Dark Edge Village

Under the shade of a lone tree atop the hill, Kitakuhime waits for the experts to arrive. She gently caresses Gekko's mane, thanking him for his bravery last night.

Khulun approaches mounted as well, quiet but alert. She still felt the pain but a Moto endures.

Some moments later Dong-Ha waded to the location. He was being as sneaky as an Iuchi priest could be... which was basically saying that he wasn't singing his way to the secret meeting. Though, Dong-Ha couldn't ponder if there wouldn't have been other, more secluded locations for the meeting. Regardless, he greeted the two samurai-go.

"Good evenin'." pair of eyes drifted towards the Moto. No-one ever expected the Moto.

The Moto nods and then looks to the Otaku as she was the highest here.

A proper bow is produced to the Shugenja as he arrives the best secret location a Battle Maiden would ever come up with. "Evening, Dong-Ha-san. Thank you for coming. How have you been, today?"

Chi-Pu stands next to Kitakuhime and nods to Khulkun and Dong-Ha as they approach, but stays silent.

Her face is contemplative and her eyes look intently to the Iuchi.

Otaku Kitakuhime wrote:A proper bow is produced to the Shugenja as he arrives the best secret location a Battle Maiden would ever come up with. "Evening, Dong-Ha-san. Thank you for coming. How have you been, today?"

"One can't complain Utaku-sama." he bobbed his head in deference to her stature. He is full of questions, but keep them to himself for now. All things had their place and time, and he had a feeling he was here only to provide some insight to the matters at hand.

Otaku Chi-Pu wrote:Chi-Pu stands next to Kitakuhime and nods to Khulkun and Dong-Ha as they approach, but stays silent.

Her face is contemplative and her eyes look intently to the Iuchi.

Chi-Pu's gaze is answered by a brief nod and a shy smile.

"I'm grateful your day has been good," She adds, opening a flat smile. "I consider you to be one of my most trusted advisors, as you are aware. So, I feel you should be the first one to hear the details of what happened last night. It is a matter that should not leave this group, and must not reach the other Clans's ears."

The girl looks into his eyes for a while, making sure the words sank in, then moves to Khulun and Chi-Pu. "Gekko felt something strange last night and took me to the source of the problem. Khulun-san, Chi-Pu-senpai and Taichi-san followed after. There, we found a monster attacking the yurts: an Oni."

The girl closes her eyes, remembering how scared she was. There's a gag, but she regains her voice to complete the story, "We're tried our best to defeat it. It had bony wings, sharp claws, and a foul, putrid odor. Our weapons couldn't even scratch it. Gekko and Tianma trampled over the demon, but it simply bounced away."

The girl bites her lips in contended rage, but nods to Khulun appreciatively, "Only Khulun's red blade could harm it. She was injured, and Taichi seconded her to defeat the beast. It was not slain –– it told us it would return."

Taking time to breath in, she bows to Dong-Ha. "We need your blessings, Dong-Ha-san. We need to make sure we are prepared to slay this monster. Yet, I do not want to warn the whole Clan. If something like this reaches others, we may have diplomatic issues we cannot deal with at the time."

Chi-Pu looks at Kitakuhime as she speaks.

"It is as Otaku-sama says. It was a terrible sight, a creature that looks almost like..."

Chi-Pu puts her hand on her stomach and frowns

"Almost like the food we were served yesterday, Lobster? Mixed with a human. It also had bone wings and a black aura as black as the Shadows around it. It had sorcerers powers too."

She eyed all in attendance again and lowered her voice a little.

"It said it had the name of our kin, and said it was as much Unicorn as we are."

Oni. Talk about going jigoku in a handbasket. "Alas, I know very little of such things." Unfortunately, the Sage Advantage didn't give Lore: Shadowlands leaving Dong-Ha clueless about the servants of the ninth. "Have you talked to anyone? Surely Ide-sama ought to know? There are bound to be few season warriors here?" The party could definitely use some Rank 2-3 NPCs with heavy armor as cannon fodder. "As for my blessings... eh..." Dong-Ha scratched the back of his neck. "I can toss boulders at things but besides that... I can do very little. My prayers are more curative... and their effects are rather short." In other words, the players would need to ask the GM if spells could be cast prior to the combat without the caster being present. Dong-Ha's player assumed that the answer would be negative as duration of his spells was counted in turns rather than minutes. "Did you also call my kinswomen? They might be able to help you?" he added, leaving the fourth wall riddled with holes.

"I've sent Dabo-sama a letter this early morning. I'm sure he's getting prepared for the situation. " She nods, adding, "I called you first. If you advise us to talk to others, so we'll do."

The girl looks to Khulun's blade, "Is there something you provide us to bless our weapons, if the the creature returns?"

Khulun slowly fishes out an ivory charm, in the shape of a ki-rin and crane intertwined, and adds, “I had an omen great Dong-Ha, I had not seen it as such but surely what else could it be when a dark spirit gives tribute and welcomes our Clan home.”

She holds out the charm the mystic and says, “It says it was a herald and gave me this charm, surely it was a warning that this demon thing would come. I do not know the purpose of this Herald, it appeared as many dead birds, but surely the Iuchi would know.”

OOC: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=343&start=30#p5547, original post.

"I can have a look at that if you want, Moto-san." Dong-Ha muttered, digging into his robes for a particular charm. "I might be able to tell you more about it..."

"You have wisdom I do not," she hands it over to the Iuchi.

Crane and Ki-rin... just like Kitsune-san mentioned..."

Kitakuhime looks to the charm and squints her eyes.