Chapter 9 - Mission to the snowy peaks!

Almost all of Domino’s injuries had been healed by the medical mage’s in the hospital. He had rested for a whole day and had nearly regained all of his strength and magic essence. He was awakened by a sudden banging noise on the door of his small flat room. When he hobbled over to the door and opened it he saw a note that demanded he make his way to the Emperors room immediately. He got dressed in his clothes and then ran as fast as he could to the temple that towered over the city.

After climbing tediously up the several gigantic flights of stairs he made his way into the Emperors room. Waiting in the room was Hikari. She was also fully healed and ready to go on a mission. After several seconds Kamui arrived. He looked as distant and dangerous as he had the day before. He stopped on the far side of the room and listened as the Emperor started talking.
“A new mission has arisen. The snowy village in the North has been attacked by bandits frequently.” The Emperor stated. “You three must go to this village and aid the few samurai that still remain there.” He continued…

When he finished Rakurai gestured at a map that lay spread across a table on the opposite side of the room. This was one of the most detailed maps that any of them had seen. It showed many lands, mainly other islands near the one they lived on. To the far west was a large expanse shaded yellow. Faded letters on the large area labeled it as The Far Lands of Persia. Another area closer to Honshu was called China. Then there were the four other islands in there archipelago.

“Here is the snowy village.” Rakurai said tapping furtherest north of Honshu where there was a large mountain range. “It is approximately a two day hike.”

“You have an hour to prepare before you leave, you will need climbing gear to cross through the treacherous valleys and mountain passes.” The Emperor stated.

After an hour they were all carrying a pack. In them were food rations, climbing gear, clothes, water and weapons. All the backpacks weighed around thirty kilograms Kamui was obviously quite annoyed that he had to go with Domino and Hikari.

They set off at a fast walk. Hikari, who was in front, carried the map. They followed various paths and routes making their way through different biomes and areas. The area outside the town was lush jungle and plains. There was a well used route that they followed for the start of their journey. It was quite populated with many merchants and farmers leading their horses and carts along it. As they travelled further away from Doragon the people lessened and the area became desolate. The Road split into nothing as it came to a forest.

“Is there were we are supposed to be?” Kamui questioned doubtfully.

“Yeah, on the map it says go through Smoky Haze Forest and then onto the path of treacherous cliffs…” Hikari replied studying the map.

They continued through the forest occasionally taking breaks and eating some of their foods. The path through the forest was hard because of all the obstructions that covered it. Logs lay strewn across it, puddles of water and rivers flooded it as well. Domino was the only one who had fought against bandits, the others had gone on missions to protect farms from wild animals and deliver messages for the Emperor.

Suddenly the trees thinned out and they left the forest. Instead of many trees, bushes and shrubs they were faced with what seemed like a dead land of stone pillars, crumbling mountains and valleys. There was a rickety path that led high up into the mountains. Its frail build made it appear as if it could crumble into the vast caverns below at any second.

From the sun blasted stone shelves above, color changing lizards watched them. Their skin shimmered as it adjusted to camouflage themselves into the rocks that they basked on. They were some of the magical species that lived on the island of Honshu.

As they walked into the new area the three mages felt a sudden drop in the temperature. After several minutes the sky became dark and ominous. Wind howled through the naturally made towers of rock and stone.

The path that they took through the mountains, caverns and valleys was interrupted by a small wooden bridge that crossed over a huge crack in the earth hundreds of meters deep.

“We need to be careful not to fall down there!” Domino warned as he peered cautiously over the edge of the steep cliff. Kamui volunteered to make his way over the dangerous bridge first. As he stepped onto the frail wooden structure it creaked loudly and swayed. One of the support struts instantly broke off and crashed into the ground hundreds of meters below. Before Kamui could react, the bridge collapsed…

It went plummeting down the valley at huge speeds carrying Kamui along with it…