S3E17: Exhumation

The three ronin had found their man: the runaway shugenja, Reju Tetsuya. They were ordered to bring Tetsuya back to Closed Shell Castle, but the shugenja refused. He vowed to never return. 

Tetsuya felt tremendous regret for what he had done. He had been used as a pawn in a plot hatched by the steward, Otomo Nobu, to kill Reju Jikai, defeat the bandits, and wrest control of the castle for himself. Nobu’s plan was to upset the region’s water kami, forcing a famine while simultaneously increasing taxation in order to send the peasants into a state of upheaval. All the while hunting the forests for its wildlife and selling the meat and pelts to pay for a small army of ronin which he would train and use to garrison the castle. When the peasants revolt, the ronin would destroy them, and in the maelstrom, Nobu would slink off and kill Jikai, his wife, and his niece, making it appear as though they had died in combat. As defender of the castle, he would be promoted from steward to lord. His first act would be to end the forced famine and lower the taxes, blaming those catastrophes on the policies of his predecessor. In the end, he would have ownership of the castle, the respect of his superiors, the love of the common people, and a small army at his disposal. 

Tetsuya’s role in all of this was to keep the water kami agitated. When Jikai took power, Nobu threw the remains of the previous lord, Otomo Yuki, into the castle’s well creating a kyokotsu, a malignant abomination which infects the water and angers the kami. Tetsuya fed the creature, appeasing it and making its power grow. He was promised wealth and power by Nobu when his plan was completed, and Tetsuya realized too late what he had done. The dishonored shugenja felt nothing but shame now, wasting away, drinking himself to death in a stable.

Hearing this story, the ronin concocted a plan. They would bring Tetsuya back to Closed Shell Castle and force him to repeat his story to Jikai and Reju Masaru, exposing Nobu for the snake that he is.

Upon arriving at the castle, the ronin were met by Masaru. He seemed surprised by their presence, and his usual adherence to decorum had waned a bit. It appeared as if he didn’t expect that they would return from their mission. Masaru immediately sent a messenger off to inform Nobu of their arrival. The ronin protested, but he insisted. He then ushered them into his quarters so they could speak in more detail. Suspecting that Masaru was in on Nobu’s plan, the ronin played along. They said nothing of Tetsuya’s indictment or of Nobu’s scheme. In celebration of their completed mission, the ronin convinced Masaru to have a round of sake. They spiked his drink with the night milk pilfered from the dead assassins, not once, but twice. Soon, Masaru was knocked unconscious. The ronin quickly searched his quarters and found evidence of his involvement in Nobu’s scheme. Masaru, the one who welcomed the ronin into the castle, trained them, and guided them had been working with Nobu from the very beginning. The ronin swallowed the betrayal and moved forward with renewed vigor. Something about Nobu’s plan felt personal now.

Artwork by Dylon Munoz

Music by Brandon Spain & Podcast of the Five Rings