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The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)


Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Behind the door is another set of stairs, leading into the darkness below. Fortunately, there's a glass lantern hanging next to the door, though carrying it would make it harder for Kagura to defend herself.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

The wine door did not bring out the wine straight away, the alcohol probably being stored farther down the stairs in front of Kagura. But there was something more relevant to her needs there too, hanging on a hook near the doors. This lantern would help with seeing in places, and she picked it up despite it probably bring a few issues when it came to fighting. But she considered darkness a bigger issue, so the miko would deal with the lantern troubles as they came.

With the light source in tow, she retraced her steps back to the smithy, not wanting to mess up the order of searching. She would pay respect to the smithy, not wanting to disturb it as she approached the dark area behind the open doorway nearby.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

As Kagura passes through the armoury, she notices a broken blade laid out on the anvil from which the sound of hammering emanates. The handle of the blade at least seems rather elaborate.

The open doorway reveals a large storage room behind it, with crates and barrels covering the floor, various tools laying around, and a coil of thick rope neatly hanging from next to the doorway. The whispering Kagura heard earlier returns, but this time it has a definite sense of direction to it, urging her towards the back of the room.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Going past the anvil, Kagura takes note of the splintered blade on the anvil. By the looks of it, the weapon appears to have been a special one, maybe even someone's personal weapon with a long service behind it. She would keep this in mind, as it might need her involvement eventually, on one manner or another.

The open door, now illuminated, reveals a storeroom beyond it. While she was initially sure it would be safe, the whispering changed her mind about that. These voices had basically signaled the slime's presence last time, so there might be something lurking in ambush within this room. Proceeding carefully, she followed the guidance/possible bait.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

The whispering leads Kagura to a two-feet high crate with four cloth bundles surrounding it. On top of the crate, a deck of cards is repeatedly shuffling itself.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

With an initial investigation, Kagura finds a few things that certainly are of interest. Of course, the cards were a primary focus, what with their actual moving. Setting the lantern down to a nearby spot that would make the best use of the light, she would try and poke the deck to see if something came out of it.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

As Kagura pokes the deck, whatever is shuffling it cuts it and deals four piles of cards. As the cards are dealt, three phantoms manifest, each sitting to one side of the crate save for where Kagura is standing.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Seeing the ghostly card game group manifest before her eyes, Kagura is fairly surprised by this development. Had they been playing cards at this storeroom in the past? Regardless, it appeared that this group was inviting her to the game, the empty spot spelling it out pretty obviously. "Ok?" she would reply before taking a seat on the spot, sitting on her legs like a proper lady should. The situation was not too formal, but she wanted to keep up her manners, despite the nature of the moment.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

There's no explanation of the rules, but the player to the right of Kagura starts playing by placing a pair of deuces on the table, clearly expecting her to play next.

The first round doesn't go well for Kagura and she is left the last one with cards, but she manages to pick up the rules, at least, and the pack of cards is handed to her.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Going along with just what she could make out from the rules by observation, Kagura played the initial round against the phantom trio, coming out last in all likelihood. The stack was handed to her afterwards, and she could make out the idea that they wanted her to do the dealer work after the loss. Going along with it, the shrine maiden would do her best to mix the cards properly before splitting the entire deck between all four of them. These were odd spirits, but she was certainly not complaining if this was all they wanted.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

As Kagura starts shuffling, two items materialize on the crate. One is a rather nice if archaic looking golden necklace, the other is a dog collar. It would seem that the spirits would like to gamble.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Doing her task of shuffling, Kagura was brought into light as to the intentions of the ghost group. They were not there to just play up any spare visitors, it looked like she was wanted for some actual play with a gambling element in it. It was a bit questionable, but she would not go against the spirit of the game, being the generally nice young lady that she was.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

The spirits, it seems, are as keen on playing against each other as they are playing against Kagura and though she doesn't win the first game, she doesn't lose it either, finishing at third place. The loser - the phantom to her left - picks up and shuffles the deck, dealing for another round. This time Kagura is but a single card from victory when the phantom opposite of her plays his last. The third round, however, proves unlucky and Kagura finishes last for the second time. The collar rises into the air and hovers towards her, closing around her throat with a sense of finality.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Going along with the game, Kagura notices that she was thankfully not playing against all three of the phantom cadre, the three apparently being fair and competitive towards each other as much as they were against her. This was highlighted in the first game, with one of the three actually losing out and having to do the shuffling. But it was not going to stop them, it looked like this would be a game thag went on until the priestess lost or won a round for the prize or punishment. She had no issue with this, and thus they played more.

The second game was nowhere near as good as the first, and Kagura found herself losing rather clearly. The punishment was thus coming her way, and it did so without any need for her to act. Immediately feeling rather ashamed of the collar on her, the embarassed mikobdid not try to leave right away, at least wanting to know if this was it or if the opponents still had something to play for, and if they wanted her to play still as they might not.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Seeing as the miko makes no effort to leave, one of the phantoms replaces the collar with a pair of thigh-high boots which have rather peculiar bands around the ankles and another set located mid-thigh where they might be connected to stop their wearer from standing up. The deck is handed to Kagura, for as the loser, it's her turn to shuffle.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

The new round would bring some new punishment as a pair of shoes were produced, a type that Kagura had never seen before. Even with just a quick look, the nature of these boots was clear to her, and she was not keen on the idea of trying them on. But she had been the one to stay at the table, so she would need to play more before she could leave. Taking up the cards, she shuffled and split them again, hoping to have a better round this time.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Bad luck continues to hound Kagura, as she finishes the next round third and then loses around. Something intangible lifts her up and then her own shoes are pulled off and the boots slide on, fitting snugly and surprisingly comfortably despite the modest heels.

A silver bracelet engraved with roses is added to the necklace and on the other side, a ball gag.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

The next few games don't go much better for the shrine maiden, the events from before repeating themselves as she barely avoids losing on the third proper game and then only meets with failure at the fourth. Again, she finds herself punished for the loss, getting the boots applied onto her feet. Despite the nature of the shoes, she could not help finding them commendably nice on the feet, but she still doubted her ability to move as effectively in them as she had basically worn sandals and other short shoes without heels her entire life. Dusting off her usual sandals, Kagura stores them in her sleeve pocket.

The ghosts up the ante afterwards, adding more jewelry and a gag to the table. These were some lewd bondage-loving spirits alright. Baited effectively by the added valuables, Kagura decides to at least go this one gamble more as she deals the cards out again.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Kagura easily wins her next game, claiming both the bracelet and the necklace which she could either put on right now or put into a beltpouch. They're replaced with an emerald ring, and the losing phantom deals another game.
 
Re: The mountains and the forests(Kagura/Guan Yu)

Finally coming out with some success, Kagura claims her winnings and puts them into storage for later, not really being one to wear jewels. But she would find value in them, as selling the things would give her some usable money for her wanderings and helping those in need.

Having pocketed the loot, she was brought before some further temptation rather quickly as the spirits were not ready to let her go just like that. Deciding to be a good sport, she went ahead for one more, even with the risk it entailed.
 
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