(January 19, 2003) Chronicler: Isaku
Month 9, Day 1, Year 1561 --
Lord Isaka has granted us general permission to patrol the wilderness and collect the bounties on ogres and bakemono, acknowledging that we have become a significant force on our own. Naturally, he is interested in pushing back the wilderness around Marike, and we are happy to do our part. (Nobody in the group objects, at any rate.)
Given this vote of confidence, we headed for the village North of Marike. (Gorvak did not join us this time, presumably busy with other matters in the Korobokuru community.)
We spoke to the villagers to get information on recent bakemono/ogre activity, and decided to head towards the Spirit Tree in the woods, to make sure the bakemono have not returned there.
Mulan did her best to find bakemono trails, but couldn't find much during the day. (Probably because they are more active at night.)
Sure enough, on first watch (Zenako, Noku, Gonji) that night, we were attacked by a band of 30 bakemono. One bakemono wore a chain shirt and carried a sword, so Zenako charged up to attack this obvious leader while shouting to wake the rest of us.
Saru was the first to wake up, and started waking Hatori. Noku cast Sleep on 6 bakemono, and Gonji killed another. In the meantime, several others ran up to hit Noku, Zazu, and Raji. That woke Zazu up quickly, but Raji was knocked out before he could get up. The rest of us woke up from the noise.
Noku cast Invisibility on himself, to avoid taking more damage. Ashi cast Burning Hands on 4 bakemono. I woke up and stood over Raji, and killed 1 bakemono. Zenako fell under the unusually strong attack from the bakemono leader, just as a large hare hengeyokai ran in and started fighting the bakemono.
Noku, still invisible, moved around to cast Bull's Strength on Hatori, who got up and joined the fray. Zazu and I both got hit, and Zazu went down. Ashi cast Sleep on 3 bakemono. Mulan, the hare, and I killed 1 bakemono each.
Noku then cast Bull's Strength on Mulan. Zazu was revived when Saru fed him a healing potion, and Ashi cast Cure Light Wounds on him. The hare and I killed 1 bakemono each.
Noku fed a healing potion to Zenako, while Ashi cast Sleep on 2 bakemono that were trying to run off with Noku's pony. Zenako seemed to be waking up, so I cast Cure Minor Wounds on Raji to stabilize him. Mulan, Gonji, and the Hare killed the last 3 bakemono, while Zazu went through the field finishing off the sleepers.
Noku retrieved his pony, while the hare hengeyokai came over and bowed to Zenako and the party. He introduced himself as Osakami. He had been tracking the bakemono for many days, after they stole some sheep from a village. We introduced ourselves to Osakami and thanked him for his help.
Ashi and I healed up the party as well as we could. We then searched the battle field and found the following loot on the bakemono leader:
Butterfly Sword, +1 Tessen (shield), +1 Gloves of Dexterity, +2 Masterwork Chain Shirt (small size, non-magic) Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds Pieces of Jade and Onyx (320GP)
Zenako gave the potion of CMW to Osakami in thanks for his help. We decided to continue on to the Spirit Tree the next day, and Osakami agreed to join us. The rest of the night passed quietly.
Month 9, Day 2 --
We set out northwest towards the Spirit Tree. Mulan found some day-old bakemono tracks heading east. It looked like a group of 3, but we decided not to pursue them and continue northwest. (I guess such a small group would be too easy for our formidable fighters.)
We set up camp for the night, and decided to make some preparations since we seem to have more encounters at night. Ashi cast Cat's Grace and Noku cast Bull's Strength on the first watch group: Zenako, Osakami, and Noku. The night passed quietly this time.
Month 9, Day 3 --
It seems the night wasn't so quiet, after all. Mulan and Osakami found some fresh tracks near our camp. It looked like 6 bakemono with no armor passed nearby, heading east. Apparently they looked at our group and decided not to attack. (OK, maybe 3 is too easy, if 6 of them don't want to take us on.)
We decided to follow the tracks this time. After a while the trail split, with 3 bakemono going east and 3 going west. Osakami said it was not unusual for them to split into small groups when there is no leader. Our brave fighters again decided that 3 bakemono were not worthy of our attention, so we headed back towards the Spirit Tree.
Noku cast Invisibility on Saru so he could scout ahead and report back to Hatori. Saru eventually saw some ruined stone walls and possibly an old manor house in a clearing. The fog was more dense inside the stone walls, and the whole area was overgrown with trees and brush.
This was clearly worthy of investigation. Before going on, Ashi cast Cat's Grace on Zazu, Hatori, and me. Then Hatori cast Bull's Strength on Osakami and me.
For some reason, we decided to split up and go in different entrances of the house. Osakami, Zenako, Ashi and I went in from the north side, while Mulan, Hatori, Noku and Zazu went in from the east side. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we should have taken a hint from Raji, who wouldn't even enter the trees surrounding the house.
As both groups entered the building, there seemed to be more dense fog forming from behind us. Suddenly, a Stinking Cloud spell hit us, nauseating Noku and me. The others were not affected, and pushed ahead while Noku and I ran out of the cloud to escape the effects. It took us both a while to recover, before we could rejoin our companions.
On the east side, Mulan, Hatori and Zazu approached the center room. As Mulan reached the doorway, a woman stepped up to Mulan. The woman wore a white kimono, and looked strong and plain, but noble. Her hair was loose and flapped as if in the wind, even though there was no breeze that any of us could feel. She wore the kitana and wakazashi of the Crab clan (indicating that she was a Samurai), and wore a nagamaki on her back. She carried a baby in her left arm and a small lantern in her right hand.
Crying, the woman begged Mulan to take her baby, and held the baby out to Mulan. Mulan put her axe away then took the baby from the woman. The baby soon got unnaturally heavy, and eventually Mulan could not hold on any longer and dropped the baby. The woman suddenly turned hideously ugly until Mulan picked up the baby again. Hatori tried to help Mulan hold the baby, but they were still unable to hang onto it. They dropped the baby, and the woman again turned ugly and disappeared with a sad look on her face.
Zazu wasn't much interested in the baby, so he left the room. He soon heard someone playing a biwa (stringed instrument), and was fascinated, as if affected by a spell.
On the north side, Zenako, Ashi and Osakami were hit by a Transfix spell. Ashi and Osakami were held "until the sun sputters and goes black", according to a ghostly voice somewhere near them. Zenako shook off the effects. Suddenly, a blue figure (Lu Nat) appeared just outside the building, and threw a fire shiruken at Zenako. Zenako ran up to the Lu Nat and hit it. I saw the thing and called to Raji, but Raji still wouldn't enter the wooded area. The blue guy suddenly disappeared, apparently not willing to continue the fight with Zenako. Zenako kept swinging in case the Lu Nat was simply invisible, but didn't connect with anything.
Zenako gave up on the Lu Nat, and ran around to the south, past Zazu. Zenako heard the biwa music, but was not affected by it. Instead, she headed toward the music, and saw an odd creature (Jiki-ketsu-gaki) with a biwa. She managed to hit the Gaki, but it latched onto her with its fangs. Zenako managed to break free a couple of times, but the fanged Gaki managed to latch on again.
Zazu heard the activity and snapped out of his trance. He ran up to help Zenako with the Gaki, and hit it with vials of alchemist's fire and acid. Noku and I finally recovered from the nausea of the Stinking Cloud, and headed towards the sounds of battle.
Mulan and Hatori left the center room to found Osakami and Ashi, who were still transfixed. They tried to pull Osakami out of the fog, with no success. Hatori then saw the ongoing battle through the doorway, and struck the Gaki with several Magic Missiles.
Noku and I reached the battle. Noku joined Hatori in firing Magic Missiles at the Gaki. I attempted to smite it with my Mace of Smiting, but it just bounced off. I had better luck with a few Flying Kicks. Zenako was knocked out before we finally killed the Gaki. I cast two Cure Light Wounds spells on Zenako to bring her around, and we went to find Ashi and Osakami. We were able to revive them by dragging them out of the spell area.
We figured out that woman that Mulan and Hatori tried to help was an Ubume ("mourning ones"), the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth. The spirit can not pass into the afterlife until the child is "born" into the world.
Noku cast Detect Magic and looked around. As we expected, Ashi and Osakami were affected by magic. The masterwork biwa was not magic, but we did find several magic items and other loot under the brush in different areas.
Loot from the Ubume: White Kimono of Armor, +4 AC Nagamaki, +2 Kitana and Wakazashi, from the Hida family of the Crab Clan
Loot from the Gaki: Masterwork Biwa Potion of Expeditious Retreat Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds (6 charges) Wand of Shocking Grasp (18 charges) Periapt of Wisdom, +4 Mirror of Purity (talisman of Delay Poison) Javelin of Lightning (does 5d6 damage at a DC 14) Scale Shirt, +1 w/Healing Ability once/day (small size) Wooden Box containing 650 GP, 1420 SP
After discussing the various ghostly encounters and their effects, we realized that we needed more than healing spells to bring everyone back to full strength:
Mulan, Hatori and Zazu were weakened by the hideous appearance of the Ubume. They would need Restoration spells to recover.
Zenako might need a Cure Disease spell if she was affected by the Lu nat's Disease Aura. (She was only temporarily weakened by the blood sucking Gaki.)
We decided to get away from the house and graveyard area to camp for the night, then head back to Marike. Thankfully, the night passed quietly.
Month 9, Day 4 --
Zenako did not show any sign of disease from the Lu Nat. We started off for Marike and ignored any bakemono trails.
Month 9, Day 5 --
Zenako didn't feel well at all this morning, clearly showing symptoms of disease from the Lu Nat.
We reached Marike and got her to her great aunt as quickly as possible. Zenako's aunt was able to cast Restoration on Mulan, Hatori and Zazu to help them partially recover. However, she would need to find someone able to cast Cure Disease on Zenako in the morning.
Zenako gave the Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds to Osakami, to thank him for his assistance. He accepted the gift, and returned to the woods.
Month 9, Day 6 --
We found a shaman of high enough level to cast Cure Disease on Zenako. Her great aunt then cast more Restoration spells on Mulan, Hatori and Zazu, to bring them back to full strength.
Month 9, Day 9 --
After resting a few more days, we decided to head back to the house and graveyard to see if we could help the Ubume.
Month 9, Day 11 --
We arrived at the house, and made some preparations in order to hold on to the baby. We decided that Zenako would attempt to hold the baby, with Mulan, Ashi, and myself as helpers.
Hatori cast Bull's Strength on Ashi, Mulan and me. Noku cast Bull's Strength on Zenako, then cast Resistance on Zenako and the helpers. Ashi then cast Guidance on Zenako and the helpers.
Thus prepared, we entered the center room. The Ubume appeared, and Zenako accepted the baby and was able to hold on (with help mainly from Ashi and Mulan) long enough for the baby to be "born". The Ubume smiled and faded away, leaving us with a healthy baby girl.
The ghost's power passed through all who were present, and strengthened each of us in some way. (Inherent bonus of +1 in one odd stat: Zenako and Noku gained Constitution. Mulan, Zazu, and Hatori gained Wisdom. Soshi gained Dexterity. Isaku gained Charisma.) The spirit allowed us to keep the magic items we found, but asked that we return her Daisho (kitana and wakazashi) to the Crab Clan. We agreed, then found the woman's bones to gave her a proper burial.
Month 9, Day 12 --
We headed back to Marike, and reached it without incident in two days.
Month 9, Day 14 --
We arrived in Marike with the baby from the Crab Clan. By a strange coincidence (the spirits at work?), a noble ranger of the Crab Clan was in town. His name was Hiruma Todaka, and he was looking for Mulan. He claimed that Mulan was his daughter, and that she was of noble birth, though it would take some time to educate her and establish her lineage.
This case as a surprise to Mulan, who never knew her father. She had been raised in the Crab lands by her mother, a commoner who never talked of Mulan's father except to say that he was off fighting bakemono.
Zenako told Hiruma Todaka about the Ubume's baby girl. He took custody of the child, the mother's Ancestral Daisho, as well as the box of money to help support the baby for a while. He would find a wet nurse for the baby, then bring her back to the Crab lands when she was old enough to travel, and find the Hida family. Apparently Mulan and her father were distantly related to the Hida family, and therefore the baby. A fortunate coincidence indeed!