Soon
they had Kentaro on his feet, and he was helped out of the
dungeon. As Shinjin chased away skeletal warriors who strove to
reclaim their new recruit, Ma carried the invalid to a nearby tent.

Inside, Kentaro slowly recounted what had
happened to him since he left Lin. The same he later put into a
letter sent back to Jojii's Sword:
Basho-sama,
I am writing this now - hours after the turning point of my ordeal - in order to preserve the sense I have of the situation. First let me apologize for
putting members of your following at risk... They say that I wrote to you strange letters, but I do not know of such things. Regardless, I am grateful
that Ma Zhirui and Shinjin Myoken came when they did, for I am sure that my crisis was soon to come to a head.
I know that I left Lin suddenly, just after meeting the members of Jojii's Sword, but please believe me that the reason was dire. Things occur in
one's life that thrust fate in a direction uncontrolled...they cannot be altered. So it was that I left Lin for the deserts to the west. I came upon a
beautiful oasis amidst the mountains and sands, and I was soon entranced. The town was called Uziz, and I basked in its warmth. Beautiful
women, stout beer, and plenty of time to think. My mind has been full of torment...troubles that I had hoped to excise during my sabbatical... and I
had a place to ponder them away.
However, things were not perfect in Uziz. Everywhere I went, a strange feeling of uneasiness touched upon the edges of my senses. Offside
glances, uncomfortable laughs at times...Still, I barely noticed these things. But everything became clear when I entered the Seer's tent. An offering
of a mushroom - promised to clear my mind of worry - was too tempting to pass up in my stressed state. But moments after consuming it, I passed
into a state of melancholy so strong that I cared not what was done to me. Things became quite confusing, but I remember the seer taking me to
a...creature... Ma Zhirui has said it was a Lich...I know only that it was skeletal, and extremely powerful.
The creature touched me...it violated my skin with a single finger, and my life seemed to cease. I cannot write into words what I saw, but I can say
that I was empowered by that...thing...to be a member of the undead. The thought brings back painful feelings... I must stop now, lest I return to
madness.
Kikuchi Kentaro

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Upon
returning to Lin, Basho Genji declared that the evil in Uziz was
stronger and had to be dealt with. Soon the whole of Jojii's Sword
had converged upon the cursed town. But one had to leave them...
that warrior known as Nio had been called to return to Ispar, and he
took a moment to say farewell to the friends he had made in Dereth.

After a quiet, honorable farewell, the party
went to the source of Kentaro's possession: the Grievous Vault.
Deep within was the Lich Lord...he who had touched Kentaro with but a
finger and warped his very soul.

Many skeletons and minor liches stood between
the warriors and that evil lord, but Jojii's Sword was aided by old and
new friends such as Merlic and Talon-Loneblade. Soon all obstacles
had been crossed and only the undead master remained. A vicious
battle ensued and the Lich Lord was destroyed. At that very
moment, Kentaro's mind began to clear of its perverse thoughts.
Many thanks and praises followed, and Kentaro
joined the victors in a draft of beer in Uziz. The head of evil
had vanished, it seemed. Yet the town still seemed... wrong.
And the mark on Kentaro's forehead remains...

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