The Short Contract

The Short Contract:



Reika Yazuka is a human Samonkurai who is the first to fight the standard fodder for the campaign.



Koga Of The Mist is a Ninjamonk/ with a nack for Medicine who is literally portal'd into Reika's fight after a one-armed man stole his clan's holy relic.



Merem-Sho is a Half-Elf Warlock with a pet dragon familiar who was sent to find a comb by her patron.



Terra Delnos is a Tabaxi Bard from a foreign land who helped provde the way for Merem-sho, and stuck around to show her the way around.



The four meet after the Ninjamonk and Samurai dispatch a giant Oni, and the Bard and Warlock crashland after seeing a bigger giant oni. They decide to hang around each other and hear rumours of a strong katana to beat back this newfound threat, and the party set off to get it.



Along the way they meet Eisuru, whom pops in to help the party from time to time. Eventually the party find and forge the legendary katana, as Reika reveals that she's actually Reika Ramui, acting leader of Ramui since her father, along with the other leaders of the islands, has vanished. She reveals that the person who teleported Koga to them, A one Armed Man, gave her a scroll that mentioned the forlorn blades. Not knowing what exactly they are, the party decides to keep a lookout.



The party, in an effort to get stronger, go around to the Obelisks on Ramui for guidance. The first one is quite the challenge, full of tricky puzzles that each member must do on their own. Before they go to the second one, they manage to find Merem-Sho's patron, Chiharu's comb. They also manage to find an old aquantance of Terra's; Adol the Red, whom appears to not recognize her. He loans her what would become her signature weapon, Erricil, a Rapier with the power to channel electricity.



The party head to the second one, only to find it broken. This spurs Reika on to the last of the three, and an exhausted party comes face to face with a shadow-y corrupted Saiyetsu Ramui, Reika's father. It's a difficult battle, but eventually Reika and her newfound friends manage to prevail, barely saving the life of one of Amaterasu's children in the process, and finding a Forlorn Blade. Ro, Merem-sho's familiar, had passed away in the battle, but her patron lets her break the same comb she sent her to look for in order to bring her back. That night, Koga has a dream that places him on a mystical path, the path of Kuro.



They go back to town and prepare to embark to Anshin. Koga reveals to Reika that he is not a doctor, but a ninja. Terra gives an inspiring speech, and they head off to dispatch the Umi-Bozu blocking the trade routes. It is a difficult fight, but the party manage to dispatch it with Koga, with a kick, landing a cannon shot right on it's sensitive core.





The party arrive in Anshin and, after a minor sidequest involving Terra's friend Katsu Tora, get kidnapped by ninjas looking for the scroll they think Koga stole. The Doctor Ninja's name is cleared, and he helps the small clan settle into life in Anshin. The party also explore some ruins, Koga picking up the fabled gauntlet Zaki. They then meet up with Shamiwa, the stand-in leader for Amatsu Anshin. The party all conclude there's something fucky going on with him, but they agree to help him with a problem after they take a short training montage.





They are ferried across the lake below Shima Kie, where they see an encampment. It's being plagued by nightmare eaters. After dealing with it, Merem-sho is inducted into the path of Seishin. But they aren't done yet, as they eventually come across an obelisk. At the top of it is a Corrupted Amatsu Anshin. The party barely manage to dispatch her while holding back some sort of soul bound yokai in service to the one who they think is causing all the trouble.



They get back to the encampment to find it in ruins. People are wounded. It appears Shamiwa is slowly traveling down the path that Amatsu and Saiyetsu fell down to. The party encounter The One Armed Man, who, along with explaining that the Forlorn Blades are a means to counteract Daiza's fields, also informs Terra that people may be looking for her, discreetly handing her a bounty notice and mentioning a Bloody General. He leaves, and the party go back into the ruins where Koga picked up Zaki. At the very bottom they find the second of the Forlorn Blades. They get back up to the surface, and find that neither the sun nor the moon have come up. Merem-sho postulates that the bird and snake carrying the two may have been kidnapped. Terra tells her old friend what the One Armed Man had just told her. Adol promises to help, and sets off with the party to their next destination, Oma Natue.



On the ship ride there, Terra contemplates leaving the party so she can deal with the problem herself. The party denies her once they are brought in to talk to her by Adol, who explains that people are looking for Terra and they were apart of a very brutal conflict, the likes of which Islanders have never seen before. So the party land, and deal with some hungry wolves. Reika beats the snot out of one of them and adopts it, calling it Ammy. Adol decides that he'll stay with Katsu and the ship while the party explore and find out what's going on with the island.



The party are beset upon by Wood ninjas, whom are looking for Terra. And, although they don't know it, also have a problem with Koga's Mist clan. The party beat them back, and come face to face with an honourable person mimic, whom after Reika beats up, inducts her into the path of Ningin.



Then the party finally make it to their next destination; a shining moon like light, where they come face to face with Daiza....