Kumo Akimora's page

Poji's Sheet (Coming Soon!)

Thunder roared closely behind the lightning streaked sky as the torrential downpour of a rainstorm continued on. The sound was deafening, masking the approach of hunters and seekers as they closed in on her position. It also masked the wails of lament from her newborn child nestled away just beneath her bosom. Exhausted and short of breath, she pushed forward through the storm motivated by fear of what would happen to her and her child if her pursuers had caught up to her.
Like a disoriented gazelle, she went forth pushing through bushes and low tree branches trying her best to protect her precious passenger from both debris and the rain. She could hear them slowly getting closer. Her vision wasn’t nearly as good as theirs in the dark and she knew it. She had hoped for sunrise to come soon as it might give her an advantage. It was desperate, wishful thinking as she slipped on a moss-covered rock. She took care to land on her side as she fell so as to not hurt the baby and was rewarded with a sharp, seething pain into her side. A cry of pain erupted forth before she could catch herself. As she pulled herself up through gritting teeth, she discovered the cause.
A felled log with the remnants of a broken tree limb sat upright upon the forest floor. She had landed and inadvertently impaled herself upon it. Clutching her side, she could sense that the wound was bleeding extensively. She tried her best to use whatever clothing she had to apply pressure to the wound and proceeded onward. Minutes went by seemingly melded into hours. How long had she been running now? She had no way to tell other than knowing she was still being pursued.
The world was beginning to wobble and waver. She could feel her heart strain against her chest, desperate to continue its function of existence. She collapsed once more as she tripped over a root. Lightning flashed in the sky as she tried to get up, illuminating a cloaked figure with a singular curved blade drawn in the light. Terrified, she shot backwards accidentally dropping her crying child. Without so much as a chance to plead for her life, she felt the blade run through her heart.
As the figure examined the kill, he could hear others coming. The crying child was drawing whomever was chasing her towards the dojo. The figure thought about dispatching the child here as well but noticed that mother and baby was decidedly different. She was clearly human and bore the markings of the lash. The babe was of onyx skin and had ears of an elf.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot let anyone know of our home, but looks like you wouldn’t have lasted much longer anyway,” the figure spoke quietly to the slain mother, taking note of the wound. He took another look at the child, picking it up for closer inspection. “Clearly of the Darklands…” Caught in a conundrum of what to do in the moment and attempting to bury any feelings of remorse, the figure decided to take it back to sensei. If he orders the child slain, so be it.
Using the terrain and the child to his advantage, the cloaked figure led the child away from the area leaving the body of the mother behind to be found by her pursuers. He knew others from the dojo were coming and would no doubt quickly dispatch any other potential threats. He knew a few things as he went back home. That woman was an escaped slave. She also was carrying a half-breed drow in her arms.
Tomi slid the door closed behind him, ending his endeavors out in the storm. He was soaked to the core. Why did he bring this incessant screaming thing of the drow child with him? Surely sensei would simply order the child killed. Tomi shook his head. He really should’ve just left it out there to die. It would’ve been better served as bait for his brothers and sisters of shadow.
Tomi sighed to himself as he looked down at the bundle. Yeah, definitely drow blooded, but how did she end up all the way out here? Tomi could feel a series of footsteps rush towards his general direction beyond the wails of the child. Several women surrounded Tomi, their hands gripped around their pommels as if expecting an unexpected invader.
“Relax, it’s just me, Tomi back from the forest.” He held up his free hand in a wave while trying to hide his nervousness with a wry smile.
“Where are your brothers, Tomi?” A human woman with greying hair in her fifties strode her way past her guardians. Her voice carried a stern tone of discipline and expected obedience. “And what is that you are carrying?”
Tomi took a knee before Sensei Umeko, laying the child before her feet, his head laid low. “They will be along shortly. We only counted six in their number, outnumbering them three to one. It will be a swift death for the intruders.”
Umeko scoffed at the report. “I shall punish you later for your insubordinence.” Umeko glared down at the child on the floor, whom at the moment had stopped crying. With barely even a flick of her wrist, a throwing blade stuck into the floor landing right next to the child. Tomi couldn’t help but flinch a little. Sensei was cold and at times ruthless. He wouldn’t have put it past her to kill an infant in cold blood. What startled him even more is how the child seemed fascinated with the gleam of the blade wedged into the wood of the floor.
“What did you intend to do with a Darklands spawn?” Umeko asked coldly.
“I wasn’t sure, sensei. That is why I brought it to you.” Tomi was curt in his response.
“Kill it.” Umeko turned around and proceeded to go back the way she came.
That was the response Tomi expected. It wasn’t going to be worth the month of backbreaking labor to have gotten that answer. He reached for the kunai stuck in the floor when he heard Umeko speak again as she was leaving.
“That is assuming you cannot find a good use for it.”
Umeko was already around the corner and out of sight as Tomi brought his head up. Her guard relax their grip on their weapons. Most moved on but a couple women knelt down with Tomi to have a closer look. “Wow, an actual drow. Looks like our village will have an interesting new addition.”
“The woman that carried this child was human. I have my doubts that this child is full blood.” The other two women exchanged glances at one another as if knowing a deeper understanding to Tomi’s words.
“Well, no matter. We will attend to this child for now. Go get some rest. We’ll wait for our brothers.”
Tomi nodded in agreement. He would need all the rest he could get for tomorrow was going to be a hard day of labor.
25 Years Later
Nestled in the foot of the mountain between the Kamiteki and Awahana Rivers, the hidden villiage of Jijan served as home for The Black Lotus, an organization of ninja for hire. Frequently working in secret within the capital of Minkai, the city of Kasai, The Black Lotus would also accept contracts from the neighboring cities of Akafuto, Uddo, Shogokabe, Wanshi, Oda, and Hiyosai. The clan specialized in sabotage, subterfuge, espionage, and assassination. Each member of the village was either training or a fully trained expert in the Art of Ninjitsu. It is here that Kumo spent his child and adolescence, training in the ways of The Black Lotus. Under Umeko’s stern dislipline and Tomi’s direction, the boy earned his name for his penchant of patience to set traps for his targets as well as for his natural ability to remain unseen.
A minor paragon amongst his peers, he developed arcane abilities at age 16. By age 20, Kumo had learned to mix his inert arcane talent with his developed skills as an assassin. At age 22, Kumo was working covert contracts in the smaller districts and lesser towns among the coastline of Southern Minkai. On the eve of his 25th birthday, a message from Master Tomi came instructing him to return for reassignment.
As Kumo arrived, the atmosphere was a somber one. At first he thought that baba, Umeko died. It wasn’t until he actually went to the elder’s hut did he find that was not the case. Umeko was there waiting. She was much older now as was Tomi.
“Kumo, please sit.” Tomi calmly stated. Kumo did not speak as he sat down cross-legged on the cushion floor. Umeko, withdrawing a scroll from her loose fitting kimono, handed it to Tomi who in turn displayed the scroll out onto the table.
As Kumo stared down at the parchment, observing a map with the country of Talingarde painted upon it. Puzzled by the map, Kumo asked, “What’s this?”
“That is where you’ll be going,” replied Tomi. “Through Yaezhing’s graces, we’ve been bestowed with another very lucrative contract. You’ll be going to the island nation of Talingarde and assisting the Church of Asmodeous with its agenda of toppling the regional government there.”
Kumo rubbed his chin as he wandered his thoughts. He had never heard of such a country before. As such, it must be exceedingly far away. He wasn’t sure how such a contract became available to The Black Lotus. He only understood that Yaezhing was responsible for meriting out divine judgment as necessary amongst the gods. It would not be uncommon for others to seek out His aid, but he did not know this Asmodeous. “What do we know about Talingarde and what is this “Church of Asmodeous”?”
Tomi nodded in Kumo’s direction, giving a slight approval of his pupil to desire more information. “Talingarde is an island nation roughly two weeks southwest by boat from the harbor village of Shogokabe. It is a kingdom ruled by House Darius in a traditional monarchy. It is an honorable country that until approximately twenty years ago was diverse in its pantheons. A decree by the ruling monarch changed all that, outlawing all other deities of worship save for a deity known as Mitra. We do not know much about this Mitra, but it seems that a few individuals find this decision oppressive.”
Umeko continued in with the briefling, “The Church of Asmodeous strikes me as a western idea similar to our own Yaezhing. The only key difference being their worship of creatures they call ‘devils’. Aside from that, you shouldn’t have any problem working with them.”
Kumo nodded, not fully grasping the pantheon. He thought he would find out nonetheless. “What is it that this Church requires and how will I contact them?”
Tomi chimed in again. “They have paid an exuberant sum for our services. You will be serving them until further notice. As for how to contact them, that was a little vague…” Kumo could sense the concern on Tomi’s voice. “Their instructions were to simply ‘kill someone in public and surrender’. Their messenger assured me that they would be able to contact you afterwards.”
“How unorthodox,” Kumo thought to himself, “This could be exciting.” He began to stand up in anticipation for the long journey.
“Kumo,” Tomi interrupted, “Say your farewells. This might be one of those missions where it will be a long time before you return…or even come back from at all.”
Kumo nodded solemnly at Tomi and left the hut. Tomi didn’t have to say that. It did no good escalating this feeling of unease as Kumo went to pack his things for the long journey.
Two Weeks Later
Being half drow, it didn’t take much to pick a fight with someone, rather a duel to the death. Except it wasn’t much of a duel. All Kumo had to do was act a fool and reveal his face in a pub full of drunken squalor. While his home village accepted him for who he was, he knew that drow-blooded fey were an abomination in the eyes of many.
Kumo desperately wanted to find some measure of enjoyment for the unsatisfying kill, but all he got was a beating from the local guards. Lovetaps he thought, as to keeping himself amused. Even as they branded an “F” into his forearm, he found himself laughing in anticipation. Kumo wondered how his contractor would contact him deep within Brandlescar Prison.