29 - Autumn Leaves

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Uncover the remaining secrets of the mysterious forest.
When: Nov 29 - 30
Where: Chichibu National Park & the Central District
Summary: A heavily forested wilderness area in Chichibu National Park is attracting dangerous numbers of ayakashi, and Heaven's forces suspect that this might be the mortal forest that was connected to the Heavens in order to kidnap gods and shinki a few weeks ago.






Walk in the Woods

On the morning of the 29th, Heaven's messenger doves drop off small folded cards at the doors of every temple. The cards read,


We believe that we have identified the location on the Near Shore where the human accomplices were working. As it is a large area, we offer you this information, in case you are able to assist us in searching for clues to the identity of the culprit. Please investigate with caution: there are reports of ayakashi in the area.


Attached is a map to a large national park in the Kanto region, with a section of the park cross-hatched in red pen. Anyone who goes to investigate the marked area will discover that it is heavily forested and contains about a mountain and a half; the ground is steep, muddy with autumn rain, and slick with dead leaves, though some red and orange colors are still grimly clinging to the branches overhead. Watch your step! The supernatural menace seems to have faded, but the purely natural hazards can do almost as much damage.

Heaven's forces, wearing white short jackets with gold chrysanthemum emblems over much more sensible jeans and hiking boots, can be seen here and there throughout the forest, searching for clues themselves. If somebody gets in a real jam, they might be willing to lend a hand.

Mysterious Trees

Towards the center of the cross-hatched area, investigators may begin to see some familiar signs. Are those bits of torn-down spell papers still fluttering from nails driven into the trees? Vines and tree branches cut and broken by the hostage rescuers breaking through? Footprints, torn bits of black hooded cloaks... there are clues aplenty here.

There's something else, too: a mysterious presence still seems to haunt the forest. The trees might not move when anyone's watching, but it seems like they're in slightly different positions every time you look away and back. And what was that flicker of movement in the underbrush? Is there still someone here?!

Comment on the NPC REQUEST/CLUE SEARCH thread below to request specific details, or to go hunting for that mysterious presence.

Ayakashi Attacks

There's more than one mysterious presence in these trees... and some of them are definitely not friendly. The forest's aura is unsettling and creepy enough to partially mask their approach, but ayakashi of all types and sizes seem to have been drawn here. Some wind along tree branches or soar through the air on fleshy, wide-spread wings. Others crawl or even burrow in the ground.

And all of them are excited at the possibility of a divine meal. Look out!

Autumn Leaf Viewing

An area of the Central District planted with maple along a stone-walled canal has been decorated with hanging lanterns, comfortable spread mats and cushions, and an abundance of delicious food and drink on the afternoon of the 30th. Everyone is invited: new gods and old, those who helped investigate the Near Shore forest and those who didn't. For those who did investigate, though, one or two of the white-robed shinki who are helping with the party preparations and enjoying the food and drink themselves will take the opportunity to pull them aside and ask about their findings.

The party includes games as well as food and drink. Kites, poetry games, tag, hide-and-seek, card games and dice games are going on all over. There's even some determined board game and mahjong players who have brought their favorite game to the outdoor venue and are setting up on mats with immense care.

At one edge of the landscaped area where the party is being held, the ground slopes up, and is planted with a riot of bright gold, white and rust-red chrysanthemums. Like the ones that bloomed everywhere a few months ago, these flowers exude a sense of peace, confidence and security to anyone nearby, and especially those who pick the blooms to wear in their hair or their buttonhole.

In Summary:

• Investigate a wild forest
• Watch out for nasty trees
• Exorcise an ayakashi infestation
• Enjoy some hard-earned relaxation
• Have fun~

Comments

[shiitan]

Oh, too bad. I'll bury you then.

[He had no shovel though. What a shame! Clearly the only option here was to reach for some mud and leaves instead.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

If you do I'm burying you too, pal. [She sits up, brushing leaves and dirt off her outfit.] Unless you're not dead too?

[See, that's the joke, the whole shinki thing.]

[shiitan]

I am dead though. I just got better. [He was making no effort to hide the kanji character on his hand. That being said, that was pretty average for him.]

...Mostly better. [It was an important distinction made for an important reason.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Yeah, me too. Same boat as you. [Her own name is completely hidden, but then with her outfit, it'd have to be somewhere pretty obvious to clue him in. As for her, she isn't quite used to the whole 'kanji character means shinki' thing yet.]

[She rolls back slightly, then hops to her feet, rising from her crouch to stand as tall as she's ever able.]

You all right there? That was quite a tumble.

[shiitan]

[He stood up as well, brushing the dirt and leaves that had stuck to him during his impromptu slide down the hill. While he noticed her height (or perhaps lack thereof) he didn't point it out.]

I'll survive. I'll come back and haunt you if I don't.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Terrific. Getting haunted in the afterlife. Well, now I've heard everything.

[She doesn't seem very terrified or threatened.]

You think a dead shinki could come back here a second time?

[shiitan]

I've heard about shinki becoming gods and gods becoming shinki. [And in the case of the latter, it was more than just hearing about it happening.]

A shinki coming back a second time isn't that much different.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Huh. [She hadn't expected a real answer, so getting one has her looking at him in surprise.] Well, there's another thing they didn't cover in the welcome brochure. Which I didn't actually get, by the way, but I'm assuming.

[shiitan]

Back in my day we didn't even get brochures. [And by "my day" he meant February. Or he also didn't get one and didn't know they were a thing then.]

Baby shinki these days...

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Watch it, pal, I'm older than you are. [Someday that claim is going to get her in trouble.] And not one taking tumbles down hills and bowling over innocent girls, so no moral high grounds for you.

[shiitan]

That's okay. I don't take the moral high ground to begin with. [Though he was wondering how she could be older, he knew better than to ask too much about a shinki's background.]

Are you here with your god?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Nah, he's got no time for me. [Nia shrugs, both pleased not to be on his leash quite so bad and irritated that she's apparently useless.] Not supposed to be too bad a trip though. You're the biggest danger I've met so far.

[shiitan]

[He raised an eyebrow at that glib remark. While he had a lot of opinions about gods in general, he left them unsaid this time. He wasn't the proselytizing type.]

Can you make a borderline? [Ross' gaze sharpened instead of taking that bait.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Of course I can. Easy stuff. [And for her, that's true. Borderlines come pretty naturally to her, being very similar to -- well, stuff she's sure not gonna do in front of this guy.]

[shiitan]

Good for you. Now you won't be food for the things in the forest that are more dangerous than I am. Maybe.

[He was saying that just a bit too casually, considering his previous expression.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Thanks for caring. [As dry as the desert.] So were you in a hurry for a reason, or just clumsy?

[shiitan]

You're welcome. [And Ross was no better.]

There's a reason. I'm looking for clues that the heavens haven't found yet.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Isn't that what we're all doing out here, looking for clues? That most of the gods are too lazy to get off their duffs and help out with? [Nia has a certain bias in her thinking, maybe.]

[shiitan]

Yeah, but I'm not telling them about what I find out.

[Well...he wasn't lacking when it came to biases against the heavens either.]

It's a chance for a bargaining chip.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Uh. That's great and all, but what the heck makes it think that'll go well for you? I mean you're a shinki and all. They could just make your god make you tell. Or who knows what they can do to us to make our lives miserable, but I'll bet it's a lot.

[shiitan]

Wow, I didn't realize you were worrying so much. It's fine; I'm already dead so I've got nothing to lose.

[He'd had more chances than most. That was what his gut feeling was telling him. He wasn't so much throwing that extra time away as he was taking chances for the ones who couldn't afford to.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Hmph. If that was true, you'd have nothing to gain either. [That's simple and straightforward logic from Nia's viewpoint.]

[shiitan]

No, there's always something to gain.

[He was speaking just a bit too plainly for his words to be dismissed as simple opportunism.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Then there's always something to lose, and there's a whole lot that can happen here to make you miserable. [Not that she's telling him 'don't do it', but think about it reasonably, man.] And a lot of ways you could end up making other people's lives worse too, you know.