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The clearing was never lovelier than during this time of year, when the blossoms of the spring were just giving way to the vibrant, lush colors of summer. The heat was not yet too great. and the babbling of the simple brook that wound its way through the region was wonderful. Everything about the meadow appealed to that quiet, still place somewhere deep within the warrior heart of Matsu Akuto. It granted him the serenity that he could never know on the battlefield. But of course the meadow, alone’ could not give him such joy. It was only companionship that could do such a thing.
The bright. musical laugh of Kakita Reisei subsided, and the young artisan gazed at Akuto adoringly for a moment, causing his heart to beat almost painfully within his chest. “Must you go so soon?” she asked, her tone nearly pleading. “We have only had a few hours together, and it has been months since I saw you last.”
“I know,” he said, his tone remorseful. “It is difficult to gain time away from my duties, more so now with all the difficulties the Empire faces. I will contact you again as soon as I am able.”
The lovely architect nodded. “I have demands as well, I fear,” she said. “There is much in our lands that has been ruined, and few of us to try and correct the damages of war.”
“I will not be sorry for war,” Akuto said, picking his helm up from where it rested in the grass. “This is the opportunity for me to gain the glory. I require to petition your-lord. This is my chance to earn a beautiful Crane maiden as my bride.”
Reisel raised one eyebrow. “And I suppose any Crane maiden will do?”
“I would hate for your lord to think I was picky,” Akuto joked, favoring her with one of his rare smiles. She back, radiant beyond imagining, and began to say something, but then he saw her eyes fix on something behind him, and her face went white.
Akuto’s demeanor changed at once. He turned, blades in hand. his helm discarded. He felt the mask of war slip over his face and hoped that she could not see it.
From the bushes at the edge of the meadow, one of the mindless dead spawned by the plague emerged. Then there were four… then a dozen. More somewhere behind them, rustling in the brush. How had they not heard their approach? “Go to your horse.” Akuto said sharply. “Ride quickly.”
“I will not leave you!” Reisei insisted. ‘
“Go now.” Akuto commanded. “This is not for your eyes to see.”
She hesitated for only a moment, and Akuto could sense her trepidation at the terrible change in his personality. HE loved her dearly. but this was war. This was death. This was his calling and his gift: He heard her retreat across the meadow and seconds later. He heard the hoof beats of her steed as she fled east toward the Crane border.’
He wondered if, when he saw her again, she would look upon him differently.
“Heretical beasts,” Akuto snarled at the undead lumbering from the wilderness. “Come to me and let me return you to the pit from which you sprang!”
**
Despite its name. Lost Traveler Castle was virtually impossible to stumble across by chance. It was safely out of the way of more or less everything. Only those truly seeking it, with a good notion of its general location, or those who were completely and utterly lost with no hope of finding their way again, could come across it. It was primarily for this reason that the Legion of Two Thousand had made it one of their principle bases of operation in the northern Empire.
Utagawa reflected on this as she, walked the halls.
Ultimately it made little difference. They were safe here for now. but in time the plague would come. The wind itself would bear their enemy down upon them. Such things were unavoidable. She smiled as she saw the father of her child poring over maps of the Empire. his expression grim. Even in such circumstances, he was beautiful to behold, “Tamago.”
He looked up. “Is there news?”
“More sightings in the Lion lands,” she said. placing a series of scrolls on the table. One group near the Crane border numbered nearly one hundred. It has been dealt with, hut the commander fears contamination in several’ of his men as a result of the operation.”
Tamago swore. “More good men condemned to weakness or death in a time of war.”
“There is a report from the Scorpion lands as well,” she said. “Kataoka and Torakichi managed to evade the quarantine and report on Ryoko Owari.”
“Impressive.”
She nodded. “Were the Scorpion not so threadbare at the moment it might not he possible, but impressive still.”
“And?” he asked.
Her expression grew dark. “It is as we have heard. The city… is essentially lost.”
Tamago pounded the table with one fist. “We must find a way to turn the tide, or more cities will be lost as well.”
“I begin to fear that we may lose more than cities,” Utagawa observed quietly.
