[ Forest - All ]
The party ran quickly through the woods which were quickly thinning out into plains, until soon no trees were left to hide them from the prying eyes of the Shadowlands monsters. Yet the party soon noticed that although there were no trees to hide behind or in, there wasn't much of anything else either, the smoke from the destroyed village behind them left little to imagine as to what remained of their enbattled village. Aside from that, the smoke coming from the area vaguely left of the party meant that the Shadowlands beasts were beginning to set fire to the plains, or going to the village which was off in that direction. Neither were good signs for the party, as there were already so few places to hide - until the lucky Shujenga heard a whisper in his ear, his prayerful body absorbing the energies of the nearby spirits, his eyes adjusting as he saw the spirit of the plains, a powerful entity which appeared to be a Warrior wearing robes made from the grass and dirt of plains themselves. He was obviously strong as the emblazened energy of the wind, the earth, and the plants - which he was struggling to use to repel the darker energies of the Shadowlands. The Shujenga; however, was the only person to hear it's voice - a sound like the wind through the grasses.
"Hurry toward me, follow me and I will lead you to where you need to go, the plains hermit. He and I are friends, and shall protect you while you rest - no Shadowlands beast shall approach his abode."
With that, he shot off, somewhat to the right of the party, the rest of the group oblivious to what transpired - leaving the Shujenga with a difficult decision: how to tell the rest of the group that he heard the spirits speak to him, and how to describe what it said - or to even trust the spirit himself? Still, it was one of the few viable options left available to them.
[ The Depths of the Forest - Oni and other Tainted Shadowlands Beast ]
The creatures of the darkness, the shadow, were themselves splitting up the task of hunting down the remaining survivors, the weaker survivors were cut down by the Bakemono, but the more important tasks, the survivors who had actually fought the Demon General and survived - that was left to the more elite forces, the group which was compiled as of now, by order of the Oni General. Five creatures, corrupt, evil, were amassed to take down the more hearty survivors of the eradication which was laid down upon the village. These Oni would be the weapons through which the Shadowlands would find vengeance against those who would kill Oni and attempt to flee the wrath of Fu Leng. Vengeance which would hopefully come upon them unbehest as the five creatures crept into the shadows, night would soon be upon the land, and that was their element - the darkness through which those accustomed to the light would fight great terror.
"... if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for Destruction Ice is also great
And would suffice."
- Robert Frost