- "Mei... Mei!" Yukemori tugged her sleeve. "I think that we can go to the Emperor now. The Emperor must be aware of the prophecy as well. They will believe us now that the gaijin are with us. And we can keep your secret as well, probably."
Mei thought quickly through that, then nodded.
- "Are you saying that we can get help from the emperor of this country?" Winski said.
- "Yes... the shogun is really the military power here, but the Emperor has more magical power in his command," Yukemori explained.
- "The problem at hand is that his highest arcane advisor is behind this whole thing," Mei said gravely.
Sarevok's eyes narrowed at this.
- "Old man. Something distinctly rodent-like in his features? Long beard?" he asked, gazing intently in Mei's deep dark eyes.
- "Yes... that is what Giro looks like," Mei said.
- "It is him. The man of my nightmare."
- "He has tried to kill you, you know. That is the other reason why he awakened Kusatte Iru just now," Yukemori said.
- "So much for it being a coincidence and a freak accident," Peri said dryly.
- "It sounds like we must beware this man, then," Jelena said. "I have prayed for my most powerful spells. I trust Winski and Imoen are ready as well?"
The two nodded. In spite of the dire situation Sarevok felt an odd tingling in his veins. The recent gloom was replaced with the heat of action, the glory of being a part of epic events.
Umikaze giggled at the new people, still extatic from flying in dragonback.
- "Dlll... lrlrl... dllllragon! DLLRLR... DLRRLR... DLLAGON!" she explained enthusiastically.
- "Yeah, kiddo," Peri smiled. "A dragon. Mommy hasn't killed any of that kind yet. Let's hope she won't have to either."
- "That child has been on the move since she was... conceived, hasn't she?" Yukemori asked, glancing slyly at Peri and blushing slightly.
- "Yep. She's born to be a kid of chaos, I believe. Her name is Umikaze," Peri said. "Appropriate, isn't it?"
- "How come you gave her a Kozakuran name?" Yukemori asked.
- "I got a tip from a Kozakuran ghost when I was in labour," Peri said.
- "It seems you lead an interesting life, gaijin," Yukemori smiled. "There is an ancient Shou curse: let you live in interesting times."
Peri laughed, tossing her hair behind her shoulder.
- "They are onto something, perhaps... I mean, it kind of pisses me off that I can't have one frigging boat trip without a live mountain suddenly popping from the ocean... but still, I think I prefer interesting times to dullness. What about Kozakurans? Do you have a saying about interesting times?"
Yukemori shook his head.
- "Not that I know of. We have had our share of them... and the kind of stability the citizens of Wa enjoy or suffer, depending on the point of view, is not a prospect of near future what with the clans and..." he ceased talking suddenly, growing more grim, then laughed bitterly.
- "Funny how I keep forgetting," he said. "The world is about to get destroyed."
- "Hey... this is not the first time our gang has had to deal with earth-shattering prophecies," Peri consoled. "Who knows, perhaps it will turn all right."
What a nice young man, Peri thought. The kind of long cheekbones she found very attractive, the slanted Kara-Turan eyes, warmth and a wisdom older than his apparent years sparking in them. He looked a bit like Yoshimo... Peri felt the old pain stab her chest and shoved the thought away. She regarded her surroundings. The pagoda roofs and the dragon carvings reminded her of Shou Lung, but the houses were differently built. They stood on wooden platforms instead of the Shou masonry. She asked Yukemori about that.
- "It is because of the volcanos. They rumble ever so often, shaking the ground. They say it is because the earth dragon asleep in the bottom of the ocean, whose spine forms Shinkoku, is stirring in his sleep or snoring. If we made our houses of brick, we would have to be repairing them all the time."
- "What's that then?" Peri pointed at a red gate with two horizontal beams. There seemed to be a lot of them around.
- "It is a holy torii gate. The spirits bless them, and they can be found near shrines, and peoples' houses."
-"Tolllrlrlriii. Ttttttolllrlrriii." Umikaze echoed, frowning.
