By Rusty Priske & Shawn Carman
Edited by Fred Wan
Somewhere in the Crab provinces, month of the Horse, year 1169
Much of the Crab lands appeared identical to those unskilled in finding their way through the Twilight Mountains. The mountains consumed much of the Crab lands, and their desolate peaks and valleys held little of interest, even to many among the Crab. And so it was that the lone tower, so similar in appearance to the many rocky spires that dotted the landscape, was unlikely ever to be visited by anyone who was not deliberately seeking it, or hopelessly lost.
This was as its creator intended.
Two bushi clad in heavy armor knelt before the man known only as Omen. Their heads were bowed reverently, and they waited. Omen gazed at them for a long time, his eyes stirring with the strange, jade energy that seemed to suffuse his every movement from time to time. “Do you understand the burden you undertake?” he finally asked.
“Hai, Omen-sama,” both men answered.
“Your duty is to protect with your life an artifact you must never look upon, never open, never ready. Your lives will be filled with secrecy and scrutiny, for this place must never be known to exist beyond those who dwell here. You will not leave save at my command. You may well perish here without ever leaving again, either of age or at the claws of the demons that will inevitably seek us out.” He paused for a moment. “If this burden is not yours to bear, then you have the right to perform the three cuts and seek a greater reward in the next life.”
“No, sensei,” both men responded in unison.
“Very well then,” Omen said. He reached forth and placed a hand on the armored shoulder of each man, holding it there just for a moment. When he lifted his hand away, a handprint of brilliant jade remained on the armor. “Stand, and join my legion of warriors, sworn to a man to die before the Tao of Fu Leng is lost. Stand, brothers, and join the Legion of the Jade Hand.”
“Master Omen!”
Omen turned to the man who entered the room. He bore the jade handprint upon his armor as the others did. “Riders, Omen-sama. Perhaps a mile away.”
“Do they ride upon the tower?”
“No,” the sentry answered. “Their proximity is a concern, however.”
Omen walked to the tower rampart outside and gazed into the distance. His eyes glowed more brilliantly for just a moment. “It is Tsuru’s Legion,” he answered after a moment. “Or what remains of them. They return from the Scorpion lands.”
The men around him said nothing, although it was obvious from their body language that they wished to cheer. “Is Lord Kisada among them?” one asked.
The Oracle of Jade shook his head. “Lord Kisada’s path is hidden from me, now as it has ever been,” he answered. “They bring war with them, however.”
“War?” the sentry asked. “War with the Scorpion?”
Omen only shook his head.
The Scorpion provinces, two months previously
The Crab struck quickly. The samurai in the village were caught by surprise but mounted an effective defense nonetheless. The Scorpion were well trained but they were outnumbered and were on foot, defending against cavalry.
Ten samurai on foot versus nearly a hundred cavalry could not end in victory for the Scorpion, but they held on for a respectable period, and brought two Crab down before falling themselves. The final fell to a thunderous blow by Hida Kisada himself.
Hida Kisada wiped the blood from his tetsubo as he scanned the buildings for any further threats. This was the third village Kisada had led the Crab against and it was the third village left defeated.
“No combatants left, Kisada-sama.” Hiruma Shotoku bowed to the former Crab Champion.
“Good. Have the villagers gather the Scorpion samurai. They fought bravely and I want their families to be able to retrieve their daisho and other relics.”
“Hai, Kisada-sama. Shall we burn the village like the others?”
“Gather what supplies we can carry and then burn the village and the fields. Make sure the peasants are bound and left away from the fire after they move the samurai.”
“You do not wish them killed, Kisada-sama?”
The Great Bear shook his head. “This is war, and we are soldiers. Needless death is the tool of our enemies, never the Crab.”
“As you command, my lord. And our dead?”
“Take whatever personal items need to be returned to their families and then put them in one of the buildings before lighting it. We cannot wait for proper ceremonies. We need to be out of this village within the hour.”
“They are ghosts, Lord Paneki. They strike from nothingness and fade away just as quickly.”
Paneki smiled mirthlessly. “These same words have been used to describe us, Higatsuku.”
The Shosuro courtier nodded grimly. “Indeed they have, Lord Paneki, but I only report what the peasants have said. The villages set watches and send scouts to give them advance warning, but they get none. Kisada and his men land like locusts and leave the villages stripped and scoured in their wake.”
“And what of our army?”
“Army?” There was a stirring at the chamber entrance. The voice was soft, just above a whisper. “Have there been developments, my lord?”
The iron façade of Paneki’s countenance cracked if only for the briefest of moments, and a look of warm affection overcame him. “Come, Miyako-chan,” he said. “This is a matter for your ears as well.” Seeing the questioning look Higatsuku directed toward him, Paneki continued. “If the time should come when I am unavailable to make such decisions, you will be called upon to oversee them in my absence.” The Scorpion Champion’s wife glided across the chamber to stand at his side, her face obscured by a simple cloth mask. “Continue, Higatsuku.”
“The army moved to intercept the Crab after their first strike, as you ordered, but they cannot deploy as quickly as Kisada and his men. The randomness of his strikes makes us unable to predict where he will be next, and if we focus and where he is, he is gone long before we can arrive. I am afraid that by the time we will be able to find him, it will be because of the diminishing number of available targets and if we wait until then…” Higatsuku’s voice faded away.
“The cost will be far too high,” Paneki finished. He turned to Miyako. “What are your thoughts?”
The former commander of the First Legion considered for a moment. “Speed and mobility is the enemy’s strength in this case,” she said in her strange, soft voice. “The Scorpion forces must be broken down into smaller, faster units and spread out in a pattern to intercept him, wherever he appears next.”
“That has been considered, my lady,” Higatsuku said, “however…”
“However,” Miyako continued, “any Scorpion force small enough to have the speed we require would also be unable to do more than harass Kisada and his men, not truly delay them. We would fall into a pattern of feint and strike, utilizing hundreds or even thousands of troops. The expense would be more than we can currently bear.”
“Too many believe Kisada is a god,” Paneki interjected. “He is a man, and he can be killed. His death can be arranged, that much is without question. The matter at hand, however, is what his death will cost us.”
Miyako tapped her folded fan against her chin. “His death will galvanize the Crab. They will send far more than one hundred men on horseback. They will send an army to avenge his death.”
“Quite right,” Paneki admitted. “Spoken like a true commander, my lady. Now, however, you must think like a Scorpion. Consider this carefully: we have much to lose in Kisada’s death. What do we stand to gain if he is victorious?”
Miyako frowned. “I am not accustomed to thinking in such a manner.”
“You will become so soon enough,” Paneki said. “What do we stand to gain?”
She said nothing for several moments. “If Kisada is victorious… if he brings an end to the conflict, then the resources we have expended against the Crab can be used to try and recoup our losses.”
“What else?” Paneki demanded.
“We will be shamed before the Empire,” Miyako said. “We will be defeated, humiliated. We will cease to be a threat in the eyes of others. We will be a laughingstock.”
Paneki’s eyes flashed. “Exactly.”
“Forgive me, my lord,” Higatsuku interrupted, “but Kisada will not be easily convinced that he has accomplished his goal. He will require… persuasion.”
“Kisada is the sort of man easily persuaded by blood,” Paneki observed. “That is something we can easily offer him. It is mine he will desire, however.”
“Never,” Higatsuku said at once. “Lord Paneki, could it not be another?”
“If they believe the orders calling for Kisada’s head came from the Scorpion, then only I can pay that price.”
“Then perhaps,” Miyako offered, “we can have them believe otherwise.”
For the first time, Higatsuku favored his Champion’s wife with a smile and a respectful bow of the head. “That can easily be arranged, my lady.”
Paneki was silent for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, he shook his head. “No, that will not be sufficient. Kisada is many things, but he is not the fool we have painted him to be in the courts. He will suspect duplicity unless we provide an ample distraction.”
Higatsuku’s smile grew broader. “I believe I have just the thing, my lord. A scroll, with some interesting revelations on the matter of the Yasuki family’s lines of succession. As you recall, we have a source who is… close to the matter.”
The gleam in Paneki’s eyes flashed again.
Hida Kisada watched yet another village burn. He took no pleasure in it. This was not victory on the field of battle. It was slaughter and destruction. It was not a source of pride, but neither was it source of shame. Kisada was a pragmatic man. He always had been.
He did what needed to be done. Nothing less would suffice.
“Lord Kisada!” Hiruma Shotoku rode up to his leader with a note of urgency in his voice.
“Report.”
“Riders approach! Six of them!”
“Gather our men. We shall meet these riders. Make sure the men are ready to ride at a moment’s notice.”
“Always, Lord Kisada.”
As Shotoku hurried to follow his orders, Kisada pondered the riders. It was impossible for a force large enough to react to their presence in time to make a difference, but a small group like this one, certainly could if they were close enough and rode hard enough. But what would they hope to achieve? Six men could not threaten a hundred. If they thought to catch him unawares to take Kisada’s life, they would be sorely mistaken.
By the time the six riders approached, the full complement of Kisada’s cavalry stood waiting for them. The riders were Scorpion, but they flew the banner of parley, not of war. The group stopped and one called out, “We wish to meet with Hida Kisada. We shall come unarmed.” With that, all six dismounted and five placed their daisho carefully on their horses. They strapped them in so they could not easily be dislodged and then approached on foot. The sixth man was not armed at all.
Kisada motioned for six of his men to accompany him and he ventured forth, still on horseback, to meet with the new arrivals.
“You wished to speak with Hida Kisada. Now speak.”
“My name is Shosuro Higatsuku and I come to you on a matter of grave importance. There has been a horrible misunderstanding, which I must take responsibility for.”
Kisada’s eyebrow arched. “Misunderstanding? So the assassins sent against me were actually just visitors who wanted to discuss the finer art of striking from the shadows?”
“The assassins were sent, yes, but not by the Scorpion.”
Kisada laughed. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that? The Scorpion had nothing to do with the fools sent against me? Do you want me to believe the Lion are using such tactics now? The Phoenix?”
Higatsuku shook his head. “That is not what I meant. Those who made an attempt on your life were sent by one of the Scorpion, but not by the Scorpion as a whole. Bayushi Paneki knew nothing of it.”
“So who is the one responsible if Paneki is so innocent?”
Higatsuku bowed his head. “It was I who sent the assassins to kill you. They failed, so I failed.”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
Higatsuku’s head shot up and his eyes glared. There was venom on his tongue as he spoke. “Because you are an abomination! You violate the natural order! The Celestial Order! We were all grateful when you came through the gate to help us against Iuchiban, but that help has been given and your time is past. You should have done your duty and returned from whence you came!”
Kisada’s eyes flashed. “Duty? You speak to me of duty when you are here claiming you acted against the orders of your daimyo?”
“I did what I felt needed to be done, but I failed. In failing I have brought ruination upon my clan. I did not offer my seppuku for my actions. I offered it for my failure. Lord Paneki, in his wisdom, felt that my shame could be better used in life than in death. He ordered me to find you and convey a message to you from him.”
“What is the message?”
Higatsuku slowly drew a pair of scrolls from his obi. It appeared that he would hand them to Kisada, but at the last moment he dropped it the dirt at the feet of Kisada’s horse. Anger filled the Great Bear’s face and one of the Crab at his side lunged forward to end the Scorpion’s life for this insult, but a motion from Kisada stopped him.
“You are a fool, Higatsuku; a fool who seeks his own death. You may yet achieve your goal, but not until I have to read what your master has to say.” Another Crab dismounted and fetched the scrolls from the ground, glaring at the Scorpion the whole time. He handed them to Kisada.
He looked at the first scroll and recognized the seal of the Scorpion Champion, so he broke it and read the contents of the scroll.
Hida Kisada,
It is with great regret that I write these words. When the Crab first mounted their assaults on Scorpion lands, I believed that the attacks were unprovoked. The outrage I expressed was real as I thought the Crab to be villainous in their actions.
I have recently learned the reason behind the attacks. Shosuro Higatsuku has admitted that he sent hired blades to take your life. He took this action with no direction or instruction from me or any of the ruling class within the clan. These horrible acts were his alone.
He requested the right of seppuku from me and I denied him this right until he carries this message to you. His life is yours to do with what you wish. If he returns to us, I will allow his seppuku. If he does not return, I will assume that you have meted out justice as you see fit.
You have my word that there will be no further threats to your person originating from anyone within the Scorpion clan. I hope that this will allow the hostilities between our two clans to cease. There is much unrest in Rokugan, let us not add to it over the actions of an overly ambitious and foolish underling.
His chop gave further evidence of the veracity of the origin of the message.
Kisada carefully re-rolled the scroll and handed it to one of the samurai who accompanied him. “What is the meaning of the other scroll?”
“A peace offering,” Higatsuku said. “A gift from my Champion, as partial restitution for that which has been taken from you.”
Kisada looked down at Higatsuku for a moment before pulling his tetsubo from his saddle and swinging it in a wide arc. Higatsuku did not flinch as the weight crashed down upon him, shattering his skull so severely that none would be able to identify the body.
The Crab then looked at the other five Scorpion. They stood close enough that there was now blood splashed on them, but they also did not flinch. “Return to your master, Scorpion. Remind him that your kind is not the only one who can sting. Let my actions be my only further answer.”
He waited until the Scorpion had withdrawn, leaving Higatsuku where he lay. They remounted and rode back in the direction they had arrived. Once they were out of sight, Kisada returned to his troops and barked his orders. Within an hour they were traveling towards Kyuden Hida, avoiding any Scorpion villages or outposts on they way.