L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix Read online

  Ujimitsu let out a long sigh. "A bad business," he said. He adjusted his red and orange kimono and checked himself for wounds. He found none. Even the delicate featherlike designs of his silk robes seemed unruffled by the fight.

  Tadaka nodded. "Yes, but well and quickly disposed of. Nothing left but the cleaning up." He used the top of his fan to push his pointed straw hat up on his forehead. The wide, round brim settled back, and sunlight streamed down on Tadaka's stern face. The rocks that hung in small settings around the hat's brim rattled and clacked and whispered the song of stone.

  Ujimitsu almost fancied he could see his friend's features behind the concealing hood—almost. "Shall I fetch the eta from the village?" the Phoenix Champion asked.

  Tadaka shook his head. "No," he said. "Though dead, these creatures might still infect them. I wouldn't let seven unclean eta touch these abominations."

  Ujimitsu nodded. "I recognize one of these zombies—the last one I slew. Her name was Miori. She lived in the village at the bottom of the hill and often came to tend this shrine."

  "Probably that devotion is what led to her death," Tadaka said. He looked around the small clearing, appraising the damage and adjusting his loose-fitting red and black kimono. He tucked his fan into one wide sleeve.

  The preternaturally tall obelisk stood in the center of the clearing, its worn stone surface carved with the kami's likeness and ancient prayers. It stood serenely, oblivious to the demon blood running down its sides. Nearby the remains of a small shrine, made of bamboo and painted wood, slumped listlessly. The pristine trees of Mori Isawa, the sacred wood of the Phoenix, ringed the scene, silent witnesses to the violence just ended.

  The swollen bodies of the twice-dead zombies littered the ground like giant bags of black ooze. Already flies buzzed around the corpses.

  Tadaka frowned. His heart sank that he and Ujimitsu had brought such carnage to this peaceful setting. The clearing would never be the same. Its shrine could never be made holy again. Tadaka felt he'd lost a piece of his soul.

  As if echoing his kinsman's thoughts, Ujimitsu said, "I used to like this place."

  Tadaka nodded. "As did I. What brought you here in such a timely fashion? Chasing the minions of the Evil One within our fair land?"

  Ujimitsu shook his head. "Hardly," he said. "I was just passing through."

  Behind his hood, Tadaka smiled. "I doubt that," he said. "Only yesterday reports came that you were fighting ogres in Kiken na Roka. The day before that, I heard you were saving villagers at Doro Owari Mura. Both places are a long way from here."

  Ujimitsu shrugged. "Those reports are exaggerated. People seem to have trouble keeping track of me. The peasants see my face everywhere, even where I'm not. Besides," he said with a smile, "I travel quickly."

  Tadaka laughed. "With the wings of the Phoenix, I'd say. And you don't even look tired."

  "How could one tire of our glorious homeland?" Ujimitsu said, smiling broadly now. "Chalk it up to clean living and the grace of Amaterasu, if you like."

  "So you were just passing through, then?" Tadaka said.

  "Honestly," Ujimitsu replied, nodding. "Miori's grandmother stopped me in the road. She said her granddaughter had journeyed to this shrine two days ago and had not returned. Now we know why." He sighed. "I will hate to tell her of the girl's fate."

  "The Evil One's talons have grown," Tadaka said, "to strike so deep within our lands."

  Ujimitsu cocked his head. A voice whispered something to him, but he ignored it. "You think, then," he said to Tadaka, "that the oni came to this shrine on purpose, to spread Fu Leng's plague?"

  "What else?" Tadaka said. "Even as their dead master sleeps, Fu Leng's servants work his will. Either Junzo—may the sun burn the flesh from his bones—sent the creature to do Fu Leng's bidding, or the shugenja's foul spells tainted some peasant, allowing the oni to acquire a body to live in. Who can say which? These other victims, though, were probably simple peasants— devoted people, like your Miori."

  Ujimitsu nodded. "I wish I'd come sooner."

  Tadaka laughed darkly. "Even you can't be everywhere at once."

  Ujimitsu sighed and nodded. "What brought you to this place, Master of Earth?"

  "I've been in the mountains," Tadaka replied, "meditating— seeking the wisdom of the earth. I thought to stop at this shrine on my way back home."

  "It is a dark omen," Ujimitsu said.

  "One of many. This place must be cleansed."

  "Should I summon a priest?"

  "Not even Shinsei himself could wash away this stain," Tadaka said gravely. "The earth must purge itself of the Evil One's blight." His eyes rolled back in his head, and he began to chant. His voice filled the clearing with deep, resonant sound.

  Ujimitsu felt a soft rumbling beneath his feet, like the purring of a great cat. Even through the soles of his zori sandals, the Phoenix Champion felt warmth. A pale glow emanated from the obelisk and the bare earth beneath it. He smiled and nodded.

  "I'll leave you to it, then," he said. "I'll scout the area, make sure it's abomination-free." Tadaka didn't reply. Already he was deep within the magic.

  Ujimitsu glanced back over his shoulder as he hiked into the woods. Even now the earth glowed red, beginning to burn. He shook his head and sighed. The tall pines of Mori Isawa closed in around him, shielding the samurai from sight of the clearing. The cool embrace of the wood restored a measure of the Phoenix Champion's serenity.

  He knew of a clear, swift stream running across this path only a short distance uphill. Ujimitsu hoped the water might wash the taste of death from his mouth. A voice in his head whispered, Soon the taste will be so great that all the seas in the world will not be able to wash it away.

  Ujimitsu nodded, and spoke out loud in reply. "You speak my fears," he said. "Fu Leng is returning to Rokugan, and Junzo is his herald."

  You must fight him, another voice urged.

  "With a thousand years experience, what else could I do?" Ujimitsu asked, shrugging.

  You should take the battle to the Evil One, a third voice said.

  "No," said Ujimitsu. "I'm just a simple warrior. This is my place; to protect our people is my duty. I'm no wise man, no shugenja, no priest. I'm merely samurai. The Elemental Masters must decide when to bring war to the Evil One."

  He reached the stream, knelt down, and took a long drink. Quenched, he looked at his reflection.

  "The Elemental Masters?" he saw his reflection ask. The face in the water frowned. "Those bloodless pacifists? Hidden in their libraries, they will read until the end of the world!"

  Ujimitsu dashed his hand into the stream, shattering the reflection into tumbling beads of water.

  "Tadaka is not hidden in a library," he said to himself. "He will know when the time for action has come. To strike too soon is often worse than not to strike at all."

  The voices—the Soul of Shiba—said nothing in return.

  Ujimitsu took two small flasks from his obi, filled them with water, and then returned the containers to his belt. Tadaka will be thirsty once his work is done, the Phoenix Champion thought.

  He stood and looked around. The gentle burble of water filled the sacred forest. Pines towered overhead, shielding the stream from the afternoon sun and dappling the woods with green and yellow light.

  Rocks of all sizes lined the streambed, beautiful white stones speckled with red and black and flecks of sparkling mica. These placid banks seemed very far from the clearing and the desecrated shrine. If he listened carefully, though, Ujimitsu could hear Tadaka's purification chant drifting through the trees.

  The samurai sighed. He chose a tall, flat rock by the side of the stream and sat down. He took a deep breath of the moist air and exhaled it slowly. Life is a series of battles with small snatches of rest in between. The thought played quietly in his mind, though Ujimitsu didn't know if it was his own or his ancestors'.

  He ran his hand over the smooth stone—cool, even in the summer heat, and damp with spra
y. Upstream, the stones became larger, like petrified animals come to drink. The champion enjoyed the play of light over the shapes. He smiled and stood.

  "Shiba Ujimitsu ..." a deep voice said.

  The Phoenix Champion spun, his katana already in his hand.

  A shape emerged from the rocks upstream. The figure was dark, like the shadows themselves, and tall. He wore a deep red cloak that, even at a distance, couldn't conceal his deformity. The way the cloak hung on his body was wrong, twisted. It flapped vacantly beneath his right shoulder. The figure lifted his head slightly, and a scarred face showed behind the hood. Once, the man had been handsome, but not now.

  Ujimitsu recognized him immediately. "Ujina," the Phoenix Champion said, only slightly relieved.

  "You know I've lost that name," the shugenja said quietly. "Though I still serve, my name must not be spoken."

  Ujimitsu let the arm holding his katana drop to his side. "I thought it more polite than calling you the Nameless One."

  "Names or lack of names are meaningless to me," the Nameless One said. "Even politeness does not mean what it did."

  "Did you come to see Tadaka?" Ujimitsu asked. "He's back at the shrine."

  "No, Shiba Ujimitsu," the Nameless One said, "I came to see you." As the two of them talked, the shugenja had been making his way downstream to where Ujimitsu stood. Now he stopped, just a few paces away from the samurai.

  As hard as he looked, Ujimitsu could not see the Nameless One's eyes beneath his hood. "I thought you were in Kyuden Isawa," the Phoenix Champion finally said.

  "Like you, I travel where I'm needed," the Nameless One replied.

  Don't trust him! the Soul of Shiba whispered in Ujimitsu's mind. Ujimitsu ignored it. "And you're needed here, now?" he asked. The fine hairs on the back of the samurai champion's neck rose. Could there be further dangers lurking in the sacred wood?

  "Needed only briefly," the Nameless One said. He sat down on the rock where Ujimitsu had rested moments before. "I've come with a warning."

  "I'm listening."

  "Tell our family that they must cast off their pacifist ways," the Nameless One said. His soft, rich voice filled the air when he spoke. "If they do not, the world is doomed."

  "Doomed how?"

  The Nameless One shifted uneasily on his perch. "You know, of course, that Yogo Junzo now serves the Evil One. What you do not know is how far he has gone. Junzo is opening the Black Scrolls."

  A cold chill ran up Ujimitsu's spine. "No."

  The shugenja nodded. "Yes. He seeks to hasten Fu Leng's return to the world. The scrolls will give him that power. He won't stop until his undead master strides across the lands of Rokugan once more."

  "Can we stop him?" Ujimitsu asked.

  "Not now. His power is too great. He is too well hidden in the Shadowlands. The creatures there do his bidding. Only by casting off their torpor can the Phoenix hope to fight him."

  Ujimitsu willed his heart to stop pounding. The voices in his head, the Soul of Shiba, whirled angrily, each striving to be heard. One voice won out. "How do you know this?" the Phoenix Champion asked, his eyes narrowing.

  The Nameless One stood. "My ... situation allows me to go places that are difficult for other men. I hear things even the wise do not. You don't have to trust me, though. You can discover the truth of my words on your own."

  "Will you help us fight this evil?" Ujimitsu asked.

  "As I can," the man who had been Ujina replied. "Though I have other... obligations as well. Now, those commitments take me elsewhere. Relay my message to Tadaka and the others."

  Ujimitsu nodded.

  The Nameless One turned and walked back upstream. This time, rather than picking his way among the rocks, he flowed around them like an insubstantial specter.

  Ujimitsu started up the path, but said, "Why don't you take this message to Tadaka yourself?" When he turned, the Nameless One had vanished. The question hung in the air as Ujimitsu trotted back up the path.

  He saw the clearing before he reached it. Brilliant white light—nearly as bright as the sun—poured through the woods, casting long shadows on the mossy ground. Ujimitsu had to shield his eyes, but he heard Tadaka's song ahead of him and pressed on.

  As he reached the edge of the clearing, the chant ended. The white light leapt suddenly into the sky and vanished. An awesome silence fell on the wood.

  Tadaka slumped to his knees.

  The center of the clearing had been scorched in a wide circle. Within that ring only barren earth and the stone obelisk remained. The obelisk had returned to its original size, though it still glowed red with cleansing magic. Waves of heat rose off the ground, dancing in the air like transparent snakes. No trace of the zombies, the demon, or even the small bamboo shrine remained. A grim smile seemed to play across the weatherworn face of the obelisk.

  Ujimitsu walked to the edge of the purified circle and knelt down beside his friend. He took one of the water flasks from his obi, unstopped it, and put it in Tadaka's hand.

  Tadaka raised it to his lips and drank. When he'd drained the flask, he turned to Ujimitsu and said, "Thank you, my friend."

  Ujimitsu nodded. The two of them stood. When Tadaka faltered, Ujimitsu helped him up.

  The Master of Earth brushed a fine dust off his kimono. His face dripped with sweat. "The taint is banished," he said.

  Ujimitsu bowed. "Thank you," he said. "For myself, the village beyond, and our people."

  Tadaka bowed in return. For a moment, they stood in silence. Then, Ujimitsu said, "I saw your father."

  "What?" Tadaka said. "When?"

  "On the path," said Ujimitsu. "Just a few moments past."

  Behind his hood, Tadaka frowned. "What did he want?"

  "He said he wanted to warn us—to warn the clan. He said

  that Yogo Junzo had opened the Black Scrolls and that we Phoenix need to cast off our pacifist ways to fight him."

  Tadaka drew a sharp breath. "Do you believe him?"

  Ujimitsu shook his head. "I know that he's become strange since . .. since his troubles, but, yes—I think he was telling the truth—or as much of the truth as suited his purpose."

  "Then we must summon the Council of Five," Tadaka said.

  "I agree," said Ujimitsu. "Only your fellow Elemental Masters have the wisdom to discover the truth in this matter."

  Tadaka almost laughed. "As always, we would welcome the council of Shiba," he said.

  "I'm only a simple warrior," Ujimitsu replied.

  "A warrior, yes," Tadaka said, "but simple ... ? Never. Come, we must return to Kyuden Isawa as quickly as we can."

  Ujimitsu nodded. "You go on ahead," he said. "I'll catch up."

  Tadaka looked at his friend and arched his eyebrows. "Why?" he asked.

  "I have to tell an old woman about the fate of her granddaughter."

  AWAKENING

  t^^^^ammmmmm^^mmmmmmmmmmmmrn: 1

  Isawa Kaede awoke in darkness, a scream clutching her throat. She sat bolt upright on her futon, the silk of her quilt falling softly from her body. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was.

  She gasped a breath, held it, and forced calm into her mind. Otosan Uchi. She was in her bedchamber in Otosan Uchi, the Imperial Capital.

  Her eyes scanned the darkened room: low tables, flower vases, a small cabinet—all just shadows. She focused, calling the power up within her mind. The room brightened in her sight, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  Just her chambers. No hidden menace, nothing.

  Her eyes fell to a spot on the futon next to where she sat. No familiar head on the pillow beside her. Not even after all these years. Nothing.

  Kaede let out a long, slow sigh.

  An emptiness welled up within her breast, not the tranquil emptiness of the Void, but an emptiness that spoke of dreams unfulfilled.

  Yes, she was Phoenix Mistress of the Void, one of the most powerful shugenja in all of Rokugan. Yes, she sat upon the council of Elemental Masters with h
er brothers and kinsmen. And yes, she held the ear of Emperor Hantei the 39th.

  This last thought made her shudder, and she chided herself for it. To be the emperor's trusted advisor was one of the highest honors a samurai could strive for. To save the emperor's life, as she had done during the Scorpion's rebellion, was more than any servant of Amaterasu could hope for.

  She knew she should be happy, content. Indeed, the Void Mistress portion of her soul was happy. Her spirit, though, ached with the deep toll her devotions had taken. The new emperor, only a boy when his father had died, had stripped her fiance Akodo Toturi of his lands and title, stripped the Akodo of their name.

  True, she did not know Toturi well—they had been betrothed as children. It was also true that Toturi had taken the Emerald Throne after slaying the assassin fiend Bayushi Shoju. However, Toturi did so because he believed the Hantei heir had been killed. He didn't know that Kaede and Seppun Ishikawa had spirited the boy out of the Forbidden City and into Phoenix lands.

  Kaede was willing to forgive her fiance for his sins, but the new emperor was not. The logical part of Kaede couldn't blame the boy. He had lost his father, his friends, almost everything, before regaining the throne. Her spirit, however, wept silently at the sight of her empty bed.

  Kaede pulled the quilt around her bare shoulders. She reached out with her mind, touching the Void all around her. Soon she felt better.

  She let the quilt fall from her body, stood, and went to the low chest standing against one wall of the room. She opened the top, pulled out a padded kimono spangled with bird designs, and wrapped it around herself. The cool silk quickly warmed against her skin.

  A shadow fell across the floor of the room. Kaede jumped, and a small gasp escaped her lips. Then she realized it was only the silhouette of a cloud crossing the moon. Moonlight filtered through the shoji, the many-paned paper wall on the room's south side, and painted the wooden floor blue and white. The wind blew briskly outside, sending the cloud shadows fleeing across the room like mice.