The Fall of Daigo
Book 3 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 2 - Nomitadani Fortress
Chapter 5
Jukai rested at a village near the foot of a mountain on his way to Nomitadani Fortress. It was a poor place where farmers eked out a meager living in the cold climate. In the very center of the village, there was a burned farmhouse. Even the ruins of the house appeared neglected.
Jukai had searched the village when he’d first arrived and found no trace of Dororo or Hyakkimaru anywhere. He couldn’t linger in the village since the guards at the Judicial Office had seen his face and were hunting for him. They were hunting for Dororo and Hyakkimaru, too. He prayed that they were safe.
Jukai had called out to meet at the fortress, but that was easier said than done: Nomitadani Fortress was heavily guarded by the Togashi Clan and their retainers.
Jukai took a seat near the burned-out farmhouse and frowned. On closer inspection, he noticed that the fire had not been accidental. Something had been lit on fire and then the fire had been allowed to spread, maybe with oil or another accelerant to help it along.
Some of the people who lived near the burned-out farmhouse came outside. Jukai saw old men, women and children, but no young men. Many of the people had been recently injured and wore bandages on their hands, feet, and faces. Jukai saw remembered fear in their eyes, but they didn't seem wary of Jukai specifically, just strangers in general.
“Were you attacked?” Jukai asked one of the older men.
The old man nodded. “Ashigaru came from the fortress. They’re nothing but liars and murderers. They kill anyone who dares oppose them and burn their homes.”
The villagers told Jukai that the attacks had become more frequent since the fortress’ expansion the previous year.
“I’m a traveling doctor,” Jukai said. “I’ll treat your wounds.”
The villagers smiled. “Thank you,” the old man said. “We could use the help.”
The old man led Jukai to a farmhouse near the burned one and sat down. The house was packed full of people lying so close together that they could scarcely move.
“So many?” Jukai's eyes went wide. The injured people groaned and clutched at their missing arms in legs with faces full of pain. The old man and the village's women tended the wounded here, but there were so many wounded that they were hard-pressed to keep up.
Jukai counted several dozen people laid out in the house. The women and the old man had been treating them without any medicine. The crude wooden floor was bare and stained with blood.
Jukai removed his pack and started preparing his medicines. “Boil water for me, as much as you can. Use clean water, as clean as you can get it. ”
“Uh...yes.” The women who tended the wounded went off to fetch water.
Jukai couldn’t abandon so many people in need. There were some he could do little for--he'd arrived too late for them--but many could still be saved. Treating so many people would take time, at least a few days.
Jukai was worried about Dororo and Hyakkimaru. They would almost certainly reach the fortress before he did. He still decided to stay in the village to treat the people there. There was no other help coming for them but him.
Getting into the fortress without Genkai Namitarō’s help would be a Herculean task. He would use the time in the village to think of another plan.
Jukai spoke to the old man as he set to work. The old man told Jukai that this village was like many others that were within easy reach of the fortress city. Many people had been killed or maimed by the soldiers there since the previous summer, when Lord Daigo Kagemitsu had taken command of the fortress. Builders were constantly going in and out to reinforce the walls and erect new structures. Jukai thought that might provide a way in.
It took five days for Jukai to treat all the injured villagers. He'd made simple prosthetics for all the people missing arms and legs and had treated the ill and infirm as best he could. He taught the old man and the village's women how to make simple medicines so that they would be better equipped to treat their own injured in the future.
The sun was just beginning to set on the fifth day since Jukai’s arrival when the old man rushed up to him.
“Taifu Jukai, there are strange samurai in the village! They just arrived.”
“What?” Jukai went outside. If one of his pursuers from the Judicial Office had found him, it could mean trouble for the village.
Several samurai stood outside the farmhouse. Their clothes were travel-worn and they didn't appear to be from Kaga. They might be from nearby Ezichen or Noto Province. Their faces were deeply tanned.
The old man and the village women peeked out the window of the farmhouse nervously.
Jukai nodded in greeting. “I am a traveling doctor named Jukai. Do you have some business here?”
The leader of the samurai had a tough, no-nonsense attitude. “You don’t need to know our names or any of that shit. ”
“What?” Jukai was stunned by the samurai’s rudeness. These were probably pursuers from the Judicial Office, though Jukai still couldn’t be sure. The samurai had a very unusual accent.
“I’ve given you my name,” Jukai said. “It’s only polite to give me yours.”
“Well, there’s no point arguing about it.” He drew his sword. The other samurai did the same.
“All right.” Jukai drew his own sword. He was only about five steps away from the samurai.
“This is behavior unbefitting of a samurai,” Jukai said. “Why attack an old man?”
The old man the women in the house looked pale. Several couldn’t bear to watch and looked away. Jukai was the only one they could count on to defend them and treat their wounds, and now he would die like so many men of the village had.
Jukai looked the samurai leader in the eyes. The samurai leader stared back, then said calmly, “We’re done here.” The men with him sheathed their swords.
Jukai gaped at the samurai leader in confusion.
“You know much about the Genkai Sea?” the samurai leader asked. His question wasn’t quite polite, but it wasn't rude, either.
“I sailed on it with Genkai Nadaemon many years ago, though he is no longer in this world.”
“Just him?”
“I also sailed with his son, Genkai Namitarō. As far as I know, he still lives.”
The samurai leader and all his men got to their knees and extended their empty hands upward in reverence or supplication. This sudden change of attitude was just as unexpected as their initial attack.
“Please forgive my terrible rudeness,” the samurai leader said. “I mistook you for another. My name is Takenōchi Tokuzō. I’m a messenger of Genkai Namitarō.”
“Namitarō?” Jukai’s eyes lit up. “ So you have a message for me?”
“Yes,” Takenōchi Tokuzō said. “ I was ordered to find you the moment his ship returned from China, but it seems our paths diverged somewhat.”
“I see.” The backs of Jukai’s eyes felt hot. Until now, he wasn’t even sure that Namitarō was still alive.
“His ship is docked near the mouth of the Tedori River,” Takenōchi Tokuzō said. “I’ll take you to him.”
“I can’t leave just now,” Jukai said, glancing back at the old men and the women in the house. “ A lot of people here need help.”
Tokuzō’s face fell. “The ships may not be able to stay there long,” he said. “ The rapids are strong in that place and it’s not well-hidden from enemy ships. There’s a good chance they’ll have to move within the next few days so they don’t attract trouble.”
“I understand,” Jukai said. The Western Army had ships that sailed down the Tedori River frequently. It was only a matter of time before Namitarō’s fleet was discovered. Any enemy could attack the fleet with bombs or fire arrows and sink it.
Jukai nodded. “Let me finish a few preparations here, and I’ll follow you.”
Takenōchi Tokuzō had been sent to Kaga Province to find Jukai after Namitarō had received his letter. He wasn’t the only messenger Namitarō had sent out: three other men were also sent out at the same time, searching for Jukai, Hyakkimaru and Jukai. They were all pirates, not samurai, and they were all skilled at finding people.
When Takenōchi Tokuzō and his men had heard that there was a traveling doctor in the village, they’d made inquiries and decided to test him.
Namitarō traded in many things, but the most important now was gunpowder and shot. Namitarō was known in the area for being a reliable supplier of gunpowder to the Western Army. His intent now was to use his gunpowder to help Jukai and Hyakkimaru level the playing field against the formidable defenses of Nomitadani Fortress, but there was no safe way to do that except in person. Jukai was sure that Namitarō’s supply of gunpowder was in high demand, but he was also sure that Namitarō had brought enough.
Jukai packed his things and said his goodbyes to the old man and the village women and promised he’d return. Then he followed Takenōchi Tokuzō to the Tedori River.
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