Outlaw, Champions of Kamigawa (Kamigawa Cycle) by Scott McGough

Author:Scott McGough [McGough, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786957118
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2010-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Lady Silk-Eyes had said Riko and Choryu were being attended to, but Pearl-Ear suspected they were being guarded instead of pampered. As she and Michiko approached the kitsune samurai compound, she found the sights, sounds, and scents of warriors preparing for battle.

A gleaming white kitsune male stopped them at the heavy wooden gate to the compound. He made no introduction as he held up his hand, halting Lady Pearl-Ear and Michiko.

“The elder sent us,” Pearl-Ear said. “The humans you found were separated from Princess Michiko.” She waved towards the princess, who bowed formally.

The kitsune samurai kept his hand on his long sword. He thumped the closed gate with his free hand, narrowed his eyes over his long snout, and then jerked his head toward the compound.

The gate creaked open. Another pair of armed kitsune rangers stood inside, each dressed for the deep woods in gray-brown robes.

“They’re here for the wizards,” the gate sentry said.

The new kitsune both gave Michiko a long, appraising look. Lady Pearl-Ear could tell they were drawing in the princess’s aura. Apparently satisfied, they waved Lady Pearl-Ear and Michiko through the gate.

“Follow,” one said.

Pearl-Ear’s unease grew as they crossed the compound. The camp was not large, but there were more than thirty kitsune samurai and rangers visible … which meant there were far more hidden or patrolling nearby. Each of them was armed and dressed in drab colors that would serve as camouflage among the trees. Immersed in her own meditations on the far side of the village, she’d had no idea so many warriors were gathered here.

The samurai led them to a small hut near the back of the compound. Pearl-Ear counted ten more warriors as they went. This was more than a defensive force for the village—it was a small foxfolk army.

Inside, they found Riko and Choryu eating from rough wooden bowls at a long table against the wall. Riko let out a happy yelp and almost upset her meal as she sprang up.

“Michiko!” she cried. The princess went to meet her friend, and the two embraced. “We thought we’d lost you. Were did you go?”

“Where did you? I spent hours looking for you.”

“Praise the spirits you’re all right,” Choryu said. “I would never have forgiven myself if—”

“Forgiveness is something you should seek, not grant,” Pearl-Ear said. “All three of you.”

Choryu defiantly held Lady Pearl-Ear’s glare. “Something had to be done. We were only attempting—”

“I don’t care, Choryu. I just want to get us all safely back to the tower.”

Choryu scowled, but said no more. As Michiko recounted her adventure in the woods, Pearl-Ear checked the interior of the hut. Four kitsune samurai and one officer stood along the walls, silent but alert. Riko and Choryu seemed slightly haggard and distressed by their experiences, but they were largely unhurt. Each bore a series of minor cuts and bruises. The white-haired student remained at the table, sullenly stirring his soup with a wooden spoon.

“We searched,” Riko was saying. “And never stopped. But we never saw your horse’s tracks once we left the road.

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