S2E7: Broken Oaths, Bitter Roots

Tomo, Buro, Kenshi, and Akari rode north toward Beiden Pass, and away from the Crab lands. One night while camping out on the Kuni Wastes, Akari confessed that she was feeling conflicted about the events which transpired with her father. She relented that the life of a samurai was full of contradictions, that a life of servitude to her family, her clan, and her emperor was wrought with complications and hypocrisies. After being comforted by the party, she vowed that she would follow her own path—not one ordained by a higher authority. She now wants to be free to decide her own fate.

A couple days later, the party arrived in the town of Kuda Mura, which they found had been attacked multiple times by angry spirits from the north inhabiting the bodies of living stone and wood. When they attack, these spirits only repeat the same phrase, “you have broken the oath, now you must suffer.” After speaking with the kami for guidance, the party learned that these spirits are most likely referring to some oath made between the Hare Clan—a minor clan tasked with protecting a portion of the mystical Shinomen Forest—and the spirits of the forest.

With this information, the party sought out the town governess, Kaiu Fumiko. Fumiko admitted that she hadn’t heard anything from the Hare Clan in nearly a month, but she didn’t know how that would have anything to do with the Crab Clan or why these spirits are now attacking Kuda Mura. The party insisted that they would need aid uncovering this mystery, and convinced Fumiko to send a few samurai with them to investigate Hare territory and the Shinomen Forest to the north.

At that moment, the town was attacked by another one of these angry forest spirits, destroying a watchtower and an inn, and injuring numerous bystanders. While taking aim at the creature, Kaiu Tomo’s yumi snapped completely straight, breaking his bowstring, and refusing to bend against the marauding spirit. When this happened, Tomo noticed that the wood of his yumi and the bark skin of the creature appeared to be one in the same…

With help from the samurai now guarding the town, the party eventually defeated the angry spirit, its stone and wood body returning to the earth. However, questions of how this supernatural wood came to port in Clear Water Village, what happened to the Hare Clan protecting the forest, and what does Tomo’s family have to do with it all still lingered...

Credits:

Album Art by Dylon Munoz

Music

Rokugan Theme by Brandon Spain

Sultry silence by Podcast of the Five Rings

Dragon theme by Brandon Spain

Gives you anxiety by Podcast of the Five Rings

Sleepy little fishing town by Podcast of the Five Rings

Conniving and mysterious by Podcast of the Five Rings

Shadowlands 1 by Brandon Spain

Shadowlands 2 by Brandon Spain

Battle storm by Podcast of the Five Rings

Kuni waste jam by Podcast of the Five Rings

Fight_dojo 1 by Brandon Spain

Drum music by Podcast of the Five Rings

Artwork by Dylon Munoz

Music by Brandon Spain & Podcast of the Five Rings