The Hand of Death Ch. 22

"How many people know about this, my Daimyo?" I whispered.

"You and I are the only ones who know everything. My Onmyoji made one magic item a piece. They were sworn to secrecy so they will not talk to the others. None of them knew I had the others working on anything at all. So we should be safe there. Kyo made the "Soil Stone" so she thinks I want to move dirt. Takumi made the "Stone Maker." He thinks I want to easily build a structure, while Naoki made "The Compass," and thinks I just wanted a magic compass... Now Grandfather knows we are up to something but does not have any more details. The real Cho is working back in Goemon and knows nothing of this."

I thought a moment. "It will take us some time but I agree, this is doable."

He continued, "I have dug a tunnel 200 feet straight down below a warehouse in Goemon Toshi. I built an elevator in it to assist in lifting and lowering things. At its base is the katana you gave me when you returned from the Nigata fencing school. Simply ask the stone to take you to that sword and you should be fine." I nodded. "I also went to Morioka Toshi in the Bandai lands. There is a warehouse I bought there and built another tunnel and elevator. At its base is the calligraphy set you gave me as a gift in Shiro no Shotoku."

"You kept it?'

"Of course I kept it." he said indignantly. "A nine year old boy cleanly kills a Yoriki and brings you his calligraphy set as a gift, you keep it!"

I smiled. "Very good... With these items, this should go pretty fast."

"I hope so. I cannot afford for you two to be underground indefinitely. Also, I have this for you."

Masao held what looked like a blank scroll. "My father gave me this. It is very old. You simply unroll it and it will show you a map of whatever lay around you. Secret tunnels, underground rivers, Oni pits. I do not wish to lose two of my best men because they accidentally stumbled onto a new chasm."

We smiled. "Domo arigato, my Daimyo." said Grandfather.

He smiled. "Do itashimashite, Grandfather. Now, Sensei will be staying with you as he is very interested in what you are doing here. Cho must stay in Goemon Toshi to assist me in his absence."

I held up my hand. "What does Grandfather do for you? I thought he was just a sensei."

"That my most trusted friend is none of your business." Masao smiled. "Now I have placed wards on the elevators. They will not lift or lower for anyone unless they wear one of these." He held up two small amulets. We each took one and put it away. Masao looked at us with a slightly questioning expression on his face. "Have I missed anything?" he asked.

Grandfather nodded and said, "The news about Ryota."

"Ah," he nodded in confirmation. "Nokizaru Ryota was thoroughly interrogated."

It was my turn to nod. "So you located the Gunso's money?"

"Sort of. Ryota and the Gunso were Iga spies. Apparently the real Ryota had no family to speak of and was murdered on his way to Goemon Toshi six years ago when he was first appointed to my court. The Iga replaced him easily enough. The Gunso was supposed to have come from service in the Wajima territory so we think the real man was murdered and replaced when he got orders back home. So in conclusion, my money is with the Iga.

We discussed the details of everything a little more but once the discussion was done we

finished eating and Masao donned his mask again. "I must head home but you two get to work. I expect perfection."

After Masao headed home I took Grandfather to the hidden cellar of the castle and located a spot where we could build a secret entrance and get started. It took some discussion but it was easily achievable. We would be able to lift the floor and use it as a disguise for the entrance. The beginning was pretty easy actually. It was more time consuming than anything else. We dug down and reinforced with thick slabs of stone. Once we hit our depth we angled out away from the castle and started a tunnel to Goemon Toshi. Using the compass and the map we managed to hit the elevator dead on.

We built the tunnel so it wrapped around the elevator to continue in a second tunnel next to the previous one in the opposite direction. As we continued away from Goemon Toshi we removed some of the dirt between the two tunnels but left a stone wall three feet high between them. Once we got to the Elevator in Morioka we did the same thing there. With sleep and returning home periodically for re-supply, the whole process took us about two and a half months.

There were more details to work out that took about two weeks to complete. Getting six

enchanted carts into the tunnel broken into two trains. Stopping mechanisms at each end so the train would wait until the person on that end sent it on. Selecting 18 men for each location to load and unload the carts and secure the warehouses. The men were pretty easy. We had many mononofu who wished to have a chance at winning our Daimyo's attention. Masao selected them so no one else would know. The Gunso of each team was given one of the amulets. Then we just back filled the tunnel from my castle with stone and we were done.

The yakuza loved us. They had no idea what we were doing and they did not care. They

brought us their opium. We paid them the going rate minus our portion and took their opium. Some of them were not sure at first but once they heard how easy it was for the others they soon jumped on board. The Bandai were not so happy about it. Their opium problem was getting worse and they had no way to deal with it. Three of our men on the Bandai side of the border were shinobi. So it was particularly difficult for them to find out where it was coming from.

Sometime during the first month of digging, I slipped off to the temple of Arikura-no-baba. I had located Tetsuya and watched his habits over the past few weeks. I knew he liked to climb the cliffs to harvest the mushrooms that grew in the shrubs along the cliff side. The solitude seemed to have appealed to him. It was a simple thing to mist behind him, break his neck and let him fall to the ground while I slipped away. He was no longer a Koga. No longer a Goemon. He wasn't even named Tetsuya anymore. So no word ever came about his death. The monks assumed he slipped from the cliff and fell.

One less thing to do.