A while had passed since Hayate officially went AWOL abandoning his post at Tylermande and his rank as general of the Brotherhood and with the aid of his new friend he successfully slipped out without anyone being the wiser. It was a smart move promoting squirrel girl and leaving the port in her hands, even if they were Shinsou’s personal guard the Immortals and bolstering them even more would be foolish Hayate knew that Reina would remember what he had done for her in the past. No matter what happened he was sure that he would always have a strong ally in the Brotherhood, so long as Shinsou never finds out.
It was a strange feeling to be back on the run again and Hayate as well as Yamato, who had been very quiet again as of late, had felt any sense of freedom. It took a lot of work but through Yamato’s aggression Hayate realized the error of his way and decided to abstain from the fight for Radasanth. The shinobi, as if without anywhere better to be, fallowed the stranger for what seemed days as the two made their way north towards the capital. All the while avoiding the main roads and keeping their position away from both sides. During their travels Hayate had come to know this man as Ioder, the leader of an outfit of battlemages under contract with the Assembly. He along with his shields, fellow mages, was originally sent to Tylermande to capture or kill Hayate once the news of the port’s capture. But seeing his wild display and his almost eagerness to leave the military behind, voided their mission and took him into their custody secretively.
They were stationed fairly far apart but every few hours or so another of Ioder’s shields would appear and join the caravan as if they had pit stops planned out for their journey. By the end of the two day hike through the rolling hills Hayate was surrounded by a band of about fifteen highly trained and respectable warriors of the highest order. Though he was little more than a stranger, and a dangerous one at that, they treated him like a friend. Never once raising so much as an eyebrow questioning his actions or leading him to believe he was in danger. It was again strange but he in the span of only a few short days already felt more at home now than he ever did as a Castigar.
“Are you ready from what comes next?†Ioder once asked him, early on their travels. Hayate wondered what that meant, he wondered what was next. As far as this man knew Hayate was just a time bomb ready to go at any moment. He avoided telling specific details about the Corpse King but with what information he did divulge Ioder must have thought he stumbled upon the answer to his troubles. But whatever his troubles were Hayate knew they were nothing compared to the overwhelming force about to descend on Radasanth.
