Session 27. (1/2/08)

A few days earlier in Tokushima, while the bushi went to see the daimyo of Awa-Isi, Emiko went to explore the city and find a nice quiet shrine where she can meditate, rest, cleanse herself and give thanks for completing two sea crossings without major incident. The shrine she found was very quiet; no-one else seemed to be around. She remembers this quite clearly, but realises that she must have been wrong because she is lying in a darkened room with a lump on the back of her head and a splitting headache. She has no idea where she is or how she got here. Gingerly she gets to her feet and looks around the room. The windows are shuttered and the door is locked. The only furniture is a futon, and there doesn't even seem to be one of those silly wooden pillows. Her precious staff is missing. She attempts a divination, but the headache interferes with her trance. She heals herself and gives herself a blessing, then lies down to await her fate.

Elsewhere in the city, Sugiyama is worried. Emiko has been missing for several days, and they need to get going and scout out the Valley of the Spider before the impending battle. He starts to search the shrines in the city.

A key turns in the lock and a guard comes into the room with some water and gruel. There are two more armed guards in the doorway. The guards have tattoos and appear to be yakuza. Emiko says nothing. The guards leave again, also having said nothing. Emiko eliminates poisons from the food, just in case, then drinks the water. A short while later a man enters the room - a senior yakuza by the look of him. "Well, what do we have here? One of that rat Chozo's famous Troubleshooters, I'd say. You did a proper number on the gangs of Matsuyama - it's a no-go zone for the likes of us now. Well, good riddence to 'em, I say, but that doesn't mean I approve of the exterminators. You've got a good come-uppance, err, coming.

"But we don't want to give you that… There's a certain party in the locality, say, a high-up in the Shogun's army, who'll pay a few koku for the knowing of what you're planning to do. I hear your friends have gone off to see the daimyo - and the Shogun don't want no outside interference in his little campaign. SO WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!!"

Emiko is unmoved by the aggressive questioning, but starts to realize there will be worse to come. Next she is held down by two guards and forced to drink a whole flask of sake. Emiko invokes two blessings on Will and tries to focus. She holds off the booze for a while, but still finds her tongue has a mind of its own. It prattles on about not liking sea travel, discusses the current make-up of the Troubleshooters, where they are staying, and their knowledge of the Shogun's armies' whereabouts. Finding out nothing about the Troubleshooters' plans, the yakuza resort to brutality, punching, slapping and beating Emiko. However, she seems to relish this, and starts insulting the yakuzas' tattoos, which resemble flowers. The chief yakuza gets fed up and sends for another man who comes in and administers some drugs to Emiko. Once more, Emiko finds herself unable to resist talking, though the yakuza wish she could. She babbles about the Shogun being behind the death of the ex-Emperor; his army going to deal with Lord Chozo; the fact that the Troubleshooters can't take on a whole army, but Kimori might account for a whole Troop Point; how they once defeated an army by bringing down a mountain on the castle it was in; and how they would make bad couriers if they were to try to warn Lord Chozo, because she is refusing to get in a boat again - at which point the chief yakuza explodes, "You don't need to get on a boat, you're on the same island as Chozo!" Exasperated, he calls for the torturer. A brazier is brought in, but Emiko, with the last of her will, manages to cast Quench on it, and it goes out. The torturer shrugs and starts preparing bamboo slivers for a manicure Emiko would rather forget.

Out in the city, Sugiyama has found Emiko's staff, propped up against the back wall of a little shrine, and marks in the gravel where something heavy was dragged. A little investigation locates a man who saw a tattooed figure carrying an object (a body?) away in a large bag, and a rather shady contact that identifies the tattoo as that of the Sudachi clan (a type of flower common to the region). A few coins change hands and Sugiyama gets the name of a contact in the clan, Yamamomo, and more importantly, his address. Sugiyama goes to see if the yakuza can be persuaded to talk.

Emiko wakes up and wishes she hadn't, then thinks again and decides it is after all the best of the possible options. She remembers singing like a canary once the torture started - knowing nothing of the plans, she made up some fanciful tales, including an invasion of Manchurians, the purchase of cannon from the Dutch and even an attack force composed of 500 dragons! The torturer had tried his best, but couldn't get Emiko to shut up!

Just then there is a noise at the door and a Buddhist priest comes in. He tends to Emiko's injuries and genuinely seems to care. He says, "I am Hiraga. I work for Lord Emishi. He's here to get information on your plans. I think he sent me in here to see if I can succeed where the yakuza failed and get them through you confiding in me. But I'll not be a party to brutality to a fair one such as yourself. Don't tell me anything, and I'll see if I can't get us both out of here. Now just let me look after you for a while so I can pretend to be making progress." Emiko has doubts, and engages him in religious debate to see if he really is a priest. Hiraga certainly knows his stuff, and Emiko's fears subside. She recalls that Lord Emishi is one of the Shogun's top generals. Hiraga leaves after a while to get food.

Sugiyama finds the home of Yamamomo, a ramshackle house in a crowded sector of buildings built up against and even on top of one another. Having been warned that Yamamomo doesn't like visitors, Sugiyama squeezes into the gap between the house and the one next to it, which is leaning against it and partly on top of its roof. He climbs into the oddly shaped roof space and watches and waits for the yakuza.

Hiraga returns with some food, much better than before. As Emiko eats, Hiraga says he has an idea that if he can get her out of the room they can make a run for it. Emiko blesses Hiraga and they both invoke them for speed. He calls the guards and says Emiko is ready to talk to Lord Emishi. They escort the pair through the house, five guards in front and two behind, but as they turn from one corridor into another, Emiko notices that there is now only one guard behind. As she watches, even that guard crumples to reveal a grinning face: "It is I - Sugiyama!" Hiraga has also seen this and smashes through the shutters on a window and starts pushing Emiko up and through. The guards ahead suddenly realize something is wrong, turn and rush back to the prisoners. Sugiyama grabs the frame and swings himself through, pulling Emiko after him and letting her down to the ground, one floor below. Sugiyama drops down beside her, but Hiraga is grabbed by the heavies and pulled back inside. To the accompaniment of "There she is - get her!", Sugiyama and Emiko leg it. Emiko's boosted speed and a critical success bring them to safety, where Emiko gives Sugiyama a big kiss of gratitude. Sugiyama's reward is doubled when he returns Emiko's fire staff to her, and the two Troubleshooters get their horses and hurry away up the Valley of the Spider.

Meanwhile in the Valley of the Spider, the other Troubleshooters make camp for the night. Mariko cures Komako's paralyzing poison with one of the last pieces from the Chess Set of Shizari. Komako is not impressed when Kimori suggests he should "Take it as a suppository," and is even less impressed when he adds, "Sideways!" To keep the peace, Mariko puts Komako with Sung on first watch. Their watch is interrupted when a viper slithers into camp. They see it in plenty of time and get in the first attacks. Sung misses but Komako grapples and crushes it with jujutsu (having decided not to trip it), and Sung finishes it off with his sword. While they are high-fiving, two more vipers slide up and attack without warning. Fortunately they both miss. Sung and Komako both get hits, then one of the vipers bites Komako, but he manages to keep the poison out of his system. Sung and Komako get another hit each and both vipers are wiped out.

Later in the night an o-bakemono charges into the camp. Kimori spots it and lands a Precision Strike. Mariko, suitably warned, stabs it for minor damage. The bakemono joins in the spirit of things and hits itself with its club, dazing itself. Kimori takes half its hit points with a 15-point strike and Mariko finishes it with a critical 16-point attempt. High fives again as a second o-bakemono runs in, but Kimori flashes his blade to exert hits of 17, 16 and 16, Mariko scores a miss and six points, while the bakemono flounders with two misses, and expires. They settle back down on watch as the first rays of dawn light the sky, and see two horses approaching with riders. The Troubleshooters slip into the forest to watch, but it turns out to be Sugiyama and Emiko, finally caught them up. Emiko recounts her harrowing story, but when she is elaborating on the tall tales she told the yakuza for the third time, Kimori says, "OK, you're here, we're all here - let's ride!"

Emiko stops talking for long enough to greet the dawn, hand out blessings and remount her horse, then continues with the sordid details. Kimori finds it quite a relief when Sung calls out that he has spotted some more trapdoor-spider burrows. Using their patented technique, Komako rides up and jumps off to draw the spiders from their holes while the others fill them with arrows (except Emiko, who is only up to holding horses). Kimori, Sung and Mariko all score with their arrows and Komako stamps a spider twice. The spider misses Komako. Kimori, Sung and Mariko all score again and Komako gets a critical stomp, and four spiders expire almost simultaneously. The remaining four spiders converge on Komako, and one bites him, fortunately without injecting poison. Komako kicks it in the head and stuns it. The others now charge into the melee. Kimori attacks a spider that was threatening Emiko and cuts it down in one blow. Sung niggles away at another with hits of 5 and 7. Mariko hits the one biting Komako and does slight damage, so Kimori wades in with a big hit but Mariko finishes it with a critical Outright Kill. Komako finishes his with two more stomps and Sung scores 5 and 7 again to finish the last.

Next week: "More bloody spiders!"

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