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The plains of the Lion lands receded ever farther behind the two men as they rode, although the view of their home was obscured somewhat by the ranks of the soldiers who followed on the horizon behind them. Ahead of them, to the North, the Great Northern Wall Mountains loomed, growing larger with each moment but never seeming any closer. Between them and the mountains were the foothills, which stretched immediately before them.
Akodo Masao frowned. “It seems so simple, and yet is so far.”
The other man chuckled. “Ah, the impetuousness of youth.”
Masao’s frown deepened. “You are less than a year older than me, Senzo!”
“True,” Akodo Senzo said with a nod, “but just older enough to be a year ahead of you at the dojo, and thus I have an additional year of experience in the field.”
“That does sound familiar,” Masao nodded. “I believe you last mentioned it roughly ten minutes ago.”
Senzo laughed again, louder this time, but it was short-lived. “We should enjoy this beautiful countryside,” he said after a moment. “The devastation in the Dragon lands is significant, I have heard.”
Masao’s expression was a mixture of grave concern and youthful enthusiasm. “The Army of Fire,” he said. “We will face them on the field of battle soon. I cannot wait for that moment to arrive.”
“There is great glory to be had purging such disgusting barbarians from the Empire,” Senzo agreed, “but do not allow your enthusiasm to overwhelm your good sense. The filfth possess incredible abilities, powers conferred upon them by the Dark Oracle of Fire, and they are amazingly cunning. Underestimate an enemy and you will be overwhelmed.”
“The first lesson of our sensei, I know,” Masao said. “Still, I wish…”
A sudden blossom of fire somewhere ahead of them, just at the edge of their vision, caught the eye of both men at once. They exchanged a glance. “Could the Army of Fire be this far south already?” Masao asked.
“There have been multiple reports of scouting patrols making it past the dragon provinces,” Senzo said. “We should investigate.”
Masao hesitated for a moment. “We have no authorized papers to travel though the Dragonfly lands…” he began.
“This is war, and we go to aid the Dragon. The Dragonfly will not bar our path, regardless of our history.” Senzo spurred his horse forward. “And if we rescue them from an attack by the Army of Fire, then perhaps we can bury the grudge between our two clans forever.”
The two Lion scouts rode forward at a gallop.
***
“I am most grateful for your assistance in this matter, most honorable Dragon-sama,” the elderly farmer said with another scraping bow. “I am unworthy.”
The tattooed monk Togashi Shintaro smiled slightly. The old man’s fawning was appropiate for a peasant paying respect for a representative of a Great Clan, but it was somewhat tedious regardless. “Enough, friend,” he said patiently. “I am happy to help. We must look past times of war and plan for the future, would you not say?”
“Of course, my lord,” the farmer agreed. He gestured with his lantern to the enormous boulder that dominated the small field. “As you can see, however, this stone is most formidable. I have poured water into its cracks during the winter, and as you just saw, stuffed them with straw and set them ablaze, all in hopes of cracking the thing open. To no avail. It will forever plague my farm lands, I fear.”
“We shall see about that, my friend,” Shintaro said. He closed his eyes and focused his chi, the flaming tattoos across his torso flickering as if alive. He summoned his inner energy and unleashed a gout of flame that engulfed the boulder, blackening it almost instantly. Under the relentless, supernatural onslaught, the two men could hear the stone beginning to creak and crack.
***
Masao and Senzo observed from a distance. “The Army of Fire,” Masao said. “It must be.”
“It… appears that way,” Senzo said with a frown. “Why is he attacking that rock?”
“The peasant hides behind it! “Masao hissed. “He is toying with his prey! We must save him!”
“Something about this feels wrong,” Senzo said.
Masao waited no longer, unslinging his bow and firing an arrow in one smooth, fluid motion, them instantly firing two more.
***
Shintaro sensed that something was amiss and ended his gout of flame, even as the boulder fell into two pieces. He snatched the first and second arrows from the air, but the third buried itself into his shoulder almost to the fletching at the end. He grunted, more in surprise than in pain, but a little of the latter as well.
The old farmer screeched in alarm, casting about for the source of the arrows. “The Lion!” he shouted. “The Lion have come back to destroy us all.”
“What?” Shintaro demanded, tearing the arrow from his flesh with a snarl of pain.
“Do not worry, my lord!” the farmer said, running toward the castle in the distance. “I will summon the honorable Mirumoto stationed at Kyuden Tonbo, and they will purge the villainous Lion from these lands once and for all!”
