Read Online L5r - scroll 03 - The Crane by Ree Soesbee - Free Book Online
Authors: Ree Soesbee
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shout, he leaped from the balcony, landing three stories below. The ninja staggered into a run, heading for the wide expanse of the Kakita gardens.
The Lion threw himself off the balcony after the fleeing ninja. As he landed, though, there was a sickening crunch. Within moments, the Lion had stopped moving, his body as still as a shadow on the ground.
Hoturi swiftly replaced his sword and reached for the wall, ready to jump into the darkness and follow the fleeing ninja, but Yoshi's fan swiftly intervened.
"We need you whole, and safe, my lord."
Toshimoko croaked, "I am in no condition to follow.. .. That foul thing's blade has poisoned me. It is but a scratch but enough to unsteady my mind. My sword will be little better."
"Call for the Asahina healers," Hoturi commanded the servants that huddled inside the palace corridor. "And send my brother into the gardens, after that man. He must be caught, at any expense."
The heimin scurried to obey, pressing their heads to their hands in rapid gestures of respect.
Hoturi looked down at the bodies of the three Lion. Jushin's lifeless eyes stared back. "There will be a harsh price for this dishonor on my house," Hoturi whispered to the dead.
a brother's duty
Rumors flew as if with wings, fluttering throughout the palace. They chased the Daidoji guardsmen that rushed to secure the entries and guest quarters. Whispers took form with eager speed, breaking the courtesy of shoji screen and rice-paper wall.
Lady Ameiko was dead, murdered in her chambers by a Lion militia. Hoturi had gone mad, insulting Kisada, and lay mortally wounded by a Hida guardsman's blade. The Ikoma had started a fire in the upper chambers and killed all the line of Doji Satsume. Matsu Tsuko herself had arrived, demanding the surrender of the Osari Plains—no, Kyuden Kakita—no, all the Crane provinces. The only thing anyone knew for certain was that something had happened to the Lion ambassador, and that Daidoji stood outside every door, their faces blackened by duty and anger.
With the anger of a caged oni, Doji Kuwanan marched through Kyuden Kakita. The storming steps of his thickly set legs shook the delicate paper of the screens. Behind him, three somber-faced Daidoji guardsmen paced with spears raised and ready.
"Word?" Kuwanan demanded of the two gate guards.
Swiftly, they knelt as he approached. "None, my lord. Nothing on the road, and nothing in the river. Either the fleeing assassin has escaped on foot, or he is still within the palace." Even for a member of the Daidoji family, the man's words were terse, with none of the courtly frills one might expect from a Crane. The Daidoji were the youngest family of the clan, formed from the children of Lady Doji and Lord Kakita and sworn to defend Crane land and honor with their lives.
Kuwanan nodded. Rage burned in his silent visage. Turning, he straightened his shoulders. "Send twelve men to check the countryside outside the palace. Keep the guards in place, and bring me another four to search the southern gardens."
The Daidoji lowered his head again and then stood. As he reached for his spear, Kuwanan could see the twisted snakes that laced his wrists in blue, tattooed coils. The marks of the Daidoji family were granted only to those who passed their trials of manhood.
Kuwanan's own hands tensed reflexively. Those tattooed serpents had nearly encased his own arms and marked his destiny, but his father had determined another course.
No time for memories.
Kuwanan's stride echoed heavily through the Kakita corridors. He was short, compact with muscle, and thick-necked, with a square jaw and a nose that curved slightly from being broken three times in his youth. Kuwanan was by no means the beauty of the Doji family, but he was its strength. In that, he had everything in common with the Daidoji at his command. Where Hoturi's white hair was long and elegant, Kuwanan kept his shorter, dyed white only out of protocol, and often pressed back with a brow
The Lion threw himself off the balcony after the fleeing ninja. As he landed, though, there was a sickening crunch. Within moments, the Lion had stopped moving, his body as still as a shadow on the ground.
Hoturi swiftly replaced his sword and reached for the wall, ready to jump into the darkness and follow the fleeing ninja, but Yoshi's fan swiftly intervened.
"We need you whole, and safe, my lord."
Toshimoko croaked, "I am in no condition to follow.. .. That foul thing's blade has poisoned me. It is but a scratch but enough to unsteady my mind. My sword will be little better."
"Call for the Asahina healers," Hoturi commanded the servants that huddled inside the palace corridor. "And send my brother into the gardens, after that man. He must be caught, at any expense."
The heimin scurried to obey, pressing their heads to their hands in rapid gestures of respect.
Hoturi looked down at the bodies of the three Lion. Jushin's lifeless eyes stared back. "There will be a harsh price for this dishonor on my house," Hoturi whispered to the dead.
a brother's duty
Rumors flew as if with wings, fluttering throughout the palace. They chased the Daidoji guardsmen that rushed to secure the entries and guest quarters. Whispers took form with eager speed, breaking the courtesy of shoji screen and rice-paper wall.
Lady Ameiko was dead, murdered in her chambers by a Lion militia. Hoturi had gone mad, insulting Kisada, and lay mortally wounded by a Hida guardsman's blade. The Ikoma had started a fire in the upper chambers and killed all the line of Doji Satsume. Matsu Tsuko herself had arrived, demanding the surrender of the Osari Plains—no, Kyuden Kakita—no, all the Crane provinces. The only thing anyone knew for certain was that something had happened to the Lion ambassador, and that Daidoji stood outside every door, their faces blackened by duty and anger.
With the anger of a caged oni, Doji Kuwanan marched through Kyuden Kakita. The storming steps of his thickly set legs shook the delicate paper of the screens. Behind him, three somber-faced Daidoji guardsmen paced with spears raised and ready.
"Word?" Kuwanan demanded of the two gate guards.
Swiftly, they knelt as he approached. "None, my lord. Nothing on the road, and nothing in the river. Either the fleeing assassin has escaped on foot, or he is still within the palace." Even for a member of the Daidoji family, the man's words were terse, with none of the courtly frills one might expect from a Crane. The Daidoji were the youngest family of the clan, formed from the children of Lady Doji and Lord Kakita and sworn to defend Crane land and honor with their lives.
Kuwanan nodded. Rage burned in his silent visage. Turning, he straightened his shoulders. "Send twelve men to check the countryside outside the palace. Keep the guards in place, and bring me another four to search the southern gardens."
The Daidoji lowered his head again and then stood. As he reached for his spear, Kuwanan could see the twisted snakes that laced his wrists in blue, tattooed coils. The marks of the Daidoji family were granted only to those who passed their trials of manhood.
Kuwanan's own hands tensed reflexively. Those tattooed serpents had nearly encased his own arms and marked his destiny, but his father had determined another course.
No time for memories.
Kuwanan's stride echoed heavily through the Kakita corridors. He was short, compact with muscle, and thick-necked, with a square jaw and a nose that curved slightly from being broken three times in his youth. Kuwanan was by no means the beauty of the Doji family, but he was its strength. In that, he had everything in common with the Daidoji at his command. Where Hoturi's white hair was long and elegant, Kuwanan kept his shorter, dyed white only out of protocol, and often pressed back with a brow
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