Session 18. (4/5/12)

Continuing their checks of farmers' tax payments on the Shimokita peninsula, Sahpo leads the party into a farm on a cloudy autumn day. They ride up to the farmer. "You there, what is your harvest this year?" demands Sahpo peremptorily.

"Twenty-three bushels, exalted sir," the farmer replies from the vicinity of the ground.

Sahpo turns to the others. "We'll start by assuming he's lying. Go and check every part of the farm."

"But he's got an honest face," protests Emishi, perhaps thinking more about the chore than any inherent quality of the farmer. "Look at that face," he continues, gesturing at the farmer, whose forehead is pressed to the earth, "Who could disbelieve that?"

Sahpo is unmoved. Everyone disperses and goes to look around the farm. When they meet up again an hour later Sahpo admits that he hasn't found anything. Emishi adds that the size of the farm is consistent with the harvest the farmer declared. Yoshi Yeesu however is convinced something is amiss. He insists that the sacks of rice don't add up to 23 bushels. Sahpo recounts them. 23 bushels. They calculate the tax. Again Yoshi Yeesu's calculations are wide of the mark and they settle on an amount that is abut half what it should be. The farmer is pleased to be rewarded for his honesty, not realising it was completely inadvertent!

On the next trip, Ishan Ashte takes the tax collectors to a farm in the mountainous heart of the peninsula. At Ishan Ashte's question, the farmer declares a harvest of twelve bushels of rice.

"That's a small harvest for a big farm," exclaims Emishi.

"But much of my land is uncultivatable," explains the farmer.

"Why don't you grow barley," asks Sahpo.

"I only grow rice," insists the farmer.

"How can you live on such a small income?" asks Ishan Ashte.

The farmer is silent.

"Okay, everyone search the farm," orders Ishan Ashte in a here-we-go-again tone.

They find nothing unusual in the farmhouse and surroundings, but as they ride out across the farm's fields, both Ishan Ashte and Sahpo come across half-hidden valleys, each with small crops of as-yet unharvested barley. They return to confront the farmer. The farmer throws himself on their mercy. Sahpo and Ishan Ashte calculate the tax for the declared and the hidden harvest, add on a fine and leave, shaking their heads.

"Just when I think I can't be surprised by human deviousness..." mutters Ishan Ashte.

"Wajin deviousness," corrects Sahpo.

Hoping to make up from the previous day's missteps, Yoshi Yeesu leads the visit to the next farm, not far from Mutsu Town. This time he gets a different problem: the farmer declares a harvest of 20 bushels, but says he can only afford half of the tax due. Yoshi Yeesu asks about the size of his family, privately wondering if he has beautiful daughters, but it turns out he only has two sons. By now everyone knows the routine so they set off to look around the farm without even being asked. When they reconvene they agree that the farm is very poor and run down, but can't see any reason why it should be so. Sahpo asks the farmer why the farm is so poor.

"I have so many expenses," he explains.

"Where does your money go?" asks Ishan Ashte.

"Are you paying bandits?" asks Emishi.

"Or Oni?" adds Ishan Ashte.

Everyone except Sahpo notices the farmer blanch at the suggestion that he pays bandits. Sahpo is talking to himself, "...so that will be 40 copper in tax, plus a ten percent fine, ... Err, what are you all looking at?"

"He's paying bandits!" exclaims Emishi.

Yoshi Yeesu addresses the farmer. "So what is this about bandits?"

The farmer grovels. "No, no bandits here."

Ishan Ashte chimes in, "If we find bandits and arrest them and found your money on them, we wouldn't have to collect tax and there might be a reward."

The farmer looks wretched. "No, no bandits here," he repeats.

The tax collectors look at each other. Sahpo twigs. "He's paying money - but not to bandits, not to Oni... then who?"

Emishi has an idea. "Could there be yakuza? In Mutsu Town?" The farmer pales further. "So does a yakuza come round?" The farmer nods.

Yoshi Yeesu continues Emishi's thread. "Have you paid for this year?" Nod.

Sahpo finishes off. "Will they come back?" Nod. "When?" The farmer looks over Sahpo's shoulder. A well-built man comes in through the door, mutters an expletive and draws a sword. He swings at the nearest person, who happens to be Sahpo, but misses. Ishan Ashte makes a quick draw and strikes the newcomer for 5 damage. Not to be outdone, Yoshi Yeesu quick-draws and cuts the man in half! Emishi and Sahpo go outside and find four unsavoury-looking men looking nonplussed. Emishi draws his sword and they start looking plussed. They draw their weapons. Emishi swings, but hasn't quite cleared the doorway, catches the tip of his sword and hits himself on the head with the hilt. He staggers around, stunned. Sahpo casts three Arrows of Wood into the melee. Two hit one of the yakuza, but only one takes effect. However, the yakuza's constitution is unable to fight the poison and is overwhelmed in less than two seconds. He collapses like an unset jelly. The other arrow hits another yakuza and infiltrates his system, but this body is more resistant and fights it off with minimal damage. Inside, the lack of clanging noises means that Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu are unaware of the fight outside and start searching the bisected body of the yakuza. They find two silver pieces and a set of lock picks.

Outside, Emishi is still dazed so Sahpo finds himself alone with three well-armed thugs. He gives each an Arrow of Wood as they move in to attack. The first thug misses Sahpo but resists the arrow. The second thug also misses and is poisoned by his arrow but overcomes the poison almost immediately. The third thug hits Sahpo for 1 damage, then succumbs to the poison and falls to the floor. Sahpo is winning! Inside, Ishan Ashte gives the bemused farmer the two silver pieces and says, "Sorry for the mess." Yoshi Yeesu goes outside to find out why it is so quiet.

Emishi recovers from his stupor and targets one of the remaining yakuza. A solid hit for 9 damage gives the yakuza something else to think about than picking on defenceless priests! Yoshi Yeesu emerges, assesses the situation and kills the other yakuza with one swing of his sword. Emishi dodges his foe's clumsy attack, strikes again and fells the last yakuza.

Yoshi Yeesu asks the farmer if these are all the yakuza. The farmer replies that there might have been a few others, but these are the main ones. Sahpo revives the two survivors and they walk them into town to hand over to the magistrates.

Emishi is in charge on the next sortie, which arrives in a village just in time to witness a funeral. A coffin is being carried from the farm they were due to be visiting to a graveyard in the village. A Buddhist priest walks ahead of the coffin; a couple, presumably the farmer and his wife, follow it. Emishi stands respectfully. Sahpo watches with interest and learns a little about Buddhist burial rituals. But as the coffin goes past, Yoshi Yeesu notices that a trickle of dark brown liquid is leaking from the coffin.

"Is it supposed to do that?" he whispers to Ishan Ashte, standing next to him.

"Only if it's been lying around too long," comes the whispered reply.

Sahpo dashes up and walks next to the priest, somewhat interrupting the proceedings. "Psst! We're wondering what happened to the deceased."

The priest ignores him.

"Only the coffin... it's leaking!"

A look of consternation crosses the priest's face. "It's nothing. Completely normal," he says, trying to shoo Sahpo away.

Meanwhile, Yoshi Yeesu has stopped to examine the drips after the coffin has gone past. He dabs his finger on the stained earth. He examines it. He smells it. He moves his finger to his mouth.

"Urgh! He's doing that tasting thing again!" cries Emishi.

Yoshi Yeesu stops before his tongue touches his finger. The smell is enough. "It's pine tar," he announces. "Mostly used as a sealant."

"Could the body be sealed inside to stop ghosts escaping?" asks Emishi, his eyes wide.

No-one answers and by this time the coffin has reached the grave side. The four pallbearers lower it into the grave. The priest recites prayers. To Sahpo he seems to be hurrying through the ceremony. He makes a decision. "Hold it, what's going on here?"

"We're burying a body," hisses the priest (amazing from a sentence free of sibilants).

"It's not usually done with this much haste," counters Sahpo.

"Stand back and pay your respects," says the priest in a more threatening tone. He grabs a spade and starts shovelling soil into the grave. Sahpo responds with some choice passages from the Ainu burial saga. The burial party give him funny looks, then take more spades and help fill the grave. Ishan Ashte decides to take a chance. He leaps into the grave and cuts the rope holding the lid on with his sword. Then with difficulty he levers the lid off. The onlookers stop shovelling and look on, aghast. The coffin is full of rice, sealed in with pine tar. Immediately the pall bearers attack Ishan Ashte with their spades, landing two blows for 2 and 6 damage. The Priest orders Sahpo to stop his saga and invokes the Buddhas, rendering Sahpo mute! The farmer pushes Emishi into the grave as Ishan Ashte is trying to get out. Emishi lands on one end of the coffin lid and 'helps' Ishan Ashte out like a cork from a fermented sake bottle. Ishan Ashte immediately lays into his attackers, hitting one for seven damage, but that attacker replies with a hit for 1 and another hits for 2 and dazes Ishan Ashte. Yoshi Yeesu tries to punch the farmer but misses and is punched by the farmer's wife for his pains. Sahpo, robbed of his voice, draws his tanto and stabs the priest for 6 damage.

Emishi climbs out of the grave and draws his sword menacingly. He swings at one of Ishan Ashte's tormentors and wounds him grievously. Ishan Ashte attacks with both swords but a fine hit with the first is enough to fell the first pallbearer. Yoshi Yeesu draws his sword and attacks in one fluid movement - the farmer's wife will nag no more! Emishi takes on another pallbearer and cuts him in half. Yoshi Yeesu badly injures the farmer, who gamely punches him for 2 damage. Sahpo finishes off the priest with his tanto, freeing him from the spell of silence. Emishi, Ishan Ashte and Yoshi Yeesu mop up the two remaining pallbearers and the farmer. As they leave they modify the village's sign from "Mizukawame: Population 15" to "Mizukawame: Population 8".

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