S3E10: The Poet & The Pretender

Podcast of the Five Rings

Kaizoku stood in the dungeons speaking with his former crewmate, Zagra. He had a deal for him. If Kaizoku helped free him from the castle, Zagra would supply Kaizoku with Liquid Void. With just a few words, Kaizoku was immediately transported to another place. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. Waves of euphoria washed over him. He had to have a taste. When Kaizoku asked him if he had any on him, Zagra declined but explained that he had connections up and down the coast, and for him, a supplier would not be hard to find. The offer was too enticing for Kaizoku to decline. He promised to spring Zagra when the time was right.

The next week, Masaru decided Kaizoku had finished his training and proved himself worthy of employment by the castle. Noting Kaizoku’s skill with a bow and independent nature, Masaru decided he would be a perfect fit for guard duty along the castle wall—especially shifts at night where Kaizoku would have less supervision than normal. The gears immediately began to turn in Kaizoku’s head.

That same week, Tsume decided to seek out the rightful owner of the cursed wakizashi, Miya Shinkako. He found her practicing calligraphy by lantern light in the castle’s garden-viewing room. The garden, once verdant, was now dried and withered. Presumably due to the same blight which was affecting the whole countryside. Speaking with the woman, Tsume discovered that she was a poet of middling success and a guest of Reju Jikai’s. She seemed to spend all her time in the garden room writing poetry and drinking sake.

Tsume returned the sword to her. After hearing Tsume’s story of how he acquired the sword, she knew at once that it had been a gift from her uncle who mysteriously disappeared outside of Twin Blessings Village on the way to visit her. Shinkako simultaneously felt an immense feeling of sadness and relief after finally uncovering what happened to her beloved uncle. Feeling she could trust Tsume, she invited him to sit with her for a while.

Knowing very little about the mysterious lord of Closed Shell Castle, Tsume had many questions about him. Shinkako told him that Jikai once was a poet as well. The two had found moderate success as poets in Otosan Uchi, and they had formed a kind of friendly rivalry. But deep down, she knew he was considered the superior poet and she was jealous. After the coup, Jikai had found employment in the Crane lands as a tutor for Daidoji Gombei’s son. One day, an accident involving a horse left Gombei’s son unable to use his right hand. Gombei held Jikai responsible for the accident and challenged him to a duel. Jikai’s wife, Seppun Azusa, was an extremely talented duelist and took the challenge in her husband’s stead. In the duel, Gombei deliberately disabled Azusa’s right hand as a stroke of irony. Dishonored and humiliated, Jikai was given the lordship of Closed Shell Castle—a hideous, poverty-stricken castle— as an insult. Since taking control of the castle, Jikai had become reclusive and his wife had become despondent, spending all of her time meditating in the castle shrine.

As Tsume was preparing to leave, Shinkako revealed the whole truth: she was responsible for the accident which crippled Gombei’s son. She was responsible for Jikai’s downfall. The horse was meant for Jikai himself, just to slow him down so she could steal some of his limelight as a poet. Guilt brought her to Closed Shell Castle. Now, she bides her time working up the nerve to admit responsibility to Jikai. Something she has not had the courage to do for many weeks.

Meanwhile, Boa spent some time in the castle tea room. Seated, he noticed a pair of unusual characters. The first was an opulently dressed man with an affable demeanor studying a Go board. The second was a strange man with piercing, hungry, yellowish eyes and silvery-gray hair and beard. His stare made Boa uncomfortable.

Boa approached the opulently dressed man, clad in shades of purple and pink. He introduced himself as Ide Toshio, the nephew of Ide Tadaji, daimyo of the Ide family of the Unicorn clan. He spoke openly and courteously with Boa, graciously accepting his challenge to a game of Go. Boa learned that he’s been sent as an envoy of the Ide family to welcome Reju Jikai as the new lord of Closed Shell Castle. Since then, he has been a guest of Jikai’s, staying as long as the lord will have him.

After a time, Boa noticed Dzudh—the wandering monk who meditates with Azusa in the shrine—walk into the tea room. Boa immediately struck up a conversation with him. He learned that Dzudh was helping Azusa find peace in the midst of her anger. She blames herself for the terrible fate which had befallen her and her husband. Boa asked about the thick, black incense which caked the shrine walls, and Dzudh admitted that they seemed counterproductive. Almost like they were meant to cloud Azusa’s mind and prevent her from finding peace. Dzudh observed that something strange was happening in Closed Shell Castle and its surrounding countryside. A spiritual discontent.

At the mention of this, the man with the yellowish eyes crossed the room and sat with Boa and Dzudh. He was Mamoru Nakama. His family, he explained, had lived in the region for generations and supplied the ruling families of Closed Shell Castle with knowledge of the fields, forests, and waterways surrounding the castle. Something was off, he agreed. And he believed Ide Tadaji was a part of it.

Reju Jikai has been overhunting the forest and selling pelts to Tadaji. It seemed his true mission was to expand the Ide trade network into areas that had been devastated during the coup while also making friends with the new lords rebuilding their lands in the wake of the Scorpion war. It seemed as though Nakama had been watching Tadaji and taking notes. While they spoke, Boa couldn’t help but notice the odd, stiff way Nakama moved. It was as if he had been wounded under his arms. When asked about it, Nakama shrugged it off, saying it was merely old age. Further deepening the mystery, as Nakama appeared young, no older than his mid-20’s. Studying Nakama’s wounds, Boa made a startling revelation: his wounds matched the ones Kaizoku gave the wolf on the road to Closed Shell Castle.

Credits

Artwork by Dylon Munoz

Music by Brandon Spain & Podcast of the Five Rings