S10 - The Woman Aflame Report

General Summary

The Kijo eyes the party menacingly and bellows out a roar. All around it, Iwasaki erupts into chaos as the farmers scramble and panic. On the creature’s chest, Sana spots a Magatama bead, glowing and pulsating red. Fury overtakes her and she flies towards it to try and pry it free. Kyo, Jiko and Nonaka join the skirmish and get swiped by the Kijo’s terrible claws, but this was curbed by Yamami’s healing. In the middle of the fight, the rest of the party arrive from Saigomura and aid in an all-out attack to finally defeat the Kijo. The demon falls and its body immediately starts to disintegrate, giving Sana the chance to grab the Magatama bead. Kyo starts to berate her for her recklessness, but before anyone could react, the bead explodes into a fireball, knocking Kyo, Sana and Nonaka unconscious. Yamami and Jugen immediately rush to their aid while the farmers start to come out of hiding. Sana comes to, starts crying and doggedly hangs on to the dull Magatama bead while Mizuki offers to examine it away from other people. They then head to a deserted area outside the village.

The farmers then point out to Akira that Seno, the unconscious farmer, was not breathing. A cloud of hopelessness hangs over them as they watch the party try and resuscitate him. Yamami dispels their gloom as she successfully brings the man back from the brink with her healing powers. The awed farmers proclaim it as a miracle, heralding Yamami as their savior and begin worshipping her in earnest. Yamami is overwhelmed and is not sure what to do with the situation so she confides in the party. They remind her of Lady Kisei’s original charge to protect Iwasaki as it is the source of Otorii Kabe’s food. Yamami then requests the farmers to check the state of their farms and initiate repairs and they all eagerly rush off to do as she directed.

Outside the village, Mizuki conducts a ritual to identify the nature of the Magatama bead but could only detect a faint magical energy, similar to the one emanating from Sana. Something about it was blocking her magic. She grows concerned as that should only happen when something’s magic is far beyond what mortals can hope to comprehend. She hands it back to Sana, but it suddenly cracks and shatters, its ashes blowing away in the wind. Sana cries inconsolably while Mizuki feebly promises that they will find the remaining 99 beads.

Session report provided by souly