Home of the Kaji.

[Oshii]

"Home of the Kaji" (General Smithy too)

A long lowslung building sits off to the left of the marketplace, it's walls blackened and smelling acridly of heated metal. The steady rythym of the bellows and hammers falling on anvils can be heard, punctuated by the occasional curse, or hissing of water as a blade is doused.

Just to the right of the building is a small testing ground, for new weapons and armour, usually populated by a few cheerful dwarves and humans. Beside that there is a stack of bamboo, ready for the testing of a new masterwork blade from the kaji herself.

As you walk inside, you see two distinct areas, to the south is a typical smithy, dirty and sooty. A dwarf watches his two apprentices work, shouting orders and occasionally helping them out. As he sees you he steps forward and indicates a small rack with several different wares on it.

"Looking forr sumtin' t'day are we? Kin Ahh git ye a sworrd? Nae, nae a shield is what ye be wantin'!" He hooks his thumbs in his belt and looks you over. "Tha names Ian and them two is Colin and Stewie. Iff'n ye be wantin' tha Miss Oshii, she be right over thar." He points to the north end of the building, at a bamboo divider.

As you walk to the divider, a feeling of peace comes over you. Stepping into the next room, you could almost forget you are in a smithy, save for the small kiln in the northwest corner. A young woman kneels in an apparently uncomfortable postion, carefully honing a blade on a whetstone. She seems engrossed in her work, so you look around the room.

On one wall there is a rack containing metal bars, divided into groups, each group bearing a kanto symbol (for those who read Kanji, they are divided by purity of the metal) and some more lay on the ground, apparently rejects.

The opposite wall holds a shrine, and several finished daicho, nodachi and wakizashis. One blade is exposed, the mirror finish clear enough you can see yourself in it from where you stand. Beside this stands a dummy wearing a suit of Samurai armour, dark blue with black and gold accents. A fearsome helm sits atop the dummy's head, unerving you to say the least.

"Good day to you, please sit and have some tea." The pleasantly spoken words wake you from your trance, you can't tell how long you were looking into the polished steel surface. Oshii has risen behind you, and indicates a small cushion on the ground for you to sit on. She offers green tea, freshly whisked on a rosewood platter, then looks at you: "How may I help you today?"

[OoC: Ian is an NPC, just make purchases from him if it's anything smithy related from horseshoes to masterwork swords and armour. Oshii will take care of special requests, when I am online so thanks for being patient. Feel welcome to come and chat, or test out your weapons in the training area.]

Rules:
NPC Ian in a friendly manner, he is never grumpy.
Obey the Terms of Agreement on this website.
Don't set fire to anything in here.
Don't touch a weapon without NPCing it through Ian first.
NEVER touch any of the blades on the wall in Oshii's room.
Have fun.

[Oshii]

*Oshii steps into the smithy, and is immediately greeted by Ian just like any other day. "Morning Miss Oshii, we've been busy! I have a few requests for you, iff'n you don't mind?" She smiles and nods in agreement, indicating that they step into her work area.

"Miss, I was worried about you, especially after the quiet angry elf told me to stay inside while he moved the smithy. Then you don't turn up for months, and suddenly appear, with a terrible wound, as the city sources say. You mustn't run off with out me, I have sworn my hammer and shield to you, remember?"

"Yes, Ian, I do remember. But I needed to make the journey on my own, it was a test in a way. But I'm fine now, and ready to resume work. Please don't be worried." She smiles again, and examines her work space making sure nothign has been moved, which it hasn't. The place has been dusted frequently, and the blades polished, but Ian will have seen to that.

"Please, you may reusme your work now. I will be here if you need me." She says this indicating the time alone is over, and Ian returns to his side, wondering to himself what she saw on her journey to change that fire in her. He could have sworn he saw hatred as she stared at the blood drinking blades adorning her wall, yet she still carried her vampiric daisho. Odd, but nothing to fret over for now.

Oshii sits down and begins to meditate in front of the shrine, lighting several sticks of sandalwood inscence. The smell and aura of peace soon envelop her, taking her away from her mortal coil and into nirvana. She spends the rest of the day communing with her blades, and attuning them to the newest philosophy of her training.

[Oshii]

*The smell of sandalwood has long faded by the time Oshii returns to the mortal coil, and opens her eyes. She breathes deep, enojying her new perception of life and rises. Locking the door to her half of the smithy, she walks to the training groud with her daisho.

Once there she draws her blades rapidly, each one creating a trail of dust bhind it. Closing her eyes she allows herself to attune to her blades and begins a complex series of katas. Each individual movement leads into the next like water flowing downhill, finding the path of least resistance, until Oshii is obscured by a whirlwind dervish of dust.

Slowly the dust dissipates revealing the kaji seated, blades sheathed, examining the remains of the wo dummies in front of her. Her blades never even touched them, as she can see by reliving the moment in her mind, yet the damage is far greater than she could ever cause before. A smile plays across her lips, and she rises, stepping out into the night, confident and assertive once again.

[Kage]

It wasn't an effort at all to get into the Samurai's forge. Nor was it difficult getting into the Samurai's room.

Did this Samurai leave her guard down? Fool.

He silently crept towards the blades on the walls in the room and examined them for traps. Finding none, he pulled out a black cloth and wrapped them around the blades before taking them down, making sure to be careful about touching them, just in case. He puts these in the bag slung over his shoulder and looks around. Smiling, he takes her tools as well, along with any other blades he may find. This would teach the Samurai scum.

When finished, he left a kanji symbol of the Crescent Moon behind. It wouldn't be hard to find, as it was left somewhere obvious. He disappeared, taking her things with him.

[Oshii]

*Oshii returns to her smithy from the Inn and finds Ian at work as normal. She smiles good day to him and goes into her workspace, eager to pour mour energy into Jingzu's blade. Funny, she could have sworn she locked the door...

Oshii's scream pierces Ian's eardrums, even through the dull hammering going on in the forge. He dashes into her sanctum and finds her catatonic on the floor, eyes sightless and tightly clutching a strange symbol, obviosly picked up from in front of her shrine, as she lays in front of it.

He shakes her shoulder gently, but she does not stir or even make a sound. Ian notices that her grip on the symbl is so fierce that blood drips onto the polished hardwood floor, looking out of place and definately disturbing the normally peaceful air. Only then does he realize what is wrong.

Every blade, normally proudly displayed on the walls, is missing, as is her complete toolkit and most of the unfinished blades. "Desecrated..." he murmurs, looking down on his master's face, normally serene but now grotesquely contured in a mask of abject horror. He examines the symbol locked in her grip, but doesn't see anything special about it, it looks like the same writing she uses.

Not exactly knowing what to do, he instructs Colin and Stewie to close the forge, and stand guard inside until he returns. He then gathers Oshii carefully in his arms and throwing his cloak around them, he sets off at a brisk pace for the Inn, hoping someone she knows will help them there.

[Oshii]

*Oshii arrives not long after Ian, and enters, dissmissing his questions with a wave of her hand. She has soemthing important to do, and she doesn't care to get distracted now.

Shutting her door, she strips down to her undergarments and takes a fine white silk kimono from the wall behind her armour. Slipping that on, she carefully ties it shut and begins to place her armour on piece by piece.

It's been a while, but the armour still fits as if it were brand new, accentuating her curves and creating an imposing sight with the helm placed on. She goes to her pack, dropped by her this morning, and extracts her diasho. Securing the blades to her belt, she smiles grimly and places a heavy cloak to one side of her shrine.

She then kneels down and prays for guidance, and meditates to achieve nirvana in battle. Rising shortly, she casts the cloak around her, magically covering her armour, even the unicorn horn on her helm. It was a handy gift she found on her journey, too bad the owner had perished on her blade, but he was just another body in a myriad of enemies.

Leaving the smithy, she looks like an old person, bent over and hobbling, such is the magic of her cloak. But inside she is scanning and looking for any traces of that ninja. First she will go to the marketplace in case he has tried to sell her weapons for a quick profit.

[Kage]

He appears inside her room again and leaves one of the rippled steel blades on top of her shrine, along with another symbol of the Crescent Moon. He smirked, knowing she would just love the intentional insult this gesture symoblized. He searches the place for a seal of the Emperor. Should he find one, he takes it. Whether or not he does, however, he throws a flash bomb outside for the two guards. He disappears before it explodes, leaving behind a brilliant flash and announcing his brief presence here.

[Catriona]

*A small parcel arrives for Ms Oshii.*

[Oshii]

*Oshii steps into her sanctuary, listening to the silence emmanating from inside. Ian must be visiting kin in the mountains, and the other two will be out drinking or something.

She picks up the symbol left for her, and tosses it into the forge. She is in control of her anger now, but her hands still tremble at it's sight. She replaces the blade onto it's stand, and carefully checks it for any damage whatsoever.

Finding none, she sits down in front of the shrine, and lights some sandalwood incense. She meditates, the slow rise and fall of her chest being all that betrays the fact she is indeed alive.

[Kage]

For a Samurai, you are very careless. Does that come with being a Ronin?

*It is difficult to tell exactly where the voice comes from. The only thing for certain is that it is not coming from ground level.*

[Oshii]

*She speaks in measured tones, aimed towards the shrine she sits in front of.

Trust is an important part of my life. Appreciation of beauty drives me in my work, so who am I to lock up such beauty, or to deny trust in people by protecting what is mine with incantations?

[Kage]

You'll find that, here, people have less use for the beauty of our homeland. Unless they wish to sell it.

As for trust, that is an interesting thing for a Ronin to say. Should you not have joined your lord? Or is the story a little more complicated than that?

[Oshii]

Trust and loyalty are concepts that thieves and liars do not understand. My Emperor has released me to travel and become the finest Kaji. I will join him in death one day, to ever protect him from evil.

[Kage]

*There is a short silence, eventually broken by the quiet, now amused, voice.*

Always blind, no matter what. Well, good luck in your travels.

*Several small objects fall from the roof and land on the floor. After a moment, each of them burst, releasing Alchemist's fire in multiple places throughout her sanctuary. More break on the roof, catching it on fire as well.*

[Oshii]

*She remains kneeling as the fire bursts around her. The blessing of her godess protects her body as the fires spread throughout the forge. Her fingers clench the handles of her daisho as the fights the urge to chase down the intruder.

*She stands and looks at the destruction surrounding her mutely. Looking towards the street, she dashes out and spins quickly trying to find any clues as to which way the ninja went. At least, she guesses her visitor was the ninja of the crescent moon.