Episode III

       Returning from their encounter with the Nama Hage, the hunters took Akuso to the local temple where he was taken by the nuns to have his wounds tended to. After which they were rewarded with an unusual gift from Kuroda. They were given the keys to an “Engineers Workshop” a technological marvel of a past age. But that was not all, for within the workshop itself was a huge armored transportation unit called the “Iron Turtle”. The boy Taro was told to familiarize himself with the working of the machine and report his finding to the samurai Junzaburo.

Leaving his companions to rummage through the contents of the workshop for other items that might be helpful, Junzaburo returned to the safe house. When he arrived he was met just outside by a hooded woman. Introducing herself as Mitsue, she explained that she was a scout for Kuroda, and that she had important information concerning the logging camps   and surrounding forest. After inviting her in, Junzaburo partook of some opium and over a cup of tea the two discussed the recent troubles. Junzaburo then accepted Mitsues proposal to join his team, and assigned her quarters before retiring for the evening.


              The next day, in an attempt to discover more about the disease that was affecting the town, the hunters headed to the quarantined Eta village just a ways south of the town proper. Oddly the residents of the outcast village did not appear to be suffering from the disease, and when questioned, the villagers said that they did not think any of their number was currently affected. As people who worked with the dead, the Eta should have been among the first to show signs of infection. Puzzled the hunters returned to the town proper and began asking the locals for the addresses of families who had been stuck with the illness. A pattern quickly emerged, which pointed to the “Uptown” area. The malaise seemed to be concentrated on the wealthier families and in particular their young children. Not sure how to address this problem the hunters placed a white flag on top of their safe-house with the hope that their mysterious ally may be able to shed some more light on the matter.

             
            In the meantime the group decided to investigate the “Massage parlor” that the operator of the gambling den had told them was infested with “Long neck” women. Not wanting to start a huge fight inside the town walls if at all possible, the hunters attempted to make their visit appear to be a casual one. They were most graciously welcomed and treated lavishly, and it seemed for a moment as if the hunters might not have to take the women’s heads. The head Oiran “Kimi” spotted the group for the monster hunters that they were almost immediately, but assured them that she could feed without killing and had not killed anyone who did not “deserve” it. After sharing a few good songs and a few more cups of sake. Junzaburo retired upstairs with Kimi and ordered his companions Moto & Yuuo to stand guard at his door, while the hunter Mitsue attempted to coax information from the staff. 

  Just a Junzaburo was beginning to enjoy himself, Moto mysteriously passed out much to the shock of Yuuo. Meanwhile Mistsu had collected some disturbing news from one on the serving girls. The oiran were Rokurokubi and not only had they been feeding on the customers, as was expected, but the head oiran Kimi had also been forcing the staff to drink her blood, turning them into mindless slaves. Hearing this information and a loud thud as Moto’s head hit the floor upstairs, Mitsue ran to find her companions. Finding Yuuo trying to wake Moto, who appeared to be under some type of spell, Mistue burst into Junazburo’s room. Surprised by the interruption, Junzaburo & the oiran Kimi fumbled to dress themselves as Mitsue explained what she had heard from the maid. When Junzaburo confronted Kimi about this, her demeanor quickly changed, and she began to hum a grim lullaby. The group found it hard to raise their weapons against the woman, as her song mesmerized them. But one at a time they managed to shake off her spell for a few moments and strike, before falling under her charms once again. It was a slow fight, whittling away at the creature, and only after taking some serious damage themselves did the group manage to sever her head and reduce her to a pile of dust. 

            This however was not the end of their ordeal, they still had to exit the premises, and there was a good chance that the other two girls would be waiting for them, along an unknown number of blood slaves. After filling their ears with wax, in an attempt to stifle the sirens song, the heroes cautiously headed downstairs. They found the ground floor oddly deserted, it appeared that the Kimi's death had broken the blood bond, and the slaves, along with the customers, had fled. As the hunters crept towards the door, Yuuo felt cold hands grasp him from behind, and just managed to give Moto a quick kick as he was dragged off screaming by Kimi's bloodthirsty offspring. The fiends had been hanging gingerly from the ceiling, waiting to pounce, but with the power of their dirge quelled the sirens were quickly dispatched.
            
            With there job done, the heroes headed back to their safe house once again, brused and bloodied, to rest and prepare for their next hunt. Which would almost certainly be sooner then any of them would like.