L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix Read Online Free

said. "Even politeness does not mean what it did."
    "Did you come to see Tadaka?" Ujimitsu asked. "He's back at the shrine."
    "No, Shiba Ujimitsu," the Nameless One said, "I came to see you." As the two of them talked, the shugenja had been making his way downstream to where Ujimitsu stood. Now he stopped, just a few paces away from the samurai.
    As hard as he looked, Ujimitsu could not see the Nameless One's eyes beneath his hood. "I thought you were in Kyuden Isawa," the Phoenix Champion finally said.
    "Like you, I travel where I'm needed," the Nameless One replied.
    Don't trust him! the Soul of Shiba whispered in Ujimitsu's mind. Ujimitsu ignored it. "And you're needed here, now?" he asked. The fine hairs on the back of the samurai champion's neck rose. Could there be further dangers lurking in the sacred wood?
    "Needed only briefly," the Nameless One said. He sat down on the rock where Ujimitsu had rested moments before. "I've come with a warning."
    "I'm listening."
    "Tell our family that they must cast off their pacifist ways," the Nameless One said. His soft, rich voice filled the air when he spoke. "If they do not, the world is doomed."
    "Doomed how?"
    The Nameless One shifted uneasily on his perch. "You know, of course, that Yogo Junzo now serves the Evil One. What you do not know is how far he has gone. Junzo is opening the Black Scrolls."
    A cold chill ran up Ujimitsu's spine. "No."
    The shugenja nodded. "Yes. He seeks to hasten Fu Leng's return to the world. The scrolls will give him that power. He won't stop until his undead master strides across the lands of Rokugan once more."
    "Can we stop him?" Ujimitsu asked.
    "Not now. His power is too great. He is too well hidden in the Shadowlands. The creatures there do his bidding. Only by casting off their torpor can the Phoenix hope to fight him."
    Ujimitsu willed his heart to stop pounding. The voices in his head, the Soul of Shiba, whirled angrily, each striving to be heard. One voice won out. "How do you know this?" the Phoenix Champion asked, his eyes narrowing.
    The Nameless One stood. "My ... situation allows me to go places that are difficult for other men. I hear things even the wise do not. You don't have to trust me, though. You can discover the truth of my words on your own."
    "Will you help us fight this evil?" Ujimitsu asked.
    "As I can," the man who had been Ujina replied. "Though I have other... obligations as well. Now, those commitments take me elsewhere. Relay my message to Tadaka and the others."
    Ujimitsu nodded.
    The Nameless One turned and walked back upstream. This time, rather than picking his way among the rocks, he flowed around them like an insubstantial specter.
    Ujimitsu started up the path, but said, "Why don't you take this message to Tadaka yourself?" When he turned, the Nameless One had vanished. The question hung in the air as Ujimitsu trotted back up the path.
    He saw the clearing before he reached it. Brilliant white light—nearly as bright as the sun—poured through the woods, casting long shadows on the mossy ground. Ujimitsu had to shield his eyes, but he heard Tadaka's song ahead of him and pressed on.
    As he reached the edge of the clearing, the chant ended. The white light leapt suddenly into the sky and vanished. An awesome silence fell on the wood.
    Tadaka slumped to his knees.
    The center of the clearing had been scorched in a wide circle. Within that ring only barren earth and the stone obelisk remained. The obelisk had returned to its original size, though it still glowed red with cleansing magic. Waves of heat rose off the ground, dancing in the air like transparent snakes. No trace of the zombies, the demon, or even the small bamboo shrine remained. A grim smile seemed to play across the weatherworn face of the obelisk.
    Ujimitsu walked to the edge of the purified circle and knelt down beside his friend. He took one of the water flasks from his obi, unstopped it, and put it in Tadaka's hand.
    Tadaka raised it to his