Your fingers brush the damp earth near the stream bank as you search for signs of the shadow creatures. The tanuki watches nervously from a nearby rock, its round belly quivering. The morning light reveals strange markings in the soft mud - clawed footprints that seem to dissolve at the edges, as if the creature that made them wasn't wholly solid. You follow the trail with your nose nearly touching the ground, your kitsune senses detecting a lingering scent like burnt ozone and rotting leaves.

Near a gnarled root protruding over the water, you find patches of blackened moss. Touching it makes your fingertips tingle unpleasantly. 'This is shadow residue,' you murmur. The substance seems to pulse faintly, as if alive. The tanuki gasps as you carefully scrape some into a folded maple leaf - perhaps it can be used to track the creatures later.

As you stand, you notice something glinting beneath the water's surface. Reaching in, your hand closes around a strange amulet - obsidian carved with unnatural symbols that seem to shift when you look away. The moment it touches your palm, a cold surge runs up your arm, and your nine tails flare with protective energy, burning away the dark magic. The amulet cracks down the middle, revealing a tiny scrap of parchment inside with a single kanji: 'Moon'.

The tanuki hops closer, sniffing at the broken artifact. 'This belongs to the shrine guardians!' it exclaims. 'If the shadow creatures have taken these...' The implication hangs heavy in the air. You tuck the parchment fragment into your sleeve, your mind racing. Whoever is behind this is deliberately targeting the shrine's protectors.