Omens from Ōtsu

Metaphysical / Paranormal event

In the port of Baharna, young lord Aotsuki Tsukamoto watched Fubuki depart with Jorani the Whitesmith. They still had to return to The Thing in the Attic to deliver the other Wamp corpses, but for now it seemed they had some time to spare while their ally attended a lesson in smithing. No sooner had Fubuki passed from sight than Aotsuki received a mental message from Abe no Seimei. Even telepathically her voice sounded strained, as though she was about to deliver bad news.

Indeed, it was not what Aotsuki wanted to hear. Their captive-slash-guest, Shōjo, still unconscious from previous events, refused to awaken from her slumber. Worse, she'd been muttering something as she slept. The guards couldn't make it out, so Roxy was summoned. Her keen ears caught only something like: "She draws near," repeated over and over.   Who "she" might be or why she was apparently coming to Ōtsu Castle was not entirely clear. Aotsuki's stomach fell. He thought he had a guess. After all, there was still one member of that accursed family yet unaccounted for.   Silent for a few moments, Aotsuki then asked Seimei for the second of her two reports. This one was at least not so foreboding. That great pastel tower which they'd asked Alice of Hearts to create on the site of Kannonji Castle had indeed been swallowed up when night came. More curiously, Kannonji had apparently integrated the tower into its own design. It'd been completely assimilated, and now the common folk all believed it had always been part of the structure. Indeed, from what Seimei had heard, Rokkaku no Ateshi now called the tower her home.   Curiouser and curiouser, Aotsuki thought. There had to be some clue that was staring him straight in the face, something that would make sense of all this, but if there was, even Seimei couldn't see it. Naturally, she thought it an outside possibility that she'd miss such a thing. Thanking his adviser for those admittedly troubling reports, Aotsuki made note that they were finishing up their business in the Dreamlands and would be back soon. From the way things were going in his own province, their Daimyō couldn't afford to stay away much longer regardless.   While Aotsuki held this mental conference, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo remained in his company. Not privy to the conversation, she* instead busied herself* with examining the three pale corpses lying limp and draped over the sides of their cart. They were curious things, and dangerous. How, after all, could a biological creature cause another to bleed from its eyes at a distance? Yoshitakatomo caressed the smooth skin of her* subject in search of answers.   After a few moments of examination, the Princess-Daimyō discovered something queer under the mass of hair that covered each Wamp's head. Some kind of bulbous, fleshy organ was attached to its neck. By running fingertips over it, Yoshitakatomo could tell that a series of large, organic tubes ran under the organ's skin in a complex tangle. What they might be used for, however, she* could not say. A frown forming beneath her* mask, Yoshitakatomo found her* medical knowledge failing her*. Somehow this subject seemed to have not received as much attention as others during her* studies. The Daimyō made a mental note to remedy that in the near future.   As Yoshitakatomo's companion finished his own discussion, the two took a moment to reconvene. Aotsuki filled the Princess in on what had been happening in Ōmi Province, receiving a description of that horrid Wamp organ in return. What's more, Yoshitakatomo chose this moment to inform Aotsuki of the great disturbance her* avatars had sensed back on Earth. Its source was unclear, but seemed to be a battle between truly titanic powers.   The obvious next step was to investigate after they finished the last of their business here. These corpses still needed to be delivered to Kravann back at the inn to claim their final reward, however. Fortunately, Fubuki was just finishing up her* lesson with Jorani. One vial of Wamp blood for one Wampwyrd weapon. It seemed simple enough, although the corpses didn't seem to have any other applications in the realm of blacksmithing. Their business done, the Whitesmith mentioned something about being contacted from the other side of the portal, a missive from someone whose name she butchered as "Tan-haze." Fubuki's recent time spent in studying languages came to her* aid then. She* was able to piece the mangled name back together as Tanahase. It seemed they might indeed meet again sooner rather than later.