Session 08

After an uneventful journey down from New Keep, the group found themselves back in Waymeet. They discovered that Ermenred's brother, Tandris, had recently headed east to Honshu with a wagon full of merchant goods. It was agreed to head out the very next morning in the hope of catching up with him. But first everyone visited the various friends and relatives they had in Waymeet, except Colby who was new to town so accompanied Ethulwulf to the tavern where they sampled much sake in an attempt to familiarise themselves with the Honshu way of life.   After another uneventful journey, the group found themselves in Eastward. Ethulwulf and Zandrill were both very familiar with this part of Albion, having been stationed here during their military service. While half the group paid a visit to the Monastery of the East Winds, the others made enquiries in the merchant district and were pleased to find Tandris. He said he'd not had much luck in recruiting guards in Eastward so was more than happy to sign everybody up. He said it should be about 4 days travel to Sapporo. He was warned that he might need to find more guards to accompany him back home, it depended on what happened when Zandrill reached Druidhome.   Immediately after setting foot outside the east gate of Eastward, the group were officially outside the borders of Albion. They travelled through a buffer zone, several miles of "no mans land", which lay between Albion and Honshu. While making their camp for the night, the Albioners were alarmed to see a ferocious troll approaching, planning to devour them all! Fortunately Colby was there to save the day, he distracted the troll with a particularly cunning bowshot which enabled Ethulwulf to hit the troll about as hard as he possibly could, dropping it to the floor. However, its grievous wound immediately began healing - Zandrill recalled druidic lore about trolls powers of regeneration being thwarted by fire so before the troll could recover the group burned its body. A small distance away was the troll's lair amongst a rocky outcrop. Buried in the refuse were Human remains, what looked like a Honshu border patrol. This included a red magical cloak - the Imperial colour, embroidered with Honshu symbols. These items were recovered and it was decided to hand them in once reaching the Honshu border post.   Today the Albioners reached the bridge over the Dragon's Flood which marked the border of Honshu. A large force of easterners were based in a military camp to protect this vital area. Heremod spoke with the guards and explained about the troll ambush and the items they'd recovered. The easterners seemed impressed and grateful for the gesture. It was necessary to purchase travel permits before being allowed to enter Honshu - these were only valid for 3 days and as far as Sapporo - it was not allowed to wander just anywhere.   The Albioners ventured east along the Nakasendo (the road to Sapporo). Although not far from Albion as the crow flies, Honshu was a world away in both scenery and climate. The evening was spent at the House of the Red Sun (an inn). Except for Heremod of course, the group were puzzled at the strange customs - such as having to leave their shoes outside, the vast amount of bathing and washing required, the interior walls made of nothing but paper, etc. They were less puzzled by the sake and the geisha girls - Colby and Ethulwulf enthusiastically indulged in rather a lot of both.   Also staying in the inn was a chap called Yoshi. He made some enquiries about selling religious items in Albion. Heremod decided that this kind of behaviour was most likely illegal so demonstrated the high standing a samurai, such as himself, holds in Honshu. He arrested Yoshi and summoned a local magistrate to deal with him. The same magistrate had a reward by way of thanks for returning the items recovered from the troll lair.   A long day's travel saw the Albioners reach Sapporo too late to do anything other than go to bed in their inn. The next morning they awoke early to explore the strange new city. Although it was at least as big as Eastward (2nd largest town in Albion) it was one of the smallest cities in Honshu. Notable sites in Sapporo included the castle of Lord Nakamura (Heremod's master) and the Niten Dojo (weapons school specialising in the two weapon style). There was also a large market which Tandris headed for to start trading his wares. A beggar at the marketplace told Heremod a strange riddle which appeared to involve a tree and stone benches? While in the market, a young nobleman spoke to Heremod. He explained a problem he needed assistance with. A mercenary named Daigoro had assaulted and killed members of the Crane clan. He'd been arrested and tried but, by Honshu law, if not executed within 3 days would go free. The "eta" who normally carried out executions were refusing to work on account of an "evil spirit" which had been attacking them. Ethulwulf tried to volunteer to perform the execution but was told that only the lowliest outcasts (translation of eta) did such awful work. Instead the group volunteered to resolve the issue of the "spirit monster". They were warned that 3 Crane samurai had previously been despatched and had failed to return.   The group immediately headed to the eta village. It was a filthy and disgusting place. The people did seem genuinely terrified however. Heremod established that the "spirit monster" was some kind of jungle cat and it was claimed that even after being struck by a spear its wounds had simply closed up. The Albioners headed out of the eta village following a trail. Even those with little tracking skills could see the way the "spirit monster" had gone and the trail was marked with spilled blood and shredded possessions. The trail led through many paddy fields and reached a large log which served as a bridge over an irrigation ditch. As the group tried to cross, two feathed humanoids swooped down and attacked. Their birdlike shrieks were so loud they caused physical damage. However so too did the Albioners' steel and soon the creatures lay dead. Heremod had seen nothing like them during his all his years in Honshu. A short distance away was a large tree and some stone benches, just as the beggar had described. Buried beside them was a weapons cache - silver-tipped spears and a siagham, potions and a scroll. Who was the beggar, why had he provided directions to these weapons and what did they have to do with the "spirit monster"? There was some discussion of werewolves being susceptible to silver and whether that's what the "spirit monster" was. The Albioners then headed on, following the trail...