Session 8.

This short episode (screened with episode 7) continued from where the last episode left off with the four adventurers arriving in Shôno, a village near the barren, windswept Cape Sadamisaki. Having stayed overnight in villagers' houses, the party heads down to the harbour to catch the ferry to Kyushu. The ferry, a large sailing boat, was helmed by a small, wizened old man who said, "For you fine ladies and gentlemen and your horses the crossing will cost 48 silver pieces, for I will make the rough sea seem like Lake Naoiri. Who will pay me?" After a little discussion about the price, Mariko paid him from the Daimyo's funds.

Once on the water a breeze sprang up, and Kimori and Koei felt seasick, but were able to avoid disgracing themselves. Sugiyama headed below deck and stayed there for the rest of the journey. Just then there was a thump on the bottom of the boat and Mariko looked over the side to see a kappa (half man, half turtle) rocking and hitting the boat. Then it swam to the back and grabbed the rudder, making the boat turn a circle. Kimori threatened it with an arrow, but the ferryman shouted to him to give it gifts instead. Mariko understood this, and threw wild cucumbers to it from a box near the helm. The kappa dived after them and disappeared. Later another kappa was seen and more cucumbers were thrown. It accepted them, then dived under the boat and reappeared with the first kappa (smaller, younger) who had not left after all. The two kappa then swam off.

The boat headed out into the open sea and the wind got stronger. This time Mariko felt ill, shortly followed by Kimori and Koei. As all three were starting to feel better, the boat was once again rocked by something hitting the bottom. This time it was a shark. Kimori immediately took out his bow and hit it twice with arrows. Koei hit it with Darts of Wood, but this had little effect. As the shark thrashed around, a second one was attracted to the site. Kimori now tied himself to the boat and leant over the side to attack the shark with his sword, mortally wounding it. The second shark finished it off, and the two were left behind as the ferryman used his skill to get the boat out of there. Koei switched to using Arrows of Fire and seriously injured a third shark, which attacked the ship in a frenzy and almost leapt onto the deck. This enabled Mariko to attack it with her dagger. With this shark also dying, a fourth shark attacked the boat. The three fighters combined to kill it, but not before Kimori was bitten. He got his revenge, however, as he hauled the dying shark onto the deck and it became supper, cooked by the ferryman on the beach where they landed. Koei was also able to recover two shuriken she had thrown at the shark. The rest of the crossing passed uneventfully apart from more seasickness experienced by all the trouble-shooters, including Koei's dinner which passed very eventfully as she was on the windward side when it caused trouble, shooting back into her face!

Arriving at Saganoseki on the island of Kyushu, the ferryman invited the four travellers and the local villagers to share a meal of shark meat. During the meal, the adventurers heard more rumours about Osumi province, some new, some old. The ferryman told them that some say that a cult is enslaving people and has got them to move an enormous stone, while others say a magician moved an enormous stone to demonstrate his power. Mariko discovered a story that bandits were torturing and killing people in Osumi Province. Sugiyama heard the old rumour about a new cult. After the meal, the travellers stayed the night in the village to rest and recuperate.

Following directly on from episode 6, this short episode recounted the four adventurers' journey from Saganoseki to Miyazaki, the capital of Hyuga province. The journey began along the coast road through Usuki and Saiki. Mariko, Koei and Sugiyama improved their riding skills slightly, while Kimori concentrated on recovering from his shark bite. Encounters on the road and in the villages produced a few new rumours: Sugiyama learnt of a spirit that was attached to a mystical stone which had suddenly appeared in Osumi province; Mariko heard that the spirit was attacking swordsmen; Koei heard that the stone was in a place of special significance to the cult that they had heard about from other people. Koei also managed to work out that the kings in the Chess Set of Shizari raise the dead.

The road to the south now turned inland and over the mountains, where snow was still lying and the way became narrow and muddy. The locals warned the party of a particularly clever and ruthless group of bandits that sometimes waylaid travellers on the mountain roads. However, for the first few days they met only friendly people happy to pass on news from Osumi: that bandits were torturing and killing people; that the stone was in a place of special significance to the cult; that an evil magician had conjured away a large number of people from Osumi province; that people were having to give food as tribute to the evil magician; that the evil magician's source of power was a mystical stone.

Then one day, shortly after leaving the town of Sotato, a group of between ten and thirty men waving swords attacked the party as they passed a small hill. Kimori immediately killed one with an arrow, but then broke the bow string. Having no time to repair it, he spurred his horse and charged through the mob, sword whirring. Sugiyama also got out his bow and killed two bandits. Koei cast two Arrows of Fire and hit two bandits, killing neither outright, but both soon succumbed to the flames in their armour. Koei then cast Wings of Heaven and rose out of her saddle to float high above the mob. Mariko, using her knowledge of tactics, advised Sugiyama to keep moving to avoid being surrounded. Kimori, charging through the bandits, slew one, hit another (the leader) and then couldn't stop his horse. Sugiyama slew another two that had reached his horse. Mariko stabbed another, though not fatally. Koei cast Mud on the ground under the bandits and a dozen of them fell to the ground. Many were unable to stand again. Kimori finally turned his horse and plunged back into the fray, killing another bandit then falling from his horse as it hit the mud. Sugiyama killed the last of the bandits near him, then got his bow out and started picking off the few who were still standing. Mariko finished off her assailant, then circled round the mud, dismounted and went after the remainder. Koei, high overhead, continued to mop up fallen bandits with Arrows of Fire. Kimori killed another with his sword, then tried to run and fell in the mud. The bandit leader attacked him in this vulnerable position, but Kimori was saved when Koei fired down two more Arrows of Fire to kill the bandit leader. The last two fallen bandits surrendered and were tied up. Koei spotted another running off to a shack behind the hill. She cut him down with an Arrow of Fire, then investigated the shack, finding three pieces of art.

The captured bandits were interrogated and they claimed to be poor peasants driven to robbery because of the Daimyo's taxes. They were taken back to Sotato where the villagers exclaimed that they were not the vicious bandits they had warned the party about. When questioned, the bandits said that the previous gang had suddenly disappeared, probably heading south. Completing their journey, the party heard new rumours: that the Plain of Plenty had been devastated by an earthquake; that a new band of brigands had moved into Osumi, replacing the old; and that the spirit attacking swordsmen did so silently. Koei analysed the chess set lances (cure poison/plague) and bishops (restore Power). On reaching Miyazaki, they found it full of soldiers and pack horses preparing to take aid to Osumi. They were unable to see the Daimyo, and all their requests for information were curtly dismissed.

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