L5r - scroll 07 - The Lion Page 2

  Tsuko seated herself on a low stool on the far side of the tent.

  "Tsuko-sama," Agetoki said, his gruff voice booming. He bowed again.

  "Agetoki," Tsuko said, "why are you here? Why have you brought your army? Why are you not slaying the Crane at Kyuden Doji?"

  Agetoki frowned, wrinkles of displeasure creasing his wide face and making his black mustache droop at the corners. "I have been ordered from the field."

  "What?" Tsuko asked, rising to her feet. "I gave no such orders."

  Agetoki nodded gravely. "I know, my daimyo," he said. "You would never give such a command. But the emperor ..."

  Tsuko's cold eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that the emperor ordered you to leave before the Crane castle fell?"

  "Yes, my lady," Agetoki said.

  "Are you telling me that our enemies still sit in their high towers, laughing at us?"

  Agetoki shook his head. "No, my lady. Though the emperor ordered your army to leave the field, I doubt very much that the Crane are laughing."

  "What do you mean?" Tsuko asked, arching one pale eyebrow. Anger and confusion warred in her. "Did we destroy Kyuden Doji or not?"

  "We did not destroy the castle, Mistress—Doji Hoturi did."

  "What? Explain yourself."

  "Doji Hoturi rode into the battle with his army of undead and other abominations." Agetoki almost shuddered. "We thought they came to battle us and save the castle. Instead, they turned on Hoturi's own people. Just before the two forces met, we received an order from the emperor to stand aside and not interfere in the conflict. It burned my heart to do so."

  "Did the emperor give these orders, or did Kachiko?" Tsuko scowled, thinking of the boy emperor's scheming wife. Kachiko had been a Scorpion before her new husband disbanded that clan of spies and assassins. Rumors insisted that she, and not the emperor, now held the true power of the Emerald Throne.

  "I don't know, my daimyo," Agetoki said. He reached beneath his armor and withdrew a small scroll. Handing it to her, he said, "Here are the orders."

  Tsuko took the silk and examined it. Nothing on its golden surface showed whether the order might come from the emperor or his conniving bride. Cursing, Tsuko cast the scroll into a corner of the tent.

  Agetoki had brought her bad news before. It was he who told her of her friend Kitsu Koji's death at the hands of Shiba Tsukune. The recollection of that elusive Phoenix further nettled Tsuko. She kicked aside her stool and roared, stalking around the tent.

  Agetoki knelt, impassive, before her.

  To be defeated in fair combat as Koji had been was bad enough. To be ordered not to fight was a grave insult to Lion honor and pride. Still, with the emperor's seal on the scroll, what else could be done? Tsuko was the emperor's sword; she could never disobey him. Her honor in such matters was spotless. Impotent rage welled up in Tsuko's heart.

  "A curse on the Scorpion and their schemes!" she spat.

  Agetoki nodded. "I know, Mistress. It burns in my belly as well. But what else could I do?"

  "Nothing," she said angrily. "The Lion fight for the emperor ... always." Tsuko cursed silently for not having been at the battle. She upbraided herself for following a trail of petty revenge when she could have been assaulting the Crane capital personally. The Phoenix had merely slain her friend, while the Crane . . . ! The Crane had killed her fiance and altered the course of the Lion's destiny.

  Because of Arasou's death, Akodo Toturi had risen to become daimyo. Because Toturi was unworthy, he betrayed the office and besmirched the Lion's reputation. Because Toturi was lazy, Emperor Hantei the 38th had been slain and a boy now sat upon the throne. Because Toturi had tried to hold the throne for himself, the Akodo family had been stripped of their name.

  Arasou, the only man Tsuko had ever loved, didn't even have a name anymore—all because of the Crane and Toturi. Tsuko hated them both with all her soul. The boy emperor should have killed Toturi rather than merely casting him out and making him ronin. Someday, Tsuko hoped to correct that error and slay the Black Lion herself.

  She turned on Agetoki so suddenly that the burly general nearly jumped. "From now on," she said angrily, "I will be at the center of all Lion battles."

  Agetoki shifted uncomfortably where he knelt. It looked for a moment as though he might say something. Instead, he merely bowed low, almost touching his head to the floor.

  "You've done well enough, Agetoki," Tsuko said, realizing that she might have offended his honor, "and I thank you for your faithfulness. No man could have done more."

  Agetoki sat up once more. "Had it not been the emperor," he said, "I would have died rather than leave the field."

  She nodded grimly and folded her arms over her chest. "I know. Even I could have done no more."

  "Perhaps it's not too late, my lady," Agetoki said. "We were ordered not to interfere, it's true, but once the battle is over ..."

  "Yes," Tsuko said quietly. "Once the battle is over, there will still be Crane left to fight."

  "And they will be weaker now, Daimyo," he said.

  "Yes," she replied. "And perhaps Shiba Tsukune will be among them."

  "If Hoturi has not killed her," Agetoki said.

  "If she's dead," Tsuko said thoughtfully, "there's still a Crane castle to take, and beyond that, a whole province."

  "What about Hoturi?" Agetoki asked. "He's mad, and his legion of undead may be even more dangerous than the Crane."

  "Doji Hoturi can burn his own cities to the ground for all I care. He's a Crane. There's no understanding him anyway. If he gets in my way, though, I'll kill him just as quickly as I'd kill any of our other enemies."

  Agetoki smiled and nodded. "Yosh," he grunted.

  "Gohei!" Tsuko bellowed. The yari-carrying general appeared in the doorway of the tent. "Take your samurai and help Ikoma Tsanuri's forces on the western frontier."

  Gohei bowed. "Hai, Tsuko-sama."

  The Lion daimyo continued. "Agetoki and I are returning to Kyuden Doji," she said. "We'll cut through whatever's left of these Crane like a sickle through dry wheat." A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

  The flickering light from a paper lantern in one corner of the tent caught Tsuko's face and, for a moment, the Lion daimyo's eyes burned red.

  THE BLACK LION

  If a big tree falls in the forest, and there is no one around to hear it, who cares if it makes any sound?" asked Toku.

  Toturi smiled at the young man riding beside him. Toku was hardly more than a boy— awkward, gangly-limbed, and lacking experience in both battle and the ways of the world. Yet, he made up for his inexperience with enthusiasm and nearly boundless energy. The ragtag armor the teen wore could hardly contain Toku's vitality. The young samurai spurred his shaggy mare to keep up with the ronin general's great warhorse.

  Toturi, clad in black samurai mail from head to foot, reigned in slightly so that Toku could keep up. They rode at the head of a huge column of samurai. The army wound through the foothills of the Spine of the World Mountains, searching for enemies. Late autumn dappled the countryside in shades of orange, red, and brown.

  Toturi's ebony armor shone in the midday

  sun, and the chill wind tossed his long black mane into the air. Once, his hair had been golden, but that was before he lost his clan and his honor. Toturi was tall and lean, confident in his posture and gait. He had a handsome face, sparkling eyes, and a strong jaw.

  Behind the proud body lurked a mind even more keen. No one in Rokugan could match Toturi in strategy and tactics. Perhaps the traitor Bayushi Shoju could have, but Shoju was dead, and Toturi had killed him. In the end, the Scorpion had been no match for Toturi in either wits or strength.

  The Black Lion gazed down at his young friend. Toturi liked Toku and enjoyed his company. The boy was a fresh wind amid the world of stodgy, stoic samurai. He was even impertinent at times, but the ronin general seldom minded. Toturi envied the youth his freedom.

  Once, I was like him, the Black Lion thought.


  Indeed, had his brother not been killed, Toturi might have lived like Toku—wild and free in the natural world. Raised in a monastery, Toturi's temperament was suited to a simple life. But Akodo Arasou's death had thrust Toturi first into the ruling seat of the Lion and then into the bloody arena of Rokugani politics. His mistakes there had made him traitor, then emperor, then madman, then ronin ... and finally lord of a great army of outcast samurai. Toturi had tasted the pinnacle of achievement and the depths of dishonor. Through it all, he remained determined to save the world from the Dark Lord Fu Leng, or die trying. The Black Lion's long-tarnished honor mattered little. His goal endured. He could not fight for the emperor, but he could still fight for the empire.

  Toturi glanced at Toku and at the wild, hilly landscape surrounding them. He took a deep breath of the cold autumn air. "It's not a question of who cares," he said patiently. "The answer lies in seeking the truth. Is the world, Shinsei was asking, only real when we experience it—or does it go on without us?"

  "I think it probably does," Toku said, "though I have no way of knowing for sure. Once I was away from a town for a year and discovered my favorite teahouse gone when I returned. I suppose the kaini could have just stolen the teahouse in the middle of the night and taken it to heaven. Probably, though, somebody knocked it down. It was a pretty shabby place, really. But the tea was good."

  Toturi chuckled, a rich, deep sound that echoed off of the surrounding hills. The ascetic's mantra ran through his head: Chop wood, carry water; live in the present; take one step at a time. "Shinsei suggests that we can never know, and so we should concentrate on where we are right now."

  "I wish I had some of that tea right now," Toku said. "It's pretty cold up here."

  "Winter's nearly upon us," Toturi replied. "Often it brings cold weather," he added, smiling.

  Behind the two of them, the vast ronin army wound through the hills like a gigantic snake. Outriders and ashigaru foot soldiers beat the brush and forests on either side of the road, searching for Crab stragglers and other less savory foes. The Crab and their Shadowlands allies had been defeated at the Battle of Bei-den Pass. Usually, defeated samurai would be left to roam the countryside, but Toturi was loath to abandon such marauders to their depredations.

  As the Black Lion chatted amiably with his charge, General Ikoma Bentai rode up to join them at the front of the long line of troops. Bentai was a wily old samurai, having worked his way up through the Lion ranks to become one of Toturi's most trusted advisors. Shiny black armor with gold and silver trim adorned the aging general's stocky frame. Bentai dyed his thinning hair golden, refusing to give up the long-held Lion tradition, though following Toturi had made him ronin as well.

  Bentai spurred his horse and caught up with Toturi. The Black Lion looked resplendent on the back of his great warhorse. The old general gazed with admiration at his friend and leader.

  "Hida Yakamo and his people will have a hard time getting past these mountains," Bentai said as he reined his horse in beside Toturi. "Those scum won't be menacing the empire again anytime soon."

  "I hope not," Toturi replied. "The Crab are wily, though, as well as proud and strong. I doubt we've seen the last of them."

  Just then, a scuffle broke out in the woods to the right of the column. Black-clad samurai ashigaru struggled for a few moments with a hidden foe. Then the fighting settled down. Bentai turned his horse and addressed the Black Lion's men. "Ho, there, what's going on?"

  A scraggly-bearded samurai lumbered out of the woods, followed by a group of fellow ronin holding a struggling prisoner. Toturi remembered the lead man as Bo, a rough-hewn foot soldier, sometimes overenthusiastic about his duties.

  "A Crab straggler," Bo said, rubbing his gnarled beard, "trying to spy on us or cause trouble, no doubt." He eyed the prisoner angrily.

  Bo's compatriots pushed forward a battered samurai-ko in red and blue Crab armor.

  Toturi, Toku, and Bentai rode back to take a look at her. A long cut traced down the woman's left cheek, and the shoulders of her kimono had been torn and pulled down, revealing the pale skin beneath. Her hakama trousers were little more than tatters, barely covering her bruised and scarred legs and hips. Despite her battered appearance, the woman's eyes still held fire.

  "Who tore her clothes?" Toturi asked sternly.

  "We did," said Bo.

  "We were looking for Shadowlands taint," added one of his compatriots. The group around Bo nodded and grunted their agreement.

  Bentai leaned toward the Black Lion and said quietly, "You can hardly blame them, Lord. Many of the Crab have been touched with Fu Leng's evil."

  "Would you rob a samurai of her dignity, then?" Toturi asked them all. Turning to the captive he said, "What's your name, woman?"

  "I am Hida Misae, ronin lord," she said defiantly. "I am not tainted by the Evil One. Either kill me, or set me on my way home."

  Toturi frowned at the woman. "Are you through fighting then, Misae?"

  "Through fighting for a cause I don't understand and a lord I no longer respect," Misae said. "Perhaps it makes me ronin—like you—to say it, but Crabs should be manning the Carpenter's Wall, battling Shadowlands monsters, not fighting Unicorns over some barren mountain pass. I say it again, Toturi the Black: either kill me, or send me home."

  "She seems bewitched," Bentai whispered. "Shall I fetch a shugenja, Lord, or perhaps some jade to test her with? The minions of the Evil One cannot stand the touch of jade."

  The Black Lion shook his head. "No, Bentai, she's not bewitched, just disillusioned. And, as to whether she is evil..." He nodded at the men holding Misae. "Bring her forward."

  Misae resisted their attempts to drag her and, instead, stepped forward on her own. Bo looked as though he might clout her on the head, but a glance from Toturi stopped him. Bo and his men bowed courteously and stepped back into the ranks.

  Toturi's deep brown eyes gazed at Misae. At first, it seemed she might turn away, but she couldn't resist looking at him. "Who is your lord, Misae?" Toturi asked in a quiet, sonorous voice. "Is it Fu Leng or Amaterasu?"

  "Amaterasu, the sun goddess," Misae answered, her eyes unwavering.

  The ronin lord nodded. "Misae," he said, "you may end your battles and make your way home to the land of the Crab. We will not stop you—though we will take your katana and your armor, lest you cause mischief in the lands between here and there."

  Misae nodded grimly. "The armor's almost useless anyway," she said. "Leave me my wakizashi, though, Lord. It has been in my family for a long time." The short sword, the second half of the daisho, represented a samurai's honor.

  "Hai. I will," Toturi said. "That and a supply of food and water. If you want to go." His gaze remained fixed on her as they spoke.

  "If... ? Are there other alternatives, besides honorable suicide or death?" she asked.

  "Hai," Toturi repeated. "You can join me and fight the Shadowlands here, in the heart of Rokugan."

  The bitter anger slowly slipped from Misae's face. Moisture appeared at the corner of her right eye, but she blinked it back. "You would take me?" she asked quietly. "I who have only recently fought against your people? I who have cursed your name and the day you were born?"

  "It is never too late to change, Misae," Toturi said. "Join me. Join my cause. Help free Rokugan from the disease of Fu Leng."

  Bentai looked skeptically from Toturi to Misae. "We may have to fight more Crab stragglers along our way."

  Toturi never took his eyes from the woman. "She knows that."

  "I will not fight my brothers," Misae said firmly, "but I will go with you. If you fight the Shadowlands, even here, so far from the Kaiu Kabe, my swords are yours."

  Bo stepped forward and cut her bonds while another samurai brought her daisho forward.

  Misae knelt and offered them to the Black Lion.

  "Domo arigato, Misae-san," Toturi said. He turned to Toku, who had waited silently at the ronin lord's side all this time. "Toku, take Misae to T
etsuo. He's recently joined us and should be a good choice for guiding her in our ways."

  "But he's from the nameless clan," the boy protested.

  "We are all nameless here," said Toturi. "Only by banishing the Evil One and his minions from Rokugan can we regain our honor and station."

  "I still don't trust anyone who was ever a Scorpion," Toku said sheepishly.

  Misae glanced from Toku to Toturi and then back. In her eyes, Toturi saw contempt for the fallen clan.

  "Don't worry," the Black Lion said jovially, "Tetsuo's a pleasant enough fellow."

  "All Scorpions are pleasant on the outside," Misae said flatly.

  Toturi smiled. "Some people distrust the Crab because of their appearance," he said. "Shinsei teaches us to find the value of people inside their shells."

  Misae laughed, picked up her swords, and tucked them into her frayed belt. "Very well," she said, bowing once again.

  The ronin chief glanced from Misae back to Toku. "Find her some new clothes as well," he said. "We may be a ragtag build of ronin, but there's no sense scaring our allies any more than we have to."

  Toku laughed, and Misae did, too. So did the other samurai nearby. They turned away and returned to their tasks as Toku dismounted and walked with their new recruit toward the rear of the i olumn.

  When they were out of earshot, Bentai asked, "Do you think it's wise to pick up every stray we find, Toturi-san?"

  "Only those worth saving," Toturi replied. He turned and rode I >ack to the front of the army. Bentai went with him.

  xxxxxxxx

  That night, they bedded down in the foothills on the western side of the Spine of the World. Toturi's mind wandered over the range, to the lands of his former people, the Lion. Wistfully, he remembered riding among his old clan's holdings—the green hills, tlie clear streams, the snowcapped peaks, the towering pine forests.

  Had the grip of the plague been broken there, or did they still suffer as the people here did? Toturi knew the answer. Fu Leng's evil could not be banished from the land by any force the Lion mustered. Only by driving the Evil One's influence from Rokugan could the plague be stopped. For a moment, Toturi wondered if t he people of the Emerald Empire were up to the task.