| Lord
Yoshioka Kempo ... his name is synonymous with desire and
greed. And more, for he has been at the center of many of
the evils that have plagued the small band of warrior
monks known as Jojii's Sword. Though his agents and the
Chakari cult under his hire have caused great damage and
disunity, the greedy daimyo himself has always been far,
far away. In Ispar. Until now.
A farmer
named Guo from Southern Osteth traveled to meet Jojii's
Sword in Mayoi. He had grave news; a strange tower near
his farm was acting as the source of great evil and
threats to his family. Lord Yoshioka was behind it all.
Jojii's
Sword was faced wth a choice: rescue Dryreach, again, or
take a perilous journey across the mountains to aid a
single farmer. Knowing which posed the greater potential
for danger, an expedition was mounted to the tower.
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The
warriors crosse the Linvak Range and meet with
many dangers.
Here, the group charges a golem. The beast was
easily subdued,
but not everyone survived the melees that would
occur on this trip.
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Here,
the group, minus the brave Kongorishiki, waits on
a hillside over
their fallen companion's corpse. A shadow
lieutenant with several
companions leers from below. The decision to
leave the fallen
comrade behind was one of the toughest the group
had to make.
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Kikuchi
Masako, longtime critic of the group's motives
and methods,
lost her footing and fell to her death ...
another casualty of this most
dangerous trip. Basho Genji prays over her body,
after remarking
upon her archery prowess.
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The
group, now down to four, considers strategy after
confronting
the agents of Lord Yoshioka in the tower. They
tempted Genji by offering
an important relic, Kanji's Sword. Basho Genji
refused. Here, as well, Basho
Genji revealed a lett given to him by the farmer
Guo. It linked once and for all the
wealthy daimyo to the Chakari cult, thus quelling
the temptations of the group
by Lord Yoshioka Kempo. None would consider him a
friend again.
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