Crane Lands - Kaori Tea Farm

[Vutall]

Kaori Tea Farm
The Uebe Marshes are an inhospitable region in Anshin Province, under the authority of the Hiramori vassal family of the Daidoji. The powerful smell of decomposing vegetation permeates the humid air, and the dense foliage keeps any breeze from providing relief. Some communities manage to survive in the forests and swampland, but the marsh makes agriculture exceptionally difficult. Further, the cursed site of Dark Cloud Village is not far from these lands, and its legend dramatically limits visitors.

In spite of this, a family of farmers carved out just over fifty acres of land to establish a tea farm a decade ago. They continue to work the land, attempting to persuade their tea shrubs to grow in the exception-ally damp climate. The temperature is well suited to these plants, but the soil contains too much moisture. To combat this problem, the family has gone to great lengths to obtain sand, which they have mixed with the soil. Their efforts have begun to pay off, but it may be a generation or more before the plants truly thrive

Notably, the farm has a very limited workforce. In fact, the workers encompass only the closely knit members of a single family: Hirotaka and Noriko, their seven children, and Noriko’s sister, Kotomi. Every member of the family contributes to keeping the farm operational, and it is clear that at times there is far more work than there are hands to accomplish it. At this stage, they lack the resources to hire additional laborers or even feed and house anyone who might wish to join the community. All wear clothing that shows significant wear and has been patched repeatedly or is poorly fitted.

The farm has a single house and one outbuilding used to dry and prepare tea leaves prior to shipment. Both buildings show signs of poor construction quality and limited efforts at maintenance. It is clear that both were built entirely of materials easily harvested from the surrounding marshes and that shortcuts were taken due to limitations in materials and construction time.

The only domestic animals on the farm are a few chickens, which cluck and scrabble within a pen to one side of the residence. A small vegetable garden grows adjacent to the poultry pen, and many of the plants have a sickly look. A cultivated stand of bamboo grows behind the vegetable garden, and it always shows signs of having been recently harvested

Hirotaka
Together with Noriko, their children, and Kotomi, Hirotaka works the Kaori tea farm. He is happy to see visitors and is anxious to hear of any news from beyond the farm’s boundaries. He is quick to invite them to share a meal, but he has only limited resources in that regard. In fact, visitors who accept his hospitality may notice his children missing a meal or sleeping out-doors. However, they also discern that Hirotaka seems particularly well educated. He can participate in philosophical discourse and military strategy discussions at a high level, though he is far less knowledgeable when it comes to agriculture.

Though the family is obviously struggling to maintain the farm, even outsiders notice the good cheer and love that the parents and children share. All of the adults give the children opportunities to participate in discussions and are exceedingly polite and careful in turning every interaction into a chance for a lesson. Interestingly, many of these lessons deal with philosophical or religious issues rather than topics relevant to working on a farm

Something Brewing
Tea leaves from the Kaori farm have unusual restorative properties, due to growing in the Uebe Marshes. Village healers might pay a substantial price for them.

Something is preying upon travelers along the road near the Kaori farm. It ruined the last two shipments of tea leaves. The farm may not survive if it cannot garner a return on the next shipment.

Recently, a traveling fortune teller insisted that one of the farm’s workers was fated to transform the Crane Clan. Of course, fortune tellers say things like that all the time, and it’s probably nothing.

“Beware of the Kaori farm. There is something wicked and unnatural there. Nothing good can come from the swamps, where death is a constant fixture of the land itself