OOC Chat — "Hoshihige Most Auspicious Inn"

[Captain Kinkajou]

Happy New Year everyone!

I've updated Kunpu and Aiko's side adventure, and will finally be updating the main adventure soon. Hopefully tonight, but probably tomorrow.

To confirm the action and make sure I can get things back on track after the hiatus, it looks like:
- Osaru was the only one who nailed the meditation roll at the shrine.
- Aiko has offered her flute in trade for the wind chimes (with only one chime on it).
- Senichi is taking the spool of silk thread.
- no one has claimed the page torn from a pillow book or the gambling dice.
- Kunpu is seeking out the village herbalist, and the party in general is heading to the village headman's house to look for the shugenja.

From my perspective, that summarises it perfectly, Starbeard.

And, Happy New Year everyone!

[GreyWolfVT]

Osaru will take the dice but has no interest in that torn page.

[Starbeard]

Thread 5 has been updated. It sounds like you will want to continue with some parleying and NPC interaction (I didn't read anything about the blood scrolls being mentioned, so I didn't put anything about that in their replies), but there should also be some clues for further investigations if you'd like to pursue those next.

[GreyWolfVT]

Honestly I have no idea what I want to do at this point.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Honestly I have no idea what I want to do at this point.

Hi Ed, just a suggestion, as this may not be something you particularly want to follow up, but I recall that Osaru's old nemesis, Shota, is rumoured to be staying with friends here in Midway Quiet Village, as per Starbeard's post from after our sparring.

Afterwards, Osaru wanders off, searching for a secluded spot to meditate in. Soon he finds a tiny old pavilion with a single bench on the eastern shoulder, overlooking the valley on that side. He thinks back to the night at Matsu Castle Town, when the merchant spy was murdered by that rascal Shota, and ponders his own mistakes and misfortunes.

As Lady Sun begins to dip below the peaks, with Lord Moon high in the sky chasing after her, his meditation is interrupted by a sudden flash of insight: the merchant was about to leave for Beiden Pass with “valuable information” (to the Scorpion, no doubt) when he was murdered, and his private scroll case stolen. When you met Shota’s favorite town geisha, she said he kept raving about finally having the opportunity to impress his employers into awarding him samurai status. Perhaps Shota is employed by a Scorpion family, and he stole the precious information to bring it to them himself—if that were the case, he would have passed through Lord Nasu’s manor on his way south! Suddenly alert, Osaru quickly ends his meditation and asks a nearby samurai whether Shota has been through the Castle in the past few days. “Oh, he is still here actually. I believe he has just gone down to stay at Midway Quiet Village, he has friends there.”

[Captain Kinkajou]

Thread 5 has been updated. It sounds like you will want to continue with some parleying and NPC interaction (I didn't read anything about the blood scrolls being mentioned, so I didn't put anything about that in their replies), but there should also be some clues for further investigations if you'd like to pursue those next.

I'm thinking that it would make sense to show AraI the scrolls now and ask for his advice and/or assistance in destroying them. We never really specified who was actually carrying them, but I had assumed it would be Senichi, as the one who would know most about handling such things. Do you want to take the lead on showing them to AraI Frank? Unless, anyone has any objections? I think we had agreed that was one of the reasons we came here.

[Leitz]

On a different note, I had assumed Aiko would go in front, since she moved first and moved quickly. That was what Kunpu's actions were based on.

While the conversation was intriguing, events seem to have overtaken the two friends.

[ffilz]

Thread 5 has been updated. It sounds like you will want to continue with some parleying and NPC interaction (I didn't read anything about the blood scrolls being mentioned, so I didn't put anything about that in their replies), but there should also be some clues for further investigations if you'd like to pursue those next.

I'm thinking that it would make sense to show AraI the scrolls now and ask for his advice and/or assistance in destroying them. We never really specified who was actually carrying them, but I had assumed it would be Senichi, as the one who would know most about handling such things. Do you want to take the lead on showing them to AraI Frank? Unless, anyone has any objections? I think we had agreed that was one of the reasons we came here.

Yea, if that makes sense to everyone, Senichi will show Aral the scrolls.

[Rex]

Makes sense to me.

[Starbeard]

Honestly I have no idea what I want to do at this point.

Hi Wolf, what Kinkajou has mentioned is a good place to start. Last you heard, your old nemesis Shota might have laid low in Midway Quiet Village, where he's supposedly got some friends or contacts.

It also seems like the main goals of the party are to find something around here that's supernatural and evil, and bash on it. The gist of the various conversations so far is that the fishing village out on the Lake is a good place to start for tracking down supernatural weirdness. There are rumors spreading about the dead walking the shores, and the Sakemono demon prowling along the lake at night.

There's also the option of simply taking time off to rest and heal up from your colds. Osaru can heal up after a full day resting here in the village, while everyone else will have to do that and a second thing (it looks like going up to the Monastery to seek healing from the monks is the best bet, considering the weather is foul and Arai Toshimoto needs good weather to do his cure magic). Note that if you all do choose to rest, other stuff might also get pushed forward if the dice roll unlucky (like Osaru's nemesis might hear about him being around and try to slip away, for example).

[Leitz]

Also, Kunpu's intent is to get enough herbs for everyone.

[GreyWolfVT]

Yeah I just was trying to avoid going all solo on the "group" but that is a plan after maybe getting something for the cold we almost all had or have.

[Rex]

Once he beats the cold Kenta is in on going after Shota.

[Starbeard]

FYI, update for the group thread coming tomorrow. It should whisk us over to a new location and drop some new hooks.

[Captain Kinkajou]

I'm conscious that there's some stuff going on in Thread 4, around the Village with Hot Stones, that might influence the decision we've been posed in Thread 5. Certainly, Aiko would have revealed what transpired in Thread 4 (including the presence of the Scorpion spies in the Village with Hot Stones) to Osaru, Kenta and Senichi, probably on or before their trip to Midway Quiet Village but, if not, then now. I also feel that Lady O-Chizu's reaction to Aiko and Kunpu's report upon their return (which is in the past relative to Thread 5, but hasn't happened yet in Thread 4) might well affect how we approach the Village with Hot Stones. Since, from the information we now have, it seems likely that Shota is connected to the Scorpions there and that going after him could easily result in a confrontation with them.

Given Shota reportedly intends staying in the village for some time, and it would allow things to play out a bit further in Thread 4, would it make sense to go to the Shrine first and try to recover before venturing into the Scorpion's nest?

[Starbeard]

That's a really good point. To help converge everything back into one plot thread, I will pull DM Ex Machina and pretend you all had a vision from a benevolent kami spirit during your meditations at the village shrine — or better yet, Osaru just knows this guy, and if he's anything like he used to be (and it looks like he still is), then he'll be at the bath houses in Hot Stones Village for at least a few days before moving on.

That way, we can all continue playing, and when you approach the village you'll have all of the information from the previous evening's thread too.

[GreyWolfVT]

hmm i guess i am lost again only active one appears to only have 2 players? No idea where I am once again...

[Captain Kinkajou]

hmm i guess i am lost again only active one appears to only have 2 players? No idea where I am once again...

Hi Ed, this (6: The Monastery) should be the thread you want viewtopic.php?p=542882#p542882

[Starbeard]

(Update coming tonight, once I finish grading. In the meantime, my friend recommends Samurai Cat on Amazon Prime as a pretty funny and exciting parody of the Lone Wolf & Cub samurai trope. I saw only part of the first episode, but I'll try checking it out soon.)

I suspect the Amazon Prime series has nothing to do with this: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Samur ... 56&sr=8-13

I wish I hadn't got rid of The Adventures of Samurai Cat...

I haven't heard of that but it looks great!

No, this one is apparently a ronin samurai who is hired to assassinate a target that turns out to be a cat, reputedly possessed by a demon. He decides to rescue the cat instead, and epic samurai hijinks ensue. Just watched the first episode again and it jogged my memory, I guess I had watched the first couple of episodes but forgot about it. It was pretty fun, I think I'll try to watch more of it.

[Starbeard]

While searching for Samurai Cat, I saw that Master Samurai also came up free on Prime. That's a good little movie, where an infamous Bakumatsu-era samurai gets transported to modern Japan. I won't say any more, other than that it's just charming and doesn't exactly do what you'd expect from a Hercules in New York type story.