The Attempt

Rooster 7th:

Unicorn delegates arrives and lets Haruto know about the upcoming wedding in the winter court. Haruto informs the Unicorn delegates about his Guest list which consists of Akodo Ochai and his family, Haruto’s family and his companions: Matsu Kagami, Matsu Hinata, Matsu Ryojiro.

The Unicorn delegates take note of his wishes and lets him know that they have planned activities for Haruto and his bride to be which consists of Horseback riding through the Phoenix lands and possible hunting in the Shinomen Forest which they have asked for permission for beforehand. Haruto lets the Unicorn delegates know that the Shinomen forest is known for supernatural events since the forest is spiritually charged and they say that they don’t believe in such things and everything would go along well. They also tell Haruto that there will be a series of competitions that they expect everyone to be participating in. They then continue to discuss wedding preparations and the design of the wedding, planned gifts and tapestries and even tracing the lineage of both families. Afterwards, Haruto departs to join the group at the House of Foreign stories where Akodo Kage is having his meeting.

Haruto arrives to see the end of a duel between Hinata and the crab samurai. Eta arrive to take the body away. Haruto approaches Mamoru and asks what happened. Afterwards, Mamoru shares what happened, Haruto asks to transfer Kage-sama back to the estate. He orders the servants to prepare the palanquin and caravan. Kagami checks Kage-sama and inspects that he has a weak pulse but it would be safe to transport him. Hinata asks the crab about the samurai he dueled and the Crab delegates tell her that they didn’t expect it and Hida Kisada formed the group and that he joined up back at the city before they came here. Kagami uses Reflections of Pan ‘ku on the body and discovers he carried a lot of knives, shuriken and is of the Shosuro family.

As they head back with the caravan, A group of 6 men armed with yaris are blocking their path and when Hinata asks them to move, they ready their weapons and charge. Hinata charges and attacks one of the armed men and cuts off his head with one swing. Ryojiro comes forward and shouts at them and they are dazed with Lord Akodo’s Roar. Haruto knocks an arrow on his bow and fires at the armed men and hits one of them and is seen bleeding badly. The armed men try to poke their spears at Hinata and Ryojiro and a few strike Hinata and scratch her. Mamoru strikes his chest to relieve stress and gets pumped out to fight and uses the Iron forest style to make sure no one approaches the caravan. Kagami calls on the kami and casts Path to Inner peace on Hinata to heal her of her wounds. Beings in black garb on top of walls appear nearby and let loose arrows on Hinata and Mamoru and injure them. Hinata cleaves off the head of another one of the armed men and she orders the caravan and it’s men calmly to move ahead and run off. Ryojiro cuts down one of the armed men and continues to protect the caravan. Haruto fires an arrow at one of the archers on top of the wall and hits him. The men try to attack Ryojiro and their attacks miss him. Mamoru tosses his yari in the cart and takes out a yumi and shoots at one of the archers and kills him. Kagami prays to the kami to help her with Path to Inner Peace. The archers fire at them and hit Hinata. Hinata swings her Nodachi and wounds a nearby armed man. Ryojiro takes a swing with her Nodachi and slices down another armed man. Haruto knocks an arrow and hits one of the archers and wounds them. The armed men attack and one of them injures Hinata. Mamoru fires at the archer and misses. Kagami invokes the ancestors and calls on a fog to cover the caravan as it moves away. Hinata gets hit by an arrow and starts cursing at the archers and taunts them to strike her and she goes berserk but afterwards she calms down and she tries to attack one of the armed men and wounds him. Ryojiro wounds another armed men as well. The caravan enters the fog and the armed men run off as they are badly wounded. The caravan soon runs off to the Akodo Estate with the group on it. They see that they aren’t pursued by the armed men.

As they arrive at the Akodo Estate, they go around checking the place and take notice that a trained person who can sneak well may be able to enter. Haruto and Kagami stand watch over Akodo Kage-sama and Mamoru goes around with the patrols. Ryojiro is panting heavily and tries to stay awake and feels sick but she manages to pull through. Hinata takes a daito and cuts her flesh to remove the arrow heads stuck on her.

Orihime and her companion arrives and goes to talk to Mamoru and tells them of a possible plot on Akodo Kage-sama’s life. Mamoru talks to Orihime and confirms that it is possible that other scorpion clan are working with the Soshi cartel who plan to kill Akodo Kage-sama. She lets them know that the Soshi cartel may be working with Kolat. They depart soon after. Everything is quiet at night and the group resume their patrols of guarding Akodo Kage who is unconscious but still alive in his quarters.

Later into the night, there is a commotion outside and Ryojiro goes out to see that they are being attacked by a mob of armed men. Ryojiro goes with the guards to try and hold back the attacking men. As the guards that are protecting the room of Kage-sama are going around his room, a shadow from behind one of the guards comse up and grabs one of the guards and breaks his neck. It charges the other guards and the shadowy creature forms spikes on its arms and impales the other guard killing him instantly. It tosses the dead body at the end of the hallway. Hinata and Mamoru see this and are shocked at this creature attacking the guards. Hinata charges and hits the shadow beast and dents it’s skin. Mamoru then strikes at the creature using Iron forest stance and hits it but shows little harm in doing so. Haruto opens the sliding door and sees the creature and closes it quickly after a few moments. he opens it again and fires an arrow at it and the arrow bounces off it. Kagami calls on the spirits to bestow the Courage of the seven thunders on her companions. The shadow creature uses it’s one hand to open and close it and energy soon emerges from it and it uses a maho spell, grip of anguish on both Mamoru and Hinata. Both are hurt and Hinata is dazed and dizzy. The beast attacks Mamoru with it’s spiked arm and hurts him badly and delivers a debilitating wound. Hinata uses her entire rage as she strikes the creature and wounds it. Black blood starts to spill out into the area and the creature delivers a shrill scream. Mamoru tries to strike the creature and it doesn’t pass it’s thick carapace. Haruto fires an arrow and it bounces off it’s carapace. Kagami casts path to inner peace on Mamoru healing him a bit. The spikes on his arm grow and the creature attacks both Mamoru and Hinata maiming them. Ryojiro arrives and uses a technique, heartpierce strike and hits the creature and it starts to bleed badly. With the creature flailing in pain, Hinata strikes it and cuts off it’s head killing it. The creature starts to dissolve into black liquid and mixes with the black blood all over.

The Fall of the Firemen

Rooster 6th

Early in the morning Akodo Mamoru lets the others know that Matsu Kagami will not be joining them today since she has fallen ill and has need of rest. The group then decide to discuss their options this early morning on what they need to do. Mamoru is looking intensely at Ryojiro and is thinking of a plan but decides not to go through with it since Ryojiro is an honorable samurai and he has a hard time lying to others. Mamoru then decides to draw straws to assign who is to go do which task. Haruto picks the shortest one and is assigned to go to the geisha houses to gain more information. Ryojiro and Mamoru will stay behind to meet with Orihime to hear her information gathering.

As Haruto is fixing his clothing he realizes that this task falls on him alone and he must do everything in his power to complete the task without anyone accompanying him. He feels a bit lonely and anxious at the thought of it. He heads out to the House of foreign stories where he is greeted by the Mama-san and he purchases the company of the most experienced geisha who has been there for quite some time. He is then accompanied by a Merenae woman named Hayami.

Both Haruto and Hayami spend time talking in one of the private rooms and Haruto tries to charm Hayami to get her to be friendlier with him so he could gain information. He then goes to ask about Irozumi and Hayami tells him that Irozumi frequents the merchants quarter and she isn’t popular when she worked at the House of Foreign stories but she has 8 clients who called for her on different nights. A year ago she was removed from work because another geisha overheard her conversation with one of her clients and it was unsavory and unbecoming. So she was removed from work. When she left, all 8 of her clients never visited the House of Foreign Stories again.

Meanwhile, Orihime arrives at the Akodo estate and tells the others information on what she has gathered so far: The seller of the Soshi cartel is a person named Jittu who is unknown at the moment and their leader is Soshi Seiryoku who disappeared a year ago but then reappeared months later.

Seiryoku started acting strangely afterwards. For the Bayushi cartel, Uma the stablemaster is said to be their source of opium as he arranges for messengers, couriers and even uses wagons and horses to transport his opium hidden without knowledge of the owners or sometimes by paying the owners to bring it around town. She also shares that the Juniper Tea House is headquarters to the Moment’s Edge Firemen who work for the Bayushi cartel and extort money from nearby merchants. After Orihime leaves, Haruto appears and they share the information that they have received. Haruto then leaves to take a bath to get rid of the smell of women and perfume on him. Hinata awakens from her slumber and talks to the group about what they need to do. Hinata expresses that she does not trust Orihime at all.

Haruto heads to the fisherman’s quarter to spread a rumor that a client wishes to buy better quality of drugs than the regular ones. Ryojiro meanwhile heads to the stables and sees an old man that identifies himself as Uma. The stables seem to be an open area with lots of horses and wagons. The wagons here are being rented out to people and have a distinct look to identify them. Ryojiro rents a wagon and two attendants from the stablemaster and head to teardrop island to purchase materials. On their way she notices that the attendants toss parcels and packages unto the crowded street and not long after someone picks them up and disappears. Ryojiro notes that this must be how the cartel circulate the opium in packages and dropped off at various locations where a courier will pick them up. Ryojiro continues on his journey and purchases materials and trinkets from a nearby shop while observing the attendants. Meanwhile, Mamoru and Hinata head to the fisherman’s quarter to observe the Moment’s Edge firemen extorting money from a dango seller. Afterwards they approach and ask questions from the merchant and they gather that the Moment’s Edge Firemen are not the only firemen around there are a few others and each are fueding with the other. The largest gang is the Moment’s Edge Firemen who is feuding with the Fire eaters for control over Fisherman’s quarter. Daikoku’s Garden and Strong Arm Firemen are fueding with one another over control over leatherworker’s quarter. The rest of the other quarters have one assigned firemen to them. The leader of Moment’s Edge Firemen is Mutsui, a fortunist monk while the leader of the Fire eaters is Hiroi or as they call him Bigger due to him being a large man. They continue to observe and notice that the different firemen encounter one another on the street but do not fight instead it seems that fights are caused by arguments at night when they are drunk.

Haruto is approached by the Moment’s Edge firemen who confirm he is a client looking to buy. He is then brought to Hitsuyo Mura and on the way Hinata and Mamoru follow him. When Haruto arrives he is met with Bayushi Saigo, leader of the Bayushi Cartel.

Bitter_Lies_Technique — **Bayushi Saigo**

It is then that Bayushi Saigo explain their confidence in gaining control over Ryoko Owari with their new drug. Saigo sells Haruto the new drug called Liquid Void, which is a condensed version of opium. By drinking one vial, one would be “singing with the dragons”. Haruto notices that the farms are being worked by peasants and there are 4 armed samurai in the area aside from Bayushi Saigo. Haruto thanks them and wishes for more time to think about the offer and leaves. Ryojiro returns from his task and notices Irozumi in the crowd, she tries to chase her but she ends up at the House of Smiles where she sees a scorpion samurai being given paper by the men there. Ryojiro follows the scorpion samurai and sees Orihime, she approaches her and decides to ask about her dealings. Ryojiro then asks that if Orihime would see anyone with Irozumi’s appearance they should let them know about it. Orihime agrees.

The group reunite back at the Akodo estate and Orihime arrives shortly to let them know that the other cartels know about Uma and the Soshi may be planning to attack him. There are also rumors of bodies that are supposed to be cremated at the little shadowlands in leatherworker’s district are missing. Someone is probably taking them. Haruto then goes on the Fisherman’s quarter to spread a rumor that the Moment’s Edge Firemen are planning to attack the Fire eaters. After hours later, this causes chaos as the Moment’s Edge Firemen are met with the Fire eaters in the fisherman’s quarters and both start a skirmish. During the confusion, the group head to the Juniper teahouse and see Mutsui being guarded by two armed firemen. They charge at them. Hinata unsheates her nodachi and tries to thrust it at Mutsui but he is able to use his bo to sweep it to the side away from him. Haruto starts issuing orders to him companions by telling them to set up in a location where it would be harder to harm or reach them. Mamoru uses his yari to stab one of the firemen guards dead. Ryojiro swings her nodachi and cuts the other guard down. Mutsui starts praying to the kami for protection and suddenly he is engulfed in radiating flames that burn and daze his nearby opponents. Hinata catches the fire and tries her best to cut down Mutsui. Haruto taunts Mutsio and distracts him with his words. Mamoru tries to stab Mutsui and injures him in the abdomen. Ryojiro swings her sword and she misses and is starting to get angry. Hinata unleashes her rage and fury as she is burning and stabs Mutsui and then follows up by cleaving off his head in one swoop. The group then leave the scene and head back to the Akodo estate ensuring that they have cut off the head of the snake which is the leader of the Moment’s Edge firemen.

Rooster 7th

The next morning, the group receives news that the Moment’s Edge firemen has dispersed with their leader gone. They receive news that Uma has been killed by a flying oni that descended on him during the night and bit his head off and flew off and dropped his body a street away where he was taken. The group then start to think about how to proceed.

Different Priorities

Rooster 4th

Akodo Mamoru spent his time during the journey’s travel preparing a gift which was a dissertation and critique of past battles that Akodo Kage has participated in. Afterwards, he would go on to remind his group of their mission and do their daily training. Their duty was to investigate on the geisha Irozumi, and as a cover protect Lord Akodo Kage from any dangers that would threaten him. The group arrived at Ryoko Owari and was surprised upon meeting someone unexpected that same day. After the events that have transpired, the group decided to go to the Akodo Embassy and present themselves to Lord Akodo Kage. When they arrive at the Embassy they are greeted by soldiers and soon one of Lord Akodo Kage’s advisors, Akodo Tsuri. They are then led to their mansion where they will be staying and they leave their belongings there. Afterwards, they were brought to the main building and made to wait at the great hall for a few moments as Lord Akodo Kage was meeting with a group earlier. The great hall is filled with ashigaru and all are keeping an eye on their traveling companion, Okura Oi. Not long after their arrival, the halls doors open and leaving the hallway are scorpion samurai who nod to the group as they leave. The group then enters except for Okura Oi who is told to wait for them in the great hallway.

Upon entering they are greeted by Akodo Kage who is seated on a chair behind a desk filled with papers. His office looked like a magistrate’s office and as the group enters he stands up and lightly bows to them to greet them. The group bows deeply to greet him and they exchange pleasantries. Akodo Haruto presents the gift of Akodo Mamoru to Akodo Kage and immediately Akodo Kage replies that the dissertation was well made and Akodo Mamoru has promise as a tactician. This made Akodo Mamoru ecstatic and thanked Akodo Kage for his words. Akodo Kage goes on to tell the group that he knows that they have been assigned to safeguard him and he assures the group that he is safe while within the estate. However, he would need close guards when he leaves the estate to oversee his duties among the many establishments in Ryoko Owari meeting with others. These series of meetings would happen in a weeks time and in the mean time the group is free to relax, train and pursue whatever they wish within the city. They are told to enjoy themselves and make themselves at home. At the same time, Akodo Kage tells the group that he has received a request from the scorpion clan representatives. They have told him about the troubles that make the city unsafe. The information given to him was that previously the cartels that operated on selling opium to the public used to serve the scorpion clan as a means of their income and resources, however, they have seem to have lost their loyalties and need to be taken care of. The 3 cartels are as follows: Bayushi Cartel, Shosuro Cartel and Soshi Cartel. Lately, these 3 cartels have been fighting amongst each other in an underworld war. There are many victims that are being caught in the crossfire. The scorpion clan wants atleast two of the cartels to be shut down and the last cartel to submit to the control of the Scorpion clan. This would keep the peace and in a way make sure that the scorpion clan has some sort of operations and hold in Ryoko Owari. Soon afterward, the group is dismissed and they leave the main building along with Okura Oi.

Teardrop_Island — **Teardrop Island in Ryoko Owari**

The group is then briefed by Akodo Mamoru and he tells them that they should go out and enjoy themselves seeing as he is in a great mood. Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro suggest to check out the place where the geishas frequent to gather and the group soon head to Teardrop Island where the geisha houses are located. As the group are headed there, they notice a large amount of people coming and going to an area of the island which looked to be a garden. Curious, the group decides to head there and soon see an unusual sight. They see the garden is filled with smoke and there are numerous people smoking and lying in the area. The air is filled with the smell of smoked opium and the group inhale the smoke. None of them are affected except for Matsu Ryojiro who seemed to look groggy and laid back but tells the others that nothing is wrong and they should continue. The group happen to see atleast two merchants selling opium out in the open to the people in the garden. Matsu Ryojiro decides to approach one and buy opium from him and notice that the opium is a red sachet with the mon of the Bayushi on it denoting it is from the Bayushi cartel. He goes away and circles the area for a bit then goes to the other merchant and buys another sachet that is colored orange and also with the mon of the Bayushi, they say that the orange one is of higher quality. Soon the group grow suspicious of the opium trade happening in the city and they spend their time questioning merchants and the like about the opium being sold in the city. They uncover the information that the cartels have stores that sell opium in different locations in the city: The Shosuro cartel has a store in the Noble Quarter, The Bayushi Cartel has a store in Leatherworker quarter while the Soshi has a store in the Fisherman quarter. The group decides to split up to investigate and Matsu Ryojiro and Akodo Haruto head to the geisha houses to gather more information. Akodo Mamoru, Matsu Kagami and Okura Oi head to the fisherman quarter to confirm the rumors about the stores.

Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro find themselves at the most popular geisha house, the House of the Morningstar, which was owned by the acting governor of Ryoko Owari, Shosuro Hyobu. They are greeted by the Mama-san and they inquire about the prices and each of them purchase a geisha and a private room. Akodo Haruto pours his heart and woes to the geisha attending to him telling her that he does not love his betrothed but is torn between his duty and his own emotions. Matsu Ryojiro decides to question the geisha about the opium and finds out that they sell opium made by the Shosuro cartel here and they have a lavish underground opium den underneath that is hidden to most but paying customers who wish to avail of the service. The geisha asks Matsu Ryojiro of what brings them to Ryoko Owari and he lies to her about it and is internally struggling with lying to the geisha. Afterwards, Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro head to the other popular geisha house, the House of Foreign Stories, owned by the Unicorn clan which caters to others who prefer their geisha to be foreign women. There they are greeted by a middle-aged blonde lady with blue eyes who identifies herself as the Mama-san of the geisha house. They ask about Irozumi and give a description of her but the Mama-san denies any knowledge of her but shows to be hiding something. They then question her further and she admits that Irozumi used to work for the house of foreign stories but she was fired because out of fear. They fear that she may be dealing in unsavory business because she had many clients who seemed shady and they are afraid to talk about it because they fear for their lives. Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro then spend the night drinking mare’s milk brought from the unicorn lands and they get drunk and start telling people in the geisha house tales of their journeys, adventures, their group and why they came to Ryoko Owari. They had a good night and fell asleep drunk in the geisha house.

Meanwhile, the others head to the Fisherman Quarter and approach the shop to see people coming and going. They notice that the shop attracts attention and they decide to go in and buy opium from the store and they managed to buy a red sachet of opium from the Soshi cartel. Akodo Mamoru, Matsu Kagami and Okura Oi then confirmed that the stores do sell opium and are owned by the cartels. They then head afterwards to the Noble quarter to confirm the presence of the store. Upon arrival, they see Shosuro Orihime standing not far from the store leaning back against a tall post. Okura Oi decides to head into the store to purchase opium and he receives a red sachet with the Shosuro symbol on it. Matsu Kagami prays to the air kami to disguise herself as a sickly woman who looks like a drug user and approach Shosuro Orihime. Upon nearing her, she notices that another woman in robes and a mask is standing behind Shosuro Orihime on the same post looking at the opposite direction. As Kagami nears Orihime, suddenly Orihime notices her and notices that it is an illusion surrounding her. Orihime asks who she is and why is she masked in an illusion while putting both her hands behind her back as if holding unto something. Realizing that something may have gone wrong, Okura Oi decides to act as a distraction and causes a commotion in the store. This alerts both Shosuro Orihime and her companion and Matsu Kagami runs away. Both Shosuro Orihime and her companion head to the store to contain the problem and Orihime draws a Kusari-gama from her back and throws the chain at Okurai Oi and misses. Okura Oi runs to the backroom of the store and it opens to a room filled with boxes and no exit. He turns to face Orihime and sees her companion come in behind her. Orihime’s companion releases folded paper figures out into the air and soon the figures fly on their own. They then ask Okurai Oi to surrender and Okura Oi does not reply but realizes that the paper figures are shikigami and he is faced with Shosuro Orihime and a Shugenja from the scorpion clan. Shosuro Orihime throws her chain again and manages to latch unto Okura Oi and Okura Oi simply falls down on the ground pretending to be unconscious. Matsu Kagami goes to Akodo Mamoru and she admits that she has made a mistake and they both look from a safe distance on what is happening. Soon magistrates arrive to the store and Okura Oi is bound by rope taken to the magistrates office and placed in a cell to await his trial tomorrow. Matsu Kagami and Akodo Mamoru decided to return to the Akodo Embassy to think of their plan on what to do. That night, Okura Oi slips out of his bonds and finds his cell not to be locked. The magistrate guarding him seems to have fallen asleep and he then runs out and heads to the fishermans quarter and steals a boat and starts rowing away to safety leaving Ryoko Owari. Soon afterwards, Akodo Mamoru and Matsu Kagami head to the magistrates office to find that Okura Oi is no longer there. The magistrate awakens and learns that Okura Oi is no longer there and assumes that someone else may have posted his bail and was taken care of by the other magistrates. Akodo Mamoru and Matsu Kagami head to the Leatherworkers quarter and see that there are ashigaru extorting money from the people that live there. They identify the ones extorting money as the Moment’s Edge Firemen. They are a group of ashigaru who serve as fire men and put out fires when one breaks out in the city. They go to the store and confirmed that it is a Bayushi Cartel owned store as they receive the same opium from before by buying it.

The Next day, Akodo Mamoru and Matsu Kagami awaken to find that they are the only ones at the Akodo Embassy and saw that none of their other companions returned. They turn to training and meditating in the morning.

Tsubo_the_Drunk_2 — **Drunk adventures**

Akodo Haruto and Matsu Ryojiro awaken with a hangover at the House of Foreign stories and have heard from the geisha on what happened that night and they hurry back to the Akodo Embassy. In the afternoon they all meet up and are greeted by Akodo Mamoru who instructs them to run 15 kilometers. Matsu Ryojiro is tired but is able to complete it while Akodo Mamoru throws up while doing his laps. They then get together to share what they have learned. Afterwards they gather more information by asking around and find out that the Soshi Cartel has one central supplier for the opium and that the Bayushi Cartel own a farm located not far from the city that manufacture and deliver the opium to the city. Guards are also bribed to look the other way and those that investigate the farm are killed. Akodo Mamoru is approached by a child bearing a letter and is given the letter. He then reads it’s contents. The letter is from Shosuro Orihime who wishes to arrange a meeting with him at the public bathhouse, The Pampered Flower, in the city and tells him that she wishes to talk only. The group thinks about it and decides to go to the meeting. They all head to the Pampered Flower and strip to their undergarments and only carry the towel with them into the public bath as it is the norm. Shosuro Orihime is already there taking a bath and greets them. The others are wary but they soon talk about clearing up the past event. Orihime explains that she disguised herself and went with the group because an opportunity presented itself to travel to the city where she was supposed to assassinate the informant which turned out to be the ronin that Akodo Mamoru met and got into an argument with. Akodo Haruto tells her about the night where she shot at him at the docks. Orihime explains that she was getting rid of evidence when she was pursued by someone she did not know, she shot back to discourage her pursuers but Haruto also shot back at her and she escaped. They then ask about why she ran when they first saw her at Ryoko Owari. She then goes on to explain it was her natural reaction seeing a group of people angrily running towards her and last they saw each other they tried to kill her telling them the events in Dragon Guard City where she was dodging the attacks of the group on the roof of the inn as they have correctly suspected that it she was the one who killed the ronin. She tells the group that it was not personal but it was a mission given to her by her clan and circumstances just made it look like the murder was framing Akodo Mamoru. She then clears her throat and tells the group that she has heard that they are looking into the Cartels and she needs their help in shutting down the Cartels. It happens that her mission is to assassinate the acting governor, Shosuro Hyobu.

It seems that their goals are aligned and she suggests in working together. The group is apprehensive with working with her since their recent dealings. To show that she is not lying, Orihime removes her mask and requests help from them. Akodo Haruto is convinced of her sincerity, but Akodo Mamoru is partially convinced. Mamoru agrees on the condition that doing so will not cause them to doubt their own honor. Orihime tells them that because of the Opium War of the Cartels, Shosuro Hyobu is hiding and well defended. If his Cartel is brought down it will force him out of hiding to try and fix things and that is the time they will strike. They may not agree with her methods but all she asks is her help in bringing or disrupting the operations so that they may have a shot at Shosuro Hyobu when he comes out. She also tells them of information that the Soshi Cartel may be dealing in maho and a cult that is hiding out in the city. Orhime then thanks them and leaves, she will contact them when she has more information.

Enter the Den of Thieves

Monkey 14th

A famously known Mantis shugenja named Okura Oi is tasked by his Lord to seek and root out pirates in the port city of Tokigogachu. He is to report back to his lord all that he can find out about the pirates. As he arrives in the port city of Tokigogachu, many of the residents are rowdy at first, but upon seeing the mantis clan mon, pay the man respect and answer his questions. Okura Oi is then directed to a large cave not far from the village where they say fearsome pirates under the command of Pirate Captain Anjin are settled. As Okura Oi travels bring him closer to the cave, he spots from the distance two ships in the cave and he doesn’t see anyone in the area. Not long after he spots A man and a woman carrying buckets of water from the pier area of the cave up to the second level of the cave. Okura Oi approaches the man and woman and decided to question them. The man stops what he is doing and puts his hand unto his katana at first but later on puts his hand away from it after introductions are made. The man identifies himself as Akodo Mamoru and is accompanied by Matsu Kagami. They are then asked by Okura Oi what they are doing with the buckets of water and as he looks at the area he notices there are many blood that have been spilled in the area but have dried up. Mamoru explains the situation, he tells Okura Oi that the pirate captain is in a room far above and not moving while wielding a cursed blade, Chukandomo. The pirates were spirited away by spirits and as for the water to ask Kagami about it. Kagami then clears her throat and tries to speak sa best as she can. She tells Okura Oi that she is bringing water in the room so that she can call on the water kami from the water to bring Anjin out and to safety. A few moments later as the group gathers in Anjin’s room. Kagami prays to the water kami and not long after the water from the buckets rise to coalesce and they formed a rushing wave which engulfs Anjin and pushes him out of the room and towards the entrance of the cave. Surprised by the wave, Anjin flails and screams out in terror shouting repeatedly that he does not want to be taken away. As Anjin falls to the entrance of the cave, the group follows him down to the entrance. Suddenly out of nowhere, an evil and threatening presence is felt by everyone in the area. The ground shakes a bit and from the ground bursts out two large demons who are covered in sand and seaweed. The sharp claws and jagged teeth are seen by the group and the red eyes of the demons fixate on Anjin who is wielding the legendary sword. Mamoru rushes to combat while rallying his companions. He brings out his yari and stabs one of the demon in the chest while shouting at it. He manages to pierce through the skin of the demon but he finds it hard and thick and he realizes that these demons are very strong and deadly. Kagami notices that there is a layer of seawater in the area they are in and it reaches ankle deep. She starts to pray to the water kami and soon the water starts to creep up Mamoru and soon cover his entire body with the thin layer of water and it takes the shape of a light coating of water on him. Okura Oi tries to call on the air kami for help to push back the demons away from them but the air kami did not respond to his prayers. Anjin shakes in fear still gripping the sword in his hand as the two demons walk up to him and each demon raising their arms with claws extended at him. The first demon takes a swipe at him and Anjin falls on his knees wounded by the assault and his blood spills unto the beach. The second demon takes a swipe at him and hits him on the face with such force that it twists his head to the side breaking his neck and instantly killing him. Anjin falls to the ground dead while still holding a tight grip on Chukandomo.

The Demons start to fade into thin air as soon as Anjin is dead. The group waits and looks on the Demons with a confused look. Not long after, the demons completely disappear. Kagami tries to talk to the spirits to gain a better understanding of the sword. She then hears whispers that the sword, Chukandomo is possessed by an evil spirit that will kill anyone that wields the sword and who they do not deem worthy. Okura Oi also tries to talk to the spirits and he hears the whispering of the spirits that only heroes and champions are considered worthy to wield Chukandomo. Mamoru then takes a large cloth and wraps Chukandomo in it and plans to give it to their Lord Ochai and to leave him to decide what will happen to the sword.

Later that afternoon, the group return to the village of Tokigogachu and search for the whereabouts of Matsu Shindoku or otherwise known as Mashiro by the locals. With Okura Oi asking around, the locals are more receptive to him since he is from the Mantis clan. They tell him that Mashiro is a farmer that lives in the outskirts of the village. Not far from where they are there is a farm beyond abandoned houses and that he lives there alone. The group then head out to the see for themselves the far and Mashiro. From the distance they see a large farm area with a fence surrounding it, a small hut is at the end with a man drinking sake and looking at the field is seated. Mamoru, Kagami and Hinata decided to walk around the area and approach from behind the house while Okura Oi approaches from the front. Okura Oi talks to Mashiro and ask him if who he is and if he owns the land. Mashiro answers him that he is a simple farmer named Mashiro and the land is his. Okura questions Mashiro’s origins and asks where he is from to which Mashiro answers that he is from Rokugan, a land quite far from the islands of Silk and Spice and he is a wandering ronin. Okura Oi repeatedly questions him about this and this causes Mashiro to simply stare at Okura Oi with confusion and suspicion. The others, as they circle around his hut they notice from a shoji door at the back of the hut that the house is filled with Sake bottles and that there is a daisho stand near a bedroll by the floor of the hut. They then decide to go to the front and confront Mashiro. As the group approaches Mashiro, upon closer look, Mamoru recognizes Mashiro as Matsu Shindoku but a bit older and rugged looking as if he has not groomed himself for a long time.

Matsu Shindoku does not recognize Mamoru but realizes he is talking to Lion samurai and offers them respect. Mamoru and Shindoku then get into a serious discussion in regards to tactics and honor and soon Shindoku admits that he planned the pirate attacks to weaken the Crane clan so that the Lion clan may achieve victory. His actions were not honorable but it seemed effective given the effects and events that it has caused. The group question him further and convince him to surrender to the magistrates since what he did is not what an honorable Lion samurai would do. Shindoku breaks down in tears and admits that he acted foolishly and confesses that the plan and everything was given to him by a beautiful geisha who he met some time ago. The geisha is called Irozumi and they meet once a month to discuss things and progress of what is happening at Ryoko Owari. Shindoku agrees to go with the group and face his charges. He accepts the fact that for his actions, he will die and agrees to help the group to try and redeem his honor. He will accompany the group to Ryoko Owari to stage the meeting with Irozumi but the meetings are once per month and the next meeting is scheduled for month of Rooster. The group returns to Jamausuki to report their findings. Okura Oi brings the head of Anjin to present to his lord. His Lord congratulates him on his success and asks for his report on what has happened. Okura Oi tells his Lord everything but decides to exclude the report on Matsu Shindoku but tells the Lord about Irozumi. The Lord then tells Okura Oi to look into the conspiracy and find out more. The group is approached by magistrates and they report everything except the details about Matsu Shindoku to them. They then return and journey back to the Lion lands with Matsu Shindoku and Okura Oi accompanying them. Returning to Lord Ochai, they tell him everything that has happened. Lord Ochai thanks the group for doing their duty and going beyond on what is needed. He grants the title of Magistrate to the group to help them with their next assignment and task. Lord Ochai tells the group that he has a friend that is need of protection.

His friend has decided to stay in Ryoko Owari for his retirement. He tells the group to keep an eye and protect Akodo Kage from harm but at the same time this would be a cover, as they will also be going to Ryoko Owari to investigate the conspiracy and more about the geisha Irozumi that Matsu Shindoku has arranged a meeting with. Lord Ochai also thanks the group for returning Chukandomo and he tells them to leave the sword with him. He will find diplomats to bring the sword back to the Crane clan. The group is then dismissed and Mamoru remembers stories about Akodo Kage. He is a great Akodo Bushi sensei, when he was young he mastered being an Akodo Bushi and was part of the Imperial Guard as requested by the Emperor. He was an important man and was considered a close friend of the Emperor. The Emperor ordered Kage to marry his cousin. Unfortunately not long after they were wed, Kage’s wife passed away. Kage also tutored Akodo Toturi. Now, Kage has retired and is now found in the Lion Embassy in Ryoko Owari Toshi. Before leaving, the group is given by Lord Ochai their invitations to the Winter Court this coming year. They have all been invited to join Lord Ochai and Matsu Tsubame to Winter Court this year which will be held in Kyuden Asako or otherwise called the Morning Glory Castle in the Phoenix lands. The group then prepare for their journey and leave for Ryoko Owari Toshi.

Rooster 4th

The group arrives at Ryoko Owari Toshi and notice that the gates look ominous and that there are many samurai from the Scorpion clan here. There are Unicorn clan samurai and also Lion clan samurai but the Lion clan are the fewest in number here. As they approach the city, they notice guards talking to merchants and seldom do searches of their wares. As they head in to the city the first thing they notice is that the city is filled with lots of people. There are numerous merchants, peasants and samurai all talking and doing business in the streets of the city. It is packed and crowded. It feels like a trade hub but many know that many deal in illegal trades here in the City of Lies. The group leave their horses at the stables and ss they are making their way down the street heading towards the Lion embassy, Okura Oi notices that there are merchants selling small red packets of what seem to be powder to other peasants, merchants and samurai in the stalls on the side of the street. The dealings look to be quite shady. He informs others about this and they realized that the merchants are dealing in illegal goods: Opium. A drug that is abundant in quantity here in the City of Lies and they remembered that there are 3 factions currently in the city who are feuding for dominance in the business. The Bayushi Cartel, The Shosuro Cartel and the Soshi Cartel. Kagami while walking notices from a far distance a familiar face. She spots Orihime drinking from a bowl of noodles in one of the stalls two blocks away. She tells the others of what she saw. Suddenly Mamoru and Hinata start running down the street heading towards Orihime. They start pushing people to the side as they try to navigate the crowded streets. Orihime sees the commotion and squints to take a better view. She then sees Mamoru with an angry look on his face and Hinata along with him pushing the crowd away as they make their way towards her. She quickly puts down the bowl of noodles and grabs her mask from the table and puts it on. She then starts running down the street to get away from them. Mamoru and Hinata forcibly make their way down the street and manage to catch up to Orihime. Orihime climbs up a wall which looked to surround a compound or estate area and she runs along the top of the wall away from the crowds. Hinata climbs the wall and gives chase while Mamoru runs below the wall pushing the crowd aside and still chasing. Not long after, Orihime prays to the air kami and soon she starts to fade away. Upon seeing this from the distance, both Kagami and Okura Oi start praying to the air kami. Kagami does not get a response but Okura Oi starts to see the clothes that Orihime was wearing, revealing where is at the moment. He points to her direction and starts shouting but his shouting ends abruptly as he sees Orihime jump off the wall and into the walled compound area and disappears from sight. The group catch up to one another and discuss their possible actions. They then decide to head to the Lion Embassy and to remain vigilant for they are sure that Orihime is lurking around in the area. Hinata looks to the area where Orihime was last seen and mutters to herself. “Run as you might, Let the hunt begin.”