Greetings, honorable adventurers!
While back in Marike to get Miya Hatori "Restored" to his former vitality, before the nasty effects of the spectral Dragon Clan aristocrats could become permanent, Miya Hatori and Doji Arianoku conversed somewhat with the noble Lady Isawa Miroko, Tsuruchi Zenako's Great Aunt and the beneficent shugenja happy to bestow her restorative powers upon the most gracious Imperial. During the conversation, in which she inquires as to what the adventurers are up to that involve such nasty spirits -- for she thought that 'ogres were on the agenda' as it were, Hatori and Noku bring up the subject of the second dream that was had, The Ruby Sorceress and the Really Really Really Fat Man.
Lady Miroko, well-versed in Knowledge of many sorts (with a +15 on Knowledge (Local) and +9 or thereabouts in some other relevant Knowledge skills), also recalls some details regarding a Dragon Lady called by that (she sniffs) somewhat arrogant appellation.
According to her, the Ruby Sorceress was indeed a noble lady of the Dragon Clan, but she was not just a sorceress -- nor was she capable of the most powerful sorcerer spells, although she was rumored to be able to cast those of the 8th level of power. Her actual capabilities were more mystical than that, for she followed the difficult dual path of sorceress and shugenja, favoring sorceress, but achieving the 7th level of spells as a shugenja as well. (Figure Sorcerer level 6, Shugenja level 4, Mystic Theurge level 10.)
She was said to be ruthless in her pursuit of power over the elements, but at the same time a loyal servant of the Empire. A student of the Tamori School, i.e. an Earth shugenja, she used her sorcery to supplement her limited repertoire of Water and Air magic, and to gain many of the spells which as Air magic she could not master as a shugenja. But as a master of Earth, it is likely, given your companion's dream and your current bivuoac area, that she devoted some of her talents to supporting the excavations of the Imperial Mine at Broken Hill.
And it is quite likely that she profited from that support, as well -- the Dragons may be strange but they are not all simple monks with no materialistic nature, by any means, some are rather vain and acquisitive in fact. The Ruby Sorceress was so called because she preferred to adorn herself with precious stones of that sort, some of which, of course, were enchanted...indeed, one way to gain her favor was to gift her with an item of jewelry containing one or more rubies -- for her favors were not cheap by any means -- but she also enjoyed collecting other precious stones, the bounty of the Earth. And she liked jewelry in general anyways, rubies were just her 'theme' stone...
She did indeed live around the time that the Empire's borders were retreating -- it is likely given her nature that she did not retreat with them, and perhaps maintained an 'island' of civilized power in the midst of barbaric chaos, for at least a time.
Lady Miroko also has an idea what the fat man in the dream may represent -- a Famine Spirit! A Famine Spirit is a veery powerful undead spirit which is always hungry, and can eat just about anything organic. It is gluttony taken to the extreme, and personified...
This one may for some reason be tied to a specific location -- perhaps held there by the power of the Ruby Sorceress' will, to prevent it from wandering the land eating everything in its path -- and thus be responsible for the Ruby Sorceress' spirit also being unable to rest. Perhaps it can wander for some distance but be drawn back by the echoes of her power? Who knows -- in any case, one would not normally expect such a spirit to remain in one place when the supply of food ran out...and it would do so quite quickly, for a Famine Spirit's appetite is both voracious and insatiable.
A Famine Spirit prefers 'regular' food as long as it is available -- but will eat living creatures or plants if no regular foods are available. And of course if attacked it will defend itself. And Lady Miroko THINKS that the Famine Spirit's alleged ability to bite off creatures' heads on a critical strike may be a bit of an exaggeration -- but its bite is definitely dangerous and it also has sharp claws that it can fight with. It has a powerful Aura of Pain too, as crippling as a Symbol of that type, and some other abilities she doesn't remember off-hand...
Lady Miroko wishes you the best of luck, and expects you will do what is necessary to lay both spirits to rest, if that is indeed what is happening.
-- Ernie III / DrakaraGM