“Stay close Hiro.” Said Aki. The teen boy was carrying a heavy pack loaded with dried food and supplies for an extended trek. He turned behind him to make sure his younger brother was close behind. Hiro was two years his junior with a thick head of sable hair pulled into a topknot. The boys had been on their own since spring.
“My shoe fell off!” Countered Hiro. The younger boy hopping on one foot while attempting to replace the worn sandal.
“The highway is not safe, we need to keep moving!” Aki said, impatience lacing his words. “If we are spotted this whole thing ends before we even get started.”
The younger boys face was flush with exertion and only pride kept tears from bursting their banks and running down his face.
“My feet hurt! How much further?” Hiro asked as he slogged through the thigh-high grass on the far side of the road.
“Don’t be a baby! We’ll rest when we get to the bent tree at the trailhead.” Aki vented his frustration on his little brother, but in truth he was increasingly concerned over their chances. When they had hatched the plan to scout out the abandoned village they were full of youthful bravado and a streak of independence born of boredom and monotony.
Aki was careful to stay in view of the road, only using it when no other option presented itself. Their plan relied on no one and nothing spotting them. They had fled their home town during the spring rains and the path had looked much different back then. Relatives and neighbors standing in for their slain parents. Hiro had only recently started to resume his formerly outgoing ways. The trauma hitting him the hardest.
“Look Hiro, see that tall pine at the bend in the road. We can rest there for a bit.” Aki tried to sound enthusiastic and encouraging. He knew that Hiro was only along in order to impress him and this whole venture would collapse if his confidence failed on any level. That spring before the Gaki had plagued their town, Aki was making trips out onto the lake with his father more frequently. He was even going to ride along on his first whale hunt that summer. A hunt that would never come to pass.
The two boys sat in the shadow of a copse of trees gnawing on salted fish, and washing it down with weak tea from a jar.
“I hear a wagon!” Hiro announced excitedly.
Without a word, Aki motioned for his brother to move deeper into the shadows. As Aki watched, a large lacquered wagon pulled by a Karakuri horse clambered down the dirt road. Out riders fore and aft of the elaborate coach were vigilant in watching the road, but it was the coach driver that took notice of the boys.
A fair skinned man in armor of a style Aki had not seen before, had pierced the shadows with his gaze. Aki saw him start to reach for the bow slung over his back and leapt from behind the inadequate cover, unconsciously shielding Hiro in the process.
The man spoke in a thick accent, but showed adequate command of a tongue that was not native to him. Aki was excited to meet foreigners. He found himself fearlessly engaging with the armed band of men. They disclosed that they had entered his town from the lake and had fought their way to the governers mansion. They had attacked and defeated the Hidarugami spirit that has infested the town. Aki had nearly forgotten his own quest to scout the town and earn the reward offered by the displaced governor. Aki heeded the warning proffered by the men that the town was still too dangerous, even for skilled adventurers.
Before he knew it they were headed back to the camp where the surviving villagers had fled after surrendering their town. His uncle Motoe might forgive the disappearance of his nephews if they brought good news regarding the situation in town. The homecoming was as good as could be expected considering the terms of their departure. A stern scolding was the only real penalty for the treasure that was awarded them by the foreigner. The three gold coins he had received and the two he gave to his brother would change their fortunes, of that Aki had no doubt.