Desert Wind Chapter #1: Playing Samurai and Indians

[Raganui Minamoto]

On their travels, Misaki decided that he needed to find something better than what he had so far to really get something of worth out of all this, aside from just trying to get some trading done. After all, this was becoming a bit more dangerous that he had bargained for. But he couldn't let that get in the way of profits... though if asked, he was totally doing this for the honorable reason of wishing to see the maho dealt with.

Void Point spent for 1k1
Perception/Lore: Nature - 1 Raise
4k3 - 13 ( -5 = 8 )  

[Psychofish]

Out on the trail, when things seemed quiet and the time could be afforded away from the wagons and her clanmate, Juneko decided to do what she did best, and what felt the most like home to her- hunting. And looking good doing it.

It was interesting, how something like hunting could be so relaxing and familiar, and submerge her in a very alien terrain, an entirely different world, all at once. Most of what she found wasn't proper eating- but they had a bunch of peasants and Unicorn. She figured she could probably find somebody she could pawn fresh meat to in exchange for a day of rations.

As it turned out, catching more game was harder than stalking one, but once she had decided she was bringing back food for herself, AND a ration to show she was off being a good yojimbo so the bossman couldn't complain, she refused to settle for a single catch until finally she decided she'd at least gotten some 'scouting' done, and they had plenty of rations anyway.

[Raise for Perfection and +1 person.]
[6k3 Agility/Hunting: 9+6+5=20 vs TN 25]  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Fed, saddled, and ready to take on the day! (or multiples?) Aneksi set about organizing the group, letting folk handle where they think they'd perform best while keeping a sharp eye out herself, scouting around as the wagon went on its way. She didn't have any sort of specialties in maho or gaijin magic, but she knew a threat when she saw one.


[Perception/Investigation (Notice) 6k3 to Scout around them
Roll: 8, 3, 7, 10+2, 3, 6 = 27]  

[Mongooseh]

Shinjo would perform his usual duty of outriding and patrolling.

<4k2 Perception/investigation Result: 31>  

[Plainsfox]

Day 1-3

Paidi tou Selini

Utaku Aneksi

As you travel back to the ruined building you slept in previously, you find perhaps a bit of the back trail of one of the other groups that visited the building.

Mongooseh

Shinjo Asura

Asura finds perhaps a little bit of backtrail from the ronin he wrestled with.

raganui Minamoto

Yoritomo Misaki

Perhaps it's because you're familiar with the area already, but you don't see anything worth reporting.

psychofish

Kitsune Juneko

Somethings came close, but nothing matched your discerning dietary requirements.

Rain Yupa

Utaku Jinyu-Zhe

These don't look like lands that the dead raise spontaneously in.


Day 4-6!
Food: 7 days left
Note: Returning to camp takes one travel day per day out.  

[Rain Yupa]

"I don't see any recent signs of magical activity, cultist or otherwise," Jinyu-Zhe would report to Aneksi, towards the end of the third day. "I don't know if those zombies rose as part of some sort of curse on this land or by direct intervention. Not without a few forbidden tomes of knowledge that I don't have access to, even if I wanted to flip through them. Whatever prompted that attack last time we were here is gone. Should I continue studying the kami in the area for telltale signs as we progress, Commander Tsuma, Ma'am?"  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Misaki grumbled to himself, finding nothing of use or even interest. At least besides maybe farming, but he's not exactly going to dirty his hands testing that out. Looking about, he rubbed his eyes before looking the direction of their travel. No signs of rising dead either. Oh, what to do, what to do. So far nothing had jumped out at him as an extremely lucrative find that would warrant all the effort he had so far invested. Still, he had a deal to upkeep, and he wouldn't go home without recompense for some of his losses getting here at the very least.

The following days, he'd spend time looking at clouds and lands for Omens to try to give them a lead on where to go or what was to come.

Void Point for +1k1
Intelligence/Lore: Omens - 1 Raise
4k3 - 19(-5) / 14 Total  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Aneksi ended the three days in matching spirits, expecting the results they received considering they'd traveled this stretch of land twice already. It was what came next that really mattered.

"Yes, continue to keep an... eye...? spiritual... eye.. ...out, for anything you can manage to identify. We're heading back out into unknown territory from here on, we need to stay vigilant."

Or at least try to. Second verse was the same as the first. A little bit louder and a lot bit worse.


[Perception/Investigation (Notice) 6k3 to Scout around them more
Roll: 3, 3, 1, 2, 6, 1 = 12]  

[Psychofish]

Not particularly clear on much else she could do to be of great service to the trip, and eyeing the level of rations and seemingly endless stretches of desert suspiciously, Juneko resumed hunting with her trusty boomerangs. If anything she was incensed by her previous lack of catch, and determined not only to focus twice as hard but that whatever she caught but that she'd do it RIGHT, running over all her old lessons and the methods and fine steps of both the hunt and throwing in her head, identifying prey, down to the details.

[Raise for Perfection and +1 person.]
[Void point used for +1k1]
[7k4 Agility/Hunting: 12+9+8+8=37 vs TN 25]  

[Fools-The-Reaper]

"Understood," Jinyu-Zhe would respond, turning his attentions towards the supernatural in an effort to defect anything that might be amiss, before they were waist-deep in it.

Quote:

Perception/Spellcraft: 4k3 = 24

 

[Mongooseh]

More patrolling.

<4k2 Perception/Investigation. Result: 23>  

[Plainsfox]

Paidi tou Selini

Utaku Aneksi

Covering new ground, you find fields that used to be worked. They seem to be very old, maybe twenty years since someone last worked them.

Mongooseh

Shinjo Asura

You find two sets of foot prints leading vaguely in your projected direction.

raganui Minamoto

Yoritomo Misaki

I am going to do something different here. I'm going to give you several omens to interpret The more raises you make, more omens are likely to be accurate.

Thus far, Misaki surveys the clouds and sees Utaku doing an exotic dance, a corpse that looks like several arrows are embedded into it, and a dragon.

psychofish

Kitsune Juneko

I'm going to be less miserly. You gather two day's worth of food over your three day bracket.

Rain Yupa

Utaku Jinyu-Zhe

As you try to track the remnants of dark eldritch spell casting, you find a makeshift alter on the outskirts of a fallow field not too far from the deserted town you found earlier. There is the corpse of a small girl bound to it. Her throat has been slit. Around her are rivulets of dried blood.


Day 7-9
Food: 6 days
Time to return: 2 days.

As Rain pointed out, this is probably what you guys wish to investigate, so I"ll put the travelling on hold until you decide how you want to proceed.  

[Fools-The-Reaper]

"Poor girl," Jinyu-Zhe would say as he rode in the direction of the altar. He checked over his shoulder to make sure the path back to the scouting party was still clear. He would ride to about 3 meters away, stopping Chiyuuai and turning him slightly. "This certainly isn't a sacrifice for good harvests. Unless these people did such rituals in unusual locations... also, those tend to be willing sacrifices, and the Unicorn stories from their exodus days always seemed to indicate those were done by stabbing through the heart. Or were they thrown into volcanoes? I wish I paid more attention in Gaijin Studies class..."

He would once more scan the surroundings before giving the girl a quick medical once-over to see if he could figure out how long she had been dead. The blood was dried, but that could have been merely due to sun exposure in a short period of time.

Quote:

Perception or Intelligence (both 3)/Medicine to see if he could determine approximate time of death, with a raise for not doing so at closer proximity.

4k3 = 21 vs TN+5

 

[Plainsfox]

Body looks like it's been there a couple weeks. About around the time you first came here.  

[Fools-The-Reaper]

"Right. She's not going anywhere, so let's go report this to the others, Chiyuuai. And if she is going somewhere... all the more reason we shouldn't be here by ourselves. Let's giddyup." he would say, turning his horse around to ride back to the others and report his findings.

(Confirmed with GM that I can continue my post)

Upon riding back to the others, Jinyu-Zhe would ride to Aneksi's position, but speak up loud enough for the others to hear. "I followed the pull of the kami, and I was led to some sort of gaijin altar where... someone was sacrificed. It looks like it was probably done against her will." He would give the reins of his horse a gentle tug. "I didn't give it a close look, though, not by myself. Especially with that encounter with the undead that clawed out of the ground the last time we were in these parts - the body looks to have been exposed to the elements for just as long, so it's highly likely the two are connected."

He would look to the more combative members of the party, then looking at the commander. "Should we investigate the altar more closely?"