Tales of Swordsman, Boneman, and Snakegirl 8-14

SESSION 8

[GM]
The White Snake Sage eventually bids you farewell for today, but points out to you a part of the woods down in the valley which offers a bit more vision for the reverse summoning. She says that she will meet you there tomorrow noon for the ritual, in person.
Until then, you have time to rest, and recover - a litle more than half a day.
Pre-emptive investigation of the place reveals a stone circle, similar to the ones Eiha has seen before.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke gives the area a quick scan in case there is anything that would prudent to remember if the summoning ended in combat.

[GM]
There is a good hundred meters width of no trees, which is pretty unique. There is, however, plenty of water. The circle was hidden in bushes the first time you passed it, but now that you took a proper look at the clearing, it's pretty obvious.
The idea is presumably to make escape harder for the potential target.
It would probably be possible to prepare traps of some sort as well, provided you are good at that sort of thing.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke turns to the other two "Any desire to prep the potential battlefield? It's not really my thing but it may be useful if they try to run."

[GM]
There are bushes and other things that could at least be used to set a trip-wire, or something. If you had one.

[Bansen]
"If you have any spare shuriken, kunai, or wire, I can cause them some trouble."

[Eiha]
"Could you set one of those gas bombs you used before?"

[Keisuke]
He shrugs "I don't normally carry the standard issue stuff around. I just use these." he says flinging some kunai length bone spikes at the the ground.

[Eiha]
"I mostly filled up with water scrolls and antidotes myself."

[Bansen]
"Of course. But tactically speaking, the payload of those grenades lingers for quite a while, so you must be certain that you will be able to catch up to the target without taking the most direct route."

[Eiha]
"I'll leave that up to you, though I should be able to hit them from outside its range if necessary. I'll have more luck if I remain hidden while you do the talking though, of course. So it's a matter of how we prefer to tackle this."

[Keisuke]
"Well its pretty much a puppet at this point, I'm not certain we'll be able to interogate it without subduing it first."

[GM]

。。。

The traps are set carefully, while you still have some presence of mind with you - it's been a long day.
After aproppriately long rest, the old woman awaits you. She seems to have noticed the traps, and studies them curiously.

[Bansen]
"Careful now."

[GM]
"I will try not to involve myself too much in whatever happens." the sage smiles. "Frankly, I am curious in whatever this strange technique may be able to do with its victim."
"A word of advice, from what I gathered from his contracted sons of mine: This particular summoner is known as Sasori."
"He apparently fights quite physically, with an ornate chain of some sort. In your village, he is a veteran Chuunin. Or was."
"What else was there? Well, he could use water release, apparently. And he is contracted to two brothers."
"In case that they are somehow summoned today, I have instructed the to refuse, or leave if they are able."
She scratches her head, and lays a scroll she brought on the stone circle.
"This one should correspond to water. I am positive that merely getting some dirt won't damn it at all - if it did, whatever was spilling dirt around here would target it in the first place."
She finds the part of the scroll she is looking for, and signals to you that she is about to begin. If you are not yet ready, hidden, or standing in an inappropriate spot, now would be the time to do something about it.

[Eiha]
Eiha has been sticking to the bushes herself as she had suggested a while ago, which explains her current relative silence. She is in the prowl, erasing her presence.

[Bansen]
Bansen transforms into a pile of leaves inside a bush and waits for the woman to begin the ritual.

[GM]
Words are being spoken in tongue that sounds very old. You can still somewhat understand it, though.
"...You, once boundth by thine ichor, let thine ichor come back forth!"
"And let it be known that thine ichor is forever in my grasp."
The circle poofs with black smoke, unlike the white smoke usually associated with summons and bunshin. Amids it stands a man covered in black sludge.
He takes a while to look around, while the sage hops a bit back, apparently spooked by the effect.
"Dead." she states, certain in this.
"But the soul is still bound inside..."
"Can you speak?" she rises her voice, not bothering to hide. The corpse ignores her, now looking around frantically.

[GM]
It then dives to attack her, and is immediatelly pelleted with poisoned shrapnel from Bansen's trap. After a bit, he dives straight through your hiding spots, the effects of the cloud clear on his sludge-y body.

[Bansen]
Bansen dashes forward, in his haste performing a slight mistake in his chakra control and putting a bit too much force into one step of his water walk, splashing the water and tipping the enemy off to his presence. He draws his sword and swings with all the weight of his oversized frame, only for the blade to uselessly clang against iron chains.

[Eiha]
Eiha is quick to follow up on the opportunity given to her by Bansen's attack. The target got a bit too far a bit too quickly, so she's not confident in being able to hit it from her hiding spot with a ranged attack. Instead, she dashes through the foliage soundlessly, circling around by the right as the undead is now facing left to answer the threat created by her teammate. Along the way, her right hand is gripping firmly upon her tanto's hilt while her right performs one-handed seals.
[Bird, Snake, Bird, Horse]
By the time she arrives near the sludge-coated foe, she draws her tanto in a wide arc, but the blade is not the true attack. Instead a burst of torrential high-pressure water gushes from the scabbard, staggering its target violently.

[GM]
As he is hit, for long enough to make sure you've mangled him good, the body explodes into the black sludge, which then expands like a wave.
You've seen this technique before.

[Keisuke]
Seeing the explosion of filth Keisuke decides to join the fray before the enemy can pull off an escape or mount a comeback. He dashes in and barely lands a hit inbetween the opponent's whirling chain.

[Keisuke]
Taking hold of the initiative Keisuke changes his method of attack and attempts to subdue the puppet corpse before him. As he brings his modified bone club down the former Sasori manages to parry it but with a slight and subtle movement Eiha forces their foe to turn his attention away slightly before Keisuke's attack has fully lost momentum. Taking the opportunity he follows thorugh as best he's able.

[GM]
The body trips over its chain, too broken up to rise anymore. It tries hard nevertheless.
A fuuinjutsu tag flies through the air from the direction from the circle, landing on the corpse.
"That is as good as we are going to get." the sage approaches the scene, leaning on her cane. "It’s still trying to gather chakra to continue its technique, even now."
"And it’s pulling out of... hmm..."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke backs a way a bit wiping some of the filth off as he does so, to give the sage room to examine the thing.

[GM]
She stares at the corpse and the puddle, seeing what others don't.
"You should still take that chain of his. Is it not a relic belonging to your village, of some sort?" she mumbles.

[Eiha]
Eiha's teeth grit and her eyes narrowed as luck forsook her and she was assailed with the unpleasant goop. For the second time. This angered her to extreme levels and she stood her ground, readying herself mentally to weather through the obnoxious jutsu, but before she could have any opportunity for revenge, the target flopped down like the dead fish it was. She clicked her tongue in frutration and lowered her tanto, walking off to the nearby pond to rinse away some of the filth.

[GM]
The chain looks certainly extraordinary. It's twisted, and tippped with a spike in the shape of a snake's head. You notice, upon careful investigation, that it passes through a hole in the man's palm. He must be able to also use the tip as a dagger, somehow.

[Bansen]
"What do you intend to do with his remains?" Asks Bansen as he sheathes his sword.

[Keisuke]
"You want this thing Bansen?" he asks not looking too interested in it, but collecting it all the same.

[GM]
"I can't allow it to spread taint, but I want to study it." she ponders.

[Bansen]
"We have to bring that back in any case."

[GM]
"Though that man is living through agony right now, I think I will have to seal it right now, as it is..."
She pulls out another scroll, and her brow rises. "Oh, somebody is approaching."
"We may have made a bit too much of a ruckus."
She prepares her scrolls, not too concerned.

[Keisuke]
"If it's the leaf she likely has already seen us from where she is now. Unless your senses are even more fearsome than that fabled bloodline."

[GM]
"She is hoping to surprise you." the sage nods. "Two with her, an older girl, and a boy."

[Bansen]
"I don't think it's a fight worth fighting. Let's retreat." Bansen puts one arm up, and makes a seal with the other. A mist begins to descend upon the bog.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke follows suit and also performs the jutsu. "Thank you for your assistance in matters madam Sage."

[Eiha]
"It wouldn't be very smart of them to start one to begin with, but I don't mind either way." She returns from a quick soak in the pond. "2 out of 3 huh, not too shabby, but not good enough." She muses to herself.

[GM]
"That’s a bit mean of you." the sage sighs. "Now the woman will be even more convinced that it is us spreading grime here."
"Ironically, I AM considering presenting this to Orochimaru first."

[Keisuke]
"It's your call Eiha, you are the point of contact with the snakes moving forward. We can stay if you'd like."

[GM]
"Well, if you are willing to lay low, we can discuss the results later."
"Or when we call the summoner back for instruction. Which should be a few weeks. Read through the scroll until then, will you?"

[Eiha]
Eiha perks up at the familiar name. "Orochimaru huh? Well, contacting him directly might clear things up yeah." She voiced a terse approval at the idea. "And like I said, I don't mind either way, wouldn't want to screw you over on my first day here."

[GM]
She unfurls the final bit, about ready to start.
"This woman hates him, it seems."
"And he’s such a nice boy. Well, you should be going."

[Eiha]
"I could try to talk to them if you guys want, but we can't really tell them why we're here."

[Bansen]
"Secrecy is paramount to our mission. The less they know, the better."

[Eiha]
"Rats are not a component to our mission, though."
"I can tell them about those without compromising our goals at all."

[Bansen]
"You'll reveal yourself."
"If we're not willing to escalate, we'll be approaching at a disadvantage."

[GM]
"The mist is a good idea." the sage notes.
"Ah, it seems the older woman is going to stay back. The younger woman is coming to talk."
Raiko really does reveal herself, and come to the circle. Incidentally, the boy is terrible at hiding, and you noticed him all the way over the valley.
The Jonin stays behind, presumably not very fond of the mist.
The range is still short enough that she could enter the fray in seconds, if she is anywhere near the boy. If she is the same Jonin that oversaw Eiha's exam, her shunshin distance was ridiculous.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke uses his tremorsense to try and keep track of the Jonin while they stay within the mist.

[GM]
The woman is barely breathing. All you have to go on is her pulse.
Still, it's easier than finding Eiha.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke makes sure he's well enshrouded in the mist before moving near Bansen and giving him her general location silently.

[GM]
The burly samurai-nin bravely enters the mist, approaching the sage. One of her hands is on the hilt of her chokuto still, she probably curses her job right now.

[Eiha]
Eiha has incidentally disappeared within the fog herself. It seems like the small window of confusion has taken the decision in their stead, but this is fine, she can work with this, and it's no big deal to give a little scare. Just to be safe, she performs a very minor henshin to mask herself.

[GM]
"Oh look. It's the same guy."

[Bansen]
Banses crouches, keeping his sheathed sword rested on his shoulder.

[GM]
"Look, lady, Tsubame is really mad. Can you explain this so that somebody doesn’t perforate me now or later?"
"Why are you next to the body of the guy that was spreading the dirt? What’s with the Mist?"
Raiko seems very nervous.
"...Now I am the master of being bait, but this is downright suspicious. You know?" she adds.

[Eiha]
Eiha approaches, her presence likely still a mistery to the jonin, and her facial features hidden by the false mask. "All things considered, this looks like you should be thanking us for doing your job rather than be mad at us." She states quietly, bluffing her rank with the mask, hand on her tanto's hilt.

[GM]
The sage seems like she was about to speak, but instead only tells her "You should respect your elders. Don’t you know who I am?"
Raiko takes your presence in.
"Well, look, it’s the one person from Mist I know."

[Keisuke]
"You ignore a sage at your peril Genin."

[GM]
Raiko attempts to stand more respectfully, but it's clear that this is not natural to her.
"Tsubame literally said she was going to go all Eight Trigrams on you, before the mist rolled in, you know. I don’t need to say this is not your turf."

[Eiha]
"Nor is it yours, it's theirs."

[GM]
That probably means something to someone, the eight trigrams thing.
"I guess." she admits. "It seemed odd to me that they would willingly do this to their place."
The sage draws sigils on the body, letting you do the talking, whiler Raiko sweats.

[Keisuke]
"Our misssions have happened to have beneficially coincided. A third party has been spreading the filth in this area and is also an enemy of the mist."

[GM]
"That’s the thing, I fought this guy a few days ago." she nods.
"So this is like a missing-nin thing for you? I hear that Mist does that a lot."

[Keisuke]
"It was a corpse puppet."

[Eiha]
"It's actually more complicated than that, but we're-- nevermind."
Eiha straightens up and sets her glance off in the distance. "Now if your teacher would so kindly stop having enough of a murderboner that she's trying to eclipse our own reputation for killing, I might have information I can afford to spare, which she might find very interesting."

[GM]
"Please go on." The genin offers the first bit of politeness in the conversation.
"...she can hear you." she adds.
The sage blinks all of sudden, and punches the man's corpse in the stomach with her skeletal hand, pulling something out, before going back to drawing her sigils.

[Eiha]
Eiha tilts her head slightly "I think it's only fair to trade information in a friendly manner~" Her lips curl into a bit of a smirk. "I don't think I can trust her to reciprocate if she won't even show herself."

[GM]
"Alright then." a voice echoes not far behind Raiko.
"I am, obviously, not stepping in there, that would be just stupid."
She comes out in what would be clear view, if not for the mist.
"I don’t care about your village secrets or you intruding on our turf or whatever. That's a thing that just happens." she speaks quite roughly herself, like a person that used to be articulate, but has been frustrated for a long time.
"But we can’t go back with empty hands either, you know. What are you doing with that body?"

[Eiha]
"What I can tell you is that this incident is directly related to a number of other incidents that happened in the land of fire in the past year. Ones I happened to help you  clean up. The Leaf should already have a comprehensive written report from that time about the jutsu you've just seen this puppet use ."

[GM]
"I have an idea." Tsubame shouts an answer. "That’s why I can't just walk away from this."
"This is the same technique that killed Tobirama, you know!"

[Eiha]
"Then if you know, you should know it's got nothing to do with-- wait what?"
"That is actually not what I was referring to at all."

[GM]
"As you've said, you’re not the only one that dealt with it." shockingly, the Jounin actually has information you may not have.
"In fact, is the supposed culprit not from your own village?"

[Eiha]
"I feel kind of insulted that you would compare Water release to that gross ooze."

[GM]
"It would be easy for me to attribute it to Hozuki Andaro, too." Tsubame says. "But I suspect more mischief at home."
"How public of a knowledge is the fall of the Hozuki clan in mist, anyways?"

[Eiha]
"Though if you mean this guy here." She points over to the corpse with her off-hand thumb. "He is very dead and has been for quite a while."

[GM]
Hozuki Andaro, as some of you may know, is the family head of one of Kiri's outer clans - much like the Kaguya - who apparently went mad, at about the time his second child has been born. At that event, the family has disappeared off the map, despite the fact that the previous Mizukage has been from it.
Kiri is very obviously putting its thumb on information regarding this event, but the Hozuki are not quite gone, and can be still encountered, much like the Hoshigaki - but they are no longer the sole political force in Kiri.
Keisuke has heard other Kaguya refer to the Hozuki clan as 'stained', interestingly enough. But that could mean a lot of things.

[Keisuke]
"The effects of their fall and the impacts it has had have been far reaching. You're saying that Andaro in his fall to madness is possibly connected to  the spreading of this filth and furthermore the death of your Kage?"

[GM]
"That’s what I am saying." she nods. "See, together, we can paint a full picture."

[Eiha]
Eiha suddenly remembers something about a high level Hozuki being a suspect in the bingo book entries she was shown during the chuunin exam. Well she could have afforded to recall that earlier... "And what do you believe that full picture is?"

[GM]
"That all the ninja nations are under threat as their leylines are being displaced."
"Somebody having a baby that is a walking talking pile of sludge is just the beginning of what this can do to a clan."
"ANBU whisper that there was a pregnant Uchiha woman, who had exploded into inextinguishable black flames."

[Eiha]
"Well others besides the Leaf have also been targeted by this, so you'd be right in saying 'all nations' are under threat."
Eiha then winces slightly at imagining this mental picture. How very unpleasant.

[GM]
The sage is apparently done, and slowly stands up.
The body has been, in the meantime, somehow turned into a Jizou statue, while you weren't looking.
She picks up the sludge-covered tag she had pulled out of the man's stomach earlier, investigating it throughly.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke looks at it and wonders if that was whatever let the user control the corpse.

[GM]
"If you don’t want to return empty-handed, you can have this." the sage suddenly sends it flying through the air, like a paper plane.
"This was a failure."

[Eiha]
Eiha also gives a closer look, trying to determine similarity with the highly complex fuuinjutsu tags used to control the elementals between the lands fir Fire and Wind

[Keisuke]
"How so?"

[GM]
The sage shakes her head. "I didn't consider that there may have been two souls at work in one body."

[Keisuke]
"And now they'll be on guard for the future."

[Eiha]
"Two souls? What the hell?"

[GM]
The jounin, apparently having caught the tag, investigates it as well.
"The soul inside the tag was compelling the man's soul to spread its nature. Once I removed it, both returned to the pure land. This is a good thing for your compatriot, but a bad thing for the purpose of us learning more."
"...But if I didn’t remove it, th effect would continue forever. The body would keep dripping, and dripping, and there would be nowhere to keep it safe and isolated."
The sage picks up the statue, sighing. "I thank you for your help."

[Eiha]
"Couldn't the filth be burned?"

[Keisuke]
"Thank you as well."

[GM]
"It’s not supernatural. But natural things can influence nature." the sage tries to explain.
"If enough of an area was covered with filh here, the area would turn to filth. It’s as simple as that. But the real question is, where the Chakra involved is coming from."
"It is not quite Senjutsu, but similar in execution. Oh, my, oh, my."

[Keisuke]
"It's not feeding off the leylines?"

[GM]
"It is." she clarifies. "But that’s not a technique anyone can do. Especially to place it on a tool, this way... it is sacrilege, almost."

[Eiha]
"If it's not a technique any -shinobi- knows, then I guess that would mean it's the rats' doing."

[GM]
"You would have to ask them." the sage leaves the mist, facing the slightly bamboozled-looking Jounin tsubame.
"You would better remember all you have heard here, if you really care about the truth, and not politics."
The Jounin makes a sour face. "Please don’t patronize me."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke bows to the Sage while still in the mist and begins to depart after signaling to the others his intentions.

[GM]
"Goodbye, Eiha." Raiko waves, also leaving the mist - though she didn't have much to say for the most part.
"Hope the next time we meet won’t be like that."
"Always more comfortable when I can see your hands."

[Eiha]
"This could have gone much more unpleasantly, to be fair, so this is ok in my books."

[GM]
It seems that the sitaution is defused.
Departing the area, and making sure not to step in the stinky, your next destination awaits you - this time, in a rather more cutthroat area.

。。。



SESSION 9

[GM]
The Country of Grass is a wild place. Fire Country is already a little unsettling to cross on a mission, but now you are going fairly deep inland.
Somewhere in here be tigers. Somewhere in here is also the Hidden Grass Village, which takes upon itself mercenary work of lower brow caliber than other villages would steep to. A mob lord is just an employer, and politics mean nothing to them, as long as they don't touch their own borders.
Another unsettling thing about it is the distinct lack of large cities - there are a few things on the maps which are supposedly cities, but there is simply too much open space, or enclosed space, all around. Only the capital, in the north, would be a place to lay low in.
Eight-Eyes has supplied you with the rough estimation of the tiger's place of general residence, which is somewhere up north as well. Most of the woods that make up Fire Country are already gone here, leaving you with hills covered in tall grass.
In such conditions, finding the hiding spot will be either very easy, or very frustrating, due to what you should be easily able to see, but won't.
Unfortunately, you aren't able to go through the river all the way, stepping on unfamiliar terrain. It let you get through Fire Country, at least.
There is still water, like with any civilized area, but you'll have to look for the brooks hidden between fields.
But then, this is Grass Country, not Wheat Country or Rice Country.

[Eiha]
For her part, Eiha was not particularly affected by the distance nor the 'unsavory' nature of those of the Grass at all. Such things were not out of the ordinary at all for her. The proximity of the estimated location of the Tigers' Den to the Hidden Village, however, was a far more legitimate cause for concern, as it meant looking for the former might make them step into the security perimeter of the latter, with all the complications that entails.... At least, the tall grass should help provide cover to some degree, though the locals might be trained in perceiving the faintest vibrations in the blades' sway...

[Keisuke]
During the journey Keisuke has made sure to go into more detail in regards to the happenings of the Hozuki clan and their "stained" status but is otherwise distant and contemplative.

[Eiha]
By contrast, the Kunoichi has been more preoccupied with combing through the large scroll she was entrusted with. She spent most of her time studying, with a small detour to acquire large amounts of new consumables, and seems overall a bit more fiery in demeanor than before, spurred further by the recent events.

[GM]
There aren't really many people to talk to about it, but Keisuke has managed to lodge a few tidbits from his mind, seeing that this is a bit important.
The Mist has a few Hozuki still, but they work in the village itself. Its clan residence is abandoned. While Andaro is a criminal in the most prized parts of bingo books, those books also mention his apparent daughter, 'last seen in Lightning Country'.
Though the Sage has told Eiha she'd be called back, and promised to share more locations where summons could be visited, such a time has yet to come, it seems.

[Eiha]
Eiha is not particularly disturbed or upset by that. She is not in a rush and has enjoyed this mission so far anyway. When the time is right, the time will be right, and that's all there is to it.

[GM]
Right now, the time for study is past you, and you have a job to do. According to Old Eight-Eyes, the tigers are very flippant kind, like a predator that's usually calm and playful, but becomes smarter and malicious when he's hungry. They are, surprisingly, masters of disguise.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke keeps his wariness up using his tremorsense periodically in case something evades his more mundane senses. He briefly considers donning some disguise in case they encounter the Grass ninja but ultimately decides to focus on finding the tiger's trail and dealing with any obstacles as they come.

[GM]
The grass makes a fairly good field of tuning forks, rather than confuse you.
You fortunately make it near the are you were tipped off to, without being intercepted by any local security. It seems to be a village, right at the foothills.
This village seems to mostly deal in cattle. If you follow the brook coming form the hills, there is another village, with proper fields, out in the flatlands.
It would seem likely that the Tigers reside somewhere in the hills, close enough to access the flatlands, and perhaps hunt whatever cattle is pastured here - though that would probably quickly end the industry, so perhaps it's more complicated.
Combing through the area will take a while, regardless of which side you choose. Both are somewhat unfamiliar terrain to you.
You can also investigate the villages in disguise, and ask the townsfolk. The likelihood of encountering somebody who can see through your henshin is far lesser than with Konoha.
Instead, local ninja might look scrappy enough to pass for villagers without effort.

。。。

"If we climb a hill at some point, it should help us take a proper look on the fields." Ogumo suggests, when allowed to observe.

[Eiha]
"As long as it's a well-covered hill. If it's open, then it might make us more visible than it'd make -them-. I still think trying to find their hunting grounds is our best bet though."

[Keisuke]
"It's a good thing we have a scout then."

[Bansen]
"If we transform into cattle and wander about, that ought to catch their attention."

[Eiha]
"....That is not exactly what I had in mind but if you want to try that I'll be more than happy to watch."

[GM]
"I can’t see much in here. More of a forest type-"
The spider laughs.

[Keisuke]
"Getting a vantage point will hopefully help. Let's get a look from the hill first and move from there."

[GM]

。。。

Though the villages are small, the place is certainly well alive. You encounter several shepherd boys, whom you obviously have no trouble avoiding, or could ask for directions, if you so wished.
Up in the hills, it's mostly goats, but sheep don't seem to mind going up and down either.
You haven't seen any skeletons lying about yet, which frankly may be a bit concerning - the world is violent enough that even human bones in a ditch are  a common occurence. Thus far, this seems completely peaceful.

[Eiha]
Eiha notes this detail, finding it odd indeed, but more because it almost feels like someone or something is either trying to hide the traces.... or swallowing the unaware whole.

[GM]
Before you reach the hill's top, you pass a strange crossroads sign, pointing to 'Konera vilage' to the direction you are technically coming from, 'Hikisashi's Ranch' in a second direction off to the side, and 'Blue Tiger Shrine' seemingly towards the hill's peak.
Keisuke has already detected several larger animals around, moles, bunnies, and what seems like at least a mountain goat. A Tiger should still have a different sort of weight to it, though.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke eyes the sign for a moment
"Shall we visit the shrine while we're here?"

[Eiha]
The raven-haired kunoichi gave the sign a skeptical glance as well. "That seems too obvious, but I guess there's no reason -not- to. Might as well since we're still searching broadly for now."

[GM]
Climbing up by the road, far enough to at least take a look at the shrine, you find it flanked by a cliff. Though there aren't many trees around, it was completely impossible to see approaching from the fields.
That, despite being a fairly sizeable building. It probably doesn't get much sunlight.
Another thing that comes as very odd to those of you more educated in more fundamental ideas behind Ninjutsu, is that Shrines are always built to face the West.
This shrine is built to the opposite direction, for some reason. You approached it from the south, but it's still odd.
There seems to presently be a girl sitting down before the courtyard, in an apron, weeding out grass from between the stone steps leading to the shrine.

[Eiha]
Eiha figures the most simple Ocham's explanation would be that it was built by someone who had no idea of such tradition, which could be a fake built for deception, or perhaps it was old enough to predate the traditions, or even it might have been built by someone or something completely outside of them

[GM]
She doesn't seem to have noticed you at all, mildly grumbling to herself about the hot weather. She is also wearing a straw hat.
In order to approach the shrine properly, you may have to come down back to the foot of the stairs first. You had to go up a bit to take a proper look at the building.

[Keisuke]
Making sure to fall back out of hearing distance of the shrine Keisuke says "I think we may as well approach the shrine openly. If they're as fickle as Old Eight Eyes suggests who knows how troublesome they'll get if we accidentally trespass somewhere important."

[Eiha]
"That's assuming both that we're caught and that this is actually a genuine shrine connected to the Tigers, but fair enough. No point in antagonizing them."

[Bansen]
"Just make sure it won't be traced back to our village."

[Keisuke]
"Let's don some simple disguises then." he agrees.
Keisuke disguises himself as a traveling monk, that looks a little scholarly but has the tan of someone who walks the roads all day.
"If we're visiting a shrine may as well look the part."

[Bansen]
Bansen transforms into a short and hunchbacked old monk with a wide straw hat.

[GM]
"Maybe you can be their dog or something, Eiha." Ogumo cracks a joke.
You could, of course, just be an item, but then interaction would be difficult.

[Eiha]
"Or I could just not be there at all. From their point of view anyway. That's usually how the game goes.... Couldn't you guys just have picked normal pilgrim guises? Anyway...."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke shrugs. "That would be fine too."

[GM]
You approach as a pair of monks, and an exorcist. Apparently.
The girl on the stairs brightens up upon seeing fresh faces, but somewhat panicks upon seeing Eiha.
She disappears in the courtyard, leaving you to walk all the way up first.

[Eiha]
As an apt deceiver, Eiha knows that the best lies are always built upon a foundation of truth, and that is exactly what she goes for. She has plenty of good ideas to use, both as a way to explain her presence and to gather new information, all of which would have fragments of truth while shrouding their real identities of mission and-- "Well that's new."

[Keisuke]
"Well, that was a first."
The young traveling monk continues up the steps towards the entrance and courtyard.

[GM]
Once you come all the way up, the girl greets you properly as a miko, now having changed into her hakama and white shirt.
"Welcome to the Blue Tiger Shrine, travelers!"
The sizeable building behind the shrine seems to have people in it, as an old woman's face peeks out from behind a glassless window to check you out, and promptly disappears.

[Keisuke]
The young monk brings his hands together in prayer over his chest and gives a polite bown in greeting.
"Greetings and good fortune to you."

[Eiha]
Eiha likewise gives a wide, warm smile and a formal bow that contrasts somewhat jarringly with the aura she gives.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke trys to keep tabs on the elder lady's movements as soon as she disappears from sight.

[GM]
She bows in kind, leading you to the altar. It's pretty spacious here. "As you may have heard, a tiger kami is enshrined here."
"Shepherds and farmers come to sacrifice their weakest to the blue tiger, to keep their herds safe from wolves, foxes, and, well, tigers!"
She can't help but glance at Eiha.
The altar has a big, silver bowl on it, with a large gold-gilded dagger fashioned into the form of a fang next to it. This is not too uncommon by itself, but it's a very big sacrificial bowl.
You could probably fit an entire sheep into it, easily. There is some stain in the middle, from blood that the shrine maidens were unable to clean up over the generations.
"There is also supposed to be a tiger skin, but right now..." *she does not finish the sentence. "Don't let me interrupt you."
She is probably suggesting for you to go through with your prayers, while she watches over.
There may not be a skin, but there is a statue behind the altar.
For a tiger, this one is rather obese, it must be said. It's practically a blue, striped maneki-neko.

[Keisuke]
"No trouble. No trouble. It is through learning that we advance in our understanding, and it is through you that we learn about this shrine as part of our travels."

[Eiha]
Eiha herself remains mostly quiet, they need to get this little formality out of the way first before they can engage in anything serious anyway.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke goes through the motions of praying to the shrine silently. His prayer is that they form the contract with the minimum amount of hassle.

[GM]
The prayers progress at your pace, until the shrine maiden rings a bell, signaling the end for you. Usually, the pilgrims do it on their own, but this bell is rather far from the altar, and such a custom also exists in some places.
Right as you are done, the Miko fires off the first question. "Excuse me, miss, but you are rather an unusual sight."
"Are you here for an additional reason besides pilgrimage?"

[Eiha]
"I am, actually. There have been malevolent spirits causing some trouble in other lands, part of the reason of my presence is to warn others and look for signs of those wandering spirits."

[Keisuke]
"Indeed, these are trying times."

[GM]
"Ah." she lights up a little, though she's clearly still feeling pressured. "I've heard about it."
"You won't find any of that here. But perhaps the Great Miko could help you..." she glances towards the doors, just as the old woman steps out. As Keisuke knows, she has been behind that door frame the entire time you were praying.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke bows to her in greeting as is polite.

[GM]
She doesn't bow back, staring at Eiha rather sternly. The pressure doesn't seem to affect her as it does the girl, though she doesn't appreciate it either.
"I suppose."
"You should go back to the weeding, Satomi."
The girl nearly trips over herself to leave, not minding that she hasn't changed back into work clothes.

[Keisuke]
"Greetings to you Great Miko."

[GM]
"Welcome again to our shrine, travelers."

[Eiha]
Eiha maintains a front of friendliness, although the cold reception makes it clear it's not returned, possibly out of suspicion.

[Keisuke]
"When Miko Satomi mentioned your Tiger Hide was missing I had feared that trouble had befallen this shrine as well. It is heartening to hear that is not the case?"

[GM]
"We believe it was stolen by merchant who visited a while ago. It's not... as integral to the shrine, as I would have Satomi believe."
The statue yawns as if it's nothing, shifting position during the silence.
That's a bit odd, because it certainly did not show any signs of being alive beforehand, pulse included.
The old miko continues. "I can't travel far from here, so all I can tell you is hearsay."
"It's the same reason I haven't been able to retrieve that skin."

[Keisuke]
"Truly this East facing shrine is filled with wonders."

[Bansen]
"A poor omen nonetheless... How worrying."

[Keisuke]
"Perhaps we could help you retrieve it?"

[GM]
"That would be of immense help." she nods. "The man lives in the capital, under the name Norizaemon Washida."
At least the second part of that name is a painfully obvious fake.
"I should explain, that this is not just any tiger skin. It's the skin of the local tiger god's ancestor."
"As you surely know, donning tiger skin symbolizes stepping off the path of shura. It is the transformation of anger into wisdom and calm. Much like the tiger when it's fed." she has probably gone through this lecture a million times.
"The man is probably using it to widen his wealth. I was allowed to use it several times, and its effect is quite potent."
She shakes her head. "That said, I doubt he can hire more than thugs, even with his wealth. If you can perform proper Onmyoudo, or are trained in a monastery, you may be able to do it."
"I can't ask this of you, of course."

[Bansen]
"Perhaps we can convince him to return it without violence. There's some decency in every man."

[GM]
"I'm not sure about that one, but perhaps."

[Eiha]
"It might be worth attempting, at the very least."

[GM]
"The god may able to bestow a blessing of some sort on you, if you are able to return it." she forces herself to smile, but looks terrible doing so.

[Keisuke]
"It does sound quite miraculous. If through converting anger to wisdom and calm one could purify their heart to see through all deceit and illusion one would be closer to enlightenment."

[GM]
"It's no substitute for the real thing, unfortunately."

[Eiha]
"Indeed, enlightenment has to come from the self, not the outside."

[Keisuke]
"I am inexperienced and will heed your words."
"You said it was Nobizenon Washuda? Would you like us to escort him back to atone?"

[GM]
"Perhaps the god would appreciate that, though it's barbaric."  she considers this seriously.
"Do not let this distract you from whatever your main goal is, in regards to the stain." she sighs. "That is a serious issue."
"It doesn't affect Grass Country right now, but some day it might."

[Eiha]
"So should I take this as meaning you have not seen any sign or effects of the presence of the malevolent spirits in the area?"

[GM]
"I have not, but visiting monks have complained of it. In Claw Country it is especially dire. People say that misshapen animals stalk the night in those parts."
"There are many kinds of evil. Evil that drives men mad and sets them against each other, evil that scourges the land and makes folk starve, and, of course, the evil in human heart."
"This is the kind of evil that twists nature to its whim and scheme, whatever that is."

[Eiha]
Eiha gives a small nod, the smile she had donning now being replaced by a more serious expression. "Intriguing, we had seen the land itself been made sick, but these news of twisted animals is news to me."

[GM]
"It's less of a concern to the farmers who sacrifice here than an evil wind that withers crops, but it's a concern to me. The god is bound to the land, after all."

[Keisuke]
"Speaking of which,  there is a rumor that the source of this filth is related to a member of the Zodiac." he states observing the reaction of the priestess and the statue carefully.

[GM]
The statue blinks. The priestess does not react in particular.
"Is that so." the woman says. "I suppose Tigers would be in that group. Now I know why you paid this shrine a visit."
"The sickness, that sounds like something a snake would do!"

[Keisuke]
"In fact I beleive both tigers and snakes are innocent."
"We have reason to believe the Rat however, is more suspect."
As he makes that clarification he turns more to face the Tiger statue in his form of address.

[GM]
The statue sees to be watching you.
"Rats are surprisingly nice animals, but they do spread disease. I see."

[Eiha]
"It -would- be rather inconvenient to be cursing one's own land after all, no matter how it might help in a deception."

[GM]
The miko thinks further, and then brightens up. "That would also explain why Grass Country is safe. No rat would come into a Tiger's hunting grounds!"

[Keisuke]
"It certainly makes sense to avoid them. Though the rumors also seem to indicate that the Rats bear a grudge against the other members of the Zodiac council. Let alone Tiger, they may even try to fool with Dragon."

[GM]
The statue is definitely staring right Keisuke-monk's lips.
"A dragon?"
"Well, I have certainly not heard of shrines dedicated to rats, so I can't help you from my expertise."
She seems unused to not being the knowledgeable one.

[Keisuke]
"I mean no disrespect honored elder, however I feel your God may have knowledge on this matter. If possible, we'd like a meeting."

[Eiha]
"That is fine, keeping an eye and ear out for any sign of their presence in your land would already be useful."

[Keisuke]
He nods in agreement wtih Eiha.

[GM]
The statue sighs, putting it's raised, stone paw down, and finally speaks: "Definitely shinobi, or information from one."
"You would need to meet with the Great Yellow Tiger, but his shrine is well-hidden."
"Bring back the skin, and I'll consider it a part of the rite of passage. Though it won't be all that's required."
The miko woman is a little surprised by the statue speaking, but not that much. "I-indeed?"

[Keisuke]
"My thanks to you. Retrieving what was wrongfully taken is a given."
"Are there any clues to the thief's real name? Previously it seemed like a psudonym."

[GM]
"No, though I can tell you what he looks like." The miko gets her bearings, while the statue returns to its empty stare forward.

[Keisuke]
"It would be greatly appreciated."

[GM]
"He has an haircut, which I doubt changed - shaved until half his head, with long hair therafter. He tends to dress in expensive clothes."
"He also has a bodyguard, or a friend, following him around, who is a lot more distinct. Tattooed skin, pointy hat, and his facial features were a bit odd."
"Very large head, and a full beard. Fairly tall overall, that man, but he also seemed somewhat weak."

[Eiha]
"Well, appearances can be deceiving, but he might be easier to find yes."

[GM]
Knowing your goal, and what it looks like, you part with the miko, and her fat tiger god. Next stop: Grass Country Capital, it seems.

。。。





SESSION 10

[GM]
On the way, you came across a forest of mushrooms. While you've heard rumors of those being commonplace in here, seeing one in person is quite something. Perhaps this country also has mushroom-based shinobi alchemists? That's something for Bansen to think about.
The Grass Country's Capital, somewhat curiously named Houzuki, lies on an open field, next to a lake. Within the lake is the Houzuki Castle, which is one of the world's harshest prisons, housing even many shinobi.
Originally, it seems, the prison was built here as the Grass Country was neutral ground, and so criminals who sinned against the entire system rather than their particular village could be found here. Later, as the Grass became less than neutral, this would become a point of contention.
Currently, it can be said that there are about as many criminals in the prison as there are in the city, and even though the fort is supposed to be unapproachable from land, there still exists a rather extensive ecosystem of information, shady jobs, and dirty favors going back and forth.
In this environment, you are to find your mark, who probably even has a fake name. At least the tiger skin should stand out, if he's wearing it openly. That, or his partner, who seemed outlandish, going by his description.
While the security in this place is somewhat tight, with many simple bushi and shinobi patroling the streets, bearing the insignia of the country or the village, Grass Country essentially wants the undergrowth to exist. Thus if a henshin jutsu is seen through by one of the guards, you likely won't be questioned on account of it.
It's likely that many foreign and rogue shinobi come here for work, after all. It would not at all be strange to encounter some of the Mist's own ANBU looking for missing-nin.
The architecture in here is rather more stony, more brick and mortar, than elsewhere. The city probably won't burn easily. It's also necessary to clean the endless trash of the streets with one swoop.

[Eiha]
The sight of the forest of mushrooms was quite the unexpected and peculiar one, and Eiha might have been tempted to take a closer look just for the sheer strangeness of it all, but they did have a job to do. Perhaps she could come again some other time. As or the city itself, she actually quite liked it. A cutthroat atmosphere of deception and and ruthlessness permeated the air just below the surface, and that made her feel right at home.

[GM]
You are looking for a man with a half-shaved head, or a tall man with tattooed skin, a pointy hat, and a beard. The latter is presumably going to be easier to find... but where to start?

[Keisuke]
Keisuke considers where to start as he gazes upon the city. The most likely sources of information would be areas the too men frequent or an information broker. The later may be more expedient but would likely pull attention from the local power if they were at all competent and kept proper tabs on their underworlds information network. Perhaps a market or trade center if the shaved headed man is actually a merchant or acts as one often enough?
"It's been a while since we've visited a place such as this capital. Perhaps we should visit the market and find the local specialities?" He asks the others.

[GM]
There are many bars, in which most of the shady dealings take place. The shadier the bar and alley, the shadier the deals.
There are three marketplaces, the largest at the main square, another on a different square, and a third next to the southern city gate.

[Eiha]
Eiha takes this opportunity that they should mind their disguises, and that while bars and other questionable venues make for excellent information gathering points, they are also ones that their guises should not in a thousand years be visiting, so if they go there, their disguises will be pretty much instantly exposed, or at the very least arouse immense suspicion. "The markets seems like a good bet yeah."

[Bansen]
"Don't suppose you two know anyone here?"

[GM]
It takes a bit of time, going through all three. He cannot be found at any of them at this time, but there's probably nothing wrong with just asking around, if it comes to it.

[Keisuke]
"I'm afraid I have no aquaintances in this land save the ones we make along the way."

[GM]
What you do notice is a few Konoha shinobi and a few Hidden Cloud shinobi in the city, displaying their headbands proudly - though they get plenty of bad glances.
Perhaps there are some other Mist shinobi on business too, or perhaps they are not proud enough.
In order to properly comb the city, you may have to stay the night.

[Eiha]
"Me neither, this is pretty far from home." She notes, giving a glance at the obvious shinobi. She finds it a bit strange for them to openly display like this, but there must be an actual reason for that which isn't incompetence.

[GM]
The journey has been pretty exhausting, so a bit of rest, and getting used to the city, cannot hurt. At least Kiri still pays these kinds of expenses, if you keep your receipts.

[Keisuke]
"Perhaps we can find a reasonable inn along the way."

[GM]

。。。

On the second day, you spot a vaguely familiar giant in the crowd, bearing a greatsword on his back, and a girl on his shoulder. They both wear Mist headbands, and the crowd makes sure to step aside for them.
The giant is Futoppara, and the girl is Chisai. Of the two, Chisai is the Jounin, and as such you know her as the instructor to several former teams. They are a famous pair, of brains and brawn.
It should be noted that Futoppara is blind, and Chisai is telling him directions.
As far as you understand, the woman is also a sensor, and trasmits her information to him somehow, but the specifics of that technique are a secret between the two of them.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke feels a slight pang of regret. If not for their search this would be a fine opportunity to test himself against them. There is no way he'd be able to maintain his disguise doing so though. This three man team thing is rather stiffling at times.
He lets out a sigh and proceeds towards a reputable looking stall, in hopes of furthering their investigation.

[GM]
"Can I interest you in some dried shitake, sir?" the man asks as you approach.
You have noticed through yesterday that if you were younger, the merchants would probably hollar at you more.

[Keisuke]
"Ha ha, a snack wouldn't go amiss. How much for three servings?" the young monk responds amiably.

[GM]
"Ah, three roasts." he names the suspiciously cheap price. "I also sell them like this, packed -" he shows you a paper bag, "or may I interest you in some soup or salad?"
He does not appear to sell steamed Shitake. The roasts also feature meat, as does the salad, but the salad is fresh.
"Here you are!"
"A-ah, you are monks. Should I give you the meatless ones?"

[Keisuke]
"I'm still tempering myself, though if you have some without meat available for myself I would be grateful. In addition I was hoping you could help us find an associate. The captial is far livelier than I we are used too and I fear we have trouble keeping pace." he  gives a small laugh at their apparent troubles.
As he's speaking he places a bit more money down than the three roasts are worth.

[GM]
"Ah, I see." he nods, while he readjusts the roasts on the flames. "Who are you looking for?"

[Keisuke]
"A fellow traveler has lost their path and has mistakenly forgotten to return something they borrowed from a shrine. Budda is mercifcul and we hope to help him mend his error. I know he travels with quite a unique individual, who sports a pointed hat and bears tatoos."

[GM]
"A pointed hat and tattoos, huh."
"I think i've seen him around! He stands out. Especially with those stars and moons on his robe thing."
"He hangs around Kisaki, the bastard."
"...but this is not Kisaki's territory, so there's no issue telling you."
The man smiles with his fairly incomplete teeth.
"Thank you for your business!"

[Keisuke]
"Thank you for your assistance my friend."

[GM]
Now, to find out what Kisaki's territory actually is.
Going on in a similar way, and tasing many more monk-sanctioned foods, you eventually get your answer.
That would be, by finding out in which area the merchants are not willing to answer. The basics of body language and psychology you've learned in the Academy are of great help, sorting through the sea of easy-to-read folk.
The southern gate marketplace seems to be the one. Since nobody wants to mention Kisaki here, perhaps you can eventually find him in these parts.
At around the same time, you can see Futoppara and Chisai coming in the opposite direction than before, from the gate. This time, they are followed by a ragged-looking man, who of all things is riding a black bull.
By all indications, this man must have been a prisoner, whom they came to extract, probably in the completely legal fashion. Why he is riding a bull - or, an Ox, to be more precise - is a mystery.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke looks to the other too before sighing. "It seems their mission is related to ours." He says as quietly as possible.

[Eiha]
"Related? I'm not sure I follow here."

[Keisuke]
"Yet another member of the zodiac is present." he nods towards the Ox.

[Eiha]
"That's what that was supposed to mean? Ok..."

[GM]
The man has no headband, but looking at him carefully, he does bear a few tattoos under the torn clothes. Not on his face, however, only on both his hands.

[Keisuke]
"This may be a good opportunity to report our findings too." he suggests to the other two.
"Ogumo" he whispers, "Do you think you can safely contact them and arrange a meeting?"

[GM]
The group seems to be heading to an inn, probably to let the man pull himself together.
"...Sure." he whispers back. "As long as the big guy doesn't sit on me."

[Keisuke]
"We can leave it to you then, so long as there are no objections on making contact?"

[Eiha]
"You might want to take a wide berth then, him being blind and all."

[GM]
"Yeah. We'll try to come up with something, probably at night."
"Or I can just tell them that you want to submit a report and then we leave it somewhere for them."

[Keisuke]
"Lets meet in person. Confirmed transfer of the information seems prudent considering the stakes."

[Eiha]
"Should probably send the artifact back while we're at it then."

[GM]
Ogumo seems to have gotten it. After you wait for a while, he starts climbing the Inn's walls.

[Keisuke]
"It's that or sell it I suppose." he says before exhaling a steady breath and reassuming his monk like demeanor.

[GM]

。。。

Chisai agrees to meet you outside the city's walls, at the edge of the mushroom forest. Apparently, they 'sort of expected you might be around here', and seeing you alive is a good sign to her.
At two in the morning, probably so she can get at least one sleep cycle in.

[Keisuke]
"Shall we try to retrieve the item before the meeting then?" he suggests as if to challenge themselves.

[GM]
You do have quite long until then indeed.
The place is right, it's just that nobody in here will talk unless you push them, or you happen to see the mechant in person.

[Eiha]
"I guess we could, though let's also try not to get caught up in anything that'd make us miss our meeting."

[Keisuke]
"Naturally. A sloppy success is undesirable."

[GM]
After you grew a little frustrated with the locals, several civilians caught in the twilight town, and several pointed questions had to carry you to your objective.
Just as much as for mist, holding someone up is not as exciting as it perhaps should be, the locals seem less horrified by being held up than elsewhere. There is an odd feeling of routine to it all.
"...Well, alright." the last merchant sighs. Next time he will make sure to close his shop on time, and not try to bank on the evening market. "Let’s see."

[Eiha]
Eiha has by now switched her disguise. For their official disguises to be recognized by the merchant and to have him warn others about them would be rather inconvenient. She's this time obfuscated herself as a non-descript rogue nin of no visible headband.

[GM]
"Kisaki has built his business on selling weird prepared mushrooms that make kids see all funny, and then maybe stab somebody."
"He has a manufacturing plant in the mushroom forest, or so they say, and he also has a house here. Couldn't tell you where he is right now."
"His house is right next to the guardhouse on the marketplace, believe it or not."
"Who knows where the plant is, but his sellers bring the stuff already processed, so they have to have more than a hut in there."

[Eiha]
"Makes sense if he wants to deter rivals from making raid, doubly so if he's got the guards bribed."

[GM]
"Y-yeah, that's all I got. Sheesh, this place is dangerous."

[Eiha]
"Do you have any clue where the merchandise from the forest is dropped off to be brought in?"

[GM]
The man is hoping to leave.
"Well, if you nab one of his sellers, then they would know."
"I think they should be out there right now, it is getting dark."

[Eiha]
"Sounds fair to me, what about you guys?"

[Keisuke]
Keisuke's generic rogue disguise nods and agrees that we move on.

[GM]
The man disappears in the streets, a stentch of spice lingering in the air where he stood.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke disappears from the alleyway with the others shorly thereafter.

[GM]
A number of men could be identified as drug sellers. You'd have to find out which ones sell mushrooms, and whether they are the correct ones. In light of that, you've decided to check the house out first.
I seems fairly lived in, from the outside. It's not even dark yet, and you can already see the light coming from a basement window. Unfortunately, you can't quite see through it.

[Bansen]
"How many people inside?"

[Keisuke]
Keisuke takes a moment to concentrate on his tremorsense and guage the people moving about inside and around the house.

[GM]
Almost ten. Probably eight, or so. Someone might be sitting down, but work is being done down there.
Keisuke can tell that at least two of those people are children, or extremely light and dimunitive.
There is also one, very sizeable person.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke relays the information about the occupants and their general locations.

[GM]
Its footsteps are hard and don't seem right.

[Keisuke]
"The large one may be the tatooed body guard." he ventures.

[Eiha]
"On bright side, if the bodyguard is there, then that means so should the target."

[Bansen]
"So what's our plan?"

[Keisuke]
"If not for the guardhouse's proximity, I'd have just say we enter openly via our guises and virtuously butcher them all like good zealots once they rebuffed us. Now I suppose the more standard and measured response is more appropriate."
"Infiltrate, Aqcuire target or information, exfiltrate, fewest witnesses as possible etc etc."

[Bansen]
"Fewest?"

[Keisuke]
"Fewest. Least. None. Whichever, I didn't go to the academy for grammar."
"Talking like a monk is tiring."

[Eiha]
"There's also the possibility of just waiting for him to venture out, but there's no guarantee he'll do that soon. Unless we give him a good reason to, somehow."

[Bansen]
"None is better."

[Keisuke]
"Hmm... setting the building on fire might damage the item."

[Eiha]
"Granted, we could always put it out, but that would be the opposite of discrete, so let's not."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke studies the building looking for the best possible places of entery relative to the positioning of those moving around inside.

[GM]
There is the front entrance, which immediatelly opens to a stairway, leading up and down.
Down is the basement, it seems, while up are some rooms, and through the window you can tell that the floor level is mostly one large office.
The floor level is almost empty, but the light is turned on nevertheless. Someone is apparently in the bed up the stairs, not sleeping very well at all.

[Keisuke]
"Well we could drop in on the troubled sleeper and move down from there. He may be Kisaki himself, though I find that unlikley."

[Eiha]
"If they're spread out, then we should be able to take them out one by one without making a sound."

[GM]
The basement, at least, seems fairly packed.

[Bansen]
"Let's get a closer look."

[GM]
That might require you to actually go in. Unless you send Ogumo, or something.
Though that still requires you to find an opening somewhere on the house. You may be starting to look a little suspicous, watching from this aley.
You could, in theory, climb to the top floor, which has one of its windows open, in a it room, but Keisuke knows that's when someone sleeps. You could also go into the building headfirst, or simply kick in the basement windows.

[Keisuke]
"I think the second story is our best point of entry, even with the fitful sleeper."

[Eiha]
"I'm fine with either of those."

[GM]
Getting there is easy and quiet enough - quieter than cutting through one of the windows would be.
The woman, an older one, with her entire face covered in sliced pickles, entirely fails to notice three people passing through her room.
Afterward, progressing through the empty building is easy. You could perhaps investigate the place, but it increases the risk of being seen or heard accidentally.
The basement door has an overpowering smell of brimstone and incense coming from it. This isn't mushrooms, it's not mushrooms at all.
The door is old. You may be able to spot something the old way - through the keyhole.
Some murmuring can be heard from the inside.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke times it so he doesn't think anyone is facing the door and looks through the keyhole.

[GM]
On the inside, you see quite the spectacle. In fact, the Kaguya's eyes don't know where to look first.
Whether on the five-pointed star painted on the floor in blood, or the children and young girl chained to the wall, or the robed men taking their blood to a bucket.
Or, the eight foot tall goat standing on its hind legs, leaning on an oversized scythe. It looks pretty bored.
Finally, you see a man with the front half of his head shaved, and entirely without a tiger fur. He looks quite frustrated, but he's wearing the same robe as all the others.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke pulls back with a dead pan expression and just has the next closest to him take look for themselves. All this shit and they don't even have the tiger skin. And they're going to fight a scythe goat. Well on the up side. They get to fight a Scythe Goat.







SESSION 11

[GM]
You are unnoticed. Keeping in mind that nobody else who could notice you is in the building, it might be possible to discuss your strategy if you pull back a little.
The goat looks fairly imposing. Furthermore, it's scythe is a bit odd.
It doesn't have a proper edge, instead being a length of metal with some etchings. The handle in the middle, however, definitely means it is a scythe, even if the angle is not exactly right.

[Bansen]
Bansen takes a step away from the door, nods at it, and puts a hand on the hilt of his sword.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke prepares to breach the door.

[GM]
Once it's open, you get a full view of the situation.
It's a clear shot to the beast-man, and the room might be large for living terms, but is tiny for shinobi warfare.

[Keisuke]
In the space of a heartbeat Keisuke flashes from the doorway towards two of the henchmen near the sacrifices, by the time he comes to a halt his two targets are nearly cloven in two by a large flat blade made of bone.

[Eiha]
Seeing the thugs were being dispatched in quite the rapid fashion, Eiha decided to try to make the most out of the initial surprise by landing a strong hit on the obvious most dangerous thing in the room. While she manage to land a truly crafty blow, the Powers That Be decided to protect the creature from any vital strike, Kch.

[GM]
The merchant looks quite shocked at the spectacle, trying to crawl out of one of the barred basement windows, before he is caught.
Meanwhile, the gigantic goat is not very amused at all. Though his scythe failed to block Eiha's attack, it's blade catches on fire in response to the attack.

[Keisuke]
Seeing the merchant's attempt at flight Keisuke again shunshins past two hapless goons cleaving them apart before appearing before the merchant and securely grabbing him by his neck like an overgrown chicken. He has his doubts on if the merchant's neck was any sturdier depsite the size difference.

[GM]
The goat spins away from Eiha, its fiery blade closing in onto Keisuke. Holding onto the merchant and defending yourself may be difficult, no matter how high you are.

[GM]
It clearly draws backs its strike, however, not willing to hurt the merchant, and allowing it to get smacked back.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke watches the goat's approach in his heightened state of awareness and instantly recognizes the hesitation in its strke. Mercilessly instead of dropping his target and giving ground he opts for a coutner attack, his blade nimbly slicing into the flank of the creature and redirecting its attack.

[GM]
It quickly moves onto Bansen. The fiery edge bisects a fleeing cultist with ease, but fails to reach its true target.

[Bansen]
Bansen trips up the henchman in front of him and tosses him into the flaming scythe as the strange beast draws near, delaying its attack just enough for the Mist nin to hop out of harm's way.
After studying the beast's movements for just a moment, he leaps back into the fray, drawing his sword.

[Eiha]
Eiha is not particularly concerned about her blade being on fire. If anything, it should help HER by setting anyone she stabs on fire as well. Thanks goat, how would you like to taste your ow medi-- oh, it's gone. NEW PLAN.

[GM]
It roars with pain, apparently unused to foes of such skill. Its knee hits the floor, before its form cracks into smoke and charcoal.
This is a summoned creature creature's way of deparature for sure, if more extravagant than usual.

[Eiha]
Eiha was about to swirl open a water scroll and summon the signature Mist, as to prevent the Beast from pinballing across the room any longer, but Bansen's strike finished the job on the otherwise rather imposing creature and there was no longer a need to. Huh, either she hit more than she realized, or this thing was less sturdy than it looks. "Well then, that went about as well as it could possibly have~" She notes with a grin, looking for a rag or convenient pint of blood to quench her blade in. This is a devil ritual site, surely they have some blood laying around, right?

[GM]
The witnesses, accomplices or not, appear to be quite terrified of what had transpired - especially the merchant.
You are reasonably sure that at least one of the goons had escaped upstairs during the rumble, but you have your target.

[Keisuke]
"I was hoping that might be a bit more eventful. Oh well on to business." he comments before turning his attention towards the merchant in his grasp, looking at the man as if it were some unplesant pest caught in an alleyway.

[Bansen]
"Come with us, sir." Says Bansen, looming over the merchant as he wiped clean his bloodied sword.

[GM]
"W-what do you want!" the man is panicking, trying to crawl away from Keisuke's grasp without success.
"Is it money? I can pay you!"

[Eiha]
Eiha struts back over to the merchant, still smirking, now wiping the blood off her tanto. "Geez, is that all you people ever think of? How pathetic~ He doesn't even realize what he's done~ "

[Keisuke]
"Firstly though, let's find someplace where we have time to be... thorough in our questioning."

[GM]
A young girl with a badly scarred wrist and deep circles under her eyes speaks up. "That's it, huh."
"Can't you unlock us, or something? Break these chains with your am-mazing ninja power?"
Her voice is weak, but not as desperate is it should perhaps sound.

[Eiha]
Eiha's gaze shifts over to the 'bound sacrifice'. That was an extremely calm manner of speech and dismissive thing to say. Could that be another hostile under disguise?

[Bansen]
"We can simply use a key."
"Do you have it on you, sir?" Bansen addresses the merchant.

[GM]
He looks from corner of the room to corner, considering his options.
"It's on one of the guards, the one that you..."
"Well, the fat one that was near her when you came in."
The other three living sacrifices start experiencing slightly delayed reaction to the utter gore Keisuke painted this room with.
The girl who spoke, and the merchant, don't seem especially concerned.
That is to say, they aren't vomiting their stomach acids out.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke breifly considers just killing the prisoners but decides against it. It'd be a bit of a dick move.
"It should be that pile there." he nods to the one he thinks fits the description.

[Bansen]
"I'll be right back. You take care of things here." Bansen bolts out of the room at full speed in search of the escaping henchman.

[GM]
He did not get far, but it does require Bansen to go out after him on the street. Someone up late might end up seeing you do the business.

[Eiha]
"We'll be waiting~ " She says to the parting Bansen before heading over to fetch the keys and use them. She does keep a particularly close eye on the girl. She doesn't trust her.

[Keisuke]
"If you could fish out the key? I'm worried that dragging him around by his neck may break him."
"While we have a moment, what was this whole blood ritual about?" he asks the merchant.

[Bansen]
Bansen performs the Hidden Mist Technique to conceal the deed before going in for the kill.

[GM]
It goes smoothly. Just another crime in the evening.
Meanwhile, the merchant deigns to answer: "It's payment. For, for the guy who brought the goat."
"We do business with each other." he smiles awkardly. "As I understand, though, the payment was doing something for this goat here."
"They said it's collecting souls, in manner that the goat instructed us, paitning a circle with all this blood and all. I don't really get it, but it's business."

[Keisuke]
"And this person is... who? The tatooed man you're seen with from time to time?"

[GM]
"T-that would be him."
The chained girl starts looking rather sour.

[Eiha]
"Where -is- he anyways? I thought he was his bodyg--" She stares at the 'girl' more intensely and readies her tanto

[GM]
As far as you can tell, she is unarmed, with most of her skin exposed, only wearing rags. However, there are some odd things you can't help but notice. Her bodily composition, in particular.
Firstly, her body entirely lacks fat, but that is likely due to not being fed, and missing a lot of blood. However, her tendons are fairly wide and misplaced for a peasant.
She has calluses on her knuckles and some markings from wearing weights on her wrists and ankles.
In short, either this girl is a professional slave, or a professional martial artist.
Former one, at least. With this state, a return to form will take a while.

[Bansen]
Bansen returns to the basement, his sword already concealed somewhere beneath his cloak. "I see the prisoners are still here..."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "I suppose if you were a shinobi in disguise trying to pass off as a captive you wouldn't have such obvious markings of combat, you'd go for the 'innocent' package." She notes, half thinking out loud, half gauging for reaction.

[Keisuke]
"Killing them felt like a dick move," he explains lackidasically.

[GM]
"Yeah." she barks. "I'm a grass Shinobi. Plenty of those around."

[Bansen]
"What did you have in mind, then?"

[GM]
"That bearded guy wanted to learn something from me, but apparently smashing a brick in half with the side of my palm wasn't good enough for him."
"...but, well, you guys are Mist, you know. Aren't you?"
That is a rather dangerous thing for her to determine.

[Keisuke]
"What was your rank? Genin? Chunin?"

[Eiha]
"Young genin eh? Well, I reward honesty~" She muses before heading over with the key, swirling it around her hand without actually giving any answer... or perhaps what she just said might lead the Grass on a false lead? Either way, she 'kindly' undoes the shackles

[GM]
"Genin." she puffs her cheeks. "I really thought they'd find me by now, it's been months."
The girl immediatelly massages her wrists.

[Bansen]
"Why didn't you just escape?"

[GM]
The merchant seems far more bothered than before.

[Eiha]
"I suppose the Grass isn't as protective of its Genin as the Leaf. That'd never stand over there."

[GM]
"There was always a goat watching us. Not that I didn't try. I think they needed me alive."
"I think the guy with the beard calls himself Ambrosius?"
"He is a foreigner that does uses something different from Ninjutsu. I don't really get it, but he doesn't use seals."
"He hoped I'd teach him elemental release or fuuinjutsu or something, but I don't get that stuff."
"And chained to the wall is not really a good way to teach escape techniques."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well that's certainly interesting." She notes, recalling vaguely something about the surviving Rat users being from a distant land or something of the sort.

[GM]
"Sorry that I didn't tell you right away, but you killed those guys really hard."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "To be fair, for all we knew they could have been trying to summon an even -bigger- Goat, and we didn't really want that."

[GM]
"In case you were on a secret mission or something, you could let peasants go, but not Shinobi, right." she tries to laugh, but doesn't have the energy.
"This is the biggest goat he's got, I think."

[Keisuke]
"Personally, I think Grass getting what information it can from you regarding your captivity would be beneficial to us as well." he states after a moment of pondering.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "We're just here to recover some stolen property, nothing particularly secretive about that." She conveniently leaves out what or for who.

[Keisuke]
"Since this foreigner seems likely to cause problems."

[Eiha]
"He also has a point."

[GM]
"Stolen... property." the gears of the merchant's head turn.

[Keisuke]
"Sacrilige has a hefty punishment Mr. Merchant."

[GM]
"The pelt, then." he nods.
"I should come clean. Ambrosius, as the girl say, comes from the west. He understands chemistry really well."
"Though he calls it arukemi, or something. It's a western art."
"He helped me refine my goods in exchange for some service, like this, or that."
"So... he has the pelt. He asked me about some artifacts that bestow wisdom, I asked around, led him to the shrine, and he sent a servant of his to take it."

[Keisuke]
"And where would we find him or his servant?"

[GM]
"W-well, I don't know." he wonders. "He might be at the laboratory, or he went somewhere else."
"He should come check up on our results tomorrow, but maybe he won't?"

[Bansen]
"Come along. We'll be taking a walk."

[Keisuke]
"You want to take custody?" he offers Bansen.

[Bansen]
"He can show us all the important places."

[GM]
The girl tries to find herself some clothes, but it doesn't get much better than rags in here.
"Will you guys officially pitch in for me or something? He jumped me with a bunch of goats while I was on a mission alone."
"So I am scared they think I went rogue or something."

[Bansen]
"What mission were you on?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "We should probably hurry, if he's the summoner of that big Goat and if Summoning Contracts in the West work like ours, he will already know something happened here."

[GM]
"Someone submitted a mission to clean out some overgrown rats in his dusty old shed. Money on the side, you know?"

[Keisuke]
Keisuke sighs

[GM]
"No word about the goats in there." she shakes her head.

[Bansen]
"Does the someone have a name?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "And like that grass girl, you've gotten my undivided attention."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke takes off his jacket and tosses it to the girl.

[GM]
She catches it. "It was, uhh, about a day west from the hidden vi- damn."
"I guess that's why I'm still a Genin."

[Keisuke]
"I agree we should get moving," he says to Eiha. "I was hoping we could leave the clean up to her."

[GM]
She wonders how to rephrase it now, as not to reveal her village's location. Despite the first impression, the girl might not be very bright.
"It was near the village of Ginkama. I'd need to show you myself."

[Bansen]
"We'll vouch for you, but first we need to know that you weren't actually on your way out of the village."

[GM]
"That Ambrosius guy has my forehead protector." she grits her teeth.
"That headband?" the merchant tries to be helpful, in vain hope of being spared. "It should be somewhere in the lab."

[Eiha]
"Probably thinks of it as a trophy. In that case, I'm sure you'd be... more than glad to take it from him, no?"
"Oh.

[Keisuke]
"Seems like we may as well visit the lab first,"

[GM]
"Well, I don't know what is there now, after those months, but the mission was posted by a rancher that deals in cows."
"I wanted to hear the rats squaking inside, when I came, but then I heard some me-e-eh and that's not exactly a rat or cow sound."
"And I saw two goats and two rats playing mahjong. Couldn't make that up."
"But job was a job, and those guys went down pretty easily, but then the rats were gone and then there were more goats, and then the beardy came, and here I am."
The other sacrifices understood that if the shinobi was worried about you, they should probably really not be here, and so they long disappeared up the stairs.

[Eiha]
Eiha remains quiet, but that one statement lights up quite a lot of precious information. The rats and goats -are- working together. "Well that's not something you see every day."

[Bansen]
"I'm not convinced yet. Show us the spot, then we'll see about backing your story up."

[GM]
It is, however, only a matter of time before guards come back the same way.

[Eiha]
"Well then, let's get going~ "

[Bansen]
"Tag along and don't try to run. I'll cut your leg off." Bansen then turns to the merchant. "You too."

[GM]
"Uhhh, alright." she grimaces. "Can you get me some food, too?"
"Got no cash or anything."
The merchant is significantly more intimidated.

[Bansen]
"I have some edible roots here."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke gives her some of his rations and a blood pill.
"The pill should help with the blood loss."

[GM]
"Oh, you're a lifesaver. I actually owe you now." she reaches for the pill right away.
"Aside of the whole saving my life bit I mean. Those things are expensive."

[Eiha]
Eiha rummages inside her clothing. How she manages to fit so many supplies in there is just as much a Shinobi Trick as everything else. She fishes over a Soldier Pill as well. "Catch." She actually does wait a second to not surprise her too much.

[GM]
The second pill is happily consumed.
"I have no issues tagging along. Hope I won't slow you down." her smile gets a bit more energy. "As I said, I need you to back me up too."

[Keisuke]
"Good. Hopefully those should keep you from passing out on us."

[Eiha]
"Besides, the best dish is still waiting~"

[GM]
"I'm Otomo Keiko, by the way. Just an orphan Shinobi."
"That's the worst part. Nobody missed me!"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "You can call me Hebiko for now."

[Keisuke]
He nods in greeting then proceeds to leave.

[GM]
The place is quickly left empty, before anyone finds you here. The woman sleeping upstairs is due quite the surprise when she wakes up.
On the way, Keiko tells you a bit more about herself, probably having also been lonely.
"If you want me to fight, you'd better get me some booze. Or not, it's pretty important for me to be able to handle it."
"But my ninjutsu is based on it. Drunken fist, spitting flames, and what not."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well that certainly sounds fun."

[Keisuke]
"Just letting you know now I'm keeping a tab."

[GM]
。。。






SESSION 12

[GM]
Fortunately, Keiko has been to the factory already, and can more or less figure out the way from the scraps of her memory. Despite whatever initial impression she may have made, she probably has her marbles together as a Shinobi, her movements proper.
On the way, she also explains that her training is otherwise universal, and a spare kunai or shuriken may be able to help out. Unfortunately, her main weapon is taken, and you aren't likely to carry one of those around.
The facility is found, a few hours before you are to meet with Chisai. It hides under the mushroom stalks, as more a cave than a house. It seems that it used to be a building made of stone, with a proper structure, but the spores and undergrowth gnawed through it over the years.
Its size is comparable to that of a warehouse. A small building is adjectant to it, a glass window shows it to contain a well.
A few of the windows are still lit.
"I know where my stuff is located... I think." the freed girl whispers. "Someone might be in there, though."

[Eiha]
"Not a problem so long as they're taken out before they can raise an alarm."

[GM]
"You were looking for the pelt, right?"

[Eiha]
"That's right."

[GM]
"I've seen it before, but Ambrosius carries it around sometimes. It better not be on him."
Keiko points out the part of the factory where she was held, which is in the back - but a shinobi may be able to access it by ignoring the usual methods of entry.

[Keisuke]
In order to get a better idea of what they're working with Keisuke uses his tremorsense to detect movement within.
"About how many people are usually in there from what you could tell?" he asks concentrating on the building.

[GM]
"I feel it's thirty or so. I think they work in shifts."
"...but it might be fifty. I haven't been to everywhere in the building. Mostly hearing them talking."

[Eiha]
"I'm guessing most of those would be workers right? No reason to keep that many guards at a supposedly secret workshop."

[GM]
"Well, they're not just regular workers, they wear rebreathers."

[Eiha]
"Which means the air in there might be some type of poison."
"Or at least extended exposure is."

[GM]
"Apparently the main hall is hard to breathe in."
"In most of the other spaces where they aren't doing chemistry stuff, it's fine."
"Still stinks, though."

[Keisuke]
"hhmm" he hums thoughtfully, "then by my estimate there should be about  ten or so active right now and probably two or three watching over the area Keiko discribed," he offers making sure to put a subtle emphasis on the numbers involved and making eyecontact with Eiha to indicate that this is an "informed" estimate.

[GM]
"There is probably going to be the warden." Keiko realizes. "He's big, but he's a dumbass."

[Eiha]
The raven-haired kunoichi quirks a brow, finding the little bit of masquerade somewhat amusing, but interpreting it as meaning that he doesn't want to reveal his trick in front of the former captive. In normal circumstances, this would be rather standard, but coming from the man who seems always so eager for a fight, it does surprise her somewhat. "Fair enough. In both cases." She notes calmly

[GM]
"They might be holding more people in there, but when I was here, they only had me." she clarifies.
"I think we can either sneak through the front, or go through a window on the other side."
"Unless you've got an earth-swimming jutsu or something."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Whichever point is closest to where you think your kit might be stored. This is just a quick stop to us, but I can imagine you'd have a lot of reasons to want to take revenge on these guys."

[GM]
"Eh, to half of them it's just a job at a chemistry plant, they don't know they're mixing western concoctions or whatever in there."
"The other half are bastards, though."
"Do you have something that could cut through glass nicely?"
"Usually Shinobi don't have to deal with glass, but this country is a lot like that."

[Keisuke]
"I can take care of the glass."

[Eiha]
The kunoichi's smile recedes ever so slightly. She'd hoped to make something out of this, but there seemed to be little to cultivate. What a shame, it'd have been interesting to see... oh well, moving on. "Fine by me."

[GM]

。。。

Keiko points you to a window, and from it, you are able to slip into the building. This room is rather unexciting, and its door is locked, but that is not a problem for you, either. If someone was outside, Keisuke should notice.
The holding cells are, apparently, next door.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke follows last in case a guard needs to be silenced.

[GM]
Finally you get a good enough angle to see the warden - a burly, bald man with pig eyes, and an appropriately wide nose. He isn't sleeping at all as some could hope, and has a good view of the entrance, even though he's reading a book. This will be a mater of taking him out before he can react.
A number of cabinets is behind him.

[GM]
In a flash of tanto and bone, the warden is taken out, as only Mist can. Keiko gulps slightly at how much practice you seem to have doing it, but proceeds to pick up his keys, and helps herself to the cabinets.
Eventually, her face brightens up, and she pulls out a pair of pants, a vest underknit with a chain mesh, and a bandolier with shuriken and kunai.
Finally, she pulls out a pair of nunchaku, for which the outfit has a holster, and Keisuke gets his Jacket back in short order. Whoever is watching the prisoners in the back does not seem to have noticed anything that went on in this room.

[Eiha]
For her part, Eiha seems to be taking slightly deeper breaths than usual - if still quiet - for some reason. There is an explanation for that, but perhaps one best kept for such a time as when they are not in the middle of infiltration hostile territory. She also makes sure to avoid cells, as to not have idiot prisoners start shouting 'please free us' and alerting the entire fucking place.

[GM]
"There’s money and stuff in some of these." she whispers. "You can take a look, I need to go get changed."
She leaves for the room you entered through, apparently still packing some shame. Unfortunately, what she did not pull out of there is the pelt.
It should also be noted, that you both know its illegal for Shinobi to have extraneous income, since that is the first step towards corruption. It is not, however, forbidden to pick up whatever supplies you find on the spot, and use those.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke begins to look through the contraband.

[GM]
There is plenty of clothes, some wallets (5 resources total, non-refreshing), some civilian weapons such as jitte, and a few shuriken and kunai other than those that Keiko brought. There doesn't seem to be another Shinobi imprisoned here, from what you can tell.
There is, however, an odd belt of potions, in the same cabinet with a few books. Perhaps Bansen would be able to get something out of those, but he is covering your back right now.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke isn't too concerned with the money but does secure the tomes and potions. He does consider taking some funds to cover the blood pill and soldier pill they used but decides he doesn't particularly care for that headache.

[Eiha]
Eiha herself doesn't even seen to look at the money - she's got more than she knows what to do with since she found ways to get supplies on the cheap - but the potions do also catch her curiosity somewhat, mostly for potential poisons.

[GM]
Keiko comes back, dressed properly as a shinobi. A bit worryingly, the bandolier also contained a flat bottle of strong spirits, of which she takes a long drink.
Her face contorts, she does not seem to enjoy the taste at all.

[Eiha]
And not a single worry was given that day

[GM]
"It's necessary for my arts." she explains, seeing you are done here also. "Child soldiers are basically adults anyway."

[Eiha]
"The only thing that surprises me is how much you seem to dislike it. Should probably find some with a better flavor."

[GM]
"...the forehead protector wasn’t here, huh."
"I guess we both need to find Ambrosius, unless you want to turn the place upside down looking for the pelt. Chances are, he is around."

[Keisuke]
"Let's find him and get what we came for."

[GM]
Getting that done will be a bit tougher, but you should be able to take a tour of the walls, and look inside the main hall at least.

。。。

This rewards you with your target immediatelly, determining that Ambrosius must be the man with the tattoos, and the white, pointy hat. The man you are looking for is inside. However, he does not seem to be carrying the pelt on his person.
Probably because the environment in the main hall is so abrasive - and no wonder, you can see fumes come out of various parts of the elongated distillation machines. Rebrathers or not, working here can't be healthy.

[GM]
The man does not seem to have noticed you - yet. You might be able to do it the quick and dirty way, but you still need to question the man.

[GM]
As Keisuke considers his plan of action and his attention shifts to the machines, he makes out what he might be able to break, or not.
The main attraction of each is a metal boiler pot, to which many metal tubes lead.
There are also a whole bunch of other glass containers. It seems that the machine has to be fed various substances periodically. Right now, only two of them seem to be turned on, both seviced by a pair of goons.

[GM]
Keisuke's sonic assault is met with a flick of the man's knobbed staff, and a buffer of air negating it. He barely saved himself there, but that's not all he has to deal with.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke is so stuned he stops in his tracks forgoing all momentum and stands in place not following through on his attack.

[Eiha]
Eiha's presence reveals itself from the other side, attempting to make use of the distraction to wrap the target into iron wire. Last time they needed to interrogate a target she tried the same thing but it didn't work very well, hopefully it will this time. She'd rather not have to painstakingly search the entire workshop. Though it does have quite the curious smell...

[GM]
The man briefly flickers out of existence, but is caught by the wire a few steps further. It's difficult to tell whether he was using an odd timespace-based jutsu, or something to make himself invisible.
Either way, he failed, and is strung up for Bansen's finisher.
"Aarg! So it's you, who-"
With a smack of a hoof sending the double door flying another presence appears in the hall, of another bipedal goat, who must have already been around.
It hesitates for just a second, seeing the sword in his master's belly.

[Eiha]
Eiha keeps the wires tight with her off-hand while giving the Goat a menacing stare, main hand on her tanto's grip.

[GM]
This goat is rather more goatlike than the demon goat with the burning scythe. It has wider horns, and a crown of leaves.
The surrounding goons panic, before realizing the only exit is where the goat came from. Seeing that, they group themselves in the opposite corner of the room.
The machines keep on purring.
"...Why don’t you twist it?" the goat asks a surprisng question.

[Bansen]
"What?"

[Eiha]
"Making the dead talk takes a lot more effort than necessary."

[GM]
The old man spits some blood at Bansen's clothes.

[Keisuke]
"We wanted to ask him questions." he offers in a dead pan response.

[GM]
"Well, it would save me any more trouble with this old fool. Alas." the goat, surprisngly, turns to leave.
"I remember that one being pretty reasonable." Keiko gives her few cents.

[Eiha]
"Such loyalty." She comments with enough sarcasm to kill, making a mental note to try to make sure any serpents she summon will not harbor such feelings.

[Keisuke]
"Just in case, is he the scroll holder?" he asks after the disgruntled goat.

[Eiha]
"About as much as the rats, now that I think of it." She muses, remembering the distant betrayal and wondering if that'll hit a sore spot of some sort...

[GM]
"I don't think he's read it in a while. If he did, he would remember the terms."
"I am contract-bound to protect his life of course, but attacking you would only lead to rash movements."

[Eiha]
"...Well that's logical enough."

[GM]
"But the elders are very angry with this one. He takes too much, does not give enough back."
"What he does in these lands is all well and good, but the way he goes about it is bad for business."
"That said, it would be a shame to spare him his just desserts. I trust you can keep him alive?"
The goat seems to be playing an odd, dual game of not caring much for the master, yet working to keep him alive.

[Eiha]
"The more information you can give us, the more likely that might be to happen." Eiha notes with a smile, keeping the wire tight and her eyes upon the Goat.

[Keisuke]
"Should I go clean up over there while you two handle this part?" he asks while gesturing at the goons and lackeys.

[Bansen]
"Go ahead."

[GM]
The goat nods. "Simply enough, the man came here to study, but you are secretive about your arts. To pursue them, he needed to call upon our powers a lot of times."
"This is a facility of such study. He is attempting to replicate elementals, which are common in the west, but impossible to produce here."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke nods and proceeds to move that direction.

[GM]
Keiko waves her kunai at him. "Don’t give me that. He paid you in souls."
"He has accquired quite the debt with us." the goat replies.

[Eiha]
"I suppose that might be where the souls bound to those tags might have come from." She notes, suspecting the various elemental manifestations she's seen from previous missions might have been such 'experiments'

[GM]
"Ah, you are quite knowledgeable!" the creature brightens up. "That is a method that Elder Baphomet suggested to him - since leylines bear their fruit in souls, the elemental must use a local soul as its center.*
"Local elemental potency is greater than in our lands, though the elements are more primal, harder to control. The ultimate goal of such an experiment would be creating a portable elemental of local power."
"In the west, it would be unmatched force!" it gets a little excited.
"I, of course, do not mind telling you all this. As I have seen true power, such things are an old man-child’s toys."
"It is fortunate that you did not damage any of the equipment. You could have released a test subject, and then it would be too late for negotiations!"

[Eiha]
"Fair enough." Eiha notes, wondering how she could take advantage of that excitement to gather even more information. "So let me get this straight, from what I can gather so far, he was trying to use souls from our land to create weapons to use in his land, which you say would be unmatched, yet somehow just toys by your perspective. That sounds a little contradictory, doesn't it?"

[GM]
It neighs slightly. "He is the kind of man who must rely on tools and knowledge, because he was born with nothing."
"What to him is everything is not much to us, but the contract has still been made. The relationship has been balanced, until recently."
"I suppose that you see him as a criminal in your lands, in which case I humbly request proper judical proceedings."

[Keisuke]
"HA!" Keisuke laughs as he is about to decapitate a goon

[GM]
The man screams in horror.

[Bansen]
"In a way, he will."

[GM]
"Obviously, I cannot simply abandon my client, no matter how much I loathe him."

[Eiha]
Eiha can't help but let out a small snicker at that comment from the goat. "A lot of different courts might have charges, but there'll only be one." Her amusement is then metaphorically stabbed in the kidney by loud screaming. Damnit. She takes a deep, slow breath to recompose herself.

[GM]
"Unfortunately I am not familiar with the law of the land, but that does not sound good."

[Keisuke]
"We can come to an arangement if you agree to sign a contract with one of ours."

[Eiha]
"Well obviously, if he's taken souls in multiple nations there can't-- wow that's pretty bold of you."

[GM]
"Fascinating." the goat nods to himself.

[Eiha]
"Not a bad idea though."

[GM]
"Perhaps it is time for some young blood. Well, I can give you the coordinates. Whether the person is able to arrive there and pass the tests will be on them."
"Shall we sign a contract of our own?"

[Bansen]
"I wonder how wise this would be..."

[Keisuke]
"You are still members of the western conference?"

[Eiha]
"To be fair, yeah, I've been wondering, what's this 'debt' you've mentioned earlier about?"
"It kind of sounded like he needs to keep ritually sacrificing people just to summon you."

[GM]
"That is so." the goat nods.
"The reason being that most who contract with our kinds are warriors, but he is not."
"In our lands, the natural order revolves around souls. They work as a currency in the higher realms. As long as a warrior pays us in the souls of those they slay, there is no issue giving him help from the above."

[Eiha]
"Well that sounds a lot more reasonable than I first thought."

[GM]
"I may have said too much already."
The goat pulls out a scroll from god knows where.
"What legal entity do you represent, exactly? I cannot tell you folk apart."

[Eiha]
Eiha hesitates slightly this time, she was trying to keep that nebulously vague before for obvious reasons.

[GM]
Then, from the exact same unseen space, it pulls out a quill, and bites its wrist with its fairly threatening teeth.
Watching you carefully, it starts writing up a contract, in its own blood.
"...Hey, thing." Keiko starts up. "Would you happen to know where my forehead protector is?"
"That thing I had here on my arm, that he took away. I really need it."
Ambrosius coughs up some more blood, but it seems he wants to speak.

[Eiha]
"Alright, do the thing. I think you stabbed his lung or something."

[GM]
"...I think you were looking for a thing too, right?" Keiko brings that up.

[Keisuke]
"Yeah we're here for the tiger pelt."

[GM]
The quill stops for a bit. "A virtuous quest indeed."
"And it is shameful that we were used for it. Just shameful. If anything made me doubt this man’s integrity, he sent us directly against another kin."

[Keisuke]
"To answer the question in regards to our backers, we represent one of the hidden villages, one of the major military forces in the land."

[GM]
"If we had been caught in that shrine... I can’t imagine."

[Bansen]
Bansen suddenly pulls out the blade. He places his free hand over the bleeding wound as though to try and stifle it, and forms a half-seal with his other hand, still holding the sword. The fountain of blood ceases miraculously as the wound gets closed in a matter of seconds.

[GM]
Ambrosius coughs some more, but it is a dry cough.
"The pelt..." he starts. "It’s in the merchant's coffers, underground. Go to the -COUGH- house with the well, and look for a hidden door."
"The signet, I am afraid, I broke it."

[Eiha]
"Speaking of which, I hear you were working with the Rats."

[GM]
"I thought it was a protective amulet of some kind ー oh?"

[Eiha]
"What's -their- game in this?"

[GM]
While Keiko looks completely hopeless, saying "but, I needed that, right" to herself, Ambrosius thinks the reply to that last one through.
"...I don’t know much."

[Keisuke]
"You could alwyas jump ship if you don't mind all the murder." he jokes.

[GM]
"But I know a bit." the wizard-man says finally.
"Nowhere in the world is very fond of rats, especially not the Land of Elephants, where I am from."
"But it must be they are aligned with the Black Incal, just like goatsー"
"Enough!" the Faun interrupts him. "Or I’ll think this contract through!"
"Ah, but it is about the whole -cough- picture, is it not?" Ambrosius asks him.

[Eiha]
Eiha shifts her gaze to the goat and gives a crooked smile, having expected this, and a response ready. "Now now, if I heard correctly just now, you said being caught stealing the pelt would be a bad thing, wouldn't it? Because your furry friends have been naughty, a lot naughtier than petty thievery...."

[GM]
Ambrosius keeps talking. "This land now welcomes you more, but so it does hares, or roosters. It’s the whole structure being moved, not just our positions in it."

[Eiha]
The kunoichi then shifts her attention over to the man, that certainly sounds important.

[GM]
"It’s just that you figured it out, but they didn’t."
"Snakes or monkeys have the fortune of their essence working well in here, though it does not work perfectly. Rats could enter, but they were uncomfortable."
"Goats could not be summoned, until recently. That’s what I can tell you." he finishes.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well that's certainly ~interesting~."

[GM]
"It would naturally follow that this might impact the potency of your arts. In a way, I am trying to salvage them before the disaster, you see?"

[Keisuke]
"It has certainly had consequences. Mostly on the upcoming generation and their mothers so far."

[GM]
"To answer your question - no, I did not contact any local Rat summoners. But goats and rats otherwise get along well."

"We have encountered a few..." the faun considers. "A lot, in fact."
"Like hell you did!" Keiko shouts. "I saw them play mahjong!"
"Well, they just happened to meet up..." the wizard considers. "Perhaps the man who sold you out was the summoner."
"What!?" Keiko shouts again.

[Eiha]
"That would make a lot of sense."
"I'm not even sure if it's possible for someone to have two contracts at once."

[GM]
"A man wearing the same sigil you do. A bit scruffy. Sideburns." the scientific description is given.

[Eiha]
"Oh...."
And like that, understanding is immediately dawned

[GM]
"I would have complained to him that you did not know anything I cared for, but he never contacted me again."
"Took money upfront."

[Eiha]
"Wow, that is incredibly assholeish. Can't believe we're supposed to be the bad guys here."

[GM]
Keiko's kunai clangs, as she throws it against the ground in rage.
"GODDAMMIT!!!"
The goat specifies. "To be fair, it was a lot of money."
"Unfortunately, no contract to be seen there."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke sighs, dispersing his good cheer. "Sorry you got fucked over. Listen, I was joking about the jumping ship things earlier, however with the situation like this considering it as an option wouldn't be the worst choice... I personally think being independant would be better if you don't have anyone in the village that you're close to though."

[GM]
Ambrosius does not let up. "The man said that with the way you fought, you would have died soon, anyway."
Keiko is now completely red in the face, no thanks to the alcohol.
"I have friends over there, you know. It’s just one scum chuunin being an asshole. Probably administrative."
"But I feel kind of ready to jump ship."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke shrugs.

[GM]
The goat is finished. His writing in your language is surprisingly decent, but it's clear he is used to a different one.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well, well, this certainly moved a lot more quickly than I anticipated, and all of this because someone decided to pickpocket the wrong shrine." She muses with a small chuckle, bringing her right hand to her forehead and fixing up jet black hair.

[GM]
The contract posits that you spare his client's life, only putting him in confinement. As a payment, a shinobi identifying themselves by your village will be allowed access to the Spiraling Peak, the fifth highest mountain in the Land of Elephants, and allowed to take your trials.
"Please sign with your blood, using your name, and the name of whom you serve, so the candidate may be identified the same way."
"I will give you a copy, of course. The document is already made in triplicate, in lands above, and lands below."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "This certainly is a harsh, cruel world, it takes people like you and me for granted and plays with us... but that doesn't mean we can't give it some payback, or have fun while doing it."

[Keisuke]
"Its fine so long as he remains alive right?"

[GM]
"Mhm." she seems rather mad still. "At least you guys look like you get me."

[Bansen]
Bansen silently cleans his sword before sheathing it.

[Keisuke]
"We have jerks and psychopaths too though."

[Eiha]
"That we do."

[GM]
"Eh, that’s what people call me, anyway."

[Eiha]
"Heh, with some luck, you just might hear them begging for mercy instead at some point later down the road."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke turns to the goat seeing if it has any comment about his question to it earlier.

[GM]
"Well, yes." the goat says.
"It is possible that we will offer you another deal later, relating to his release - perhaps through whatever student you send. But I am not allowed to make such a contract at my position."

[Keisuke]
"Fine, just making sure it's alright to rough him up if he gets uncooperative." With that he portudes a small quill like nub from his finger that has some of his blood dripping thorugh it like a fountain pen.
"I proposed the deal so I'll be the signatory for the exchange."

[GM]
The goat nods, understading perfectly.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke signs the contract with no tricks of obfuscation using his name, clan and villages proper names.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well then, that seems to be resolved for now, just missing the pelt."

[Keisuke]
"So, what should we do about these machines of yours?" he asks the foreigner. "Cooperate and things can go smoothly. You may even benefit from things in the long run if you play your cards right. Our village isn't likly to care about the morality of your actions and you haven't acted directly against our interests yet."

[GM]
"I see." he calms down. "At the very least, they should be turned off before we abandon the place."
"I believe we can leave Faun to dispose of them... or, you could do it yourselves, if you listen to my instructions. Before they are turned off, you must pour Citredo to both the kettles to cool them down."
"That should be a yellow liquid at the end of the table."
"...Then it will take about an hour for it to cool off, after which the catalyst should be extracted. In this case, it’s a pair of stones. I don't think they will be of any value to anyone in this land."

[Keisuke]
"Hmm we are on a bit of a time table. Would you mind taking care of it? Faun, was it?"

[GM]
"I will." the goat nods, moving onto the task.

[Keisuke]
"Appreciate it."

[GM]
he hands you the scroll, now signed by both of you. "I am not long for these lands, but perhaps we will meet again."

[Keisuke]
"Perhaps. And perhaps under friendlier circumstances."
"I'm going to see if I can't find that pelt. Do you want to free the prisoners?" he asks Keiko.

[Eiha]
Eiha shifts over to pick up the previously thrown kunai, flicking it as to hold it by the blade and handing it over back to Keiko by the handle. "Figure I should start this over properly now that things changed. My -real- name's Eiha."

[GM]
She smiles feebly. "I am -actually- Otomo Keiko."

[Eiha]
Eiha snickers. "That's fine, I had a good reason to use a fake unlike you."

[Keisuke]
"I'm Keisuke." he offers.

[GM]
She shakes the hand.
And that, is how you came upon a stray.

[Bansen]
Bansen remains quiet, squatting with his sword in hand.

[GM]
In an epic story of a lifetime, this could be the moment a legendary disciple was born. In most stories, this would preclude death which makes the story feels more grounded.
Even though you aren't romantic people like that, one day someone may tell the story. Which it is, will depend on you.

。。。




SESSION 13

[GM]
You have some time left before the meeting. If you were to adjust something, there is plenty of time to.
Recovering the pelt at this point is banal. After passing through what would seem to be a well into the secret treasury, you find it laid over an expensive-looking chair.
Oddly, the pelt has some leather harness on it, presumably to make it easier to wear.
If you were to try and put the magic item on, which nothing is preventing you from, the head of the tiger would thus stay comfortably over your head, while  the tiger's arms would also stick to yours.
Aside of the pelt, the treasury only has about 5 resources in money, and some more mundane valuables that could perhaps be sold. A small chest of jewelry, a masterful-looking Buddha, and even some weapons.
There is an eye-catching greatsword with a blade engraved with some scratchings, perhaps in a foreign language. There is a katana of black steel with a manji hilt, as well as a set of three identical, golden-hilted naginatas, as well as a tanto hung on the wall in a jeweled sheath, perhaps used by some official.
Though you can't very well sell these items without admitting income to the village, nothing would prevent you from taking them. They are not meant to be used by ninja as they are, save for pehaps the katana, which wouldn't be the worst at night. But everything can be repurposed.

[Eiha]
Upon glancing at the treasury, Eiha is more interested in seeing if anything -else- amid it might be stolen property of any form of renown that could prove beneficial to return. Such opulent items are pretty much the opposite of subtlety, and even if she wanted to use any of them, it would be impossible to do so without it being very obvious and conspicuous.

[GM]
There are some rolls of expensive fabric, and carpets. Those were probably taken from somebody who dealt with them.

[Keisuke]
Scanning the room quickly Keisuke ultimately disregards the hoard and moves to secure the pelt. He wouldn't be above taking the riches for themselves but figures anything they take will be handed over to the village anyway.
On examining the pelt Keisuke looks for a reflexive surface and cheekily Don's the pelt, in part to see if he would cut a dashing figure should he decide to go around calling himself a tiger hermit or some such thing.

[Eiha]
"Careful not to accidentally turn it into a pincushion~"

[Bansen]
Bansen, after lengthy consideration, decides to take the black sword. He secures it underneath his cloak beside his regular weapon.

[GM]
The back of the tiger's head seems to be whispering with a multitude of voices.
Of names, of techniques, used in times long forgotten. To Keisuke, none of what it talks about sounds familiar, though.
One of the feline voices in the cacophony urges. "Ask us, anything you want!"
"Surely you will be less boring than the old man."

[Keisuke]
"Ah. Excellent.  At long last I hear the voices in my head that so many of my family have been said to listen to!" He jests. "I suppose my first question is what or who are you?" He asks the air.

[GM]
The response, albeit whispered, can be heard around Keisuke. It does not seem that the speakers are talking into the wearer's soul.
Bansen and Eiha, however, did not hear the voices at first.
"We are generations of hunters, of earth's patrons. We have seen many a child grow strong, and then grow weak."

[Bansen]
"Is the pressure getting to you? I can make you something to help calm the nerves."

[GM]
A different voice speaks out: "Our children choose to turn us into a trinket in their nest, the century of knowledge is scary to them."
"We know much that the clans of today would rather not have known. How the bloodlines have crossed, and how the generations have been taught."

[Keisuke]
"Oh that all sounds very interesting. Do you know much about the rat or goat clans? Or what steps bloodline userscould take to protect their young from being affected by the shift in leylines?" He asks before turning to Bansen "Joking aside can you not hear this?"

[Bansen]
"No. And I wasn't joking."

[Eiha]
"Well this is certainly interesting."

[GM]
The ancestral tigers consider their answer.

[Keisuke]
"Well I'm feeling fine. Also tiger ancestors were turned into a magic advisory group in the form of this pelt it seems. Wonder how they did that."

[GM]
"That second answer concerns the elements of chakra. We understand the elements of the material world better." one of the tigers speaks up. "But let's see."

[Eiha]
"I'm willing to believe it. Still pretty weird though."

[GM]
"An elemental nature is inborn to a degree, but it can be honed. A man of water can become a man of earth if they want enough."
"If the leyline is bad, perhaps it would be best to make children elsewhere where it is good, and bring them into the homeland?"
A different, very old sounding tiger speaks: "The rats are creatures of melanosis. You could consider them more innately elemental than others."
"Much like foxes are naturally aligned to fire."
"They were already gone in my time, however, I did manage to learn a bit."
"What interests you in particular?"

[Keisuke]
"Well they're corrupting the local leylines in order to bring the land closer in nature to their own. Since that is causing extreme reactions in young and unborn children of certain bloodlines I was wondering if there were preventative measures that could be taken while the larger issue is sorted out. We discovered they have a connection with the goats as well who we just encountered on retrieving all of you for the fat tiger."

[GM]
"Concerning." the tiger notes.

[Keisuke]
He agrees with the tiger by nodding.

[GM]
"Well, let’s see, then. Rats represent materia, the real world, as opposed to pneuma, the spirit. It is a shame I cannot draw you the circle proper."
"Rats are the dark, or reactive materia, wheras horses are the pure, solid materia."
"Aside of those two, the system seriously considers hares as the pure pneuma, and roosters-"
"Well, no matter. You do not seem to have studied this. I recommend speaking to horses or to hares about the issue."

[Keisuke]
"Not sure where one would find them to be honest."

[GM]
"I do not know either. The hares are ’close' to us in astrological sense, but they do not like us very much. The horses may as well reside on the other side of the world for you, if you are from Mist."
Apparently, it really is reading your mind, but that does not stop it from cooperating.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke narrows his eyes at that revelation.

[GM]
"The young-un who recommended you move to make children somewhere else is basically correct, but he forgot a detail important to shinobi."

[Keisuke]
"Oh?"

[GM]
"While the children you would make in Lightning Country, for example, would be fine, they will not be excellent either."
"And as I understand, it is not just your country that is under threat, so it is a temporary solution. Confusing the genes, so to speak."

[Keisuke]
"Ah, because the differing nature of the area. So a water based bloodline limit would fair worse in a lightning aspected area."

[GM]
"Because your blood would calm down, there would also be less chance of having your bones grow into your skull."
"Some mothers of your clan may enjoy that, I would imagine."
"But the elders won’t, yes?"
"But the crux of the matter is that if your connection is less strong, then the stain you receive will also be less significant."
"It should be noted that the nature of this stain is reactive materia. It usually turns into dirt because that is what happens when matter falls apart."
As the lecture becomes more intense, even Eiha and Bansen start hearing distant whispers.

[Keisuke]
"Do you have any insight on how that might fit in to them hijacking a contractor's soul. When we discussed things with the snakes their elder discovered that they had turned one of their contract holders into a living puppet sort of thing. I'm not well versed on sealing let alone soul stuff so I cant give a good breakdown on what was learned. "

[GM]
"If you have an ally who is knowledgeable about sealing, we would be able to put our and their knowledge together." a younger tiger speaks.
"Soul-binding would be the matter of pneuma. Hardly sounds like rats." the old tiger speaks, uncertain.

[Keisuke]
"Do either of you know if that jonin we're meeting is good at sealing?"
"Are roosters impure pneuma?"

[GM]
"Yes. They represent rage and competition."
"You may call it impure, but that carries the association of good or bad. They are just parts of nature, like we are."
"They represent the properties of a soul in motion."

[Keisuke]
"Well I meant more along the lines of soul corruption than good or bad. The snake sage mentioned something about the pure world or impure world in relation to souls as well I think?" He seems less confident on that.

[GM]
"Wonderful!" the old tiger seems very pleased. "That is exactly correct."

[Eiha]
"I'm pretty sure that's supposed to refer to the world of the dead though?"

[GM]
"As she says, the impure world is the world you live in, of acts and deeds. The pure world is the world of enduring ideals."
"As long as we live, attaining an ideal is impossible. There is always the possibility to slip up. Only in death lies wholeness and perfection."
"This pelt you are wearing is a gate into the pure world. Or at least a lifeline to communicate through with us in particular."

[Eiha]
Eiha's lips curl down slightly with the barest hint of a frown. She's not really much of a fan of that little bit of philosophy she's just heard, but she knows better than to try to argue with what is apparently a gestalt consciousness of sapient beasts several hundreds old or more, so she doesn't.

[GM]
"To take a dead person and reanimate them in your world is certainly impure. Such techniques are banned for a reason."
"Because death is meant to be final. The ’corruption’ you speak of is the result of interfering with the natural order. Like exhumation of humans, who do not eat each other, will disrespect the dead."
"The corruption lies in the fact that nothing more was meant to happen after they died, but it did."

[Keisuke]
"I see. If we obtain the Tigers approval we need to bring you along to the conference at the very least. If we have at least the snake sage there I feel we'd be able to uncover more about the how and why of what's going on. If I'm being honest I feel out of my depth." He sighs.

[GM]
"It is unlikely they will let us leave the shrine." a younger tiger tells you. "But this little excursion has been fun. Stretching our paws after a long time."

[Eiha]
"I'm not familiar with the conference yet, but at this point the Rats' actions does seem like something that would be in the general interest of all the Zodiac to talk about yeah."

[GM]
Keiko peeks into the room, taking notice of the nerd stuff you are doing. She was meant to be watching out outside, but presumably you have been here for too long.
Seeing the money unclaimed, she helps herself to some of it.

[Keisuke]
"You feel like asking some questions directly?" He offers Eiha pointing at the pelt. "Be warned they peek into your mind~"

[GM]
Unless Chisai wants to immediatelly take this priceless artifact at the cost of jeopardizing your mission, you should have plenty of time to talk to it yet.
Right now, though, you should probably move on.

。。。




SESSION 14

[GM]
Chisai, Futoppara, and the man you saw riding a bull earlier meet you underneath a large mushroom stalk. It feels like being in the zones where the spores fall might not be safe, but you found out earlier that the hats are too soft to stand on, save for the center.
The Jounin's eyebrow rises at the sight of two more people being brought in with you.
"I've been told you might have been around the area." Chisai starts. "How is it going?"
"Note I don't actually know what mission you're on, so maybe you're not supposed to tell me. Just, you know, asking in general."

[Keisuke]
"Well we're about two thirds done with the initial phase and have gathered some good info as we progress. Definitely have some important stuff to send back home."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "It's been quite the entertaining little trip yes, long time no.. talk.~ " Because see was technically inaccurate. "We ended up picking up a handful of things and.. people.. not entirely related to the mission, but that the village would probably like to get its hands on either way... or back on, for at least one of them."

[GM]
"I see?" that seems to surprise the woman. "That man looks like a foreigner to me."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "That he is."

[GM]
The wizard-man does not say anything, bound and resigned to his fate.

[Keisuke]
"Our paths crossed as part of our mission, but we felt there was enough to warrant negotiating for his life. He's a contractor to a foreign summon clan and in exchange for not killing him one of our village can be sent to attempt to form a contract with them. He also has quite a bit of knowledge about foreign practices even so far as to involve creating some form of elemental constructs."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Also, a number of techniques that we've never seen before."

[GM]
The ox-man fidgets, while Chisai takes it in. "Hmm."

[Keisuke]
"Though Grass would probably want him dead if they found out about what he was up to. Human sacrifices and the like. He was trying to understand how we used chakra."

[GM]
"And you can't take him into the village yet, I see. What about the girl?"
Keiko steps up, though she doesn't want to speak out of line.

[Eiha]
Eiha's lips curls with a bit of a smirk at both the question and display. She straightens up with marginally restrained curiosity and amusement, half wondering if the genin will have the guts to speak for herself, and half finding it somewhat demeaning to speak for her.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke gives a moment of pause to let Keiko interject if she dares. If not he'll introduce her bluntly.

[GM]
Chisai takes out an ofuda, and hands it to Futoppara. The giant licks its back, his tongue as wide as the piece of paper.
"Well, I, uh." Keiko starts before coughing, to start over.
"I'm a Genin from Grass. My village kinda sold me to this guy as a guinea pig. Bad times."
"This team freed me, and now he says he doesn't have my forehead protector, and my village is going to think I'm rogue if I come back."
"But I don't want to actually be a rogue, so I've been wondering if Mist is recruiting?" she almost does it all correctly, but the tone at the end still makes it awkard.
The Jounin takes that a lot less well, now juggling with the tag, not wanting to touch the spit on the backside. "Would you come here, good sir?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Not 'was' eh?" She notes, a lone finger at her chin. "That's more attachment than I expected from someone who was essentially betrayed by the people she was supposed to trust then left to rot."

[GM]
Since Keiko tied the man up in the meantime, he is not actually caspable of coming there.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke drags him over nonchalantly.

[GM]
Chisai places the tag, before walking a bit away, and doing a few seals.
Ambrosius collapses.
"A b-binding spell? In just a piece of paper?"
The woman nods to herself. "That's one. I guess he isn't going to know how to take it off."

[Keisuke]
"You should give a lot of thought of making the higher ups think you're valuable to have as an ally. Maybe you could learn some tricks of the trade."
"For what its worth" he turns back to the Jonin and points a thumb over to Keiko "she seems alright and appropriately resolute in the face of danger. Also we got this." he says pulling out the chain from the former snake contractor. "Whats his name was killed by the enemy but we managed to recover the corpse and this. What happened to the corpse is related to our mission so I'm not sure how much more we should say on that."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well, I'm sure that'll become known a bit later, after it's all settled down, so it's just a matter of being patient a bit, really."

[GM]
"Oh, I knew the man who used this. Sasori, right? The thing went through the palm of his hand."
She hands it to her partner, and scratches her head, avoiding the buns.

[Keisuke]
"Yeah that was his name." he nods.

[GM]
"We can take that back too, but as for the girl, I'm not so sure. Having to transport two people with questionable loyalties is going to be hard enough, and this one could actually take the seal off." she nudges towards the ox-man.
Speaking of him, he is wearing cleaner clothes, and seems like he ate, but it's still a fairly desolate-looking person.

[Keisuke]
With the conversation turning to the Ox man, Keisuke rubs the back of his head. He can feel it in his bo- he's certain that the guy is related to all the goings on, they just need to figure out what they can learn from each other without compromising things.

[GM]
Futoppara speaks for himself, in a deep voice: "This is pretty great, by the way. If the two of us manage it, all of us are going to look good."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Well, I find the idea that she would help one of the people who were literally trying to use her as a live sacrifice to be pretty ridiculous... But I guess we're not in a hurry, now are we?~" She noted rhetorically more than asked, glancing back

[GM]
"But I don't know about the girl, either. Bringing in a stray makes it look like we did something entirely outside of our mission, and are pinning it on the village."

[Keisuke]
"I'm fine with dragging her along with us as a helper for a while if that would help her case." He says though he'd be surprised if Bansen agreed.

[Bansen]
"We certainly don't need that."

[GM]
Chisai folds her hands, watching the girl that's faking bravery intently. "I'm getting an idea about what your mission is, but how much does she know?"
"We don't need a loose end either."
"Not much, uh." Keiko speaks the truth. "They came here to retrieve a pelt that this guy stole, I think?"

[Keisuke]
"We've been sure to maintain operational security. If we didn't trust me, we wouldn't hear the end of it."

[Eiha]
Eiha lets out a small sigh, bringing one hand to her forehead and shaking her head somewhat dismissively. "Honestly, I'm surprised how little you think of us." She noted at Chisai's intention with an half-dismayed half-irked tone.

[GM]
"Well, alright." Chisai nods. "Then it might not matter if she comes with us and flees midway through."
"Though if you DO run, I WILL kill you." she shoots the girl an eye.
"Most likely they'll put you in prison until these guys come back and vouch for you. Are you still alright with that?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Besides, in addition to what our actual mission may or may not be, we've also encountered information about an extra threat to the stability of the lands here. She's witnessed some events related to that." Her tone seems a bit harsher and colder than her usual self, hand still on her forehead. "Did you really think I was just going soft on you?"

[GM]
"I could try my luck back in Grass if you're alright with that." she shrugs. "But then I don't know what I can say about you guys and can't and that just makes me look like more of a rogue and it gets a bit complex for me. Never been the smart kid on the team."
Chisai is clearly internally wrestling with the passing ethics at hand versus the quick and dirty Mist-patented solution.
"If you place a tag at me too, I'm not gonna be able to run." Keiko proposes.
Chisai doesn't like that. "See, now you're making yourself look dumb to be smart."
She seems to finally settle on it, and nod to herself.
"If you guys think it's alright, I will take her, but I will also put it into the report that you made this request of us, and any trouble she causes is on you. Is that fine?"
"If you're passing me a written report that actually mentions her, that would be perfect."

[Keisuke]
"Yeah we didn't really plan to leave anything out of the report anyway."

[GM]
"Good."

[Eiha]
Eiha's arms returns to its side, hand resting on the hilt of her tanto by mere habit and not intent of use. She does seem quite annoyed either way, and her usual unsettling air is a bit more jagged than normal, as if itching. "Fine, I'll take care of that."

[Keisuke]
"With that settled, do you two have any objection of going over the subject related to Eiha's time in Konha that happened to link up with our mission?" he asks the other two in reference to the rats and their spread of filth.

[GM]
"Unless you're barred from talking about it, sure." the man tells you.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "...What kind of drunk-ass timing is that even supposed to be?"

[GM]
The Jounin of the pair, meanwhile, seems caught off-guard, perhaps because of having an inkling what it may be about. "Konoha, eh?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Are you people for real? Giving shit about our potentially having leaked information in front of people you don't trust wholly, then you're just starting to talk about other unrelated stuff -while still in front of the exact people you don't -trust- yet?"

[GM]
Chisai agrees. "Yeah. That thing we ran into in Konoha during the exams MIGHT have to do with internal politics of Kiri."
"I don't want to touch it with a ten foot pole, unless it's my job."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "If this nonsense keeps going any longer I might need to borrow some of that sake."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke shrugs "Whatever. We'll just hope nothing unfortunate happens to the letter then."

[GM]
"Hunter-nin send in triplicate, but we don't have that luxury. You'll have to trust us." Chisai smiles brilliantly.
"Anything else I can help you with, as an authority?"

[Keisuke]
"Nothing I can think of."

[GM]
"Mhm. Safe journey, then." Futoppara picks up the mystically bound man, and is followed by the ox rider. Chisai goes last.
"...If you're able to do your job, that'd be great. Not to offend."
Keiko realizes she is supposed to come with her, and so does. So, you are left alone, with your own problems.
Presently, those boil down to the pelt you have to deliver.

。。。

[GM]
The morning sun is hidden from you by the large building, as you ascend the Blue Tiger Shrine's stairs. The courtyard is empty, save for its guardian, who is presently yawning in an entirely different pose from before.
Seeing you come up, it becomes a bit more animated.

[Eiha]
By this point, Eiha has returned to her own shrine maiden guise, though she was still put in a relatively foul mood by the encounter with the jonins and their utter disrespect. While she's usually the.. least sociopathic member of the little group, at this time her desire to kill is practically palpable.

[Keisuke]
Having doned his disguise Keisuke lets the events from yesterday fade from his mind. He doesn't bother with much preamble and retrieves the pelt.
"We found what you requested of us."

[GM]
The tiger sits up, to take a proper look. "Well, I’ll be damned. So you did."
"I cannot leave this place, so it was a big bother."

[Keisuke]
"They said they enjoyed the walk."

[GM]
"I bet they did - wait, did you talk to them?"
It lowers its hand, reaching for it.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke gives it over.
"They seemed intrigued with the troubles facing the land and offered their insight into what we had uncovered."

[GM]
The tiger notices the harness, and softly puts the fur to its mouth. The hundred voices inside yelling profanties at him can be heard distinctly. With your luck, somebody is going to be woken up.
It bites through the leather, and the set of belts clatters beneath the pedastal.
"A moment." the tiger now stands up to its fairly impressive height, to return it to its rightful place above the pedastal, at the shrine's front wall.

[Eiha]
The display brings some marginal amusement to Eiha, the corner of her lips tugging with the faintest hint of a smirk, rather than be annoyed. Murderous presence lessens slightly.

[GM]
There are apparently already wooden pins there, from where it was displaced. It only takes a minue or so.
"I am embarassed, really. How did they seize it?" the tiger wonders. "Was it really the merchant, as the miko says?"
It returns to face you, now to a more respectable, traditional feline sitting posture.

[Keisuke]
"Well a couple of important bits of news on that front. Firstly the merchant's partner was the one mostly responsible for the transgression and he in fact has a summoning contract. Secondly the changes to the land have been significant enough that Goats are now able to be summoned in these lands."

[GM]
The tiger’s tail goes straight up. "Goats!?"
"Ah, I don't really understand, but I think that's really not supposed to be happening, no."

[Keisuke]
"The elders gave us a very useful breakdown of the changes that were occuring. It's unfortunate that we didn't have a sealing expert with us to get the whole picture of how things were unfolding."

[GM]
"There is a lot of different shrines in these hills." the tiger ponders. "Normally you would have to go through a series of trials, but I think I will break the traditions this once, and send you straight to the Yellow Tiger Shrine."

[Keisuke]
"That would be appreciated."
"You mentioned there would be more to the rite of passage? Could you elaborate on that now?"

[GM]
"Locals know it as the Shrine of the Sun, found at one of the highest parts of the mountains. It looks to be just a tiny booth, where you have to do a puzzle arranging stones, to reveal the real shrine, which stands on the top of a cairn made of various rocks. Hmm." It tries to recall the procedure. "The trick is arranging certain kinds of stone in certain patterns, of which I am supposed to tell you one."
"But I will tell you everything instead."
"The procedure changes now and then, so I hope that one of my brothers did not change his own password. If they did, you can be sure that a local is watching you while you perform the puzzle."
"Mine, Blue is Spring, and you are looking for Sandstone. Note that down. There is a pattern of various shapes in front of the booth, some of them are not being used. You want to arrange sandstone into the circle."

[Keisuke]
Keisuke nods and notes it down.

[GM]
"Red is my northern brother’s, also meaning summer, and I don't think he ever changed it, it's always been Pyrite in the triangle. It’s a shiny, gold, yellow, red looking stone. A bit metallic-looking."
"Black stands for winter, it’s been hematite as long as I remember. A bit different from the other stones, it's black but shiny. You can tell it by being a little magnetic, drawing in metal slightly. There is also magnetite in there though, which is a completely different stone that doesn’t shine, and sticks to metal like glue."
"Completely different for the purposes of the puzzle, anyway. If you get a magnetite in between all the hematite, it won’t work."
"White stands for fall, and it’s rock salt. Plenty of it everywhere. What's tricky is the shape."
"Last I knew it has been the oval one-eh, did I skip something?"

[Keisuke]
"Black's shape."

[GM]
"Right. It’s probably a rectangle."
"White is either the oval, or the pentagon."
"Whichever it is, the other one represents the yellow tiger, and has to be filled with quartz. Quartz is the most crystalline thing that will be there, it looks like glass. Don’t confuse it with the salt or the pyrite."
"If you do it right, the path to the shrine should appear, if you do it wrong, they will try to kill you, and you should have a chance to explain yourselves."
"I should give you a token in case that happens." the tiger stops to consider.
After a bit of thought, it meows loudly. "When the lady comes, ask her for a souvenier. She might ask for some change for it."
"Its a talisman with a bit of my spat out fur in it. It should have my smell."

[Keisuke]
"..."

[GM]
With that, the tiger returns to being motionless, while some steps can be heard inside the building.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke sighs. If the tiger's fucking with him with his hairball talisman he isn't interested in giving him a reaction. Instead he moves to greet the shrine keeper and purchase the hairball talisman.

[GM]
The old shrine maiden seems fairly baffled to see you here this early in the morning, but quickly notices the pelt returned.
"Just the talisman?" she sounds surprised. "I can give you that for free, you deserve a lot more, if you really brought it back for us."
"A fine dinner, at the very least!"
"Granted, we don’t really have a lot of riches here, unless you are into furniture."
"A nice, glazed teapot, perhaps? That sounds more fitting for pilgrims."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Hm, that sounds good, but early morning isn't really the time for dinner. Maybe when we return?"

[Keisuke]
He nods in agreement with his traveling companion"My thanks to you for your kindness, however we must not tarry. I'm afraid our presence is required at yet another shrine. Good fortune to you and may your restored shrine guide yet more travelers on their path. Perhaps we shall meet again."
"Though if you insist, a tea pot would be lovely." he laughs lightly.

[GM]
She seems more happy to hear that. "Very well, give me a second then, I will bring you both."
You are later brought a trio of green teapots, and a trio of small, wooden boxes, the top of which can be slid out.
It really does seem to contain a bit of the god’s shed fur, whether it is a bit of his spitball is hard to tell.
"What shrine is it? Perhaps I can give you directions."
"Though you lot clearly are not concerned about bandits, so maybe there is not much point. I just want to help any way I can, you see?"

[Keisuke]
"We understand. We are headed first to the Shrine of the Sun."

[GM]
"Oh, you can see the mountain from here." she points to the horizon.
"Though I have been there, and it isn’t much to look at."

[Eiha]
Eiha remains quiet at this point, her thoughts mostly consisting of 'I sure could go for some bandits right now', but that is clearly not the kind of things her guise should be saying.

[Keisuke]
"Whether a grand temple or humble shrine, the most valuable thing they offer us is insight into our own selves and what steps to take in the future."
"I hope to find such guidance there."

[GM]
The woman nods in understanding, and starts counting out the villages on the way.
"...Merchants normally don’t go through these roads, since the hills are a hiding spot for a lot of people. Some of them are hermits, spending the rest of their life comfortably, but the rest of them are no good."
"Stick to the villages, I say, and you should be fine."

[Keisuke]
"Thank you for your guidance. Then, we shall be off." he says politely with a bow, before turning to leave.

[GM]

。。。

The hills could use more tree density. Traveling through grass in the land of Grass shinobi feels fairly suboptimal.
So are, of course, your monk disguises, but you could go for a new one, or try to speed it up, and go straight for the vein.

[Keisuke]
When he's certain there aren't any unwanted listeners as they travel Keisuke asks the others "So do we travel the roads as we are or should we move at speed?"

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Not sure what is the point of staying in disguise if there aren't any people around, but I've been having fun with this one."

[Bansen]
"I can't help but wonder if our mission is even a secret anymore."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "What do you mean?"

[Bansen]
"We've been leaving more traces than we needed to."
"Let's speed up and finish this before the bosses back home get the chance to catch whiff of anything."

[Eiha]
Eiha: "You do realize it's not exactly possible to form contracts without actually talking to the people you're trying to contract with, right?"

[Keisuke]
"I'm fine with speeding up." he says not really worrying over much about how overt or subtle they've been.
Keisuke demonstrates his willingness by shifiting into their normal overland speed and dropping his disguise when in the tall grass.

[GM]
Regrettably, any bandit hijinks that the other two may have secretly hoped for are thus skipped.

。。。

The mountain rises in front of you later that day. You could use a bit of a nap before getting onto this, but at night, identifying the stones will be harder.
With the little sleep you could get, you ascend to the barren peak. As advertised, there is a cairn of many different stones from all over, as well as a very tiny shrine, looking like the strong wind up here could sweep it up any moment.
There is indeed a large pattern of many overlapping shapes engraved into the earth around the booth. It may very well be a calendar of some sort. The stones are placed up here haphazardly.
The pattern's nature is mostly that of a channel. Filling it with stones from the cairn will be quite a bit of work.

[Keisuke]
"Well may as well get started. Let's start with sandstone first."

[Bansen]
"Enjoy yourself." Bansen squats down and observes.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Should be simple enough if you took all that down." She keeps her distances, not really intending to provide much of any direct assistance as she's still in the mindset of the Snake trials where doing so would have pretty much invalidated the Trials anyway. She's not sure it works the same here, but she assumes so anyway.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke proceeds to place the sandstones into the circle "yeah the tricky part will be with white and black I guess." He replies absentmindedly to the others as he goes about it.

[GM]
Even with Keisuke's strength, it takes until the dark. It turns out to be a good course of action to identify the particular stones and put them into heaps, before it gets hard to see.
In the end, only the Quartz and the Salt are left, and you realize something.
The pentagon is at the center of the pattern, while the oval is all around it. All the other symbols cut across each other, but the pentagon stands alone.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke takes a moment to ponder.
"Well every other shrine is a season."
"This is the sun shrine, so the yellow tiger representing the sun would make sense. If that's the case the sun could be reprsented by a single day but that would leave out the moon. However if it were related to the year, then it would make sense for the seasons to fall within it. So probably the oval then?" he wonders aloud.

[GM]
The opposing symbols do not cut into each other, at least.
The oval and the circle do not touch each other.
But they each touch the other two. The pentagon is in the middle of it all.
The triangle and the rectangle similarly do not touch each other.
The circle filled with sandstone stands appropriately to the east, opposed by the empty oval to the west.

[Keisuke]
"However if I change my thinking..."

[GM]
Meanwhile, the triangle full of pyrite is to the north, and the rectangle of hematite to the south.
Going by the instruction, it leaves the center or the oval to be filled with quartz, and the other with salt.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke fills the oval with salt. Then fills the center with quartz.

[GM]
A bit of a glow could motivate you. This is, honestly, more of a test of patience than anything else.
You spend a while filling up holes which appeared by stones later fallen from their position. It is long dark by then.
The moment you are completely sure that you have an uninterrupted line on all five patterns, and a regular person would long start complaining that it's not working, the mountain rumbles, and the cairn falls apart.
It reveals a cave entrance, exactly at the middle of where the cairn stood.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke dusts himself off and prepares to enter into the cave.

[GM]
Hopefully someone will rebuild the cairn. That seemed like a lot of work.

[Eiha]
Eiha: "Man am I glad I got the trials that was more instinctive and intuitive. This looked like a pain."

[Keisuke]
"Intentionally failing and fighting probably would have been far more expedient," he admits.

[GM]
There is a fairly steep stairway, clearly meant more for cats than humans, leading down into the hill's heart.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke heads down with purpose. They have things to and giant cats to see.

[GM]
The stairs grow a bit more humane, while the spiral of them widens bit by bit. Eventually, a bit of light can be seen from below.
There are a multitude of loud voices here, rumbling through the mountain, but only one person in your way.
A lamp is burning there, at the end of a tunnel above a sliding door, and a humanoid tiger in a suit is standing in front of it. They carry a lot of dignity for clearly being a butler.
"Three of you?" he seems a bit confused. "It has been a while since anyone went through the trouble of reaching here, but that's a bit much."

[Eiha]
Eiha gave a somewhat formal curtsie, having returned to her guise at this point, and previous murderousness mostly replaced by a slasher smile. "Ah, not a worry, I am but a traveling companion~"

[Keisuke]
"We are traveling together but just one of us will be trying to sign the contract." he nods

[GM]
"I see. That is not exactly the custom, but they will probably be happy for the visitors."
"Just make sure only the aspirant speaks while in there."

[Keisuke]
"Alright. Why's that?"

[GM]
The butler puts its paw on the door, and slides it open, revealing a sizeable, opulent cave, bordering on unreal. Lit by a dim light, a lot of it is clearly meant to be a daybreak jungle.
"We have been far from home for some time."
"A predator is foolish when fed, but smart when hungry. If you seek out the elders, you can be sure they are hungry most of the time."
"Too much prey spoils the hunter, but a life of hunt builds character." the butler steps in. "There are many kinds of hunts."
"When the elders grew tired of hunting humans and beasts, they started hunting thoughts, wisdom, hopes and dreams."
"It is better not to show them that you have any, unless you are willing to contest them for it."
This is clearly just one of many rooms, but one must wonder where it all comes from, and who makes it possible. There are even dancers in dim lamp light, who frankly seem to be human slaves.

[Eiha]
Eiha quirks a brow. She was feeling pretty on board with the hunting part, but that sudden metaphysic shark jump has lost her interest. Back to quietness, especially given that's apparently the wise thing to do here... but apparently showing wisdom is bad? This is why she doesn't deal with this shit. Urgh...

[Keisuke]
Keisuke doesn't worry about showing his "hopes and dreams" certainly, but he does have to wonder how he earns their compliance without engaging them.

[GM]
The butler leads you through a few of such rooms, with the resident tigers clearly enlarging in size as you progress. There seems to be some sort of a caste system in here, as the flowers in these rooms are blooming, the slave girls wear more jewelry, and meat becomes surprisingly less common.
"I understand that our trials are a bit excessive." the butler-tiger says politely, "But in order to earn the right of contract, there is one more trial."
"In order to become one of us, you will have to participate in the hunt. This, in plain terms, means dueling one of the locals."
"You do not have to win necessarily, but you probably do want to gain respect in here, yes?"

[Keisuke]
"Naturally."

[GM]
"Well, beyond here lies the court. I would advise you to choose your opponent well." it slides the final door, revealing the throne room.
The owner of this place is clearly visible right away. Unlike the White Snake Sage, who deliberately did not look like much, the Yellow Tiger King is a massive, shining beast, wearing a many-layered crown.
Aside of the glitter from the throne, the place has a many tables where tigers can be found relaxing, and participating in courtly talks, as well as a dance floor, which is suspiciously stained with blood in some parts, but does not prevent pairs from dancing.
"I will be here. Feel free to ask me anything." the butler offers.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke scans those present seeing if he can find a suitable target.

[GM]
It is very gaudy and opulent in here. A few of the locals are also in human forms. It isn’t impossible that some of them are human in the first place - other summoners exist.
The smallest tigers in the room are the servants, bringing trays of raw beasts, though the Butler is clearly larger than most of the regulars. After those, the tigers can be found in the five main colours that you had described to you, which presumably have different traits.
There are tigers dressed in human clothes, tigers undressed, tigers taking over two or three bed-seats on their own, tiger ladies, and tiger jesters. Close to the king's seat must be the tiger nobles, for they are fairly large.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke turns to the Butler.
"Anyone offend you lately?"

[GM]
He coughs, whatever that means for a cat. "The White Duke has not been very nice to us servants, but I would not recommend you challenging him."
"Perhaps one of his heirs. They are often skilled with human weapons."

[Keisuke]
"Point me to the strongest and or the most obnoxious one if you will."

[GM]
The Butler grins, not that its animal face allows it any other expression. It leads you to a table close to the king, on his left side.
Seeing the forehead protector, the king seems to starts paying attention to you, and the white tigers you are led to also wake up.
The gigantic one that must be their leader looks fairly starved. It is far larger than the shrine’s guardian, though if size really matters here, then the guardian would be a fairly big deal in this court.
At its legs are what are cubs in comparsion, but they are still as big as Keisuke.
Especially the one in human form, who until recently has been scratching his back with what seems like a pair of Nekote.
"This one is clearly lacking in intrigue and subtlety." the young, white-maned man puffs. His clothes are white tiger skins as well, which just has very problematic implications all around.
"I would not call tripping up a maid bringing you food intrigue." the Butler responds.
"It’s her fault for trying to spoil me." the white one complains. "Better put her in her place. Noblemen can't afford to turn into fat pigs!"

[Keisuke]
"But they can afford to be pig headed it seems?" he offers with a grin.

[GM]
"Not cool, man."
It only then seems to notice the forehead protector, and sniffs.
"Wait. I thought I didn’t see you before. You ain't from these parts!"

[Keisuke]
"Exactly," he agrees as he lazily points a finger at him.
Then fires a bone bullet

[GM]

。。。

[GM]
The tiger youth did not take it well.
He is above fighting like animals, however, and demands a fair and square duel. Before long, they all clear the dancing floor for you, revealing it to be fairly large. From what you caught, this upstart tiger is called Houbesu.
Though he carries the pair of Nekote strapped onto his clothes, he does not seem to be putting them on, while you get ready. Instead, he goes through some slow motions on his palms, like a genin trying to remember how seals are made.
But then, he moves his body a bit too. It's some strange sort of meditation.
The other two Mist shinobi are let watch in the crowd, while the Yellow Tiger King slowly moves to oversee the duel.
Though he is very weighty, it is all muscle. It is slowness of regal deliberation, not lethargy.
He stands at the front of the crowd, not having an issue leaving the topmost seat for a bit.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke leisurely stretches out himself, not too disapointed that his bit of mischief failed to incapacitate Houbesu outright.
He was still unsure of the societal norms of these Tigers with what he was told about their philosophy. He decides he'll just have to wing it until things make sense.

[GM]
The young man seems excited. He finally waves that he is ready.
Your bullet only left a scratch, but it at least let you determine that he is a straightforward sort - not suspecting mischief, saving himself with sharp senses.
"Today we witness a kind of hunt we have not seen in a while." the king speaks with a deep voice. "Houbesu, a son of the white liege, stands against a challenger from the outside."
"Without further ado, begin!"

[Keisuke]
And so Keisuke begins.

[Keisuke]
Quickly forming short series of seals the area around Keisuke is explosively filled with mist and bone powder. The obstructing cloud is quickly dispersed however Keisuke is nowhere to be seen. In what seems like a single heartbeat he's already behind Houbesu and attempts to land a serious blow before the young Tiger's instincts kick in and he bolts forward narrowly escaping danger!

[GM]
He turns on his raised heel, to leap back onto you - his weapon now equipped as fake paws.
Though the bones prevent him from piercing the flesh, he's managed to open quite a bit of your skin. And then, the nekote slide off his palms, still held on his belt by a chain. Instead, he performs a few seals, and a staff appears in his hands.
Behind him lands a sizeable weapon rack of spectral weaponry. Some muffled laughter can be heard from the crowd, as if he has yet to master the technique, or as if he should not have used it yet.

[Keisuke]
"Oh." Keisuke takes a moment to admire the bleeding wound. "You actually made be bleed. I'm actually a little impressed."
With those words said however a mist once again rises to surround him, however this time it is far heavier and unlikely to dispearse as easily.

[GM]
"Aaah! What are you made of? I need something bigger!"
"Wait, what is this?"

[Keisuke]
In response to his opponent's question Keisuke simply fades back into the mist his presence seemingly melting into the surrounding fog.

[GM]
Keen to the direction the mist is rolling in from, the young tiger runs in the opposite. He's clearly frustrated, though, knowing that his senses are dulled by battle.

[GM]
He leaps out of the mist, evading the distortion of sound that he noticed. Now he knows your location, and pursues it.

[Keisuke]
The tiger's claws sweep past Keisuke's face as he leans to the side to evade it. In the brief moment the too of them are near each other Keisuke grins at his opponent seeming to be enjoying himself immensely. The brief moment of pause is violently ended as a harrowing field of spikes burst forth from the Shinobi's body stabbing at his opponent. As he's on the back foot a huge blade made of bone carves past his chest, followed almsot immediately with another as the shinobi uses the momentum for his last swing to cleave into the tiger's side, leaving particularly nasty wounds.

[GM]
After the exchange, the summoned rack finally appears, and the tiger's bloodied paws - as the power of its bushin is starting to fade - hold an impressive looking sword. It manages to fend off any further abuse, but its wounds are deep.
Just as the cub falls to its knees, holding onto it, your mist is made to part with the entrance of a very sizeable old tiger.
"What are you doing, young man? Look at yourself!"
"This match is over!"
The bleeding kid has a hard time paying attention to something outside of its opponent, but still whimpers: "But mooom-"
It is summarily seized by the nape of its neck, and lifted up.

[Keisuke]
Keisuke seems to seem nonplussed for a moment before shrugging and leting out a quick sigh.
"Well... I had fun. Sorry for being rude earlier and all that. Lets do this again sometime!" he encourages his defeated oppnent before retracting all of the bones and blades he made back into his body.

[GM]
The small cat hisses at you from up above, while the large one does not especially care. The king’s voice resounds:
"This is a sacred tradition. It is unbecoming of your position to interrupt it in such manner, lady."
Apparently the king had no trouble seeing through the mist, but the rest of the court seems a bit angry about having missed things.

[Keisuke]
While the adult tigers talk Keisuke makes fun of his opponent for being a big momma's boy.
It is only a moment later he realizes that he hasn't signed any contract yet and falls back into a facade of semi professionalism.

[GM]
The two white tigers depart, without the winner being officially declared. It seems that this is good enough.

[Keisuke]
"Should I try with someone else?" he asks the king tentatively.

[GM]
"There is no need." it adresses you.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the king asks the court. "Return to whatever you were doing. The rest is between me and the aspirant."
"Visit my seat later today, treat yourself to some of our luxury in the meantime. You seem hopeful, I will have the materials prepared."
The court disperses to whatever they normally do. That seems to be it.

[Keisuke]
He nods in understanding
As if realizing something he turns to find the buttler he met earlier

[GM]
The animal man is already waiting near the dance floor’s exit. It seems no one will take care of the youngling's blood spilled on the floor yet again, or yours for that matter.

[Keisuke]
He heads over to the tiger man.
"Hey sorry if that wasn't enough, got a little caught up in things after the first part."

[GM]
"That was fine."
"It’s a formality, as you can tell, and that young man shouldn't show his face here for a few days."
"The King will recieve you once we have your scroll prepared. It has been a long time since we had any new contractees."
"It should take only a few hours, as I recall. I am not supposed to share much information about clients, but honestly, you could count the number of the humans who visit here regularly on a paw."
"I swear that they make the trials as exhausting and obnoxious as possible, each four of them. How did you find this place?"

[Keisuke]
"After doing a task for one of the shrine keepers they told me where to go to find the final shrine. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out the final puzzle."

[GM]
The butler seems a bit less stand-offish and more forthcoming. The fight, in its misty obscurity, must have impressed him at least a bit.
"That’s the only way, I see. Humans just don't have patience for enlightenment, it's all a quick road or nothing."
"Not to insult. A life is short, and your spirits depart forever."
He does not seem mad that you cheated, apparently.

[Keisuke]
"It's fine. What we value differns on our circumstances. Maybe one day I'll I have the chance to sit down and properly learn what your people have to teach."

[GM]
"For now, please just sit down." he gestures at the other two as well. "We cannot provide any special nutrients you may need as Shinobi, but soldiers still need steak once in a while."
"I will notify you when your audience is ready."

[Keisuke]
"Sounds good. I could go for some steak," he agrees and heads over to start getting at that fine dinning.