The Delivery; The Gauntlet

Technological achievement

Following the day's events, there was quite a bit on Ryūzaki Sanosuke's mind. He wanted to pay a visit to Sarutaba Chino, and there was the matter of his newest prisoner, one Tomo Sukesada from the matter with the Igamono. If what Fujibayashi Nagato had told him was true, it would not be wise to leave her unaddressed for too long. Before any of that, however, Sanosuke decided to complete his original task: delivering a case of Absodium to the researchers in Wakigami Castle's basement.

As the Silver General arrived with Shigeaki Fujino, he found the underground laboratory in a curious state. What first drew his attention were two prisoners shoved off into the corner. He recognized one as the Putrid Jikininki he had subdued and pacified from the portal to Yomi. The other was none other than Kashin Koji, forced to sit in the corner like a punished child with a piece of white sealing charm over her mouth.   The lab's other occupants were all gathered around a table on opposite side, chattering excitedly. Sanosuke recognized Ashiya Dōman and his wraiths, Brynhildr, Mary Lyn, and even Hashinara Kiyowara, no doubt standing in for the Princess-Daimyō. A closer look confirmed Sanosuke's suspicions. Their celebration was warranted.   They had finally completed the Mugen Gauntlet.   As momentous as that was, it was not the reason he'd come. With a bit of help from Fujino, Sanosuke got Kiyowara's attention and explained how he'd come by this case of Tamahagane. More important, perhaps, was the fact that the Hōjō Clan seemed to have much more than Katō Danzō had been able to make off with.   Dōman, too, had noticed the delivery. One of his wraiths floated over and remarked on its fortuitous arrival. The notorious onmyōji had ensured that some of his own designs made their way into the Mugen Gauntlet. One of these was that it could be powered by souls, as well as magical energy. As the fuel required for each trip was immense, these bars of Absodium would prove an excellent source. This was not in line with what Sanosuke had intended. It was his plan, if at all possible, to remove the souls from the alloy and restore them to their rightful owners. Kiyowara confirmed that this would be difficult. Although, perhaps not impossible.   As for what the Hōjō was doing with the Tamahagane, Sanosuke could not provide a definitive answer. His meeting with Ujiyasu's daughters had not touched on anything specific. Nor had Danzō, or Sanosuke by extension, seen any practical applications during her foray into Odawara Castle. Without any proof, Kiyowara determined that they must expect the worst. A creature constructed of such material, as Yoshitakatomo herself* knew the process of, would prove a formidable foe immune to many of their countermeasures. If Sanosuke were to succeed in liberating the souls from a bar, however, that could be a valuable technique for such a confrontation.   Placing that matter behind them, both Sanosuke and Kiyowara turned their attention back to the completed Mugen Gauntlet. A robed, masked figure held the object before him, presented to the others. Katsusada Shishauezaemon, himself an avatar of the great Yoshitakatomo, had also been instrumental in its construction. He understood the item in and out, as well as the massive amount of magical power required to activate it. That power was not wasted, however. Theroetically, there was no limit to the distance which the Mugen Gauntlet could cover; on this plane or others.   With that in mind, Shishauezaemon proposed a test. The destination seemed obvious, especially with their present company: Albion. Indeed, Mary Lyn seemed quite excited at the prospect of reuniting with Caius Pendragon and others of the rebellion. For her part, Kiyowara was most interested in the idea of bringing back powerful warriors from the distant land to help in her own crusade against Izanami-no-Mikoto. Mary had to advise caution there, however. She would not allow the Pendragon Rebellion to be weakened until Arthur Pendragon once again sat on the throne.   It seemed just as Sanosuke had suspected. Before they could rely on aid from Albion, they would first need to provide their aid in turn to Mary Lyn and her allies.   Further, there was the matter of whom to send. An army was apparently not possible due to the restriction of physical contact. Everyone traveling with the wielder of the Mugen Gauntlet had to maintain touch with them from departure to arrival. Combined with the enormous cost in power to activate, this would theoretically limit them to a small squad of elites. Sanosuke had an idea on that front, however. It would just require someone with longer appendages than usual to send more passengers on the trip. Surely Yoshitakatomo could make that happen?   At this, Kashin Kōji blathered something from the other corner of the room. Her words were lost in the sealing charm across her mouth, but it was obvious that she'd said something. Katamoto, another of the godly Daimyō's avatars, took the irksome spirit and sat her down on a table before removing the talisman. This proved to be an errand in annoyance. Koji refused to repeat her statement because it was a joke and therefore would not be funny without the proper context, which had passed. When threatened with the talisman again, she changed her tune, but it was too late. Katamoto slapped that seal right back across her mouth and put her back in the corner. Perhaps Kiyowara would see about having Shax remove her mouth entirely.   As that tableau played out, Sanosuke was working out some further plans. He would take care of the preparations for their first trip to Albion. In the meantime, it seemed wise for Mary Lyn to get some rest. She had been working very hard of the past several days to bring this project to fruition. Although visibly eager to return to her homeland, Mary agreed. She suggested that watching the tournament later that morning might be a nice way to unwind. After all, she'd been forced to miss several days of the festivities so far.