The Story: Departure Day

Dawn

After thoroughly enjoying his breakfast, Ishi strolls down to the courtyard to see how the the preparations has been going. Not that he'll be needing a whole lot, him being so used to life on the road. But it is of course always more pleasant to journey with some equipment than to have to set camp without it.

Electricty crackles over Tokkan's frame as he rises for a new day. Sitting on the floor, he clears his mind, pulling forth a bundle of marked yarrow stalks he carries with him. Framing in his mind the question, "Will we encounter enemies on this day's journey, and where?"

As soon as he feels focused, he tosses the sticks to the floor. He lets out his held breath and examines the results of the casting. When he is satosfied with the count, he pulls out his copy of the book of "I Ching", and tries to define the results of his cast.

Tokkan casts a hexagram that can be read as "Strange Signs", or "Estrangement", made of the triagrams for Fire and Lake.
 

_________
___   ___
_________
___   ___
_________
_________

He pauses, thinking.  No lake on the course they have planned eastward, although there are lakes in the bandit-infested lands westward.  Fire...  Well, presumably they'll have a fire going every night.  Hmm.  Mustn't be too literal.  He pores over his scrolls.

"Fire distances itself from its nemesis, the Lake.  No matter how large or diverse the group, the Superior Person  remains uniquely himself.  Small accomplishments are possible.

First changing line:

 Don't search after
 the horses you've lost;
 They will return in seven days.
 Acknowledge the presence
 of evil people:
 keep a close eye on them,
 but don't be baited
 into dealing with them.
 

Third changing line:

 Bandits stop his oxen team
 and board his wagon.
 He is scalped,
 his face is disfigured,
 and he is left to die.
 Not only will he survive --
 he will endure and triumph.
 

Fifth changing line:

 A kindred spirit cuts through
 the barriers that separate you.
 Can you cross
 the small distance remaining?"

He closes his reference.  Plenty of food for thought there.  Lost horses that will be returned, evil people, bandits, a kindred spirit...  Tokkan nods at the results of his reading. The portents are interesting indeed. He gathers up what gear he had, and places it in a his traveling satchel, trusting the Lord's lackeys to supply proper food and essential supplies. He makes his way to the stairs to the courtyard.

It is considerably later, not until most of the others have gathered, before Kentou arrives, yawning and stretching.  (The particularly perceptive may notice that he does not arrive from the direction one would expect for his room, but instead from a shadowy corner of the courtyard with a good view of the area.)  His clothes are definitely cheaper-looking than yesterday, and he seems generally disheveled.

"Good morning, honorable sirs.  Any last minute preparations, or shall we be on our way?"  There is just the hint of a smirk about the corner of his mouth, as though he has thought of a private joke.

Toshino meets Kentou with a good-natured shrug. "I find it best to be off early.  Besides, we won't know what we've forgotten to bring until we're well on our way."

Rik comes tearing into the courtyard with all the unseemly haste his big ratty feet can muster.  He seems to be carrying very little other than a rice cooking pot and a large, iron pipe which is stuffed into his obi.  His previous level of enthusiasm seems to have returned after a good night's sleep.  He skids to a stop, manages to compose himself and bows formally.

"Good morning honored companions," he says, "are we prepared to go-go?"  His eyes glitter with anticipation.

As they assemble in the courtyard while the sun rises, the travellers see that they have been supplied with horses by Lord Kyugoro.  The small, sturdy beasts seem to be intended more as pack animals than as mounts, and have been loaded with the travel gear.  They are covered with blankets decorated with the Dragon clan mon; some also bear a second crest: one Hiruma, one Isawa, one Shinjo, one Mirumoto mon... and one that shows a rat biting a moon crescent.  The latter is draped on the very horse Rik came back with yesterday, after his pursuit of the attackers.  As soon as the Nezumi approaches, the horse -- and with him, his brethren -- become agitated.

Rik backs off hurriedly.  If the bad guys try to get away, he will happily hop on and ride, but for now he would rather walk.  Yep.  Walk.  Uh huh.  Most assuredly.

Walk.

Yeah...

As soon as Rik steps away, the horses calm down, but their twitching ears and restless snorting indicates their nervousness.

The horses' packs are filled with food rations, blankets, rolled up reed mats, rain gear, tents, and everything else one might wish for a journey in uncertain lands.  Takezo looks into each bag with a suspicious eye and an ever-growing look of disapproval.  Just as he opens his mouth to complain bitterly, two servants arrive with waterskins, and begin loading them onto the horses.  Takazo relaxes; the smell of alcohol tells him everything he wants to know.

Ishi gives his horse a concerned look and slowly walks up to it, making his best to calm it down again. He also looks around for the horse he rode in on, asking the closest servant if someone had already made the judgement that horses could not be ridden where they were headed.

"The servant drops on his knees and bows deeply.  "A thousand pardons for this lowly one's mistake, bushi-sama, I was told to help pack the horses and I did so in the ordinary manner.  In my inexcusable stupidity I did not think to ask if they should be ridden.  If you wish to ride more comfortably I will repack your horse at once, sama."

Ishi glances at the horses again.  It's not that it's impossible to ride the horses, just that they are packed Dragon-fashion, with a lot of gear in the way.  Dragons rarely ride, at least in their own provinces, because the terrain is too steep for good riding and horses generally have to be led.  There are indeed saddles on the horses and they can be ridden right now, although it might be a good idea to ask the servants to re-stow the gear in a fashion more convenient for riding.

"Yes," Ishi says, "that is a good idea. Repack my horse at once!"  The servant bows and obediently begins to shift packs and bags around.

After quieting his own horse he tries to calm the others down as well, even tries to make Rik's horse accept its new partner.  The horses calm down, but remain a bit skittish.  Whenever Rik is close enough to touch, they start trying to pull away, prancing and stepping back.  Toshino's horse, a highly spirited creature, looks likely to kick if the Nezumi ever tries to touch him.  However, the beasts are soothed back to a more suitable mood, although Rik's horse has to be tied behind another horse rather than led by his new 'master'.  Anyone who wishes to ride rather than walk can have their gear repacked.

Toshino tightens several straps on his own horse, then pulls a couple carrots out of a saddlebag. He approaches the horse intended for Rik, catches its eye, and stares at it... [OOC Sacred Shinjo Family Secret - Robert Redford Technique! Been saving those skill points in Riding, I'd like to make a roll]... and keeps staring.  The horse seems unable to look away from Toshino's gaze.  Slowly, the beast's breathing slows down and he stops pawing the ground.  The ear twitching, head shaking, and snorting gradually vanish, and the horse, mellowed, steps up to nibble a carrot, almost daintily.  Toshino motions Rik over and hands him a carrot.

Rik says, "Thank you," most politely and begin gnawing on the carrot.  Rik munches happily for a moment, then notices that everyone is staring at him.  He looks at Toshino.  He looks at the horse.  He looks down at the carrot protruding from his oversized incisors.

"Oops," he says, finally realizing his faux pas.

At that moment the horse lunges forward, jaws snapping.  Rik leaps backwards with an "Eep!" of fright, and the might equine dentition manages only to snatch the carrot from his mouth.  Rik lands on his tail, and the horse begins contentedly eating the remainder of the carrot.

"Hey!" says Rik angrily from the ground.

Toshino smiles and helps Rik back to his feet. "It will takes some time before he gets used to you, but if we work at it we can have you eating and sleeping in the saddle by the time we reach Akibin. And if not..." he hands Rik the other carrot. "I have more carrots."

Hiro will walk for the most part, and is used to everything being packed in the Dragon fashion, so no changes necessary there.

Kentou mills around the horses a bit, casually wandering between them while carefully looking them over.  The circumstances of his life haven't left him knowing as much about horses as he should, but he can still keep an eye out for ill-packed equipment, bags that threaten to come loose and the like.  Not that he is expecting to find any problems, in a Dragon household, but he prefers to have the odds as much in his favor as possible before he rolls the dice.

Tokkan calls out "Breath of the Southern wind spirits carry me!" as he leaps into the air and soars across the courtyard, landing on the wall over the gate for a moment. He calls out, "This signs are auspicious for our departure now.  Please secure the horse with my gear with the rest of the pack animals."  He calls out to the spirit world again, and takes to the  air once more.
 

En Route

They exit the castle gate and follow the road down, past the open temple where Togashi Kaneka's funeral was distrubed yesterday, into the village that huddles around Kyuden Otara.  Some fourty modest houses or so surround the elevated base of the keep and are girdled by a second, weaker wall.  The village seems almost flattened against the hill slope, as it hugs the topography.  Peasants are already busy in the terraced gardens and fields that unfold below like the steps of an oversized staircase.  Others are at work in the village: fetching water, repairing tools, cooking, washing clothes...  As the travellers file past the villagers, the peasants bow deeply.

After walking through the village's outer gate, the Brave Defenders find themselves overlooking the fertile valley to the south far below, which separates Dragon lands from the Lion's and the Crane's.  Spires of white rock and somber, twisted pines frame the view.  The ground is hard, and any soil on the slopes is so thin that the trees' roots surface like gnarled knuckles trying to grip the rock face.  As soon as the travellers move away from the village, though, the tree line closes tightly along the path and the view is lost except for an occasional glimpse.

The path is indeed steep, narrow and not all that well suited to riding, but it is not impossible, especially when one only has to keep up to companions who are on foot.  In fact, the main problem is less the footing than the occasional tree branches that whip in the riders' faces.  And this is enough to make at least Ishi dismount and lead his horse. Not much use fighting against nature on this occasion.

More delicate are the suspended bridges that stretch across gorges and canyons, far above wild mountain streams.  Their decks are planked, but the contraptions tend to swing uncomfortably.  Happily, none of the Dragon clan horses are fazed by this, although they are clearly unenthusiastic.  Ishi's mount is not particularly upset either -- Hiruma lands are not that different from this, although the mountains of the south are less jagged.  But still, this isn't a horse's idea of a fun thing to do on a vacation.

As they approach the third such crossing, however, they discover that the bridge is no longer there.  Its remains are hanging from the far side of the chasm, while gurgling whitewater is leaping rapids at the bottom of the abyss.

As Tokkan notices the bridge has been cut, he lands near the edge of the canyon that the expedition is on.  He stands there, gazing at the dangling end of the bridge on the opposite side.

Just to make sure that this isn't just a way for fleeing assassins to hinder pursuit, Ishi immediately starts to scan the surroundings for ambushers. But before he can do a good job of it he realises that he'd feel a lot safer if he isn't stationary in an intended target area, and so he quickly moves into the foliage, primarily to protect his own hide, but also to get a better look at any foes that might be hiding there. While moving he also readies several shuriken, since trying to swing his kyotetsu-shoge among the branches would be a sure recipe for disatser. The humiliation he had to suffer from the snake was already enough for some time to come.

Takezo takes a sip (strictly for medicinal reasons), as he estimates the width of the chasm. He gauges it to be about fifty meters (165 ft).  He then turns to Tokkan and asks, "How much can the Southern wind spirits carry?"

Tokkan shrugs in reply.  Not changing his pose, he extends a hand and quietly says, "I need a rope, please."

"Hai, hai," murmurs Kentou.  He reaches out without looking and plucks a long coil of rope from one of the horses and tosses it at Tokkan's outstretched hand.

Toshino dismounts and examines what is left of the bridge on this side of the chasm. Were the ends of the rope cut clean, or frayed from neglect/disuse?  Indeed, this looks like a knife blade sawed through the thick support ropes, which where otherwise in good state.  A very disingenuous "accident"...

He then looks at the area around the bridge looking for tracks or other signs of recent travellers, like fire pits or droppings. He also looks for alternate routes leading away from the bridge, in case it can't be repaired and they have to move around the chasm or find another bridge. Any animal trails that lead down into the chasm or away from it?

It's hard to guess at previous travellers.  There is frequent traffic through the area, of course, so the path is left bald of vegetation; it did not rain last night or yesterday, so no fresh puddles have formed on the trail itself, although some occasional moss patches near the edges of the road remain damp enough to keep the mark of a hoof or heavy foot.  What few such tracks have been preserved show the prints of geta, and at least a couple have probably been trampled by the Brave Defenders' own caravan.  Horse dropping of varying age remain all along the road, but few seem to last more than a week, broken down by the weather and decomposition.

Although there are no other roads leading to or from this bridge, nor paths leading down the steep sides of the canyon, it appears that there is occasional movement along its lip, faint trails leading through bushes.  Both the one leading to higher, steeper ground to the north, on the party's left when facing the missing bridge, and the one leading down, way down to the south on their right seem to have been used recently.  Unlike the road, the edge trail is mostly a track of bruised grasses and mosses, with occasional broken branches.  This is the path that Ishi has disappered on, going up the slope.

As he investigates the area around the bridge, he says to Rik, "My little carrot-eater, if you aren't busy with the bridge, we could use your sharp ratling eyes. You could move up to high ground and watch for signs of trouble."

Snakes of electricity crawl across the triangular plates of light metal that Tokkan wears.  His features are hidden by the hat he wears, as he says, "Thank you" to Kentou.

He holds onto one end of the rope in his right hand, and gently swings the coils of the rest of the rope, as he quietly intones, but with increasing volume.  "Duke of lightning, guide this effort to span the emptiness that prevents the justice.  Duke of lightning guide this effort to follow through on our vow.  Duke of lightning, Lord of Thunder help us bridge this gap!"

The rope is enveloped in crackling electricity to the point where it look smore like coiled lightning than a rope.  Holding one end of it, Tokkan tosses the rest of the coiled length, that thunders across the toward the dangling end of the bridge, guided by Tokkan's sorcery.  When the other end of the rope reaches the broken bridge, Tokkan cries out: "Binding wind of confusion, Tangle and grab!"  There is a sustained crackle of energy at the point where the rope meets the bridge as Tokkan tries to manipulate the end of the rope to tie itself to the broken end of the bridge.

The rope starts twining and looping itself around the extremities of the erstwhile bridge, under Tokkan's watchful gaze.  The knot forms around the cut ends -- when suddenly something seems to slip and the knot collapses in a tangle of rope.  Sparks fly, sudden winds whip the rope ends like lashes, and lightning strikes from nowhere.  The tangle of ropes shifts like a living thing, until it finally settles into a strange web of strands, still hanging in mid-air across the chasm and down, above the water.

Those who can read realize with a small shock that it forms the character for "fire".

Takezo gazes down into chasm for a few moments. Then he takes a step away from the edge, pulls out a waterskin and begins to chug. All these things he doesn't understand are making his head hurt.

Behind his hat, Tokkan's eyes narrow, and his frown of concentration changes to a frown of annoyance. He recovers quickly, and gives a satisfied grunt, implying that things are going exactly as he meant them to.

Kentou smiles.  "Oh, very nice," he murmurs, with an appreciative nod.  "Can you do the character for hashi [bridge]?"

Tokkan does not move, but he looks at Kentou from the corner of his eye, and wonders how he would look as a little piglet.

He focuses his will upon the frayed ends of the rope. This should make it easier, he rationalizes to himself. Extending his will power, as a  ball of lightning traveling from the hand still holding the rope, down the rope to the end, where he will try  to use the many different strands of the rope into a knot attaching to the broken end of the bridge.

The rope snakes around, this way and that like an obstinate dog looking for a rabbit's trail.  Sparks fly and the scent of ozone drifts bak to the travellers.  Tokkan is looking increasingly irritated, his eyes fixed on the rope's end as if considering whether to blast the damn thing to perdition.  Finally, he mutters something to himself and turns to one of the anchor posts of the bridge, where slashed bits of cable are still tied.  With a quick loop and knot, he secures the extremity of the rop which he was still holding to the post, giving the line a good tug to verify his knotwork.

With a snap of dry thunder, he rises from the ground like a feast day rocket and zooms across the canyon in a bright arc of living lightning.  He tries pulling the bridge with him, but discovers that a bridge, be it made of rope and light planking, is still a very heavy object.  Snatching the other end of the rope, he untangles it quickly and ties another knot to the dangling end of the bridge.
 
 
 

View From Above

Climbing like a mountain goat, Ishi heads for an overhang that will give him a god view of the road's approach to the missing bridge and the chasm.  As he closes in on the rock ledge, his eye catches a glint of sun on metal, sparkling through the bushes above.

Without much hesitation Ishi unleashes a barrage of shuriken in the direction of the glinting metal, hoping to hit whoever is hiding up there. Chances are that it isn't the same people who sabotaged the bridge and who are now waiting to give a signal to a large number of associates who're hiding further down the path, but this is a chance Ishi is not be willing to take.

Ishi's volley of throwing stars disappears through the curtain of vegetation -- and the hoped-for cry of pain and surprise tears through the air.  It is followed by a whisper of disturbed vegetation, then by a dull thud.

Content with the result of his pre-emptive strike, Ishi now faces a difficult decision.  Should he try to warn his companions immediately, or should he try to find out more about the opposition so that they might be better prepared for an attack?  After only a short moment he decides to get the best of both worlds, and so he climbs up on the ledge and begins to scan the area for signs of more ambushers, as well as taking note of places where groups of them might be hiding.  Only when he's assured that the samurai at the bridge are in no imminent danger does he make his way over to the fallen to count the number of hikime arrows the man had left for him.

Ishi hoists himself onto the ledge.  Ignoring for now the hairy legs sticking out of a bush, he check the quality of this lookout spot.  From the ledge, Ishi discovers a stunning view of the mountain scape.  He can see his companions looking on with interest, while a line of snaking lightning arcs from Tokkan's hand to the dangling edge of the fallen bridge, fifty meters down across the canyon.  After a first instant of puzzlement, Ishi realizes that this is actually a rope which Tokkan is levitating and trying to tie to the end of the bridge through his sorcery.  Apparently, however, the kami of air and lightning either don't know how to tie knots or are being very contrary.  The far end of the rope is snaking madly into a confused tangle, while Tokkan wiggles his fingers at it.  Near him, Toshino is examining the remnants of the bridge's anchor cables.  Takezo is drinking from his waterskin, and Kentou is following Tokkan's progress with interest.  No one seems to be on alert for an ambush...

Ishi shakes his head, and turns to survey the surrounding area.  There is no one else on the stretch of road that he can see from here, nor on the far side of the canyon. Any ambushers would have to be along the slope under the cover of the trees, or on a stretch of road not visible from this spot.  He cannot see any more glints of metal for now.  The view of the chasm which this spot commands is sweeping, but it is missing sections of road.  If he climbed a tree, though, he might see as far as the previous bridge.

He turns to examine the body lying in the bushes.  He finds a rather skinny, small man, collapsed face down.  The man is dressed in a cheap, short kimono of gray and white striped cotton, his legs are bare, and his sandals are very worn.  A short sword of poor quality is thrust through the man's sash.  No bow or arrows are visible on his back.

The clap of thunder suddenly reverberates across the canyon.  Ishi whips back to check on events.  It seems Tokkan has finally tired of his sorcerous knot-tying efforts.  He is now flying across the void towards the bridge end, sending showers of sparks flying everywhere.

Judging by the man's outfit Ishi concludes that this person was not from the same group that attacked at the castle. It is still possible that he is part of a larger group of brigands that plans to attack anyone trying to cross the defunct bridge, but in that case Tokkan and the others would most likely both detect and defeat the attackers without much trouble. The worst case scenario though, is that this was just some poor unfortunate who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. While Ishi might not shed any tears over yet another death in his wake, he does realise that killing innocent bystanders is never a good idea, as it more often than not creates more enemies and bad will among the rest of the civilians.

All done lamenting the death of the possibly innocent man, Ishi quickly turns him over and retrieves his shuriken. For good measure he goes on to relieve the man of any small possessions he can find, such as money or trinkets, after which he proceeds to thoroughly examine the ledge. In particular he's looking for a hidden cave, campsite or alternate access way, but he certainly wouldn't mind finding some of his other shuriken lying around.

Ishi's shuriken is firmly lodged in the man's throat, and has caused profuse bleeding down the man's front.  The man's possessions are few and of very modest quality.  A thin blanket is rolled up, worn across his chest and tied diagonally on his right hip; a small purse is tucked inside his kimono and yields one bu and two zeni strings, one of which is open and about half-full.  A tanto is tucked in his sash under the wakizashi.

The most unusual item, however, he still clutches in his hands.  It is a disk of highly polished metal set in in a frame of cherry wood.  The man's blood has dripped onto the disk, marring its polish, but it looks like a lady's mirror.  Near the body, Ishi spots an empty pouch of black silk.

Ishi cannot find any of his other shuriken.

At first the mirror makes Ishi reconsider his first assessment of the man - if a poor man like this owns a lady's mirror, then it is most likely one that he stole it from a lady. Without bothering to clean the blood off he quickly puts the mirror back into the black silk pouch, tucking it away into his own kimono together with the money. However, as he continues to examine the ledge one thought continues to nag at him. Why did the man play with the mirror in the first place? Of course! He was signalling to someone! No wonder Ishi could see the metal glinting in the sunlight! Going against all his instincts, which usually advocate a silent approach to the enemy, Ishi positions himself on the front of the ledge and shouts a simple message down to his comrades in arms.

"Watch out for the ambush down there!"

Having alerted the others to the possibility of imminent danger, Ishi disappears back into the bushes to continue the examination of the ledge.  After making sure that he didn't miss anything unusual, he descends the mountainside so that he can explain to his fellow travellers what he found and why he thought it pointed toward trouble.

In the nook where the rock outcropping that juts out to form the ledge runs into the mountain side, Ishi finds the meagre travel gear the lookout must have propped there: a canvas bag containing two wrapped rice balls, a chipped cast iron cooking pot, a set of wul dice, a pipe, and a very small packet of opium rewrapped from its torn original wrapping.  The bag was just dropped there with everything still in it.  Having nothing better to do with his hands, Ishi grabs the bag, only to let go of it when he realises that he'll need both his hands when he's climbing down again.

Ishi walks back towards the spot where he climbed onto the rock ledge and  takes a last look around, crouching to avoid presenting a target to ambushers.  It is most annoying that this spot doesn't have a better view of the road to the west, although it does command a perfect view of the canyon and quite a good one of the drop all the way to the Yuri River valley --

His head whips back to face a spot down to the southwest, past the bulging of rock that hides a stretch of the path.  Below the moutain road, down along the hillside, he could swear he spotted some movement.  Everything seems quiet -- perhaps it was only a deer?  He crouches there, perfectly still, willing for the flutter of movement to happen again.

And he spots it.  Two men, dressed in dark clothing, scrambling down the slope under the cover of the forest.  Only the perfect vantage point of his eyrie and his eagle eyes could have allowed him to notice them, but he is sure of what he saw.

Another almost imperceptible flicker attracts his attention, higher up towards the path.  This time, it is in fact a deer, though, running east.  No, wait, two deers.  Two deers and a boar?  What is going on here?  He suddenly notices that the forest noises have changed.  A flock of ravens take wing in a shudder.  And the breeze carries a very faint smell.  Smoke.

Fire.  The forest is on fire.

And as he turns to lower himself from the ledge's overhang, he spots his three missing shuriken, arrayed in a rough semi circle.
 

Tokkan has tied his knot around the extremity of the bridge and is just turning to fly back when a shout echoes across the canyon:

"Watch out for the ambush down there!"

The words reverberate as if picked up by a multitude of fainter voices along the hillsides, then die out.  Looking up, the travellers see their companion Ishi, standing on the edge of a rock promontory above them, on the north face of the mountain.

Hiro's head snaps to attention as he scans the surrounding area for ambushers. 'Fool! You sit and daydream as danger approaches!', he berates himself silently. Taking his swords from where they are stowed, he readies himself for battle.  He centres himself, trying to open his mind to the flow of ki and let his surroundings inform his perception.  The area has grown eerily quiet, as everyone silently adopts a defensive position.  Hiro realises that the sounds of the forest have also practically stopped around them.  The murmur of the water, far at the bottom of the canyon, is the loudest sound he can hear.  But his eyes detect nothing immediately amiss.

He lets his other senses speak.  He becomes aware of a faint odor, twined with the smell of the pines and Takezo's ethylic perfume, a greasy smell he associates with the kitchens of low-grade inns and bad cooking.

Kentou drops into a crouch, holding one arm out as his sling drops out of his sleeve into his hand.  He scans the territory around them, especially just behind them.  "To be surrounded so early in the game...this would not be showing good play," he murmurs.

Takezo upends the waterskin and chugs it all down.

Tokkan starts zooming his way back.  At first it looks like he's going to shoot right past to go talk to Ishi, but the Hiruma scout disappears from view again, and Tokkan reflects that before he makes himself such a wonderful target, it might be a good idea to check the situation.  He streaks towards the west side of the canyon, where his companions are dropping into defensive positions.

Rik whips out his iron pipe and holds it menacingly in one hand, while dangling the rice cooking pot in the other.  So armed he is ready for anything.  "What can you see-see?" he calls up to Ishi.

Returning to his elevated scene, Ishi brings a new message for his audience.  "They set the forest on fire!" he shouts. Then he points to the south east, at an area below the mountain path. "Two men, over there! They are getting away!"

Ishi then turns around to lower himself from the ledge's overhang, only to change his mind and dodge into the bushes yet another time.  Estimating that he does in fact have the time for it, he decides to collect his missing shuriken.

Toshino leaps back into his saddle and kicks his horse in the direction pointed out by his comrade. His horse leaps across rough terrain that even an experienced rider would think twice about traversing. He calls out, "Let's see if they can outride a Shinjo."

But at the back of his mind, a nagging (no pun intended) thought lingers...  a forest fire? The old shugenja had said something to him on that fateful night, over a year ago... Your life will end in fire, yoriki.
 

To Be Continued...