The Tales of the Ninja Coder

The Totemo Akarui-gumi's association with Clan Higatsuke is about to come its end. It seems Jinsei has presented Lord Jun with the first bill for our services, and Lord Jun is unhappy.

However, we may be able to recover payment from him anyway. I have been engaged in some long-running projects on his behalf. As a result, I am the only one who knows the flaws in the daimyō Tomodachi-no-Tasu's security. His security is quite substantial, and would be nearly impossible for any of Higatsuke's members to penetrate on their own. Also, I have made connections in the house of Lord Sutōpurei, and can kill him with ease.

And we have other leverage, if we need it. We hope it does not come to that.

In the meantime, the Clan Kuruma-no-Danshaku is starting an ambitious campaign, and needs us to clear a variety of enemies. And our old friends, the Daiyokaru Temple, still have their own needs.

It will be good to leave the town of Ningu behind... even if I was looking forward to the manrikigusari battle that awaited me today. And it will be quite good to be free of Lord Jun's frantic and ill-disciplined ways.

And finally, Jinsei has tracked down my own payment. The merchant house accidentally sent it to the home of one of Jinsei's other associates, a man who has been connected with our gumi in the past. This man will bring it to Jinsei, and I will have it tomorrow.

All is well, or will be soon.

We have gone back to another meeting with Clan Higatsuke. They are very active in the town of Ningu now, and establishing themselves as a major part of its power structure is crucial to their strategy.

This is unfortunate, because Ningu has very strict rules against carrying weaponry. They will allow the kama, because it is "merely a farming tool", and I have found that the guards can often be bribed to allow a length of chain and a grappling hook, if you wear a mountain man's clothes and claim to need it for survival in the nearby forested mountains.

Of course, with a length of chain and a grappling hook, one can get to the rooftops... and then, a great many things are possible. Even if one's opponent is an armed and armored samurai, dropping off a roof onto him with a kama can be startlingly effective.

Jinsei has observed something about Higatsuke's Lord Jun: "He always needs to be in motion, even if it is not towards the actual goal." If we needed to get to Edo (east of here, as we are near Heian-kyō), he would be unhappy if we debated whether to take the Tōkaidō or the Nakasendō, because we would not be moving... but if we set off to the west, he would be pleased with our progress.

However, his money is good, so I am willing to smile, nod, and go along with his plans. While I make a great show of "progress" for Lord Jun to keep him happy, Jinsei will work on getting him to look at a map and see the larger picture.