Session 3. (17/11/99)

Last week's interrupted episode left the four adventurers Kimori (Anthony Hummerston^*), Koei (Andy Allen), Mariko (Paul Burton) and Sugiyama (Dave Weaver) planning a raid on the Daimyo's secret training camp. They had arranged to be assisted by Tsudaze, Lord Chozo's Sergeant-at-Arms, but realising they would need more help, they recruited four of the former pupils of the School of the Blade to join the raid.

Under the cover of night, the three Bushi, Tsudaze and the four students gathered outside the camp fence, while Koei's ethereal form hovered overhead waiting for the signal. Sugiyama entered the camp first, waiting for the guard patrol to pass then leaping the outer fence and the unarmed combat compound inner fence in one go. He then made his way across the compound to a point near the Sensei's house. Meanwhile, the others climbed the fence near the strategy classroom. Mariko, Kimori and Tsudaze crept round to the front of the classroom and, with great consideration towards the students in their care, sent their wards off on their own around the perimeter towards the main gate. Sugiyama crept to the gate of the unarmed combat compound and was heading for the Sensei's house when he ran straight into another guard on patrol. In the ensuing fight, Sugiyama dispatched the guard, but not before taking a nasty wound from his naginata. While this was going on, the students ran into another of the guards and lost their senior member, a L3 Budoka before killing the guard. Mariko heard faint sounds of fighting but ignored it and gave the signal to Koei to start the main action.

Koei drifted unseen into the southern barracks and cast fire blast, an occult bomb spell. There were 11 trainees in the barracks, all caught to some extent by the blast, though only one was knocked out and three stunned (it was amazing that all the rest even woke up - the other guards on patrol completely failed to hear the bomb going off!). As the trainees grabbed weapons and headed out to see what was happening, Koei fired two fire arrows into the roof and set it alight. By this time, Sugiyama had reached the back of the Sensei's house and was trying to see in, Kimori had gone over to the servant's house, and Mariko and Tsudaze arrived at the door to the bombed barracks. Mariko and Tsudaze immediately engaged the three trainees that emerged. Mariko accounted for one, but fell and stunned herself and had to be saved by Tsudaze who polished off the other two.

While this was going on, Koei went to the northern barracks and repeated the trick with the fire blast and fire arrows, knocking out another trainee and stunning another. Also at this time the students arrived at the barracks and there was great confusion, with students fighting trainees, trainees trying to put out fires, and guards in the guard towers firing arrows into the melée.

Sugiyama crept into the Sensei's house but was unable to find him; however, the Sensei had heard Sugiyama approaching and picked up a sword intending to remove his head. Fortunately, Sugiyama saw him first and another fight ensued. Things might still have gone badly for Sugiyama if the Sensei had not been to the Kanamori Mariko School of Dumb Fighting Manoeuvres and decided to fall over and stun himself. Sugiyama was not fooled by this ploy and landed several blows before his opponent regained his feet in time to die. Sugiyama then ransacked the house and found a fine gemstone. Meanwhile Kimori went to the back door of the teachers' house, and was about to go in when a teacher, awakened by the bomb, dashed out of it. Kimori was not put off by the fact that the teacher was without armour or weapon and, avoiding his attempts to grapple, removed his head with one sweep of his no-dachi. Kimori then entered the building and waited for Sugiyama, who was just behind. As he turned to see where Sugiyama was, one of the teachers stepped out of a doorway and raised his sword to strike Kimori down. Unfortunately he only managed to slice himself, but Sugiyama, ever the opportunist, leapt past Kimori and took a hack, making it look like he had saved Kimori's life. The two then finished the job the teacher had started.

When the chaos by the barracks had sorted itself out, only Mariko, Tsudaze and one of the students were left standing (showing Mariko's good sense in letting the students look after themselves - although three were dead, they had killed seven, and the survivor, the least experienced of them all, had accounted for four). They went to the front of the teachers' house and entered, encountering another teacher. Mariko struck and knocked him unconscious; Tsudaze finished him off. Koei accounted for another of the teachers, attacking with fire arrows, and Kimori killed the last. As the five emerged from the house they saw the last few remaining guards and trainees trying to escape. Koei shot one with fire arrows; Kimori got another with a conventional arrow (23 damage!); and Sugiyama made a heroic leap up a guard tower to stop the guard escaping.

Having loaded up with all the useful equipment and burned the buildings to the ground, the four adventurers returned to Masaki village to report to Lord Chozo. He was very pleased at their success, but said there was plenty more hard work to come. For instance, he needed a training camp like the one they had just destroyed (but in a different hidden location) in order to train further the recruits made at the School of the Blade. So, in between teaching duties, the four troubleshooters started arranging to build a training camp.

^* Note the change of name from previous programme summaries; Anthony discovered that there was another Equuity^** member called Tony Hummerston, which isn't allowed, and decided to change his screen appellation to avoid being confused with the other Tony who, he said, was permanently typecast as "a stupid warrior who hacks his way through crappy Japanese adventure flicks."

^** The union for horseplay.

< Previous  Next >