Arc 2, Session 12, L5R

October 13th, 1118, Continued

The three samurai in Nestled Village were uncertain where Yudai could be. The last they had seen of him, he had been carrying Narumi back towards her home. Having seen the man’s exhaustion, they had assumed him to merely be resting at the inn- yet he was not found in his room when they decided to check. With little else to go on, they decided to stop by Narumi’s house.

Despite her bruises, the forager looked in fairly good health. Seiki was at her side before the door was even fully open. The mother offered sincere thanks to the samurai for saving her life as she prostrated herself on the ground. Unfortunately, she had no idea where the Crab could be found.

The trio next examined the nearby ground, hoping to spot any telltale tracks. Sure enough, a set of large footsteps lurched away into the forest’s eaves. Nature quickly obscured the path. At least they had been able to determine Yudai had appeared to be heading North. Hoping to find him, they made their way through the woods towards Mori Springs.

To their surprise, they soon came across signs that a large wagon had used the trail South, & recently so. The group must have missed them during their own trek in the depths of the forest. Two sets of prints could be spotted between the ruts the wheels had left behind, & one of them looked familiar.

A short while later, they once more arrived at Nestled Village, where they could see Yudai unloading kegs from a wagon. Helping their companion was Tsuruchi Shiko, the Wasp. After greeting each other, Yudai explained his whereabouts.

It seemed he had run into Kuro-Hane again in the forest, & managed to glean some useful information through the man’s meanderings. The group had already learned that the Fire Kami of the springs were somehow absent. From what the “wiseman” had shared, the displaced spirit had found purchase in an area similar to its home: the well in Nestled Village.

The ensuing imbalance of Fire in the souls of those drinking the water was the root of the supernatural fever. As such, Yudai had reasoned that a “clean” water source may help the villagers to recover. He had purchased several barrels full from Twin Blessings Village, & hauled them back.

His path crossed with the Wasp’s near Mori Springs. In hushed tones, Yudai explained that he had told the bounty hunter some of what had been occurring, & recruited her aid to their cause.

Unfortunately, the imported water would only help assuage one half of the problem. Until the Kunshu-uso was driven away, the Fire Kami would remain in the village’s well. How they would manage to dispense with the otter, they did not yet know. When the kegs had been unloaded, the sun had almost fallen. Curious if anyone would approach the springs in the dark, the group decided to repeat their nighttime vigil once more.

 

October 14th, 1118

Nothing of import appeared during the samurais’ watch. Kiyuki suggested that perhaps Otomo Ran already knew something had occurred. After all, the rōnin had been killed remotely in some manner. As the group discussed the tale thus far, Shiko could be seen to visibly flinch- she fell silent for the rest of the discussion.

It was decided that Yudai & Shiko would spend the day assessing Koden Mori, while the others went to Twin Blessings Village. They needed a way to learn more of the noble side of this problem, & a plan was hatched. If Otomo Ran had been inviting injured samurai to be healed by the springs, perhaps they could levy the visible scars both Hayata & Kiyuki bore. Surely, such grievous injuries would lead a samurai to seek out healing…

In the woods, Yudai had picked up on Shiko’s unease. In plain speech, he asked the bounty hunter what was bothering her. She pointed out that Yudai had failed to mention some of the details she had overheard at breakfast this morning. Most notably, the killing of a monk & possible involvement of political powers. Shiko begrudgingly re-stated that she would aid in killing the monster in the springs, but requested that she not be lied to any further.

Twin Blessings Village was a welcome change of pace for our other three heroes. Lively, welcoming townsfolk moved about at a steady pace, & even the air felt cleaner. Though Megumi wanted to head straight to Closed Shell Castle, Kiyuki suggested the group do some research first.

At her insistence, they stopped briefly at the town’s chief temple to make an offering. The spirits now on their side, it was time to get to work. Moving through the streets as if she were reading invisible signs, the Scorpion lead her bewildered companions to a small teahouse. An older woman sat alone at a large table in the back.

When the samurai approached, the woman introduced herself as Kiriko, & welcomed them to join her. Veiled speech followed for some time, seeming for all the world to be idle pleasantries. Once Kiyuki had learned what she sought, she bid Kiriko farewell with a smile.

Back out in the streets, she explained things to her comrades: if they hoped to get on Otomo Ran’s good side, a personalized gift could lend strength to their introductions. Kiriko had let her know that Otomo Ran was quite fond of ikebana, the art of flower arrangement.

Working together, the three samurai gathered the nicest flowers they could find around the town. Megumi had the steadiest hands, so the arrangement fell to her. Thankfully, both Hayata & Kiyuki were able to lend useful instruction to the Unicorn as she worked. Soon, they were approaching the castle gates with a box containing the beautiful present.

The guards let Otomo Ran know she had guests requesting to meet her. The trio was led to a small receiving room, pleasantly decorated- very pleasantly decorated. Internally, they noted this sign of excess wealth as Otomo Ran entered the space.

To avoid any undue risk, the samurai had crafted a cover story: Hayata & Kiyuki had been travelling in the area. When they ran into Megumi, a kind stranger, she had mentioned the healing springs to them. She had offered to introduce them at the castle as a courtesy to both sides.

It was clear the Otomo was interested in letting the injured samurai visit the springs, but she expressed that it might be some time before the springs were “re-sanctified”. Levying the ikebana display & Hayata’s silver tongue, they were able to convince Otomo Ran to “expedite” things for them.

With thanks, she had a guard bring along three slips of paper. Each was an invite for the samurai to visit Closed Shell Castle as honored guests at dinner some point in the coming days.

While Kiyuki & Hayata left, Megumi insisted to Otomo Ran that she needed to see Kaii. It was like pulling teeth from a dragon, but the Unicorn eventually got escorted to the castle’s library. She excused herself for a moment of private discussion with the Lion.

Over-exaggerating a greeting, she caught Kaii up to speed on what had been learned regarding the springs. As a cover, she also passed the Lion a small packet from her rations, instructing him to act like she had been delivering a holistic remedy. Their host soon collected Megumi to escort her to the castle gates.

Hayata sat on a boulder a short way from the entrance. He joined up with the Unicorn, & the pair began heading back towards Twin Blessings Village. Kiyuki, he explained, had gone ahead to scope out the place a bit more. The pair had to ask several townsfolk, but were able to find the Scorpion without much effort.

Kiyuki had paid a visit to a pleasant waterfall nearby. While there, she had felt like she was being watched from the village. She had been unable to discern who it may have been thus far. For now, the group needed to decide how to proceed.

Both Hayata & Kiyuki wanted to use their standing invites all the sooner, the better to keep Otomo Ran on the backfoot. While Megumi agreed with the idea, she disliked the idea of leaving Yudai in the dark. She volunteered to head back to meet with him, leaving the courtiers to ply their trade here. The two remaining samurai then booked rooms at a local inn nearby.

Finding Yudai & Shiko was easy: Megumi just had to follow the trail of dead wolves. Once reunited, she recapped what had transpired. The bushi saw no further reason to spend another night in the woods, so they followed the path back to Nestled Village. For her part, Shiko would stay camped by the springs.

Immediately upon entering the village the duo could tell something was wrong. In their time spent here thus far, it was true that only a handful of villagers had been well enough to move around. Even with that, there had still been sounds of life & movement in the various houses. But now? The entire area seemed unnaturally quiet.

The samurai began investigating. Aoshi, the village elder, was found sick in her bed. Thankfully, mugs of the clean water were at her bedside. Both Narumi & Seiki were fine, but the forager looked distraught. Her husband, Gobura, had been one of those stricken with the fever- he had somehow disappeared.

Before they moved on, Seiki gave Yudai a small box as a way of saying thanks. She had decorated the outside with painted crabs, & a short length of twine held it shut. He took care to secure it in his satchel while thanking the girl. There would be time to open it later.

Silence filled the inn as they head inside. Finding no one on the ground floor, they ascended the stairs to check on Otomo Kuni. Along the way, a samurai was leaving one of the rooms: they recognized her as Kaikoga Tsuko, the Moth.

Yudai checked on their charge while Megumi barred the Moth’s passage. Thank the fortunes, Otomo Kuni was still present, & had also been given the clean water. Kaikoga Tsuko seemed entirely disinterested in any of Megumi’s questions.

When presented with the fact that most of the townsfolk had vanished, she simply shrugged. Why should a samurai care for the comings & goings of such peasants? When Yudai re-entered the hall, it was to see the Moth’s hand tightening on the hilt of her blade.

Before the discussion could turn to violence, he interposed himself between the two. He managed to convince Megumi to leave the Moth alone for the moment. The pair left to continue searching the remaining buildings. As they did so, Kaikoga Tsuko could be seen leaving the village on the path to the springs.

The door to the blacksmithery was open, & movement could be heard within. Dajan the innkeeper was inside, & was quite startled by the sudden appearance of two samurai. There was a faint scent of sake about him as he explained he had been trying to find any of the other townsfolk who still remained. When Yudai asked why the innkeeper hadn’t somehow stopped the villagers from disappearing, the man let out a knee-jerk laugh.

In Twin Blessings Village, Kiyuki & Hayata enjoyed the food & wine on offer. Surely, it couldn’t compare to what they would have in the castle, but it was of high quality for such a village. When they returned to the inn, Kiyuki found a note had been slipped beneath her door. The note was from Kiriko, & mentioned how nice meeting Kiyuki at lunch had been. She mentioned seeing Kiyuki over at the waterfall, but hadn’t been able to catch the Scorpion’s attention from such a distance. Wouldn’t it be lovely, if they could get lunch again on the morrow?

Seeing this dead-end, Megumi began searching for any signs of where the townsfolk could have gone. There was something strange at the North-West edge of town. The ground was too clean, too devoid of tracks. It appeared as if…something had been done to erase signs of passage. With a barely audible sigh of discomfort, Yudai stood on the edge of Koden Mori & closed his eyes.

Megumi could see the bushi shudder in a visceral manner. Keeping his face plain, he simply began to lead the way into the woods. By now, the only remaining light came from the moon’s pale eye. Yet even this did not explain why the shadows seemed so much deeper than usual. As if this darkness was not an absence of the light, but had somehow consumed it. The Unicorn convinced Yudai to stop for a breath, to explain what he was doing.

Which is when one of the shadows began to move.

Staggering towards them was one of the missing townsfolk, but something was wrong. One of his shoes was missing, & his skin was covered in cuts & scrapes. The expression on his face was vacant as it sat strangely atop his neck- which was twisted near completely around.

Recognizing the zombie for what it was, the bushi moved to defend themselves. What the creature lacked in strength, it made up for in tenacity. No matter how much damage was dealt to it, no matter how badly its body was maimed, the creature continued to attack. Finally, Yudai managed to cleave it in two with his tetsubo, smashing open its rotten organs.

There was no more need for words. Both samurai proceeded to forge onwards through the woods, encountering more zombified peasants as they went. The chill surrounding them began to fade with each passing second, until they could tell that no more of the monsters remained. The pair came to a stop as the trail disappeared completely.

Whatever magic had hidden the peasants’ flight from the village, something much stronger had been enacted to hide them now. Sharing a haunted look, the samurai made their way back to Nestled Village. Each shadow seemed a deadly promise as they kept their weapons readied. It wasn’t until they were seated at an inn table that the samurai felt they could truly breathe.

The events of the past few days surrounded them like a haze. An Imperial letter to deliver, a spiritual disturbance, an unknown monstrosity. And now, the tell-tale signs of blood magic, in a village only days away from the Imperial City. Just how deep would these shadows prove to be?