Patrolling The Shadowlands

[Vutall]

Patrolling The Shadowlands
Duty on the Wall is but one part of the war against the Shadowlands. Long ago, the Crab learned that defending the Wall is not enough, and that the war also requires offensive tactics. As result, they began sending scouting parties beyond the Wall—perhaps the most dangerous of duties the Crab could imagine. At first, the patrols’ goal was to watch for the movements of their inhuman enemies and report back when they detected massing threats. As time passed, patrols took on additional duties and became a formalized part of Wall operations.

Traditionally, the Hiruma provide a great many of the personnel for regular patrols, as few can rival the their scouts’ expertise in navigating the Shadowlands. Other families also contribute samurai to missions, especially when specialization in certain fields are required. For this reason, Kaiu engineers, Hida warriors, Kuni Witch Hunters, and even Toritaka Phantom Hunters are not uncommon. Samurai from clans farther north may lend their expertise as needed, or even lead their own patrols in rare situations.

Shinsei's Last Hope
There is a small village on Earthquake Fish Bay that has resisted the Taint for centuries even though it lies within that foul domain.

Some claim the village's freedom from the Taint is due to the words of Shinsei, who long ago said it would remain so as long as the Crab defended the fertile valley in which it is located. Others point to the massive stone wall covered with glowing jade that surrounds the village.

The Crab use this heavily defended location to stage their Twenty Goblin Winters, whereby rōnin who return with the heads of twenty goblins gain a place in the Crab Clan. Possibly of greater importance, though, is that the village serves as a base for Hiruma and other Crab scouts to un-dertake missions into the Shadowlands. Few speak of the village, though, due to its location within the realm of Fu Leng

Patrol MIssions
Missions into the Shadowlands are never taken lightly. To travel beyond the Wall is to venture into lands where the very environment is corrupting and lethal. No mission is ever routine, and those who survive soon gain a haunted, paranoid look in their eyes: the look of someone who never trusts a shadowed room or a silent grove.

Missions into the Shadowlands are never taken lightly. To travel beyond the Wall is to venture into lands where the very environment is corrupting and lethal. No mission is ever routine, and those who survive soon gain a haunted, paranoid look in their eyes: the look of someone who never trusts a shadowed room or a silent grove.

Some patrols take part in battle or battle preparations. These might range ahead of Crab armies marching to attack Shadowlands forces before they can reach the Wall, supporting these armies with harassing attacks, or even making assassination attempts against enemy leaders such as mahō practitioners. When the Crab determine their foes are ready to attack the Wall, patrols can prepare forward defenses such as by setting pit traps and clearing fields to provide better vantages for archers and siege engineers.

Perhaps the most dangerous patrols are those focusing on retrieval. Missions they undertake might include tracking down priceless relics of the Hiruma or other families whose lands were lost to the evil of Fu Leng. Other missions might launch at the direction of the Kuni, to gather new samples of Tainted beasts for vivisection and study. In a rescue, a common mission type, a patrol is sent to locate samurai who were captured or are late in returning. Bringing them back is vital, lest they fall fully to the Taint. Often a rescue is too late, and the patrol must decide if recovering the bodies is possible or if they must cremate them in the field, for to leave bodies behind is to face new zombies another day.

Patrol Durations
Most patrols last only a single night and are shortrange missions to inspect for looming dangers that could attack within days. On this type of patrol, many Crab had their first opportunity to witness the horrors of the Shadowlands firsthand and learned to better prepare for longer missions. Longer missions can last multiple days or weeks, requiring more provisions and sometimes resupply missions to replenish provisions and personnel lost or killed. Such patrols also require additional jade, which is perhaps the most precious resource of all.

Patrol Camps
Most camps in the Shadowlands are pitched and taken down each day and are thus light and easily transportable. Longer-duration missions might establish a base camp in an easily defensible location from which shorter trips can be launched. Regardless of the type of camp, sentries are set throughout the night, often in pairs, and often during the day as well. Unlike other camps, those on watch not only guard against external threats, but also keep an eye on each other for signs of corruption and the Taint.

Patrol Tools
In addition to packing standard traveling supplies such as tents, lanterns, and the like, those who travel into the Shadowlands tend to bring very specific items for their missions. The most important, of course, is one or more fingers of jade; all Crab know that to forget or lose this is a death sentence, or worse. Provisions are also essential for even the shortest missions, as it is extraordinarily rare to discover anything in the Shadowlands that can be safely consumed. Supplies for medical treatment and protection rituals are also necessary, and many patrols pack smoke arrows and other means of communication. Combustible oils are favored both for starting fires and cremating bodies. Lastly, many also bring along prayer lockets, family amulets, or small personal gifts as ways of remembering those they leave behind and for whom they are fighting.

Returning From The Shadowlands
Perhaps the most important part of any patrol mission is a thorough inspection upon return. Even a journey of a few hours runs the risk of contracting the Taint, no matter how green the jade. These inspections check for any signs of physical corruption, such as odd bruises, bleeding sores, skin discolorations, and the like. Wounds are assiduously inspected and cleaned or, if necessary, cauterized. Inspectors also scrutinize clothing, weapons, and anything else brought back to ensure no blood, tissue, or other parts of Tainted creatures or terrain remain on them. Kuni Witch Hunters and others inspect for spiritual corruption, which could come about simply from viewing and experiencing the horrors of the Shadowlands. These inspections are mandatory, and any samurai who refuses or seeks to avoid them quickly faces drawn bows and readied katana.

Rumors From Patrols
A Hiruma swears she came across a splendid, uncorrupted tree in a thick copse not far from the Eighth Tower. The branches were covered with prayer ribbons, and the scout added her own. Later, she was shocked to discover a ripe plum in her pack—just the thing she had been wishing for earlier!

The gigantic, twisted peaks deep within the Shadowlands are visible from the parapets of the Wall, and some appear almost to reach the Celestial Heavens. One patrol insisted they climbed to the top of one and saw above them a long rope ladder dangling not far above their heads.

A patrol once became hopelessly lost when they came across an oasis of purity deep in the Shadowlands. The water was clean, and they were so filled with energy they returned to the Wall within the day. Retracing their steps, though, proved impossible.

There are lucky pieces of jade that never go black. The moment you examine one, though, it loses its power, so you have to keep it well hidden even from yourself.

Patrols that leave a uncorrupted finger of jade behind at their destination in the Shadowlands always return free of the Taint.