L5r - scroll 01 - The Scorpion

by Stephen D. Sullivan

  Such a serene and beautiful place, even now, even with Toturi lying so still.

  Toturi had never wanted to leave. Nor did Hatsuko. This was the place where they were meant to be together. This was the time they had together. She knew things would never be so perfect for them again. This was their moment, as Aki had told the young geisha.

  Soon, very soon, the moment would pass.

  Hatsuko had not worked up the nerve to use the blue gem on the first day. Then she had been swept up in the moment, in Toturi's happiness, in the glory of their love.

  Nor had she been able to brew the poison on the second day. That day they walked in the forest, they talked, they laughed. They bathed naked in the pool below Hatsuko Falls. At long last, Toturi had seen her without her white geisha makeup.

  He told her the paint didn't matter, but without it, Hatsuko felt as if part of her identity—her soul—had slipped away. She found she didn't know who she was anymore. Her relationship to him encompassed her entire world.

  Toturi seemed to like that; but it made Hatsuko more afraid than ever.

  That realization had given her the strength to do what she needed to do on the third day. Also, Toturi planned to leave her on the next morning, returning to Otosan Uchi and his fiancee—a woman Hatsuko would never meet, could never know.

  The geisha wondered what the woman, Isawa Kaede, was really like. Was she as beautiful and terrible as Aki had described? Could she really burn a man for all eternity?

  Hatsuko determined that the Phoenix would not burn Akodo Toturi.

  On the evening of the third day, Hatsuko slipped the poison out of the blue gem and into Toturi's tea. The remainder she reserved for herself.

  Toturi drank the tea, laughing and joking, as happy as she'd ever seen him in his life.

  What a perfect moment for life to end, Hatsuko thought.

  She stood to brew the poison for herself. The time was right. The perfect moment had come.

  As she got to her feet, a strange look came over Toturi's face. He stared into space as if he didn't see her, as though he were in a completely different world—just as he had looked that first day at the falls.

  Then his mouth and eyes opened wide. "Hatsuko," he said—the name both plea and accusation.

  She reached for him. His body tumbled to the floor.

  "Toturi!" she cried, tears welling up in her eyes and pouring down her face like rain. She held him, kissed his face, his mouth. Already, he had grown terribly cold.

  As cold as he was now, much later, as he lay upon their bed where Hatsuko had brought him, the bed where they had made love earlier that day and all the night before.

  So cold. So still.

  In the end she had not been able to do it. The blue amulet hung around her neck, ready for her to act, but she had not been able to. The gem still held a large measure of its poison, more than enough for one—but not enough for two.

  Hatsuko wondered, through her tear-stained thoughts, if she had done the right thing.

  If half the poison was enough to kill a man, or woman, surely one quarter was too little to do so.

  Surely there was no poison that powerful. Surely cutting the dose in half would cause only sleep—prolonged, peaceful sleep. Sleep for a week, or a month, or perhaps more.

  Time in which Hatsuko might find the courage to finish the job—prolonging the perfect moment forever. Time in which the Fortunes might deliver the lovers from the terrible fate that descended on them. If the Fortunes had such plans, they had—so far—not seen fit to share them with Hatsuko.

  So she wept. Piteously. Night and day. Unsure of herself, unsure of her love, unsure what to do.

  She had cut the lethal dose in half before giving it to her lover, but she had never considered what might happen after that—what she would do now.

  Perhaps she would stay in the cabin and tend Toturi forever as he slept. No. Sooner or later, she would be forced to finish the job.

  If she had not finished him already.

  He lay there beside her, so still, so cold. Her tears splashed his face like a tiny waterfall.

  If half the poison would kill a man, what would one quarter do?

  How much was too much?

  THE WAY OF THE UNICORN

  Shinjo Yokatsu reigned in his magnificent horse and tossed his black hair in the morning sun. The horse snorted and pawed the ground with its powerful hooves.

  The champion of the Unicorn clan surveyed his troops and smiled. Even this early in the day, they had mustered out quickly, formed up precisely. They were fine men and women, every one of them.

  Despite months of unannounced drilling, they had not grown lax in their performance. Though they had never been given a reason for the maneuvers, they had not questioned their lord and master. This was what it meant to be samurai.

  Now, two weeks into the current set of drills, Shinjo Yokatsu looked at his troops and felt proud. Over the last fortnight, the hooves of Unicorn horses had churned the soil of the land near Toshi Sani Kanemochi Kaeru into a

  rich loam. His army was as ready as it ever would be.

  The question remained, did the army need to be ready?

  The other clans had speculated about the meaning of these drills ever since Yokatsu had first ordered them. People didn't believe the maneuvers were just practice. If they were, why were they so elaborate? Why the supply trains? Why the siege equipment?

  Most people believed the Unicorn were getting ready to fight, but no one knew whom. Popular opinion said the clan was making ready to take sides in the Crane-Lion dispute, but who knew on which side the Unicorn would ally?

  Others thought the Unicorn would march to the lands of the Crab, either to bolster the defenses against the Shadow-lands or to quell an uprising by Hida Kisada, the Crab leader. Rumors abounded that the Crab was displeased with the emperor—though few believed he would strike against the Emerald Throne.

  A third opinion said the Unicorn prepared to make war on their own behalf, to expand their territory. Holding their drills just outside their recognized boundaries did little to dissuade this rumor.

  Of all those in the field that day, only Yokatsu himself knew the truth. He had heard the prophecies of the Unicorn shugenja. He had listened to the whispers coming from the dark parts of the Unicorn cities. He alone had noticed the movements of peasants throughout the empire—peasants whom Yokatsu knew to be pawns of the Scorpion.

  Though he knew the Scorpion was secretly mobilizing, Yokatsu could not guess the intent of the Master of Secrets.

  So he sat on his tall steed that afternoon, watching the southern sky. A massive thunderstorm rolled out of the Spine of the World Mountains and blew toward Otosan Uchi. Yokatsu wondered what, if anything, that storm might mean.

  By morning, he knew.

  In the hours just before dawn, news of the Scorpion's coup

  spread like wildfire. Shinjo Mariko, a young shugenja, woke the lord with the news.

  "The emperor is dead," she said, out of breath from running. "The Scorpion are taking control of Otosan Uchi. Our people got the word out, but then communications went silent."

  Yokatsu cursed under his breath. "Sound the alarm! Form up the troops! We leave immediately! Tell my generals there is no time to waste!"

  Fifteen minutes later, Yokatsu was dressed and seated on his horse. He wheeled the animal around and addressed the troops, ready to march.

  "What man may know his own destiny?" he shouted. "This is the moment we feared, the moment we prayed would never come. The emperor is dead and the usurper, Bayushi Shoju, sits on the Emerald Throne. Will we stand for it?"

  As one, the assembled Unicorn host raised its weapons and cried, "HE! NEVER!"

  "Will you follow me, though fire and death and all the assembled armies of the other clans may stand in our way?" Yokatsu asked.

  "HAI!" came the unanimous reply.

  The Unicorn Champion raised his katana high. "Then ride like the wind!" he said. "To Otosan Uchi! Let no o
ne bar our way!"

  The Unicorn army roared with approval. Yokatsu wheeled his horse and galloped off toward the capital. His army fell in behind him and did the same.

  xxxxxxxx

  Late the second night after the coup, Dairu found Tetsuo atop one of the outer walls of Otosan Uchi. Beyond the battlements, great bonfires and torches painted the waning darkness red and orange. The Scorpion heir crept toward his cousin along the wall.

  "Get down!" Tetsuo hissed.

  Dairu crouched just in time. An arrow flew over his head, barely missing him.

  "You shouldn't be here," Tetsuo said. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and pressed both their backs against the battlement. Looking into the Scorpion heir's eyes, Tetsuo saw no fear, only determination. Dairu had grown up.

  "I thought I'd find my uncle here," he said.

  Tetsuo shook his head. "I haven't seen Aramoro since we finished off the Emerald Guard yesterday."

  "Do you know where he is?" Dairu asked. "Father wants to see him."

  "Outside the walls, I think, scouting," Tetsuo said.

  A clattering sound came above, and the top of a ladder protruded over the battlement.

  Quickly, Tetsuo and Dairu rose and pushed the ladder off the wall. The climbers fell to the ground. In the firelight, Dairu glimpsed hundreds of soldiers milling below. Several took shots at the cousins. The Scorpions ducked away before they could be hit.

  "Who are they?" Dairu asked. "I don't recognize their banners."

  "Irregular troops from the other clans," Tetsuo said. "Phoenix and Crane mostly. They must have had patrols nearby when we took the city. Some Unicorns, too—more every hour. I've seen others as well, even Dragons. The only ones missing are the Crabs."

  "Why are they fighting us? Surely the other clans can see that Father did the right thing."

  "They are like blind, headless snakes," Tetsuo answered. "They react without thinking. Angry and afraid, they lash out, heedless of the damage they cause. The justice of our cause doesn't matter."

  Dairu nodded.

  A black-garbed figure suddenly crested the wall nearby and dropped into a crouch. A torrent of arrows followed him.

  Dairu and Tetsuo reached for their swords, and then recognized the familiar form of Bayushi Aramoro.

  Aramoro's black garb had been torn and stained with the blood of his enemies. His Scorpion mask hung in tatters, barely covering his handsome face.

  Dairu looked at his uncle. Is that what my father looks like? he wondered. In all his years, the Scorpion heir had never seen his father's true face.

  Aramoro sprinted to where his relatives hid.

  "Does your mother know you're out here?" he asked Dairu.

  "Father does," the Scorpion heir replied. "He sent me to find you."

  "What did you find out?" Tetsuo asked.

  "We've been lucky so far," Aramoro said. "Our enemies seem as interested in fighting among themselves as in attacking us. The Phoenix and Crane don't trust each other, and neither of them trust the Unicorn. They're riding great circles around the walls, killing, looting. They've lost their minds. They think they have us contained."

  A call drifted up from the other side of the wall. "Scorpions!" a man shouted. "We've captured another one of your spies!"

  "Is it true?" Dairu asked.

  "I doubt it," Aramoro said. "These fools see Scorpion spies everywhere."

  The three Scorpions peered over the edge of the battlement.

  Below, a ragtag group of samurai held a lone woman. She was tied in heavy ropes and looked to have been badly beaten. She sobbed and struggled feebly.

  A scraggly bearded samurai called up to the unseen Bayushi. "This is what happens to all Scorpion traitors!" he said. He drew his sword and ran it through the woman's neck.

  Aramoro stood, a shuriken in his hand. The loyalists below spotted the ninja master and began to draw their bows. Aramoro threw the dart. It struck the scraggly bearded samurai in the forehead, and he toppled backward, dead.

  Aramoro and the others ducked behind the battlement in time to avoid a hail of arrows.

  "Who was she?" Dairu asked, his eyes wide.

  Aramoro shook his head. "Never saw her before. Just some peasant. I told you, these people are insane."

  "We should report to the lord," Tetsuo said. "There are enough men here to hold the wall."

  Aramoro and Dairu nodded. All three crept back toward the palace.

  "Matsu Tsuko has joined the others," Aramoro told his relatives, "as if her Lions could do any good."

  "Is she ineffective?" Dairu asked.

  "A fair warrior," Tetsuo replied, "but not trusted by her clan."

  "They trust her even less now," said Aramoro. " 'Where is Akodo Toturi?' her people ask. 'Hiding like a monk in his temple,' she replies, though no one believes her. Her forces have been searching high and low for him, but they'll never find him."

  The ninja master looked at the other two and smiled behind his tattered mask. "I started a rumor that Tsuko had him assassinated so she could assume clan leadership."

  "Will her people believe it?" Dairu asked. They reached a watchtower and descended its staircase to the city streets.

  "She's always hated Toturi," Tetsuo said, "so they may."

  "Even if they don't," said Aramoro, "she'll have to spend precious time dispelling the rumor."

  "What about the Crab? Any sign of them?" asked Dairu.

  "Just rumors," Aramoro replied. "They say Hida Kisada and a great army have begun marching toward the capital."

  "He comes to join us," Dairu said.

  Aramoro and Tetsuo looked at each other.

  "Or our enemies," Tetsuo replied.

  "Assuming they haven't killed each other for traitors before Kisada gets here," added Aramoro.

  Sunrise peeked over the vast ocean, casting pale yellow light on the besieged capital. Pyres of "traitors" filled the morning sky with greasy black smoke, blotting out the sun. Hungry crows circled the outskirts of the city.

  The Scorpions hurried to the palace.

  xxxxxxxx

  Hantei the 39th's scream was smothered by a hand that clamped over his mouth.

  "Your Highness!" hissed a harsh voice.

  The heir to the throne looked around, panic in his dark eyes. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Then the song and the smell of the rain, the sound of voices and horses in the background, reminded him.

  "You must be quiet!" the voice said.

  "You've had a dream—a nightmare," said a more friendly voice. His pulse was still racing, but Hantei recognized Isawa Kaede. "Screaming could get us all killed," she said.

  The young emperor mutely nodded his head. The hand withdrew from his face, and Sotorii realized it belonged to Ishikawa, captain of the palace guard.

  "A thousand apologies, Majesty," Ishikawa said. "But your scream could have given away our position."

  "I-I dreamed of demons," Hantei said breathlessly. "They were calling my name. They sounded so close."

  "The voices of the Scorpion, most likely," said Ishikawa. It had taken days, but they had finally escaped the city walls. Even now, the three refugees kept to themselves. They sat huddled in a copse of trees near the city. The underbrush in the small stand had provided the shelter they needed for the night, both from the rain and from the eyes of Scorpion spies.

  "Are those Scorpions I hear on horseback?" Hantei asked.

  Ishikawa shook his head. "No. Crane by the look of them. They seem to be hunting Scorpions."

  "Or anyone who looks suspicions," Kaede added.

  "We should make our presence known," the new emperor

  said. He started to stand, but Kaede put her hand on his arm and restrained him.

  "No!" she whispered harshly. "We do not know these people. They seem to be killing stragglers on sight. For all we know, they could be in league with the Scorpion."

  "But I'm tired," the heir said. "My leg aches from this accursed shuriken wound. These are our people. Sure
ly they will help us."

  "Kaede is right," Ishikawa said, leaning close to the boy. "We don't know who to trust right now. Caution may yet save your life. Impatience will surely get us all killed."

  "We can find my people," Kaede whispered. "They will get us to safety."

  Hantei crossed thin arms over his chest. "Very well," he said. "But we will not crawl through the mud for much longer."

  xxxxxxxx

  On the third day, Doji Satsume, Emerald Champion, returned from the field. He cursed the business that had called him so far from the city when his emperor had needed him most. Nor did he understand why his son, Doji Hoturi, had absented himself as well.

  "You should have been there!" the older man barked. He rode up to his son outside the city wall, and the two of them glowered at one another.

  "Someone needs to run our clan," replied Hoturi, the Crane heir. Years of bickering with his father made the Crane daimyo's anger boil quickly. "Surely you're not suggesting I leave that task to my bride! Besides, Toturi was supposed to be there. He should have been there. Where is he?"

  "Out whoring, from what I've heard," said Satsume, his green armor gleaming in the afternoon sun. "They say he loves some geisha more than the emperor."

  Hoturi nodded grimly. "Hai. I've heard it said, also."

  "Nevertheless," Satsume said, pointing at his son, "protecting the emperor is your job as well. You have failed."

  "Perhaps, then, you would prefer to follow Yokatsu of the Unicorn?"

  "Ha!" said Satsume. "Me, pledge loyalty to that barbarian-tainted ...! He should follow me. As should the Lion Tsuko. As should you"

  "We must stop this in-fighting," Hoturi said. "With the Phoenix gone, we need every samurai."

  "The Phoenix, gone?" Satsume asked, startled.

  "They marched away a few hours ago," Hoturi said. "No one knows why."

  Satsume spat. "Perhaps they've taken up with the Scorpion."

  "Perhaps they tired of this constant bickering," Hoturi said, holding his voice tight.

  "As do I," Satsume snarled.

  He turned his back on his son and rode away into the body of his army. Hoturi stared after him, his eyes narrow with anger.