Spirit Game

"Druger, what about Rain, Hana, and the others?" one of the townsfolk asked.

Druger paused a moment before he replied, "We will leave Hana here . . . And we still need Rain to take care of the children if our plan fails and war breaks loose."

"But . . . he's a player," the townsfolk protested, uncertainty in their tone.

"We don't have a choice," Druger interjected firmly. "And from the past days that we have been here, we've learned that Rain is a decent player. We can trust him."

The others only exchanged a worried look while Druger left the others and went to find Rain inside the shelter. He found Rain sitting calmly inside together with the others, as if he had been expecting him.

Rain looked at Druger with a strangely calm expression. "Is it over?"

Druger nodded, though a feeling of unease lingered. Something told him that there was something strange going on that he didn't know, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what.

"I'm sorry that we had to tie you up and use your base as a hideout to trap Lord Izumi's son."

Rain let out a dry laugh. "You could have just told me your plan from the start. I could have helped you out."

Druger shook his head, his expression somber. "This . . . this is a fight that we must do on our own or we will never escape our past. We have lost so much, boy.

We can't afford to lose any more of our pride and dignity."

"And Rain, lad, you're a player," he told Rain like that would explain a lot. "We don't know which side you're really on. We can't afford any mishap in this. I hope you understand."

Rain only shrugged. "I think I pretty much understand the whole picture."

Druger was silent, didn't know what to make up of Rain's nonchalant attitude like he knew something that he didn't know. "We will leave you now. I'm sorry that they have mapped out your location. If we fail, please take care of the children and leave this place."

"That's not exactly something you should say to someone you had tied up and used," Rain japed.

Druger laughed heartily. "Harharhar! True!" His face then turned serious as he lightly tapped Rain on the shoulder. "The magical rope will lose its potency after some time, and by then even your troops could break them."

He then placed a piece of paper on the ground. "This is where we hid the children. I hope you'll treat them fairly and care for them as your own."

"I can't promise anything."

Druger was taken aback by Rain's response.

"That's why you have to come back alive and take care of them yourself," Rain said seriously, looking him in the eye.

Druger was silent for a moment before he nodded at Rain.

"This is where we part, Rain." Druger then looked at Hana, who was still struggling with a gag in her mouth.

"Hana if we don't come back, forget about us and start a new life somewhere," he said softly, a mixture of regret and determination in his voice.

With that, he walked away and rejoined the others outside, who were preparing to depart. With Izu and the rest of the Ebizo soldiers captive, they commandeered the remaining chariots, carriages, and horses, ready to head back to the Port Town.

As they set off, the townsfolk felt a mix of hope and anxiety. They had taken the first crucial step, but the road ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty.

Yet, their spirits were high, and their resolve was unshaken. They were ready to fight for their freedom, no matter the cost.

=======

After a few minutes passed.

Hana was struggling from being bound from night to day, and finally, her rope came loose.

"Chi, I think they're gone. It's time to get out of this––Ah! Hana! Wait!" Rain shouted when Hana bolted out of the shelter.

"Oh shit. Chi, NOW!"

Chi's claws sprang against her rope, freeing her, and she immediately cut free Rain and the others.

Rain didn't waste any time and went after Hana. She might ruin everything if he didn't pull her back.

"Hana, wait!"

Hana ignored Rain's words and just continued to run after Druger and the others. Her mind was flooded with memories of her childhood, of how Druger and Lyncon had raised her and the others like their own children. She remembered their happy times in the town as they built it into a bustling port.

She couldn't sit still and watch them run into their deaths. Lord Izumi had two battleships and thousands of soldiers! What could they possibly do against that?

Even though they had Izu, what if Lord Izumi forskae his son? What then?

Druger and the others couldn't possibly defeat Lord Izumi and his battalion of well-trained soldiers. It would be a one-sided massacre.

It was not too late. They couldn't be far. "I have to stop them––ARGH!" Hana yelped as she tumbled over a splintered piece of wood and shot into a deep hole that was currently full of water from the Ebizo's water magic earlier.

Hana swallowed some water from the shock of suddenly falling into the murky depths. She could make out forms beneath the water and even hear what they were saying.

"Do you think they're done by now? I'm bored of just staying here."

"I doubt it. Knowing Lord Izu, he might still be in the process of his grand speech."

They laughed.

"Do you think my acting is believable?"

"I hope so, or Lord Izumi will have our guts on a platter if things didn't go as planned."

"I'm tired of acting. I had to pretend to be weak and fall into this trap."

"Yeah, me too."

"I had to fake being stabbed and let those townsfolk push me into the trap. Damn, they don't have any strength at all to push me, so I had to secretly make my way here."

"I'm bored in here."

"So, you want to play cards?"

"Hey, what's that?"

Hana saw that they were pointing at her and she immediately swam towards the top in a hurry.

Hana gasped for air when her head popped up from the water. She quickly climbed out from the edge of the hole as the waters rippled around her, signaling that whatever was underneath was quickly rising to catch her.

Hana crawled over the ground and quickly got to her feet when she saw the Ebizo soldiers emerging from the water one by one.

Her skin crawled in alarm when the other Ebizo soldiers, thought to be dead on the ground, suddenly rose to their feet as well, and before she knew it, she was surrounded on all sides.

"Hana!"

Rain's voice startled Hana back to reality, and she shouted to him.

"Rain! Stay back! Stay back! Run away! They're still alive. The Ebizo soldiers are still .

. ."

Hana paused when she saw Chi and the others healing the wounds on the Ebizo soldiers.

"W-wha . . . what's going on? Are you . .

. are you on their side?!"

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