L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix

by Stephen D. Sullivan

  Pushing the thought aside, she reached into the gap in the icy wall and seized the Black Scroll. The case was bitter cold, colder than ice; her hands burned at the touch. She turned the wind into a protective barrier, but where her magic met that of the scroll, angry green sparks flew up.

  Uona worried the conflicting magics might harm the artifact. She tore some tatters from her kimono and wrapped the scroll case in them.

  Thus protected, she took up the scroll. The cold still stung her, but Uona could bear it awhile. She flew out of the cave, back lor Kyuden Isawa. Behind her, Narayama vanished into the clouds.

  JUNZO'S LAIR

  The floating Black Scrolls held the Master of Earth's attention for long moments. Then he noticed something else.

  A pedestal made from writhing iron scorpions sat in front of the three floating scrolls. On the stand lay a sealed scroll case. It was wrinkled, like the skin of an ancient serpent. Shimmering kanji covered its black surface—spells intended to hold the evil power within.

  That power whisper to Tadaka. The ancient case held a fourth Black Scroll—Tadaka felt it in his bones. What's more, the scroll had not yet been opened; Junzo hadn't used its dark power.

  The Master of Earth smiled grimly. The evil shugenja would never wield the power of that scroll. Tadaka crossed to the pedestal, a sudden impulse compelling him pick up the artifact. At the last second, he stayed his hand.

  Surely Junzo would not leave such a prize unguarded—even here, in the heart of the Iron

  Fortress. A low chant whispered from Tadaka's lips. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again he could see the dark enchantments surrounding the pedestal.

  Malevolent red energies, like the arms of an octopus, twined around the scroll case, binding it to its base. Other auras left the scroll and snaked out across the room, embracing a freakish sculpture, two sai hanging on the wall, another scroll, and several additional artifacts. These objects were the scroll's guardians. Tadaka would have to break the magical connections before he could take the scroll. Otherwise, the powers of the ensnared artifacts would attack him.

  Sundering the magical tendrils might also awaken the items, so Tadaka would have to twist the auras, bend them away from the scroll case. None of the standard spells would do. He would have to create a new variation.

  Sweat beaded on the Master of Earth's brow. The Fortunes only knew how much time he had. The room's dark magic tugged on his mind. He rubbed his brow and closed his eyes. The chants and invocations for dozens of spells flashed through his memory—none quite right. Mystical auras were tricky, far more suited to his sister Kaede's magics.

  The knowledge you need is before you, a voice whispered in his mind.

  Tadaka started and opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw no one. Nothing moved in the room. The sound of his own nervous breathing filled his ears. Had it been his own mind that spoke? Tadaka forced his will into iron. He would find the proper spell to release the scroll. If he calmed his mind, the solution would be within easy grasp.

  Slowly, Tadaka realized that he was right—literally.

  The three Black Scrolls glowed brightly in their supporting auras just a few paces away. The scrolls were repositories of great magical knowledge. Surely they would have the power to free their "brother." If Tadaka were to scan them ...

  The Master of Earth took a tentative step forward. He felt the power of the scrolls calling him. He took another step on leaden feet. A third step. He put his hand out, but a warning sprang up in his mind. No. He wouldn't touch them. He didn't need to. He needed only to look, to study—to read the blazing kanji on the black silk.

  Slowly, he forced his eyes to the first scroll.

  A bolt like lightning blazed into his eyes. Tadaka's body shook. His brain tingled, as if a thousand ants were crawling over it. The kanji burned into his mind, setting off thoughts and memories that the Master of Earth didn't know he possessed. The power to free the fourth scroll was here—that, and so much more.

  He moved quickly from one scroll to the next, drinking in what he saw, not daring to touch the artifacts or unroll them fur-I her. Time slowed to a crawl. How long he lingered over the black silks, Tadaka could not have said. The scrolls scribed their arcane knowledge on his mind. He could read their powerful kanji even with his eyes shut.

  When he finally forced his eyes away, Tadaka knew the answer. It was so simple, he couldn't imagine why he hadn't seen (he solution before.

  He stepped back to the ensorcelled scroll case and began to chant. The energies surrounding the scroll pulsed and danced. They grew brighter, and then dimmer, keeping time with the Master of Earth's drone. He attuned his mind to the spell, and then attuned the spell to his will. Finally, the magical auras parted. They drew back slowly, like metal bars bending in the hands of a strongman. A gap in the magical cage opened—a hole l.irge enough to retrieve the prize.

  Tadaka stuck his hand through the opening and withdrew the sealed Black Scroll. He clutched the ebony scroll case to his breast and chanted the auras shut once more.

  He stepped back and exhaled slowly.

  Without warning, red energy streaked from the case and up through the vaulted ceiling. The chamber trembled, as though with an earthquake. A crimson glow took shape opposite the room's main door. The malevolent energy opened like the maw of a giant oni. Through the portal stepped the corrupt form of Yogo Junzo.

  A smile cracked the evil shugenja's wizened face.

  "So, Tadaka," he said, "come to visit your old friend Junzo, eh?

  You should have informed me you'd be dropping by. I would have arranged a proper reception." Junzo's tattered robes and ornate jewelry made no sound as he walked toward the Master of Earth.

  Junzo circled the Phoenix master slowly. Tadaka turned with him, keeping his eyes on his enemy. The Master of Earth clutched the fourth scroll tightly to his chest.

  "To what do I owe this honor?" Junzo asked, his honeyed voice dripping venom. "Have you come to join me after all? I hope so. Together, we could rule all of Rokugan."

  "If you had your way, Fu Leng would rule the world," Tadaka said, "and you would be his lap dog."

  "Not a dog," Junzo said, still circling, "a friend. A confidant. A mighty daimyo serving his emperor. You could be one, too. We would be equals, you and I—like brothers: I, the first servant of the lord, and you his first follower."

  As Junzo circled, the room's artifacts assumed a life of their own. Oni statues climbed down the chamber's skeletal walls. The skin-covered seat grew a demonic face and crept forward. The great chest snapped its drawers open and shut, hoping to find flesh to devour. Tadaka cursed himself for not seeing the trap sooner.

  Junzo held out his plague-stained palm to the Phoenix shugenja. "Take my hand, Tadaka," he said. "Fu Leng is generous with his friends, but merciless to his enemies."

  "Never!" Tadaka cried. He found a small jade star in the sleeve of his robe and flung it at his enemy.

  The star sliced through the air. Junzo brought up his hand to ward it off. The points of the dart sliced across Junzo's palm, and he bled evil red energy. Tadaka shoved the scroll case into his belt and drew his katana.

  "Kill him!" Junzo shrieked, pointing his wounded hand at the Phoenix.

  The scorpion stand that had held the fourth scroll shattered into pieces—each an iron scorpion. The creatures quickly devoured one another, growing as they did. Soon, only four of the monsters remained, each the size of a large dog. The scorpions scuttled forward to attack.

  As the monsters grew, Tadaka reached the entrance, but the serpents and centipedes on the door had twined their metal bodies around each other, forming a dense, tangled lock. Metal snakes struck out at the Master of Earth. He fended off the attacks with his sword. Then, realizing he could not escape quickly, Tadaka turned back to the giant scorpions.

  His jade-studded katana sliced off the fore claws of the first one. The beast tried to sting with its tail, but Tadaka kicked its body and sent it tumbling back int
o its fellows. Another scorpion's stinger struck the first creature as it flew. Where the stinger hit, green magic leaked out. The monster fell to the floor and dissolved into festering black liquid.

  The other scorpions bore in on the Master of Earth. They snapped with their palm-sized claws and lashed out with their long tails. Tadaka batted the blows aside with his katana. He sliced the stinger from one, but it retreated before he could run his sword through its head. When its fellows pressed Tadaka, it scuttled in again, clacking its claws.

  The Master of Earth was running out of room. Behind him, the living iron door waited with open jaws and grasping coils, liefore him, the giant scorpions slashed and stung. The walls of the room were springing to life as well. Hideous shapes, like demons being born, formed out of the ribs of the vault. Amid the chaos stood Junzo, concentrating, directing the attack— laughing.

  A stinger caught the silk below Tadaka's left elbow. He cut the tail off with his sword, but a claw sliced a deep gash below his right knee.

  Tadaka staggered back and was nearly caught by the writhing shapes in the door. He wheeled to his right, only to find demonic statues climbing down from their perches in the high ceiling.

  The Master of Earth plucked his round hat from his head. A quick chant turned it into an expanding net of ironlike reeds. He tossed the hat on the remaining scorpions; their claws and legs quickly became entangled in the mesh.

  Tadaka leapt over the pile and flung himself at Junzo. He drew his wakizashi with his left hand and slashed with both swords as he landed.

  The undead shugenja merely vanished into red mist before the blows struck home.

  Tadaka wheeled, searching for his enemy.

  Junzo stood near the door, waving his hands in the air, gathering red magics. The abominations rallied toward him; soon none stood between the sorcerer and the Master of Earth. The Black Scrolls rolled themselves closed, as if making room for their master to fight.

  By the time Tadaka realized what was happening, it was almost too late.

  Junzo spread his hands, palm outward. Deadly crimson energies blasted forth. They screamed across the room.

  Quickly, the Master of Earth sheathed his wakizashi, drew forth his jade fan, and flicked the fan open.

  The jade artifact took the brunt of the blast, but the force knocked Tadaka onto his backside. The fan deflected the energies, like water bouncing off a stone. Crimson magic exploded against the wall opposite the door. The whole room shook. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the blasted wall shuddered and crumbled.

  Tadaka saw his salvation. Beyond the new hole in the wall lay a passage—escape.

  The Phoenix Master of Earth rose to his feet. The remains of his jade fan fell to the flagstones and shattered into black shards. Junzo's forces reeled from the power of their master's attack. Summoning all the energy he could muster, Tadaka drew on the purity within his own body. The jade of his soul would be his most potent weapon. If it failed, he was doomed.

  Tadaka's mind reached out to the evil sorcerer and felt his taint. Thrusting his hands out, Tadaka sent the jade purity within himself to fight for possession of Junzo's body. Power crashed in coruscating waves.

  Junzo staggered under the impact, and then screamed. The power of the spell ran wild, shattering the iron beasts nearest the sorcerer. Junzo's limbs stiffened. His skin cracked, and began to turn green—the color of jade.

  "Kill him!" Junzo whispered to his iron allies.

  The beasts turned toward Tadaka and advanced.

  The Master of Earth wheeled and ran for the hole in the wall. A demonic statue dropped on him from above, but he cut it in two. The pieces fell, writhing, to the floor and turned into putrescent black slime.

  Tadaka darted into the tunnel. He heard Junzo chanting a counterspell behind him, but he did not look back. The cold weight of the fourth black scroll hung from his belt.

  Sounds of pursuit followed. Sheathing his katana, Tadaka fished a large rock out of the sleeve of his kimono. The natural tunnel he was running through was narrow, and barely taller than his head. The Master of Earth hoped the stone he held would be enough.

  Kissing its smooth, cold surface, he whispered a command to the rock and dropped it. As he ran beyond it, the stone grew huge, filling the passage—blocking pursuit.

  Despite himself, a smile cracked Tadaka's lips. He used the last of his strength to chant a seeking spell. He needed to find the way out of this maze. Junzo's forces would dog him, but his Tomb of Jade spell would delay the evil sorcerer. Even a master shugenja like Junzo could not move quickly with his skin turned to jade.

  Great gouts of sweat poured down Tadaka's brow and into his eyes. He blinked the moisture back and pressed on. Though his limbs felt like stone, he ran until the tainted breeze of the Shadow-lands caressed his cheeks anew.

  flight

  The sounds of Tadaka's footsteps echoed across the bleak landscape. The worn soles of his sandals kicked up dust where they hit the cracked earth. The Master of Earth's breath came in short puffs and, occasionally, long gasps.

  "Slow down, will you?" Ob said. "I'm having trouble keeping up!"

  "Jigoku take you then, mujina," Tadaka said. "You've been running for days," the imp replied, "but we haven't seen any sign of pursuit since you left the Iron Fortress."

  "Just because we have not seen them," Tadaka said, "does not mean we're not pursued."

  The mujina shrugged his shoulders and flapped his tiny wings harder to keep up. "Okay, I'll give you that," Ob said. "But, it doesn't mean someone is chasing us, either."

  Tadaka's hand went to his belt, where the stolen Black Scroll still hung. The scroll case felt cold and clammy; Tadaka's sweaty palm

  nearly slipped off the top. "They have enough reason to pursue, believe me."

  "But we got through the Howling Mire without any trouble," Ob said.

  Tadaka laughed ruefully. "Perhaps fighting bog hounds isn't your idea of trouble ..." he said. "Oh, I forgot, you vanished— as usual—when the monsters appeared."

  "Just showing good sense," Ob replied. "Wouldn't you have vanished if you could have?"

  "Sadly, that option is not open to me," Tadaka said. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Reflexively, he went to adjust his hat but remembered he had lost it in Junzo's castle.

  "So," Ob said, "do you keep running until you drop?"

  Tadaka nodded. "Yes. Or until I'm out of Junzo's reach."

  "And when would that be?" the mujina asked. "You can't run all the way back to Phoenix lands."

  "On the other side of the Kaiu Kabe," the Master of Earth replied. "Perhaps."

  "So you're just going to run until you reach Crab lands?"

  Again, Tadaka nodded. "And I would run better without talking, if you don't mind."

  "Maybe we could stop at that ratling village along the way," Ob said. "We could use a break."

  Tadaka slowed just a bit. "Perhaps," he said.

  The thought of resting had begun to play on his mind. He'd used up most of his reserves fighting Junzo and hadn't had time to recover. The bog hounds had depleted him even further. The land itself turned against him. Chasms yawned as wide as canyons. The cliffs grew steeper and the downward slopes more treacherous. The strange undulations of the land played havoc with his sense of balance and direction.

  Whispers plagued his ears, even past the edge of the Howling Mire. The slow wane of the tainted earth hadn't renewed Tadaka's strength either. He was bone tired. Every muscle in his body ached.

  Yes, perhaps he could rest at the ratling village—if only for an hour or two. Just enough time to eat, drink, and meditate. He'd run out of fresh water about two days ago and had gone without ever since. The nezumi might have decent enough water to chance a drink. It was a gamble he could take.

  "Is it far to the nezumi village?" Tadaka said.

  "I was hoping you'd ask," Ob replied. "By my reckoning, it's only three hills that way." He pointed his small red hand at a slight angle from the directi
on they were traveling.

  "Let's go, then," Tadaka said. He turned the way the mujina indicated, adjusting his meager possessions. His obi still held the Black Scroll tucked tight.

  The iridescent gray mist of the Shadowlands swirled around them. Stinging plants lashed out with flabby tendrils. Sandals crunched some squealing thing as he ran, but Tadaka didn't stop to see what it was.

  He kept his mind focused on the ratling village, on water, on leaving the Shadowlands far behind. First, though, water.

  Ob flitted around him, in front and behind. He babbled constantly. Tadaka didn't pay attention. The mujina's words were just part of the din that assaulted the Master of Earth.

  Tadaka almost didn't notice when the stone escarpment surrounding the nezumi village sprang up before him. It loomed like a graveyard out of the mist, its natural pillars looking like vast monuments to the dead.

  A slight smile cracked Tadaka's dry lips. He took a deep breath and coughed it out in an involuntary spasm. Even a mud hut and a straw bed would seem like paradise.

  He slowed as he neared the gap, trying to catch his breath. He looked around, but saw no sign of the mujina. Suddenly, his legs filled with lead. He staggered forward, leaning against the rocks of the entryway. They felt cold, lifeless to his touch. They brought no respite from his pain and exhaustion. The Master of Earth willed his legs forward. One step, then another, and then another. He passed between the stones and peered into the bowllike clearing.

  Fog filled the village, limiting his sight to only a few feet. He fell to his knees, happy to have reached safety. Only as he lowered his head to the ground did he wonder—where are the sentries?

  Tadaka looked up. An evil breeze caught the mist and pulled the fog back like a curtain. Before him lay the nezumi village— destroyed. Not one hut remained.

  He whipped his head from side to side, drinking in the awful spectacle. The huts had been burned to the ground, or knocked down like a child's toys. Desiccated corpses lay everywhere—so dry that even the flies stayed away. Checking the ground, Tadaka saw signs of horsemen everywhere.