After a brief private discussion among the party, the investigator, Kakita Yoto, returns to share both good and bad news. The bad news is the there are about twelve individuals that can place the party are the scene of the crime. The good news is that those witnesses are not samurai. Kakita Yoto informs the party that they are under house arrest. They are lead to a new hunt. A servant stops by to ask if they party needs anything. They ask for food, water and a go board.

Nobunaga & Kakita Toshimoko play several games of go.
Kakita Toshioko & Isawa Hito have a heraldry contest.

The servant returns with more food and a message. The magistrate will not arrive until tomorrow. A bath has been arranged for them this evening as well.

The guards take the party for their bath. They return.

A geisha arrives and is obviously nervous. After one song, she is dismissed. The party then goes to sleep.

Kakita Kaze arrives. He wakes the party and tells them that they will need to be ready to speak to him on this case in one hour. He leaves.

When they arrive, they are served a meal as they begin questioning. During questioning, Iwasa shares their official writ of office. Kaze stops the questioning and orders he part to his room at the inn. So he tells then they are free to go and warns they to not return for a while as they may have enemies here.

After the troop does some shopping (for clothes, a long bow, some cherry blossom tobacco) the party learns that there is going a high level duel at the dueling school. Kakita informs the party.

The party leaves for the dueling school. The troop is the first to arrive at the school and is seated in the worst spot possible.

At the same time, Utaku Kiekachi finishes riding into town to catch up with the party.

The party watches the handshaking and sitting arrangements. Also the party fills in the new party member of their job duties. When the duel finally starts, there is 30 minutes of the two duelist sizing each other up until one of the instructors/duelist resigns from the duel.

As the party is leaving, a servant asks them to follow and leads the party to the eating area of the school. They are asked to join the celebratory banquet and they accept.

During the meal, a courtier of the Katika Daimyo thanks the troop for joining the party and offers to put them up at the school for the night. The troop agrees.

After the troop heads off to a bath they return to to the party for dessert.

During a conversation with another courtier it is discovered the Miruimoto Hitomi has called for an end of the Togoshi family. The courtier warns the monk to be careful.

A servant then leads the troop to the ‘Tiger Hut’ instructor quarters where they will spend the night but the servant doesn’t lead them all the way to the hut but just points the way. Iwasa orders Nobunaga to check out the hut and he finds a dead body.

Iwasa and Kakita leave the rest of the troop to guard and go looking for the Kakita Daimyo. They meet the courtier from earlier who takes over the matter. He sends a troop of samurai to take control of the hut. After a tense moment between the commander of the troop and with Nobunaga, the ronin steps aside. He, the Utaku and the Togoshi wait for orders to leave.

Nobunaga asks Utaku to go and find Iwasa and the troop gathers and are escorted to to an inn under guard until the can be quested the next day.

After a quick bath and meal, the troop is lead back to the school for questioning. The Kakita that was hitting on the Utaku, Kakita Yoto, turns out to be the investigator and he admits that the victim is Kakita’s teacher.

After an uneventful evening, the party says their goodbyes by blessing the fields and the village for the hospitality.

The weather today is not as hot but just as humid.

The party approaches West Hub Village, home of the rice storehouses of the Empire. The party is interested in investigating the scene of the moneylenders that line the street of this village. After one of the moneylenders offered the party loans, they decide to leave the village.

Before they leave the village, Kakita approaches a guard of one of the storehouses to ask what the building are. The guard infoms him.

The party leaves town and finds a camp spot where a farmers hut used to be. Kakita does a very find tea ceremony. Isawa and Kakita discuss story of the Great Bear as a gift for the Cab Daimyo.

Watches:
1st Nobunaga
2nd Togashi Kokobo
3nd Isawa Hito

During third watch, Isawa hears a single footstep and the party investigates. Togashi uses her speed to run after the sound and she hears three more quick footsteps. After finding nothing, they eat an early breakfast and head out.

They travel on and cannot find another sleeping spot off the road the next night.
Watches:
1st Isawa Hito
2nd Togashi Kokobo
3nd Nobunaga
Kakita’s tea ceremony is very good but not memorable. Isawa and Kakita work on the story scroll together.

The next morning, Kakita decides to practice his katas and cuts at some bamboo. Isawa decided to practice his flame abilities and lights the bamboo on fire and the part spends the better part of the morning avoiding a forest fire.

At dusk, the party hears two horses approaches on the road from the direction they are traveling. An Emerald Magistrate and a Mantis stop, ask if they have seen four bandits with mixed mash armor. The party says no and they are informed to keep an eye and arrest the bandits. The two ride on.

Watches:
1st Isawa Hito & Nobunaga
2nd Togashi Kokobo & Kakita T

Just after mid day, they arrive at the Dueling School of the Kakita.

Kakita visits the school but his teacher, Doji Giyujin, but she is not at the school currently. He sits in with a class.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party, looks around village. They taste test the sake houses and stay at the Rose, due to its excellent sake.

The owner offers them a fancy meal and they enjoy it. The monk gets drunk on the sake. The party all return to the Inn and discuss the day’s events and plan to ask the city’s daimyo permission if the can take sake of the city.

Kakita and Isawa return to the Rose to offer the owner two koku to pay for the cost of the meal. The owner is offended but handles it well and politely refuses the money. Kakita offers to take the money to the temple in the name if the Rose.

The next morning, after Isawa and Kakita pay the gift to the temple and the party leaves.

After an uneventful half day of travel, they camp out.
Watches:
1st Isawa
2nd Togashi
3rd Nobunaga

During second watch, a group of horses approach on the road from the own they just let.
The party end up in a fight, someone please add the details.

In the end, the party returns to Dueling School and turns the the bandits over to magistrate who buys them dinner and offers them the run of the town for a couple of days.

Quote of the night – “My tea ceremony brings all the boys to the yard.”