Session 9. (2/3/12)

It is late spring in the Year of the Tiger. Hidasue informs his deputies that Oga town celebrates the 'festival of the beasts' at this time of the year. Their excitement rises as he explains further. "The townsfolk celebrate animals of all kinds: beasts of burden, animals that provide us with food and, of course, all manner of animal spirits." The young deputies wait patiently for him to continue. "We need to keep a presence in town - things can get a little bawdy at times. So I'm going to split us into two shifts. Emishi and Onuma can cover the early shift with me, and then the rest of you can relieve us just after noon. I'll stay on until sundown. After that, the resident doshin will take over." Yoshi Yeesu, Ishan Ashte, Tomtare and Sahpo look at one another - this means that they'll have a morning off!

On the morning of the festival, the early shift rises before sun-up. They are gone at dawn. Apart from Sahpo, who normally greets the morning sun as part of his religious observance, the others have a bit of a lie-in. It's a beautiful day, so they have a late breakfast on the veranda, while watching Petennouk the gardener lazily sweeping. Ishan Ashte is carefully sharpening his sword. Yoshi Yeesu is practising his forms, and Sahpo is going over his sagas. Tomtare simply watches and considers asking for some early elevenses - or 'serpentses' as he calls it. The sun is bright and warm already and the sky is perfectly clear. It's going to be a hot day...!

A while later, they hear a slow tap-tapping sound on the road. Stopping to look, they see an old man with a staff making his way slowly toward the house. The man is well-dressed with two swords, and a staff to lean on. Slightly inappropriately he has a long black cloak around his shoulders. After some nudging and prompting, the remaining heroes push Sahpo forward to meet the man.

"Is the master in?" the old man calls.

"He's away at the festival... Sir."

"No matter... I'm sure he'd spare a morsel to eat and a cup of water for his old friend Karasu."

Karasu

Sahpo isn't too sure. "Um...Yes..." Then he remembers his manners. "We'd be delighted for you to join us..."

The old man catches up to him. Sahpo observes that the cloak has seen better days, all frayed and ragged around the hem. He leads the way. The old man seems friendly enough. "I didn't know that Hidasue had people staying with him."

"We're his deputies."

"I see."

"Come and join us in the sun," Sahpo offers.

"Thank you."

They sit where they can be in the sun and view the garden. Petennouk hastily sweeps some weeds out of sight under a bush so their view isn't spoiled.

"That's a fine sword you have there, young man," Karasu says to Ishan Ashte. "I've rarely seen finer... and I'm a retired general, so I've seen a thousand. I fought in two score battles before you were born, I'll wager. -But I know a quality weapon when I see it."

Ishan Ashte is flattered. He comes across and presents the sword for Karasu to look at. The old man takes his time. He inspects the weapon slowly and carefully, like appreciating a fine piece of artwork. He checks every detail in turn, and then glances at Ishan Ashte. The young man nods his permission for the old man to draw the blade. This he does, but a slight frown crosses his brow. Ishan Ashte knows what is coming next.

"A fine weapon. A fine scabbard... But..."

"They're not a match, I know," the young man admits. "It was my father's. They were handed to me as a set, but he never told me why the mis-match."

"No matter. You should take care of both."

"Thanks. I try."

"Though if you would permit me, I could demonstrate the finer points of preservation."

The others gather around, interested.

"Be my guest," Ishan Ashte prompts.

Karasu takes a small leather case from the sleeve of his kimono, and opens it. With the contents, he proceeds to demonstrate wiping the oil from the blade, and then soaking up any residue with a powdered brush, and a final clean. He then talks the students through the method of polishing and sharpening. He then demonstrates re-applying the oil. After this, he turns his attention to the scabbard. He shows them how to preserve the snug fit of the sword, and where the parts are prone to wear. He checks that the pin holding the hilt to the tang is secure, and explains how this can be repaired if necessary. The little scene is like a friendly grandfather sitting patiently and teaching his obedient grandchildren.

A while and several snacks for Karasu later, Umanori the stable lad appears. He indicates that the horses are ready and it is time to go.

"We have jobs in Oga town. Would you care to ride with is?" Tomtare asks.

Karasu declines. "No, thank you. Horses are not good for my old bones. I'll stay a while, maybe have a bite more to eat, and walk when I'm ready."

They ask him again, and he declines again. "Don't worry! I'll be along soon. It's only couple of miles away. Don't wait for me - I'd only slow you down."

This said, the others saddle up and ride off to the ferry. As they are waiting to cross, they spot Karasu leave the house. "At least the estate isn't on fire!" Tomtare observes dryly.

"Don't say things like that! The penalty for arson is execution - usually to first cousins," Ishan Ashte reminds him.

"They'd have to travel some way to execute my family... all the way back to Ezo," Yoshi Yeesu jokes.

"They'd take it out on the local fox population... if the rumours about your mother are true..."

Yoshi Yeesu knows that they are teasing him. "Let me tell you about my mother..." he starts to say, but is interrupted by the ferry pulling up.

Half an hour later, the deputies arrive at Oga town. The festival is in full swing. Sights and sounds and smells threaten to overload their senses. Everyone appears to be consuming food and drink, or are dancing, singing, chatting and having a good time - or indeed a combination of many of these things. Our heroes tie up their horses in the usual place, and survey the scene. A moment later they spot Hidasue, chatting to a man. The man turns around as they approach and he is revealed as Karasu! The young doshin stare at him. They tactfully avoid accusing him of stealing a horse and riding like the wind to beat them to the town. "This is my old friend Karasu," Hidasue tells them.

"We've met! He stopped by this morning, but you'd already left. We left an hour ago - before him - and yet he's here already."

"Stupid child! Making fun of an old man. Let's not hear any more of this," Hidasue scolds. They hold their peace. Hidasue issues his orders. "Now get on with your duties. It's been a quiet morning; - even the magistrate has kept his clothes on."

"So long as we don't meet the dentist's wife."

"What, the 'tanto-tongued terror'?"

"Yup. That's the one!"

Ishan Ashte, Sahpo, Tomtare and Yoshi Yeesu start to patrol slowly, while they take in the sights, the sounds and the smells of the festival. Ishan Ashte is wistfully thinking of the bear-catching festival back home, while the scene makes Yoshi Yeesu positively homesick. It takes a considerable effort of will to stop him joining in. Being a Samurai has many benefits, but being able to join in with the gorging, dancing, singing and drinking is not one of them. Later on, Tomtare spots Karasu in a pavilion. Several other Samurai are hanging around, watching and talking quietly. They decide to watch the old man. He spots them. "You should try this," Karasu says, indicating the pavilion. "They serve tea beautifully and tell your fortune too." They think about this.

Tea...

As Karasu is about to leave, a dog starts barking with a tremendous racket. Everyone jumps with surprise, and look to see what is going on. Several townsfolk approach the dog, but it keeps them at bay with more barking and snarling. Sahpo and Tomtare set off to investigate, but the dog runs off down an alley, still making a lot of noise. "Dogs are only seven thousand years away from wolves..." Sahpo says. "Let me handle this." Tomtare looks at him quizzically. Sahpo tries to control the wolf in the dog, but instead of coming to him, the dog growls at him and runs off under the veranda of a house. Tomtare mocks, "Now you're only seven feet away from the wolf...!"

"Well, I'm not chasing it under a dusty house...Stupid mutt!" Sahpo curses. The dog has stopped barking, and so they leave it be.

Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu have decided to take Karasu's advice and partake in tea and fortune-telling. The man in the pavilion looks slightly strange. They guess he's not from around these parts. He helps them to sit comfortably, and explains that his family come from China. - This is a place that they've not heard mentioned before. They nod nervously, trying not to give away their geographic ignorance. "Welcome to our pavilion." The man says, "My wife will serve tea, and if you are agreeable, she will divine your future, and read your fortunes." They nod in agreement. They are thankful for a rest out of the sun, and a welcome drink. The woman starts to prepare tea, while the man chats, putting them at ease. He explains a few points of etiquette, and they reassure him that they won't slurp tea from the saucer or dunk their biscuits. The tea ceremony is a delightful success. Although they are unaccustomed to the minutiae of such a thing, they are very impressed.

...Ceremony

While this is going on, Sahpo wanders around. He is attracted to the sound of raucous laughter, and soon spies a familiar face. It is Toyama Toshifusa - the man they convicted of soliciting. He is laughing and joking with his cronies, telling them of his conquests. When he spots Sahpo, he starts boasting to his friends about his 'trumped up' charges, and lenient sentence. He adds that the girl had it coming, as she was a simple prostitute. Knowing that this isn't the truth makes Sahpo's blood boil, but he's sensible enough not to take on a gang of a dozen well-armed men. Sahpo turns away, trying not to listen to the barrage of abuse that is directed at him. The man is well-connected and despicably arrogant with it. Sahpo longs for his day of reckoning.

Back at the pavilion, the woman signals for her teenage helpers to clear the tea. She unwraps a large leather-bound book and a sheet of silk, on which are written eighteen Kanji. She also takes out a pouch of unfamiliar coins and sorts them. There are three of each colour. The coins are marked with unfamiliar kanji, and have a square hole in the middle. The woman offers the two warriors to take between one and three coins each. They can then lay them down on the marked-out silk grid. Yoshi Yeesu is still trying to read the Kanji on the sheet. Finally his eye rests on one that he's seen before. It is the kanji for 'horse' - it is also number seven in the sequence of twelve across the top. He then thinks that number three is the symbol for a tiger - seeing as how this year is the year of the tiger... So... (Ishan Ashte could swear he could hear the cogs going around in Yoshi Yeesu's head!) So... If this is a 'horse' and that is a 'tiger'... - the others might be... the zodiac years! He goes through the rhyme that Mineo taught him years ago. "Rat, Oh! Ti', and 'it. Dragon. 'S' and 'H' makes Shh! -Mo, Ro, Do, Bo!"

Lucky coin

In the meantime, Ishan Ashte is looking at the symbols along the side. Three trees is obviously 'forest'... three spikes is 'river'... If only he could remember the maps of the tribe's journey across the mountains... Mountain! - The three spikes on a base is mountain! - Then he remembers the others: Sun moon, and star!

I-ching board

"You may place them in any square," she prompts them again. "At least one and as many as three. Don't worry if your coin matches someone else's." Ishan Ashte takes the lead and places his coins. Mountain and ox is his first choice. Forest and bear is his second. Sun and horse is his third. Yoshi Yeesu is not so hasty. He thinks long and hard. Finally he places his coins like this: he matches Ishan Ashte's forest, but on the Dragon column. He then mirrors his companion's choice of sun-horse. His last choice is the intersection of monkey and river.

Once the coins are cast, the woman consults the handwritten book of the combinations. After a time she has the results. To Ishan Ashte she says, "In conflict look for peace... But in peacetime, seek war." Ishan Ashte nods sagely. She continues, "For your second choice, you will make friends or money - but not both." He takes this in too. She concludes with the last prediction. "You are near the end of your journey... but which end?" This gets Ishan Ashte thinking.

The woman turns to Yoshi Yeesu. "You are destined to have a son and heir." This pleases Yoshi Yeesu. "You will face many dangers but your wits will save you." This pleases him less, though it isn't a bad prediction. The last coin needs more consultation. Finally she concludes, "Don't be afraid of making mistakes...But don't make the same one twice." The man, her husband, comes over. "If you would like my wife to predict the year of your death, then she would be glad to do so. There is, however, no obligation."

"Thank you, but no." Ishan Ashte tells him. Yoshi Yeesu also declines.

Sahpo and Tomtare draw near. The other two thank the Chinese couple and their family, and they all lean forward and bow to one another. At this moment there is a commotion in the crowd, and a young lad of about fifteen interrupts the solemn moment. He bows as low as he can go, and offers up a scroll to a rather surprised Yoshi Yeesu, who leans over to take it. "For you master!" the lad says. Looking rather surprised, Yoshi Yeesu takes the scroll. He unrolls it. It is full of complicated handwritten calligraphy. He tries desperately to read it. The young lad coughs politely for some payment... At a good sword and a half's distance, although the swords are as they left them, on each side of their places.

Scroll

Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu both try to read the scroll. Between them they can make out only one word in twenty... though luckily they do read words for 'apologise', and 'sorry'. It would appear to be some important document, asking forgiveness for something. The two Samurai are not sure what they have done or not done, to warrant a written apology. They cast their minds back to their stint as magistrates - that doesn't seem to fit either. Ishan Ashte consults with Sahpo and Tomtare. - they are as baffled as he is. Finally they drop a few copper coins on the dais for the messenger to collect. The lad is most grateful. "Thank you, Master Sanjui," He says. This alerts the others. This could possibly be a case of mistaken identity! Yoshi Yeesu offers the scroll back. "I'm not Master Sanjui - you have the wrong man."

Flustered, the young man blames himself for the mistake. "Ichioki apologises for troubling such noble and wise Samurai with my foolishness." The young lad now grovels at two-swords-lengths distance. With face reddening in fear and embarrassment, he takes the scroll back, and puts the coins back. The husband of the fortune-teller smiles patiently. The young Doshin do not make a scene and the lad trots off. Sahpo suggests that they leave the coins for the widows and orphans.

"But there are no widows and orphans."

"There might have been if you'd taken offence, or touched something that a peasant might have touched."

"But some peasants are necessary, surely?"

"It's a status and rank thing. Of course back home we could rough and tumble with all levels of society."

"Shame we can't do that here. There are a few dancing girls I'd like to rough and tumble with."

"Even the one that Emishi was keen on?"

"I think she's probably still on sick leave... Besides, she didn't seen that keen on him."

"A trait she shared with pretty much everyone else in this land!"

"Don't be too hard on the lad. Being the son of Miyoshi must be a hard burden to bear."

"Talking of which, back home they'll be hunting their annual bear."

"Hmm...Home. I sometimes wish I was back there."

"Be careful what you wish for..."

"Now you sound like the fortune telling woman."

They turn back to the husband, and apologise for making a scene. "No problem," he says. "Back home in China we are tolerant of simple mistakes."

"China?"

"It is a great country in the west."

"In the west?" Sahpo says. "There is nothing but sea to the west." The man looks embarrassed, but doesn't want to correct such a fierce-looking Samurai.

"He must mean the south," Ishan Ashte says, smoothing over the awkward moment. "That big town of 'China' in the south of the province."

The man looks at him. Behind two sets of eyes, each is thinking 'stupid foreigner!' But they smile politely at one another. Ishan Ashte and Yoshi-Yeesu pick up their swords and join the others. The husband announces a short break, and moves a few screens around the platform. The others peel off and resume their patrols.

A while later, they all rendezvous back at the pavilion, which is closing up. They have a short rest, and report that nothing untoward is happening. They are about to resume their patrols when they hear shouts for help coming from a side-street. Thinking that this might be the road to budo, they head off in a rush. A little further along the street a small crowd of freelance gawpers has gathered, and beyond that, several armed men are administering a bit of good old-fashioned justice in the form of a severe beating.

The apprentice doshin push through the crowd, which parts swiftly. Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu draw swords... only to find that they are no longer swords, but long sticks!

"What?" Ishan Ashte roars.

"Sticks!"

There is no time to discuss this at a committee. Tomtare starts wading in with his tetsubo. Sahpo readies a spell. The two swordsmen - or 'stick-men' - have no choice but to use what they've got. Four of the thugs have peeled off beating and kicking a prone young man and older woman. They rush in with spears, clubs and jo-sticks. "Stop in the name of the law!" Yoshi Yeesu yells, "Draw in the name of the Daimyo!" he whispers to himself, "[Insert Diamyo's name here!]" he says, even including the square brackets! The thugs are ready, and try not to laugh at the sticks held by out two heroes.

"My sword's a stick!" Yoshi Yeesu seethes.

"Mine's a family heirloom stick!" Ishan Ashte counters, only just trumping his remark. Sahpo draws his tanto - relieved that this is still a proper blade. Ishan Ashte draws his wakizashi - only to find that it's merely a shorter stick than his former katana. There is no time for wondering what has happened, the fight has begun!

Tomtare swings with his tetsubo. His enemy is further away, so he has to charge in with the massive weapon. Yoshi Yeesu manages to whack one thug with the stick - though with a sword it would have sliced off an arm! Ishan Ashte is not so fortunate. The balance of the stick is so wrong, and he misses his thug completely. The thugs on the three of them are so bemused at these Samurai armed only with sticks, that they also miss their targets. Yoshi Yeesu and Ishan Ashte follow up their attacks with a riposte, but again are hampered by their lack of technique with simple sticks.

Sahpo casts two arrows of wood. One hits his opponent with full force, and the thug suddenly finds his legs were made for crawling not running. Another heaves a deep breath and throws off the effect. Tomtare finishes his run-up with a big blow to another thug. This one sees stars, but shakes his head and continues. Ishan Ashte is sparring with his partner. It would appear to be a non-contact sport, as neither make a telling blow. Yoshi Yeesu is also playing this game and manages to swing the stick over the head of his opponent. The thug, however, is made of sterner stuff. He backs off a step, and puts his palm to the end of the jo-sitck. As Yoshi Yeesu steps forward, the thug levels the staff and thrusts with all his might. There is an audible 'crack' as the staff impacts into Yoshi Yeesu's ribs! He heaves a breath, which makes him wince with the pain. Tomtare completes his backswing, and knocks his opponent into a wall about ten feet away. Two more arrows of wood fizz into the melee and another man finds his legs turning to jelly.

Our heroes have cleared a patch around the young man and older woman, but several more thugs are beating a teenage girl, who is on the floor, being protected by an older man - possibly her father. The young Doshin press forward. Still hampered by no skill with wooden sticks, there seems to be little alternative. The downed thugs have either jo-sticks or kiseru - both requiring skills that none of the doshin have. Regardless, they press on heroically. Yoshi Yeesu is seeing red mist - the pain in his chest is excruciating, but he advances regardless. He steps left, and whacks a thug. This at least stops the thug kicking the woman in the street. Ishan Ashte picks up a kiseru. It is only mildly better balanced than the stick, but at least it has a better heft. Tomtare wades in with the tetsubo. "'Scuse me!" He yells, bashing another thug. Ishan Ashte is facing off with the kiseru versus a man with a club. They start circling one another, lashing out but not connecting.

It would seem that another thug knows this game. Yoshi Yeesu takes on another man with a kiseru. This thug responds by clunking him on his head! Tomtare has over-extended, and misses. Sahpo manages to send another two arrows of wood into the fray, and one explodes critically. The man goes down with a gurgle. Yoshi Yeesu has had enough of being beaten up, and whacks his opponent with a critical hit. The stick comes down on the man's nose, and he drops to the floor bleeding and crying in pain. Tomtare takes this as a cue, and with a long head-height swing of his tetsubo, tries to cut off a thug's head with the over-large club. The man dodges, but Tomtare had predicted this, and he slams the club up and under the man's chin. His head flies back followed by his body, seeing stars.

Yoshi Yeesu is cursing the gods - or praising the god of no stupid pranks. The three doshin lash out at their attackers, and beat them back, Sahpo fires off more Arrows of Wood, as two of the thugs make a run for it. A few seconds later the runners are walking, then crawling, then lying on the ground in their weakened state. Ishan Ashte finally works out which end of the stick is the whacking end and critically hits his opponent, for a stinging blow that makes his thug's eyes water. This is his only good attack in a run of misses. The others draw on simple brawling to mete out more damage to the enemy. Finally Sahpo sticks a magical arrow into Ishan Ashte's opponent, making him groggy. This enables Ishan Ashte to finally beat him to the ground. Sahpo advances with a tanto, and wounds him enough to make him pass out. Tomtare fells another with a good blow to the head, and also finishes off Yoshi Yeesu's antagonist. -The fight is over.

There are several thugs in various states of unconsciousness, and several think that breathing is too much of an effort. This also goes for Yoshi Yeesu, who can hardly draw breath without grimacing from the pain in his ribs. "Always spar with a man who has never even held the weapon before. They don't know the rules, and can teach you with their unpredictability," Ishan Ashte says, wisely.

"I did that with my little brother, during Katana training," Sahpo says.

"How did it go?"

"He hadn't a clue how to hold a sword - now 'Three-Fingers' knows better!"

They help up the fallen peasants, and as they do so, they speculate as to why this family deserved such a beating. When they help up the teenage girl, they recognise her as Hana the dancing girl. This is her family. They think that this might be retribution over Toyama Toshifusa's sentencing and humiliation in the court. When Ishan Ashte searches the thugs for money he finds a rich bounty - several silvers each and one of them has double that. "So this is the payment for beating an innocent girl?" he asks.

The thugs reply. "You doshin scum! ...Ugh...!" they say.

"Why were you attacking her?" Tomtare asks.

"She was being disrespectful."

"I doubt that. You thugs don't know the meaning of respect."

The thugs fall silent. This puts Ishan Ashte into a bad mood. He tries to intimidate them into telling him who hired them, but they remain sullen and silent. After a short rest, our heroes summon Hidasue, who arranges for the thugs to be dragged off to the town jail. They take Yoshi Yeesu to a priest, who binds his wounded ribs, and agrees to make a poultice to smear on his chest to ease the bruising. "In the meantime, you must rest, and don't do anything strenuous," the priest warns. "Come back at sundown, and I'll fix you up properly."

Our heroes can now address the strange situation of their swords.

"Someone must have bewitched us!"

"Or switched the blades..."

"The old switchy-bewitchy trick!"

"Or..."

They scratch their heads, trying to understand it. They haven't let the weapons out of their sight.

"We were with them all the time - even while having tea. It is respectful to remove them from one's sash, but they were always within easy reach."

They ponder this, and re-trace their steps. The fortune-telling pavilion is packed up and the man and his family have gone.

"Strange. I though that they'd be here all day..."

"Maybe they saw some fortune that reflected badly on them."

They think about this. Then it dawns on them.

"Fetch the horses!" Yoshi Yeesu hollers hoarsely, and wishes he hadn't. "Fetch the horses!" he whispers.

They sprint off to the magistrate's court to get their mounts. Yoshi Yeesu explains. "The note! The scroll...As we were about to leave, the lad came with the scroll. For a second or two we turned our backs on the swords..."

"But they were there when we left. Exactly in the same place!"

"Then it's an illusion or a mind-trick or some gimmickry!" Tomtare adds.

"I bet that barking dog was a distraction too. Just as Karasu was about to leave."

"You're right!"

They mount up. "Which way would they go?"

"Well, there's north, south (to China) - or northeast..."

"I'm guessing northeast. Come on! There's no time to waste!"

They trot through the town, scattering peasants and partygoers. Once out of the town they spur on the horses and ride like the wind. A few miles down the track, they start to think that they've taken the wrong path. "We'll go another half-mile then sweep around, checking the other two roads." Ishan Ashte suggests. They thunder on, and a moment later they spot a party of four people hurrying along the road. Yoshi Yeesu thinks that it is the fortune teller's party. He can also smell something in the wind. -It is possibly revenge. "If I only had a bow..."

"Your ribs would crack before you shot the first arrow!"

"Yeah? Then I'll see you in hell! Yah!"

Yoshi Yeesu spurs on his horse and rides full-tilt at the Chinese peasants. They hear the thundering hooves and look back. It's the family of Chinese fortune tellers! They are all carrying heavy backpacks. When they realise that Yoshi Yeesu is about to ride them down they abandon their loads and scatter into the reeds. Yoshi Yeesu manages to bank to the right and bear down on two of the running fortune tellers. He lashes out with his sword. "If you want to beg for mercy... don't bother!" he yells through the savage aching in his ribs. Tomtare is close behind. In a stunning leap, he dismounts and swings with his tetsubo - making a solid blow on his enemy. Ishan Ashte draws his bow, and using only his legs to grip, goads his horse into a swift canter. He lets fly with an arrow. It misses. He follows up with another, but without the hindrance of a cantering horse this time. He is rather surprised when it thuds home into a fleshy part of the Chinaman's arm. Yoshi Yeesu has wheeled around and comes in for another attack. It goes too high to take off a head - even though it should have done. His enemy has suddenly shrunk! It is starting to change, and has become more animal-like! What sorcery is this? The enemy that was once a man is now mutating rapidly, red fur is growing everywhere. A tail is unfurling and human features are melting away. The rusty-red colour, rusty-red fur and fluffy tails identify them - foxes!

Tomtare lunges and cracks the fox a blow on its back. It squeals back. Ishan Ashte finds another with an arrow. The foxes turn tail and run for their lives. Yoshi Yeesu rides one down, knocking it flying with pounding horse's hooves. The foxes yip and yelp and put on a tremendous burst of speed. They shoot like arrows through the reeds and are soon lost to sight. Their yipping and yowling cuts through the early evening air. Their white-tipped tails are soon lost in the gathering dusk. Our heroes regroup.

"Foxes!"

"Damn foxes!"

"I knew something was amiss... I Just couldn't put my finger on it."

"Well, at least we saw them off!"

They trot back to the abandoned fox's boxes and packs. There they find several swords, including their own. They also find the divination silk, the coins and the look-up book. They gather all this and head back to town. They consult with Hidasue, who commends them on their discovery. "I'll arrange for the swords to be returned to their rightful owners." He says, "Good work. You can give this one..." he hands them a sword that they recognise, "...back to Karasu."

This they do. He hadn't realised it was gone. The festival is gearing up for an evening's merrymaking, and it is the end of their shift. They trot the horses out of town in the last of the light, and head for home. Karasu decides to spend another night with Hidasue, and tells them he'll follow on in a moment. -They are hardly surprised that when they get home the old man is there already, and has eaten his way through most of their supper. Too tired to argue, they retire to bed, their dreams filled with wild adventure with foxes and spirits, getting even with Toyama Toshifusa and longing for home.

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