Game Session Begins
Horuto reports back to Koro and explains what he has found and, more importantly, not found. Koro is unfamiliar with the particular part of the tent city that Horuto describes. Koro accompanies Horuto, along with Hoshiko, to assist further in the investigation. The area is a little more seedy with a fair amount of open gambling, public drunkenness and while no drug use is observed many folks are seen as being under the influence of various intoxicants.
Koro clarifies who Horuto was being steered around by. Horuto describes the Mantis: no prayer satchel and only carries only a wakizashi. Koro begins his investigation by asking the merchants, obliquely, for information on the area that Horuto was steered away from. During the course of this, Hoshiko finds that they are being shadowed by some Mantis bushi. She alerts Koro to the situation.
Match 1: Shinjo Terao v. Hiruma Zeshin => Hiruma initiated the grapple which was broken by Shinjo. Hiruma initiated the grapple again. Hiruma maintains the grapple. Shinjo breaks and reverses the grapple. Grapple broken by Hiruma. Grapple initiated and then broken Shinjo. Hiruma initiates the grapple and then Shinjo is thrown out of the ring. Hiruma wins the round.
Match 2: Moto Kaii v. Moto Soh => Soh initiates the grapple and maintains it. Soh manages the maintain the grapple. Soh manages to maintain the last grapple and Kaii falls to a knee. Soh wins the round.
Match 3: Hida Ryozo v. Matsu Ichi => Ryozo initiates and maintains the grapple. Ryozo maintains the grapple. Ryozo sensing his advantage reaches deep within and pushes Ichi out of the ring. Ryozo wins the round.
Match 4: Ichiro Mikio v. Yoritomo Oda => Mikio initiates the grapple. Oda breaks the grapple. Mikio re-initates the grapple. Oda breaks the grapple. Stalemate. Oda inititates the grapple. Mikio broke the grapple a little. Mikio breaks and reverses the grapple. Oda breaks the grapple. Mikio initaites the grapple. Oda breaks the grapple. Oda maintains the grapple. Mikio breaks the grapple. Mikio initiates the grapple. Mikio maintains the grapple. At this point Mikio offers up a prayer to Bishimon. Mikio maintains the grapple and puts Oda on the ground. As this happens Oda rolls over Mikio's leg. Mikio feels excruciating pain in his leg. Horuto and Hoshiko notice that this was a deliberate move on the behalf of Oda. Mikio bows, to the judges and to Oda then makes his way out of the ring. Hisa compliments Mikio' performance placing his hand on Mikio's shoulder and saying the kami believe he shouldn't feel any pain. A cool rush flows through Mikio and the pain fades away. Mikio straigtens up and bows to Hisa, "Domo arigato, Hisa-san."
This ends the first round. Eliminated: Shinjo Terao, Moto Kaii, Matsu Ichi & Yoritomo Oda
Mikio is given an hour to prepare for the next round.
Koro mentions to Fume that one of his yoriki saw Yoritomo Oda throw a cheap shot. It is seen, around the judges table, several Mantis, one a courtier, recognized by Horuto as the cheater from the cards. Isawa Hisa notices a distance away, well behind the judges and the Mantis who is talking to them, that there are a couple of Mantis upset and arguing among the other cheering Mantis.
Mikio is off to the side in an open tent. Unicorn guards are around as security for the honored contestants. After Mikio heals up a servant approaches him. Mikio is handed a message for himself and one to give to another person. Mikio reads the message and learns he has been asked by Bayushi Sanzo to deliver the other message to Horiuchi Shem-Zhe. Mikio secures the messages in his quarters with his gear. He will attempt to deliver the message after the tournament.
Koro relates Horuto's experience with the Mantis and in particular the Mantis courtier who smoothed things over with the judges. Fume offers the following information on the Mantis Courtier which he knows.
Hoshiko asks Horuto to keep an eye on Koro and leaves the sumai tournament. Mikio returns to the sumai tournament.
Match 2: Hida Ryozo v. Ichiro Mikio => Ryozo initiates the grapple. Ryozo manages to push Mikio out of the ring. Ryozo offers Mikio his hand to help Mikio up. Ryozo, "You are not yet ready. When you are come see me." Mikio responds, "Domo arigato, Hida-san." Ryozo, "The pleasure was all mine, brother Ichiro." Mikio bows.
Mikio looks back over the tournament and considers that he did quite well. He faced trained and experienced sumai and comported himself well. Mikio congratulates Ryozo on his win and thanks him for allowing Mikio such a great learning experience. Ryozo points out that there is an Ichiro dojo here in the city. Ryozo also states that when Mikio's sensai deems him worthy Ryozo will sponsor him into Ryozo's school (Hida Bushi/Crab Sumai). Mikio thanks him and Ryozo turns to the crowd of his fans. Mikio turns to shake the hand of Matsu Ichi. Ichi leaves Mikio shaking his hand from the strength of his grip. Ichi offers his wish to face Mikio in the next tournament. Mikio welcomes the opportunity. Ichi takes his leave to return to his duties.
Hoshiko has left the tournament to look for Yoritomo Oda. She checks the area that the sumai wrestlers have encamped, he was not there. She decides to look in the areas many of the Mantis are congregating. The tents are of a higher quality then the others in the tent city she has seen. This area is well populated by merchants. She asks around and finds someone who knows of him. A Mantis bushi who is wondering by inquires why she wants to see Oda-san, mentioning he would enjoy the company of a samurai-ko Obviously after that the conversation degenerates rapidly. Hoshiko states that she intends to challenge Oda-san to a duel for his dishonorable conduct during the sumai tournament. A group of Mantis begin to gather. The Mantis Bushi asks Hoshiko what makes her think she is qualified to issue such a challenge. Hoshiko states that she has issued the challenge and the man can tender it to Yoritomo Oda. As she turns away catcalls ensue questioning her honor, sex, choice of leisure activities and more. Hoshiko cracks up and leaves making her way to the headquarters of the Unicorn clan where she can make sure her challenge is official. On the way, she changes her mind and goes in search of Koro.
Mikio returns to their tent and bathes. Then, dressed in kimono and sandals, he sets out to find a tattooist to obtain a tattoo of Bishamon over his heart. Mikio decides to deliver Bayushi Sanzo's message in the morning. Mikio is greeted by various people as he walks down the street and is hailed by a man who offers to buy him a drink. Mikio thanks him for his offer but declines as he wants to find a tattooist. As it happens the man is a tattooist. Mikio explains that he wishes to honor Bishamon for his presence during the tournament Mikio participated in. The tattooist states that the tattoo will take some time. Mikio is fine with that as he has nowhere else to be tonight.
Hoshiko manages to find Koro speaking with Fume. They discuss Mikio's match against Hida Ryozo then Hoshiko explains that she wishes to issue a challenge. Koro is caught off guard and then points out that this is a festival of peace and while challenges can be issued they do not have to be accepted. Koro asks who offended Hoshiko. Hoshiko describes the cheap shot that Oda took. Koro points out that no damage was done as Oda dishonored himself and Mikio won the round as well as had his wounds healed pretty much instantly. Hoshiko points out that when she tried to issue her challenge to the Mantis she was ridiculed for it. Koro doesn't like this and suggests that they seek out Fume's council.
Koro finds Fume who has been drinking the better part of the day. Koro asks if they can speak in private and Fume conducts them back to his tent. Koro describes the situation leading to Hoshiko's challenge. Fume holds up a finger and states that this will require a bit more thought. He turns and speaks with a servant then sits down. He asks if the others had been drinking they state no. He looks at Hoshiko and repeats the question. She answers that she never drinks much. He files that away for future reference. Fume asks Koro to continue, Koro does so. Fume has fallen asleep. Koro calls out to Fume who doesn't wake up. At that point the servant returns with a very pungent tea. The servant waves it under Fume's nose and pulls it back. Fume wakes up, takes the mug, steels himself and quaffs it at once. At that point he recites the entire situation to the group. He then suggests that they speak with the local magistrate and then describes the most likely course of action. Discussion ensues regarding the possible courses of action and motivations of various parties.
Fume suggests that Hoshiko issues a challenge directly to the one who ridiculed her. Hoshiko says that there were no witnesses other than Mantis. Fume cautions Hoshiko in pursuing this action since it would most likely backfire on her. Fume advises Hoshiko to find a tetsubo pell and deliver it the beating that this Mantis so desperately deserves. Horuto will continue to guard Koro while Hoshiko follows Fume's advice.
Sudane: Hisa manages to stay with Koro for the first two rounds but hesitates just a moment in the third round and looses. Koro is up against one other person in the fourth round. Koro's opponent is skilled but not enough. Koro wins the Sudane contest.
Oratory: Hisa and Koro do well in the first round and are given completely different subjects for round two. They do well in round two and are given a new topic for round three. The scene repeats for round four. In addition to Koro and Hisa, Yoritomo Nobuyoshi is also in round four. In the last round, this courtier seems to intimidate one of the judges. After checking the score cards at the end Yoritomo Nobuyoshi won. Nobuyoshi-san turns to Koro and compliments him on his effort. Veiled insults are traded back and forth. They are still on stage and a good sized crowd is gathered around. After a bit of back and forth Koro bows to the Mantis and walks off. Koro stops by and bows to the judges and has a few words with the one who seemed to be intimidated by the Mantis speaker. The judge is provides no specific reason as to how/why he felt intimidated other than to say that the Mantis speaker is one of the great orators of his time. Koro has the clear impression that the Mantis was blackmailing the judge. Koro is unable to discover the name of the judge.
Mikio's tattoo is absolutely fantastic. He has never seen better in any art form much less a tattoo. Mikio goes in search of food after accepting the bill from the tattooist. After eating Mikio makes his way back towards their tent. On the way he cuts through the contest area and sees the end of the sudane warm-down of the oratory contest. Friendly conversation ensues and Mikio shows Koro his new tattoo. After a few Mikio asks for Koro's assistance with delivering the message Bayushi Sanzo sent him to Horiuchi Shem-Zhe-sama. Mikio pulls the message from Bayushi-sama from his obi revealing the Bayushi mon to Koro. Mikio explains some of his relationship with Bayushi Sanzo-sama to Koro-san. Hisa is present for the conversation. Horuto is nearby.
Koro asks Mikio to follow him so they can deliver the message to Horiuchi Shem-Zhe. Mikio thanks him and follows. Horuto follows along and Hisa accompanies them. Koro asks after Hoshiko and Hisa mentions that he heard her practicing near the tavern we're staying at. The practice grounds are empty but Hisa thinks to check the baths. We find Hoshiko there. Koro explains that we're on the way to see Horiuchi Shem-Zhe. Hoshiko climbs out of the bath and hurries to don her armor. She asks Horuto for assistance in lacing it up. After which, we head off to find Horiuchi Shem-Zhe. On the way Mikio remembers the note the tattooist gave him to give to his lord. He hands it to Koro. Hoshiko looks at him questioningly and Mikio shows her his tattoo. Koro looks at a bill for 2 koku. Koro, "May the blessings of the kami be on you because you are about to go on a diet."
As they walk along Mikio enjoys the small amount of fame his performance has engendered. He waves at some and shakes hands with a few others. We make it to the compound and inquire after Shem-Zhe. A guard returns and says that Koro is expected. We are conducted to Shem-Zhe. We turn the message over to Shem-Zhe who reads it and inquires after Mikio's relationship with Bayushi Sanzo. Mikio answers honestly that he believes Sanzo-san to be a friend based on the mans actions. Shem-Zhe says that Sanzo-san has requested a meeting with Shem-Zhe that evening. Koro relates Mikio and Bayushi Yodai's story. Shem-Zhe retires to change clothes and then rejoins us.
When we step outside, four Unicorn bushi form up around us. Shem-Zhe conducts us across and out of the tent city and into the permanent city proper. We arrive at the Inn of the Unruly Unicorn. There is the typical drinking, dancing and carousing. In the back a lone man at a table sits alone. Sanzo 5'3", waist length black hair, mask covers all but one of his eyes and looks like a water kami. His kimono is black with gold scorpions. Sanzo stands and bows quite low and greets Shem-Zhe with great respect. Who returns the bow a little bit lower than necessity requires. Sanzo greets Mikio who hugs him enthusiastically. Sanzo returns the hug and asks after his well being. Mikio answers he is well but has not learned anything new. Sanzo expresses his regret. Mikio asks after Yodai's health. Sanzo explains that his brother is well and that he is finally awake and regaining his strength though his memory is still gone. Koro compliments Sanzo on looking after his brother. Sanzo explains that he is loyal to his brother, his family, and his clan. When his brother is hurt, he is hurt. Mikio pulls a scrimshaw carving of a koi from his obi and asks Sanzo to give it to Yodai for luck. Sanzo thanks him for his thoughtfulness.
Everyone sits down. Shem-zhe suggests everyone get some food or drink while he and Sanzo speak privately. Mikio calls over a server and orders food, lots. When they return Shem-Zhe seems to be contemplative. They sit and join everyone else ordering a couple of items for themselves. Mikio inquires of Shem-Zhe if he has any suggestions as to who he may ask for help with regaining his memory.
Through the course of the evening Sanzo pays as little attention to Hisa as possible. When questions are directed at him he answers as shortly as possible and changes the topic. Hisa and Koro notices this.
Koro observes Sanzo's body language and discerns that he is a bushi.
Shem-Zhe-sama answers Mikio that he has not heard of this before and suggests that Sanzo-san may be able to help. Sanzo-san says, "It is not for you to know at this time." Mikio nods and turns back to his food.
Koro brings up the Mantis' behavior at the festival. Sanzo points out that the Mantis are adept at taking advantage of situations. They are not above saying one thing and "putting a dagger in another". Ultimately they are mercenaries. You either pay them enough or they see an opportunity to get paid and take it. Discussion re: honor and the perception thereof ensues.
When taking his leave Sanzo bows politely to everyone but does not look at Hisa. As he walks out his carriage is noticed as graceful and purposeful.
Hisa inquires after the feeling of the earth from Shem-Zhe. Shem-Zhe explains that the earth is very good and that his clan enjoys it's openness everyday.
Shem-Zhe and Mikio clear the plates well. After which Shem-Zhe escorts the party back to their tents. Hoshiko turns to Koro and emphatically asks, "What's going on?!" Koro and Mikio explain the little that Mikio knows of his accident and his subsequent nursing at the hands of the Bayushi.
Sumai 3rd round - Finals
Hida Ryozo v. Hiruma Zeshin =>
Ryozo initiates the grapple. Ryozo manages to maintain the grapple. Zeshin reaches deep inside for strength and still manages to be pushed out of the ring as Ryozo employs his greater chi. Ryozo wins in 3 successive rounds (3 grapple checks).
Horse Race - Finals
The final course goes around all the Tent City, and over an obstacle course. There are 4 competitors. Shinjo Hansi, Mohiro Rega (the yojimbo of Morito Fume), Soshi Jubai & Seppun Zhei. While all the competitors are good, it isn't hard to figure out that the other 3 while better and had faster horses, allowed Seppun Zhei to win. It would be bad etiquette to appear better than someone of the Imperial Families.
For each of the contest winners, the Unicorn offer 5 Koku.
(Winnings for the group)
Archery - Isawa Hisa
Jiujitsu (Open) - Ichiro Mikio
Swimming - Isawa Hisa
Sudane - Agasha Koro
Calligraphy - Agasha Koro
For the Sumai contest, Hida Ryozo wins a Gaijen Riding Steed, Saddle, Stirrups and Bridal for the horse.
For the Horse Race, a famous Unicorn poet, Nakao Yuminori watched and wrote a poem in the classic Rokugan style about the competition and the exploits of its champion, Seppun Zhei.
6xp for everyone.