"Thinkin' hard or hardly thinkin'?" Hitoshi chides with a shit eating grin. But then it drops to a concerned frown. "You good?"

"Perfect," you answer through clenched teeth. And you were, this is not a poor situation. It's the best situation. With nowhere to flee the guards will fight for their lives, every last one of them. And you will too. "This place is one cigarette shy of a fire hazard. Hopefully they try to starve us out like civilized folk."

"The unwashed masses of a dead nation, somehow I doubt it." His grin returns as he lights up a cigarette. Tempting fate one breath at a time. But he seems relaxed and confident, good traits for a commander. Even though he's still an unwashed bum. "You know how the Land of Flowers died, kid?"

"Sabotage, foreign hordes, infighting, how?"

"Dunno, was hoping you did." He struts off, one arm withdrawn into his yukata and the other lazily resting on his katana. You turn to face the gathered guards bellow you, all one hundred and sixty of those under your command. They prepare oil, arrows,
and sharpen their weapons. They focus on preparations with frustrated intensity or nervously eye their neighbors. They're nervous, as they should be. A man without fear is a fool. A fool who dies easily and in vein. They're no fools, they're terrified, and that terror will turn them into animals when backed into a corner. No retreat, no surrender.

"Eliko!" Susuki shouts. His tall hat is easily noticeable at the opposite end of the wall. He hurries over, as stoic as always behind his trendy glasses. Head of the guards and personal servant and bodyguard to Shion. How he manages it all is any wonder. "Our scouts have just returned, they're over two thousand strong with a mix of gear. Some are foreigners, a hundred or two, some are old looking samurai, the rest are... well the scout didn't have the words to describe them but shambling. And they're all marching here. Any suggestions? With your experience in Tokai Village I'm sure you're a capable commander."

"Half watch until engagement..." You ponder it a moment. Trapping the town could be an idea, though how well that turns out is anyone's guess. Setting up a small garrison in the village could draw the enemy into more favorable positions but also leave the walls less defended. But as you consider your options you see Hitoshi sneak up on an unsuspecting guard fletching an arrow shaft. "How much food and water do we have?"

"Two weeks, twice that if we ration it to the bare minimum."

"Well..."

>Stay the walls and protract the battle. You have the resources, they might not.
>Avoid pitched battles and instead have a troop hide out in the forest to aggressively harass the enemy. Attrition is bad for both sides but it's always worse for the larger force.
>Preemptive strike, if their guard is down it will cause chaos and confusion among the rank and file.

Starting early, I'll keep the first vote open for a while.

>>3184520
>Avoid pitched battles and instead have a troop hide out in the forest to aggressively harass the enemy. Attrition is bad for both sides but it's always worse for the larger force.
Guerilla tactics are our only shot against such a large force

>>3184532
Alright, war of attrition. Roll 1d100.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>3184643
First.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>3184643

>>3184764
>>3184762
>95
Good shit, the tactical genius Eliko makes his return.

>>3184762
THAT'S THE ART OF WAR

https://youtu.be/IdhHaCrlhBo

"Is there a back entrance?" You ask. Susuki nods and you wave over Hitoshi. The ronin bounds back up to you with a faux salute.

"What's the plan, boss man?" Hitoshi asks. After nearly two hours of deliberating the details, your prepare your men and mach out a narrow tunnel through a waterfall behind the temple. The plan is simple enough. The enemy has a significant size advantage and you'll negate it while the other two troops maintain the walls. Foragers, scouts, stragglers, anyone unlucky enough to be away from the army are fair game. Harassment tactics, every standing armies worst nightmare.

Before you lead them deep into the forest you take precautions. Shoes padded with cloth and every loose piece of clothing tied back to prevent any unwanted noise. By the time night falls your troop is looking more like a unit of ninja. Half are equipped with yumi bows with single full quivers, the rest are restricted to their swords and pole arms. With only a day's worth of rations they're traveling light, forgoing even basic necessities like spare clothing and sleeping rolls. They will fight and pillage the enemy for supply.

As the moon begins it's nightly journey you're in position deep within the forest to the west. In the trees, in brush covered dugouts, prime ambushing conditions. Not too far away you hear the enemy, thousands of men at a tireless half march. The route they're taking is just north by an hour but where you're at is prime reconnaissance for any flanking maneuvers. And with your smaller force, flanking a full levy is suicide. But ambushing their smaller scouting and foraging parties is perfectly reasonable. If you want to be found out. But being found out isn't something you want just yet.

A while before midnight you tense with anticipation, hardly able to calm tremors of excitement. Twenty men leading horses stalk their way through the backwoods path. None in the troop move as they pass, each holding their breath for dear life. A smart thing would be to kill or capture the initial scouts, prevent them from getting back to their comrades and reporting their finds. But the best thing is to let them assume the flank is clear, then spring an ambush once the siege begins proper. Heavy smoke fills the air more so than before as Hitoshi's own plan comes to fruition. The village is to be burned, all the supplies moved to the temple or turned to ash as to prevent capture. It also prevents the enemy from settling a base camp for a short while, giving yourself a better opportunity.

>cont

Hours go by without tell or sign of any more scouts, the first more than likely to have met with the army to report their findings. As midnight reaches it's pinnacle you jump from your tree. A hundred and sixty men crawl from their holes like shadows and creep through the forest. With you at the head you make good time, coming only a few minutes outside of the still burning village to see the glow and hear the sound of metal being pounded. The enemy army pitches tents, readies supplies, prepares siege equipment. Roughly half of their strength, little over a thousand, are the tag wearing corpses you're familiar with while the rest are a mishmash of foreigners, criminal looking types, and a few insidious faces. A strange contraption made of metal, like a piston strapped to wheels but the front is open, is roped to a group of corpses. Familiarity fills you, you've seen such a thing before, it's dangerous.

Fortunately you've already organized your troop into many teams and sub teams so issuing orders for multiple tasks is an easy feat. The archers are to spread out along the forest and act as a force multiplier while the pole arm and sword wielders cause as much mayhem as possible before the whole group slips back into the night. But first, you make further preparations. Bonfire piles made from brush and scrap wood set out along the east, your archers set to the west and south, and groups footmen in every direction. The troop is spread thin but it'll make due, an illusion of numerical superiority.

You have an entire morning for the enemy to set in and entrench. Their guards are down by the looks of it and your own men are rearing to go. Simply give the signal and disrupt their forces then retreat and repeat. Or wait and see for a little while longer as you can never have to much information. So long as you're not indecisive, such things can get you and your troop killed after all.

>Begin the attack at once
>Send in a smaller group to draw them out for a better ambush
>Send scouts to better understand the situation
>Write-in

>>3184883
>Begin the attack at once
Torch their siege equipment

Seems how not too many are voting I'll take today slow and catch up on some work.

>>3184883
>>Begin the attack at once
Fast, hard, and fiercely.

>>3184883
Send scouts.

>>3184960
>>3184956
>>3184908
>Begin the attack
Alright, first hit and run of the siege. Lets get some 1d100s rolling to see how well it goes.
DC 55

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>3184967

>>3184967
Are we allowed multiple if no one else rolls?

>>3184976
I'll permit it but give it half an hour or so.

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>3184967

>>3184982
>>3184974
>98
Alright, 4 threads in and Eliko has failed, what, 3 rolls total? Great succ, i'll have an update out in an hour or two.

As far as the enemy is concerted, they're utterly safe for the moment. No posted guards or lookouts, they're full of themselves but probably have at least one scouting party still out and about somewhere. You give the signal, a sharp chopping motion, then charge forward in silence with your men and only a few other teams. The bonfires, archers, and majority will come later, after the surprise. For now all you need is the silence and determination of well disciplined footmen. The still mostly unprepared tents come well into view, their workers unwittingly with their backs to you.

You silently run your sword through the firsts neck, dropping him into a heap before moving on to the next. Unprepared, unknowing, and absolutely caught off guard. No mind is payed to the shambling horde further to the front as you dispatch false samurai and foreigner alike. An eagle cries overhead as you manage to sneak up behind the great siege weapon, resulting in an early arrow from one of your men. The giant bird goes limp and falls into the forest yet no alarm goes up, the owner hopefully dead at the hands of another team.

The siege weapon is huge, easily a ship's worth of metal rolled into one giant piece. A foreign language is inscribed up and down it's length, an epic story of sorts. But you pay it little attention and get to work sabotaging the terrible thing. No obvious firing mechanism and a simple wheeled chassis give you little option than to bust it's frame best you can. Several attempts at hacking through it's axles result in failure but then a footmen brings it's ammunition to light. Giant metal balls filled with explosives, and they're stacked high not too far away.

You give the order and haul one of the monstrous shells in place, wedging it between the frame and gun before rigging up a makeshift fuse. A few long moments later you're sprinting towards the rally point as fast as your body will physically allow. You're not sure how powerful the weapon is but positive it's worse than you'll be willing to deal with. Not a minute later the whole thing goes up in a ball of red fire and inky smoke, the concussion waive almost enough to knock you from your feet and blow several tents over.

Arrows from the west and south begin raining down on the now alerted camp and the bonfires glow in the forest line. The rest of your footmen charge en masse, screaming and bellowing challenges with their swords raised. It works. Those within the camp able to organize themselves form a defensive square deep within the tents while stragglers are slaughtered. You yourself go on the offense and cut down several half dressed challengers. They're completely unprepared and by the ten minute mark have been forced out of their own camp. But instead of perusing the rout you call for retreat. They outnumber you after all and any organized counter will destroy your own forces.

>cont

You and your men slip back into the dark forest, not stopping until you return to your original hiding spots. Hours go by without movement or sound until the sun rises, then you call for half watch. Six hours of rest, six hours of work. Bettering dugouts, organizing looted supplies, sleeping, eating, and healing the very few minor wounds some men received. But not you, for the real work begins. The enemy will have sentries posted in every tree and bush. Another major attack will be foolish and they'll expect it. But it will never come, not of the same scale anyways.

First you divvy up the cardinal directions to your men. A quarter will take the east, another the south, and finally and the rest will handle west. Any scout, forager, messenger, and bird are to be killed on sight without exception. They will be def and blind to the world around them. If they retreat then they will suffer through eighty of your men laying in ambush to do so, if they attack the temple proper your entire force will deliver swift strikes on every flank, and if they remain encamped they will starve. A hundred or a thousand makes no difference if the enemy can't stay focused on the task at hand. And with your only job being to disrupt that focus at any given opportunity you might just win. But that begs the question, any good samurai officer leads from the front and you have three. Which ever will have to deal with scouts, eagles, and possible counter attacks.

>Join the west flank to stall any reinforcements or disrupt any retreat
>Join the south flank to engage in more harassment actions
>Join the east flank to better protect your own retreat and meet with any help that may arrive
>write-in

>>3185204
Join the east flank.

>>3185204
>>Join the east flank to better protect your own retreat and meet with any help that may arrive

We're a great fighter, but a good leader is needed at the moment.

>>3185204
>Join the south flank to engage in more harassment actions
Demoralize the enemy. we don't have to eliminate them, we just have to make them leave.

>>3185267
>>3185263
>>3185234
>east flank

Alright, protecting the escape route wins. This will be the last update for tonight but I'll be on tomorrow afternoon to continue and go through the weekend. Writing.

You go with the east flank to better a rally point and escape route. If the temple were to fall everyone inside will flee east and if those in your own troop fail then the remains will either escape into the wilderness or return to the temple. Either way you settle in with forty of your men off the road, digging yourselves in deep. An unseen fortification, concealed from praying eyes. An old jungle nation did something similar in the warring states period, it lacked a military so instead it's population dug tunnels and laid traps upon every inch of their land. It was such a hassle to handle that even ninja had problems getting through. You're borrowing inspiration. Spike pits, log traps, any number of things to demoralize anyone coming through.

Night falls once more as you crawl into your dugout. A storm gathers overhead and showers the alpine canopy with rain. It's miserable for most, especially those at the enemy camp forced to watch for any potential attack. Your men have proven themselves much harder, willing to sacrifice everything in order to protect Shion and the temple. As of now they live in mud and squalor for her. Commendable dedication, honorable even. Perhaps you've misjudged them as simple guards, unpolished as apposed to incompetent. But it's only the second night and their determination has yet to be truly tested.

"Ser," A footman says. A footman team leader by the name of Arata. "May I enter?"

"Come on in," you answer. He crouches down and slips off his wider brimmed hat before bowing and taking a traditional crouch. Much too formal for your stature, you're only an apprentice after all. With a wave of your hand he relaxes with a sigh and sits cross legged. "What's on your mind?"

"I was curious what tonight's plan is. Are we attacking again?" Two nights and a day in and mud already stains his leggings and shirt. Much like every soldier under your command.

"No, hopefully our first shook them up enough that it won't be required. Best case more than half of them are on duty and the rest are so wound up that they cant sleep."

"I see..." A look of amazement and wonder brightens up his face in the otherwise dark and dreary conditions. "If I may make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Seems as how we have them on edge I don't think they'll try to assault the temple, not yet anyways. What if we took another troop, say Ser Hitoshi's, and try a full fledged attack?"

"If our ploy last night worked then they already think they're surrounded by a larger force. They'll expect it, and keep expecting it, until we either wear them down enough to launch an attack from the castle where they're not expecting or they break and retreat."

"And if neither?"

"Then we'll just have to wait until help arrives or let them take the temple."

>cont

"Apologies for being so presumptuous." He bows his head. You clear your throat to let him back up. He's done nothing wrong, a good commander takes ideas and opinions from even the lowest of footmen. Sure they might not be correct but they always offer a different perspective to better see the overall picture. And if the rest of the troop is anything like Arata then they're willing to attack at a moments notice.

"Prudent, not presumptuous. Now, if you need something to do then feel free to get some volunteers and scout, forage, or hunt down the any enemy attempting the same. And if you see an eagle, kill it."

"By your command." Arata bows deeply once more and pushes through the stack of pine branches back outside into the rain. Give a soldier too much to do and they'll be exhausted and demoralized, not enough and their focus will waver and turn to trivial pursuits instead of the task at hand. It's a fine balance between running them into the ground and killing them with boredom. But war is boring with short bursts of terror.

A short while later you settle in to meditation and let stray thoughts slip by. Thinking without thought as Hitoshi might put it. You're skin prickles with frustration at the ronin but a deep breath relieves the tension, or some of it. Not long after you drift off to a deep and dark place, colder than the Land of Iron where even fire freezes. Decrepit trees are stuck in spot, forever bent at the shoulders with piles of eternal snow atop them. A blue fog sticks to the air like oil, it's taste and smell sickly sweet.

A young white haired girl dances through the frozen wasteland, her red gaze fixated on a silhouette between trees. But a horn blows in the distance then another, first one of a boat then one of war. Explosions rattle your bones and she cries out, ripped from the ground by a passerby running toward a wrathful ocean. And you left behind, every movement agonizingly slow.

She screams, over and over, a name silent on deafening wind. You awake with a start and a sharp breath, a face staring at you from the entrance of your dugout. A footman with a grin. "Ser Eliko, we've capture a scout, fell in a spike pit."

"Only one?"

"Out of four, the rest are dead. He will be in a few hours."

>Kill him, can't chance an escape
>Interrogate him yourself
>write-in

And that's it for tonight, hope everyone is enjoying it so far. I'll stick around to read anything you guys post and have an update tomorrow afternoon.

>>3185460
>Interrogate him yourself.

>>3185460
>Interrogate him yourself
This is really cool, keep it up OP

>>3185977
Thank you, I appreciate it. Hopefully I've saved a bit of face from the first two threads.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>3185977
>>3185488
>Interrogate
Alright, Eliko isn't afraid of really getting his hands dirty.
Roll 1d100 to see how well you do. Rules are the same, I'll take the best of three. Crit fails/succ on 1 & 100. As a new stipulation, you may roll twice thirty minutes after the first if no one else has done so.

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>3186512

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3186512

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>3186512

>>3186747
>>3186741
>>3186674
>77
Good stuff, that's a success. Writing.

You take a deep breath and climb your way out of the hole. A light rain showers down, keeping the ambient temperature closer to comfortable level. Fortunately, as hard as hard as it rained last night, you didn't even get wet. The footmen around you certainly did, most drying their clothes over small buried fires and protected from the weather under well concealed lean-tos. Their ingenuity is rather impressive having already made the forest their homes. Some, mostly archers, live up in the canopy while the rest figure low hanging pine tree skirts make rather acceptable and very dry huts.

"Is he still in the pit?" You ask the footman who retrieved you, now leading the way.

"Yes, Ser. With team leader Arata." It isn't long until you find Arata and his team, only a few short minutes away from the camp. The group of seven stand around a pit, from which comes a pained groaning.

Arata gives a stiff bow, along with his team, before you peer over the edge. Padded black robes emblazoned with a red flower and plenty of blood. The enemy scout is pale and gaunt, his head lazily rolling from shoulder to shoulder against the deep dirt wall. He's soaked through and through with red and rain, his dull brown eyes sickly with bloodshot. Spikes made of stout tree limbs pierce through every which way from his guts to his legs. Certainly there is no recovering from such terminal wounds. Not without an expert medical-nin at hand.

"His comrades are piled up not too far off. He fell in trying to get away." Arata says, pointing to a pile of bodies hidden under bushes.

"Working as intended then," you answer. You crouch down and tap the man's face. He stirs for a moment and watches you with confusion. "You need help?"

"P-please," he says with a gasping shutter. "Don-'t leave me here."

"I won't but if you want out you're going to have to help me first, alright?"

"Alright, please, it hurts!" He tugs at the many spikes holding him in place, only making the wounds worse. You grab him by the face and have him look at you, calming him a bit.

"I know you guys aren't doing well in the camp, but how bad? Food? Water?"

"Bad," he chokes. "The cannon exploded, it took our supplies with it. The c-conscripts aren't allowed rations and have to forge-"

"Hold on, conscripts?" You raise an eyebrow in concerned curiosity. No wonder they were so unorganized during the raid, many are trained worse than the guards if it's true. Not to mention this one seems too trusting to be a trained professional.

"Press-ganged into service to the Land of Flowers. N-not so bad though, pays alright. Not treated as bad as the Jiangshi..." He starts to hyper ventilate, his skin somehow turning a shade paler. Panic rolls into his eyes, time is almost up judging from how fast he's hemorrhaging. "Please, I don't wanna to die, I wanna to go home."

>cont

"Everything will be fine." Tinges of unease prickles at your skin as you pull the bear claw knife from it's sheath. He notices and grabs your free hand, tears welling in his yes. He mumbles no over and over but you pay it no mind and plunge the bone blade into his chest, right into his heart. His eyes go wide and his hand squeezes tight. The pleading stops and a few long seconds later his head lulls back, dead.

You sigh and stand, flicking the blood from your new knife before sheathing it. Arata and his team watch wide eyed and mouths agape before quickly removing the body and resetting the trap. A simple thing, thin branches covered in a t hin layer of soil and pine needles. Hard to spot if you're being chased through the dead of night. "Arata," you say, "good job. You and your team get some sleep."

"Ser!' They answer in unison before heading off towards the camp. You take another look at the body, terror in it's eyes. Only a conscript, forced to fight for an land not his own long since dead. Fitting, another corpse for a corpse empire. Using the necrotic for it's own ends. Perhaps you could to? Conscripts are easily dissuade after all.

>Terrorize the enemy with the dead bodies
>Go out on a patrol to clear your mind, such thoughts lead to dark places
>Run a report back to the temple yourself, see how the garrison is holding and maybe bring back more supplies for your troop
>Write-in

>>3186969
>Go out on a patrol to clear your mind, such thoughts lead to dark places
That could easily backfire

>>3186969
Run a report back to the temple.

>>3187047
>>3187017
>Report
Writing.

You shake your head clear of the thoughts and walk back to the camp. Loosing yourself to a conniption is no way for a commanding officer to act. You are a samurai, not some petty lord wanting for revenge. The conscripts could very well be forced into service. It's not your job to make them hate it even more, even if it would make the situation easier. You're no monster.

Arata and several of the other team leaders nod at you ass you pass by. One holds a scroll in hand, ready to provide the first report to Taruho. You take it instead and order the troop to remain on quarter watch until you get back. They're not to actively harass or target scouting parties unless found out. It'll do you some good with how your bones and muscles ache. With dozens of freshly formed several inch long scars along your body it's any wonder you can still move. The wounds went down to the bone after all. Yuki's healing sure is something special, even if she insists she's not a medical-nin.

The forest is quiet, even in the light rain. Pine trees stand high against the alpine backdrop, against an overcast gray sky. As big a hurry as you should be in, you can't help but enjoy the stroll at a leisurely pace. A few days of combat have left you itching for something more, a fuzzy feeling in the back of your mind. How long have you actually slept in the last few days, you wonder, no longer than an hour or two. Not that it matters as sleep has never really been your thing. No dreams of better times or warm homes, just a cold and empty abyss for four hours a night if you so chose. And you normally don't.

After a few hours of walking you begin the craggy climb to the temple's secret passage. But not before checking for any unwanted eyes. No eagles, no spys, no scouts. With that you slip behind a boulder and come to a steel framed door sitting just inside the mouth of a small cave. You knock, two, three, two, and step inside the moment the door cracks open. A guard with a lit lantern bows then locks the door behind you as you continue down the path. It doesn't take long to reach the temple's inner sanctuary from behind a waterfall, and even less to reach Taruho going over a dozen plans in the great hall with Shion watching from her throne with a bored expression.

But something seems off. Taruho doesn't look like he's slept in days and the nearby guards seem on edge. "What happened?" You ask.

"Hitoshi disappeared," Taruho answers, cutting of Shion before she can speak. "Along with two dozen or so of the men under his command. Those formally under his command say they were the ones less sure of the situation and their loyalty was lacking. All right after they burned the village."

"Mmh..." You let out a deep breath. Of course he ran. You set the report down on the low table and sit down, rubbing your forehead with a stiff thumb. "Moral is fine within my troop, in fact they might be too eager."

"I see. Any wounded?"

"Minor cuts and burns, one break I think. A finger."

>cont

"You're faring better than anyone else it seems. Those within the walls are anxious, afraid." He quickly jots down something on another scroll before taking your report. Then he pushes one back, red and stamped with the Land of Iron's sigil. Three wolf head silhouettes. You steel yourself and take the scroll, pulling it open. An order, for all able bodied Samurai to return to the Land of Iron immediately. "It arrived after Hitoshi left, a courier unawares of our problem."

"Not good," you mumble before rolling the scroll back up. It was addressed to you personally from Master Mifune himself. An emergency recall sent out to even the self exiled and ronin of tolerable criminality. "Not good at all."

"Your help so far has been indispensable, for that I thank you. I would ask you to consider staying but I will not, it is not your duty."

"Wait, you're leaving?!" Shion says from her throne. Her stuck up expression turns to a fearful plea. "But-"

"My Lady," Toruho interrupts. "He fulfilled much of Hitoshi's obligation and provided a great service with what he's done so far. It is not our place to keep him."

"But..." She frowns for a moment then a bell chimes faintly, her eyes wide with fear for a brief second. She pulls her knees to her chin and shutters. You'll have to ask her about those strange mannerisms and mood swings, eventually. They're just not normal, at least, you think. "Perhaps it's for the best."

An emergency order from Master Mifune himself is not to be taken lightly. But can you permit such a stain on your honor as to leave these people to fend for themselves? Abandon them like the no good ronin, Hitoshi? And what of Yuki, whom at this moment, expects you to be here. Your mission may have been to find a criminal but can you still say the same? The men out in the field will be slaughtered without a proper leader and those within the walls might not do much better without your assistance. You're a samurai, or at least an apprentice, but what does that mean right now? To you?

>Stay and help the temple, anything else is an affront to proper decency
>Chase after Hitoshi, he is your mission and nothing else
>Return to the Land of Iron, Master Mifune's orders are above all
>write-in

>>3187310
>Return to the land of iron. Perform one last raid.

This vote will be the last for today and is rather important to the direction of the story. I'll let it go on until I feel enough people have voted on it then do a rather lengthy update.

>>3187380
Support.

We must obey the Master... But we can go through their army on my way.

>>3187310
>Stay and help the temple, anything else is an affront to proper decency

>>3187467
>>3187418
>>3187380
Alright, seems like returning to the land of iron and making a mess on your way out is the majority here. I'll consider any more votes if they receive enough support. Next update will be later tonight if I can get it done or be tomorrows initial update.

Also roll 1d100. DC 80

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>3187860
check my 100

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>3187860

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>3187860
Chelevou

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>3187860
Does it still count?

>>3187983
>>3187947
>>3187880
>63
OOF about that 90, unfortunately no. If you were within a few seconds of the 56 i'd consider it. Fortunately one failure isn't going to absolutely ruin this for you, you'll have at least one more chance to make a comeback before actually leaving.

And a quick PSA, the next update will certainly be tomorrow's starter. So for now have a wonderful night.

>>3187983
foiled by 1 post id mans, unfortunate.

Update soonish, probably. Gotta finish some good old fashioned editing.


>>3188343
The fate of every important roll

You strum your fingers along the table for a few moments before making up your mind. Mifune is both your Master and the Warlord of the Land of Iron. He makes a decree and all those within and outside the Land listen. Ronin, Samurai, citizen, it matters little as his orders are nonnegotiable. But leaving behind a clearly outnumbered and inexperienced friendly force to get annihilated doesn't sit well with you. No, you'll follow Master Mifune's orders... but what samurai wouldn't leave a parting gift? "Toruho," you say. "I'll be leaving for the Land of Iron come tomorrow morning."

"Unfortunate but I understand-" You pull the map from under his arms, interrupting him.

"Of course I'll need an escort to the road, say, three hundred bodyguards?" You paint a path through the village, going wide through it's southern exit to the clearing where the enemy camp sits. Then you mark friendly positions and advancement lines. It's a fifty-fifty shot they'll expect an attack from the front gate but you'll hedge your bets on a stronger defense to the east where any possible reinforcements of your own might come from. Couldn't have been more than two hundred killed in the first raid. But the uncertainty will hopefully offset that number difference. All you have to do is rout them after all, not necessarily kill them all. "There. And of course, once I'm gone, you'll want said bodyguards to return to their posts on the walls. After all, you never know when the enemy might attack."

"I'm afraid I don't understand..." He watches you in bewilderment, or rather stoic uncertainty. A real stick in the mud. You close your eyes for a moment and clench your jaw before returning to the present to explain the plan. Attack the camp, break the enemy, return to the walls before they reform. Runners are dispatched with orders to all outside forces and by late afternoon it's nearly time to begin.

You watch from the wall as the men assemble. Three hundred twenty or so ready, a three deep pole arm line to the front, swordsmen on the flanks, and the main body of two hundred archers to the rear. The best formation you can hope for in such a situation being so outnumbered. Still you have high hopes. One push to disperse the invaders, an entirely feasible plan so long as you're not wrong. The bugle cries and the small army of guards march out the gates only to take line positions a moment later on the other side. But another cries a challenge a few minutes later, a war horn deep and intimidating. Eagles cry out above and the march of a thousand more rumble to the south. You got it wrong, and with over half of the army already forming up outside the gate there's little chance to retreat to take up defensive formations within the walls.

>cont

"They come!" You bellow. Your skin prickles with excitement at the enemies march. A shambling horde of relentless and tireless corpses lead the way, behind them another thousand living breathing warriors calling for blood. Many conscripts led by professionals and foreign mercenaries against your half trained guards, each bellowing their battle cries. This is it, a true battle. "Archers! Range and nock!"

A hundred bowmen pause for a moment then knock an arrow. You call draw and they do and they hold it for nearly an entire minute. A minute for the enemy to get into range. And then you order them to loose. Two hundred bowmen let fly two hundred arrows. They silently pierce the air and hang for a long moment before plunging back down to the ground, taking many with them. You jump from the wall and make way to the front of the formation as the archers continue their barrage.

"Ser Eliko!" Susuki shouts from pole arm line's lead. You take your place at the head next to him. "Orders?"

"Archers, overdraw! Footmen, counter charge!" The order is repeated up and down the formation. Archers switch to shorter arrows and every one with a melee weapon breaks into a charge the moment you take the first step forward. Adrenalin burns through your body, your heart beating at a million miles a second and your vision a deafening tunnel. Exhilarating. An enemy samurai leads their own charge, katana in hand with two banner men behind him. Geared in traditional armor with a demon mask. Foreign warriors charge on either side of him with their studded leather armor and thick scale coifs and helmets. Still they hide behind their corpses.

Short arrows zip around you, taking the corpses heads or tags with every shot. Jiangshi the scout called them, not a word you're familiar with. But the men at your sides and back know to dispatch them with strikes to the head. The first wave smashes into your own line and your sword catches the evening sun with an azure flash. Each strike is a precise cut to the head, either outright splitting it, cutting it from it's shoulders, or destroying the tags. And for a while it works. You let the feel of a real battle wash over you. The screams, the smell of bitter ichor, weapons clanging and the feel of your own sword tug against flesh and bone.

Then your men start feeling the wear of exhaustion. Some fall after overextending, swarmed by the Jiangshi, others taken by stray arrows from either side. But moral stays strong, even as their strikes slow. Susuki trips over an overlooked Jiangshi but you stab it's head before it can latch onto him. In that moment of distraction a nearly blinding pain stabs your arm with an added weight, an arrow. And it's stuck in deep, rooted to the bone. Unable to wrench it free you snap off the shaft and continue on. It limits motion, forcing you to favor your left hand with an altered grip.

>cont

All around the chaotic mess of bodies and screaming the guards remain firm, what few casualties they've taken weighing little on their minds. But for how long? Loosing five percent of an army can very well end up with a rout, no one likes to see their comrades die. That's what the plan was for, a quick push into their camp to break them. If only it hadn't backfired the moment you stepped out of the gate. Two hundred of their living men or fifty of yours.

Or their commander. Killing him would more than likely cause a unilateral collapse of the line. All it will take is a good distraction to pull some of their army away from the front. A distraction that should be coming from your own troop any moment now from every other flank but the north. Hopefully they noticed the enemy mobilizing and followed them in. Ultimately it doesn't matter, you can charge down the commander yourself if all else fails.

"Archers!" You shout. Susuki pants heavily next to you. Overweight and stained with sweat. He'll need to work on getting in shape if he doesn't die today. But you'll be damned if he isn't right in the thick of it giving it his all. "Target the living!"

You grit your teeth after bumping your hand into another arrow you hadn't noticed, this one buried in your thigh. Fortunately it missed anything important but damn if it didn't hurt. This needs to end now less the temple guards be forced to rout or retreat and you leave in shame.

>Wait for your troop to flank before acting, the plan is still salvageable
>Charge forward yourself and take the commander, end it in a proper duel
>Order the retreat, this is only wasting time, energy, and lives

>>3189476
>Charge forward yourself and take the commander, end it in a proper duel
Plan is buggered, but we might yet seize the day.

>>3189476
>Charge forward yourself and take the commander, end it in a proper duel

>>3189476
>Charge forward yourself and take the commander, end it in a proper duel

That's the stuff legends are made of.

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>Inb4 we get Eliko killed stupidly trying to be a l33t samurai

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>3189527
>>3189530
>>3189543
>Charge
True samurai warriors. Next update will be out in a few hours, need to get some shit done. Gonna need some 1d100 action. DC don't fuck up
>>3189565
Lets hope not, my backup plan is only half-baked.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3189573
Spirits with us.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3189573
Ah feck

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>3189573

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>>3189604

>>3189632
>>3189604
>>3189602
>87
Narrow victory, the DC was 85. Good shit.

https://youtu.be/taAeBe8_-4A

Too many Jiangshi still in play and their living forces are basically fresh to the fight. This is a loosing battle, leaving you with one choice. And that choice stares you down from behind his demon mask. Better than any training or war game. No dirty tricks, no backstabbing. Just hundreds of screaming men killing each other for the sake of it. This is real, this is visceral, this is war. And you feel more comfortable than you've ever felt. You pull a yari spear from the ground as a deep sense of something fills you, more than rage, more than terror. Primal and consuming.

"Til orusstu!" You howl, unsure of the words coming from your mouth as you charge. But you've heard them before, a war cry burnt deep into your mind. You fell a foreign warrior blocking your path by sticking him in the neck with the spear, leaving it in place as you tunnel vision the enemy commander. The katana in your hand you've trained your life with feels foreign as you cut your way through Jiangshi and living warriors alike. A strange sense of wrongness. It's weight, it's balance, reach, each deeply ingrained to your very being, is wrong. But not the metal, it's hum a familiar song.

Your sword hits something that doesn't give. A proper block, one by the masked samurai commander. His amber eyes flash with anger, hidden within the dark recesses of the demon mask. Red and tusked and grinning. His sword, shaking against your own, is dull gray, an antique much like his armor. Unpolished and nicked and scratched. It belongs in a collection. Everything about these supposed Land of Flowers warriors do.

He disengages and jumps back a step, holding out a hand to prevent any of his men from taking you on. The duel has been accepted. He takes a stance, stiff and formal. But with the Adrenalin still coursing through you, everything seems so sluggish. You let out a deep breath and speak, a fair warning and offer. "Leave."

He only tightens his grip and starts to circle you. You grin wolfishly and take your own stance, except it's not, at least not one you've learned from Master Mifune. High and over your leading elbow, shoulder height, reminding you of an ox in a yoke. It leaves many openings and the gentle curve of your katana somewhat obscures your vision. It feels right and a broader sword would do well with it. All around you swords clang and clash, the guards had followed you up and give a wide berth. Though now they seem to have a renewed vigor.

>Strike first and try to make an opportunity for yourself
>Hold your ground and defend, wait for an opening
>Try and anticipate his attack for an iaido quick-draw

>>3189984
>Try and anticipate his attack for an iaido quick-draw

I'm fairly sure there's about four of you guys participating right now, so I'll wait until at least three votes from now on so people actually have a chance to play.

>>3189984
>Try and anticipate his attack for an iaido quick-draw
While gamey, Eliko seems to be awful fecking good with the quick draw.

>>3190040
>>3190516
>Iaido
Alright, guess two votes for the same thing is fine so long as I have a majority. Need some 1d100s from you guys.

>While gamey, Eliko seems to be awful fecking good with the quick draw.
He's spent a good portion of his life in Three Wolves mastering it, close to 9 years in fact. While not a true master at it yet, he's pretty damn close.

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>3190595
Now I’m thinking of Eliko just going around everywhere with his hands constantly gripping his sheathed blade, ready to chop fools at a moment’s notice

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>3190595
Kinda pointless after the stellar first roll, but I guess I may as well put one out there.

>>3190634
>>3190652
>99
Big OOF. Unless someone rolls a 1 in the next five-ish minutes I'm gonna get to writing. Good shit.
>Now I’m thinking of Eliko just going around everywhere with his hands constantly gripping his sheathed blade, ready to chop fools at a moment’s notice
Hay man, you never know when a bear or ninja might try and ambush you. Paranoia is always healthy in small doses.

No, you have no idea what you're doing with the stance and your opponent clearly knows his stuff. They wouldn't be leading an army if they didn't. What you need to do is make it quick, a long and drawn out fight will only serve to exhaust both yourself and the guards around you. You let out the strange feeling with a deep breath and flick your sword clean before sheathing it. Then you lower you body and widen your stance, bracing yourself against the ground.

One thumb on the guard for an initial push, your hand on the hilt to follow through. One fluid motion, one strike. An arrow narrowly splits through your hair, taking a banner-man with it. Behind the enemy a roar erupts, your troop enters the fray from every flank. An encirclement, while thin in this case, is a great tactic as it splits the enemies attention. Your opponent seems fixated on you, your stance even. And for a moment he hesitates in confusion.

Then he strikes, launching forward across the small clearing in the battlefield with his katana overhead. With a single half step forward and a slight lean to the side your sword is already back in it's sheath without so much as a stain on it's blue hue. A woman screams in agony, your opponent. Her katana lays on the ground still in the clutches of a disembodied hand while she writhes in pain, grabbing at a now amputated right arm. A gash cuts across her face from chin to temple and an angle, narrowly slipping between her eyes but nearly cutting off her nose. Her mask is split in two and on the ground.

Her still attached hand lunges out for her weapon as you approach before sweeping out with a sloppy stroke. She scrambles to her feet and takes an offhanded stance before lashing out at you with progressively worse and worse form. Desperate attempts to win. Her face his pale and half covered with blood while red stains her armor down to the leg. It won't take much to defeat her and end the attack. But she's clearly unable to defend herself now. As much determination as she shows, will you actually feel fine about killing a one armed and ragged girl?

>Take her head as per norm, it'll scare off the army
>Knock her out and take her prisoner, she might have some value
>Knock her out and leave her in the dirt
>Write-in

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>>3190634
>>3190853
>Take her head as per norm, it'll scare off the army

It's fitting that a corpse army should be led by a corpse.

>>3190853
>Take her head as per norm, it'll scare off the army
We’re not in a position to be ransoming or anything

>>3190942
Also, c’mon. This girl has been leading conscript armies conquering the country around us. I’m all for chivalry and such, but this is clearly a special case.

>>3190853
>Knock her out and leave her in the dirt

This is not for chivalry, this us just for the potential of a one armed recurring rival who goes through a long and painful recovery process, has to relearn how to fight and perhaps even reflects on their evil choices, and then some day stands on a road before us blocking our path, demanding a duel to final settlement things.

We can kill her outright then.

Also, is she hot?

>>3190893
>>3190942
>>3190960
>take her head
Brutal but fitting, it's how the samurai do. Writing.

>It's fitting that a corpse army should be led by a corpse.
An irony I'm glad wasn't lost with you guys.

>We’re not in a position to be ransoming or anything
Could be, you've effectively decapitated their leadership. Also there's far more reaching consequences than I'm sure any of you are considering.

>This is not for chivalry
You're right on that front though I think you won't be feeling disappointing in the upcoming arcs.
>Spoiler
Before or after the horrific facial scar and amputation you've given her? Before, in a tomboyish sort of way. Though she is, meta, about ten years older than you.

>>3190950
Is Harakiri a thing in Naruto world?

We could insist she kill herself, rather than sullying our blade on someone who's not worthy of it.

>>3191009
For the samurai it most certainly is a possibility, at least in my quest. It'll take a mighty fine roll in this scenario but I'm willing to entertain it if you guys want. I'll give it a few extra minutes in case anyone wants to consider it.

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>>3191020
>Attempt to convince
I mean, sure. IC would Eliko consider this viable considering the pocket they’re in?

>Far reaching consequences
I love dicking with Geopolitics by killing scrubs in duels. Reminds me of much better times....

>>3191007
>you've effectively decapitated their leadership
Jej.

Also, this lady is the only general? What as stroke of divine luck!

>>3191038
more like a stroke of divine steel

>>3191035
>>3191038
I will say Eliko isn't super versed in sepuku/harakiri but is certainly aware if it's purpose and function. But with the current situation it could very well prove another hardship as opposed to respite.

>Geopolitics
>Pic very related
Are the best. I hope you guys aren't just expecting some samurai showdowns to run the setting.

>>3191051
If only you knew.

Alright, i'm counting two for taking her head, one for knocking her out and leaving her, and one for sure calling for sudoku. Last call, ten minutes, I've gotta take a shit and I want you all to be sure about this.

Alright, time for an execution. Writing.

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>>3191122
>>3191077
Checked and wrecked.

>>3190960
Don't worry. Perhaps she has a cuter offspring who will come looking for that revenge?

You catch a wild swing by the blade, it lacking the power to do any real damage and leaving only a superficial cut. It won't due, it just won't. A real samurai knows their defeat accepts it. The just thing would be to offer her to regain her honor but by the pitiful way she's struggling you doubt it will happen. Not with so many of her men expecting a victory. Any one of them could take advantage of the momentary weakness while you help perform ritual suicide.

No, you wrench the sword from her hand and once again quick draw, this time with much more thought than normal. The strike catches her in the neck and her body crumples to the ground, lifeless and pooling from the neck. You bend down and pull off her helmet before taking her head by the hair and holding her up to the sky. "'Dauðinn blasir við þér!" You yell on impulse, forcing much of the fighting to halt. Then you toss the head to a nearby enemy, startling them. "You're leader lies dead! Now leave before I do the same to you and mount your heads on spikes!"

Several of those around you drop their weapons, but not all of them. Retreat is called by some ranking officer with the faculties to do so. They stampede away, broken for the moment and leaving many scattered corpses in their wake only to run headlong into your troop still engaging them with arrows on every flank. Most make it to the safety of the trees while many are killed in step. Though once your troop realize it's a retreat they stop and make the march through the burnt out town back to you. You order the guards, all of them, back into the temple's walls in case the invaders reform to exact revenge, in which case all the guards can do is wait them out.

After many words of gratitude from the guards, especially Taruho and Susuki, and very confused scowls from Shion, you sit and get patched up by the closest thing resembling a doctor so far out in the stick. Some old lady that you're sure you've seen before but can't really place where. Her breath smells of carrion but otherwise she's quiet. On a few occasions you have to deal with sharp pains in your mind and wisps of blue fog creeping in the corners of the room. A few questions hang heavy. What's going on in the Land of Iron to have Master Mifune order a full recall. And why in the world does a nonexistent empire have an army of dead people and foreigners?

The full moon rises high, a cloudless night bright as any can be. You're not exceedingly tired and none of your wounds are life threatening, if a bit uncomfortable. You could always leave in the morning after some rest. Yuki might also make it in time to rejoin you if she so wishes.

>Leave now. Fast forward to the Land of Iron.
>Leave in the morning. Have a short travel arc and possibly some shenanigans along the way.

Alright, that'll be it for tonight, going to cook myself some damn fine steaks. In the meantime, hope you guys are having fun. I'll be around if you have any questions, comments or criticism.

>>3191276
>>Leave in the morning. Have a short travel arc and possibly some shenanigans along the way.

F I L L E R

But seriously, thanks QM
>survive bat shit crazy sally forth
>die on the road to another bear or some shit

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>>3191276
>Leave in the morning. Have a short travel arc and possibly some shenanigans along the way.
Love me some roadtripping. I wonder what’s got Shion bothered.

Highlander shit, probably morrigan or somesuch? Spoopy bois.

>>3191316
NOPE. NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE.

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>>3191352
Don’t worry la, with how Eliko has been performing he may well be jap Cú Chulainn or some other pagan figure I can’t be arsed to remember. Not a good thing for him, but a great thing for the health of the quest!

>>3191302
>F I L L E R
I'll write at the pace you guys want. And no problem. Though a bear might be preferable IC to what's coming.

>>3191316
>spoiler
Spoopy indeed, hopefully some hints I dropped over the last couple threads haven't given too much away. Though with how bad the first two were it could go either way.

>>3191380
The thing I like about Celtic magic is that it just works. Sometimes you get horrific inside out monsters that destroy armies, and sometimes you get a crazy yandere elf GF or shadow goddess who won't let you leave their realms.
>Spoilers
you sure he's a nip?
But for reals, i figured it's probably pretty boring to see the same chakra stuff over and over in these kinds of quests. There's so much more to the setting that's never really expanded upon.

>>3191449
It’s definitely pretty exciting stuff. I do wonder how off into the weeds we can get though. Eliko isn’t necessarily a miso-grubbing manlet? How rare!

>>3191461
Glad you think so.
>I do wonder how off into the weeds we can get though.
As far as you guys want. I have some paths prepared, one of which will change up the in-universe events pretty bigly. But if you guys majority decide to head off and dick around in some way I haven't thought of then I'd be happy to try and make a story of it. Dumb shit that doesn't really make any IC sense is still going to get torpedoed pretty hard though.

>>3191276
Also, before we leave, we should ask Shion what death we're on now.

>>3191947
That could be a fun omake. I might write something up for that from her perspective if anyone's interested.

>>3191965
I’d like it

Omake #1 Shion
He sat there, propped against his blue sword unlike any she'd seen before. Hung limply over it in a ragged and red stained armor of sorts strange in design and made from scale. Not much older than she was but already big as a real man, fiercer too. Long ashen hair hung oily around his head and a great braided beard from his face. Crows picked at his flesh, each rending muscle and fat from terrible and ragged bite or claw marks. Bone sat yellowed against the sun and an acrid oily ichor filled the air, burning with every breath. Not only was the smell painful but the very air hurt to breath. It stuck in her lungs with every breath like shards of glass, or ice, and clung to her skin like rash. An ocean of black crashed against coastal cliffs with a deafening roar.

One of the crows cawed and looked towards the ocean before returning to it's meal. One with eyes as crimson as blood, another with a single eye pure as snow, and the final who had none at all. Each was feathered of black sheath, inky and dark as a starless night. She reached out a hand to shoo them away but the movement was painfully slow. His face, concealed by a mask of bone and twisted horn, turned. And eyes deeper than the ocean they watched bore into her being.

Shion wakes with a start as the bell chimes. Her heart races and the taste of metal fills her mouth. Her loyal servant and head guard, Taruho, stands in the doorway with a platter of food and a breakfast up bell. Not the bell, it hadn't been a vision but a simple nightmare. She only sees deaths after all. After seeing Eliko ripped apart day after day and suffering through a siege the stress must have caught up.

"Are you alright, Lady Shion?" Taruho asks. "I've prepared breakfast but if you're not-"

"Eliko, has he left?" She asks. A part of her hopes he hasn't uut another knows he has. Nothing over the last half month slowed him down. Not incompetent guards, sleep, a siege, or her many visions explained in brutal detail. He either didn't care or didn't believe any of them.

"Late last night after treating his wounds. He's quite adept at first aide."

"He just doesn't stop, does he?" Shion lays back down, covering her eyes with an arm. The late autumn heat isn't as awful as summers but is still unpleasant. Winter can't come soon enough.

"Oh, I wished to ask you about the hiring of hunters for the wolves north of here." He sets the platter down by her feet and pours a glass of water from a copper pitcher. Only then did she notice how dry her throat is, like sandpaper.

"I'm sure I told you not to bother me with such petty things. Do what you think is best."

"At once, my-"

"Oh, and put a bounty on that coward Satou. I want him delivered to the Land of Iron in chains as a gift."

"At once, my Lady." Taruho bows before heading towards the door, as stoic as ever. Would it kill him to show a little emotion?

>cont

Shion sits up with a sigh and picks at her food. Bread, fruits, and other simple things to start the day off with. The same she starts every day with. High Priestess of an entire nation and yet as shackled as any prisoner. The daily routine of giving bad omens to rich men and seeing them break and cry or fly into wrath will begin in only a few days time after the villagers return, so long as the invaders don't try a foolish siege again. As stressful as the siege was she can't help but appreciate it's break from the monotony.

She hums a tune while she eats. Eliko had spoken many things over the last month, not all of it in the tongue she was familiar with. Him and the annoying albino spoke something like a mix of guttural anger personified that hummed like a struck sword and a sweet sounding almost sing song language. Yuki would say a rhyme and Eliko would mumble a song under his breath as if in answer. But every time she tried the words herself they came out like cotton. She's sure she saw him mouth it during the battle too.

With a sigh she pushes the food away and curls back up in the blanket. Her appetite lost and interest in the day with it, all she wishes for is sleep. "I'll see what tomorrow brings," she says to no one.

Omake #1 Shion End

Probably shouldn't be writing so late, might give away too much. Normal updates will resume at 12pm pst like normal.

>>3192499
>>3192501
Brutal, nicely done.

Just realized I said Eliko left after getting fixed up that night. Should read that he left earlier in the morning.

QM protip Make sure you cook your steaks to temperature, and never try to convey a story without the proper faculties to do so.

Updates will resume in three or four hours.

>>3192841
Yeah, saw it, but just figured Shion was the type to sleep in until 1130.

For steak cooking, if you have the funds, look into a sous vide. It is ridiculous how perfect it can make meat.

>>3192867
Don't get me wrong, she most certainly is. Just a gaff on my end.
>spoiler
That's pretty fancy, though i'm not too huge on new age gastronomy cooking. I'll just stick to my cast irons and grill.

>>3192887
truly of the land of iron

The morning sun pleasantly lights your way. And by pleasant, it's actually blinding, forcing you to squint and hold a hand up against the orange dawn. Who had the great idea to orient a road directly east to west? Always off center to actually see where you're going, straight through is just a nightmare for travel. It wasn't so bad the day before when you'd left the temple but now the overcast is gone and you're left with clear autumn skies several days later.

Tokai village was very receptive of your return, insisting you stay for a while but you politely refused and kept going. Many of the temple villager's had taken up temporary residence there being the only village within relatively close distance. The burnt mountain pass village was cleared, a new gate from the Land of Stone erected in it's place. In fact, Ishigakure had expanded it's border and annexed the small border country. Still, you were allowed to pass freely being a samurai. Though, none of them apparently saw or heard Yuki pass through and no requests were made at the hidden village.

Still, as your worn down sandals clack against stone you can't help but worry about her a small amount. The final part of the Chunin Exams is coming up and a gut feeling tells you to avoid such a function. A tournament, so many ninjas fighting each other at the same time can only lead to a bad end. Hopefully she has the same good sense. But you know she doesn't.

Your hand moves on instinct, snatching a ferret from the sky as it falls from an overhead tree. It hangs there, limp in your hand with a look of utter confusion. Tan fur all except it's black mask and legs, though even that is interrupted by a diamond of tan. It's eyes stare into your own, red not unlike Yuki's but fire underneath the dawn sun. It doesn't struggle or even cry and hiss to be freed. Someones pet? What's your story?" You ask.

Certainly a pet with the way it just quietly watches. You gently open your hand and let it climb it's way to your shoulder where it plops down and cautiously watches the sky. Red marks rake it's body, claw wounds from being nabbed by a bird of pray. Hopefully not one of those damned giant eagles. If the foreigners have gotten this far then making it back home is the least of your worries. With a glance you ponder for a moment. Do you really need someones pet hitching a ride on you? At worse they might get the wrong idea and think you a thief, at best some meager payment not that you'd even accept. Though it is kind of cute, maybe letting it hitch a ride isn't the worst idea.

>Ditch the small animal
>Find it's home, can't be too far away
>Bring it along to the Land of Iron

I'll leave this vote up for a while for people to filter back in. All five or six of you, that is.

>>3193320
>Find it's home, can't be too far away

>>3193320
>Find it's home, can't be too far away

Corpse armies March about, a dead empire arised, an emergency summon home, orichi gonna orchi...

Yeah, let's help and see if we can generate a small amount of happiness. Also gives more time for Yuki to catch up.

>>3193320
>Ditch the small animal.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3193637
>>3193514
>>3193355
>Find it's home
Alright, roll me 1d100

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>3193678
I’ve done this before ezpz

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>3193678
>tfw dying trying to return an animal to it's home

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>3193678

>>3193749
>>3193721
>>3193697
>75
That's the stuff, success. And don't worry, I won't kill you guys in an off-arc. Yet.

It's ruby eyes look into your very soul, so beady yet pleading. The wounds on it's flanks seem to be healed, or at least very least superficial in nature given it's not profusely bleeding on your shoulder. Damn it, you've never even taken care of an animal before. The vultures and hawks in Three Wolves always screeched at you and flew off whenever you got close. Most animals just don't like you, except for that pup the parka wearing ninja had. "Alright," you sigh. "Let's get you home. Can't be far off can it?"

It stares at you, unblinking. Instead of waiting for an animal to answer you climb up a tree and look, for anything. The nearest village you know is the Land of Stone's hidden village Ishi. Other than that there's the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass's hidden villages but you're unaware of their locations. In these smaller nations much of the population resides within the hidden villages for protection, with only a very sparse few townships and hamlets scattered through the forests off the main roads. If the ferret was from any of them you'll probably never find it.

"Nerugui!" You hear someone shout faintly. The ferret perks up for a moment before draping itself over your neck like a living scarf. The person shouts again, this time more faintly. A lead if nothing more. You jump from the tree and head off towards the voice, hoping it's the right direction. After a few long minutes you come to a back trail heading the direction you want. Deep channels from many wagons line the ground along with dozens of sets of footprints. Refugees? Certainly possible from the Land of Stone's recent annexation, hopefully none from the temple.

You follow the trail, taking note of the broke branches along the way and many stripped clean bushes. Partial remains from a few deer carcasses sit just off the path, stripped bare of everything except the intestines and a few other inedible part. No bones, no hide, only hooves and guts. Four sets in total. Doubtful any refugee knows how to use most of an animal. Please let it not be another army, you hope silently.

"Neruuuuguiiii!" You hear again, much closer this time. A young woman with a soft voice. She scrambles down the road, digging through bushes with a frantic look. A pink fur cap atop shoulder length black hair, her clothes not entirely native to this country. It clicks, a nomad.

>cont

"Look for a ferret?" You ask as you approach. A rather plain looking girl with brown eyes.

She sharply inhales and gives a shallow bow. "Yes! Thank you very much. I was just about ready to file a request to the Land of Fire to help look for him."

"You'd ask ninjas... to help look for a pet." You gape in bewilderment. Ninja are highly trained instruments of war, skilled in espionage, assassination, and anything else that constitutes clandestine skills. Asking them to find a lost pet is like asking a Samurai to chop wood. A gross misuse of time and energy.

"But now he's returned, all thanks to you..."

"Ah- Eliko," you answer after snapping out of your stupor. "From the Land of Iron."

"Ah, a samurai."

"Apprentice," you correct.

"Say, would you like to share a meal with my clan? We're camped just up ahead. I'm sure grandfather will love to know you found Nerugui. We've got some other travelers too, they're a little scary though. Really broody."

You've been living off dried rations and very little fluid intake over, well, since you left the Land of Iron in the first place. Maybe a nice home cooked meal won't be too bad. Besides, with the way Nerugui latches on around your neck it might take a bit more than some coaxing to get it off. Maybe meet some interesting characters too.

>Food sounds good, maybe these two other travelers could have some interesting stories
>You've got orders to return home, no fun allowed
>Write-in

Alright, sorry about the delay. Not feeling 100% so i'm going to slow down things today considerably.

>>3194006
>>Food sounds good, maybe these two other travelers could have some interesting stories

Let's check it out, maybe they have more info of the whole Flower Empire thing.

>>3194006
>Food sounds good, maybe these two other travelers could have some interesting stories
Bad taste to deny such an offer.

>>3194049
>>3194033
>Food sounds good
This'll will probably be the last post for today. The mini-arc should be relatively short, more than likely finished up by tomorrow.

"Sure, why not," you answer with a shrug. It's bad manners to refuse such a thing... you think. No one has really offered you such a thing before. Well, barring Tokai Village and the temple. She smiles broadly and leads you along the path. Not long after you come up to a wide clearing encamped by odd looking tents with a sort of mobile lookout tower in the center. Two guards with bows wave down from the top and the girl waves back before turning off to one of the bigger tents.

As you approach the entrance she suddenly turns to you and give a deep apologetic bow. An older man with a bulbous red nose and neck length white hair leans out from the tent. "Sorry! My name is Emina. It's a pleasure to meet you, Eliko."

"A pleasure," you answer.

"Ah, you've found Nerugui!" The old man exlaims holding out his arms. The ferret raises it's head for a moment before twisting it's around your neck to avoid his expectant reach.

"And this is Kahiko, my grandfather. Grandfather, this is Eliko, a samurai from the Land of Iron."

"Apprentice," you correct with a small nod to the older gentleman. "Looks like your pet was taken by a hawk or some such, might want to be weary of that."

"Pet? Kahiko echoes. "Nerugui is no such thing! A guardian and companion to our clan."

"Ah... So yeah, I'd watch the sky if you leave the forest's canopy, lots of hungry birds this time of year." He seems like a nice guy but maybe has a few screw loose. It's just a ferret. And as far as you know, ferrets aren't exactly guardian or spirit animals. They're dirty, get into things, and an all around hassle to deal with.

"Old man!" A boisterous person exclaims from within the tent. You see a blue shark face with beady eyes peak around the corner. "Let's have some more of that st-"

Before you realize it two black robed figures with cloud print are flanking you. The one who passed you several weeks ago when passing through the Land of Rain. Though the more human looking of the two watches you with a set of red pinwheel eyes instead of his normal onyx coloration. An older looking Sasuke, Sharingan and all. You make eye contact with the Uchiha for a moment before he breaks away with a grimace. "He might know something," the shark faced man says while reaching for his bandaged great sword. "We should just kill him now."

"Why are you following us?" The Uchiha asks coldly. You get a good look at either of their headbands, missing-nin from Konoha and Kiri. Land of Fire and Land of Water. Either one can probably dismember you in the blink of an eye, you have no time to even try and draw your katana. All you can do is poker face and tell the truth. Besides, you don't want to cause too much trouble for Emina and her people.

>cont

"I'm returning from the Land of Demons to my home in Three Wolves Mountain."

"You're a samurai?" The Uchiha asks. He rudely points a finger at you and once more narrows his eyes suspiciously. They didn't seem to be causing problems for the nomads, not with the way Kahiko and Emina watch on in confusion instead of fear. Unless their under duress.

"Indeed," you answer, pushing his finger away with your own. He retracts the accusing gesture into his sleeve. "And you two are missing-nin. But it looks like we're both just here for a nice meal. The affairs of ninja are none of my concern after all."

"Ah... Shinobi," the shark faced man corrects.

"Well! There's plenty more stew to go around!" Kahiko says happily. You're all pushed into the big tent and forced into a seat before a bowl of soupy stew is shoved into your hands. Colorful rugs line the walls and floor, very much unlike most you've seen. Each emblazoned with vibrant depictions of block characters from the side, all gold and outlined in black. The Uchiha's eyes have since returned to polished onyx but neither seem comfortable. Then the shark faced man speaks up.

"So, samurai," he says. "You ever fight a real swordsman? Or do you just sit up there in the cold and hit each other with sticks and meditate all day like people say?"

"All Samurai are real swordsmen," you answer. "That's why we're called Samurai and not ninja."

He laughs and continues. The Uchiha only stares at you with a certain tired grimness. "Sharp words, kid. But I have real experience with a real sword unlike you. I bet that thing would break if you looked at it funny!"

>"It's okay, I'd get clubs and swords confused too if I was raised in the Mist."
>"Compensating for something? Or do you need something that big to actually hit a target."
>"Either of you know anything about the Land of Flowers?"
>Ignore him and keep eating, the Uchiha has the right idea.
>Write-in

And that's it for today. Go ahead and vote, i'll get to it tomorrow when I'm not feeling so shitty. In the meantime, hope you guys are having a good time even with the slow ass updates.

>>3194429
>"The last woman who looked at my thing was certainly impressed."
>"Either of you know anything about the Land of Flowers?"

>>3194429
>"Either of you know anything about the Land of Flowers?"

>>3194429
>Ignore him and keep eating, the Uchiha has the right idea.

>"The last woman who looked at my thing was certainly impressed."
>"Either of you know anything about the Land of Flowers?"

>>3191276
>After many words of gratitude from the guards, especially Taruho and Susuki, and very confused scowls from Shion, you sit and get patched up by the closest thing resembling a doctor so far out in the stick. Some old lady that you're sure you've seen before but can't really place where. Her breath smells of carrion but otherwise she's quiet. On a few occasions you have to deal with sharp pains in your mind and wisps of blue fog creeping in the corners of the room.
>>3192499
>"Late last night after treating his wounds. He's quite adept at first aide."
hmmmm

>>3194429
>"Either of you know anything about the Land of Flowers?"

We're Samurai. Shouldn't let a dig get to us like that. Besides, I don't think Eliko is the kind to dismissively mention the death of an enemy Samurai to try and save face, even if she did get completely styled on.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>3195894
>>3195599
>>3195182
>>3195017
>>3194600
>Ask about the Land of Flowers
>Write-n
I'll have the update soon as I can.

>>3195734
>hmmmm
Hmmm?

>>3195894
It's actually a deflection. Rather than biting the insult back and potentially escalating the situation (or being silent and goading the hot-blooded shark dude to pul the "Oh, you think you can just ignore me" trope), it injects a bit of humor that's unexpected and disarming, because without any context they won't quite know how to respond.

The joke is, he's insulting our "thing" but by making the joke about our dick, rather than our sword, we add a layer of self-deprication, which removes any bite his insult has while at the same time taking their focus elsewhere.

Essentially, we could have said something like "Your mom certainly thought it was enough" but that's an insult back at him. By insulting ourself, we remove his weapon from the conversation and take the initiative for ourself.

Also, it's super-weeaboo but there's actually a larger historical and cutural basis in Japan and samurai class in particular about using humor self-depricating humor when it comes to matters involving self and family. It prevents any outward insult that might be seen as dishonorable while also saving some face for the offending party because you're taking their comment as a joke, rather than a blatant insult-- though any one with a marginal amount of self respect will relalize they just got formally served.

Well seems like i'm pretty burnt out on writing this week, having a hell of a time actually writing this update. But I'll get it out sometime today and we'll pick back up next week with a new thread if needed.

>>3195953
I see. Alright anon, you've got me convinced.

>>3196153
No problem QM, thanks for running. You've really improved since the first few threads, and playing a Naruto quest with minimum connection to Canon is surprisingly fun and refreshing.

Update Soon TM

>>3196643
I'm glad you're enjoying it and stuck around, those first two threads were something awful for myself so I can only imagine how bad they must look on the other end.

"The last woman who looked at my thing was certainly impressed," you say. It's not the first time you've had to deal with a boisterous type. Friendly banter can always build a relationship. Maybe not a good one but it's one nonetheless.

"Haha, bet she was kid." He gives a toothy, shark faced grin. The Uchiha's exasperation is almost palatable as he stares into his stew. Broody fellow, just like Sasuke. Maybe it's an Uchiha trait. "Some ronin you hunted down like a dog? I hear there's very little chance of a criminal from the Land of Iron actually making it far. You guys kill them pretty good."

"Not a ronin, a samurai from the Land-err, Flower Empire."

"Didn't they collapse during the warring states period?"

"One would think but apparently some bandits and foreigners forgot. Know anything about it?"

"Hay... Itachi, didn't the Land of Sto-"

"Kisame," the Uchiha interrupts. His eyes flick at you, only for a moment quicker than the blink of an eye. He knows something and isn't willing to share. "Samurai affairs are none of our concern."

"Now that sounds like a story, young man!" Kahiko exclaims happily. He plops down on the floor next to and gives Nerugui a frown. "Let's hear about this girl from the Land of Flowers. She pretty?"

"Was," you reminisce. Not a particularly sentimental moment but it's your first true duel against another samurai, one to the death at that. Even if she was quickly dispatched it'll still sit with you for a while. Her antique gear and weapon, the mask. You delve deep into the story, how you lead a small garrison and broke a much larger force through a few days worth of guerrilla tactics and a single decisive charge into their lines, one that almost failed. The fight with the enemy commander, taking her hand and leaving a deep wound on her face before taking her head. Kisame listens on, still grinning. You're not sure if he's impressed or getting worked up. But his Uchiha friend, Itachi, doesn't seem too keen. It leaves Kahiko gulping hard with wide eyes. "And that's my time in the west."

"A corpse empire, literally," Kisame chuckles. He breaks into his own, one of a fight not too long ago. But as he goes on a cold dread sets in, turning your blood to ice. The vivid descriptions of his sword tearing flesh and killing people without so much as delivering a mortal blow. He's one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen. Known Samurai killers, one of which took Captain Okisuke's eye. Then he finishes his tale and his grin turns to a wispy smile. "You know, Samehade here doesn't seem to like you. But I do, so it's a bit conflicting."

>cont

"Who?" You ask. He pulls his bandaged weapon from behind his back and points it at you. It shutters and pulls away from you without Kisame so much as moving his wrist.

"I've never seen that before," he continues while placing it back on his back. "Very strange. You're a strange person, Eliko of the Land of Iron."

"Thank you for the food, Kahiko," Itachi says coldly. "We're leaving, Kisame."

"Bout time. Thanks for the grub." The shark faced ninja pauses before walking out the tent, only to give you a glare full of blood lust. "Oh, and Eliko, don't be a stranger. Come find me if you ever want a good fight."

You nod, prompting him to vanish from sight with his companion in blurs of speed. Black cloaks printed with red clouds, now where have you seen those before. Ah, you forgot to ask Itachi if he knew Sasuke. Too late, though, with as gloomy and cold as he is it might not be such a good idea. Didn't a bunch of them die? You sigh and settle in, putting down your bowl a few minutes to try and pull Nerugui off your neck. An hour of coaxing and goading and attempted grabbing provides no such luck as the ferret simply dodges in and out of your clothes.

"Little rat," Kahiko sighs. The old man looks downright dejected, as if the love of his life just died. "He's been with us since the beginning."

"You were serious?" You ask with a cocked eyebrow. "About the whole guardian animal thing?"

"Oh, yes, indeed! Nerugui has been with our people for generations, since we returned from across the western sea! Why-"

"Wait," you interrupt. The ravings of a senile old man could hold some merit. You want to know more about the far west, if they really did come from there. "You guys came from the Lands of War?"

"We settled there many many generations ago after we were forced out of our original homes here. Alas the people from those lands are all barbarians who worship crows and wolves and bones, and forced us out. A frozen death in the north with forests of icicles pretending to be trees and heatstroke in the south with deserts and beaches of black and red sand as far as the eye can see. Jungles too, deep and black and full of incomprehensible terrors. Nothing but misery and endless war in the between areas."

"Oh! What do you know about gaisteel?" You pull the katana from your waist and present it's blue body to the old man. He takes it tentatively from your hands and gives a knowing nod before reaching over and rummaging through a lock box. A moment later he pulls out a short sword with a straight double edged blade. Easily twice as wide as any wakizashi but just as lite if not liter. It's blue but... different, greenish even. As if another metal is mixed in with it.

>cont

"It's been in my family for generations. Gladius is what my father called it. We had another but it was lost many years ago when I was only a child, that one was shaped like a leaf." He puts it back into the lock box and gives you a curious glance. "I'm curious, how did you come into possession of a katana made from the same thing?"

"I... don't know," you answer. "It was given to me from my Master when I started training."

"Well, keep it safe. Of all the weapons I've seen and people I've met, I've only seen two others. The one we lost, and one being carried by the captain of a big metal ship on the far western coast. It was big, a hand longer than a katana but straight and broad with two edges ending in a sharp tip."

"Noted." You pat your stomach and peak out the entrance. The hung creeps low in the sky, you've wasted more time than you realized. If you leave now you can still arrive in two days time. Hopefully Yuki won't get too upset about you leaving in such a hurry. But first, the furry critter around your neck has to be dealt with. You could pry Nerugui off with the sheath of your katana. Or maybe take a short rest and hope he'll unlatch in that time. It'll also give time for Yuki to catch up if she's on her way in either direction. Surely there's a less aggressive way to get him off though, one that takes less time.

>Wait and have a short rest, maybe run into Yuki
>Pry Nerugui off with your sword sheath
>Coax him off with something
>Write-in

And that'll be it for this week. I'll start up again either Friday or the weekend. Hope you're all enjoying it so far. I'll be around to read comments and what not in the meantime.

>>3196671
>Pry Nerugui off with your sword sheath
Man, I know you said you’ve been having writing problems but this update came out really really well. All the props in the world from this anon.

>>3196671
>Coax him off with something.

>>3196671
Just leave him be

>>3196841
I like this.

Far be it from us to tell a guardian spirit what it should be guarding. Take a rest and see if it feels like unlatching.

>>3196714
Thank you, though the biggest praise for me is just having people enjoy my writing.

Quest archived: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Three+Wolves

Also a possibility that I might not start Saturday. If you don't see a new thread then expect it Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

>>3198000
Checked, and thanks!

New Thread
>3215258