World's Edge Read online

  Moriko’s anger, simmering just beneath the surface, broke through.

  “I don’t need this, old man. If you don’t believe your Lord, draw against me. You won’t be the first southern general I’ve killed.”

  Understanding dawned on Toro, and he took a step back, fear overriding his anger. “The rumors are true then?”

  Moriko didn’t dignify the question with a response. She wasn’t feeling charitable.

  Toro was muttering to himself. “I had thought they were only rumors. Surely he would have told me if they were true.” His anger struggled to reassert itself. “Why would he work with you if you killed Nori?”

  Moriko glanced at the letter. She wasn’t in any mood to repeat the story. “He thinks I can discover what’s happening south of the border. I have my own reasons. Our purposes align, at least for today.”

  Toro sat down on a cushion. He had regained his reason and was starting to think through the implications. “Are there more of you?”

  Moriko nodded.

  “How many?”

  Moriko stared at him. “I only need to restock my supplies and cross the border.”

  Toro let out just a hint of a grin, trying to master his fear. “You’re not very friendly, are you?”

  “It’s been a long moon.”

  Toro nodded and thought. “Well, Lord Akira did instruct me to give you all possible assistance. Feel free to load up on any supplies you need. Other than that, there isn’t much help I can offer you. I’ve sent out one more scouting party since the Lord left, but no one has returned. I couldn’t convince another group to go even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I hate to admit it, but I’m starting to share the Lord’s concern about Azaria. I don’t know what is happening, but I have the same feeling I get in my bones when a storm is brewing. Something is coming, something that will wash over us. I only hope the First is strong enough to hold against it.”

  Moriko debated. But Toro needed to know. “Have you heard about hunters before?”

  “The legend?”

  Moriko nodded.

  Toro shook his head. “Only a very little. Some sort of Azarian bed-time story they tell their children to scare them straight.”

  “They are real. I fought two of them that came into the Southern Kingdom.”

  She let Toro digest that for a while. “What do you know about them?”

  Moriko shrugged her shoulders. “Not much. Think Azarian nightblades. They are very good. It was mostly luck that I survived.”

  “Any weaknesses?”

  “They don’t fight too well without a head.”

  Toro looked up from the point on the floor he had been staring at. It took him a moment to realize she had told a joke. The tension seemed to drain out of him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Whatever techniques you use against us will probably be effective against hunters. Their swords are shorter and lighter than ours, which makes them faster than us, slightly more defensive. They are also experts at stealth. Even with our abilities, they almost caught us unaware.”

  Toro reacted when Moriko said ‘us.’ She silently cursed herself. But what was done was done.

  “I will keep your words in mind. Thank you.”

  They sat in silence for a while, Moriko studying Toro, Toro thinking through the implications of the news he had been brought. Moriko gave him credit. His whole world had essentially been turned upside down. He was taking it with a good deal of grace. She could see hints of the mind that made him a great general.

  “Well, no matter, my dear. It is a problem for me to solve, and it seems like you have enough to do. I’m sure you are exhausted by now. Take rest tonight. You are welcome to leave whenever you would like.”

  Moriko nodded her appreciation. Toro ordered her escorted to a private tent. She was asleep as soon as she laid down on the ground.

  Moriko stayed for a full day and night, not leaving camp until another day had passed. Her sense of urgency had clashed with her need for rest. Her time on the horse had left her sore and stiff, and she spent the day of rest stretching out her sore muscles. She knew she should learn to ride better, but her mind was made up. Horses were not her favorite mode of transportation.

  Moriko threw out her sense as far as it would go, even though it was a pointless exercise. In the wide open plains, with so many people surrounding her, sight traveled further than her sense, and there was nothing hiding in the bushes she wouldn’t have expected anyway. The plains in front of the fortress were as deserted as they looked. She had grown up in the forest and between the walls of a monastery. She wasn’t used to open spaces, but even accounting for that, this space felt dead to her. It wasn’t that there wasn’t life. There was the usual assortment of small creatures living off the land, but they felt almost lethargic, as though their energy had been sucked from them.

  When the sun rose the next morning she felt better. She found her horse again. As much as she didn’t want to, Azaria was huge. If she was going to have any chance at all of making good time she would need to take a horse. Like it or not, she needed to make friends with the beast. With help from some of the stable hands she was able to load up the horse with supplies in only a few moments.

  She met with Toro on her way out. She was surprised to discover there was a hint of regret in Toro’s voice. His attitude towards Moriko had changed over the past day. She could tell he had started to think about the advantages of having a nightblade attached to his army. “Be careful out there.”

  Moriko nodded.

  “Is there anything else you need?”

  Moriko took a moment and thought through her supplies. She had enough food to last for a while, even longer if she hunted. If hunting was good she could stretch it out well past a full moon if she needed to. She carried her sword and a folded cloth which she could use as shelter. It was all she needed. She shook her head. “Thank you for your kindness.”

  “Let us know anything you find out. I am more worried by the day.”

  Moriko offered a short bow. It was more than she often provided, a mark of respect from her.

  Toro seemed to recognize it and gave her a slightly deeper bow. Several soldiers surrounding them were surprised. Moriko held her mirth. Rumor in the camp the first day had been that she was a mistress of Toro’s, but that rumor had been quickly dismissed when they found out she was heading further south. It was obvious they didn’t have any idea what type of woman she was. Maybe they thought she was some sort of special whore who could succeed where soldiers had failed.

  It was a problem for Toro to deal with, but she trusted he would keep her secrets. Akira had no doubt left orders as such, but even more so, Toro knew the chaos it would cause in the camp if they found out nightblades were alive and well among them. Technically, it was also punishable by death. Moriko had been impressed Akira had trusted Toro enough to even let him know. If Toro had wished, it would have been a justifiable reason for a coup.

  She left the camp with little fanfare, but she could feel thousands of eyes on her as she began her journey to the south. She knew they would watch every step until she got far enough away to be hidden from sight. She was a creature of the woods, used to being able to hide within a couple of footsteps. The plains were not friendly to her. But there was little to be done. She continued onward, stopping randomly to throw out her sense. She wasn’t expecting anything near the fort, and she wasn’t surprised.

  If there was one word Moriko would use to describe her surroundings, it would be “empty.” She had grown up within woods and walls, and open spaces weren’t to her liking. The spaces here were so vast, so devoid of life. It seemed like nothing could be further from the old woods she called home. As far as her eye could see there was nothing but rolling hills and grass. She had killed some small game to supplement her own food, but outside of the occasional rabbit, there was little for her to see or sense.

  After only a few days she was bored of the monotony. As the days blended together, Moriko began t
o wonder if she was falling into madness. There was nothing here. No towns, no villages, no people out on the land. If this was Azaria, where were the Azarians? She had been riding for days without a sign of habitation.

  Moriko wasn’t an expert on the development of land or the running of a kingdom. She had never studied those subjects. But this she didn’t understand. How did the Azarians live if they didn’t farm their land? They had fought against the Southern Kingdom for hundreds of cycles. She was following a path that went more or less straight south. It wasn’t a road, but it had been trampled over and over. She suspected it was the path Azarian armies took to the pass every season to attack the Southern Kingdom. Having no better options, she followed it, curious as to where it lead. But by now she should have seen something.

  After a quarter-moon, Moriko was truly doubting her sanity. Every day was the same barren landscape. It was beautiful, in its own way. She would still prefer the woods to the prairie, but she was beginning to see what others saw in it. There were times when she appreciated the sensation of being alone in the world, all the land around her quiet and empty. It was just that it never ended. She had never seen such a vast emptiness. Dozens of times a day she checked her bearings against the sun to ensure she was still heading south.

  She continued to follow the path, and it seemed straight, but she was beginning to doubt herself. She had never felt so lost. Days and nights blurred together.

  A half-moon into her journey, she received all the excitement she could ask for. She had been riding south, lost in thought. With little to hold her attention, there was little to occupy her mind. By the time she noticed the dust rising on the horizon, it must have been visible for quite some time. Moriko shook herself awake. Her mind was so used to the unceasing monotony, she hadn’t even realized her surroundings had changed.

  She squinted. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like three or four riders heading towards her. On the horse, she was visible from leagues away, and she cursed her lack of awareness. They were still some ways off, so she held her place, debating what to do. None of the other scouts had returned, except for the one, which meant the riders were probably hostile. But if she didn’t stop to talk, there was no way of knowing.

  Moriko’s instinct was to turn the horse around and run, but her mission was to scout, so scout she would. She calmed her horse as the riders came galloping towards her. As they got closer Moriko saw it was four riders, each seemingly a part of their horse. She wasn’t an expert, but they rode with a grace she could never hope to match.

  Her sense screamed at her and she backed her horse up a few paces as an arrow fell in front of her. She glanced up, surprised. The riders were still a long ways away. There wasn’t any way she should be in bow range by now. She sensed other arrows incoming and backed her horse up further as they rained down around her. So much for trying to speak with them.

  Her decision made for her, Moriko turned her horse around and kicked it to a gallop, heading north. The locals were not friendly. She tried to throw out her sense, but as the horse below her bounced her around, she could barely focus. She considered herself fortunate to sense a couple of paces away. Moriko turned around, dismayed to see the riders easily gaining on her. They were much better riders than she was.

  Her sense limited by her own distraction, she could only sense the arrows a moment or two before they struck. It still seemed an impossible distance, but arrows continued to fall around her. It was only a matter of time before it happened. She felt it a moment too late. She ducked her own head out of the way, but the arrow lodged itself deep in her horse’s neck. The horse stumbled and started to collapse. Moriko didn’t hesitate. She leapt from the saddle and tumbled across the ground as the horse fell in a heap. She got dizzily to her feet and drew her sword as the world righted itself around her.

  There wasn’t going to be any running from this battle.

  Chapter 8

  Before Ryuu left Akira’s camp, he pulled out the faded note Orochi had given him. The directions to Orochi’s island took Ryuu through the Western Kingdom, a path which seemed like a poor decision considering the two kingdoms were at war with one another. All that mattered was that he reach a port in the Northern Kingdom called Highgate. Ryuu went back into Akira’s tent to ask for directions which took him through the Northern Kingdom. Akira had a clerk draft him directions while Akira himself wrote two passes for Ryuu, allowing him to travel under Akira’s protection. Ryuu was grateful. He had never been out of the Southern Kingdom and didn’t know what type of land or trouble he might find. Akira affixed his seal to both letters in the bottom right corner. They would mark the documents as official if Ryuu ever had to show them.

  After the tasks were completed Ryuu was on his way. He rode at a steady pace, trying to balance the need to keep the horse fresh with his need to get north as quickly as possible. Time was of the essence. On horseback, if he didn’t suffer any delays, it would still take him more than a half-moon to reach Highgate. He packed a minimum of provisions, trusting his skills as a hunter to feed him when necessary. Traveling light was traveling fast.

  By the end of the first day Ryuu couldn’t even see the dust kicked up by the rapid movement of Akira’s armies marching to the northwest to do battle with Tanak’s forces. Ryuu rode northeast. As he rode, the gentle rolling plains and forests of the Southern Kingdom turned into more rugged territory. It was on the fourth day of constant riding that Ryuu found the river that denoted the end of the Southern Kingdom and the beginning of the Northern Kingdom. The river wasn’t wide, but its current was rapid as it crashed through the steep valleys. It was another half day before Ryuu found the bridge which would carry him over the swift currents.

  Ryuu passed through the checkpoints on either side of the bridge without trouble. He had hidden his sword on his back to ensure he didn’t attract attention. The guards of the Southern Kingdom accepted his pass without question. Passing through the northern checkpoint took a little longer, but he raised no suspicion. He was waved through with a minimum of conversation.

  Ryuu’s ride became more rugged as he went on. He had visited the mountains which bordered the Southern Kingdom while growing up, but not often. He was a child of the forest, and riding in the mountains was a novel experience for him. The trail, while well constructed, twisted and turned and rose and fell in such a way that Ryuu was sure he would have to revise his original estimated time of travel. Every day he seemed to cover less ground than he expected. He considered pushing the horse faster, but already signs of weariness were creeping into the beast’s demeanor. He kept his pace while trying to hold on to his patience. A half-moon into his journey, he guessed he was halfway through the kingdom. His pace was unbearable.

  Ryuu had been curious what the Northern Kingdom would be like and how it would differ from the land he had grown up in. The geography was different, more rugged and mountainous than the Southern Kingdom. But Ryuu also noticed the people were different. For one, there were fewer of them, or at least, that was what Ryuu suspected. He was on one of the well-used trade roads, but he didn’t encounter many people, either travelers or villagers. Ryuu passed through or around several villages, but his sense told him none of them were overcrowded. He didn’t encounter any cities with the population or energy of New Haven.

  The people were clever with their agriculture, building terraced fields throughout the lush mountains, but there still wasn’t enough space to grow the food needed to feed a large population. Despite his slow pace, Ryuu was fascinated to be in another kingdom. It was so similar to and yet so different from his own land.

  The people Ryuu did encounter throughout the kingdom were guardsmen. Their quantity surprised him. In the Southern Kingdom there were local garrisons, but most were small and had a tendency to roam together as one unit, visiting each village in its domain perhaps twice a cycle. By and large, villages were expected to take care of themselves, with only the most serious crimes being handled by garrisons. The land was safe, but it w
as largely because punishments for crimes were severe and the land was prosperous enough that few resorted to banditry or other crimes.

  Here in the Northern Kingdom it was different. Guardsmen were posted all over the roads and around the villages, and Ryuu spent a significant amount of time using his sense to detour around them. He often found them roaming in groups of three or five, each group affiliated with a local command. To Ryuu’s southern sensibilities, it seemed like there were far more guards than were needed, but he had to admit he felt like there was a greater degree of order to the Northern Kingdom. He wasn’t sure if it suited him like the freedom of the Southern Kingdom, but he could understand the appeal.

  Ryuu was able to avoid any encounters until he was about a hundred leagues away from Highgate. He was riding along a typical stretch of road when he sensed them. They were high in the mountain, and Ryuu mistook them at first for wildlife. It was only as he got closer he noticed the small horse paths which led higher up the mountain. Ryuu whistled softly to himself. Anyone riding those paths would have to be a much better, or at least a much more confident rider than he was. Any mistake on those paths was punishable by death.

  He caught the motion out of the corner of his eye as the five riders came charging down the path before him. Ryuu calmed his reaction with the practice of a seasoned warrior. His instinct was to try to kick his horse to speed, but he saw immediately the futility of the idea. The riders descending upon him were much more skilled than he, and the road itself was not built to carry a galloping horse and rider. Although he was trying to avoid confrontation, he was much safer standing his ground than he would be if he tried to run. Curiosity was also part of his decision. He had done nothing out of the ordinary to attract attention, and he wondered what had worked the guards into such a frenzy.