The Tour Resumed

Discovery, Exploration

In the center of his own audience chamber at the Old Ōuchi Manor, Ōuchi Yoshitaka sat with a sake dish raised to his lips and an expression of polite amusement on his fair features. To Ryūzaki Sanosuke, Randi Carter, Takenaka Hanbei, and the rest of the group, the effect was quite eerie. Yoshitaka didn't move a muscle, not to acknowledge their presence, to finish his drink, or even to breathe. Hanbei suggested that his presence here was shocking, but at least explained Yoshitaka's unexplained disappearance that came with Mōri Motonari's seizing of the province. At Sanosuke's request, she felt out the room for any supernatural cause.

Indeed, it was as the lame strategist had feared. The entire room was locked under the effects of a Stop Time spell. It was a good thing none of them had yet ventured to enter beyond the threshold. As such an enchantment required relatively little maintenance, this room and its occupant would remain like this indefinitely unless it were canceled. After what had recently befallen one of his allies for his lackadaisical use of time magic, Sanosuke was concerned that whomever had cast this spell didn't know the risks that came of it. For the sake of both Yoshitaka and the hapless caster, it seemed prudent that they break this enchantment. Hanbei, however, had some bad news on that count. A lot of energy had been poured into this spell, and it would not be easy to break even with the right kind of magic at their disposal. So, Sanosuke called on an expert.   Hakutaku, as it turned out, was not in a position to join him at the Old Ōuchi Manor. She had rejoined with the Hyakki Yagyō in order to enlist their aid in dealing with the massive time disruption caused by the Date Clan's exploitation of their rift. They were currently somewhere in Shimosa Province, unable to provide direct coordinates for a Shigeaki Fujino pickup. Sanosuke was forced to settle for Hakutaku's advice that they should find a way to break it, before the disturbance drew something unfortunate.   Fortunately, Hanbei had been growing in power of late. She was now able to see beyond the superficial aspects of spells to the signature patterns that spellcasters left beneath. That meant that, should she witness other magic from the same person who laid this spell, she'd be able to identify them as the caster. This didn't seem like Matsumoto Ooawagaeri's work, and he knew Hakutaku had an alibi, so that meant there was at least one more individual with access to Time magic out in the world. Considering the circumstances, it seemed likely that they belonged to the Mōri Clan. After taking a moment to recall who their contact in the Mōri was, Sanosuke reached out to Kikkawa no Myōkyū.   That onna-bugeisha of the clan responded in her usual bubbly way. She apparently did not know much about the fallen Ōuchi Clan, but was as usual in Mōri Motonari's presence. At Sanosuke's behest, Myōkyū asked her wife about the matter. In a short, enigmatic reply, Motonari passed on that Ōuchi Yoshitaka was alive and safe, but that she couldn't go into any more detail at the moment. That information seemed to confirm that it was a Mōri mage who had locked poor Yoshitaka out of the flow of time. However, as Hanbei warned him, if they were to break the spell now through whatever means, Motonari was surely cunning enough to know that it was Sanosuke who had done so.   For the moment, the Silver General settled for calling upon some of his subtler channels of information. Through such means, he learned that mysticism within the Mōri Clan followed ancient Oni tradition, based largely in two sub-organizations. The first was the Hannya Sūhai, a group which included the white-masked priestesses and waifish, crystalline general who tended the arena's infirmary. Second was the Hayashi Family, historic owners of the Iwami-Ginzan Silver Mine. According to Sanosuke's sources, the Hayashi were not as skilled as the Sūhai at keeping their actions secret. Indeed, it was known to more than just he that their patriarch, one Dōhan, was currently possessing the body of Shōta for his own ends. However, despite the efficacy of his network, Sanosuke was not able to learn of any specific person within either organization's ranks who was able to wield time magic.   That left his next step clear, if distasteful. Sanosuke needed to have a meeting with Shōta, or the person who was currently wearing the brat's body. With a murmured apology to Yoshitaka, the Silver General prepared to take his leave before being interrupted by another urgent telepathic message, this one from Ishikawa Goemon. Earlier in the day, Sanosuke had tasked the Virtuous Thief with sending one of her agents to the Hira Mountains in order to track down Ryūzōji Takanobu. That same agent, not more than a few hours later, had come back in a box. He was alright, Goemon assured Sanosuke, but didn't remember what had happened and now boasted a swollen lump on the side of his head.   Once again, the Silver General was pressed to turn to his unseen sources for information. Through those channels, he learned of an "Oji-san of the Mountain" who helped villagers of the Hira Mountains with their harvests, trained those who were worthy and, most importantly, defended them from outsiders. That sounded quite like a certain individual he knew from the Court of Sutoku, so Sanosuke relaxed a little. It would be prohibitive to put eyes constantly on Takanobu at the moment, but he could rest easy that she was at least in good hands.   With all that settled, there was little left to do for the moment except continue Randi Carter's tour of Shimonoseki. Leaving the manor by the same way they entered, with a conscientious ghost sliding the lock back into place, Sanosuke and company descended the cliffside road once again and made their way toward the Alexandrian Embassy on the other side of town.   Their journey, as before, proved fairly uneventful. The streets were packed with locals and foreigners alike, but nobody of such distinction that they caught Sanosuke's eye. Randi seemed to be enjoying herself, at least, with appropriate vocalizations of wonder at the various ships docked at the harbor as they passed through. Soon enough, they came up the westernmost road and arrived at the Embassy proper.   This building was more magnificent in the day than Sanosuke remembered from his last visit. The architect seemed to have designed it specifically to catch the sunlight and shadow in specific ways to make the structure's fine carvings and towering pillars all the more inspiring in their form. Standing guard outside this time was not Dame Blanca Garcés de Navarre, but Xenophon's shorter, stouter form. While Sanosuke hadn't interacted with this particular specimen of Alexandrian knighthood, he recalled seeing her in the box opposite at the tournament. More than once, she'd raised her voice to comment or protest on the standards of the competition.   At the moment, she appeared quite subdued, wearing the vacant-but-alert expression of guards everywhere. When Sanosuke approached, she hailed him with relaxed formality. They were here for Randi, primarily, and so the Silver General let her take the stage for a question which had been gnawing at her. The pink-mopped sprite wanted to know if their temporary host had ever heard the name "Othéa." Xenophon considered for a moment, then proved herself quite the scholar. Othéa, she claimed, was a goddess who appeared in some poems by Christine de Pizan. She was unable to finish, because Randi cut in with an exclamation that Christine de Pizan was exactly who she was looking for. Apparently, she'd known Christine in the Dreamlands, where the poet acted under the Dreamer name of Othéa. Unfortunately, as Xenophon put forth, a meeting between the two was currently impossible. Christine was, to her knowledge, still somewhere in the Enlightened Republic of France far across the sea. Randi, however, seemed satisfied with just knowing that her friend was out there in this world as well as the other.   She wasn't quite done yet, however. Despite Xenophon's reluctance on the subject, Randi wanted a tour. The stoic guard eventually agreed to let Randi and one other person inside. Sanosuke's full group, of course, could not enter due to security reasons. Having little interest on seeing the interior himself, Sanosuke put forward the invitation to anyone else in their party. Byakurei and Takayama Ukon refused immediately, not wishing to leave his side. After a beat more, however, Tanegashima Shigetoki broke her usual silence to express interest. That was settled then. Xenophon led Randi and Shigetoki inside while Sanosuke was left without to receive yet another mental update from the clan.   This time, it was Ōtomo Sōrin who had business to report. With the help of Shibai, she had successfully created an illusory disguise of elegant accuracy for Katō Danzō. It was so fine, the illusionist claimed, that only someone who had intimate knowledge of every guard in Odawara Castle would have any reason to doubt their infiltrator. With that part of the plan finished, it fell to Danzō to complete the rest of the task. Report given, Sōrin then awaited Sanosuke's orders.   Sanosuke gave his okay for the mission to go ahead, awaiting a report from Danzō and Shibai later in the day. That was not the only matter of mental matter to attend to, however. Upon hearing of Hashinara Yoshitakatomo's impromptu expedition into The Dreamlands, Sanosuke decided to send someone to accompany her* in his place. Kirin immediately came to mind, as she would no doubt be of use if the Princess-Daimyō's goal were to close the Date rift from the other side.   Upon checking with the Avatar of the Land, Sanosuke found his concerns verified. Kirin could not leave this plane, otherwise the ley energies of Japan would no longer be able to sustain her physical form. The other did present a solution, however: She would attempt to meet up with the Hyakki Yagyō, who were even now organized by Hakutaku into an expeditionary group to tackle the rift from this side. They were currently on their way to Mutsu Province, so Kirin made to work with Shigeaki Fujino to find and join them.   If Kirin couldn't go, a few other individuals were notable for the task. He called out to Sasaki Kojirō, knowing that she would no doubt be fuming over her recent loss in the arena. Indeed, Kojirō seemed short and annoyed, but opened a little when Sanosuke explained his reasons for calling. The Dreamlands would be an interesting place to hone her skill. Instead of seeking out the Daitengu who had trained Minamoto no Yoshitsune, she agreed to join with Yoshitakatomo's party and act as bodyguard and student. Finally, Sanosuke contacted a second individual and, finding them to react in an agreeable matter, sent them on that way as well. Surely that pair would come back bearing treasures both material and abstract.   As if on cue, Randi and Shigetoki exited the embassy with Xenophon just as he finished issuing those last commands. The blacksmith-princess seemed quite impressed with the artistry she'd seen within. Randi, however, was harder to please, opining that she'd rather have seen more like the painted ceiling. Even so, she valued the experience and set Alexandria as the next place to visit on Earth when she got the opportunity.   Although only featuring two sites in Shimonoseki, Sanosuke's tour seemed to be quite acceptable to Randi. She thanked him, but suggested that they should soon be getting back to the arena. The afternoon matches of Mōri Motonari's grand tournament were about to begin.