Chapter 5: A Lion Midwife
An Assignment Unappreciated...
Kitsu Oyumi awakens to find an assignment at her door--as a payment of a debt to the Mantis clan, she is to go assist a woman who is struggling through her pregnancy. A midwife. More than that, they are sending a Yojimbo with her. Oyumi agrees, noting that she couldn't say no anyway, and asks if they will be providing her any spells for this act. They give her the spells to cure disease and poison, and she studies them late into the night.
An Unexpected Yojimbo...
In the morning, when she opens her door, she finds Daidoji Sato seated. They exchange greetings, but she can only wonder what on earth they have done, giving her a crane yojimbo, and whether he is more a dragon, with his monk-like robes, or a crane. The two set off for crane lands, and the little town south of the Summer Court Nagisa is holding at Kakita lands.
An Odd Family...
They arrive at the town and go in to meet the wife, first being greeted at the door by two guards--one who looks the part of a Unicorn. She explains who she is and why she is here, and they let her through--one almost reaches for her backside, but is grabbed by the other with a stern, "Awakane, do not." and a rumbled "fine, fine" in response. They warn her not to look hostile toward the leader, as his yojimbo is a bit touchy, and so she prepares herself for the possibility of a fight with a spell.
Oyumi is first met by Kanpeki, who leads her into his mother's room, where she is in bed and looks ill. Oyumi asks about the situation they have faced with finding other shugenja, and Gaiyo admits that she and her husband are quite learned at speaking with the kami, but not with the water element, and most other shugenja share this issue in their land. She starts by casting Strength of the Kami on her to bolster her stamina, and the basic cure of disease and poison, before she begins to get to more serious work.
The Problem is the Solution...
She confers with the kami in the room, but the water kami can only tell her that something else is where the disease is--something inside the woman, made of all the elements. It is not the child, but it seems there is another entity swimming in her blood. Oyumi uses sense to pinpoint it and casts a curative spell on it, before conferring with the earth kami of the room to see if she can get a read on whether that worked.
The Earth kami is disgusted by it, describing it like corrupted jade--a parasite that lives in the woman. While the disease is healed, it is still there, and Oyumi asks Gaiyo if she wants it removed. She says she would, since she cannot imagine what it is, and then Oyumi asks which kami she would like help from. They choose air, and Oyumi makes a deal to sing or read poetry for 7 days at the local shrines and temples for half an hour each, and the kami proceeds to give Gaiyo violent coughing fits.
The last one congeals into a black cloud which forms into a woman. Oyumi tries to knock her out, but is shaken off by her immense defenses.
You're the reason I'm free, right? Then I suppose I can't be mad at you for a little scratch.She taunts Gaiyo about how she is weak and she gets to have fun now, but ignores Oyumi as a mere pest, walking out the door past her and Sato as the shugenja casts a spell before dashing out behind her and cutting her down in a harsh swing. She is unconscious, but not dead, and Oyumi stares at her for a moment before recognizing her as the Dark Daughter of Fu Leng. Above My Pay Grade... Suddenly quite a bit more concerned about her situation, Oyumi doesn't ask questions and gets Sato to help her bring the unconscious woman to the Court nearby, where the First Imperial Legion is residing and therefore, Deijiko. She tries to get Sato to go inside, but he leaves her with that bag and she has to approach Yasuki Nagisa to request an audience with Deijiko. She explains she has a very unlikely hostage and it will cause a big stir if she doesn't get her taken care of, and so Nagisa, with annoyance, gets her in touch with Deijiko. When they are together, and Paneki has joined them uninvited, Oyumi explains all but the fact that this thing came out of a woman, instead just letting the implication be that she came from nowhere. Deijiko takes her and restrains her in the Kakita palaces by way of two warding shugenja before sending Oyumi home with her blessing and gratitude. She suggests an escort for safety. Reisuka happily volunteers. On the Way Home... The town they are thinking of stopping at seems to be boarded up against trespass. As they approach, 5 beast-like shadows materialize around the town and they step to attacking. With a few buffs from Oyumi, they manage to dispatch the shadows without a scratch, and a dragon man exits one of the buildings. He introduces himself as Genjo, and explains that those things had killed all the aishigaru of the town already, and he was worried he'd have to take them on himself.
They apparently can unmake you if they hit you with that shadow spit..He warns them, and they ask for a place to stay. He says he can arrange it once he convinces the villagers they are safe.