Dark Edge Village

After putting the boy to bed, Hirase took the time to freshen up as best as he was able. Hoping, a bit anxiously, that this kumis thing that Khulun said she'd bring would be a bit kinder to Rokugani stomachs than the meal the prior day had been, he presented himself along the line of tents, looking for where the two women would have gathered for their planned night of tales that weren't best suited for public consumption.

Chi-Pu walked back toward the Unicorn Yurts

"How can everyone be so calm? Why are they not preparing for war?"

She looks around at all the jovial samurai eating, drinking, and conversing, completely unaware to the events that occurred the night prior.

She frowns.

"That's right. Because we haven't told them. I know Kitakuhime is starting to come into her role as an heiress and thus taking a more active role in leading, but I don't think it is wise to hold off on telling out people. We must not be caught unawares!"

Tianma just listens as her rider rambles to her. The massive steed lumbers along slowly, the heat from the day having taken a lot of her energy away.

It doesn't take long for the two of them to come across Hirase.

"Oh, hello Asako-san"

Chi-Pu calls out from atop Tianma, bowing slightly.

Khulun sits out front of her tent by a fire, nearby. More color to her cheeks but still in a darker mood. Or perhaps that was just normal for the young Moto. She tosses another stick into the flame as she contemplates the events of the past day.

If he was surprised that the Otaku was again mounted, he didn't show it. Instead, he bowed politely and approached. "Konnbanwa, Otaku-sama. I hope that you're still free this evening? I should warn you that my usual skills with tales may be lacking a bit tonight, though the facts at least will still be accurate."

Seeing Khulun a few tents down, he indicated her direction with a tilt of the chin.

"It seems that we are awaited. After you?"

Chi-Pu dismounts Tianma quickly and walks with the man toward Khulun.

"I always keep my engagements, Asako-san, though tonight perhaps will be for information, not tales. Something happened last night.

Stopping and lashing Tianma to a nearby post, Chi-Pu approaches Khulun and offers a hand shake.

"The storyteller from yestersay, Moto-san. Perhaps he can give us more info than the Iuchi did."

She rises and shakes the hand and says, "We shall see."

She rises slowly, still recovering from her injuries, then looks back and forth before heading to her yurt. She holds the flap open for her guests and says, "We should speak inside."

Perhaps surprisingly, Hirase offered the Moto the same greeting before entering inside. Glancing around only briefly, he foled himself down to sit, leaving room for the clearly unwell Moto woman to take what looked like the most comfortable seat.

Looking between them, he asked calmly? "What happened? I take it is something to do with Moto-san's condition?"

Chi-Pu steps inside as well.

"It does. Late in the night we were attacked by a creature. I do not know what to call it, but it looked like a mix between a lobster and a man, with massive bone wings and a dark shadowy aura around it. It commanded sorcery and tentacles from the ground. Finally, nothing could harm it save for Moto-sans blade."

She takes a breath and then continues

"When it fell, it said it would return and it was as much Unicorn as we. It left no body, only a patch of sand."

She sighs

"Yesterday you spoke of a great enemy to the south that the Carpenter Wall keeps at bay. Is this creature one of them?"

Khulun closes the flap and takes a seat with some discomfort and adds, "I had something else to ask but Otaku-nikutai has the right of it."

For all that the Asako was a master of his emotions, this got a visceral expression of dismay, hatred, and what might have been fear for a moment before his well-trained On locked back in place.

"It certainly sounds like such a thing. I'm not an expert, but I can tell you some generalities." He took a long breath, considering, and then hunkered down, elbows on knees, to lean in. "What you describe sounds a lot like an Oni, though I suppose it might be a form of Gaki or Yurei I've never heard of. Each sort of entity has a different set of general properties, though within each group you see a lot of variety. I know the most about Yurei, simply because there are a lot of stories about them that are put into plays and songs which makes it more acceptable. All are unpleasant, but some are far more dangerous than others."

She wraps herself in furs and listens.

"Please, Askako-san, you must tell us all you know about both."

She lowers her voice a little

"And, you must keep quiet. We have not yet allowed the rest of the Clan to know what has happened, else mass bloodlust erupt."

She seems to be dissatisfied by the statement.

"You have my word, I will tell no one." He would certainly watch, but he wouldn't insult their hosts. Especially since it sounded like the Unicorn had managed just fine.

"So. Of the three things I named, we will go from least troublesome to most. Yuurei is a broad category name for the spirits of the restless dead. There are a wide variety of such beings. Some are common enough that they have been given classifications of their own within the overall category. Women who die in childbirth, for example, are called 'Ubume' and tend to manifest with some of the same features...long black hair over the face, pale white skin, white robes that may or may not show the blood of their ending, no visible feet below."

Realizing a tangent, he drew himself back in.

"Most Yuurei are not, generally, dangerous. Frightening, yes, and disruptive at times, but unless one is the cause of a death or reminds the lost one of that which kept them from finding rest, they don't much affect the real world. They can usually be laid to rest by a priest using a rite designed for that particular spirit. Mundane weapons tend to have no affect at all and magic is unreliable."

He paused, looking between them for questions before moving on to the Gaki.

The Moto nods, she has no questions at the moment.

"The Unicorn have faced spirits such as this before I think, and this creature was not one of them. Please, tell us of the next threat."