Compass initiates, fresh on their first mission, make landfall at the coastal city of Suichuu. They’ve been tasked to reconnect with other Compass agents already there and report back with their progress.
A tenseness is immediately felt in the city. High levels of ashigaru and Morvin troops patrol the docks, running off performers playing beautiful and uplifting music. Before leaving the docks, a souvenir merchant shares with them the Demon of Flame legend and the rumored Lifecycle of the Drah’acon.
They head to where the Compass agents were lodging, a hatago called the Sake to Me Inn. However, the innkeeper informs them that the last member to have been seen, Norman, had been arrested a month ago. A hidden note reveals he is the last surviving member of Bonri’s Doomed Expedition.
A high official may help to free Norman from his imprisonment, and the initiates look for one at a bustling marketplace. They encounter the entourage of Mistress Mika and get in the way of an assassination attempt upon her. Sohei warrior monks attack, but are repelled and defeated by the initiates. Morvin guards soon lock down the marketplace and escort everyone away.
From the shadows, a cloaked figure watches the aftermath, his eyes shifting from human to Drah’acane and back.