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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] "Is it my fault that these unwashed barbarians have no training in unarmed fighting?" I demanded, getting angry. I had simply been trying to arm myself to protect Tamazusa. It wasn't like I could use any of their swords, because quite frankly, I didn't have the strength to wield one, even if I knew their style of fighting. "It wasn't sorcery that caused my victory over Egil, simply that I train every morning with my lord's samurai. Egil's a clumsy fool compared to Okita-san or Seki-san. And they have no problem with me the rare times that I am able to win a training bout with them or anyone else." "They're not going to like that," Logan said. "They're going to think that you tricked him." "And we should care why?" Mason asked, sounding bored about the whole thing. 167 Back to the Dream by Felicitas Ivey Logan shook his head. "We're outnumbered." "Fuck it. Let's take a boat and get the fuck out of Dodge, then," Mason said. "Screw these crazies." I didn't think anyone was more surprised than he was when McGann and Tamazusa just looked at each other and nodded. "That sounds like a delightful idea," Tamazusa almost cooed. "Wolf?" McGann asked. She put a lot into that word. Was it a good idea? Was he willing to go along with this? Can we do it? "My grandmother is a university professor," Wolf said. "She knew a professor in the history department who built Viking knorr and other ships." "And?" Mason asked. "I spent a couple summers working with him. I can pilot and crew a boat. You don't need a lot of people, but knowing where to go might be a problem." "Keno and I know the stars here," Tamazusa said. "We can guide you to Nippon. The ocean is rough there, though, and we'll need a sturdy ship to get through the barrier." "Is that what happened to your ship?" Wolf demanded. Tamazusa shifted and looked uneasy for a moment. "That was something else. I underestimated the allies Iida-sama had. The ship was destroyed in another manner. I doubt they will be at the barrier when we return, since they've done their duty. They should have returned to the Southern seas." "We're stealing a ship, then," McGann announced after thinking about it for a minute. "But where will we be going after that?" Logan asked. 168 Back to the Dream by Felicitas Ivey "There are places we can go. Lands that are closer than my own where we can ask for sanctuary," Tamazusa said. Tamazusa wasn't lying to anyone here. It would be easier to go down the eastern shore of Nippon, than the western one. And while most of my family held the upper eastern part of Nippon, they also held portions of the western side too. They were all closer and easier to get to than Tamazusa's kuni. "Shino-sama would be the best person to go to," I said after thinking about it. "If we miss him, then we can sail down further to Yatsufusa-sama's kuni." "He has a kuni?" Mason asked. Actually, he seemed to be the only one who would be rude enough to say something like that, but the others seemed shocked to hear it too. "He holds the peninsula Awa is on, here in the Dreamlands," Tamazusa said with a cool smile. "But I know that there are rumors that Fuse-hime is the real power there, since she has her husband wrapped around her littlest finger, it seems." "Most marriages seem like that," McGann said with a faint smile. I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding. I knew some people might have an issue with Yatsufusa and Fuse's relationship. In many places in the real world, it would be considered unnatural, since he was a dog and she was human. If it weren't for the magic involved, it would have been. But Yatsufusa wasn't a dumb animal, no matter what he looked like. I thought that there would be some issues with him giving orders and writing out things, but after all 169 Back to the Dream by Felicitas Ivey their time here, I bet that something had been worked out to cover this. Also, it wasn't like this place was normal, not with tengu and oni living here. I just wondered why everyone was willing to keep Logan in the dark about who and what Yatsufusa was exactly, what a kuni was, or how important my family was. I guessed they didn't trust him. "Yeah, well, so long as your family isn't too pissed at us," Mason said, "we should be all right." * * * * Mason While stealing a boat was a good idea, all the farm had was fishing boats. They were smaller than shit, and I didn't trust that they'd survive something like the storm that washed Keno and Tamazusa up, never mind the barrier thing they were talking about. We could take them someplace else, but then we'd have to steal another ship, because I didn't think we had enough money to buy one. Plus I felt guilty about taking stuff from these people. They weren't exactly dirt poor, but I knew that even a shitty boat was a big thing for these people. I called this place a farm, but I didn't see anything lik fields and shit like that. Logan told me they [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |