Dark Edge Village

Udo walked up to the edge of the crater the orochi had left. It was getting quite dark, but he new he needed more piece of mind. His outburst earlier...

So he sat, and he thought.

Moto Baatar had avoided the formal funeral, but afterwards his footsteps led him to the mysterious crater that everyone said was where the battle with the giant snake monster had been fought; the place where the battle maiden had fallen. The crater seemed enormous as he stepped into it; Baatar couldn't fathom the size of the creature that must have created it.

Near the bottom of the crater, Baatar poured a measure of shochu out onto the ground, to honor the fallen warrior's shade.

As he turned to go, the young Unicorn very nearly tripped over the quietly meditating monk. "Oh! Togashi-san," Baatar said in recognition. "Uh... what are you doing?"

Udo's eyes fluttered open, squinting to better see Baatar.

"I am meditating, Moto-san. About the battle. This seemed an appropriate place."

"Oh... okay," Baatar said. "Huh. Did you see the battle?"

Udo blinks once. "I was in it."

He looks down into the hole. "I am meditating on it to learn all I can from it. To do better next time."

"What have you learned, Togashi-san?" Baatar asked. "How best can mortal men fight such... giant monsters?" He waved his arms towards the boundaries of the crater, to emphasize the giant-ness of it all.

"Swords. Horses. Coordination."

He thinks. "It is not easy. Perhaps more training is sufficient... But things that work on samurai matter less against such beings."

He looks toward Baatar, but is almost looking through him. "Honestly, I'm not sure I learned anything useful."

"I heard it was defeated, though.... somehow," Baatar said, sitting down nearby. "How was the monster slain?"

"Determination. The Unicorn were very brave and powerful, and their horses aided us greatly. It was a bloody fight, but honor demanded victory."

He wasn't quite sure what else to say, though he felt there was more to say.

Baatar nodded solemnly. "It sounds like they fought well," he said. "Is it true, that the monster was some kind of giant snake or dragon? Dragons know that sort of thing, right?"

Udo smiled. "It was an orochi, which is like a dragon... I cannot say why it was here or why it attacked us, though." He glanced from the water to Baatar. "Some things are not even know to a Dragon," he smiled again to show he was not being serious.

"I've only heard of those in legends," Baatar admitted. "Are they so common in Rokugan, then? Should be prepared to defend our camps against orochi rampages?"

"Thankfully, no. I think the worst of your journeys are passed. This was... surprising. I think the greatest threat in the Empire often lies with other samurai."

Baatar nodded. "Do the Dragon Clan have many enemies among the samurai of Rokugan, then?" he asked. "I'm not a chieftain, but you must know the Unicorn are grateful to the Dragon for your help in reaching the Empire."

"No, not enemies among the Clans. It is more trouble from samurai without honor who undermine the Empire." He thinks.

"The Dragon mostly stay out of things, when we can. We like our mountains, and prefer contemplation to action. There are things that move us, though, like the return of our friends in the Unicorn."