The Day of Thunder

[Hisomu Reo]

Reo had been given the map of the venturing party, and being told to follow the unseasonably early flower blooms. With that in mind he heads through the forest. He wishes that he could have made the trip solo, or at least a head start, but this was as early as he could manage and he'd run into a contingent heading that exact same direction.

"I apologize for slowing you all "

[Otaku]

"No trouble, Hisomu-san," Otaku says quietly from atop Tsubame's saddle. The tall horse picks his way slowly through the underbrush, no faster than the slowest humans in the party, but his height gives her a somewhat better view of the way ahead. "Only 'ware those traps Hiruma-san and the others left here."

As the party draws close to the cave mouth, she checks the lantern she's brought, making sure again that no oil has spilled.

((Thanks for editing, Reo, makes much more sense this way! Then I think we're waiting for Naraku, Tae-Soo, and Tai? If there's anything you all want to RP/roll looking at outside the cave before we go in, let us all know.))

[Hisomu Reo]

Reo nods. "I won't mince words Otaku-san: no matter what, this lode is pivotal. If corrupted, it's likely the source of the covergence of all this strangeness. If we have somehow found a vein of Dreamstone from Yume Do before it's corruption then it's a weapon that can cost every weapon and be the head of every arrow."

[Chuchu]

Hiding far behind the group, a nezumi tries to keep herself downwind from the horse. She whispers something into her hands before leaning an ear forward to listen.

D4EM NAMEBOUND Name spell: Name Talent, TN 30 for 4 hours of Rokugani Language 4 | 8k5 ⇒ 40 (TN: 30) SUCCESS
-1 Name spell, 11/12 left

[Kaiu Tai]

The older shugenja walks behind the horse...just not *directly* behind the horse, because eww. The spear maintains its usual role as walking stick, leaving a distinct trail of bare footprints beside the tamp, tamp of a well-worn stick alongside.

"hmm, does this stuff guard against dreams the way jade guards against the corruption of Jigoku then?" Tai's very much learning about the new stone and the ways that the realm of dreams changes what she knows of that older form of corruption.

[Otaku]

snip

snip

Otaku waves to the small fuzzy creature. "Keep up, little one, up here where we can guard you." Tsubame might flare his nostrils a bit when the little ratling first gets closer to him, but he's much too disciplined to bother her; he carries on patiently breaking trail for Tai and the others, looking about almost as if he too is keeping watch for hidden dangers.

Otaku listens to Tai thoughtfully, then turns her head to glance at Hiruma Naraku, the only member of the group who's been out her before. "I thought this dreamstone was a corrupt thing itself? Is there more than one kind of the stuff?"

[Chuchu]

"Keep up, little one, up here where we can guard you."

Tentatively trusting Otaku's judgment -- Tsubame is her familiar, after all -- Chuchu creeps closer to walk with Naraku. She'll listen to the adults for now. And keep an eye on Tsubame. A horse bucked a rider on the road when she passed it on her way here, and she's a little scared of it happening again.

[Hiruma Naraku]

Naraku paced towards the meeting spot. He was clad in his armor, just as he had been the day before, with his battered overcoat drapped over his armor. His expression was somber and dour, as he mulched over the translated scroll.

He noticed those gathered and approached them before his eyes spotted the little Nezumi

"Great Number?" he mumbled in disbelief. Was he still under the effects of Enrou's drugs? He remembered exiting the good doctor's house, did he not?

At least the others seemed to see her.

[Kaiu Tai]

Tai's eyes narrow as the, admittedly smaller than any she remembered, Nezumi crept closer. She's resigned to the addition of one to the number of those trapped within this fog, but she's not exactly ready to trust someone who's been wandering into dreams.

[Chuchu]

"Great Number?"

"Naru!" Chuchu skips on over to give him a good morning hug, though she... almost falls asleep while leaning into him. "I am here! Hello hello! Are you well?"

[Hisomu Reo]

Otaku listens to Tai thoughtfully, then turns her head to glance at Hiruma Naraku, the only member of the group who's been out her before. "I thought this dreamstone was a corrupt thing itself? Is there more than one kind of the stuff?"

"We don't know. Jade is from Tengoku. It's possible there was a material from Yume Do before its corruption. Naraku mentioned the mine is seeping into the countryside. If it was bringing taint the signs of corruption should be more obvious."

[Otaku]

(snip)

Otaku listens to Tai thoughtfully, then turns her head to glance at Hiruma Naraku, the only member of the group who's been out her before. "I thought this dreamstone was a corrupt thing itself? Is there more than one kind of the stuff?"

"We don't know. Jade is from Tengoku. It's possible there was a material from Yume Do before its corruption. Naraku mentioned the mine is seeping into the countryside. If it was bringing taint the signs of corruption should be more obvious."

"Good morning, Hiruma-san." Otaku nods. "It's your expertise on this dreamstone I hoped to hear. Reo-san thinks the stone in this cave may not be corrupted stuff. But the the others and I had understood, reading your message, that you think this place is corrupted by the Enemy."

((I am going to skootch us ahead towards entering the cave, since I think most, if not all, of the things we wanted to investigate are inside. Did anyone plan to do any rolls, investigating. etc. on things outside the cavern, like the unseasonal spring flowers? If so, assume we're in the right place for that now. If not, onward and cave-ward.))

[Haka Tae-soo]

The young man with colourful patterned robes walks not far from Tai - a gut reaction in a large group with many people he didn't know too well, especially one with people of high stature.

Well, metaphorically, at least.

Otaku did seem like very fair the few times she'd spoken to him, of course. That she was skilled he'd heard even before coming to the village. Somehow that didn't make him more confident about speaking up or making himself conspicuous within the group - much the opposite, really.

These dreamstones... they seemed to be the same thing Gangmul-sshi had shown him. And a cave of them. It fit perfectly. He wanted to help. So did the others, apparently, although he couldn't help but keep wondering how they could help. And about safety, of course... hopefully Ha-yeong would keep the promise and stay close to the tent and away from trouble.

He couldn't help but feel self-conscious about how he didnt know. About the forest, these stones, the cave... the whole village really. For now, he listens to the others talking, trying to make sense or what he listens. Silent as a dormouse... and sometimes sneaking a look at the actual rodent-folk walking along the group.

[Haka Tae-soo]

(OOC: Ugh, shifty connection, had written that a while ago! Tae could do a quick check of the unseasonal flowers I guess. He'd also look for any sign of streams or anything of the kind as we get near the cave - have you folks seen I'd there's a connection to the river or anything of the kind in previous trips?)

[Haka Tae-soo]

As they progress, talk of flowers that apparently bloom out of season lead to raised eyebrows, and eyes looking out for those - and especially anything out of the ordinary regarding them. He was no specialist, of course - nothing like Halmeoni was, to be sure. And this was not the Land he was used to. But if something was too unnatural, maybe he could spot it?...

As he looked around, he also wondered. Was there a stream nearby? Any connection to the river by the village?

-----
OOC: I'm guessing maybe an Investigation or Lore: Nature roll? Which trait?

[Chuchu]

"We don't know. Jade is from Tengoku. It's possible there was a material from Yume Do before its corruption. Naraku mentioned the mine is seeping into the countryside. If it was bringing taint the signs of corruption should be more obvious."

"It's not," Chuchu pipes up. "It's not from the Dreaming."

[Hisomu Reo]

"We don't know. Jade is from Tengoku. It's possible there was a material from Yume Do before its corruption. Naraku mentioned the mine is seeping into the countryside. If it was bringing taint the signs of corruption should be more obvious."

"It's not," Chuchu pipes up. "It's not from the Dreaming."

"The corruption or the stone?" Reo asks, eyes flashing as his mind racs. "Corruption through dreams would explain how all occurances seemed random!"

[Chuchu]

"Corruption through dreams would explain how all occurances seemed random!"

"The stone. There is corruption in the Dreaming. It's rotting the realm from the inside out."

[Hisomu Reo]

Reo gives up on parsing the syntactical ambiguity.

"There are tests that can be done to say for sure if there is corruption"

[Haka Tae-soo]

Tae-soo keeps his ears on the conversation and his eyes on the vegetation as they make their way. His hands, meanwhile, reach for a knife, then to his arms.

---
D4 EM - Fire Kami's Blessing on himself. 1 Wound, TN 10. Deficiency. | 5k3 ⇒ 24 (TN: 10)

Success; +3k0 to High and Merchant Skill Rolls with Intelligence for 1 hour.
1/57 Wounds
1/3 Fire slots

D4 EM - Lore: Nature. Fire Kami's Blessing. | 7k3 ⇒ 21 (TN: 20)
Phew!