Session Report: 7 May 2021
King of Games
General Summary
In this session of Tsuwamono, the following event transpired:
End of Igamono (Part 2)1559年11月16日 Cow Time (Night)
Iga
Historical Entry: End of Igamono (Continued)
A bit further off, Sanosuke was pondering what to do with his captive. She wouldn't respond to any of his questions at this point. In fact, the kunoichi was treating him less as a captor, and more like a set of restraints she could wish away with mumbled curses. After seeming to realize that Sanosuke wasn't planning on hurting her, the fear, too, had fled from her eyes. Unfortunately, Sanosuke did not have the luxury of time. The lantern up above was sure to be a problem if he left it for too long. Keeping the kunoichi held fast in his arms, the Silver General walked up the side of the temple until the hovering red light was within reach. It wasn't as easy as it should have been, with the neglected surface of the shrine's walls offering an unsteady surface and the prisoner doing all she could to act as a dead weight, but he managed it. With one swipe of Aretí, Sanosuke dispersed the lantern, scattering it to the wind. ...Except that it reformed itself a moment later. Sanosuke frowned. This time, when his blade cut through the air, it left a crackling line of electricity in its wake. Even so, the lantern reformed. This method obviously wasn't working, so Sanosuke dropped the golden sword at his feet and reached for the lantern instead. His hand passed straight through where it should have been. There was a slight warmth there, but even with a thin layer of ki wrapped around his fingers, Sanosuke couldn't get a grip. A quick question to his allies filled in the blanks. Kagami's light had popped a few lanterns, and Evaine's mystical blade had done the same. It seemed these things wouldn't be reacting to any physical attacks, regardless of their elemental nature. In that case, there wasn't much he could do about them. Instead, Sanosuke chose to seek out their origin. His captive had given him hints that there might be something in the treeline east of their position. Almost faster than the eye could trace, Sanosuke left the shrine island and bounded into the woods. Any normal human might have been killed by the sudden acceleration, so it was a good thing that his prisoner seemed to be made of stronger stuff. She looked more annoyed now than anything, as though forced to wait an unpleasant situation out. Looking around him then, Sanosuke realized that he was looking for a ninja in a sea of hiding places. Unsurprisingly, he didn't spot anyone. Back in the enclave, that spinning shuriken left by the silver Kōga was just finishing its buildup. With no warning and its wielder dead in the pond, it shot through the air straight at Kagami. Aotsuki barely managed to interpose himself and the missile glanced off his shield before carving itself into the ground not far away. Yata no Kagami was safe, which left her able to spot a blaze of fire as it lit out of the underbrush near Sanosuke and shot towards him. The Silver General might not be able to track where the attack was coming from, but he'd been prepared for it. Keeping his uncooperative captive safe in his arms was more difficult than just protecting himself, however. By turning his body, he managed to catch the bolt of flame on his shoulder, dispersing it harmlessly. In a moment, he had covered the distance to where Kagami directed that it'd come from, but Sanosuke found nothing there. In truth, it was not entirely nothing. There was a mat of pressed-down grass here that spoke to someone accumulating a lot of ki at once. Combined with the scorch marks on the trees nearby, Sanosuke could guess that he was hunting someone capable of teleporting. With a ninja's stealth and the ability to launch powerful attacks at range, that would make for a difficult opponent indeed. There weren't any clues to where his quarry might have gone, so Sanosuke called on an expert. On the other side of the gardens, Maxim was mopping up the last of the remaining combatants. Or, more accurately, he was allowing his squire to do so. The glowing blade wielded by Evaine the White cut through the straw Kōga's shields as though cutting paper. His own body provided just as much resistance, soon reduced to a darkly-burning husk on the ground under her assault. It was not a noble death, but a fitting one for such that had sought to ambush them. Elsewhere, the sudden flurry of chaotic action in the enclave seemed to be dying down. Ōgon no Hakuhen remained the only of the ninja to survive, and he was under an oath of peace enforced by Kusanagi no Tsurugi. Fubuki, too, was rejoining the party. The previous attack had been devastating, but the Black Blade could recover from all but the deadliest blows. This was in evidence as she* arose from the water, carried up on its roiling surface, and made her* way to where Aotsuki and Yoshitakatomo now waited. The day had been all but won, yet the Hashinara were no closer to discovering who was behind this revived Igamono resistance. The golden man with six arms was nearly on friendly terms with Aotsuki at this point, borne by the Golden Boy's Silver Tongue, but he would not betray his ninja honor and reveal his employer. As Saburō Shōhei departed to aid Sanosuke and Yoshitakatomo saw to the recovery of Fubuki and Nagato, a compromise began to build. They would engage in a different kind of battle, since violence was off the table. Hakuhen agreed to reveal his employer if he lost, under the agreement that Nagato would be gifted to him as a captive if he won. That wasn't exactly something Aotsuki could offer. He didn't have the right to put Fujibayashi Nagato's freedom in the betting pot. His own freedom, however, was well within his power. After a moment's consideration, Hakuhen agreed. As he was the one to suggest a contest, he would also allow Aotsuki to choose the field. Caught momentarily on the spot, Aotsuki pondered. The first thing that came to his mind was, indeed, the only real option: Question Hunter. They would battle for supremacy in the field of trivia and riddles. Kagami helpfully explained the rules while Tama somehow produced enough well-formed rocks to set up a functioning game board. Their golden counterpart caught on quickly. He understood the game and would accept it, but there was one problem remaining. If Aotsuki and Kagami were to play on one team, Hakuhen required an ally to even the odds. Who better to stand by his side than the other manliest combatant here? Hakuhen called to Maxim, inviting him over. Before the knight fully realized what was happening, he was calling the golden man "brother" and getting ready to fight by his side for a rousing game of Question Hunter. In Shōhei's absence, Tsurugi was nominated to be referee. She took the duty seriously and vowed not to show any material favor toward her own allies. As a symbol of power and order in the Empire, her word seemed strong enough to convince Hakuhen. The others who still remained gathered close around to watch. Question Hunter had begun. What followed was a flurry of trivia questions ranging from the country's Daimyō to its heroes and secrets of magic, even to foreign powers and the mysteries of the Dreamlands. Aotsuki and Kagami had a poor start. He failed his first few questions and was even ambushed by a Leviathan when he sought not but a Raptor. Meanwhile, Hakuhen and Maxim made a quite good team and were receiving questions which seemed to favor them. Indeed, although his allegiances lay with the Hashinara, Maxim seemed to be giving this his all. He had sworn to his "brother" that he would not hold back, and he indeed did not. All the while, Yoshitakatomo provided colorful commentary on each of the more esoteric questions as they arose. Truly the Princess-Daimyō's wealth of knowledge was something to behold. Slowly, the tide began to turn. By the end of their battle of wits, Maxim was poised to win with the slaughter of a final Leviathan. His unfamiliarity with Japanese culture crippled him at the key moment, however, as he was not able to identify the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter as being the inspiration behind Kaguya's techniques. Aotsuki had won, even if by a measly few points. Indeed, Maxim and his partner had put up a fine fight. A close competition from the very beginning, even if Maxim had suffered far more as the subject of Tsurugi's narrative than her Emperor. Bald, kneecapped, and shirtless though his game avatar might have been, he had still been a formidable foe. As the final round ended, Sanosuke returned in time to catch that Aotsuki had won. The Silver General had not apparently been successful in catching their last ninja, but by his captive's own account, that one was unlikely to start another fight without backup. He looked tired, now, and gave the kunoichi over to Nagato, who stood ready nearby. The jōnin seemed to recognize this captive as Tomo Sukesada and expressed some surprise that she'd been working with the Igamono. That would be a question for the near future, as right now an exchange was happening between Aotsuki and Hakuhen. True to his word, the golden ninja was ready to give up the name of his employer. It was none other than Hōjō Ujiyasu, fecund Daimyō of the Hōjō Clan. He had been funding the Igamono resistance for some time, apparently in a bid to prevent the Iga from allying themselves with the Hashinara. As a ruler with access to his own personal ninja clan in the Kōga, it seemed that Ujiyasu did not want to afford his rivals the same privlege. That, then, was what they had come for. With their Kōga allies scattered and their benefactor known, the Igamono were all but finished. There only remained the matter of Hakuhen himself. He could not return to his clan, as only death at the hands of the jōnin leaders awaited him for his betrayal. At Aotsuki's suggestion, the golden ninja entertained the idea of joining Maxim instead. They had proven powerful allies in the battle of Question Hunter, after all. Maxim himself was visibly not thrilled at the idea. Perhaps he still hadn't forgotten the infuriating powerlessness he'd experienced at the ninja's hands. Still, he did not outright refuse, and Hakuhen took that as an invitation. He would join The Wolfpack.Rewards Granted
- +2 Gold Kuma Coins
- +5 total Kuma Commendations
Missions/Quests Completed
Character(s) interacted with
Notes
- Ōgon no Hakuhen has joined The Wolfpack
Report Date
07 May 2021
Primary Location
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