MiyamotoJournal

Session Date: 8June2006

Samurai Training

Miyamoto is local to the area and was aware of the samurai training that takes part in Lord Sado's castle. He was pleased to meet the two other trainees with whom he would share the next few months with. The first few days of training involved sword practice, culminating in a round robin duel to see who was most proficient. He won his first round match, with some crucial leg hits, but was soundly beaten in the second. The next battle allowed Miyamoto and his two companions to take on a true sword master. They tried to encircle him and all attack simultaneously. However it made no difference as the guy was super fast. He managed to parry all attacks and counterattack so quickly it was almost impossible to see his hands move. Not surprisingly, no one got a hit on him, and all were given a good whack - clearly Miyamoto has a long way to go.

Who's this Frankie Dettori anyway?

The next notable event in the training was the Sawata Point to Point Horse Race. The local town has an annual festival, the culmination of which is a tough horse race. The three trainees had been entered as riders, which was daunting for some who were still unsure as to which end of the horse was the front! Miyamoto mounted his horse and sat on the starting line trying to control the nerves he felt sure were giving him a slight green hue. Looking over he saw the other 5 jockeys looking equally pale and that gave him some confidence. This confidence stayed with him as they set off and he took an early lead. This early confidence didnt' last too long though as he misjudged the height of a tree branch and nearly came off. The resulting delay allowing the others to catch up. THe race remained neck and neck for most of the rest of the course and it was only as a narrow gully loomed ahead did anyone make a break. Miyamoto's courage wavered slightly and he allowed two others into the gully ahead of him, but once he felt he was safe he urged his mount on. Through the far side of the gully and the finish post was in sight. Knowing that it was take something special to come back now and that he had to dismount a touch the post by hand, he prepared for a flying dismount. Through a great deal of luck and a minimal amount of skill, the flying dismount paid off and Miyamoto touched the finish post first. The crowd erupted! They'd never seen a race so close, and for someone to pip it on the line was incredible. Miyamoto spent the final night of the festival as a local celebrity, but he knew that there was still plenty of tough training ahead.

Session Date: 13Jul2006

Driving Miss Daisy

Following the Sado Horse Festival the trainees returned to normal routine at Sado Castle. General Yamata came to see the group and informed them of a new task they had to complete. One of Lord Sado's guests, Lady Kato, was taken ill during the festival and so stayed on for a week to recover. She is now feeling ready to travel and the party must escort her to her home town of Udo which lies to the south. Miyamoto, having earned honour by winning the race, must lead the party. The party quizzed the General about likely perils on the journey. There are no known rogue factions on the island that might wish to attack the lady, although Miyamoto feels it's possible that there may be Gona clan rebels about. The General also reassured the party that most bandits were to the north of the castle rather than on their southerly route. He reiterated the point thatg the Lady Kato is a very important lady and were any harm to befall her, there could be serious political consequences for Lord Sado.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

While marching from their digs to the castle to begin the journey, the party met a monk. They offered greeting and the monk returned. He held out his begging bowl and the party each gave him a rice bowl. Hoho noticed that there was something odd about the bowl - it was merely plain wood and not the usual ornate bowl. THe monk explained that his original bowl had been recently stolen. The party sympathised and agreed that kids will nick anything these days. They bade the monk farewell and continued to the castle. The party set out with Lady Kato, her maid and the palanquin carriers. The journey passed without incident and around midday Lady Kato announced that it was time for some lunch. She had spotted a raised clearing off to the side of the road, before the true forest began, and announced that it was the ideal spot for a picnic. The party scouted around the mound and there seemed to be no danger. Just a little way on was a river with a low bridge. After eating her lunch Lady Kato decided that she wanted to take a pleasant walk along the side of the river. The party, ever alert to danger, spread themselves about in case of attack. Some even crossed the 12ft wide river to offer extra protection. Miyamoto felt it prudent to warn the Lady that there could be potential danger all around and that paddling in the river was probably not wise. At this exact point, a watery arm appeared and grabbed the Lady's ankle! Miyamoto, exhibiting his classical dexterity, tried to grab the Lady, and managed to rescue a clump of grass. Other members tried to both grab the Lady and attack the creature. The gods of luck were clearly against them as nearly every attempt resulted in a miss or slip over in the fast flowing river. The Lady ended up being pulled under the bridge, and it was at this point that she was dragged under the water. Despite valiant efforts, the rescue attempt was still faltering and the Lady went limp. A couple of party members attempted to attack from upstream. Partial success! Hoho managed to get a decent strike into the leg of the watery humanoid. However it didn't seem to be slowed at all. Another strike was made, into the creature's arm, and this prompted it to release the Lady Kato and swim off upstream rapidly.

Don't say a prayer for me now

The party retrieved the limp body of Lady Kato from the river and on closer inspection suspected that they would soon have a date with a girl named Seppuku! As they looked around glumly, the monk they had met earlier came down the road. Sadly he was not proficient in the art of ressurection, but did say a prayer for Lady Kato's soul. Miyamoto decided the next move should be to return to Castle Sado with their sad news rather than continue on. They couldn't get back before nightfall so had to camp out for the night. While Miyamoto was on watch, he keen senses noticed something rustling through the undergrowth. 'WAKE UP!' At his cry, the creature, whatever it was, started heading away towards the thicker forest. Some of the party endeavoured to chase after the creature and have a go. However, they exhibited similar skill levels to when they were trying to rescue Lady Kato, so the creature got away scot free. When trying to loose an arrow at it, Hoho notice that he could barely pull back his bow. And in fact realised that he was feeling pretty ropey, all told. On closer inspection he found two puncture wounds on his leg with dried blood around them. Miyamoto felt this might indicate that he had been sleeping at his post! In the interests of keeping himself alive Hoho applied a tourniquet to his leg to try to prevent any more poison spreading round his body. THe next morning, as the party were preparing to set off, one of Lord Sado's messengers rode up on his way to Udo. The party informed him of the tragedy of the day before and he felt it more important to return with this news. He also agreed to take Hoho to the infirmary. !Owning up When the party returned they were summoned to see Lord Sado immediately. Miyamoto explained that a GIANT water monster had attacked the Lady Kato when she insisted on taking a walk by the river, despite repeated warnings from him. She had been dragged under water by the creature and they had fought tooth and nail to rescue her. Miyamoto admitted that they had not been able to kill the creature and that he had felt it more important to retrieve the body and return to Sado Castle than to pursue it. Lord Sado seemed surprisingly calm about the news and didn't request the Miyamoto commit seppuku, or anything else. Perhaps the death of Lady Kato wasn't such a disaster after all.....

Session date : 3Aug2006

Bathtime

The party, currrently somewhat in the dog house due to the death of Lady Kato, were assigned to patrol duty. This involved touring around the local villages and paddy fields. Pretty dull stuff, but Miyamoto was happy to get a chance to practice some more riding. During these patrols, a new recruit joined the gang - Doi. The party were relieved of their patrol duty when they were summoned to Sado castle as the Lord had a small mission for them - he was heading to the hot springs and wanted an escort. New boy Doi was put in charge of the group and seemed to be a competent leader. The trek up to the springs was an uneventful 4 hour trek. As the party approached the springs Matsumoto felt a terrible unease about the water and fear of water spirits. A loud rustling in the bushes caught everyone's attention and arrows were notched. Except for Miyamoto who stepped back knowing his clumsiness could cause problems! Doi loosed an arrow which must have hit the target as the rustling sounds rapidly faded. Lord Sado made an offering to the spirits living in the spring and then removed his armour and clothes in preparation for his bathe. Partly out of respect, partly to scan for enemies, the trainees turned their backs on their Lord. The loud splashing sounds soon made them turn back to face him and they saw that Lady Kato appeared to be trying to push him under the water! Yamamoto and Hoho swiftly jumped into the pond in an attempt to save their master. Their enthusiasm was very nearly their undoing however as they had jumped in in full armour. Both proceeded to cough and splutter as they tried to find their feet. Miyamoto yet again hung back from the action in an attempt to save everyone from greater risk. Yamana took a swing at the spirit of Lady Kato but his katana just swished through her with no effect. As Miyamoto watched Yamamoto struggle in the water he decided to remove his armour so that he could jump in and perform a heroic rescue. It was around this point that Doi began to act strangely - he muttered some words and held his hand out to Lord Sado. The ghost had managed to push Sado completely under the water, yet Doi managed to get a hand to him and lift him up enough to breathe.... Miyamoto managed to execute his heroic save of Yamamoto while Doi spookily rescued Sado single handed. When Lord Sado was clear of the water the ghost of Lady Sado disappeared. Lord Sado was grateful to his trainees for saving him, but was also stern as he asked why Lado Kato's spirit was not at rest when the party had claimed that her burial rites had been performed. Miyamoto explained that a wandering Buddhist priest had performed the rites. Lord Sado gave the trainees a week to find this priest - dead or alive!

Manhunt

Yamana suggested trying the Crossroads village to see if anyone had seen the priest recently. While his description seemed to ring bells no one had seen him in a while. Ichi Temple was the next place to try. The party spent the night at the temple and had a good look round, including a trip up the 7 storey pagoda. All agreed that it was a fantastic lookout point. The monks in the temple didn't recognise the desciption as one of their own, and one mentioned that there were huts in the mountains that someone could easily hid out in. Most of these huts were off the road between the Temple and the Crossroads, subtley marked to those in the know. Travelling back in the direction of the Crossroads it wasn't long before one sharp eyed soul spotted a marker post. Yamana, Hoho and Matsumoto headed up to the hut while the others waited, ready to run to their assistance. Miyamoto missed all of the following action, so it is repeated here second hand: Yamana fell into a pit trap in front of the hut and spiked his foot. Hearing a yelp of pain, Yamamoto, Doi and Miyamoto hurried towards the hut. As Hoho opened the door, noises were heard from the rear. Hoho collapsed in a fit of coughing as he was encompassed by a cloud of dust. Yamamoto, closely followed by Doi and Matsumoto chased after the monk as he raced up a path leading higher into the mountains. It all got a bit confusing here, but Doi managed to hit the monk with an arrow, which slowed him down. Matsumoto then got in close and was nearly felled by a shuriken to the head. Just as Doi and Matsumoto were discussing keeping the 'monk' alive for questioning, Yamamoto charged, sword drawn and stabbed him through the heart! Matsumoto hacked off the head as a souvenir/to show Lord Sado. While the fighting was going on, Hoho and Miyamoto attended to Yamana's foot injury and searched the hut, finding a chest. No-one fancied risking any more traps so the chest remained unopened - Yamana agreed with this, proclaiming that the 'monk' must have been some sort of spy. The trainees returned truimphant to Sado castle and showed the monk's head and the wooden chest. A day or so later the party learned that the chest contained many detailed maps of Sado island, plus plans of Sado, Yamada and Odu castles! It also contained infomation about the forthcoming plans of Lord Odu. Lord Sado was very pleased with the trainees and promised them a fitting reward - it seems that they have been forgiven for the mishap that befell Lady Kato. Lord Sado also suggested to the party that their next task would be to sort out the ghost of Lady Kato.....