The Drake Blood Tales

As the team managed to exit the building, they were met with the sight of shadow fiends wreaking havoc across the city.

"We could use this chaos as a distraction and head straight for Kashima," suggested the kunoichi.

"Wait—are we really going to leave these people to fight off these monsters?" Fallion stopped in his tracks, his expression conflicted.

"Hey, don't you dare risk your life for something unnecessary! You promised to take me as your concubine, remember?" The kunoichi grabbed Fallion's arm, her teasing tone making him blush.

"I never promised that!" Fallion stammered, his face turning red.

"Oh? So you're just going to leave a helpless girl like me to the hands of Yarinaga?" she teased further, a sly smile on her face.

"Enough joking," she added with a chuckle. "This town is full of mercenaries and hired assassins—they can handle themselves."

"She isn't lying," Samhain interjected. "I can sense many strong presences here, my lord."

Fallion hesitated but eventually agreed. The team took advantage of the chaos to slip away and make their way toward the border before the city guards could return.

As they passed the border, a strange, eerie figure stood near a tree, as though he'd been waiting for them.

"Hey, hey, slow down," the man called out. "No need to rush. You all look like you've been chased by guards for breaking the law."

"Yeah… wouldn't want to look like we just crossed the border illegally," Fallion replied, panting heavily.

The man chuckled. "Hahaha, no, that's not what I meant. Just a metaphor. People cross the border illegally every day. I did it myself not long ago. What I'm saying is, calm down. There aren't any guards or soldiers within 20 kilometers of here, so take your time."

Relieved, the group took a moment to catch their breath.

The man introduced himself. "I'm Gong Hanshu, from Xian."

The kunoichi quickly improvised. "Well, I'm a tour guide from Kashima, and these tourists are old friends of mine from abroad."

Gong Hanshu laughed. "Nice try, but I can tell Yarinaga forces when I see them. At least, from you," he added, looking pointedly at her.

"Pardon us, good sir, but do you know of the Crow?" Fallion asked cautiously.

Hanshu's eyes lit up. "The Crow? You mean the famous mercenary beloved by Burash? Of course I know him. Who doesn't, on this continent? Last I heard, he had just finished besieging a Yarinaga temple and killed the head monk there."

The kunoichi's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

Hanshu continued, stroking his chin. "Yeah, he seemed pretty pissed about something. The Crow rarely acts against a nation directly unless they've been pillaging villages or doing something equally egregious. And Yarinaga's faction doesn't typically do that. Strange, isn't it? Makes you wonder if it wasn't a doppelganger pretending to be him."

The kunoichi fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "No… it's the Crow, alright. If anyone could defeat the head monk with ease, it's him." Her voice carried a mixture of respect and despair. "Ah, what luck. The one person who could've vouched for my freedom is dead."

"Kunoichi, I'm sorry…" Fallion said, his tone heavy with regret.

"No, no, no—don't be," she replied, forcing a small smile. "It's not your fault. Besides, Yarinaga likely acted because Miko has been taking too long with her mission. Without any contact, they probably felt they had no choice but to take stronger measures against your brother."

As the group moved on, Gong Hanshu stayed behind, watching them disappear into the distance.

"Man, I can't believe my luck," he muttered to himself. "Those assassins following me must've mistaken them for my guards and backed off." He shivered slightly. "But who the hell was that guy? He looked a lot like the Crow. And that presence... something about it felt... wrong. I need to report this to Gan Hua immediately."

As the group continued their journey, they soon found themselves at the border of Kashima's region. However, they still had to remain stealthy; thousands of Utakata troops were scouring the city, searching for cultists.

"Well, there are so many of them," the kunoichi muttered.

"There are at least 2,000 patrolling every corner of the city," Farid added, his voice low.

"How the hell does Yarinaga even manage to resist against numbers like that?" Samhain asked, his tone tinged with disbelief.

"Utakata has at least 5,000 troops in each region they control," the kunoichi explained, glancing at Fallion. "That puts their total forces at over 30,000, not counting their allies. Meanwhile, we Yarinaga forces number around 900 across the world. After accounting for losses—100 from Arnis and at least 50 from your brother's recent skirmishes—we're left with only 750 combat-ready samurai. Even with our allies, we barely reach 1,500."

Fallion frowned. "Fordragon… doesn't that mean he's fighting on the losing side?"

"On the contrary," the kunoichi replied, her voice firm. "Do you think Miko would have joined us if Utakata was the better option?"

She continued, her tone steady but intense. "Utakata is a type of tyrant your brother despises. Yes, we Yarinaga fight mercilessly—we destroy resources to weaken them, and yes, we've had to take civilian lives at times. But we don't enslave entire populations, slaughter every survivor, or turn their homelands into barren wastelands. We're not saints, but we try.

"The so-called alliance between Utakata and the neighboring nations? Pure propaganda. The moment the cultists and Yarinaga rebellion are eliminated, those allies will turn on each other. That's the kind of power structure Utakata builds—a fragile one held together by fear and coercion."

Fallion was quiet for a moment, her words weighing heavily on him. "What kind of world do we live in," he finally said, "where even the best of factions are forced to take innocent lives?"

"It's always been like this, my lord," Samhain interjected. "After the Unification March, things weren't this bad. Minor conflicts flared between daemons, humans, elves, orcs, and others, but nothing like this. It all started when the Outer Gods began to appear. It's only gotten worse since."

The kunoichi added, "Our lord won't stop your brother from fighting the Zotho cultists. Their guerrilla tactics are buying us time, diverting Utakata's attention from Yarinaga."

Fallion sighed and sat on a nearby bench. "Let's find an inn and rest for the night. I need time to think."

The party found a safe inn and settled in for the night. Fallion stood on the second-floor balcony, gazing at the moon.

"My mother used to say that when you look at the stars, you can see your fate," the kunoichi said softly, approaching him.

"She believed the constellations recorded our journeys and would show us the path forward," she continued.

"An astrologer… was your mother an astrologer?" Fallion asked curiously.

The kunoichi nodded. "Where I come from, they say it's a gift from Nagi Okami, a god who grants the ability to see someone's fate. But my mother always claimed otherwise."

"In Whiteford, we have a class of mages focused on astrology," Fallion said.

"You must've lived in a wonderful place," the kunoichi replied with a wistful smile. "My mother faced scorn for trying to share her knowledge. People didn't see it as science but as divine power. They feared that teaching it to others would overwhelm them and cause death. My mother got so frustrated that she started charging for her readings. Oh, what wonderful old days."

Fallion smiled faintly. "Yeah, those old days. My mother used to limit everything I did—when to nap, when to bathe, when to play. I hated it. But ever since her death, no matter how much freedom I have now, it feels… empty. I guess I used to break her rules just to see her reaction. That was her way of showing she cared."

The kunoichi hesitated before asking, "Why did you and your brother part ways?"

Fallion sighed. "Fordragon… he's always been curious and kind, inheriting our mother's sense of justice. He couldn't stand by when others were in trouble. I tried to guide him, like our mother, but I'm not her. I didn't even understand my own path until recently, when my powers awakened. Even now, I'm not sure. He fights for her, but is this what she wanted for him?"

They stood in silence, staring at the sky.

"Do you think your brother fights just to avenge her?" the kunoichi asked.

Fallion shook his head. "I don't know. I thought I was close to him, but there's so much I don't understand. I believe he's fighting for more than just her memory, but I can't say what."

Before leaving, the kunoichi turned to him and said, "When I joked about being your concubine… I wasn't joking. I've wondered what it would be like to be a mother. But I can't entrust that to just anyone. You're different, Fallion. It's crazy, I know, but that's how I feel. I'm sorry for my selfishness."

She left, leaving Fallion flustered and red-faced. "Wha—does that mean she wants…" He couldn't sleep well that night.

The Morning After

When the group woke, they found the city eerily empty. No guards were in sight. Civilians were gathered in confusion, murmuring about what had happened.

"Not a single clue," one muttered.

"It's as if they all vanished overnight," another said.

The kunoichi urged the group, "This is our chance. We can cut through the city and reach Yarinaga faster."

As the group moved on, they remained unaware of the terrible fate they had unknowingly avoided by staying at the inn that night.