Shiro Hiruma

[Hiruma Koji]

It had been days since he had slept, and the daimyo of the Hiruma was tired. All men needed rest, even a Crab...and a few precious hours had been stolen for him by his men.

No doubt, a number of them had died while he slept. He awoke, possibly more tired then when he had gone to sleep, a few hours earlier. Those of his men that had been chosen for the most recent cycling out from their duties lay about the barracks as well.

He walked to a window, more a slit in the stone, that looked inward on feet he purposefully made noise with as he walked. It was the surest way to awaken a room full of sleeping Hiruma, to attempt to walk around it quietly. And even if he was their daimyo, it wouldn't stop them from attacking before pausing to wait. As was right, as was proper in times like these.

Standing in the faint light coming from the morning light...always a relief, to see the morning light. Any who had spent time at Shiro Hiruma could always tell the difference at a glance between morning and evening light here. Others would often need to take some time...the skies here did not always tell the truth, after all, but there was only so much one could do with the gifts of the Sun.

Koji allowed himself a brief smile, as he looked down at the garden tucked away in the courtyard. Upon it was the late gardener's pride and joy, a tomato plant that he had finally bowed to necessity to attempt to grow.

Even from here, he could see a single tomato, hanging plump and red from its vine. None of his men would pluck it. The gardener had died in the previous week during an attack, and Koji had declared that the person who sought to take over his position could have the tomato to eat for himself.

Soon, a replacement would step forward. One always had. The tiny garden would grow or shrink under their care. It would continue to be a thankless distraction. But it often provided a samurai who had become injured something to do. He knew from a glance along the wall, that those who had the duty of looking inward occasionally glanced towards its direction as well.

That glance also told him that there had been another attack in the night. Some of the men were bloodied, some slumped in their walk from the pain of injuries the could not yet rest or bring to a medic to look after. He frowned, and quickly got himself prepared.

He'd need to send another group onward to Kyuden Hida. Supplies would need to be gathered, and he would need to send more out to gather those who had been cycled out of duty at the Shiro itself back to the castle from Carpenter Pass. He'd need to look over the night's reports, he'd need to talk to his men and raise their spirits how he could.

The tunnels would need to be checked, repaired, sealed off or countless other things. Fires would need to be lit, and the eta scared into once more scouring the walls and exterior of the castle. The Yasuki Taskmasters always came in handy with that duty, although they had very few eta left to them now.

The attacks had been too frequent recently. It had the daimyo deeply worried. A number of his men had reported seeing damage on parts of the walls and fortifications nowhere near those attacks. Five times now, they had been required to boil away their water supplies in the steam collection room, and the offerings of blessed wood was causing their stores of such to become dangerously low. Always as well, the amount of water that could be returned to their supplies was less.

How goblins could have the continued and ever present ability to drown seemingly on command was greatly disturbing him, to say the least.

If it hadn't happened again last night, Koji would gladly give the dozen men he'd set to guarding those very same supplies a promotion. And the dozen men he'd set to guarding those men would receive one as well.

He worried at times that he was becoming overly paranoid. But it was a very healthy survival mechanism at Shiro Hiruma. And one that he was refining to a very fine edge of late. Shadowy forms were being reported quite frequently. He'd had the small group of Toritaka supporting the castle making daily rounds to test his men with the supply of crystal they carried, and the Witchhunters often accompanied them, doing a similar test with slivers of jade.

Every samurai in the castle had two people they were to look after themselves, and were themselves also being looked after by at least two people. Passwords and such were being interchanged frequently between such groups, and a game had grown out of the ever changing codes to pass the time. Even the few heimin at the castle, and the even fewer eta had samurai overseers. Nor were they spared from testing, although the passwords for them were less frequently changed.

The daimyo snorted slightly. Before all of his other duties he needed to visit the temple. Another dawn had broken, and as such offering should be given.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

Thrakhath reined his horse to a stop and lifted his fist into the air, signaling the troops behind him to follow suit. It had been nearly a week since he'd left the former Moshi Otsu in charge of the fortress on the southern coast, and the battalion of Lost horsemen behind him had taken him that much time to gather. They had reached the top of a hill overlooking the grounds around Shiro Hiruma, and Thrakhath stood up in his stirrups to survey the grounds, fully aware that anyone paying attention would see his force as well. He had never actually seen the fortress in person before, only studied rough diagrams of the little that had been scouted in the past. He realized now that it would take a long siege to take the castle. It's a good thing most of us don't need to eat, he thought unhappily.

Thrakhath lifted his hand again and waved forward, and his cavalry force galloped down the hill behind him toward the forest at the outskirts of the castle grounds. If Yurishi's information was correct, he would find the current commander of the Spider forces in the area nearby. The horses picked their way through the forest. It wasn't long before they came upon a camp of goblins, with a single large tent pitched amid the trees. Thrakhath watched one of the goblins run into the tent at their approach, and by the time they reached the tent a bald, badly scarred samurai had stepped into the open. "It's about time we were sent some real reinforcements," the man said irritably. "There's only so much we can do with goblins and zombies."

"We aren't just here to reinforce you, chui," Thrakhath said, looking down with contempt at the samurai. "It's my understanding that you've been at this for weeks, and you haven't managed to cause any significant casualties."

"You've never tried to take a castle held by Crabs have you?" the lieutenant said. "You generals are all the same, you make demands without having the slightest idea what it takes to accomplish them, and complain when things don't get done on your timetable." The chui looked like he was going to complain further, until Thrakhath dismounted and approached him. The chui stopped in mid-sentence, and his eyes began to widen as he finally really looked at who he was berating. The man began to visibly tremble. "L-lord Thrakhath-dono," he said, involuntarily falling to his knees.

"I see your wits haven't entirely left you," Thrakhath said. His hand was visibly resting on the hilt of his scimitar, though his posture was relaxed. "I have heard reports that the castle remains supplied despite your forcs," he said. "How is this possible?"

"I... we do not have enough goblins, my lord..." the chui stammered again. His mouth continued to work, but no more words emerged.

"I see," Thrakhath said. There was a hiss and a flash of steel, and the samurai's head fell from his shoulders, his body collapsing limply to the ground. "Perhaps I can make more efficient use of your troops," he said as he sheathed his blade. He gestured, and one fo his cavalry troops rode to his side. "See to this mess," Thrakhath said. "When that's done, pick four of your best riders and send them through the area. I want a complete inventory of our assets in the area as well as their disposition by the end of the day. Report here when you have it."

The horseman bowed. "As you wish, my lord," he said. He motioned for the body of the dead officer to be removed as Thrakhath entered his new command tent.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

Barren land surrounded Shiro Hiruma on all sides, creating a large swath of open ground between the castle walls and the treeline. Thrakhath sat astride his steed just within the trees and out of arrow range, looking out over the wasteland at the walls. There was no doubt in his mind that the land between here and the castle was riddle with all sorts of nasty surprises. We're going to need ladders and rams, he thought to himself, siege weapons won't do any good here.

He wheeled his horse around and rode back to where the army had camped. Thrakhath also had no doubt that the Hiruma were well aware that his army of goblins and undead soldiers was here. They had been harassed constantly as they marched toward the castle, though it had accomplished little other than spooking some of the goblins into running off. They would be rounded up later if Thrakhath decided he needed more. He rode up to his second and drew his horse to a stop. "Shiraki-chui," he addressed the man.

Shiraki bowed. "Your orders, my lord?"

"Harvest some of these trees," Thrakhath said. "I want ladders and rams fashioned by the end of the day."

"As you wish, my lord," Shiraki said. "You wish for the samurai to do the work?"

"Let the goblins handle most of it," Thrakhath replied. He held up a hand to stop Shiraki's inevitable protest. "I'm aware of their limitations, Shiraki-san. Supervise the work yourself, and feel free to discipline them in any way you see fit if they don't work to your satisfaction."

Shiraki sneered eagerly at that. "Very well my lord," he said.

"Try to leave most of them intact and able to fight, Shiraki-san," Thrakhath said, smirking. "Our supply of goblins is vast, but it is not infinite."

"Of course my lord," Shiraki said with a bow. "Is there anything else?"

Thrakhath shook his head, and Shiraki bowed once more before riding off to begin the work. Thrakhath rode back to the treeline and gazed out at the castle again. Bodies already littered the field; there would be many more before this was over.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

From his vantage point at the treeline, it was hard for Thrakhath to discern the difference between the shrieks of excitement and pain coming from his army of goblins as they threw themselves at the walls of Shiro Hiruma. Perhaps the distance didn't matter, and the screams were as similar up close as they were from afar. Lost archers stood at the edge of the trees and shot fire arrows toward the castle, but only a few made it over the high wall, and Thrakhath was loathe to let them advance any further. Some of the arrows served only to set some of the attacking goblins alight. A fact that, Thrakhath had to admit, was hilarious.

"We don't seem to be making any headway, my lord," Shiraki said from his side.

"I can see that, Shiraki-san, thank you," Thrakhath said irritably. "If nothing else, we won't need ladders for much longer the way those goblins are piling up at the base of the wall."

Shiraki failed to hold in a chuckle. "It does appear that way my lord," he said.

Thrakhath was silent for a moment, watching the battle continue to unfold. Then he turned to face Shiraki. "Bring up the Chuda," he said.

"Have enough died my lord?" Shiraki asked.

"It will have to be good enough," Thrakhath replied. "We can't keep this up the way we're going, something has to change."

Shiraki bowed at the neck. "As you wish, my lord," he said, and rode away.

***

Some time later, as the beleaguered defenders of Shiro Hiruma continued to fight the thinning horde of goblins assaulting the wall, an ominous cloud began to form over the castle grounds. Before long it began to rain, little more than a sprinkling at first but slowly growing stronger as the battle continued.

The rain was red and sticky, with the consistency of blood, and soon all of the combatants, goblin and human alike, were covered in a light coating of the vile stuff. It soon became difficult for the human combatants to discern the wounded from the healthy. The goblins, however, seemed to go wild, and threw themselves against the walls and up the few ladders that had remained intact with reckless abandon.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

"You're running out of goblins, my Thrakhath-san."

"I'm aware of that, thank you," Thrakhath said irritably to the Chuda at his side. "This rain of blood isn't working as effectively as advertised."

Chuda Mishime just shrugged. "Different people are affected differently," he said. "Many of these Crabs have probably seen something like this before, or have at least been trained for it. Were it a castle full of Crane, we would have taken it days ago."

"It explains something of why they were chosen to defend the Wall," Thrakhath said. "I don't suppose you have any other ideas?"

A glint of what might have been glee appeared in Mishime's eye. "We could always summon an oni or two," he said.

Was that hope in his tone? "Out of the question," Thrakhath said vehemently. "We have enough problems fighting the Crab, I don't need the added inconvenience of an oni running amok once the castle is taken."

Mishime glared at Thrakhath. "The oni would be completely under my control, my lord," he said. "It would be a simple matter to banish it once the battle is over."

"Drop it, Mishime-san," Thrakhath said, returning his glare unflinchingly. "The answer is no, at least for now." He turned to watch the crazed goblins continue their futile assault. "Perhaps when all other options are exhausted."

Mishime bowed in deference, though there was still defiance in his expression. "As you wish, my lord," he said, "though it would be a shame to let our captured scouts go to waste. So many blood sacrifices would produce enough demons to easily smash this castle's remaining defenders."

"For now those prisoners are worth more to us alive," Thrakhath said.

"Have they been particularly forthcoming about the castle's defenses?" Mishime asked, mockery in his tone.

Thrakhath growled. "No," he said. "They're very resilient to our usual methods of questioning." He sighed, an involuntary act that rattled unnaturally from his dead lungs. "What I wouldn't give for a dream walker."

"Alas, none of my Chuda are particularly talented in that area," Mishime replied. "There was a promising young student of the art, a former Isawa named Yun, but he chose to follow Shoju-sama when he..."

Mishime never finished his sentence, staggering back from the blow. His mouth filled with blood, he directed a crazed glare at Thrakhath, who now stood facing him with bunched fists and tense muscles. "You do not speak that name with respect in my presence, Mishime-san," Thrakhath said coldly. "Not if you value your life."

"You insolent fool," Mishime said, his voice breaking. "You do not strike the daimyo of the Chuda with impunity!" He withdrew a dagger from the folds of his robe, but before he could so much as point it at anyone, Thrakhath's scimitar was in his hand and the blade was pressed against Mishime's neck.

Mishime's mouth worked as if to speak, but Thrakath's blade was too close, and all he managed to do was draw blood. "Go ahead," Thrakhath said, grinning. "Give me an excuse."

Mishime dropped the dagger into the dirt at his feet. Thrakhath stepped back and lowered his blade, and Mishime's hand instinctively rubbed at his throat. "I will not forget this," Mishime said. "You may be the general of Daigotsu-dono's army, but you do not command the Chuda," he said angrily.

"I command all those who are weaker than I," Thrakhath replied. "Never forget that." He smirked. "Besides, I think you'll like my next order." He pointed at the distant castle wall wish his scimitar. "I want those undying legions you and your ilk have been so carefully crafting unleashed on those Crab scum immediately."

Mishime's look was still crazed, but there was an excitement in that insanity that hadn't been present before. "Of course my lord, it will be as you say." Mishime bowed low and hurried off to implement the order while Thrakhath turned to observe the battle once more.

[Zeure]

[OOC]Came from here: Clicky! [/OOC]

Across the empire, almost literally from the opposite corner, a whispering wind was heard by Daigotsu Thrakhath. A gentle thing, yet probably something he was not used to. Tamihei Yun was reaching out through prayer to the kami to reach him. A gentle sound came inside Thrakhath's mind.

"Knock Knock. I would seek words with you, Thrakhath-Sama."

Thrakhath would be aware that someone was speaking to him in his mind, but that they were not inside it. There was no forced intrusion that you would experience with some of the lesser spells that dealt in this sort of thing. But just a request for a meeting of the minds to speak.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

Thrakhath brushed at his ear at first, as if something were flying to close to it. It took him a moment to recognize that this was not a natural occurrence, and indeed there was a voice on the wind. It took him a bit longer to realize that no one close to him had spoken the words, and that the air kami themselves seemed to be speaking for someone. Having no ability to entreat the spirits, he did the only thing he could. "I'm busy at the moment," he said aloud, eliciting a few looks from the samurai around him. "Make it quick, whoever you are." He had no idea whether or not the stranger on the other end would hear him.

[Zeure]

As Thrakhath formulated the words in his mind to say aloud, Yun heard them.

"Thrakhath-sama, you don't have to speak aloud, you just need to think at me and I'll recieve your response. I have a question, which might lead to more, but rather than try to sort through rumors or other's impressions, I figured I would go straight to the source."

There was a slight pause to let that sink in.

"I want to know if you have a personal grudge against Tamihei Shoju or if you were sent to strike at him by Daigotsu-sama. I am unfortunately disconnected from the court at present so I am unaware of this information and it has bearing on my mission."

It grew silent, but Thrakhath was aware that the presence was still there.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

"So you work for that traitorous wretch, do you? Did he put you up to this?"

The sense of contempt Yun would get from Thrakhath, if such things transferred along this link, would be sickening.

"You wish to know why I hate Shoju? I'll indulge you, if you wish. It's no secret; I hate all the Chuda. They are nothing more than a meddlesome bunch of opportunistic cowards, and they are the worst allies a man could ask for. They need to be kept on a short leash in the best of times. They are useful enough when they're goals align with ours, but any Chuda that has not sworn loyalty to the Spider is a liability and should be destroyed without hesitation. Daigotsu-dono does not share this opinion, but he has never hindered my efforts to eradicate rogue Chuda before. What his motivations are I can't guess, nor would I try. Shoju's departure from the Spider is nothing more than yet another in a long line of betrayals by his pathetic family, and were it not for more pressing matters, I would deal with him accordingly. Does that answer your question, little minion?"

[Zeure]

Yun understood the tone of voice expressed by him. He understood that he was all of a sudden hated for his associations.

"I do understand Thrakhath-Sama. To answer your questions, no, Tamihei Shoju did not put me up to this. Yes, I understand your misgivings. And Yes, it does answer my question, very succinctly even. I appreciate your being so forthcoming with your information. I hope whatever you are doing for Daigotsu-sama goes well. I am, in fact, one of those who left to go with Tamihei Shoju on his quest. I am Chuda....Tamihei Yun. I'm sorry I bothered you."

There was a pause, but the presence did not leave.

"Your misgivings about Shoju aside, why do you hate us so much? I personally, at the very least, have done nothing to hinder any spider goals and I am given such contempt when all I sought was understanding."

His tone was even and unbroken, he was neither particularly mad or particularly sad, but cool, aloof. Perhaps it was because he was imminently going to contact her, but Haruka's words about Compassion filtered into his mind, and tangentially that Courtesy was another Bushido virtue all too lacking in this world. But he said nothing of this.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

Thrakhath's tone changed. He was clearly still angry, but he seemed to be pushing that aside for now.

"You seem reasonably intelligent, Yun-san. In fact, I have heard of you, though only recently. Chuda Mishime-san spoke your praises as a dream walker. It's a pity you threw in your lot with Shoju, I could think of any number of uses for a man of your alleged talent."

"As for the Chuda, I have my own reasons for hating them, which I will not discuss if it's all the same to you. It's enough that they can't be trusted. Left to their own devices, they would destroy the Empire and leave it a smoking ruin, and then who would the Spider rule? No, they must be brought under our control, and those who will not submit must be destroyed as an example. You would do well to consider where your own loyalties should lie, Yun-san."

The sound of an explosion distracted Thrakhath for a moment, and he turned to watch as a group of Chuda surrounded by undead began hurling fireballs at the walls of the castle. The walls would hold of course, but with luck some of the defenders would ignite.

"Things are heating up a bit here, Yun-san. Was there anything else?"

[Zeure]

"Ah, good, we've reached courtesy. If there is something you wish me to do that won't interfere with Tamihei Shoju, then you can ask. If you think of it later, have Chuda Mishime contact me. He knows me well enough that he could get a message through to me. Strangely enough, I know EXACTLY where my loyalties lie. I can't help you interfere with Shoju however. That is...an important experiment at present."

A mental image of Yun formed in Thrakhath's mind.

"So you will recognize me in the future if we ever meet, Thrakhath-sama. If there is nothing at present, then I will take my leave."

The presence would linger for a moment more to see if Thrakhath responded, but if he didn't, then Yun would be off.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

A strange sound could be heard through the connection. A sigh, perhaps?

"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Yun-san. Though I don't mind a little insolence in subordinates; it keeps things refreshing. I would only ask that you keep me informed of Shoju's status and whereabouts, or as much of that information as you are willing to share. If I think of anything else, I will certainly be in touch."

There was another explosion, this time loud enough perhaps for Yun to hear the echo of it in Thrakhath's mind.

"I believe that will be all, Yun-san. Until the next time."

[Zeure]

And Yun then departed Thrakhath's mind, leaving him to the battle at hand.

[OOC] Follow here: Clicky! [/OOC]

[Alesha]

*A company or so of black clad riders flying the spider banner arrives to the camp. The guide, Daigotsu Yutaku chui announces to the procession to the guards outside*

"I am the personal escort for Alesha, who bears message from Lord Daigotsu, for Daigotsu Thrakhath."

*You note a dozen of truly dashingly looking bushi, who seem to definately originate from the Crane clan. But now bearing spider mon. Most of Daigotsu family, except one, who bears a strange looking personal scarlet Crane mon*