THE ARCHAIC SKY

CHAPTER: THE HERALD'S REMINDER

Shuryo

A guild that owns a plethora of tea houses that are rumored to instead be gambling joints. Ones so good at swindling people out of money into financial debt, that they have their own division of debt collectors. Who soon instead became bounty hunters for hire well known in the underworld. Though Shuryo guild themselves have a debt to the seikatsu.

Even when gods, archons, and arcanes send out their bold statements and predictions. It was rare that the fates the god assured its people with would be fully true. And just like how Amara thought it was the end of their path together, fate and destiny decided it would be fun to prove her wrong.

The timid woman wearing blue whilst the sly man wearing green. And then the owner of the familiar voice, sitting arrogantly on the chair opposite them.

The man was clearly an envoy from his uniform, his mask along his long rigid haori that bore the seikatsu's monsho emblem. "guards! Show him how we treat uninvited guests!"

From the thin, paper room divider, appeared guards that resembled not imperial soldiers, but instead, ruin raiders missing their hawk wing insignia on their clothes. covering the lower half of their faces with a bandana. white shirts, sailor's collars, joggers, leather boots, white laces. their attires had an assortment of leather belts and strappings. it was all too clear that the tea house got paranoid and hired muscle. Amara narrowed her eyes watching them line up with their barely deadly yet effective weapons.

There was a short silence. Amara's eyes roamed the room that she could see from out the window she began climbing into. Walls an ivory kind of white decorated with eaves and posts of cedar. Paintings that were clearly pricey hung on the walls like tapestries. Of cranes, peacocks and phoenixes. Of koi, mountains, and seas. Lamps and potted plants adorning the corners with chairs that sat beside them.

He laughed. Pushing up his mask as he readied himself. "how nice... exercise dummies," his sword began to cut through the crowd of guards charging towards him. Blood splattered the tiles and walls as the man seemingly called master walked backward slowly.

The lady beside him clenching on his shirt with her hands. Though as soon as the envoy finished the last guard, without a second thought, the man pushed her in front of him so she would be the one to be nearly sliced in half instead of him. she could see the envoy restrain himself ever so slightly as he realized his mistake. But it was done, a crack of flesh was etched from the woman's shoulders too her wait. Blood soaked her ripped clothes in an instant before spewing out as she fell limp on the ground. the maroon puddle under her growing at a steady pace.

It seemed some of the blood had gotten to the envoy's face. The seikatsu envoy smiled, wiping away the blood near his mouth yet failing miserably. "you really are worse than scum..."

"you seikatsu... thinking you can just demand anything you want!"

He laughed again, amused as he slowly walked towards the dead woman's master. "demand anything we want? I think you're mistaken, we're just demanding the things you owe from us... well, us as in the Yamabuki Bank that is" oh the yamabuki bank, a hypocritical bunch. They despise this teahouse for abusing their generous loans and for their practices, but Amara was sure yamabuki bank does the same thing as the Shuryo. "well you've been watching us for some time now, how was my speech, my lady? Did I put on a good show for you?" his eyes darted right to where she hung. He clearly saw her.

That's interesting. When was the last time she got caught? "hm" she hummed, jumping to the teahouse's large upstairs balcony where she presumed most of the staged drinking of tea takes place. Chairs arranged nicely, clearly untouched along with tables that were spotless. She slid down the smooth blue roofs to enter the large counter window where the rude hostess once stood. It was there she realized most of the walls had fragile pottery, it would be a hassle if they took things too far and shatter some. "it was quite entertaining" she answered both his questions as she jumped to sit on the counter with two green curtains on each side. Handy, should more blood be spilled.