by Damon Glatz
Ohitekah took a moment to speak. “Red said the Ashland army would have destroyed the Northern Empire if he did not kill the Mythic,” he attempted to defend his friend.
“Daisuke wants the power all for himself. When this whole quest is said and done he will have four of the Mythics in his pocket. He has Nicholas’ loyalty, you, the destined Mythic of Thunder, and two dragons. Don’t you see that? All this nonsense about ‘what’s right.’ He is lying to you, getting you and Nicholas to do his dirty work. You seem like a smart kid. If he ever accepts my challenge, no matter how my skill with a blade is, I am no match for his fire. I may need your help if you become the Mythic. I need to restore the balance of the world. My kingdom and my subjects are depending on me to save them.”
“I—”
“Just think about what I said. The world is counting on you to make the right decision. Red is working all the angles to get as much power as he can. Ashland is not the enemy here and you need to see that. I’m counting on you.”
Lance turned and walked out of the room without saying another word, his metallic boots clacking as he walked away.
Could Red really be manipulating everyone? That doesn’t seem like Red.
Then again, Ohitekah did not know Red very well. He has only been hearing his side of the story until now. Their nations have been at war for hundreds of years. Lance could be just as easily be trying to manipulating Ohitekah, to get his edge on Red. Ohitekah did not know whom to trust anymore. Well, there was Nicholas, the only person who was truly trying to help him. Red and Lance are enemies. They were raised to hate each other.
Maybe by the time this is all over, they can all just be friends. Maybe there doesn’t need to be any more hate or war. It’s the gods that started the wars in the first place.
Lance was right about one thing, however. Ashland isn’t the enemy. We are all people. We all have perspectives, our own friends and rivals. It’s the gods that are the enemies, their Mythics plagued the world and now humanity is picking up the pieces. Ohitekah had to remember that. That’s what Red was trying to say. The gods need to be stopped.
The next morning was a peaceful one. The golden sun radiated through the hallway. Without saying a word, the monks assembled in the courtyard and meditated quietly. Red showed up in Ohitekah’s doorway and motioned for him to get his things together. They peeked into Nicholas’ room. He was sprawled out on the floor snoring loudly. The bed must have been too small for him. Red walked in and gave him a light kick, waking him up.
“What’s goin’ on?” he said groggily. “They didn’t steal my shit again, did they?” Nicholas reached for his sword.
Red shushed him. “We are leaving, get your things together. And try to be quiet.”
Lance was not in his room. He was outside on his horse already, fully armed, staring into the sunlight. Out of all the places they had journeyed to, Ohitekah felt he would miss this village the most. He looked back one last time before heading down the mountain.
It had not snowed overnight and their path was still blazed going down the trail. The horses seemed to be happy to be traveling back to the ground. They went through the misty clouds again, and followed the same route down. As Red led the way as usual, most of the men were quiet. Nicholas ranted about eating some meat once in a ‘real’ town. Lance was quiet, watching Red’s every move.
Once they reached the bottom the group split up into two again, Red and Ohitekah up front as samurai, Lance and Nicholas behind as merchants in rags yet again. Red was more quiet than usual, not saying much to anyone. Ohitekah was still thinking about what Lance was saying the previous night. Red would do anything to help the group. He couldn’t be trying to win everyone over to his side for control of the elements.
They found the road they deviated from yesterday and rode down the farmland trail. Something on the road in front of them caught Ohitekah’s attention. Ohitekah lifted his head and squinted. He saw dust rising on the horizon.
“It is a brigade of samurai.” Red said before Ohitekah could ask. “They are probably escorting a daimyo or general to a castle. When they ride by, dismount, give a deep bow until they pass, and do not say a word.”
Ohitekah nodded. The dust grew closer on the dirt road. He could see the samurai riding in formation, dressed in full armor, their banners flying high in the front of the brigade. He got off of Bolt and did as Red instructed. Giving a deep bow, he stood off to the side of the road, out of the way. Red stayed on his horse and bowed as they rode past. The armored samurai gave slight nods in return as they passed. Red gave a deeper bow as a general went past. The general, who had a large decorated helmet and was riding in an armored carriage, never even looked at Red.
The brigade passed without incident.
“Good job,” Red said to Ohitekah. “Not bowing to a general could be punished by a beheading on the spot. You are a young samurai in training and expected to give a deep, respectful bow. I am a full samurai and am able to give higher bows. Nicholas and Lance are posing as peasants and they would be expected to give the upmost respect for a samurai general. I hope they’re not too foolish. If we are lucky they will just hide out of sight.”
They stood on the road and watched the army travel down away from them, in Lance’s direction. Soon the brigade was out of sight. Ohitekah was nervous now. Lance was incredibly prideful, but smart enough to know to bow. Nicholas was prideful as well, and he had refused to listen to the Ashland captain before and almost gotten killed. Ohitekah was just wishing they would hide and not be spotted at all.
Some time passed, the road remaining empty. No one was riding toward them. By now they should be catching up. Something was wrong.
“Should we go back to check?” Ohitekah asked.
“Wait, someone is coming.”
Ohitekah looked back. There was a rider coming toward them at full gallop down the road. Once he came into view it was clear that it was Lance. Just Lance. Ohitekah took a deep breath.
Lance raced up to them and skidded his horse to a stop.
“We have a problem.”
Chapter Twenty-Four:
Desperate Times
“What happened?” Red asked forcefully.
“An army of your samurai came by and captured Nicholas. I told him to get down and bow, but he insisted on trying to sell them furs. He was then ordered by a samurai to bow, which led Nicholas to challenge him to a fight. The fool was beaten and thrown on horseback, taken away. It would have been foolish for me to try to save him by myself.”
“You let them take him?” Ohitekah shouted.
Lance shot him a strong look. “What did you want me to do, take on the whole battalion dressed in these robes? Fight with a stick? I don’t think so. I was lucky they let me go. They’re taking him to a castle south of here.”
“Probably Shinra Castle.” Red stepped in. “It’s the only one in that direction. It functions as a military base and castle of the general. It’s incredibly well defended, I have been there several times.”
“Well, what do we do?” Ohitekah asked. "We need to save him."
“Only the emperor could pardon him, but there would be no reason for him to do so, and the castle would be impossible to take by force,” Red said, thinking.
“Aren’t you the Fire Mythic?” Lance asked. “The power of the dragon, stronger than a thousand armies? You could get him out in no time.”
“I cannot use that against my own people. You know that, Lance. They also cannot know I am back in the empire.” Red gave Lance a glare. “If the Fire Mythic suddenly attacked a Feng castle, that could easily start a war.”
“We can sneak in, at night,” Ohitekah butted in. “You know the layout, its weaknesses. They wouldn’t be expecting an attack like that. No one needs to fight. We can just get in, rescue Nicholas, and leave.”
Red said nothing. He was thinking. “I don’t know. It would take planning.”
“I agree with the boy,” Lance said. “It makes sense. We go in tonigh
t, grab the idiot and get the hell out as fast as we can. That, or just leave the fool to suffer for his own mistakes. It would certainly make the trip shorter for us.”
Ohitekah shot Lance a look.
Red drew a dirt outline of the castle on the pathway. Red and Lance discussed the best way to get inside. Red thought he could disguise himself and just try to go inside pretending to be a samurai. Lance argued that that plan was too suspicious, total secrecy was the best idea. After some debate, they decided that the best plan was for Ohitekah and Lance to scale the outer wall nearest the prison tower. The walls were made of piled stones and would be simple for one or two men to climb at night. The castle was built to withstand an army, but one man could infiltrate as long as he was silent. Ohitekah was chosen to climb first because he was the best at scaling walls. Red was to stay watch in the hills around the castle, with his bow he could take out anyone who would try to sound an alarm. Lance would follow Ohitekah’s route up the wall if it were simple enough for him to replicate. Once inside, Lance and Ohitekah would take on the prison guards, get the keys, and climb back down with Nicholas.
It seemed easier than Ohitekah’s first prison break with Nicholas, at least this one had a plan.
The group agreed and prepared themselves for a fight. Lance wore his armor under the dark robes, and his sword at his side once again. Ohitekah stayed in his Ronin outfit, feeling comfortable. They picked up their pace and followed the trail of the Samurai for miles along the country road. They arrived at a forest, one of the thickest Ohitekah has seen in the north. It almost reminded him of Ashland. There was one major road that split the forest in two, and this is where all the samurai had just ridden. The tracks were obvious. The road led them straight through the heart of the woods. It eventually opened up to a large clearing.
Seated comfortably on an island hill was Shinra Castle.
A river wrapped itself around the outer walls, forming a natural moat. The walls started at the riverbank and angled up. The castle looked magnificent, a wonderful combination of architecture and defensive strategy. Much unlike the Ashland fortresses, which were an eyesore to the area around them, the towers and buildings inside were angled and made of stone and wood. They looked similar to the monk’s temple in a way. The black pagoda style roofs stacked high on the main tower within the walls. There were armed samurai positioned at the gate and archers along the wall. These samurai stared, motionless, into the forest.
Perhaps this would not be as simple as Ohitekah had imagined.
The sun was beginning to set in the west.
“Get in there, peasant!” the samurai guards shouted while throwing Nicholas into his dark prison. Even though he was bound it took several of them to control him. “Tomorrow the general is going to make an example of you.”
“Yeah, well, he better get his ass ready!” Nicholas shouted through the bars. A guard spat in his face and walked away. Nicholas made a sound of amusement. “That’s it? How about one of you locks yourself in here with me? See what happens!” The guards ignored him and closed a wooden door, blocking out all the light besides a small window in the hallway.
Nicholas sat down with a loud thud.
How could I be so foolish? How can I help the kid now?
“They’re gonna get themselves killed if they try to get me outta ‘ere. There’s no way in hell.” He shook his head and buried his face in his large palms. He knew it was a stupid decision to even talk to the samurai, but he couldn’t stop himself. He should have just listened to Red and laid low. He had promised to help Ohitekah… there needed to be a way out of here.
I don’t want them to risk trying to save me. I need to find my own way out.
He analyzed the room. It was not very large, only enough space for a single iron cell, in which he was located. There was the door he had come through that led to the spiral staircase and the bottom of the castle. In the corner outside the cell there was a wooden table with some chairs. Resting on it was some guard armor and a sword left unattended. A single window to his right overlooked a black night.
Nicholas heard a noise behind him, like someone adjusting the way they were sitting. He wasn’t alone in the prison. “Who’s there?!”
“Don’t worry. If you’re an enemy to the general, you’re a friend to me,” the voice said. A hooded man came out of the shadows. He was northern.
“What they get you for?” Nicholas asked.
“Treason, let’s just leave at that. What about you?”
“About the same,” Nicholas added, trying to sound mysterious as well.
“Who are you?” the hooded man asked.
Nicholas decided that if this man was locked in prison with him, he might as well be honest. They were both enemies of the general and scheduled to die tomorrow, there was no use of lying.
“My name is Nicholas the Brute, son of Bjorn the Iron.”
“Nicholas? Ah, I’ve heard of you. I thought you were dead... Anyway, they say you’re a good fighter. Now that we’re both stuck in here, I think I can get us out.”
“What? How?”
The hooded man glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening. He moved closer to Nicholas and hushed his voice. Nicholas could see him better now. He was young, maybe around Ohitekah’s age. He had a thin mustache and trimmed chin hair. His face looked youthful, full of trickery. His eyes kept darting around the room as he talked.
“Most of these locks work the same way. I made a pick before I got captured that can get us out. But I need you to fight with me once we’re outside.”
“Of course!” Nicholas agreed. “Sounds perfect!”
“Only, I need to know some things first. What do you plan on doing once you’re out?”
“Find my friends again.”
“And I the same. One more question: being from the Vatnic Isles, which Mythic do you worship?”
“Uh, well, definitely not the water one.” Nicholas chuckled to himself and thought for a moment. “I guess I don’t worship one.”
“What are your thoughts on the Fire Mythic? The man who killed the Ashland dragon two hundred years ago.”
He’s kind of a know-it-all, Nicholas thought to himself. “I don’t know, sounds like a cool guy?”
“If you make it out of here, in case anything happens to me. The hooded man rolled up his sleeve, revealing a red spade tattoo. “I am a member of an underground organization. If you tell my brothers that you helped me today, they will return the favor to you. You have probably never heard of us, but we comprise the best fighters and minds from around the world and await the return of Daisuke, the true Shogun! Maybe you could consider joining the Order? We could use a man like you.”
Well, this was something. “I suppose? I’m not sure. What does this have to do with the Fire Mythic?”
“He saved our nation from the dragon and the Ashland army, yet our emperor says he is a traitor and banished him. The day after the Battle of the Eastern Wall, the general of the eastern armies refused the offer to become the next Shogun and quit the Imperial Army. He formed the Order of the Blood Red Spades and dedicated his life to serving Daisuke. Yet, Daisuke never returned. We uphold this belief that Daisuke will one day come to take his place as Shogun and bring our empire out of darkness. We ready ourselves and will serve him when that day arrives.”
Nicholas cleared his throat, unsure of what exactly to say.
Does Red even know about these guys? Should I mention anything?
“Well, I don’t know about joining this Order, but I will help you anyway. We do need to get out of here.”
“Agreed,” the man said with a nod. “When the night is at its darkest I will open the bars and we will fight our way out. For if we are to die, we will be dying on our feet, on our own terms.”
“I like your style.”
They shook hands and nodded.
Chapter Twenty-Five:
Siege of Shinra Castle
The light was fading from the fiery sky. A cool bree
ze escaped from the northern mountains and slid down Ohitekah’s neck, he gave an uneasy shiver. Red had completely vanished into the dark forest, probably set atop a tree at a perfect angle. Lance took a moment to sharpen his sword before sliding it back into its sheath. At times his armor would peek out from his dark robes and shine like a jewel. Ohitekah wondered if his sword would need sharpening, he had never cut anything with it before. He second-guessed to even bring it. He was still new to it, but it may prove its use once inside. Hopefully Lance would take the front though if a fight needed to happen. As always, Ohitekah kept his bow and arrows on his back. He would be naked without them.
Ohitekah crouched low and moved silently to the river, trying to emulate Red’s ability to be as quiet as a shadow. He took an involuntary loud gasp of air when he entered the freezing water. This water was probably runoff from the snowy mountains to the north. His whole body contracted, but he managed to reach the opposite side and quickly climbed the wall to escape the icy grip of the mountain stream. He took his time and chose the easiest way to climb up. He could climb this wall any way he wanted, but he had to make sure Lance could follow him. There were no guards at the moment so he rounded the top of the wall and signaled for Lance to follow.
Lance followed his footsteps to perfection. He moved through the river with ease and began to climb the wall as well. However, he climbed slower and with more difficulty. His armor probably made it hard for him. Lance suddenly stopped climbing about halfway up. A stone that Ohitekah could grip easily to pull himself up was too small for Lance’s hand. Every time he went to grab it, his fingers would slide off. He looked up to Ohitekah for help. He scanned the wall for a better way to climb but unless he started back over he was stuck there.