Session 12. (29/3/06)

Komako scours his memory for more details of the nose reduction treatment and remembers a few more details of the story. Meanwhile the others go on a mouse hunt. Sugiyama finds mouse tracks in the dust on some stairs at the back of the temple and eventually Emiko spots a live mouse. Kimori shows his deftness and corners and captures the mouse. Komako extracts the urine and then wipes his nose, or rather the high priest's nose, with it.

Elsewhere in Shikoku we see Mariko and Sung riding to meet the others, urging their horses on but not actually travelling all that quickly.

The next day the Troubleshooters eagerly await the appearance of the high priest, but are disappointed - his appearance is just the same. They try to convince him that his nose doesn't look so big, but he isn't consoled. Komako thinks again about the story and decides it must be a cautionary tale. Kimori, Sugiyama and Emiko now put their minds to work; Kimori's physician skill doesn't help, so he prays (without success, but it was very close); however, Sugiyama's yogen skill and Emiko's knowledge of herbalism combine to come up with a plausible remedy. They go off to look for ingredients.

Again we cut to Mariko and Sung riding through northern Shikoku. Sung, a professional rider, is going well but has to keep slowing for Mariko who hasn't found her rhythm yet.

At the temple, Sugiyama has found all the ingredients, Emiko clearly still feeling rather dopey. She watches as Sugiyama prepares the mixture, boiling leaves and adding animal excrescences in a carefully ordered sequence. Emiko has no idea how she would have put the ingredients together and wonders how Sugiyama knows. Eventually they are ready and call the head priest to take the poison potion. It tastes disgusting! However, after a few encouraging words from Emiko, the head priest swallows it all without complaint. Now they have to wait to see what the result will be. Komako tries to divine the future but sees nothing.

Mariko and Sung swing through northern Shikoku, seemingly as far away as ever. Now Sung has dropped into a slow rhythm while Mariko forges on. She doesn't wait for her servant as much as Sung had to wait for his mistress.

The next morning the Troubleshooters are again disappointed by the size of the head priest's nose. Emiko and Komako talk about Chinese stories from the respective knowledge of classics and Buddhist teachings and remember a story about a Chinese doctor who reduced noses, but neither could remember any details. We cut back to Mariko and Sung again and this time they are both galloping at full speed. As we watch we see some familiar figures in the distance and then we realise that Mariko and Sung have finally caught up with the other Troubleshooters. After the greetings are over, Mariko immediately helps with the problem by recounting the details of the Chinese doctor story. They set to work applying the treatment, which involves poaching the nose in boiling water then trampling it under foot. Komako supplies the foot and Emiko and Sugiyama make some pain-relieving medicines. As Komako tramples, small rice-like grains come out of the nose and it starts to shrink. Eventually the high priest's nose is virtually normal size. They wait until the following day and find that the nose has regrown to half its previous size, so they poach and trample it again. On each successive day the nose regrows but to a smaller and smaller degree, and after a week it is permanently reduced. The high priest is very grateful and gladly hands over the final Buddha statue as a reward. Emiko examines the statue, which is large and made from scented pine, and works out that it has the power to make someone confused, disoriented and bothered when it is tapped twice. The Troubleshooters continue their pilgrimage and finally finish back in Matsuyama.

In week 14 in the Year of the Dragon, the Troubleshooters are attending to their duties in Matsuyama when Lord Chozo calls them to his audience chamber. They are surprised to see their old friend Koei already there, but before they can speak, Lord Chozo arrives. He says he is sending them to Kyoto to give the Buddha statues to the emperor, or former emperor as he now is. Eight years ago he abdicated in favour of his daughter, Meisho - Koei's half-sister and sworn enemy. Lord Chozo believes that if Koei gives the statues to her father, he will be able to regain control over the Shogun and in gratitude grant Lord Chozo recognition as Daimyo of Iyo Province. The old emperor, nicknamed "The Stone" because of his craggy looks, is well-known for his paranoid fear of assassins, but Lord Chozo has persuaded Koei to seek reconciliation with her father and gain access to him for the Troubleshooters.

The party, including Koei and Sung, set off and cross over to the mainland from Imabari to Mihara on two chartered ferries, one for them and one for their horses. The Buddha statues travel with the horses, all except for the jade Buddha which Mariko carries with her. During the crossing the water is fairly rough, and Emiko and Mariko get slightly seasick. The weather worsens and Sugiyama, Kimori and Sung start feeling sick, Mariko is sick and Emiko is very sick (5 subdual damage); Komako, however, seems completely immune, throws a fishing line over the side and catches four fish! The bad weather turns into a full blown squall and the ship lurches violently, and Mariko and Emiko are thrown to the deck and bruised (Emiko for another 8 damage). Then without warning a freak wave capsizes the boat which quickly sinks, taking most of the party members with it to the bottom, trapped in an air pocket. Koei and all the crew are washed away, Koei flying up out of the waves on a Wings of Heaven spell and doing what she can to save the sailors. Down on the bottom it is pitch dark and Kimori is panicking too much to think of using Stage Lantern. The others all swim out and try to reach the surface, but instead come up into a dank, dark cave, lit by an eerie light. Seeing that Kimori isn't with them, Komako and Sugiyama swim back under the boat to fetch him while the others explore the cave. Kimori is dragged out of the boat, lightly bruising him on the way. When they catch up with the others they are standing looking at a series of chambers lit by small lanterns and having beds (or nests) made from dried reeds on the floors. As they explore one of the chambers an old hag approaches the party, spitting and cursing, accompanied by 2 vipers. In a corner, a beautiful girl cowers, screaming for help. The hag tries to cast a spell but it fails. One of the vipers bites Sugiyama but fortunately he manages to avoid being poisoned; the other viper strikes at Sung but misses. Kimori draws his big chopper and inflicts a major wound on the hag. Sugiyama hits the first viper with his sword and Sung swings at the second one, misses and dazes himself. The vipers attack again. Sugiyama's snake misses but Sung is hit and poisoned with a L3 lightning lethal poison. He fails to shake off the poison and his health deteriorates rapidly, but Mariko reacts quickly and uses the last Lance from the Chess Set of Shizari to cure the poison. Meanwhile Komako punches the hag and Kimori hits her with his sword. Sugiyama hits the first viper and kills it. Emiko hits the second viper, inflicting 6 damage from the bo and an additional 6 damage from its fire attack. The hag casts Water Curse on the dazed, drained Sung, causing him to lose 5 points of deftness, then she turns into a snake. The companion viper bites Sung again and poisons him again, but he manages a critical health saving throw and shrugs off the poison. Kimori hits the hag-snake and chops it in two, killing it. Sugiyama uses tai-sabaki to get into a good position against the remaining viper and hits and kills it.

The girl is very thankful, and begs them to kill the other demons - they turn round and see another four hags, 2 vipers, 6 kappa and 4 rosuifu kappa! A fight breaks out but I will relate this tale next time.

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