The Day of Thunder

[Haka Tae-soo]

"This village is too suspicious, that's what I think", he answered. "As Haka Soji-san and I were discussing, the headwoman is hiding a great deal. I wouldn't call her a bald faced liar, she's very sincere, but she likely doesn't even understand everything about this ritual...or if she does and I read her wrong, that just makes her very dangerous."

The new arrival seems to pay a great deal of attention and nods at the end. But it isn't all clear that he actually understands what Norikage is talking about.

"Un... as I said, I haven't really interacted much with the headmistress. You say she's hiding something? And... a ritual?"

He seems actually worried for a moment. "Was that a... hidden ritual of some sort that you uncovered?"

Folks at the village always said the Scorpion were particularly attentive to secrets, after all. So it'd probably make sense.

"The whole thing with burning herbs around just everyone at the festival was a bit odd, I'll grant that. Not that such things are uncommon.. or were uncommon. But it... back home at least, it was generally something you only invited trusted ones to."

[Bayushi Norikage]

"It is not so strange that a village would use an herb to enhance the good time of a festival, certainly", he agreed. "Though from what I have heard and seen, the ritual here was discovered among the ruins of this place when the villagers decided to settle. They may be at play with something they do no understand."

[Haka Tae-soo]

"Among... ruins?"

The young man is visibly confused. "I... somehow felt this village was more like the towns we went through since... since the incident. More than like where we come from. But from what you say, its traditions come from something ancient? I had thought it'd be simply them keeping their tribe's ways..."

Could Norikage be wrong and their tribe have just been here for a long time, maybe? But... just how ancient were those ruins? The legends told his village had lived from the river since times immemorial... but there were legends of times even before that. Could that be..

"Um. Have these voices and sights pointed Bayushi-nim to where those ruins are? Or... anything else about them? Or... more about the tribe that ettled here, or how the village came to be?"

[Bayushi Norikage]

"Not yet, maybe you'll have better luck than I did with the village leader."