Act 3—The Monster of the ShrineVisiting the ShrineAfter their visit to the House of Heavenly S<strong>and</strong>, Buntaroleads the PCs to the site of the second “incident”.This site is one of the smaller shrines dotted aroundthe rocky promontory on which the Shining Templeof Bishamon sits. (The shrine is area 5 on the citymap.) A map <strong>and</strong> description of the shrine can befound in the following section.On the way to the shrine, Buntaro gives the PCs thisbackground:“The next incident took place a day after wefound the dead headman,” Buntaro growls, asthough the whole thing had been orchestrated byvengeful kami just to plague him. “Another deadbody, but this one different. This one was a pilgrim,<strong>and</strong> this time there was no doubt how he died. Hisbody was rended by claws.”“It seems he decided to spend the night in prayerin the Shrine of the West Wind. That’s normal: almostevery night at least one pilgrim decides tospend the night in at least one of the minor shrines.As usual, two samurai were on duty outside theshrine. In the morning, when the pilgrim’s companionscame to join him, they found him dead . . .spread out on the altar like a sacrifice. There washell to pay.”If the PCs ask what—if anything—the guardiansamurai heard or saw, Buntaro answers:“Nothing,” Buntaro spits. “They swore on theirnonexistent honor that they heard nothing <strong>and</strong> sawnothing untoward all night. Fools. Of course, I orderedthem to immediately to expiate their failure.”Buntaro explains that this body was kept, <strong>and</strong> the PCscan see it later. If the PCs ask, Buntaro tells them thatthis corpse, too, was questioned using speak with dead:“It said it saw something, something coming towardit before its soul was sent into the Great Void”Buntaro makes a sour face. “It said it saw a black,manlike figure . . . with wings. Nonsense, of course.”The unfortunate pilgrim was in fact slain by a ninjawearing a pair of nekode. The ninja was clad entirelyin black, <strong>and</strong> wore a black cape in which he couldwrap himself to break up his outline. In the darknessof the shrine, <strong>and</strong> in the last moment of his life, the pilgrimcan be forgiven for mistaking the cape-clad ninjafor a winged man.As the PCs <strong>and</strong> samurai approach the shrine, theysee four other samurai st<strong>and</strong>ing guard before the entranceto the shrine. (Buntaro explains that he’s doubledthe guard.) These four samurai-all wearing thebrown kimono of Benju’s forces-keep their h<strong>and</strong>sready on the hilts of their katanas even after the PCs’group is close enough for them to have recognizedBuntaro. They relax only when Buntaro officiallygreets them. (These samurai have vowed to themselvesnot to make the same mistake as their dead <strong>and</strong>dishonored colleagues, <strong>and</strong> will remain unfailinglyvigilant.) The four samurai are unarmored, but carrykatanas <strong>and</strong> wakizashis. Use the statistics for “Benju’sSamurai” in Chapter VII.Buntaro escorts the PCs into the shrine, <strong>and</strong> showsthem the altar on which the body was found.Shrine of the West WindThe Shrine of the West Wind is a small, singlestoriedtemple. It has the fluted ceiling typical of mosttemples; it is not terraced, however. The outer wallsare weight-bearing, of strong wood. The inner wallsare of woven reeds, more like screens than anythingelse. The shrine is poorly lit by smoking lanterns ofanimal fat, which are mounted on the eight pillars.The central statue-representing Komoku the WideGazing-st<strong>and</strong>s 25 feet tall, <strong>and</strong> is constructed ofwood covered with the thinnest coating of beatengold. The four statues at the eastern end of the shrineare life-sized representations of famous priests whoworshipped Komoku.Before the central statue is a wooden altar on whichpilgrims lay offerings to Komoku. These offerings areusually of flowers or intricate works of origami. Thepale wood of the altar bears a barely-visiblediscoloration-a blood stain. Visitors to the templehave tried to scrub away the stain, but a faint reminderstill remains.Today the altar is covered with offerings, many ofthem to smooth the journey of the murdered pilgrim’ssoul. There are four people in the shrine when thePCs arrive. Three are simple pilgrims (use the “generaltownsfolk” statistics). The third is a moreformidable-looking figure: a shaven-headed, asceticman wearing orange monk’s robes. This is the monkYaemon (refer to Chapter VII for statistics).The pilgrims treat the PCs <strong>and</strong> samurai with respect<strong>and</strong> honor. Yaemon responds politely to the PCs <strong>and</strong>the other samurai, but to Buntaro his behavior is onthe verge of insult. (In fact, if Yaemon weren’t so obviouslya holy personage, Buntaro would probablydraw steel on him.) The reason for Yaemon’s animositytowards Buntaro will come out if the two engage inany conversation: the monk blames Buntaro for thedeath of the pilgrim.None of the pilgrims or Yaemon can exp<strong>and</strong> uponwhat Buntaro has already said about the death. Allthree pilgrims travelled with the dead man, but noneknew him well. One of the pilgrims was among thosewho found the body, but he can shed no further lighton the incident.Angered by the attitude of Yaemon—<strong>and</strong> particularlyby the fact that the monk might well be rightabout his responsibility—Buntaro will not tarry long18
in the shrine, wishing to lead the PCs to where theycan view the body.The Dearly DepartedThe body of the slain pilgrim rests on a low woodentable in a ramshackle hut just inside the wall of thetown’s graveyard (area 15). Two samurai guard theshack from busybodies. They carry katanas <strong>and</strong> wakizashis,<strong>and</strong> both also carry daikyu <strong>and</strong> 12 arrows;they are unarmored. Two eta gravediggers are waitingoutside the shack, ready to deal with the body (use“general townsfolk” statistics).Buntaro leads the PCs into the shack to show themthe body. Read the following:Buntaro’s description has prepared you for whatyou see. The pilgrim died badly, you can see immediately.The deep tears in the man’s throat <strong>and</strong>chest are just what you’d expect from the clawingattack of a man-sized or larger creature-perhapsa tiger. But then, a tiger would have dragged thecorpse off to eat it, isn’t that so? And-no matterwhat Buntaro may think-it’s doubtful that eventhe most unobservant samurai wouldn’t have noticeda tiger entering the shrine.And is this the environment for tigers anyway?There’s nothing more of use to be learned from examiningthe body. Buntaro waits impatiently until thePCs are done, then leads them away from the shed,nodding to the gravediggers to do their work. Oncethe group is back inside the wall of the town, read thefollowing:Buntaro turns to you <strong>and</strong> bows-the bare minimumrequired by politeness <strong>and</strong> not one degreemore, although he’s not being directly insulting . . .quite.“My master orders me to tell you to go about yourinvestigation now,” he growls at you. “You are free totravel the town, <strong>and</strong> speak with who you will. Youare to report anything you learn directly to me or toYuji Takaesu. My master also orders me to say”—<strong>and</strong>here Buntaro looks as though he’s tasted somethingfoul—“that, if you wish to pass your information onto him directly, you may do so. Speak to either myselfor Takaesu- san, <strong>and</strong> we will arrange an audience.Finally, my master orders me to invite you toview the sunset with him from the Shining Templeof Bishamon this evening. He orders me to tell you itwould be his honor to see you there.”And then, with another perfunctory bow, Buntaroturns his back <strong>and</strong> strides away, flanked by hissamurai.The PCs have the remainder of the day to w<strong>and</strong>eraround Aru town, learning the lay of the l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong>talking to anyone they like.19
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