Dream III: Wind of Souls (Dream Trilogy Book 3)

by RW Krpoun

  “Possibly, although not easily or quickly.”

  “Speaking of which, there’s about five hundred infantry arriving by barge tomorrow,” Derek observed. “The vanguard of the Imperial Army is only a day or so behind, but they’ll stop short of the city.”

  “It better be, the Stone is only about eight days out. How many troops are the Death Lords bringing to the party?” Shad asked.

  “Not as many as you might think, at least real soon; the Stone is walled in with Boneguard and assorted heavy hitters, but the Death Lords’ main force is trailing it by a few days.”

  Shad stopped eating. “Wait, the World Stone is leading the invasion?”

  “Yeah, more or less. Harming it is pretty much out of the question, so on the short term there’s not a lot of risk.”

  “Seems strange. When do you guys want to see Midori?”

  “Might as well break the disk tonight,” Fred suggested. “I’m about ready.”

  “You know, we’ve been picking up extra XP every day,” Derrek motioned to his left wrist. “By my calculations we will level up within seventy-two hours.”

  “Why are we getting extra experience?” Fred frowned. “Now what has changed?”

  “I figure it is because the World Stone is in play.”

  “Great.”

  “It is like leading with your artillery,” Shad abruptly returned to the Death Lords’ dispositions. “Makes no sense.”

  “Who knows. Do we hang around and level up, or level up on the way to the Lance?” Derek asked.

  “Level up here,” Fred suggested. “If we don’t take down time we won’t get the use of the new spells.”

  “Shad? You have an opinion?” Jeff asked the warder, who was frowning at the table top.

  “What? Oh, yeah, like Fred said. But let’s break the clay disc tonight so we can prep for the next step.”

  Shad was eating a twenty-piece order of McNuggets with two super-sized orders of fries and a vanilla shake when he realized that the little Asian girl was sitting on the other side of the plastic booth. “Crap. I should have known this was too good to be true.”

  “You obtained the item, I take it?” Now that he had met the adult he could see hints of the woman in the child.

  “Yeah. Now what?”

  “You have been back for some time.”

  “We don’t work for you. What is the next step?”

  “You have a very poor attitude.”

  “A lot of people have told me that. By the way, an entire village caught it in the neck while we were running your errand. You are cutting this business very fine.”

  “There are events which must occur before we can take certain steps. I do not like waiting any more than you do.”

  “So: the next step?”

  The girl rolled her eyes. “The place you employ the item is in the heart of the Yonaguni Reach. The Reach is well-known so you will have no problem finding it; nor is it very far.”

  “Not a coincidence, I suppose: you, the tooth, and the Reach all in close proximity.”

  “It is not.”

  “So are there any details? A map? Anything?”

  “The item will make it all clear. But you must wait in Litam until the large rock reaches it. You need the rock’s aura to make this possible. A runner will bring you a clay figure; break it when you are approaching the Reach.”

  “Wonderful.”

  The little girl started to slide out of the booth until Shad held up a hand. “Wait. We’re not just broke, but in debt; we planned on sneaking out of town to avoid the debt. If we are going to wait for the big rock we’ll need fifty ku.”

  The sneer was the same regardless of the age of the face. “You are fools. The runner will bring you the gold as well.”

  “So it was just me?” Shad speared a chunk of roast duck. “No one else?”

  “Nope. What did she say?” Derek poured tea.

  “That she didn’t like my attitude. We have to wait until the Stone gets here, then get to the Yonaguni Reach. The Fang will do the real work from there.”

  “Yonaguni?” Derek slopped tea on the table. “Are you sure?’

  “No, I just made it up.”

  “In the real world the Yonaguni Monument is off the coast of Japan, underwater. It’s a series of step-sided structures which they found in the late 1980s. It has been called Japan’s Atlantis, and also tied to the Land of Mu. The structures are believed to date back to around 3000 BC.”

  “The land of Moo?” Jeff grinned.

  “Mu, emm-you. It is a theory that mankind originated on a now-submerged continent which sank over a period of time. Some say it sank because of the evil practices of its inhabitants.”

  “Lame.” Shad got more duck.

  “You are saying it is lame while sitting on a world, our third, populated with the descendants of people banished from Earth for practicing magic or being of non-normal stock?” Jeff shook his head. “You have about as much mental flexibility as an anvil.”

  “Things break on anvils, not the other way around,” Shad shrugged indifferently. “Do you have a point, or is it just trivia time, Derek?”

  “Stepped pyramids and the same name cropping up on both Earth and this place bodes ill. I am thinking that the reason the place sank was it was ground zero for a banishing.”

  “That could work,” Fred nodded.

  “Well, we’re either going there or hunting Death Lords,” Shad drummed his fingers on the table. “Not a lot of options.”

  “What if Midori is working for the Death Lords?” Fred mused. “We ran into Undead trying to meet her. Maybe they’re just sending us on wild goose chases to keep us out of the way.”

  “That isn’t a bad line of thinking and I certainly wouldn’t put it past her, but when I killed the kyonshi the link established that it was under orders to take her alive, and not for an afternoon of tea and crumpets. It also didn’t care that we were outlanders. Much as I don’t like it, the Death Lords aren’t impressed by us.”

  “I think she and her friends will hit us once we have the Lance,” Jeff said thoughtfully. “I think they can’t get the Lance themselves.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Shad nodded. “Derek, you and Jeff find out everything there is to know about the Reach, while Fred and I continue to gear up. By the way, I shook Midori down for more money so if anyone asks we’re deep in debt.”

  “Why did you ask for more money? We’re not bad off,” Jeff shook his head.

  “Dude, its money,” Derek grinned madly. “What we don’t need we can give to Denki and the kids.”

  Derek wasn’t grinning when the Black Talons met for their evening meal. “The good news is we can get there mostly by boat, and it isn’t all that far. The bad news it is that it’s said to be a very bad place.”

  “How bad?” Fred asked.

  “It is where people go to die. No one comes back from the Reach, so no one knows for certain what is in there.”

  “Yep, there it is: why Midori needs us to do the deed,” Shad nodded. “She needs some expendables to do her dirty work.”

  “So how exactly are we supposed to pull this off?” Fred demanded. “They are sending us into the Tomb of Horrors.”

  “We’re outlanders?” Jeff shrugged. “That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “There must be a way to do it, otherwise they wouldn’t be risking the Fang,” Shad pointed out. “Of course, Midori hasn’t bothered to share that bit of data.”

  “The Stone,” Derek snapped his fingers. “She said we had to be exposed to the aura before we could go.”

  “So why doesn’t she get exposed and cut out the middle man?” Fred shook his head.

  “Because it isn’t us, it is the Fang that needs to be exposed. She doesn’t need outsiders, she needs a warder to get the aura and then get clear. Especially a warder extremely well-suited to killing Undead.”

  “So the Fang gets you through the Reach, but first it has to be exposed to the Stone
. That means you can’t get the Lance until the Stone is on the move,” Fred jabbed a thick finger at the Ronin. “The people who set this up wanted to make sure the Death Lords couldn’t get it, so they made sure you couldn’t get the weapon until the end game was underway.”

  “Which means something bad will happen when the Stone reaches Litam,” Shad rubbed his eyes. “She wants the Fang to be with outlanders who can handle Undead. We can’t be tracked and we’ll probably survive whatever comes at us from the Death Lords.”

  “And then we’ll get hit by her group on the way to the Reach,” Fred tugged his rat-tail glumly. “Once we’re far enough from Litam so she doesn’t need our untraceable nature. Probably an ambush at the best place to enter the Reach, or more likely the clay statue is a homing beacon for them, whole or broken. They take the Fang and finish the job.”

  “Hell, they could have just hired us to capture and prime the Fang,” Jeff said disgustedly.

  “No loose ends,” Derek sighed.

  “So, now we know,” Shad scowled at the Ronin. “You have map duty: find us a back way into the Reach. Jeff, you work out something out of town for Denki and the kids post-haste; we need to part ways quick, before they get caught up in whatever is coming.”

  “Should we warn the Iron Fan?” Jeff asked.

  Shad thought about it. “What would we tell her? She knows something bad and Undead is coming. Do we know anything more?”

  “We need to get our animals and field gear out of town too,” Fred stroked his goatee. “Have nothing but battle gear so we can move fast and light once the Fang’s operating light goes green. I’m going to get myself a couple of shorter clubs in case there is more close-quarter stuff like the climb in the temple.”

  “Maybe we should find reliable owners for the animals and just hump in,” Derek suggested. “The Reach is tough, and I would hate for them to get hurt.”

  “What happened to your sense of wonder?” Jeff asked, grinning.

  “It is taking a beating,” Derek admitted.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next two days were busy ones for the Black Talons. Fred and Shad labored over their preparations while Jeff and Derek purchased supplies and hunted for a situation for their followers. Meals were grabbed on the fly, and there were no more day trips to examine the battered beauty of Litam.

  Finally, on the morning of the fifty-first day since their arrival in the Isle the Black Talons escorted their charges to the docks at the crack of dawn. “So Denki will be a cook at a logging company, and the kids will help her until they are old enough to be apprenticed,” Derek babbled. “Jeff and I checked out the company, it is family-run and have an excellent reputation. The logging business will be booming for quite a while thanks to Litam needing to rebuild, not that the market for wood is ever slow.”

  “I think that is the fifth time you explained this to me,” Shad observed.

  “I never had to resettle kids before,” The Radio Shack manager sighed. “Win or lose we’re not going to be around to protect them.”

  “Denki and each of the kids has a stash of money,” the warder kept his voice low. “And the lumber company won’t know that we are gone for good. The kids are smart and still armed despite Fred’s best efforts; they’ll do as well as any. A lot better than they would in the village they grew up in.”

  “I just…kinda wish we could do more.”

  “We can’t. We saved their lives, we…well, you and Jeff taught them a lot of useful stuff, we gave them money, and we found them a decent situation. Hell, they moved up the social ladder. It’s the Roman Nose and Quails all over again, Derek: you have to leave them to live their own lives. We are not meant to be here, and there are decent odds that we won’t live to see home.”

  “I know. I just think about that kid I dragged to cover in Iraq; I never found out what happened to him, either.”

  “We were in the middle of a war, and in any case being too friendly with US troops won’t be an asset to him since the Coalition pulled out. That government won’t last.”

  “It makes you wonder what it is all for.”

  “You already know the answer to that: you put one foot in front of the other until you run into something that kills you. Then you answer for what you did, and what you failed to do.”

  “Shad, as a source of reassurance you really suck.”

  The loggers floated rafts of logs to Litam and then took a chartered fishing boat back to their camp; the craft and the loggers were ready to go. The Talons lined up their charges and conferred last-minute hugs and goodbyes. Shad limited himself to a solemn handshake with each, slipping each kid a few coins in the process.

  Fred’s face was dark as thunder, and Derek was blowing his nose and covertly wiping his eyes as the children sadly trooped aboard the boat. The Talons watched the boat until it was out of sight, Derek waving whenever there was movement on the deck.

  “Well, that wasn’t easy,” Jeff sighed as they started back to the inn. “I got used to the little buggers.”

  “I’m just glad we didn’t get any killed,” Shad rubbed his scar. “I expect they’ll have nightmares for years.”

  “We did the best we could,” Fred thumped Derek’s shoulder. “They should be OK.”

  “Which is more than you can say about us,” Shad pointed out. “And real Samurai do not get weepy about goodbyes.”

  “I’m not weepy, so bite me.” Derek shot him the finger for emphasis. “I’m just…not happy about this. We don’t seem to do a lot of good on these trips. Lots of fighting and hard living, but not a lot of positive actions.”

  “We rescued those girls from the Goblins, whats-her-name from the trappers, the satyr kid from the Hobs, Quails from the Hobs,” Shad ticked the count off on his fingers. “And let’s not forget we stopped the Council from mounting an attack on Earth, and if we pull this gig off we will have done the Isle a lot of good.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Don’t expect a ticker tape parade for good deeds, Derek. Nice guys finish last.”

  “You are so negative.”

  “The one man who never did anything wrong and who was pure of sin got nailed to a cross. What makes you think you deserve better treatment?”

  “Man, you are cheerful as hell,” Jeff grinned.

  “I miss the kids,” Shad admitted. “I’m getting sick of being jerked around, and of being outnumbered and out-gunned every time we turn around. Midori doesn’t even pretend to respect us.”

  “She’s in for a surprise,” Fred muttered. “She’s not careful, she’ll end up on my list right after Cecil.”

  “This afternoon the animals will be leaving town with a merchant caravan,” Jeff observed. “We’re geared up and ready for what comes.”

  “We ought to level tonight or tomorrow,” Derek nodded. “The army arrives late tomorrow, and the Stone in four days. Whatever will happen will be done inside a week, at least for us.”

  “How far to the Reach?” Shad asked, tossing a coin into a beggar’s bowl.

  “Two days by boat and then one day on foot,” Derek added a coin to Shad’s. “We bought the boat already and stashed it outside of town with most of the field gear.”

  “What about after we get the item?” Jeff kept his voice low.

  Derek shrugged. “Hopefully there will be instructions with it.”

  The Ronin had perked up the next morning. “I leveled up! How about you guys?”

  “Yeah,” Shad looked around. “Where is our breakfast?”

  “I stayed in class and put two points in Nihon,” Derek refused to let the indifference at the table affect his good humor. “That is the use of dual katanas.”

  “There she is,” Fred beckoned to the serving girl. “I stayed in class and put a point each into Footwork and Small Boat Handling.”

  After the girl had gone to get their meal Jeff stretched and said “I stayed within class and dropped two points into my swords. Brute force is the order of the day, I figure.”

>   “I stayed in class and put a point in Identify and Otherworldly Lore,” Shad advised.

  “You planning on gathering a lot of loot?” Fred cocked an eyebrow. “I thought we were on the way home?”

  “At the third level in the skill it works with a wide variety of enchantments. I thought that might be useful.”

  “Could be.”

  “Ninth level-pretty cool,” Derek plowed through the lethargy. “I never thought we would reach ninth level.”

  “I figured we would be home long before we hit ninth level,” Fred shook his head. “I’m not thrilled to have been wrong.”

  “I’m ready to be a teacher again,” Jeff agreed.

  “We’re easing up towards dawn, back in the real world,” Shad muttered. “Nearly two hours spent in this dump alone.”

  “You guys would complain if you got a free day at Disneyland,” Derek shook his head disgustedly.

  “Screw Disneyland, gimme a free day at the Mustang Ranch,” Jeff grinned lazily.

  “We have less than a week until the Stone should be in view. The Imperial forces are making camp a half-day’s march south of here, where they will await the Death Lord’s move or the ground drying. The surface is muddy, but the ground hasn’t thawed out completely. Mud may not worry the Stone, but Undead have footing issues, same as the living, so I expect there will a lull of a few weeks until the terrain can support military maneuvers. Meanwhile, Fred and I will gear up; all you two have to do is track down any details about the Reach and any bright ideas you can come up with regarding the end game.”

  “Actually, I’m helping patrol the poorer quarters,” Derek said a bit embarrassedly. “There are young Samurai beating up on peasants, and Red Dragon holdouts mounting reprisals against commoners who did not fight. The local lawkeepers were decimated in the fighting, and those that remain are patrolling the high-dollar neighborhoods. There’s a handful of Ronin who are taking it upon ourselves to provide security.”

  “Unpaid security, I bet.” Shad shook his head. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t run urban patrols before. Jeff, you watching his back?”