18th Day of Mid Summer, 1297
Secrets Reveled
The night seemed to pass without incident in the Samurai’s three interconnected rooms (although once during her sleep, Kioko started to whimper and fidget restlessly, but that soon passed).
One had to wonder though, if it was something Uncle Yunikawa was doing, or simply a nightmare caused by what she had seen the previous day – it was quite understandable that the sight of three major Oni might have had that effect on a young child.
Early the next morning, two minor fire spirits walked into the rooms and flared brightly, before making a loud noise like the crackling of new logs on a fire. Their snapping and popping awoke anyone who had not risen earlier, and in a shrill voice – like steam venting from the lid of a boiling pot – one spoke – ‘Breakfast is served. Please join the Master in the Tower of the Morning Sun.’
The Samurai quickly gathered their things and made sure Kioko was fully awake, before taking her and following the two motes of fire down a hall and up a spiraling stone staircase.
At the top, the stairway opened into a round open tower on the top of Uncle Yunikawa’s mountain citadel. The amazing chamber was lit with a dazzling array of vibrant colors, as the morning sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling vertical rows of crystals set in the walls surrounding the room. A faint tinkling sound could be heard in the air, apparently emanating from the crystals themselves, though it was not unpleasant to hear and gave the room a feeling of tranquility.
The furnishings within were of the cleanest white, opulent, and rich and included a large low table set with the morning meal – sweet rice cakes, bean and egg salad, tea and various fruits.
Uncle Yunikawa sat at the table and welcomed the Samurai in; his four Samurai-ko sitting quietly behind him beautiful, and emotionless as ever.
When the Samurai and Kioko had sat down at the table (and the two fire spiritd had moved into a fireplace on one side of the room), Uncle Yunikawa bid them to eat, as he told them of what he had learned of Kioko’s memories and why he had called them to his mountain home –
“Good Morning my honored quests, I trust you slept well.”
“And Kioko,” he smiled – “I will help your friends here to take you home, but first they must do something for me, that will allow them to better help you later. You must be brave and patient until it is done, as is to be expected of a ‘granddaughter’ of the Emperor.”
“Now to the business at hand – First, about Kioko’s ‘home’. Suffice it to say that there was little I could glean from such an innocent young mind, but that the affairs of her people have vastly changed from what they are now, and that unknown foreigners (who were certainly not Chinese) had a small influence in the governance of her homeland.”
“Our way of life seemed similar to theirs, yet the titles of rulership had changed and the Samurai were no more – only the Emperor remained. And the children of all the land, called him ‘Grandfather’ out of respect and love. Though the rest of the governing body seemed corrupt and reviled by the people – basically nothing more than a military dictatorship, it would seem.”
Pausing to see if any of the Samurai had questions before continuing, Uncle Yunikawa took a long sip of hot tea…
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Topic: Mythic Nippon Adventure III (Read 361444 times)