Session 39. (29/1/10)

We rejoin the so-called adventurers, and their apparent quest to turn the Ainu-Wajin frontier into the most boring place on Earth, with a number of interesting developments in the offing: Mineo and Tamamo are providing the love interest while all the viewers are waiting for the penny to drop; Kachamaru is considering making a trip to see his long-lost parents; it has been suggested to Kokuma that he and the others go and banish the rest of the demons from Kumaishi, with the help of a priest they will have to seek out; and Yoshi and Miyoshi have been posed a very tricky question by the Ghost Cat - will they give up a daughter for "great reward"?

Unfortunately, with no further update on the amorous travails of Mineo, the most adventurous thing to happen was when Haku switched his studies from southern Ainu Classics to eastern Ainu Classics.

Starting in a cave high in the mountains, Miyoshi and Yoshi have been agonising for what seems like a week over the Nekomata's request to marry one of their daughters in return for a great reward. So they go on agonising for another half-hour - should they do it, is it right, are their daughters too young, would they just be selling them for personal gain, can the cat be trusted? It is clearly no ordinary cat: by now an ordinary cat would have got bored and wandered off to shred some furniture. Miyoshi has an idea - he'll pray to the god for guidance. He gets the unused fortune strip, cuts the fortune off and writes his request on it, for once in perfect kanji. Then he lodges it in the cherry tree. Immediately the love bird hops into the branches, takes the prayer in its beak and flies over to the shrine to unroll it. Then it does something extraordinary: it flies over to the cat and straight into its mouth, which closes over it. Yoshi and Miyoshi are stunned, but before they can beat the cat into releasing the bird, it opens its mouth and the bird flies out again, unharmed.

"I think it means the cat is trustworthy," whispers Yoshi to Miyoshi. A subtle hint, but it doesn't work.

"I can't do it!" exclaims Miyoshi. "I can't just give up my eight-year-old daughter to a cat!" He bows to the kami and gives his respects to the cat. Now the onus is on Yoshi. But he too declines, politely. He senses that the cat is very sad, and says so. Miyoshi is more blunt than comforting: "You wouldn't give away one of your own offspring!"

"I just want the chance to have some," retorts the cat. It changes to human form and trudges to the middle of the cave.

"You should visit our village," suggests Miyoshi. "In human form you could surely find a wife."

The cat/man shakes his head disconsolately, picks up the blue stone and walks to the mouth of the cave. "We'll come and visit you," says Yoshi.

"I won't be here," says the cat. It leaps into the air and flies off into the mountains on Wings of Heaven. Yoshi and Miyoshi avoid each others' stares and stamp off back down the mountain.

Meanwhile in Miyoshiville, Kokuma and Kachamaru are preparing to go fishing. Koshamain intercepts them and tells Kokuma that he will need to fetch a priest if they are to go and take care of the remaining demons that are terrorising Kumaishi, which Koshamain has stated would be a peace offering to the Wajin that could lead to trade. A strong hint, but it doesn't work.

"I'm goin' fishin'," says Kokuma and stumps off. Koshamain turns to Kachamaru. He repeats his desire from some days earlier for Kachamaru to visit his parents in Esashi to get spell scrolls and news. An obvious hint, but it doesn't work.

"Oi'm gahn' fishing-in'," says Kachamaru in his best imitation of Kokuma, and stumps off as best he can, though it ends up as more of a mince. Some Ainu witnessing this laugh behind their hands.

On their way to the cave, Kokuma and Kachamaru run into Haku, on his way back from a different cave.

"Where are you two going with all that gear?" asks Haku.

"Fishin'," replies Kokuma, a fraction of a second before Kachamaru replies, "Nowhere."

"Fishing? Why didn't you get me out of bed?"

"We though you hated fishing."

"I love fishing! The swish of the nets on the water, the sun beating down..."

"We're fishing by night," interrupts Kachamaru.

"...the moonlight playing upon the water..."

"And only at under moonless skies."

"...the inky blackness, the silvery flash of scales..."

"We're catchin' squids, not fishes," adds Kokuma.

"I love squid fishing!" exclaims Haku, and that is that. The three round up the Ainu boatmen and head off to the passage to the sea. Some of the Ainu fishermen jeer, "Looks like something's going to be caught by men, with no backbone." Ignoring the jibes, the three nancies wait while the Ainu men drag the boat from the forest to the sea, then jump in. It is a few days past new moon so it sets a couple of hours after the sun, leaving 10 hours for fishing. Kokuma's experience soon shows, and he hauls 10 units of squid during the night. Kachamaru still hasn't got the hang of it and comes up empty. Haku has absolutely no skills useful in a fishing boat, but after talking interminably about the different kinds of stalactites found in his favourite cave and composing a fishing song, he decides, for no fathomable reason, to see if he can contact any squid spirits. He enters a trance, and feels a strange presence. He analyses it and decides it is a squid spirit. Haku makes an offering to the spirit by throwing some fish entrails, which they use as bait, over the side and reciting a rather feeble poem:

"Hear me, o spirit of squid,
Come into Kachamaru Bay.
To fall in our nets it is fated
And lie on our plates next to cray."

(The poem's reception was tepid/And it didn't make sense anyway.)

Then Kachamaru and Kokuma look up; they can sense the presence as well. Haku is confused - this isn't normal for spirits. Then a huge shape approaches the boat: a giant octopus. It hits the boat with a thud, and grabs Kachamaru by the tentacles for 1 damage. Kachamaru tries to cast Omnipresent Sword, but he is understandably distracted. Kokuma leans over the side and hits the octopus with his tetsubo. It is like hitting a bag full of jelly snakes, but it does 7 damage anyway. The octopus squeezes Kachamaru for 10 damage. His eyes water. Kokuma hits the mollusc for 4 damage and Haku fires three Arrows of Soil. Two of them hit and the octopus is unable to resist them. The 11 and 8 damage kill the beast, and before it can slide back into the water, Kachamaru and Kokuma haul it on board. There are at least 100 meals' worth of food, and the three heroes' reputations are restored.

Up in the mountains, Miyoshi and Yoshi are camping by the side of the lake discovered by Kokuma and Mineo. They have searched the shores and Yoshi found a location where he though cranes might gather. His thoughts are confirmed when they find some crane nests in the trees. They are empty, but Yoshi expects the cranes to return at dusk. To pass the time, Yoshi and Miyoshi go hunting for supper. Yoshi finds four song birds and kills two of them. Miyoshi finds three rabbits and kills one. They are cooking them on the fire as daylight fades when a flock of cranes flies in to roost. Satisfied, Miyoshi and Yoshi eat and sleep well. In the morning they hike back to Miyoshiville.

Back in Miyoshiville, all the heroes show off their spoils - Miyoshi a rabbit's foot, Kachamaru the beak from the octopus. Koshamain is pleased with the fruits of the sea and to hear news of the cranes, but displeased with the adventurers' lack of adventurousness. "So Kumaishi remains demon-ridden and unfriendly toward us," he says, frowning at Kokuma, "Your grasp of kabuki magic is woeful," pointing to Kachamaru, "And that cave still needs redecorating," he accuses Haku. "And why," he adds, turning to Miyoshi and Yoshi, "did you give up a chance for the village to be on good terms with a powerful creature like that?"

"He wanted our daughters!" protests Miyoshi.

"Girls, delightful as they may be, are less use than boys in a valley with lots of game and few edible plants. I'm sure she would have been well looked after. Probably better than staying here with us."

Miyoshi mutters discontent under his breath. Yoshi looks uncertain.

Koshamain breaks the sombre mood by declaring, "Let's go and dance with the cranes and have a feast. This octopus will rot soon, so let's hunt a wild boar and take it up into the mountains to eat."

The party sets out with Kokuma tracking, looking specifically for wild boar. Soon he finds some likely-looking tracks. Yoshi takes over and locates a glade with tubers favoured by boars and there finds exactly what they wanted - a giant wild boar. Miyoshi, Yoshi and Kokuma fire arrows at the boar. Miyoshi misses, but Yoshi hits for 9 damage and Kokuma hits for 14. Kachamaru fires three Darts of Wood and hits with one. The boar fights off the narcotic poison, but not before it has lost 2 strength. The boar charges at the heroes. Miyoshi, Yoshi and Kokuma change to their preferred melee weapons. Haku fires two arrows of soil which strike for 7 and 10 damage. The boar arrives and slashes Kokuma with its tusks for 10 damage. Miyoshi spears it from the side, doing 9 damage and killing it. With this success, they carry the boar up to Lake Kokuma, as they now call it, for feasting and dancing.

The feast is a great success. All the villagers participate in the dancing with the cranes. Haku and his wife, Kokuma, Miyoshi and his wife, Yoshi's wife and Kachamaru and his wife all perform well; only Kokuma's wife and Yoshi struggle, but the overall presentation is good. After sating themselves on wild boar meat, the heroes relax with the entire winter's supply of sloe gin and plum brandy. As the talking becomes more slurred, the subject turns to the world around them and they start giving names to its features. Already they have Miyoshiville (Miyoshi-kotan) and Lake Kokuma (Kokuma-ko), and Haku recently coined Kachamaru Bay (Kachamaru-wan). Miyoshi suggests Mount Yoshi (Yoshi-yama) for the big mountain above Lake Kokuma where they encountered the cat. Everyone falls about with laughter. Yoshi responds by naming Haku's Cave (Haku-hora'ana). And of course they always have Mineo's Passage (Mineo-tsuro). As the talking becomes even more slurred and the world starts turning around them, Haku makes up an epic poem about their various adventures at Kokuma-ko, Yoshi-yama, Kachamaru-wan and so on. It sounds hilarious when drunk.

In the morning, Haku, Miyoshi, Kachamaru, Yoshi and Kokuma's wife all seem as fresh as daisies; Kokuma and the rest of the Ainu are hungover. In a mild piece of retribution, chants of "Ainu lightweights!" are raised by the night's survivors.

So there you have it. Four major adventures written, only one used, and the characters were too fearful to take the reward. As my old GM used to say, "When it comes to gamers, subtle hints don't work. Strong hints don't work. Obvious hints don't work. Just say it." Good job GM's not here!

Winter draws in in the Year of the Rat (1468). The unadventurous adventurers get plenty of excitement from setting traps, fishing and hunting. The women collect berries from the forests to replenish the now-depleted stocks of alcohol, but it will be some time before it is ready, and they ponder trading with the Wajin. The adventurers also manage a little training: Haku studies Ainu classics; Kachamaru Ainu magic and learns Epic Saga; Kokuma studies kyujutsu and Yoshi the Precision Strike speciality of the same skill; Miyoshi practices and improves his deftness to 30. Kokuma's Wajin wife falls pregnant, but the others can look forward to unchanged training rates in future years.

This scene of blissful domesticity is shattered one morning by a scream. It comes from Kokuma's wife. The bear cub has escaped and attacked her, perhaps sensing her delicate state. Kokuma drives it off and it disappears into the pre-dawn darkness of the village. Everyone is galvanised into activity, except Haku who is a little slow rising. Kachamaru suggests that Kokuma's wife needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and her clothes should be loosened, but she politely refuses. Fortunately Kokuma wasn't around to hear this interplay as he has exited stage left, pursuing bear. Everyone runs out into the village, but Kokuma has lost sight of the bear. Just then there is a scream from another part of the village - another Ainu has been attacked. The heroes run to the scene but again the bear has disappeared. Then there is the sound of a roar from an angry young bear, and the sight of an angry Ainu with a bow, string vibrating and no arrow. The bear has been hit. Kachamaru casts Light in his cupped hands and runs towards the roar, looking like a scene from the Bear Which Project. Haku casts Forest Eyes so he can see in the dark. Kokuma manages to find some bear tracks. All three spot the bear on the far side of the village. Kokuma uses Control Bear and stops it running off into the forest. He tries to make it return to its cage, but the bear's anger lets it resist the spell, and it charges at Miyoshi. Miyoshi swings his spear round and hits it with the butt-end. Another Ainu arrow hits the bear. "Don't shoot, it's our lucky bear," cries Miyoshi. Out of gratitude, the bear swipes Miyoshi with its claws for 14 damage. Miyoshi, red mist descending, swings his spear back to show the point to the bear. Haku finally gets his voice in gear and fires two Arrows of Wood at the bear. The bear easily resists them. Kokuma tries Control Bear again, but the bear just manages to resist. It snaps at Miyoshi, who jumps away just in time, then it runs away down the valley. Haku sends it on its way with two Arrows of Soil.

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