Session 2. (10/6/11)

It is Spring of the Year of the Tiger (1482). After living in survival mode for a few days, then surviving an attack from a pack of hungry wolves, the shipwrecked young adventurers explore the wooded headland and eventually come inland, where they find cultivated paddies. The weather is still poor and there are no people in the paddies. Following paths between the fields, the half-Ainu, half-Wajin young men and woman see a small town ahead. But when they are still a few minutes' walk away, a group of 10 or so unkempt youths unpeal themselves from the rocks and branches they are lounging against and stand in the way.

"You're looking a bit pale, strangers," sneers the leader. "Are you scared?"

"They look like filthy Emishi," spits another. Emishi looks up in surprise, then remembers that his name is also a Wajin term for the Ainu, or Northern Barbarians. And to his further surprise, without warning, the youths set about the newcomers with sticks and clubs. While most are protected by their armour or the inexpert swinging of jo sticks, Sahpo is struck for 3 damage. Quickly the young adventurers draw their weapons and strike back. Emishi misses with his yari on both the main stroke and the butt stroke and is bopped for his pains, but Tomtare swings his heavy tetsubo and lays one of the youths out cold. Ishan Ashte and Onuma demonstrate the sharpness of their Kachamaru-made katanas and inflict nasty wounds on their assailants. Yoshi Yeesu demonstrates the sharpness of his hand-me-down katana and chops off the leg of his hoodlum foe! The young ne'er-do-wells swing their sticks again but find their skills no match for samurai armour, superannuated though it may be and tied together with dried seaweed and snot. Tomtare swings his tetsubo at Sahpo's tormentor and gives him a major headache. Onuma finishes off her opponent, but the others miss. The yobs bravely continue as the rest of their gang closes in on the newcomers. Emishi scores a minor hit, Tomtare knocks Sahpo's foe into the middle of next week, Ishan Ashte draws his second sword and adds maximum overkill to the demise of another Wajin youth. Onuma casts Stage Flash and blinds one of the mob. Yoshi Yeesu turns to another attacker and inflict 11 points of damage. Just as it seems that mayhem is inevitable, a voice is heard from behind the youths. It is trying to sound commanding, but actually sounds peevish. "Stop that, you scoundrels. Let the visitors be." It comes from a thin, middle-aged man in light samurai armour. He has two swords, the larger of which has a jewelled handle. The half-Ainu fighters stop fighting in surprise; the ruffians, as one man, take a step back and turn to the newcomer.

The leader of the youths finds his voice. "Well, Hidari-kun, why don't you make us?" he growls, and steps towards him, brandishing his jo. The samurai draws his wakizashi and holds it in front of him nervously, like it was a sleeping snake. The leader draws his wakizashi and easily parries the samurai's swing, knocking the waeapon from his hand. The bandit then fells the samurai with his jo. The rest of the youths step between the shipwrecked travellers and the prone samurai, facing up to them with weapons ready.

Emishi resumes sparring with an older youth and gets a good hit in, which is not returned. Tomtare takes an enormous leap over the mob to get to the leader standing over the prone samurai, but he sees himself coming down on one of the armed punks, attempts a mid-air swing with is heavy tetsubo but misses and goes sprawling in the mud, twisting his knee. Ishan Ashte also misses and is tagged for a light wound - he curses in fluent Nipponese, impressing everyone. Onuma gets a hit and Yoshi Yeesu scores a critical hit on the flash-blinded thug, knocking him down and adding a daze to his woes. Sahpo casts an Arrow of Wood but it fails. Emishi attacks again and does another 12 damage. Tomtare, lying in the mud several yards from his dropped tetsubo, draws his katana but is unable to get closer to the samurai. The youths' leader grabs the jewelled katana and runs off. Ishan Ashte gets in two good blows with his pair of swords. Sahpo casts another Arrow of Wood, but this one critically fails. Yoshi Yeesu scores a critical hit on the blinded, knocked-down, dazed yob, taking his remaining 5 hit points with a 20-point hit. The remaining youths take flight and run off towards the lagoon and its reed-lined shores. Onuma swings at the last of them and her master katana collides with her opponent's inferior wakizashi with a noise that would make even the most junior apprentice sword-maker wince - "CLONG!" - and Onuma drops the sword, clasping her hand in pain as she suffers a three-point bruise to her palm. The youth turns and runs.

Sahpo rushes to Tomtare's side to help him with his wounded knee. Sahpo recites the Saga of Critical Healing, applies a bandage and cures a point of critical damage. Yoshi Yeesu cuts a bough off a tree and fashions a crutch for Tomtare. Onuma is more concerned about her sword. She examines it and is relieved to find the sword has survived better than she has, thanks to its superior construction. The others have rushed over to help the "old" man. He is clearly a samurai, and quite high ranking, but not a fighter. Emishi is all ready to set off after the youths, but the samurai, who has come round but not yet stood up, calls him back. "Leave them," he says, "I know where they'll go. Right now I need to get home."

Emishi remembers how the youths addressed him and adds on the Nipponese honorific: "Greetings, Hidari-san." A pained expression briefly crosses the man's face.

"My name is Hidasue. Andō Hidasue." The young half-breeds remember their Wajin manners and bow in greeting.

Onuma pipes up, "Those youths knew you!"

"Yes, it is my misfortune to be in charge of order in this area."

"So you're a kind of doshin," interjects Emishi, recalling the name for a policeman.

"Sort of."

"What area is this?"asks Tomtare. Hidasue looks surprised.

"Where have you come from?"

"We were sailing to Kumaishi when we were caught in the typhoon."

"Where is Kumaishi?"

"Along the coast."

"I haven't heard of it, and I know most places in Dewa province."

"Dewa province? I don't think it's in Dewa province. Where is Dewa province anyway?"

"Look," says Hidasue, thoroughly confused, "I've got a map of the whole Tohoku region at home, if you could just help me up..."

They help him to his feet. Onuma hands him his wakizashi, but has to tell him that the jewelled katana was stolen. Hidasue is dismayed. "Never mind, they won't go far. Now I must go home. Would you do me the honour of escorting me?"

"What about the dead and injured?"

"Oh, their friends or family will pick them up once we've left."

So Hidasue leads the group along a road along the edge of long sandy beach lining a long curving bay, across the mouth of the lagoon on a ferry (no fee - official business) to a village that declares itself to be called Tenn?, though in fact it consists solely of a large but dilapidated house, a few ramshackle outbuildings and several small shacks. On the way, Onuma asks if any other samurai have passed through recently. "No, none that I know of. And it's not like you can pass through here on your way anywhere."

As they approach the house, a large animal emerges from an outbuilding and emits a terrifying noise. Emishi jumps several feet back, but Yoshi Yeesu says, "It's OK, it's just a horse. You remember I told you about them? I rode one when I was much younger." He goes over to the stable, but the horse backs away, nervously, as if it has seen a fox.

The scare over, the samurai and his half-samurai escort enter the house. Hidasue's housekeeper, an older lady, sees his bruised head and sends for the maid. Hidasue says that the two ladies, a cook, gardener, horse trainer and lackey are all that is left of a once-great household. His personal decline notwithstanding, he invites the young castaways to have tea. To their relief it is not a formal tea, though they have seen the rituals performed on special occasions by their parents. However, etiquette is important and only Emishi and Sahpo remember enough about Nipponese culture to carry it off successfully (gaining 1 On); Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu clearly don't know what to do (losing 1 On), while Tomtare watches the host and tries to copy and Onuma tries to act it out - both without success (losing 1 On).

It is Spring of the Year of the Tiger (1482). The young Ainu-Wajin "Children of the Wood" have been invited to stay with Andō Hidasue, a middle-aged samurai they saved when he tried to intervene in a fight between them and some local youths, in which he lost his jewel-handled katana. It turns out that this is a valuable family heirloom. The adventurers are keen to get after the leader of the yobs, who took the sword, but Hidasue says it will be much better to wait until the morning. The decision made, they settle down to an evening's pleasant conversation.

"You were caught in the typhoon?"

"Yes, and our boat sank on the other side of that headland."

"And you were heading for... Kumaishi?"

"Yes. Er,... are we even on Ezo?"

"Ezo?! Boy, are you ever off course. Let me get my map." He gets a map showing what is apparently the Tohoku region, with Dewa province marked prominently. The southern tip of Ezo can be seen across a narrow strait to the north.

"Well, we were only one island out!"

Onuma starts a new tack. "Have you heard of Neem trees?"

"No, but maybe my cook has." Onuma goes to talk to the cook, not quite failing to hear Emishi's sotto voce comment, "Yes, you ladies go into the kitchen where you belong." Onuma seethes.

Hidasue says, "I am honoured to have you stay with me tonight and so pleased that you are keen to help me recover my sword. Let me tell you about myself." He starts to talk about his life, but the Ainu-raised youngsters are least familiar with hiragana, the polite form of what is to them a foreign language, and all except Sahpo struggle to understand. Hidasue senses this and immediately proposes that he spends the evening teaching them the finer points of hiragana. He is a good teacher and by the evening's end everyone has become much more proficient in the tongue. Hidasue has kept the subject on his life, so they have also learned much about him. He tells them he is the last remaining member of the Andō clan in Dewa province. His clan was forced out of the province by the Nanbu clan, who now rule. They let him stay as a courtesy because he was too sickly as a child to travel with his family. Now all he has is a small, decrepit estate on former Andō land. He has been given the job of keeping the peace, probably because it is an impossible task with bandits living in the marshes around Lake Hachiro, the lagoon they crossed earlier. The name the yob called him is an unkind reference to the fact that he is left-handed, and he admits with forced jollity that his name was changed from the more usual Hidesue to reflect this. The sword that was stolen is a precious family heirloom, a jewelled katana of master quality.

Before they settle down for the night, Hidasue offers his bathing facilities to the grubby, sea-smelling youngsters. Mindful of the Wajin bathing protocol, they try to emulate their host. Tomtare, Onuma and Sahpo succeed fairly well, gaining 1 On, but Emishi, Yoshi Yeesu and Ishan Ashte lose On through various gaffes.

The housekeeper opens up the spare rooms, chasing dust-bunnies into the corners. Yoshi Yeesu shows the others how to set out a proper Wajin bed. The maid brings night clothes for everyone - it is clearly an assortment from every cupboard in the house - some are black, some have a yummy sushi design, another pair looks like patterned silk, which the maid presents to Yoshi Yeesu, as the eldest, with an explanation, but Yoshi Yeesu, after an evening of hiragana, can't make out what she is saying. It sounded something like, "I bring your pyjamas, seņor Reardon!" Sahpo recites the Saga of Critical Healing over Tomtare once more and everyone settles down for their first comfortable night's sleep in several days.

< Previous  |  Home  |  Bushido  |  The Sword  |  Next >