6: The Monastery

[Starbeard]

True Words Visionary Monastery, Beiden Pass [map]
"Horse Day" in High Week, 6th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is cold and cloudy but looking calm

The party stays at the monastery for the day. Kenta hangs out at the library, searching through the scrolls for anything interesting. Some of the other members of the party join him here and there throughout the day. Otherwise, you all spend the day resting, and view the tranquil scenery all around you, possibly meditating at one of the monastery's pagodas.

"Here you are," says the ancient librarian in a thin, gravelly voice, handing you a book during your searches. "If you are interested in Sakemono, you might find this collection of tales satisfying."

You skims several tales, building a picture of the land as it once was. Instead of a meager frontier manor, the hill sported a grand castle that ruled provinces on both sides of the mountains. Even then Sakemono swept through the Pass, harassing and tormenting and sowing madness.

But then an unrelated tale of these ancient days suddenly catches the monk's eye. It is a tragic tale about a lecherous man during the days of the Great Dong Xin, Lord of the Mountain Provinces. He was just a minor retainer at the palace, but he betrayed his lord by lusting after his wife while she was out viewing the autumn leaves near the Lake during Long Month. She refused him, and in his unsated envy he slew her and their children. Lord Dong immediately sentenced him to a painful and ignoble death: he had the man's hands cut off and his eyes gouged out, but before the executioner could spill his belly the man leapt forward and bit out Lord Dong's throat, then ran blind into the woods with a "strange howling" ("Sakemono," you notice, using modern pronunciations), never to be seen again. The man's family all willingly killed themselves in atonement that very day, and their family name was removed from record. Even in this document you do not learn the betrayer's name: every mention was carefully scraped off the page by a scribe long ago.

Then, in the afternoon, you snatch another unrelated, passing mention of this same Lord Dong Xin, this time in a three hundred year old text that recounts the very short comical and pun-filled misadventures of the monk Sanri. "…And with his bottom burning for the fourth time that day, Brother Sanri ran down to the Lake of Sorrows to quench the flames. From his seat he could see the half-transparent pagoda on the water where Lord Dong Xin's relics were interred so long ago. The flames were quite hot, and in the end he sat there long enough to have a profound thought. And as night came to reveal the full moon, and as the villagers gathered by the water for the Festival of Sorrowful Passing, Sanri watched the hazy pagoda became opaque in the moonlight and had yet another profound thought; but this one was too profound and the water bubbled beneath him. …"

After a long day, you all retire.

That night Sakemono howls and shrieks along the Lake louder than ever, and though you can't see it, you can see the water churn and splash like a wind serpent skimming the surface. The monks stay up late, chanting and ringing bells, and twice a tremendous force of wind beats against the cliff at the monastery's buildings, but their wards keep the evil spirit at bay, and deep in the night Sakemono flies off into the Pass to terrorize a village.

[Starbeard]

True Words Visionary Monastery, Beiden Pass [map]
Mid Morning (Hour of the Dragon)
"Morning Day" in High Week, 7th of Long Month [calendar]
Weather is cold and cloudy but looking calm


Once again you wake up bright and early from the ringing of the monastery's huge bell. Mist clings to the ground all around the monastery, and obscures the Lake below. You have breakfast, clean, and decide what your next step will be, when suddenly there is a commotion. A monk comes running out of the main dormitory, crying "fire!"

Not here, but across the Lake. You rush into the dormitory and through to the balcony that overlooks the Lake of Sorrows, and you see it: now that the morning mist has begun to fade away, you can clearly see several plumes of black smoke rising up in the distance somewhere out across the water. "That is the fishing village!" a monk says in alarm.




登場人物

• Kenta, monk: TN10, Init +2, naginata 7k4 (DR 6k3) | Hnr 2;7, Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 4/2
• Kunpu, (Scorpion) ronin: no armor (TN10), Init +2, katana 4k3 (DR 5k2) | Hnr 1;5, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 4/2
• Matsumoto Senichi, Unicorn shugenja: TN10, Init +2, wakizashi 4k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;2, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 4/2 | Spells: F3 - A2 - W3 - E2 (sniffles)
  • Saburo (peasant retainer): 3E/3W/1F/1A/1V | TN5, Init +1, DR 1k1 | Hn 2;7 - Gl 0;0 - Wnds (6) 0;0 | Void Pts 3/1
• Mirumoto Aiko, Dragon bushi: no armor (TN20/5), Init +3, daisho 7k4/6k3 (DR 4k2) | Hnr 3;7, Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 4/2 (crippled left arm)
• Yoshida Osaru, ronin: no armor (TN15), Init +3, katana 6k3/6k3 (DR 5k2) | Hnr 2;7 Wnds (4) 0;0 | Void Pts 4/2

[Rex]

Kenta

"We must go offer aid."

Kenta will lead the way, making haste.

[GreyWolfVT]

Osaru agrees "Yes we should offer aid."

[ffilz]

Senichi agrees Yes, let us render aid with haste.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Aiko

Sorry I've been a bit quiet. As usual, I've been a bit tied up with various RL things and hadn't managed to get onto the forums long enough to post anything. Hopefully, back again now.

Aiko spends much of her time at the monastery meditating on the autumn leaves. She sifts through the pieces of the puzzle, trying to make sense of them. In particular, she recalls the words of the maiden from her dream; “Heed not the snake. The scorpion and the cat duel to the death but the snake feeds on both and laughs. The Mountain sleeps, dreaming fitful dreams. Find the keys in water." "Heed not the snake", "Find the keys in water" Surely, the water was the Lake of Sorrows, but the snake, who or what was the snake? Superficially, Aiko understood that the snake was the shadow of evil that hung over the region, but the maiden's instruction gnawed at her. It seemed more specific somehow; a warning about an individual perhaps. Had Aiko already heeded someone working towards the snake's ends or was it something that would happen in the future? She could not be sure. Either way, she would need to be careful.

Her musings are interrupted by a commotion; one of the monks shouting "fire!". It is clear something is amiss and she hurries to see what's going on. Across the lake, black smoke hangs over the fishing village. Swiftly she readies herself and sets off with Kenta, Osaru and Senichi.

[Starbeard]

Without further delay you grab your things. At a brisk jog it takes one hour to rush along the mountain path to the village. I will make an executive decision and assume that you all suspect some form of foul play, or at least want to be prepared for anything, and add another [1d3]=1 x 10 = 10 minutes getting your armor ready, those who have it.



As you round the second peak and turn south, the mist fully clears and you can see down into the little vale where the fishing village is. Several buildings are smoking. Approaching to within 100 yards, you see that the fishing storehouse (Building 4), the dock and boats, the shrine, and center two peasant houses are all burning wildly, already clearly beyond help. The yoriki's house is smoking, but only two people seem to be running back and forth from the Lake, throwing buckets of water, while a third chops wildly at the walls in an attempt to divert the fire. Someone else is in the watchtower, ringing the bell wildly—but you realize the sound probably wouldn't carry all the way to the monastery. Dead bodies litter the ground, and beyond the dock you see two small, algae covered boats carrying a dozen tattered warriors also covered in seaweed, rowing away south along the shore.

[GreyWolfVT]

Orasu heads over to help the men with buckets "At there any more buckets? How can I help?" the ronin asks.

[ffilz]

Senichi will also help with the bucket brigade.

[Rex]

Kenta

Kenta forms up in the bucket brigade.

[Starbeard]

The city dwellers and monks in your party are adept at this sort of thing. Osaru has worked as a hired fireman here and there in the packed wooden mazes of the Imperial capital; and Kenta, being a monk, has spent a good part of his life in the perpetual cycle of demolishing and reconstructing his home monastery's buildings.

Being a fishing village, buckets are easily found, and everyone dives in to help the few villagers put out the fire. It seems that it had not been going on very long, so it doesn't take too long to contain the fire. Once the flames are contained to the east foyer that juts out from the main building, the foyer is chopped down and toppled from the building to protect the rest. You then get to work using heavy, water-soaked ropes and nets to drag the burning lumber safely away into the clearing.

The villager in the watch tower has come down—it's just a girl, maybe twelve. The three villagers you helped are all women, one of them quite old but still limber and spritely. She explains that the other women have already long since fled into the woods, since they could not hide in the burning houses. Looking around, you see nearly a score of dead bodies, all men and boys. Some grip peasant weapons, others clearly slain in the back while running. Looking out to the Lake, the strange seaweed covered boats have vanished.

"The dead of the Lake have attacked!" cries the girl. "We had no fish for their offering and they took vengeance on our men!"

[Rex]

Kenta

"save what we can from the fire, then we deal with the dead!"

[GreyWolfVT]

Osaru looks around then something clicks "What was that you said about an offering and the dead of the lake attacked?"

[Captain Kinkajou]

Aiko

Apologies again for the absence / delayed response. Real life getting in the way seems to be becoming a bit of a habit

While the others rush to help with the fire, Aiko finds herself drawn to the strange algae covered boats rowing away from the docks. She hurries after them, scrambling south along the shore, trying to get a better look at the tattered seaweed covered warriors and where they are heading.

To confirm, I'm assuming to the right of the village map is the south. Is that correct?

[Starbeard]

Apologies again for the absence / delayed response. Real life getting in the way seems to be becoming a bit of a habit

No worries, I think it's the same story in different words for all of us in these times, myself included.

To confirm, I'm assuming to the right of the village map is the south. Is that correct?

More or less, anyway. If it isn't due south, then the shore turns south right off the map, so the important thing is that heading right off the map will take you south along the lake's eastern shore.

The fishers, probably assuming that he is a member of the monastery, immediately look to Kenta for guidance and follow his order without question or complaint.

The girl talks to Osaru as they continue to break away the side of the building that is still smoldering, and rescue whatever can be found inside. "We put most of our fish at the altar for the spirits of the Lake," she says, pointing to the shrine set apart from the other village buildings (#2), "to keep them from being angry. We had no fish this time and they—and they…" The old woman shushes the girl severely, and scolds her for bringing bad luck. "Do you want them angered even more, child? Do not speak of them!"

Aiko meanwhile hurries along the shore, trying to keep the mysterious boats in sight. The shoreline is overrun with frozen rushes and bushes, and in many places the loose soil slides straight down into the lake in steep, icy ridges. She does her best to keep up, but she is moving too slowly and the boats too fast. She does manage to get a closer look, at least: the people on the boats are in fact covered in ragged armor and wet strands of seaweed, and their faces all have a haunting, sickly blue hue. She is easily spotted and several of the boatmen release volleys at her, but she is protected by the tangle of naked tree branches overhead, snapping the arrows before they ever reach her.

Soon again the boats are out of sight around a bend. Aiko runs to the edge and is shocked to find the boats gone: instead, far ahead, the shore that was hidden behind the bend is shrouded by a hanging mist, perhaps 300 yards across and quite thick. Looking around she sees that the rest of the mist around the Lake has already mostly lifted.

At this point, by the time Aiko returns (if she wishes to), the buildings in the village have all either been saved or their fires contained.

[Starbeard]

Quick bump here.

The village fire is under control. The inhabitants seem to have been killed or fled into the woods, except for the very few you met who have stayed behind. The two fishing boats of undead warriors disappeared further down the lake's shore through a mystical fog that seems to hang in the air even after the morning mists have evaporated. Remember, the Lake of Sorrows got its name because of the many thousands of warriors over the centuries who have died in battle along the Pass nearby, on its shores, or even in its waters.

According to the young girl, these dead men have haunted the village and demanded great sums of fish to be "returned" to them as an offering at the village shrine, or else they would slay the men. Fish has become scarce, the offering dwindled, and the apparitions fulfilled their threat.

[GreyWolfVT]

I'm unsure what to do about the dead that need a tribute but I am wondering if they really are "dead" and or if they might be living people bullying the village for tribute.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Aiko

Aiko recovers one of the arrows from the tree branches and inspects it (looking to see if there is anything particularly notable about it and whether it looks old, as if from a battle long ago). Then, taking it with her, she scrambles back along the shore to re-join her companions at the village.

"This is perplexing indeed," she comments. "I lost sight of the boats when they passed into a dense mist some way along the lake-edge to the south but I got close enough to see that the warriors within were wearing ragged, seaweed-covered armour, and their faces glowed hauntingly with a sickly blue hue, as if they were indeed the risen dead. And yet, I sense there is more to this than meets the eye. I wonder why the dead would concern themselves with offerings of fish? Do they still need to feed? It makes little sense."

"Senichi," she asks, holding out the arrow that she recovered from the trees. "This is theirs. They fired several like it at me as I followed. Can your magics discern anything about them from it? Whether they be ghosts or men perhaps? Or, from whence they come?" She will impart any observations she herself made about the arrow at this point.

Beyond the above, Aiko would look to do two things, primarily through speaking with the few villagers that remain.

Firstly, she would try and understand the geography of the lake. What, if anything, lies south along the shore where the boats were heading when she lost them? Where could the warriors have been going?

Secondly, she would try to elicit any further information about the dead men's 'haunting' of the village. How long has it been going on? How did it start? How often do they come? Are there more or less dead men each visit? etc

[Rex]

Kenta

Kenta will scout around and make sure the fire's are all out and no smoldering remains that could catch back on fire. At the same time he will be looking for any clues the "dead" may have left behind. Then he will move on to helping treat any wounded the village has.

[ffilz]

I don't think Senichi has any magic that can discern anything of the arrow, however, using Commune to talk to a lake spirit might be quite productive...