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"There is no warrior in the world today who really understands the Way of strategy." - Miyamoto Musashi, Go Rin no Sho It is the 12th year of the Tenbun Era. The country has been rocked by civil disturbances for almost a century at this point, with the witless and corrupt central government of the Ashikaga Shogun daily losing authority and power against the rising over-mighty daimyo of the provinces. Wars and the rumor of wars fly over the mountains, and daily people speak of yet another instance of a lesser samurai supplanting his lord as master of a province. Alliances, through secret treaties, marriages, and hostage-trading are made and broken with the caprice of the wind. Loyal retainers are one day rewarded, the next ordered to commit suicide. Peasants and priests band together into companies of Ikko-Ikki to defend themselves from marauders, and to do their own. All too often heads are paraded on the ends of lances.  But not all is chaos. In the provinces, schools of art and philosophy grow, established by warriors eager to train their men in the skills of administration. Trade and travel along the great roads grows daily, and merchants finance vast shipping enterprises for trade with China (whether or not the Ming Emperor desires it). Towns and cities grow, in many respects self-governing and centers of innovation. The daimyo, having usurped the powers of the Shogun in their territories, seek to develop their lands to their greatest potential - a cheaper and less bloody way of gaining wealth than taking land from their foes.  In this environment of instability and upheaval, the Martial Arts have been refined in the crucible of war. Everywhere fighters who are skilled in the techniques of their school are eagerly sought out by the agents of daimyo to teach heirs and retainers, and duels to determine what weapon or school is the best are common sights in streets and deserted fields. All manner of weapons have their masters and their secret techniques - the sword, the spear, the bow, the tetsubou, and more. Strategists, those men who can see beyond the lines of a map into the hidden currents of war, are worth more than their weight in gold.  This is your world. You are called Tadamasa, a young man whose parents were of the outcast Eta people, those who deal in corpses, offal, and death. But for the past 8 years you have been trained by the old sohei Genmon, a man of striking depth and knowledgeable in many studies, both domestic and foreign. He taught you the way of the sword, and riding, and other facets of the Way of War along with cultured pursuits. Now, in the 3rd month of 12th Tenbun, the Takeda clan is stirring, preparing for further campaigns in this era of war, and Genmon and you have been called to participate, though the nature of your involvement is still unknown. All you know is that adventure calls the willing! If you have Archives, you can refresh yourself on the old thread here!  For a few long, slow moments you stare at the paper in your hands. On it are detailed descriptions of castles, armories, and mustering sites, not only for the Takeda clan, but also the Imagawa, the Hojo, and more. Chimon, the wandering priest who had given you such a sobering lesson in battle not long ago, is surely a spy, but for whom? It cannot be one of the Eastern clans, for any of them would kill whoever had gotten this information, even if it was mixed with their enemies'. The Western clans, perhaps? The Mori, the power in the Chuugoku, would give Chimon his own extensive temple complex if they could get this. You fold the paper up and slip it into your dou. Grabbing Chimon's staff you head back into the Entaku-ji, where the monks are deep in their late-night mantra-chanting. You circle around the main hall to get to the guest rooms, and you see candlelight from Chimon's room. Taking a deep breath, you refuse to slink towards him, and your steps creak the wooden floorboards beneath you. The room is small, but well-furnished, with a painting of Jizo in a prayer space. Chimon sits facing away from you, his arms showing that he is working on some calligraphic piece. As you watch him work, you can see the muscles in his back move, and you wonder how a man as strong as he was turned to the Dharma path by Genmon. But was he on the Dharma path? Could a spy, one who lies to everyone around him, really be a monk? A monk, one sworn to the precepts, blatantly contravening them? Had Chimon merely worn the face of a monk, while all this time he had the world's karma sitting on his heart like a toad? The hypocrisy hits you like a blow, and you inhale sharply. You hear the temple bell ring twice from the main hall. Chimon has stopped moving, but he is relaxed. "Who do you work for?" you ask, iron in your voice that comes from a place you didn't know you had. Chimon's attack is fast, but you were trained by Genmon for many years. You're faster. His backhand sails over your head, and you thrust forward with his own staff, the iron-shod tip striking his lower ribs. Chimon's hand falls and takes the staff, and with a great kiai he swings the staff and you holding it. You're slammed into the wall, and you hear one of the timbers in it crack. The impact hurt, but you're not done. Chimon raises his foot, but you roll out of the way before it slams on the tatami. Getting to a distance, you draw your sword. It rings in the cool air, disturbing the trails of incense rising from the prayer alcove. You tighten your grip on the rayskin, keeping a solid mid-stance. Chimon, who you realize looks on you with a smile, laughs. "A warrior doesn't point his sword at a man unless he wants him dead." You can hear confused voices in the main hall, the monks wondering what the shout was about. But you remember Genmon's teachings, and empty out all preconceptions and expectations, and focus on your opponent. You can feel Chimon's ki, radiating out from him like heat. "Is that what you want?" A: Yes B: No
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Sep 22, 2016 04:22
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No
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Sep 22, 2016 04:59
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Yes.
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Sep 22, 2016 06:39
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No.
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Sep 22, 2016 13:05
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No
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Sep 22, 2016 13:31
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 Do you really want Chimon dead? He's right about the sword - you should only draw it when death is on the table. Sliding it back into the sheath, you let out a long breath through your nose. There's too much you don't know about the situation to make that kind of judgement on Chimon. As a temple servant rounds the corner to see what's going on, he sees you get pulled into Chimon's room, and then hears you thrown out the window. You land and roll on the grass, and you kick yourself to your feet just in time to dodge a kick aiming for your face. You grab the outstretched limb, and throw a vicious kick of your own into the side of Chimon's other knee. It hits, and you hear his grunt as he rolls into the fall. As you both get to your feet, you smart at the pain. The top of your head grazed the sill of the window, and you wonder if the dou is really supposed to be this tight. You hear confused gasps from the window, and voices shouting, demanding to know what's going on. Chimon glances to his right, and growls. "Try to keep up!" he tells you, before bounding off into the wood-covered hills behind the Entaku-ji. Ignoring the voices ordering you to stop, you chase after him. He's fast, but you're faster, and as you dodge the trunks of oaks and conifers, you get within reach of Chimon. On a dime he stops, and you run into his back. Before you can catch yourself, he's turned around and both of his palms slam into your chestpiece. You stagger back, thankful for the armor dulling the impact. "You're doing better than before!" Chimon says approvingly. In the dark you can barely see his outline, and suddenly the sounds of the forest at night fill your ears, from the call of owls to night insects, and the soft shuffle of Chimon's feet on the fallen leaves from years past. "I think I see now why Genmon took you on. But if I am not everything that I seem, I ask you to forgive me! But the 40 provinces need peace, and anything that leads to that must be undertaken. Would the Shakyamuni have done less?" "Strategy may require deceit, but not the Dharma Way!" you shoot back. Even as you say it, you suddenly wonder why Genmon left the halls of the world for the mountain shack with you, and if that was part of the reason. Chimon nods. "Maybe. Hand me the note, and you will not see me again in Takeda lands. I can assure you this information will not fall into their foe's knowledge. But it is destined for loftier estates than you. And if you will not give it, I will take it." Give the note back? A: No B: Hell No C: Fine...
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Sep 23, 2016 05:31
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No. If he deserves the note, then he will be able to take it from us. Let him try, and we shall both improve for the attempt.
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Sep 24, 2016 12:36
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No.
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Sep 24, 2016 14:11
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Voting No. Also, if he does take our message, let's follow Chimon.
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Sep 25, 2016 04:06
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 "If you want it, then you can take it you bas-!" Your vow of defiance is cut short by a kick sailing under you. The only clue you'd gotten was the whistle of Chimon's foot through the air, kicking up the leaves after it. Fighting in the dark is not a wholly foreign concept to you, but this is the first time it was serious. Your and Chimon's strikes and blows fly out, only to be blocked or misdirected away from their targets. There's no sound but that of you both breathing deep. In his movements, you can sense where Genmon trained Chimon, but as much as it helps you, it lets him know what you're doing as well. Each time he brings his leg up to kick, you jam your own into his to stop the attack. You silently vow to thank Genmon for the painful training that built up your shins and forearms. You make a fine showing, better than Chimon expected, but you make a mistake. You step a little too close, and you find Chimon's arms wrapped around your own, in a painful bear hug. You're about to bring your knee up between his own when Chimon's forehead comes crashing into your nose. A thousand sparking stars light up in your vision as you feel something crack in your nose. Dropped to your feet, you stagger backwards until your back hits a thick oak. You see a shadow of a foot come flying at you from the side. Your arms come up to guard your head just in time to take the brunt of Chimon's kick, but you're still sent a good distance. You fling leaves up into the air as you roll, coming to a stop by hitting a thin tree truck. It's too much. Everything hurts, and you can taste copper on your lips. Chimon's foot plants itself on your breastplate, and try as you might, you can't move it. "That..." Chimon says, catching his breath, "was harder than I expected." "You're not...!" you grunt, "going to get away!" You can almost see his smile. "Good." In the distance, but coming closer, you hear the sounds of people shouting for Chimon. Chimon hears it as well. Leaning over you, you brace for another blow, but his hand just sneaks under your dou and snatches out the note. "If you ever want a rematch, you only need to find me, Tadamasa! I expect great things from you soon!" With that, Chimon breaks into a run, fleeing up the mountain, and towards the west. You spend the long stretch of time it takes the searchers and monks to reach you just laying on the ground, feeling the slightly soggy dead leaves under your head and hands. Gingerly touching your nose you wince. You're going to need a mirror to check the damage. The searchers find you, and their reaction to finding you alone is bewilderment and hostility. A monk slaps you on the head. "How dare you, you wretch! Assaulting a visitor from the capital like that!" He reaches back to hit you a second time, but his hand gets caught. You see the abbot of the Entaku-ji, the man who had welcomed Genmon and you not more than a few days ago. His eyes burn with questions. "Boy," he says, "what happened?" His voice is measured, but you can tell he is a seething ball of confusion and anger, and you're the only target he's got. How do you answer? A: The whole truth B: No answer C: Something else [write in]
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Sep 25, 2016 04:43
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A we need to get the word out about this traitor as soon as possible.
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Sep 25, 2016 07:24
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B, Intending to tell Genmon later, perhaps.
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Sep 27, 2016 16:16
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A Not going to lie to a monk.
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Sep 27, 2016 16:48
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 Wiping the blood from your upper lip, taking care not to touch your nose, you bow to the abbot. Chimon is a spy, you tell him, from some western clan - maybe the Mori, or even some Kyushu lord such as the Shimazu or Otomo. His guise as a monk is merely a mask, and he's already on the run. But if you get to the authorities quickly, they may be able to post guards at the border crossings-! The abbot's slap is not hard, but his arm quivers with rage. "You... you foul little imp! You would slander a monk known to us for many years, who has done nothing but good for the Entaku-ji and all followers of dharma?" The abbot eyes you askance. "What is your father's profession?" All around you you feel the anger in the gazes directed at you. "Leatherworker," you say, keeping your voice steady. The pains from your fight with Chimon still ache, but you refuse to show pain in front of these men. "Defilement!" one of the monks says. "We must purify the temple!" another cries out. The abbot waves for them to be silent. "A wannabe-soldier of no account, casting aspersions on a monk whose fame is known from Higo to Sendai. It is no wonder you were born into such a lowly state, you must still be weighed down by the bad karma of many previous lives! Out of love for Genmon, who is a master of the precepts, I will not haul you before the judge to have you caned. But you are never to step foot in the precincts of the Entaku-ji again! A servant will give you your things, but begone!" With a flourish the abbot turns his back on you and returns down the mountain, followed by the rest of the entourage. You wipe the blood on your lip onto your hand again, and spit a bloody wad onto the ground. An hour later, outside the temple gate, you sit, having taken off your armor and bundled it up. It's not terribly heavy, and not even that unwieldy to carry. The armorers must have had a lot of warriors give them suggestions on how to make the armor better over the years. You hear shuffling on the other side of the gate, and you stand up, ready to receive your (few) things. But instead of opening the door, the porter just flings them over the gate, letting them clatter onto the ground before you. "Screw you too!" you shout, your anger boiling over before you can put a lid on it. But as your words fade into the night sky, you get a handle on yourself. Bundling your stuff up, you take it and your armor and go find a little alley out of the way where you can rest without getting preyed on by thieves. The morning brings the sounds of carts and people, and you feel a back pressed against your own. Jumping to your feet, the other person falls back, and you see it is Genmon, smiling up at you. He pokes at his nose, and you feel at yours, touching a poultice wrapped on it. You open your mouth, ready to start letting everything out, when Genmon holds up his hand. "Good morning, Tadamasa! Before a story, a meal," he says, and your stomach grumbles in appreciation. Both of you enter into the Roaring Tiger Inn, and a breakfast of miso and rice with tea wakes you up. In a quiet voice, mindful of the few others in the building, you explain everything that happened while Genmon was gone. He nods his head at points, but otherwise only listens to you. "You made a smart decision putting the blade away," he says when you're done, "if you hadn't, I can only imagine I'd have more than your nose to fix. But you did very well, and showed the spirit of my teachings. As for Chimon..." he sighs, "if I know him at all, he has not slept at all since your fight, and has been trekking to wherever he aims the whole time. Even should we get horses from Lord Takeda, they would be useless on the mountains that I'm sure he's climbing." Genmon rubs his chin. "I have a guess where he is going, and it's not to the west, as you think Tadamasa. But we needn't worry about him now, he has passed beyond our powers for the moment." You hear the tramp of marching feet outdoors. Genmon looks out the door and you watch as a regiment of ashigaru march down the street to the cheers of the people watching. "The Takeda will move out within the week, I'm sure. I will give you the choice, Tadamasa - will you come with me? You will not be under a proper commander, and you'll be treated as little more than my porter, but you will learn much. Or you can continue your studies in our shack?" Which will it be? A: To war! B: To study!
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Sep 27, 2016 22:14
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We must choose whether to learn much, or learn little. This is no choice at all. A: To war! We will work, and we will learn, and we shall become better for it.
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Sep 27, 2016 22:19
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A To war!
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Sep 27, 2016 22:19
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Voting To War with a suggestion for subterfuge if this is what we're going to expect.
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Sep 27, 2016 23:05
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Learn from the Master directly.
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Sep 27, 2016 23:36
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a Better than staying at home
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Sep 28, 2016 02:08
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 Your decision is as instantaneous as it is firm. You will go to the Takeda's wars, for if your master goes, then you must as well. Genmon nods at your answer, though whether he is pleased or not is impossible to decipher. The next few days are a blur of activity. Lord Harunobu sequesters himself with his generals, and Genmon spends most of his time with them, in the inner apartments of the manor. You spend a little bit of time reading your Mencius, paying close attention to the old sage's words on Destiny, but more often than not you're roped into helping the preparations. Carts need to be loaded, supplies counted, and books checked, and being able to read Chinese raises your estimation in the eyes of some of the samurai. Signing off that a contract for hay is written correctly, you turn around to find yourself almost running into the samurai Akiyama Nobutomo, the one who had summoned Master Genmon to Kofu in the first place. You can see a spark of interest in his eye. "Tadamasa, was it? Well, you may not be a retainer, but you're helping the clan's efforts wonderfully. Master Genmon has taught you well." His voice is congratulatory, but almost the way one would talk to a bright child. You thank him, wary after your treatment by monks of the Entaku-ji. "I need... a little help with something, and the men here will be leaving Kofu tomorrow morning. Can you help me today? We can catch up with the forces before they cross into Shinano." Help him? A: Yes B: No C: For a Price
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Sep 29, 2016 03:20
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AYes!
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Sep 29, 2016 03:47
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Sure. Why not?
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Sep 29, 2016 04:50
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A
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Sep 29, 2016 05:14
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Heading out of town for a few days, will be back soon!
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Sep 30, 2016 04:08
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 Akiyama is visibly surprised at your response. It seems he was expecting you to twist his arm a little bit, and the lack of it puts him off-balance. But he quickly regains his composure, acting as if it were perfectly natural that his request would be acceded to by one of your lesser rank, even if Genmon is your master. "Good! Follow me then!" You leave the officers in charge of the logistics, and follow Akiyama out of the manor, to a smaller, but still grand, home surrounded by a wooden fence. Entering in the gate and the main building, you take in all the details. You see a small pond garden, well laid-out but somewhat overgrown and lacking in maintenance. The same observation touches many of the different parts of the manor and Akiyama himself - you finally notice that his haori is a little thinner in places than you'd expect a retainer of the Takeda to allow. Coming to a room deep in the building, you see all the necessary tools for calligraphy set up. You also see the aborted attempts at several banners - various slogans and mottos from military history, but given up partway through and cast aside. "Tadamasa," Akiyama says, "I can only imagine that with your facility of reading, your calligraphy must also be as masterful. Although Genmon spent many hours with me, I was unable to learn the true intricacies of the art, as I'm sure you can tell from this trash." He motions to the litter on the ground, and you find it hard to disagree with Akiyama's self-assessment. His strokes are stiff and unnatural, and you can tell that he lifts his brush off the paper too often, without enough self-confidence to go through it in one attempt. "In war, I am meant to be a leader of ten men, but I cannot shame them and our Lord Harunobu with an unskillful sashimono. I give you freedom to write what you will, but I ask that it reflect martial pride and loyalty." You can feel Akiyama's trepidation - he is putting a large responsibility on your shoulders. What should you write? A: 至誠 - "Devotion, Sincerity" B: 秋山 - "Akiyama" C: Some joke Akiyama can't read D: Write in
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Oct 9, 2016 00:40
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A
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Oct 9, 2016 06:21
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Voting A
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Oct 9, 2016 22:14
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A No need to be a dick
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Oct 10, 2016 00:03
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A
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Oct 10, 2016 03:59
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 For a moment, you're a little overwhelmed by the trust Akiyama is putting in you. You, an unknown student of a mountain master, being asked to show his skill in calligraphy by a bushi? Not even a year ago you'd have laughed at the idea as foolish. "I will not let you down," you say, though it is a hard task. Akiyama bows to you (bows! to you!) and vacates the room, intending to let you work as you would. In front of you is the canvas, and beyond it is the open door to the little garden, with its koi pond and stone lanterns. You remember the lessons that Genmon had given you, the arduous hours you spent copying texts from China and ancient times in Nihon. All the styles, slender gold, cursive, even seal script, you could not only read but write as well. Taking some smaller pieces of paper, you make some exploratory sketches. You know what you want to write - Devotion. It would reflect well on Akiyama to hold a banner with such a motto. But as you drag the brush tip across the pale surface, you find something strange. Your strokes aren't wrong, but they aren't right either. They're missing something. You try another style, one reminiscent of the carved signs of temples, and it still feels lackluster. You swallow in a dry throat, suddenly worrying you're in the deep end and can't swim. Genmon's advice saves you. "Think of the masters," he would tell you, and so you do. Sitting on the edge of the veranda, listening to a bamboo spout tonk against the stone beneath it every few moments, you close your eyes. The house around you fades, with the quiet sounds of meal-making disappearing into the spring wind. You think of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchard Pavilion, and the expressive, confident strokes. But that was a time of peace, a gathering of friends for higher purposes than war. War, and all its servitors, scoured the land these days, and one could not ignore it, not even in their calligraphy. War required strength, it required decisive action. You suddenly realize the mistake Akiyama was making. He had the strength, yes, but he couldn't decide on a course of action and then follow through with it. But just as you raise your chin from your chest, you look out upon a quiet starry sky. You must have spent hours in thought. In the distance you can hear the conch shell disappearing into the north, signalling the movement of the Takeda forces. Passing with them would be Genmon, carrying his old armor on his naginata, most likely deflecting questions of your disappearance with a smile or a joke. Under the moonlight, you take the white sashimono and lay it out before you. Grabbing the largest brush, you don't even test its heft. Stroke blends into stroke, cutting down the banner as if you were slicing through it. The last movement sends a tiny splatter of ink onto the banner and onto your socks. Panting heavily, you watch as your handiwork dries, and you smile. It doesn't look half bad, if you say so yourself. "It's done!" you cry out, and before the minute's out Akiyama is standing at the doorway, gazing at your work. "It's..." he stops, unable to put it into words. He looks to you, and bows deeply. "I was right to ask this task of you, and you have done so even without the promise of reward. But a samurai cannot leave such a debt unpaid. I will find a way to pay you for this." "We can worry about that another time, the army's already left for the north!" you say. Akiyama comes back to his feet. "We can take my horse. If we take the main road we should catch up with the rearguard in a few hours." You think about the area around your mountain hut. You know of more than a few shortcuts north that might go faster than the main road, giving you the chance to overtake the host rather than struggle to catch up. But you'd be more isolated for longer. Which road? A: The main road. No need to be special B: The hills. Get into Shinano first!
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Oct 13, 2016 04:23
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Protagonist decision B
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Oct 13, 2016 04:39
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B Getting before the army could be dangerous.
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Oct 13, 2016 08:20
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I swear I haven't forgotten this again, I've just had my hands full with the JET application. I will return to this as soon as I can!
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Nov 1, 2016 07:45
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