Session 3. (20/1/12)

It is Spring in the Year of the Tiger (1482). Our half-Ainu, half-Wajin young adventurers are staying with Andō Hidasue, a middle-aged Wajin living in an old house in Tennō. They went to his aid when he was attacked by local ruffians, but were unable to prevent his sword, a valuable heirloom, from being stolen.

In the evening, at his house, he thanks his saviours and asks if they will help him recover his sword. The heroes agree to help. Hidasue notices that their Wajin language is very rusty and sets about teaching them, through telling them his life story.

Hidasue's clan was forced out of Dewa province some 28 years ago by the Nanbu clan, who now rule. The Nanbu let him stay as a courtesy because he was too sickly as a child to travel with his family. Now he has a small, decrepit estate on former Andō land near Oga. He is given the job of keeping the peace, probably because it is an impossible task with bandits living in the marshes around Lake Hachiro.

He asks his guests to go with him in the morning to find the rest of the ruffians and deal with them. They are just local youths out of control, who congregate in a ramshackle old house on the edge of Lake Hachiro.

Morning arrives and the visitors are faced with their biggest challenge yet - eating breakfast in the polite Wajin fashion. Ishan Ashte flawlessly remembers his father's instructions in etiquette (somewhat surprisingly given what a slob Yoshi was), but Emishi is humbled when his host gently informs him that it is not necessary to sharpen his chopsticks with his katana. The others make less glaring errors. After breakfast, Hidasue checks on his guests. "You're sure you'd like to help me?"

"Yes, of course," comes a chorus of replies.

"Family heirlooms are very important," avers Ishan Ashte.

"Very well, I'll tell the stable hand to get the horses ready so we can set out for Lake Hachiro." After one look at the young faces, Hidasue revises his plans. "On second thoughts, we'll walk. It's only a few miles."

Leaving the few buildings that form Tennō, the road curves along the coast to the northwest. To the left is a long, curving bay hemmed by a sandy beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. To the right are salt marshes surrounding Lake Hachiro, which also continue until they are lost in the distance. Far ahead is the wooded headland where the wanderers were shipwrecked. After 15 minutes' walking, the party reaches a wide river that is the tidal inlet to Lake Hachiro (which actually is a lagoon, not a lake, but that's what it is called). A muscular young man is standing by a wide, flat-bottomed boat. Hidasue has a quiet word with him, then ushers the others into the ferry. The young man hobbles onto the ferry and starts hauling on a thick rope that stretches out, under the water's surface and up to the far bank. The boat moves slowly but steadily and soon reaches the other side. Hidasue thanks the ferryman and leads the party onward.

Half an hour later, they come to a track leading into the marshes. Hidasue points out a shack in the distance, just visible over the chest-high reeds. "We should march up to the front door and demand my sword back!" announces Hidasue.

"And then attack when they refuse," adds Yoshi Yeesu.

(Meanwhile, the lookout perched on a rafter of the shack's porch makes a critical Wit roll, sees Hidasue and an armed entourage and knows trouble when he sees it. He slips inside.)

Hidasue and his armed entourage survey the shack and surroundings. Onuma thinks she sees movement, but isn't sure. Nobody else sees anything. There is no sound but the soft soughing of the sea breezes blowing by the bulrushes. The half-Ainu shake themselves and move on.

The team briefly discusses tactics. "We should move in quickly," states Tomtare forthrightly.

"And spread out," adds Sahpo. However, as they haven't reached a consensus on who should lead, everyone tries to go to the front - and stand next to Hidasue. Thus the planned spread formation looks more like a scrum as it advances on the shack's front door: Yoshi Yeesu, Tomtare, Hidasue and Emishi in the front row, Ishan Ashte, Sahpo and Onuma close behind. Hidasue pounds his fist on the front door, doing slight damage (to his fist), and demands entry. There is no reply, but Tomtare and Sahpo have sharp ears today and hear whispering and scuffling from inside. Tomtare forces the door off its hinges (though it wasn't in fact locked or even equipped with a lock). Inside is a large, dark room, as wide as the shack, with a door on the far wall. There is no-one here, but judging from the overturned furniture, half-full beakers and smoke in the air, it has been very recently vacated. Hidasue motions Tomtare to open the next door. Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu decide to go round the back of the shack, and go back out of the front doorway, almost tripping over the door itself lying forlornly on the veranda.

Tomtare bursts through the door into a very dark, smaller room. He sees two of the ruffian gang, swords already drawn, surprised by his sudden appearance. Tomtare swings his tetsubo awkwardly in the narrow doorway and connects with one for 8 damage. The ruffians both land swords on Tomtare but for only one damage each. A third youth swings a club at him but misses. Tomtare strikes out again but can't get a good swing. The ruffians miss and fall back slightly, allowing Emishi to squeeze into the room. Onuma and Sahpo look on from the doorway.

Emishi takes on the second swordsman and hits for 8 damage. Tomtare swings again and connects like the clapper of a large bell. The ruffian sees stars, but lashes out and hits for another point of damage. The other sword wielder hits Emishi for 2 damage. The club bearer tries to get an attack at Tomtare but loses grip on his club and turns to pick it up. At this point Onuma casts Stage Flash and blinds the two swordsmen; the other ruffian was saved by his clumsiness. Emishi inflicts another 8-point wound on his opponent. Sahpo fires an Arrow of Wood at the disarmed youth, whose rear end provided just too inviting a target. Unfortunately he seems to have the constitution of an ox as well as the grace, and throws off the poison immediately. Tomtare swings at the dazed, blinded ruffian and knocks him into the year of the hare.

A door to the side of the room opens and four more youths emerge, armed with heavy bo staffs and clubs. They engage the attackers while two older youths run out of the back door - just as Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu arrive. Yoshi Yeesu picks the one armed with a sword, swings - and cuts him in half! Ishan Ashte perforce takes the other one - and fells him almost as dramatically and just as decisively. Inside, the two ruffians with staffs swing and miss. Emishi kills one of the extras with one blow, then badly injures a bo foe. Tomtare KOs the other and then finishes off a club-wielding extra. Onuma casts Breath of the Dragon on the last ruffian, causing some damage and setting his clothing on fire. Sahpo casts Arrows of Wood, but Tomtare knocks out his target before its effects have a chance to be known.

Now a whole crowd of youths emerge from the room, some taking on the attackers, others escaping through the back door (and window) - into the waiting clutches of Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu. In the corridor, five face Tomtare and Emishi with their spell-casting backup of Sahpo and Onuma. Outside, four face Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu. Yoshi Yeesu cuts one's hit points in half with one swing; Ishan Ashte cuts another one's body in half with a critical hit. So intent are they on their task that they fail to spot the gang leader, Takahashi, sneaking away behind his engaged lieutenants, taking with him the jewelled sword and two accomplices (Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu both critically failed Wit rolls). Inside, Emishi makes short work of an extra and starts on a second, who is finished off by Onuma who has switched to her sword. Tomtare lands two good blows on the last enemy with a sword, and Sahpo does his bit by getting an Arrow of Wood to work to its full potential as the rabble youth fails Health throw after Health throw... then critically fails, critically fails again and finally crumples in a helpless heap in the hallway.

Half a round later and the remaining ruffians are mopped up. The final tally is 12 dead, six unconscious. Hidasue searches the dead ones, but none of them have his sword. Sahpo dresses the wounded while Onuma ties up the prisoners. They search the shack carefully but there is no sign of the missing sword. Hidasue is despondent. However, behind the shack, Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu have made an important discovery: tracks. Yoshi Yeesu sees some fugitive movement in the reeds at long bow range, draws and arrow and lets it fly. Of course it shouldn't be possible to hit a target you can't see, at extreme range, so he doesn't hold out much hope. He and Ishan Ashte head for the spot - and find a dead body, an arrow protruding from its chest. And tracks leading away through the reeds as they stretch along the shore of the lake. They follow. The tracks are hard to see, but made obvious in places where reeds are broken, their snapped stems pointing like an accusing finger. When one loses the trail, the other finds it again. It never occurs to them that it might be two sets of tracks they are following. But it is slow going, the weather is worsening, they are getting a long way from the others in a vast marsh, and there is no indication that their task will end anytime soon. They are also aware that pirates hide out in the marshes, and are not ready to tangle with them. They reluctantly turn back.

At the shack, the search gets much more detailed. Hidasue searches the front room; Sahpo searches the small connecting room; and Emishi, Tomtare and Onuma search the last room where the ruffians were hiding. Tomtare notices that someone has climbed out of the window. He climbs out and falls on his head. He looks up to see the grinning face of Emishi, who walked out of the back door. Tomtare stares at Emishi, daring him to comment.

By the time the search is finished, and Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu return, one of the prisoners has come round and Onuma is interrogating him, helped by her spell Pinocchio Effect - the youth can't lie without her knowing.

"Where is the sword?"

"Takahashi has it."

"Where did he go? And when?"

"He came out of the back room with me. He must have gone out of the back door."

He clearly doesn't know any more, so after a half-hearted repeat search of the shack and the surroundings, they give up. When Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu return, Hidasue leads the party and their six captives out of the marshes. He walks them all the short distance to the edge of Oga town and instructs a peasant to arrange for the eta to collect the bodies from the shack and take them into town and to their families. Then he and the six half-Wajin and six prisoners walk the few miles back to his house.

Once the surviving ruffians are locked securely in an outbuilding, Hidasue thanks his guests and has a proposition for them. "If you'll work for me, in my role as policeman of this area, I think we can really make a difference. I can pay you two silver pieces a month, and provide board and lodging. What do you say?"

The group talk about the offer, their responsibilities to finding neem for Koshamain, finding their parents and their longer term plans. The discussion seems to go on interminably, but finally Sahpo is convinced. "Thank you, we would be honoured to work for you," he says in his best polite Wajin.

"Excellent!" cries Hidasue. Our first job then is to take the prisoners down to Akita, the capital, and hand them over to the justices. We'll need to ride - it's about time I saw how well you handle horses."

With much trepidation the strangers troop out to the stable. Only Yoshi Yeesu has even seen a horse before. He bravely demonstrates how to mount it - and falls off. The others follow his lead - and also fall off, all except Emishi, who abandons the reins and hangs onto the mane.

Hidasue can't believe his eyes. Out of sight, Umanori, the horse trainer, laughs until his sides ache.

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