Session 47. (17/3/17)

It is summer of the Year of the Goat (1487).

Hidasue, his assistants and his household are journeying the Tosando through Shinano province. The party has further increased in size as, along with Emishi's wife Hana, the housekeeper, the gardener (when was it they last had a garden) and the stable lad, they now ride with the rescued half-Ainu sisters Akako, Tatsuko and Keiko, though "ride" is a relative term. As they do not have horses yet, Keiko is sharing a horse with Emishi, Tatsuko with Sahpo and Akako with Ishan Ashte. They manage not to fall off and learn a little about bajutsu in the process.

The party, now a formidable 14 people on 11 horses, is frequently stopped as they enter and leave the small towns, and asked their business. Hidasue shows his credentials and says, "Basically I'm on my way to Kyoto". It appears that travel is restricted within Shinano. Hidasue surmises this is because of the unstable nature of alliances between clans within the province and threats of invasion from without.

Arriving in the capital, Matsumoto, Hidasue rides up to the largest mansion and asks to see the daimyo. A minor functionary says, "There is no daimyo. Rest your horses then be on your way." Hidasue is taken aback, but leads the way to the stables where they unsaddle and tie up the horses by water troughs and feed. Eight horses are already in the stable, and eleven more nearly fills it. Tatsuko accosts a stable hand and asks who is in charge.

"Well, Ran is my boss," says the boy nervously.

"No, I mean who is in charge of the province? Who is the daimyo?"

"Err, I dunno. I don't think we have a daimyo."

"I don't understand," says Hidasue. The others look around for someone else to ask, when a loud drumming starts up nearby. Someone seems to be tuning several large drums. Ishan Ashte, Tomtare and Emishi start to sing along, obviously tone-deaf, and Yoshi Yeesu and Keiko tap their feet, but it is obvious to Sahpo that the bass drum is broken. Intrigued, the six go into the large building the noise is coming from. Inside, in a large room, they find a troupe of drummers. A very large drum is lying face up next to two large supports. The drummers are trying to lift it, but they are not strong enough. A large, muscular drummer is giving encouraging shouts – his arm is in splints.

"Why is that drum lying on the ground?" asks Emishi.

"Looks like they've dropped it," murmurs Sahpo.

"Why don't they pick it up?" asks Emishi.

Sahpo rolls his eyes. "I think they're not strong enough with the bass drummer injured," he hisses.

"Let's help them get it up," suggests Tatsuko.

The six gather around the drum, which is about 10 feet across, and start lifting. However, they can't agree on which side to lift up and which to put on the floor, and the attempt fails when Tatsuko, Tomtare and Sahpo lose their grip. They try again. Sahpo struggles under the weight, and Yoshi Yeesu falls over, dragging the drum down, but fortunately Tomtare is next to him and manages to lift both the drum and Yoshi Yeesu and soon the drum is upright and sitting on its supports. Yoshi Yeesu is left sprawled over the top of the drum. Tatsuko helps him down.

The bass drummer turns out to be the drum oyakata and is called Hayashi. He thanks the six newcomers profusely. Tatsuko asks again about the daimyo. Hayashi explains that the province is run as an alliance of clans – the Ogasawara being the strongest, based here in Matsumoto. He says that he can arrange a meeting with Ogasawara Nagataka, head of the Ogasawara clan and Shugo of the province. Hidasue, who has come to see where his party has got to, agrees.

In the mansion, Hidasue and his assistants are given refreshments as Hayashi bustles off to make arrangements. After a while, the party is invited to see Nagataka. He seems friendly, less autocratic than the daimyo they have met, and he is impressed by Hidasue's credentials when he presents them. It doesn't take long before the Shugo starts asking if Hidasue wants to work for him, to no-one's particular surprise. Nagataka says he has need of help for a variety of tasks, and offers Hidasue some work on a trial basis. Hidasue accepts, adding, "Though basically I'm on my way to Kyoto".

Nagataka sends for his Jito (land steward), excuses himself and leaves. The Jito explains the politics in the province. Shinano province is controlled by the Ogasawara from the capital at Matsumoto and is divided in to several other fiefs controlled from castle towns at Komoro (Oi clan), Ina (Suwa clan) and Ueda (Sanada clan). The Kiso clan hold SW Shinano and have resisted several Takeda attacks from Kai province. The various clans support each other against the treat of the power-hungry Takeda clan in Kai to the south. Clans in the north have good relations with the Yamanouchi Uesugi, while those in the south cultivate friendships with the Imagawa of Totomi, again in case of Takeda aggression.

Then the Jito gives Hidasue their first task – to visit their "lesser" allies to get an account of samurai numbers, ashigaru troops, state of readiness and commitment against invasion from outside, especially the Takeda clan in neighbouring Kai province. They are to encourage greater commitment. These "lesser" allies are in the south: the Suwa clan (in Suwa and Ina towns); the Takato (in Takato castle and domain); and the Kiso (in Kiso town). Kiso is in a deep valley along the Tosando; Suwa and Takato are on a different road to the south east. The Jito wants them to visit Suwa and Takato first.

"We'll start in the morning," announces Hidasue. The others know that this means that they will start and Hidasue will remain here. They all retire to an in that is part of the shugo's mansion complex, several rooms of which Hidasue's housekeeper has commandeered and already made homey for the whole party. "By the way," adds Hidasue, "There's still some money recovered from the bakemono camp, even after we left a load with that temple to distribute to the villages that were attacked, and I also owe you a lot of back-pay. If you can find anywhere in this town that makes armour, or weapons, or sells teaching scrolls and the like, you can get an upgrade and I will pay."

In the evening the troubleshooters wander around the town, looking for artisans. They find a partnership called Bendu and Sunappu who make bows; an armourer called Ichiyama and Wei Ran, a swordsmith; master carpenter Nouma Burahim offers to make wooden weapons; at a Buddhist temple, Sahpo talks to a priest called Darii Ramaa who says he can write one of the sutras as a teaching scroll in the form of a saga; an advert on a notice board offers magic items (and presumably spell scrolls) at the house of Dan Yerusu; and there is even a small theatre where two men, who go by the names of Ori Biyei and Ariku Ginisu and seem more comfortable in kabuki costumes than civvies, offer acting lessons. The troubleshooters mull over their options.

The next day, Yoshi Yeesu, Ishan Ashte, Sahpo, Emishi, Tomtare, Tatsuko and Keiko set off for Suwa to assess the strength and commitment of the Suwa clan. Tatsuko and Keiko have borrowed horses from Onuma and Hana and manage the 5-ri ride without incident, improving their skills on the way. Once in Suwa, Sahpo leads the delegation to see the clan head, and asks directly about the clan's strength and willingness to defend the province. The clan head tells Sahpo that they have 20 samurai and 100 ashigaru. Emishi, acting on an unusually clever idea, slips out and counts the horses in the stable and concludes that the clan really does only have about 20 samurai. Sahpo asks, quite pointedly, if Suwa has had any contact with the Takeda, the expansionist clan that rules Kai province to the south. The clan head replies that he has not. While Ishan Ashte asks about local defences, Sahpo silently recites the Saga of Truth and decides that the clan head was being truthful about the Takeda. Sahpo presses the clan head to commit more troops to the defence of the province, but he tells Sahpo that Suwa is a small town with a population of only 4,500, and it can only support 20 samurai and 100 ashigaru. He asks if the clan's other town, Ina, has any troops but the clan head says no. Meanwhile, Tatsuko and Keiko wander round the citadel, observing and chatting to the clan samurai, who they find to be enthusiastic about support for the Ogasawara and the provincial alliance.

After a break for lunch, the party saddles up and rides a few ri further south to Takato. Here they take the same approach: Sahpo talks to the clan head, Ishan Ashte and Emishi count horses and military equipment to get an independent assessment of troop number, and Tatsuko and Keiko talk to the samurai to judge their enthusiasm and commitment to the Shinano alliance. The clan head tells Sahpo that they have 20 samurai and 100 ashigaru available for defence of the province. Sahpo asks about contact with the Takeda clan, but the clan head denies it. Sahpo tries to check his dial using Saga of Truth, but having no-one else to take up the conversation he is unable to complete it successfully. Outside, Emishi and Ishan Ashte deduce that there are quite a few more samurai employed by Takato than Suwa – but then the town is more than twice the size (10,500 inhabitants, they learn). Tatsuko and Keiko have spoken to a few samurai and found them to be content and motivated. They all return inside and confer with Sahpo. Emishi tells Sahpo that there are more troops available, and after a brief discussion about taxes and troop numbers with Ishan Ashte, Sahpo presses the clan head to commit more troops. Eventually he agrees to assign 10 more samurai and 50 ashigaru to provincial duties, earning all the troubleshooters a bonus of 1 budo and 1 On.

After a night at an inn, the five set off for Kiso. They have been told that there is a small track leading westwards across the ridge between the Takato and Kiso valleys, saving them a day's ride up to Matsumoto and back.

Kiso Valley from the ridge

They coax there horses over this track and descend into the picturesque Kiso valley, along which runs the Tosando in the direction of Kyoto. Once in the town, which is just as picturesque as the valley, they split up and take their now-familiar roles.

Kiso Town

Sahpo talks to the clan head, but Sahpo is too distracted by the beautiful surroundings and hears only that the clan has 20 samurai and 100 ashigaru committed to defence. Emishi and Ishan Ashte count horses and look round the workshops and think there are more troops that the clan head is letting on. Tatsuko and Keiko talk to samurai and find they are committed to the defence of the town, but have little enthusiasm for defence of the rest of the province. Given the beauty of the town and the valley, and its natural defences, they can understand why. They report back to Sahpo, who rouses himself to give an impassioned speech about how a threat to the province is a threat to the town. The clan head is impressed, but says the trouble is with motivating the troops. Ishan Ashte and Emishi decide to do a demonstration of fighting skills to interest the troops in things outside their daily life in the town, and spar for a while before Emishi shows off some heroic leaps. Then Tatsuko runs a class of fitness exercises. The exercises go very badly as the samurai are unable to follow Tatsuko's instructions, but the sight of her without her armour is burned into their brains like an 80's Jane Fonda video.

Tatsuko's Workout

The clan head, unable to hide a smile, promises another 10 samurai and 50 ashigaru. "In fact," he says, "I might have so many volunteers that I'll have to turn some down!" With that, the troubleshooters get ready and depart, riding up the Tosando to Matsumoto to give their report, another budo and On each in hand (and incidentally promoting Keiko to Level 2).

In Matsumoto, the troubleshooters start placing their orders for upgrades, paid for by Hidasue. Ishan Ashte commissions a master quality, four-man-rating daikyu. Sahpo puts in an order for lightweight, metal-veined armguards so he can block sword attack (+1 armour class for only 1 pound of weight), and also pays a priest to write a the history of Buddhism in the form of a saga to improve his butsudo; Emishi orders some high quality arrows (stronger, straighter shafts for +1 BCS, sharper steel points for +1 damage).

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