Session 9. (12/1/00)

Last week's interrupted episode left the two envoys Mariko (Paul Burton) and Kimori (Anthony Hummerston) half way through their diplomatic mission to the Iyo-happan, Koei (Andy Allen) learning spells, and Sugiyama (Dave Weaver) masterminding^* a ninja raid on a ninja village. With the village now well alight there was much confusion, screaming, women and children running about, and divers alarums^**. Suddenly three ninja burst out of the village and ran straight into the western group of Sugiyama's ninja. As they had nine ninja the fight seemed one-sided, but once the dust had settled it was apparent that Shibata and Nagoshi had been killed, two others were barely alive, two more were badly injured, and only one was unscathed. Sugiyama was most upset when he heard the news, commenting bitterly, "They aren't playing by the same rules", and decided on a new plan: "Get them!" He gathered all the able-bodied ninja together, 12 in all, and (forgetting that his ninjato scabbard doubles as a voice trumpet) sent two of the injured ninja to fetch the swimmers. Then they headed into the village.

In the centre they found the six remaining Gogo ninja trying to put out the fires. Sugiyama and his clan members ran straight in and attacked, one enemy between two. With the advantage of numbers and surprise, the fight was short. Sugiyama and Nishina dealt with the leader of the Gogo ninja, and with the others also doing well, Sugiyama chivalrously helped out the two female ninja, Uemura and Iga by disembowelling the last remaining Gogo ninja with a "Trellis special". The Gogo women and children were rounded up and asked whether they wanted to join Sugiyama's clan or die. They said they would rather die  thought long and hard quickly accepted the generous offer. Once the fires had died down, the ninja recovered some weapons and equipment from the village, and also found 22 gold pieces, about 200 silver pieces and 3 gems. Taking the villagers' boats (being careful not to remove the corks), they set off back to the mainland with their new possessions. Afterwards, when Sugiyama's reported the success to Lord Chozo, he was rewarded with a personal bonus of 20 silver pieces.

^* The juxtaposition of "master" and "mind" is obviously just a quirk of the language.

^** Presumably something to do with pearl fishing.

Mariko and Kimori were on their way back from Uwajima when they encountered a small army from Ozu, one of the allied fiefs. They said that an army from Hyuga (yes, there are still troops in Hyuga) had landed near Ikata and were marching towards Nagahama. The Hyugans were close allies of the Daimyo, and Nagahama is on the way to Masaki, so they could be part of a pre-emptive strike against the rebellion. The Ozu commander was more concerned that the Hyugans would capture Nagahama and cut off the coast road. He didn't know who Mariko was, but she managed to persuade him that she was the best person to command the troops in battle, so he agreed to let her take over once they encountered the Hyugan army. As they set off for Nagahama, the Ozu commander added that they were going to meet up with another detachment of troops from Yoshida, whose lord had tried to kill Mariko only days before. Fortunately, when they met, the commander of the Yoshida force knew nothing of the earlier contre-temps. In Nagahama, Mariko organised the troops and marched out to meet the Hyugans. Scouts that she sent ahead reported that there were about 1,500 Hyugans, closely matching her own force of 1,600. Soon after, in the middle of that winter morning, the two sides met.

In the first two hours neither side could get much advantage; Mariko's expert strategy gave a slight edge over her opponent's merely very good strategy. A Hyugan warrior broke through and brought Mariko directly into the action. Her skill with the tanto earned her the win, but its relatively low level of damage meant that the fight was drawn out, and she received quite a few wounds. Meanwhile, Kimori was courageous as ever^* and collected 11 heads. Over the next three hours Mariko maintained a slight advantage and whittled down the opposition to 1,300, while Kimori added another 12 heads. But as the afternoon wore on, Mariko spotted a tactical advantage, and the Hyugan commander made a serious blunder, resulting in the loss of 800 men. Mariko now had a three to one numerical advantage and tried to press it home. At first the Hyugans held on, while Mariko's own health reached a dangerous low. But as the evening drew in, the Hyugans were reduced again and they fled for their boats, only 300 left alive. Of the 1,200 left dead on the battlefield, Kimori had accounted for 36. When Mariko later reported this to Lord Chozo he told Kimori to go to see Tee-Shu Thin in Imabari to be fitted with the best armour available, on Lord Chozo's account - a valuable reward indeed!

The adventurers spent a few days healing, with help from various priests they had helped previously. Kimori went into the School of the Blade for a bit of teaching and to see how it was doing. It was doing well, having passed 361 warriors on to Mariko's training camp and making a profit of 271 silver pieces. While he was there, Kimori interviewed Narita, a L4 Bushi applying for a teaching post.

By the start of week 29 the adventurers were fit again, and all three Bushi set off for Saijo and Komatsu, the last of the Iyo-happan to be visited. In Saijo, Mariko began badly again by opening her mouth. The Lord of Saijo, normally a friend of Lord Chozo, was unhelpful and a little suspicious. When Mariko told him that the Daimyo had sponsored an invasion from Hyuga, he obviously didn't believe it and threatened to throw her out. However, Mariko finally found the right words (or showed more skin) and he calmed down, but she couldn't offer him (or show him) anything that would persuade him to support the rebellion - he would just remain neutral.

Travelling further east, the party arrived in Komatsu. The Lord of Komatsu was an unknown quantity, but Mariko was an immediate hit. He offered support for the rebellion, and when Mariko denounced the Daimyo it was clear that a great bond of friendship (love?) had been created. He agreed to an alliance with Lord Chozo and promised to help if he could. With this great success to round off their travels through the fiefdoms of Iyo province, the three adventurers headed back to Masaki.

^* Except in water.

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