I’ll be at the New York City ComicCon this week.

I’ll be at the Baen booth throughout the show, doing signings, and we’ve brought tons of books to give away.

If you are going to be there, stop by and say hi.

The Drowning Empire is a weekly serial based on the events which occured during the Writer Nerd Game Night monthly Legend of the Five Rings game. It is a tale of samurai adventure set in the magical world of Rokugan.

If you would like to read all of these in one convenient place, along with a bunch of additional game related stuff, behind the scenes info, and detailed session recaps, I’ve been posting everything to one thread on the L5R forum,http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=295&t=101206

This week’s episode was written by Alan Bahr, who joined for the last few parts of the campaign. Zach Hill (who played Suzume Shintaro) moved to Japan so we lost our lovable farmer samurai. Alan took Zach’s place, and since this campaign had such a ridiculous amount of back story and NPCs already, Alan took over long term NPC sometimes friend, sometimes antagonist, Doji Shunya, the Crane clan duelist.

Continued from:

https://monsterhunternation.com/2014/09/26/the-drowning-empire-episode-63-the-great-sea-beast/

Conflict in Heartbeats

The wind blew softly through the sculptured gardens of Shiro Katogama. Cherry blossoms alit on the trees, adding splashes of color among the green. Yet again, Doji Shunya no Katogama marveled at the skill of his gardeners. No matter where among the paths you stood, the cherry blossoms created guiding colors to the center of the garden. As Shunya sat on the straw mat and contemplated the trees, the soft tread of footsteps behind him signified the presence of his beloved.

“Watashi no jinsei no ai. (love of my life)” Shunya whispered as Doji Dainigon knelt beside him, and with the soft voice of the Doji courtiers,“I had believed you were occupied entertaining the Dragon envoy as Makoto-sama requested.”

“Hai, my husband. However, the honorable Mirumoto-san has learned you studied in the Kakita technique, and has requested the high honor of a duel with you.”

Shunya felt the familiar longing for competition in his heart as he considered the offer.

“Inform the envoy of my assent to his requests.” Shunya knelt and slide his daisho into his obi, before standing to bow to the approaching Dragon samurai. The familiar yellow and green, the placement of the daisho, and the stance the envoy took as he bowed. Such things were taught in the Kakita Dueling Academy, for the Kakita were well-versed in the techniques of niten, the two sword style.

“Doji-sama. I must beg forgiveness for my intrusion into your garden, but one does not often gain the opportunity to visit the beautiful gardens of the Doji.” Mirumoto Saikgo did not smile, and kept his on as befit a samurai of his station. “Much as one does not often get to test the Mirumoto style against the Kakita style.”

Shunya inclined his head, and gestured down the walkway. “The practice yard is this way.”

Shunya stood at the window, watching the port below. The Aerie was a beautiful port, a true example of the power and grace of the Crane outside of the Empire. As always, no matter how accustomed he was to travel on his champions behalf, he longed for his gardens. Sighing, for the work of a servant was never done, he stepped into the hallway. Quietly and quickly, Shunya walked to the library and knelt at the low writing desk. A dozen unfinished letters to his wife and daughter were scattered, intermixed with missives from his lord, details of troop movements, economic treatises and scraps of haiku.

“You are a man of conflict, Shunya-sama.” Saikgo’s words were quiet as the two men tread the paths of the garden together. “When you drew your blade, you had the eyes and fire of the true bushi in you. But as soon as your katana was sheathed, you had the hands and soul of a poet. You speak with the measured cadence of the courtier, but wear the katana with intent to shed blood. You are a cracked vase.”

Shunya chuckled quietly. “Ah, Saikgo-san, you do the stories of the Dragon justice. Perceptive and enigmatic. Is the life of a samurai not a life of conflict?”

Saikgo paused on the tiled path, his eyes captured by a living bird-cage, grown from the branches of a bush. “Impressive. I had never considered bending the branches of a living bush to grow into a cage.”

Shunya smiled. “My wife has a wonderful eye for art. It’s almost a pity she did not train with the Kakita Artisans.”

“Yes, you are right. Give her my compliments.” Saikgo gently touched a branch. “The bird, it is like the heart of a samurai. Trapped in a cage of living material grown around it. It doesn’t belong. It longs to be free. Some samurai, they are men bred and built for war. True servants of the Empress, ready to die in her name. Their hearts are that of the hawk. Some samurai, Shunya-sama, they have the heart of a nightingale. Bred for beauty and peace.”

Shunya nodded. “But what happens when a nightingale must go to war?”

Saikgo smiled grimly. “What happens when a sword must be drawn?”

Shunya looked around the dining table at his compatriots. The White Tigers. Friends. Allies. Brothers forged through death, life, and battle.

Suddenly a ghostly apparition flew through the windows, white wings carrying the spirit owl to it’s destination. The spell spoke with the voice of Bayusho Kuronobo, the Red Crane.

“The Shogunate is disbanded. Arrest warrants have been issued for the White Tigers. The Jade Champion and Voice of the Empress are either dead, in custody or missing. No one knows.” Barely controlled anger threaded the voice of the usually controlled Scorpion. “You must get yourselves to [Insert Village Name Here]. You will know who to meet. They will take you to the Firefly clan.” Without fanfare, the owl dissipated.

Sudden voices rose throughout the room, as the gathered samurai debated over their course of action.

“We must leave.” “By boat.” “By horses!”

With a gesture, Shunya called the nearest servant to him. “Fetch old clothes. We will disguise ourselves as ronin.” With a bow, the servant ran down the hallway.

Uso looked at Shunya and raised a single eyebrow. Shunya sighed at the Lion and raised his hands in a subtle gesture of futility.

“Friends, if this is to be believed, there is not much time. The best course of action is to disguise ourselves and exit the city.” Shunya met the eyes of the group. “I have my servant fetching clothes. We will leave on horseback and appear as ronin. We can escape through the forest. There is a village about one days ride from here, where we can obtain a boat to carry us quickly to [Insert Village Name here].”

The gathered samurai nodded and quickly set of to gather their things. Within minutes the White Tigers had prepared to exit and leave the estate on horseback. Time passed, only measured by the Obsidian Moon above. The samurai traveled quickly, attempting to put as much distance between themselves their pursuers as possible. Toranaka signaled to the group, his sharp eyes catching sight of shadows ahead.

“There are people ahead on the path. One on horse, several on foot.”Toranaka’s voice cut through the silence, shattering the illusion of a swift escape. With a quick nod, Shunya edged himself out in front. Weapons were loosed in the sheath. Bows were strung. If these men wished to take the White Tigers alive, it would take an army.

“Halt!”The voice carried from the man on the horse. “Identify yourselves.”

Shunya considered quickly. “We are ronin. Formerly employed by Crane as merchant guards, we have recently decided to seek our wealth elsewhere.”

Kakita Tadanubo edged his horse forward. “Shunya-san.”

Oh by the seven fortunes. Of course.Shunya sighed inwardly. “I am afraid you are mistaken, honorable Crane-sama. I am a ronin.”

Tadanubo looked at the hilt of Shunya’s katana, and then revealed the chop of an emerald magistrate. “Perhaps, but we are looking for a group of samurai this size. You will come back to the Aerie with us to be questioned.”

“I am afraid we can not. Our business is pressing, and we would not break our word.” Shunya could see Uso and Oki slowly edging their horses out so they could quickly engage the flanking Daidoji that Toranaka had spotted.

Tadanubo smiled. “You remind me very much of a samurai I trained with. Doji Shunya. We had a bet, you see. He claimed he would be inducted to the ranks of the kenshinzen before I. I have not had the pleasure of telling him he lost.”

Shunya felt the thirsty pull in his heart. The pull to prove oneself against others. The urge to be deemed the greater.

Shunya bowed low as Saikgo and his company departed Shiro Katogama. As the leaving samurai rode through the courtyard and out the gates, he could hear as Dainigon approached slightly behind him.

“I find, I rather enjoyed the company of the Dragon.” Shunya turned towards his wife and smiled genuinely. “They have marvelous insights and wisdom.

“Hai, my husband.” Dainigon’s eyes were closed, and her on was sealed in the training of the courtiers.

“What is it, love of my life?” Shunya had never been able to pierce the veil of training that hid the emotions of his wife, never unless she chose to reveal them.

“A missive from Makoto-sama. He requires you back in the colonies. War with the Mantis is approaching.”

Shunya stood in the grass, three paces from Tadanubo. Both men bowed low and then went into the crouch and stance of the Kakita duelists. The back of their hands rested on the hilts of their katana. The eyes of the opponents stared into each other, attempting to read the soul of the other man. The moments were counted in heartbeats.

One.“You are a man of conflict, Shunya-sama.”

Shunya saw the intent in Tadanubo’s heart, and took a step forward.

Two.“When you drew your blade, you had the eyes and fire of the true bushi in you.”

Shunya’s hand reversed itself, and his palm gripped the hilt of his katana. Tadanubo had barely begun to move. A second step.

Three.“You are a cracked vase.”

Shunya slide his hand down to the saya of his katana and took a third step, this time moving to the right as he pulled the scabbard forward. Tadanubo took his first step forward.

Four.“What happens when a sword must be drawn?”

The hilt of Shunya’s blade stopped against the hilt of Tadanubo’s, pinning Tadanubo’s katana in the scabbard so it could not be drawn. Tadanubo’s eyes widened in surprise and both men ceased to move.

Five.“It must be sheathed.”

Shunya stepped back from Kakita Tadanubo and bowed deeply. “As you see, honorable Crane-sama. We are but ronin.”

Tadanubo shook his head softly. “You may pass. A word of advice, ronin. I hear the forest path is lovely in the moonlight. The bridge is always so busy.”

“Hai, Kakita-sama. Your advice is appreciated.”

As Shunya mounted his horse, the Daidoji parted, and the White Tigers rode through the night. As they passed the bridge, the wisdom of Tadanubo’s words was made clear, for guards and magistrates were stationed, questioning any who attempted to pass.

Arriving at the village on the coast, the horses were swiftly traded for a ship that Oki would manage. The White Tigers sailed the coast towards [Insert Village Name Here], renegades from their own allies.

Soul of peace.

Hands of death and fire

A servant waits

Thoughts of love

Deeds of violence

War in the land

War in the heart

This is what it is

To be samurai

##

To be continued next week:

So yesterday I sent off the rough draft of my new fantasy novel to Reader Force Alpha. Whenever I finish a project it is time to play the Song of Triumph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iijKLHCQw5o

I’m really proud of this one. It is my first attempt at traditional fantasy. All of my other fantasy novels are technically “urban fantasy” because they take place in our existing world, only tweaked. This is a different world, so I got to make up an entire society. I hope you guys like brutal caste systems. 🙂

I believe the release date is in fall 2015. I’ll be sharing more details and some snippits later on.

I’ve got a short story in the Shattered Shields anthology (coming in November) which is the first glimpse of this book. That story is called The Keeper of Names. If you look down on the right side bar I’ve got a link where you can snag that.

Up next I’m working on a sequel to Into the Storm. Which if you’re one of my regular readers and you’ve not read that one yet, you are missing out. The Malcontents are knights with mad science lightning swords. Enough said. I have a lot of fun with these and they write fast.

Before I work on that though, I’ve got to alpha read Mike Kupari’s space opera, Ghosts of Zanzibar. This is Mike’s first solo project and I’m really excited for him (He’ll have to find his own song of triumph). Once that is all finalized and out the door, we will be working on the last book of the D6 trilogy.

I’ve got stories in Jonathan Maberry’s vampire anthology, V-Wars 2 and 3. Volume 2 is coming out at the end of October. I wrote a Green Beret turned vampire. And he’s not a good guy. These are cool. There are a bunch of other really good authors in there too, so you’ll need to check those out. I’ll post a link when it releases.

Speaking of Jonathan Maberry (great author, if you’ve not read him, check him out), we are teaming up for a short story in the Urban Allies anthology. That’s one where different urban fantasy authors (and a bunch of big names in the genre are in it) take a popular character from one of their worlds and have them “team up” with a different author’s character for a story. So Joe Ledger is teaming up with Agent Franks. This is the kind of geeky thing that makes it really fun to be a writer.

The Drowning Empire is a weekly serial based on the events which occured during the Writer Nerd Game Night monthly Legend of the Five Rings game. It is a tale of samurai adventure set in the magical world of Rokugan.

If you would like to read all of these in one convenient place, along with a bunch of additional game related stuff, behind the scenes info, and detailed session recaps, I’ve been posting everything to one thread on the L5R forum,http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=295&t=101206

This week’s episode was written by Paul Genesse. If you’ve read my story in the Kaiju Rising anthology, you now know where the story of the Great Sea Beast and the drunken samurai archer came from. 🙂 

##

From the Personal Journal of Akodo Toranaka

My time as the Lion Clan Ambassador in Second City has come to an end. My good friend and ally, the esteemed Matsu Hachiro has been given the position, though I have retained my rank and privileges. Akodo Shukan Hisao will remain with Hachiro as his retainer, and I know they will perform their duties with honor and competence. The treaty of support I have made with the Minor Clan Alliance, led by the Sparrow Clan, will undoubtedly be finalized by Hachiro, and the network of informants in Second City who will someday give up information on the Kolat will be further cultivated. The recruitment of new White Tigers will also go forward, as we seek to replenish the ranks and grow the size of our order. These duties will be done by Hachiro-san now.

My superiors at home in Rokugan have decided my skills are needed elsewhere. Tonight I learned what has been decided. I received a message to meet outside the White Tiger memorial shrine at midnight. I went in full armor and arrived along with Tamori Isao and Yoritomo Oki.

Doji Shunya was also present when we arrived. He is a White Tiger brother, and a brilliant swordsman. His presence was not entirely a surprise, and a welcome development. Without Subotai-san with us, I believe we are in desperate need of a samurai of Shunya’s skill with a blade. His connection in the Crane clan also make him invaluable to us.

The message to meet had come from my superiors in the Shogunate, but I was shocked when Bayushi Kuronobo-sama himself appeared. I had no idea he was in Second City. He informed us that the area around the White Tiger shrine had been secured and that the Fortunes themselves had brought us to this moment. We who were present had been called together to face yet another threat to the empire, and face it now. Kuronobo also informed us that a previously unknown to me Scorpion Clan bushi, a man named Bayushi Kenshiro would also be joining our group of chosen champions. The Fortunes had ordained this.

I admit, I was taken aback by this development. I respectfully questioned Kuronobo-sama, unafraid of insulting him about this order to invite an unknown man into our inner circle of brothers. Kuronobo-sama vouched for Bayushi Kenshiro, and was concerned I might kill this man for what I assume was some future betrayal. Kuronobo ordered me personally to make a vow to not harm the mysterious Bayushi, and I swore on my Akodo ancestors, and my honor, that I would not harm him-myself. I pray I will not regret this promise to Kuronobo. If this Bayushi does betray us, I will let my displeasure be known. If the Bayushi spy is challenged to an honorable duel I do not believe I am honor bound to prevent it. I am certain Shunya would relish such a chance to strike a blow against the Scorpion and antagonize Kuronobo. I shall not advocate for this, as we need all the swords we can get as there is a war with the gaijin coming. I have made all the preparations possible, and a Lion expedition is being organized to go over the land route the Unicorn have patrolled to Rokugan in the north. I know a blow will come there soon enough. A storm of steel and lead is brewing.

Last night, the winds of chaos began to blow. During our meeting in the courtyard, a disturbance was heard inside the White Tiger shrine. I entered the building and found a ragged beggar lifting Ikoma Uso-san’s no-dachi from the weapon rack under his blessed memorial. I felt molten rage at this horrendous offense to the memory of my deceased friend. I drew my sword and leaped to kill the thief. I stopped my strike a hair’s breadth from the burglar’s neck, for I heard him speak and recognized a voice from the grave.

Ikoma Uso appears to be alive.

Though I do not know if the man I met last night is indeed the Ikoma Uso I once thought I knew, or something much worse, which is hard to fathom. Have the Lords of Death sent back a revenant for some nefarious purpose?

I wish I had never found and read Uso’s journals. The man I thought him to be before his noble sacrifice at the Battle of the Waterfall Temple is not the one I discovered in his personal writings. I look at him now and I know he has been twisted by some dark influence long before I met him at the Topaz Championship.

The Lion Shadow are a valuable and essential weapon of our clan, but I wonder if Uso’s mind has crossed into Jigoku on far too many occasions. I was counseled to overlook some of the strangeness about him years ago by my father, but I cannot overlook it now. He has considered how to best kill me and my friends in his personal journal, if we were to become troublesome to him. Could his murderous tendencies be corrupted by our enemies and used against us in the future? To whom does he owe allegiance now? Who sent him back?

I saw one of the Lords of Death rise up beside Uso when we fought the Rakasha Tiger demon. I thought Byung-Chul had summoned the deathly power, but I know it was Uso alone. He is their Champion. He frightened the Rakasha demon with his aura of terror. Uso frightens me now.

The man who says he is Uso speaks little to us. Isao-san has said it is indeed Uso, having verified some secret only Uso knew about, something not in the journals. He sounds like Uso, but this man does not look like our friend. He is scarred and disfigured, his face half destroyed and now covered by a mask to spare people the horrific sight of him. The explosion which caused the defeat of the Destroyers has turned Uso’s body into a ghastly creature of ugliness. His frightening visage matches the soul I believe may be inside him.

Time will tell, but Oki, Isao and I are very concerned. We lost Subotai, and Shintaro has other responsibilities now and is unable to journey with us. This is the most vulnerable I have felt since losing my arm.

I feel like the heart of our group has been destroyed, and our friends have been replaced by an honorless killer, a mysterious scorpion, and a Crane duelist who would like nothing better than to test his skill against Kuronobo himself-damn the repercussions to the Empire.

Shunya insulted Kuronobo overtly during our meeting, and I do not trust that the pride of this deadly Crane will become a liability in the future. His own quest to become the best duelist in Rokugan may get in the way of the mission to save the Emerald Throne.

Right now I feel I can only trust Oki-san and Isao-san. The three of us are united in our unease about the reappearance of Uso, gone all these months, and the forced inclusion of the Scorpion bushi in our midst. Bayushi Kenshiro says little and hides behind his mask. I have a sense he is avoiding us, me in particular. He and Uso seem to have some connection, as if they know some secrets only they are privy to. I do not trust this alliance.

It is not proper for me to question the will of the Fortunes, nor my superiors. We are samurai brought together for a purpose. All of us our killers of exceptional quality, and we have been destined for great deeds since birth. I think perhaps it is best if we all perish from our wounds after saving the Empire. Then the secrets would die with us and our honor would be preserved.

A samurai must endure all hardships, but I find myself in quicksand now. I fear that with my one arm I will have to choose to hold onto my honor or let it go and drag myself from the muck and save the Empire.

I shall do what is best for Rokugan and follow my orders. I wish I felt differently about this new development and these companions I do not fully trust. I now feel like I am not the Angry Lion or the Headsman of White Tiger Fame, or the respected Ambassador of the Lion Clan in Second City. I feel alone. Without Subotai I am truly a samurai with one strong arm. I wish my best friend had survived more than anything now. I also wish Uso had stayed dead.

##

From the Personal Journal of Akodo Toranaka

The weight of my desires are not important. Shunya, Kenshiro, Uso, along with Oki, Isao and I have come together for a purpose. Kuronobo has told us the dreaded Sea Monster we have heard rumor of has appeared near Kalani’s Landing, as have several ironclad gaijin ships. We will go there now to do battle. Oki has a fire in him like I have not seen for some time. He will not be denied this chance to slay the beast that killed his father.

I have urged Oki-san not to advocate the commitment of the entire fleet of Mantis ships to fight this monster. I saw the Red Hunger in the jungle. It is the kin of this Sea Monster and cannot be defeated with any number of ships. The Mantis fleet must not be destroyed, or Rokugan will starve.

Oki does not appear to be concerned with this and we travel south on the river to Kalani’s Landing as quickly as possible. Admiral Naota is following us and we have secured his support.

##

From the Personal Journal of Akodo Toranaka

Kalani’s Landing is a burning ruin. The Sea Monster has attacked hours before we arrived. My fears have been realized and most of the Mantis fleet is destroyed, as is much of the town and the all important docks and warehouses. The dead seem to outnumber the living. The gaijin have been reported to be in control of the Sea Monster, manipulating it with the use of an ancient artifact. They possess a giant horn that when blown allows them to direct the beast.

We have seen the footprints of the kaiju on the beach and in the town. One print is the size of a large house. Swords do not appear to be a viable weapon, but we must fight it somehow, as the Sea Monster and the Gaijin are still close and may return.

We have had a war council with Admiral Naota and the only tactic I could suggest is capturing the device which controls the monster. Four ships will sail after the enemy and we will assault the metal gaijin ship and take possession of the horn.

##

From the Personal Journal of Akodo Toranaka

Despite the truly incompetent sailing of the Mantis ships accompanying The Friendly Traveler, we have found some measure of victory. We boarded the ironclad en masse after Isao used a fog cloud to hide our approach in the early morning hours. Two of our four ships failed to come alongside the ship and were destroyed by gaijin canon. They had apparently run into each other in the fog, despite our preparations. We attacked with one fourth, and then finally half of the strength I had anticipated.

Two ships full of angry Mantis samurai did get onboard and slew many of the enemy. I managed to kill the gaijin captain and helped Shunya slay a powerful gaijin wizard, who we later found out was the one in command of the Great Sea Beast. Shunya’s courage was inspiring to me and together we make a potent team of swordsmen. I believe there is no swordsman who could survive an attack by both Shunya and myself. If Daidoji Masafuni were with us, we would be nearly unstoppable. In the battle Masafuni became separated from me as I took far too long to climb the net and get aboard the ship. My one arm hindered me greatly in the climbing, but when I got onto the ship, I found myself in familiar territory. Kill quickly and live.

I also managed to capture an important prisoner named Salazar, who appears to have been an assistant to the wizard. I have sworn on my honor that he will be well treated if he cooperates with us. The information he possesses might be the difference in the coming war. He has a choice now. Live as a rich man in Rokugan until the end of his days, or die as a dog after the torturers extract whatever information they can. Salazar seems to be a smart man. We shall see.

It was a short and intense battle. The horn that controlled the Sea Monster was captured by Shunya and I, but proved to be useless. Salazar could not use it adequately, and we could not use it because the horn had been damaged in the fight. A large bullet hole has perhaps forever altered the sound it makes.

We failed several times to soothe the monster as it approached the Friendly Traveler, where we had brought the large horn. Our attempts to blow it only enraged the Great Sea Beast, which was rising from the depths to attack us. It seemed we had no chance to survive the coming onslaught, as the creature was a hundred times the size of our ship. We had won the battle against the ironclad vessel and her crew, but the vengeance of the gaijin might destroy us after all. For what chance did we have of killing such a monster? It was beyond us, an aquatic God, while we were the nothing more than ticks on a dog.

Unknown to all of us, Oki-san had a secret weapon. When Kuronobo met with us, Tsuruchi Futoshi, my former scribe, brought Oki a rare and powerful arrow. The tip had been crafted from the horn of the leviathan used to enslave the Sea Monster long ago.

As the Sea Monster neared our ship, Oki-san stood calmly at the prow of our ship, while much of the crew lost their face, screamed in terror and a few leapt over the side as the Great Sea Best rose from the depths. It’s gigantic eye fixed on our ship.

Tamori Isao prayed to the Water Dragon then, and I urged him on. Isao had been visited by the divine emissary of the Celestial Heavens before our departure, and Isao-san begged for his intervention now. Oki-san and all of us needed his help or we would die. Isao is strong. He has been chosen, like all of us, and I believe my friend will be the difference in this coming war.

I also predict that Captain Yoritomo Oki-san will become the most famous archer and ship captain of our time. As the monster approached us, Oki-san shot his arrow, tipped with the horn of a leviathan of the deep. The shaft penetrated one of the Great Sea Beast’s eyes and hit some vital spot inside its brain. The Water Dragon must have guided Oki’s shot, once again proving the Fortunes and the Gods are watching over us and our Empire.

The arrow penetrated deeply and the creature wavered. It began to fall toward us and though it was dead or dying, I feared the monster would still take our lives. The helmsman had abandoned his post and our ship was in grave danger. I seized the wheel and turned the ship directly at the monster. We caught the wind and the ship turned. I knew the wave coming would overturn the boat unless we met it head on. Even if we did that, we might all drown as the tsunami sized wave sped toward us.

We rode up and over the Great Sea Beast sized wave and when we had come down the other side of the mountain of water, some men had fallen overboard, others were broken as they were flung against the rails. Oki still stood in the front of the ship.

We went to him and I offered Oki-san a flask of his favorite sake, Angry Bear. I had one hope when he accepted it, and Oki did not disappoint me. His hand did not shake when he lifted the flask and poured out the sake into the sea. Perhaps he will never drink alcohol again. His demon was slain, by his own hand. The monster which had killed his father and haunted his nightmares for over a decade was gone. I have never been more proud of Oki then at that moment when we let the sea drink the sake.

Oki’s hands do not shake now. He does not need sake any longer, and it has been a full day since the slaying of the Great Sea Beast.

We made it ashore in the Crane Clan holdings after picking up the gravely wounded Admiral Naota and many sailors from the sea. The Crane have welcomed us now, Shunya’s influence changing their attitude quite significantly. There is also some talk of a new trade deal Shunya has arranged. I see wheels within wheels moving behind Shunya’s eyes. He is an astute tactician and I hope he will become my greatest ally.

When we left the Friendly Traveler I followed Uso to a sake house where Oki had gone. He did not drink a drop, but ate noodles and drank tea by himself. We all listened to Uso, the first bard to tell the tale of our battle. Countless others will repeat it I have no doubt. Uso told of Oki’s deeds with same Ikoma skill he possessed before. The crowds do not look at him with a favored eye as they did before he was disfigured, but they listen closely, enraptured by his voice. The best storytellers always seem to make their audience a little uncomfortable and afraid, and Uso does this better than anyone I have ever heard. Does everyone unconsciously sense his connection with the Lords of Death? Does their fear of Uso make them want to listen to his every word, which they hang upon as if each line is air to breathe?

Many will forget all the heroic deeds done that day when Mantis samurai along with my friends, Shunya-san, Isao-san, Uso-san, Kenshiro and I boarded a gaijin ship, but they will not forget about Captain Oki-san. What a thousand warships could not have done, Oki-san did with one arrow.

##

To be continued next week: https://monsterhunternation.com/2014/10/03/the-drowning-empire-episode-64-conflict-in-heartbeats/