In the streets of Shisen, Kija was leading them down to where they ventured last night and found Jae-ha since Shin-ah wasn't with them. Yona had asked the blue dragon to stay behind and keep an eye on the green dragon they had forced to sleep, so he was recalling it all from memory.
Hak followed him as he wound his way through the town with Yona in tow, harrowed eyes darting to every nook and cranny as if he could catch a glimpse of any clues as to what had transpired before Jae-ha went down.
Zeno and Yoon weren't far behind them, with Calista bringing up the rear, hood up and face covered.
Calista had made sure to dress properly before they left, thankful that her clothes and cloak were finally dry. Her daggers back on their rightful place on her forearms, she felt a certain sense of peace by having them there.
"Last night, Jae-ha fell unconscious around here." Kija announced to the group, whipping his head around as he scoured the area for anything out of place but he came up empty.
"What's wrong, Yona?" Yoon asked, noticing that she had stopped in the middle of the road when he nearly crashed into her, and Hak's gaze flickered over to her as well.
"Something..." She mused with a small frown, brow wrinkled as she stared at something Calista couldn't see. "It feels like someone's watching us."
Yoon tilted his head, not knowing whether to be puzzled or alarmed. "Huh?"
Yona turned around, full circle but came up empty. "I wonder if it's just my imagination..."
Calista swiveled on her feet, glaring at all the people around them and analyzed every single one of them. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but a claim like that shouldn't be ignored.
Besides, the princess' instincts usually weren't too far off the mark.
Yoon yelped as the fighter suddenly pulled him into her side, tucking him under her arm with zero qualms about how this looked to the onlookers.
She had been building up her strength to get it back to where it was before. It was slow but it was steady progress. She had even moved onto actual sparring sessions with Shin-ah, although he always took it easy on her.
If Yona commanded her, she could scout ahead to figure out if her feelings were right but for now, if they were being tracked, then she had to ensure the safety of the others first.
"Miss!!" Zeno called to the both of them before she could ask, holding a hand up to his eyes to block out the sunlight. "It looks like there's something over there."
They rushed over and Calista's breath caught in her throat as they came across a man face-down, floating in the river. She clapped a hand over her mouth, gagging on the suffocating stench of decaying matter.
Despite the countless amounts of locals milling about, no one blinked twice. It was only after Zeno pointed it out did two of them come forward.
She distinctly heard one of the bystanders comment how the man probably lost his footing last night when it was raining and slipped into the river but the way he seemed so nonchalant about it, as if this was normal, had her blood running cold.
Her ears were ringing at the sheer horror of it.
The two men pulled the body out of the river and Calista looked away, avoiding making eye contact.
Just because she was exposed to the harsh reality of death countless times didn't mean that she liked to see it.
Yoon, on the other hand, went pale and curled into her shoulder. "That man..."
Calista's eyes filled with concern and she covered his eyes, hugging him close to try and comfort him.
"His fingernails were discolored and his teeth were falling out." He continued shakily, fingers trembling as he clung to her cloak. "I wonder if just drowning causes you to become like that..."
Tentatively stepping out from under the safety of her arm, Yoon walked over to where Yona was standing.
Calista kept a close eye on them both, fingering her knives, wary that something was going to jump out at them at any moment.
Her brother had the same idea.
"The people living here are really strange." Hak noted lowly, fingers tightening around his glaive.
Even though someone was dead, no one batted an eye. None of them seemed surprised at all.
Is it possible that the case here is worse than Awa's?
A terrified scream shattered the uneasy calm and immediately, Kija raced towards the source of the sound.
"What's wrong?!" He shouted, trying to help the man who had collapsed in the middle of the riverwalk.
"STOP!!! DON'T COME HERE!!!!!"
Kija frantically tried to calm him down but it didn't do any good. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect and he grew more and more frenzied as their group clustered around him.
Calista drew him back, shaking her head at the earnest white dragon who was trying to help while Hak took care of the others. He couldn't do anything.
This man was too far gone.
Hak crouched down, studying the distressed man closely. "Stop scaring them, White Snake."
"It's my fault?!" He shrieked.
"DON'T COME HERE!!!!!" The man screamed, distraught, scratching his face until he drew blood.
Calista forced herself not to recoil, taking three deep breaths at the sight of him inflicting pain on himself. Her hands went to her neck and gingerly, she traced over the marks left behind from her own scratches.
"It's not your fault, Kija." Yoon told him, clutching onto his medical bag. "This person isn't sane."
It didn't take him long to reach that conclusion after her. And as much as he wanted to help, he didn't know what to do. They had no knowledge of what this drug was or hand any concrete explanation as to what it did to a person. There was a good chance he could end up hurting the man even more if he tried.
Yoon's blue eyes were stressed and he looked away to stop himself from rushing over to that person's side.
To not be able to help him, he hated this feeling more than anything else in the world.
Calista caught him as he tunneled into her, reading his mind clearly from the worry and helplessness etched on his features.
Hushing him gently, she patted his head as his body racked with choked sobs.
"You're kind, Yoon." She reminded him softly, knowing that he was beating himself up internally for not being able to help Jae-ha and now this man in front of them. "We'll find a way to do something about this."
Calista knew the effects of drugs, visually, and the aftermath thanks to that firsthand experience Jae-ha had provided them, but this was different than what had happened to him. Hallucinations were also a part of the side effects but it seemed like this man had been taking the drug for far longer than Jae-ha did.
"This town..." Yona breathed shakily, eyes wide in bewilderment and filled with fear. "What's happening here?"
Calista drew close to her side, hoping to provide the young girl some comfort while she soothed Yoon. A small but grateful smile was sent her way and she returned what she hoped was a reassuring one, reaching out to pat the princess' head lightly.
"What do you want to do?" The fighter asked quietly, combing through Yoon's hair as he sniffled into her shoulder.
Yona mustered up a tiny smile. "I'm... I'm not sure."
A step in their direction had the assassin's head lifting, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"You guys..." Someone asked, voice gravelly. "Are you travelers?"
Beside her, her brother shifted closer to Yona, but unlike the two siblings, the princess did not waver in suspicion.
"Yes." She answered, collective and calm.
"Then you shouldn't stay in this town. You should leave quickly." The man, carrying a pack on his back, replied.
Calista tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing him closely. The merchant didn't look like much but she wasn't going to underestimate him. After a quick scan, she confirmed he was indeed, carrying no weapons, but that didn't dull the drum of apprehension as their princess didn't shy away from the stranger.
"Um... What happened to this place?" Yona asked curiously, trying not to overstep any boundaries.
"Didn't you see that man before?" The merchant questioned but there was no ill intent behind his chastise.
"That man... he's a drug addict, right?" Yona answered timidly, unsure of herself and if it was okay to label him as that.
But a breath rushed out of her lungs when he nodded. "People and corpses, broken down by drugs. It's not an uncommon occurrence in this town."
Calista tensed and hastily apologized to Yoon as she squeezed him harder than she meant to. She let him go before she could accidentally hurt him and he awkwardly stepped towards Zeno, who was near Kija.
Yoon's frown deepened as he shouldered his way to Yona's side, his usual air of confidence shaken by what he had just seen. "I heard the security breach around here was bad... but I didn't think that a drug addiction was rampant."
Calista's jaw ticked, fingers unconsciously curling tighter around the hilts of her blades. It didn't do anything to ease her wariness. It wasn't like she could physically fight a drug or anything.
The merchant sighed regretfully. "This place is one of the better ones. There are worse towns in the coastal areas of the Water Tribe."
Releasing her grip, Calista's mind raced and behind her mask, her jaw dropped.
Oh please, no....
"What? Worse than here?" Kija asked, eyes wide.
"Why the coastal areas?" Yona inquired, not following.
"It's because they're on the coast." The man stated matter-of-factly but not in a condescending way.
Calista cocked her head, unsure if she really heard him properly. Because it sounded as though he knew no one else was aware of the state their tribe was in.
As if this was supposed to be a secret.
That lined up with the weird lack of information she was able to gather while scoping out the underground before they came. Usually, she could find some kind of answer if she looked hard enough, but not this time. No one was talking.
She didn't necessarily put it past the general to hide it from the other generals since it would make him look weak, but she didn't ever see him as prideful before.
I wonder if something's changed.
The merchant sighed heavily, hiking his heavy pack up and readjusted the shoulder straps. "The Kai Empire... or should I say, Southern Kai's merchants have been smuggling in a drug called 'nadai' into the Water Tribe's coastal towns."
"Southern Kai?!" Yona exclaimed in shock.
"Nadai... it's a drug I've never heard of." Yoon said slowly after a beat.
Hak's eyes grew dark at the mention. So, that's what Jae-ha had taken the other day. And knowingly at that.
He still hadn't forgiven him for that.
Calista's eyes rounded in horror as he relayed that tidbit of information to them. Circulating such a lethal drug in Kouka, just what were those people thinking?!
Deep down, she knew.
Drugs were used to get people hooked and once they were addicted, they would stop at nothing to get another fix. She knew it well.
If the Kai Empire was doing this, that meant they intended to gain control of the Water Tribe and eventually, all of Kouka Kingdom.
It made her sick at the possibilities and the death count that could become a reality if someone didn't stop this.
If this went past the Water Tribe's borders...
"It's a drug that isn't circulating Kouka Kingdom." The merchant told them, as if he knew her thinking. "That's why no one knew of its viciousness at first."
She glanced at their surroundings but the people around them seemed to be minding their own business.
"Right after taking it, you feel immense pleasure and your pain is dulled but..." He trailed off, unable to finish his senses.
"The side effects are horrendous." Calista uttered darkly, everything coming together piece by piece.
Jae-ha's hallucinations, his inability to recognize her. His violent nature when he normally would be anything but. He didn't seem to be very affected by Hak's punch after taking it either when they tried to get him to throw up, as if the nadai somehow dulled his nerves and his ability to feel pain.
The man nodded and while Zeno looked albeit thoughtful, Kija was clearly distressed.
"Little by little, you start seeing hallucinations, feel a pain as if your whole body is breaking apart, and eventually go berserk." The merchant explained, gesturing with his hands to emphasize the extent that this went to.
Well, that was comforting.
"Is there an antidote?" Yoon asked immediately, getting straight to what was important. "One of our friends got involved with it."
He just shook his head forlornly, as if he had heard this many times already. "The only solution is to make him throw it up quickly or else he'll have to go through intense withdrawal symptoms."
Hak's entire face went blank, wondering if he should have punched his stomach harder or actually let Kija do it when they had the chance.
Patting him on the shoulder, Calista shook her head when he caught her eye. There wasn't anything else they could possibly have done, there was too little information and it wasn't like Jae-ha was conscious to be forthcoming with them back then.
They tried their best.
But both of them stilled as his next words washed over them, veins icing over in shared horror.
"If a person falls to nadai even once, no matter what kind of outrageous price it costs, they'll try to get their hands on it."
Crap.