Forest & Kingdom Balance (21 page)

“His lack of training is a benefit to us, while at
the same time it will make him unpredictable. To both points I
would add that I have no doubt that he will be able to access all
of his raw power immediately. What he will be able to do with it is
the question.” He allowed her a moment to absorb the
implications.

Froggy did not touch her mind, he wanted her to have
total freedom to think and explore herself. He could sense her
emotions; they swirled with uncertainty, hope, fear, confidence,
wonder and insecurity. He could feel her find center and bring them
under control. She embraced her complexity without denying it. She
accepted the unknown and in doing so she created a desire to
understand and find balance.

“Who am I Froggy, and how can I confront a being as
powerful as you?” Her question held the measured tone of one who
seeks knowledge. There was no hint of despair or trepidation.

“It will help you to know the process. When you
first entered the Forest you knew nothing of your potential, from
that beginning there are three steps. First was discovery, you have
completed that step. The second step we begin today, it is to
quantify. You must explore, test, and understand the bounds of who
you are and what you can do.

“The final step is application. For the moment
accept the third step as an undefined concept, a known direction
without definitive destination. Think of your abilities as colors
on your artist’s pallet, the solution we seek is the painting you
will create. No one knows what an artwork will be before the artist
begins, not even the artist. So for now, assemble your paints and
study your subject. As with all artists, when the moment is right
you will create your masterpiece.”

Froggy stood and offered her his hand. They faced
each other and suddenly Dionara felt something disappear. It took
her a moment to realize what it was. “Froggy! I don’t sense you!”
Since her first moment in the Forest, her mind had always been
aware of his. Near or far, unconscious or deliberate, she had
always been aware of him. Now he stood two feet in front of her and
it was as if he didn’t exist.

“My Lady, my beautiful young princess, I have always
taken pains to give you the honor and respect you deserve, and you
have honored me by your response in kind. We will resume our
wonderful relationship after your lessons. Right now however we are
beginning a battle and battles have no rules or etiquette. I have
put up a mental block, if you want to know what I know, you will
need to get past it. As with your first training, don’t concern
yourself with fine control at first, just proceed any way you can.”
Froggy bowed, “We begin.”

Dionara concentrated as she attempted to enter his
mind but could barely discern that there was a mind to enter.

“What a gentle caress, thank you my Lady. However,
for the purposes of our battle, you will need to find within
yourself the equivalent of a full battle ax, well swung, just to
get started. While you give that some thought, please keep in mind
that you will need a strong defense as well as an offence. Allow me
to demonstrate.” Froggy instantly came into her mind and started
rummaging around in her most personal memories.
“There were rumors a year or so ago that involved you, two
guardsman, and some type of sling apparatus. That has always struck
me as curious. Let’s see if I can find that.”

“Oh no you don’t!”
Dionara
seemed to grasp the concept of a shield rather quickly, and the
battle was joined.

VI

Yamikura sat cross-legged in the center of the
floor, light from the fireplace joined with several lamps to fully
illuminate the bunkhouse’s main room. Centered and relaxed, he
allowed his gaze to sweep the room.
“Everything
touched by humanity will leave the mark of its maker. You can learn
a great deal about a people by what their hands craft and how it is
crafted.”
He remembered the lesson he was taught as a child,
and how he thought it strange that his instructor of warcraft would
begin with that. He smiled,
“I was truly blessed
to have such good teachers.”

He examined each detail of room. At first glance his
overall impression was that of simplicity, then corrected himself.
“No, efficient.”
He looked closer at the
craftsmanship; the expertly cut timbers and intricate joints would
last lifetimes. The design was utilitarian but its execution
reflected a high level of expertise and knowledge. There were some
aspects of its construction he had never seen before. Innovations
that made perfect sense, they strengthened the structure and
simplified the process.

The furnishings were a different matter, the
furniture’s woven fabrics as well as the rugs were not only of the
highest quality but the artistry exceeded anything he’d seen in his
travels, even among the richest and most powerful. The aesthetic
embraced natural themes with none of the gaudy extravagance he had
seen in palaces of the elite. He rose and sat in a chair by the
fire.
“Amazing.”
He thought as he sank
back in the soft cushion that had the perfect amount of
support.

“So, what conclusions do you
draw?”
The woman’s voice returned. Yamikura accepted her
presence as a natural occurrence. Neither shocked nor alarmed, he
took up the conversation.

“Time.” He said. “Your people have time. They are
not pressured by want or need and they are not threatened with
imminent harm.” He reached to the side table and lifted a glass of
wine he had poured after dinner. “They imbue everything they create
with an expression of themselves.”

He drank and savored a wine better than any to touch
the lips of a king. “Artists are highly respected in your
community.” He studied the wineglass. “This is a bunkhouse, no
more, yet it holds treasure that men would battle for.”

“I will pass your compliment on to
the artist who created that wineglass, she will be
flattered.”
The woman’s voice relayed the emotions of
excitement and pleasure that his compliment would elicit. Yamikura
consciously held his center as the emotions flowed through him.

“May I know your name?” He asked. Partly to change
the subject so that he could maintain his control. “I don’t wish to
think of you only as ‘a young woman’s voice.’”

“Why not? I like it!”
Joy
and happiness filled him, for a moment he released himself to an
experience devoid of any thought other than bliss.

He attempted to ground himself once more as the
emotion ebbed.
“So much for changing the
subject.”
He mused, fully aware of his mistake.

“My name is Catherine, you would
describe me as one of the wards of the Warded Mountains.”
Catherine assumed a tone of polite formality.
“And you are Yamikura, a warrior for hire by trade, and a
philosopher, poet, healer, and seeker of knowledge by nature. Is it
true that the only fee you ask for your service is food and
lodging?”

“Yes, that and whatever needs require at a given
time. I am honored to meet you Catherine of the Warded Mountains.”
He rose from the chair and bowed. “Are we to meet in battle?”

“Our only battle currently will be
the same battle that men and women have had since time began. I’m
going to try to get what I want from you while you try to get what
you want from me, all the while we pretend that we don’t know what
the other is up to.”

Catherine’s playfulness gave him a lightness of
being he had never experienced before. “In that case Catherine, I
surrender unconditionally. I may not be as wise as some I have met
in my travels, but I am wise enough to recognize when I am out of
my depth.” He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“Excellent opening
move!”

“Thank you.” He returned to his seat and retrieved
his wine. “It wouldn’t hold up as a long term strategy of course,
though it does add an element of the unknown.”

“We should play Risk & Reward
sometime, I’ll wager you’d be an worthy opponent.”

“I accept, on the condition of ‘no peeking’ on your
part.”

“Men, always trying to take away a
girl’s fun.”

“Women.” He smiled. “The only real reason to get up
in the morning.” He raised his wine glass as her laughter joined
his.

“My move. Let’s see. I guess we
should start with interrogation, what do you think?”

“I’m just the prisoner here, it’s really not my
place to say.”

“Well then, if you’re going to be
one of those uncooperative prisoners, then I see no choice. Torture
it is. Should I sing or tickle you mercilessly? No, that’s no good,
either of those will leave you with permanent damage. I should
start out a little slower. I’ll tell you what, while I try to
remember where I left my thumb screws, why don’t you tell me how a
person with such an artist’s soul came to be captain of the Crimson
Guard.”

“Don’t you know? I would have thought that you had
already read my mind and learned all there was to know about me.”
Yamikura was honestly surprised.

“It’s complicated. I can sense a
great deal about you but in many ways you are a puzzle, and most of
the pieces don’t fit together.”

“Then we are on more of an equal footing that I had
supposed.” He stopped a moment to reconsider his position. “I
propose that we limit our discussion to us. I will answer any
question about my life, my choices, or any personal inquiry you may
have, but I will not discuss tactical information, the Red Knight,
his plans, or his methods. You must do the same, agreed?”

“I found the thumbscrews, I have
plenty of feathers, and I feel a song coming on.”

“Catherine, you hold the high ground, literally.
Surely you could acquiesce to such a simple request. If you choose
not to answer a question that I feel meets our agreement, then
don’t. At which point I will make my way back to the coast as best
I can with what I’ve learned and you can send your wolves and
rockslides to stop me. We’ll see with whom fortune places her
favor.”

“You imply that fortune’s favor
could go either way. That is an assumption I would not make when it
involves a person named Fortune’s Child. It’s been my experience
that mothers tend to be very protective of their children.”
She mentally admonished him.
“I saw that slight
of hand.”

“You would expect a warrior to use his natural
advantages, would you not?” He leaned back and relaxed in the
chair. “We’ll call the first engagement a draw, shall we?”

“I’d say a minor point to me, but
why quibble. As you say, a draw.”
He could feel her
smile.

“In that case, why don’t I tell you a story while we
regroup. A concession for a concession.” He poured himself more
wine and began his tale.

Battle at the King’s Door

When I left Sanctuary I was a free spirit. Free to
starve. I did not want to be a farmer, and while I was thankful for
my healer’s training, it wasn’t my calling. I considered the
profession of philosopher, unfortunately the pay was unreliable at
best and being a young man, I had the dual handicap of inexperience
and the inability to suffer fools gladly. So it was either sword
for hire or starve.

Luckily, one of fortune’s blessings was the name I
chose. For the first few years, in any village or tavern, as soon
as someone heard my name I would have a chance to advertise my
skills. Mind you, I never permanently injured anyone for
disparaging yamikura as a class, or for finding amusement in my
name. I merely showed the misguided soul that they were mistaken
with a lesson they would remember.

It did not take me long to formulate a few simple
rules to follow while I plied my profession. The most important
was, no innocents. I didn’t care to be an enforcer or a thug. The
second was no large scale wars. When you are one of several
thousand men in formation, there is a high probability that you
will be either bored or dead. Personal skill would only influence
the odds on occasion.

An employer would either accept or not, their
choice. If they accepted my terms, I served for table, cot and any
current needs I had. Actually, I served only to fill my pack once
the assignment was done so that I could wonder, lost in my own
thoughts until need or fortune brought me new employment. It wasn’t
a bad life. I have no qualms about death. Neither mine, nor those I
faced. Death is just another road where our choices in life
determine our path beyond it. Eventually we will all reap what we
have sown.

I had been at my trade for about eight years when
Emperor Kale decided to loose what little common sense he had and
challenged the Red Knight. Now every kingdom on the entire
continent would have to choose a side. At the time I was working
for a large, wealthy kingdom. I immediately went to the king’s map
room and found a kingdom so small and out of the way that the map
only listed a name, no other information. So I filled my pack and
set out.

It was perfect. The location had no strategic value,
it was poor, and the king’s greatest ambition was to die quietly in
his own bed. Technically he was allied to the Emperor and had to
send tribute and warriors for his army, which he did. The tribute
he paid in potatoes, his kingdom had a lot of potatoes. The
conscripts he sent were whatever troublemakers the village peacemen
wanted to get rid of.

I sought and won the position of personal guard to
the king. What a wonderful king, he could spin a tale, down a
draft, and tickle one of his mistresses without missing a beat. My
only threat was the king’s fifteen-year old daughter. A more
spoiled, annoying child you will never meet, and she was under the
impression that my services included her. I once suggested to the
king that he send her as tribute to the Emperor. He turned to me
shocked and asked, “Are you insane? He’d send half his army back
here to wipe us out just for spite!” She was packed off to a school
for midwives the next morning. It was a blissful three years.