Session 12. (9/2/00)

With the work to reorganise Iyo Province now out of their hands, the troubleshooters went back to training. Kimori (Anthony Hummerston) studied hawking; Sugiyama (Dave Weaver) practised Silent Kill; Mariko (Paul Burton) improved her Rhetoric; and Koei (Andy Allen) started to learn the spell Smokes of Sleep.

Then one day about two weeks after the rebellion, Lord Chozo called Mariko to his office and told her to go Takamatsu in the neighbouring province of Sanuka to see the Daimyo and get his support for Lord Chozo as new Daimyo in Iyo, and hopefully to negotiate an alliance. Mariko invited the other troubleshooters along; Sugiyama agreed to go, and Kimori was keen because the route would allow him to visit the remaining temples on his pilgrimage. Koei decided to stay in Matsuyama and learn more magic. When he had finished learning Smokes of Sleep, he went in search of a new teacher he had heard of. Sukemon lived as a hermit in one of the many the forests in Iyo. Koei managed to follow a woodland trail and arrive at his shack. However, the old hermit was not there. Setting off to look for him, Koei ran into two giant Trapdoor spiders. They immediately attacked, but Koei cast Wings of Heaven and flew out of their reach. They tried to follow by climbing up trees, but Koei stayed away and peppered them (chargrilled even) with Arrows of Fire until they were cooked. Then Sukemon appeared and greeted Koei joyfully, explaining that he needed a fungus that grows in the tunnels of the giant Trapdoor spider, so if Koei would go and collect it from these two spiders' burrows, he would be very pleased and yes, he would teach her, he was a master of all the Schools of magic as well as Tea Magic, knows every spell there is and sells tea to passing travellers, Would you like some tea? With much foreboding, Koei agreed to get the fungus. She managed to find the burrow of one of the spiders and very carefully opened the trapdoor, cast light and looked in. She could see the fungus on the walls, but she couldn't see down to the bottom. She cast Fire Flash and didn't see it reflecting off 8 red eyes, so she inched her way down the sloping tunnel. As she went she scraped off the fungus. Reaching the bottom, she was not attacked by a huge poisonous arachnid; the burrow was empty apart from some straw bedding and a few old bones. In a similar fashion she got fungus from the second burrow and took it to the hermit and started learning more spells.

On the road to Takamatsu, passing through Saijo-Han, Mariko' group ran into a war party from the Lord of Saijo returning from a skirmish with some of the former Daimyo's troops. Thinking them to be Daimyo's men, the war party (five men) rode up to attack. Mariko dismounted and convinced them not to strike. The others rode round behind Sugiyama and Kimori, who took up defensive positions without drawing their swords. Mariko's explanations eventually convinced them and they were pleased to hear that the rebellion had succeeded, apologised for attacking them and offered to help in any way they could. Mariko praised them for their diligence, then carried on towards Takamatsu.

Back in Iyo, when Koei made a visit back to Matsuyama she was summoned by Lord Chozo. He asked her to ride after Mariko and carry a message to her. Mariko meanwhile had entered Sanuka Province with Sugiyama and Kimori. They were in no hurry, and made occasional detours to the temples on Kimori's pilgrimage. One day they crossed a bridge over a small river when a group of Bakemono stepped out of bushes and barred their way off the bridge. The leader, a seven-foot O-Bakemono, demanded payment of five silver pieces each for crossing the bridge, and more for the horses. Thus insulted, Kimori drew his big chopper and spurred his horse into inaction. Sugiyama leapt from the saddle onto the leader, and Mariko attacked with her knife. Two of the small Bakemono hit Sugiyama with their clubs, and the leader also hit him with his tetsubo. Obviously annoyed, Sugiyama hit the O-Bakemono critically and killed him. Mariko killed another of Sugiyama's assailants, and Kimori got his horse under control and turned to meet a second group of Bakemono that he had seen advancing from the other end of the bridge. After that the battle seemed a formality (it wasn't), with Sugiyama and Mariko working almost in unison (both cut limbs off their opponents simultaneously) and Kimori scything down the others with virtually every blow. There was no more excitement after this, and the party reached Takamatsu a few days later. Mariko used her letter of introduction from Lord Chozo to get an audience with the Daimyo, and took presents to his presence. The meeting went well, Mariko and the Daimyo starting off on good terms and finishing up life long friends. The Daimyo signed a statement of alliance with Lord Chozo and offered the hospitality of his castle. After a few more days however, Kimori wanted to get on with his pilgrimage, so they left for the south of the province and the last few temples. They visited these, then with a great feeling of relief, Kimori fiished his pilgrimage. To celebrate, the party went to a fancy tea house, where Mariko performed the Tea Ceremony (correctly).

On the way back to Iyo province, Mariko spotted a rider coming towards them. She was very surprised when it turned out to be Koei. She had a message from Lord Chozo. It said that while she was away a letter had arrived from her brother, the chief Samurai for the Daimyo of Izumi province, across the sea to the east. Mariko's brother had been given the task of brokering an alliance with the Daimyo of Awaji Island, either by negotiation or by force. He said that the military option would fail because of Awaji's support from Sanuki and Awa-Isi Provinces, but as these were friendly with Lord Chozo, he sent this letter to Mariko to see if she could help. Lord Chozo instructed Mariko to go to Izumi and use the excuse to try to get all of the provinces mentioned to ally with him.

The party turned around and headed back into Sanuka Province, heading for Tokushima and the ferry to Izumi. On the way they stopped at the first temple on the pilgrim trail, where Kimori could get his stamp book notarised and pick up souvenirs. Of course he prayed at the temple as well. As he did so, the major Kami Benten appeared. She is a beautiful lady, and she made an image in the air showing an equally beautiful, but unhappy woman. Benten said to Kimori, "I am Benten. This is Suzuki Mitsumi and she is the only child of a leading landowner in Hyuga province. After the war in Hyuga is over (what war?) you must go to Nobeoka and seek out Mizuno the marriage broker who will arrange your marriage. I am is doing this because of your devotion to your late wife and to free her spirit, which was troubled by your grief." Benten then disappeared leaving Kimori shaken and stirred. How would he get to Hyuga, and what war was this?

The party crossed the sea to Izumi and met up with Mariko's brother. He explained the situation and said that the Daimyo of Awaji Island was an unknown quantity. He was young, bookish, but no-one yet knew whether he took after his father, one of the old guard that fought in the civil war for the old Shogun (like Lord Keji), or was supportive of Lord Chozo and autonomy from Edo. A possible extra bargaining chip could be for Mariko to marry the Daimyo, a high-ranking samurai. This would unify all of Shikoku island and some neighbouring provinces. It will also be a major step up for Mariko. He mind racing, Mariko set off for Awaji Island accompanied by her brother, Sugiyama, Kimori and Koei.

Mariko met the Daimyo, Ito Narihiro after arranging an audience with the help of letters of introduction from the Daimyos of Iyo (Lord Chozo), Sanuka and Izumi. Initially the meeting didn't go well. Mariko suggested an alliance with Iyo and Izumi provinces and said how Lord Chozo was already an ally of Sanuka Province. This didn't seem to go down too well, and Mariko apologised for talking business. She returned to small talk, and Narihiro seemed much more interested. So Mariko broached the subject of a political marriage and he became distinctly friendly. Mariko talked about herself and her life, but played down her part in the deaths of countless bandits, monsters, evil geniuses, armies and occasional passers-by. The Daimyo was convinced, and signed papers of alliance and announced the forthcoming marriage. Mariko's brother had a word with her afterwards and said that he noticed that her fiancé had shown great excitement with her heroic exploits. Mariko later found out that Narihiro was ashamed that he wasn't warrior material, but saw the chance to live the hero's life vicariously through her. Thus he would not only allow Mariko to continue her adventures, but he positively encouraged it.

The others decided to stay in Awaji until the wedding five weeks later. They found teachers and returned to training. In due course the wedding took place, and Kimori, Sugiyama and Koei returned to Matsuyama and the service of Lord Chozo. When Mariko came to visit a few weeks later he called the team together and announced that he had decided on gifts for them to thank them for their efforts during the rebellion. To Kimori he gave the School of the Blade and offered him Masaki village to rule. To Koei he offered to set her up with a magic school and research centre, in the old Ninja village on Gogo Island where errant Fire spells would not burn down whole cities. To Sugiyama he offered financial support for improving his mountain training camp and for rebuilding his "pupil" base. He also offered Sugiyama the post of Chief of Police of Matsuyama city, provided he swear loyalty to him. This interesting move would certainly have an effect on the Yakuza in the city, with whom Lord Chozo had a long-running feud. And to Mariko her gave a beautiful sword. He said it had been given to him by one of the many priests the troubleshooters had helped. The sword was the Katana of Hachiman, a magical sword that gave benefits to the wielder upon reading the haiku inscribed on its blade: the ability to cast Pure Body, Pure Mind and Pure Blood once each, +3 Base Action Phase and +1 armour class. Mariko accepted the gift graciously and returned to Awaji promising to study poetry.

Later in the Year of the Tiger, the year that Lord Chozo's rebellion replaced the Daimyo of Iyo province, there came glad news from Awaji that Mariko was expecting her first child. And though she was to be involved in planning the campaign against Hyuga Province, Mariko would be unavailable to take part in it until the summer of the next year.

…to be continued in series three of The Stone.

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