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“RAZ! COME HERE, I HAVE news from the palace.”
It was approximately noon, and I had been out in the courtyard, practicing my shuriken-throwing skills in our training courtyard. I had been getting better, but it was a very difficult skill to master. When I heard Hideki call out, I immediately stopped what I was doing and headed towards our main dojo. This sounded like very exciting news! In the months that I had been training, and then serving, with the Yang Clan I had never been called to listen to messages from the palace.
“What's the word?” I asked Hideki when I reached him.
He was sitting cross-legged, reading a scroll with an elaborate insignia on it. “We have been summoned by the noble Emperor Yangtze.”
“Summoned? He wants to meet us?”
“Not exactly,” Hideki replied calmly. “He is traveling to a nearby city for an important meeting. However, the path he is taking leads him through a dangerous mountain pass, known to be frequently watched by the Yin Clan. Our task is to travel with the convoy in case there is some sort of attack.”
“The Emperor has a large army at his disposal. Wouldn't he be better protected with a large force?”
“Not necessarily. The Yin Clan are extremely devious and, like us, are masters of infiltrating defenses unseen. Such a large force would certainly attract a lot of attention, making the Emperor more tempting of a target.”
“I see,” I mused. “If that is the case then perhaps we should approach this the same way?”
Hideki smiled. “You are learning fast Raz. I'm proud. Indeed, we are not going to be traveling directly with the Emperor. He will have a small group of his most elite warriors at his side constantly, but you and I will remain separate from them, and be traveling in disguise.”
“Excellent!” I cried, unable to contain my enthusiasm. “When do we leave for this mission?”
“Soon,” Hideki replied. “But Raz, you need to remain calm and level-headed. This is a very important task that has been given to us. The life of Emperor Yangtze is more valuable than anything else on this server, and if the Yin Clan sees an opportunity to kill him they will most certainly do it. We will need to remain vigilant at all times.”
“I understand. I will do my very best.”
“That's all I can ask for,” replied Hideki, with a smile.
Our rendezvous with the convoy was set to happen in just a few days, so there wasn't much time to prepare. We quickly gathered the food and provisions that we would need, and prepared the horses that would carry us on this journey. I cleaned and sharpened my steel katana and set of shurikens until they glistened like stars in the night. I was torn. Part of me wanted to get the opportunity to use them. After all, this is what I had trained so hard for! But on the other hand, the danger was very real, and death would mean being kicked off the Robojama server and having to relearn all of these skills again. These two competing thoughts were rolling around in my head as Hideki and I set out early in the morning on our mission. Finally, though, I suppressed the notions I had no control over what would happen anyway, all I could do was be prepared.
And I was, or so I thought.