28. Lady of Hie Castle

30. Reading Room

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Door w/Barred Window

Sliding Door

Secret Door

Statue

Trap Door in Ceiling

Trap Door in Floor One Square Equals 5 Feet

18. Stone Post Room'

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Advanced Dun3eons&pra3ons

lventuresOfficial Game Adventure

Night of the Seven SwordsPickens, Cook, Johnson, Swan, Carmien, Ritchie

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 2A Background Guide to Maeshi 2

DM BACKGROUND 4The Fall of Ito 4The Krakentua 5Beginning the Adventure 5

PART I: ITO-JO, THE GHOST CASTLEHarold Johnson 6

PART II: BENEATH THE GHOST CASTLERick Swan 18

PART III: A DAY IN THE COUNTRYEd Carmien 33

PART IV: YAKUZA'S HONORDavid James Ritchie 38Statistics Tables 23Encounter Matrix for Part 3 26Part III NPCs 32Prerolled Characters 48Ito-jo, the Ghost Castle map inside front coverBeneath the Ghost Castle map inside back coverYakuza's Honor map inside gatefoldMaesrji Province map outer gatefold

CREDITS Distributed to the book trade in the United States by RandomHouse Inc. and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd.

Desian and Development bv Jon Pickens Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.nawi^ "-y^K" rv,«L. U~.~IA i A u B c n n Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.uavia z.eD UOOK, naroia jonnson, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, PRODUCTSRick Swan, Ed Carmien, and OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the TSR logo are trademarks ofDavid James Ritchie TSR inc.

Editing by Karen S. Martin T t ^ J w . t , « uin»~*i,r, A»» u.. • • » « > u .11 . , , , . . . This adventure is protected under the copyright laws of theInterior Art by James Holloway Un j ted S l a t e s of A m e r i c a A n y reproduct ion or other unauthor-C o v e r A r t b y C l y d e C a l d w e l l ized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohib-Typography by Carolyn Vanderbilt ited without the express written permission of TSR Inc.

Cartography by Diesel, Dave Sutherland" r ' ' e1986TSRInc. All Rights Reserved. Primed in U.S.A.

Printed in U.S.A.ISBN 0-88038-327-59186XXX1501

TSR Inc.POB 756Lake Geneva,Wl 53147 TSR, Inc.

T* OF TOOK IM«0l«»TION-

TSR UK Ltd.The Mill, Rathmore Road

Cambridge, CB1 4ADUnited Kingdom

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INTRODUCTION

This module contains an extended adven-ture in four parts. It is intended for a partyof 6-8 characters of level 4-6, about 30-36levels in all. Players can use their owncharacters or the pregenerated adventur-ers in the back of the module booklet. Themaps for each section are located on thecover of the module booklet.

Briefly, the players find themselves on aquest for a box of relics of the SevenSwords Clan (the Ito family), which wasdestroyed centuries ago. They must actswiftly and secretly, for a rival faction is af-ter the same treasure. In the first section,the characters enter a haunted castle insearch of the relics. In the second, theydiscover hidden caverns, also haunted,beneath the castle. After confronting anddefeating the guardian, they must thencross miles of hostile territory to a safe ha-ven while avoiding enemy patrols. Finally,they must withstand a last effort by rivalforces to steal the relics.

The DM should familiarize himself thor-oughly with each section before runningthe adventure. The sections are intendedto be played in the order given, with notime for training between them. The over-all atmosphere should be one of haste; thecharacters are acting under time pres-sure, but the DM may alter the pacing asneeded to allow for additional healing, in-troduction of new characters, and so on.

The adventure is set in the Kozakuranprovince of Maeshi, a small northern peni-sula on the west coast of the main island ofShinkoku. The brief description of the pe-ninsula's history that follows this introduc-tion should be read before going on to theadventure background material.

A BACKGROUNDGUIDE TOMAESHIGeographyThe province of Maeshi forms the least ofthree peninsulas jutting out of the northernside of Shinkoku — the main island of Ko-zakura. North of the Jodo Plain, Maeshi isseparated from the southern side of

Shinkoku by a steep and rugged range ofmountains. To the west is the mouth of theNorikaikyo (Nori Strait) and the WesternSea. To the east is the Sorawan (SoraBay).

One mountain range, separate frommost of the others which lie to the south,branches into the province forming thebackbone of the peninsula. Commonlycalled the Western Sea Mountains, itreaches to the tip of the peninsula. Unlikemost on Shinkoku, several peaks at theheart of this range are permanently snow-covered and the highest —Two PeakMountain — has small glaciers in its nar-row cleft valleys. They rise abruptly fromthe western shoreline and slope onlyslightly gentler on the eastern side.Hence, most of the life of the province isconfined to a small bowl-shaped plainbounded by mountains on the north, west,and south. This area is fed by several shal-low, fast-flowing rivers which run rockycourses and empty into the bay. As such,although they provide much-needed waterto the thick forests and farmer's fields,they are unsuitable for carrying goods upor down river. Thus, all travel and tradingin the province relies on land or waterroutes.

There is only one principal land route.Leading from the south-western end of theMaeshi valley, it quickly rises and wendsthrough the mountains. Heading generallyto the south, it crosses the border into Ta-kako. There it gradually turns southeast,following the boundary of Takako andHochi provinces before it descends fromthe mountains onto the upper reaches ofthe Jodo Plain in Wakinasga province.There it connects with the Imperial PostRoad which runs the length of Shinkoku.The route is arduous and filled with haz-ards. The mountains are the refuge ofmany bandits, rebels, and runaway ap-prentices. The dark wooded valleys arehome to tengu, hengeyokai, korobokuru,and worse. Natural hazards line the path— flash floods, landslides, chasms, andearthquakes. With all these risks it is al-most surprising the land route is used atall!

But it is, for the water route is no better.Only one suitable port exists in the prov-ince, on the shores of Sorawan. It is barely

adequate to handle the small amount ofshipping that visits the province. Vesselstraveling to and from the province must ei-ther risk a stormy passage around thenorthern end of the island or a long anddangerous journey to the south. Sailingnorth, a captain must ride out unpredicta-ble storms around the northern cape. Bar-barian raiders threaten those who straytoo close to the wrong coast. Once pastthe cape, he must still traverse nearly halfof the coast to reach suitable ports fortrade.

By the southern route, he must passthrough the Norikaikyo and into the InlandSea. Here he must be wary of korobokururaiders and wanton pirates. Passingthrough the Inland Sea he must swingabout the southern end of Shinkoku whereit is closest to Wa. Here the greatest dan-ger lies. Privateers supported by the pow-erful nobles of Wa freely raid ships andcoastal villages, carrying their booty backto their patrons. These men, wako, arefeared throughout the Celestial Sea fortheir violence and tenacity. Only then canhe land at a southern port to have hisgoods shipped yet farther overland to themarkets of the capital.

HistoryMaeshi is an isolated province, both geo-graphically and economically. However, itdoes have a certain strategic value in thecontrol of the northern provinces. For cen-turies, Maeshi has guarded the entranceto Norikaikyo and the Inland Sea. With astrong fleet, a vigorous warrior could con-trol the movement of ships in and out ofthe strait, cutting the northern provincesoff from many in the south. Such a gripcould become like iron if the provinces ofKanahanto and Yokozu were added to thecollection. With these three, all communi-cation with the north could be blocked.Thus, the small province of Maeshi has al-ways had some significance to the rulersof the realm.

The timeline of Maeshi given here out-lines the early history of the province. Thistimeline is organized the same as thatfound in OA1: Swords of the Daimyo. Be-fore each entry are two dates. The first isthe date by the Kozakuran calendar in 60

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year cycles. The number before the slashis the cycle, the number after is the year ofthe cycle. The second date appears in pa-rentheses. This is cumulative years sinceyear 1 of cycle 1. Year 1 of cycle 1 is theascension of the first human emperor,Mori. Emperors' names are printed in allcapitals. If you have OA1, you can com-bine this timeline with the one presentedthere. Events common to the two aregiven the same date.

Timeline of Maeshi2/34 (94): Prince Miki organizes an army todrive the korobokuru out of northernShinkoku.2/37 (97): Ito no Jura leads a wing ofPrince Miki's army through the mountainsinto present day Maeshi valley. Followingseveral sharp battles with the korobokuru,the hairy men are driven into the WesternMountains. A small palisade is erected ona small island at the mouth of the mainriver.2/44 (104): The korobokuru chieftain In-oyep gathers the clans in the mountainssouth of Maeshi. Ito no Saburo Takanori,brother of Juro, is granted the post of gov-ernor of Maeshi and Kanahanto.2/45 (105): Inoyep leads the united koro-bokuru clans out of the mountains. Ta-kanori and his troops are driven out ofKanahanto and forced to take refuge inthe fort at Maeshi. Further south, Inoyepstorms Todaijo, slaying Prince Miki. Ta-kanori finally breaks the siege of his fort byoffering his daughter to the local korobo-kuru chieftain, Akarweop.2/47 (107): Emperor Itonin's army regainscontrol of Maeshi. Takanori's daughterprevails upon Akarweop to slay Inoyep.Shen then delivers Akarweop and theother chieftains into Itonin's hands who or-ders them slain. The confederation is bro-ken.

2/52 (112): DAIGEN3/13 (133): Chiro no Maasate settles onTenmei. A branch of Takanori's family ac-companies him.3/30 (150): TENSHO4/5 (185): OKURI5/28 (268): KOSHU5/40 (280): Ito Kajo divides his inheritance— Maeshi and Kanahanto — between hissons Manju and Kunitake.5/44 (284): Manju arranges for the poison-ing of Kunitake and seizes control of Kana-hanto. The emperor and his followers stripManju of his titles and lands. Manju is cutdown by Ito Tokiharu, son of Kunitake.

The emperor reassigns Kanahanto to an-other lord.7/10 (370): SENTAI7/25 (385): The majority of the korobokuruleave for Tenmei. Ito Moriyasu refuses todrive those unwilling korobokuru fromMaeshi, who then gift him with the SevenSwords. The family mon (seal) is officiallychanged to that of seven joined swords.8/26 (446): SHOTOKEN9/23 (504): JUMEI10/23 (563): SANOE11/19 (619): The Ito family divides into twomain branches — the Ito and the Nambu.A dispute develops over the possession ofthe Seven Swords. For the next 17 years afeud rages between the two branches withambushes, raids, vendettas, and insults.11/31 (631): TOAKIMI11/36 (636): The Nambu gain possessionof the Seven Swords. The Ito family isdriven out of Maeshi province.11/53 (653): KODAIKU (Empress)11/54 (654): The Zakura Insurrection be-gins in the Northern Provinces. PrinceSagi is named the Emperor by a confeder-ation of Northern lords. The Nambu sidewith Empress Kodaiku. The Ito, seeking toregain their province, side with PrinceSagi. Civil war breaks out in Maeshi as theNambu struggle to retain their grip on theprovince. The head of the Nambu family isassassinated, supposedly by Ito ninja.The Nambu are driven from Maeshi by theIto with support from the Nagano. Em-peror Sagi, obeying the wishes of NaganoToyoo, architect of the Insurrection,awards Kanahanto to the Nagano familyas a gift province.

12/46 (706): GOSAGI, Northern Court12/52 (712): Honda no Okumi is named re-gent of the southern court. Nambu Akinarimarries a daughter of Okumi.12/53 (713): BIDAMU, Southern Court12/55 (715): Taking part in the campaignof Honda no Okumi, Nambu Akinari andhis retainers cross the mountains intoMaeshi. Unable to assail the island for-tress of the Ito, Akinari builds the SunTemple, actually a fortified compound atthe western end of the valley.12/57 (717): The first phase of construc-tion completed at the Sun Temple, Akinarihas his son named Chief Abbot. Followinghis father's plan, Buccho begins gatheringa large force of sohei at the temple.12/59 (719): OUIZU, Northern CourtThe Ito attempt a sudden attack on theSun Temple. Buccho and his sohei defeatthem and launch a counter-attack led byBuccho and his father Akinari. The Ito are

beseiged in their island castle, but Akinariis slain. The first of the Seven Swords islost.12/60 (720): The Seige of Ito-jo ends in theNight of Burning Flowers. The castle isburned to the ground. All the Ito family andtheir retainers are slain. However, Bucchodies under mysterious circumstances.The second of the Seven Swords is lost.Maeshi is awarded by Okumi to Akana Sa-mon, retainer of Nambu Akinari. Both theIto and Nambu branches have been de-stroyed. The Ito family is officially declaredoutlawed. The remaining five swords ofthe Ito are presented to Akana Samon.13/2 (722): The Zakura Insurrection ends.The Northern Court is destroyed and Em-peror Ouizu is banished.14/58 (838): SUREI15/44 (884): The impossible happenswhen the third sword is broken in a duel.The pieces are saved, but are lost over theyears. Several shrines now claim to houseauthentic pieces of the sword. Only fourswords remain.16/16 (916): KOKAN17/9 (969) SUKO17/36 (996): Akana Ujisato refuses tosend more support to the cause of HondaMototsune, who is battling invaders fromWa. Mototsune grants Maeshi to the Mi-chimori family. With this charter, theyquickly drive out the Akana. In the ensuingconfusion the fourth of the Seven Swordsis lost.18/36 (1056): KIMAYAKU18/42 (1062): SOYOKU (Empress)18/48 (1068): MURAKAKU19/28 (1108): The Tennu War begins. Dis-satisfied with the treatment under the Im-perial regent, the Michimori throw in withthe Hojo from the start.19/30(1110): SAGO19/31 (1111): Sanai, leader of the Michi-mori faction, is killed in a skirmish on theoutskirts of Dojyu. The fifth of the SevenSwords is lost. Sanai's son restores honorto the family and the leadership of the clanpasses to his uncle. It is reported that Sa-nai's ghost now wanders about searchingfor the lost swords.19/33 (1113): SHOWAJI19/49 (1119): The Tennu War is for allpractical purposes over when Hojo Shin-zei is named shogun. Late in the year,stewardship of Maeshi, Kanahanto, andYokuzo is given to Michimori. A marriageis arranged between the children of thetwo clans — a Michimori boy and a Hojogirl. The marriage is finalized at the con-vening of the Bakufu (shogun's headquar-

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ters) the next year. Michimori, as loyal andearly allies of the Hojo, are treated withgreat honor.19/56 (1136): GOTENSHO19/57 (1137): The Michimori are namedshugo (military governor) of Maeshi.20/1 (1141): GOSOYOKU (Empress)20/4 (1144): KAMEDAI. While on his wayto the Bakufu, Michimori Yumimaro is se-duced by an evil spirit disguised as a no-blewoman. Influenced by the creature'scharms, he abandons his wife for a year.Realizing he was tricked, he appears be-fore the shogun for punishment. Yokuzoprovince is stripped from his family and heis confined to his palace for two years.Later it is discovered that the creature hadmade off with the sixth of the SevenSwords.20/15(1155): GOSUKO20/23(1163): NIJO20/50 (1190): GOITONIN20/51 (1191): The first rumors of ninja inMaeshi come to the attention of the Michi-mori. Although there is an extensivesearch, none are ever found.20/52 (1192): SHUJO. The Michimori is-sue the first proclamation restrictingswords in Maeshi to samurai and licensedswordsmiths. The order is enforced byroving bands of Michimori retainers. TheNinja family begin to train and use exoticweapons in defense.20/55 (1195): Michimori Joha, then cur-rent head of the clan, dies of a mysteriousfever. There is strong suspicion of ninjaactivity.20/56 (1196): KAMMU21/14 (1214): A violent earthquake strikesMaeshi, shattering the foundation of theold Ito island castle. The monks of the SunTemple claim responsibility for avertingthe main force of the quake with their pray-ers.21/28 (1228): TOKURA. On the occasionof Tokura's ascension, the shogun grantsspecial tax immunities to the Sun Temple.Over the years, the wealthy temple be-comes dominant in local politics, while theMichimori weaken.21/42 (1242): IJO21/44 (1244): GODAIGEN21/46 (1246): The Reign of Omi begins. Aband of oni from the Western Mountainsseize an isolated section of Maeshi valley,placing all under their rule. Neither thesamurai of Michimori or the sohei of theSun Temple can exterminate them. Theirleader is Cmi, most fearsome of their lot.21/48 (1248): The korobokuru chieftainOkunipe comes out of the Western Moun-

tains seeking the aid of the Michimoriagainst Omi. The samurai Nitta petitionshis master to go. Favored of all the Michi-mori samurai, his petition was granted. In-deed, the head of the household bestowedgreat honor on him, entrusting the seventhsword to his care. He never returned. Theseventh of the Seven Swords is lost.21/49 (1249): GOMORI21/55 (1255): Kaijitsu, a counsellor of theMichimori, advises his lord on how to de-feat Omi. A sacred rite is held in a shrinenear Omi's fortress and several tuns ofsake are left as offerings to the gods.Later, when Omi and his hideous followersenter the temple for a drinking party, Kai-jitsu, who had hidden in one of the tuns,leaps out and defeats the assembled host.He recovers the seventh of the SevenSwords. The Reign of Omi is ended. Inhonor of his deed, Kaijitsu is given the sev-enth sword.

22/25 (1285): ENCHIGO22/38 (1298): GOSAGO22/42 (1302): FUKAKUJI22/52 (1312): GOFUKAKUJI22/59 (1319): SUTOPEI23/27 (1347): GOIJO23/33 (1356): The Korimori family isfounded, as a branch of the Hojo. Its homeprovince is Gizan in the south.23/44 (1364): GOKIMAYAKU (Empress)23/52 (1372): REIJO23/55 (1375): The emperor visits the prov-ince of Maeshi to inspect the defenses ofthe strait. During his visit, he is saved froman assassination attempt by the Inn-keeper. In honor of his deed, the family iselevated to samurai status and the inn isgiven special protections.24/19 (1399): GOBIDAMU24/26 (1406): GOKAMMU24/35 (1415): The Hojo War begins. TheMichimori family, closely related to theHojo, immediately supports them. Maeshiprovince is mobilized in support of theshogun. The Korimori family, still based inGizan, initially supports the Hojo to whichit traces lineage, but is unenthusiastic.24/38 (1418): The Korimori suddenly findsitself in danger from the Takenaka forces.It defects to their side, joining the battleagainst the Hojo.24/41 (1421): The Hojo War ends. The Mi-chimori mediate a peace between the Ta-kenaka forces and the northern lords whohave not yet surrendered, saving thehouse from total destruction.24/42 (1422): The Korimori are declaredshugo-daimyo of Maeshi. The post of mo-kudai (deputy imperial governor) falls to

the Michimori. However, due to the tardi-ness of Korimori's defection and thepower and influnce still retained by the Mi-chimori, control of the province is neverfirmly secured by the Korimori.24/45 (1425): GONIJO24/46 (1426): The uneasy peace is brokenby the mysterious death of Sado, son ofMichimori Uemon, leader of the family.Uemon's other son is granted permissionby the shogun to pursue a vendettaagainst the Korimori killers. The stalematehas now become a blood feud.24/50 (1430): The beginning of the Miy-ama campaign. (OA1: Swords of the Dai-myo).24/53 (1433): The events described inOA2 occur.

DMBACKGROUNDThis information fills in the gaps in the offi-cial history. The DM can conceal or revealas much of this information as he wishesto the players; some may never be known.The DM should carefully distinguish whichfactions know which pieces of information.The factions include the Michimori family,the Korimori family, the Sun Temple sect,a new monster (the krakentua), the KumiOno (a yakuza-ninja family), and theplayer characters (who know least of all!).

The Fall of ItoThe end of the Ito family began with Ito Sa-buro, who became the head of the familyin 12/52 (712) when his father died undermysterious circumstances. Nothing in Sa-buro's earlier life hinted at what was tocome. He immediately surrounded him-self with advisors of his own choosing,many of them notorious outlaws. Theworst riffraff and bandits in the area be-came his personal retainers, under thepretext of defending the province. Moder-ate advisors, and even family members,were ruthlessly weeded out. Some fled,some were banished, and still more diedsuddenly. The lower classes were forcedinto miserable labor: expanding Ito Cas-tle, building a fleet, or billeting and servingthe undisciplined brigands incorporatedinto the provincial army.

Saburo's private life became notorious.His greed and cruelty were soon wellknown, but always, through seemingly pp

pematural luck, he avoided ruinous '

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dal. As long-time retainers suffered in si-lence the later ones followed his example.The peasantry was ruthlessly oppressedand the non-military classes were intimi-dated and heavily taxed. The templeswere suppressed, although shrines wereusually left alone.

By 12/55 (715) enough of this hadleaked out that Nambu Akinari was confi-dent of a friendly reception when he estab-lished the Sun Temple later that year. Themove was well-timed. Saburo's excesseshad continued unabated, and a mysteri-ous fire had destroyed most of his fleet.Further, the local economy was creakingand the defection of several western vil-lages left him running short of slave labor.This and the pressures of court politicsforced an unprepared Saburo to action inthat year.

He began his campaign by razing the of-fending villages and gruesomely execut-ing the survivors. He then marcheddirectly to the fortified temple to seize it bysurprise assault. The affair was a disaster.Saburo's half-trained and undisciplinedforce was no match for the sohei of Akinari— Saburo had allowed the quality of hissamurai to decline over the years, and it issuspected that Akinari had been warnedas well. Sohei and enraged peasants har-ried the broken Ito army all the way back toIto Castle. The death of Akinari broke thefirst seige, but another seige the next yearsucceeded when a retainer betrayed thedefenses. All Ito family members and theirretainers were killed, but the last of theNambu branch died as well. Enraged atbehavior of the Ito family and the end ofthe Nambu, the Sun Temple sect placedan ancient curse upon the site.

The Krakentua

Unknown to all, this powerful demon spiritplays a major role in the history of the cas-tle. Fleeing the more powerful guardianspirits of the deep ocean, the krakentua, agargantuan humanoid with a kraken-likehead, took refuge in the deep caverns be-low the castle. It was discovered by a wujen who thought to trick it into serving himby threatening it with the enmity of the SunTemple sect. The plan backfired, for notonly did the krakentua enslave the wu jen,but it set out to destroy the local power ofthe sect as well. It proceded by using thewu jen to gain control of Ito Saburo, withdisastrous results for all concerned. Bythe time of the seige, the krakentua haddecided to humiliate Saburo by slowly col-

lecting his family's treasured swords. Sa-buro traded the first one for the death ofAkinari, which was accomplished by thewu jen. The krakentua's plan to get thesecond one was thwarted by the betrayalof the castle (however, the second swordmysteriously vanished after the castle'sfall). Although the krakentua remained un-discovered following the fall of the castle,it was trapped there by the wording of bythe ancient curse.

Years later, some of the matter was dis-covered by a powerful wu jen, who wasseeking the lost swords. The wu jen dis-covered enough determine that a hithertounknown box of Ito relics existed, their lo-cation, and something of the nature of theguardian. He created the seven-fingeredhands to deal with the guardian, but wasslain by the ghosts of the castle before hecould find the krakentua's lair.

Since then, the Sun Temple has learnedthat the castle site is haunted and has oc-casionally sent shukenja or sohei to inves-tigate it. However, none ever returned andthe temple has not sent anyone in morethan a generation. The locals know thecastle is haunted and stay away, outsiderswho go there don't come back. It is consid-ered bad luck to even speak of the castle.

Recently, however, a hint of a rumorabout surviving Ito relics in the castle hascome to the Temple's attention. Sinceboth warlords, realizing that the support ofthe temple could be decisive in their strug-gle for control of the province, have madeovertures, the head of the temple seizesthe chance to retrieve something of valuefrom the ruins at little cost. Thus, the tem-ple has promised its support to whicheverfaction can recover the relics from the cas-tle.

In truth, the temple is happy with thecurrent balance of power. If they receiveany of the legendary swords, they presentthem to the emperor, verbally pressing thesuit of the successful party, but actuallydoing little.

BEGINNING THEADVENTUREThe adventure starts at the temple. It isfestival time, and many people have gath-ered here for the celebration. The playercharacters are the guests of Michimori orone of his retainers, whom they met whenthey entered the province. At that time, thecharacters would also have learned some-

thing of the celebrated Doi No Fugu inn(fully detailed in section IV).

The warlords, however, have come totalk seriously with the temple officials. Theatmosphere is not precisely tense — allhave pledged non-violence for the cele-bration — but there is an undercurrent ofunrest, especially among the youngersamurai. For several years there has beena blood feud between the families. Michi-mori Uemon has decided that the time isinauspicious and has arranged for his sonto be absent on a diplomatic mission.

The temple officials make their decisionknown to the family heads. Michimoriseizes the opportunity — the player char-acters are the strongest adventurers avail-able at the celebration — but he iscautious.

Michimori will present the propositionas a favor to be done the temple, and willminimize his own interests in the matter,other than state that whatever pleases thetemple would please him — the shogun'sdirect representative. Further, the party isto leave immediately in secrecy. Korimoriis a personal enemy and may cause em-barrassing complications. The route is de-scribed and the party urged to set outimmediately. They are to bring the relics tothe Doi No Fugu inn, where Michimori willmeet them. Uemon's goal is the destruc-tion of Korimori power by political meansand the reduction of the influence of theSun Temple.

Korimori has been caught unprepared.As soon as he discovers the party has left,he rides at top speed to his castle, sendsout clandestine patrols to stop the party,and organizes a force of samurai to saildown to the castle. The party's speed en-ables them to evade most of these prepa-rations on their journey to the castle, butthey will not be so lucky on the return trip.As a final precaution, he arranges for ninjato intercept the party at Doi No Fugu.

The temple is aware of the stirrings, butnot the details of any of these plans. Afterthe party leaves, the head abbot, actingwith strict neutrality, orders out sohei pa-trols to keep the peace. The sohei are in-structed to prevent or settle any fights, butnot to interfere with the activities of eitherwarlord. Specifically, they are not to escortor follow members of either faction. Thesohei patrols know that the characters areallied with Michimori.

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