Stolen Steel

	Kanpei did not like the scene laid out before him. He was not a young man when the war had broken out in Clan Seiryuu's original homeland, and he had seen many things that would curdle the stomachs of the fresh-faced Longwei recruits that thought war was a glorious thing, and not a thing filled with dirt, grime, and blood. So much blood. It had been over a decade since he had seen anything near this level of gruesome, but there was something distinctly strange about it. It was that strangeness that made him hold up his hand to the other scouts, signalling that they should stay behind.
	A raided caravan would have distinct features to the scene. Overturned carts, splintered wood, and the sprawl of bodies and goods that could not be taken. Kanpei approached through the tall grasses, until he was in the midst of the caravan. The only bodies were of dogs, and wolves, large enough a man could ride. There was blood too, but not enough of it. Certainly if the wolves were being used as cavalry, there must have been at least as many riders. Kanpei could find no bodies, and what blood there was was hardly more than what belonged to the wolves. He moved cautiously, searching for traps that were not there. A few blood trails led deeper into the forests that lied southwest of Hagakure, between Mount Crucible and the mountains that bordered their new home.
	The veteran whistled sharply, and a half-dozen scouts rose from their shrouded positions. As Kanpei continued to study the ground, one of the other scouts came up to him. "What is this? Wolves as big as horses would be bad enough on their own, but what could do something like this?" The older Longwei shook his head.
	"For certain, this group was taken by surprise. Look at the position of their wagons. They were resting when the fighting began. Not all of them noticed, or had time to resist. The ground is worn most here, near the center of the caravan. A last stand." The other scout followed him as he moved along, still observing the ground.
	"Fath--sir!" The voice of the young scout was that of Kanpei's daughter, his eldest and only. She was good, but at times it was easy for her to forget that she was on duty. After observing the ground some more he turned his attention to his mint-scaled girl, Ahn. "The goods are all intact. It appeared that whoever had this caravan, was carting tools and raw steel of some kind, some weapons as well, but not many." She gestured towards one of the crates that they had. He didn't take long looking at it. He was no smith, more of a poet in his free time.
	Continuing to look at the way the grass was trampled, and the footprints and scrapes in the dirt and mud, Kanpei kneeled. "They were taken prisoner. Whatever attacked, there's not enough blood for something the size of humans and Longwei. There's also blood trails, and drag marks leading into the thick forest that way. Whatever may have attacked this caravan, they took prisoners, and then took them into the woods." He frowned, looking at one particular patch of grass, crushed and matted. "They did more than just capture them from the looks of it, as well."
	He frowned and paced. As a leader of a scouting party he'd been placed in charge of heading south to get a lay of the land, but whatever dragged off the owners of the caravan made its lair somewhere in that direction. If that were the case, then he should not willingly endanger the lives of those under him pressing on foolishly. "We shall take the caravans. We'll do what we can without any beasts of burden, so we'll send a messenger on ahead. Ahn!"
	The girl stood to attention. "Y-yes!"
	"You will be the messenger. You are the fastest among us, so go back, and report Lord Nagamaki! Tell him what we have found here. We will hold position with these abandoned carts. Something tells me the owners are not coming back for them, and I do not want to get caught unprepared like the previous owners of these wagons. Make haste, girl!" With a swallow, the younger Longwei nodded and turned, darting off into the distance, while the rest of the scouts fanned out and formed a perimeter.
	There were many unusual circumstances. Who had owned these wagons? Why were they filled with what he could only describe as goods for trade, or possibly constructing a settlement? He did not know the answers, but he knew one thing. He would not let the caravan be ambushed a second time. Not under his watch.