Session 21. (2/11/07)

The Troubleshooters are looking for an out-of-the-way inn to hole up and lick their wounds. They find an ideal candidate a day's journey up the road from Nara, not far from the outskirts of Kyoto. From the inn you have to ask directions to the beaten track. It is in the suburbs of Nowhere. You have to crane your neck to see the front of beyond. The Troubleshooters are a little troubled to see the name is the Inn of Restless Sleep until they notice that the 不 - "Fu" - (not) character has been added by some witty graffiti artist and should read the Inn of Restful Sleep. However, the name rings a bell with Koei who recalls rumour has it that "Madness stalks the halls". At the entrance a peeling old sign advertises the Pool of Amida Buddha, presumably a pool of healing (and possibly heated) waters. An old couple welcomes the travellers and shows them to their rooms: Mariko the Important Guest Room with Emiko as her maid; the others, including Koei in her disguise as a boy (called ボッブ - "Bobbu" - by the others), are all boys together in the Samurai Guest room. Komako asks about the Amida Buddha Pool, and Kimori asks about food. The old lady says it is best to use the pool in the morning; in the meantime she and her husband will prepare the evening meal. While the meal is being readied, the party make use of the bath house. As they all relax in the communal soak, they get an uncomfortable feeling that they are being watched; however, no-one else is near. Kimori is particularly spooked and suffers -1 Will. He quickly gets out and returns to his room first so he can stroke his Big Chopper. The others soon return and everyone dresses for dinner. Suddenly there is the loud screech of an owl in the room, but there is no owl there. Komako, Emiko and Sugiyama are frightened out of 1 Will. Emiko decides it is time to investigate and starts a trance. Komako likewise decides to meditate. However, the evening's disturbances have distracted them, and both lack the will to complete their tasks. Sugiyama goes out into the dark garden to have a good look around. He sneaks over to the Walled Garden, reserved for the Special Guests, but when he gets there he is amazed and appalled to see his master-quality sword melting in its scabbard. Anguished, he races back inside to find Kimori and Mariko similarly disturbed to find their own best weapons - the Big Chopper and Mr Pointy the tanto - also melting. The party members regroup to consider what to do, but when they do they find that the weapons are back in their normal state, completely unharmed. Just then a loud groaning sound echoes around the inn, but it is only the old man calling the guests to dinner - they have no gong.

Dinner is served by the old woman; it is swordfish and rice. When the old woman has left the room, Emiko surreptitiously enters a trance of Perceive Truth. It works, but just barely. Emiko senses nothing wrong with the inn, but suddenly notices a shape at the window. The others look up at her sudden start, but no-one, not even Emiko, is sure that they saw anything there. Komako suffers another Will loss. The old lady returns with a course of rice-milk yoghurt. When she has gone, Sugiyama, suspicious as ever, uses yogen on his yoghurt to test it for poisons. He finds no trace of poison, but as he concentrates he notices a regular ticking noise coming from the wall behind him. He gets up to investigate, but it stops. He sits down again and it resumes. Now the others (except Emiko) can hear it as well, but every time someone looks of moves to closely it stops. Everyone (except Emiko) is spooked by this. The old lady returns with tea. Mariko offers to serve it with due ceremony to the others. The old lady retires. As the Troubleshooters drink their tea and start to relax again, there is a sudden rush of air and a tengu runs in through an inside door, takes flight and flies off through the window. The Troubleshooters can't believe their eyes - all except Komako, who has met one before. He loses 1 Will from the sudden shock, but Mariko and Kimori lose 3, while Sugiyama loses 1. A few shots of sake settle the nerves and everyone heads for bed.

As the Troubleshooters disrobe to sleep they all get the sudden feeling that their clothes are terribly itchy, as though infested with bugs. Consequently disrobing happens at a much faster rate than normal. Komako and Sugiyama can't rid themselves of the creepy-crawly feeling and lose 1 Will each. In the quiet of the Important Guest Room, Emiko manages to enter a trance, but with all the distractions her powers of analysis desert her. In the Samurai Guest Room, Sugiyama talks to Kimori. He observes that during the meal the old man and old woman were never seen together. Kimori replies that it is obvious - one cooks while the other serves.

The Troubleshooters get an uneasy night's sleep, interrupted once when Kimori, Sugiyama and Mariko wake to find their armour on fire. Kimori loses his head and rushes out to the well to get water, losing 1 Will, taking him to 0.3 Will remaining! Sugiyama beats the flames out with his bedding, and Mariko tells herself that the flames are just an illusion and remains unmoved. As the last of her armour crumbles to ash, she looks up to see Kimori rushing around with a helmet full of water. When she looks back her armour is back as it was. Sugiyama's armour also returns to normal. He tries to warn Kimori, but he pays no heed. His armour is extinguished, completely unburned and soaking wet!

Dawn is a blessed relief when it comes. Everyone has regained a little health, which Kimori supplements using his physician skill, and a little Will. But as the sun rises a terrible stench of burning flesh creeps through the inn. Emiko would have lost her breakfast if she'd had any, so loses 4 Will in dry heaves. Kimori goes to find the source of the smell, but can only conclude that it wasn't coming from the kitchen before the old man chases him out. The smell fades away. Emiko cleans herself up and blesses everyone. They decide to go and bathe in the Pool of Amida Buddha. Kimori refuses to be rushed, testing the water with each toe in turn (it is warmed sufficiently not to be chilly), and Sugiyama stalks round the edge, looking for trouble. The others drop their robes and plunge straight in. As they do, five o-bakemono rise from the water and swing big clubs at the Troubleshooters. This is evidently a bakemono lair! Kimori, for once without his Big Chopper, invokes a strength blessing and launches himself at the nearest ogre, landing a lucky double-handed punch for 15 damage but putting him in the way of the swinging club which scores for 12 damage. Sugiyama is still armed and hits a bakemono for 11 damage, following up with a hit for 8 while dancing away from the club. Komako uses his Living Weapon power and his blessing-enhanced speed to hit an o-bakemono for 15, 6 and 7 damage without receiving a bruise. Mariko swings at a bakemono but misses and receives 10 points of club for her pains. She decides to make for the shore and get her tanto from her robe. Emiko gets 3 points of damage from an oversized fist and she turns and swims for her life (this being her normal mode of swimming).

Kimori is not enjoying unarmed combat and misses the man-beast again. The ogre swings his club and dishes out another 12 points of damage. Kimori goes down, down into the water, oblivious of the ringing in his ears, the monster standing over his prostrate form, the need to take a breath... Sugiyama hits his opponent for 8 more then quickly switches and gets into and advantageous position. Komako lands two more chops on his foe for 6 and 14, felling him, turns and scores another 12 damage on the one that was worrying Emiko. Mariko gets to her tanto and puts it to use, immediately damaging a bakemono for 8 and 5. Emiko, her immediate threat gone, reaches Kimori and, straining every muscle, lifts his face to the surface and administers 14 points of healing. Kimori stands up, swings at his conqueror and... misses again. Emiko, her good deed done, races off to fetch her staff (despite not being a particularly dramatic part of the scene, the director chose to show this in slow motion). Meanwhile Sugiyama uses his good position to get a Silent Kill against his opponent, knocking it down but only doing 6 damage. However, the prone beast makes a good target and he next lands a critical blow for 21 damage, killing the monster. Mariko keeps up her small change against her foe, scoring 4 and 4, and the bakemono replies with a miss and a critical miss. Komako pours more damage on Emiko's tormentor, scoring 14, 15 and 9 and burying it in the pond sediments. Komako now goes to help out Kimori, who can't land a punch whatever he tries. The bakemono can, however, and lands a punch on Kimori for 2. Komako replies for him and scores 8, 9 and another 8. Sugiyama goes to help Mariko and uses Taisabaki to get into a Silent Kill position from where he hits for 6 and knocks down the o-bakemono. Mariko chips in for two hits of 7. The battle now won, Kimori misses yet again leaving it to Komako and Sugiyama to finish the job with hits of 7 and 9 respectively.

The Troubleshooters pull on their yukata (robes), collect their weapons and go to confront the old couple. They are both busy in the kitchen. Komako demands to know what the o-bakemono were doing living in the pool. The old man tells him he should take sake to bribe the bakemono. Komako replies that they have killed the bakemono, but the old lady says the bakemono need sake, would they like to take them some sake, she has sake here... The old couple keep repeating themselves as though senile, unable to comprehend that the bakemono are gone. They withdraw to the dining room to consider their options. Emiko sits down and enters a trance of Perceive Truth. Just then a ghostly apparition floats into the room. It is a shura, a warrior ghost, and it attacks Sugiyama with a katana. Sugiyama uses Taisabaki to get out of the way of the spectral blade, and Kimori tries to draw his Big Chopper with iaijutsu but funks it and fumbles. The ghost's blade passes straight through the wall without touching it, and is followed by the ghost. Komako loses his cool (and 5 Will) and sets off to beat up the old couple, but as he does they arrive in the doorway and Emiko's Perceive Truth is finished and reveals them to be a pair of Mujina, a form of bakemono that delight in driving humans mad, appearing in human form but being masters of illusion - a mujina's head is actually a featureless expanse which strikes terror into the Nipponese heart and spirit. Komako sticks to his plan and grabs the old woman in a choke hold. She reverts to her natural form and all the Troubleshooters have to use all their will to behold the terrifying sight... Kimori flees as fast as he can, Mariko cowers in a corner, but Sugiyama keeps just enough presence of mind to swing his sword and hit the creature for 7 damage. Komako just manages to hold on to her neck and Emiko readies her staff. The old man has disappeared.

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