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[Explosion: 13]

"Up the stairs, quickly," Denbe urged them, know there was little way for them to fight a manifesting kansen, or much of anything else, in the pitch black. If that room had swallowed the light, he could hope the other untainted rooms would do no such thing, and allow them to see.

As soon as the group reached the top in the pitch black, he'd shut the door behind them, even though it might very well not even delay the kansen, and dug into his pack, trying to feel for his flint and tinder so he could quickly get the torch lit again.

The sooner Masuyo could read her scrolls, the better.

As soon as those who went up the stairs did so, leaving the dark basement for the poorly lit castle, they would find lighting the lantern to be initially difficult, as if it wouldn't take... but after several tries, it lit up normally.

There was nothing of note around, especially with the door closed. There was no sounds, no enemies, just a plain ol' abandoned castle that you all would be standing around in.

Kojiro would go about making sure that the door was relocked, if it was possible. Then he'd press his own piece of jade against his hand. He'd do the same to Denbe if the Hare would allow. "Just a precaution."

You were inside the basement for probably a couple minutes. Generally, a finger of jade will protect a samurai in the Shadowlands for about a week. So, as hilarious as it would be to see the jade fingers mostly blackened, they are pretty much in the same state as when you had last viewed them.

Whether or not the basement is capable of tainting people is a different story, but you'd have to spend a lot more time down there just to satisfy that hunch.

The Hare frowned, but held his hand out readily and let the Scorpion press the jade to his hand, before turning his attention back to the door, that seemed quite normal now that it was closed.

"I'd be concerned that if anything up here managed to take decently, the whole castle would start to go up in flames," it would have been exactly his luck, after all. Tucking his arms back in and staring about the dancing shadows, he thought on it a moment more and considered what they had seen.

"That place was corrupted, but it or the dark spirits drawn to it are not likely responsible for death, nor disappearance. And I think we can be fairly certain that no one living has purposely entered that place in quite some time. Present company aside," the Hare turned his thoughts inward, but that didn't seem to comfort him much either. He'd have to suspect living persons in the murder of the magistrate, and aside from a strange kidnapping Shosuro-san's disappearance simply seemed bizarre. And yet there was little sign of inhabitance here by anyone besides themselves. Certainly not recently.


"...I'm at a loss for where to look next."

"Darkness does not know age. If fire is the only weapon we have, so be it." the little Dragon chimed in despondently, before steeling herself to this new idea. She would have to thank the Hare later, as it likely would have never come to her on her own.

Still, she couldn't go through with it unless she was absolutely sure their courtier was not down there, so once again her prayers went out for aid from the Kami, this time removing the scroll and reciting its intricacies so that she could not make the same mistake a second time.

[Earth/Commune 4k3 vs. TN 15 (Free Raise used to ask an additional question): 17]

Masuyo nodded. Attuned as she was, it was always more comforting to commune with the earth than any of the others (especially that kansen). Just the sight of one was enough to calm her rising nerves and prepare her for what she was about to do, "Yes... in hindsight, I should have come to you first. Kami-sama, I have two things to ask of you~ last night one of my companions went missing. Do you know if she was taken down there?"