1st Scroll - The Will of Nobles - 1st - 3rd Days

[jemmus]

The ninyo continues, Sawaguchi, another paper, write this.

To Matsumoto no Niko, Sawaguchi dips his brush in the ink and carefully begins writing. A ronin bushi introducing himself as Togakushi no Kentaro has presented himself to me. Sawaguchi dips the brush in the ink again, but has he brings it over the paper, he just drops it. Unn! slips through Sawaguchi's lips. His face instantly turns bright red. The standing bushi gaze directly ahead, standing stock still. The room is dead silent. The ninyo avoids looking in the direction of the travelers. Ninyo-sama, and unforgivable mistake. I am sorry. I'll pay for the paper.
Hnt, the ninyo grunts. It is so silent as another paper is prepared that the travelers can hear it rustle as it is laid down.

To Matsumoto no Niko, Sawaguchi begins writing.
A ronin bushi introducing himself as Togakushi no Kentaro has presented himself to me. He produced a head, which he says was taken from a thief who stole from you. I have seen the head with my own eyes. I do not recognize the face and I do not know the identity of the slain person.
Ando no Yuusuke, gokenin, ninyo of Chiyoda village
In Chiyoda village, Kai province
Fourth year of Angen, Mi-na-zuki month, 28th day.

Sawaguchi checks his work. He swallows. He glances at the ronin Kentaro, and his eyes show regret. And that he will make it right, as honor demands.
He clears his throat and says, in military style, Ninyo-sama, there is a mistake. I will pay for another piece of paper and do it again.

The ninyo taps his folded fan on his thigh. Hnt. The armored farmer-bushi applies himself again, copying from the flawed document. After some time, he presents the document to the ninyo with both hands, head lowered. Hai, ninyo-sama. It is done. The ninyo accepts it without a word. To Kentaro, he says, Ronin, do you want to add anything? Or do you want to write your own letter? he says, rather pointedly. I'll give you brush, ink and paper. No extra charge. No one says the Andoh are stingy.

The old kamunushi priest stands in the courtyard with the rest, to the side. Did the travelers detect a little sigh about pervasive folly from his direction? There could have been. But more likely not.

Poor Sawaguchi rolled a natural 20, then failed a second katakana ST with a 15. He lost On-- failed at an important task among peers and bringing embarrassment to his superior. The ninyo lost On too-- shamed before strangers, some of whom are samurai. Among Nippon's samurai, perfection is expected. They both gained a little On back when Sawaguchi owned up to his mistake, bore the public embarrassment of confessing it, and rectified the situation.

Kentaro needs to designate a post for delivery of his employer's reply. On this minor highway they are between 15 and 40 miles apart. The closest one is in the Takeda capital of Kofu, which is a day away on the way to Fuji. There is another in a fairly large village close to the Kai-Shinano border to the north.

Please post your responses to the ninyo's offer to employ you.

[jmacatty]

Omi glances at the contract and nods.

[Marullus]

To Kentaro, he says, Ronin, do you want to add anything? Or do you want to write your own letter? he says, rather pointedly. I'll give you brush, ink and paper. No extra charge. No one says the Andoh are stingy.

Kentaro looks down at his own thick, callused fingers as the Ninyo suggests pointedly he should write his own letter. After all, the letter written speaks to the Samurai's own truth and not the details Kentaro must convey.

"Hai," the Ronin acquiesces, swallowing hard. "You are most gracious." His hand trembles as he takes the brush, but he steels himself and writes a second page to accompany the first.

Honorable Matsumoto no Niko,

I have pursued the thief Haru, as you bid, who fled into the mountains. I tracked him relentlessly so that he could find no respite, more than a week across all the Hida Mountains, until we arrived here in Kai province. I have taken his head according to the terms of your bounty. No stolen goods remained in his possession. Please accept the words of the honorable Ando no Yuusuke on the presentation of this head. If you would be so gracious, the bounty and any message may be returned to the Ninyo here at Chiyoda village as an honorable man.

He pauses to contemplate. The talk of war is disturbing, but what is there to do? To ask protection for the Togakushi Mountain would as likely provoke his ire, as Niko-san is not a kind man. To hope he avoids the mountain villages will be much the same. Should I speak of Katsumi's role in this bounty's success? No, to draw attention to him is never for the better. Best to say no more - let him not know if I return to Hida or Togakushi; let him not know I face censure here in Kai. He has never honored my family but likewise no others protect our villages.

I hope patiently for your reply.

Togakushi no Kentaro
In Chiyoda village, Kai province
Fourth year of Angen, Mi-na-zuki month, 28th day.

He bites his lip with the effort, lettering as carefully as he can. Rough hands he may have, but the old Buddhist Ryo ensured his letters well enough, his result without flaw. He hands over the written scroll of rice paper without another word, only a humble bow to the Ninyo at the completion of the task.
Katakana (BCS 11) [1d20]=3

[jemmus]

It seems like maybe the discord has given the ninyo pause to consider that maybe we aren't all culpable in the peasant deaths...

It seems to the PCs that the ninyo is just trying a different tack to get the bandits-killing job done. He seems to be in a real hurry about that, for some reason.

[Enoch]

Katsumi will accept the offer.

[jemmus]

Kentaro writes smoothly, with no ink drips or crossed-out characters. The columns of characters are straight from top to bottom, with no drifting to the right or left. The ninyo scowls. It appears that this is not the result he expected or wanted. Hn. Sawaguchi, see that the letter is posted.

Katsumi and Kentaro have accepted the ninyo's offer about eliminating the bandits. Taisho will go along if the group decides to. Ito and Omi haven't replied yet.

(By the way, no OOC pressure to accept the ninyo's offer. PCs can always split from the group and have their own threads. But finding the group again could be difficult, unless a meetup time and place was pre-arranged).

[jmacatty]

Omi glances at the contract and nods.

[spanningtree]

Ito reads the contract and also nods.

[jemmus]

Good, the ninyo says. The country village manager seems a little deflated after the shameful loss in the literacy competition. He seems to be ready for this interview to end.
The robbers were said to be based at Chiyo-san mountain. Kamunushi, that's just across the road from your Neno-san. I will ask that you point the mountain out to these people. All of you, one other thing: If you bring back a live robber, I will pay triple. 45 silver. But he must be able to speak and be capable of being questioned. No near-dead, unconscious robber. Act quickly now and do not fail. He stands, waits for the travelers to bow their farewells (to whatever degree of respectfulness each chooses), then departs into the house. Sawaguchi and the other bushi usher the travelers through the gate.

That house with the cherry tree is my house, Sawaguchi says, pointing to one of the tile-roofed residences. Bring the captive, heads, armor and weapons to me there. I'll pay the reward. It's best to do that by tomorrow morning. War has started, and we can't be certain of anything from day to day. Your letter will be posted as soon as possible, he says to Kentaro, with a courteous nod.

The bushi look the travelers over, as if assessing their mettle and how they'll fare in battle against the bandits. One says, Show them no mercy, kill they like chicken-kill stray dogs. Another says, They have no honor. The only use weapons on the defenseless. A third says, Don't let them run away and escape with their heads. They will surely run rather than face a katana. But Sawaguchi says, They will want your armor and your horses. Prices for them have probably already doubled in Kofu because of the rumors of war. They may fight hard for them, if they think they can win.

The old kamunushi says, Well then, I'm going to the shrine. Do you want to come along so I can point out Chiyo-san to you? If not, you could probably hire a farmer's wife or child to do it later.

You realize that finding the bandits will be much easier during daylight. On the other hand, most bandits are active and moving around during the day, because no traveler travels at night. Neno-san (the mountain with the shrine) is about a 30 minutes walk from the village. You guess that Chiyo-san would be about the same distance away.

Bushi with armor suppose that they can don it here in the village with no objections, now that they are on an assignment from the ninyo. On the road though, they don't know. Please state if you don your armor.

Actions, please.

[Marullus]

Kentaro nods in acquiescence to Sawaguchi; the brutal task of hunting down bounties is both comfortable and normal for the large mountain ronin. Finished with the formal audience, he begins donning his heavy samurai armor and swaps his grandfather's ceremonial dai-sho for his more familiar no-dachi immediately when he reaches his horse. As he considers a moment more, he also wears his thick dai-kyu, so heavy it would take four normal men to pull it, and ties his samisen and rope to the saddle. He is self-conscious, tying the half-full quiver to his belt, fluffing the fletchings to make it appear more robust.

"By tomorrow," he repeats aloud, looking to Omi and Ito as his seniors, but thinking of the sparse six coppers remaining in his pouch. "to provide service is good. What is your plan, samurai-san?"

[spanningtree]

OCC: sorry if this was already stated but what time of the day is it?

[jemmus]

It's around 9:00 AM. You've had a busy morning since sunrise (shrine visit, highway travel, interview with ninyo).

[spanningtree]

Ito shifts a bit: I think we can make the village before midday, probably a good way to start? I would like to pick up some extra rice before hitting the road though. We may have to camp in the forest longer than anticipated. Thoughts? He will look between Omi and Kentaro.

[ffilz]

Taisho offers respectful agreement and makes it clear he will be offering the bushi spiritual guidance on this quest.

Once out of the compound he will cast a Karma Blessing on each companion:

Katsumi, Ito, Kentaro, Omi



The blessing fails for Katsumi, the rest get +2 (Karma Yoga 20/10) on all BCS for 1d3 detailed turns when they choose to use it. The blessing expires at the end of the day.

This takes:

[Marullus]

Finishing the lacing on his heavy armor and donning his no-dachi, Kentaro rests humbly on his knees to receive the blessing of the Shinto priest.

"Hai," he grunts assent to Ito, following his lead. "It is always good to be prepared. Though the ninyo assumes this can be done by tomorrow, we must do what we must."

[jemmus]

Taisho gets shugendo for the three successful Blessings. Please update your character sheet.
Blessings
Successfully blessing one or more characters gains the cleric 1%
of the Yoga Knowledge used, rounded to the nearest tenth. It is
immaterial whether or not the Blessing is used by the recipient,
although the Gamesmaster may withhold Shugendo if there is no
obvious reason to Bless (ie. not evenasmall chanceof needing such
enhancement).

[jemmus]

Oy, Niwatori! the kamunushi calls out. The shutter within the door within a door opens and the sunburnt face of the peasant gardener again appears. You didn't eavesdrop on the audience with the o-ninyo-sama, did you? The peasant purses his lips and lowers his eyes. I heard a little. How couldn't I? It was in my garden.
Well, I suppose saying not to tell anyone would be of no use, you old gossiper. Anyway, the travelers want to buy some rice. Please send the boy to fetch a wife from the fields to bring some. To Ito, Bushi-san, please give Niwatori and the boy a copper each for their services.

Ito and Omi, do you put on armor before hitting the road? Going forward, bushi, please state whether you're wearing armor or not every time you move to a new location. I'll remind you, of course.

[jmacatty]

Ha will continue with his normal AC 3, not seeing any need for more in the face of brigands, and the fact that armor will slow him down and make him less stealthy.

[Marullus]

Omi Ha will continue with his normal AC 3, not seeing any need for more in the face of brigands, and the fact that armor will slow him down and make him less stealthy.

[jemmus]

And to make things worse, by coincidence we may have two battles with bandits going on simultaneously. If we wanted to really confuse ourselves, we could have the PCs from the two games merge into one Nippon and battle each other.