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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Black Omega" data-source="post: 1191996" data-attributes="member: 79">Bansho Kishu soon found out just how dangerous Shinomen forest was.  Their first night they camped in a cave to try and minimize the chance of wild animal attacks.  Which simply made the ghosts’ attack more difficult to handle, as the spectral creatures came through the walls to attack the sleeping group.  Volar’s anti-magic field and Mindra’s talents against spirits drove them off, after Mir’s counter song had stopped the fear effect of their unearthly wails.The next morning was cool, even brisk.  And as the group traveled along they found an old ambush site.  Dead Scorpion samurai and one shugenja.  Only four bodies but there were ten katana left upon the field, and tiny bits of jagged metal all over the place.  Honorably, Verick collected the katana and personal effects to be returned to their families.As Bansho Kishu traveled along, they found the forest growing more diseased and twisted.  Sickly looking animals that fled their approach and trees obviously suffering from some type of blight.  Their next clash came against blighted treants, a savage battle that saw several trees brought to lift to attack the spell casters while the fighters in front tried to avoid being hammered by the huge creatures pummeling attacks so they could get close enough to do some damage.  Volar was constantly  restrained from using fire spells against the creatures, since the forest itself was so dry.  But in the end a  fireball, surrounded quickly by a stone wall helped the group to victory.  Though hours were spent in the area afterward to make sure the fire was properly put out.Let by Mir, the group traveled onward toward the distant grove, deeper into Shinomen forest.  The land simply grew more twisted as they walked, more and more diseased animals and plants found.  Mindra had been rejoined by his monkey spirit ‘guide’ by this point, and it was the two of them who found the spy on the group.  A spirit spider who watches from a tree for a period of time before drifting away.  For once Mindra’s spirit companion was nervous and silent, something the Vanara was very thankful for.Pressing on, the landscape simply grew grimmer.  The bodies of several dead Naga were found, skinned as part of some terrible torture.  Then a few minutes beyond that the group ran into a Scorpion peasant, who came running out  of some dense overgrowth with news of a bloody battle, his people needed help against some treants and he appealed to the group to assist.  The group was suspicious, however, and paused.  Volar’s magic revealed an area of magic in the overgrowth.  Illusions.  And the same around the panicked peasant.It was obvious the ambush was not working properly, to the illusion was dropped revealing a lovingly constructed web of spidersilk all through the overgrowth.  No spiders, though, simple Scorpion samurai charging in to attack.  Mir tried to calm the situation down by appealing for a truce so they could talk.  But Kaz simply charged forward and into the melee, attacking the Scorpion.  It was quickly obvious these here no human samurai.  From a tree one ‘shugenja’ cast spells that sent a blizzard of jagged metal bits over the group, wounding them, then a magnetic attack yanked Toshiro’s sword from his hands and drew it up to the red clad figure.As Bansho Kishu spread out , the ‘scorpion’ circled around, a bite attack momentarily disputing the illusion of a samurai, revealing a spider, it’s poison paralyzing  Mir before the illusion resumed and the ‘samurai’ tried to carry Mir off into the woods.  Mindra was also surrounded, picked out for special attention but the lucky monkey was able to avoid being paralyzed.  Mir, speaking through her thrush, was able to find out the spiders had some grudge against Mindra for past attacks.  Attacks Mindra was unaware of.Eventually a truce was agreed to.  Not the least because by that point the others had rescued Mir’s paralyzed body and their chance to carry anyone away had seemed to pass.  The spiders faded back into the forest with a final “If you truly mean us well, then leave the body of the spider who died where it lies.”That night the group doubled their guard, camping not far from the ambush spot.  This time they were not bothered.  Even Mindra’s friendly monkey spirit had made itself scarce.   In the morning all trace of the battle against the spiders was gone.Pressing on, the others soon were staring at Mindra again as he spoke to thin air, something he had been doing a lot of lately.“Isn’t it exciting, skipper?”  the monkey spirit said cheerfully to Mindra “The forest has really been changing.  Not long ago this was all lush green.  A forest that has stood unchanged for thousands of years.  Where’s the fun in that?  It really was time for change, skipper.”  The monkey argued, Mindra disagreeing.  But when asked, Mindra always said “I’m just talking to a spirit.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The group found a path, ten feet broad, the plant life there not so much trampled down as withered away by some spell.  The group decided to use the path for as long as possible, traveling much more quickly along it than they could have through the tangled overgrowth of Shinomen.  Rounding a curve though, Mindra barely had time to yell out a warning before Tsuno came into view, a pack of the massive, horned creatures waiting to ambush.</blockquote>

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