"Old grudges." Raiden said and looked a Kuyuden. Kuyuden gulped he knew exactly what he meant.

"The fault is with my family." Kuyuden said. "My mother was arranged to marry the Lion general who attacks us now. She married my father instead."

"Love. I see."

Kenren looked away, unable to show them the turmoil written on his face.

"That's enough we need to go back." Raiden went back to climbing.

Taindew had seen the smoke from where he had been hunting and took off towards it right away.

As he reached the valley he saw dragon colors retreating back through the woods, with lion all around the village. There were bodies of villagers laying at their feet of the lion. Taindew the noticed a man taking his time retreating and fireing off some arrows as he went. Looks like he could use some extra firepower. He pulled out two of his knives and sprinted along the outskirts of the valley towards the bravely retreating warrior.

ooc: this is how your last charcter died.

"Ten more steps Kenren-san." Raiden said. Pulling himself up the rock.

"I'll try to make it..."

Kenren reached behind him and helped Kuyuden up onto the outcropping where the signal fire was. They paused for a moment, to regain their breath in the thin air, and then Raiden beckoned them onwards.

The pyre was a a large affair, wood and kndling piled in a lattice-like tower higher than a man. Which made sense - it had to be visible.

Now to light it...

Kenren closed his eyes and touched the underlying weave of the world, traced it up to Lady Amaterasu... and carefully detached a tiniest fraction of her glory from her and focused it into his palm.

When he opened his eyes again there was a small ball of roiling flame in his hand. He approached the beacon intently.

"Well, here goes."

He thrust his hand into the lattice of wood, and within seconds the fire had caught, and had wrapped the entire pyre in a massive orange flame.

Soon on the horizon a star of orange apeared and another.

"The Lion will see this and come this way we need to hurry." Raiden said. He went into the tending cave and pulled out a 2 large rolls of woven rope and large iron rings

"upside. It's easier going down. Do as i do." He securely tied one rope to a a wizened old tree. To the knot he tied a one of the rings. He removed his obi and threaded it through a ring. He tied his obi so the ring was at his waist. He threaded the the tied off rope through the ring, wrapped it around his body, and threaded it again. He tied the remaining rope to his ring and threaded it through the ring tied to the tree. "As I go down lower me slowly."

Kuyuden and Kenren took the rope threaded through the tree. Raiden walked toward the cliff. He then faced Kenren and Kuyuden. And stepped backward off the cliff. Using the ropes to lower himself.

As he went down, Kuyuden and Kenren slowly fed the rope out to him, ensuring a steady rate of descent for Raiden. Kuyuden already knew that he''d be the last, and would thus have to lower himself... but such was the life of a yojimbo.

Raiden quickly untangled himself from the makeshift harness and threw it back up at Kenren and Kuyuden, who hastily gathered it up. Then it was Kenren's turn to go down, and as he did, he lookd out at the valleys. They looked so peaceful from up here... but he knew that there was much death out there today.

When Kenren reached the ground, Kuyuden gathered up the harness, then the yojimbo lowered himself to earth.

After they were all at the base of the cliff, halfway up the mountain, Kenren turned to Raiden.

"Now what?"

Raiden simply pointed to the stairs nearby.

"We walk."

OOC:no, my other charachter ran into eneimes, this one is running to taken, to help him.

Taindew slowed to take cover only when absolutly neccesarry, but he kept his eye on the retreating man in the woods. He reached the edge of the forest and there being no need for secarcy now, he yelled to the man. "I am a friendly, im coming to you and we can get out of here."

The Lion's attacking Taken paused noticing a signal fire being lit.

New inintiative:
Lion 1 (full attack)
Lion 2 (Full attack)
Speachless (passed fear test)
Krylo (failed fear test. Must spend a void point to attack.)
Lazyman
Lion 3

One of the Lion's leaped in the air with a loud roar and speared at Taken's throat (9+8=17 miss.) Taken dodged the blow as it went past his shoulder. The other Lion shouted and Attempted to impale the former ronin. (7+5=12 miss) The blow also was narrowly avoided.

(speachless you are up.)