The Summoner's Vendetta (First Draft) (Book Two)

The Trail to the Pure Regime

Both Sin's forces as well as Captain Dryden's arrived at the wreckage of the convoy which happened a few miles outside of the city. The trail from there had been an easy one to follow considering the Pure Regime didn't have the forethought to cover their tracks. Between broken branches and the crimson that speckled the ground like freshly fallen rain; even Sin would have been able to pick up the trail even without the help of Captain Dryden's trackers.

Along the way, the two groups came upon a section of the trail that had two bodies littered upon it. One of these bodies was wearing the attire of a House Khesta soldier while the other was wearing little more than rags and from the second body's features, it was obvious that this being was composed of two different races. While the backgrounds of these two beings were different, they did share one thing in common which was how they were taken from the world considering that both had arrows sticking from their back which indicated that they must have tried to escape.

Seeing the bodies caused rage to burn within the pit of Sin's stomach and while he wished to allow this rage to boil over, he knew that by doing so now; it would mean that he didn't do everything in his power to ensure that the others that were captive had a chance at escape. Forcing himself to avert his eyes from the corpses, Sin had to take a few deep breaths to calm his rage before he was able to continue which prompted the others within the group to continue as well.

Just like before, it wasn't difficult for the trackers to renew their hunt for the Pure Regime considering that it was just as easy as the last time to pick the trail up once again.

*

Thirty minutes had come and gone since the group had returned to their hunt and at the end of the thirty minutes, they had arrived outside a grouping of cabins that were hidden within a clearing that was carved within the trees that stood on either side of the clearing.

Sin knew that this was the destination that their prey had in mind considering that they had followed the trail that they had left behind to this very area and though he knew this, currently he saw no movement that allowed them to believe that this wasn't just an abandoned area. Feeling that it would be best to keep himself and his team where they were standing, Sin continued his observation of the area.

As his eyes were flicking from one cabin to the other, the sound of a twig snapping echoed throughout the area which immediately pulled his attention towards the noise. Not wanting to be unprepared if they were somehow snuck up on by the enemies that they were hunting, Sin shifted a portion of Inari's element into his own body and as he finished with his movement; the familiar weight of his frozen blade had already fallen into his hand.

Standing beside their group was none other than three of Captain Dryden's soldiers which made Sin feel that he had partially overreacted considering that it would have been difficult for any member of the Pure Regime to sneak past the horde of soldiers that Captain Dryden had brought along with him. While Sin was just about to question these soldiers on the reasoning behind their arrival, he was unable to do so considering that one of the soldiers was quicker in releasing their voice than he was.

"Captain Dryden wanted us to inform you that he was preparing to take his troops towards the farthest cabin on the right and while he doesn't command you like he does us, he was wishing for you to take the cabin to the left..." the soldier explained and while Sin despises the Captain, he could respect that he had years of more battle experience than he did. Figuring that the soldier had finished with his words, Sin was about to turn away so he could inform his own team of their missions during the battle that was bound to occur though before he could; the soldier once again started speaking. "...we have also been ordered to accompany you in hopes that our presence will bolster your forces."

Hearing this, Sin immediately flung his eyes towards Lucius considering that his companion was suspicious of those that they have allied themselves with. Just like he thought, Lucius had a slight hostile expression upon him and while Sin wished to make sure that Lucius and the others knew that their opinions mattered to him; he didn't want to pass up the opportunity to keep themselves safe by adding more swords to their defense.

These same thoughts must have been going through Lucius's mind as well considering that Sin could see many different expressions flicker upon him until they eventually settled on one that was much less hostile than the first. After Lucius finally settled on this expression, he gave a slight nod which Sin took as him accepting the offer of help that Captain Dryden had made.

With his fear that Lucius would become hostile towards their allies without provocation now safely placed away, Sin turned back to face the soldiers. "We will gladly accept Captain Dryden's offer though I want each of you to know that I while you are fighting beside us, you will follow my orders just like they were your Captains..." Sin explained as he flicked his eyes from one soldier to the other to gauge how well they were handling his words. "...otherwise, you are more than able to return to your troops and fight beside them."

The moment that Sin finished with his words, one of the soldiers that he was speaking to spat out a grunt of disdain before turning and fleeing back towards the line of soldiers that were already heading off into battle.

Now that Sin had ensured that they only had help from those who were willing to follow his orders, he started to turn back to face his companions while simultaneously speaking the first of the orders that he was wishing to be followed.

*

Wanting to have as many of his team searching through the cabin that they were given as their objective as he could, Sin split his team up to cover the entire area in what he hoped to be a well-coordinated search. Knowing that Lucius would want to keep an eye on the soldiers that had been sent by Captain Dryden to accompany them he had both soldiers join with Lucius with the mission to ensure that the outside of the cabin was secure, and any potential enemy was taken care of.

The next team consisted of Nasir and Enmoria who had been given the mission of searching the area for the missing half-breeds and ensuring that they were safe and healthy.

Even though Sin had split up and gave everyone a mission which left him without the company of another being, this didn't leave him alone considering that he had four Familiars that he could call into this world at will. Reaching out and taking ahold of the pendant that hung from his neck, Sin allowed a sliver of his mana to slither into the item which quickly brought out the portal that held his Fae.

"Inari. Takara." Sin called out into the quiet of the world that surrounded him.

The moment that the two Fae that he called on heard their names, they were flinging themselves out into the world where they greeted their Summoner with a small yip that thankfully wasn't loud enough that it would alert any potential enemy that was keeping watch from the shadows.

With companionship now secure, it was time for Sin to begin his own mission which was simply to eradicate the existence of the Pure Regime from the area.