The story so far - Mushi Mura

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== Episode 8 Prelude: Topaz Championship conclusion ==
The Samurai stayed an extra night in the town of Tsuma.
In the evening of the festivities a drunken celebration was had with the Unicorn and Crab clan contestants, each celebrating the others successes and toasting to those who were no longer with us.
During the festivities, Bayushi Sumi drew Shinjo Takaaki aside and explained to him that as a courtier, it was very likely that she would be married soon to cement some political alliance and so they could not be together in the long term, but expressed her keen interest in him all the same. They return to her boat and make their farewell a memorable one.
Then in the morning Shinjo Tomoe went for a romantic tea date with Kitsune Tanzen by the shore of the river, where he composed poetry comparing her beauty to the glories of nature and spoke with much more passion and honesty than with technical skill.
Shinjo Takaaki skins the alpha wolf he slew during the hunting contest and commissions it to be made into a fur cape, purified so he can wear t without social stigma.
Into the bokken he used in combat against the ronin in the woods a craftsman carves the kanji for 'memory' and inlays it with mother-of-pearl. The different ways it catches the light impart different nuances and subtexts of the word, depending on the angle of view. He has this sent as a gift for Sumi as a memento of the time they spent together in Tsuma. 
Akodo Yasuhiro spoke with Akodo Toturi who criticised him for being disrespectful to his competitors by not putting his whole effort in to the contest, but was tempered by him still getting a good score overall. He suggested perhaps allying with the Scorpion Bayushi Sugai, who would soon become an Emerald Magistrate.
Meanwhile Ikoma Sen spoke with Matsu Tsuko, who was uncharacteristically pleasant to him. She commended him on a job well done, but spoke poorly about their chances of being able to attack the Crane clan this year. She was impressed by his placement and offered him the role of apprentice scribe to the Matsu army scribe. A position of great prestige among the clan responsible for recording the roll of the honoured dead, the deeds of might heroes and the indignities of their enemies. However she also mentioned that he might benefit from work elsewhere.
Iuchi Ayana was curious about the magic of Dragons and went to seek out Mirumoto Uriko to understand more of her tattoos. However she was waved over by the Dragon Clan Champion Togashi Yokuni, who asked her to bring her friends as he had a proposition for them.
Shinjo also met up with Kitsuke Oki before she left and helped her gain access to the scene of the Badger clan Daimyo's murder. There she identified smaller, most likely female foot prints, which ruled out the Badger clans own members as they were all male.
Iuchi Ayana gathered everybody up and Togashi Yokuni laid out his request, to bring a bottle of Salted Plum Sake to his very good and dear friend Hiruma Makasu commander of the Kuni guard at Shiro Kuni, on the Carpenter Wall.
Of course this was about the most distant point in the Empire, but Shinjo Tomoe pointed out that those who do not follow the advice of Dragons, often regret it and that what seems like madness can have a significant purpose. So they accepted the task.
On their way out they also encountered Bayushi Sugai, who was looking for them. He announced that he was due to be appointed as an Emerald Magistrate and was seeking a cohort of his peers to be his Yoriki (Deputies/assistants).The role of a Yoriki is an honourable one, but to serve an Emerald Magistrate is the stepping stone to a great many possibilities. He admired the way in which they cooperated in the Tournament and believes that that sort of trust is harder to come by than the other skills of a magistrate. He asked them to come and join him in Ryoko Owari before the end of Summer (Giving them 6 months) whilst he attends the Imperial City to receive additional training that he will require for the role. The roles come with a significant salary, apartments in the city and a great deal of authority to investigate crimes independently under the Emerald Magistrates authority. He also laid out the scope of the role:
* To investigate and stop inter-clan crimes
* To deal with special situations that are beyond the scope of clan magistrates.
* To preserve the integrity of the Imperial highways
* To protect the Empire against threats to the Emperors person and its institutions.
They also stopped by the Merchant House of the Exotic where Ide Igo advised them to write home to their families to tell them of their successes. It is after all traditional for a family to give newly minted Samurai a gift and with the prestige of the Topaz Championship, they could ask for many things. They also asked about salted plum wine and he revealed that only one village produced the right sort of plums that could be properly salted. A small village in the Sparrow lands called Mushi Mura.
So the Samurai set out, proud in their victories, and rode South for several weeks across the Spine of the World Mountains, through Beiden Pass and eventually through to Ryoko Owari (Journey's End City) where they stayed only briefly but the gifts from their families arrived.
Shinjo Tomoe received a Bisento, a powerful Scimitar-like blade atop a long pole-arm. Very top-heavy, but devastating in the right hands.
Shinjo Takaaki requested a no-dachi, a massive scaled up version of a katana designed for infantry to fight against much larger and more powerful opponents.
Iuchi Ayana requested a spell scroll.
Ikoma Sen and Akodo Yasuhiro both requested mounts and were granted fine Rokugan riding ponies.
After only a short stay in Ryoko Owari they pressed on to Mushi Mura.
=== Arriving at Mushi Mura. ===
Arriving at the small village, which seemed about large enough for somewhere between 60 - 80 people, they arrived, although Iuchi Ayana spotted a watcher from the forest wearing light ashigaru armour and wearing a wide hat. However the watcher quickly vanished once they were seen.
A few peasants rushed off to retrieve the local Samurai who returned a few moments later looking gruff and unhappy. He greeted them and invited them inside but the Samurai noticed that whilst it was normal for peasants to Kowtow, it was also usual for them to rise again afterwards. These ones stayed with their faces firmly to the ground until the Samurai departed. 
They requested the Salted Plum wine over dinner and it was quickly provided, but the lateness of the day meant that they would have to stay the night which Suzume Takashi agreed to. 
However over the course of a tour and from enquiries in the evening they caught a few strange irregularities:
*There were no young children and very few elders anywhere to be seen. Although this was explained to be due to a disease that swept the town in winter.
*The shrine of Inari was disued and the home of the shrine guardian was left abandoned apparently on short notice.
*The villagers seem consumed by a deep and abiding fear.
*Suzumue Takashi does not fit the stereotype of somebody focused on honourable poverty as suggested by the Sparrow philosophy. 
*Tetsu the blacksmith, was reticent to answer, but when pushed she said that they were not afraid of them (the PCs) but of `Him` and she left before she could elaborate. 
*The village carpenter Shinroku said that whilst the Takashi might not want to admit it, he hired a Ronin guard who renaged against the village and plots his revenge against them. He has with him three rogue Ashigaru and a banished Monk.
Confronting Suzume Takashi about this and pressing for a chance to move in to the forest, he relented and told them about how after the winter plague, he hired the ronin Kirou to assist the village, but he rebelled and has been plaging the village ever since with the help of four accomplices. He advised them that the Eta Hunter Shochuro could help them track the bandits down. 
They made their way to Shochuro's hovel outside of town and mentioned to the air that they would need to find the bandit camp.
After some time, the trail went cold and Iuchi Ayana went searching for tracks. However all she was able to find was an older camp site. But there was a small trail leading from the camp site and following that, she stumbled across the actual bandit camp, with all five of them. 
However when she tried to listen-in on them. she heard something very odd. They were speaking in every day words, but they said them in a random gibberish order, but seemed to understand each other. 
As their prey was so near, they planned an ambush. 
== Session 9: The Black Tongue curse ==
Deciding to take a direct approach the Samurai revealed themselves and after a tense few moments when the ashigaru took up arms, Ikoma Sen was eventually able to defuse the situation.
It became clear that the `Bandits` could neither understand nor communicate with them. They spoke only in a string of confusing random-sounding words. So they resorted to pictures sketched in the dirt and the occasional picture drawn on Sen's parchment.
However eventually they were able to understand that the carpenter from the town and the Samurai that lived there were impostors and had placed a corruption on the five people. The `Ronin` was the Sparrow clan's actual guardian for the town. It was also clear that the corruption was slowly spreading and that they could not delay.
Once their meaning had been made clear, they looked around but their Eta guide had vanished. Presumably back to the town to warn his corrupted masters.
They made their way back to Mushi Mura. Each time one tried to get ahead of the others, the Sparrow and his ashigaru ran keep pace mistaking the attempt for enthusiasm.
Arriving the village they found the corrupted Samurai who revealed himself to actually be called Tojo.
They confronted them, but the carpenter spoke up and advised them to avoid this bloodshed and simply leave. He revealed that all of the villagers were irrevocably corrupted and that honourable Samurai would need to put them to the sword to prevent the corruption from spreading.
Ikoma Sen extoled the villagers to join him instead. Surprisingly he did get a couple of volunteers int he form of one fo the farmers and a Blacksmith, who gave Shinjo Tomoe a finger of Jade and Shinzu the farmer.
They fought fiercely. Tomoe tried to reach the sorcerer, but he hid behind a couple of peasant guards and it took her time to carve her way through.
The sorcerer tried and failed to threaten and cajole the Fire Kami in to attacking Ayana, but they slipped out of his control. He also used twisted blood magic to seize control of Tomoe's sword arm. But unphased she drew her Wakazashi and plunged it in to the sorcerers inhumanly resilient flesh.
Taakaki and Yasuhiro tried to face the deadly impostor Tojo. But both of them were grievously injured by the fallen Samurai.
Ayana however was able to bolster and heal Taakaki who subsequently managed a series of devastating blows. She also managed to help Yasurhiro and together and with the aid of Sen they drove him to his knees.
However the Carpenter summoned up a horde of the undead and using wind spirits carried himself away in to the forest. Lacking effective ranged weapons, he was able to escape.
== Epilogue: Salted Earth. ==
The Samurai eventually finished off the zombies and gathered together the survivors. The Sorcerer was correct, almost everybody was potentially tainted. They could do nothing for them but wait for the taint to overcome them. In this case it is typical to put the whole village to the sword and burn it in cleansing fire and salt the earth.
Yasuhiro expected the peasants to gladly die to cleanse their souls. However they were too terrified and with only a few exceptions fled in every direction.
The Blacksmith Tetsu is actually free of the taint (She was carrying Jade around) and decided not to take her life, but instead seek vengeance for her family by resuming her former career as a peasant soldier (Ashigaru) with the Crab Clan.
Shinzu the farmer wanted to be reunited with his now dead family and allowed himself to die honourably for the good of the clan and to purge the taint from his soul. 
Fortunately the only person directly struck by the Maho (blood magic) was carrying a finger of jade that protected them from the corrupting effects of the magic.
They called in the Magistrates from the nearby town who took command and began a manhunt for the Sorcerer who had posed as the carpenter as well as the missing villagers.
The magistrates scour the woods and find a thoroughly desecrated ruin there, which was inhabited by a number of the blood sorcerers followers and who were eventually purged.
However the sorcerer himself along with 6 of the peasants of Mushi Mura remain unaccounted for by the end of the investigation and a standing bounty is out for their deaths. 
According to shugenja the ruins are so thoroughly tainted, that they can not be cleansed by any means at their clans disposal, so a guard is set on them and all access to that cursed place is forbidden.
For their part in uncovering the plot, the Samurai are given the profound thanks of the Sparrow clan and their reputation grows. (0.4 honour and 0.2 Glory). However concern about the Taint is strong and so they are invited to a Kuni Monastary in the nearby Crab lands where they can be quarantined and purified to ensure that no lingering touch of the taint remained.
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