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| On Hingashi's westernmost isle of Shishu lies the long-venerated Mount Rokkon. Once refuge for humble monks and weary pilgrims, the holy site lately fell to a host of malevolent mononoke, spurring the local liege lord to take the unprecedented step of inviting ijin to assist in reclaiming its slopes. As is his wont, Hancock has secured the promise of valuable rewards in exchange for his─and your─assistance, but each of these treasures has a life of its own...
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Requirements:
- 1 to 4 players
- Class: Disciples of War or Magic (excluding limited jobs)
- Level: 90
- Average Item Level: 605
- Item Level Sync: 665
- Job Change Permitted
- Role and item level restrictions are lifted for parties meeting minimum size requirements.
Restrictions:
Time limit- 90 minutes
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Three paths to be unsealed at our behest. Whither shall we wander?
Were I to chart our course...
I would choose this path. |
| Hancock's Portal
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Another Portal
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You thought to go down this path as well? How reassuring!
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Interested in a different path? I shall place my trust in your intuition.
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The portal, if you would, good sir.
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Uzumibi Onmyoji
Seal of shadow, reveal thy path!
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Excellent! Let us be about it.
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A grand gate. What lies beyond, I wonder?
Demons already!?
Well done, Forename!
I espy a most promising pagoda! Let us make it our destination.
There is no end to these beasts!
'Tis little wonder the mount was sealed. |
No! My climbing attire is soaked...
What curious creatures! They must have been emboldened by these terrible torrents.
Mountain weather is wont to change on a whim, but 'tis not nature's whims at work here...
A shinobi? And out in the open, at that... |
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Thank the kami the rains have ceased... We should make for shelter ere another storm passes through.
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This is no ordinary windstorm!
Such tumultuous spirits! Servants of the wind, no doubt.
These winds could blow a man away...and will, if we do not tread carefully!
A shinobi? And out in the open, at that... |
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Thank the kami the winds have ceased... We should make for shelter ere we are blown back to the foot of the mountain!
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If I had to wager a guess, these must be the temple's stores. Rather spacious, aren't they?
Oh dear. They've raided the place!
Were I a treasure─cursed or no─I imagine I would abide within these walls. But where... |
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Under the auspices of two auspices, as it were. Curious.
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I might have known that Suzaku and Seiryu were the guardians of this gateway─though in fairness, one usually needs grapple with only one at a time.
All this for a dead end...? How odd.
You mean to take to the roof!?
I see the mononoke share your sensibilities!
Let us head back inside, quickly! |
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Another flight of stairs! Shall we?
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Face me, and I shall grant you an honorable death!
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I see no clockwork mechanisms... We've an honest-to-kami mononoke on our hands.
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My blade thirsts for mortal blood!
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Mark where the armor readies its blade─though it has quite a reach, it cannot strike everywhere at once!
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To me, my warriors! Your lord has need of you!
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The bloodlust is palpable... Have care, Forename! I shall be right here─at a reasonably safe distance─cheering you on!
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To arms, my warriors! We make for the front lines!
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They may have strength in numbers, but worry not! If you cannot beat them, dodge them, I say!
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The chorus of steel rings eternal!
My ire is an infernal flame, never to be smothered!
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A clash for the ages! Life-threatening circumstances aside, 'tis always a pleasure to witness bushido at work.
I had guessed the passage we traversed would lead us to the stores' most valuable contents─lo and behold!
Such exceptional relics are a rarity indeed...this armor not least of all.
The spirit that enlivened it may have been one of the very tsukumogami of rumor.
In an ideal world, I would not hesitate to bring home every last blade the mononoke touched... Alas, my falcon can only bear so much weight.
This calls for serious consideration... Pray leave me to my thoughts for a moment. |
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That battle must have blown out the lights.
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Face me, and I shall grant you an honorable death!
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I see no clockwork mechanisms... We've an honest-to-kami mononoke on our hands.
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My blade thirsts for mortal blood!
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Mark where the armor readies its blade─though it has quite a reach, it cannot strike everywhere at once!
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To me, my warriors! Your lord has need of you!
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The bloodlust is palpable... Have care, Forename! I shall be right here─at a reasonably safe distance─cheering you on!
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To arms, my warriors! We make for the front lines!
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They may have strength in numbers, but worry not! If you cannot beat them, dodge them, I say!
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The chorus of steel rings eternal!
Our spirits are as the wind, never to be fettered!
War is a sea of sorrow, and you shall drown! |
Well done, Forename! You are an unholy terror on the battlefield─and I mean that in the most flattering way.
To think that our secret passage would lead us to such an immaculate armory... Perhaps the monks utilized this as a shelter in times of strife.
I doubt they expected the armor they stored to come to life, however. Quite the harrowing foe, that one.
...Which leads me to believe that the armor itself must be one of the treasures we seek!
Despite its storied history, it looks almost pristine. I suspect the monks tended to it regularly.
It shall prove quite the challenge to bring back...but I daresay my falcon and I are up to the task! Pray accept my unending gratitude for your assistance, Forename. |
So the glass serves as a magicked doorknob of sorts? The monks were certainly inventive...
You too are a connoisseur of Far Eastern maps, I trust? Terribly charming, how the Four Lords are shown ruling the cardinal directions.
Gods, they're everywhere! Have at them!
How very suspicious. |
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Face me, and I shall grant you an honorable death!
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I see no clockwork mechanisms... We've an honest-to-kami mononoke on our hands.
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My blade thirsts for mortal blood!
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Mark where the armor readies its blade─though it has quite a reach, it cannot strike everywhere at once!
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To me, my warriors! Your lord has need of you!
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The bloodlust is palpable... Have care, Forename! I shall be right here─at a reasonably safe distance─cheering you on!
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To arms, my warriors! We make for the front lines!
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They may have strength in numbers, but worry not! If you cannot beat them, dodge them, I say!
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The chorus of steel rings eternal!
In tenebrous night shall you meet your end...
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I once dreamed of shaking hands with a giant oni, but not like this!
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'Tis difficult to appreciate while under threat of slicing and dicing, but the monks amassed a truly impressive collection of blades here.
To say naught of our most enspirited armor!
Perhaps the soul of the warrior who once wore it yet lingered, awaiting his chance to take to the battlefield once more...
Or perhaps his sword was a treasure with a life of its own.
A vexing conundrum─what to bring back to Kugane, that is. I don't suppose you've space in your bag...? |
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Oho! The wicked presence is no more.
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Face me, and I shall grant you an honorable death!
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I see no clockwork mechanisms... We've an honest-to-kami mononoke on our hands.
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My blade thirsts for mortal blood!
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Mark where the armor readies its blade─though it has quite a reach, it cannot strike everywhere at once!
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To me, my warriors! Your lord has need of you!
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The bloodlust is palpable... Have care, Forename! I shall be right here─at a reasonably safe distance─cheering you on!
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To arms, my warriors! We make for the front lines!
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They may have strength in numbers, but worry not! If you cannot beat them, dodge them, I say!
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The chorus of steel rings eternal!
My blade is inescapable!
War is a sea of sorrow, and you shall drown! |
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Excellent work, Forename! I knew from the first you would emerge victori─
...What, pray tell, is that look for?
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Your faith in my faith in you aside, you may be interested to know that I recognize the detailing on this armor. It once belonged to a renowned warrior.
Could this be an accursed treasure, I wonder? That blade in the box we encountered was rather suspicious as well...
Would that my falcon had the freight capacity of a barge...
Alas, I suppose I must choose which artifacts to leave behind─for now. |
How pleasingly picturesque! Had we no demons to slay, I would suggest a more leisurely stroll.
I shall leave the martial matters to you!
I shudder to think of the chaos should those creatures find their way to civilization...
I spy a structure in the distance..
I suppose we're obliged to take the scenic route.
So many horrors, so little time!
That ahead is Shojo Temple, home to Gorai and his accursed collection! |
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If only we had time for the typical ablutions... But a proper pilgrimage must wait for another day.
For now, treasure awaits! As do the monk and his minions, of course. Do have care.
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I admit that I was equally tempted to pull that rope, though part of me wishes you hadn't...
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A shinobi? And out in the open, at that...
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The statues keep silent vigil in their masters' absence...but they are not the treasures we seek. Onward!
The temple stretches on ever further. Step lively, Forename! We've plenty to explore.
Even the inner sanctum is plagued with demons. If any who remained did survive, 'twould be nothing short of a miracle. |
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A shinobi? And out in the open, at that...
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Splendid as these statues are, they appear lacking in the “accursed” aspect. Our quarry must lie further in.
Though the temple's isolation is a blessing for the smallfolk, I imagine it made the monks' experience all the more harrowing...
We have yet to see hide nor hair of Gorai... |
Breathtaking! 'Tis as though the majestic tiger it depicts might pounce off the screen at any─ Oh?
That was not an invitation! Your assistance, please, Forename!
Why, I feared that would be the end of me!
That precarious pile of crates is a mountain unto itself! |
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By the kami, Forename, how did you get up there?
Adventurers and their climbing... Why, just the other day, on Kugane Tower─ But perhaps that is a tale for another time.
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That sounded promising... If you suddenly hear my winsome wailing, you had best come running!
Ah, a secret stairwell! How very convenient.
“Be careful what you wish for,” and all that... |
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I see naught else of note here.
The inner sanctum awaits!
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These treasures are mine! All mine! You shall not sully their brilliance!
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The head monk, I take it? And bearing a form befitting his proclivities...
Beware the biwa's melody, Forename! It resounds with power...
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A drink to fuel the fires of my fury!
Ahahaha! You are as nothing before my might!
Curses... The libations...!
Beads to bind the spirit's form...
With these words, be reborn!
My blessings are your curse!
You yet stand!?
No... My precious...treasures... |
Admirable as always, Forename! Few would be so keen to face down a rat of that size.
To say naught of his unusual sousing. When the unholy draught touched his lips, I feared his fury would consume the entire temple.
I should like to know precisely what baleful influence was wrought upon the drink...but not enough to test it myself.
Nay, I must bring back a less volatile artifact of our endeavors...
The living lanterns─chochin, as the Hingans say─were particularly fascinating, were they not?
Now that they are returned to their original form, I may safely seek to learn more of the spirits they once harbored. Let us add them to my collection forthwith! |
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Curious... This lantern shines differently than the rest. The mononoke's influence, perhaps?
No, some other mechanism. What if I...
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Lesson learned, Hancock─do not prod eerily glowing objects!
In any case, the monks went to great pains to conceal this path. What could have warranted such secrecy?
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A thousand thousand paths...and yours ends here.
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Kami forfend! We could suffocate under this wicked haze...
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I'd wager the tsukumogami is the pipe itself─its body a mere illusion.
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Dying embers are easily snuffed...
We are everything and nothing─your first and final breath!
Choke in your graves!
Slayer of spirits... Their fate will soon be yours!
Your soul is mine to claim! Your marrow, mine to burn... |
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A brilliant display! With the demonic smoke dispelled, we may breathe easy once more.
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Only an entity of great power could transform its surrounds so dramatically. You did well to outmaneuver it.
Now, I espied something resting within the shrine earlier...
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Oho! As I predicted.
I have seen depictions of this pipe before. There can be no doubt that it is an age-old treasure.
Gorai must have known that a fierce tsukumogami slumbered within it. Thus he stored it apart, far from the sanctity of the temple...
But its will was too strong to be consigned to such ignominy, and in its neglect, its power only grew. Until it was strong enough to enshroud the mount entire...
Now that this lord among demons is slain, we can assume that peace shall return to the region. We must report the good news to Mistress Tsubaki posthaste!
I─and my growing collection─should not have fared half so well without you here. I am in your debt! |
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This temple is the pinnacle of picturesque.
More of them? <sigh> After you, Forename!
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Shishu White Baboon
M-M-Mortals!?
Nooo! Spare me, I beg of you!
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Shishu White Baboon
Many, many thanks!
That way! Oh yes, that way!
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And off it goes...
Somehow, I doubt that brute has learned its lesson... But let us continue on.
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These treasures are mine! All mine! You shall not sully their brilliance!
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The head monk, I take it? And bearing a form befitting his proclivities...
Beware the biwa's melody, Forename! It resounds with power...
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Shishu White Baboon
No mercy, no mercy!
Hee hee! You thought you were free of me!
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Beads to bind the spirit's form...
With these words, be reborn!
My blessings are your curse!
You yet stand!?
No... My precious...treasures... |
Both master and minion, irascible to the last...
Tokimori's words ring true. These creatures allow for not a modicum of mercy.
With your victory, we may now free the mountain of Gorai's influence─by liberating these treasures from his collection, of course.
Any one of them may have harbored spiritual forces. Perhaps all of them─it would certainly explain Gorai's impressive transformation.
As for which deserves a place in my collection... Gorai's biwa, of course! A fine addition.
And with that, we may be on our way. Your company has been a pleasure as always, Forename. |
Shishu White Baboon
How dare you! How dare you!
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A sorry attempt at an ambush, if you ask me...but let us continue on.
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These treasures are mine! All mine! You shall not sully their brilliance!
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The head monk, I take it? And bearing a form befitting his proclivities...
Beware the biwa's melody, Forename! It resounds with power...
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Divine thunder, heed my call─bestow upon my biwa your tumultuous timbre!
My power will see you humbled!
Shrink before my might! Quiver in awe!
Beads to bind the spirit's form...
With these words, be reborn!
My blessings are your curse!
You yet stand!?
No... My precious...treasures... |
And so the demon is slain!
Though his avarice availed him curious tools, your skill carried the day.
One wonders what artifacts he might have unveiled had you waited a touch longer to deal the killing blow...but there's naught to be done about it now.
Naught but to take the lesson of his life to heart, perhaps. Never shirk the proper appraisal of items with dubious histories!
Bearing this firmly in mind, I shall help myself to that hammer of his.
'Twas an honor and a privilege to accompany you, Forename! Shall we begin our preparations for the journey back? |
A path straight up the holy mount, is it? How refreshingly dangerous!
Aaaaaaaaaaaah!
...Oh. Just seedkin.
Shall we continue our hike?
Aha! There's our quarry.
Why, these hills stretch on for malms! Would that they were not alive with the sound of demons.
No time to tarry! We've a ways to go.
The Hingans call these clay figures dogu─but why is one here, of all places? |
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Best to let sleeping dogu lie. For all we know, it could be cursed.
A shinobi? And out in the open, at that...
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Fallen leaves and fresh greenery in such close proximity? 'Tis passing strange.
I believe this is where you come in!
What lies at the end of the path, I wonder...?
There's a veritable menagerie on this mountain!
Such a tranquil place, these mountain heights. By the look of it, I presume it is not a path that many tread.
Hmm... 'Tis not the first of those stones we've encountered. Do they serve as shrines of some sort?
What is that lodged in the statue? |
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Gods be good! I know not how, but the statue has awakened...and it did not wake on the right side of the proverbial bed!
Just a moment─I have read of this before! If I am not mistaken, that mononoke is Shishio, king among nue!
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A deed fit for legend! Quite literally, for Shishio appears in countless Hingan myths.
One, in fact, tells of a wayfaring warrior who triumphed over it long ago.
As such, I was aware that its harrowing cry could warp the very earth...but to see it firsthand is a wholly different beast, I'm sure you agree.
Though the creature bore none of Gorai's treasures, we can take comfort in the knowledge that it will terrorize Lord Uzumibi's people no more.
...And in the no less valuable artifacts we've spotted over the course of our journey to the summit, naturally.
All that remains is to carry the spoils to our waiting falcons. I trust I can count on you? |
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If that dogu turns on us, its extermination shall be your responsibility, I hope you know!
A shinobi? And out in the open, at that...
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There are few things more breathtaking than autumnal leaves...even if they are out of season. The influence of a treasure, I suspect.
And just like that, the scenery is ruined!
You would think they'd have given up by now... |
I understand you adventurers enjoy the roads less traveled, but─ And there she goes. Courage, Hancock!
...This is precisely why a life of adventure is not for me.
Such a tranquil place, these mountain heights. By the look of it, I presume it is not a path that many tread.
Hmm... 'Tis not the first of those stones we've encountered. Do they serve as shrines of some sort?
What is that lodged in the statue? |
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Gods be good! I know not how, but the statue has awakened...and it did not wake on the right side of the proverbial bed!
Just a moment─I have read of this before! If I am not mistaken, that mononoke is Shishio, king among nue!
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A deed fit for legend! Quite literally, for Shishio appears in countless Hingan myths.
One, in fact, tells of a wayfaring warrior who triumphed over it long ago.
As such, I was aware that its harrowing cry could warp the very earth...but to see it firsthand is a wholly different beast, I'm sure you agree.
Though the creature bore none of Gorai's treasures, we can take comfort in the knowledge that it will terrorize Lord Uzumibi's people no more.
...And in the no less valuable artifacts we've spotted over the course of our journey to the summit, naturally.
All that remains is to carry the spoils to our waiting falcons. I trust I can count on you? |
'Tis as though it's answering! How very polite.
No shrine is built without purpose...or so I have heard. If such is the case, then what might this one be for?
Oho! I knew from the first that the dogu was meant for something greater.
I, for one, have naught but respect for our new clay comrade! ...Do you think it can hear us?
The result of a landslide, perhaps? |
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One cannot go wrong with a rustic log bridge─assuming the trunk is free of angry spirits, of course...
What is that lodged in the statue?
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Gods be good! I know not how, but the statue has awakened...and it did not wake on the right side of the proverbial bed!
Just a moment─I have read of this before! If I am not mistaken, that mononoke is Shishio, king among nue!
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A harrowing display! Such ferocity have I rarely seen!
And Shishio was quite fearsome as well. It puts me in the mind of the Western chimera.
Yet of all that I have seen today, I am most taken with the dogu. I admit, I had my doubts...but to restore life to nature is no common feat.
I should like to take it back to Kugane. On the off chance it is sentient, we must hope it sees fit to forgive my earlier misgivings.
Our risks thus far have paid fine dividends, and I have you to thank for it. You have my utmost gratitude, Forename. |
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The warding talismans on this boulder give me pause...but it shall serve as well as any bridge, I suppose.
What is that lodged in the statue?
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Gods be good! I know not how, but the statue has awakened...and it did not wake on the right side of the proverbial bed!
Just a moment─I have read of this before! If I am not mistaken, that mononoke is Shishio, king among nue!
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That is one mononoke felled─though if the legends are to be believed, Shishio is a wholly different beast than its tsukumogami brethren.
It came to the mountain long before Gorai's time─was sealed here by the very founder of Shojo Temple, in fact.
'Tis enough to make one wonder if that boulder we felled did not possess some greater significance...
But let us turn from that dark path, and instead appreciate the sacred scenery before us! Breathtaking, is it not?
...Do let me know if you spy any artifacts of value. I should like something to commemorate this trek.
You, of course, must have my sincerest thanks for making the perilous climb! |
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Mount Rokkon
