Adventure of Arimari Tiarasan 1

Rain hammers the river pass as the Kurogane transport noses out of the mist. Arimari plants his naginata across the track, and the lead horse balks at the blade. Reina slips toward the rutted verge, eyes on the guards' footing.

The cartmaster shouts for speed. Two guards surge forward, but the slick stones betray them, and one drops to a knee. The transport lurches, its axle grinding as the wagon stalls in the choke point.

Reina darts in low, striking the mud beside the nearest horse. The beast shies hard, yanking the team sideways. The wagon tilts, and a bound chest slides against the sideboard with a dull, ugly thud.

Arimari drives the naginata point into the cartpole and stops the advance cold. The guards freeze, staring at the blocked pass, while rain runs black over the sealed cargo. If this load reaches Tukeyo's chain, the oni feeds again. Here, it stops.

Arimari twists the naginata shaft and shoves. The wagon jolts sideways, and the bound chest skids off the tilting bed into the mud with a heavy crack.

The cartmaster lurches toward it too late. Reina snaps a hand out, pinning his sleeve back as the chest strikes the stones and stops short of the river.

The lid splits at one corner. A strip of oilcloth slips free, and a wax-marked bundle inside flashes in the rain before the mud swallows the edge of it.

Guard Two reaches for the rear chest rope, but the wagon leans harder under the shifted weight. He freezes, staring at the exposed seal while the horse snorts and stamps in the ruts.

Rain washes the mud from the fallen chest, and the cartmaster's face drains as he sees the seal exposed. He snaps toward Arimari, then toward the road ahead, caught between flight and the ruined cargo.