(October 20, 2002) Chronicler: Isaku
Month 7, Day 22, Year 1561 --
We all attended the funeral of Moshi Genjo, after being invited by his widow in appreciation of her rescue. All attended the reception after the funeral, except for Gorvak who felt a little out of place at such a function.
Ashi acquired a new puppy named Gonji from Zenako's great aunt.
Month 7, Day 25 --
We departed Marike for more bakemono/ogre hunting. Gorvak told us that there are generally up to 20 ogres in a clan. Ogres dominate bakemono, but are sometimes killed by bakemono warlords. Ogres and bakemono warlords don't usually work together, unless organized by others, such as a wu-jen or nature spirit.
We headed northeast to the village on the way to Brightstone Keep, and spent the night at the village.
Month 7, Day 26 --
We awoke in the morning to find that the village militia had fought and killed 2 bakemono during the night. Apparently the bakemono were after an some sheep. Ashi donated 2 Cure Light Wounds potions to the village jito and militia, to help heal the wounded.
Gorvak and Mulan investigated the bakemono tracks, and agreed that there had only been 2 bakemono. We headed out on the trail that they had come from. Eventually, we found what Gorvak determined to be the bakemono's camp, but there were no good trails to follow from there, so we decided to head to Brightstone Keep.
Mulan found the trail to the keep in mid-afternoon. After a while, we found bakemono tracks crossing the trail. It looked like about 7 or so bakemono, heading east. We followed the tracks and ended up southwest of the keep by nightfall. We made camp and set up watches for the night.
Mulan, Ashi, Saru and I were on third watch when 9 bakemono attacked. We shouted to wake the others, and battle ensued. We finished them off, but I went down in the battle, and Ashi brought me around.
Month 7, Day 27 --
Reached Brightstone Keep in the morning, and rested for the day. We spoke to the garrison leader who said they'd had a few battles with bakemono. Exploring the mines was going well, so far. They had seen no sign of the female wu-jen that Gorvak had seen during his captivity.
Month 7, Day 28 --
We headed west, towards the Spirit Tree. We crossed the hills into the forest, but found no recent bakemono tracks. We camped for the night, which passed uneventfully.
Month 7, Day 29 --
Gorvak spotted one big rabbit print that looked recent. I speculated that it was possibly a hare hengeyokai, which are not generally evil. We decided not to pursue it, and continued west.
Eventually, we found bakemono and ogre tracks. Our rangers estimated 2-3 ogres and a score of bakemono. We followed the trail southwest, and found our enemies in the brush. Mulan and Raji spotted an ogre, who shouted to his gang and threw a javelin at Gorvak, which missed. I cast a Bless spell on the party. We eventually killed 19 bakemono and 3 ogres, with 1 bakemono getting away. Ashi, Gorvak and myself fell during the battle, but Ashi was able to heal me before she went down, and I was able to heal her and Gorvak. (Used my Cure Moderate Wounds potion on Gorvak.) We healed up the rest of the wounded, and found some treasure:
5 javelins, Umbrella talisman, scroll of Trance (duration 3 rounds), potion of Lesser Restoration, magic wand (level 1-5, illusion school), box of 3 flutes, and a letter written in Drakaran.
The letter was to an abbess, and signed by the Jade Master of Ming Yo. It talked of some temple issues and concern for the future. "Ming Yo may not be able to stand alone...", and that sort of thing. Perhaps it was meant for the abbess of Waterstone Temple? I recalled that Ming Yo was an old temple north of Waterstone Temple, known for serenity and wisdom. They had no soheis, which may have been why the temple fell.
We headed towards Waterstone Temple, and made camp for the night about 2 days away from the temple. During third watch, 3 medium sized spiders dropped down from the trees to attack. Ashi, Saru and I were bit by spiders while we woke the others. Zenako and Mulan killed 2 spiders, while the last one got away.
Month 7, Day 30 --
Mulan and Ashi were able to delay the effects of the poison. We rested for the day, with no further battles. We spent the night in the same camp.
During first watch, Zenako heard a scraping sound near the camp. Hatori cast Light on the area where the sound came from, causing some badgers to scamper off. They decided to let them go, and the rest of the night passed quietly.
Month 8, Day 1 --
We were still a little weak from the spider poison, but well enough to travel, so we set out for Waterstone Temple. We came across some boar tracks, but we weren't hungry for pork and continued on our way. We stopped about a day away from the Temple and camped for the night, which passed quietly.
Month 8, Day 2 --
Continued towards Waterstone Temple. Mulan spotted a bear in the distance, but we decided to leave it alone. We came out of the woods near a river, and headed south to the temple. We were allowed in, and Hatori asked to see the abbess about a matter of some interest to her. She agreed to see us after dinner, a fine meal of fish, assorted vegetables, rice, and tea.
After dinner, the abbess came in with some sohei. Hatori showed her the letter, and she gave us some background information. The Jade Master lived about 150 years ago, in a more chaotic time...more wilderness and barbarians. Ming Yo is probably occupied by odd things now, being deep in the woods. She speculated that there might be some Tengu (bird-like air shugenjas, who fight with katanas and can teach), and perhaps some vaults with treasure.
She also told us of a legendary weapon, the "Jade Yari", a magic spear for fighting Oni. It was supposed to have passage power to the Spirit World, and +3 enchantment...good enough to hit Iron Guardians. Its powers may be different for each wielder.
Hatori offered the box of flutes to the abbess, who accepted. She kindly offered to identify the magic wand for us, if we leave it with her overnight. We did so, and spent the night in the temple.
Month 8, Day 3 --
The abbess returned the wand to us, saying that it was a wand of Chameleon. We thanked her for her hospitality, and started on the 2 day trip back to Marike. We made camp a day away from Marike, and the night passed quietly.
Month 8, Day 4 --
Reached Marike, where Lord Isaka awarded us 280 GP bounty for 28 bakemono and 3 ogres.