Kaguta - Or, Ankūro - The Warrior, The Thief and The Killer

16

Saiban

A coldness grips tight,
Upon furtive, worried brows.
Where, then, is warmth found?
- Zōinō.

Travel through the Imperial region would have come with difficulty at the best of times, but rumours had followed them from the massacre outside the border and Imperial patrols had increased greatly. They had avoided the well-maintained roads as much as they could, living off the land, eating malnourished animals and weak wild plants.

Saiban had no idea why Nesukē had accompanied him. She held onto her motivations as tight as she held on to that jewel they had stolen. But, there she sat, upon the horse beside him as he stared up towards the summit of Kūmū-Nē, the Sacred Mountain. They had freed the other horses, though Saiban doubted they would survive long without humans to feed them, and had stolen a pair of stout war horses.

Here, in the Imperial region, the drought had not had the same destructive affect as in the rest of the island. Here, he found trees and plants, animals and people that had not suffered as the other regions had. The benefit of Imperial status. The horses, well-fed and cared for, they had found in a local governor's Winter retreat. They had stolen the mounts, bags full of gold and food and had ridden away before the retreat's guards even knew they were there.

They had put much distance between themselves and that retreat, now, but still they avoided contact with anyone else as much as they could. In these days of war and drought, people were quick to raise alarms when strangers appeared. And Saiban and Nesukē were as strange as any the populace of Junawa would see. That should not prove as large a problem from here onwards.

Kūmū-Nē had no villages upon its slopes. Certainly no towns. Only temples and monasteries were ever found on these gentle rises, sitting among evergreen trees, beginning to brown through the constant onslaught of the hot Sun and lack of rain. They had passed the last settlement before the mountain half-a-day ago and the great city of Osūji sat far in the valleys below, embracing the seas. Saiban doubted they suffered from lack of food or water.

"I seek a great warrior. If you have seen her, you will know who I mean." He looked down at the old man. A monk, carrying a large quantity of firewood upon his back. "She carries a sack and a stick, her head shaved and with one white eye. Have you seen her?"

The monk adjusted the straps of the frame attached to his back. Saiban didn't know how the man had the strength to carry so much wood, but he did not seem encumbered. The monk glanced at the great sword tied to Saiban's back, the Sansui swords wedged in the packs and to the twin knives in Nesukē's belt, Shubō's knives. With a shake of the head, the monk began to turn away.

"You were asked a question!" Nesukē leapt from her saddle, drawing one of those knives, but the monk did not seem to care. "Have monks lost all politeness? Sequestered away in these mountains?"

"I have never seen her." The monk stepped to the side, attempting to pass by Nesukē, but she stepped before him again. "So sorry. It can't be helped."

With a jerk of his chin, Saiban called Nesukē away from the monk. He gave a quick bow and continued on his way. Saiban didn't know what motivated Nesukē now, but he appreciated her help. She gave nothing away. Not the reason for her staying by his side, nor why she helped him, but he had come to like the sullen woman. With a thought, he tapped the horse forward, reaching the monk's side again.

"You say you've never seen her." The monk nodded, not looking at Saiban. "But you know of her? So? You have heard of this woman?"

"No-one has seen her. No-one that has lived to tell of it." With a friendly grin, the monk shook his head. "Only with the right questions are the right answers found. Yes? I would not wish to anger her, but I cannot lie."