Blackfeather Woods the assassin's road

a sneer.

my men are abroad; i am a lord with no land, seeking the blood debt of those who stole from me. these were not lies, although he chose to omit the details. it was disgrace that swept kikyō from the land of his father—and while he had been taught of the dignified end that seppuku intended, he had never carried through with it.

and why should he? brothers, gone, father beheaded. what honor could be salvaged in his own death?

he felt he had died many times to get here.

the disdain lifts from his face, replaced by suspicion and a stern aspect. you are not an assassin, or you would have begun your assault by now. a ronin then? do you lack a contract?

a lord could use more bodies.