On the steep mountain slope above White Feather castle was a secluded and lonely clearing. Surrounded by huge fir trees, Rinzo found it to be gloomy and depressing area, especially considering the cold, overcast weather. The fact that the clearing held the Arai family graveyard certainly didn't help matters any. Pulling his heavy cloak closer and tightening his obi, Rinzo stood slowly, scanning his immediate surroundings for any sign of movement. Reassured that he was alone, Rinzo shifted his hoe onto a more comfortable position on his shoulder and carefully crept though the thick underbrush.
Coming closer to the clearing, Rinzo paused, setting his hoe down on the thick bed of pine needles that carpeted the forest floor. The path to the graveyard was well marked, leading down the mountain to the rear of the castle. Since it was the only real way to get the the graveyard, the lower slopes far to steep to allow access, it was sure to be guarded. Rinzo grinned slightly, between the cold and the dismal atmosphere, he doubted that any guards would be all that alert. Picking up his hoe, he vanished into a thick clump of ferns and bracken.
It was at the edge of the clearing that Rinzo heard the mutterings of the posted guards. There were two, ashigaru from the castle, leaning on their spears and complaining to each other about being stationed out by the graveyard, and the unseasonably cold weather. Rinzo shook his head, so far he was not impressed with the soldiers brought in by the new Lord. Slipping quietly through the scattered bushes, Rinzo made his way to the far side of the clearing.
The graveyard was quite large, considering its remote location. There were tumuli scattered over a wide area, poking up through tall grass and thick bunches of weeds. Walking amid the moss encrusted markers, Rinzo found that a least a half a dozen graves had been disturbed. Each appeared to have been dug up and then refilled. The markers themselves had been cleaned, with the moss and lichen scraped away, revealing the inscriptions. Examining the names, Rinzo shrugged, none of the names meant anything to him, and the few markers with dates were all at least two hundred years old.
Returning the way he had come, Rinzo noticed a disturbed area on the edge of the clearing. Looking closer, he found a scattering of shovels and pickaxes, all thickly coated with the red soil common to the mountain. Resting atop this pile of tools was a large sieve similar to the kind peasants use for winnowing rice. Shaking his head, Rinzo slipped back into the forest, it would seem that the new Lord Arai was looking for something... but what?