01: Curse of the Snowbeast
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03

They were nearing the port of Kyohama in Namaguichi, if the wind stayed strong they would be there by morning. The kegs of sake and the fine foods saved for VIPs and special parties were broken open, it was the only food they had left. Rei and Saya ate more and drank more than everyone else, they were both high on the fact that they were still very much alive. Rei watched as Saya smiled and laughed, it was a very pleasant feeling to see her so happy.
They drank late into the night and stumbled their way back to their cabin, their drunken feet slipping a bit on the snowy deck. They stumbled into their cabin and began to kiss flinging their clothes in every which direction before climbing into the pile of blankets and furs that made their makeshift bed intent on spending the rest of the trip together.

" Weseki!" one of the crew shouted, it was the end of the line for them.
Rei poked her head out from under the blankets, " We're here" she said.
" Don't care" said Saya, " I'm not done with you yet."
Saya's hand planted firmly on Rei's head and pulled her back under the sheets for five more minutes of bliss.

The Soyokaze Maru found its berth along the dock and the crew leapt off the boat and tied her securely to the dock at Weseki. Within moments the stories of Azarak were being spread across the docks like fire across oil. The sailors were already boasting of their glorious bravery in Azarak instead of admitting they spent most of the time there begging the captain and Hawk Jintiro to cast off the mooring lines and leave Rei and Saya behind.
Saya and Rei stepped off the ship dressed in heavy winter kimonos, Saya had her scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and Rei had a cloak and hood to keep the heavy falling flakes off her. Rei was not use to this level of cold and was soon shivering and wishing for summer.
Saya and Rei casually walked through the docks and into the city itself. Weski is one of Namaguichi's largest cities even in the middle of a snowstorm the city was alive and bustling.

Saya seemed to float while Rei was jostled, bumped, and twice her ass was grabbed, but she managed to at least keep up with Saya's pace through the ankle deep snow.
Saya stopped at an intersection, there were inns all around advertising their hot baths, a Namaguichi specialty. Rei sorely wanted to stop and have a real bath, she felt so grubby right now. Rei saw that Saya suddenly had a note in her hand, she wasn't sure where it came from. " We have a message" she replied, " we have to travel north today to the town of Senji in Oyta Province."
Rei nodded, and the pair looked about to try and find transport.

" Ladies" said Renzo, a greasy smile stretched across his lips, " we meet again."
" We heard you are traveling to Senji" Rei said.
" Of course we are" he replied, " the entire area is in a panic, nothing makes more money than people in a panic. How can I help you?"
" We need a ride" said Saya.
" Hm" said Renzo, Rei could see the thoughts in his eyes, none of them she wanted any part of.
Saya handed him a bag, " This will be better than any thoughts about the two of us" she replied.
Renzo opened the bad and his eyes gleamed brighter, " Of course" he said, counting the gold and silver coins in the bag, " no problem at all, you may take your seats on my second wagon, please."
Rei and Saya found their seats on the second wagon hitched to the first, obviously Renzo was saving money by have only one team of oxen pull both wagons. With a crack of his whip they set off, the heavy oxen pulling the wagons down the road which was nothing more than a deep depression in the snow.

" Rei" said Saya as they watched the wintry landscape pass by, " what do you know about something called the Snow Beast?"
" It's a legend" said Rei, " something like a man was left to die on the mountain by the villagers and his rage became the Snow Beast when he died. It is suppose to be big white and covered in snow covered fur attacking and killing anything it encounters. My grandfather was a traveling physician and he told me all these tales. Are you telling me that is what we are going after?"
Saya slowly nodded, " What can a doctor and a ninja do against a ghost?" she asked.
" If you believe it really is a ghost" she said calmly.
" What are we going after?" asked Rei.
" All I was told was to travel to Senji and investigate a series of attacks in the area at the request of the Society" she said, " the rest is up to us."
Rei wasn't exactly thrilled by the sound of that, the rest is up to us, but she knew Saya could do it.

On the second day they approached a checkpoint manned by over a dozen soldiers all in full armour. They all looked miserable, huddled around two burning braziers, armour wasn't exactly meant for cold weather. " Halt" said a samurai, who looked much warmer in his fancy armour.
" Hello" said Renzo, " merchants heading for Senji."
" I think we should talk" said Aki, climbing down off the wagon.
Aki led the samurai into one of the buildings on the checkpoint. They spent ten minutes inside before Aki came out casually wiping her mouth. The samurai came out, his face flushed and his eyes unfocused. He waved for the soldiers to open the gate.
The wagons passed through without any searching or paying any taxes. It was obvious Renzo was the face of the business but the brains and the ruthlessness of the pair lay entirely with Aki.

The ride through Oyta was tense, they were passed twice by mounted patrols. It felt like the entire province was under a state of siege. They were unable to reach Senji that day but found a very nice inn that advertised hot baths.
Namaguichi was renowned for the many hot springs which were a true piece of heaven after a cold winter's day. The pair paid for an excellent room with private access to one of the hot baths. Rei especially disliked the cold, her entire body ached under the never ending chill.
Rei was naked and in the bath before Saya had closed the door. Saya undressed and removed her corset. She gently turned it over and set it down on the table. On the back were a series of delicate and intricate wheels and pulleys, this was where her wires came from. Saya loved her corset, the workmanship on it was beautiful. She carefully cleaned and oiled the system, she would get enough grief from Rolo even with normal wear and tear. " Come on" Rei called, " you won't believe how wonderful this water is."
" I'll be there in a moment" said Saya, gently patting her corset.
Saya walked over and joined Rei in the bath. She was right, it felt wonderful. The pair sat together enjoying the bath. The pair were starting to drift off into sleep, it seemed totally impossible for either to keep their eyes open when suddenly they could hear shouts echoing through the entire inn.

Saya was out of the bath and dressed before Rei had even started to get out. She barely had time to slid into her kimono still wet. She wasn't planning on going out, just poking her head outside to make sure everything was safe but then came the cries for a doctor from a dozen different voices and she knew she had no choice.

Rei hurried through the inn and found the commotion was coming from the main room were several people, many of them covered in a heavy coating of snow, were clustered around a figure writhing in agony on a table.
She pushed her way to the middle of the circle and saw the ravaged young man. He was bleeding from a dozen different wounds, his skull was flattened on one side and great dark red blood was oozing out. Rei dug into her bag and took out a rather heavy dose of painkiller and fed it to him the best she could. She had never seen so much destruction on one body, even all the wound she'd seen from the battlefield didn't compare to the damage before her. Her only guess was he fell from a great height into many large rocks.
His death came quietly, his body became stiff for a moment and then relaxed as the last threads of life were cut. " What happened?" asked Rei, looking around for answers.
No one spoke, nor did anyone want to catch Rei's gaze. They were all terrified of something, Rei couldn't believe this was actually done by a human. " Who?" asked Saya appearing from the shadows.
Her tone was much more commanding and she managed to squeeze an answer out. " The Snow Beast" a man somewhere in the crowd muttered.
Everyone began to act incredibly nervous, looking about, casting terrified glances at any windows or doors in the room as if this beast would suddenly appear when his name was called. Two servants of the inn approached the body carrying a blanket to carry it away but Rei stepped in front of them. " I need to examine this body" she replied.
The request was shocking and it horrified everyone in the room. " What?" the innkeeper asked, " we can't leave this in our house, he will come looking for his prize and kill us to have it."
" I need to examine this body" said Rei, " I need to understand why."
" It is the Snow Beast" another said, " there is no why."
" Are you mad?" asked Renzo, the fat little toad finally joining the excitement, " you can not touch the body, it is cursed. You do this and you will walk to Senji."
" Then I walk" said Rei, snatching the blanket from the servants.
Rei rolled the dead man into the blanket and with the help of Saya hauled him into one of the unused dining rooms for privacy. It took more arm twisting and a healthy bribe from Saya to calm everyone down and to get the fireplace lit. " Ignorants" grumbled Rei, " there is an explanation for all of this that doesn't involve ghosts and boogeymen."
" I wouldn't be so sure" said Saya leaning close to the door to make sure no one entered and to keep her distance from the scene, " there are many things in this great wide world."
Rei tossed the blanket back and lit several candles so to give herself as much light as possible. She gentle rolled her surgical tools out and began to probe the injuries. It was a rare occasion Rei would get to have so much time to inspect wounds, normally when a patient dies the family bundles the body up and it is cremated within the day. Rei had only three occasions before to examine a deceased body, this was the most damaged but it was an opportunity to learn.

Saya watched as Rei coolly and methodically inspected the man's many wounds. The blood and gore did not concern her at all, even after the large filling dinner they had eaten she was completely untroubled by it. Saya was uneasy, the sight of the mangled corpse, and the knowledge that he may be a victim of the Snow Beast was troubling for her. The Society wouldn't send her to investigate simple killings by bandits or bored and unruly samurai, there was something else behind all of this.

Rei finished inspecting the wounds, she had finally catalogued them all. It was quiet a list, aside from the fatal skull fracture, his arm was broken and the bones had been twisted around tearing the muscles as well. His leg was broken, a very common fracture there, mostly likely caused by feeling from whatever attacked him. He had internal injuries, it looked like been hit by some massive force like an ox which broke ribs, ruptured his spleen and one kidney and would have easily killed him if not for the skull fracture. But most odd of all the injuries were four long and deep claw marks in his back. They had torn through his heavy winter clothes, his flesh, and muscle and laid his bones bare. Rei's outstretched hand weren't able to cover three of the claw marks let all four, the hands of this animal were gigantic. She didn't want to admit it but these were very strange marks, it could have been a bear but she doubted it. She didn't want to say it but there was no clear explanation for these injuries, unless he ran a foul of a bear, an ox, and a cliff at the same time.

" Well?" asked Saya.
" His wounds are extensive" said Rei, " whatever did this to him was large and powerful, it probably slashed his back first, he tries to run and breaks his legs. The creature pounces on his delivering the fatal blow to his skull and probably to his chest. I won't rule out humans but at the present I may have to agree this body may have been killed by the Snow Beast, the claws on the back are very atypical, but I have heard stories from Geijyn of men going wild covering their bodies in bear skins and using a club fashioned with the claws of the bear as a weapon but other than that I can't think of an explanation."
Geijyn was the lands across the treacherous Sea of Storms to the west of Itten. Many wild and fanciful tales came back with the merchants that braved the sea to trade with these people.
" Tomorrow possibly I would like to go see the sight of the attack" said Rei, " maybe there I could get a better understanding of what happened."
" It has been arranged" said Saya, " I overheard the two men who brought him in talking about where they found him. We'll set out at first light, I somehow doubt we'll be welcome here after tonight."

Saya's prediction was correct, the pair left without breakfast early in the morning when the owner casually said their room had to be checked for leaks in the ceiling and they would need to vacate shortly after dawn.

It didn't take long for them to find the site of the attack but the snow fall last night and the current snow that was falling did much to obscure any value Rei could ascertain from it. There were no cliffs so it wasn't a fall that damaged the young man.
Rei was busy sifting through the snow when she heard horses, several of them approach. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kisho and several men fully armed and ready for battle. " Hello there" he said, the smarmy grin stretching across his face, " you here for the reward as well?"
" What reward?" asked Rei.
" The 500 Ryu reward Lord Kagoshima is offering for the apprehension of those responsible for this unpleasantness" he said.
" No, not at all" said Rei, realizing Saya was nowhere to be seen, " a young man was attacked last night and I am simply satisfying my curiosity about how he received the wounds inflicted upon him."
" Yes I heard you were pushing your rather ample weigh around" he said, " remember miss, you aren't in Jota anymore, we don't stand for violating corpses in such a way."
" Well" said Rei, forcing a smile, " in exchange for you letting it slide I would recommend you search more upon in those peaks there."
Rei pointed up the slope to three looming peaks, " Why?" he asked.
" No one runs up hill from an attacker" said Rei, " and the fracture to his leg I found indicates he was running downward, the top half of the fracture crushed into the bottom and if he was running uphill the bones wouldn't have done that. And I would be extra careful, those horses will be easily spooked by whatever this is, it is exceptionally large and fierce."
" Yes" said Kisho, " thank you, in the future stay out of this and leave it to professionals, the Snow Beast won't be impressed by your tits."
The men turned about and rode parallel to the mountains for a ways and then turned and started up the slope towards them once they thought they were out of Rei's line of sight. " Jackass" said Rei.
" I agree" said Saya, reappearing from around a stout tree.
" Thanks for backing me up there" said Rei.
" No I wasn't hiding" said Saya, " I was busy."
She produced a large tuft of white fur, " Apparently the beast was a little too close to this tree during pursuit" she said.
Rei picked it up, it was odd, it was course like bear fur on the outside but the interior was soft like rabbit fur on the inside. " Still don't believe" she said.
" I'm not sure anymore" said Rei, " I'm just not sure."