Bandits on the Path

Military: Skirmish

In the morning, Yogo Kōichi guides the investigation team to the edge of town. A coach is readied there to take them to Tamura, driven by Seppun Raehua's capable retainer, Nobuhara. They also meet Meishozo Sasara, another samurai called by the magistrate. Sasara claims to be from a vassal family of the Kuni, responsible for mixing the abjurative makeups their shugenja wear when battling against creatures of the Shadowlands.   Partway to Tamura, the coach is waylaid by a group of clumsy bandits. Between the team's martial prowess and a powerful wind spell conjured by Bayushi Chūyō, these would-be ambushers are easily dispatched. Raehua accosts their bleeding leader. She learns the group was hired by a samurai in an antlered helmet, which Aki realizes matches the armor missing from the Magistrate's Manor. Under the weight of Raehua's imperial authority, the bandit leader agrees to police these lands rather than plunder them.