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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Black Omega" data-source="post: 945467" data-attributes="member: 79">“We didn’t find much of anything!  A slight magical aura, but long faded.  No secret supplies or documents.  And they attacked us right after they got back to the camp, they must have been spying on us somehow.”  The out of breath spy said.Malachai drew himself up to his full three feet, six inches while glaring up at the spy in the darkness.  “Quieter!  Whisper it to me, they killed the others?  Did they follow you here?”  he asked quickly.The spy nodded “They killed Yuhi and Takafumi.  We never even saw them coming!  I wasn’t followed though, I think.  I ran to fast for them to follow stealthily.”“Unless they used some spell or a familiar.  Like they must have at the camp.”  Malachai hissed.  The last thing Kyruko got an impression of was a flash of metal in the darkness, then her spell fading with the life of the hapless spy.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Not quite fast enough though, the group had found the house the spy went to.  They waited a minute while Dmitrios and the Kid caught up with them.  Nezu and Dmitrios were sent to the rear of the house to make sure no one escaped that way.  Vlad and Raven snuck along the side of the house, peeking in windows, but the darkness was too deep for normal vision.  And the silence from inside was just as profound as the darkness.  If the little runt was still inside, he was staying very quiet indeed.Finally done scouting the outside, the party went inside as quietly as they could, prepared for anything.  Katana out.  Spells ready to be cast.  But the house was empty save for the corpse of the spy who had been watching them, his throat slit and his tongue cut out.  A quick search of the house revealed not secret doors but there was a couple of loose boards in one corner.  Someone small and sneaky enough to wiggle down under the house and escape.While Mongo thanked his Yabanjin friend for his help and sent him back to the barracks and Raven pocketed what few coins the corpse had, the others plotted.  They could take over the house for a bit, it seemed.  The pace of events had picked up and there was news that had to be sent back to Bugaisha.  Nor was their camp ground secure anymore.  Not that it had been terribly secure before…Fireblossom took a few minutes to memorize the closet of the house before casting a teleport and zipping back to the specially prepared room in Lord Jyaku’s stronghold.Nezu and Raven were set as guards on the rear while Vlad and Mongo stood on the front porch, standing guard more obviously.  Nervous minutes passed as Fireblossom delivered her messages.  Then movement caught Vlad’s attention, from the dark alley across the street from the house.  From the shadows a voice called out loudly “We need to talk!  Your party is in grave danger.  Send someone over here to meet me.  I promise I won’t hurt him.”“We don’t need any help!”  Mongo roars back, his sword held at the ready.Then an arrow sprouted from Mongo’s  shoulder, another couple deflected by his heavy armor as whoever was in the alley started firing.  Cautious now, Mongo and Vlad quickly retreated inside the house and put out all the lights.  Peeking out the windows carefully, they saw no movement in the alley.  But then the voice yelled out again “Do you need any help now?” followed by mocking laughter.Vlad’s face grew more grim as he listened, then muttered to the others “That’s Taka, I’d swear it.  The ambush in the dark, the taunting.  He’s done this to us before.”The party didn’t have long to consider this information, however, before they started to smell oil.  A quick peek out of the windows didn’t reveal anyone close by.  But the smell of oil was getting stronger.    The roof would certainly make noise is someone was up there running around with oil.  Several in the party got the same idea at once, looking down just as fire was sparked under the house and flames started to flare up between the floorboards.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In Bugaisha, Volar was immediately surrounded by guards, but he knew the correct password and was cleared by a Shugenja’s magic test.  Volar passed along the information gathered at Bugaisha about Rodrigo, the factions there and what little the group really know of their plans.  Volar also had a request “How fast can you make a banner, fairly big.  It should have the Unicorn mon as well as Bansho Kishu, and Hiruma Toshiro.  The Toshiro part should be really big.  We want to get their attention.A curious request, but a couple workmen were put to the task and in about fifteen minutes they had a passable banner ready to go.  Volar stowed it away in his handy haversack, then called upon his teleport spell again, fixing the distant closet he had so clearly in his mind.  The command word was given and Volar felt space warp around him, reforming back in the bandit stronghold of Kuzo.Volar couldn’t help but cough as he reappeared in a closet filled with smoke.  Through gaps in the wood he could see fire spreading in the house.  A fast spell folded magic around him as armor before the elf yanked open the door and ran as fast as possible through the flames and out of the house.  Bursting through the front door, Fireblossom was treated to a battle in progress.  Raven firing arrows as fast as she could at enemy archers on rooftops across the street.  Taka firing arrows from the alley as other thugs kept Vlad and Mongo from getting to him.  While up on the rooftop of another house, a burly, bald headed man was flinging out a bizarre looking weapon like a chain mail basket, round and with jagged metal teeth lining the mouth.  With each toss he tried to drop it over Mongo’s head, but the samurai’s armored helmet saved him from the worst and he head remained on his shoulders.</blockquote>

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