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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mike Myler" data-source="post: 6890810" data-attributes="member: 6726030"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/verantheacodex/mists-of-akuma-eastern-fantasy-noir-steampunk-for" target="_blank">The project is 45% funded and less than 30 pledges away from the next backer goal!</a>A Priestess’ Mystery at YomokitaHibike Natsuko and the snake spirit Hiba (her ever-present kami guide) cautiously made their way into the village of Yomokita. Despite being the most productive mining village in the region, the streets were largely empty and quiet, with only a few lights in the windows._____“I don’t like this,” Natsu muttered. _____Try this. You’ll like it even less. For an instant Hiba allowed her to briefly see as he could and she was suddenly aware that while the swamp was physically at the other end of the village, spiritually speaking it had almost engulfed the entire settlement. Before she could ask about the anomaly the familiar sound of chanting drifted to her ears—someone was trying to appease the kami. A young girl in apprentice’s robes sat near the edge of the swamp at a small, obviously hastily erected shrine. Not even the most devout could find fault with the fervency of the girl’s chanting, however. Her voice was hoarse, but she clutched the ceremonial gohei wand tightly with her trembling fingers. _____Natsu approached slowly, stopping a few feet from the shrine. Clearing her throat startled the girl, causing the amateur devotee to nearly knock over the small shrine and its offering of fuki stalks. Hiba chose this inopportune moment to enter the corporeal world and the girl flailed still more before throwing herself on her face in a bow. “Are you the great snake of the swamp?” the young miko maiden asked quietly, peering through her fingers at the two. Natsu had to concentrate to not snort in laughter as Hiba arched his body vainly. _____“No, child. My name is Natsuko. I’m a priestess, and this is my kami guide, Hiba-sama. We heard about the swamp and came to investigate.” The girl looked up at this, her eyes brimming with tears. _____“You can’t!” She lunged forward and took ahold of Natsu’s ankle. “It’ll eat you just like it ate Kuzo-sensei!” _____Natsu frowned. She hadn’t heard that the swamp was deadly to humans yet—it must be more advanced than they had initially thought. She knelt down and smoothed back the child’s hair. “Tell me what’s wrong, little one. Start from the beginning.” _____The story spilled out of the girl in a torrent of sobbing explanations tinged with the guilt of personal failure. The swamp had come up from seemingly nowhere some weeks ago and had grown to impressive size within a few days as the village’s herd of goats disappeared. Then a few of the children went missing. Kuzo, the settlement’s priest, had attempted to first communicate with then console whatever kami had brought the swamp in its wake, but after it took the children the village pushed him to act directly. Three days ago after a night spent in prayer and preparation he had ventured into the swamp, leaving his apprentice—the young Uruzami—to tend the shrine in his absence. He had not returned. _____“It’s all right, Uru-chan,” Natsuko said, gently detaching the child from her leg. “Hiba and I will find the bottom of this.” _____“And by ‘this’,” Hiba hissed in her ear, “I hope you don’t mean that creature’s stomach.” [ATTACH]76646[/ATTACH][ATTACH]76647[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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