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*Seeds of Destruction
*Hida Tenshu looked leaner than he once had. Where once the fat on his body was minimal, it was now gone completely and the demons of hunger had started to work on his muscles. He was still strong though, and his tetsubo had become like an extension of his arms. The rare moments when at least
one of his large hands was not wrapped around it were brief, and it was always close enough that he could still act at a moment’s notice.
He subsisted on whatever he could find. Sometimes he got lucky and found a farmhouse that he not been destroyed and there were stores that he could take. He had learned how to stretch two days worth of food into a week when needed, and it was usually needed. Most days he would eat roots or whatever small animals he could find. That was even more difficult as even the squirrels and the rats had fled at the coming of the Destroyers.
But this was life in the Crab lands these days.
He dug into his bag with and fished out an apple. He had stumbled across a fruit tree weeks back. They were past their time and lay mostly on the ground. The lack of small animals meant they were mostly unmolested. They were dry and shriveled, but they served. He was nearly out.
He leaned back against a tree, with his feet beneath him in case he had to move quickly. He never let his mind wander so he was not caught unawares when the armored man approached. He recognized the armor, but still remained wary, dropping the apple and swinging the tetsubo up into a ready stance.
“Tenshu-san? Is that you?” His raiment left no question that this was Hida Daizu.
Tenshu said nothing. He merely nodded.
“You have been missing for four months. There is none who held out hope that you were still alive. Thank Hida!”
A shadow fell across Tenshu’s face. His voice croaked, as if out of the habit of speaking. “Four months? Is that all it has been? I had thought a lifetime.”
“What happened? What have you been doing all this time?”
“We lost ground. I tried to flank and my unit ended up an the wrong side of the Destroyers.”
‘Your unit? Are there more of you?” Daizu’s voice held hope. Tenshu’s eyes did not.
“What have I been doing?” Tenshu held up his tetsubo, even with the horizon. Daizu could see the many marks upon it. It was scored and pitted along its length. “Serving the Crab.”
Daizu nodded. “Then let me tell you how you can serve the Crab even more. I have a mission…”
Getting into Kyuden Hida was not difficult. No army could reach it and no small unit could take it.
When they saw it, both Crab bushi stopped and watched in silence for a moment. The fortress symbolized much. Next to the Wall itself, it epitomized the clan. It was strong — resolute. It was eternity.
It still symbolized the Crab, but in a different way.
“When Kyuden Hida was lost, many things were left behind. While none would forget items like Kettai, the Seeds of the Void were overlooked.” Daizu weighed the small bag carefully in his hand.
“And these small things are what you came back for?” Tenshu’s voice betrayed his doubt.
“These Seeds hold the power of the Dragon of the Void. They could be the key to defeating the Destroyers.”
“If that were true, wouldn’t the Kuni have taken them? Does Reiha-sama have faith in them?”
Daizu growled, “Do not worry about faith. I have enough faith for both of us. Just help me get back across the line.
The two Crab moved quickly through the corridors of their former home. They avoided rather than fought any creatures wandering the halls. They knew that if they drew too many of the scions of the dark upon them in these confines, they would be overwhelmed. You can never fight a superior force without an escape route, unless you prefer death.
When they reached the mouth of the great fortress, where the skull of the Maw once hung, they could see that things had changed since they entered. There were goblins milling about, maybe thirty of the creatures. Unlike the random bands that could be encountered in the Shadow-lands, these were armed like a fighting unit, each brandishing a long spear. They were listening to commands barked by an Ogre that had seen much battle. The scars on its body lay on him like an historical record of the path that led him to this place.
“We have no way but through them. Do you wish the goblins or their master?” Daizu whispered.
“No.” Tenshu stared into Daizu’s face. “Not until you tell me why you are here. Reiha did not send you. She would never risk you on such a mission. I have never thought you to put your faith in something you did not understand instead of your arm and tetsubo. Tell me why you are here.”
A shadow passed over Daizu’s face but he saw that Tenshu was resolute. He would brook no equivocation. “It was my brother.”
“Renga?”
“Yes. He believed in the Seeds. He thought they had a power that just had to be unlocked. The Kuni were afraid of them, he would say.”
“And where is he?”
“With our father, and his father, and his father. When I found him, there was nothing that could be done. I thought nothing could pull a mountain from its roots, but I saw that I was wrong. With his last, he made me promise.”
Tenshu paused then nodded. “You take the ogre.” He then grasped his tetsubo in both hands and ran the last yards between the Crab and their prey. As Daizu ran behind him, Tenshu screamed “Hida!” and leapt into the mass of spears.
