The Many Trials of a Foreign Knight

Miscellaneous

Sitting in his prescribed place in the stands, surrounded by the many daughters of the Hōjō Clan, Knight Commander Maxim gripped a cute felt doll in either hand. One looked just like him. The other, like Aotsuki Tsukamoto. He briefly wondered how he'd managed to get into this situation.   Something was prodding him in the back. Something soft and yielding. Maxim tried to ignore it as he shot off a quick message to Ryūzaki Sanosuke, who stood far away in the crowd holding his own doll. Haures had called this goat-thing which kept handing him dolls a "Gluttony Demon." The trinkets didn't seem to be magical or dangerous, but it was folly to trust a demon, so he urged caution.

On that note, Maxim looked over to the Hōjō generals who were keeping him there. Ostensibly, he was supposed to block the view of their resident demon, although he didn't quite know why that was important. The daughters' leader seemed to be Hōjō Ujimasa, so Maxim directed his question to her. Was he free to leave?   The other answered that he was still needed, and would have to find a suitable replacement to take his spot before he went anywhere. The place where Maxim was sitting, after all, had previously been filled by Hōjō Ujiteru, and she had received a fatal wound in the most recent tournament match. Maxim's lips pursed as a scowl settled over his face. What, he posed, would stop him from just standing up and walking away?   Ujimasa matched his scowl with a respectable attempt of her own. Leaving now, Maxim would earn the ire of a princess of the Hōjō Clan. Was that an enemy he really wanted to have? Any reply the foreign knight might have offered was cut short as something soft wormed its way into the back of his gorget. Maxim reached backwards and pulled out yet another doll. This one depicted a person he didn't recognize. The green clothing seemed to evoke a Japanese lord, but that birdlike, owlish mask on its face was at odds with the image. It held a fan in one hand but was otherwise unarmed.   Finally fed up, Maxim turned around and demanded who this doll was supposed to be. The petite demoness behind him, silent up to this point, giggled. She said that one was her favorite: "Katsusada Shishauezaemon." The name was vaguely familiar to Maxim. Had he heard it somewhere before in passing? Regardless, he shoved the doll back, along with the others. What even were these?   The goat-thing took all of them except the Maxim doll. These dolls were her "merch," and that one, she insisted, he should keep. With a sigh, the esteemed Knight Commander tucked a cute doll of himself into a pouch for safe keeping. He then had to admit to the other that he didn't really care for dolls, but there was probably someone out there that would appreciate them more than him. The demoness behind him looked crestfallen. Suddenly, Maxim wanted more than ever to get out of there.   Fortunately, Kitsuno was all too willing at his request to fill in for his spot. Those Hōjō girls had a unique sense of style, and might make for valuable allies. Maxim had to admit that the fashionable oni would probably fit in better than he in this circle. Before he left, Maxim made certain that he was not leaving this deal empty-handed. In return for helping the Hōjō shield this strange demoness, he asked to meet Hōjō Ujiyasu himself in the near future. Maxim swapped with Kitsuno, then made to go over and meet with Nagasone Kotetsu. It seemed that Shishikura Makiko had brought her to the arena just as planned. As he left, Maxim caught a quick glimpse of Kitsuno, already chatting with the goat-thing and holding yet another Maxim doll. An unfortunate sacrifice.   As he approached Kotetsu, however, Maxim felt his mood lifting already. She'd seen his match and, judging from the expression on her face, had been quite impressed. Indeed, the brazen smith had a lot to say about how it was nice to see a weapon of hers being swung around in such a fierce manner. Of course, her works were best used against heavy armor. Maxim's last opponent, Gotō Mototsugu had been wearing only leathers at the most. Still, perhaps next time.   Maxim agreed. After all, with her services under his command, Kotetsu would hopefully be seeing a lot of her weapons in use in the near future. He guided her to his group of motley generals, then asked her to stay put for now. After some quick business he needed to take care of, Maxim would return and they'd all go to lunch together. That invitation was extended even to Netabi Shigehisa, sitting a short distance away. Despite their rocky beginnings, Shigehisa seemed to be warming to the "foreign barbarian." He accepted with only a little hesitation.   For her part, Kotetsu was not thrilled at being asked to wait. She was on a deadline for that secret project the Mōri Clan had commissioned her on. Maxim assured her that it wouldn't be long. Hopefully. Then, with a quick word to Shigeaki Fujino, he and a few choice companions were off once again.   Their destination was Ago Manor. On the way, Fujino had a bit of gossip for him, as was often her wont. Aotsuki, it seemed, had been in a bit of a scrape. Someone had attacked the young lord. More worryingly, they'd ambushed him by interrupting and briefly blocking Fujino's teleportation powers. In light of the situation, the psychic was now looking for a bodyguard. Maxim thought he might know someone suited for the task, but decided to think about it before offering any immediate suggestions. It didn't help that none of Fujino's specifications for her guard actually involved guarding of any sort.   Fortunately, Aotsuki had to be safe, for he then shot Maxim a message asking about their meeting with Kotetsu. The knight commander had sent Tarō and Urashima Tarō off to find a place suitable for their large group size. With his own business to attend to, Maxim estimated that they'd meet around noon.   They had arrived at Ago's outskirts by that point. Maxim bid Haures to stay, while Kashirin accompanied him to his next stop. The demonic watcher accepted with little hesitation. Indeed, her mood seemed to have improved significantly since coming on this errand. A "small vengeance," she called it. It seemed that even a scrap of meat was better than none for a starving lioness.   With Kashirin (presumably) at his back, Maxim trudged off into the marshland bordering Ago Manor. It wasn't a long trip into the brackish water before he found what he was looking for. On a raised portion of land, a bit dryer than most, Maggu had set up some kind of temporary camp. Reed barrels and makeshift, driftwood tables were placed haphazardly around. On them, bits of rusty metal glinted in the tree-filtered sunlight. Maxim's new resident Kappa seemed to be working on a variety of devices. All of them, no doubt, designed for nothing good.   As he arrived, Maggu greeted Maxim with a bit of annoyance. He'd made a racket, clattering through the swampy land in his armor like that, and had scared away all the best frogs. Still, when Maxim asked for her to come along on their newest mission, she did not refuse. Even more graciously, he offered to let Maqggu lead the way, so that they wouldn't disturb any more frogs than were necessary.   With the water goblin leading the way, it was an even shorter trip back to the manor. He'd hardly been gone fifteen minutes by the time he'd rounded up the members of this little squad and hailed Fujino once again. Their destination, this time, was Osaka Castle. Together with a demonic vengeance lion, a goddess of poverty, a water goblin, and a teleporting doujinshi artist, the foreign barbarian set out to solve a crime.