Session 5. (3/2/12)

Our heroes are working as keepers-of-the-peace for Andō Hidasue, the last member of his clan, not-very-successfully keeping the peace in northern Dewa province.

One day, their duties take the adventurers to execute an arrest warrant in Oga town. The man to be arrested is Ribu, a dentist who has not paid his taxes of 20 SP (silver pieces). The warrant instructs them to demand the 20 SP from him. If he doesn't pay up they are to arrest him and take him to the town magistrates, or seize goods to the value of 20 SP and arrest him later.

Emishi, Yoshi Yeesu, Sahpo and Tomtare arrive in Oga and tie up their horses at the magistrate's house. However, they have no idea where the tax-dodger's house is. Sahpo stops a random passer-by and asks if he is a dental patient. By chance, it turns out that he is, and can give clear directions to the surgery. They quickly find their way there and after a moment's doubt, having realised that they didn't specify which dentist's they were looking for, are relieved to see a sign

DENTAL SURGERY.
THE DENTIST IS  IN 

and Ribu's name underneath. Sahpo opens the door and calls Ribu's name and announces they have come to arrest him. There is the sound of movement further inside the house. Tomtare goes round to the back of the house in case Ribu tries to escape. Sahpo waits impatiently then there is the sound of door hinges - which could only be an outside door. With Emishi on his heels, Sahpo runs through the house towards the sound. Yoshi Yeesu runs out and round the back. Meanwhile, Tomtare arrives at the back of the house just as a bearded man emerges at a dead run from a door. Tomtare tries to trip him up with his tetsubo, but it is heavy and hard to move quickly and Ribu skips over the mighty club. Tomtare sets off in hot pursuit. Yoshi Yeesu is ten yards behind Tomtare but not moving as quickly. Emishi and Sahpo are struggling to make their way through the house quickly, blocked by sliding screens and unexpected walls. Emishi gets through quickest but can only see the retreating back of Yoshi Yeesu. Up ahead, Tomtare quickly gets into a sprint and is soon only a couple of yards behind Ribu. He decides to take his chance and swings his tetsubo at the fleeing dentist, misses by a hair and, and full speed, is carried off his feet by the unchecked momentum of the heavy weapon. By the time Tomtare has got his feet pointing in the same direction again, Ribu has put on a spurt (aided by the substantial breeze of a large piece of iron passing very close behind his back) and disappeared into a maze of back alleys.

The would-be tax collectors trudge back to the dentist's house and begin the task of seizing 20 silver pieces' worth of goods. Of course, being new to the land and also the concept of money, they have no idea what anything is worth. They briefly consider asking the magistrate to send someone to help, but decide to rely on their own resources. First Yoshi Yeesu spots a painting hanging on a wall and decides it might be worth something. Sahpo spots a garish vase and takes that. Emishi hits paydirt in the form of a money box with five silver coins in it. At least they know the value of those. Emishi looks for more cash but comes up empty. Tomtare's search of the house reveals three ordinary lanterns. They decide to take two of them so that the house will not be completely without light. Yoshi Yeesu finds two precious-looking gems and adds them to the haul. He continues looking after the others have given up, but can't see anything else (the box of dentistry tools would have caused a loss of budo and the ornate family shrine a loss of On). They think their haul could be worth about 20 SP and take it to the Oga Town magistrate. He sends for a pawn broker to evaluate the pieces, and the result is surprising: 21 SP! A perfect guess, with even an extra silver piece to cover costs. Tomtare, Sahpo, Yoshi Yeesu and Emishi return to Tenno feeling very pleased with their day's work.

The sun rises, promising a fine spring morning. Sahpo and Onuma are up to greet the dawn. The others are enjoying their rest until they start their patrols of Oga town and the surrounding area. Not fifteen minutes into their observations, the two of them can hear running feet from the south side of the estate. As they rise to investigate, they hear a pounding of fists on the door of their employer's house.

A young voice shouts for Master Andō.

"Master Andō! Master Andō!" The pounding continues, rousing all the remaining residents. The housekeeper opens the door to a startled-looking young girl, a few years younger than Onuma. She is dressed in the traditional white and red of a shrine maiden, and this may be a clue as to her profession: professional 'maiden' that is! The girl is breathing heavily with the effort of running. As Master Andō's head emerges from his room, the girl tries to explain the reason for her agitation. It all comes out in a bit of a rush.

"Master andō hidasue there are goblin rats spirits from the dead the doshin is bitten my master is poisoned we are besieged by evil spirits and beset on all sides!"

Andō Hidasue pulls on a robe, and hurries to the door. His young deputies all gather around the girl, who is prostrating herself on the veranda at his feet. "Calm child. Take a drink of water and tell us again slowly," the older man says kindly, and nods to the housekeeper. The young girl stands nervously, panting with the exertion of running and the exertion of telling her tale. Between breaths, she reveals the following:

"My master, Ryôichi tried an exorcism - it failed!" (Deep breath.)

"My master stood watch and was beaten and bitten." (Deep breath.)

"The villagers became afraid." (Deep breath.)

"A local boy drew cats to frighten them off." (Deep breath.)

"We saw lights. The spirits of the dead. They came a few nights ago...." (Deep breath.)

"...And then my master stood watch and was beaten and scratched." (Deep breath.)

"The villagers put out food and trinkets to appease the restless dead." (Deep breath.)

"The doshin saw them off but were attacked." (Deep breath.)

"The rats took no notice of the drawings." (Deep breath.)

"We saw the spirits become rats." (Deep breath.)

"We made up prayer strips to ward them off." (Deep breath.)

"I'm Kaya, by the way." (Phew!)

Everyone looks stunned. "That's quite a story, young lady," Hidasue says, finally getting a word in edgeways. The girl's cheeks redden with embarrassment, almost to the colour of the trousers she is wearing.

Master Andō is quiet for a moment. The others are trying to sort out Kaya's story in the meantime. Her agitated state prompts Hidasue. "Ishan Ashte and Emishi can continue in their duties in Oga Town. The rest of you go back with Kaya and lend a hand. Take the horses. It would not do for this poor girl to have to run back to Detohama within moments of arriving here."

Hidasue claps his hands for Umanori to get the horses ready.

"I don't like the sound of this. Ghostly lights in the night are never a portent of anything good."

Despite the warm spring sunshine, the youngsters can't help a chill coming over them.

A short while later, our heroes have their horses, and are mounting up. Sahpo, the lightest of the riders, offers a hand to the girl. She climbs on behind him. "We don't want to overburden the horse...," he says. "Hold on!"

Onuma and Yoshi Yeesu exchange a glance - what Sahpo said may be true, but Sahpo is the worst rider of them all! They lean into the saddles as best they can and spur the horses on. Kaya holds on tightly, at first to the saddle and then tentatively puts her arms around Sahpo. The young man would be flattered but he is concentrating too hard on not falling off!

A few miles ride later, they can see the rooftops of the village of Detohama. Kaya hops down from the horse and leads them in. The villagers are at once both scared and curious. They eye the strangers nervously as they pass. Kaya leads the four of them to a house on the east of the village. A path runs past it and out onto the salt-flats, through shoulder-high reeds. Here at the house, two men are propped up, both injured. Sahpo and Onuma go to their aid. One is dressed as a priest, the other has the light armour and jitte of a doshin.

Yoshi Yeesu and Tomtare stay for a time, while the others tend to the wounded. They are introduced as Ryôichi, the priest, and Hitoshi the local doshin. Hitoshi is suffering with a fever. Both men are bruised, beaten, scratched and have been bitten. Ryôichi has a bad wound to the leg, and can hardly stand. Onuma and Sahpo cast healing spells and tend to their injuries. Sahpo uses 'Pure Flesh' to draw out Hitoshi's poison. The man shudders, but feels better for it after a short time. Onuma casts 'Stage Blood' to help Ryôichi with the pain. The priest is obviously suffering greatly but is putting a brave face on it.

"Explain how this happened," Onuma asks, gently.

"Did Kaya not tell you?"

Not wishing to embarrass the girl, Onuma asks for a recap of events.

Ryôichi explains. "Some nights ago, we spotted ghostly lights in the reeds to the north-east. It is marshy ground by the lake. Some time later that evening, the village graveyard was attacked by evil spirits! Doshin Hitoshi and his deputies tried to defend the place, but we were beaten back. He was bitten and poisoned for his efforts. The raiders took food and offerings from the graves of the dead. At first we believed them to be spirits of the dead, on some vengeful purpose."

"But?" Sahpo prompts.

"They returned the next night and the next. We only got a glimpse of them, but this time they had transformed themselves into great nezumi!" Ryôichi looks at the blank faces in front of them. "Nezumi - othewise known as goblin rats!"

"Rats?"

"Not just rats. Goblin rats are evil spirits, cunning, ever hungry for flesh and not easily appeased. I tried to perform an exorcism, but to little or no effect. It's all I can do to stop the villagers panicking..." His head drops and his voice tails off in remorse.

Kaya takes up the story. "...So we changed our tactics. Hitoshi commissioned a local artist to paint pictures of cats on the screens of the shrine attached to the graveyard. We also busied ourselves writing out prayer strips, to appease the hungry dead. By this time of course the story was all around the village and the local people had started leaving more and more food and trinkets for the hungry nezumi, hoping to appease them."

Ryôichi points to his leg. "It didn't do much good. I myself was attacked; the prayer strips were shredded and several of the artist's paintings were slashed by sharp claws." Ryôichi is by now breathing heavily. Hitoshi finishes the story. "That is why we sent young Kaya for your help. Old Hidasue is supposed to keep the peace around here. I hope his deputies can deliver."

Yoshi Yeesu tries to be reassuring. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can take on these evil spirits. The secret is to drain their energy before killing them. My father has had dealings with spirits before." The others suddenly have other things to do, to stop themselves sniggering at the rumours.

Yoshi Yeesu and Tomtare decide to do some scouting. They signal to the others that they are going to look around. They follow the path toward the lake and after a few hundred yards, turn right and go under a simple Torii. The ground rises somewhat at this point, and within a small area are many graves. The shrine here is tall but simple. This too is raised upon a second earth mound.

"We might get a good view from the top." Yoshi Yeesu points out. They climb as high as they dare, and look out over the reeds. They can make out the lake and the river and even think they can see Master Andō's small estate.

Below them, several villagers are clearing up the mess after last night's raid. They are sweeping up broken dishes, plates and spilled food. Few of the coins and trinkets remain. The raiders must have taken them. When the work is done, more villagers appear, and lay out fresh food and offerings. Tomtare and Yoshi Yeesu climb down and start walking along the path toward the lake. After a half-mile or so, they decide to look for clues. They scan the path, sweeping it with their eyes. After a while, Tomtare notices a few stones in a triangle shape. He points it out. "What this?"

Yoshi Yeesu has missed it completely, even though his companion is pointing at the stones. "I dunno... Squirrel of some kind?"

Thinking of tales of squirrels, Tomtare shivers. "Looks like a marker."

"But what for?"

"Um..." Tomtare is not sure. He starts looking around in the reeds, paying close attention to the left hand side of the path. After a few minutes, he carefully parts the reeds. "How about this?"

"Excellent!"

They are looking at a flattened trail in the reeds that leads roughly north-east. Tomtare is going over events in his mind. "They saw lights coming in this direction. I'm thinking lanterns or something borne by raiders of unknown kind. The raiders cross the reeds along a trail they've made. At the end of the night they want to return along the same trail. It's dark... so..."

"So they leave a marker so they know when to turn from the path!"

"Exactly!"

Yoshi Yeesu kicks at the stones. They skitter off into the reeds. "They'll not pull that trick tonight!"

"If they are fox-fires, or the lights of the dead, it might be just a coincidence," Tomtare muses.

"I don't like to think about it," Yoshi Yeesu replies. "We'll gloss over what we discover. It won't help if we scare the girls or the villagers."

"Agreed."

The two of them decide to follow the trail through the reeds. It's tough going, but after a mile and a half their boots start sinking into squelchy mud. "We must be near a stream or pool."

"Well... we could strike for the edge of the lake," Tomtare says.

This they do, and a few hundred yards later emerge on the lake shore.

"Where now?"

"Well we are supposed to be following the trail, but I fear that we'll not find much among the rocks and stones."

"I'm going to give it a try," Yoshi Yeesu says, and starts looking for clues. He finds a few pointers, but not enough to be conclusive. "A stony beach leaves little to track - if anything."

Tomtare is thinking. "The tracks we saw... they didn't look like the tracks of rats - small, large or monstrous."

"Your point being?"

"They were like distorted human feet - smaller than a full grown man, but more man-like than rat-like."

Yoshi Yeesu thinks carefully. "I don't know. Somehow men that can turn themselves into rats are actually scarier than simple ghostly rats."

Tomtare shivers involuntarily. "Unless the spirits become flesh and..." He trails off. "It'll be dark soon, and I don't want to be caught in the open by whatever they are."

If Yoshi Yeesu is much relived, he doesn't show it. "Okay. We'll head back."

By this time, the others are getting worried. "It'll be dark soon, and they come at night."

"Mostly?"

"Always."

Sahpo wonders where Yoshi Yeesu is. "He used to tell a tale of a haunted village. When he was a boy, before the dark times, before the..." he trails off, noticing that Ryôichi is listening intently, and Kaya has stopped what she was doing. "Before he moved village... and his father dealt with the ghosts." Sahpo finishes. Kaya is writing out prayer strips as before. Sahpo takes Onuma to survey the graveyard. "It's defendable to an extent. Its elevation is a bonus. Kaya joins them. "Ryôichi might cast a spell to bless the area. Would that help?"

"It might indeed," Sahpo is thinking. "If only we had Emishi here."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Well he's the only one with any knowledge of battle strategy."

Kaya looks worried, and is trying hard not to tremble.

"We'll be okay," Onuma reassures her, by telling a little white lie. "We do this kind of thing all the time."

Sahpo's eyebrows shoot upwards, almost to his hairline.

Kaya, Ryôichi and Hitoshi offer to help. "We'll defend the shrine," Hitoshi says. He lowers his voice: "Though I'd rather have a sword than this..." The others look down. He is holding a wooden staff. Ryôichi also has one. Kaya has a shorter jo-staff. Onuma suddenly realises something. She grabs Sahpo, and drags him to one side. "I think this means that we're not going to use swords..."

"Whyever not?" Onuma looks at the ground, prompting. "Oh I see... holy ground."

As though Ryôichi has read their minds, he says, "They might be evil spirits, but I cannot allow the shedding of blood, nor killing in the graveyard."

Hitochi shrugs at them. Sahpo has an idea. "Then we'll make other weapons. If only Tomtare was here."

Just then Tomtare arrives. "Well I'm here!"

"Good. Time to put into practice everything your mother knew about carving wood."

They set to work. Tomtare finds a good piece of wood and starts whittling. The others do the same. At the end of it they have passable bokken. Tomtare insists in shaving off a little bit more, and swinging it several times. When he has finally finished, he shows the others. "Perfect." The others are impressed. "You do your mother proud," Onuma says, smiling at him.

Yoshi Yeesu has also been whittling. Every time he takes a shaving off, he swings the wooden sword. In the end he is pleased with the result: he's exactly matched the balance of his own sword! Not wanting to crow about it, he nonetheless savours his handiwork.

They decide to cut up some of the biggest and strongest reeds, and cut them into sharp sections. These they scatter along the path leading from the lake to the graveyard. "This might slow down any assault."

"Anything else?"

"No. Now we wait."

They wait. They chat for a while, but this soon becomes a whisper before it peters out. They stand guard in silence. Try as they might, they can't stop fearful visions crossing their minds. Hands grip on weapons, feet shuffle nervously. Everyone is willing their trepidation to depart.

The gibbous moon is high in the sky before anyone notices anything. Sure enough, in the distance, around two dozen ghostly-looking lights start bobbing over the tops of the reeds. The defenders look around the dark graveyard. A sudden chill wind blows the reeds in a palpable hiss. The prayer strips dance in the breeze, the shredded screens flap alarmingly. Despite their bravado, there is something rather frightening about tackling the unknown in a graveyard at night. They try to suppress a collective shiver. The wind dies to a whisper and stops. The moon slips behind a cloud, plunging them into darkness. The lights edge closer.

Breaking the stillness, Ryôichi breathes, "They're in the reeds! They're coming!"

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