Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind

by Chris Bradford

  ‘Jack, Jack!’ cried Li Ling, running over to them. ‘Look what I’ve got.’

  She turned round and lifted her dark hair to reveal a small black spider freshly tattooed on the nape of her neck.

  ‘Was that for saving Captain Kurogumo’s life?’ Jack asked.

  Li Ling nodded enthusiastically. ‘And Tatsumaki’s asked me to join her crew. Can you believe it?’

  ‘Well … congratulations,’ said Jack, trying to sound pleased for her.

  ‘And I get to wear the black and crimson uniform of her ship!’ she added, showing off her new jacket.

  ‘Girl pirates!’ Captain Kujira grunted at her exuberance, before impatiently limping on.

  The Killer Whale was moored at the far end of the jetty. Docked alongside was the Black Spider. The ship’s repairs were almost complete and the vessel had regained much of its former glory and menace. As they passed by, Skullface and his gang appeared at the gunwales. Jack felt their glare upon him as he and Li Ling ascended the gangway to the Killer Whale’s main deck.

  ‘Cast off!’ ordered Captain Kujira.

  The Killer Whale left the dock and sailed out through the gap in the crater wall. As they entered the straits, Jack noticed a single-sail skiff had cast off too. It carried five ninja pirates and was loaded with fresh supplies. The boat was headed for the dock below the hidden fort atop the sister island. Jack tried to contain his excitement as he eyed the skiff longingly.

  ‘Are we going on another raid?’ he asked Captain Kujira, wondering when the Killer Whale intended to return.

  ‘No,’ replied Captain Kujira, laughing. He pointed to a small raft upon which three samurai were frantically paddling away. ‘It’s time for target practice.’

  43

  Heaven and Earth

  Captain Kujira guided Jack and Li Ling down to the Killer Whale’s gun deck. The wooden beams were blackened with soot and the tang of burnt gunpowder hung permanently in the air. An impressive array of cannon lined both sides of the ship, their muzzles protruding into the bars of sunlight that flooded in through the open portholes. The pirate crew, with their muscular torsos bare and grime-streaked, obediently awaited the captain’s order to commence firing.

  ‘Heaven and Earth won us the battle against the Sea Samurai,’ Captain Kujira said smugly, patting the first two cannon of the starboard row.

  Jack gave him a quizzical look.

  ‘This here is Earth,’ he explained, admiring the long iron barrel of the first cannon with a bore the size of a man’s fist. ‘And this is Heaven.’ Roughly a third longer with a calibre twice as large, the second gun looked as formidable and destructive as any European 24-pounder culverin. The two types of artillery repeated themselves in pairs down the length of the ship.

  ‘But this one’s my pride and joy,’ announced Captain Kujira, approaching a mammoth gun facing out of the bow. ‘Crouching Tiger. This beast will hull anything, even an atake-bune!’

  Jack and Li Ling were awed by the sheer dimensions of the weapon. Mounted upon a reinforced carriage, its barrel was broad and stout as a temple column and dominated the gun deck. Piled beside it was iron shot the size of small boulders and Jack had little doubt that a direct hit at the waterline from one of these would sink any vessel.

  ‘We captured these weapons from a Korean battleship,’ Captain Kujira went on. ‘Such firepower gives us an advantage over the Sea Samurai. You see, they still fight as if they’re on land. Their standard tactics are to launch a salvo of arrows, then approach close enough to board and battle hand-to-hand. But we favour bombardment, keeping our enemy at bay until they’re too damaged and weak to fight back. Such long-distance artillery skills, however, require practice.’

  He peered out through a porthole.

  ‘Good, our target’s gone far enough. Starboard battery to your stations!’

  The pirates broke into well-drilled activity. The barrels were cleaned with a dry rammer, then charged with gunpowder. Once packed down, a second round of powder was put into the chamber. Then a wad of paper was inserted and rammed home. The barrel was swabbed out before a cannonball was gently rolled into place. But not all the guns were loaded with round shot. The pirate crew nearest Jack lifted a heavy iron-tipped arrow with thick leather flights into the muzzle of their cannon.

  ‘Those are daejon,’ explained the captain over the noise of the carriages being wheeled into their firing positions. ‘They’re far more accurate than shot, having a longer range yet packing no less of a punch. On impact they smash apart, sending deadly shards into the enemy. And for a truly devastating attack, the arrows can even be set on fire!’

  The captain licked his lips at the very thought.

  ‘Mark your target,’ he commanded his crew.

  The pirates gauged their guns’ trajectory and adjusted the carriages appropriately.

  ‘Starboard battery – FIRE!’

  The deck resounded to the blast of cannon, each one as loud as a thunderclap. The carriages recoiled, bucking away from the portholes like wild horses, the muzzles discharging clouds of smoke into the ship. Jack’s ears rang, his eyes stung and he hacked at the acrid stench of gunsmoke.

  The haze cleared just as the barrage of cannonballs and iron-tipped arrows reached their target. The sea surrounding the raft exploded in plumes of boiling spray. For a moment, the samurai were tossed upon the waves before disappearing beneath the churning water. Then they bobbed back up, bedraggled but alive. Still clutching their paddles, they rowed desperately in a bid to get out of range.

  ‘I think your crew need more practice,’ remarked Jack, with great relief for the poor samurai.

  Captain Kujira shook his head. ‘You always aim short on your first shot. Otherwise if it goes beyond, you can’t gauge how far over.’

  The pirate crew began rapidly adjusting the angle of their cannon. Then the guns were reloaded with furious efficiency.

  ‘FIRE!’ ordered Captain Kujira.

  Another round of explosions shook the Killer Whale. Jack felt the concussions deep in his gut. This time the raft was capsized by the violent waves. But still none of the cannonshot hit their mark. The samurai clambered back on-board the raft and resumed their frantic paddling.

  Final adjustments were made by the pirates. When the cannon were primed once more, Captain Kujira personally checked the trajectory of each gun and instructed his crew on improving their technique. The last gunner, bowing to his captain’s superior knowledge, offered his burning match. Accepting the honourable gesture, Captain Kujira touched the flame to the gun’s vent. The Heaven cannon blasted out its daejon. Whizzing like a mighty firework, the flaming iron-tipped arrow arced across the sky towards the panicking samurai.

  The raft exploded in a fountain of foaming sea spray and fiery splinters. When the water settled once more, the three samurai were nowhere to be seen.

  The ninja pirates applauded their captain’s consummate skill. Despite joining in the cheers, Li Ling noticeably blanched at the men’s cruel deaths. Heartened to see this, Jack wondered if she really had the stomach to be a true pirate – he hoped not.

  ‘Those men were defenceless,’ he protested to Captain Kujira.

  The captain gave Jack a dismissive look. ‘They had a chance to get away. That’s more than the Sea Samurai would ever allow us!’ he snorted. ‘Besides, no one escapes Pirate Island alive.’

  He eyed Jack meaningfully. Only now did Jack realize why Tatsumaki had wanted him to witness this atrocity … to convince him how futile any escape attempt would be.

  44

  Pirate Town

  Unwilling to be deterred by the Pirate Queen’s veiled threat, Jack announced that evening to his friends, ‘I’ve found our boat!’

  Miyuki, Saburo and Yori could barely contain their excitement at the news.

  ‘So we leave tonight!’ insisted Miyuki.

  Jack shook his head. He told them about Captain Kujira’s cruel display of target practice. ‘We’d be spotted immediately by the lookou
ts on the other island – then blown to smithereens.’ His friends’ elation slumped into despondency.

  ‘But what other option do we have?’

  ‘None really,’ replied Jack. ‘Our only chance is to escape under cover of the next black moon.’

  ‘But that’s two weeks away,’ despaired Saburo.

  ‘I know, but we need that time to figure out how to break free from this room and get down to the jetty without being spotted,’ explained Jack. ‘Besides, I still don’t know where the skiff is moored. And we don’t want to be hunting for it in the dark.’

  ‘Perhaps Tatsumaki will let us go before then?’ Yori suggested optimistically.

  ‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ said Miyuki.

  ‘But Jack said she was pleased with the information he’d given her.’

  ‘The Pirate Queen is just dangling our freedom as a carrot to keep Jack talking.’

  Despite harbouring the hope that Tatsumaki would keep her word, Jack knew Miyuki was probably right. He was proving too valuable to the Pirate Queen for her to ever let him go. And Tatsumaki was astute enough to realize that the rutter was only as good as the pilot who interpreted it. She would need his first-hand experience to achieve the logbook’s full potential. They would never be allowed to leave Pirate Island, blood oath or not.

  Another week passed. The daily sessions with the rutter grew more in-depth and Tatsumaki’s interrogation became more searching. Jack continued to skip crucial bits of information, but Captain Hebi seemed to sense when he wasn’t revealing all the facts and had the unsettling knack of getting him to divulge more than he wanted. The longer he spent explaining the secrets of the logbook, the more the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for the pirates. Jack realized that he and his friends had to escape at the next black moon, before the Wind Demons acquired enough knowledge to use the rutter for their own ends, with or without him as pilot.

  Fortunately, during the sessions, he’d gained more of the Pirate Queen’s trust and was given greater freedom to roam her citadel, unaccompanied. But Tatsumaki still didn’t take any chances, having instructed the guards to search him thoroughly before allowing him back in the room. This made it impossible to smuggle anything to his friends. So Jack spent his free time pacing out various escape routes and memorizing where sentries were posted. He even succeeded in gaining access to the balcony and began looking for safe ways down the cliff face to the lagoon. But apart from the bamboo winch lifts, operated by a four-man crew below, the only other option appeared to be through the vertical pirate town itself.

  ‘Enjoying the view?’ enquired Tatsumaki.

  Jack looked up guiltily, feeling as if he’d been caught in the act of escape. ‘I was admiring the town’s remarkable construction,’ he replied.

  Tatsumaki placed both hands upon the rail and gazed over her domain. ‘It’s taken ten years of my life to build this. All under the nose of daimyo Mori. That’s why he’ll never defeat the Wind Demons – he has no idea where we are and never will. Would you like to take a closer look at the town?’

  ‘You’d let me explore it … alone?’ asked Jack, surprised at her suggestion.

  Tatsumaki laughed. ‘Not if you value your life. Pirate Town can be a bit unruly at times. You’ll need a guide. And I’m confident you won’t try to escape – I know how loyal you are to your friends. Besides there being nowhere for you to go.’

  The next day Li Ling was waiting for him by the citadel gate.

  ‘Tatsumaki’s appointed me to be your guide,’ she announced.

  Jack was pleased to see her, but wondered whether he could fully trust Li Ling now that she was an initiated Wind Demon. It would be just Tatsumaki’s style to make their pirate friend a spy.

  ‘How’s life as a pirate?’ asked Jack.

  ‘It’s hard work,’ she replied, showing him the blisters on her hands. ‘But as one of her crew, I get a share of the treasure.’

  Li Ling fished out a silver coin from the pouch on her belt. She polished it proudly and held it up to the sunlight.

  If that single coin is her reward, thought Jack, glancing back at the resplendent rooms in the citadel, it’s obvious who’s taken the lion’s share.

  ‘Shall we go?’ suggested Li Ling, leading him towards a narrow rope walkway sloping down the cliff face.

  ‘We’re not taking the lift?’ asked Jack.

  Li Ling shook her head. ‘Only captains ride for free,’ she replied.

  ‘You have to pay?’

  Li Ling nodded. ‘Everything has its price in Pirate Town.’

  They descended the walkway, a slim bamboo rail the only barrier between safety and a fatal plummet to the lagoon basin. Looking over the rail at the precipitous drop, Jack saw countless roofs projecting from the rock face. Smoke curled up from cooking fires and pirates thronged the gangways and ladders. Jack had a clear view of the ships docked at the jetty, but he was still too high up to spot the skiff.

  ‘This top level is for captains only,’ explained Li Ling as they passed by grand bamboo houses with balconies overlooking the lagoon. ‘This one belongs to Captain Kurogumo.’

  Jack glanced in. There appeared to be four rooms, each matted out with the finest tatami and separated by silk shoji decorated with painted battle scenes. A large treasure chest sat in one corner, surrounded by an impressive hoard of samurai armour, exquisite swords and other prize weapons. Jack’s eyes widened – among the armoury were his red-handled Shizu swords.

  ‘The captain’s not there,’ said Li Ling, thinking Jack was looking for him. ‘Now he’s well enough, he’s inspecting the repairs to the Black Spider.’

  Jack spotted movement on the balcony. A woman with long black hair, a white face and black teeth appeared. Dressed in a shimmering purple kimono, the geisha looked harmless enough until he spotted the tantō knife in her obi. Her dark eyes regarded him with suspicion. Reluctantly moving on and leaving his swords behind, Jack followed Li Ling down a rickety ladder to the next level.

  More houses perched on the cliff face. These were smaller two-room abodes, but no less sumptuous.

  ‘The quartermaster, pilots and ships’ carpenters live here,’ explained Li Ling. ‘The lower levels are for the rest of the crews.’

  ‘Based on rank order?’ asked Jack.

  Li Ling shook her head. ‘Length of service, strength of arm and riches determine your position.’

  ‘So where are your quarters?’

  Li Ling forced a smile. ‘At the very bottom …’ Her eyes then hardened with resolve. ‘… For the time being.’

  As they descended, Jack noticed the buildings became less elaborate. They still relied upon bamboo frames for strength, but the solid bamboo walls were replaced with pieces of spare decking, canvas sheets and even driftwood. It gave the vertical town a ramshackle look and the appearance that it could collapse at any moment. Only the sturdy storehouses maintained any sense of solid structure.

  ‘This is the main street,’ announced Li Ling.

  The walkway was the busiest and the widest so far, allowing men to pass three abreast. It skirted the outside edge of a series of buildings with open shop fronts. But these shops didn’t offer the typical wares. Many were bars selling cheap saké, or gambling dens where pirates could lose their riches on the toss of a dice. A tattooist had set up business in one cabin and was etching a black sea dragon on to the burly arm of a Wind Demon. In the store next to them, a woman and man haggled angrily over a vicious-looking battleaxe – the owner, clearly not getting the price she wanted, was threatening to show her potential customer how sharp the blade really was.

  As Jack walked along the suspended street with Li Ling, he felt the eyes of many pirates following him. But they weren’t the usual looks of astonishment at his blond hair and blue eyes. They were hungry, greedy stares.

  Li Ling noticed the attention too and whispered, ‘There are rumours that you’re worth one hundred koban to the Shogun, alive or dead!’

  Jack didn’t know whether
to laugh or be seriously afraid. But, whatever the actual bounty was now, he was a walking treasure chest to these pirates. He could only hope that Tatsumaki’s influence was great enough to protect him from such lawless men.

  ‘BELOW!’ came a cry.

  Li Ling pulled Jack into the cover of the nearest shop front. A splatter of brown-stained water dropped from above into the lagoon.

  ‘I promise, you don’t want that sort of rain to land on your head,’ she smirked.

  As Jack glanced over the rail, his eyes happened upon the skiff. The little boat was moored in the shadow of Captain Wanizame’s Great White.

  The promise of freedom was tantalizingly close.

  45

  Wind Witch

  ‘Why don’t you have your fortune told?’ suggested Li Ling, pointing to a dark smoky cabin with dead snakes, dried lizards and bat wings hanging from the beams. ‘It’s customary for every pirate to visit the Wind Witch.’

  ‘Have you visited her?’ Jack asked, wrenching his eyes away from the skiff and giving the macabre shop a dubious look.

  Li Ling nodded, her face beaming. ‘The Wind Witch knows all. She told me that I would make a great pirate one day, and would command the South China Sea.’ She gestured for Jack to go inside. He was about to protest, but Li Ling urged him forward. ‘It’ll be worth it,’ she promised. ‘I’ll wait for you.’

  Reluctantly, Jack found himself entering the Wind Witch’s den. He had to stoop to pass through the many shrouds that hung from the ceiling like ancient cobwebs. The room stank of sulphur and charred hair. A couple of candles flickered in the gloom and a stone hearth smouldered red with the remains of a fire. Dried herbs, wrapped in bundles, were scattered on the floor. From tiny wooden cages, stacked along the rear wall, Jack heard scurrying and high-pitched squeaks and saw black shapes twitching in the darkness. In the centre of the room was a rough wooden table upon which a bowl, a small pile of animal bones and a dagger lay. But there was no sign of the Wind Witch.