place in order to build a soft bed over it.
Here his prey was safe, he believed.

Several times a day he