Session 17. (21/9/07)

The Troubleshooters meet up again outside the peasant village. Heroic talk of slaying dragons is strangely absent, as is much discussion of lizards. Emiko gets the healing Buddha from the pack horse and tends to Komako's critically injured eye, while the others go back to tackle the lizards. The gather on the beach and ready their bows, but no lizards are in sight. Sung checks for tracks and is sure that none of them have come out on to the beach. Reluctantly he ventures into the cave. Koei provides some light - No! Not that much light!! - just a little glow cupped in her hands. The cave is empty except for a solitary lizard, which Sung and Sugiyama dispatch before it can flick its tongue. The others are puzzled - why just one lizard? They were summoned magically, maybe they were un-summoned, but why did one remain? Maybe it was just an un-magical lizard??

The Troubleshooters move on after Emiko has had four baths to wash off dragon intestines, and reach Osaka three days later. This is the biggest city any of them have been to, and it is like an ant hill that has been poked with a stick. There are lots of Shogunate troops in the city and in Osaka castle. The party doesn't linger long, but puts its ear to the ground and catches up on the latest news. Sugiyama finds a ninja herbalist and stocks up on all he desires. Komako hears that there is a warrant out for Koei's arrest. Kimori suggests that she dresses as a boy, to which Koei readily agrees. Mariko asks about the road ahead and is told that there are hundreds of troops and dozens of search parties on the road to Kyoto; however, the road via Nara, though taking a couple of days' longer, is much quieter. After some discussion, the Troubleshooters decide to go via Nara, and at 3pm set off.

On the first full day of travel the Troubleshooters encounter just one search party. A L2 commander and 5 troops ride up and requests our heroes stop. Kimori does the talking, and hands over the travel papers. Kimori's golden tongue and the commander's lack of attention do the trick and the illegal migrants are soon on their way again, with a feather in Kimori's cap (and 2 budo, 2 on).

The next day, the party is again stopped by troops, this time at a check point. The L4 commander and 9 troops look less gullible than the first lot, so Mariko does the talking. However, her powers of rhetoric are sadly lacking, and the commander is suspicious of the forged travel papers. He asks some ordinary questions which Mariko unaccountably has difficulty answering. "Where are you from?" "Osaka." "Do you live there?" "Yes… err, no. We're a wandering company." "Why are you going to Kyoto?" "Err, we're, err, couriers… yes, couriers." "Why are you going this way?" "It's the direct route." "No it isn't - why is that man coughing? Is he sick?" "Yes. Shut up, Kimori." "I'm going to have to search you all." At this point, Kimori stops his theatrical coughing and takes the commander to one side. "I know the papers are not quite in order, but we must get to Kyoto and we have business in Nara. If we could just cover your expenses, my mistress never deals with money…?" The commander considers his options, eyes Kimori's big chopper, and takes the money. "These aren't the frauds we're looking for. You can go about your business. Move along." Kimori now has two feathers in his cap (and 2 budo, minus 15 on).

The Troubleshooters arrive in Nara and Komako immediately announces he wants to go to the famous Todai-ji temple. The others tag along for something to do. In the temple, Komako relates the story of their travelling troubles to the age-old puzzle, Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? and learns that there is a school nearby where they can get "official" travel papers for Kyoto. Komako relays the information to the others and they all set off, assuming they might all need to be present for identification purposes. The soon arrive at the School of the Throne, a martial arts school at the foot of Mikasa-yama. Komako and Sugiyama go in and are greeted by a yamabushi who greets them with a set phrase for tourists, explaining about the school's 700-year history, and asks their business. Sugiyama explains that their travel papers are causing "confusion", and that they had heard that the school could help "clarify" them. The yamabushi tells them that the master of the school will most certainly be able to help. If they and their companions outside would like to see him, he is through the door and at the end of the corridor.

The party regroups and goes through the door. A wide corridor snakes through a number of different single-storey buildings, with classrooms on either side behind screens. All the rooms are empty - maybe school is out? They come to a set of stairs, which appears to be the main way on, and all go up with Kimori and Komako leading the way. As they reach the 17th step, with three to go, the stairs suddenly turn into rollers, spinning under the heroes' feet. Kimori slides back five steps, but Komako dances his way to the top, as does Sugiyama and, eventually, Kimori. Mariko skates down to the tenth stair where the rollers stop, but she manages to keep her feet and stops at the bottom. Sung runs up to the 16th step, slides down, imitates Roadrunner and eventually reaches the top. Emiko… rolls down a step, holds position, her feet moving faster and faster, zooms up to 18 then zooms even faster down to 10 and rolls by herself down to the bottom, suffering 11 subdual damage and just missing Mariko who was heading up again. Those at the top find that there is nothing at the top of the stairs - not a room, not a landing, just the top step. But on the wall is some writing: it says, "Lesson 1."

Kimori slides back down the rollers like a surfer, hits the tenth step and dances down, performing a forward roll at the bottom. Komako, Sugiyama and Sung are less elegant and all suffer some bruising on (the) landing. Emiko heals herself and the party moves on. At the end of the corridor they find a door. They knock but there is no answer. Sugiyama carefully opens the door and finds a cave. With Koei lighting it, he finds that the corridor continues into the hillside. The party presses on. At one point they come to an alcove with something written low down on the wall in tiny characters. As all the Troubleshooters peer at the writing, the roof of the cave swings down and crushes them all against the wall of the alcove. Mariko, Komako and Sugiyama all suffer some subdual damage, but Emiko is knocked cold. The others push at the slab of solid stone, but it barely moves an inch. As it swings back the Troubleshooters are crushed once more and this time Kimori is bruised. Mariko and Kimori invoke strength blessings and all push again, and this time the rock swings smoothly back into the ceiling and clicks into place. Sugiyama points out the trip wire he had spotted just as he was tripping it. Emiko comes round and tries to heal herself but fails miserably. Kimori tries out his physician skill, and while this heals Emiko's body, it does nothing for her bruised pride. The others have a look at the writing on the wall: "Lesson 2," it says.

Further into the cave the Troubleshooters come across a more obvious test. A section of corridor has no floor, just a series of stepping stones - columns of stone rising from a floor 10' below, reachable by a set of stairs. The corridor turns a right-angle (preventing any heroic leap from crossing the trap). Kimori and Koei go to explore the floor below. At the far end the corridor is a featureless rock face where the corridor continues 10' up, overhanging with a smooth and rounded lip. On the overhanging wall is written, "Lesson 3". Rejoining the others, the Troubleshooters decide to avoid the stepping stones and get up the rock face at the far end by forming a human pyramid. However, they have never tried this before and prove not to be very good at it. Kimori and Sugiyama form the base of the pyramid and Sung stands on their shoulders. Kimori's legs buckle a bit but Sung manages to hold his balance. Then Komako climbs up the pyramid and reaches the corridor above. Mariko tries to follow suit, but Kimori buckles as Mariko's chest passes his head, and Sung is unbalanced and has to make a cat-like leap to avoid landing on his head (Sung's not Kimori's). Komako lets down his kusari chain to help Mariko up, but he isn't strong enough and Mariko isn't agile enough, and she has to bail out and leap to safety. Mariko grabs the chain again and Komako tries to pull her up without the aid of the wobbly pyramid, but Mariko's weight pulls the chain right out of his hands and it lands coiled round her feet. Now Sung decides he can get up by standing as top man in the pyramid and getting Komako to pull him up by holding his hand - but again, Komako's strength and Sung's agility are no match for gravity and Sung has to leap for his life again. Sugiyama has had enough of being trodden down, and climbs one of the columns. Gracefully he pulls himself up, right to the top, then finds the top is even more wobbly than their human pyramid and is deposited back on the floor. He tries another column, but this one is stable. From the top it is a simple jump to join Komako. The two of them pull the others up with the kusari chain, having enough combined strength to manage with only a few mishaps. It is of course at about this time that Mariko bruises her upper arm. Komako and Sugiyama learn the most from this lesson with 5 budo, Mariko 4, Emiko 3, Sung 2, and, last to the top, Kimori with 1.

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