Session 50. (16/4/10)

The heroes are beached on a small island in one of the squid boats, trying desperately to un-beach themselves as more than a hundred screaming demons come screaming down the beach. But as they get closer, the heroes notice that they are not demons, but wear the white clothes and tall, nodding caps of a strange Shinto sect. However, they are all armed with sticks, clubs or machetes, and they are still screaming! Miyoshi recalls stories from his childhood of the strange rituals of the more outlandish sects, cries, "This squid boat is reversing!" and uses the steering oar to drive the boat back. Mineo also remembers a half-overheard conversation between some of the Taisei sailors that there was an island of cannibals somewhere off the coast and shouts, "There's cannibals off the starboard bow!" to add to the general confusion and panic. Yoshi and Haku grab paddles and help Miyoshi get the boat off the beach while Kachamaru, Kokuma and Mineo lay down covering fire. Three arrows kill three cannibals, but a huge crowd of them reaches close range. Three more arrows down three more of them, and the paddling drags the boat back into the sea, but already the leading cannibals are wading in after it. Three more arrows at point-blank range kill three more, but four cannibals reach the heroes' boat and grab them by the gunwales. Kachamaru and Mineo switch to katanas and Kokuma switches to his tetsubo to try to cut/knock the cannibals from the boat. Kachamaru hits a cannibal extra in the prow and Kokuma hits a rabble cannibal in the bulwarks, but Mineo only wounds a level 1 cannibal near the rowlocks. The cannibal has a machete and slices Mineo for 4 damage. Mineo finishes him off with his next attack, and Kachamaru and Kokuma take care of two more, but another ten cannibals have now grabbed hold of the boat, and the rest have reached the shoreline and many are wading into the sea. The cannibals now drag the boat back to the shore, despite Miyoshi's exhortations to "Row harder!!" Kachamaru, Kokuma and Mineo beat off three cannibals but they are replaced by another nine. Kokuma and Mineo give up the unequal task and grab paddles to try to help the boat get away. Haku gives up his paddle and fires Arrows of Water into the thronging cannibals to blow them away like so many fish. It works, and seven of them lose grip on the boat. Kachamaru follows suit with Darts of Wood and subdues two more. Kokuma and Mineo add their strength to Yoshi and Miyoshi's paddling and manage to pull the boat into deeper water, where the cannibals have to swim and have much less pull on the boat. The number of cannibals clinging onto the boat is down to 15, and though nine more swim up, Kachamaru and Haku manage to sweep away 14. One does hit Kokuma with a stick for 3 damage, but the paddlers finally break away and the boat gets out into the deep water. Ten little cannibals scramble aboard the boat and the remainder wade back to the shore. Miyoshi navigates the boat skilfully through a gap in the reef, hereafter known as Kachamaru's Passage, then joins the others to deal with the boarders. Miyoshi, Kachamaru, Kokuma, Mineo and Yoshi all fell a cannibal, and only Kokuma (again!) was hit for 1 damage. The five heroes quickly dispose of the remaining five cannibals and head back out to sea. Kachamaru suggests that they could kill all the cannibals and make the island their new home, but Haku points out that the island has little flat ground and is too small to harbour much game, and that this is probably why the inhabitants have turned to cannibalism. Miyoshi returns to formation with the other boats and they sail away to the north.

The wind is carrying the tribe north parallel with the Ezo coast and the heroes try a spot of night fishing. They don't have much luck, with Kokuma just catching a single squid and Miyoshi dropping one of the lanterns into the sea, where it is immediately swallowed up by the depths. Kachamaru complains that it was his favourite lantern. As dawn approaches, a fierce gale blows up and carries them many miles to the southwest. The boat seems about to fall apart and everyone suffers from seasickness, especially Mineo and Kachamaru, who Miyoshi renames "Little Green Fellow". By the dawn's early light they find that the other boats are nowhere to be seen, but there is a large island ahead of them. Miyoshi guides the boat through reefs and to the shore, helped by the others rowing (and only slightly hampered by Mineo losing his oar: Kachamaru complains it was his favourite oar). The island is very mountainous, but there is a sandy beach and a small coastal plain.

Once ashore they find a stream and plenty of fruit trees. As they are tucking into the delicious fruit, a handsome man comes running down from the hills above the beach.

"Do you realise I brought you here?" he says, and adds, "I was the one who made the wind blow."

"Are you a god?" asks Kachamaru, noting that he speaks in the Wajin tongue.

Before the man can answer, Miyoshi formally introduces the visitors and tells a little of their history.

The man continues, "You must be tired." He shouts to the woods, "Bring it all down." A dozen bearers appear, carrying a large wine jar and chests full of food, plenty for everybody.

"What's the catch?" asks Kachamaru suspiciously.

"I'll tell you why I brought you here," says the man. "On the other side of this island there's a fellow lives there and is always attacking me. He wants to kill me and take over this side of the island too. I've fought him off so far, but soon he's coming again and our battle will be decisive. One of us will live and the other will die. I brought you here to ask for your help."

This sounds like hero work. The heroes relax and start eating the food.

The man continues, "My enemy doesn't have human form, and I won't either when I fight him. You'll see. Every time he's attacked here before I've come down this slope to keep him below the waterfall over there. I've always tried to turn him from the beach. But this time I'll be counting on you, so I'm going to let him up. He'll be only too eager to climb, since he gets stronger as he gets higher. Just watch us fight at first. When I can't take any more I'll signal to you with my eyes. Then shoot your arrows into him, and please don't miss. Be ready in the morning. The battle will start about midday. Make sure you get plenty to eat! And stand on this outcrop of rock because he'll be coming from up here." When everyone has eaten, the leftovers are put back in the chests for the next day and the bearers and the man head off into the island's interior and disappear.

Haku tries to think if he has heard any similar stories from the Japanese classics, but can't remember any. The others pace out the distance from the rock outcrop to the hillside where the man will engage his foe, then settle down to rest for the remainder of the day.

On the day of the fight, a steady gale is blowing and the strangely menacing sea begins to glow. Inside the light can be seen two large masses of fire. The mountains look just as ghastly. The grasses are bending low, the trees are whistling in the wind. On the mountainside too are two masses of fire. A centipede 100 feet long swims along the shoreline and up onto the beach. It is shining blue on its back and red along its sides. Up on the mountain is an even larger snake, descending through the clouds, its tongue flickering. It allows the centipede to climb, as it said it would. The two creatures pause and fix each other with a furious glare.

The centipede charges. Both creatures tear at each other until they are covered in blood. The centipede, with all its legs, always seems to be winning. After several hours the exhausted snake finally gives a look that clearly means "Now!"

With the man/snake's imploring words ringing in their heads - "please don't miss!" - the heroes let fly with their best ranged weapons. Miyoshi gets a critical hit with one arrow for 12 damage, but the others' arrows all just clatter off the centipede's scales. Haku fires Darts of Soil but critically misses. The centipede heads for the archers and they all fire again, but again only one arrow scores - this time from Mineo for 11 damage. The centipede closes to striking range and bites Miyoshi for 10 damage, but fortunately he resists its level 9(!) poison. He responds by sticking his spear in it, but it just skitters off the surface of its carapace. Kokuma smashes it with his tetsubo and does 11 damage as the mass of the weapon transfers through the scales to the soft flesh beneath. Yoshi continues to use his Legendary bow, firing into melee but doing 28 damage to the centipede. Mineo shoots an arrow at the beast but it bounces off, so he switches to his sword.

"This thing must have armour class 16!" he comments.

"Fiffin' faffin', fuffin' faffin' armour class 16," grumbles Kokuma as his latest blow bounces off the centipede's scales and it bites him for 6 damage.

"I think it's invulnerable to edged weapons^*," adds Miyoshi. "You have to stick the point of your weapon under the joins in its scales!" And with that he spears it for 3 damage. Meanwhile, Kachamaru is using Darts of Wood to try to put it to sleep, but although all four of his darts hit, the centipede easily throws off the poison. Haku is trying the more direct approach with Darts of Soil and does 5 damage.

The centipede bites at Miyoshi but misses, causing Miyoshi also to miss. Yoshi, still firing into melee with his Legendary bow, gets a critical hit for 78 damage! The centipede still has over 100 hit points left, though. Kachamaru, Mineo and Kokuma all miss with their next attacks, and the ones after that. Miyoshi misses again and falls over, stunning himself. Only Haku scores against the centipede, doing 10 damage with four Darts of Soil.

The centipede continues to concentrate on Miyoshi, biting him for 1 damage and Miyoshi again resisting its level 9 poison. Yoshi lands another arrow for 34 damage, and Kachamaru thrusts his katana into the god for 8 damage. Kokuma misses. Mineo starts to use Lightning Strike to double his attacks - and misses with both. Kachamaru has a second attack and misses. Kokuma has a second attack and misses. Mineo has a second double attack - and misses. Haku lands four more Darts of Soil and does 7 damage as the centipede resists two of them.

Again the centipede bites Miyoshi, for 5 damage, and again Miyoshi resists the poison. It puts him off his attacks though. Yoshi misses, Kachamaru misses, but Kokuma bashes the beast for 12 damage and follows up with 11 damage. Mineo hits for 4 damage then misses. Kachamaru scores on his second attack for 8 damage. With the centipede on its last legs, Miyoshi administers the final blow as it tries to bite him yet again, sticking it with his spear for 9 damage.

The heroes share the centipede god's 32 budo and honour and the snake god returns in his form as a man. He is in a sad condition, limping, bleeding and wounded all over; but he brings food and thanks the heroes again and again. He heals Mineo's eye then organises the heroes to cut up the centipede's body, chop trees to burn it, and scatter the ashes as far and wide as possible.

"There's no-one now to dispute my ownership of the island," he says, "and that makes me very happy. There are plenty of places on the island good for fields, hunting, and there are so many fruit trees! Yes, it's a fine island. Come and live here! Your wives and families too." He arranges for helpful winds to bring Koshamain and their families' boats to the island and everyone is reunited. After a brief survey of the island, Koshamain decides that they will live on the far side. He names the island Ikusyun-shiri (Okushiri-t? in Wajin), which means The Island on the Other Side. Before the god disappears, he mentions that the Kumata Shrine in Otobe is a sanctuary for him. And the tribe lives happily ever after - or will they return in The Wood 3?

* In hindsight, giving the end-of-series boss 250 hit points, AC16 and a level 9 poison was a bit too much - Kokuma complained at needing 8 or less to hit, and he had the best chance of anyone. Still, it wasn't meant to be easy!

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