The Story: Dark Deeds

In the Forest

He looked around.  After parting with the two other hired swords earlier that day, he had traveled back east where he might have a better chance of finding work than in some remote village of the Wild Territories.  He had reached the Great Climb, Kyodai na Josho Suru, the foothills of the much steeper Kyodai na Kabe sano Kita [Great Wall of the North] where the Dragon's mountain keeps were staggered like crooked teeth.  This was a nice clearing along the footpath in the wooded hillside, which clearly had been used before by travelers as rest spot before.  He could see the remnants of a fire ring and even shards of a broken teacup.  He decided to stop to take his mid-day meal.

He pulled out his purse to count the coins again.  He had carefully watched Chomei count the sum and divide it, but it wouldn't hurt to check.  The coin were neatly wrapped in thick oiled cloth; he unwrapped the package.

His jaw dropped.  Inside the package he found not coin, but small stones.  He started cursing.  That filthy Chomei must have replaced the package after making a show of counting the money.  Quickly he picked up his discarded travel pack and started retracing his path westward.

After only an hour or so, he came to an abrupt stop.  A body was sprawled across the soggy footpath, and the pine needle litter was stained darkly around the body.  He approached more cautiously, a suspicion forming in his mind.  He thought he recognized the clothes...  He turned the body over with his foot.

Chomei.  The man's throat had been slit wide.  Tanto looked around, and finding no sign that anyone was still hiding nearby, returned to examine the body.  Chomei's weapons had been taken, as had his money and travel gear.  An empty wrap of oiled cloth and a few stones like Tanto's were lying under the body.  The disturbed ground showed signs of a scuffle, but the carpet of pine needles did not keep footprints to let Tanto guess at the details.

So.  With Chomei dead, that left only Teruo.  Tanto started moving again along the path, even faster than before.

He did not have to run as far this time before he found a second body slumped against a tree.  With a curse, he ran to it but this one was an unknown.  Dressed in brown and his face wrapped in a scarf, the man apparently took a sword cut to the abdomen and limped his way here, to lie against a tree -- and die.

The wooded foothills of Josho Suru become dark early as the sun dips down, shaded by thick pine trees.  The graceful limbs of the trees and the sound of a nearby stream reminded Shinji of an impossibly beautiful, sad dream he had had once, a dream that melted to wisps of fog with wakefulness.  He sat on a great misshapen rock, like the knuckle of a gnarled hand, and drank in the sounds of the forest.

But the harmony was disrupted by distant sounds of fighting, sounds of anger and anguish.  Men cursed, steel rang, feet shuffled and beat the ground.  Grunts of pain followed, then more running.  A fall, then another.  Shinji hurriedly made his way towards the fight.

Shinji arrives to see a big, ugly, battle-scarred individual, wearing worn samurai clothing with no insignia, with a no-dachi and daikyu slung across his back, standing over the slumped body against the tree.

Tanto whirls and glares at the newcomer, searching him for any sign of aggression or threat.  "Who are you?  Did you do this?"  Although looking aggressive, Tanto makes no initial move to draw a weapon.  "I am out of pocket and someone is going to pay me, curse it all," he growls, muttering uncouth oaths to himself.

Shinji looks down at the ronin. His eyes are very deep and almost sorrowful. There is something unsettling in the depths of them.

"face to earth he lies
 life’s shadow weeps beneath him
 restless in life – death"

The shade of the tree falls across his face, his eyes never leaving the ronin. Tanto can see that the young man has no weapons, no armor, and nothing to show that he was recently in battle. Yet, although unarmed, there is a strange confidence about him, as if he feared no man.

Shinji steps closer. "I would ask you the same.  Exactly what payment were you looking for?"

Tanto frowns at Shinji's haiku.  "Yes indeed.  Another body, more blood, another one to join the throng in my nightmares," he mutters in response.

Turning his attention back to Shinji, Tanto gives him a puzzled look, wondering what class this unarmed young man belongs to.  "I am Tanto, sword for hire.  My hard-earned %$#@ pay, however, was stolen by whoever did this and I am going to get it back.  Apart from anything, it's embarrassing for a man in my position to let this go unchecked."

Making a visible effort to be slightly more polite, Tanto tries again, "So, who might you be and from what clan?"

Shinji looks to the corpse and back to the ronin. He bows deeply, with the skill and grace of a man born and raised in the noble arts.  "Please accept my humble apologies. I thought you might be involved with this death, but it is clear that you are as innocent as I.  My name is Shinji, and have left my Clan behind.  I have given up my station to pursue the art of haiku."

Shinji looks down at the body.  "I have a feeling that whoever did this is still close by. And perhaps we can get your money back... and find out what has happened here."

Tanto looks a tad surprised by this positive reaction but is ever willing to roll with the punches.  He gives a curt bow in reply and says, "I agree.  Have you seen anyone else hereabouts?  I wonder if there are any camps nearby, or even small villages?  Perhaps we should have a bit of a scout around, see what there is to see?"  Tanto gives Shinji another (slightly dubious) once-over.  "If we do find anyone though, I doubt they will be cut down by a savage haiku.  Are you by any chance an expert in some martial art?"

"I think you will not find me wanting in combat," Shinji says and for a moment a dark look appears again in his eye. "Do not fear for my safety, ronin."  Shinji looks down the path in both directions. "I have seen no one, only heard the sounds of battle. Perhaps you know our enemy? Which way would they travel?"

Tanto looks around, scratching the back of his neck.  The closely lined trees are quite dark and forbidding here.  Where would he set up camp if he was a permanently self-employed swordsman bent on redistributing wealth?

Water.  Need water for a camp.  Didn't he cross a small stream earlier?  Was that east or west of here?  He's been up and down this path now...  He listens carefully for the sound of streams; after a moment of quiet attention, he picks up the gurgling sound of a brook.  He turns to face that direction and decides it seems to cross the path somewhere east of here.

Well, they wouldn't very well set up right on the path.  Would they go upstream or downstream?  He thinks on this a bit.  Upstream might afford a better view of the path below. 

"Well, let's have a look up this way.  Try not to make too much noise."  Tanto gives Shinji one last quick look and decides he'll reserve judgement till after he's seen Shinji in combat.  "What's there to be lost?" he thinks.

Tanto starts into the forest, careful not to lose sight of the path but far enough away to hide if necessary.  He starts heading east and in the direction of the up-stream side of the stream.  Tanto focuses on making as little noise as possible.

After a short walk along the path, the ronin finds the stream crossing, and veers north to start moving upstream through the woods.  At first the underbrush is not too dense, but it soon thickens considerably, slowing down progress.  Overhead, the light of Amaterasu omi-kami is fast dipping towards her nightly resting place.

After a struggle through unfriendly thickets and up a steepening slope, Tanto emerges by the edge of a mountain pool.  From its edge, the stream is cascading down towards the main path.  There is no encampment in immediate sight, but this seems like it might be a good area; the ground around the pool flattens to form a ledge and cup the water.

Tanto gestures with his hands to Shinji to be as quiet as possible.  He, himself, is moving with all his skill at being sneakily quiet.  Tanto starts to circle around the pool, looking for people or camps, ready to freeze the instant he sees or hears anything.

Cautiously poking his head through the foliage and above the pool's edge, Tanto examines the area.  Seeing no sign of anyone else, he makes his careful way up to the little plateau that craddles the pool and starts poking around.  The sound of water fills the air, for just as the pool ends in a little waterfall at its low end, it is filled by anther one at its high end.  The water is perfectly transparent, revealing every edge of every dead leaf and pebble on the bottom of the pool.  It looks shallow along the edges, and many large round rocks form island-like stepping stones.

Upon initial inspection, there is no visible sign of a camp or settlement nearby.  Tanto starts walking along the side of the pool, carefully pushing aside the vegetation, looking for traces of someone else's passage.  After a while, he finally finds something.

It looks very much like a human femur, recently cleaned up.  By the looks of it, it certainly hasn't spent the winter under the snow.

Tanto had been in a rather zen frame of mind, focused on the here and now, not thinking about the future or the past, no extraneous thoughts.  The femur is a rather rude awakening, though, crashing the zen moment.  Tanto picks the femur up and regards it with mild interest, one scarred eyebrow raising, not otherwise apparently repulsed.  He gives it a bit of close study, wondering if some creature has eaten all the flesh off.

Sure enough, it looks like this bone was not cleaned only by diligent insects.  There are a few shreeds of meat still attached to it, and they look like they have been sheared by teeth.  At a guess, something with tearing teeth, larger than a weasel or marten but smaller than a snow tiger or a bear.

Tanto whispers to Shinji, gesticulating with the bone to make his point.  "That is weird.  Something that eats people out here in the wilds I can accept but so close to where two people are killed in apparent duels?  And where's my money?  Shinji-san, any ideas?  My thick skull has been beaten so many times I am not too much of a thinker."

Shinji gives the bone a careful look. "I have no idea.  I was just thinking about that myself."  Shinji smiles. "At least I didn't do it."  He walks silently into the clearing. Shinji is calmly looking around, taking everything in.

An examination of the immediate area shows no lack of possible hiding places for a predator: the tops of the surrounding pine trees are thick and dark with needles, the rocky ground folds into shapes and outcroppings that may conceal nests or lairs, and in the more open area by the side of the pool the undergrowth is growing healthily, free from the pines' shadow.  In its longest direction, the pool is about 30 or 35 paces from end to end, and perhaps eight in its narrowest width.

Tanto puts the bone down and dusts his hands off.  Then, with a deep breath, he clears his mind of all other thoughts and focuses on the here and now.  He starts circling around the pool, looking for anything interesting; once he has circled the pool fully he will start expanding further out, still circling.  Tanto's face is (scarred but) blank and calm.

Since Tanto and Shinji came from the west then followed the stream up, it is easiest to start circling on that side of the pool, and it is also the side that is free of tall trees for a wider strip.  However, the area is becoming rather dark by now, especially under the tree line.  Tanto's careful inspection reveals a few small mud puddles near the edge of pool, despite the predominantly rocky nature of the terrain.  These mud bowls have kept the tracks of many animals going to drink at the pool, including small pika, one or two species of smaller felines, badgers, and something that looks like a very, very large dog --

-- And the footprints of a couple of children, criss-crossing the dog's.  Neither the large dog nor the children seem to be running since the heel prints are as clear as the toes'.

The follow-up search turns up what looks like a game, where smooth flattened pebbles of roughly consistent size have been lined up to form shapes and designs, abandoned near the pool.  The tall grass has been trampled nearby; and clumps and tufts of hair, like a dog's shedding of his winter coat, hang from many bushes and branches nearby.  The hair is woolly, yet very rough, fairly long, and grey in colour.

Tanto scratches his head.  He turns and whispers to Shinji, "That does not seem normal.  I'm starting to wonder if there's something sorcerous about all this.  And I'm getting worried about the light.  What do you think?"  Tanto looks about nervously.

"Hmm. These stones look like a design, or maybe a symbol, lined this way. A warning, perhaps? And all this fur...is it from the hunter or the prey?"  Shinji moves closer to the water to examine the position of the stones.  "Yes, I think this is a place reeks with darkness. We hould keep on guard. There are things in this wood that are not what they seem."

Tanto grunts his agreement and casts a worried look at the darkening sky.  "A curse on all this skulking around, time to be more direct.  They probably know we're here now anyway."  Tanto glares at the woods.

In a fluid motion, Tanto draws the nodachi slung acros his back and holds it ready before him.  "COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELVES, WHOEVER YOU ARE!!  I CHALLENGE YOU TO FACE YAMAMOTO TANTO!!  I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!"  Tanto slowly circles around, looking for an assailant.

Despite the eloquence of this appeal, no lurking evil-doer seems prompted to rise to meet Tanto's challenge.  The only sounds heard are the gurgle of the water and the whisper of the breeze through the pine boughs.  Even Shinji seems to make no sound at all.

Tanto swears profanely under his breathe and circles a few more times.  "COME OUT!  ARE YOU SUCH A CRAVEN COWARD?!!"  Tanto cicles a bit more but he is looking out for dry wood to make a fire with too.

Although the potential firewood keeps as quiet as any lurking evil-doers, it is much easier to spot.  The clearing area doesn't offer much, being exposed to the elements, but the woods are full of reasonably suitable branches and tree limbs, as well old pine needles which can be used as kindling.  As it is mid-spring, the wood is not the dryest, but it's as dry as it can be right now.

Shinji looks above in the treetops, scouting for any reaction to the ronin's challenge.  He is silent as the air around him.

The birds are reaching the end of that last burst of crazed activity they give right before sunset, and are quieting down.  Squirrels have ended their day's rummaging through the treetops, and just in time: owls are beginning to wake up.  Every once in a while, one sings a scale of throaty notes as a warning to the local rodent population.

No traces of something larger.  If it's there, it's keeping quiet.
 

Night

"Perhaps a fire would be good. It will be dark and cold soon. Whatever did this is probably nocturnal, and the fire might keep it at bay."  Shinji stares at the carefully-placed stones near the stream. "Have you seen anything like this before, my friend? They look like symbols, but for what?"

Tanto shrugs.  "They look like rocks to me but I've been hit in the head lots of times so what do I know?"  Tanto sheaths the long no-dachi and sets about making a decent sized fire for warmth and light.  He grabs spare firewood too.  "Nothing like a good fire to keep the demons at bay, I hope."

In short time, Tanto has a decent fire going.  He sets up camp for the night, unrolling a straw mat from his wicker travel pack, and unwrapping rice balls for his meal.

Only then does he notice that Shinji has no travel equipment whatsoever, except for a small sumi-e [calligraphy] kit.

Tanto regards Shinji from under hairy, scarred eyebrows, once again a tad puzzled.  "Poet, you are going to have to rely on your imagination for dinner tonight if you have not packed anything.  I have none to spare I'm afraid.  I could sell you a rice ball for some decent work of shuji I guess..."  (Tanto doesn't look thrilled at this idea though.)

Tanto settles comfortably enough without danger of going to sleep and starts munching nori.  He plans to stay awake to see what appears in the night.  Shinji does not seem to be one of those people who feel they have to make conversation, so the ronin's concentration is not broken by idle chatter.  He crosses his legs and straightens his back, to remain alert without undue tension.

Shinji opens his sumi-e set and soon gets absorbed in scribbling.

The contrast between the fire and the ambient darkness makes the night seem thick as flowing ink.  The gloom is unrelieved by moonlight, since it is the last day of the month, thus the new moon.  To keep his night vision from being ruined, Tanto turns away from the fire a bit and looks into the night.  At one point, he tenses up when he sees two points of light resolve into glowing, unblinking eyes, but he relaxes a bit when he realizes it's an owl.  After two or three such heart-stopping moments, he stops getting nattered by the night birds, although every once in a while they give a savage hoot and swoop by, heard but practically unseen.  Occasionally, he hears the squeal of a small rodent caught by the preying birds, abruptly ending.

The night slowly elapses, quiet for the two travellers if not for the local fauna.  The fire dwindles down to bright red embers, still offering some heat but less blinding.  A narrow strip of starlit sky is visible directly overhead of the clearing, framed by the dark cutout shape of the treetops.  Some of the constellations can be identified: the Plow, the Jug, the Archer...

It is perhaps two thirds of the way into the night when a small sound attracts Tanto's attention.  The sound is a combination of scuffling and dripping water, and comes from the direction of the pool ledge.  It quiets down for a moment, then is followed by the sound of light, cautious steps approaching slowly.

Tanto flicks a pebble towards Shinji's feet and whispers, "We may be about to get an answer to our questions."

Tanto once again clears his head of irrelevant details and just concentrates on the here and now.  He listens for the footsteps, waiting to see what they do.  Otherwise he makes no move, draws no weapon and takes no other action, content to act when he must.  Tanto smiles slightly.

The footsteps are very, very soft but keep approaching, circling around behind Tanto.  He remains motionless, and at long last is rewarded by the sight of two small shapes approaching his travel pack, propped against a rock for the night.  He can just make out the two intruders out the corner of his eye: children's hands extending from behind the rock to snake into his wicker pack...

By now, Shinji has reluctantly paused his haiku writing and catches the surreptitious movement as well.  Spotting the intruders, Shinji lunges in a grab for the would-be thief. Barely seen against the dying light of the embers, his leap has a weightless, aerial quality, like the drop of a leaf or a snow flake.

Tanto acts as soon as he sees Shinji move.  From his sitting position, he rolls right over backwards, sticking his feet in the air, then throws himself feet first high into the air, performing an arcing backward somersault to land right behind the unknown little would-be thieves.

This sudden display of agility elicits startled squeals.  Two small shapes cower in the dark, huddling against the rock in fear of the towering ronin.  Shinji's lunge brings him hurtling past in a wild grab for the thieving hand, but the little sneak is faster than a greased eel and slips out of Shinji's grasp.

Tanto cries: "Bakaro!!  Slippery little frog!"

With that he throws himself high into the air and attempts to belly flop on one of the little figures, arms and legs spread-eagled.  WHUMP.

Tanto lands on the damp ground with all the gentleness of falling timber, rebounding slightly.  The dodgy little fellow who was his target lets out a high-pitched cry of terror, but manages to roll out of Tanto's way before being flattened.  Another figure squeaks in alarm nearby.  The little figure who just wiggled out of Tanto's reach does not stop to see if luck will hold -- it takes off like a hare.

Shinji tries another grab.  He darts at the other little figure still hunkering down behind the rock.  This is strange, Tanto would have sworn the man couldn't reach with this boulder in the way, but Shinji's leans over and his hands reach for the intruder.  Alas!  The latter is every bit as elusive as the other sneak now on the run.  With another high-pitched cry, it squirms away from Shinji in an attempt to put the rock between it and the travelers.

Cursing fluently, Tanto launches himself back up and takes two steps after the fleeing figure.  Tanto then dives into a forward, mid-air somersault, ending with his attempting to land just behind the critter, his fists clasped together in front of him, coming down hard to brain the little guy.  What Tanto lacks in true martial finess, he tries to make with reckless athleticism.

Despite the target's zigzagging, Tanto's massive fists connect with the back of the little thief's skull, sending him flying a couple of paces to land flat on his stomach.  The landing is accompanied by an agonized whimper of pain.  Tanto's hands smart after that hit -- it feels like he hit a helmet.

Shinji's own opponent, still ducking arund the boulder, lets out a piercing cry and ducks again.  Shinji hears a whisper of drawn steel behind him.  Looking over his shoulder, his eyes can just make out a man-sized shape, and a few glints suggest metal.  A roar like that of an enraged man announces unfriendly intention.

Meanwhile, Tanto's victim picks himself up and tries to make another run for it.
 

The Samurai

Shinji's hands are empty and open-palmed, warning the attacker not to attack.  Shinji's voice is calm and even. "Attack me and die."

The newcomer does not respond, but Shinji can hear a sword whip through the air.  The light of the stars give enough light to make out the shape of a samurai in armour, his gleaming kabuto [helmet] topped by a large maedate [helmet crest] shaped like a stag's antlers.

Tanto quickly flexes his hands a bit and gives a little grunt of pain.  "Fortunes!  What is this fell-beast made of?"

He immediately charges after the little guy again, crying "Stop running!!  I won't hurt you if you just give back my money!!"

Tanto takes another two steps after the little critter then launches into an airborne side kick, his right leg out and his foot turned to connect outside edge with the critter, his right arm up near his head, his left arm flung out, his left leg curved into his body.  "H'YAH!!" he cries.

Tanto hopes Shinji won't be immediately decapitated by the mystery samurai.  The momentum of his aerial kick carries him flying just past of his intended target.  He feels his foot brush against the small body, but the fleeing thief is barely grazed -- although he yelps as if he had been hit by Tanto's full might.  The ronin lands in a crouch, ready for anything.  But the comfounded little intruder zips around him, doubling back towards the pool in a serpentine run to circumvent pursuit.

The other one, still hiding behind the boulder, takes advantage of the fact that Shinji is facing the newly arrived samurai, and throws a rock.  At least, that's what Shinji figures when a rock the size of an egg whizzes past his ear and hits the ground next to him.

Tanto decides it's time to worry about the more obvious threat of the three intruders, before Shinji gets diced into sashimi.  "You - Bushi!  I am Yamamoto Tanto, swordsman without peer, and I challenge you to either return my money or face death from my nodachi!"

Tanto adds as an afterthought, "And to seek justice for my comrades killed down the road, of course."  He draws his nodachi and starts moving towards the samurai, the long blade held straight out behind him.

He carefully steps into an open spaced area near the pool, which will give room to move in a duel.  Then he fixes the best scowl he can muster on his (battle-scarred and in no way attractive as is) face, eyebrows become as one and his eyes lock onto the samurai's.  The nodachi still held rigidly behind him in a martial pose, Tanto becomes quite still, takes a deep breathe and empties his (never that full) mind of thoughts.  He waits for the samurai's reaction.

Alas, walking in the dark in an unfamiliar mountain area, while wielding a very large weapon and locking eyes onto an enemy, is a treacherous endeavour.  Tanto's geta slips in the dewy grass, dislodges a stone.  The edge of the pool is closer than he thought and begins to cave, and before he knows it, the ronin finds himself falling into the pool with an undignified splash.

Fortunately, this is a shallow area and when he quickly steadies himself, he finds that the water doesn't quite even mid-calf level.  But he is dripping from the spectacular splash, and his stance is somewhat less impressive than he had hoped.

Shinji reacts quickly and moves to place himself between Tanto and the mysterious samurai while Tanto recovers his bearings.  Still empty-handed, he faces the armed man and makes an almost imperceptible gesture.

Tanto shivers in his wet clothes as he scrambles up the bank.  The night breeze suddenly feels like the breath of winter.  But he is distracted from his discomfort as a spark momentarily flickers from Shinji's hand.  Tanto would swear the spark was shaped like a pure white snow flake, although he only saw it for a fraction of a second.  At the same time, something felt like a skipped heartbeat, or like a mat pulled from under his feet, but the feeling disappears as quickly as the spark.  Shinji cries out in anger and surprise.

The little runt who had been running from Tanto's grasp a moment ago takes this opportunity to run somewhere further up along the edge of the pool, out of sight.  Infact, everything is out of sight for a second, with the afterimage of the spark still etched on Tanto's retina.  When he sees well enough to make out his surroundings again, the samurai is nowhere to be seen in the ambient gloom.

Tanto is too disgusted to even bother cusring anymore.  Once again the Fortunes have seen fit to squash him underfoot, well it won't be the first time, and probably not the last.

On the upside, Tanto thinks, I appear to have allied myself with a Shugenja, although he may not be any more skilled than me - but we'll hope for the best.  Shugenja are all rich aren't they? Tanto splashes out of the pool and into the open.  He twirls around, the long nodachi describing a wide circle around him, searching for an enemy.  This time, he makes sure of his footing before he manoeuvres.  But try as he may, Tanto cannot find the samurai or connect with any forms.

Turning to the lesser opponent, Shinji gestures suddenly in the direction of the small form trying to duck around the rock.

"A glittering jewel
 To keep you here by my side
 See how it sparkles!"

As the words die, something does sparkle, briefly igniting a ring of light around the small shape of a child, and solidifying into a white, solid restraint.  In the ephemeral glow, the child looked about seven or eight years old, grimy, dressed in tatters, and hair in a wild tangle.  The light fades quickly, and the child is left shrieking in the dark.

From the depths of darkness, the samurai steps forth with a roar, once again swinging his weapon.  His katana gives a faint reflection of what starlight illuminates the clearing, just enough for Tanto and Shinji to follw the rapid circles it describes, whistling through the cold air.  The newcomer moves like a snake, sliding under Tanto's nodachi, and launches a vicious strike under the ronin's own swing.

Pointing the nodachi high in the air, Tanto jumps straight up and tucks his legs beneath him, hoping to clear the attacking thrust.  The ronin evades the samurai's strike with an ease and agility that belies his size.

Behind his rock, the boy who was immobilized by Shinji's spell is muttering and whimpering as he strains in vain against the bond of ice.  Shinji, satisfied at his own handiwork, turns towards the samurai once again. He move his hand in a graceful, sweeping gesture towards the groound at the warrior's feet.

"A mirror so smooth
 The stars spill their light in it.
 Mar it not with steps!"

Again the white glow forms, but this time in a milky pool on the ground, surrounding the samurai.  A layer of smooth ice forms and sparkles softly from under the mysterious samurai's feet, leaving him standing in a ring that looks a bit like a small sumo circle.

Behind Shinji, his little prisoner shrieks his victory: with a loud snap and a shower of ice crystals, he manages to break the ring of ice that pinned his arms.

"Your swordsmanship needs some work, let me show you how it's done!"  At the top of his jump, Tanto thrusts his right leg down and keeps his left tuck up.  His bulky body drops down and the impact is absorbed by that one leg, which beds down to a squatting position.  At the last second, Tanto rams his left leg into the ground and pulls his right up under him, rocketing back into the air.  At the same time, Tanto swings his big no-dachi behind his head.

As he is launched back into the air, Tanto brings the no-dachi down in a massive overhead arc, hoping to cleave the samurai in two, and screaming "YAH!!"

...and goes right through the samurai like a bird flies through a sunbeam.  As his acrobatic attack takes him past the shadowy figure, Tanto manages to get one good look at the samurai's face.  In the narrow exposed strip under the antler-crested kabuto and above a grimacing mempo painted white, he sees --

-- nothing.  No eyes, not even empty sockets, but two very faint points of red light.

As Tanto's arm, carried by the momentum of the no-dachi, whips through the samurai's intangible form, he feels a prickle like that which sometimes accompanies thunderstorms.

Shinji sees this and smiles grimly.

"Ronin! Take the children! This one is mine!"

Shinji's smile turns mean. "Hello, spirit."

He sinks into himself, deep within shadow, and it appears as if he...unfolds. Dark, jagged arrows jut out from every angle of his body. It is by karma alone that you cannot make out his face, but the broken lines of death rise out from his head as well. It is horrifying to behold. Surely, he could not be alive, this Shinji. No man could look this way and still draw breath.

His voice, in tattered whispers now:

"From life's dark shadow/ Winter's bloom, death's sweet embrace/ Let black arrows fly!"

Shinji faces the spirit and exhales in fury, his arms reach toward the samurai and a flight of black arrows, too numerous to count, streak towards the samurai, like a river of black death.

The samurai launches himself into a spectacular backflip, apparently unhampered by his armour or weapons, spins on two axis at once and lands in a defensive crouch, as his blade describes an impossible dance.  Shinji's attack lets loose a dark rain of arrows, but goes wide as he tries to follow his opponent's movement, and ends up spraying the area.  And the samurai shows no trouble at all standing on the patch of ice that Shinji created moments ago.

Impressed with Shinji's socerous powers despite his naturally cynical nature, Tanto grins evilly and turns back to the little rodents.  "Mwa ha ha..." he chuckles under his breath.  Using both hands to spin the no-dachi in a blurring circle of glittery metal and moving this fan of death from side to side, Tanto stalks around the pond, looking for a little guy to dice sashimi chef style.

He quickly makes his way to where his little adversary was last seen near the edge of the pool, his sharp glance brushing over the dark shapes around.  There!  Relying more on a hunter's instinct than on any conscious decision, Tanto homes in on a a small shape that might have been just another rock, but isn't.  His twirling blade shaves a bush out of the way like a scythe, whirling a hair's breath from the little thif's nose hiding behind it.  With a squeak of fright and surprise, the boy falls on his back -- and into the pond behind him with a resounding SPLASH!

Shinji spins, re-focuses on the ghostly samurai and lets the broken arrows fly once again. As they fly, he moves purposefully towards his target, determined to protect the ronin at any cost. There is death in his eyes.

The black arrows are all but invisible in the ambient darkness, and the ethereal samurai has no chance to duck again.  The arrows give little flashes of pearly white light where they strike him, leaving after-images on the back of Tanto and Shinji's eyes.  The samurai howls and twists in surprise, rage, and pain, and his sword whistles through the air.  With a glare of red eyes in his empty face, he shakes his fist at Shinji, and in the sparkle the last few arrows the two night travellers see him jump into the air -- and take flight!  An instant later, when Shinji's rain of arrows ceases, the samurai has disappeared again.

The samurai is nowhere to be seen or heard, the little guy who ran away from Tanto is gone, Tanto himself is lost in contemplation, and when Shinji turns back to look for the second child, he finds the tyke has disappeared too!
 

The Cave

Tanto casts a few last glances about to make sure he can't see anybody else then gives his own body a quick glance.  "Apparently completely unscratched."  Tanto shrugs then sheaths his long no-dachi.  "Shinji-sama, you should have told me before that you were a shugenja.  I would have spent less time worrying about your losing your head.  I admit I was impressed by your sorcery and I am hard to impress - these days anyway.  Do you have any idea what just happened, by any chance?  Sorcery of some kind but I don't have any idea what."

Shinji looks into the ronin's eyes, confused.  "Shugenja? Why would you think that?  -- Oh," he nods his head solemnly. "Tanto, please forgive me. I am not yet used to my... situation. I forget that I am no longer just a simple haiku poet."

Shinji stands in a patch of moonlight, and points at the ground, where there is no shadow. "I died in a place, not unlike this, not long ago. I was ambushed by bandits and tortured for their amusement until I died. I am no sorceror, friend Tanto. I am a ghost.  And I will walk the earth until I have my vengance on those who murdered me."

A long moment passes, a soft wind blows, but Shinji looks unaffected, as if he were only a painting. It is strange to see such unaffected calm in the breeze.  Shinji smiles. "At least you won't have to split the gold you find with me."

"A ghost?  Right.  Certainly Shinji-san, whatever you say.  Tragic loss I'm sure."  Tanto does not, in fact, sound overcome with fear at this revelation from Shinji.

Tanto thinks to himself, why is it that all sorcerors are mad?  Surely it must be dabbling in dark arts.  Oh well, let him think he's a ghost.  "As for gold, there's not a lot to worry about not splitting at the moment.  Let us return to this current mystery.  What was that samurai?  I hit him cleanly but my sword passed right through him.  And what are those little children?  I nearly broke my hand hitting one of them."

Tanto starts circling the pond, looking carefully into it with deep suspicion.

Shinji looks confused. He shakes his head and looks at the ronin again. "Friend ronin, I'm not sure if you understand. I'm telling you I'm a ghost. Surely, this is not so common."

To prove the point, Shinji walks over to the nearest tree to walk THROUGH it --

...and  gets a beauty of a bump on his forehead for his trouble, as he walks right into the very solid tree with a good thunk!

Tanto's battle scarred and generally pretty ugly face remains impassive as he watches Shinji bounce off the tree, although one bushy eyebrow does raise oh so slightly...

"Shinji-san, if you want to be a ghost, you're a ghost.  For that matter, if you wanted to be a mouse, you could be a mouse.  That arrow thing you did before was excellent by the way.  It would scare most bandits back under their mother's tatami mat."

Shinji mumbles, rubbing his forehead. "I don't understand...Why can't I?..."

Tanto continues.  "To answer your question about injuries though, no, I'm completely unscratched, just a bit wet and muddy.  Only my pride was hurt.  Right now, what really interests me is this strange samurai and his little friends.  Surely there must be some clue as to who they were and where they've gone.  With my money too.  If that samurai was a ghost, why would he care about money?  And the little guys were all too damn solid!"

Tanto will start looking carefully into the pond from all sides.  "Since there must be some kind of magic happening here, maybe this pond is not as innocent as it looks?"

Shinji looks awkward. "Uh, well, maybe you're right.  Let's investigate the pond. Maybe there's something there we can find."  Shinji gestures Tanto over to the water's edge.

Tanto sets about creating some kind of burning torch that he can carry about and use to help with the search.  Like the resourceful ronin that he is, Tanto carries a flint and steel kit in his travel pack.  The thought of it reminds him that he is soaked at least to his knees, and getting colder by the minute.  He walks back to the large rock where he propped his pack, the very same pack that got the little thieves so interested in the first place.  He stops to stir the ashes of the previous fire, and finds they are still warm; the embers underneath should not be too hard to coax back to life.

With a bit of the wood he had piled to dry earlier, Tanto builds the fire back and fashions a respectable torch.

"Let's see what we can find."  Searching in the light made from Tanto's torch, Shinji begins examining the area with the ronin.

The poet walks up to the edge of the pond, a torch held high above his head.  By night, the water forms a mirror of smooth, solid blackness, instead of revealing every detail of the bottom as it did in daylight.  Perhaps because it is so early in the season, or perhaps because the recent scuffle scared the wildlife away, there is no sound of frogs or insects.

Shinji starts slowly circling the pond, moving towards its upper edge where it is filled by a small waterfall.  That is the area where one of the little thieves was last seen and heard, fleeing.  Shinji carefully examines the boulders and the clumps of rocks near the waterfall, looking for a convenient hiding spot for the intruders.  Near the very foot of the cascade, he hits paydirt: some of the thicker bushes conceal an opening, a dark and musty-smelling cave that seems to extend under the waterfall.  It looks like the upper stream or pool must be held in a perched slab of rock that overhangs the lower pool.

Warily, Tanto moves closer to the entrance, torch in his left hand...

Shinji drifts over to the ronin and gestures him to the location. "I can go inside, if you wish. It might be safer if I went in first, because you have all that armor on. What do you think?"

"Armour?  Shinji-san, my clothes may need a bit of a wash but I don't think they yet qualify as armour."  Tanto looks vaguely miffed.  "I am happy to go first, you just back me up and be ready to turn anyone strange into a dragon-fly or something.  Do not worry about me, Shinji-san, I have scars on my scars."

Tanto heads for the entrance, burning torch before him.

The cavern is very small, say small enough for children...  It is more like an open slash in the rocky side of the upper pool.  Tanto can squeeze in but not stand upright, and it's an uncomfortable fit.  He also has to take care to keep the torch from the splashing of the waterfall as he moves behind the curtain of water.  Shinji, of course, is not so limited by size or substance -- here is another opportunity to try to demonstrate his insubstantiality to the ronin.  Is it worth it?  Good question...

The air in the cave is cold, dank-smelling, and moist. The torchlight throws wild shadows on the sharply sloping walls, dancing like malevolent spirits.  The ronin is the first to spot the glint of gold, so sweet to his heart, sparkling from the deepest corner at the back of the little cave.  To reach this far he would need to drop on all four and stretch, mutch like trying to retrieve the go piece that must inevitably fall under the lowest piece of furniture in a room.

Shinji tests the wall of the cave with his hand, wishing it to phase through. Carefully, as so the ronin would not notice.  He seems to be able to phase through without problems.

Tanto looks a bit spooked out by the whole experience but gold is gold is gold.  "At least we may come out of this with something to buy a little sake with."  He casts a rather nervous eye about the little cave then plonks down on all fours and stretches out to grab the gold whatever.

The ground is damp and uneven, a thin veneer of packed dirt over rock, while the sloping sides of the cave are solid stone. There are small boulders, flattened mounds of dead leaves, little piles of coloured pebbles, smelly fragments of bones and skin from some small animals, a jumble of worthless bits in the way.  But Tanto's arms are long, and he wiggles and rummages until he can reach the coveted glint of gold.  He hand closes on cold metal, a ryo from the size of it!  His fingers can feel other pieces of metal nearby.

"Well, this seems a little more promising..."  Tanto hauls the first object back to have a look at it, with the intention of grubbing about and grabbing any other bits of metal he can feel after checking the first one.

It is indeed a ryo of nice, shiny gold -- enough to provide a man's rice for a year!  A bit of the wrapping paper still sticks to it, moldy and deteriorated despite the original wax.  Tanto rubs some of the dirt away with his thumb; many dents mark the soft metal. The markings are of the Crane Clan mint, and fairly old at that, from the style.

Shinji smiles. "Ronin! Some treasure after all. I'll look and see what else is there."  And with that he fades through the wall of the cave like a... ghost.

Shinji's demonstration is much improved from his earlier performance with the tree.  He seems to be getting the hang of this.  He carefully explores the hollow where Tanto spotted the coin.  He finds a jumble of small objects, mostly made of metal or stone.  A tanto that must once have been fairly good quality is now marred by rust; several go pieces apparently obtained from different sets are scattered throughout the area; a laquered inro has fared pretty well, except for the scratches; a silver mirror is still decently polished.  In addition, there are many rounded pebbles of various colour that probably come from the pool or stream.

But the piece de resistance is an ornate kabuto with a large maedate; without Shinji's special abilities, it would be very difficult to extract the object from where it has been lodged.  Upon pulling it out, Shinji can admire the antler pattern of the helmet crest.

The same one the mysterious flying samurai was wearing.

"Grief!  Between the coin and the helmet, we have a reasonable hoard here, Shinji, enough for more than a few nights of being pampered anyway.  But the whole thing is worrying me.  Is this helmet haunted?  Who collected all this other junk?  Some kind of manic, cave-dwelling crow-spirit?"  Tanto looks torn between greed and worry, but that does not appear to be a state of affairs he is unused too.

Shinji inspects the helmet carefully, looking for something. "This does seem odd to find this here. If I wasn't already dead, this would make my skin crawl."

In fact, the cold and damp are enough to make most mortals' skin crawl.

The helmet is also fairly old; its surface is oxidized in patterns of red and green depending on the metal, and the leather and silk are frayed and discoloured.  Still, it was a nice piece of workmanship when it was first made.  It will need some cleaning before the mon of the owner can be read.

Tanto peers into the cave.  "Is there anything else in here?  Otherwise, why don't we climb back out and have a closer look at the helmet once the sun has come up?"

There is the jumble of metal and stone objects Tanto and Shinji noticed earlier, but apparently no more money or armour pieces.

"Sure, that sounds fine to me," Shinji says. "Perhaps the morning light will make some sense of all this."

For now, Shinji would judge that it is late in the hour of the Rat (12-2 AM).

Tanto gathers up the odds and ends of other stuff for better examination when the sun comes up then exits the cave.  "Shinji, if you can bring the helmet, I suggest we wait till sun-up and have a better look at these things.  I'm afraid we're not going to get anymore sleep this night but worse things could happen."  Tanto looks rather happy.

"Glad to," Shinji smiles. And with that, he heads to step out of the cave and into the night. "If you want to rest, I can keep watch."

Tanto fills his sash and sleeves with the odds and ends and follows Shinjo.  The two turn to slip out of the cave through the side exit past the waterfall.

A sound of splatter, as if the sheet of falling water was being disturbed, attracts their attention.  The flicker of Tanto's torch catches glints near the spot where the lip of the cave advances to the base of the waterfall.  Then a low growl sets off echoes in the stone cave.

Shinji readys himself for trouble, searching for the maker of the growl. "So much for rest, Tanto-san."
 

To Be Continued...