Session 11. (16/3/12)

After the business with the escaped yakuza, the Harbour Patrol as to spend some time with the magistrate, and so it is a few days later when they return to their duties on the Omono River in Akita. Ishan Ashte is in charge, with Sahpo at the helm and Yoshi Yeesu and Emishi the crew, and they spot a boat heading upriver that seems to be trying to avoid them. Many boats go upriver empty (to return with food for the city and other provinces), and thus have no tax to pay, but Ishan Ashte has a feeling that this one is deliberately staying away from the customs skiff. Sahpo agrees, and sets off in chase. Unfortunately, Sahpo's sailing skills have been progressing very slowly, and he gains little ground. He calls on the others to help by rowing. Unfortunately, all three grab oars and the inevitable imbalance causes the boat to circle. Sahpo threatens them with Arrows of wood and Emishi relinquishes his grip on an oar. The skiff starts to make decent headway up the river. As they start to overhaul the evading cargo boat, Ishan Ashte hands his oar to Emishi and loads a humming bulb arrow into his bow. The arrow shrieks through the rigging of the cargo boat and it immediately lowers its sails and slows. Ishan Ashte leads the boarding party and demands to see travel permits from the two men on board. They hand them over, but Ishan Ashte can see at a glance that one of them has given him forged papers. He passes them to Sahpo to check, but Sahpo tries (and fails) to read them rather than looking at the style.

"This is forged," he accuses to the crewman. The man looks terrified and unable to talk. "You are both under arrest," he continues, and, turning to Sahpo, asks, "How are we going to get both boats back to the docks?"

"I'll sail it back," interposes Emishi. Sahpo can think of no argument against this idea. But Emishi soon provides one by sailing the cargo boat from bank to bank and eventually into the reeds. Sahpo sails the skiff up to it and attaches a line, pulling it from the reeds.

"As I was going to say, I'll tow it back with the skiff." And so saying, Sahpo coaxes both boats back to Akita against the rising tide, arriving in the late afternoon.

Back in Akita, Ishan Ashte tells Yoshi Yeesu to "Tear the ship apart, and if there's any contraband we want it alive", referring to the seizure of guard dogs the previous week. The he, Emishi and Sahpo take the prisoners up to the Akita magistrate.

The magistrate listens to the Harbour Patrol's story and instructs them to interrogate the prisoners. With Onuma still on duty in Oga they can't test the veracity of the prisoners' replies, leaving brutality as the only recourse. Emishi's eyes shine like the sun glinting on a katana. Leaving Emishi to get on with the distasteful business, Sahpo looks again at the forged travel documents. He still can't see why Ishan Ashte thought they were forged, but he reads with interest the details of the travel permit. Unlike most permits held by the river traders, which allow travel up and down the river without restriction, this document seems to specify a single journey upriver to a place called Nangai. Sahpo asks the magistrate if he has heard of the place.

"Oh yes, it's a small town southeast of here, on a branch of the river, at the foot of the mountains. There's quite a famous shrine there. Or is it a temple?"

Meanwhile, Yoshi Yeesu has made an interesting discovery on the boat. Behind a hidden panel in the gunwales is a secret compartment, and in it are 14 swords. They are fairly poor quality - just the sort you'd buy cheaply to equip an army. He hurries with them up to the magistrate's.

Emishi is sharpening his sword, casually, as the two prisoners, their hands tied behind their backs, kneel on the floor with their foreheads pressed against the dusty ground.

"Why did you evade us?"

"I didn't want to be stopped."

"Why?"

"I couldn't have you search the boat."

Yoshi Yeesu bursts in. "Look what I found!"

"They're not mine," quavers the deckhand. "They're... for someone else!"

"Who are they for?" demands Sahpo.

"I... don't know."

The helmsman is more composed. "I just carry cargo... no questions asked."

Ishan Ashte checks the prisoners for tattoos, but finds none. They report their findings to the magistrate.

"It's vital you find out where the swords were going," he tells them.

Ishan Ashte muses to himself. "The deckhand was going to Nangai. All we know about it is there's a famous temple. But the swords can't have been going to the temple..." Suddenly his brain cells connect - with two yoghurt pots and a length of string. "Wait a minute - are the Ikkō-ikki there?" The others look a little blank. "I heard in a bar the other day that there are a few in the province. They support peasant demands for better conditions and more say in decisions that affect them. Which is all well and good, ..." he pauses for a moment, realising that he has been both a worker of the land and a member of the ruling class, "... but taking up arms is not the right way to go about it."

The magistrate adds that there has been some fighting in provinces far to the south, near the capital Kyoto, where support for the Ikkō-ikki is much stronger. "This must be reported to the shugo at once - he'll probably send the army to Nangai." Emishi's eyes light up again, but they have more immediate duties.

"Are you supplying the Ikkō-ikki?" Ishan Ashte demands of the nervous deckhand.

"You'll never defeat us, there are too many of us!" he shouts defiantly.

And, as they wait to hear what the shugo decides, the Harbour Patrol returns to patrol the harbour.

The next day Emishi is in charge. Nothing exciting happens so Emishi drops a fishing line over the side and catches five fish, to the bemusement of the others. Then things look up as a sloop speeds past, heading for the open sea. There are a lot of people on board as well as a large cargo of mixed foodstuffs. Sahpo quickly gets the skiff up to speed and closes on the fast-moving sloop. The sloop leaves the river mouth and turns north into Oga Bay. Ishan Ashte fires a humming bulb arrow as a warning, and it seems to cause panic among the crew of the sloop. Men run back and forth on the far side of the boat, shouting and swearing. Sahpo closes on the sloop and the others prepare to board it. Then they realize that the sloop has dropped a small boat over the far side and about half the crew has jumped in. Ishan Ashte and Emishi jump onto the sloop and run to the far rail, only to see a dragon boat racing away, powered by 10 paddlers, most with swords on their backs. Ishan Ashte and Emishi grab their bows and fire on the fleeing vessel, both scoring hits. Yoshi Yeesu joins in from the skiff and proves that his ribs have healed by putting an arrow critically through a paddler, catapulting his lifeless body into the water. The dragon boat recedes rapidly but the three archers manage another hit each. A body is thrown overboard and the dragon boat fades into the haze of northern Oga Bay despite Sahpo's attempts go get the skiff going again and Emishi's attempts to harry the sloop's crew into working for him. When Sahpo gets the skiff moving the dragon boat has disappeared. He and Yoshi Yeesu recover the two bodies, which are dressed in light armour and one of which has two of Ishan Ashte's arrows in it. Emishi eventually cajoles the sloop's crew into sailing it back to Akita. Ishan Ashte looks at the cargo. It is an extremely varied selection of foods.

"Just right for feeding an army!" exclaims Emishi.

"The Ikkō-ikki!" shouts Sahpo.

"The pirates of Oga Bay," avers Yoshi Yeesu. "Look where the dragon boat was running for - Hachiro lagoon. They must need regular food supplies - and now we know how they get them!" he concludes.

After his charges have told him their news about shooting pirates in Oga Bay, Hidasue organises an archery contest. He joins in himself, presumably for the vicarious excitement. They fire three arrows each at a target of concentric ovals on a wooden board. Yoshi Yeesu shoots first, scoring an outer bull. Emishi's shot is nearly as good but Ishan Ashte only hits an outside ring. Hidasue himself almost misses. Yoshi Yeesu scores another outer bull, as does Ishan Ashte. This time Emishi scores poorly, while Hidasue completely misses the target. In the final round, Emishi hits an outer bull, Yoshi Yeesu hits the bull's eye, but Ishan Ashte trumps it by hitting the very centre of the bull and knocking Yoshi Yeesu's arrow away as well. Hidasue hits the outer edge of the target and declares Ishan Ashte the winner for his final, superb shot. He congratulates them all on beating him. The he tells them they can have some time to further improve their bow skills while others take most of their harbour duties. Emishi improves from a score of 75 to 80, but Yoshi Yeesu and Ishan Ashte, who have already mastered the skill, study the Precision Strike okuden at a school in Akita. Sahpo, meanwhile, studies shinten (Shinto theology) at a shrine in Oga. Emishi insists on a rematch of the archery contest. Only Ishan Ashte takes up the challenge. Again they fire three arrows at a target. Sahpo agrees to judge. In the event it is an easy decision as Ishan Ashte misses with one of his arrows while Emishi hits the target solidly with all of his arrows.

After two weeks, Hidasue returns from a summons to see the Jitodai in Akita. He reports that the Jitodai was very pleased with Hidasue's performance patrolling the harbour, and has given him - and thus his adventurous aides - a new mission: to wipe out the pirates of Oga Bay. Hidasue announces that he will pay extra because of the hazardousness of the mission.

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