Writing is hard.
The dirt was hard and filled with roots making burial difficult. Hideo had poked at the ground for long time with a sharpened stick before picking over the bandit camp for any kind of shovel or hoe. The previous residents had not seemed like farmers of any sort, but Hideo cynically thought that it was likely they had killed and robbed a some poor heimin who would have what he needed. Depressingly Hideo's cynicism was rewarded when he found a pair of beaten up hoes and a shovel stashed near what likely passed for a latrine.
The sun was high in the sky by the time he finished digging enough of a hole for a mass grave. The gaki's lifeless flesh was difficult to stay downwind of so Hideo was thankful when the entire process was finished and even more so when he poked and pushed the lumps of former person into the squat hole. A set of deeper but narrower holes were dug and then filled for each of the dead bandits. He thought about saying a few words over their graves but that felt at odds with the reality that he had killed half of them so he just patted the dirt down firmly.
There seemed little reason to stay after that so Hideo packed up everything he felt like reclaiming from the ruins of their camp. The rest he consigned to flame as the last wisps of the sun gave way to the inky shadows of twilight. That felt like the most correct thing to do, and he was struck again by the feeling to say a few words over what had happened.
Hideo cleared his throat and thought of the time he had spent fighting against and with the bandit group.
"I can't speak to their honor or compassion, but their duty and courage in the face of great danger were something to be remembered. If only here. If only now." Hideo paused trying to think of the most perfect words to sum up this entire experience. "They fought together, and in the end died together. I pray for their souls, and for the souls of those they killed. May the next life be better for everyone."
He poured some water down on each of the graves and then walked away from the slowly smoldering encampment without looking back.
Hideo has gained 2 sets of wealthy Dragon robes. Previously owned, and only a little used. Hideo has also gained enough provisions to last himself for 3 weeks.
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The droning of the forest was Hideo's only companion on the walk back to civilization and it was hard to avoid thinking about the events of the last few days. He had killed or been responsible for the deaths of 6 people in the space of 24 hours. "The same rivers reach unlikely banks" seemed to describe the past few days and Hideo felt drawn to meditate on the thought. His life was a leaf passing along a river being pulled by the currents and eddies to lay along unfamiliar shores. Three weeks ago he had been sitting in his room hundreds of li from this forest with only the gempukku on his mind. Now he was a killer. A murderer even.
The image of Kaze impaled upon his sword floated in front of his eyes and his gorge rose. It had been dark when he had killed him, the shadows making the trees before him unclear and the stark contrast of Kaze's skin against the tree stood out in his mind. Hideo stopped walking along the poorly maintained dirt road and moved to the shade of some nearby trees to calm down.
But perhaps he was not just a leaf being moved by the currents of life, had he not made the choice to kill those two bandits. Had he not made the choice to go out and seek to reclaim the honor of his fallen kinsmen from the den of thieves. This required more thought Hideo considered. He was both the leaf that could only wind where the river wished and yet also the river itself, pulling other leaves to their destinations. Hideo thought of the sad and lonely graves he had recently dug and felt this was a destination his leaf would never land upon. He would die before it came to that.
The bandits had made their choices too, decided where their rivers would cross and mingle with others. How many leaves had they deposited on a forgotten shore never to be known or mourned. Too many, Hideo decided. For the deaths of his clansmen and the theft of their worldly possessions the bandits had to die. Hideo had been a willing instrument of justice, a sword that fought for those who could not. This thought banished the clouds in Hideo's eyes and he knelt with a swift motion before beginning to pray.
"I have taken up the sword to protect the weak from the strong. Fortunes above bless me in this endeavor and the many trials to come."
There was no flash of light or rolling thunder from the heavens to answer him, but Hideo thought that the Heavens approved anyway. There was something in the simple silence that accompanied his words that filled him with the idea that someone above was watching kindly. With a sense of renewed purpose Hideo leaped from the ground and walked out onto the road again.
There was still much to think about on the way but without the terrible memories clouding his mind Hideo found it easier to contemplate the beautiful scenery that surrounded him. The gentle swaying of the trees and the soft rustle of the woodland animals conveyed a feeling of harmony that the past few days had lacked. Trusting his feet to guide him smoothly Hideo retreated into his mind to better meditate on the possible lessons the forest had to teach him.
Songbirds filled the morning sky with their sweet calls and it reminded him in a contrasting way of the sounds of the initiates practicing their stances. Each motion was accompanied by an exhalation of qi and that could sometimes be terribly loud. But the training was organized, each bark coming together in a set pattern, each movement flowing into the next. The birdsong was chaotic seemingly with no reason to each gorgeous melody. Perhaps it was that the birds were not fighting Hideo mused. They were trying to find mates for each other, not strike down their foes.
This thought only lasted until Hideo spied two birds chasing after a third. All three were bright red on bottom with brown and white crowns and tiny yellow beaks. The bird being chased would alight on a branch only to be pushed by one of the other two into fleeing to another branch. Their quick movements reminded Hideo of a demonstration he had seen by an elder monk on the nature of Air. The elder's hands and feet had never stood still for longer than the time to blink before they would flash out with deadly force. The monk had turned a wrought iron obelisk into a crude statute in under a minute.
The birds fighting for dominance brought Hideo to a sudden realization. Hideo's eyes latched upon the nearest bird and he turned his head to better hear their song. Each time the bird would sing, Hideo noticed, there would be an answering call from another bird on the other side of the road. The tones in the songs would change, but the birds were drawing near and near to each other with each note. Their combined song grew louder and more angry as the birds got closer, until finally they stopped singing and began to delicately dance around each other, pecking and squeaking.
The chaos that he had thought was actually the organization of many birds calling out to each other and receiving replies. There was a deep order in their song and Hideo tried to listen for the hints of what he imagined to be a great unified song sung by the hundreds if not thousands of birds around him.
The sunset found the monk only a little closer to figuring out the wondrous music that he had discovered but Hideo was satisfied with that. Setting out his bedroll and chewing on some of the hardest rations he had ever experienced, Hideo let the soft sounds of the forest lull him into a dreamless sleep.
Two more days passed in which Hideo contemplated the nature of birds and the air before he saw it. The forest gave way to riverbank and sitting like a king upon that bank were walls of brown stone and wood. They rose maybe twice Hideo's height allowing him to see the tops of various buildings in the far distance. There were few people along the road before him which merged with another more paved path to wind its way to the large doors of the city. The paved path had carts and horses and what looked to Hideo the entirety of creation along it, all streaming slowly into the city like a muddy river passing into the ocean.
There were more people in front of him than Hideo had seen in his life. There were a few samurai sitting on horses directly in front of him, the mon of the Phoenix clan displayed brightly along the saddle. Ahead of them were dozens if not hundreds of farmers carrying goods on their backs or in carts pulled by oxen. The heimin near the back seemed fearful of the horses and would shy away from getting close. Merchants and craftsmen could be seen too, leather workers and what had to be fishermen seemed the most common.
What does Hideo do?
[] Get in line.
-[] Talk to Phoenix Samurai.
-[] Talk to Farmers (heimin).
-[] Talk to Merchants.
-[] Talk to Craftsmen.
[] Wait outside the city (timeskip to nighttime).
[] Pass the city on. (this is likely to get you lost)
