As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and wine, and Jiurozayémon pressed Chôbei to feast with him; and thinking to annoy
Chôbei, offered him a large wine-cup, which, however, he drank without shrinking, and then returned to his entertainer, who was by no means so well able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozayémon hit upon another device for annoying Chôbei, and, hoping to frighten him, said--
“Here, Chôbei, let me offer you some fish;” and with those words he drew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked fish upon the point of it, thrust it towards the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would have been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered; but Chôbei simply opened his mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate it without wincing. Whilst Jiurozayémon was wondering in his heart what manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt, Chôbei said to him--
“This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious occasion
For a moment Banzayémon was taken aback, but quickly recovering himself, he replied, “Ah! Sir Sanza, you may well be angry with me; but since I stole the Muramasa sword and fled to Gim I have known no peace: I have been haunted by remorse for my crime. I shall not resist your vengeance: do with me as it shall seem best to you; or rather take my life, and let there be an end of this quarrel.” “Nay,” answered Sanza, “to kill a man who repents him of his sins is a base and ignoble action. When you stole from me the Muramasa blade which had been confided to my care by my lord, I became a disgraced and ruined man. Give me back that sword, which I may lay it before my lord, and I will spare your life. I seek to slay no man needlessly.” “Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I have not the sword by me, but if you will go into yonder tea-house and wait awhile, I will fetch it and deliver it into your hands.” Sanza having consented to this, the two men
It was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living under the protection of Chôbei, the Father of the Otokodate, was in love with Komurasaki, the beautiful courtesan who lived at the sign of the Three Sea-shores, in the Yoshiwara. He had long exhausted the scanty supplies which he possessed, and was now in the habit of feeding his purse by murder and robbery, that he might have means to pursue his wild and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his cutthroat business, his fellows, who had long suspected that he was after no good, sent one of their number, named Seibei, to watch him. Gompachi, little dreaming that any one was following him, swaggered along the street until he fell in with a wardsman, whom he cut down and robbed; but the booty proving small, he waited for a second chance, and, seeing a light moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a large tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern should come up. When the man drew nea
XI The room was quiet, Yanta sat near the princess. His eyes were focused on her. She was the most energetic of all his grandchildren. Yet, she had something in her, which remained him of his sister that left him long ago in search for a better place. He searched far and wide for her, but alas, there were no signs, not even a single clue. Yanta gave up. He returned to the place he called home. His thoughts wander to place to place. The princes played with her scroll. He looked at her, smiled and returned to his thoughts. “Not bad,” the princess said, playing the scroll in front of her. “What isn’t bad?” he asked. “The previous story,” the princess stood up. “You think?” “Yes. Where did you hear that one?” “Somewhere,” Yanta replied, stretching his paws. “What do you mean somewhere?” “Everything is somewhere to me.” “How come, grandpa?” the princess widened her eyes.
Somewhere, high above the mountain region of Felt, a group of knights is gathered to discuss their next move. They look at each other in silence, looking who will break the silence. No one did. They looked again, but this time the things were different. The oldest of the knights decided it was time speak. "Gentlemen, it is an honor to have you all here. It evens a greater honor to sit amongst you, the greatest of knights in the empire,"he said. "The same,"they replied. "As you all know, we need to decide what will be doing from now on." "What are our options?"one of them asked. "We have two options." "And, they are?" "The first one is to sit here and do nothing." "That isn't our style." "I know that you will say that." "And the second one…" "We kill those foul orcs in their caves, once and for all." "I'm with you." "Count me too, my lords!" "We all are wi
KNIGHTS Months passed, the knights returned to the emperor. The throne room was clouded in a thin layer of mist. "My Emperor, this mist isn't natural,"the kneeling knight said. "I know. It's that mage again. He and his experiments,"the emperor said while moving from one armrest to the other. "What have you discovered?" "Nothing much, My Emperor." "There must be something?" "The elves have returned to their old tricks." "That's something new." "I don't like it. If anything happens, you know what to do." "We all know." "Leave me." The knight left the room. The emperor was surrounded only by a layer of thin mist. His gaze moved from one part of the room to the other. Who knows, what the cards of faith have planned for us, he thought. Will my son, ever become the emperor he was destined to be? Only time will tell.
Vision Ientered the room on the first floor. My heart was beating heavily. The room was bright; I neededa few moments to adjust. In the middle of the room a palantir stood. The stone slab, where the crystal stood, was covered in spider's web, so thick, I couldn't recognize the marking on the stone. The crystal itself was the largest I ever saw. My curiosity took over and I touched the crystal. Visions flashed before my eyes. Some were good, some were dark. I saw my family, friends, the people I loved, what fates were in stored for them. A large army gathers to invade my empire… drums… horns… men… knights. I could see everything. Icould hear everything. Icould see them all but they couldn't see me. Iwas like a ghost. To me itseemed like the tall man on the horse was looking at me. The horse changed pace, the others followed their leader. The man's armor was dark, made from plates that we
OGRE Antius stood on the riverbank. The night was cold, the wind howled through the branches that were shaped like fingers. The trees were watching him. Watching his every step, he was sure about it. There is nothing that he could do. Nothing…the sorceress he loved has left him for another. He needed to act fast. He wasn't a type of man that will sit down and think a plan; his plan was always to act fast. So, he did. He rushed up the mountain, up a step goat path. He waited and waited. Nobody came. He waited. The ground shook; Antinus turned and saw a large ogre standing behind him. "What do you want, you ape?"he said. The ogre looked at him: "The only ape are you, nobody freely enters these parts." "Don't come any closer?" "Why wouldn't I?" "I'm a wizard!" "Listen here, friend, you think I care." "I hope." A sound of wood breaking against fresh, muscl
THE GAME BEGINS The emperor sat in his chair, moved from left to right. He has been waiting for them, since dawn. It's starting to bore him. They said that; they will be here in three hours. Eight hours have passed. He straightened himself on the throne. The wait game is five hours long. Who knows how long it will last? There was nothing else than he can do, but to wait. The emperor placed himself, comfortably, on the throne. The game continues. One of the servants entered, knelt in front of the throne: "They are here." "Send them in,"the emperor said without emotion. His eyes followed the servant as he left the throne room. The emperor stood up. The servant returned after a few moments, behind him a tall man slowly walked down the hallway. His gaze went from one column to the other. He walked slowly, taking his time. The stage was his. He could do whatever he wanted. The emperor's eyes followed hi
IAlbert walked with every possible thought in his mind, good or bad. As he walked the sword was near hand, the legendary sword. It was comforting, that one thought was more than enough to raise his spirit. He was near the opening. Down below the earth, placed in an endless cavern, the Dark One was preparing to be free once again. No one of the blessed had noticed that the world has changed, that everything changed, and that even the darkness around them changed. As always, there are is a group that noticed everything. He wondered in what group he was placed, even before the truth was told he know deep inside that everything has changed and he could fell that but couldn't see it.He waited. The Dark One will soon appear, he didn't know in what form and how much powerful he will be. He will appear.IIThe magical chains around Rolfheim, the first among the gods that created this world until he fell, slowly we
In darkness of his workroom, the emperor sat, thinking what to do next. He had a lot of options to think about. All of them look like the right decision, but on careful analyzes, every decision was wrong. He was at a standstill. Hours passed, he was still at the beginning. To him, they looked like minutes. Minutes, he spent in reviewing. There was always something that he missed.His grandfather was a great strategist and his father before him. Everyone in his family was a great strategist, but no one has a problem that he clashes with. The maps were scattered on a large, massive oak table, maps of all sizes and meanings. The oak table was from his great-grandfather's time. The north is in chaos and the regional lords are fighting against each other, it's more than a good time to attack.King against king, brother upon brother, and the empire was never stronger. In the year since he became emperor, the state has grown dramatically. No one had glorious beginnings, not e
TRAVELING STONEHjolt wandered through the dark corridors that lead to massive crisscrossed system of caves. Who knows how long did he wander? Darkness was everywhere around. He stumbled and tumbled in the darkness, until he didn’t found a brass hinged door. Naturally, he tried for the hinge, but the door didn’t open. He tried again. When he was ready to take a respite, a voice from spoke the following lines:"Once a dark-eyed Argan girlShod my horse.She asked for a small amount of moneyNot highly valuing her work.What’s your name, young lady?And the young lady replies:"You’ll hear my nameIn the clatter of your horse’s hooves."I rode along the street,I galloped the roads,And along the path among brown rocks,And among gray rocks.
I The border with Kirdan, stretched as long as the eye could see, the ground trembled with their gallop. They rode without rest, for days, swift as a wind, for they must deliver a message to Albin. Important news await, which he alone must hear. Their armors were the same; hard to spot the difference between them, the heraldry, which hung on their right shoulder, was the same; a yellow turtle on a green field, the sigil of House Transin. The bull horn-helmed knight stopped for a moment, looked at the worn-down signpost. His dark green eyes looked at the names on the board. He mounted his steed, turned to the other direction and galloped, the others followed in toe. "Kerd is that way,"said the first knight. "True,"replied the bull horn-helmed knight. "Why are we going in the opposite direction?" "Would you go to Kerd?" "No." "Neither would I." "That's the point." "You think that Albin
IThe year is 263 of the Ertail Age, during the tenth anniversary of King Kird's ascension to the throne of Northern Moscodia. Two brothers feuded over the birthright for the throne of Felard, who at the time was the center for the druidic brotherhood and the main trading center for the whole region Uthtira. The older brother tried peacefully to calm down his younger brother, but alas, his efforts were futile. The younger brother was manipulated by his wife Girtanna, who lusted for wealth and power of Felard. There were rumors that she had an affair with the older brother. Who knows is this true or not? Man with higher knowledge say that one of the keys to the treasure chamber of the late King Galbar is hidden somewhere in Ferlard.The older brother moved his hand across the cold marble of the statue; he looked up at the eyes of the Wolf God. He always wondered in recent time, do the all mighty gods ever hear the prayers of ordinary people and nobles.
IThe morning sun shinned bright in the first days of winter, giving a false feeling of warmth. Herbog walked up the creaking, dried oaken steps. He stopped, looked at the guards on the palisade. The guard turned to left, continued down the palisade. Herbog looked up at the sigil of House Aswar, a proud lion danced on the light breeze. He wondered was it a good omen or a bad one, he wasn't very religious, most problems he resolved with the sword, if you could call that large piece of steel a sword. The soldier waited for him to get up, Herbog turned towards the show-covered field; it will be a harsh winter, it always was and will be, ever since the new king came."I don't like it,"the guard said while covering his face with mask that hung lowered to his chest."Neither do I,"Herbog replied.The man turned, "always the same blasted weather.""It could be worse.""True, but still it's blasted.""I know."
Thunderbolts lighted the cloudless sky, made strange patterns, which the astonished viewers watched without breath. Never have they seen such splendor and might. The thunderbolts were a strange and mystical sight in these dry, desert parts of the Continent. It was unheard of, let alone witnessed on a cloudless night like this. It was a strange omen of things to come. The viewers watched as the thunderbolts glided across the sky, meeting in the middle and, once more, going their separate serpentine ways. The children were terror-stricken but had enough courage to continue watching. In the meantime, in a distant and hidden place, a child was born. Its fate was already decided. Tonight, the witches will come for it. A woman stood nearby; there must be something that she could do, anything even the smallest thing would change to course."Ashal rar' an el da raet,"the words stop in her throat. T
IRuins of the old hill fort stood on the top of the Hill, the Hill as it was called, was closer to a mountain than to a hill. Long ago, the fort was a place of splendor and envy. Now, everything that's left is a ruin, a home for the Dread King and his servants. The main watchtower was the only thing that remained same. In its prime, the fort hand at least five or six watchtowers. The dense, lush forest, that surrounded the fort, has changed beyond recognition.People, now a day, call it the dark forest. Once a mystical place, now you can only find ghouls and other creatures from nightmares. Even in the daylight hours it was pretty dark in the forest. The trees with their long branches looked like humans with claws.Wizertein, five months… I ride for that wizard, Jarden thought. He was astonished with the passing of time. To him, it looked like it wasn't more than two or three weeks.In the human tong, Waweren is Tuverin-
IThe group of men stood and debated in the large longhouse. The major sat in his high chair, which was decorated with two fierce eagles. "What are we to do?"he asked. He had a brooding face that saw seventy winters, each stronger than the other."We will have a wedding,"Olaf replied. "Who's with me?"The hall cheered."Is the choice unanimously?"the mayor stood up. "I ask again."Everyone raised their hands."The matter is closed. Sing men, let the hall echo."The stood up and started to sing:"Friends and kinsfolk met to deliberate To whom would they marry off their kinswoman this year? Rosy youth They deliberatedTo whom would they marry off their kinswoman this year? We want you to wed the son of a king Who has more gold than poor Roland has land? Wed the son of a king