Personal History of Matsumoto Ooawagaeri

After a heated battle with the Yasutane Clan, who occupied the fortress in his absence, Hashinara Katamoto and his generals reestablish control over Wakigami Castle and, by extension, Yamato Province.

A horde of undead creatures, led by a general of the Chōsokabe Clan attack the Canal District of Wakigami. With the support of Katsusada Shishauezaemon and his trusted generals, they are driven back with few civilian casualties and their leader captured.

Upon arriving at Iga, Katsusada Shishauezaemon and his most trusted generals (plus Baby Huey) are led to a secluded tea house and meet with Fujibayashi Nagato of the Iga Ninja. Before the meeting can proceed, however, the group is attacked by two Igamono, Crocodile and Stoplight. When the two are near defeat, the leader of the Igamono, Vengeance joins the fray. After a desperate battle in which Baby Huey is slain, all three enemy ninja are defeated and Vengeance captured.

Following the "Administrative Flunky's" tracks to the Tsukijō Wakigami Manor, the generals find that it has already been taken by Igamono.  They enter the building's basement cautiously, and are confronted by a man who looks and sounds exactly like Katsusada Shishauezaemon.  When questioned by the real Shishauezaemon, the impostor claims that he already spoke to the envoy from the Imperial Court.  Among other misinformation, Matsutada Tadamatsu was told that the Hashinara attacked the Chōsokabe Clan on a personal slight, and that the Ashikaga Shogunate should mind its own business on threat of war.   Before the discussion could progress any further, Fujibayashi Nagato attacked the impostor from the shadows and a full battle broke out between Hashinara elite and the lurking Igamono.  Among their top priorities was the rescue of Tsukijō no Yumeno, tied to a post in the middle of the cellar, but this too was revealed to be a ninja fake.  She was slain with the rest, but in the chaos, a single Igamono managed to cut off the real Katsusada Shishauezaemon's head.  With the enigmatic words, "Vengeance has been served," the man accepted his death at the others' hands.  As panic spread, Chōsokabe Morichika stole Matsumoto Ooawagaeri out of the chaos.  With a few quick words, however, Ryūzaki Sanosuke was able to regain control of the situation, and the Igamono suffered a brutal defeat.   After the battle, the real Tsukijō no Yumeno was found in a nearby barrel.  She was unharmed, merely tied up, and corroborated the story that the fake Shishauezaemon had told them before.

Investigating reports from Juntoku no Chūkyō regarding a mysterious merchant in Awa Harbor, the five generals of the Hashinara clan quickly found the racketeer in question. Clad from toe to tip in black cloth, with a white mask under his hat, the merchant spoke with a strange, grinding voice and moved with jerky twitches. For all this, he seemed friendly enough, and explained that he was selling poor-quality swords, failures, in bulk. Though these weapons were anything but poor-quality, Fubuki recognized them as being crafted by the same legendary smith notorious for making "Cursed" weapons.   Not wanting any more of these blades distributed to the public, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo bought the whole cart, only to have another cart wheel itself out of the house behind the merchant, full to the brim with more blades. With the help of his Sheele, Aotsuki Tsukamoto recognized gears beneath the cart's wheels as the source of its self-locomotion. Karakuri, according to Yoshitakatomo, a kind of trick clockwork popular among the richer classes for entertainment.   Meanwhile, Fubuki had transmuted into a tiny fox and stolen into the house. Inside were four more copies of the same merchant. Further inspection showed them to be more wood and gears under their robes than humans. Before Fubuki's investigation could continue, it was interrupted by a shower of bombs with various coy expressions painted on them from the rafters above. First a flashbang, then three smoke grenades that masked the disappearance of the merchants within.   By this point, Maxim had burst through the door and was attempting to save the man he saw inside, but with little luck. A few moments and a powerful breath from Sanosuke dispelled the smoke, but the clockwork men were nowhere to be seen. Outside, Kagami pointed out that she'd seen a person on the roof, and Tama found a discharged bomb with a sullen face drawn on it. At the same time, the first merchant had suddenly changed its tune, confirming that yes, Yoshitakatomo actually could meet the smith behind those fine weapons.   Fubuki teleported beneath the floor-boards, while Maxim followed by use of a trapdoor Sanosuke had pointed out during an investigation of the interior. Transforming her*self into a hat, Fubuki rested on one of the marching merchant's heads as they progressed through a tunnel until reaching a stone room with more carts of weapons. Also present, watching over them, was a mysterious creature comprising a cloak tapering to blades at the end and a mass of vaguely humanoid red ribbons under a death-marked mask. The Blade Wraith immediately spotted Fubuki even through the disguise and, while she* fought valiantly for a hat, the four "merchants" and creature were able to slay her* in short order.   Before falling, Fubuki had sent a message to Yoshitakatomo covering the situation and the princess-daimyō was about to make her* own magical entrance just as Maxim reached the door. Both were too late to save Fubuki, but perhaps she* can still be rescued from true death if they act quickly enough. Standing in their way, though, were the Blade Wraith and four karakuri merchants, now revealed to be hideous clockwork dolls under the guise.

Moments after the death of Fubuki (in hat form), Hashinara Yoshitakatomo teleports the remainder of the party into the shadows of the cavern below. They arrive at the same time as Maxim, who departed first on foot. Although Yoshitakatomo has used a large amount of energy transporting the group, especially Kagami and Tama who are technically artifacts, the group wastes no time in engaging the mottled group of mechanical dolls.   Despite its fearsome showing before, the Blade Wraith falls immediately to a single swing from Ryūzaki Sanosuke. While Maxim and Sanosuke engage the remaining mechanical men in combat, Aotsuki Tsukamoto instead attempts to retrieve Fubuki. Aided by the unseen hand of Munechika, he succeeds, and calls upon Amaterasu's light to bring the deceased hat back to life.   Though difficult to damage and incredibly deadly, the karakuri men are no match for Sanosuke. Soon, each is reduced to a heap on the ground except for one, whose limbs Yoshitakatomo fuses to its sides to take captive for study. Following up on an unmooring sound called out by Kagami only moments before, the warriors rush through the back of the cave and outside to a small pier. A boat was here, but through the use of karakuri trickery and possibly magic, it has vanished at speed. Even the vessel's trail stops abruptly at a certain point in the water. Whomever was here and leading these creatures, presumably the same individual with the expressive bombs, has made their escape.   However, the battle was not without its gains. The Cardinal Generals now find themselves in possession of upwards of six hundred quality, possibly cursed, katana. What's more, Maxim somehow regains his two-handed sword. How could that have gotten here? It will probably remain a mystery. Taking their captive, Yoshitakatomo discovers a final clue engraved into its body. "学天即". Something like "learning from the laws of nature". A maker's mark? Perhaps this, and the now-absent original merchant's promise to deliver swords to Wakigami Castle, may yet lead to the karakuri puppetmaster behind this whole fiasco.

A partnered battle of wits and willpower to determine who among the figments of Alice can become "real," insofar as that term applies in the Dreamlands. Read the full list of events at: The White Rabbit Bowl

No sooner had Fubuki magicked the sword binding Kashirin away than yet another strange event interrupted the ill-fated Mōri tournament. The more keen-eared of those in the crowd noticed it first, and brought it to the attention of their allies. A low, whistling sound was steadily growing in volume as something approached the stadium at high speed. It was not Kashirin's prisonous sword, but rather a black spear shooting down from the heavens directly at Maxim.

As Aotsuki Tsukamoto departed on his own business, it fell to Fubuki to confirm her* plan of action with Abe no Seimei. The Black Blade would take her* cohort to the capital and attempt to bring Sugawara no Michizane back to his proper burial place. Meanwhile, Seimei would go about making the preparations for a sheele ritual. So long as Fubuki could provide the required magical energy on her* return, it would not take long to bring a new aspect of her* into the world.

Aotsuki Tsukamoto and Saitō Dōsan were among the first to arrive in the meeting chamber of Owari Castle that had been set aside for their purposes. Maxim, too, was in attendance, and soon Hashinara Yoshitakatomo arrived with an unknown stranger in her* company.   The opposite side of the wide, low table was filled with the Oda Clan’s greatest remaining representatives. Oichi took the head, her position cemented by her relationship to Oda Nobunaga, previous Daimyō of the clan. Beside her stood Shibata Katsuie, her bodyguard and a proponent of this meeting. Then, along the side were Ishida Mitsunari, Azai Nagamasa, and Mori Ranmaru. Only Nagamasa’s presence between the two others seemed to be preventing them from attacking each other right there. Petty complaints and snappish insults were tossed about above the weary-looking Azai Daimyō’s head.

Dawn rose on the third day of the Mōri Aspirant Tournament, with the matches beginning at their characteristically punctual break of dawn. Mostly familiar faces dotted the crowd, with some missing and a few newcomers present. Of particular interest was a sour-faced, dour woman in reddish robes sharing the box right beside Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki who hadn't been there on days previous.   A fair number of other events occurred simultaneously with the matches, but for details on each battle that took place, see: Mōri Matches: Day 3

It was yet fairly early in the morning when those premier generals of the Hashinara Clan arrived at the doors of Yakisoba Yashiki. A heavy rain had begun to fall on their short journey over, clouds blotting out the sun overhead and casting an eerie shadow below. This effect seemed perfect for the dark Western mansion that now loomed before them. While not unheard of in international ports such as Shimonoseki, architecture like this was still very rare in Japan. The pervading feeling of the unnatural, the out of place, was only heightened by the glowing lights behind the mansion's crimson curtains and the infrequent flashes of lightning above.   A sign just to the left of the door, obviously added as an afterthought, read: "焼きそば屋敷"

While everyone took some time to secure the prisoners and recover from their recent battle with the Black Galleon Slavers and their captive Gug, Fubuki set about preparing the floundering Black Galleon for sail. This was not her* first dealing with such a vessel, as another served as Fubuki's flying transport back in the waking world. A bit of magic was enough to patch up the hull and, together with Taira no Tokuko and Aka no Kitsunebi, the Matsumoto gang was able to safely take the remaining frozen slavers prisoner. Fubuki thought to ask Sothy what should be done with them and received in reply that the Chieftan of Baharna would decide their fate. It was to be expected, however, that they would be thrown to the Wamps.   A quick chat with the refugee Baharnans discovered that they were both skilled enough and willing to crew a Black Galleon, navigating it through familiar waters back to their home port. As a final thought, Fubuki reached out across the realms to Tsukijō Hanahane. His flamboyance was still well awake, and suggested that he'd not be retiring for many hours yet. That meant that they couldn't count on Jericho Petalwing's patronage anytime soon. Fubuki did learn, at least, that dropping the Petalwing name might earn them a bit of pull in Baharna.

On the deck of their artificially-sunken ship, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo and Fubuki looked across the bridged abyss at the treasure which had brought them there. Soon joined by Aotsuki Tsukamoto, the three pondered just how they were going to plunder that opulent chest. Fubuki's magic had created an air bubble within which to act even this far below the sea. And yet, the bounds of that same bubble seemed much more narrow than when they'd descended. Perhaps it was the water pressure this deep, or perhaps it was the work of something more sinister.

It was the darkest hour of the night; the perfect time for ninja business. It was just such ninja business which drew the five Cardinal Generals of the Hashinara Clan to Iga. For some time, Fujibayashi Nagato had been working here to eliminate the remnants of the resistance group known as Igamono. With them out of the way, and Hattori Hanzō dead, there would be nothing standing in the way of Nagato becoming head Jōnin of the Iga Ninja.   Her first order of business promised to be a formal alliance with the Hashinara Clan. Therefore, it behooved the clan to lend their aid in this final confrontation. The Igamono, staunch traditional independents, would never allow the Iga Ninja to formally ally with a clan. They were a minority now, but enough families still backed them that they could prove a threat if left alone. One such family, led by Iganozeki Butsugai, had agreed to speak with Nagato tonight. Canny and with plenty of shinobi experience to draw upon, she expected a trap. Therefore, having five of the most powerful individuals in Japan at her back was a great reassurance.

At the sound and light, the gathered crowd looked as one to the center of the arena. There, under a fading shower of fireworks, stood an unfamiliar figure and The Black Blade of Doom: Date Masamune. They faced each other and seemed ready to battle. From the southeastern quadrant, a gasp rang out. It was Katakura Kojūrō. Neither she nor Masuda Kita seemed thrilled at the appearance of another Date Masamune.   Indeed, there were some murmurs worming their way through the crowd. Wasn't Date Masamune dead, obliterated by Musashibō Benkei in the tournament? Mōri Motonari's voice cut through the muddle like a blade. She chided both the unknown figure and Masamune. There were no further fights scheduled that day and, what's more, their intrusion on the field when she was about to announce the champion's prize was far too presumptuous. At a swelling of support from the crowd, the two rivals backed down. They would have their battle after the ceremonies concluded.

Hashinara Yoshitakatomo awoke in near-total darkness. It was difficult to say how much time had passed. Still, the sun's rays were still bright in the one window illuminating the room. Time passed strangely sometimes, in the Dreamlands. Perhaps that was why Yoshitakatomo felt so refreshed, as though she* had enjoyed a full night's rest. Her* magical reserves, too, were somewhat replenished.   In the shadows across from the Daimyō, a red-masked figure stirred. It was one of Ashiya Dōman's Deep Wraiths. As an extension of Dōman himself, it had taken up post here so that the old onmyōji would know when his master was awake. The creature spoke haltingly, as though not used to having only one mouth with which to communicate. From it, Yoshitakatomo learned that the people of Queen's Landing had not been idle.

Incident Report: OI8-1

Mōri Tournament

Day 5

Match 1

Notes

"Try not to hit me too hard this time. That 'shadow' of yours packs a punch."   Such was Fubuki's opening statement as the mysterious swordswoman faced off against Maxim in the ravaged Mōri arena. This was to be the final round of the independent bracket, and therefore the tournament as a whole. Both fighters had powers not yet plumbed, and the audience held its collective breath, shuffled to the edge of their collective seat, and awaited the foreign barbarian's reply.   He gave none.