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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Black Omega" data-source="post: 1062453" data-attributes="member: 79">The party took a week and a half to travel down to Shiro Kaiu and it wasn’t the pleasant trip they had hoped for.  Almost the moment they crossed the border into the lands of the Crab Clan they were attacked by bandits.  And to the party’s annoyance, the bandits appeared to have no clue who they were attacking.  The battle was over swiftly and interrogating a couple of prisoners revealed the aftermath of the Crab Clan’s defeat had stripped away samurai from areas in less danger.  A vacuum that had drawn bands of petty bandits.In this case, the bandits had a little help.  Half the bandits were showing up as tainted to Mir and under more intense questioning the bandits revealed his gang used dogs for their raids at night.  Dogs that had seemingly found them and simply started helping, though the bandit could not easily explain why they had so easily accepted the animals.The terrified bandit was pressed into service guiding the group back to his lair.  Just to make sure the bandits didn’t try escaping into the darkening twilight, they were both tied by ropes to Kaz, who warned them direly if they tried to run away he’s kill them.  With the coming of darkness, however, the group heard howls from up ahead and the bandits grew increasingly nervous.The first warning of the attack was when Mindra suddenly started casting a spell.  Volar recognized the spell as Shield of Faith and called out to the others “Ambush!”  And then six void black beasts were upon them.  Their eerie howls spread fear over the group, though only Yukiyo and one of the bandits were shaken enough to try and flee.  Kaz’s first slash at one of the dogs was thrown off by the one of the bandit’s suddenly trying to flee, pulling at the rope.  Then a fight broke out as the other terrified bandit tried to stop his partner.A slash of claws gutted Mindra’s horse and though the monkey landed on his feet, to of the dogs were one him, one tripping him, then both biting into him and starting to pull in opposite directions, like two dogs with one bone.  The lucky monkey was able to vanish from their grasp, appearing just 100 feet away and ready to fight.  The early confusion was the low point for the group.  Once they recovered from the surprise, the dogs were no match for the samurai’s flashing blades, Mir and Yukiyo’s arrows and Volar’s magic missiles.  Only one of the dogs survived to flee back into the night.A search of the bandit camp revealed little, a few coins and the food they had stolen from local peasants.  The two captive bandits were turned over to local authorities for execution before the group moved on.  Though Toshiro was more than a little disturbed by how deeply tainted creatures had infiltrated into his homeland.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The group arrived in Shiro Kaiu on the 27th day of the Goat.   The large castle was heavily guarded and Volar could see the aura of protective spells along the walls.  The group were required to present their papers are three check points before they were finally allowed in the castle.  But once inside they were quickly greeted by Toshiro’s father, Hiruma Tetsuo.  A tall, burly man with bushy sideburns, Toshiro’s father greeted him enthusiastically, ready to hear all about his son’s adventures.  Toshiro was more than happy to discuss the battle at Kuzo, and with more reluctance even mentioned his encounter with the Yabanjin afterwards.  To Toshiro’s relief, his dad just nodded as he listened then said “It sounds like you did the best you could.  Life just gets complicated like that sometimes.  You have a good idea, but when you try to go with it, it gets more difficult.  And you stubbornly press on, trying to make it work, only to finally decide it wasn’t such a good idea after all.  I have two pieces of advice for you, son.  First, fight as much as you can.  Life is never simpler than when you are fighting off an Oni trying to tear your heart out.  Two, I know you are marrying a strong willed lady, but don’t let her walk all over you.  Remember to let her know who’s in charge.”Toshiro barely had time to nod in agreement before his father got a worried look “I’d better be going.  My wife and I are going to be visiting to Kaiu Wall together, to find the spot we first met.  And she gets pissed if I’m late.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The party was shown to the rooms set aside for them, while the guide gave them instructions for while they were in the castle.  “You see up there?  We use watch fires to communicate quickly along the wall.  Different colors are used to warn about the strength of the attack.  If you see red, it’s very bad.  This castle is the fallback point for this area.  Wounded are brought back here and this is the staging area for any counter attack needed.  Best thing to do if you see any smoke there is just wait in your rooms until the danger passes.  No offense intended, noble samurai.  But you are under the protection of the Kaiu and we take that very seriously.”Once the party had settled in, then split up.  Kaz had some private business to take care of now that he was back in the lands of the Crab.  Volar studied in his room while sending his rat out to explore the back passages  of Shiro Kaiu.  Mir attended to her prayers.  Toshiro, Mindra and  Yukiyo went out looking for the weapon smith, eventually finding their way down to an area under the castle where a grimy Kaiu worked polishing a katana.“I’m sorry to disturb your duties, but I have a request.”  Toshiro began “I’m not sure of the normal procedure for this, but my Lion friend has been looking for a way to gain a crystal wakizashi.”  Toshiro glanced to Yukiyo, who urged him on “and we need some jade arrows as well.”The Kaiu smith came over to  look over the group, wiping the sweat from his face before speaking “What do you need these weapons for?  Jade is in short supply right now so we’re being especially stingy with it.”Toshiro thought quickly and nodded “I understand.  My friends have never been to the Crab lands before.  I was hoping they could leave with gifts of their journey.”Calmly, the Kaiu smith shook his ahead “I believe you misunderstand, Toshiro-san.  A small, detailed stone carving of Shiro Kaiu is a gift.  A decorative kimono with kanji that reads ‘My vassal went to the Kaiu wall and all I got was this lousy kimono.’ Is a gift.  Weapons crafted by the foremost weapon smiths in the world, out materials that are rare and in short supply, are not ‘gifts’.”Walking away from the forge, Toshiro shook his head but also smiled a little “I like him, blunt and to the point.”Yukiyo growled “But we still don’t have the arrows.”“I have an idea for that.”  Toshiro grinned.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mindra was distracted from the group when he spotted an old friend.  Excusing himself, he walked over to a shadowy area and called out softly “Sitha?  What are you doing here.”  From the shadows, the Monkey clan magistrate stepped into view.  Only Mindra’s spirit sight could see the young woman was truly a monkey spirit in physical form. “Several of us have been assigned to the area north of here.  There’s a bandit problem starting and we’re ordered to clean it up.”“We took care of some bandits up there.  Be careful, the band we fought had Shadowlands dogs as well.  It might not be as easy as it sounds.”  Mindra warned worriedly.“It’s ok, we’ll be ready.  Oh…I’ve been thinking about what your suggestion from last time.  I have an idea.  Stop by and visit Verick bright and early, maybe bring a friend.  You’ll enjoy the result.”  The monkey said playfully.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~That evening the group was entertained at Shiro Kaiu by Toshiro’s father.  Stories of battles on the Kaiu Wall were exchanged, Mir was allowed to tell the story of the Battle of Kuzo, and the group had a chance to relax a little.Toshiro had a busy time, first taken aside by his father for a talk.  “I’m pleased to hear you and O-Hisa are so close.  I wasn’t in a hurry for you to be married, but since our defeat by the damned Crane, we’ve been in a difficult situation.  Daily attacks on Hiruma castle, and the standoff with the Crane in the east.  If the attacks on the great Wall had not tapered off, we’d be in even more trouble.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to be there for the wedding so I have a gift for you now.  Tomorrow morning, you and your friends will be given a tour of the Kaiu Wall and the chance to help cleaning out some bakemono that are causing trouble in one of the lower levels. “Toshiro was almost floating on air as he related the news to the rest of the party.  Volar didn’t voice his concerns out loud but later commented to Verick “You know why this is happening.  Now they can say Toshiro fought on the wall, and he’ll be in the least danger possible.”Next, Toshiro tracked down the Kaiu smith he had spoken to earlier.  In more informal settings, the man was more relaxed.  And a gift of vodka Toshiro still had from meeting with the Yabanjin was met with enthusiasm.  And it just so happened the smith had some jade arrows that could be spared…Toshiro returned to dinner with a bounce in his step.  The night was going very well, for once.  Just as he was arriving, he was met by Kaz and another Crab samurai, both looking serious and somber.  ‘Toshiro, we need your help with something.  There have been some troubles around the castle lately.  We’ve tracked down who is causing the trouble.  But...we need some help going after them.  I thought of you and Kaz because you both have been stationed far away, so I know you could not have been compromised by these people.”  The Crab warrior said solemnly.Toshiro was agreeable, a fight was a great way to finish off the night.  And the three made their wqay out of the castle to the town outside.  To a large house, though it was late enough no lights were showing in the place.  Creeping in stealthily, the three went to a large room.  Where lights are suddenly unveiled to reveal just exactly what Kaz had been up to all day.  Toshiro’s bachelor party.[GM Note:  And a fun scene leading up to that, as Toshiro’s player had no idea just what was coming, until it was finally revealed.  Out of respect to Eric’s Grandmother, we fast forward to the next day.]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bright and early, Verick had a visitor.  Kaiu Mitsuhara, a representative of the Kaiu forge.“You understand, Verick-san, that crystal is very rare and difficult to work with.  And we have had cases of agents of the Nothing trying to steal them.  They can use crystal as well, and with the fall of the Lying Darkness, they are no longer a unified as they once were.  Please excuse our caution, this is a requirement of my lord and I’m sure you’ll understand I must do this.  Place this crystal mask on your face.  Please tell me right away if it starts to feel hot.”  The young Kaiu said, politely offering the crystal mask.Verick tried on the mask and instantly felt the heat start, growing hotter by the second.  He quickly removed the mask and spoke of the heat.  But Kaiu Mitsuhara simply nodded “Again I apologize.  A trick for the agents of Nothing.  They would surely lie, taking the test at face value.  I leave now to bring this news to my lord.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Toshiro awakened more slowly this morning.  It had been a long long night.  And now he had a adventure on the wall awaiting him.  He washed up quickly and then got into his armor, but was surprised to find a small note tucked away inside his gauntlet.  A Rose In DarknessCrimson Snow Over The WallYou Cannot ForgetToshiro had no doubt who must have left the note, and it was not a good thing.  If his ‘girlfriend’ consumed by the Lying Darkness was around, then something bad was happening, or about to happen.Toshiro didn’t have time to reflect on this, or how the note got into armor, though.  Mindra was knocking at his door, the monkey in an unusually happy mood “Let’s go visit Verick, he’s up already.  Just trust me, you’ll like this.”At Mindra’s mysterious request, he went with the Vanara to visit Verick.  But Toshiro didn’t have to wait long to find out the nature of the visit.  Verick’s face was marked with black.  A black triangle cat nose over his own, and little catwhisker black lines over his cheeks.  While Mindra tried not to giggle and was silent, Toshiro blurted out “What’s wrong with your face, Verick?”Surprised, Verick brought out a mirror and looked.  And his face turned a dangerous shade of red, his temper rising quickly.  Glaring at Mindra he snarled “Ok, what did you have to do with this?”Mindra was taken aback by the sheer anger and shook his head quickly “Nothing.”  Nothing directly at least… ‘We were just coming to visit.  Maybe a spirit did it?”  he suggested, worriedly.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~More would have happened if not for the arrival of a servant announcing it was time for the group to visit the Kaiu Wall.  Their guide was going to be Kaiu Hanshi.  But before leaving Verick wrote off a fast note to the Daimyo of the Kaiu, angrily informing him of the ‘Kaiu’ who had played this trick on him and suggested Mindra may perhaps be a minion of the Lying Darkness or the Shadowlands.This task done, Verick joined the others in the shot walk up to the Great Wall.</blockquote>

Verification