The Players Take the Field

Akiko finished the last of her preparations for departure as the rest of her companions looked on with disbelief. "My Lady, I must state again what a bad idea this is," Jun protested. "Even if you aren't captured or killed on sight, what exactly are you planning on doing, even if you managed to get anywhere near the fort? There are probably over 10,000 men and creatures on the grounds. If Lady Chiba is indeed captured and being held, she's almost certainly in the dungeons or prison holding area."

"I'm sorry, but I have to try," Akiko protested, more out of desperation than logic.

"May I remind you, Lady Fujiwara," Hiromi urged, "she agreed to this mission herself. You can't hold yourself responsible."

"That doesn't change anything!" Akiko insisted. "I've already lost one of my best friends to the Empire; if anything happens to Keiko as well, I don't think I could live with myself!" She paused for a moment, took a breath, then calmed herself. "Look... it's getting dark and with the weather as bad as it is, I'll have cover for my approach. I'll be that much harder to spot."

Jun, Hiroshige and the few other soldiers in the room all looked at Akiko with trepidation. "Then at least take some soldiers with you?"

Akiko shook her head. "You said it yourself; there's thousands of Empire troops. If I'm spotted and caught, a couple dozen more soldiers wouldn't change anything. If I'm by myself, I'm much less likely to get spotted. If I can steal an Empire soldier's uniform, I should be able to make it in and out. I don't need to stick around long enough to answer name and rank, just good enough to pass casual inspection."

Hiromi sighed, then came up to Akiko. "Very well, give me your wrist," and began chanting. After a few moments, she explained, "I've put a very low powered association enchantment on your kumihimo bracelet. All three of you have a deep emotional connection with these, so you should be able to feel the general distance and direction so long as both or all three of you are wearing them."

Jun hesitated another moment then nodded. "We'll keep watch for both of you. The instant we see the two of you pulling out of engagement distance, we'll rendezvous with you both."

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Masako mounted her horse, along with a pair of escort teams of riders behind her as they rode out from the fort into the night. The seers in the castle had called them into the temple, alerting them that the time had come. The one they had all predicted was finally seen by their scryers and was coming their way. The battle that they had all foreseen was finally upon them.

Despite the pressure, Masako was actually relieved the moment had finally arrived. The suspense had been building, the training was exhausting, but now it was finally here. Squires helped place the complete armor set into place onto Masako's frame as she mounted her horse. As promised, the enchantments made the suit far less restrictive and lighter than a mundane suit would have been; in truth, she barely noticed it. With the helmet on, the brim partially obscured her features, making her look even more imposing a figure. To her side, she could hear the sword's voice harmonizing in her soul like a song, anticipating the battle as much as she was. "You know what coming, don't you," she whispered to the sword. "Soon my love, you'll have peace. The one who hurt you so long ago will pay in kind."

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The lead seer fondled the focusing crystals smiling with cruel amusement as Keiko stood in the cell behind him, her arms and legs manacled for additional measure. "I see you've been busy these past few months, acclimating to our world. Not the most diverse collection I've ever seen, but still... impressive for having only studied the craft for less than a year. I suppose you're one of Lady Amberbrooke's protégés? That would explain the lack of any effective combat crystals. She always was weak, despite her years of study..." he mocked.

Keiko's voice shook with a mixture of fear and frustration. "S-she taught me that the craft was about opening one's mind up to accepting that there was something more to the world than trying to control and diagram every principle we see with precision and to accept the energy of the world on faith."

The seer scoffed, "Lies! Power and control are all that matters! No wonder you haven't learned how to really master what the craft can truly do! None of these enchantments you've been taught will do a thing when an enemy attacks!" He paused, then gloated with satisfaction. "You'll see that for yourself! We've found your friend... we'll be seeing her sooner than you may think..."

No...! Keiko's face couldn't hide her shock and horror.

The seer turned to the guards, "Prepare her for transport! I want her to watch as her friend faces Empire justice for her crimes, and for it to be the Emperor's new daughter and heir to be the one to administer her punishment!" And oh, how satisfying it will be in that last precious moment of life when she lifts that visor and sees the eyes of the one who ends her... I wonder if she'll have enough wherewithal to respect destiny's sense of ironic humor as she tumbles into the black abyss...

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The watchtower was one of many that stood surrounding the perimeter of Fort Magish. Each tower stood fifty meters tall and was manned by a dozen men to provide the fort an extended perimeter of surveillance both for itself and the area surrounding the capital city as well. However, with the raging storm outside, no one was manning the outside towers and the grounds were only sparsely being watched. Guards were only human after all.

As a result, the guard on duty only heard the approaching footsteps at the last moment before Akiko attacked, the wet grounds and sounds of rain muffling her approach. Lightning flashed as she sliced the sentry's neck clean off, avoiding his torso as much as possible. Part of her regretted her actions; during their rebellion throughout the month, they had tried to give quarter to the Empire's guards, offering them the chance to come to their side, with quite a few of them taking the offer, but she didn't have that luxury this time. Taking the man's tabard and helmet and draping it over herself, she knew her crude disguise wouldn't pass muster at close range, but hopefully it would get her past the patrols from a distance. The helmet would at least partially cover her face, which she needed, given that she was the most recognized outlaw in the Empire. 

She tensed up as she heard the sounds of approaching riders. Are they really doing patrols, even in this weather, she wondered. She had hoped the storm would have compelled their forces to shelter in place, but something must have drawn their attention for a patrol to be out in this storm. Oh shit...! she thought. These people have magical scrying... someone must have sensed my approach. She dropped closer to the ground to reduce her profile and studied the approaching group... a lead rider, three escorts and what looked like someone being held prisoner? Just then, she could sense her bracelet humming... was that Keiko...? She readied her swords... if she could take these three out, maybe she could pull this rescue off... but... something about the lead rider sent chills down her spine. I... I've seen this person in my past life... Her blood ran cold as the lead rider dismounted and drew her sword, readying for battle. That sword... it... it can't be...