Reiji Kageshiro's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

The frost keep lay far north, and Reiji knew he could not breach it alone. He left the library with the torn book and one plan. He needed fighters. The flame-colored fox led him through the cold streets to a stone hall hung with old banners. Above the door, carved letters named it a guild. Warriors gathered here between jobs. He pushed the heavy doors open and stepped inside. Men and women turned to look. A rough board lined one wall, thick with notices for dangerous work. Reiji ignored the paper and studied the fighters instead. He needed skill, not slips of parchment. He walked to the center of the hall and spoke plainly. "I need blades for a keep in the far north. A man who does not die holds prisoners there. I mean to break in." Laughter came first. Then a woman near the wall lowered her boot from a bench. Green hair, dark red eyes, two crossbows on her hips. A wolf the size of a pony rose beside her. "The immortal's keep," she said. "You want to die that badly?" She was Scarlett Thornwood, and the room went quiet when her wolf growled. "I want my mother back," Reiji said. He drew the katana an inch from its sheath. The blade hummed and glowed pale blue. "This was hers. He took her and tore her from every record. I have proof." He held up the book. A man in red and black armor stepped forward. A silver-and-red sword hung at his side. "I fought his hired men once," he said. His name was Crimson Valdris. "They took people from my village. I owe him blood." He set his hand over his heart. "I'm in." Beside a pillar, a woman watched with a blue lantern floating at her shoulder. Aria Soulweaver. The lantern's light bent toward Reiji's humming blade. "Your sword carries a soul that still remembers," she said softly. "I can feel it. I'll come. Souls locked in that keep deserve freedom." One man stayed seated. He balanced a purple scythe across his knees, a barrel set in its blade. Corvus Reave tapped a trigger with one finger. "North is a long march for no coin," he said. "But an immortal is worth killing for the story alone." He stood and slung the weapon over his shoulder. Scarlett looked at the others, then back at Reiji. Her wolf pressed against her leg. "Fine," she said. "But if you get us frozen, I'll haunt you." She stepped from the wall to his side. Four fighters stood with him now. Reiji sheathed his mother's blade. The room felt smaller, warmer, sharper with purpose. He had come in alone and would leave with a company. But four strangers were not a plan, and the frost keep was still a wall of ice guarding a door no one had ever opened.