Chapter 5 Something Wicked this way comes

Tetsuo watch the trio ride away, and turn back to the task at hand. He
grabbed his gear, the bundle of swords that Sahara brought back from the
ronin, and what was left of the meal they had prepared. It was not a long
walk to the cave where the others waited, but Tetsuo took his time
anyway. It would not be dark for a couple of hours, and they would not
leave before the sun set regardless. He wandered over to the north a
little ways, circling around to make sure he was not being followed. He
knew that he was alone, and he also knew that nobody else knew that
they were here, but old habits are the hardest to break, and this particular
habit had saved his life on several occasions, so he did not think it was a
bad thing, overall.

Tetsuo had not always been his name. It was laughable actually, with all
the training he had received from two different clans it was in the dojo of
a Shadowlands Monk that he finally found his true purpose. Tetsuo had
been a boy, just about to enter training, when the then Emerald
Champion, Yasuki Hachi, participated in a Twenty Goblin Winter and won
his place in the Crab Clan. That act put an end to the previous Yasuki
conflict, and opened up a new era of cooperation between the Crab and
Crane. In order to strengthen the bonds created on that day, children
from both clans would be taught in schools of the other. Hachi, who had
long thought he was a Daidoji, went to his friends in the family to find
children to be cross-trained. Tetsuo was one of those children. Tetsuo left
the comfort of the Crane, and entered the Hiruma Scout School. Years in
training, making deep forays into the Shadowlands, rolled by, and Tetsuo
became a man. Tetsuo had only recently returned when Hachi was killed
defending the Emperor in the Shadowlands. Relations cooled after that,
and Tetsuo was no longer welcome at the Hiruma School to further his
education. His years there, and his excellent service and record counted
for nothing, he was barred from returning because of his family name.
Tetsuo was brought into the Harriers, and became one of the silent
defenders of the Crane. He was able to utilize the skills he learned with
the Hiruma, and combining those with the skills of the harriers, created a
unit that was among the best of Crane combat patrols. Tetsuo was
promoted and given command of the unit. He led them to victory after
victory, defending the Crane lands and striking out at Crane foes in
whatever ways were necessary. Tetsuos unit was chosen to make a large
sweep of the southern Crane lands, and to survey any possible attack
routes that the Crab could use, and to fortify those areas against such an
attack.
His unit was out on patrol, setting traps and fortifying the south, when the
Clan Champion, Doji Domatai, ordered that the harriers be disbanded.
The school was quickly and quietly dismantled, and all the other harriers
were reassigned. Tetsuos patrol was out to deep to be recalled readily,
and a courier was dispatched to deliver the order to return. Tetsuo had no
idea that the harriers had been disbanded, and that their tactics were no
longer to be used.

Having completed all preparations, the unit was getting ready to leave,
when a sentry returned with some startling news. There was a force of
one hundred Crab samurai moving north, heading for the path through
the woods that the unit had just fortified. This path wound through the
woods, and ended at a little city known as Traders Delight. There were
two Silk Works, a gold and jade mine, and well-known Sake works in the
city. Traders Delight was a jewel in the southern Crane lands, producing a
lot of money, rice, and sake for the Crane, it had to be defended. The unit
slipped into the trees and waited for the Crab to come. The Crab entered
the forest, but they never got out. Even though they outnumbered the
Daidoji by four to one, the unit harassed, and destroyed the Crab force.
As they were resetting the traps, the courier arrived with the orders to
return. Tetsuo did not want to leave the path undefended in case more
Crab arrived, but he could not ignore the order. Tetsuo decided to finish
fortifying their position, and he would follow along in a day or two.

On the road back to Kyuden Doji, Tetsuo was met by a force of Crane
Magistrates, and taken into custody. News of the skirmish had reached
Domatai, and she was incensed that her orders were not carried out.
Tetsuo was bound, stripped of his daisho, and thrown into a dungeon cell.
No one would tell Tetsuo what this was about, and he still did not know
about the disbanding of the harriers. He sat in his cell, getting only a
single meal a day, and was totally ignored by his jailors. Day after day,
week after week until a month had passed, and still Tetsuo knew nothing.
Finally, one day, he was grabbed and roughly dragged to an interrogation
cell. He was pushed into a kneeling position, and chained to the floor. A
door slid open, and in walked a man. He stopped and sat in front of
Tetsuo, and said, My name is Daidoji Fumisato, and I am here to get the
truth concerning your actions in the woods surrounding Traders Delight.

Fumisato explained that Tetsuos unit had been replaced, and reassigned
throughout the Crane Clan armies. He explained that the harriers were
ordered disbanded, and how Tetsuo had betrayed a direct order to cease
all activities associated with the harriers. Fumisato questioned Tetsuo for
hours, trying to catch him in a lie, but Tetsuo always answered the same.
He was unaware of the orders to stop, and was defending Crane lands
from an invading force of Crab. Fumisato nodded, and left the room.
Tetsuo was taken back to his cell. The next day, Tetsuo was brought back
to the interrogation room. Inside was Fumisato, with a new kimono, and a
pack. Fumisato explained that, in her mercy, the clan champion had
graciously agreed not to execute Tetsuo, and even would not demand his
seppuku, as he was only trying to defend the lands of the Crane. Tetsuo
would be allowed to retire. Fumisato gave Tetsuo the brown kimono and
pack, and left the room. Tetsuo got dressed, and was escorted out of the
prison. That was it he was retired, and had nowhere to go. In the pack
was a pouch with fifty koku in it, payment for a life of service and
defending Traders Delight. Tetsuo was bitter and angry, and left Kyuden
Doji with a curse on his lips and in his heart. What would he do now,
where would he go? All his life he spent in obedience to the wishes of his
clan, and his clan cast him out, for doing his duty. Tetsuo wandered
around without purpose, drinking his money away, and feeling like
something was missing in his life. His searching led him to a monk. The
monk led him to a new path. The new path led him to the Roshungi.
Roshungi lead him to the Spider. The Spider led him to a purpose, and a
new life.

When Tetsuo got to the mouth of the cave, he stopped, and looked in. He
knew that someone was waiting just inside the darkness, and tried to see
if he could discern who it was. He stared into the darkness, trying to
catch any sign of a presence, a shape, a reflections, anything out of place
in the dark, but could not see anything amiss. He walked up, and called
into the cave. Its Tetsuo, I am coming in. and with that he walked into
the cave. He had not even gotten fully into the mouth of the cave, when
he saw Zeshin step out of a shadow. Tetsuo had a clear view of that area,
and he did not even see Zeshin there. Take these swords Tetsuo said to
him, and handed Zeshin the bundle. Together, they walked deeper into
the cave, to where the others waited.

Twisting and turning, the path lead on, until it came to a small clearing,
deep in the darkness under the earth. On the floor sat Katashi, legs
folded and deep in meditation. Buy his side was the bisento that was his
trademark weapon. He was not wearing his robes, and Tetsuo noticed the
scarring across his back and torso, the marks of his failure in his previous
mission. Tetsuo was warned of Katashis attitude and temperament, and
was under orders from Roshungi himself to be sure Katashi did not fail the
brotherhood again. So far, Katashi had done exactly as instructed, and
Tetsuo hoped that it stayed that way. Not for Katashis sake, but for his
own. Katashi was one of the least problematic personalities on this trip,
and his skills would be invaluable if one of the others had to be dealt with.
Tetsuo looked around for the others, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Where are Datsue-Ba and Kaikou he asked Zeshin.

Datsue-Ba left the cave several hours ago, and went down to the river.
She said that she would meet us in the city, having a better way to get
inside than we did. Kaikou went futher into the cave to practice his craft,
and has not returned yet. Replied the ninja.

Tetsuo cursed silently, he had known Datsue-Ba would be a problem. The

bog hag had not followed an order for hundreds of years, and she would
not likely begin now. Tetsuo wasnt concerned for her safety, or her
ability, she could get into the city easily. What he was sure of was that
Sahara would not be happy with her deviating from the plan. They had
very specific goals and criteria to accomplish, and the plans had been
very specific. Everyone had a role to fulfill in this operation, and no ones
role included spontaneously changing the way things were to be done.
Cover stories had been put in place to allow them to gain easy and public
access to the city, and by going off on her own, Datsue-Ba jeopardized
those arrangements. Damn her, they had not even arrived in Meidochi
yet, and already the plan was unraveling. It was Tetsuos duty, as second
in command, to keep everyone on track and to make sure that everyone
followed the plan, and Datsue-Bas leaving made him look bad.

She would pay for this, that much was certain, but Tetsuo had to be
patient. He could not afford to be hasty in her punishment. She would
meet them in the city, and when her job was done, then she would
discover the cost of betrayal.

Zeshin, go down and get Kaikou, it is almost time to leave. Tetsuo said
to the shadow assassin. Zeshin left, and Tetsuo turned back to look at
Katashi again. Katashi had finished his meditation, and was getting
dressed. Take a Katana and Wakizashi, and prepare to leave he told the
other monk. Katashi just nodded, and began to assemble his things,
pulling a haori and obi from his pack.

Zeshin returned, and began his own preparations to depart, and finally
Kaikou arrived. Tetsuo looked across the dark cave, and could see
Kaikous eyes glowing a fiery red, a clear mark of his taint, and his skin
was smoldering, green smoke rising from his back and arms. Every time
Tetsuo looked at Kaikou, he was reminded of why he spent hours every
day in meditation, seeking a calm center of being and control over the
taint.
They had all been exposed to the taint, living in the Shadowland Marsh
would do that, but most of those initiated into the Spider wanted to
maintain control. They understood that the path to they choose runs
through the Shadowlands, but still did not want to become a twisted
monster. They used whatever means were necessary to keep their human
selves dominant. Some followed the tenants of Shourido, a dark version
of Bushido. Others went the way of the monk, using meditation and
martial training as an anchor for their humanity. There were even some
who were true believers in the cause, and their dogged beliefs helped
them to keep the taint in check.

Unfortunately, there were also those like Kaikou, who instead of trying to
remain human, submitted to the power of the taint. They gave up their
humanity and self control, gathering power as quickly as possible. They
sacrificed their control for power, and became creatures driven by their
own twisted desires. There was great power to be acquired by allowing
the taint to control you, but those individuals who did so, tended to
quickly outlive their usefulness to the clan. The goal was not to destroy
the empire outright, as had been attempted so many times in the past,
but to subvert it and to take control of it from within. The kind of subtlety
necessary to accomplish such a task was simply beyond the abilities of
someone whose passions controlled their every action. Kaikou had been
given a chance to acquire great power, and had seized upon it. Kaikou
had joined the ranks of the Maho-Bujin, men who sacrificed their pasts to
gain power. Kaikou had all but forgotten who he had been before joining
the Bujin, and could no longer use many of the skills he had acquired over
his lifetime. In return he had gained the fabled combat abilities of the
Bujin. He was a mighty force on the battlefield, but no longer dependable
as an operative on his own. It fell to those with him to be sure that he did
not reveal the true nature of the Spider, or upset the plans, once in
motion.

Kaikou had been an asset in the early part of this mission, then their job
was to raze small villages and destroy towns southwest of Meidochi in the
Crab lands, south in the lands of the Fox, and to the southeast in Crane
territory. Kaikou had proven his worth in both the slaughter of the
peasantry, and in the limited skirmishes that had taken place against the
Crab, Fox and Crane patrols in the area. Kaikou was truly a sight to
behold when in combat, slashing and cutting here and there, fully in the
madness of the Bujin. All that slaughter and carnage had put both the
clans on edge, each blaming the others for the destruction of border
villages, and creating a fabulous amount of tension in the area. Patrol
frequency had increased several fold, so to did patrol size. Kaikou had
proven invaluable when coming against heavily armed patrol groups, his
speed and aggression won the day on several occasions. Reports
captured from slaughtered patrols and couriers confirmed their objective
complete. The Crab and Crane believed that the other was expanding the
Yasuki War northward, and trying to grab additional territory in their
struggle. The Mantis were planning to send a battalion of Samurai to
reinforce the wearied Fox Clan, and to add the weight of its presence into
this escalating Yasuki conflict. The time was right to move into Meidochi,
and to begin the next phase of operations.

This is where Tetsuo had the first inkling of doubts about Kaikou. Kaikou
had been getting more aggressive and primal as the battles raged on, and
Tetsuo was not sure if Kaikou would be able to contain himself for long in
the city. This next phase required subtle machinations to be successful,
and Kaikou was quickly loosing that ability. In any other instance, Tetsuo
would send Kaikou back to the Shinomen Forest, but the area was
becoming to heavily fortified for him to pass through undetected. So
there was no alternative, Kaikou had to come to Meidochi, and would have
to behave himself. If he did not, then Tetsuo would do what had to be
done.

The sun was setting, and it was time to go. They left the cave and made
their way to the road, careful to avoid the village that Sahara had visited
earlier that day. They traveled quickly and silently, through the evening
and into the night. Kaikou lead the way, his red eyes scanning here and
there for enemy patrols or camps, but they saw no one. It was in the
early morning darkness that they came upon Meidochi. When they were
within site of the city, they circled around to the south, and hid
themselves in a small grove of trees. Zeshin then went off on his own,
slipping into the city to find their contact.