(Oct. 17, 2004) Chronicler: Isaku
Month 10, Day 20, Year 1562 –
High Lord Mirumoto Sanjen’s nephew, Mirumoto Kabuto (a samurai/monk), joined our party as a representative of the Dragon Clan and the Mirumoto family.
We heard rumors that recent earthquakes may have uncovered an opening to the deep dark, so we left Hodate and headed Northwest in the Dragon lands towards the mountains along the Dragon/Phoenix border. We believe that the mind-sucker we previously encountered may have come from the deep dark.
Month 10, Day 21 –
We arrived in the town of Udate and spent the night there.
Month 10, Day 22 –
We continued towards the mountains. Til’k suddenly ran up the road towards a woman clad in black, who collapses before he could reach her. Til’k cast Endurance on her, but to no avail. On closer inspection, she had been hit by multiple crossbow bolts, probably poisoned. She also had an odd tattoo on her wrist.
As the rest of the group came up the road, four ninja warriors sneak-attacked and became visible. Two fell on Noku and two on Hatori. Hatori fought off his two attackers, with some help from Zenako’s arrows. Those ninja decided to tumble off down the hill. Hatori followed, but lost his balance and ended up tumbling after them, a little less gracefully. Zenako also followed, knocking down one of the ninja with arrows.
Noku was knocked down by his attackers, but was later healed by Ashiko. Isaku and Kabuto fought off the two ninjas on Noku, and they soon fled. Til’k ran after one of the ninja and finished him off. Gorvak and Isaku followed the other ninja, but he disappeared before we could kill him.
Ashiko tried to bring everyone (foe and friend alike) with a Control Winds spell to make hurricane force winds. She succeeded in bringing in a dead ninja, Noku’s dead horse, and the dead woman that Til’k first saw. Most of the party gathered in the eye of the hurricane, and Ashiko changed the winds to blow up from the bottom of the hill. Suddenly, a ninja who was caught in the first winds fell into the bushes nearby, and Gorvak finished him off. So three of the ninja attackers were killed, and the fourth got away.
We searched the bodies, starting with the dead woman with the hand tattoo. She had various magic items, some cash and nikodes (ninja weapons). Noku looked at the tattoo and recognized it as a secret symbol for hands, and thought the woman may have been a member of an Imperial security organization, the Imperial Hands. Miya Hatori suggested that Isaku cast Speak With Dead the next day in order to speak with the corpse of the woman.
The other bodies had a crescent moon tattoo, probably members of a ninja mercenary group. They all have various magic items, pouches of poisoned shuriken, and some potions of Haste.
Noku summoned an Earth Elemental to bury his dead war horse and the three dead ninja. (Just to prove that Ashiko is not the only one able to misuse powerful spells.)
Til’k, Mulan and Gorvak picked up the trail of the ninjas as best as they could after the damage from the winds, and camped out near the trail for the night. Hatori cast some identify spells on the magic items found on the bodies of the ninjas.
3 Butterfly Swords, +1, Keen, Agility
3 Butterfly Swords, +1, Keen, Silent Move
3 Amulets of Natural Armor, +1
3 Potions of Haste
3 Vials of Death Blade poison
3 Rings of Protection, +1
3 Rings of Jumping
3 sets of Bracers of Armor, +2
30 Masterwork Shurikens with Spider Venom poison (+1 to hit)
And on the woman’s body:
Bracers of Armor, +1
Left Nikode, +1, Agility
Right Nikode, +1, Ghost Touch, Silent Move
Hatori cast Scry to find the remaining ninja, and saw him hiding under a rock outdoors somewhere. The night passed uneventfully.
Month 10, Day 23 –
Isaku cast Speak With Dead to speak with the female corpse, with the help of Ashiko’s karmic beads. We asked four questions:
Q: What was your mission?
A: To investigate the Crescent Moon activities on the Phoenix/Dragon border.
Q: What would you like us to report to your superiors?
A: My death and the location of my body.
Q: What would you like us to do now?
A: Return my body to the Master of the Imperial Hands.
Q: What did you learn about the Crescent Moon?
A: Not much.
Hatori knew how to make contact with the Imperial Hands, so Ashiko cast Teleport to bring herself, Hatori, Zenako and Kabuto to Drakara City to return the body. The Master of the Imperial Hands said they would restore her to life, and asked Hatori to come back in three days and bring her back to where they found her, so she could resume her mission.
Ashiko and Zenako returned to update the rest of the party and to explore a bit, before returning to Drakara City. Hatori and Kabuto stayed in Drakara City to wait.
We spent the rest of the day trying to follow the ninjas’ trail with limited success.
Month 10, Day 24 –
We eventually found a cave that looked like it could lead to the deep dark. Til’k went in and explored for about an hour. He found some large bats and a trace of ogre, but nothing recent. He returned to the group and we set up camp for the night.
Month 10, Day 25 –
Isaku cast Trance to find a nature spirit in a tree near the cave entrance, and then cast Commune With Lesser Spirit to speak to the spirit. We asked the following questions:
Q: What sorts of beings have come in/out of this cave?
A: Ogres, people, bat folk, large bats.
Q: Is this an entrance to the deep dark?
A: Could be, it seems to go deep.
Q: Is there anything we can do for you?
A: Water! Feeling kind of dry...
Q: Do the bat folk speak Drakaran, or some other language?
A: Other language for sure, maybe Drakaran too.
The party returned to the town of Udate while Ashiko Teleported back to Drakara City to pick up Hatori, Kabotu and the Imperial Hands agent.
Ashiko soon returned with Otomo Kanjiko, who thanked us for rescuing her, and described the Ninja of the Crescent Moon for us. They are basically hired thugs, and her mission is to find out who is hiring them. They have the following abilities: Sneak Attack, Monkish AC bonus, Improved Evasion, Kuji-kiri (mystical hand gestures to distract foe), Poison Use, Fast Climb, Silencing Attack, Fast Sneak and Invisibility. The higher level folks get Gaseous Form, and the highest level get Ethereal Jaunt (can phase in and out of the spirit world).
Month 10, Day 26 –
We stayed in town to stable the horses, and pick up some food, water and other supplies for our sojourn into the deep dark.