S2E8: Blood is the Price

Tomo, Buro, Kenshi, and Akari set out from Kuda Mura with an entourage of Crab samurai to investigate the angry spirits which were attacking the town. On the road, the samurai had numerous questions about the party’s expedition to Shiro Hiruma, Togashi Yoshi, and the Lion-Crane War which now rages in northern Rokugan. Apparently, these are the only things which anyone seems to talk about lately.

After passing through the wall which guards the border between the Crab lands and the unaligned lands to the north, the party soon came to Maemikake, a small city on a lake near the southern edge of Shinomen Forest. Here, they learned that ever since the Yasuki Lumber Company started logging up river, vengeful spirits from the forest would occasionally raid the city, damaging its buildings and injuring its residents.

The party also learned that the Yasuki Lumber Company has set up their basecamp near the ruins of a destroyed castle—Shiro Usagi—the Hare Clan’s seat of power. Rumor has it that the Usagi family of the Hare Clan were found to be conducting forbidden maho rituals, and by decree of the Emperor himself, ordered the eternally loyal Scorpion clan to eradicate the Hare Clan for their blasphemy—once again earning their reputation as the underhand of the emperor.

The party, especially the samurai from Kuda Mura, were utterly shocked to hear this. An entire clan, their castle, and their lands had been wiped out without a single word of it reaching the outside world.

Upon reaching the logging company’s basecamp, the party was met with a terrible sight. Where Shiro Usagi and its accompanying town once stood, only blackened and burned husks remained, and at the foot of the castle, the Shinomen Forest lay clear cut, devastated. Spiritual malignance radiated from the forest like heat from a roaring fire.

Kaiu Tomo spoke with Boss Kazuya, the man in charge of the logging company. Tomo revealed to him the damage he was causing, and the lives he was risking by continuing the operation. As governor of Clear Water Village, he commanded Kazuya to immediately halt all shipments to his ports. The man only laughed at Tomo, and explained that he takes orders directly from Yasuki Taka, the Yasuki family daimyo, and that he would never cross Taka unless he had a death wish. In order to settle the dispute, it seemed that Tomo would have to speak with Yasuki Taka directly at his residence in Otosan Uchi.

Meanwhile, Ikoma Kenshi ingratiated himself with the workers of the camp, learning that these men were unskilled laborers belonging to the unaligned lands, and despite the danger, were more than happy to have their jobs as the Yasuki family paid them handsomely for their work. These workers also warned Kenshi to stay far away from the ruins of Shiro Usagi. Multiple workers have claimed to see ghosts haunting the burned remains…

Unaware of this counsel, Soshi Buro and Kuni Akari decided to investigate the castle ruins. While communing with the fallen spirits, the two were presented with a terrible vision. They were suddenly surrounded by the charred and mutilated Hare Clan. Before them was a woman seated in front of an empty sword stand. “Blood is the price of ambition,” is all she said before blood poured from the eyes and mouths of the departed, and they vanished in a brilliant flame.

Credits

Album Art by Dylon Munoz

Music

Rokugan Theme by Brandon Spain

Sultry Silence by Podcast of the Five Rings

Shadowlands 4 by Brandon Spain

Tsubasa's Theme by Podcast of the Five Rings

Dark & Airy by Podcast of the Five Rings

Dreamlike by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Interloper by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Crab Wrestling Song by Brandon Spain

Background Harp by Podcast of the Five Rings

Shadowlands 3 by Brandon Spain

Ethereal Presence by Brandon Spain

Artwork by Dylon Munoz

Music by Brandon Spain & Podcast of the Five Rings