The Bloodstained Archives

Crimson Road

His body was that of a well trained swordsman, wiry, with leanly muscled arms. He donned the outfit of your common drifter: a loose linen shirt and breeches. On his hip, a katana. It's finely polished blade shined in the soft light. With a cautious stride, he walked down the dusty path, scanning the horizon for his target.

"Brother." came a voice behind him.

The swordsman stopped in his tracks, "What is it?" he asked sternly, his voice in a low whisper, just loud enough to be heard by his companion. His voice betrayed his urgency, his expressionless eyes continuing to rove over the terrain around him.

"Your tracking skills are quite raw, perhaps you should let me take the lead?" he suggested, not in a condescending way, as you would expect from someone residing in the Border Zone.

Kai paused to face his companion, bringing his posture straight up and glaring at him. He took note of his partner's attire: a hooded cloak, loose trousers and soft sandals, all coloured in a deep pitch of black. His body lithe and agile, and armed with a Yari, he was a formidable fighter.

This man was from the Shinobi Guild, a group of individuals notorious for taking almost any job given, including, but not limited to assassinations, protection contracts, kidnapping, theft, smuggling, anything you want done, the Guild will get you sorted.

Kai had done business with the guild, he paid them a hefty ten thousand coin in order to join up with them, allowing him to access all the different contracts and bounties the Shinobi Guild had to offer. The man standing in front of him right now was his partner for this contract. They were to track and kill a murderous cannibal who had been ravaging the Border Zone for decades.

"Don't worry about it, brother," Kai said, turning back and continuing his cautious strut, "we are close." His eyes observing the landscape, an almost barren desert wasteland, excluding an ancient ruin here and there, pillaged long ago and few trees and bushes which had managed to find fertility in this scorchingly unforgiving environment.

As they trailed onwards, they came across a small group of men. They were standing on the road conversing with one another as Kai and his Shinobi partner approached.

"What's this?" Kai spoke to his comrade as he squinted to identify the men they were slowly drawing closer to. They were bandits, no doubt, but these ones looked oddly different. A group of three ragged men gathered together, holding long skinny iron clubs in their hands as they conversed and scanned the area in desperation. Wearing nothing but rags on their bodies, which were thin, their skin stretched tight over their bones and muscles. Their bones, all of which could be seen from under their skin, were jutting out at odd angles, as if barely being held together, while their faces were haunted and gaunt from hunger and exhaustion.

Kai held the hilt of his sword, causing his companion to do the same, "Be ready for anything." Kai spoke as they approached cautiously.

It wasn't until they were only about a few feet away that the starved bandits noticed them.

"listen, we're just going to make this quick. Give us all your shit or we're gonna beat your fuckin' brains out right here. got it?" one of the bandits spoke up, gripping his club tightly in one hand, his boney fingers curled up in a fist on his other. His voice was hoarse and strained from days, maybe weeks without a meal.

Kai drew his sword, as did the shinobi beside him.

"Try it." Kai's voice carried weight and authority, as if he had already seen this fight and knew the outcome.

Before anyone could get another word out, Kai's katana flashed through the air, slicing through the starved man's rag covered body with a savage speed, his blade now wet with blood as one of the bandit's bodies crumpled onto the sandy floor, writhing and squirming in pain as he tried to hold on to life, but to no avail. Kai moved with a cynical precision, his eyes cold as ice, focused on his target. Another loud scream pierced the air as the katana cut through the air, like a hot knife through butter, slicing through another bandit's body with a single stroke. Blood splattered onto the road, engulfing the sand with crimson stains, but the bandit did not go down so easily, his hand gripping the club as he tried to raise it to attack. But he quickly found himself immobile as Kai slashed at his stomach, slicing his midsection open and sending him toppling to the ground, wheezing and gasping for air as blood leaked onto the road before him. The final bandit came from behind, his club raised high in the air, ready to come crashing down on Kai's exposed head. But the blade was faster. Kai stepped out of the way, evading the bandit's swing, which had left the poor man wide open. With one swift movement, Kai brought down his katana on his adversary's neck, parting it from his shoulders as it rolled onto the ground, a look of disbelief forever engrained on his now bodiless face. A clean cut.

Kai wiped the blood from his sword before putting it back onto his hip and turning to his companion, who stared at him wide eyed, clearly amazed at the swordsmanship he had just witnessed.

"Let's keep moving, we're getting closer." His voice carried no emotion, his demeanour unchanged despite the violence and gore littering the sandy road. With his words, he signalled his comrade to continue their journey, leaving the bodies of their former enemies behind.