S12 - Lost Boy Report

General Summary

The party lets Seno fall asleep again and they tie up a belligerent Murasaki. They leave Akira to watch the two and they head out to find Nonaka. They tell him that it’s for the best if they all leave, and that they will head to Kanihama-shi to ask the Jito for help. Nonaka still had a few questions regarding Akira, but Jugen assured him that he is the party’s responsibility, regardless of whether he is Kokuen or not. During their discussion, Murasaki shows up to say that Akira disappeared, purportedly to go to the restroom. The party then bid farewell to Nonaka, promising that they will return with reinforcements.

Back at the party's house, they noticed that Akira's belongings were missing. A frantic search for the boy begins, with Murasaki detecting faint footprints headed towards the village's western gate. The party immediately rode out to the western fields and spotted a small figure quite a ways out in the snow. Murasaki shouts after Akira, who then runs and splits off into 4 clones, each heading a different direction. The party chases after 3 of the 4 clones, and after catching up to them, find that the real Akira has gotten away. After a short discussion, the party thinks that Akira was headed to Minami and the Kokuen hideout somewhere northwest and so they agree to search for its location. Murasaki and Sana lead the way through the wilderness. Just as when they start to lose the trail, Akira suddenly pops up, saying that he had already scouted the hideout. The party reprimands the boy, who reasoned that he only wanted to confirm that what they told him about Minami was true. Jugen tries to make him understand that he shouldn’t go off on his own as they are trying to protect him, but Akira retorts that it doesn’t feel that way especially with Kyo, Jiko, and Yamami. Akira mentions that only Minami was in the hideout but Jugen urges caution as he knows her to be very dangerous. Now complete, the party finally leaves Iwasaki.

Still recovering from the battle against the Kijo, the party headed to their campsite north of Iwasaki to rest. They notice that the Sekawa river was not as tainted near the camp, and so Mizuki and Akira go off to investigate a nearby river fork to confirm. The other tributary was clean so Mizuki surmises that whatever was tainting the river is located downstream. Heading back, she scolds Akira, asking why he ran off alone. Akira answers that he would've been stopped if he told anyone what he was doing. Mizuki replies that they were worried he had been kidnapped so at the very least, he could have confided in her.


Session report provided by souly.