Session 17. (16/11/05)

About half the samurai have stumbled from the muddy camp to where the Ainu and friends have been firing arrows. The samurai draw swords and find what opponents they can in the dark, which doesn't affect the magically-sighted Ainu party. Miyoshi (Jim Loder) draws first blood, cutting down a bushi extra with one blow. Yoshi (Chris Dore) does likewise and reduces the opposition by another extra. Katchamaru (Anthony Hummerston) gets another good hit but the L1 bushi is made of stronger stuff. Mineo (Denzil Brown) also hits a L1 bushi but this one goes down, having been hit by several Ainu arrows while fleeing the camp. Kanemitsu has again found a high-level opponent and does the L3 bushi minor damage. The Ainu prod and poke at the samurai in reach and cause a few wounds, though one of the Ainu is critically injured by a lucky stab in the dark and another drops his weapon. Haku (Paul Burton) hits a wounded rabble bushi with Darts of Water finishes him. The Ainu shaman unleash Arrows of Wood at samurai still in the camp, but though they hit their targets, the bushi resist the poisons. Taking their second strikes, Miyoshi nicks a rabble bushi, Yoshi joins Kanemitsu against the L3 bushi and has two quick hacks, hitting with the first and falling over and dazing himself with the second. Kanemitsu does rather better and nearly finishes the L3 with a critical blow. Kachamaru misses his opponent, and Mineo gets a hit against one of the Ainu's foes.

As the skirmish continues, Miyoshi makes a double attack, lands both blows and finishes the rabble bushi. Yoshi gets up and finds no samurai nearby still alive. Kachamaru hits his L1 opponent but receives a six point blow in return. Miyoshi turns to help him and lands another double attack and Kachamaru lands a third. Mineo kills off a rabble bushi and Kanemitsu gets another critical hit and finishes the L3 bushi. One of the Ainu stabs and kills a bushi extra and two more combine for good hits on a L2 bushi. Haku helps them with Darts of Water and does 15 more damage. The shaman fire more Arrows of Wood into the camp and hit another L2 bushi.

Yoshi wades in to help Haku and the Ainu with their L2 bushi and lands the final blow. Miyoshi hits the last one standing, Kachamaru finishes the L1 bushi and the fight is over. Attention turns back to the camp. The fires have been put out by the mud but in the dim light of a few lanterns they can see that the samurai have got out of the mud. While the others prepares their bows, Kachamaru sneaks closer to the camp, creates pot of magical Limelight and throws it into the camp. His aim is perfect but his trajectory is a little low, and the pot bursts at the edge of the camp. The samurai are perfectly illuminated but so is the Ainu party, which releases the first wave of arrows. Only Yoshi, Mineo and three of the Ainu manage to get hits, but four samurai fall nonetheless.

In the next volley, again Yoshi and Mineo hit: Yoshi's arrow mildly inconveniences the L4 leader of the samurai, but Mineo's arrow wipes out a bushi extra. Kanemitsu hits a L2 bushi who is further hit by two Ainu arrows and Haku's Darts of Water finish the job. A hapless rabble bushi receives three critical hits from Ainu arrows, over-expending his hit points by 41! Kachemaru moves in and takes on a L2 bushi, injured and caked with mud, with his sword. Two good hits weaken him further.

A final volley of arrows is fired before the attackers move in to mop up the last few. Miyoshi finishes a L2 bushi, Yoshi and Mineo hit the L4 leader. Kachamaru hits a L2 bushi and Haku finishes him off with Darts of Water. Then Yoshi and Mineo move in and finish off the leader in four strokes.

While the Ainu sweep the camp clean of any trace of the invaders, Miyoshi and co. take all the useful equipment back to Mori and start thinking of the future...

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