Ranger's Apprentice 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (18 page)

They set up camp in the wider area behind the palisade. For the moment, they would shelter in tents, but Horace directed the senior Kikori as to where cabins and a hospital shelter should be located. With such a large number of skilled workmen at his disposal, he also gave instructions for the renovation and reinforcement of the palisade to begin, with priority to be given to the collapsing left-hand side.

He was glad to take this load off Reito’s shoulders, leaving him free to look after Shigeru’s wellbeing. Reito was a Senshi but he was a courtier, not a general, and Horace was better qualified to see to the defence of Ran-Koshi. He strode about the valley with a new energy in his step, followed by a group of a dozen Kikori elders – the leaders from the villages that had joined their party. He was pleased with the way they quickly accepted his right to give orders. Even more gratifying was the fact that they were willing to co-operate with each other. Any intervillage rivalries that might have existed before were snuffed out by the current situation.

One of them pointed out that there was little in the way of heavy timber in the valley itself. Work parties would have to travel back the way they had come to fell timber outside the valley and drag it up to the fortress.

Horace nodded acknowledgement of the fact.

‘Then tomorrow we will rest,’ he said. ‘After that, work starts.’

The assembled Kikori nodded agreement. A full day’s rest would make the work go faster, they all knew.

‘Get your work parties detailed,’ he told them. The senior Kikori all gave perfunctory bows and he returned them with a quick bob of his own head. Interesting how quickly it became a natural action, he thought. Then, as they drifted off to their respective groups, he looked around for Eiko and Mikeru. The two were never far away and over the past weeks he had become accustomed to detailing them to specific tasks.

‘Eiko, can you organise scouts to go back the way we’ve come and keep watch for Arisaka’s approach?’

‘I’ll go myself,
Kurokuma
,’ the heavily built lumberjack said but Horace shook his head.

‘No. I may need you here. Send men you can trust.’

‘Will I go with them,
Kurokuma
?’ It was Mikeru, the youth who had guided them from the first Kikori village and, as a result, had escaped the brutal attack of one of Arisaka’s patrols. He was keen and intelligent and energetic, always ready for something to break the monotony of the long, hard march. He was the ideal person for the task Horace had in mind.

‘No. I have something else I need you to do. Get three or four of your friends and explore this valley. Find the secret path out to the flatland below.’

Mikeru and Eiko both frowned, puzzled by his words.

‘Secret path,
Kurokuma
? Is there a secret path?’ Mikeru looked around the rock walls that enclosed them. They seemed impenetrable. Horace smiled grimly.

‘This was a fortress. But it’s also a trap. A dead end. No military commander would put his men in a fortress like this unless there was a secret way out. Trust me. It’ll be there all right. It’ll be narrow and it’ll be difficult but it’ll be there. You just have to find it.’

Wolfwill
glided into the narrow cove under oars. There was no breath of wind and the surface of the water was calm and glassy, marred only by the sixteen rippling circles left by each stroke of the oars and the arrow-straight wake the ship left behind her.

Four days previously, they had left Iwanai and sailed up the west coast of Nihon-Ja. A brisk southerly wind was blowing and Gundar had raised both starboard and port sails, and sheeted them home out to either side. They stood at right angles to the hull. In this position – Gundar called it goose-winging – they formed a giant M shape. With the wind astern, he could use twice the normal sail area.

The sea had been calm and with this extra thrust behind her,
Wolfwill
had flown up the coastline. As Halt had seen when he studied the chart, three days’ easy sailing had saved them weeks, compared to the alternative – slogging over hundreds of kilometres of mountain ranges. And they had avoided the attention of Arisaka’s patrols. Now they had reached the northern part of the island and somewhere, not far inland, lay the fortress of Ran-Koshi.

‘That’s far enough, I think, Gundar,’ he said quietly. Gundar called an order, also in a muted tone, and the oars ceased their constant motion. It seemed right to keep their voices down. Everything here was so still, so peaceful.

At least, for the moment. Time would tell what lay beneath the trees on the thickly forested shore of the cove. Behind the first few tree-covered hills, the mountains began to rise again, now covered to halfway down their height in snow.

Wolfwill
drifted, seeming to rest on her own inverted image, while her crew and passengers studied the shoreline, looking for signs of movement.

‘Have you been here before, Atsu?’ Selethen asked and the guide shook his head.

‘Not to this province, lord,’ he said. ‘So I don’t know the local Kikori. But that shouldn’t be a problem. The Kikori are loyal to Emperor Shigeru. I will simply have to make contact with the local tribes.’

‘Just so long as you don’t bump into Arisaka’s men instead,’ Halt said dryly.

‘We don’t know that Arisaka’s men have penetrated this far north-west,’ the guide said.

Halt shrugged. ‘We don’t know they haven’t, either. Better to assume the worst. That way, you’re not disappointed when it occurs.’ Halt turned to Gundar. ‘I thought you could camp on that island we passed, rather than in here on the mainland.’

The skirl nodded. ‘My thought too. We could be here for weeks, even months, while the winter passes. We’ll be safer on the island.’

It had been decided that Gundar and his men were not going to accompany them into the mountains. A captain was always reluctant to leave his ship for even a short time, and they could be at Ran-Koshi for months. Instead, the Skandians would take Atsu back to Iwanai, then return to this point and spend the winter in a camp, beaching their ship and hauling her high above the tide mark to protect her from winter gales. They planned to build huts in the shelter of the trees. Skandians often wintered like this while they were travelling. Gundar had re-provisioned the ship while they were in Iwanai so they had plenty of food on board. Plus they could come to the mainland to hunt and fetch water if there were none on the island. The island was a lucky break. Four hundred metres offshore, it would provide security and early warning of any possible attack.

‘Put us ashore in the skiff,’ Halt continued. ‘Then get out to the island. We’ll camp on the beach tonight while Atsu tries to contact the locals.’

Forty minutes later, the shore party watched as the wolfship’s oars went forward on one side and back on the other, pivoting the neat craft in her own length. Then both banks of oars began to pull together and the ship gathered speed, heading out to sea. On the stern, Gundar waved farewell.

As
Wolfwill
rounded the point and disappeared from sight, Will felt strangely alone. But there was no time for introspection. There was work to be done.

‘Right,’ said Halt. ‘Let’s get a camp set up. Atsu, do you want to wait till morning? Or will you try to make contact with the locals tonight?’

Atsu looked at the low sun. There was probably an hour of daylight left.

‘It might be better if I go right away,’ he said. ‘It’s highly likely we’ve been seen, so the sooner I can make contact and explain our intentions, the better.’

Halt nodded agreement and while the others set about erecting their small tents and gathering stones for a fireplace, Atsu slipped into the forest. Will watched him go, then turned back to the task of tightening the guy rope on his tent. Selethen, beside him, was unfamiliar with the Araluan tent design and was puzzling slightly over the arrangement of ropes and canvas. Will quickly moved to help him get them sorted out.

‘Thanks,’ said the
Wakir.
He added, with a faint smile, ‘I usually have a servant to do this for me, you know.’

‘Happy to be of assistance,’ Will told him. ‘So long as you break out some of your supply of coffee.’

‘Good idea,’ the Arridi replied and began rummaging in his pack. His coffee beans were superior to the ones Will and Halt carried. They had more flavour and were far more aromatic. During the trip, they had all rationed their supplies carefully – coffee seemed to be unknown in Nihon-Ja. But now Will thought it was time to enjoy a good cup.

Evanlyn and Alyss had found a freshwater stream a little inland from the beach and had taken the water skins and canteens to fill them with fresh, cold water. While they waited for the girls to return, Will and Selethen set about making a fire. Halt, sitting with his back to a log and studying the map, glanced up as they did so. Will hesitated.

‘Are we all right to have a fire, Halt?’ he asked.

The older Ranger thought for a moment. ‘Why not?’ he said. ‘As Atsu pointed out, the locals probably know we’re here anyway.’ He glanced towards the trees, where the two girls were visible, filling the canteens.

‘Are you expecting trouble?’ Will asked, aware that Halt had been keeping a watchful eye over the girls as they worked.

Again, Halt hesitated before replying. ‘I’m always edgy when I’m in a country I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I find it’s the best way to be.’

‘It’s certainly kept you alive so far,’ Selethen said, with a hint of a smile.

Halt nodded. ‘Yes. So far so good. Plus, I’ve been thinking…Atsu seems confident that all the Kikori villages will be supporting the Emperor. But there’s no iron-clad guarantee that some of them haven’t gone over to Arisaka.’

‘Do you think that’s likely?’ Will asked and Halt turned his gaze on his young protégé.

‘No. But it is possible. We’re going a lot on Atsu’s word for things and we have no way of knowing how good his judgement is.’

Evanlyn and Alyss returned as they were discussing this. The girls were burdened with filled canteens and two large waterskins and they carried the load between them. Evanlyn glanced around the camp site approvingly.

‘What a cheery little home away from home,’ she said brightly.

Alyss, who had noticed the sombre expressions on the faces of Selethen and the two Rangers, added, ‘And what serious faces you’re all wearing. Is something wrong, Halt?’

Halt smiled at her. ‘Now that we have water for the coffee, no,’ he replied. ‘Everything is just as it should be.’

They made coffee, then Will set about preparing an evening meal. The market in Iwanai had supplied them with several chickens and he set about jointing them and preparing the meat in a marinade of oil, honey and the dark salty sauce that was a staple in Nihon-Ja.

Atsu had taught him how to prepare rice, which he had never cooked before, and he set a covered pot steaming in the coals of the fire while he prepared a green salad, using small onions and green leaves that resembled spinach. As ever, he had his cooking kit with him, with his own personal staples that went to create a light, tangy salad dressing.

‘Nice to know a man who cooks,’ said Alyss, sitting comfortably by the fire, her back against a log and her knees drawn up.

‘I’ve heard you can whip up a pretty good meal too, Halt,’ Evanlyn said, gently teasing him.

Halt took another sip of the coffee they had prepared. His eyes smiled at her over the rim of his mug.

‘It’s part of a Ranger’s training,’ he said. ‘There’s no law that says we have to exist on hard tack and cold water when we’re in the field. A good meal does a lot to restore the spirits. Some years back, Crowley had Master Chubb prepare a set of recipes and instructions for us. All Ranger apprentices do a three-month course in their third year.’

‘So what are you planning to whip up for us?’ Selethen asked. He was smiling but he thought such a course was an excellent idea. As Halt said, good, simple food could go a long way towards making a camp more comfortable.

Halt drained the last of his coffee. He looked at the dregs in his mug wistfully. For a moment he was tempted to make a fresh pot. But they couldn’t afford to squander their limited supplies.

‘I won’t be cooking,’ he replied. ‘Will enjoys doing it and I wouldn’t want to spoil his fun.’

Will looked up from where he was threading the marinated chicken meat onto thin skewers of green wood.

‘Besides, Halt has been known to burn water when he boiled it,’ he said and they all laughed. He was about to add to the tale of Halt’s failed cooking attempts when he stopped, his eyes fixed on the shadows at the edge of the trees fringing the beach. He laid down the skewer he’d just prepared and rose to his feet, his hand going to the hilt of his saxe knife.

‘We’ve got company.’

There were figures emerging from the trees. Roughly dressed in fur and sheepskin and all of them carrying weapons – spears and axes, mainly.

The others rose to their feet as well. Halt had his long-bow in his hand and he quickly retrieved his quiver from where it lay on the ground beside him, slinging it over his shoulder. In a continuation of the same fluid movement, he took an arrow from the quiver and laid it on the string. Selethen laid a cautioning hand on his forearm.

‘There are too many of them, Halt. This might be a time for talking.’

Selethen was right, the Ranger saw. There were at least twenty men coming towards them.

‘Where the hell is Atsu when we need him?’ Will said bitterly. He was scanning the trees for some sign of their guide, but with no success. His own bow was close to hand but Selethen was right. There were too many armed men to make resistance worthwhile.

The newcomers formed a half circle around the little group by the camp fire. Their eyes were hard and suspicious. Halt laid down his bow and spread his hands in a gesture of peace. Following his lead, Selethen took his hand away from the hilt of his curved sabre.

One of the men spoke. But Halt couldn’t recognise the words.

‘Did you get that, Alyss?’ he asked. The blonde girl glanced quickly at him, not totally sure of herself.

‘It’s Nihon-Jan,’ she said. ‘But it’s a pretty strong regional accent. Makes it hard to pick up. I think he’s asking who we are.’

‘Logical question,’ Will said.

The speaker looked at him and spat out a few words. The tone was obvious, even if the meaning wasn’t. He was angry.

‘Best if Alyss does the talking, Will,’ Halt cautioned in a low voice. The Nihon-Jan speaker swung his gaze back to him but as Halt was obviously the leader of this group, he didn’t seem to be annoyed that he was talking.

‘Ask if he’s seen Atsu,’ he said and Alyss spoke, choosing her words. The others heard the word ‘Atsu’ among them. The Nihon-Jan replied dismissively. Obviously he had no idea who Atsu might be. He repeated his original question, more pointedly this time.

‘He’s still asking who we are,’ Alyss said. There was no need to translate the negative reply to her question about Atsu.

‘Tell him we’re travellers,’ Halt said carefully. ‘Our ship was damaged and the crew left us here.’

Alyss gathered her thoughts to frame the necessary sentences. The Nihon-Jan spokesman greeted her words with a grunt. Then he fired another question.

‘He wants to know where we’re going,’ Alyss said. She looked at Halt. ‘Should I say anything about Shi–’ She stopped herself saying the Emperor’s name, realising that the Nihon-Jan would probably recognise it. Instead, she changed her question at the last moment. ‘About…the Emperor?’

‘No,’ Halt said quickly. ‘We don’t know whose side these people are on. Just tell him we’re looking for the Kikori.’

It was a tricky situation. The odds were good that these men were opposed to Arisaka. But it was no certainty. If Alyss told them they were looking for Shigeru, they could find themselves made prisoners by the usurper.

Alyss began to translate the statement. But the man had heard the word ‘Kikori’. He pounded his own chest repeatedly and shouted at them. The word ‘Kikori’ was repeated several times.

‘I assume you understood that,’ Alyss said. ‘These are Kikori.’

‘The question is, whose side are they on?’ Evanlyn asked. But Alyss had no answer for that.

Then the man turned to his followers and made a swift gesture. The Kikori moved in on the camp site, surrounding the five foreigners and making imperious gestures. The meaning was obvious. They were to come along. Will noticed that the Kikori made no attempt to relieve them of their weapons, and they gestured for the Araluans and Selethen to pick up their rucksacks and other gear. Will made a tentative move towards one of the tents but the Kikori closest to him made a negative gesture and shouted at him. He seemed to repeat the same word over again:
Dammé! Dammé!

Will shrugged.

‘I guess the tent stays,’ he said.