The magistrates traveled to the town of Turo-Kojiri along the road to Shiro Ide, just north of the Shinomen Forest. Resting there as they prepared to head into the forest they heard no end of stories about the dangerous, strange things that can befall someone who ventures in too deeply. From a man who suddenly found that the path he had been walking on was instead the limb of a great tree, only a step away from falling to his death to those who simply vanished forever, never to be heard from again.
In more temporal concerns, there was a group of Mereneans present, who despite being in the usually welcoming Unicorn lands were trying their best to be unobtrusive. A traveler related the latest news from the east. A Phoenix daimyo was traveling through Omoidasu Province on his way to Otosan Uchi when his procession encountered a Merenean man riding along the center of the road. The gaijin refused to move aside nor bow in respect and was therefore slain by one of the daimyo's retainers. Despite being a completely legal and expected outcome for such impudence, the Merenaen Trading Consortium is livid about this. They are demanding not only the arrest of the samurai but the also an indemnity of the utterly absurd figure of 100,000 koku for what they claim was a barbaric and unjustified murder of a guest. So far the Phoenix have rebuffed such outrageous demands. Given the Order to Expel Barbarians is scheduled to take effect in only three months, the miscreants will likely just be ejected, putting an end to such nonsense and reminding any remaining gaijin that they are guests and in no place to make such demands.
The magistrates set off early in the morning for the day-long trip from town into the forest. Reaching the outskirts by late afternoon they encountered several trees marked with a shimenawa, indicating their sacred nature, likely home to a kodama spirit.
A vague, worn-out old path was found into the woods and the magistrates followed it for some time. Conveniently as the sun was setting they happened upon a small inn located in a clearing. Heading inside it was occupied by many surly heimin busily eating while they were graciously welcomed by a very beautiful young woman, the proprietress of the establishment. She stated how honored she was to host samurai at her small, rural inn, typically accustomed only to receiving those few local peasants in the area. After bringing out the best food that she was able to offer, she entertained them with a song. While the majority of the party was entranced by her fair looks and seductive voice, Ichiro Bando's heart, as cold and rocky as his mountain homeland, remained unmoved. His keen eyes noticed something appeared to be off and when the young lady attempted to subtly cover part of her face he seized her hand, unintentionally tearing away the flesh mask she had been covering herself with and revealing her true nature as a bog hag. The illusion shattered, the true nature of the inn quickly became apparent: a grisly place populated by gaki — hungry ghosts — that are voraciously eating decaying human flesh, the same thing that had been served to the magistrates. The magistrates were able to fight off the foul creatures and escape.
Outside the inn the magistrates encountered Mirumoto Tetsuzae, who, having to transact some business in town before their departure, had been following behind. After describing the encounter to him, however, when they sought to show him the cursed inn to confirm their story the clearing was found to be completely empty. As far as could be determined, no such place had ever existed.
Despite the late hour the magistrate chose to return to town in order to purify themselves after having accidentally consumed human flesh and come into contact with such spiritually unclean creatures. Arriving back in Turo-Kojiri after midnight, they were able to rest, tend to their wounds, and seek out a local temple before making plans to return to the forest.