We will hold a brief meeting this coming Sunday (4/23) at 10PM EST -- a short gathering to share some information and debrief what occurred at the Grievous Vault last week.

I understand if you are unable to make this meeting, given that many of you may be preoccupied. I plan on venturing into the Direlands, afterwards. Any who are of sufficient level to join me are welcome, indeed encouraged, to do so. If there is a desire among the group to hunt, but none wish to enter the Direlands, then I am open to other suggestions.

We will meet in Mayoi, in a building there that seems well-suited to our needs. As you enter the small town from the west, take the righthand fork. The building that we will use is just past the blacksmith, at the end of the road. It is completely empty. It is as if the Elders placed it there for us.

I am averse to adopting the abandoned outpost above Shoushi. Asoka hears rumors of a strange, old Gharun man who sits atop one of the
buildings, there, and gazes down into the countryside, scribbling into a journal. If any spot him, we must know all that can be known about him
without tipping our hand. If he is connected to the evil in Uziz, then he may know many of our faces already. The newer members might find the most
success with this mission.

Shinjin Myoken, did you notice any such individual on your mission there? I hope that you were not spotted, for you, so close to me, are certainly
known to the cultists in Uziz. 

-Basho Genji

In a circle of equality, all present listened carefully to Basho-sensei as he spoke of the past.

"It is time for me to speak on several things, all seemingly separate but inextricably connected. 

"Many of you remember how I recovered this ring, how Pew dispelled a demon that was sent to kill me. The demon drew its power from this ring -- a
ring I gave to my teacher Murasaki Tanka years ago.

"That was in Ispar, when I was a boy. He never removed the ring. I still fear him to be dead. There is no shame in admitting that my detachment is
tested.

"Why was this demon sent? And what does it mean for us now?

"You must all surely remember the wars between the Sho and Alluvia over the Porcelain Road, back in Ispar. The Road -- it connects the Sho and
the Alluvian kingdoms, through the Gharun desert. The sultans of the Gharun handle fine goods from the Sho, and these goods set the tables of
Alluvian lords. C eramics and silks. Control of the Road is control of the trade between and through the great Isparian nations. So the Sho and
Alluvians fight, over and over. It has been a series of wars without victors, only victims.

"My part in this play began when Lord Yoshioka Tempo called my master, Murasaki Tanka, to his estate. I accompanied my teacher. I was only 15. Lord Yoshioka demanded that my teacher train his soldiers. My teacher refused. He would not become involved in the war of wealth and power over the Road.

"We were hounded from that time forward by the agents of this greedy lord. Everyone we touched was punished. Everywhere that was home,destroyed. Even a monastery of innocent monks, and their orphaned charge, felt the wrath of this lord.

"The cult that sent the demon to kill me here, that infects Uziz and other places, was hired by this Sho Lord. But the fact that a lich lord hears their prayers in Uziz tells me that more is afoot.

"Reports from Shoushi are disturbing. One of the cultists has been seen at the abandoned outpost. Asoka prepared a report, and he will tack it to our forum with a sketch.

"Why go to such great lengths to kill me, when I am already gone from Ispar? And why possess one so innocent as Kikuchi Kentaro? We must have answers before we act.

"And, what if ... what if the Shadows are somehow connected? What part do we play in their plans?

"A small party of Sho warriors and merchants, swept from the Porcelain Road by a portal storm -- they may know. They arrived only recently in Dereth -- in the Direlands, I am told. Rumors are that they speak of strange cults making their power known in the war over the Road. I must speak with these Sho. Find these Sho and report on their location in the Direlands. Make a sketch, and deliver it to me. Do not betray your purpose, there. They may be infiltrated by our enemies. I will determine if it is safe to speak to them on these subjects. Perhaps, if we are lucky, we may even find
them tonight. But I do not expect it." 

So, these Sho stranded in the Direlands needed to be spoken to.  Perhaps they could shed light on the happenings in Uziz and other attempts on Basho-sensei's group.  Resolved to find out as soon as possible, those who could decided to leave immediately for Weijou.  But before they left, newcomer Kikuchi Kentaro kneeled before Basho-sensei and asked to be taken in by Jojii's Sword.  With a smile and a kind word, the master welcomed Kentaro willingly.

Jojii's Sword - along with outsiders freely giving aid - headed out to find a path to the Direlands.  Their journey took them to the Alluvian town of Rithwic, where a powerful magus named D'ho hoped to open a portal right to the Sho village.  Many attempts to work the difficult magic proved unsuccessful, and the party disbanded in low spirits.  Little did they know that Basho-sensei would not be seen again.  The last word from him came shortly after leaving Rithwic.

Brothers and Sisters,

We were unable to reach the Sho settlement in the Direlands known as Weijou. Magic itself seemed to conspire against us. I must reach this settlement, however, if we are to learn the nature of the threat against us.

The next day, a missive arrived from faraway Cragstone.  Tacitus the Scholar had the first inkling that something was wrong.

Members of Jojii's Sword,

I write from Cragstone with concern. 

Lord Basho was most intent upon meeting with me; he wrote that he had uncovered something from Ispar and that he was eager to show it to me. His note said nothing more than that he and the monk Asoka would arrive yesterday, and I made the necessary preparations to receive such important visitors into our library. I hear that Asoka is a legendary fiend for sake, and I must say that it was quite a feat to import some from
Hebian-To. 

Neither of the men appeared.

Then, this morning, I received word of a strange man wandering the swamps east of Yanshi, blind and fatigued. He fit the description that I know of Asoka, but I have never met the man and the rumors had passed through several hands. I cannot be sure.

If this note finds Basho Genji and Asoka well, then my concern is for naught. I am sure that there is good reason for the missed appointment. If any, however, sense the presence of Asoka or Basho Genji, I urge you to investigate their whereabouts, especially if they answer your communiques cryptically or not at all. Basho Genji is not one to miss an appointment. I fear that something has happened to him.

I will be away to the northlands for several weeks, but will look forward to any news that you might uncover and send.

I am your humble servant,
Tacitus the Scholar.

What did this mean?  Was Basho-sensei truly missing?  And what of Asoka, who had not been seen of late?

(Continued)