The large bearkin grumbled and looked down at Varius, answering with a sharp, dismissive grunt. [color=#8B4513]“Harumph.”[/color] [color=#8B4513]“Of course there are civilians,”[/color] Ryota rumbled. [color=#8B4513]“Nan Gau’s become a proper castle town over the last few years. The Yamamoto clan sent Hime-sama herself to bring order and protection. With her song, she’s kept these walls safe.”[/color] His words carried confidence right up until the end. His ears twitched. Brown eyes flicked instinctively toward the battlements beyond the stone. His voice lowered, uncertainty creeping in despite himself. [color=#8B4513]“…Say. Speakin’ of which. You’d usually hear her song by now.”[/color] He frowned, shook his head hard enough to rattle the armor at his shoulders, and jabbed a clawed finger toward the exit. [color=#8B4513]“Never mind that. We need to get up to the walls and take stock.”[/color] Ryota led the group from the meeting hall, up a flight of worn stone steps and through a narrow corridor that opened onto the outer walkways. Cold air rushed in at once, sharp and biting. Stone paths curved along the interior of the wall, slick with frost. Several beastkin had already gathered at the edge, craning for a look beyond the gates. Ears were flat, tails stiff, murmurs carried away by the wind. [color=#8B4513]“What’s all this?!”[/color] Ryota snarled. [color=#8B4513]“Don’t you all have battle positions to be jumpin’ into?!”[/color] A few flinched and scattered immediately. Others lingered, annoyance flashing across tired faces. One of them straightened. A rabbitkin with long chestnut hair and tall, upright ears pushed off the parapet where he’d been leaning, eyes still fixed on the swirling wall of snow beyond the gates. [color=#7FBF7F]“Oi. That scout of yours has been up there for twelve hours straight,”[/color] Usagiashi said flatly. [color=#7FBF7F]“You might want to keep better track of your men, Nakamura. Could’ve saved us all this false panic.”[/color] Ryota blinked, momentarily thrown off. With all that fur, it was hard to tell, but there was a trace of embarrassment in the way his shoulders stiffened. [color=#8B4513]“False panic?”[/color] he growled. [color=#8B4513]“What are you ramblin’ on about, Usagiashi?”[/color] The rabbitkin only shook his head and turned away, raising his voice toward the gatehouse. [color=#7FBF7F]“What’re you waitin’ for? Open the gates. Commander Rextelian’s back from his mission.”[/color] The reaction was immediate. Beastkin snapped into formation with practiced ease, lining up shoulder to shoulder despite their hollow cheeks and drawn expressions. It was not impressive, no polished banners or gleaming ranks, but it was disciplined. The gates creaked open just wide enough for a single-file column. And through they came. At their head walked a figure with two curled horns rising from platinum blond hair. His cool blue eyes swept across the gathered soldiers as he passed, and one by one they stiffened beneath his gaze. The beastkin behind him wore the same look, vacant and cold, drained of anything resembling triumph. These were not soldiers returning victorious. Once the gates shut behind them and the wind was cut off, the column formed up quickly. Ryota glanced back at the adventurers, then straightened as the horned man approached. [color=#B8860B]“Nakamura,”[/color] Commander Rextelian said evenly. [color=#B8860B]“We need to discuss your choice of sentries. And your scheduling.”[/color] [color=#8B4513]“Aye, sir…”[/color] Ryota muttered. The commander’s gaze lingered just long enough to press the weight of his displeasure home before sliding to the adventurers. He assessed them one by one in silence. [color=#B8860B]“These are the adventurers the Guild sent?”[/color] [color=#8B4513]“Aye, sir.”[/color] [color=#B8860B]“You briefed them on Nan-Li?”[/color] [color=#8B4513]“…No, sir.”[/color] Silence stretched. Commander Rextelian held his stare on Ryota for a long, uncomfortable moment before finally turning back to the group. [color=#B8860B]“What have they been briefed on, Yoriki?”[/color] [color=#8B4513]“They know there’s a horde gatherin’ in the north,”[/color] Ryota said, recovering some confidence. [color=#8B4513]“And that they’re intelligent.”[/color] The commander nodded once, then sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and waved a hand. [color=#B8860B]“As you were.”[/color] The soldiers immediately dispersed, resuming their duties as if nothing had happened. Rextelian turned fully to the adventurers. [color=#B8860B]“You’ve been hired as extra muscle for a mission we can’t afford to fail,”[/color] he said. [color=#B8860B]“If you couldn’t tell already, our people are starving. A hamlet near here was destroyed a few months ago by the undead. It was our primary source of food.”[/color] He motioned for them to follow, continuing as he walked. A red-haired kitsune kept pace beside him, her sharp eyes daring anyone to stare too long. [color=#B8860B]“I’d like to say you were hired to help us reclaim it. Nan-Li is nearly sacred land. There’s a hot spring beneath it. It keeps the soil fertile year-round. Without it, farming in these mountains is near impossible.”[/color] His jaw tightened. The kitsune mirrored the expression. [color=#B8860B]“But even if we retake it, it can be taken again.”[/color] They were led back into the meeting room. Rextelian stopped at the center, voice steady and absolute. [color=#B8860B]“Perhaps, if this mission succeeds, that won’t be a problem anymore.”[/color] He looked up, eyes sweeping the room. [color=#B8860B]“Tonight, we have a specific target. Among the undead, there is one that stands apart. It rides a horse. Wherever it appears, the dead rise. Fallen friends. Family. Anyone who dies near it.”[/color] He let the words settle. [color=#B8860B]“This rider carries a dagger. Iceknife, as it’s been called.”[/color] His gaze hardened. [color=#B8860B]“It’s a relic. Very old. Very dear to the Yamamoto clan. And they do not want it known that it’s currently in the hands of an undead monster.”[/color] The implication was clear. [color=#B8860B]“We move toward Nan-Li near dusk. That’s where the last storms were sighted, north as Nakamura told you. Until then, there’s a little food in the mess hall.”[/color] A pause. [color=#B8860B]“Don’t expect seconds.”[/color] He straightened. [color=#B8860B]“Are there any further questions?”[/color]