Here is a general update on what is happening for the general player and character information. The characters who remaining in Waterstone will obviously learn of the information below upon our return.
The company arrived on 11/27/1562 at Waterstone from the Ruins, and reviewed our progress and turned over the Bell and parchments/scrolls to the Abbess and monks.
We held further discussions, and divided the spoils on the 28th.
On the 29th after completing any duties and responsibilities at Waterstone Temple, Zenako, along with Hatori, Noku, Til'k and Ashiko head out, mounted back to Marike. Isaku, Gorvak and Mulan have remained at Waterstone Temple to assist in various matters. (Til'k is able to walk/hustle and keep pace with the mounted characters over the long haul.)
On the 30th Zenako made arrangments to procure suitable beverages and then headed off to meet the Smith Matoko late in the day (it is about 25 miles away, too much for a 1 day round trip unless really required). Any who wish to travel with me to the smith are welcome to come along. At this point it is Til'k. Noku, Hatori and Ashiko appear to have other things to do in Marike.
Zenako intends to present the "adult beverages" to Matoko and then intorduce Til'k to him. Til'k has a wish to place some orders as well. When it came time to settle my account for the Mithril Charhar-aina for me, I offered to him the Hammer of Crafting.
E3: Matoko was intrigued by the Hammer, yes indeed. He thinks it was certainly worthy of a straight trade -- perhaps, he admits, more than worthy. He thinks for a bit, then suggests that a 10% discount could be arranged on all additional purchases made through Zenako's auspices, as she chooses. In the long run, this will result in a substantial savings for Zenako's companions -- while perhaps insuring future business for Matoko himself of course. Does this seem fair and honorable to the Lady Tsuruchi Zenako? If it is so, then it is a done deal, on his honor. (The Hammer seems like it will speed up his ability to craft the hard metals he works with in a decent manner, and he can take advantage of all three of its smithing bonuses, so it is an excellent 'fit'...)
Zenako accepted this offer and will let others know about this pricing discount that they shall recieve from the Smith Matoko. (I have a master list and will let players know when it is beleived that Matoko should have his next item completed. The next item he is working on (even as we speak) is the mithril chainshirt for Saru. The price will have dropped from 1100 to 990 gold. A nice side effect from a gaming perspective is that this hammer will let the smith make the items we have been ordering a whole bunch quicker. Something that used to take 40 days will only take 32 days now.)
We then stayed the night in his company and cave.
On the next morning 12/1/1562 We rode back to Marike and arrived in early afternoon.
Late that afternoon, those PC's in Marike, along with a few NPC's possibly are invited to a small celebration that night at Great Aunts (Isawa (Shoku) Miroko) House. Tsuruchi Zenako has turned 24 this day and wishes to invite those who have shared her life to share this meal.
DM E3 Comments: A quiet celebration would indeed be in order. The Drakaran tradition is that the person celebrating their birthday may invite family, friends, minions, or whoever to celebrate the passing of another year with them, but it is not that big a deal. Gifts are in order, but only minor ones, tokens as it were of appreciation for relationships -- and they are given by the person having the celebration to those attending! The actual worth of the gifts are relatively small -- Commoners would measure them in coppers or perhaps silvers, in addition to providing a meal, Imperials and Nobles would measure them in gold, but not large quantities thereof. (Imperials of course are expected to give gifts a bit more valuable than Nobles do, but still at most in the 10s of gold normally.) The biggest differences are in the quality and size of the meal provided -- the more status, the bigger the 'spread' and the more guests one might be expected to invite.
There CAN be much more to it -- for instance, the Emperor's Birthday is an Imperial Holiday, during which the ruling Families are supposed to provide minor treats and entertainments for the masses, essentially sponsoring a festival day throughout the Empire. In a sense, the Emperor's Birthday actually stands in for all the ruling elite in terms of 'guesting' the masses...so local Lords don't have to have mini-festivals for their own subjects, just regular celebrations with other nobles and such invited. -- E3 / DrakaraGM
In keeping with the traditions, each of you who attend will receive a small token from Zenako, one that reflects who she is, and what she concerns herself with. When opened each gift turns out to be either a cleaning and polishing kit for armor (Ashiko, Noku), or a sharpening stone and polishing cloth for weapons (Hatori, Til'k).
Zenako then prepares for a good nights sleep before attending to matters of my ancestors and my diasho. Zenako would be honored if any wish to attend all or a portion of this ceremony. It shall take six days and Zenako expects to be ready to return to Waterstone on the 8th of the month for those making plans.
12/2/1561 Day one of ancestor prayer
12/3/1561 Day two of ancestor prayer
12/4/1561 Day three of ancestor prayer
12/5/1561 Day four of ancestor prayer
12/5/1561 Day five of ancestor prayer
12/6/1561 Day six and final of ancestor prayer.
At the conclusion of this days ceremony, my Daisho (katana) will be enchanced to +2.
12/7/1561 Recover and pay a call on Lord Isaka to inform him of my situation and to affirm that he still wishes me to provide services to the Waterstone Temple. (I would make it known to others who returned with me that I intend to seek to meet with Lord Isaka and speak with him.) If asked, I would indicate that I would seek to serve the Lord as he wishes, and that aiding the Abbess can only serve to aid the security of Marike.
E3: Lord Isaka is pleased to hear of the success of your endeavors, and grants you permission, such as his to grant anyways, for your continued support of her goals, at least for the immediate future. He also informs you of a band of less experienced adventurers, all commoners it seems, who have taken up the task of hunting out and slaying other groups of bakemono, with the occasional ogre or two as well, though they have not generally ventured as deep into the Wilderness as your own expeditions seem to have gone -- indeed, they apparently use a 'back and forth just a short distance from settled lands' patrolling pattern, occasionally going deeper in pursuit of tracks etc. There have been no raids of any significance in the past weeks, and the bakemono population nearby seems to be steadily diminishing... :) The Chief of Constables is in charge of overseeing their bounty collecting activities, he reports that they appear competent enough and have been somewhat successful, although finding it more and more difficult to find real concentrations of bakemono.
12/8/1562 Head back to Waterstone.
12/9/1562 Gather up all of the company present and head towards the barbarian village.
E3: This timetable of Zenako's will work just fine, world events do not interfere with its implementation, except that there might be encounters on the trip back into the Wilderness, which I will determine later. (I am expecting that signs of, say, an ogre invasion might be followed up? Or other interesting tracks, signs, or whatever...) :)
Player to DM note: Laura/Mulan might only be available to play for the first few hours, she is likely to be heading off to another Lowell Spinners Game, which starts at 5PM. As a character and player, she could be active for the journey back to the camp if something happens along the way (ie an encounter), but would not be available for later activities. So if the DM is thinking along those lines, just letting you know about player realities. This would leave Mulan up in the camp for the next play session in August.
12/10/1561 Complete journey to the village and spend the night. Ask for "men" to help staff the camp again.
12/11/1561 Head over to the camp and settle in.
12/12/1561 Prepare spells, and head back into the ruins, bringing along a Shrubbery perhaps to offer to the Doc cu'oc (sp) and commence purging the ruins of the vile Gaki and other beings of shadow and undead natures!!!