Session 46. (10/3/17)

“What do you mean, son?” demands the dirty Ainu. The rescuers look more closely and realise that it is Akako, Kanemitsu’s daughter, that they have found. When they have finished hugging, Akako tells her tale.

“The three of us sailing across the northern sea on a boat with our fathers. Our brothers, sisters and cousins were on another boat, but we were hit by a typhoon. We were driven north while the other boat was driven south. We landed on the mainland and sheltered for two days. Then the adults decided to set off inland to look for a special tree. But we sisters snuck away with the boat to look for the others. We sailed south until we reached the southern mainland, then headed along the coast looking for a beached or wrecked ship. We sailed south for days but found nothing. Eventually the land turned to the west, so we landed to look for food. Then we travelled around, as a last chance to find our lost siblings, living off the land and hiding in the mountains. Eventually we were taken in by a village where Tatsuko joined the temple of Amaterasu, I (Akako) joined the village defence force and Yukitenshi was taken in by a shugenja. That was four years ago. Then last year we were captured by the bakemono and forced to work as slaves. After a while they let us live like them and among them, as long as we did what they said, pillaging villages. It wasn’t easy. We tried to leave clues, or get away, but never got much chance until I was followed by a villager yesterday. I tried to leave obvious tracks so they’d find this camp. And fortunately, here you are

“This is just a raiding camp. The main bakemono base is north of the city. My sisters are there, hostage to my good behaviour. We must go and rescue them – quickly!”

Akako directs the party to the main bakemono base, sharing a horse with Ishan Ashte. The road takes them back through Takasaki, where Tomtare leaves them to report to Hidasue, promising to catch up with them later. The rest continue northeast towards Maebashi, but turn off north just before the bridge into the town (Maebashi means “before the bridge” but in fact is beyond the bridge – evidently it was named by people coming from the other direction). By late afternoon they arrive at a ruined castle that Akako tells them is where the bakemono – and her sisters – live.

The back walls of the castle are intact up to the second storey and face onto a steep, wooded slope. The nearer walls are just rubble except for the corners, but the missing walls are partly replaced by thick bamboo screens. Openings at each end of the screens, between them and the remains of the corner towers, allow easy access into the interior, which is mostly open to the elements.

Ishan Ashte scouts around and reports that there are bakemono on guard on a walkway along the two back walls, but none seem to be guarding the front.

“How many bakemono are there?” asks Emishi. Ishan Ashte isn’t sure, but Akako has been living with them for a year.

“About forty or so,” she says.

“Gulp,” adds Onuma.

“Could we pull down the bamboo screens? You know, attach a rope them and pull?” suggests Emishi.

“While you’re up there maybe you could cut the cord holding the screens together so they fall down,” Yoshi Yeesu comments sourly.

“Would that work?” asks Onuma, innocently.

“Not if you intended it to happen,” replies Yoshi Yeesu.

“Perhaps we can draw a few bakemono out, then, to thin the numbers?” persists Emishi.

“Perhaps Akako can draw some out,” modifies Onuma. “They know her and they wouldn’t suspect anything at first.”

“You could tell them a trade caravan is heading this way,” adds Yoshi Yeesu.

With the plan settled, Akako goes up to the open area in front of the castle. “A catapult! A tray catapult. Coming this May!” shouts Akako in broken bakemono language. The bakemono guarding the gaps etween the bamboo screens and the remaining walls look at one another in confusion, but a few come out to investigate. Eight of them.

Immediately Emishi, Ishan Ashte, Yoshi Yeesu and Onuma open fire with their bows, while Akako hacks away with her naginata, hitting the same target as Emishi, but it is a daibakemono and it weathers Emishi’s arrows (7 and 9 damage) and Akako’s two strikes (10 each) and responds with a critical hit to Akako, stunning her. Ishan Ashte hits another bakemono with his first arrow but misses with his second. Yoshi Yeesu gets a good hit with his one arrow, nearly klling a lowly bakemono. Onuma’s first shot is a disaster, as she frays her bowstring, reducing the pulling force it can cope with. Her tentative second try scores a weak hit on a daibakemono which barely notices it, but Sahpo hits it with two Arrows of Wood, which it fails to resist or throw off before it succumbs to their muscle-draining power. In the far corner of the compound, Akako’s sisters, Tatsuko and Keiko hear the commotion outside.

Emishi puts two more arrows into the first daibakemono and still fails to fell it, so it falls to Onuma, who has given up on her frayed bow and charged in with her sword drawn to land the killing blow. Ishan Ashte lands two arrows to kill his first target, and Yoshi Yeesu one to kill his. Sahpo hits a bakemono with a single Arrow of Wood, but it throws off the poison after losing only 8 strength. Onuma, blades still whirring, chops down a bakemono in two strokes. Meanwhile, in the far corner of the compound, Tatsuko summons the spirit of Amaterasu and, her dark hair suddenly blazing forth light like the sun, she throws Keiko into the air so she can see what is going on. Keiko flies high, but unfortunately also spins round and round and fails to work out which way the outside is.

Emishi puts an arrow into the bakemono Sahpo had weakened and halves its hit points. Before he can take the other half, Sahpo hits it with another Arrow of Wood and takes the rest of its strength. Instead, Emishi fires a humming bulb arrow over the compound to scare the bakemono and alert the captive sisters (or vice versa). Akako hits an o-bakemono for 10 damage, Yoshi Yeesu puts an arrow in it for 20 damage and Akako hits it for a further 6, almost killing it. Ishan Ashte scores a critical hit with an arrow for 9 damage, knocking down and stunning a bakemono, then hits it for a further 7 with his second arrow. Onuma, dead bakemono all round her, charges into the compound to find some more. Tatsuko channels Amaterasu and kicks down the wall of their pen which Keiko casts Omnipresent sword. They grab their belongings and run for the exit.

Emishi finishes off the bakemono Ishan Ashte had knocked down while Akako finishes the one she and Yoshi Yeesu were sharing, the last of the ones that came out of the compound. With nothing left to shoot, Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu change weapons and run to the compound, closely followed by Emishi and not-so-closely by Sahpo. There they find a scene of devastation – Onuma has cast Breath of the Dragon into a crowd of bakemono and 10 of them are on fire! Three manage to put out the flames but the others burn to a crisp. In the confusion, Akako slips into the compound and sidles along the back wall. Meanwhile, Tatsuko and Keiko are sidling along the side wall, away from the unseen Akako. They could have escaped unnoticed, but they can’t resist hitting one of their captors on the way out. Keiko hits for 8 damage with her omnipresent sword, while Tatsuko punches it for 5 damage, then swings and misses. The daibakemono barely notices, but turms to block their escape.

From the entrance to the compound, Emishi, Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu fire into the crowd of bakemono running towards, away from or just in circles around the burning bodies. Emishi hits an o-bakemono for 10 and 7 damage; Ishan Ashte critically hits a bakemono for 27 damage, killing it instantly, then follows up with a second critical hit for 15, halving the health of an o-bakemono; Yoshi Yeesu hits a bakemono for 19 damage, leaving it on 1 health, then draws his no-dachi. Akako sneaks up to her sisters while Onuma cuts her way through, hitting an o-bakemono for 12, 10 and 8 damage, killing it. Tatsuko punches the daibakemono for 8 damage, then misses with it hits her back for 8 damage, though Tatsuko’s Avatar of Amaterasu soaks up half the damage. Keiko slice the daibakemono for 7 damage then casts Bar Beasts to try to keep it away. Sahpo moves up to the compound entrance and fires four Arrows of Wood. Two critically fail, but the other two take down another bakemono.

With the fight rapidly descending into a chaotic mess, the more numerous bakemono hitting out wildly and hitting other bakemono more than their foes, Emishi fells a bakemono with hits of 11 and 9, Ishan Ashte misses with two arrows, Yoshi Yeesu takes the final hit point from his opponent with a critical hit from his no-dachi for 28 damage, Akako and Tatsuko finish off the daibakemono (Keiko missed with Darts of Metal) and Sahpo fells one more with four Arrows of Wood.

The remainder of the fight is more like a battle: our heroes are victorious, Emishi taking 7 heads (and 2 damage), Ishan Ashte 2 heads, Yoshi Yeesu 2 heads and a three-hit encounter that he wins for the loss of 14 health; Onuma and Sahpo take 5 heads each, Akako takes 6 heads and wins a rapid encounter with an o-bakemono, Tatsuko takes 4 heads and Keiko takes 3 heads and struggles to win an encounter in 8 rounds (though her opponent doesn’t land a single blow).

The five bakemono slayers return to Takasaki with their three rescued half-Ainu cousins and report to Hidasue. Hidasue reports the success to the Shugo, who is pleased, and offers Hidasue a permanent job in the province. Hidasue declines. “I’ve never made any secret of the fact that basically I’m on my way to Kyoto.” The Shugo tries to insist; Hidasue continues to politely refuse, but finally relents. “Well, maybe one more task. But I really must carry on to Kyoto after that.” The Shugo tells Hidasue to report to the Jito.

The Jito first asks Hidasue about the bakemono campaign. He reports that the bakemono are all dead, the camps destroyed and three prisoners rescued. “Rescued? They are bakemono! They will be executed most cruelly.”

“No, they are human… wajin…” Hidasue assures the Jito.

“Nonsense. They are animals and will be slaughtered. Your assistants will do it themselves. Send for them!”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Guards!” shouts the Jito. “Take some men and kill those captured bakemono.” He turns to Hidasue. “You haven’t heard the last of this,” he says. Hidasue hurries out and goes straight to the six troubleshooters, arriving not far ahead of the castle guard.

“We’ve got to go. Now, or the guard will kill your cousins!” He rushes off to the stables, jumps on his horse and gallops off along the Tosando.

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