The Unseen Servant forums

Marullus wrote: ↑Sun Jun 08, 2025 7:40 pm
"Crows," she discusses with quiet excitement. "will you seek training with the kenku? I..." she trails off. "I cannot help wondering at the knowlege of the Ways of Wood that could be shared by the ancient cedar."

"How much clan clothing do we intend to bring? Any? Some? I thought perhaps to ask for a locking box in which we could hide them with a false bottom... my books and scrolls can disguise it. But to carry such a trunk we might need a donkey or mule to carry it, but I worry to ask..."

OOC:

We can get a Porters Box for 10sp or a Strongbox for 12 sp. But I feel like the latter requires a work horse, which is 100 sp and a bigger deal?

Jinsei nodded at Kaida. “Yes the Tengu’s teachings can benefit us all.”

“I had thought to travel light, with shugenja garb but also my shozoku. I can see the value of a box and donkey, though that may slow us down. ‘Keep few possessions, lest they keep you,’ as our sesnsei has said.”

“I am happy to pool money to buy our common needs, and meet Shohzoh in the valley village.”

Fuma

"Yes I am willing to pool my money as well."

Shohzoh in Kofu pays a visit to his uncle. He says, Honored uncle, as I journey at the family’s bidding, may I be entrusted with a modest selection of volumes to carry with me? Should opportunity arise, I would seek to place them in worthy hands, and return both coin and reputation to our house. His uncle Ichikawa Junpei replies, Shohzoh's uncle says, We will provide you some books to sell as a loan, Shohzoh-kun. As is the way of the merchant, you will "buy" them at wholesale price, and try to sell them at retail price. As you know, a merchant tries to sell all goods at at least twice what they paid for them. As is also the way of the merchant, you must bear your own costs in undertaking an enterprise for gainful profit. We cannot share in the costs of a porter, in addition to providing merchandise with no payment or collateral. It would eliminate too much of the risk, make your pieces too strong in the game of shogi for you to learn as you should from it.

He brings out three books of rectangular paper sheets bound between boards of glossy lacquered wood, the first two of elegant and the third of a deep red. These will fare better on the road in the winds and rain than would scrolls, I believe, Shohzoh-kun. And I believe on this journey you'll be wearing armor, wearing the two swords, and carrying a bow... Neh? Maybe more like a young adventurous bushi than a merchant? Uncle Junpei winks and smiles.

Shohzoh examines the books.
Hoshi to Kaze ("Stars and Wind") A poetic and astronomical guide, blending stargazing, weather lore, and seasonal observations, appealing to both scholars and romantics.
Waka Hyakusen ("A Hundred Selected Poems") A beautifully bound collection of classical Japanese waka poems, meant for both reading and memorization.
Yama to Tsuki no Monogatari ("Tales of Mountains and the Moon") A collection of poetic tales and ghost stories, drawing from both folklore and nature-inspired philosophy.

Jupei says, here are the wholesale prices. Hoshi to Kaze: 35 gold koban coins. Waka Hyakusen: 21 koban . Yama to Tsuki no Monogatari: 10 koban. Goods of 66 koban borrowed. He takes a pure white sheet of paper, dribbles spring water from a flask onto an inkstone, rubs it with a bamboo straightedge, touches the tip of a brush into the liquid, and writes. He pours clean river sand onto the paper to quickly absorb the excess ink, brushes it off into a refuse receptacle, and hands it to Shohzoh. The contract, Shohzoh-kun. Please read it carefully, and if you accept the terms, please stamp it with your hanko. He takes a box with a pad soaked with oily-waxy vermilion stamp ink and courteously lies it on the table. The paper reads:
Ishikawa Junpei will loan to his nephew Ishikawa Shohzoh merchandise of wholesale value 66 koban. Ichikawa Shohzoh agrees to accept the loan of merchandise and treat the property as his own. No interest shall be charged. And then, upon someday successfully vending it or otherwise, paying to his uncle Ishikawa Junpei, or his heirs, the sum of 66 koban, however gained over time. The parties agree that the borrower promises to do his utmost to ensure repayment of the debt, and that the lender may discharge the debt for any reason. The heirs of either party will never cause disharmony about it.

The books are from Shohzoh’s character sheet. They weigh 8 lbs. Without the books, Shohzoh is carrying 70.45 lbs. He’s partially encumbered. At 90 lbs he would be fully encumbered.

jemmus wrote: ↑Fri Jun 13, 2025 1:05 am I'm sorry, I meant to say shugenja mountain hermits, not gakusho temple or shrine priests or monks. So Jinsei's and Fuma's second hensu-jutsu guise is shugenja, unless you say otherwise. Fuma and Jinsei, please purchase shugenja garb and staff (a special one with jangling bronze rings at the top for 3 sp. This means that they and Kaida (a real shugenja) appear to be a group of traveling shugenja.
Need Fuma's and Jinsei's replies to Kaida's proposals about:
Buying a horse and a chest;
Pooling money to buy them group group ownership or not; and
Meeting Shohzoh in the valley village (Chino-cho, near Great Cedar Mountain? Or a closer one, such as Hokuto-cho outside of Kofu?)
viewtopic.php?p=766341#p766341

(As noted above, she rolled 96sp and gave back 20sp in ninja garb for 116sp. She spends 100sp for the workhorse and 12sp for the strongbox, leaving her with and additional 4sp and 140cp. added to her 11 and 29, that's 15sp and 169cp on her sheet now.)
Shohzoh, as a merchant has his own porter's box and strongbox as starting gear. (If we don't need three boxes, Kaida can return hers.)
The horse can carry a lockbox of hidden shinobi stuff in a false panel and Kaida's books on top. A merchant lockbox with loaned books in it. Porter box of food.
...it is up to other PCs to buy the provisions or other packed supplies they want.

I'm assuming at Hokuto-cho outside Kofu, so we can travel together to the cedar tree? (If we can all just start in Chino-cho without travel, that's fine, too. No travel RP without the whole group together just for OOC reasons.

I'll let Shohzoh kick off an IC scene where we find him in or near the town. Let everyone RP initial reactions, then we get moving in the story?

Summary: What are books?

<snip>

jemmus wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 9:59 pm The paper reads:
Ishikawa Junpei will loan to his nephew Ishikawa Shohzoh merchandise of wholesale value 66 koban. Ichikawa Shohzoh agrees to accept the loan of merchandise and treat the property as his own. No interest shall be charged. And then, upon someday successfully vending it or otherwise, paying to his uncle Ishikawa Junpei, or his heirs, the sum of 66 koban, however gained over time. The parties agree that the borrower promises to do his utmost to ensure repayment of the debt, and that the lender may discharge the debt for any reason. The heirs of either party will never cause disharmony about it.

Shohzoh runs a thumb lightly across the lacquered cover of Hoshi to Kaze, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Armor and swords, yes… but even a bushi dreams beneath the stars.”
He sets the book down gently, and bows.
“I thank you, Uncle. These will travel well. And I will do my utmost.”
Shohzoh places his hanko to the contract with steady fingers. “On my name and my path."
Shohzoh waits for any reply and suggests
"A proper beginning deserves a proper toast, doesn’t it? There’s the good sake house just beyond the gate — I’ll buy us a plate of pickles and fish, and the first flask is on me. Let this be the first step of my journey — with sake and stories, like the old tales say.”

Shohzoh

Uncle Junpei stamps his vermilion nanko seal on the document. Done, Shohzoh-san. Shohzoh notes Junpei addresses him with the polite suffix -san, rather the -kun he'd grown up with his uncle, aunts, mom and dad. Uncle Junpei crisply bows at the waist, to show his promise to honor the formalized agreement with a fellow merchant. Shohzoh bows from the waist more deeply, and returns to bolt upright more youthfully quickly. Uncle Junpei smiles at his nephew and claps his hand on his shoulder.

Yes, let's have a flask of sake or two and some snacks before you set out tomorrow, Shohzoh-san. Tomorrow you march as a merchant, bushi, or poet... only you know which, I suppose.