Namari Shioh's Story

“What an incredible world you live in, where men with the conviction to die spill their secrets to mere persuasion,” Namari fired back with visibly growing contempt as the oni continued to contest her. Her brow furrowed and she laughed an ugly laugh, dismissing him with an agitated wave of her hand. "I take back what I said about you being practical. You're as delusional as they come."

"Now, now! No need to fight!" Shuin said with a worried grin, hurriedly squeezing in between the two with his arms extended laterally. "Namari, I know you can play nice, I've seen you do it. Let's all just try to get along, yeah?"

"If a fool speaks, I will remind him to hold his tongue," Namari scoffed. "What's so wrong about that?"

Namari looked down at the scene with abhorrence. She didn't even have a witty retort for this.

"...That is disgusting."

Falling forward due to the sudden lack of rock, Lo-Muna quickly caught herself as pieces of rock fell. Words of thanks caught in her throat as her nose twitched, a feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her to be careful. Even as she looked up at the raven haired warrior (twice she has helped), there was an intensity in the stare that made Lo-Muna's eyes dilate.

Decisive strikes and yells filled her ears as she carefully and slowly rose from the ground. The old master lay defeated. She met the black clad warrior's eyes, his subtle nod to Lo-Muna acknowledging her earlier remarks. She scoffed. So neither one had gone through with it after chiding her for trying to save the Tengu's life. A small smile formed on her lips.

That smile was quickly gone as the regal clad human decisively ended any possible chance of finding Kaor. Lo-Muna sighed as she slowly backed away from her savior. She had meant what she had said to Xanth but if all the leads were wiped out.. Well there wasn't much she could do, now was there?

The snow oni began to argue and Lo-Muna's eyes focused on the raven haired warrior's movements as she started to furiously dig into the ground. A small grunt escaped Lo-Muna as her head had been near the swiftly made hole. The others seemed to pique the raven haired warrior's attention and the rabbit woman quickly saw why when she tore into to the flesh of the fallen master.

Ah, Lo-Muna thought.

"Do you not eat meat?" Lo-Muna asked the regal clad human with a slight tilt of her head. "You admonish the snow oni for being squeamish about torturing enemies yet you find the simple act of eating those same enemies disgusting?"

"I do not eat my meat off the floor," Namari answered the white rabbit with a cocked brow. "That is behavior for savages and animals."

"Well you certainly were a savage when you cut into the Tengu without any sort of formal trial," Lo-Muna retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Real good going there since they could have helped us find the bear beast-woman by the way."

"Oh, don't worry, my good merc," Yuwen replied to Ren as he walked toward the still buried Samyan. He had a huge grin on his face. "The only thing you need to know is that soon you're all going to be rich beyond your wildest dreams, and that monkey-" He pointed to Takai from across the chamber. "Has, quite literally, the key."

Yuwen placed his hands on his hips and looked down at the buried Samyan. "Need a hand?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer he grabbed the woman by the shoulders and with an exhausted grunt pulled her free. Yuwen stumbled backward, the woman surprisingly heavy even for a oni. He then turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "If I'm not mistaken Takai here has the key to that door ahead," Yuwen indicated to the damaged stone passageway, a circular carving in the centre which could house a keyhole. "And inside- the tomb of Dofuzi." Yuwen grinned widely. "Whats better than this, eh? Adventuring! Protecting! Fighting! Winning!" He walked forward, smacking Sunaarashi on the back. "Come on, this is what it's all about! This is-!"

Yuwen paused as the sound of metal plunging through flesh penetrated his ears. He turned to see Namari having stabbed the tengu master dead. Yuwen's mouth fell hung open in disbelief as she sauntered over to the unconscious tengu at the entrance of the chamber and proceeded to finalize his moments on earth in a similarly brutal fashion. Before he could interjected the snow oni Suiken had raised his voice, taking issue with the executions. Shuin, the cowardly rag-adorning freak chained to the noble-lady, interjected, trying to ease the tension. "Now, now! No need to fight!" He said, weasel like. "Namari, I know you can play nice, I've seen you do it. Let's all just try to get along, yeah?" Those words indeed snapped Yuwen to attention.

"Namari," He uttered, as though the pieces were finally coming together. The woman turned to his direction. "Namari Shioh. Blind Mari Shioh. The little blind byeonsun!" Yuwen stepped forward, two fingers aimed at her. "I- I knew it was you. I'm never wrong! I thought I had lost it but... gods, it is you!" Yuwen laughed, seemingly forgiving the unspeakable violence instantly. "Look, oni, rabbit- whats done is done!" Yuwen said, hanging an arm around the shorter byeonsun woman's shoulder. "Whats a little murder between friends?"

Yuwen laughed loudly before noticing Ginchiyo, who had began dissecting and devouring the tengu leader. "What's a little... cannibalism among..." He looked at the other members of the group nervously. "Alright," He sighed, pulling his arm from Namari. He approached Ginchiyo blades drawn. "Hey, lady," Yuwen called down to the woman as she ate. "Look, I don't know anything about you other than you know how to fight- but I can buy you meat, as bloody as you want it! The town will be throwing it at our feet after this!"

Namari moved to respond, but her train of thought was cut short when Yuwen suddenly called her name. She felt her body shrink under the weight of his arm... but, not in a bad way. Or maybe it was bad. He was both familiar and unfamiliar all at the same time, and it put her slightly on edge.

"Well. I guess you remembered after all," she muttered to herself, casually brushing off where she had been touched as her childhood... colleague... peeled off of her. Either way, she immediately forgot about her exchange with the beastwoman. There were a few questions stewing here, but they could be saved for later.

It would seem she was the odd one out here, evidenced by the way her actions drew the ire of her peers. But to her, it was they who were utterly strange. This precept of heroism they seemed to share was not reflected in the harsher reality of their punishment-driven society, nor was their impassive reaction to such barbaric conduct. When a nail sticks out, you hammer it down -- that's how you maintain an orderly society. But this group was nothing but bent nails, twisted out of shape by untenable ideas.

She supposed it didn't matter in the end. It was unlikely they'd cross paths again after this. Namari observed the beast-like human woman feast upon the corpse. It was kind of like watching a ferret tear into a hare.

Ren felt a coldness in his gut as the short, well dressed woman executed the Tengu master, and the wingless soldier. The Snow Oni man and Lo Muna began to bicker with her, and the Sellsword let out a soft breath of agitation. He pointed at the Master's body. "He was a threat, we can agree on that. You may have even had a point in killing him, avoiding any further violence, especially with his powers. But him..." His aim now swayed to the Wingless Tengu. "That was like killing a man with no legs. He posed practically no threat. Quite honestly, that just seems gratuitous, and is that really becoming of a lady of your... Stature?" Ren smirked a little, having also picked up on what Yuwen Fortune had said about 'riches' (which Ren was severely tempering his expectations of), but before he could respond, something flashed before his eyes.

He looked down to see the tall, raven haired woman he'd spoken to when first getting down in the tunnel. She was devouring the Tengu master. His eyes widened as he looked to the rest of the group, listening to them bicker about it, or try to reason with the raven haired woman. Ren lost it.

"ARE YOU ALL INSANE!" He bellowed with rage, voice echoing throughout the cave. "Look at her! This is demonic! And you're just standing around chattering as if she were a dog with a bone?" He raised the sheath of his sword again and brought it crashing down on the back of her head, another loud crack ringing throughout the caves, but leaving the raven haired woman still conscious.

"GET OFF HIM!"

Samyan dusted herself off, her once pristine black kimono now dyed a rustic tan. She looked like a farmer. Samyan cracked her shoulders loudly, the sound echoing down her back before she turned to regard the posse of bickering clowns.

The hot one seemed to have torn a chunk out of the old tengu guy, which was... fine. Probably. Samyan had heard there were clans in the north that ritualistically consumed the bodies of fallen enemies, and who was she to condemn a foreign culture simply because it seemed strange? No, she was a respectful, open minded woman of the modern age. Cannibalism wasn't any more unusual than those bowls of raw meat on rice they ate in Byeonsu. What were those called, again? She vaguely recalled they had raw egg in them, as well.

She chose to mind her business about the situation. The hairless monkey had said the other monkey had the key, right? "Hey," she called to him, brushing honey stone out of her hair. "You have the key right? It might be a good idea to move this along and deal with any war crimes or the lack thereof afterward."

A threat approached the raven-haired beast, he had his swords drawn and was spewing that indecipherable noise at her. It was loud, but not unbearable like it had been previously. "Bearable." She growled out to Yuwen in response, before resuming gorging herself. That word sounded familiar, who had been talking about a bear just a few moments ago?

Her father hit her on the back of the head, the same way he always did when she was losing herself. The blow landed on the base of her skull, but she didn't really mind. Her father, Lem, had always been a burly sort; and he was always more than capable of knocking her unconscious when she was acting out. "I'm fine, Lem, just hungry..." The words came out weird; like her mouth was full of iron shavings.

Suddenly she began to worry, why was Lem hitting her? What the hell was happening? The pit in her stomach was suddenly gone, and her blood-smeared face was longingly locked onto the darkly-clothed mercenary. "You're not Lem..." Where was Lem? All at once, the evening became too much for the gentle den mother. She remembered uttering three words before all the strength left her body. "I-I'm sorry Lem."

The gentle embrace of unconsciousness was the last thing she felt.

But Takai was already at the ornately carved door before Samyan could convince him to unlock it. He had ignored what was happening behind him, the Mayors last words on his mind: whats inside, they cannot obtain. With a glance toward the strange Asura woman beside him, he slipped the brass key into the lock and turned it. Clicks of lock mechanisms turning resonated through the circular room they all stood in and Takai had the urge to stand back, understanding that there was something more than just fortune within this room, but power. It made the brown hairs on his neck stand up. Yet a deep seated curiosity had a hold of him now, so with a slow push on the door he revealed what was inside to all that were present....

Suiken pinched the bridge of his nose. "There need to be rites...a ceremony," he mumbled to himself. Cannibalism. More harm to the corpse of what once housed a spirit. Good or ill such acts were heinous. They would bring about a change in places. A change that most places were not equipped to handle, let alone a small town like Poyo.

He knelt down before the Tengu Elder's body, closing out all around him as he began to chant a brief prayer. Not just for the elder, but for all the Tengu that had fallen in the battle and met an ignoble end.

Samyan looked back at the group as the door opened, seeing the large oni crouched down over the dead tengu. After a brief moment's thought, she stepped quietly over to him, leaning down to listen. He seemed to be muttering something. A chant, maybe?

"Did you need something from this guy?" she asked, reaching down with one hand and cupping it around the back of the tengu's head. "Here, I'll give you a minute."

The hall was filled with a still silence for a long, deafening moment. Then the tengu master's eyes snapped open, and he started screaming. "Hey, shut up," Samyan snapped at him. "Someone wanted to talk to you."

"You have one minute," she said, turning back to the oni.

Namari whirled around at the sudden scream. Tonally, she immediately registered it as one of the dead tengu and her hand flew to her weapon instinctively, but upon a few seconds of concentration...

"Oh? That's a neat trick you have there, necromancer," she snarled, drawing her sword halfway out of its sheath. It seems, however, that the silent assassin reached the scene first with her daggers out. She stayed her hand but remained wary.

Suiken sighed heavily once again. Opening his eyes slowly, he glanced over at the tall "Snow Oni" woman. He'd thought as much. "I can't say I like this," Suiken stated. "Necromancy brings nothing but trouble," He closed his eyes yet again. Poyo would have a very cold winter, he thought. He reached into a pouch at his waist and tossed ahead of him, a small handful of salt, over the shambling Tengu corpse.

He raised up his other hand, chi emanating from his outstretched palm as he continued to chant.

Yamato shook his head a the nonsense going on before him. In a manner of minutes, the group had argued over the execution of the Tengu master, who was then feasted upon, the door was open, the master brought back to life? He let out a chuckle. Maybe this group would prove useful after all.

The kneeling Ginchiyo fell sideways, the gnawed tengu master's arm slipping from her grasp as she did. In a swift movement Yuwen hurried to her side, catching her head before it hit the ground. Her raven hair hung like the fur of a wild beast, like the feathers of a great northern falcon. Pale skin pronounced by red- red bags under the eyes, red marks from battle, red stains around the mouth from where they'd bitten flesh. Yuwen placed a hand on her Ginchiyo's neck. "She's alive but numb," He informed the group. Yuwen placed her on the earth and stood. "Somebody watch over her. I'm not convinced she would eat the flesh of a man by her own accord."

Yuwen turned to Lo-Muna and gave a worried expression. "I mean- it's a bit weird, isn't it? Maybe it was the tengu, or this place," He held his words to look around the dead cavern. It was empty now, quiet, and reminding him of the morbid truth. He stood inside a catacomb, and before this day, no living thing had stepped through for hundred of years.

Ahead of the group Takai stood, his monkey tail swaying as he examined the stone door. Yuwen caught a peek of the brass key from the archer's hand before it was obscured by his sleeve. And then the notes of ancient mechanisms turning echoed through the chamber. When the sounds ceased Takai tread ahead and pushed open the door. Ancient dust fell around him as he laboured against the stone slap, eventually opening it wide enough to spot what was ahead. And what was ahead... was-

"What do you see?" Yuwen called to the beastman. An eager smile grew on his face. "And does it glisten!?"

Behind Yuwen, where Ginchiyo lay asleep, a body beside her awoke. Breath, cold and foreign, poured from his lungs as a scream. Yuwen rotated to witness the tengu leader, rise from the dead at Samyan's behest. Xanth immediately attacked, but the tengu leader simply held out his left arm and pushed the little woman and her wild stabs back. With his right he reached up and felt at his nose, which had been yanked at but not dislodged. The three-inch unit still bulged from his face. He then noticed the bite marks and blood on his arm. And then he looked straight ahead, right into Yuwen's eyes. And there was nothing there.

Within an instant Yuwen's blades were drawn as he and the other guild members surrounded Samyan. The snow-oni had pulled Xanth off the tengu master but otherwise made no moves. As screams of necromancer were yelled Yuwen toed forward, until his jians were lined up at both ends of Samyan's neck. Samyan could see her dirty face reflect in the dark metal. "I should cut your throat," Yuwen hissed, his voice more deadly than it had been throughout the entirety of the tengu attack. Yuwen's left blade dipped, slicing the long right of Samyan's yukata at the shoulder seam, and revealing, below her extended arm, a second right arm. "Ashura." The two locked eyes. Samyan simply replied: "Thirty seconds."

Thirty seconds of life left for the dead man walking. And walking he was. The guild watched as he marched forward, toward the open chamber door. The tengu master walked down the stone steps of the small room he'd entered and stopped beside Takai. The walls were plain. The stone was rough. The only thing of note in the entire room was a standing statue of Dofuzi, made of honey-stone, in the plain robes of a monk. Takai and the tengu master could both feel that his body rested within the statue, forever standing in the effigy of his image. Between hands of gravel he clasped a scroll, over his chest and atop his heart.

The tengu master turned to Takai. “There's nothing here," He said. There was a hollowness in his voice- like wind passing through a dead tree. "No gold. No treasure. Only a scroll."

"Fifteen seconds!" Samyan called after the tengu, pushing one of the monkey man's swords away with her finger.

Suiken sat up, small little fire-fly like specs of light now dancing across the halls of the tomb. "Out of practice..." Suiken. " But that should be enough. Boy was he tired however. Certainly could use a swig of sake after this day.

The spirits may yet leave these halls peacefully, despite their bloody ends. "Well..." The oni grumbled, grumpily. "We've found the Hatago Warriors prize. Was it worth it, do you all think?"

"Clearly not," Namari said, curiously prodding the living corpse with the end of her sheath. "You have precious few moments left. Why don't you be a good tengu and enlighten us?"