'I was about to ask him that,' the Ranger replied. But Atsu needed no further urging.
'Or'ss-san has offered to serve Lord Shigeru, the Emperor of Nihon-Jan, against the usurper, Arisaka. They have gathered some of Lord Shigeru's men and are retreating into the mountains, heading for the ancient fortress of Ran-Koshi.'
'So the Emperor has an army with him?' Halt asked.
Atsu shook his head. 'No army. Just the survivors of his men from the garrison in Ito. Barely fifty men. There are also the Kikori, but they're no army.'
'The Kikori?' Alyss asked. She wasn't familiar with the word. Atsu turned to her.
'Timber workers and wood cutters,' he said. 'They live in the mountains and they are loyal to the Emperor. Arisaka made the mistake of raiding and burning their villages in his search for the Emperor. As a result, he has alienated the Kikori and many of them have joined the Emperor.'
'But they're not soldiers?' Will asked and Atsu shook his head.
'Sadly, no. But they know the mountains like the back of their hands. If they are hiding the Emperor, Arisaka will never find him.'
'What's this fortress you mentioned?'
'Ran-Koshi. It's a legendary fortress, with high walls that are many metres thick. Even with a small force, the Emperor can hold it against Arisaka's army for months.'
The three Araluans exchanged glances. Will and Alyss left it for Halt to voice the question they all wanted answered.
'So how do we get to Ran-Koshi? Can you guide us?'
Their hearts sank as Atsu shook his head sadly.
'It's said to be somewhere in the north-western mountains. Only the Kikori would know its location for sure – it's been so long since anybody's seen it that many people say it's a legend only.'
'Is that what you believe?' Alyss asked.
'No. I'm sure it's real. But even if I knew exactly where it is in the mountains, it would take weeks, even months, to get there. You'll be crossing mountainous country, one high ridge after another. It's incredibly slow going and, of course, you'd be caught by winter before you were halfway there. And you'll be moving through territory controlled by Arisaka's men.'
Halt rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'Do you have a map?' he asked. 'Can you show us the approximate area?'
Atsu nodded quickly. He reached into his robe and withdrew a roll of vellum. He spread it out and they could see it was a chart of the north island of Nihon-Ja.
'Ran-Koshi is said to be in this area,' he said, his finger circling a small area in the top left-hand corner of the island. It's wild, difficult country. As you can see, it's in the heart of the highest mountains and it backs onto this enormous lake. To get there, you'd have to traverse all of this…'
His forefinger traced a route up through the centre of the island. The markings on the map indicated that the route would take them through mountain country – steep and heavily forested. He looked up, apologetically.
'As I said, it would take weeks to make that trip. And I simply don't have the time to guide you. There is a resistance movement growing against Arisaka and I'm one of the organisers. I sympathise with your desire to find Or'ss-san, but I have my own tasks.'
Halt stared at the map thoughtfully for a few seconds. Then he pointed to a spot a little to the west of the area Atsu had indicated.
'If we were here, could you put us in touch with people who might help us find the Emperor? These Kikori you mentioned.'
Atsu nodded. 'Of course. But as I say, it would take weeks to reach that spot – we might not even make it if the snows come. And I can't spare that time. I'm sorry.'
Halt nodded, understanding his predicament. He'd been considering the problem of travelling through this hostile countryside controlled by Arisaka's forces ever since the encounter with the two Senshi. Now he thought he saw an answer.
'Can you spare four or five days?' he asked.
They were near the end of their journey. Horace trudged wearily up the rough trail that wound along the floor of a narrow valley. On either side, steep, unscaleable cliffs rose high above them. The further they went, the narrower the valley became, until it was barely twenty metres wide. A few snowflakes fluttered down but they were yet to see the first really heavy snowfalls of winter.
Reito finally called for a rest stop and the long column of Senshi and Kikori slumped gratefully to the ground, easing packs off their shoulders, lowering stretchers to the ground. It was late afternoon and they had been travelling since before dawn. They had travelled long and hard every day for the past week, with Reito hoping to maintain the lead they had gained over Arisaka's force. Horace found a large boulder and leaned against it. His ribs were still aching from the impact with the cliff face. Shigeru's physician had bound them for him but there was little else he could do. Time would be the real healer. But now the muscles protecting the cracked ribs were stiff and sore and the actions of sitting and then rising again would have stretched them, causing sharp pain to flare again.
'How much further?' he asked Toru. The Kikori who had been guiding them considered his answer before replying. Horace could tell by his expression that he didn't know, and he was glad the Kikori made no attempt to pretend otherwise.
'This is the valley. I'm sure of that. How much further we have to go…I'm not sure.'
Horace caught Reito's eye. 'Why don't we go ahead and reconnoitre?' he suggested and the Senshi, after glancing once at Shigeru, reclining against the base of a large rock, nodded. Since Shukin's death, Reito had taken his responsibility for the Emperor's safety very seriously. It was a charge that weighed heavily upon him. Shukin, a long-time close friend and relative of the Emperor, had found it easier to handle the responsibility. He had grown used to the task over a period of years. But it was all new to Reito and he tended to be oversolicitous. Now, however, considering the situation, he decided that Shigeru would be safe enough in his absence.
'Good idea,' Reito said. He hitched his swords up and turned to face the valley before them. Toru, without being asked, rose to his feet as well and the three of them set out, walking carefully over the tumbled rocks and stones that littered the valley.
They rounded a left-hand bend. The narrow valley snaked its way among the towering mountains, rarely continuing in one direction for more than forty metres.
Ahead of them they could see the blank wall of rock that marked another twist, this time to the right. They trudged on, their boots crunching on the rocks and sand beneath them.
No one spoke. There was nothing to say. The fortress of Ran-Koshi was somewhere ahead of them. Talking about it wouldn't bring it one centimetre closer.
They rounded the bend and, suddenly, there it was.
'Is that it?' Horace said, the disbelief evident in his voice.
Reito said nothing. He shook his head slowly as he studied the 'fortress'.
Ahead of them, the valley floor straightened and ran up a steep incline. A hundred metres away, a ramshackle wooden palisade, barely four metres high, had been thrown across the narrowest part of the valley, where the steep rock walls closed in to leave a gap barely thirty metres across. Beyond the palisade, the ground continued to rise and the valley widened out once more. They could see several ruined huts, their timbers grey and brittle with age, their thatched roofs long rotted away.
Reito's face darkened with anger. He turned to Toru.
'This is Ran-Koshi?' he said bitterly. 'This is the mighty fortress that will protect us from Arisaka's army?'
For weeks now they had sought this goal, thinking of it as their final sanctuary, as a place where they could rest and regather their strength, where they could train the Kikori to fight, protected by the fortress's massive walls of stone.
Now here they were, with no more than a derelict line of logs and planks to shelter behind. On the left-hand side, the western side, the palisade was actually half-collapsed, Horace saw. A determined effort by an attacking force would bring it crashing down and open a five-metre gap in the defences, meagre as they were.