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Denbe wasn't sure Kojiro was going along the way the man had been going... which confused and frustrated him slightly, but the Hare ultimately fell quietly behind him. The important thing was that they were taking action now. He didn't care as much how they did it, given they had no certain course to finding the enemy, just so long as they started doing and didn't talk their foes to their freedom. Keeping with the Scorpion and mirroring his methods of checking for their quarry, Denbe kept his eyes peeled for any signs of anyone besides themselves having been through the area.

He was a little afraid all the banging doors in rather than tossing them open to check inside might spook their quarry, but it was quick, and it made it easy for him to keep within sight of the others.

[5k2 Perception/Investigation: 9]

Kagae and Masuyo would hold the fort as Kojiro would lead Denbe in a specific direction, both bushi keeping their eyes peeled as they checked every building along the way.



Despite their best efforts though, they didn't catch any cultists red-handed. Soon, Kojiro would find himself back at square 2, the site of an apparently grisly murder. The place was already picked clean (by Kojiro himself), and there has been no real evidence that someone was here - it was really so hard to tell, especially with Kojiro's presence here just the night before.

And hold down the fort she would. Her previous shock was settling down to an acute stress reaction as excuses ran through her head. Of course she would believe Ujina-san's story; he was the only one who had proven trustworthy, and besides the Crab had been acting strange almost the entire time (well, more strange than the other Crabs she had come to know on this little trip anyway). Besides, what business of hers was any of this? She had already more than filled her duty as an escort, and even that was a duty for a man who had no authority over her beyond his position on the karmic wheel.

Okay, so maybe these men were murderers and needed to be stopped, and maybe she had no desire at all to be alone in this place, and maybe she couldn't leave anyways without knowing what happened to Shosuro-san, and... augh~ this all needed to end soon before she lost what little of her mind was left! Perhaps it was a good thing that all she could do at the moment was follow along and wait for something relevant to happen.

They were here. Most definitely. They were. Where they are now was another matter, and the Scorpion bushi paced along their tracks restlessly, hoping to find some direction. No Miya. No Cultists. No freakin' clue. Well, if he was really, really lucky, Kojiro would meet Miyako again soon. If not, then that's the way things happened. Still....Kami dammit! They had to be closer than chasing after some damn lackey who most likely ran off in a random direction when he realized he was under pursuit. The Scorpion let out a breath and moved to rejoin the others, ignoring Denbe for the time being.

[Explosion: 16]

The four of you seem at a loss at what to do next - your courtier is missing, your lead is missing, your magistrate is missing dead.

Most likely, it is time to regroup.

Since half the group had stayed behind at the temple you had slept in, I'll assume you guys meet back there. But since no one had actually checked inside, you probably wouldn't find this out until awhile after the fiasco was over.

The inside of the temple was ransacked. Anyone who left traveling packs there would find their contents hastily strewn about the chamber, discarded haphazardly. The packs themselves were completely empty, including any coin - but curiously, everything is accounted for when you clean up. No one even took any money.

The body of Asako Shusui has also been disturbed. The covering you had given him was thrown off, and his body was apparently handled, as it was in a different position, his garments in disarray.

If you four were planning on staying another night here, I figure all this would be good to know - even if you don't find out until the last minute. I leave it in your hands when you actually re-enter your base of operations.

The Hare dug quickly through what he'd left of his pack- looking through it and quickly realizing nothing was missing, making him feel easier, even as he started to put it back together and decided, none the less, to leave it until later.

"Then there are at least a few good things on our side," the Hare said, taking his pack and sitting, turning the knife over thoughtfully in his hands as he spoke.

"First, we know that they did not take Shosuro-san, or they would not have been surprised to find us. They would simply strike at night again instead of looking for us in the day."

Frowning at it, he turned it over and over, unsure of just what kind of meanings or uses this odd blade had in whatever place it originated from. If he had known, perhaps it might have meant something. He turned it over, holding it by the blade out to the others, if any of them wished to take it and examine it. Perhaps one of them knew a small bit of gaijin things, perhaps through exposure to the Unicorn.

"Secondly, if they are looking for something, it means they will not simply flee. Not if we can give them reason to believe we might still have it..." the Hare said, looking around the place, and then to Kagae. He was not especially happy with the Crab, but he wouldn't deny his talents. If one of them was best suited to organize a defense, and perhaps even traps or ambush, of a building in which to lure this enemy to them at, it would be the Kaiu.

"What they are looking for, however, remains a mystery to me."

That was the part that troubled him in the plan. He was certain it could be made to work... but not the slightest how. They could not simply all stay awake forever waiting.