Scion - Rada Campaign - Guest Appearance 2-1
So, lots of terrible stuff has been going on in Takamagahara lately. There's been a plague of centipedes. The things are appearing everywhere, and some of them monstrously large. To make matters worse, a growing number of kami and youkai are becoming infected with a poison or sickness that causes a writhing swarm of centipedes to grow inside of them. If they don't fight off the infection, the centipedes eat their way out of every orifice, often killing their poor host in the process! It's really gross, and it really, really sucks.
We've managed to keep things contained, but only barely. And the whole situation is weighing heavily on Amaterasu. I've tried to remain at her side to give her the support she needs. The plague is having some political ramifications as well. There is growing antipathy among the kami and youkai against the Amatsukami leadership. They are afraid and disgruntled because we haven't been able to stop the plague yet. But we think this is all part of a plot by Hundun and Omukade, the titan centipede (who is associated with Crom Cruach), to encourage animosity toward the Amatsukami among our faithful.
So Amaterasu and I have decided to find out more about the plague by investigating the place it struck first: Hawaii. There are a lot of Shinto Japanese in Hawaii, including quite a few youkai, and they were the first to suffer from the centipedes. Many died there before we really knew the severity of the problem.
Amaterasu and I have traveled to Hawaii along with our servants to meet with Ra and discuss the plague and other issues. My shikome are providing security, with Keiko, Dahlia, and Kimiyo calling the shots (Sera's at home with her new twin babies and Quinn's with Pierre and Elisa since she's pregnant and we didn't want to risk any exposure to the plague). I also brought Miko along (she is my handmaiden, after all) and of course Echo came! ^_^
But the best thing is that Ra also brought people to help investigate the plague too: Storm and his posse! Yay! Talk about being in good hands. ^_^ When Amaterasu and I arrived via the shinto shrine in Waikiki, they were waiting to formally receive us, and it was SO good to see them all again!
We spent a few minutes catching up, during which Jacob and I shared pictures of our kids. He has two more! Can you believe it? He's worse than Quinn! ^_^ He thanked me again for helping Hel out awhile back. He's still pretty f**king pissed at Mikaboshi (for good reason) and has decided that sooner or later he's going to march his armies into Soku-no-Kumi to kick the titan's ass. I had to make sure that he knew I was working on defeating Mikaboshi too and that we needed to work together to take him down...I can't afford to have Jacob's thirst for vengeance work against my plans.
All the others are doing well too. Sam and Carina are happy, though those weird aliens that seems to follow Sam around completely undermine his cool. Poor guy. At least they've rigged something up to keep them off Carina's barge in Iteru. Cesar and Helena are the same as always, though I do think that Helena is thawing out a bit. I had a little private chat with her and told her about the whole sexy Nazi nurse/dominatrix thing I'd seen Syn and Cila pulling off in 1943 Strasbourg, and much to my surprise, Helena was very intrigued. She seemed to think that Cesar would like the sexy nurse thing quite a bit! I mean, duh! OF course he would! You GO Helena!
Speaking of that, it's been awhile since I've done the sexy nurse thing for Yi. I think I know what I'LL be doing after this is all over. ^_^
I did have a word with Storm about Agala, but since we were really just glad to see one another, the scolding all got kinda swept under the rug. I'm really more interested in enlisting his aid to find her a hecatonchires husband anyway. I also made sure to thank Storm and the others for helping Echo out recently in Terra. I owe them one for that.
My thanks were cut a BIT short when Tabby strode up to Storm and began circling him in an an almost predatory fashion, gazing at him with sultry eyes until he turned and enveloped her in a big hug. Next thing I knew, Tabby's legs were locked around Storm's waist and she was kissing him ravenously, which was a little inappropriate, but you know, shikome will be shikome, and Dodekatheon will be Dodekatheon. ^_^
Of course Cesar's followers were all there, and it was nice to see them again. In particular, Kimiyo shared a tender moment with Melvin. She's really quiet about it, but Kimiyo and Melvin are still dating and visit each other regularly. I'm so glad to see her happy! And she really picked a winner!
And of course, everyone congratulated Amaterasu and me on our marriage. Amaterasu accepted their congratulations with grace and dignity, but I know her well enough to see that she was inwardly beaming with pleasure. I couldn't help but take her hand and give it a loving squeeze, which she returned. ^_^
So, the reunion was nice, and Amaterasu was so patient with me while I kinda gushed over seeing my friends again. The only awkward moment was when I was catching Storm's crew up on my recent fight against Zvran and the moon-beasts. I mentioned the paperwork-spewing dragon in Tien, and, I...uh...kinda let my true feelings on it get the best of me in a manner that wasn't exactly diplomatically appropriate...since I kept calling it a "f**king paperwork dragon." Seriously! What a waste of a good dragon! But anyway, Amaterasu sternly but gently chided me on using the F-bomb. (O_O) Oops. What a faux pas!
But...she certainly doesn't mind me using such language in the bedroom! (>_>) (^_^)
Anyway, by the time Amaterasu and I arrived, Storm's crew had already warded the Sands Hotel (where we're all staying) with warning lines, khaibit traps, and other defenses to keep use all safe. With all of that in place, plus the shikome, Machete and Cesar's other followers, and Storm's people, our delegations should be pretty safe.
With everything in place, we were ready to get started on the investigation, so we left Amaterasu and Ra to begin their talks while I went with Storm's group to make contact with the locals. Keiko had done some research and put me in touch with a local nopperabo named Puanani, who had seen some of the worst of the plague and could help us pinpoint the places where it had hit the hardest. So first, we headed out to meet with her.
Puanani received us in her home. She was extremely respectful toward us, especially toward me. I mean, I am one of the gods she serves, and on top of that I'm now Amaterasu's wife and to co-ruler of my pantheon. But I don't really like people being too formal with me, so I tried to put her at ease by telling her that she could relax. She still hasn't quite managed that, but she'll grow more comfortable around me eventually, I'm sure. Sadly, she had to introduce herself and explain her background to us first thing. See, she's a nopperabo thanks to her own sins (kinda like Sera) and is required to explain her sins to any gods she meets so that they'll know her shame. Yeah I know, right? WTF?
Apparently, she was raped by a couple of men. So, to get vengeance on them, she went the way of the ruthless onryo and found the men who raped her, tied them up, and burned their families to death before their eyes before killing them too. (O_O) Damn. That's harsh. Vengeance is one thing, but she really went way too far. I'd say she probably deserved to become a nopperabo after all that.
Still, isn't the curse itself enough? Who the f**k decided that she had to go and share the shame of her past mistakes every time she meets a god? Hmmm. I should probably be careful saying that, because it might've been Amaterasu. I should ask. Anyway, if she does a good job helping us out here, I'll see to it that she's rewarded. See, she has a husband, but since he's mortal, not youkai, he's grown old and is dying. Puanani seems like a very sad and remorseful woman, and I can tell that the imminent loss of her husband is weighing on her terribly. So when we've resolved things here in Hawaii, I plan to reward her for her service by making her husband young again and extending his life so they can be together for a long time to come. That's totally within my power as a goddess of life and death, and it seems like Puananai needs a pick-me-up. ^_^
Anyway, Puanani gave us plenty of info to get started on our investigation. First off, she told us the names and locations of several clubs where the plague seems to have started. Most of the youkai who had attended the clubs around the time the centipede outbreak began have either died or moved away, but there may be a connection to the clubs themselves. THAT pisses me off. Clubs are sacred as far as I'm concerned, and I told Puanani as much. She seemed a little uncertain, but accepted it. I mean, I am a goddess, so what I say has a lot of weight, you know? And I'm not even exaggerating! Hell, half the clubs in Japan have house shrines dedicated to me these days, and I'm pretty sure a bunch here in Hawaii do too.
There are also some other youkai we need to check out. Honolulu is home to lots of youkai, but most have left because of the plague. The few that are left include Hiwalani, a powerful jorougumo who lives near some waterfall's on one side of the island. She has been in direct contact with the infection and was even poisoned by it after fighting a horde of centipedes, but managed to survive, which says a lot for her strength! ^_^ Then there are Yoshi and Yatta. Yoshi is an ushi-oni, a kind of bull-headed crab demon youkai. Yatta is a shoujou, an ape-like type of youkai known for brewing potent sake. Those two often spend time together on the beaches, mostly causing mischief.
And then there's the menehune, the indigenous, diminutive beings of the Hawaiian Islands. I gather they are more or less human, just very small, and they are kinda like local kami. They do not get along with the youkai at all, though, so Puanani doesn't know if they've had trouble with centipedes or not. Their leader is named Ali'i Ku'Awki, so we need to try and track him down too to make sure he and his people are safe and to see what they know.
So, we have a lot of ground to cover. Cesar suggested we split up to do more damage. ^_^ So Storm and I headed out to visit Hiwalani because we felt she'd be more open to talking to an Amatsukami than someone from another pantheon. Jacob, Sam and Helena are going to investigate the clubs where the largest outbreaks have occurred, and Cesar and Carina are going to find the menehune.
Storm and I took Puanani with us and were able to meet with Hiwalani without any trouble at all. As jorougumo go, she was quite charming! ^_^ She was quite humbled to meet me in person, but she definitely knew who I was. She didn't know if the rumors she'd heard about my marriage to Amaterasu were true, so I assured her they were. ^_^
Hiwalani was able to give us a bit more info. First, she's seen the centipedes moving around a bit, and fought them once. The centipedes weren't just the small sort you'd expect, either. Some were huge, and they spit out swarms of smaller centipedes! >_< Yep...sounds like Crom Cruach all right. It seems that the creepy crawlies mostly wanted to infect Hiwalani, since they didn't really engage her directly, but instead moved in, poisoned her with a bite, and then withdrew. She still killed a bunch. ^_^ Yay! Spider beats centipede! Unfortunately, their poison draws more centipedes, which bad bad. >_< As it is, the centipedes have attempted to attack Hiwalani's lair several times since the first big attack, like they're trying to reinfect her. >_<
She's also encountered a few on the beaches, where they've erupted from waterlogged human bodies that washed up there. That's disturbing. >_< for one thing, where are those bodies coming from? Strangely, Yoshi and Yatta haven't reported anything like that, so right now we're wondering if the centipedes respond more to those with greater divine presence (Hiwalani's more powerful than Yoshi or Yatta). Anyway, we don't have enough to go on to be sure about that yet.
Hiwalani also warned us that she'd seen some black calamities wandering around, and that they always showed up like scouts before centipede attacks. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much proof that Hundun's behind this. Bastard.
Before we left, I stayed behind to heal Hiwalani since she was still weak and injured from her struggles against the centipedes. And while we had some privacy, she told me that she doesn't trust Puanani. According to her, our guide has been at ground zero of at least two centipede outbreaks and hasn't been affected. I'll admit that IS suspicious, but Hundun likes breaking down the trust among his enemies, so I'm not making any judgments until we know more.
Right now Storm and I are heading back to rendezvous with the others. I hope they've all had some luck with their info gathering missions as too. If so, we might be able to starting putting some pieces together. It's at times like this that I miss Adam's limitless intellect, but it's all good. We have Helena. ^_^. Anyway, depending on what the others have discovered, I might have to visit the clubs myself to talk to the kami there. We'll see. More later!
We've managed to keep things contained, but only barely. And the whole situation is weighing heavily on Amaterasu. I've tried to remain at her side to give her the support she needs. The plague is having some political ramifications as well. There is growing antipathy among the kami and youkai against the Amatsukami leadership. They are afraid and disgruntled because we haven't been able to stop the plague yet. But we think this is all part of a plot by Hundun and Omukade, the titan centipede (who is associated with Crom Cruach), to encourage animosity toward the Amatsukami among our faithful.
So Amaterasu and I have decided to find out more about the plague by investigating the place it struck first: Hawaii. There are a lot of Shinto Japanese in Hawaii, including quite a few youkai, and they were the first to suffer from the centipedes. Many died there before we really knew the severity of the problem.
Amaterasu and I have traveled to Hawaii along with our servants to meet with Ra and discuss the plague and other issues. My shikome are providing security, with Keiko, Dahlia, and Kimiyo calling the shots (Sera's at home with her new twin babies and Quinn's with Pierre and Elisa since she's pregnant and we didn't want to risk any exposure to the plague). I also brought Miko along (she is my handmaiden, after all) and of course Echo came! ^_^
But the best thing is that Ra also brought people to help investigate the plague too: Storm and his posse! Yay! Talk about being in good hands. ^_^ When Amaterasu and I arrived via the shinto shrine in Waikiki, they were waiting to formally receive us, and it was SO good to see them all again!
We spent a few minutes catching up, during which Jacob and I shared pictures of our kids. He has two more! Can you believe it? He's worse than Quinn! ^_^ He thanked me again for helping Hel out awhile back. He's still pretty f**king pissed at Mikaboshi (for good reason) and has decided that sooner or later he's going to march his armies into Soku-no-Kumi to kick the titan's ass. I had to make sure that he knew I was working on defeating Mikaboshi too and that we needed to work together to take him down...I can't afford to have Jacob's thirst for vengeance work against my plans.
All the others are doing well too. Sam and Carina are happy, though those weird aliens that seems to follow Sam around completely undermine his cool. Poor guy. At least they've rigged something up to keep them off Carina's barge in Iteru. Cesar and Helena are the same as always, though I do think that Helena is thawing out a bit. I had a little private chat with her and told her about the whole sexy Nazi nurse/dominatrix thing I'd seen Syn and Cila pulling off in 1943 Strasbourg, and much to my surprise, Helena was very intrigued. She seemed to think that Cesar would like the sexy nurse thing quite a bit! I mean, duh! OF course he would! You GO Helena!
Speaking of that, it's been awhile since I've done the sexy nurse thing for Yi. I think I know what I'LL be doing after this is all over. ^_^
I did have a word with Storm about Agala, but since we were really just glad to see one another, the scolding all got kinda swept under the rug. I'm really more interested in enlisting his aid to find her a hecatonchires husband anyway. I also made sure to thank Storm and the others for helping Echo out recently in Terra. I owe them one for that.
My thanks were cut a BIT short when Tabby strode up to Storm and began circling him in an an almost predatory fashion, gazing at him with sultry eyes until he turned and enveloped her in a big hug. Next thing I knew, Tabby's legs were locked around Storm's waist and she was kissing him ravenously, which was a little inappropriate, but you know, shikome will be shikome, and Dodekatheon will be Dodekatheon. ^_^
Of course Cesar's followers were all there, and it was nice to see them again. In particular, Kimiyo shared a tender moment with Melvin. She's really quiet about it, but Kimiyo and Melvin are still dating and visit each other regularly. I'm so glad to see her happy! And she really picked a winner!
And of course, everyone congratulated Amaterasu and me on our marriage. Amaterasu accepted their congratulations with grace and dignity, but I know her well enough to see that she was inwardly beaming with pleasure. I couldn't help but take her hand and give it a loving squeeze, which she returned. ^_^
So, the reunion was nice, and Amaterasu was so patient with me while I kinda gushed over seeing my friends again. The only awkward moment was when I was catching Storm's crew up on my recent fight against Zvran and the moon-beasts. I mentioned the paperwork-spewing dragon in Tien, and, I...uh...kinda let my true feelings on it get the best of me in a manner that wasn't exactly diplomatically appropriate...since I kept calling it a "f**king paperwork dragon." Seriously! What a waste of a good dragon! But anyway, Amaterasu sternly but gently chided me on using the F-bomb. (O_O) Oops. What a faux pas!
But...she certainly doesn't mind me using such language in the bedroom! (>_>) (^_^)
Anyway, by the time Amaterasu and I arrived, Storm's crew had already warded the Sands Hotel (where we're all staying) with warning lines, khaibit traps, and other defenses to keep use all safe. With all of that in place, plus the shikome, Machete and Cesar's other followers, and Storm's people, our delegations should be pretty safe.
With everything in place, we were ready to get started on the investigation, so we left Amaterasu and Ra to begin their talks while I went with Storm's group to make contact with the locals. Keiko had done some research and put me in touch with a local nopperabo named Puanani, who had seen some of the worst of the plague and could help us pinpoint the places where it had hit the hardest. So first, we headed out to meet with her.
Puanani received us in her home. She was extremely respectful toward us, especially toward me. I mean, I am one of the gods she serves, and on top of that I'm now Amaterasu's wife and to co-ruler of my pantheon. But I don't really like people being too formal with me, so I tried to put her at ease by telling her that she could relax. She still hasn't quite managed that, but she'll grow more comfortable around me eventually, I'm sure. Sadly, she had to introduce herself and explain her background to us first thing. See, she's a nopperabo thanks to her own sins (kinda like Sera) and is required to explain her sins to any gods she meets so that they'll know her shame. Yeah I know, right? WTF?
Apparently, she was raped by a couple of men. So, to get vengeance on them, she went the way of the ruthless onryo and found the men who raped her, tied them up, and burned their families to death before their eyes before killing them too. (O_O) Damn. That's harsh. Vengeance is one thing, but she really went way too far. I'd say she probably deserved to become a nopperabo after all that.
Still, isn't the curse itself enough? Who the f**k decided that she had to go and share the shame of her past mistakes every time she meets a god? Hmmm. I should probably be careful saying that, because it might've been Amaterasu. I should ask. Anyway, if she does a good job helping us out here, I'll see to it that she's rewarded. See, she has a husband, but since he's mortal, not youkai, he's grown old and is dying. Puanani seems like a very sad and remorseful woman, and I can tell that the imminent loss of her husband is weighing on her terribly. So when we've resolved things here in Hawaii, I plan to reward her for her service by making her husband young again and extending his life so they can be together for a long time to come. That's totally within my power as a goddess of life and death, and it seems like Puananai needs a pick-me-up. ^_^
Anyway, Puanani gave us plenty of info to get started on our investigation. First off, she told us the names and locations of several clubs where the plague seems to have started. Most of the youkai who had attended the clubs around the time the centipede outbreak began have either died or moved away, but there may be a connection to the clubs themselves. THAT pisses me off. Clubs are sacred as far as I'm concerned, and I told Puanani as much. She seemed a little uncertain, but accepted it. I mean, I am a goddess, so what I say has a lot of weight, you know? And I'm not even exaggerating! Hell, half the clubs in Japan have house shrines dedicated to me these days, and I'm pretty sure a bunch here in Hawaii do too.
There are also some other youkai we need to check out. Honolulu is home to lots of youkai, but most have left because of the plague. The few that are left include Hiwalani, a powerful jorougumo who lives near some waterfall's on one side of the island. She has been in direct contact with the infection and was even poisoned by it after fighting a horde of centipedes, but managed to survive, which says a lot for her strength! ^_^ Then there are Yoshi and Yatta. Yoshi is an ushi-oni, a kind of bull-headed crab demon youkai. Yatta is a shoujou, an ape-like type of youkai known for brewing potent sake. Those two often spend time together on the beaches, mostly causing mischief.
And then there's the menehune, the indigenous, diminutive beings of the Hawaiian Islands. I gather they are more or less human, just very small, and they are kinda like local kami. They do not get along with the youkai at all, though, so Puanani doesn't know if they've had trouble with centipedes or not. Their leader is named Ali'i Ku'Awki, so we need to try and track him down too to make sure he and his people are safe and to see what they know.
So, we have a lot of ground to cover. Cesar suggested we split up to do more damage. ^_^ So Storm and I headed out to visit Hiwalani because we felt she'd be more open to talking to an Amatsukami than someone from another pantheon. Jacob, Sam and Helena are going to investigate the clubs where the largest outbreaks have occurred, and Cesar and Carina are going to find the menehune.
Storm and I took Puanani with us and were able to meet with Hiwalani without any trouble at all. As jorougumo go, she was quite charming! ^_^ She was quite humbled to meet me in person, but she definitely knew who I was. She didn't know if the rumors she'd heard about my marriage to Amaterasu were true, so I assured her they were. ^_^
Hiwalani was able to give us a bit more info. First, she's seen the centipedes moving around a bit, and fought them once. The centipedes weren't just the small sort you'd expect, either. Some were huge, and they spit out swarms of smaller centipedes! >_< Yep...sounds like Crom Cruach all right. It seems that the creepy crawlies mostly wanted to infect Hiwalani, since they didn't really engage her directly, but instead moved in, poisoned her with a bite, and then withdrew. She still killed a bunch. ^_^ Yay! Spider beats centipede! Unfortunately, their poison draws more centipedes, which bad bad. >_< As it is, the centipedes have attempted to attack Hiwalani's lair several times since the first big attack, like they're trying to reinfect her. >_<
She's also encountered a few on the beaches, where they've erupted from waterlogged human bodies that washed up there. That's disturbing. >_< for one thing, where are those bodies coming from? Strangely, Yoshi and Yatta haven't reported anything like that, so right now we're wondering if the centipedes respond more to those with greater divine presence (Hiwalani's more powerful than Yoshi or Yatta). Anyway, we don't have enough to go on to be sure about that yet.
Hiwalani also warned us that she'd seen some black calamities wandering around, and that they always showed up like scouts before centipede attacks. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much proof that Hundun's behind this. Bastard.
Before we left, I stayed behind to heal Hiwalani since she was still weak and injured from her struggles against the centipedes. And while we had some privacy, she told me that she doesn't trust Puanani. According to her, our guide has been at ground zero of at least two centipede outbreaks and hasn't been affected. I'll admit that IS suspicious, but Hundun likes breaking down the trust among his enemies, so I'm not making any judgments until we know more.
Right now Storm and I are heading back to rendezvous with the others. I hope they've all had some luck with their info gathering missions as too. If so, we might be able to starting putting some pieces together. It's at times like this that I miss Adam's limitless intellect, but it's all good. We have Helena. ^_^. Anyway, depending on what the others have discovered, I might have to visit the clubs myself to talk to the kami there. We'll see. More later!