To avoid the city proper, Lawrence, along with Sakura’s father and brother, decided that the group should remain within the foothills as they travelled to the Western Temple.

Now though, the failed mage was several hills ahead of the group. It was necessary to scout ahead for safety reasons.

He was not surprised though when he spotted a scout atop the penultimate hill before reaching the bottom of the summit where the temple was located. As it was now, the mage couldn’t see the Western Temple because of the cloud cover.

The cooling of the air those clouds provided, and the increase in wind, was very welcome. But he was still sweating.

Lawrence got down on his stomach as he watched the two scouts atop the hill. They looked bored from this distance, but it was hard to tell since he couldn’t make out their faces.

The smell of the leaves and the loam of the dirt beneath them wafted up into his nostrils, a fresh wild smell that invigorated him. He wiped his brow.

Fortunately another breeze swept past. He continued watching the two scouts from among the trees for a time. He could get closer, but then he risked discovery, and not knowing who those scouts belonged to, could result in a very bad situation.

He wondered what options they had as he glanced up to his left where the mountains were, then to his right, rolling foothills with Yukai City within easy reach.

These are not good choices, he thought. But… I can take those scouts easily, make them talk.

Of course, if they were the enemy’s scouts, he would either have to kill them or take them prisoner to keep them from going back to their commanding officer to report what happened. He didn’t want to kill them, and taking prisoners was always a risk.

No choices.

He backed away from the hilltop before standing back up. He surveyed the hills beyond, the group not visible from where he was. Lawrence began to make his way back to warn them of the imminent approach.

To keep from killing the two scouts, and to make sure neither of them escaped, he would need the help of Tomiichi and Hitomo. As samurai, the two men were the only two of the group he could count on in a fight, or for capturing scouts. Maybe the oni could assist, but that man was strange.