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Enoch wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 5:36 pm Katsumi arranges the bodies in a peaceful pose, then kneels down before them, reciting the haiku he heard over and over as a child. Then he bows his head and begins reciting a norito, but falters and stops.

He is kneeling before the bodies, his head bowed, when the others arrive. When he spots Taisho, his eyes light up.

"Ah, Taisho. You are a priest, are you not? These fellows need your assistance. "

He turns to Kentaro with a serious expression. "Do not worry, my friend. I would not have them rise as ghosts. But come; we must dig graves while the prayers are said, and I have much to tell you all."

Taisho hasn't yet left the camp...

Oops. Let me rewind and try again:

Katsumi arranges the bodies in a peaceful pose, then kneels down before them, reciting the haiku he heard over and over as a child. Then he bows his head and begins reciting a norito, but falters and stops.

He is kneeling before the bodies, his head bowed, when the others arrive. His eyes scan them, and he frowns.

"Where is Taisho? He is a priest, isn't he? These fellows need his assistance. "

He turns to Kentaro with a serious expression. "Do not worry, my friend. I would not have them rise as ghosts. But come; we must dig graves while the prayers are said, and I have much to tell you all."

Enoch wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 6:17 pm Oops. Let me rewind and try again:

Katsumi arranges the bodies in a peaceful pose, then kneels down before them, reciting the haiku he heard over and over as a child. Then he bows his head and begins reciting a norito, but falters and stops.

He is kneeling before the bodies, his head bowed, when the others arrive. His eyes scan them, and he frowns.

"Where is Taisho? He is a priest, isn't he? These fellows need his assistance. "

He turns to Kentaro with a serious expression. "Do not worry, my friend. I would not have them rise as ghosts. But come; we must dig graves while the prayers are said, and I have much to tell you all."

Oh, and remember Taisho is Shinto, Shinto priests don't deal with the dead, so unless there's some spirit thing going on, involving Taisho would not be appropriate.

Kentaro jogs into the clearing with Omi, pacing a half-step behind the samurai. His hand is on the hilt of his no-dachi as he scans the surrounds for more threats. "What has happened, Katsumi? We heard screams! Were you attacked by these men? Or did you interrupt their consumption at the hands of the forest spirits?"

Katsumi nods sharply. "Hai. These men were in league with bandits, who rob and kill travelers. They told me this, intending to kill me and alert the bandits to ambush the rest of you."

He quickly fills the others in on what the peasants told him.

(At some point). Katsumi scratches at the ground with his kyoketsu-shoge. A few inches down, he hits a tree root. He tries a spot to the side and hits a buried rock. He, Kentaro and Omi estimate that it will take two or three hours or more to dig two shallow graves for the bodies. For tools, they Omi's utility knife, Katsumi's kyoketsu-shoge, and Kentaro's wakizashi.

Gear: Kentaro looks with concern between their misused weapons, the bodies, and the rocky soil. He slices down into the earth to sever a tough root and looks to the others to see if they also question, unwilling to be the first to speak on if we should bury them or notify the town.

Ito ponders how much Kentaro-san's horse cost...

jemmus wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 3:21 pm Shovel - weight 6, cost 2s. Why would Kentaro have brought a shovel?

It's now the first part of the greater hour of the dog (dai-inu-no-toki), at the end of the month of Mi-na-zuki, 4th year of Angen.

Around 8:00 PM, September 29, 1179. We'll let Taisho and Uesigi Omi post before moving time forward.

Omi, ever the true samurai (as he believes) comments, I refuse to act as an etta to these peasants. Bury them if you must, but I will return to the campfire.

OOCSorry, I've been out of town for the last week.

Kentaro's face flushes with embarrassment at the rebuke, pulling his father's sword from the soil. "Omi-san, wait!" he calls after him, hoping to save face. He glances over apologetically to Katsumi as he hurriedly cleans his blade and sheathes it. "I must go with him... perhaps you should, too." He jogs to catch up with Omi, leaving the bodies unburied.

Katsumi stops hacking at a root for a moment as the two samurai depart, watching their receding backs. He looks to the blade of his knife, running his thumb along the nicks rapidly accumulating there. This will need to be sharpened again if it is to be of any use to me. He turns his head to look at the shallow indentation they've created, then back to the bodies.

Katsumi sighs and shuffles over to kneel before the bodies again. He bows his head to say a short prayer, then stands, brushes off his knees, and drags the bodies into the underbrush, where he hides them in the hollow of a fallen log and covers them with leaves. He then follows after the samurai.

Using Discover Hidden Things to hide the bodies: Discover Hidden Things (BCS 6): [1d20]=7

Omi, Kentaro and Katsumi
Katsumi conceals the bodies as best he can and follows the heavily armored bushi toward the trail back to the campsite.

Taisho and Ito
At the fire, the ronin bushi and the gakusho hear the sound of feet. More than one set of two feet, perhaps two or three of them, one carrying a very heavy body. They are approaching quickly, crashing down the trail that goes up the mountainside.

Actions for Ito and Taisho?

OK, with that reminder of the immediate setting, Taisho will suggest we step into the brush. The camp will look odd as obviously being for several people. Let's observe who is thrashing down the trail past sundown. Let them wonder at why the camp looks suddenly abandoned... if they even notice...