Muddy ridge, mist thick around the Nomaru approach road. Arimari Tiarasan has one relay rider pinned under his naginata. The torn strip lies half in the mud, half in the runner's hand. The second horseman checks his mount and looks for an opening.

Below the ridge, distant rooflines of Nomaru sit pale in the fog. Another relay token hangs from the fallen rider's sash, stamped for the same road. The wind shifts, carrying hoofbeat echoes from farther up the trail.

The pinned rider strains harder, mud sucking at his sleeve. The second horseman shifts, ready to bolt or charge. Between the relay strip, the estate beyond, and Reina at Arimari's side, the choice hangs in the rain.

Arimari’s naginata flashes down, and the second horseman’s balance breaks at the ridge edge.

The rider slides from the saddle into the mud, his boots skidding uselessly as the horse lurches sideways.

Reina snaps toward the fall, ears forward, while the pinned courier twists under Arimari’s blade and loses his grip on the strip.

The fallen horseman scrambles once, then goes still, face half-buried in wet earth. The second relay token is gone with him.

Below, the misted road lies open, but the riders do not. One lies pinned, one lies down, and the strip between them darkens in the rain.

Mud clung to the ridge as the last rider lay still and the relay token vanished into the ruts below.

Arimari stood over the ruined relay with the estate below in uneasy silence. The clan's bargain had been exposed to daylight at last, and whatever came after would no longer belong to Tukeyo alone. For now, the ridge held, and the road to Nomaru was empty.