The air amongst the caravan was unique to say the least. There was a sense of both excitement and wonder, yet for some, a sense of suspense and anxiety. Beyond the tree line was the Deadlands. Stories of this place have been ones of mostly dread surrounding disappearances of people who ventured into the land. That didn't stop some of the men from dreaming an exotic land of women and grand treasures. None of them could've imagined what lied before them. Naivitivity wasn't something Ma Dai could afford. He heard everything he needed to know from King Meng Huo. He already explained to the soldiers and other officers of what to expect of this place. Whether or not they choose to listen was up to them. He knew what to expect. His closest allies knew what to expect. That is, at least he knew what to expect. He only hoped that the information was nothing more than exaggeration.
They approached the edge of the forest and had finally arrived at the mythical land. Orochi may be gone, but his essence has left a stain on the land. The ground bearing the scars of dark magic. Twisted and bounded by the vision of a mad god. The Earth formed into a mess of uneven ground, the land morphed and shaped by cataclysmic events no one had witnessed. Pieces of the surface was lifting, exposing massive chasms underneath. Some had even rose above and into the heavens, suspended in time. Beams of light pierced through the cracks, the essence of his dark magic. One would believe that this land was the testing grounds for Orochi's new world, rejected and left to be forgotten.
"So these are the Deadlands." the ninja spoke to assure herself. The sight of this place had a profound effect on the caravan. Some were left in disbelief that such a place could exist. They had witnessed many different scenarios from the war with the Serpent King. The Hydra was the worst and most terrifying of it all, but something about this place felt different. As if this place was meant to be forever lost. Hidden away from eyes, but here it was out in the open near a kingdom.
Why would our lords build a base beyond this land? Meng Huo said that all this appeared after Orochi's death but all this looked to be here longer than assumed. Ma Dai thoughts were running through his head as he looked on. He was somebody that Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang had entrusted some of there most secret missions to. Yet even he didn't know this place existed. Not him, not Kunoichi, not even Yukimura. Some of the other officers also didn't seem to know about this place. At least, all except one. Tate Yushida, one of Takeda's officers seemed to be a little too naive about this place. Like he was trying to hide his own knowledge of this place. How long did they know this was here. After Orochi's death or before then. Regardless of what he knows, Ma Dai had to clear his head for the moment. There is still a mission to carry out.
"My lord, is something troubling you?" Ma Dai turned his head, he saw a curious look over Guan Yinping's face. He responded to her, "No, just a thought came to mind. Has your father even mentioned anything about a place like this, my lady?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. My father would've never let me go if he knew this existed. Why do you ask, my lord?"
"Nothing, just a curious thought that's all. We should keep moving."
He shared the same message with the rest of caravan and they resumed their march through the cursed land. Still, his concerns would continue to cross his thoughts. While he did his best to hide it, it didn't go unnoticed by his friends. Kunoichi could read his feelings a mile away while Yinping tried to ease his thoughts to mild conversations.
"So what do you think happened here, my lord? The land appears to have the scars of a large battle, but I don't recall there ever being one that took place here."
"That's because there wasn't one, my lady. In fact, no battle of any kind took place here. At least not one that I am aware of. For all intents and purposes, most of what we did know is that it appeared some time after Orochi's death and no one is allowed to even be here."
"But if that's the case, why does our Lord even have a base that is beyond this place? I mean, I don't want to question his motives but I don't think it's practical to have a base this far out and unreachable?" She was right, a base out here is unpractical. Grant it, the base was built before this place appeared but even then it wasn't like us was a valuable location. It doesn't make any sense, why run a supply line through this place? What resource could be useful that it warrants this amount of secrecy? Unless...
"Maybe that's the point, my lady. Something this far out is perfect to hide something away from wondering eyes."
"But what is there to hide? What would our Lord want to hide that he needs to have it all the way out here?" Her curiosity was leading to very serious questions. The answers Ma Dai wasn't sure if he wanted to find.
"I honestly don't know, my lady," he said with weighted breath. "Listen, we have a job to do. The sooner we finish it, the sooner we can leave this place." She didn't like his response but she agreed with him. Yinping didn't want to show it but this place terrified her. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there is something out here. Something more than just a base near the great mountain. She didn't know what but it had to be something that was worth hiding.
The caravan traveled for hours in this desolate place. Only understanding the general direction of where they needed to go. The unchanging, darkened sky made navigation difficult as they were unsure how far along the path they believed to be correct. The only form of navigation they had was a compass that they used to follow south. Even then it was unreliable as it would spin constantly. Still, they had to make the best of what they have.
"It's so strange, we've been traveling for some time but I can't tell if we are even going. There's just something off about this place."
"Yeah, there's no kind of discernible thing to help us to know where we're going."
"What're you guys going on about? There's plenty of things to go off of. There's a rock floating there, another one lifting from the ground there. Hey look, something shiny."
"Stop complaining, we just have to listen to the general and trust that he would lead us out of here."
"I hope your right, sir. We've been out here for hours already. Just kinda feels we made no progress. I'm not even sure if he knows where to go."
"Yeah, what's the general know about this place? NOTHIN'! He's as lost as we are!"
"SHUT IT! If you lot are like this for in a few hours, I'd hate to see how you are in a few days. And show some respect for the general!"
"What's he goin' to do, huh? I'm not afraid of some idiot in a stupid hat! Is he going to paint a picture for me?
The spree of insults caught the ear of the little ninja. In an instant she appeared behind the unsuspecting soldier.
"He said show some respect!" She elbowed him in his ribs, staggering him.
"OUCH! You little brat! I'm gonna-"
"Do what!? You heard me, show respect to your superior! Ma Dai knows what he's doing! He wouldn't just lead us through this wasteland without knowing where to go!"
The soldier didn't say anything other than a disrespectful scoff as he continued to march on. She let him go before quickly hopping onto the back of Guan Yinping's horse, Qiang. Who was on the other side of the convoy. The sudden appearance of the ninja startled the daughter of war. She felt her back laying against hers and heard her groan.
"Mmm, these soldiers have no respect for anyone. At least they have some for you, even if it's mostly because they think you're beautiful. Who knows how far that goes."
"The soldiers respect me? That's one of the things my father told me is important to become stronger. I guess that means I'm doing something right."
"I didn't mean it like-ah whatever."
"Kunoichi, I was curious about what do you think of this place? What happened that left everything like this?"
"Hmm, don't know. I didn't even know this place existed until this mission. Out of the blue, your Lord Liu Bei and old Tokugawa wants us to check on a base out in the middle of nowhere. It's not like it holds any tactical advantage or resources that's valuable. Or at least from what we know of. Lord Meng Huo knew about this place and only told us because of where we're going. Seems like the higher ups know more than what they are leading on. Wonder why that is?"
Like she told Ma Dai earlier, she didn't like to doubt her lord's motives. He was her father's sworn brother, practically her uncle. But even she can't understand why a supply line that passes through this land would be beneficial in anyway.
"I'm trying figure that out as well, I don't know if my Father knows of this place or the one we're traveling to. You think our lords would've given us some kind of idea of what to expect. Instead, they didn't even bother to mention anything like this."
"You know these leader types, always failing to say things that can help everyone. Maybe they didn't know. Maybe this whole place didn't exist before. Maybe it's not as dangerous or deserted as it looks. Who knows what can be lurking here. Maybe something is staring us down right now."
The young warrior didn't appreciate her companion's remarks on an unseen threat. This place already filled her anxiety and dread. Chills ran through her skin every time she looked out into the surrounding landscape. The ninja wasn't wrong, something could be hiding out here. She turned to her and pleaded, "Please don't say stuff like that. The last thing I want is to be ambushed by monsters."
"Nyahaha! Don't worry, how this place is, we'd be lucky to see a single soul out here."
She hoped she was right, the convoy had not seen anything or anyone thus far. Whether this place was truly deserted was unknown. Only those who have disappeared would know. The young warrior only hoped they would not be next to be consumed by the land.