A Shadowy Illness
Far away in Rokugan it was the 3rd of Hida (Month of the Boar {OOC: December}) and the festival to honor the Kami of the Crab Clan was in full swing. Here in the Senpet Empire apparently over 1,000 Ri (Miles in low Rokugani) away night was beginning to fall. After practicing the jujitsu he’d learned initially from Donoha sama, Kagero san was meditating and performing a Kiho skill to find taint of the Shadowlands nearby. What he discovered caused them to alert his companions.
Using directions from Kagero san they go to the nearest home with a single mother and daughter. Kitsuki Donoha sama uses the crystal pendant to help translate. The mother’s name was Tiaret (𓏏𓇋𓂋𓏏) or “She Who Returns” in their tongue. The tainted one was their daughter Nafretiri (𓈖𓆑𓂋𓏏𓇋𓂋𓇋) or “Beautiful Companion” in their tongue. Both the Dragon and the Ronin shugenja examined the girl with a warry mother looking onward. Donoha sama managed to convince his cousin to come inside and cook something to ease the child’s condition.
The child had a vomiting fit and it ended up on the Dragon’s tabi socks and shoes. Taking a stick he scraped it off and Kagero san communed with water kami in the blackened vomit. They learned about the illness affecting the children playing at the river. When this information was explained to the mother they wanted to scold their child but when they found out if the children did not wretch this up by dawn then it would likely kill them. They instead offered to act as intermediary for the other families, since they were unlikely to trust foreigners. In exchange, the group agreed to follow the directions regarding the river and stop whatever was causing this issue.
Hanzo sama stayed behind with the jade chest with its scarab lock. The other four companions headed down to the river and began moving in the direction indicated by the water kami. Once on the town outskirts they came across a grain farmer picking up a tied bushel they had either set down or dropped to catch their breath. When the Donoha sama asked about what seemed to be troubling him, after scanning him with his trained eye. The grain farmer mentioned that back beyond the bridge behind him, to which he began to gesture. Two red eyes had looked at him in the darkness and he got scared and ran.
Onward the group went over the bridge until they came to the source of the taint. Undead Crocodiles two which Donoha sama headed in to the group to occupy two of them. Both Asahi sama moved to the other one. Just then a practitioner of maho or “blood magic” appeared in what looked like an abandon home behind the necrotic crocs. Kagero san discovers they are indeed susceptible to jade when he asks the kami for help in changing some nearby rocks into jade and throwing them at various targets.
Luckily Donaha sama was holding his own even after he suffered from a temporary curse, withering one of his legs! Tamaki sama let loose with Jade Strikes at Kagero san’s suggestion. Asahi went to confront the maho users when the shugenja dumped water on him mostly clearing the blood from his body. Even when he summoned two more undead crocs from bones in the nearby river the group prevailed! Using the magic of the fire kami to burn the house, the maho user, and every trace of the crocs.
Knowing that his cousin struggled with dealing damage to the supernatural foes he asked him to trade wakizashi with him. He did so and Donoha would explain why that mattered when he had more time. The group split up in case the guards of the city were called because of the fire. Tamaki sama and Donoha sama returned to check on the children. Kagero san and Asahi sama stayed to make sure the house burned down but the fire did not spread and cause more destruction. By the time the two returned from the house the children had indeed been saved in time. After some intense discussions about their mission in these lands. Amir said the following day would bring the meeting with the priest of Per-Amunu.
