An Impossible Task

by Lisa Farrell
The wise samurai and the foolish one may walk the same path. – Shinsei

A messenger wakes you and whispers the command in your ear: you are to report to the general’s tent
at once. It is not yet dawn, the sky a deep inky blue with glimmers of gold on the horizon. The paths
between the tents are quiet, and a token guard stands vigil outside the general’s tent. He does not
challenge you, but his eyes are hostile. Some Lion dislike having a rōnin in their midst at this turbulent
time, with the Great Clans all jostling for power.
You enter to find General Ikoma Tsanuri’s tent aglow with candles. She is already dressed for battle,
poring over a map of the area that lies on the low table beside her. There are no troop markers—she
merely studies the terrain around the village. Four Roads Village was large and prosperous under the
protection of Commander Akodo Kyōsuke. Now, it is in the hands of the Unicorn.
The general acknowledges you with a nod and invites you to sit on the mat before her. There are no
servants present; she wants to speak to you alone.
“Our attack cannot wait,” Tsanuri says. “The Unicorn refuse to treat with me, and I will not allow them
to keep Four Roads Village. We came here to support Commander Kyōsuke against the Unicorn, and
though the situation is worse than anticipated, my orders stand. We will attack today and take the
village back. But you will not be joining us.”
Before you can respond, she holds up a hand.
“I have another task for you. When the Unicorn took the village, they captured the commander. I have
spoken to a survivor from the battle, who confirms the Shinjo took him alive. They must hope to gain
information, a tactical advantage. I cannot allow that to happen.”
She pauses, glancing to the map beside her. When she speaks again, her voice is hushed, the words for
your ears alone.

“Tell no one of your mission. Leave our camp, conceal yourself in the copse overlooking Four Roads
Village, and wait for the fighting to begin. Then, find the commander and bring him back alive. This may
be an impossible task, but it must be attempted. I will not allow the Unicorn to gain sensitive
information that the commander may have been privy to. If he can be rescued, Akodo Kyōsuke may be
able to help us turn the tide of this war. Go at once.”

You take your leave of the general, and she seems pleased that you approach the task at once, as
directed.

When you leave the general’s tent, you find the camp is awake. Soldiers are queuing for their meager
morning meal, servants hurry past with freshly laundered clothes and mended armor, and messengers
run from tent to tent. Even the wind has awoken since you spoke to the general, and the war curtain
around the camp is snapping with great urgency.
Soon the general’s orders will trickle down through the ranks, and every soldier will take their place to
march on the Unicorn-held village. However, your path from the general’s tent to the copse is a long
one, and takes you past the camp's stores, the medical tent, the blacksmith, the stables, and a small
shrine to Bishamon. There may be time to make some preparations before the battle—and your
mission—begins.

As you leave the camp, a Lion guard rises from the long grasses and moves to block your path.
“State your business!” he commands, but before you can respond he looks you up and down. “Samurai-
san, a thousand apologies. Ikoma-sama did warn me an unmarked samurai might come this sway.
Please, pass freely, and may the Fortunes walk with you.”
You thank the guard and walk on, glad the general had such foresight. The guard took you unawares;
you will have to be more alert when entering the Unicorn camp.

From the copse, you see the village below you: a cluster of thatched houses surrounded by fields and
paddies. A small river meanders through the paddies and skirts the houses; you won’t have to cross it
unless forced to take a long route back to the Lion camp. The Unicorn forces have erected tents in the
fields surrounding the village, though their samurai likely sleep within the village itself. A smaller army
than the Lion’s, but their famed steeds may make up for that.
From this vantage, you can see Unicorn archers concealing themselves at the western end of the village,
ready to fire on any unsuspecting Lion who break through enemy lines and approach. You thank the
Fortunes that you reached the copse in time to see them conceal themselves. If you have the chance to
foil the archers once you’re in the village, you may be able to help the Lion cause.
Tsanuri was right to send you here; the paddies on the south side of the village prevented the Unicorn
forces from erecting tents there. So long as you avoid any guards, you can slip down the slope and enter
the village among the houses.
Horns sound, and the Unicorn soldiers and samurai mobilize with enviable efficiency to face the coming
attack. A swarm of purple and silver moves to meet the oncoming gold. Then, stillness, as one army
faces the other. You tense, ready to run, but wait just a little longer. The signal arrow flies whistling
above the soldiers, and spear tips flash in the sun; now is the time for you to move.

Without battle armor, you are swift and silent and you keep to the grassy walkways through the
paddies, careful not to misstep and splash. Between the Lion camp and the village, the battle is
underway. But there may yet be guards in the village, or at the least, servants willing to die rather than
let you pass unnoticed.
As you reach the first building, the thunder of hooves sends you diving for the shadows. You crouch with
your back against the wall as a messenger rides north through the village. He does not slow; he must not
have noticed you. You take a moment to calm your breath and look around. The camp is quiet but for
the music of the river; the villagers have fled or hidden, and the Unicorn appear to travel with fewer
servants than the Lion. An unattended fire, left to burn low until needed again, crackles nearby. You wait
and listen. Chanting comes from the south-east—a shugenja perhaps, appealing to the kami for aid.
From the opposite direction, you hear the snort of a horse, and an answering whicker. The archers you
saw from the copse are undoubtedly still set up along the western edge of the village, ready to ambush
the Lion armies should General Tsanuri advance into the village.
Then, still crouching low, you notice that dried sticks, grasses, and scraps of cloth have been stuffed into
the space underneath the building beside you. It seems the Unicorn have prepared this building to burn.
It’s a storehouse; the Unicorn must intend to deny the Lion supplies even if they achieve victory.
Amidst it all, your orders remain clear: you must search for Commander Kyōsuke, who is being held
captive somewhere in the village. If you are not too late, you may be able to save him.
You search carefully through the village, and eventually come across a guarded building, a large house
near the center of the village. With two Shinjo bushi standing guard outside, it seems likely this is where
they are keeping Commander Kyōsuke prisoner.

You might be able to fight your way past the two bushi, attempt to distract them, or bluff your way past
them to sneak inside the building.

You find a hefty stone and position yourself near the guards and the rest of the village. When it clatters
off the wooden wall of a nearby building, the guards become alert, but do not move from their post. You
try it again, this time targeting a different house. Once again, they do not move. When you make a third
clatter, they begin to move to investigate…moving toward where you are hiding. It’s clear that simple
sounds won’t get their attention—you could escalate your distraction by setting a nearby house aflame,
or you could flee your hiding spot and attempt to draw them out by mimicking cries for help within the
village.

Within moments, the fragile wooden house goes up in flames. You hear the sudden panicked cries of
horses and release the two steeds who were tethered up beside the building, adding to the commotion
by sending them barreling through the village. Scrambling in sudden panic, the two guards separate as
one runs for the burning house and the other for the trampling horses. It is almost trivial to run across to
the guarded house and slip inside before anyone can notice.

You enter the house cautiously, but there are no guards inside. At first, there seems to be no one at all,
only a hearth grown cold and a pile of blankets in a corner. Then the blankets move, groaning with the
effort, and you realize you have found Akodo Kyōsuke. You explain who sent you and why you’re here.
“It’s not too late,” he says, his voice a half-strangled rasp. “I told them nothing, but they found my
documents, my orders, my reports. They have taken them away to examine them, and then they will
send them to their Khan…you must find the messenger, retrieve the scrolls, and stop this.”
He struggles to rise but falls back against the wall. His face turns toward you, but his eyes are already
half-focused on some other realm.
“Please,” he begs, “my fate is set. Find the messenger and get the scrolls. The Unicorn must not study
them…”
It might still be possible to save him if you get him treatment in time. If you leave him here to seek the
scrolls, you doubt he would still be alive upon your return.

General Tsanuri wanted information kept out of Unicorn hands. She did not know you would have to
make a choice between saving the commander or preventing the Unicorn from gaining that information.
You obey the commander’s wishes and leave him, slipping out of consciousness already, to go to seek
the messenger.

You backtrack through the village and head north to find a horse tied up outside one of the houses,
saddled and ready. It could be the horse of the messenger you saw earlier.
The house is like all those around it, small and thatched. Yet while the doorways of the others are dark,
lamplight shines in this one. You don’t have to get very close to see the tableau inside: a robed courtier
inscribing a letter by lamplight while the messenger waits beside. As you watch, the courtier finishes her
letter and carefully stows it within a wooden scroll case that already contains several scrolls bearing the
iconography of the Lion Clan. She hands it, along with a handful of other scroll cases, to the messenger
for delivery.
You have seen scrolls with that stationery before, on official Lion clan documents. If these ones contain
the commander's orders and logistical notes, then it would be imperative to General Tsanuri that they
stay out of Unicorn hands.
The messenger emerges from the house and prepares to ride. If you act now, you may be able to
retrieve them. But the messenger is armed, and it might be prudent to wait and watch for a safer
opportunity.

The messenger swings up into the saddle, but before he can ride away the courtier emerges from the
house to speak to him. The messenger dismounts and returns into the house, leaving the scroll case tied
to the saddle.
Seizing your chance, you dart toward the horse, but you act a moment too soon. The messenger sees
you as he enters the house, and reemerges with his scimitar drawn. You will have to fight him…unless
you can steal the horse and escape.

You draw your blade in a flash and slash at your opponent. He deftly darts aside to avoid your attack
before launching an attack of his own. You and the messenger trade a couple more blows, but you are
unable to strike at such a nimble opponent. Painfully, the reverse is not true: the fourth strike of the
Unicorn’s scimitar cuts into your side and it is only thanks to your light armor that you are not cut down
in the moment. But you cannot afford to bleed for long, for any hesitation or retreat will certainly spell
your doom.
It occurs to you then that your fighting stance is wrong. You have been trying to follow your kata,
wielding your katana as you always did in training. But with the scroll case in your off hand, throwing off
your balance, you have lost a great deal of effectiveness. In a moment of inspiration and courage, you
thrust yourself into the messenger’s striking range, drawing out a killing blow. With your entire body
committed to the maneuver, you deflect the scimitar off of the scroll case you hold and drive your
katana through your foe, dispatching him in a single blow. Breathing heavily, you turn to the courtier,
but she has already retreated into the house. She might raise the alarm, but you are no butcher and
your goal is already in hand. Limping under the pain, you retreat with the scroll case back to the village.
These documents nearly cost you your life, and you don’t even know what they contain. You could read
the scrolls or return them unread to General Tsanuri.

You leave the scroll case unopened so that you can give its intact contents to General Tsanuri when you
return to the Lion camp. This way, too, the general will know with surety that the Unicorn did not learn
its message. You tie the case securely to your belt.
You leave the village at once and head straight back to the Lion camp to ensure the scroll gets to the
general.

Once in the Lion camp, you go straight to the general’s tent. As she has not yet returned from the field, a
servant bids you wait outside. Kneeling in the grass, you listen to the sounds of battle on the wind. The
fighting must be almost at an end, for while you hear the cries of death and flapping banners, you hear
little sound of actual fighting. You have no way of knowing which side has claimed victory, not yet.
When the general appears, her armor is splattered with mud and blood, and her face flushed with fury.
The defeat is apparent in her hurried stride and the stiff set of her shoulders. One of her arms hangs
awkwardly with some injury not yet treated.
“What news?” Tsanuri demands, seeing you. “Where is Commander Kyōsuke?”
You present the scroll case to her and beg forgiveness for bringing parchment instead of the
commander.
“It is unfortunate you could not save Lord Kyōsuke,” she says, unrolling the scrolls and examining them.
“However, I am relieved that you retrieved these documents, and your mission was not a complete
failure. I had not realized he was privy to such sensitive information.”