Bounty Head Bebop Comlink
Play By Post Section => Mythic Nippon: The Demon God of Sendai => Trophy Room => Adventure V => Topic started by: BerkaZerka on January 08, 2015, 06:46:54 am
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With everyone else gone to Kurokawa, Roka finds himself alone to deal with Lee and Yunikawa's four vampire samurai-ko...
Heading to the Temple of The Ancestors, to find the Exalted Patriarch, Roka sees that an outdoor triage unit has been set up outside, where many of Sendai’s wounded lay recovering on narrow stretchers. There are many horrifying burns, smashed limbs, and what Roka can only guess are huge bite marks – leaving grisly chunks of missing flesh on more than a few unfortunate victims.
Looking around, Roka sees the Priests and Monks of Sendai tending to the wounded.
Noticeably missing – the bones of fallen heroes and Exalted Patriarch Yasuo Sanjo...
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Roka doesn't waste time. He needs to act quickly, take out the vampires and Lee, and then get to his allies.
"Where is the exalted Patriarch, priest?" He asks one of the priests
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"He is in the Chapel, Roka-san," the Priest replies.
"Right this way."
Leading Roka to the Temple's Chapel, the Priest announces Roka to the Exalted Patriarch and then leaves.
"Ah, Roka, I'm not at all surprised to see you," Exalted Patriarch Onishi says, "What can I do for you?"
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Roka raises an eyebrow.
"You're not?" He asks, and then shakes his head.
"Never mind that. I know where Yukinawa's servants, the korean and the vampires reside." Roka states simply.
"I will need assistance in removing them from Sendai."
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"Are they far?" the Exalted Patriarch asks.
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"Are they far?" the Exalted Patriarch asks.
"No. They reside in the home of Kado Hasekura, who I believe is long dead, unfortunately." Roka replies. "I have a plan to deal with the korean, but the vampires are too powerful for me take by myself. I need the aid of the Gods and the Ancestors, more then ever."
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"Ugh!" the Exalted Patriarch groans at the mention of Kado Hasekura likely being dead - "Sendai needs no more 'complications' right now."
He puts a hand to his forehead and sighs.
"Unfortunately, there is too much immediate need in Sendai for me to spare any of our Priests - we are already fractured between too many objectives - not to mention that they have already spent all of their spell energy today and will be useless in that regard until the morning."
"But, if you can wait until the morning, I suppose I could divert one Priest to you."
"Either way, you should take this information to General Meji," the Exalted Patriarch continues, "He and what is left of Sendai's Army are west of Sendai on the road to Yunikawa's Citadel. There, they stand guard against Yunikawa's return, though I hardly think Yunikawa will bother to walk, but I digress..."
"I'm sure he would be more than happy to detach a detail of him men to help you hunt down these vile traitors."
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"Lovely. I suppose that is what I will have to do. Would you know if the WuJens have any to spare?" Roka asks.
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"I'm afraid that most of Sendai's Order of Arcanum were specifically targeted in Yunikawa's attack. Yuki and the Daimyo's own Advisor, Kenji Nogachi, are the only Wujen that Sendai has left."
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"That is very dire news." Roka states, crestfallen. Taking on the four vampires with the whole group was a dangerous plan, taking them on without any magic users would be even worse.
"Alright, thank you for the information, Exalted Patriarch." Roka says, bowing.
Next person on the list, Ms. Shiratahara. She's probably still able to use the bow well.
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Heading out of city proper, Roka makes his way to Sendai's Zen Archery School just outside the west wall.
Being outside of the fortress city, the school and its surroundings were spared the hammering that the rest of Sendai took from the sky.
Looking around, Roka finds a number of peasants with Headmistress Akiko Shirahata in a field, as they oversee the burning of a huge pile of dead goblinoids.
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"Lady Shiratahara! What happened here?" Roka asks. Hopefully it's not the fact that she blew all of her powers on these goblins
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"Oh Roka!" Lady Shirahata says, seeing the Samurai.
"Did you make it to the Ancestors? Did you return Kioko? Where's Yuki and Miya? Are they all right? I suppose you heard about Yunikawa?"
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"Did Yuki not visit?" He asks, almost beginning a conversation, but quickly shakes his head.
"Never mind that. It's not the time for conversation, unfortunately. I need to speak to you privately." Roka states
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"So, by that I can take it Yuki is fine and well?" Yuki's mom huffs.
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Roka sighs.
"Right. I'm sorry Lady Shirtahara, I'm just in a rush. Yuki and Miya are fine, and your daughter has been given a heavenly mission, and Kioko has been returned to her time. Apparently she was sent by the Ancestors to help us. I don't understand it myself." Roka states.
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"Thank you for that," Yuki's mother replies in a distinctly 'mom' sort of way.
Then turning to the peasants, she instructs "continue with the clean up and alert me immediately, if any of the blood begins to 'stray' from the pyre."
Then back to Roka she motions for him to follow her into the privacy of the family home.
Watching Yuki's mother from behind, as she leads the way (with her cute bushy little foxtail gently swayin side to side as she walked) suddenly triggers rather awkward thoughts in Roka ...
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Noooooope Roka's mind states, flooding Roka's mind with images of women who are not almost double his age and the mother of his team's wujen. Noooooooope
Killing his very awkward thought, Roka follows the acher into her home, until they arrive in private location.
"Alright, this will be fine, Ms. Shiratahara." Roka states.
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"Ok then, what is it you need to tell me?" she replies, taking a seat while a servant hurries to bring tea. "Oh, one moment please..."
Lady Shirihata waits for the tea to be brought, and then dismisses the servant, so Roka and her could have privacy - apparently unaware of any sort of 'sexual tension' between the two of them.
Now that Roka gives it a bit of thought (while waiting for the servant to leave), he becomes aware that the thoughts he just experienced seemed to come from outside - almost like someone may have been trying to mind control him or something. After all, when it came to being mind controlled by evil fiends, well... Roka was unfortunately an expert.
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Roka seems confused. You'd think that the mirror would protect me from that... Hmm He thinks to himself, but then nods, as he looks around.
"I need your assistance, Lady Shiratahara... Someone just now attempted to mind control me. We aren't safe. Please, grab your bow and Lopan." Roka states, standing up.
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Lady Shirahata does so, asking only "Who do you think it is?"
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Looking at her Lopan, she then adds - "We're not in immediate danger at the moment..."
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Lady Shirahata does so, asking only "Who do you think it is?"
"Vampires. The servants of Yukinawa." Roka says simply. Looking at her Lopan, she then adds - "We're not in immediate danger at the moment..."
"That's good to hear, Ms. Shiratahara. I need you to gather your best students, and head to the Magistrate's building, please." Roka states. "Oh, and could you gift me some luck? I fear that this won't be the last time someone tries to manipulate my mind, this day."
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Lady Shirihata gives it some thought, then looks at her Lopan.
"Your old friend Jenna, is east of us moving north. The Korean Lee is east of us on a line bisecting Sendai. Incidentally, the new Chief Magistrate Yama-Uno has his house on that line."
"As for bringing my best students against vampires, I think only one is ready for something like that; and I won't sacrifice the rest without more direct knowledge of what is going on."
"You have said that Yuki is away on a Mission of the Ancestors. That is well, so I presume then, that this is something you want to take care of personally?"
As she is talking, Lady Shirahata takes two silver charms out of a lacquer box.
"Here, I suppose now is a good time to use them, they are luck charms."
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"Yes, thank you so much, Mrs. Shiratahara." Roka states, taking the charms. "I will be eternally grateful."
"As for what is occuring, I have reason to believe that Kado Hasekura is dead, and that the Korean Lee is acting as him, with the vampires acting as his muscle. Which makes me worried. Instead of gathering your student, I fear we must rush after Lee." Roka says.
"The Magistrate may be in danger."
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"Let us go into the city and see, but I strongly recommend restraint and caution," Lady Shirahata replies.
"If they are after you specifically, then, you would be going right into their trap."
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"Let us go into the city and see, but I strongly recommend restraint and caution," Lady Shirahata replies.
"If they are after you specifically, then, you would be going right into their trap."
"Yes, that is true." Roka states, nodding. "Rushing this would be the worst option. The bastard was a cowardly trapper, we must be careful. We should first gather men. His only play involves trapping me. He won't do anything until the plan will work."
"Do you have horses here?"
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"Of course, lead the way." Lady Shirahahta says.
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Roka nods, and heads off to the stables, watching his mind carefully, to see if anyone tries anything funny.
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Riding west into the foothills with Yuki's Mother (Lady Shirahata), Roka finds the remnants of Sendai’s Army, camped out on the road that leads to Yunikawa's Mountain Citadel. Incidentally, at about the same location where Roka and Yuki had been forced to go after the Priest Kirito when he absconded with the Naga Book of Secrets.
About three hundred battle weary men are currently bivouacked here, all showing the signs of recent conflict with the demons that harried Sendai.
Looking further west up into the mountains, Roka and Lady Shirahata can see a shimmering blue glow dancing across the jagged peaks.
“Roka-san! Lady Shirihata!” a familiar voice calls – it’s General Meji, the one that beat Jei Hu in the Daimyo's Patriot's Day Grand Tournament (twelve years ago).
It hasn’t really been that long has it?
Damn… that was the 15th Day of Mid Summer 1297 – today is the 11th Day of Mid Summer 1303 – Patriot’s Day is only four days away – but no one in Sendai will be celebrating it this year…
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"General! It is good to see you!" Roka shouts to the aged warrior. Hopefully age has not dulled his skill.
As they approach, Roka also turns to the archeress.
"Lady Shirihata, could you check for jenna and Lee's locations?"
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Consulting her Lopan, Lady Shirahata confirms it - "still in Sendai" she says - "both along the same line now (likely together)."
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"Damn." Roka mutters. "Hopefully when we return to Sendai, they will be separate."
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Lady Shirahata nods.
"You missed a hell of a fight Roka," the General says meanwhile, "we chased many of the Oni from Sendai into the mountains - only to run into an army of Bakemono and O-Bakemono up here."
"We thought we were done for at that point, but we laid into them anyway - and by the Ancestors, they didn't stay to fight, but fled further up the mountain and through a magical wall of light surrounding Yunikawa's mountain."
"We're staying here, just in case they decide to come back out."
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"I am sorry I missed it, General. It pains me that I was away from Sendai in the time of its greatest need. I thank you for your bravery, General." Roka states.
"Right now, however, there is another emergency. We found Yukinawa's servants in Sendai. I need assistance in dealing with them. I fear they are planning to do something horrible, and we must stop them."
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"The traitors are in Sendai?!?" General Meji spits.
"I'll go with you myself to see that they are properly taken care of!"
"How many of them are there? We'll take as many men as needed."
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Roka nods.
"Five of them, General. A Korean Rogue masquerading as Hasekura and four vampiric samurai-Ko." Roka says.
"I know that they are very powerful and dangerous, and skilled in the art of mind control. I fear the worst."
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"Right," General Meji replies, "We'll take my personal retinue (twelve experience men)."
Circling his arm near his head, the General is immediately surrounded by his aforementioned retinue - all on horseback, clad in great armor, with bows and swords at the ready. One of them even thought to bring the general's horse.
Climbing his steed, the General asks, "Which Hasekura exactly? The Daimyo?"
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"No, ancestors forbid. The bastard is masquerading as Kado." Roka states, awed by the fearsome retinue. There is no way they can fail now.
"Now, Lady Shiritahara, where are the traitors?" Roka asks the Feng Shui archeress
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"Still in Sendai, she answers, "Same as before - not moving. Perhaps, waiting..."
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"If they are waiting, then we are in good shape. I could grab my students and get a priest to help. Even if they don't have any juice, I'm sure the general and I could encourage them, right, sir?" Roka says with a grin to the two.
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"Let's go," General Meji says, riding back down the mountain path toward Sendai with his men.
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Roka nods.
"Yes. But I need to gather more allies. These beings are more then dangerous, and even with your warriors we may be in trouble." Roka states.
"Lady Shirtahara, are there any of your students that we can borrow? They don't need to be in combat, I simply need their formidable feng shui prowess."
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"We can bring one, sure," Lady Shirahata replies.
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Taking the time to enlist Lady Shirahata’s top student and two of Roka’s devoted followers who happened to be in the right place at the right time, Roka and the General took their men down into Sendai.
The sun was just starting to set in the west, revealing an eerie blue glow, shimmering over the mountaintops in the region where Yunikawa’s Citadel would be. It was almost as if the ancient Wujen was silently mocking Roka. And this Lee – he has mocking Roka too – like an extension of Yunikawa’s betrayal.
Roka should have finished Lee when he had the chance! He knew this foreigner was untrustworthy and would be trouble later.
Arriving in the city, Lady Shirahata, consulted her lopan, which lead the company of Samurai to the home of the new Chief Magistrate – Hai Yama-Uno.
“Lee and Jenna are inside,” Lady Shirahata says – “and ready for us, I think.”
"Hell's Gate!" General Meji spits, leaping off his horse and directing his men to encircle the home.
"So help me, if that foreign bastard has done anything to the Chief Magistrate!"
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"Be careful, General. The Korean is a crafty bastard. He may imitate the magistrate or even me. We must be prepared for the worst and tons of poison." Roka states, getting off of his horse.
"Students, follow me carefully. This is an incredibley dangerous fight. Ms. Shirtahara, and her student, please follow the plan, make sure the vampires can not realize my ruse."
And with that, te group enter carefully, the archers and the minions behind, and the general and Roka in the front. Once entering, his Deciples will shout encouraging words to grant him tons of surge points, (6), which he will use to absorb the poison that is likely inside.
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Going inside, everyone sees the Chief Magistrate Yama Uno talking to one of his Army Lieutenant body guards. No one else seems to be about.
The two stop talking and turn to the Roka's group.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Chief Magistrate asks angrily, drawing his weapons, seeing his home violated by unannounced (and armed) intruders.
The Lieutenant meanwhile just gives a confused look, but still draws his own swords as well - to protect the Chief Magistrate (even if it means fighting his superior, General Meji, to do so).
"The lines point to them!" Lady Shirahata says from behind Roka, while General Meji halts abruptly in his tracks and looks like he may be reconsidering the wisdom of following Roka into what now looks like a horrible loss of face...
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"There is still danger here!" Lady Shirahata adds, ignoring the Chief Magistrate's protests for now.
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"I profess my deepest apologize, my lord, but there is danger here, and as a Yoriki of Sendai, your safety matter more then protocol." Roka says, bowing,
"Jenna the Vampire! Reveal yourself for now is your moment! Betray Yukinawa and prove your love for me!" Roka shouts out, looking around, hoping the feng shui users can use their powers to make sure it works.
"And you! Korean Rogue! Reveal yourself and profess the truth that you are slime! You know it to be true!" Roka then adds, with another fabulous lie.
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As Roka speaks, two arrows suddenly shoot out of nowhere (from behind maybe?) and strike delicate porcelain vases in the entryway, behind where everyone is standing.
A yellowish gas begins to hiss forth, blocking the way out!
Lady Shirihata meanwhile, still consulting her lopan, yells - "It's the Chief Magistrate! He's being mind controlled!"
As Lady Shirahata says this, the Chief Magistrate and Lieutenant lunge forward to attack Roka and General Meji with their swords!
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"General! Ignore the Magistrate! We need to find the one who is mind controlling him!" Roka shouts.
"Lady Shirtahara, lead us to the traitors!" Roka quickly orders, letting the soldiers from behind deal with the magistrate and his lieutenant. The students and the major fighters must do the major fighting against the spirits.
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"I can't ignore the Magistrate!" The General yells - we must get him out of this poison!
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The poison meanwhile, quickly began to fill the front half of the entryway and threatened to wash into the rest of the room - if not the entire house.
Outside, the General's men, who had surrounded it began yelling and clearing people back when they saw yellow gas seeping out.
"General! General!" they cried in alarm.
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Roka nods.
"Fine." He states, as he quickly slams his fist into an outer wall, twice in quick succession, to break the wall and stop the poison from spreading further in the house.
"Now we go!" Roka shouts
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"No. Now we go," Roka hears Jenna's familiar voice whisper in his ear. He then feels her arm brush lightly against his and - all of a sudden - he is standing in the night-dark mountains west of Sendai, next to a shimmering wall of blue light that expands away in a massive arc (like a monumental dome coming down over the very mountains themselves).
Jenna appears to Roka's right briefly, standing just inside the translucent wall.
"You are right Roka," she says, "I do love you and to hell with Yunikawa, join me and we can live together. Happy and untouched by the years."
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Roka mind almost instantly jumps to the idea, but suddenly his golden charm shines brightly and Roka is instantly convinced against the thought.
"Since you truly loved me, you would join me in my quest against Yukinawa! Not run away from it!" Roka lies back, with conviction.
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"Yes!" Jenna replies sincerely, "Come with me!"
"I know where Yunikawa hides the Naga Book of Secrets! He has gleaned all that a mortal can from its pages. We could take the book for ourselves and he would never miss it!"
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"Yes!" Jenna replies sincerely, "Come with me!"
"I know where Yunikawa hides the Naga Book of Secrets! He has gleaned all that a mortal can from its pages. We could take the book for ourselves and he would never miss it!"
"Yeah, but first we should probably help the General and everyone, right?" Roka asks, very confused. If the room was till filling with poison, wouldn't he have felt it by now? So it can't be an illusion, right?
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"Tsk," Jenna says, shaking her head. "There's nothing you can do for them now."
"Don't you see? I saved you Roka. From the poison, from Lee, from the other traps he had set throughout the house. I betrayed Yunikawa and saved you, so we can be together."
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Roka looks like he's about to protest, but then just sighs and nods.
"Alright, but, could we like, still kill Lee? Like, now?" Roka asks, hoping that angle would work.
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"Lee's mission is simply to distract you from Yunikawa, for as long as he can. Yunikawa does not care what happens to Lee." Jenna says.
"That was my mission too. But here I offer to take you right under Yunikawa's nose to steel the very book responsible for all that has befallen Sendai and your friends."
"And yet you can't see this? Are you really blinded by vengeance for a man who means nothing by comparison?"
"What is Lee to you anyway?"
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Roka contemplates the idea, and then nods.
"Fine. You're right. This is more important." Roka states, saddened. He won't be able to save the general, or Yuki's mom, or his daughter, but their death won't be in vain.
"How are we going to steal something from Yukinawa?"
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"Easy," Jenna replies - "Yunikawa is not at his Citadel. We simply walk in, take the book, and leave."
"Come Roka," Jenna invites, backing away from Roka and fading into the radiant blue light...
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Roka follows hesitantly. If this is an illusion, he'll be released if he walks into poison, he hopes.
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Walking in through the shimmering blue light, Roka feels a tingling of vibrant magical energy and then the night abruptly turns from night to day in an instant.
Looking around, Roka finds himself in a strange and unfamiliar mountainous terrain, covered in a thick forest.
The magical blue wall is nowhere to be seen - and neither is Sendai, the mountain path to Yunikawa's, or Jenna for that matter...
The only thing that stands out is a thin wisp of smoke (perhaps from a cooking fire?) on the ridge of a mountain about five miles across a steep valley from where Roka currently finds himself.
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Roka quickly runs to the forest fire, looking annoyed.
Was this a trap?
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Roka's run turns out to be an epic five and a half hour hike - first down a thousand foot of elevation change, then across a nearly unnavigable forest of brambles and underbrush, over a deep river gorge, followed by a repeat of the same - only going up this time around.
At length however, Roka comes to a clearing surrounded by an eight foot high stone wall topped with sharpened poles. The construction is rudimentary, but is obviously man-made.
From where Roka is, outside the wall, he can see a squat stone building inside the perimeter - atop which is an apparently unmanned wooden watch tower.
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Roka is confused. It's certainly not Yukinawa's palace, but it's also not Sendai. Where did that vampire seductress send him then?
He then tries to reach the watchtower, and survey the surroundings. Maybe he could recognize some of the details of the place
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With a hearty leap, Roka bounds up onto the wall and hikes himself over the sharpened poles.
Landing inside the parameter, he sees some old grave markers of some kind to one side of the compound and a wild garden with a natural spring to the other.
The building within is a simple stone keep, only two stories high (with a wooden watch tower on the top, allowing one to look out over the tops of the surrounding trees).
The thin trail of smoke that Roka saw before, is coming out of a stone chimney to the far side of the building.
From this side at least, there doesn't appear to be any entry points to the building on the ground floor, but there are some large wood-shuttered windows on the second.
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Roka looks up, and sighs.
"Thank the ancestors I can still climb..." He mutters, and climbs up the watchtower to burst open the windows
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Climbing up to a window, Roka finds the shutter un-barred from the inside, and is able to enter the building.
Inside, he sees that the second floor is a crude barracks style living quarters. A fire burns in a fireplace on the far end, near some stone steps that drop down to the first floor below, while a ladder climbs to a roof access hatch.
There are five old cots in the room, a table, and chairs - all hand hewn from raw lumber.
Sitting, propped up, in one of the beds with a bowl of stew, is an old Nipponese man, at least in his late sixties or early seventies (incredibly old by normal standards).
He looks vaguely familiar to Roka for some reason, but stares at Roka with the glazed look of a confused old man. The smell of the room and the mess scattered about, suggest that the man would not normally be able to take care of himself.
Then something catches Roka's eye along the far wall - hanging on a stand is a suit of Samurai armor and swords with the Seal of Sendai's Army and apparent rank of Lieutenant.
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Roka looks remarkably confused. Who could this even be? If he's that old.... Then he'd have to have been a warrior back before the war....
"Leiutenant? I am a Yoriki of Sendai. Where is this place?" He ask, bending down next to the old man
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The man's eyes light up at the mention of Sendai.
"Ah! Sendai! Yes! I knew they would come for us! I kept telling them, but they lost hope! Not me! I knew they would find us!"
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"Find who?" Roka asks. "I don't even know where we are, old man."
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"Yes, yes," the old man says, grasping Roka's hand and shaking it like an old friend.
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"Yes, yes," the old man says, grasping Roka's hand and shaking it like an old friend.
"Yes yes? Yes to what?" Roka asks, really confused.
"Old man, who are you?"
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The old man points to the armor and starts to hobble out of bed.
"Yes! I need to get into uniform! It wouldn't do to go back 'out of uniform'!"
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Roka looks worried. The old man is probably too weak to even wear armor.
"No, no, lieutenant! Sendai wants you rested, not in uniform. The fortress city worries for you and your group!"
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"Rest?!?" the old man protests, "I'm leaving now!"
He then goes to push past Roka, but the exertion and excitement proves too much and he abruptly clutches his chest, grimaces in pain, then goes completely limp - collapsing to the floor.
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Roka looks shocked, and quickly checks if the old man is alive
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Roka finds that the old man is quite dead.
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"....." Roka's jaw drops, shocked simply looks around, kinda shocked. Hopefully this old guy didn't matter.
Roka quickly moves back away from the dead old man, and then quickly decides to check his armor and the seal of Sendai. Perhaps that would give him a clue as to who this old man was.
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As Roka looks over the scene and moves towards the armor, he hears the strumming buzz of a bee (or wasp) outside the window.
A moment later, the sound stops and a beautiful girl, perhaps eleven or twelve years old and dressed in what appears to be a tunic of rose petals, steps in through the shutters that Roka came through earlier.
"I got you some honeysuckle for the tea you like," she says - starting when first, she sees Roka - then second, the body of the old man on the floor.
With a cry of alarm, she suddenly transforms before Roka's eyes into a huge wasp (about the same size as her girl form) - and turns to make a beeline out the window!
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Roka's shock and confusion develops even further, but decides that losing this bee will probably make matters worse.
He quickly activates amaizing celerity, and runs over to block the giant wasp and close the boards for the window.
"No! Calm down, I'm not here to harm you!" Roka shouts, trying to calm down the bee girl
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The giant wasp tries to sting Roka, but the Samurai easily evades.
It then flies across the room and around to the other windows - finding them already shuttered and barred.
With no way out, it drops to the floor near the old man's body and transforms back into a girl.
"You killed him!" she cries at Roka accusingly.
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Roka shakes his head.
"No, ancestors forbid, I would never kill a lieutenant of Sendai!" Roka protests to the little girl. "He was excited and just collapsed.... I, I didn't realize he was that weak, I didnt intend for any of that to happen!"
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"Oh, Akira," the girl weeps to the dead man, "I told you to stay in bed..."
After taking a moment to recompose herself, she looks up at Roka and wipes away her tears.
"Who are you? Are you from Sendai?" She asks rather sternly.
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"Yes, yes I am... I am sorry for his death, I wish I had realized how weak he was." Roka states.
"If you could tell me who he is, or where we are, I could arrange for him to be buried back in the Fortress city, where his brothers lay, but I need to know. Please."
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"He was Akira Kuwabara," the girl replies, "he was my friend."
At the mention of the name, Roka realizes why the man looked so familiar. He was a Kuwabara - and looked like he could be Udo's Great Grandfather or something.
Come to think of it, Udo also had a cousin named Akira in the Sendai Army. He made a modest showing in the Daimyo's Grand Tournament Swordsmanship Event, before being eliminated by Jei Hu - though Roka can't recall his rank. Roka remembered Jei Hu slashing Akira's sword arm to win - and then Akira refusing to have it healed afterward.
Looking down at the dead man, Roka could see the faint traces of a very old scar across his sword arm...
"And he will be buried with his brothers," the girl goes on, "Not in your Sendai, but here in the garden. I made a promise to him and I will keep it."
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"Akira Kuwabara? Wait... He couldn't be this old though...." Roka mutters...
"Wait, little girl, what is this place? And where are we? Do you know?"
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"Don't call me 'little girl'!" the young girl snaps at Roka, "I am the right age. It is you who are the baby lost in the woods!"
She then folds her arms and looks at Roka as if expecting an apology or something.
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"Um, my deepest apologies, uh... What is your name, miss?" Roka asks, incredulous but deciding against angering the wasp girl
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"That's better," the girl replies, instantly dropping the attitude and brightening.
"I am Li Li," she says, "This place is my home, the Mountains Outside the Glen."
"You are from Sendai?"
"Akira and his brothers were from Sendai. They came here when they were young, like you."
"They tried to get home, but could not. Sendai only existed in their minds, it is not a real place here. Now Sendai exists in your mind."
"You should try to forget Sendai. Its memories only caused them pain and death. It will be the same for you I fear."
"You may stay here if you like."
"Akira, Tetsuo, and Komatsu built this place after losing two of their brothers to the Shadowlands Outside the Mountains. They lived here and grew old and died. And now Akira can finally join them in rest."
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roka shakes his head.
"I'm afraid that would be impossible, Li Li. This place must be where Yukinawa hid the book. You wouldn't happen to recognize the name, Yukinawa, would you?" Roka asks, looking around.
"So, the shadow lands. What exists there?"
-
"Book?" Li Li asks, "Akira used to keep a book when he first came here. I saw it one time, when he was writing in it. I remember that he did mention a 'Yunikawa' in his writings."
"I think it was Yunikawa that sent him and his brothers here."
Then answering Roka's other question, she explains, "Outside the Mountains are the Shadowlands."
"The Shadowlands are the End of all Creation and Light. If you loose you footing there, you can fall off and be lost."
"Dragons hunt at the edge, where Eternal Darkness laps against the End of the Mountains, like water at the shore of the Sacred Lake."
"That is what happened to the first two. The Dragons got them. I don't know their names, but I think Akira wrote them down in his book."
-
"Where's his book?!" Roka asks, hastily. This could be the thing he was looking for!
-
Li Li walks over to the shuddered window that faced above the garden and unbarred it; to swing the shutters open.
"You can have the book and everything else here," she says, pulling a ladder off the floor and sliding it out the window.
"But we need to bury Akira with his brothers first."
-
Roka looks hesitantly at the dead body. Touching the dead shouldn't be done by a Yoriki of Sendai!
After a moment of contemplation, the Ki master lifts up the lieutenant, and nods to the wasp girl. It won't matter if more disgrace falls onto him anymore.
"Where is the garden?"
-
Climbing out the window and down the ladder to the ground, Roka sees the grave markers he had noticed while bounding over the outer wall.
There are five stone markers, just outside a wild garden, four of which have a Sendai Army helmet and sword set laid across them. These four read (carved in stone) ‘Miko Mitaru’, ‘Fujitsu Fukosan’, ‘Tetsuo Kensai’, and ‘Komatsu Morita’.
The fifth marker reads ‘Akira Kuwobara’ and has boards covering an open grave.
Li Li carries Akira’s helmet and sword-pair to the grave and clears the boards for Roka to lower Akira down.
Once that is done, the young-looking girl moves her hand in swiping motion and the earth abruptly fills in over Akira. She then sets the helmet and sword over the grave like the rest.
“There,” she says, “I guess he is with his brothers in peace now. But I will miss him. He wasn't really bad like the Elders said, but they didn't know him like I knew him.”
"He used to say things over the graves, when he buried his brothers. I don't know what it was though, he didn't know I was watching him back then."
-
Roka nods.
"I'll have to tell Udo about Akira when I return to Sendai, then..." Roka mutters. "All of them."
"Who are the elders?" Roka asks
-
"Um... Hmm?" Li Li says evasively - "Wouldn't you like to see the book now?"
-
Roka nods,
"I suppose so." He says, allowing the issue to be dropped for the moment. He needs that book,
-
Going back up the ladder and into the keep again, Li Li leads Roka down the steps that allow access to the first floor.
Down there, Roka finds a Kitchen and storage area. He notes that the majority of things here are handmade and hand-hewn. Which makes sense, as Akira and his men would have had to fashion everything they needed from the raw recourses around them. And apparently, they had had plenty of time to do so.
Rooting around through some shelves, Li Li smiles triumphantly and holds up a dusty old journal.
"Here it is," she says. "I don't think he has written anything in this since he was young like you."
Handing the book to Roka, the girl obliquely asks, "You never told me your name."
-
"Ah, thank you." Roka says, dusting off the ancient journal. It's probably the first time he's been happy to see a book in a long time.
"Oh, and yes, where are my manners. I am the ki master Roka Takemura." He says with a bow.
"Now now, let's see what Akira was doing for Yukinawa..." Roka mutters, as he flips through the books.
"So, Li Li, I've never actually seen a person transform into a wasp and manipulate the earth quite like you. Closest I've seen was Udo, Akira's relative, but he couldn't morph into a wasp." Roka says absentmindedly to the wasp girl
-
"That's OK," Li Li replies, sitting down to watch Roka with the book, curious to see if it is of any real value to the strange aging man from Sendai.
Looking, Roka sees that the journal of Akira Kuwabara begins, dated 10th Day of Mid Summer 1303.
The traitorous wujen Yunikawa destroyed our fair Sendai, sending fire down from the sky and filling the streets with flame and oni. It was a hell on earth, but we rallied the surviving troops and waged warfare upon them with swift and final retribution!
Those that fled to the mountains – back to the foul master that spawned them – we chased, falling upon them with our arrows, swords, and spears. Then, at the crest of the foothills, an army of bakemono seven hundred strong, with a hundred O-bakemono heavy troops.
Our hearts threatened to sink, but we advanced and laid into them with everything we had. To our great surprise, the cowards broke and fled into a magical wall that Yunikawa had set up around his mountains.
Under orders of General Meji, we did not follow, thinking it perhaps an ambush ploy, but instead, set up defensive positions to await their return.
After some hours with no sign of them, The General OK’d a scouting team to go in through the blue light to recon what lay beyond. I, heading my men – Miko Mitaru, Fujitsu Fukosan, Tetsuo Kensai, and Komatsu Morita – took lead and we stepped through.
On the other side, we found this strange land of mountainous forest with no sign of the bakemono and no apparent way to go back the way we came. Nevertheless, we have a mission to preform and we won’t rest until we discover the location of the enemy army.
---
What follows is morale eroding realization over the next dozen entries, that the men are trapped here.
They never find any sign of the bakemono and discover that the mountainous forest is filled with wild animals, but none that they can’t handle.
Exploring, they find that the mountains ring a two mile diameter grassy savannah with a central lake surrounded by trees. When they go down into the grassland, they encounter swarms of giant wasps and the men start shooting arrows and killing them.
Akira realizes that they are not giant insects but Bisan (or tree spirits) and calls his men off - fleeing back into the mountains.
The men then explore outward and find that the mountains extend out from the central plain only fifty miles in each direction before ending in a wall of absolute darkness.
The men, tired of living in caves and looking like they might be here for a while, then build a fortification for themselves and the journal entries begin to get more and more infrequent.
---
A later entry, details a planned expedition into the darkness to see what lay beyond. It ends abruptly, just a few hundred yards into the darkness, when not one, but two pitch black dragons – described in the journal as ribbon-like serpents of course black smoke and soot, alternating between solid and ethereal states – attack the nearly darkness-blind men.
Two men, Miko and Fujitsu, are lost to the dragons as the rest escape back to the mountains. The Dragons do not seem to be able to abide light and remain within the black wall. Akira notes that even the light from their lamps seemed to burn the dragons, but it was not nearly enough to make a stand against them.
Dejected, the three remaining men returned to their fortification to hold a funeral service for Miko and Fujitsu.
---
Another late entry then discusses the merits and folly of trying to go back to the Bisan to make peace – as there were women among them and the men were hoping to make some sort of wives out of them.
This ends with the Bisan refusing to have anything to do with them because of their earlier transgression against them and their territory. The men are forbidding from entering the savanna and banished back to the mountains.
---
At this point in the journal, the entries stop with a final question from Akira –
There is no night, yet we still sleep. But we sleep less and less with each passing year? Time seems to stand still here, but we continue to age. We are old men now. Tetsuo is gone and Komatsu is mad. My mind is failing too and soon we will both join the others in the grave. Maybe then we will be free of this cursed place.
Was Sendai just a dream?
---
Interestingly, there is no mention in the Journal of the girl Li Li.
-
Roka closes the journal, grim. Akira and his troops were sent here a mere day ago, but time had passed as if it were decades, and they never found a way back.
"So, Li Li, when did you arrive here? He never mentioned you in the journal."
-
"Oh, I didn't arrive here," Li Li replies, "I have always been here."
"And Akira didn't write in his book anymore when I let him see me for the first time. His last brother had just died, and he could no longer take care of himself."
"I couldn't just leave him to suffer and die alone, so I decided to help him."
Here, Li Li has a look of sad regret.
"I wasn't with him when he died, like I promised," she chokes up - "But at least he didn't die alone."
-
"You did far more then could be expected of you, Li Li. I'm sure Akira thanks you greatly up in the Ancestral Palace." Roka says, trying to comfort the girl. He then puts the journal down.
"So, where are the other Bisan? Assuming that's what you are. I'm not very educated in the occult." Roka says with a slight chuckle.
-
"My people live in the Glen Around the Sacred Lake," Li Li says.
"Akira and his brothers tried to go there once, but they got in a fight with the Mountain Guard and killed some of them."
"Akira didn't know it, but he saved me from his brothers, when they were going to shoot me, but he ordered them to stop."
"Later, they came back to ask forgiveness, but the Elders forbid them from ever returning to the Glen. After that, I would follow them sometimes and watch."
"You, that are from Sendai, are strong for a short time, but then you weaken and die. Are you cursed or something?"
-
Roka's brow furrows as Li Li asks her question.
"What do you mean?" He asks, not really getting the girl's question.
"And could we go to this "Glen around the Sacred Lake"? Maybe your elders know some way to leave this realm."
-
"Your people change," Li Li says, "My people stay the same. Your people just die. My people only die from violence or accident, but you just up and die after a while." Li Li tries to explain, not really understanding what it is to be mortal.
When asked about the Glen, she answers with a little trepidation - "Oh, I don't know about that. The elders were really mad at Akira and his brothers. But you haven't done anything wrong... Maybe they will let you in?"
"Oh! But don't tell them I was helping Akira!" She adds hastily. "It was against the rules."
-
"Oh, ah, no that's not a curse. It's a human thing, not a sendai one." Roka says.
"Of course I wont. Come on, the more time we use the... Well, that's not actually true anymore, but whatever. Lead me to the Glen!" Roka says triumphantly.
-
"OK, Roka from Sendai," Li Li replies, "Follow me."
Li Li once again transforms into wasp form and buzzes out the window - there, she hovers a moment for Roka to follow.
-
When Roka climbs out the window, Li Li flies over the wall and upward in the direction of the nearest mountain peak - as if she doesn't realize Roka can't fly or something.
It is also then that Roka begins to feel the fatigue setting in, from being up over twenty four hours now...
-
Roka surges to relieve his tiredness, and activates his Amaizing celerity. There's no time to waste, even if there is, kinda.
"Slow down Li Li!"
-
"Buzz?" Li Li says, then flits down low enough for Roka to follow.
She makes a beeline straight up the mountain.
After five minutes of following, Roka is Fatigued again. Clearly this is not going to work. Roka can't keep pushing himself like this - especially trying to go straight up a mountain.
-
Roka stops, panting.
"Li Li stop for a second!" He shouts over to the flying bee. "Turn out I can't climb a mountain. Not right now."
-
Li Li stops, flies down and transforms into a girl again so she can ask, "What is wrong Roka?"
-
In between the panting, Roka sighs.
"I've been awake for far too long. I need to rest."
-
"Oh, the Glen is just on the other side of these mountains," Li Li says, as if going up and over a ten mile wide peak was nothing but a thing. Well, to her, that might actually be the case. But for Roka, he was looking at a twenty hour hike, given the terrain.
"Or we could go back to Akira's place if you need to sleep for a while. I can wait."
-
Roka chuckles.
"Yeah, returning to Alira's place sounds good, Li Li. May have been a bit too excited about finding out more about where we are." He says.
"Definitely going back." He says, shaking his head.
-
Heading back down the mountain face - much easier than going up - Roka returns to Akira's stone keep.
Li Li waits for Roka to climb up through the window before saying, "I'll be here in the garden when you wake up."
With that, she moves into some trees and vanishes from sight - leaving Roka by himself in the keep.
It was weird to feel so tired in what appeared to be mid day, but Roka was completely exhausted. The shutters on the windows seemed to block out most of the light when closed however, giving the illusion of night at least.
-
"Wierd place." Roka mutters, as he heads to Akira's bed. Even if the man is dead, Roka is sure he'd approve of letting him sleep there.
-
Roka finds that one of the unused cots is actually a better fit (and smell). Falling into it, Roka crashes and is fast asleep.
The next morning, Roka finds enough provisions in the kitchen to prepare breakfast and some food for his trek to the other side of the mountain. Leaving the keep, he enters the garden to see Li Li emerge from the trunk of a tree (actually stepping out from inside somehow).
"Oh, Roka," she smiles, "Are you ready?"
-
Roka smiles.
"Yeah, let's go." He says with a smile.
-
Making the trip with renewed energy, Roka followed Li Li up onto the mountain again, going as quickly as he could. Ten hours later, and he was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue starting to creep into each footstep.
"Halfway there," Li Li said, as if they had only been going a few minutes. Apparently she didn't tire like humans did.
-
Roka begins panting once again.
"We should... Take a break, I think." Roka says, as he leans against something, and sloops down to the ground.
-
"Ok," Li Li says - "Do you need to sleep again?"
-
"Yeah, just for a bit, alright?" Roka says with a chuckle, closing his eyes.
"I really appreciate you leading me to the Glen, Li Li." He says before drifting to sleep
-
After a few hours rest, Roka is ready to go again.
It takes another eight hours to round the mountain, where Roka can finally see this central savanna (or Glen as the Bisan call it). Indeed, it's just like Akira described it in his journal - a grassy plateau with a large central lake surrounded by trees.
"We will be met by the Guard when we get to the bottom of the mountain," Li Li says, "Please please please, don't try to fight them like Akira and his brothers did."
"They may not allow you to enter, but we can try. I'll stay close to you so they can see that you mean us no harm."
Li Li then changes into wasp form again and keeps close to Roka.
-
"Of course, Li Li. And don't fear, my words tend to allow me anywhere I wish to go, and anything I wish to have. It'll be easy to go through." Roka says with self confidence, as he heads on down to the Glen with Li Li.
-
Moving down to the foot of the mountain on the edge of the Glen, Roka is suddenly surrounded by twenty or so giant wasps, that fly up from the trees growing on the mountain face. They buzz about - some considerably bigger than Li Li - and make a few flights straight at Roka, before veering off at the last moment.
As this goes on, Li Li keeps herself in between Roka and the other wasps for the most part.
A moment later and one of the bigger wasps lands on some rocks above Roka and transforms into a muscular young man appearing to be in his early twenties.
"Go no farther human!" the man says, "your kind are not welcome in the Sacred Glen!"
-
Roka ponders for a moment on how to proceed. Gaining entrance is key, but not being kicked out soon afterwards is also important. So, he'll stick to the usual, grovling and begging his way through life.
"Oh honorable binari!" Roka says, quickly bowing to the spirit guard. "I am Roka Takemura, emissary of the Ancestral Palace, protector of the Realms!" Roka states, bluffing a little as to his title and position.
"I beg you in the name of creation to allow me passage into your sacred glen. The situation is dire, as I require your women As the protector of the realms, I must see your elders and discuss the situation. It is imperative that you allow me in! Please, the fate of all things rests on your decision!" Roka exholts, with perfect ettiquite (AF used)
-
"You - Emissary of the Ancestors?" The man replies, not altogether convinced that this isn't true. "Hmm... the Glen Mother will certainly want see you, if what you say is true..."
"All right, Emissary," he then says, "you may follow us to the Glen Mother."
With that, the man transforms back into a giant wasp and zips ahead, way too fast for Roka to follow. After a few buzzes from Li Li however, he circles back and then leads at a pace more suited to Roka.
Li Li then drops to the ground and turns back into a girl to walk alongside the Samurai.
"Oh," she marvels, "I didn't know you were an Emissary of the Ancestors!"
-
Roka chuckles.
"Thank the ancestors I didn't sleep with Yone and Lilitu." Roka mutters to himself, before turning to Li Li.
"Well, I am, sorta. It was more of me being at the right place at the right time, but it counts." Roka says with a smile, as the two follow the guards.
-
Roka was lead across the Glen and to the central ring of trees that surrounded the lake.
As they went, another Guard of giant wasps flew up from these trees to see what was going on. After some buzzing chatter between the one leading Roka and the rest, the wasp Guard withdrew to spread out and hover over the scene warily.
Then Roka noticed more young people stepping out of trees all around to curiously regard Roka and Li Li as they went by. The Bisan appeared to only range in ages between tweens and young adults in their early twenties. As one of the younger ones herself, Li Li seemed exceptionally proud to be bringing Roka into the Glen for some reason, and took him by the arm to walk (almost regally) alongside him.
Roka wondered if that meant anything, or if the kid was just enjoying all the attention that Roka’s presence was now bringing her.
Arriving at the edge of the lake, Roka saw a monumentally huge weeping willow on the shore – larger than anything he had ever before seen like it. It wasn’t so tall, as it was simply vast – growing out a hundred or more feet in each direction on ancient roots, with a forty foot thick trunk, and hanging over the lake itself like some impressive wind swept Bonsai tree on a gargantuan scale.
Standing on the massive roots at the base of the tree was one woman and six men. The young men appeared much like the guard who was leading Roka – physically fit and in their early twenties – while the woman looked like she could be no older than thirty.
As Roka approached, the bisan that had been leading them landed and transformed back into a man, bowing to the Glen Mother and six Elders. Li Li followed suite, as other Bisan gathered around behind them to observe the proceedings.
Other than this gigantic tree and the lake, there was nothing else notable around – until Roka’s glance chanced upon a rocky waterfall of some kind across the lake itself. What stood out about the waterfall was the preternaturally vibrant rainbow shimmer that surrounded it as it rained water down into the lake. It seemed as if it was pouring pure magical energy right into the waters.
“What would the Ancestors have us now, Emissary?” the woman on the roots asked Roka, bringing his attention back to the situation currently at hand.
-
Roka follows the Bisan's lead, and bows towards the Glen Mother and the elder Bisan, before speaking.
"Honorable Glen Mother, the ancestors have sent me (and others) on a quest to save the realms. An evil WuJen Sorcerer known as Yukinawa plans on unleashing the father of all Oni, the ancient [OOC: I forgot if we were given a name XD] as well as the Order of Shades." Roka says.
"While the ancestors didn't really send me here directly, I am certain it was part of their plan for me to inform those of this Sacred Glen of the dangers, and hopefully to gain your aid." Roka then states.
"Also, I need to find a way back to my realm. No idea how to get back."
-
When Roka finishes speaking, a great wind whips up out of nowhere and howls through the willow branches – eliciting gasps of awe from the gathered Bisan.
When the wind calms, as abruptly as it had picked up, the Elders and Glen Mother began to discuss things between themselves in a hushed whisper, glancing over to Roka here and there, as if assessing him somehow.
When they were done, the Glen Mother turns to Roka and says – “The Prophesy speaks of a time when a Child of Massaki Dai-Oni will betray the Demon God within; entering the Heart of Creation to save the World of Man from utter destruction.”
“You do not appear to be a Child of Massaki Dai-Oni that we can tell, but you do carry his Mark – as well as the Blessing of The Ancestors. It is not a perfect fit, but these Prophesies, they can be… fickle.”
“If it is your wish, you may challenge the Guardian to enter the Heart of Creation – though we cannot tell you where it will take you if you do.”
-
"....um, wait a second." Roka states, raising his hand.
"What prophecy? And what is this "Heart of Creation?"
-
"That is pretty much the entire thing," the Glen Mother replies in regard to the Prophesy.
"It has been with us from the beginning. We interpret it to speak of a time on verge of Creation's End, where either the Prophesy will be fulfilled and Creation continues on as it is - or everything will end."
"If the latter is the case, then the Five Gods of Creation will roll up Makemono and rewrite it upon a new Scroll."
Then pointing across the lake, to the waterfall, they add - "That is the Heart of Creation."
-
"So, in human terms, if the prophecy isn't fulfilled, bad stuff happens. Got it." Roka says.
"Who's the guardian?"
-
"It is 'Inami-No-Oni', the blood that lives in the Heart."
-
"Um... How am I supposed to kill blood?" Roka asks, confused.
-
"I'm afraid that we can't help you there," the Glen Mother replies.
"We have never been able to harm it. Fortunately, it cannot leave the Heart of Creation."
-
"I'm afraid that we can't help you there," the Glen Mother replies.
"We have never been able to harm it. Fortunately, it cannot leave the Heart of Creation."
Roka's jaw drops.
"Okay, so what's plan b? Any other way out of this realm? Magical Kirin or something like that?" Roka asks, desperate.
-
"Kirin?" the Glen Mother asks, "No. There has only been a handful of outsiders here over the Eons. Most recently, the other men from... 'Sendai' you call it?"
"None have ever left. Though some have tried and been lost to the Darkness."
-
Roka sighs.
"So the only passage out is through a blood Oni? Not much fun, I must say." Roka mytters,
"I'll need a day to prepare and rest before, uh, hopefully somehow vanquishing the Inami-no-Oni"
-
"As Emissary of the Ancestors," the woman says, "You are welcome to stay here in the Glen with us, until you are ready."
-
Roka bows.
"I thank you, Glen mother."
"And if I may ask a question, what have your warriors tried against the blood?"
-
"In the beginning, a great warrior tried to defeat the Guardian, but could not harm it with his stings." The Glen Mother explains.
"He did manage to slip past it into the Heart of Creation though, before it killed him, but he was never seen again."
-
Roka nods.
"Then I suppose we shall have to hope I'm a stronger warrior." Roka says.
"That will be all, Glen Mother. Thank you for your information." Roka then says with a final bow. Once the elders disperse, he'll look around for people willing to talk to him about the Glen.
-
Many of the Bisan prove willing to speak to Roka, and Li Li of course - who still walks around with Roka's arm in hers...
-
Hopefully she's just being friendly.... Roka thinks to himself.
"So, Li Li, where would I find the captain of the guards?"
-
The large Bisan Warrior that had met and then led Roka into the Glen stepped forward.
"That would be me." He smiled - "I'm Jor Thok."
"Yes, that's Jor Thok," Li Li adds, smiling. "He's the Leader of the Glen Guard."
"This is Roka of Sendai," Li Li then says back to Jor Thok.
"Yes, I know," Jor Thok says, as if he thinks Li Li is slow or something.
"I know you know," Li Li expertly counters - to which Jor Thok just facepalms.
"Thought so," Li Li then mocks - as if she has just won some strange sort of contest or something.
-
Roka chuckles at the small argument between the two, and then nods.
"Yes, thank you Li Li." Roka says.
"So Jor Thok, I must ask, the heart of creation, where is it in the lake? Like, is it underwater?"
-
"No, not underwater," Jor Thok replies, pointing across the lake to the prismatic glowing waterfall.
"It is behind the fall."
-
"Ah. How far behind the fall is it?" Roka asks.
-
"Not far, I think," Jor Thok answers. "Since the Guardian cannot come out, no one goes there to antagonize it."
-
"Hmm, alright, that's good. Have you ever seen what is behind the fall?"
-
"I have not," Jor Thok replies.
"Me neither," Li Li says.
"I think one or two of the Elders has though..." Jor Thok ponders aloud.
-
"Which ones?" Roka asks. "Could you take me to them?"
-
"Sure, we'll take you!" Li Li answers for Jor Thok, pulling Roka toward the giant willow tree.
Jor Thok, for his part, nods - "Yeah, I think Chuku Ra has;" and follows.
At the willow tree, four of the six Elders were still there.
"Roka of Sendai needs to speak with Elder Chuku Ra," Li Li announces.
"I am Elder Chuka Ra," the man answers.
-
Roka vows.
"Elder Chuka Ra, I have been informed that you have knowledge of what lies behind the falls. Could you grace me with that knowledge?"
-
“Of course,” the Elder answers.
“Beyond the fall is a prismatic crystal chamber, wherein, reality flows like blood through the Heart of Creation. The Guardian, Inami-No-Oni, pools beneath the Heart and will try to devour all who enter the chamber.”
“Anything that touches the Heart of Creation, being existent, is drawn within. We do not know the nature of the Guardian, that it is not so effected.”
“Perhaps it is a representation of corruption that has slowly leaked into Creation from the Beginning.”
-
"So, when would the Blood Demon begin to Attack?"
-
"As I said, it will attack whenever anyone enters the chamber through the waterfall."
-
Roka nods.
"Alright, that's important to know... Is there any way to view the chamber from outside the waterfall? Or is it too strong?"
-
"No, there is too much color distortion and water falling to see in through from the outside."
-
Roka nods.
"So, elder Bisan, how did you get to see all of this? Wouldn't the guardian attack you?"
-
"Oh yes; and it did," the Elder replies, "But I withdrew the moment it seeped out from under the Heart."
-
"Oh yes; and it did," the Elder replies, "But I withdrew the moment it seeped out from under the Heart."
Roka nods.
"So, was it really just blood?" Roka asks
-
"It was quite expansive, crimson black, and tendrilous." The Elder says.
"I didn't stick around to find out anything more."
-
"Ooh, that's so scary!" Li Li interjects.
-
Roka nods.
"Did it move quickly, elder?"
-
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Elder Chuku Ra answers, "But since I was not trying to go past it to the Heart, I was able to escape backward through the fall before it could get me."
-
Roka nods.
"Alright. Thank you, elder Chuka Ra." Roka says with a bow.
Then, turning to the head of the guards, he asks.
"Would you be able to assist me tomorrow in ridding the guardian from the heart?"
-
The head of the Glen Guard looks taken aback by the question, then cautiously asks, "What can I do to help?"
"It cannot be harmed by anything I have at my disposal, and cannot leave its chamber. So, what is it you are asking for?"
Then Li Li bravely offers "I'll help you Roka, I'm not afraid!"
"It is not about bravery or fear," Elder Chuku Ra says to Li Li, "It is about potency."
-
"You're a leader." Roka states. "You must be able to strengthen others with your voice like I, yes?"
And to Li Li, Roka chuckles.
"Li Li, you have helped me far more then enough."
-
"Ah, I see," Jor Thok replies, "Morale support. Yes, I can do that for you."
Li Li meanwhile, looks very disappointed and lets go of Roka's arm for the first time since they entered the Glen.
"I wouldn't have allowed it anyway Li Li," Elder Chuku Ra explains.
-
"Thank you, Jar Thok." Roka says, before turning back to Li Li.
"Don't worry Li Li, if you want, you can stay near the fall with Jar Thok, alright?" He says, trying to comfort the little girl.
-
Li Li looks at the Elder and he nods.
Li Li then smiles at Jor Thok.
Jor Thok facepalms.
-
Roka chuckles.
"Alright then, I suppose the only thing left to do is rest, I suppose." Roka says. "Is there any place here? With beds?"
-
"Yes, we have beds here," Jor Thok replies, pointing to some flowers growing out of the ground.
"Not that kind silly," Li Li says, "Like Ak... Uhm, like the people from Sendai use."
"You will be safe in the roots of the Grand Tree Emissary," Elder Chuku Ra offers.
-
"Um... I can't really sleep in a root, elder."
-
"Oh, right," the Elder replies, "But you will be safe by the tree I mean. No one will bother you while you rest."
-
Roka nods.
"Alright, that should be good." Roka says with a nod. "Thank you Elder." Roka says with a bow.
"I will see you tomorrow, Jor Thok." Roka says to the captain, before heading to the root to sleep. At sunrise, he will restrengten his connection to his inner ki, and then head over to Jor Thok and Li Li.
-
After a surprisingly restful sleep, Roka awakens to someone draped over him. It’s Li Li, who appears to have settled down to sleep with Roka.
Having awoken in similar situations many times over his life – and pretty much under the same circumstances every time – Roka suddenly worries about what this might mean.
He doesn’t remember anything but restful sleep. But then, Li Li wasn’t laying across him when he bed down. Could he have… with a child… did he?
“Oh, you’re awake,” Li Li says, getting up off Roka, “Are you ready to go to the fall?”
Looking at her, Roka sees that she is still dressed the same as she was before – nothing out of place, nothing disheveled about her appearance…
-
D:
Roka's mind quickly quivers at the terrible idea, and he quickly looks, left an right, to see if anyone actually saw them that night. Looking more closely at Li Li, Roka decides that it probably didn't happen. Probably. Hopefully. And he sure as hell won't pry into it. It's just a little girl's crush, and he'll be gone from this place soon, probably forever. So it doesn't matter. But it didn't happen. Definitely did not happen. He hopes.
"Uh, yup, I think its time." Roka says with a nod. "Where would Jor Thok be?"
-
"I'll get him!" Li Li offers (apparently unaware of Roka's internal dilemma) and hurries off.
A moment later, she returns with the Leader of the Glen Guard.
"This way," Jor Thok says.
Walking around the lake with Jor Thok and Li Li, Roka came to the strange prismatic waterfall on the other side.
The fall came out over a naturally sheer rock face – falling about seventy feet and filling the lake with a thunderous roar of water.
What was odd about the fall (and immediately noticeable) was that the water flowing out radiated a scintillating rainbow of colors that streaked and swirled around it – leaking into the mist and spray, here and there, like brightly pigmented clouds of magical ink.
Another thing somewhat jarring about the fall, was that the water occasionally stopped and started midair – even reversing itself a few moments every now and then, before snapping back to what gravity would normally demand.
-
Roka breathes in, and then out.
"Right. Let's hope this thing can actually feel my fists." He states, and then looks to Jor Thok. "Morale support would be appreciated, captain."
And assuming Jor Thok actually gives the support, Roka will quickly activate Ki Spikes, Heavy Hitter, and Amazing Celerity, prepared to either destroy the blood, or run out of the waterfall as fast as he can.
-
“Right, then,” Jor Thok replies (Born Leader) – “You can do it! Go get that Guardian! You’re a beast! Tear it to pieces! YEAH!!! YEAH!!! RARRGH!!!”
‘He’s not very good at this’ Roka can’t help but think to himself, as he buffs up for whatever lay behind the fall.
Li Li meanwhile, is very impressed with the display and cheers both men on.
With no ledge or lead-up to the rock face behind the falls, Roka is forced to jump into the lake itself and swim – diving under the pounding deluge – to access the wide hollow behind the curtain of magical water.
Once on the other side, he pulls himself up into the mouth of a strange crystalline chamber.
The area is about forty feet wide, thirty feet high, and goes back about sixty feet. The walls prickle with huge iridescent crystals of some kind – the points of which seep floating beads of mercurial silver into the air that snake their way through the cave in tenuous rivulets; and down into a massive eighty thousand pound boulder-sized diamond hovering in the center.
The diamond glows with tremendous magical energy and Roka can see reflections of All Creation in the mirrored surfaces of the mercury trails, as they flow into the multi-facets of the gargantuan gem. It is way too much for his finite human mind to contain – and it abruptly threatens to shut down!
Burning a Surge Point, Roka manages to hold onto his sanity, long enough to notice movement from under the floating diamond.
For beneath it, lay a vast pool of slick and cloying blood (the width of the entire chamber) – a viscous crimson abomination the consistency of pudding – but thrashing out with a horrifying array of stringy clotted strands! Surging up like a wave, it threatens to engulf Roka like a ship in the Maelstrom!
(OOC - Combat Round 1. Roka first...)
-
"Holy shit." Roka says, somewhat awed by the giant Blood-Wave, but quickly shrugs it off and raises his fists in preparation. Once the Monster is in range, his fists of fury will be ready.
"TAKEMURA SECRET TECHNIQUE: TRUE CRASHING MIRROR OF DEATH!" The Master Martial Artist shouts as he sends off a Ki Spiked (already set up) True Strike (-1 Ki) Death Touch (-1 Ki) Grevious Injury (-1) with a Ancestor Rebuke (-1) added on, and then it suddenly returns to strike the monster with a Crashing Mirror technique (-1) straight to wounds due to it being a called shot! (Total=5 Ki points)
If the attack actually hits the monster, Roka will quickly spin around and release a combo of the same Attack, burning 2 surge for a second called shot, "RETURN OF THE CRASHING MIRROR!" Burning only 1 Ki point from the attack.
(-6 Ki points and -2 surge total)
If the monster still lives, he'll send a third attack, finishing up all most of his Ki points (leaving 1 left), and leaving him with 1 surge.
//////
If the attacks don't hit, Roka'll surge the Fark out of the place, one surge and Amaizing celerity.
-
Calling upon the Blessing of The Ancestors, Roka’s Ki Spikes surge with a glorious nimbus of holy fire – burning through the wave of corrupted blood with each amazing strike!
Roka’s furious blows do 22 Damage each; for a total of 88 AP Damage straight to Wounds – also Disabling it and then Killing it, even before it has lost the last of its Wound Points!
With a bubbling wail, the cyclopean horror recoils in a splatter of its own fluids – the brutality of Roka’s onslaught staggering it back!
Even in retreat, the thing proves deadly – melting bits of Roka’s flesh everywhere the blood splashes and filling his veins with the most dreadful of poisons!
Surging to shrug the toxins, Roka sees that he has destroyed less than half of the monster, but that his two Death Touch attacks have finished it off anyway. What’s left of it becomes lifeless and flows back under the massive magical diamond.
Then to Roka’s utter surprise, it lashes out abruptly with its viscous evil strands in one final Retributive Strike – tearing at Roka’s chest in an attempt to burrow straight into the Samurai’s heart!
Activating Brass Body Technique, Roka is saved from certain death – but has to burn another 2 Ki Points the Shrug the Doubly Deadly toxins that seep into his flesh with each touch of the foul terror’s putrid ichor!
Then, with a final percolating fizz, the Guardian demon is no more.
(OOC - Combat is over.)
-
Roka quickly coughs, and grasps his chest with his right arm, breathing deeply.
"It's dead. Wow. That thing is dead. Thank the ancestors...." Roka mutters, as he heads out of the chamber, deciding to greet the wasp people one last time.
-
Li Li gasps when she see Roka exit the fall.
He really does look the sight - and while diving out of the crystal chamber through the waterfall washed off most of the horrid clotted goo that he had been covered in, his flesh was still scorched and blistered from the Guardian's poison blood.
"Oh Roka! What happened?" Li Li asks with genuine concern.
"I see you made it out alive," Jor Thok adds, "you were in there longer than anyone could hope to survive."
-
Roka grins.
"I hope to never know what exactly happened in there, Li Li." Roka says with a smile.
"And I did more then just make it out alive, Jor Thok. The monster is dead, if it was ever truly alive before. The path to the heart is now open." He says, and then chuckles.
"The prophecy has been fulfilled." He adds still chuckling. Prophecies are fickle things indeed.
"So, I suppose it'd be best to tell this to the Elders, and see if they have any advice as to how to return home via magic crystal heart." Roka says to Jor Thok and Li Li, as he begins walking around the lake, though quickly coughs up more bile.
"Still need to return and kill Lee... And then Jenna, and then Yukinawa..." He mutters, rubbing his wounds.
-
Li Li follows Roka, while Jor Thok transforms into a giant wasp and flies into the chamber behind the fall.
A few moment's later and Jor Thok returns, still in wasp form and buzzing to Li Li.
Li Li gets a worried look on her face and takes Roka's arm - "Roka! Jor Thok says that blood is dripping from the Heart of Creation back into the pool underneath! He thinks that means the Guardian will regenerate!"
-
"Godammit. Nothing ever just stays dead. I guess I'll have to cancel the celebrations..." Roka mutters.
"I suppose that means I should head in there now. It's been fun, Li Li." Roka says, turning back and running, slowly, to the heart, to enter the chamber.
-
Once again jumping into the lake and swimming through the fall, Roka enters the crystalline chamber. True to Jor Thok's word, Roka could see blood dripping from the bottom of the giant diamond into what was left of the Inami-No-Oni pooled beneath it. The monster was still enert and might be for a time, but it was definitely going to come back at some point...
Jor Thok and Li Li meanwhile, now both in giant wasp form, fly into the chamber to see what Roka would do next.
-
Roka looks around the Magic Crystal, trying to find where the entrance to the Daimond thing was.
"Jor Thok! Please get the elders and the Glen mother here, quickly. I need their knowledge."
-
Jor Thok nods and flies out of the chamber.
About two minutes later, he returns with seven more of the Bisan.
Two of them land and morph into the human forms of the Glen Mother and Elder Chuku Ra.
"I am impressed Roka of Sendai," the Glen Mother says, looking at the scene inside the chamber. "Only one before you has passed the Guardian, but never has it been defeated."
"Why do you hesitate to enter the Heart of Creation and fulfill the Prophecy?" Chuka Ra asks, noting the apparent regeneration of the Guardian as they stand there...
-
"Well, when I got stuck here, we were in a middle of a dangerous fight, so I'd have rather spent time resting before returning in full force, but the main problem is that I don't know how to enter the heart." Roka says with a chuckle.
"Also, I was wondering if you elders know anything about the mark I have on me. Important information no one ever told us."
-
"To enter the Heart of Creation, as Prophesied," the Glen Mother replies, "you have but to touch it."
"As for rest," she continues, "the Great Tree would heal your wounds over a short time, but I fear that should you wait, you would once again face a fully restored Guardian as well."
Then answering Roka's other question, she continues - "The Mark of Massaki Dai-Oni is a spiritual line that connects you to 'someplace else' through the Heart of Creation. Perhaps it is a path to your destiny. A Child of Massaki Dai-Oni has the Mark, as do you, but also the physical form of the Father of Demons."
-
Roka nods.
"Then touch it I must. Thank you, Glen mother. One day, I may return here." Roka says.
"Goodbye, Li Li." Roka states, as he touches the magical daimond.
-
Touching the Heart of Creation, Roka’s entire world shatters around him in an instant!
He feels his physical body disintegrate into its atomic structure – becoming acutely aware of every particle of his being – their motions, order, and function when joined together to form the whole. They swirl around his consciousness as he seems to flow morpheus through the very strings of time and space.
As Roka drifts, he finds himself envisioning his entire existence – his mind filled not just with that of his mortal life – but of each life he has ever lived from his very first incarnation at the dawn of mankind. In a flash, he experiences every birth, every life, and every death of each generation of himself from the creation of man until the moment he had placed his hand on the Heart of Creation.
Then, as suddenly as the knowledge comes, it quickly fades – leaving him with only a few lasting impressions.
First, was that he had always lived honorably (for the most part) in each of his previous incarnations and was a choice spirit among the Ancestors. They had chosen him for some important purpose and were even now, doing what they could to help him along the way.
Second was that he had indeed been to that Naga Shrine in the Spirit World before (as he had felt upon first seeing it with the Samurai of Sendai) in at least two of his past lives.
In both cases, he was born and lived to the coming of age, before the Naga had come and secretly slain him. As he had seen with Sakura and Kaitaro’s death in his current life, his bodies had reformed in the Shrine, where they lived to the age of man and then died in suspended animation over the well. Then, only after that, he was once again received into the Celestial Palace of the Ancestors to await birth into a new mortal life.
And the final thing Roka was left with, was a sense that this life was different than all the rest. That he was now on the verge of eternal destruction – and not only his, but of all Creation.
For something drifted along with Roka – something not ordered or counted among what was his – yet a part of him like some cancerous ulcer. It was dark and sinister and as cold as the depths of hell. And it regarded Roka contemptuously, hating him with a palpable loathing.
And at this realization that Roka was not alone, Roka saw a future of himself towering over the entire world. He was filled with an intoxicating sense of omnipotence and reveled in his limitless cruelty as he reached down and wounded the earth – tearing open the land and releasing all manner of terrible Oni from the depths below.
But not satisfied there, he turned his attention to the Sun and Moon, and seeing how small and insignificant they were in comparison to his own might, he crushed them in each of his hands – plunging the dying world into an eternity of darkness.
The shock of seeing this snapped Roka out of wherever he was, and he wearily came to, lying on paving stones somewhere. He was whole again, but felt weird, his mind buzzing with chaos and unable to cope with all that he had seen and experienced.
---
Taking a moment to compose himself, Roka stood up and looked around. He was in Sendai again, standing outside the Chief Magistrate’s house – as a commotion inside caught his attention.
Someone yelled “poison!” and to one side of the house, the outer wall abruptly broke open.
Roka then saw himself inside the house for a moment – before that version of himself suddenly vanished – and then General Meji shoved Chief Magistrate Yama-Uno out the hole as a yellow gas began to seep out behind him.
Roka must have come back in time a few minutes, right as Jenna had teleported away with him after he had smashed open the wall.
“The Chief Magistrate! The General!” Roka hears behind him – and becomes aware of General Meji’s men still surrounding the house. He also remembers that Yuki’s mother, her student, his own daughter, and the Army Lieutenant are all still inside.
Then, atop the house, Roka sees a dark flash of movement springing silently onto the adjacent rooftops and away into the darkness of night…
-
Roka pushes himself up, with pain screeching in his mind, and slowly limps towards the magistrate's home, clutching his head.
"GENERAL! LADY SHIRITAHARA! SAVE THEM! SAVE THE MAGISTRATE AND MY DAUGHTER!" Roka shouts, his normal inhibitions gone, revealing his daughters secret, but granting the General, (and Lady SHIRITAHARA) all the surgepoints he has, to save those inside.
-
The Chief Magistrate is saved from the poison gas, but everyone else inside is exposed as they scramble out. Fortunately, two of them are Feng-Shui Masters (one with Harmony) and Roka’ and General Meji’s Born Leader Surge Points don’t hurt.
Even so, the poison takes a nasty toll – blistering flesh and causing fluids to fill the lungs – not to mention contaminating everything it touches in contact poison.
General Meji spends 3 Luck and takes 10 Wounds in burns the back of his head neck and arms, but is tough enough to keep going. He drags the Chief magistrate away from the house to his men (who promptly surround him in a protective wall) and then removes his cloak and armor that has traces of poison still on it.
Lady Shirahata spends 4 Luck Points and takes 10 Wounds in blisters and burns to her back, which DISABLEs her. She then has to spend 3 Surge Points to get away and tear off her contaminated clothes.
Roka’s daughter Mai, spends 3 Luck Points and takes 10 Wounds of burns to her head, chest, and lungs, which DISABLEs her too. She also spends 3 Surge Points to get away and tear her own clothing off.
Lady Shirahata’s student is the last one to emerge – meaning the Lieutenant didn’t make it. Like Mai, he also spends 3 Luck, is burned horribly, DISABLED and has to spend 3 Surge to get far enough away to rip his poisoned clothing off.
“You! Ride for the Priests!” General Meji yells to one of his men – “We need a Water Elemental to clean up all this poison!
Then seeing Roka, the General adds with a huge smile – “Roka you maniac haha! You saved us! You saved the Chief Magistrate! You punched a hole in that wall so fast I didn’t even see you go through it!”
Then seeing the now naked women, the Genera orders two of his men to throw them down their cloaks to wrap up in. Then, sort of as an afterthought, he gives a wave to a third soldier – who then throws a cloak down for Shirihata’s student to cover himself too.
“General!” Lady Shirahata gasps, “Whoever did this to the Chief Magistrate is still out there!”
“Yes,” the General replies – quickly sobering up. “Anyone see anything? I certainly don’t think he would have stayed in the house…”
-
Roka pants.
"I saw him run up... The... The rooftops... But I... I'm not in.... I couldn't chase after him." Roka says, clutching his head.
"I... I should have been more careful, General. I'm sorry."
-
"You did good Roka," the General says, "And the coward flees. There will be another chance to make him pay for this. Don't worry, we'll get him!"
-
"You did good Roka," the General says, "And the coward flees. There will be another chance to make him pay for this. Don't worry, we'll get him!"
Roka nods.
"Yes general. I... I just can't think. The... The Korean is dangerous... He must be dealt with at once..." Roka states, before remembering something important.
"...And.. Akira Kuwabara... The liuetenant and his men.... They are all... All dead, general. The... The blue barrier... Don't send anymore inside... Sir," Roka mutters.
-
The General frowns - "How..." he begins to say, but lets it drop.
"All right, thank you for the warning Roka," he says instead, "I would hate to lose more men to Yunikawa's treachery."
---
A few minutes later and a Water Elemental was on scene, clearing out the poison - first from the gathered Samurai and their clothing and then going inside the Chief Magistrate's home.
The Exalted Patriarch of the Temple of The Ancestors and the High-Priest of the Temple of Five Gods followed shortly after.
Burning Surge Points, they Healed the General, and Lady Shirihata, and were then completely out.
Roka's daughter and Lady Shirahata's student were carefully laid on litters to be taken up to the triage center at the Temple of The Ancestors.
"Don't worry about them," The Exalted Patriarch said, "We'll see that they are both Healed in the morning."
Then looking at Roka's burned and scorched body, the Exalted Patriarch added with a shake of his head - "Couldn't have waited till morning eh?"
Then giving a friendly laugh and patting Roka on the back - which was notably painful at this point - he said "Well, anyway, stop by in the morning and we'll fix you up too."
-
Roka grabs the Exalted Priest's arm.
"Exalted Priest, please heal the girl. I have an obligation to her." Roka states, powering the exalted priest with some surge.
-
"Very well," the Exalted Patriarch replies, telling the litter carriers to wait.
He then uses Roka's Born Leader Surge, and Heals Mai, who jumps off the litter, wrapped in a cloak.
"Um, yeah... Thank you. I'll be going to find some clothes now..."
-
At this point, the Water Elemental comes out of the Chief Magistrate's house.
"The house is cleansed," it reports, "Another poison was in the rear of the house and on the roof. It is neutralized."
-
"I'll go in an do a last sweep," Lady Shirahata volunteers, looking at her lopan as she heads back to the house.
"He's gone north and west," she calls back to Roka.
-
General Meji meanwhile, calls to the High-Priest of the Temple of Five Gods - "I'm sure you got one more of those in you for my friend Roka here," granting the man a Born Leader Surge.
"Oh, yes General," the man replies, and Heals Roka.
"It's OK, I'm good!" Lady Shirahata's student gasps out as he's carried away...
-
Roka bows to the Exalted Priest.
"Thank you." And then he turns to the General, and bows.
"Thank you, sir."
And then he turns to the Magistrate, and bows again.
"I am sorry, sir. The traitor has escaped. I will bring him to justice sir." Roka states, and then turns back to the General.
"Yukinawa is not in his palace. I doubt his army is there either." Roka states, groaning. He then turns to the Feng shui Archeress.
"Lady Shirihata, thank you for following me. I apologize for your student's harm. It should not have happened. I hope that if needed, you will assist me again. Here are your charms... One was used already."
-
Lady Shirahata takes the charms back and looks at Roka with her lopan.
"You are welcome Roka; and I am up for taking this Lee fellow down, as soon as you are ready."
Then after a pause, she adds - "What happened to you? I saw you vanish from the wall. Then you are already outside when we exit? I would think nothing of you being able to teleport, but these burns you had were not from the gas."
Checking her lopan again, she continues, with some concern in her voice - "Roka, your Chi Aura is all messed up too. You are dangerously close to a psychotic break and I feel that your ability to make rational decisions right now is seriously compromised."
Then, as Lady Shirahata is talking, her lopan suddenly snaps in half and the sunstone at its center shatters - causing Yuki's mother to scream out in terroar and then fall over catatonic...
"What's wrong with Lady Shirahata?!?" General Meji asks in surprise.
The Exalted Patriarch and High-Priest hurry back over.
"She's not physically harmed," the Exalted Patriarch says, examining her.
"Something mental of psionic," the High-Priest says, picking up the two halves of the lopan.
Then turning to Roka, the all ask - "What happened? What did you see?"
-
Roka gasps at Lady Shirahata's instant catatonic state, and instead of responding to the questions posed by everyone, quickly asks.
"Is she okay?! She'll be alright, right? I didn't return to have her die! I came back to save her!" Roka shouts, frantic.
-
"Roka; She's alive," the Exalted Patriarch says, "But something has caused her mind to snap. We'll see what we can do for her."
Then, having the Water Elemental lift her up, he commands: "Take her to the Temple."
Turning to Roka he says, "go home and get some rest - or come to the Temple and get some rest."
"In fact, we all need rest. We are all spent and there is nothing more to do tonight."
-
Roka nods.
"Rest sounds good." He states. "Rest sounds really good."
"Probabiy gonna have to take you on the offer, Patriarch. My house is still destroyed, I think." Roka says, intending to sleep in the temple.
-
11th Day of Mid Summer 1303
A New Dawn
Roka awakes in the Temple of the Ancestors, not really remembering ever falling asleep. He still feels 'off' somehow, like part of him might have been left in the Heart of Creation - or worse - something more had come through with him.
Then remembering Lady Shirahata, he gets up to see that she is wrapped in a blanket on a futon along the opposite wall from him.
The Exalted Patriarch stands over her, dabbing her forehead with a cool wet cloth.
When he sees Roka, he sighs, "It's no use, whatever did this to her is magic beyond our own. We cannot bring her back, even with our most powerful Healing spells..."
-
Roka eyes widen.
"What?! That's impossible, Exalted Patriarch! All she did was look at my aura! Practically nothing! There must be something?!" Roka shouts, turning white. He saves them! That's what was supposed to be, at least. He came back to save all of them, not to destroy Yuki's mom's brain!
-
"I don't know, Roka," the Exalted Patriarch replies sadly, "It wasn't nothing. It destroyed not only her mind, but her lopan and sunstone. The sunstones are what allow the Feng-Shui Masters to alter even Fate itself. Whatever it was, it was beyond the power of mortal beings..."
-
"Well, it certainly wasn't mortal, I think, but I went through the heart of creation and got out alive! She must be okay!" Roka shouys, exasperated
-
At this point, the Exalted Patriarch holds up a hand and says, "It's Yuki Shirahata, she's sending thoughts..."
-
"Oh Ancestors, tell her I'm sorry, Exalted Patriarch. I didn't know what would happen to her."
-
"It will work out Roka. We'll get this sorted."
-
"It will work out Roka. We'll get this sorted."
"Of that I am sure, Exalted Patriarch. I would do anything to help her, even swear off women, if I thought it would help. But it is not that. I was leading her, Exalted one, and I failed her. That I can not accept. Her harm was my responsibility, no matter how bizzard or mystical the harm was." Roka says with conviction.
-
A Gate abruptly opens in the Room and Yuki walks in.
Yuki sees her mother unconscious and catatonic on the futon.
-
"Mother!" Yuki cries, rushing over to her. She then turns to Roka.
"What happened?"
-
Roka looks down, shame flowing all over him.
"Your mother, she... She was using her Lopan to see what happened to me, and then... I don't know, she suddenly dropped. I didn't know that would happen... I'm... I'm sorry Yuki. I didn't know." Roka states.
-
"What do you mean what happened to you? What happened to you? What happened to Lee?"
Yuki asks, remembering her mother told them they were going to take care of Lee. She then pulls out her Lopan, to see if she can tell what happened to her mother.
-
Roka blinks once he sees Yuki pull out her lopan, and quickly attempts to cover it with his hand.
"Yuki, please. Before you do anything, promise me you won't use your lopan on me. Until we figure out what happened. Alright? Swear it, please." Roka says hurriedly.
-
Looking at her mother's Aura meanwhile, Yuki sees that part of it is 'missing' - like her mother's very being has been stripped away or lost.
In a tragic way, it reminds Yuki of the warnings she learned about trying to manipulate time, using the Rewind spell. One's being could get lost in time and could take weeks to find its way back (if it ever did). It occurs to Yuki that she might be able to bring her mother back with a combination Feng-Shui Summon and Heal - but it would be a longshot...
-
Deciding she has a better chance of helping her mother if she understands what happened, Yuki turns to Roka.
"Don't move."
She states, placing her hand on him and casting Postcognition, to see what happened to him while they were separated.
-
Yuki gets the whole incredible tale - from the time Roka and the party split; to the encounter with Lee; to the conversation at the Blue Wall with Jenna; to the three day ordeal in the Other Worldly Mountains and Glen with the Bisan; to the battle with the Blood Demon in the Heart of Creation; to being drawn in, separated into infinity, and drifting through time; to carrying something evil and sinister back with him; to saving the Chief Magistrate, General Meji, Yuki's Mom', Daughter, and Student; to Yuki's Mother seeing something inside Roka's time distorted aura with Sorcerer's Sight that she wasn't supposed to - which subsequently lashed out - banishing her mind into chaos...
-
Finishing the spell, Yuki looks at Roka.
"We really need to find out what happened to you..."
She remarks, glancing at her Lopan.
"But first."
Yuki turns to her mother and takes a deep breath. She then proceeds to cast heal, along with her sorcerer's sight, summon and a surge, in order to return her mother's mind back to her body, hopefully healthy.
-
As Roka and the Exalted Patriarch look on, Yuki concentrates, pushing the limits of her abilities to mix Feng-Shui powers with Wu-Jen magic.
After some intense exertion, her spell is cast and she sees the missing portion of her mother's aura suddenly begin to fill back in.
Lady Shirahata then sits up, clutching her head - and turns pale when she sees Roka in the room with her.
"Roka!" she cries in alarm, "I saw it in your aura! It was the dismembered chest of some titanic god! Malevolent and cold and aware of me seeing it! It attacked me, drawing me into a dark void of nothingness."
Then turning to Yuki and calming down a bit, Lady Shirahata adds, "Then a comforting light found its way through that darkness and pulled me out. Thank you daughter. You saved me."
-
"What is it?" The Exalted Patriarch asks with great concern, looking back and forth between Roka and Yuki for some sort of explanation.
"What happened?"
-
Roka's blood returns to his face, and he smiles.
"Yuki! You did it!" Roka shouys, ecstatic
-
Yuki smiles brightly at her mother.
"Of course, ehehe!"
She replies with a laugh. She then brings her attention to the Exalted Patriarch. She explains Roka's journey to him, and asks if he understands what may have happened to Roka.
(She also will make an occult roll to try and figure it out herself, if that hasn't already occurred).
-
Yuki is at a total loss as to what it could mean, her occult studies have not yet delved nearly that deep.
The Exalted Patriarch meanwhile, is only able to offer - "Traveling through the Heart of Creation must have opened Roka up to literally anything in all of Creation - all the Realms, the Physical, Spiritual, Underworld, and those of the Gods; they flow together through the Heart. There's no telling what it is that became a part of Roka during the journey."
-
As this goes one, Rai and Miya enter the room through Yuki's Gate.
-
Yuki is at a total loss as to what it could mean, her occult studies have not yet delved nearly that deep.
The Exalted Patriarch meanwhile, is only able to offer - "Traveling through the Heart of Creation must have opened Roka up to literally anything in all of Creation - all the Realms, the Physical, Spiritual, Underworld, and those of the Gods; they flow together through the Heart. There's no telling what it is that became a part of Roka during the journey."
Roka nods his head, clueless about it all.
"Well, the binari said that the child of Masaki-Dai-Oni will enter the heart of creation and save the world of creation by betraying his father, or something like that. Maybe that's what I was doing? Saving the world accidentally?" Roka asks, shrugging.
"Certainly seems my style."
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"A child of Masaki-Dai-Oni?" the Exalted Patriarch repeats questioningly; "I've never heard of such a thing (other than in the context of all the Oni themselves that is).
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"Uh yeah, that's what the Binari said. And that the child has the physical form of the Masaki-Dai-Oni, along with his mark." Roka states.
"Oh, and they also said that I had the mark of the demon guy, but that I'm not the child." Roka adds.
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"The Father of Demons?" The Exalted Patriarch points out to Roka, "Yes, he is a personification of Yang - or male."
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"So who's the mom?" Roka asks.
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"A child of Masaki-Dai-Oni?" the Exalted Patriarch repeats questioningly; "I've never heard of such a thing (other than in the context of all the Oni themselves that is).
Yuki nods at the Exalted Patriarch.
"The Binari said Roka carries the Mark of the Masaki-Dai-Oni. When we spoke with Yunikawa before retrieving the book of secrets, he mentioned that Sakura and Keitaro had 'marks of divinity', that only a select few could see. He implied a few of us, including himself, had the same mark. He claimed to not know their purpose, but that the Book of secrets would reveal it."
She explains.
"He also..."
Yuki begins, pausing to glance at her mother.
"Looked into Kioko's memories while we stayed there, or so he claimed."
Suddenly, Yuki looks like she remembers something.
"The temple where all of our spiritual attunement lead to had a stone slab, it read that it was the Tomb of The Master of The Deep Earth".
She then looks at the Exalted Priest, as if expecting some sort of answer.
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Rai thoroughly confused about what is going on he says, "Wait back up so what your saying is that Roka, You, Miya and Udo are all children of the father of all demons? Is that why you had to come back so quickly?"
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"Not at all." Roka replies. "But it's not the time for a recap, Rai. We can repeat the story later."
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He procedes to mutter, "and I thought my secret was a big deal."
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"Wouldn't 'The Tomb of The Master of The Deep Earth' be referring to that fire demon that Udo knows about?"
Miya says after overhearing part of their conversation.
OOC: Subject to change since I don't know where to find that conversation. :P
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Not to left out, Udo comes through the Gate - the chamber now starting to feel a bit crowded with everybody in it ...
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"Ah, yes," the Exalted Patriarch replies, "'The Master of The Deep Earth' is a reference to Masaki-Dai-Oni, in that the Father of Demons crawled up from the Earth's Wound (caused by U-Baji the Sun after the Earth's creation by U-Mani the Moon)."
"I don't believe there is a Mother of Demons," he then adds to Roka thoughtfully.
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Realizing no one knows anything about the mysteries surrounding the group, Yuki decides to move on.
"Mother, are you able to fix a spirit well?"
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"You mean like building a shrine over it?" Lady Shirahata asks, then answers, "Not by myself, but I've helped an artisan friend of mine cap one before."
Then to Roka she points out - "that's where I got my charms."
"Najin built the shrine, while I helped him to know where to set the crystal reflectors with my Feng-Shui knowledge."
"Why?"
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"There's a spirit well in Kurokawa", Yuki says, pointing through the gate.
"That we need to seal properly. Yori are coming out and tormenting the villagers."
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"That shouldn't be too much trouble for Najin and I," Yuki's mother replies, standing.
"I feel all right, thanks to you Yuki," she continues, "But my sunstone is destroyed. I'll have to borrow yours for a while to assist Najin, or you can do it yourself. It is a shame, that sunstone has been in our family for centuries. And I am seriously hampered without it."
Then asking the Exalted Patriarch, Lady Shirahata says - "Please have one of your Priests fetch Master Craftsman Najin Ayugai from the work at the Daimyo's Palace. We'll only need him for a day."
The Exalted Patriarch nods and signals for one of his priest to go summon the man.
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Roka looks a bit sheepish.
"Er, sorry about that, Lady Shirihata."
-
"It wasn't you Roka," Lady Shirahata says, "It was... whatever it was... lashing out through my Feng-Shui connection to your Aura - or it's Aura... Anyway, I suppose the sunstone being there saved my life. Had all that psychic energy hit me directly, I'm sure it would have shattered my mind permanently."
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"It is unfortunate. Do you think you'll be able to get another one?"
Yuki asks her mother.
"As for the well, i think its best if you guide me through it."
-
Yuki's mother nods to Yuki (having not really answered the question about getting another sunstone).
After a few minutes, Master Craftsman Najin Ayugai walks in with the Priest that was sent to go fetch him.
"The Samurai of Sendai have need of me?" he asks. Then seeing Lady Shirahata, he brightens (as if perhaps there might be something between the two of them).
"Ah, Lady Shirahata, what a pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you?"
"We need to cap a Spirit Well," Yuki's mother answers the mature-looking man with a greying beard. "It's urgent enough to pull you away from your work here in Sendai - seems Yori are getting out of it and harassing Kurokawa to the south."
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"Of course," Najin replies with a bow. "Though here then?" He asks, looking through the gate.
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Lady Shirahata looks to Yuki for confirmation.
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"Yes", Yuki says, leading them through the gate.
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Yuki's mother and Najin head in after Yuki - followed by a small army of craftsmen that file in through the room to the Gate with tools, stone blocks, and mortar.
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Roka follows
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Rai fallows as well.
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Udo nods, trying to make sense of whatever fragments he heard, and then follows the rest of the group through the gate.
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Miya tags along for the ride. ::)
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As everyone leaves the room, the Exalted Patriarch calls over some Priest to watch Yuki's Gate.
"If they need anything else, do what you can and send word to me immediately. I'll be in the archives..."
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All Players Continue HERE (http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=1217.msg83446#msg83446)