Doubt is a horrible thing.  Were Basho-sensei and Asoka waylaid by some bandits, a plot against them?  Or perhaps they had simply come across someone in need, delaying their arrival?  Fearing the worst, Iwata and Kikuchi Kentaro began searching the swamps of Yanshi for any sign of their comrades.

The swamps seemed empty of any clues, and the adventurers returned to the town to rest.  Then, a chance encounter led them to a small clue.  Kentaro wrote of the event in a letter to the rest of Jojii's Sword.

Fellow members of Jojii's Sword, I meet you for the first time as one of you. However, my first message as a follower tells no good news. Upon reading that Basho-sensei was lost, and that the one known as Asoka was seen wandering the swamps near Yanshi, I rushed to that city in order to find any possible piece of news. I scoured the swamps for hours, heading as far East as a strange settlement known as Folthid. Something struck me as wrong there, but it did not deal with our friends, so I went on.

Finding nothing to satisfy my fears, I went to the Yanshi tavern and met up with an equally concerned Iwata. While mulling over what to do, we came across a Sho woman of great power: Asuka Maru. During the course of the conversation we learned that she spent the majority of her time around the Direland settlement of WeiJou! Yes, that place where other followers of Jojii reside. When told of our leader's disappearance and how it came after an attempt to reach this place, Asuka offered to portal Iwata and me there. Hoping to find any word of Basho-sensei's location, we gladly accepted.

Kentaro spying on Asuka, in case she might be a danger.

The journey through that portal was fearful: all I have heard of the Direlands revolved around certain death and desolation. But the place we arrived at was a lush, green, mountainous sight of beauty. The settlement - a single large building in the Sho style - was equally pleasing. Iwata, Asuka, and I rushed in and began to ask the inhabitants and passersby if they had heard or seen Basho-sensei. I know that we were told to be cautious in our conversations with these people, as they might not be trustworthy, but my concern for Basho-sensei made me bold. I asked anyone I could. No one had seen him.

However, one did know of Basho-sensei. He said that the information he sought (how did they know Basho was coming?), the information many of us attempted to gain last night, had already been received by a member of Jojii's Sword. Who was this? I asked repeatedly for a description of this person, but none could be gleaned from the informant.

Tired and disappointed, we returned to safer lands emptyhanded...no one has seen Basho-sensei, and Asoka is still unaccounted for. I shall return to Yanshi again tomorrow and seek Asoka. Perhaps he knows what has happened to our teacher. I do not know what is going on...but I know that they must be found.

Kikuchi Kentaro

 

Frustration was not short-lived.  The next day was spent searching the swamps again with no results.  Where are Basho-sensei and Asoka?

Kentaro takes out his frustrations on a swamp resident.

 

(Continued)