Blue laid back against the thin mattress on Jinhu's bed. Turning the broken pendant over in his fingers. Jinhu, Ilho, Ryul, Ryu and Hanjo had all filed into the room the moment he returned. All excited to see the artifact Blue chose.
Ilho leaned against the wall. "You mean to tell me, out of all the things in that vault. That's what you chose?"
Jinhu poked the pendant with his finger. "It looks like something you'd get a child at a street vendor. Not from a treasure vault."
"Amitabha." Hanjo folded his hands. "Our commander has a keen sense for... questionable artifacts it seems. Buddha did not guide his senses this time."
"Would you all shut up." Blue sat up.
Ryul sat cross legged at the foot of the bed. "Seriously though. You could have picked a sword, an elixir. Instead you chose that."
Ryu grabbed the pendant. "There are servants in Namgung with better jewelry."
Blue snatched the pendant back. "Seriously, i have my reasons."
Ilho chuckled. "Terrible reasons."
Jinhu elbowed Ilho. "Did we pick the wrong person as the leader of our group. You guys call me dumb. But i wouldn't have chosen a worthless charm from a vault full of crazy looking weapons."
Blue scoffed and threw his pillow at Jinhu's head. "I didn't ask to lead. You cowards took a step back and pointed at me when Wu Jin said to choose a leader."
BOOM!
The door exploded inward. Smashing against the wall. Ryu reached for a weapon that wasn't there. Ryul fell off the bed. Hanjo jumped to his feet ready to attack. Ilho and Blue burst into laughter.
Jinhu turned. "Damn it!" He barked. "You could just knock. You animal."
Ryul, Ryu and Hanjo looked at Blue and Ilho. They uttered one name simultaneously. "Mu Jang!"
Mu Jang stepped through the wreckage. Sa Gwan walked in behind him. "Brutes know nothing of knocking." Sa Gwan muttered.
Wu Jin followed arms folded behind his back. He stepped over the debris field
"We are going to go over tomorrow's mission." Wu Jin pointed his rod towards the floor. "Sit."
Mu Jang threw a bag in-between the boys as they sat. Jinhu caught a whiff and tore the bag open.
"Dumplings." Mu Jang grunted. "Eat, food is needed while you listen to boring details."
Jinhu shoved two dumplings in his mouth, nearly choking. "Aren't we just going to stomp some monsters?" He swallowed hard. "What's there to discuss?"
Ilho and Ryu rolled their eyes in perfect unison.
Hanjo pressed his palms together. "Amitabha." He sighed. "My rival is strong of muscle, but severely lacking in brains."
Everyone laughed as they reached for a dumpling.
Wu Jin cracked the faintest smile before turning serious. "Listen, yes you will likely encounter monsters. But your primary mission is to help So-Yeon find her missing scouts. Wu Jin sat across from the boys and grabbed a dumpling. "According to her, no bodies were found. No word was sent back to the Tang Clan. We don't know if they are dead or alive."
"So, how exactly are we supposed to find them?"
Tracks, camps, signs of a struggle." Sa Gwan spoke.
Wu Jin looked up. "He's correct, and if you see a gate. Do not enter it. Mark it down on a map and report the location." He looked at Blue. "I am saying this again, to reiterate. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE ENTER THE GATE. Clear?"
Blue nodded. Mu Jang folded his arms as he leaned against a wall. "We do not clear gates, that's the Alliance’s job."
Ryu spoke. "Father said my uncle hoards the system users. So, are we bringing any with us. Just in case?"
Wu Jin met Blue's eyes again. "We will have no support from the Alliance, therefore no way to close gates. That's why its important you stay away from them and report them."
Wu Jin stood, Sa Gwan and Mu Jang both left the room. "Tomorrow is your first real mission. You leave at dawn. Eat. Rest. And make sure you all come back in one piece." Wu Jin walked out. Once he did another Silent Edge member replaced Jinhu's door quietly as the boys continued harassing Blue about his choice in treasure.
The morning courtyard was covered in a thin layer of dew. All 6 boys now stood awaiting the order to move out toward the black pines. Jinhu raised his arms and yawned. He looked over at Ryul and Ryu. "One of you needs to change your damn name." He pointed at them. Ryul, Ryu. It's too damn early in the morning for my brain to listen for the 'L'. It confuses me."
Ryu looked at Jinhu. "I was named after my grandfather, either grow some brain cells." He looked at Ryul. "Or we can fight over who changes their name."
"Ha. Jinhu's half right, it's way too early for that. You can call me what Blue used to call me as a kid. Ry-Ry. That should help, at least until Ryu goes back to Namgung."
Ryu tilted his head. "Who said i want to go back to Namgung?"
Jinhu blinked. "Ry-Ry? Really?"
Ryul shrugged. "Easier than you having to lose what brain cells you have left, trying to listen intensely for pronunciation."
Ilho snickered. "That's a good idea. If he tries to think too hard, we may lose him forever."
Hanjo nodded. "Amitabha. Ry-Ry it is."
Blue couldn't help but laugh as he listened to them argue over names.
In the distance, footsteps could be heard through the rolling fog. So-Yeon stepped through. Her red Crimson Veil armor draped over her Tang robes. Hair tied back high and tight, and her sword hung at her waist. A group of men in the same armor followed close behind. Disciplined and silent.
She stopped in front of the boys. She looked past them to Sa Gwan and Mu Jang. "Ready?"
"Yes." Mu Jang replied.
"Good." So-Yeon said as she looked over Rogue Edge. "We march."
The courtyard came alive as boots scraped against the stone. Rogue Edge marched behind the Crimson Veil soldiers. Their first true mission had begun.
So-Yeon, Sa Gwan, and Mu Jang led the formation at a steady, purposeful pace. Behind them marched Rogue Edge. Blue, Jinhu, Ilho, Ryul, Hanjo, and Ryu, alongside the Tang scouts assigned to support the mission. The dawn mist clung to their boots as they crossed into the foothills, pressing onward for nearly two hours until the Black Pines rose before them like a wall of Spears.
So-Yeon raised a hand, halting the group. “From here, we spread out. Stay in your groups,” she ordered, scanning every face, her gaze lingering on Blue a bit longer than the others. “If you encounter a gate, launch the red flare. Blue flare if you come across monsters you can't handle. White flare if you find any trace of our scouts.”
She paused, letting the instructions sink in. “We regroup here at dusk. Be careful. Watch each other’s backs. Do not wander off alone, I will not lose more of my people to these woods.”
Mu Jang cracked his knuckles, grinning at the three recruits nearest him. “Jinhu, Hanjo, Ryu, you’re with me. North sector. Keep up.”
Jinhu sighed dramatically. “Yes, master.”
Sa Gwan stepped forward. “Ilho, Blue, Ryul... you’re with me. We’ll sweep the eastern flank. Stay sharp.”
Ryul nodded, checking his gear.
So-Yeon gestured toward her own Tang men. “My team will cover the west. Remember the flares. And keep your heads.”
They began to split off, boots crunching across pine needle. As Blue dashed away using Flowing Steel, he was unaware that movement would garner more attention from So-Yeon than he wanted from her.