Sake House (day 0 EA)

[Daidoji Nobu]

A shadow momentarily darkened the doorway, and then a huge mountain of a man stepped through the curtain to enter the sake house that adjoined the Western Hub Sake Works. Tall and enormously fat, he had the swords and the topknot of a samurai. Crane mons adorned his blue kimono.

Setting his swords in the rack by the door, the huge Crane seated himself at one of the low tables and ordered sake. “The good stuff, please,” he instructed the attendant. “It may be a while before I get another chance to taste Western Hub Sake.”

[Usagi Kaigen]

The good stuff was well beyond Kaigen's means, so he looked up, briefly wondered what that small shed was doing in the sake house, then realized it was a Crane.

A BIG Crane.

Well, that explains the refined palate.

I think?

Fort his part, Kaigen had Skillfully Acquired some ink and paper, and was, in his "the watery stuff will have to do" state, trying to compose a letter.

Well. As much as someone who hadn't put brush to paper could be said to be trying. The wiry Hare glanced at the Crane again.

Guy'll probably drink it all, not much point in trying to get friendly...

[Daidoji Nobu]

The Crane produced a porcelain sake cup from one sleeve as the attendant arrived with the sake bottle.

Noticing Kaigen's eyes upon him, the big man offered a seated bow. "Care to join me for a round?" he suggested. "Sake tastes better with company."

"I'm Daidoji Nobu," he added.

[Usagi Kaigen]

A free round of the good stuff?

Why no, Crane-sama, I'll keep working on my swill.

"This one is Usagi Kaigen, I would be honored to join you."

He made his way over, reflecting that the Crane would make an excellent vantage point for a scout to stand on and might not even notice.

"Especially as such refreshment will likely be thin on the ground in the days ahead..."

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Exactly what I was thinking," Nobu boomed. The sake bottle seemed tiny in the Crane's large hands as he politely poured a cup for the Hare. "You are assigned to the Legion also, eh? We have a long march ahead and only the Fortunes know when we will be in a place with good sake again."

Nobu grinned cheerfully despite this ominous pronouncement.

[Usagi Kaigen]

"That's about the size of it!"

Kaigen resisted the urge to simply slam the cup of good sake right away. For the moment.

"I'll be with the Second Kaisha. Probably scouting, unless they come up with some better use for my talents... you?"

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Fourth Kaisha," Nobu replied. "I'm a recent transfer in, so I'm not sure what they'll have me doing yet."

"Probably not scouting, though. I'm... pretty visible," he said patting his large belly with a rueful expression. "Rank-and-file heavy infantry is more suitable to my talents, I suspect. But common spear carriers are the backbone of every army, eh?"

[Usagi Kaigen]

Not sure infantry comes much heavier than this guy

"Truer words have seldom been spoken, Daidoji-sama. You served as infantry for the Crane, then?"

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Ah, nooo, I'm afraid not," Nobu said, with a sheepish expression. "I trained sword and spear with the heavy regulars, of course; but until now I've been assigned as a guard. Oh, it's honorable work, to be sure; making sure no courtier trips and falls on their fan. But the best guards are the ones that are least noticed, or so they say." His mouth twisted slightly at this.

"I imagine the Imperial Legion will be different, though," the big Crane confided. "Perhaps there will be combat; perhaps even a chance to distinguish myself. What do you think?"

[Usagi Kaigen]

"Well, I doubt they're marching us out there to share soup recipes, so..."

Kaigen shrugged.

"Probably be tougher than fighting bandits, which is all I have to my name up until now."

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Oh? Are there many bandits in the Hare province?" Nobu inquired politely. "Perhaps a few less now, due to your efforts, eh?"

The big Crane took a slurp from his sake cup, smacking his lips appreciatively.

[Usagi Kaigen]

"Let us say that the target number is zero, and that such a number requires concerted effort..."

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Indeed, indeed," Nobu said, nodding agreement. "Well, I imagine we will see zero bandits on our march south; even the most foolish bandit will surely not stand in the way of an Imperial Legion."

[Usagi Kaigen]

"Ah, Daidoji-sama, you say that, but..."

The Hare shrugged.

"Where an army goes, so goes its supply train, and while I doubt we'll see many bandits standing the road to make demands, I wouldn't be at all surprised if efforts are made to make a move or two."

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Hmm, it's a good thought," Nobu said thoughtfully, leaning back to consider this idea. "Do you think we'll have an extensive supply train that we'll need to protect, even while we march within the Empire? I had imagined we would be re-supplied from local depots all along the way; but I must defer to your greater experience with such things."

[Usagi Kaigen]

"Oh, we'll have to look after ourselves, but we will be a logistical nightmare to completely support off of what lies ahead of us. Some Lion somewhere once said 'an army marches on its stomach,' and there's only so much we can assume will be in order as expected..."

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Mmm, it's a good thought," Nobu pondered. "Well, hopefully the commanders have a plan for this. I'll be happy to guard the supply lines if needed; I'm not fond of missing meals, after all." He chuckled slightly at that.

"Have you any other thoughts on what lies on the road ahead?" the big Crane inquired. "Being a scout and all, I imagine you must have a decent idea of the terrain in front of us."

[Usagi Kaigen]

"Not really."

Kaigen grinned ruefully.

"Never been there, after all. Travel papers for Minor Clan samurai can be a bit hard to come by..."

[Hida Masayuki]

Hida Masayuki in the corner drinks alone, but nowhere near as fancily as the extra-large Crane fellow. That one will be hard up to find such fine sake where we are going. He seems a sociable fellow.

Another, slim samurai wearing the Crane mon approaches, but as usual, he gets one look at my face and turns away, walking on. What's new?
Nursing the sake, I am grateful for the march to the wall and pray to the fortunes we make it there with minimal casualties. Keeping the wall safe is more important than some of them realize.

Thoughts then turn to the order of the march. I've heard rumors that the Fourth will be last to march. Looking at who is around, they seem more truth than rumors. I am ready to begin.

[Daidoji Nobu]

"Not really."

Kaigen grinned ruefully.

"Never been there, after all. Travel papers for Minor Clan samurai can be a bit hard to come by..."

"Eh, no matter," Nobu said, waving dismissively. "No doubt the officers will have you scouts riding ahead of the main column to get the freshest intelligence. At least you'll get to see more interesting sights than the backside of the man marching in front of you."