Summary: Trapped in Kyoto’s Shadow, each mage faces his own challenge. Mori must escape a seemingly empty room. Tenzin finds a trapped nine-tailed fox spirit. Kemosiri, Kontonshin and Reitaro must fight their way across Kyoto’s horrific landscape.
Recap:
Kemosiri, Kontonshin and Reitaro are in a glade. They look around and find Cherry trees (sakura) that have had their branches cut down to bare stumps. On each of the stumps, artificial cherry tree branches have been transplanted and are “growing” out of them. Each artificial branch has many silk cherry blossoms blooming on them. Kontonshin sees some grass spirits – small clumps of grass with sharp teeth. Reitaro “feeds” them by channelling mana to them.
They all see the lights of Kyoto in the distance and they decide to go to travel back to their sanctum. Kemosiri takes a clump of grass growing in the glade and uses Death magic to sculpt the grass into a hardened ephemeral katana for Kontonshin. It is green and rough and cannot be mistaken for a real Katana, but it will do for now. The group begins the long trek toward their sanctum located in Higashiyama-ku ward in Kyoto.
Mori awakens to find himself in a bare room. The room contains four windows and a door. Through one window he sees a snow covered garden. Through the next window, he sees another garden with wild cherry blossoms growing. In the next window he sees another garden at night with fireflies. Through the final window he sees another garden with multi-coloured maple trees. The door is on this wall beside the window. Mori finds the door locked. He tries physically forcing the door open but the door does not budge. He uses magic to weaken the door, but the door remains resilient. Try as he might, Mori cannot open it.
Tenzin finds himself in an alley located in Nakagyo-ku Ward of Central Kyoto. He sees a spotlight turning atop Kyoto Tower. He sees tiny flower spirit round the corner towards him. Before he can speak to it, a Flaming Red Samurai incinerates it. Tenzin shrinks into the shadows and lets the column of Samurai pass.
Kemosiri, Kontonshin and Reitaro enter Kyoto. The buildings, while familiar, appear slightly different. The concrete and metal slabs that make up most of Kyoto’s skyline, appear to have been built over the ruins of more traditional Japanese buildings. Remnants of those wood and paper structures seep out of the foundation of their newer replacements.
Once Kemosiri and the others enter Kyoto, metallic tentacles begin to appear from the building foundations. At the tips of the tentacles, an electronic eye opens up and emits a high-pitched squeal. The spotlight atop Kyoto Tower falls directly on the group. Two spear-wielding Mujina (see Ch 3) round the corner and begin to bear down on the group.
Tenzin decides to leave his shadowy hiding place and begins skulking through Kyoto’s alleyways when he spies a furry white spirit in the shadows. It identifies itself as Tamano, a white fox spirit with nine tails caught in a steel leghold trap. Tamano says that the Daimyo will soon come for her if he does not free her. Tenzin uses magic to free Tamano. Tamano tells Tenzin she will lead him through the back alleys of Kyoto to his sanctum.
Mori is still trying to find a way through the door. Suddenly, he hears a voice behind him saying “Nani iamas ka?” Mori turns to see a young girl in a jade green kimono. The girl repeats her question. Mori tries to speak with her in English, but she continues to repeat her question.
Kemosiri, Kontonshin and Reitaro battle with the two Mujina. Reitaro uses Prime Arcana to hurl balls of pure Prime at them while Kontonshin uses her ephemeral katana to fend them off. Kemosiri hobbles about trying to distract the Mujina with shadows. When Kontonshin dispatches the second Mujina, the three regroup at the outskirts of Kyoto and discuss how they are going to get to their chantry. They begin hearing a chittering low to the ground. Kontonshin spots two small mice hiding in a tuft of grass. They identify themselves as Nezumi. The Nezumi claim that they can take the group to their sanctum through Kyoto’s underground. The group agrees to follow the two small Nezumi.
Tamano continues to lead Tenzin through the back alleys of Kyoto. Soon, they end up in Pontocho. The buildings in Pontocho are older traditional two storey wooden structures similar to their sanctum. Tenzin spots a geisha exiting a building. The geisha turns away from Tenzin and quickly scampers down the street. Tenzin tries to follow it, but Tamano warns him against pursuing them. They are dangerous.
Mori is becoming frustrated at his inability to open the door, and to communicate with the little girl in the green kimono who continues to repeat the question “Nani iamas ka?” Suddenly, a man in a gleaming green kimono embroidered with a golden dragon, appears at the centre of the room. He tells Mori that he must answer Isora’s question. Mori explains to him that he does not understand the question. The man tells Mori to hurry up and answer before it is too late. The door then shifts from beside the autumn window to beside the winter window.
Kemosiri and the others continue to follow the four Nezumi to the entrance of Takeda Station at the southern end of the Karasuma Subway Line. When they go down, more Nezumi greet them and lead them through the thin train tunnels. Some parts of the tunnel have alcoves that the group can hide in if a train comes by.
The situation has stymied Mori. The man in the dragon kimono tells Mori he can grant him the gift of the Japanese language. Mori agrees to take it. The man snaps his fingers and Mori sees a light above him. It infuses his body. Almost instantly, Mori understands. He understands the language and the cultural nuances that come with the language. Mori understands Isora’s question – “What is the word?”, and replies with “Dozo akete kudasai” (please open the door). Isora opens the door and before Mori enters, gives him a large blue jewel.
As Tenzin continues to follow Tamano, he finds himself along Kamo river. To get to the sanctum, Tenzin knows he has to cross one of the many bridges over the Kamo River. Once across the Kamo river, he will be in Higashiyama-ku Ward. Suddenly, the Kamo river surges and 3 purple hippos with metallic tentacles sprouting from their enormous mouths emerge and begin scanning the area. Tenzin runs into alleyway but not before a pair of Red Fire Samurai see him and begin following him. Tamano disappears into the shadows and Tenzin bumps into a hiding Sa-an. She has been hiding for a week in the Shadow unable to get back to her sanctum, Kyomizu-dera.
Kontonshin and Reitaro hear a train coming toward them. Everyone in the tunnel find an alcove and shrink their bodies into it as the train passes by. After it passes, the group emerge from the alcoves and continue down the tunnel away from the train. Suddenly, they hear the train screech to a halt and begin hearing giant metallic footsteps behind them. The train spirit lumbers down the tunnel toward them and begins using its giant metallic arms to try and smash the group one by one. Reitaro begins throwing Prime bolts at it, and Kontonshin strikes at it with her ephemeral katana. The 20 Nezumi tell Kemosiri that the next fork in the tunnel is not for another mile down the tunnel.
Mori has appeared in urban Kyoto. As he walks down the abandoned street, he sees metallic tentacles emerge from the building foundations. The spotlight atop Kyoto Tower shines its light near Mori and he hears heavy metallic footsteps approaching his location. To hide, Mori runs into a local Combini (convenience store). He tries exiting out the back but feels compelled to buy something. He “spends” several mana before he is able to sneak out into the back alley.
Tenzin and Sa-an find themselves trapped by the Red Samurai. Sa-an suggests they enter one of the abandoned buildings and she leads Tenzin inside. Together, they descend into the basement of the rickety old building. Metallic tentacles begin probing the building. Sa-an uses magic to slice the tentacles in half causing the hippo to cry out in pain. The Fire Samurai had enough. They light the building on fire trapping Tenzin and Sa-an in the basement of the burning building.
Mori sees fire in distance and begins to approach Kamo river via alleyways. He sees the fire samurai setting the fire.
The Train Spirit continues its fight against Kemosiri and friends. It smashes Reitaro against the wall. Reitaro’s body goes limp and falls to the broken ground. Kontonshin strikes the Train spirit with her green katana injuring the spirit. Kemosiri sculpts the ephemera above the train spirit and collapses large chunks of the roof on the spirit burying it in tons of rubble. Kontonshin and Kemosiri grab Reitaro’s grievously injured body and follow the Nezumi (all 30 of them) into a small ante-tunnel before the train spirit can break free of its ephemeral prison.
To be continued…
Next: The Shadow, part 2
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