Ameiko looks over the muddy marsh and a smile appears on her face. "Well that was quite the battle. Thanks for the divine assistance Zaraleva. It looks like everyone's wounds are healed. She looks closer at the wounds of Adrian and Walthus and adds "Hmm, these look like they got infected."
She pulls out her backpack and removes a couple of small vials. "Here drink these." she says as she hands one of them to Walthus and Adrian.
After drinking the contents of the vial Walthus appears more like his normal self. "Thanks Ameiko, that really helped."
The drink was just what he needed. He put some more weight on his leg just to make sure, and sure enough it was back to its old self.
"That's amazing! Thanks!" He smiled. "What's in that stuff?"
Caine pushes all the rat carcasses into some deeper waters in the swamp.
The Magus nods his gratitude to Zaraleva.
"Just something I picked up at the Cathedral. Father Zantus said they might come in handy if we ran into vermin. If you want to know the details, I'm sure he can help you out."
Caine cast Light on a tree branch, and begins leading the group back to the Guardian.
"Right. Of course. Because that's where you can get healing potions and stuff." He sheepishly waved her off before heading towards the cave.
--------------------------------------
Later on, he would check to see if anything has changed since the last time they were in the cave.
Ameiko attempts to proudly step forward when she is slightly restrained by Aiko. Smiling at her friends she whispers "Do not worry Aiko, I have a good feeling about this."
She looks straight at the skeleton and speaks in a bold, clear voice "I am Ameiko, daughter of Lonjiku, son of Rokuro. Tsutamu, as my grandfather's yojimbo, you may complete your service to him."
Ameiko ponders for a moment and then brings her samisen in front of her, proudly presenting it to Tsatamu.
"Here is my proof! It was made for me by my grandfather Rokuro. You can inspect it yourself."
She steps forward to hand the samisen to Tsutamu.
|
Tsutamu grabs the samisen a little too aggressively for Ameiko's liking, but hands it over nonetheless. Tsutamu sets the samisen on the ground and while speaking in a tongue you do not understand waves his wakizashi over the instrument, weaving it back and forth up and down in spirals and circles. The display is quite mesmerizing as the voice of Tsutamu becomes less skeletal and more human. It becomes a chant and escalates into a rapid song. All the while the samisen begins to glow and hover in the air, getting closer to the sword's movements until at one point they meet. Rather than make contact and destroy the samisen, the weapon simply passes through the strings and wood becoming music to add to Tsutamu's song. The song's intensity increases until the glow from the samisen extends out towards Ameiko, covering her completely.
Ameiko begins to rise and dance in the air in step with the song. She begins to hum and then sing along with Tsutamu until the servent of Kaijitsu suddenly stops its song and waving of its wakizashi.
As Ameiko slowly descends to the ground, Tsutamu kneels before her.
Speaking softly and reverently, Tsutamu holds his wakizashi out to Ameiko "You are indeed a member of the Kaijitsu family! Please forgive this old samurai his shame! I could not save your grandfather. The storm was too much for the ships and both the Star and Blossom were lost. I managed to get ashore with a few of the crew and we used these caves as shelter. Some strange creatures came upon us with wrinkled skin and long fingers. They were like daggers as they attacked us. My anger welled up as the crew members fell and I slayed all the wrinkled skin monsters, but I failed Rokuro! I could not live with the shame. Even taking my own life did not release me from my shame. I have been sitting here guarding this family treasure..."
Tsutamu pauses and then continues
"Recently a large group of goblins managed to sneak into the caves and steal some of the family treasure. Somehow I revived some of the crew and we took back most of that which was stolen from you."
Ameiko takes the wakizashi from Tsutamu and tears fill her eyes as she listens to the samirai's recollection.
"You faced a great danger and never swayed from your duties. We cannot always win a fight with nature. You did your best and now have completed your service to the Kaijitsu family."
Ameiko sets the wakizashi down and picks up her samisen. She begins an old family tune that permeates the entire cave. As her voice adds to the music Tsutamu rises and bows to Ameiko. She ends her song with
"I release your spirit from the bonds of service. You may go to your final resting place."
Caine is mesmerized by the conversation. The Magus takes out a notebook to take...err...notes.
It was true that Adrian was nervous at the start of the ceremony, but that gave way to wonder by the time it was over. That was followed by curiosity as he walked over and picked up the key which he handed over to Ameiko.
"Do you have any idea what this may open?"
Ameiko straps her samisen onto her back before she takes the key from Adrian. "I think it might open that" she says as she points to the jade and cherry chest.
Aiko is practically vibrating as the meeting happens, waiting to see if the skeleton will keep its word, or if she'll have to jump in front of Ameiko to save her from a sudden attack.
When the meeting finally ends and the skeleton puts down the key, she says, "I presume that opens the chest he was sitting on!"
"Wow. How did that feel?"
"It was a strange feeling. At first it felt prickly, then it became warm and soothing. I suspect that if I wasn't what the ritual was expecting bad things would have happened. I have to admit, I was a little scared when the light first enveloped me. So, who wants to see what is in this chest?"
"I'm glad you came through it unscathed," says Aiko. "After all, we went to all this trouble to protect you, it would have been a great loss if that had been some kind of awful magic!"
The kunoichi stoops down to pick up the key and hands it to Ameiko. "Would you do the honors? I believe this belongs to you."
Adrian nodded and awaited what's next. "We'll be here for you for whatever may happen."
Caine nods in the affirmative.
What a mystery this is.
Ameiko takes the key from Aiko "It seems I get to open the chest. I guess that's fair since it is my family's treasure."
Turning the key in the lock causes the lock to click open and taking a deep breath she says "Here goes" as the lid of the chest swings open. "Wow! Look at all this stuff!"
"What's in there?" He expecting something more sinister, so the fact that Ameiko found something exciting piqued his interest enough to take a look himself.
|
|
Ameiko opens the large jade and cherry wood chest with the key that was hung from Tsutamu's neck. The interior of the chest is velvet-lined with numerous empty slots. There are however 10 potions, a ring, a wand, a chain shirt and another sword like the one Tsutamu was weilding.
In addition, there are 11 fireworks that appear to be the same as the ones the goblins fired (Desnan candle) and four fireworks that appear to be a little different.
There are several sacks which contain gold (421) and silver (3820) pieces along with pieces of fine jewelry.
Ameiko casts a spell
"Hmm, there is a lot of magic in here - give me a few moments and let me see if I can determine the nature of these items."
As Ameiko pulls out the various potions, the wand and the ring. She exclaims "OK! we have 5 potions of cure light wounds and two potions of cure moderate wounds. There are three other potions I am not certain of their nature. The wand is a wand of identify and the ring is a ring of climbing."
Interest definitely piqued, Caine also cast Detect Magic and he begins examining the goods.
The Magus just nods at Ameiko's announcements; until she gets to those 3 particular Potions.
Oh, I know those! Three potions of lesser restoration!
He grins.
Magic was never really his thing, so instead, he tried his luck checking the price of the items.
At least one of them was familiar to him. "I've seen this chest before," Adrian said. "I saw it on the market costing about 250 gold pieces if anyone wanted to sell it."
"You're rich, Ameiko! Are you going to retire and live a life of luxury?"
Appraising anything that still needs it:
"Hmm...not my forte..."
Noticing the wakizashi Tsutamu gave her was also magical, Ameiko attempts to determine its properties.
"Hey Aiko! I'm not much of a sword person and I know you like these blades. This wakizashi is magical and might be better than the one you have. Would you be interested in using it?"
As she handles the sword to determine its properties, she notices something about its pommel. "Wait! I think this pommel is loose." As she fiddles with the pommel, Ameiko reveals a compartment that went unnoticed before. A quick twist and pull opens the compartment "Hey, there is something inside the pommel." The tavern keeper pulls out a small mithral scroll tube. "What could this be?" She opens the tube and pulls out a small piece of parchment. As she reads the scroll her facial expressions change from sadness to intrigued to excitement. "It's a message from my grandfather Rokuro."
As Ameiko contemplates the contents of the scroll it slips from her hand and falls to the ground.
He didn't initially see her reaction to the letter as it fell to the ground. He merely knelt down to pick it up again.
"Oh, looks like your fingers sl... oh."
The gravity of the letter only continued to weigh down upon him as he finished the letter and it wasn't even meant for him. Once he finished, he slowly turned back towards Ameiko. "D... Do you have any idea what your grandfather may be talking about?"
"I'm not certain, but I intend to find out. I want to travel to Brinewall and see if I can make any sense out of what he wrote. I need to do some planning once we get back to Sandpoint."
Caine does begin to calculate the possibilities the Note reveals...
Never been to Brinewall.
"That's... that's extraordinary!" says Aiko breathily. "We could discover your family's heritage—and perhaps more about mine as well!" For a moment she looks like she is going to be giddy, but then her expression sobers quickly when she regards the wakizashi that Aiko offers.
"You know what you're offering to me, yes?" she says. "You already know that I will always protect you and help you, I promised that just like my father did, but... are you asking me to serve you like Tsutamu did for your grandfather?"
"Because I will."
"If I recall what the note said, he basically said not to go there. Especially when someone evil may use your curiosity for their gain." His voice is one of worry.
"I would never ask for your servitude Aiko. You have been my dearest friend - especially during the times of my life when I was feeling alone and sad. I would like you to have this sword as a way for me to express my appreciation of our friendship. I am concerned about the security of this sword though. The pommel needs to be repaired. I suggest you take it to the Red Dog Smithy in town. Das Korvut is not the friendliest person in town, but if you mention it is for me, I think he will help us."
"I have wanted to go to Brinewall ever since I first heard of it!"
Brinewall is certainly the place to go!
"Did no one read the part about going there is exactly what her enemies want her to do?" he asked exasperated.
"We can discuss this more back at the Rusty Dragon. Unless anyone wants to stay here and explore, I suggest we head back to Sandpoint, Sandru is waiting at the Lost Coast road."
Caine smiles at Adrian.
If that is what her enemies want her to do; than doing it would be exactly what they would not expect!
The Magus let's that logic sink in, as they head back to the wagons...
Ameiko smiles at Caine "I like your way of thinking."
Adrian sighed. The entire thing felt fishy to him, but at that point there was no stopping them. "Alright. Going back is a good idea, actually, We can go see if there's anything your father left behind that could explain the letter."
|
|
You journey back to the point on the Lost Coast Road where you parted with Sandru. The return trip presents no dangers and when you rejoin a waiting Sandru, Walthus says reverently "It has been an honor traveling with you, but I prefer to remain in the swamp. Best of luck on your journeys ahead. If you ever find yourself back here, please stop by and say hello. I can never truly repay you for your help and kindness. I will raise a mug and say a prayer to Cayden for your safe travels. Farewell!"
With a wave Walthus turns to head back into the swamp.
"Farewell Walthus! Thank you!"
"As it is dinnertime, please accept my invitation to have a meal on me. Afterwards, I would like to discuss a proposal with you. "
"Of course." Adrian nodded in response before heading over to the Rusty Dragon.