Scroll 1 - The Master Craftsman's Tea Vessel

[Grognardsw]

Does it look like we can walk about freely now without getting hassled by the man?

[jemmus]

Yes, it seems like people are moving around freely. But there's a checkpoint at every intersection. You have a few more to go through to reach the merchant's house at the east side of town. Note the symbols for schools, temples and shrines on the map. Those are big structures with courtyards. Could be useful for something? I don't know.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei shambled along slowly, looking for a safe point to talk with the others out of eye and ear shot of strangers.

In retrospect, we should have all disguised as the same thing to make talking easier.

[Marullus]

Map: I don't see temples or schools close enough to matter. There is a nearby gambling house, if that is a place for us to utilize.

Our plan, as I understand it, is two groups.

• Kaida and Minoru keep their cover as priests, conducting surveillance on the market(s). The plan is to be in the market for a lamp oil contract for their temple and get introduced to Tanaka Jiro, then work it into an invitation into the villa.
• Fuma and Jinsei conduct enough sale-of-fish to maintain their cover, but not so much that they can't justify staying another day. They then make their plan as lazy and/or inconspicuous peasants to conduct surveillance around the villa and establish its pattern of life. They're also positioned to check out the gambling house.

[Rex]

Makes sense.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei talked fish with Fuma as they ambled along the street, slowing when necessary to keep close enough to his priest-disguised ninja brothers. They approached a shrine.

“We must give respect to nature,” Jinsei said, motioning to Fuma, bowing at the entrance before passing through the vermillion torii gate. He lingered long enough to nod at the priests to follow them in.

Jinsei admired the wild gardens as he sought a secluded place to talk. He walked slowly, smelling flowers, breathing the fresh air, sneezing, perhaps letting a dragon fly land on his outstretched finger, letting the priests easily follow.

In a secluded place: “Let us all meet here daily, an hour before dusk, to share how our fishing is going,” said Jinsei, employing metaphorical codes. They reviewed the plan. “We each have our waters to watch and cast our rods, finding the best place to fish.”

On the way out, Jinsei paused and with pure thought paid acknowledgement and respect to nature. He did not want to risk offending the forces of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Winds, and particularly the Sea.

Exiting the shrine, Jinsei and Fuma walked along the streets to take them past Tanaka Jairo’s villa.

[Rex]

Fuma

Fuma walked along with Jinsei, showing respect to nature in the gardens. "Such a lovely place, I must visit again soon."

[jemmus]

For any donation (1 cp or higher), PCs can take a random fortune slip at the shrine. They foretell the person's fortune for the rest of the year. That's only a few days from now, the new year is coming on April 1. The majority of fortunes are "Your luck will be sometimes good, sometimes bad. It will be an ordinary year for you." A few indicate better than usual luck, a few worse than usual luck. (+1 or -1 for all d20 rolls). A very few indicate very good luck or very good luck. (+2 or -2 for all d20 rolls). No one knows how many of each are in the mix, or how many of each have already been drawn, and how many of each remain.

GM post of the fisherman's reconnaissance of the mansion coming. The priests seem busy in RL, but have to move forward.

[Marullus]

GM post of the fisherman's reconnaissance of the mansion coming. The priests seem busy in RL, but have to move forward.

Have been hellaciously busy, but I did just post. I can reply IC once we have an IC market scene with or leading to Tanaka Jiro?

Also, what roll do you want for the fortune?

Kaida stops to venerate the kami as she pays a copper coin and draws a fortune, finding her way into the shrine 'coincidentally' while Jinsei and Fuma are there. She takes note of the dedication of the shrine to know what Kami or Kamis it venerates as well, contemplating their relationship to her mother.

"It is my habit to pray in veneration at both dawn and dusk," she nods politely to Jinsei and Fuma, "I would be glad to see you here if come come at the same time. Blessings upon your fishing."

[ffilz]

Minoru will enter the shrine with Kaida and also make a 1 copper donation.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei nodded to the priests.

The ninja considered drawing a fortune, but decided his fate should be his own.

[Rex]

Fuma

Fuma also does not draw a fortune, such is not his way.

[jemmus]

The visitors to the shrine note that is dedicated to Hachiman, the god of war. It's strange to think that such a tranquil place would be devoted to the kami of battle and killing. The fishermen and priests head to the merchants' district, each group for it's own purpose. They pass through bushi checkpoints at intersections again. They know the procedure now, and manage not to raise any suspicion.


Street vendors sell all kinds of things, whether from booths or simply from boxes and baskets. Roast chicken skewers, giant radishes, straw sandals, umbrellas, mountain herbs, oil, dried fish. The two pairs of ninja come across a large store selling all kinds of food supplies-- bushels of rice, salt, fresh vegetables and greens, dried mushrooms, live chickens and ducks. There is even a wooden water tanks with swimming carp and so many little freshwater crabs they're piled on top of each other.

https://www.unseenservant.us/forum/view ... 12#p666212

Don't forget that the young ninja can communicate with kuji-kuri, the ninja sign language. Although doing so in public very much at all would probably trigger having to do hensu-jutsu rolls.
Minoru and Kaida, please roll katakana skill rolls to read your from fortunes from the shrine.

[Marullus]

Katakana (BCS 19) [1d20]=14
Kaida reads her fortune once she concludes her prayers to the Kami and her mother.

At the market, Kaida continues under the guise of a discerning priest, working to find the wisest deal for oil for their shrine with the promise of lucrative ongoing deliveries to the successful supplier. Her knowledgeable mind and glib tongue aid her as she works the conversations subtly to get to her intended merchant target and his wares...
Rhetoric (BCS 15) [1d20]=15

[Rex]

Fuma

Fuma wanders through the fish market, trying to look like he is doing some business.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei observed the crowd but did not engage, waiting for Fuma to finish before continuing along to the the villa.

[jemmus]

Kaida and Minoru inquire in the market about purchasing oil. A vendor of stands before his shop, touting his geta clogs wares.

He says, Oil for cooking or lamps is easily bought. But if you want special herbal oil or whale oil for ointments or medicines, there's only one merchant in Kofu who has them. I gladly share information with my customers.
Are you interested in a pair of geta each? They're top quality, with cotton thongs, not straw. Made by the famous Takata family of Kofu, who have been making them for generations. These are very good o-miyage* to take home after a visit to Kofu. One silver moon per good pair, up to five moons for the most elegant ones.

Fuma and Jinsei move through the market, observing. The see (and already knew) that the vendors with similar goods set up beside each other in Kofu. The vegetable vendors are beside each other, the sake vendors are in all in a certain area, and so on. Some merchants have stores, others vend from carts or portable cloth booths beside the street. Most the fish merchants sell dried, smoked, salted or cured fish imported from the seaside provinces to the south. Three of the street vendors have local mountain freshwater fish for sale, like the ninja's. Two appear to be permanent or at list consistent vendors. The third appears to be a couple of poor peasant fishermen temporarily in town to sell some of their catch. The whole place almost retchingly reeks of years of imbedded putrifying fish scents. Fortified by current wafting ones.

Jinsei's and Fuma's hensu-jutsu training tells them that this is place is both a place of refuge, and place of risk. On the one hand, the Takeda samurai and ronin units are not likely to suspect their mountain fishermen guises here. But on the other hand, the local fishmongers seem like old hands at the trade indeed. And gossipy about local daily news.
Tamura-san, ohayo. Nice weather, neh? By the way, I heard that last night a captain of the Takeda returned from campaign sooner than expected, to find a wandering young budoka his house with his wife. At it.Heh heh! It's said that the bushi killed the budoka, then he and the wife ran away in different directions in the night! Heh heh!

That's right, isn't it, Okada-san? It looks like it's going to be a fine spring day. Yes, I heard that, but there's more.... The maid said that the Takeda captain came in muttering about a yurei ghost of a samurai bushi pointing at him and laughing. And when the captain slid the shoji open, a woman yurei appeared in the room from behind a vase of flowers. She said, "So that's the way it is, is it?" Then she laughed like a demon and disappeared. The maid quit, she's not going back to that house.

Okada's eyes widen and his mouth opens. Really? He looks thoughtful for a few moments. I know that house. It's on the north shore of the Kita Koike (North Lake) I'll stay away there for a while. The Takeda have an army of horses and bushi and police-- but the need an army of gakusho exorcists!

Tamura replies. Nnn. Good advice. The Takeda will be chasing their Takeda captain and his runaway wife today, I think? By the way, I got a load of mackerel in last night, premium quality. Best price for you, my old trading partner. I'm short on dried squid. I'll give you a great deal, goods for goods. I'll take all of the squid you have...

Kofu map updated https://www.unseenservant.us/forum/view ... 12#p666212
*O-miyage - A gift taken to people at home after visiting a distant place. The idea is you give a gift to people who covered your tasks for you while you were away. O-miyage are socially mandatory, unless the travel was for business for the group. Even then, coming back completely empty-handed would be strange for everyone.

TBC. Fuma and Jinsei are outside of the merchant's mansion. It seems like Kaida and Minoru looking for ways to get into it.

[Grognardsw]

Jinsei, while not feeling like a fish out of water, still felt he may get out of his depth in conversation with these veteran fisherman. So he did not approach and caught only some their bantering gossip from afar.

Later as he and Fuma passed outside the target mansion, Jinsei looked about for good spy positions - concealing vegetation or trees off road or a building whose roof-top provided advantageous perspective.

[Marullus]

Kaida is grateful to the shoe salesman and pays two silver for a nicer pair of geta to take as a gift, assured that once she is a customer the vendor will aid with information.

[Rex]

Fuma

Fuma moves along at the fish mongers, spending most of his time between mongers . Then as they pass the mansion he tries to keep his pace the same but gather as much information about layout, guards etc.