[D3 EM Saksaha's Yurt] Early Pony Catches the Charm

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Dong-Ha emerged from his yurt soon after sunrise, stretching as he looked around the camp. Seeing that no tents within his sight had been ravaged by fire or oni he nodded with a satisfaction and returned to his tent only to reappear with a small cloth wrap in his arms. He still wore the same robes he had worn for the past two days, glad that that the weather had remained pleasant.

Humming to himself, the young mystic made his way to Saksaha's yurt, stopping by the door to see if she was awake. "Cousin, I hope you are awake."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

The little white goat, tied on a long tether outside the tent, bleats at Dong-Ha as if it were under the mistaken impression that he's talking to it.

A moment later Saksaha pushes open the thick tent flap and sticks her head out, blinking in the sunlight. "I am, I am."

She's already dressed in her embroidered wool robe, but isn't wearing the fancy beaded headdress at the moment--her hair is in one long simple braid instead. The welcoming smell of boiling tea fills the tent from a pot on the small stove. "Come in, Dong-Ha-san. Have you eaten yet?"

After waving him in, she'll stand outside a moment longer, getting the door flap rolled up so the morning sunlight can shine in.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

The customary "Mornin.'" was followed by a quick "Nope." as Dong-Ha greeted Saksaha before wading into her tent. The goat was left to her devices. Such animals were a commonplace and no-one really paid any attention to them.

"Wouldn't mind food, if you have some at hand." Dong-Ha quipped towards the open door, as he sought out a pillow, laying the bundle he'd been carrying. "Howe goes?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Goat's milk, dried cheese, yesterday's flatbread... of course there is tea." Saksaha waves a hand at the stovetop. The small pail of milk, so fresh it's still warm, stands nearby. Goats might be too commonplace to earn much notice, but it is nice not to have to wait for the heimin to bring one's daily milk delivery.

Stepping back inside, she unhooks a canvas sack from its spot hanging on a yurt rafter. "I also am just sitting to eat. It's good to have a quiet morning." The emphasis is probably unmissable. But she seems cheerful enough about having Dong-Ha at her door, so clearly he doesn't count as a violation of 'quiet.'

She dumps the canvas cloth on the low table--unfolded, it turns out to contain the dry provisions she'd mentioned--and rummages out a couple of bowls from the drawer underneath it.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Good enough." he replied with a faint smile, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he looked around in hopes of finding some of the aforementioned items. Dong-Ha wasn't one to complain or sneer at a free meal. Watching her set-up the breakfast, Dong-Ha drummed his knee with his fingers, trying to figure out how to explain what had been told to him. The Moto hadn't made much sense and he felt he didn't quite know everything he ought to have known.

"Nothing seems to have burnt down last night, for what I saw on my way here so... maybe we'll be safe for now, though... though..." he leaned his forehead to his palm. "Moto Khulan-san said that there had been a dead bird talking... with her and some others. She had some trinket too, old as the Empire. I looked into it." Dong-Ha's fingers tapped an amber amulet hanging from his belt. "Apparently what happened the other night was just... a beginning." Dong-ha looked up, seeing out Saksaha's eyes. "I don't like this. At all. Otaku Kitakuhime-sama said she'd take matters to Ide-dono, so maybe someone will do something..." Little did he know, as possessions were surprisingly common occurrence during the Rokugani court season. One could have said that this possession had been 'off-season' however.

"Dead birds flying cannot be a good omen, even if I don't do omens." Dong-Ha huffed, rolling his eyes. "You have an idea?" he had an inclination she had dabbled with such things.

[Iuchi Saksaha]

Saksaha stops halfway through the motion of ladling tea into the first bowl, arrested by the mention of the Bird Incident. "Dead birds?" She meets Dong-Ha's eyes and frowns worriedly. "That is more than an evil omen--it sounds like dark magic. Such things don't happen naturally, do they?" Yes, it could be an omen of something bad... in the same way a sword sticking out of your chest is an omen telling you that you've been stabbed.

A drop of tea running back down the ladle onto her hand reminds Saksaha of what she'd been doing, and she finishes filling the bowl and hands it to Dong-Ha, then gets one for herself. "I have not cast the stones since we arrived here. Too much to do, no time to sit quietly and think. The shugenja Fairuz Kaiya said that the thing yesterday morning was summoned by a person using blood magic, did you hear?" She sets down her bowl and folds down onto a cushion with a faint thump. "How could there not be some connection between this and dead things walking? Or, um, flying."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Beats me." Dong-Ha huffed. "Never heard of anything like that." He was repeating himself, distraught as he was. "What kind of magics could do that... wait.. the sahir in the sands, some of them have magics that can bring life into corpse. But why one of them would have followed us, that makes no sense."

Accepting the bowel with a nod and murmured thanks, Dong-Ha listened to Saksaha, letting her speak before speaking himself. "Blood magic? Moto Khulun's sword has been crafted by blood magic, or so the elements told me." He tapped the amber amulet once more. "Whatever that means." He had an inclination, though curious as he was, he kept to it to himself. "There has to be a connection." he sounded convinced. "Though, now I am also wondering... how Moto-san is involved in all this? Who gave the blade to her... and are birds chasing her because of her blade?" Unfortunately, the whole mess made little sense. "Maybe we ought to have a chat with her..."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"This Kaiya said also that only evil spirits answer to blood magic in this land," Saksaha says, dunking a piece of bread into her tea with a grim expression. "That this is how the djinn--I mean, the oni was called here. Could such evil spirits make a dead bird fly? It is said dead things were part of the armies of the Dark Brother in ages past."

She regards the dripping bread glumly and breaks it in half instead of taking a bite. It's hard to feel hungry when thinking seriously about the undead.

"I do not know this Khulun, except a little by reputation. Even if nothing unclean was part of the making of her sword, could there be something about it that draws these evil spirits to her now? How should we know?"

---

D3 EM--Lore: SL, undead are a Big Bad Thing in Rokugan too, yeah? Unknown TN but can't be too high.: 4d10o10k3 22

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Beidan..." Dong-Ha swore. "That means that Moto Khulun-san is in danger." Well, as much was bloody obvious. "Good luck making her part with her blade though." he huffed, reaching for one of the flat breads. "Well.. I don't recall djinn being used to perform dark magics. At least among the Dahabi, but...." another shrug. "Not that I'm an expert on their magics."

Taking a bite of the bread, he drummed his knee with his fingers, trying to make sense of all of that had happened. "We have'll a wolf's tail to grab with her." Which was a reference on how likely he considered Khulan to act sensibly. Moto were a stubborn lot. Hint of frustration crept into Dong-Ha's voice. "I guess we can at least warn her, so she knows to sleep one eye open."

"Oh and perhaps Ide-dono ought to know. I'm pretty sure he'd like to know if someone's calling evil eye on us, be it intentional or not."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Yes," Saksaha agrees, after swallowing a bite of the bread, which she'd finally started to nibble while Dong-Ha was speaking. "We should. At least Moto-san asked you to look at the sword? That means she trusts you in this. To a point, anyway." Saksaha might not have met Khulun, but she has ample experience of Moto stubbornness courtesy of her own relatives. Sometimes a personal connection has a better chance of helping one getting through to those obstinate warriors than all the expertise in the Clan. "If it is true as the others said, that only this sword among all their blades and hooves could cut the oni's flesh, there may be no choice about parting with it."

She picks up her bowl of tea, but then starts to speak and absent-mindedly sets it down again without actually drinking. "We must have jade stones, also. Especially Moto-san, if she is a target. Apparently it protects against the touch of Hell, the same way crystal charms can guard against the shadows. Better, maybe--just carrying a piece is supposed to bring some safety. But I do not know where to begin asking for such a thing. It must be very precious here."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"To a point, yes." Certain emphasis was placed on the word 'point'. "Eh, if that blade is the very thing that calls them, better be without and not having to worry if you can cut them at all, no?" he quipped in return. "If it is the blade and not herself. She could have called an evil eye on herself with that thing." Everyone knew that such curses were nigh impossible to shake off. "Here I thought that she might listen to you, because you share a blood-tie." As thin as the tie was.

"Jade? Where do we get jade here?" Dong-Ha gasped, almost dropping his cup. "Also... what do you think our guests would think if we suddenly started asking for something they know wards of evil spirits? I assume actually talked with Ide-dono this ever since you found this out..."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

Saksaha shakes her head. "The Otaku said they would report all. But perhaps I should make certain. Sometimes the Shiotome do not think of things in the same order we do." Which was a nice way of saying bushi sometimes had rocks for brains and would fail to prioritize important details not directly related to stabbing. This seems to be a common theme in the morning's conversation, actually. "And I can try with this Khulun, if you think it is better. At least she can be warned." She sighs. "It might or might not be chance that she was there when the oni came, but she wasn't its first victim. Before the warriors reached it, it killed one of our Family, did you hear? As best we could tell, at least." She makes a warding gesture.

"As for the jade, it seems it is common enough to carry here. That Hare girl, Usagi Tomoe, had a piece and knew its virtues, and she is no warrior or hunter of dark things. I met a Lion on the first day who was also in haste to warn me to be wary of dark powers, and I did not even bring it up!" She shakes he head and takes a sip of tea. "Take together all the hair-raising stories our guests are so eager to tell us, and who could wonder if we began to seek protection?"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Sometimes, neh." An awkward half-smile followed the words. "You can try. And if that doesn't work, I can try. And if she still gets herself killed at least we can say we tried." he shrugged, feeling somewhat helpless in the situation. "Well... someone else might have an evil eye on themselves as well. Shame that the tend burnt down... we could have gone through the victim's possessions... to see if she too, had dark artifacts on her." Alas, CSI Rokugan was stymied.

Then there was a slight time-warp as Dong-Ha was not supposed to know about the existence of the Hare clan until later that day when he discussed the matter with Tomoe. How ever such things happened.

"People seem.. somewhat paranoid about dark powers, though.. if the oni are common, perhaps they have a good reason to be?" he sighed, taking a sip of his tea. "But who would be willing to give us such charms? It sounds like the people have a good reason to wear them themselves."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

Well, maybe Saksaha had said 'hair girl'? 'Girl with the hair'? It was only a passing reference to an unknown name, anyway, easy for someone to hear without remembering. (( ))

"I do not know where we could get jade, or who might give it to us. If we are careful, we might begin at least to ask about it," she says with a slight shrug. "We won't seem any more paranoid than the locals, eh?"

"I fear Iuchi Tareef-san's own parents would not have recognized her body. Let alone her possessions." Saksaha is not overly sensitive in the emotional sense, but this does strike her as very sad, to send one's daughter off to get married only to have her ashes sent home in a box a few days later. "We should warn the other Iuchi to be cautious, though. It's as Batul-san said on the first day, some say the voices of the kami will come back to some of us the longer we stay in this land where they're awake... but then we must learn to know them from the evil spirits, it seems." She breaks off a bit of the hard cheese and nibbles on it. "This reminds me, I saw the Fairuz talk to a spirit of fire. Just talk to it as if a person I could not hear was answering his questions. It was like something from the old tales!"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Saksaha had definitely mentioned some hairy girl. Perhapas a Lion samurai with a particularly impressive mane. That had to be it, yes.

"Probably not, though... I don't seem the parting from theirs without a good reason." Dong-Ha shrugged only to take an another piece from his shortbread as he listened to Saksaha's words.

"Alas, poor Tareef-san. Can't say I knew her but still..." No-one wanted a gory end. "Yes, that is a good idea." he agreed. "And mention that people pay attention to those who claim to hear voices." He added with certain determination. "Though that might make people hesitant to admit they are talking with spirits..." Sometimes there was no easy way out. "Just wouldn't trust Batul-san to.. err... wouldn't trust her too much. Not saying that I think she's an evil person as per se, but... she can be a bit... bit.." he was seeking for the right words. "..naive?"

"That's something quite peculiar... I have been assured that the local shugenga.." Dong-Ha struggled with the word. "... can all do that, almost at will." Then a though occurred to him. "Did she say anything about being able to talk to these evil spirits?"