Turn 1
On a mountain road in the province of YamagataHideki wanders the road. He rubs his stubbly beard, wishing he could have shaved at some point. His clothes are a drab grey with no clan mon on them, marking him as a vagabond or ronin. It has been at least a month since he was ambushed while on his way to report to the Shogun about his mission. Later he heard that the official story was that he went rogue after betraying his own clan to a band of bandits.
Lies and slander, obviously. His clan was murdered, and he himself was only able to escape because of some quick thinking and faster reflexes. They came at him in the evening, as he walked on the bridge over the Kamogawa. Halfway, three men came up to him, two from the front and one from the back. They unsheated their blades wordlessly, and on started towards him. Perhaps they were trying to give him an honourable death, the fools. He took his own blade and the two fought ferociously on the bridge. Just as Hideki was getting the upper hand, the assassin used an elongated piece of metal on the tsuba of his blade to trap Hideki's katana. With a violent twist, Hideki's blade broke. Weaponless, the assassins plan to get rid of him came to a close.
Of course, the Shogun's shadow is not your typical samurai. Quickly, Hideki threw some of his blinding powder that was hidden in his sleeve into his opponents eyes. The mixture of ash, dirt, pepper and ground glass stings like hell, and in the moment that his opponent was blinded Hideki plunged one of his throwing knives into the man's throat. No sooner had the other two assassins realized what had happened when Hideki jumped off of the bridge into Kamogawa's waters. The current carried him quite a ways before he could get back on land.
Hideki shakes his head. This reminicing about the past will do him no good. As the mountain gravel crunches beneath his sandals a cold breeze makes him shiver. He was here in Yamagata to find the hermit of mount Zaō. This man was supposed to be a seer, who could communicate with the heavenly Kami. Surely such a man would be able to guide him on the path he should take.
Of course, even before he could do this, he would have to deal with his followers. At least two men have been following him for a quite a while now. The rustling of a bush, a bird flying away from his branch, the breaking of a twig. Whoever these men were, they were no Scorpion clan assassins. Such sloppy work would be beaten out of you in the Scorpion Ninjutsu schools at an early stage.
What to do. Pretend to not notice them and see what they do next? Call them out to scare them off or lure them into the open? Challenge them to a duel, on the off-chance one of them thinks himself a samurai? Hmm.
Thus begins the journey of Hideki Nagayoshi. First stop, the hermit of mount Zaō.
I will add the character page and inventory in a moment
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Topic: Nippon: Quest for Vengeance (SG/CYOA): Turn 41: Star fort Goryokaku (Read 14820 times)