New Spell: Empower the Soul (Wood 28)
Marullus wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:53 pm Taka, seeing the comet tail of light and recognizing her wavering connection to the astral plane, thinks about following the tail of light to its source. She pictures her body moving along that path of light and her astral form splits into identical copies moving in an arc around and past the dai-bakemono to peer down the comet tail of light. The six copies and Taka's authentic astral form mix together and move as quickly as they can.
As Taka spreads her arms and the water droplets coalesce into seven-fold astral forms, the grimy and unkempt dai-bakemono roars in protest. The seven Takas rush the bake at the mouth of the cave, attempting to pass him and follow his distended aura within. "Cowardly sorcereress!" he bellows as she abdicates the duel with a ruse before he has properly defeated her. The tunnel extends northeast into the mountainside then banks right, heading due east, as she rushes with a spiritual fleetness. He flings his arms wide and spears of iron burst forth from the walls of the tunnel as she enters it. One of that astral Takas is pierced by them and dissipates into a mist of water droplets. The other six Takas rush down the hallway at the preternatural speed of her will.
A cavern opens, soaring 24 feet high with stalactites far above, two bakemono-sho in ashigaru armor standing with spears in hand, terrified looks on their faces as they hold their position against the front tunnel glancing at each other as they can apparently hear the yells of their leader in the physical realm. They are oblivious to the spiritual Takas, however, and she passes them. There is a passage to the right heading southward, but Taka ignores it, following the spectral trail which leads straight across the cavern and south east into another short-ceilinged tunnel.
The dai-bakemono roars in rage as the sorceress follows the 'comet tail,' a wispy thread of light colored red with his anger that hugs the left side of the passagway. A metal portcullis slams down with jagged points, the Dai-bakemono trying to skewer the Takas and halt their progress. A second astral Taka explodes into a small wave of water, splashing the floor underneath it, as the others rush on.
The trail bends to the left at a fork, passing through a closed heavy wooden door, and the five remaining Takas pass through the door as well, it providing no barrier to their astral selves. Behind the door sees a massive chamber, again with a soaring ceiling, tables with alembics and bubbling glass and ceramic containers. She feels her courage freeze within her as she sees a grey-haired hag within, her gnarled hands upon the table wood. The thread wends across the room, leading to her right pocket. The hag looks directly at the real Taka, making eye contact with her with its stony black eyes filled with malice.
Then Taka feels the agony of a dozen blades piercing her spiritual body. She feels the triumph of the Dai-Bakemono behind her as he yanks metal chains backwards and the blades evicerate her form, the other Takas dissolving into splashes of water on the floor as everything around her goes black.
Marullus wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:04 pm Eiji meditates on Taka's condition, seeking guidance on how to rejoin her spirit and body. His awareness shifts, like a gathering and dissipating of mists, and he finds himself in a massive natural cavern with a soaring ceiling, surrounded by tables with alembics and bubbling glass and ceramic containers. The laboratory equipment glows to his sight as impacted by the hag's magics, but more knowledge of it is beyond him. There is a large urn next to the door, however, which glows with an aura of transformation. Eiji focuses on a grey-haired hag within the chamber, her stony black eyes filled with malice. Her gnarled hands fondle an ivory netsuke carved to be a frightened rabbit. She croons to it and chuckles darkly, but he cannot make out her words. He sees, however, the tortured and pained spectre of Satake no Taka is the subject of the hag's attentions and that spiritual threads bind Taka to the netsuke rabbit. There is another netsuke upon the hag's garment, a twining dragon, the threads from it stretching thinly across the room and through the closed wooden door.
The wisdom for Eiji is clear - Taka's soul is bound by the hag and the netsuke must be rejoined with her body before she can recover.
