Riche's economy was booming—that much was clear.
Nighthawk Squadron was gathered outside the main city in a patrol. They were to ensure no APC activity remained along Riche's swerving roads. Even the outskirts were crowded with trading caravans and merchants.
Rin leaned against a rock, hammer sitting at her back. She took a deep breath, inhaling the cooler air. The sun beamed brightly, casting shadows across the plains leading into Riche. Averin pouted beside her, head resting on his hand.
"Still don't understand why Danzo sent a trio squad into a neutral territory like this," he mumbled. "Thanks to that traitor, Doji."
"Just a bit of patrollin', you nitwit!" Shonjo laughed, shaking a half-empty bottle in his hand. "Here, have a beer. It'll calm ya!"
He pulled a full bottle from his cloak pocket, holding it forward for Averin. He scowled at Shonjo, before shrugging and taking a long sip.
"Patrols are easy, Averin. My favorite actually. Whole lotta watchin' and kickin' it easy—oh yeah!"
The faint shaking of wheels along paved roads rattled with the wind. Rin watched them in the distance, nearly dozing off while standing. Conversation and laughter echoed like charms Nighthawk hadn't heard in days.
From the distance, a large caravan filled with masked operatives followed the road leading to the main city. It was separated from the others, with a faded marking on its side. The white circle of the APC—scratched out, but not erased—caught Shonjo's eye. He paused from a sip, squinting at the convoy from a distance.
Without a moment of hesitation, he grabbed an Aldenia from his pocket, and loaded it onto his thumb like ammunition.
"Bang."
He flicked the coin at a speed unseeable to the naked eye, before the front wheel of the carriage blew inwards from force. The men at the wheel were thrown forward, as it tumbled onto its frontside.
Rin instantly stood, hammer at the ready. "Shonjo? What is it?"
Averin also stood, sighing slightly. "So much for a relaxing mission."
"Even these drunkard eyes of mine can spot an APC convoy like that… what business they got in Riche?"
He stumbled a bit down the hill, fingers at the ready. Rin and Averin followed shortly behind.
"What just happened?" one of the soldiers asked, eyes darting to the tipped cart. He scoured the cargo in desperation, before spotting the approaching squadron.
"Memento? In Riche?"
Shonjo descended down a final hill, skidding into the dirt path that the APC squad now guarded.
"Damn right! Your little facades are donezo!"
He readied another Aldenia at the tip of his finger. It spun continuously on his nail, before falling flat. His squadmates now closed in behind him—Rin using her hammer to guide her descent down the hill, and Averin sliding like he was riding a sled.
Behind the soldier, a few more emerged—two of which were lower-tier stalkers, dressed in all white without the armor of an ordinary soldier.
"Well? Get those traitors!" one of the stalkers yelled, pointing to Nighthawk.
Mischievously, Rin raised her hammer with ease.
"Let's find out what you lot are sneaking into Riche, eh?" she said a bit too joyfully, before swinging her hammer forward in immense speed.
The wind buckled by the force. Metal slammed into the first APC soldier's abdomen, folding him in half before hurling him through a stack of crates. Wood exploded as he vanished into debris.
Behind her, Averin didn't hesitate.
Solena steel crawled over his arms, dense and layered, before he launched forward like a battering ram. His shoulder crashed into another soldier, driving him into the ground with bone-shaking force.
Shonjo laughed from range, flicking Aldenias with sharp precision. Each coin struck joints and armor seams—not piercing, but disrupting balance and causing them to stumble.
"Annoying bunch, aren't ya, rebels?" one of the two stalkers said, stepping forward.
He moved overly calmly for the position he was in. He had a taller, lean frame topped with a clean white uniform unscuffed by the chaos.
"I'm Kael—" the first began, but a lunge from Averin paused his sentence. Averin swung forward, but his momentum stopped midair, and he fell to the ground in confusion.
"That's pretty damn rude, even for Memento!" Kael said angrily, seething through his teeth.
Averin pushed himself upward from the dirt he had just indented. "Would you just shut it, man?"
He slammed his steel covered fists together, creating a shockwave of Solena. Behind him, Rin shot forward toward the second stalker, who pulled a whistle from her pocket, and blew into it like a screech.
A Solena manifestation of an Alden Tiger molded together in the air, landing on all fours with a snarl.
"Cute trick," Rin said, swinging her large warhammer with a single arm. "However, I think a hefty chunk of metal will deal with your kitty!"
The tiger pounced forward, and was met with Rin's blunt force. It flew backwards, landing on all fours, before lunging again. Rin wasn't ready this time.
She swung the hammer again, but late. The tiger's body collided with hers sending her into the hillside. She sat back up, blowing a strand of hair from her face in annoyance.
From halfway up the slope, Shonjo crouched on a single knee, flinging coins from a distance. The tiger turned its attention to him, growling low and menacing.
"Uh oh," he said with widened eyes.
It clawed its way up the hill, swiping at Shonjo in a fury. He dodged in the most uncoordinated ways, but dodged nonetheless. That was, until it managed to take his legs out from under him in an attack. It pinned him to the ground, its breath hot against his face. From the distance, the stalker smiled slightly without a word.
However, Rin stood with her weapon in hand, and launched forward. The stalker didn't notice the girl above her, readied with her weapon drawn.
Rin twisted mid air, gathering momentum, before bringing her hammer downward onto the stalker. It crushed her, and into the ground below.
"Best not take your eyes off an opponent, eh?"
She lifted her hammer, and peeked into the divot left behind. She grimaced at the sight left from her attack.
"Yuck… Shonjo—Averin—seriously, don't look into that hole."
Shonjo, now freed as the summon disappeared, smiled softly. His breath was heavier, and his heart raced from how close he was to death. Averin, on the other hand, didn't hear her. He was occupied, trying to land a hit on Kael.
"Square up, coward! Your little momentum ability is sissy-like!" he yelled as he fell forward again. Kael only laughed hysterically. Every time Averin fully committed, something slipped. Every time he didn't, Kael hesitated.
Shonjo also laughed, but Rin shot him a nasty side-eye in response. Shonjo coughed, before taking a sip of a bottle he held in his other hand.
He took a coin from his pocket, loading it onto his thumb's nail. He flicked it at Kael's shoulder, which made him stumble backwards.
"Ah… shit! You're not involved, you drunk!"
The slight distraction was all Averin needed. He stood again, bolting forward—and thrusting a fist forward. It hit Kael in the abdomen, lifting the stalker upwards. Before the momentum died, Averin jumped, curling both hands together, and struck the floating body downwards. Another divot formed, identical to Rin's.
"Rin, toss me your warhammer," Averin said, still angry. Rin chuckled a bit, before tossing the hammer through the air. Averin caught it, before his arms fell to the ground from the weight.
He grit his teeth, using every ounce of strength to raise it over his head, before swinging at the stalker's body in the divot for good measure.
He looked into the hole hesitantly.
"Gah! Shit… Rin—Shonjo—seriously. Don't look in there."
Shonjo stepped forward, using a hand to cover his eyes from whatever Averin flinched at. Rin walked forward, eyes pointed toward the broken down carriage that now sat in front of them unguarded.
"Now," Rin began, rubbing her hands together with a grin. "Let's find out what these goons were smuggling."
All three of them moved, digging through the chests, barrels and containers in the back. They emptied them, finding loads of military cargo like uniforms, swords, and armor hidden away. Rin pushed a few more bins out of the way, before a single chest tucked away behind the others showed face.
Rin picked it up, shaking it slightly. The lock was complex, too much so for something cheaper and expendable to be hiding away.
She lifted it up, showing the others. "Lookey here!"
Shonjo turned first. "Well well well. Gents were sneakin' somethin' valuable it'd seem. Shake it!"
Rin did, and heard nothing. Averin turned from the crate he was searching, taking it out of her hands to study.
"Thing needs a key."
"No shit you brute!"
Averin scowled, but set down the chest calmly. He jumped from the wagon, leaving Shonjo and Rin confused.
He reappeared a minute later, a key in hand. "Nobody thought to check the stalkers eh? We've got that key right here."
Rin clapped her hands together excitedly. Shonjo was more focused on his now empty bottle, which he tossed into a barrel filled with gear.
Averin approached, pushing the key into the lock, and with a slow turn, the chest popped open. Inside, a rolled piece of paper sat among dust—tied together by a single band. Averin grabbed the paper and pulled the band off slowly. It fell loose from how it was folded, and marked in black ink, was a map of Igumi's district.
"Igumi? But… why would they have a map of the district so protected?"
Rin stepped closer, eyeing the dotted lines along the edge. To the north of the district, the Tenasa Sea sat. However, a circled area, just on the coast along Igumi's northeastern border, caught her attention.
"Look there," she pointed. The circled area was labeled 'Old Igumi Underbelly.' Shonjo stepped forward to take a good look as well.
"A cave… good for smuggling, I'd assume," he said, rubbing his chin. Averin squinted, as though he was lost in thought.
"Then, that would mean there is another way into Igumi… eh? We better get this back to Danzo."
The other two agreed in nods, before the three scoured for anything else they could find with relative usefulness.