The scroll was simple—unadorned parchment sealed with the red wax emblem of Mount Hwa. Yet when Elder Baek handed it to me, it felt heavier than my sword.
"This comes directly from Sect Leader Seong," he said. "You three are to deliver it to Clear Wind Pavilion in the Southern Valley."
I looked up from the scroll. "A delivery?"
Elder Baek's eyes narrowed. "It's not just a delivery. It's your first step off the mountain. You will represent Mount Hwa to an ally sect. That means discipline. That means control. That means no unnecessary fights."
He glanced at Dan.
Dan blinked. "Why does everyone always look at me when they say that?"
So-Yeon folded her arms. "Because you invite unnecessary fights."
"I *finish* fights."
"You *trip* into them."
I tucked the scroll into my sleeve, careful not to bend it. "How far is Clear Wind Pavilion?"
"Two days down the southern trail," Baek replied. "You'll pass through White Hollow Pass. Be cautious. Bandits have been reported on the road. Nothing formidable, but enough to be a problem if you act like fools."
Dan bowed dramatically. "No foolishness. Only grace and glory."
Elder Baek sighed. "Get out of my sight."
---
We set out the next morning beneath a sky pale and cold. Snow crunched beneath our boots as we descended the winding path leading away from Mount Hwa's main gate. I paused for a moment, glancing back at the rising towers and the mist curling around the temple roofs.
"I thought I'd feel something," I murmured.
So-Yeon adjusted the pack on her shoulder. "You do. You're just not naming it yet."
Dan stretched his arms high overhead. "I feel excitement. And maybe regret for eating cold dumplings for breakfast."
The mountain's air grew thinner as we descended. Pines gave way to bare trees, their branches clawing at the sky. The snow here was lighter, patchy. Birdsong returned to the silence.
By midday, we reached White Hollow Pass.
It lived up to its name—an open cleft between two jagged cliffs, bleached white from constant wind and frost. The air was sharper here, and quieter. Too quiet.
We moved with caution. So-Yeon's hand hovered near her blade. I gripped my greatsword, ready but not drawn. Dan, for once, kept his mouth shut.
It was So-Yeon who spotted them first—shadows in the rocks.
"Above," she said simply.
They dropped from ledges with practiced speed. Five men, all wearing patchwork armor and old Murim-style sashes—likely remnants of disbanded clans turned to robbery. Their weapons were mismatched but sharp.
The leader, a thin man with one eye and too many rings on his fingers, stepped forward with a grin.
"Nice coats," he said. "Bet they'd sell for good silver."
Dan rolled his neck. "We're not here for a fight—"
"But we're always ready for one," I said, stepping forward.
The bandit leader's grin twisted. "Big one, aren't you? That sword real, or just for show?"
I didn't answer. I unslung the sword from my back and planted it in the snow between us. The metal hummed.
He hesitated. "Mount Hwa?"
So-Yeon drew her blade, quick and sharp. "Turn back."
They didn't.
The fight lasted moments. The first man charged and was disarmed in a single parry from So-Yeon. Dan knocked a second flat with the butt of his staff. I met the leader with a single upward slash that split his spear and left a shallow cut across his chest—enough to make him fall back, wide-eyed.
"We're not your prey," I said. "Remember that."
They fled, slipping and scrambling over the rocks like rats into the dark.
Dan dusted snow from his sleeve. "Well. That went better than usual."
So-Yeon flicked her blade clean. "Next time, you speak less."
He raised a hand. "Agreed."
We kept moving. By nightfall, we reached the edge of a small forest and set up camp beneath a thicket of pines.
As we sat around the fire, I pulled out the scroll again.
"It's strange," I said. "To be carrying something that matters. That connects Mount Hwa to the rest of the world."
So-Yeon looked at the flames. "We're not just disciples now. We're threads in a greater tapestry."
Dan leaned back against his pack, arms folded behind his head. "I hope that tapestry has food at the next stop."
I smiled. The fire crackled. The forest was quiet.
We had left the mountain.
The road had begun.