Stealth or Strike

[Takeda Shingen]

A small group of rogue ronin have taken over a the castle of a small-time Daimyo, and after killing his men and running Lord Iwasaki Takeshi out of the castle and subsequently, the village, he has taken refuge in a nearby village and gone into hiding. However, after receiving word of the plight of his people under the tyrannical rule of the leader of the ronin, Lord Iwasaki could no longer stand by idly and watch his people suffer. With his men dead, he has no other options but to ask for aid from the various other Daimyos and hired mercenaries, in the hopes enough will accept his plea and eradicate the ronin from his castle, whether through sneaking in and ambushing the ronin leader and his men, or just charge into the castle and bulldoze through the men and eventually reach the ronin leader.

This is a group quest in which players will be pitted against GM run NPC's. To participate, post after this with your entrance, which route your character wishes to take, stealth or strike, and your base stats with faction bonus only and whichever weapon(s) your character will be using. You are allowed MAX one two-handed weapon, or two one-handed weapons. The list will start with max five participants for now, but if more wish to join, I will extend the list. The post order will be the participant list. PLEASE ADHERE TO THE POST ORDER.

Objective: Make your way through the castle whether through sneaking through or striking down every ronin you see until you reach the Ronin Leader located on the very top floor, and remove him from the castle, whether through negotiation, driving him out with force, or outright killing him.

Ronin Leader Stats: - May have a Musou

Str: 40 (50)
Dex: 35
Con: 40
Wis: 30
Spr: 30

Ronin: 20 total

Str: 20 (25)
Dex: 15
Con: 15
Wis: 15
Spr: 10

Rewards: Based on individual contribution and route taken. Awarded upon the event's completion.

Participants:

1. Sanada Yukimura - Stealth
2. Zeruko Akataru - Strike
3. Fujii Yori - Strike
4. Ichimura Ryunosuke - Stealth
5. Hana - Strike
6. Takeda Nobutoyo - Stealth
7.
8.

---

"Thank you for coming so quickly to my call for aid. The leader of the group of ronin is located on the very top floor of my castle, and he has at least fifteen or more men under his command, if I had to estimate, most likely twenty."

Lord Iwasaki stood in a small but well-hidden grove in the forest located on top of a hill just on the outskirts of his village, overlooking the village and giving a good view of the exterior of the castle.

Castle Description: The castle itself is fairly large, and has three levels to it. There are multiple routes to take to reach the top floor, but as expected, the most direct route is also the most heavily guarded. There are no walls around the castle or territory, and is located beside a river, which flows down towards the village. The entrance to the castle is a pair of heavy wooden doors, with stairs on the left and right sides leading up to the walkway in front.

[Sanada Yukimura]

(OOC: Going with the stealth route.)

After being summoned by Lord Takeda and informed of the plea for aid a small-time Daimyo, Lord Iwasaki Takeshi had sent out to the various territories surrounding what had previously been the territory he ruled over, though in the grand scheme of things, helping Lord Iwasaki would not change very much, if the Daimyo was able to re-take his castle and eventually rebuild his army back up, he would prove to be a handy, if minor ally to the Takeda faction. With this in mind, Lord Shingen decided to send Yukimura to help Lord Iwasaki out, not because Yukimura was the least busy of the Generals, but because Yukimura was one of the strongest in the Takeda faction, and his abilities would give Lord Iwasaki some of the aid he desperately sought.

Assembled in the forest grove with Lord Iwasaki, Yukimura wielded not his trademark dual jumonji-yari, but instead, his whip sword. While charging in and cutting down the ronin was a plausible option, it also ran the risk of all of them becoming exhausted before they even reached the ronin leader. Instead, Yukimura felt stealth was a better option. Knock out some of the ronin, steal their clothing, and make their way through the castle like they were on patrol, and eventually reach the ronin leader, without alerting the leader's men, if at all possible.

"If that is the case, then I vote we should sneak our way into the castle. Knock out some of the ronin patrolling the exterior, take their clothing, then make our way through the castle and eventually the ronin leader and confront him, as opposed to exhausting ourselves by rushing in and battling our way through all the ronin to reach the leader."

(OOC: Yukimura's stats with faction bonus:

Str: 33 (38)
Dex: 33
Con: 33
Wis: 35
Spr: 35

Using Whip Sword: +12 Str, +12 Dex when attacking.)

[Zeruko Akataru]

(OOC: Going in head first!) [Note to Lord Takeda, While the training isn't up I'm putting this after the training, but before his enlistment/recruitment into the Takeda army.]

Str: 8 (15)
Dex: 15
Con: 15
Wis: 10
Spr: 5

While Akataru technically wasn't in the Takeda army and wasn't even asking for payment he still thought it would be honorable to assist Lord Iwasaki. In fact the man had almost nothing to gain from helping the small-time Daimyo, but how could he stand by idly when their was a chance to show his prowess with his blade. He had just caught the news about an hour ago and hurried over to the grove where he saw the rather young Daimyo. Akataru could judge him though, he was still pretty young himself anyway. Reaching the grove the young warrior placed his hands on his knees and panted heavily. His muscles were still aching from the training and he felt like he could use a good rest, however there was no time to worry about his own needs when people were in need of help. Just catching the Takeda generals idea the man nodded in agreement. Adjusting the mask to his white Shinobi shozoku the rather tight mask while preforming the task of concealing his face it was rather tight due to the armor he wore over it. With the Shinobi shozoku on he also had metal shin guards, a breastplate, arm guards, and a metal guard in front of his mouth that only really covered his neck, chin, and his mouth.

"If you shall be favoring the stealthy route I shall lead a frontal assault. I might not be able to give you much support in a form of a body count, I could however give you the cover needed to infiltrate the castle."

The man's doubt in his skill shown ever so slightly through his tone as he gave his input. While he was fully aware that he couldn't cut through the opposition he new he could hold his own against one of the ronin...maybe even two if he focused solely on his defense. Even know he would appreciate the aid of troops or even a general he didn't ask for any.

[Fujii Yori]

(OOC going for misdirection)

Str: 12 (6)
Dex: 13 (6)
Con: 9 (5)
Wis: 18
Spr: 5

[Stat bonuses from faction and weapon]

It seems Yori was not the first one to arrive. He politely waited for the men to say their piece. He then stepped forward and bowed to Lord Iwasaki, and in an his usual blank tone said. " Lord Iwasaki i have come on behalf of Lord Azai, to regain that which has been taken from you. I have your letter to his lordship to confirm my identity". He takes out the letter and hands it to Lord Iwasaki.

Yori steps back for he can see all the participating parties, and for they can see him to. Looking towards the spiky haired youth he keeps his tone, but with a closed mouth smiles at him then speaks, " You have the right idea, however don't throw your life away to simply be a momentarily distraction". Yori then turns to Sanada Yukimura, his face goes blank and bows to Sanada, " We have never met before, but i know of you Sanada-San. People talk of your bravery and honor, they never speak of your intelligence which has been shown by how you wish to proceed in are current endeavor". Yori raises himself then looks forward to address everyone.

" Their Daimyo has been overthrow and their home is threaten by honorless ronin. With their hearts full of passion i will direct it to the castle. With the force of the passionate mob the majority of the ronin will be forced to try and suppress, the mob and i. This distraction should allow the two of you, less resistance in your goal removing the ronin leader from power. To quote a certain someone, the power one if fearless and focus is formidable, but the power of many if working together is better ". With his words spoken he bows and awaits their response and ideas.

[Takeda Shingen]

OOC: Participants may still join after this post, but they may only do so after Yori has posted.

Post order:

1. Sanada Yukimura - Stealth
2. Zeruko Akataru - Strike
3. Fujii Yori - Strike
4. Ichimura Ryunosuke - Stealth
5. Hana - Strike
6. Takeda Nobutoyo - Stealth

Taking the letter from Yori and opening it, the crest of the Azai stamped at the very top, after reading through it, Lord Iwasaki would give Yori a bow of his head before re-folding the letter and stowing it within the inner fold of his kimono. Lord Iwasaki staying silent while the small group of men sent by the various Daimyos discussed strategies, it was apparent on his face that he was eternally grateful for the relief aid, however small it may be. With a majority of his men slain, Lord Iwasaki only had a small group of men left that managed to escape and flee with their Lord.

"If a frontal assault is your course of action, then you will need more than just yourselves to succeed. It is not much, but I give you command of my remaining men and general, to help you. I advise both of you to not take these ronin lightly. They may be honorless, but they were once samurai under a Lord, and managed to slay three-quarters of my men, which attests to their level of skill. I pray the Gods watch over and bring you good fortune."

The general, Watanabe Tetsuya, stepping forward, he would bow to both Akataru and Yori, while behind him, the remaining men under Lord Iwasaki stood assembled, ready to move out.

(OOC: Watanabe Tetsuya's Stats:

Str: 25 (35)
Dex: 30
Con: 25
Wis: 25
Spr: 20

Lord Iwasaki's Men: 10 total

Str: 15 (20)
Dex: 20
Con: 15
Wis: 15
Spr: 10)

[Sanada Yukimura]

With two more men having joined the relief aid, including one soldier Yukimura recognized from the training session Lord Takeda had recently put the army through, with strategies and courses of actions planned out, Yukimura would leave the small group of his men he had taken with him under Akataru's command, about five in total. Combined with the men and general Lord Iwasaki had given command of to Akataru and the soldier from the Azai, it was a decent enough force to combat the ronin guarding the castle and their leader. Without a moments hesitation, Yukimura would quickly take off towards the front of the castle, after spending some time scouting the area, and making sure to keep to the forest as much as possible, and when it was no longer possible, he would stick to the shadows as much as possible, moving quickly but quietly through the village.

He would try to reach one of the ronin that was guarding the front of the castle by himself and sneak up behind him, in order to knock him out and drag him out of sight and steal his clothing, in order to disguise himself as one of the ronin and get into the castle while the others were acting as a distraction and keeping as many of the other ronin preoccupied as long as possible.

[Zeruko Akataru]

As he listened to the young general a wide grin formed on Akataru's face. However only the corners of his lips could be seen over the top of the metal piece that was positioned in front of his mouth.



"Don't worry about me. I don't plan on falling today, not to the likes of these fools."



Akataru then drew the dual katana that have represented his family for several generations. The blades had seen many of battles and today was just going to add another one. If Akataru would have had an alternate weapon he would have used it instead, seeing as the honorless foe did not deserve to witness the duo in action. However that was not the case and he had no other choice then to use them.



He quickly turned to Lord Iwasaki as he finished addressing Yori and listened to his offer. To Akataru's surprise the forces that he had been hoping for had been appointed to him. While it was a relief to have support in the battle deep down the young warrior was indeed nervous. Not only due to the fact that he was going up against a formidable opponent, but he couldn't stop thinking about the weight of the soldier's lives that now were in his hands. If they were to fail and the men were to die it would be because of his plan to lead the assault. One thing he was happy about though was his ability to hide his feelings from other. He quickly concealed his feelings as he bowed to Lord Iwasaki and his men.



"It is and honor to make you and you men's acquaintance Lord Iwasaki. I am proud to be able to offer my assistance and I am honored that you would entrust me with the remainder of your forces."



After Akataru finished thanking Lord Iwasaki he took a glance at f before watching Yukimura's men join the rest of the forces. The young Zeruko took a moment to gather himself and expel all of his negative tone from his voice as he now addressed the force as a whole.



"I'm glad that you men have continued to fight while so many have fallen. That ends now, right now we will be taking the fight back to the ronin and we are going to show them the strength of our army. Let's make sure that the lives lost today were not in vain. Let the heavens strengthen our wills and guide our blades to victory."



His speech was by no means professional and he stumbled over a couple of the words. Although he didn't speak like a leader would he spoke from the heart and told the men the truth. As soon as he finished his 'speech', if you could call it that, he immediately turned on his feet and started a well paced march toward the castle. He and the warriors under his command were now standing mere meters from the ronin as he hoped to stall as much as possible before beginning the fight. He also favored defending over charging. While the momentum would give the ronin the upper hand on the first strike he knew that such tactics caused forces to become clumsy.

[Fujii Yori]

With Yukimura hastily running off to what Yori assumes, would be to try steal himself into the castle with five others. Leaving Yori the smiling fool. The fools attempts to hide his fear by piling overconfidence over it. As annoy as it was they are working together to help a lord retake his position,Yori's not going to something childish. Yori nods at the fool and imparts a few words.

"Don't underestimate them".

Yori then leaves for the village to bolster their force with volunteers. On his way doubt would nag at him. should he have gone with the rest of the strike force, Yori was only one extra man. Histroy has shown us that one man can influence great change, this worrying would only bring about more doubt. It would be pointless to worry about it now, Yori has already left for the village and if he could recruit enough volunteers to take are disadvantage of numbers out of the equation, it would be worthwhile.

Leaving his doubt behind as he enter the village under the tyranny of the usurping ronin. It would seem that Yori's assumption about the villagers state of mind were correct.Two young men about his age, stood in center of the village. Speaking of rebellion towards the tyranny of the ronin, however their speech fell on deft ears. The ones that did listen, would only follow with disheartening comments. Standing with the young men Yori defends their words with his own.

"These brave men sons of your wifes, future of your family. Stand here proudly and humbly ask for your help against a common foe. Know that they do not stand alone,for as we speak your lord and soldiers, march to retake and rid the evil tyrant who has forced you to live in fear! Ask yourself this if we fail and this evil still lords over, what will happen? I'll tell you what will happen your boys will be forced into their military, your girls will be servants not just simply house work either! They will rape and kill your wives, and make the man watch before they let them hang! You must know this, but yet you bereft and scold these brave souls who wish to save their common man"!

Yori words were loud and clear. The villagers who heckled the young men stop and listened, mother and fathers alike held their kin tight. Young men and women looked their lovers in the eye with worry and sadness.

" Your lord may rules this land but you are the ones who tamed it! Your roots dig deep into the land, you the people are what make great daimyos and empires! You will not bend the knee to some ronin who thinks himself a king, he who harms you and your lands and cares only for himself"?!

The villagers begin to fill with pride, they respond back with pride.

"No"!

"Then we should show them the spirit of the land and it's people"?!

"Yes"!

"We are the land and the land is ours, no would be daimyo can stop are spirit and passion"!

With the turnabout of the village. Yori marches for the castle followed by the young men and proud villagers who fight for their family and pride.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

While a man was sorting out his weapons, he heard a faint sound of a man walking. When he came out of his house, he saw no man, but only a small scroll at the steps of the house. He opened it, and when he saw the matter with why the scroll was there, he went out of the house, cloaked in black and with a simple straw hat on his head. Seemingly, he carried no weapons, but a paper flying by at his side knew the ferocity on his bearing: upon nearing the man, it was sliced in twain.

After firing an arrow towards the camp of the Daimyo Iwasaki Takeshi with a note informing his presence and resolve to fight the usurper, the man proceeded stealthily towards the walls of the castle, and fired an arrow tied to a rope on the wall of the castle. If the arrow would hit, he then would scale the wall of the castle via the rope.

((Stats:

Str: 26
Dex: 30
Con: 25 (30)
Wis: 27
Spr: 8

Weapon: Standard-Issue Bow (Unstatted) ))

[Hana]

[ OOC: Taggling along with  Zeruko Akataru, unless there is any protest.]



It seemed like everywhere you turned you couldn't go without hearing some sad story. Farmers loosing crops to food levies, the pillaging of far-flung villages, mothers losing their sons to conscription, and more disheartening tales. It had been some time since Hana had heard any news that had actually won a smile. Today the news had been of some rather naughty ronin. It sounded like a mess, from what she had overheard while sneaking through a kitchen the previous morning. How embarrassing that must have been for the Iwasaki men! And a pretty poor move on the part of the ronin involved, as well. Their illegitimate claim on the castle would have been enough to coax neighboring lords out to reclaim it in the name of honor, or justice, or whatever it was that justified further bloodshed. She was sure stories of the castle would linger for a few days more...but seeing for herself would have been more exciting.



Hana had followed word of Iwasaki Takeshi all the way to the grove, where people were already starting to split away. The stern faces, swords, and number of them, in addition to the fact that they had converged in a place that had been out of the way had led her to believe that things were already afoot. It only took a moment for the young woman to decide whether she would play an active role in this story, or be content to watch it from afar.



Wordlessly, Hana fell in with Watanabe Tetsuya and his men, who had been in the company of Zeruko Akataru. She knew none of their names, or their faces. Only that they had the look of determination. The woman kept several paces behind them, mostly so as not to alarm anyone. Any stray glances in her direction were only met with a placating smile. She was not a very ominous presence. If at all, she had seemed to be out of place. She had been dressed in the dull haori—where she got it she couldn't remember...only that it had looked nice hanging out in the sun. Strapped to her back had been a sheathed sword, its threads old and worn. She hadn't liked walking about appearing armed, it made her feel more noticable. Hiding a katana, however, was not so simple as the small knives she had kept hidden away at various places on her person.







Stats

Strength: 5
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 7 (12)
Wisdom: 15
Spirit: 8




Weapons




Katana: A standard katana, though the blade is dulling and the reach is limited, it serves its purpose as a blade. When worn together with a wakizashi, it is the official sign that the wearer is a samurai. +2 Str

Small Iron Kunai: These kunai aren't exactly well-made, but they're good if you're on a low budget! +1 Str +2 Dex

[Takeda Nobutoyo]

OOC: Stealth, subterfuge, and harassing tactics.

"Thank you for coming so quickly to my call for aid. The leader of the group of ronin is located on the very top floor of my castle, and he has at least fifteen or more men under his command, if I had to estimate, most likely twenty."

☼ Takeda Nobutoyo didn’t even pretend to listen to the Daimyo speak as he tried to rally his band of hired soldiers to his cause. He didn’t really care what he had to say and had found himself wandering off from the grove, towards the village before the riveting speech had even begun. While he was traveling through the forested area he took care to adorn himself in some common samurai attire and not the usual crimson colored garments he traditionally wore. He stashed his personal weapon in the woods with his original clothes and instead went in without any weaponry. It was important that he not look like a Takeda soldier, but rather a grimy vagabond, a ronin. ☼

☼ Takeda believed in absolute justice, but he also believed in doing whatever it took to get the job done. The end justified the means in his eyes and he knew what he had to do. He wouldn’t spend his time scurrying around the dark corridors of the castle, nor would he fight the disgraced samurai head on. He was smarter than that and that’s when his clever little mind got to work. He wondered why the locals hadn’t banded together, formed a mob, and taken the fight to those cutthroats in the castle and it donned on him. They must have let the villagers go and hadn’t harmed them for whatever reason. ☼

☼ Having smeared dirt on his face, body, and old clothing, he looked like a rather unsavory character to say the least. Takeda Nobutoyo would head into the town and begin stirring up trouble. He wrecked merchant’s stands, roughed up some women, and even set fire to some older buildings. As the villagers began to grow more uneasy and violent towards what they assumed was a few lowlifes, Takeda Nobutoyo shouted out with exuberance. ☼

“ I am a ronin, one of many, who have taken up residency in the castle not far from here. We run this area from now on! “

☼ To spur them over the edge, Nobutoyo would abduct a young girl, only about 4 or 5 years old from his estimation, and took off with her draped over his left shoulder. He ran like hell at this moment and headed for the castle. He’d lose the pursuing villagers in the woods, release the girl, stash her somewhere safe, and get back to the castle to see what effects his actions would take. He was fairly confident though as he’d taken a few precautions such as talking to a few of the villagers, informing him of their plan, and getting them to go along with it in the hopes of accelerating the formation of an angry mob. ☼

☼ He didn’t have any money at the moment so he made pledges of favors to them for their assistance. He informed these people that all they needed to do was add fuel to the fire, get people riled up, and pretend to go with them to fight. He made sure to stress the importance that they didn’t actually have to fight and could simply slip away in the resounding chaos. The last thing Nobutoyo did was make a deal with the parents of the child he’d “abducted.” He promised more favors than the others and swore that no harm would come to the young girl. ☼

☼ This took place when the others were gearing up to assault the castle and although he knew his mob wouldn’t arrive when the fighting began, they’d show up later and offer a huge distraction. In the ensuing anarchy, Nobutoyo would take additional steps to harass the enemy, keep them off balance, and make it easier for the main forces to get in there and kill them. ☼

Current Stats

Str: 15 [ 20 ]
Dex: 10
Con: 12
Wis: 8
Spr: 10

Wεαρση

Serrated Katana: A standard katana with a serrated edge, making it more suited for ripping and tearing than cutting cleanly through flesh, though the blade is dull and the reach is limited, it serves its purpose as a blade. +2 Str

[Takeda Shingen]

Yukimura: bLKHzHx_

Akataru/Hana:

Yori:

Ryunosuke:

Nobutoyo: ����

[Takeda Shingen]

Yukimura: Yukimura would manage to find a single ronin that was guarding the side of castle, away from the other ronin, but the sounds of his approaching footsteps would alert the ronin to his presence, and the ronin would quickly turn around and draw his katana, slicing horizontally at the young General and inflicting a shallow cut to Yukimura's left upper arm. The ronin would then lunge towards Yukimura with his katana, to stab him through his heart!

Akataru/Hana: Akataru and by association, Hana's march towards the castle would have its intended effect. Upon spotting the small group of soldiers marching towards them, most of the ronin guarding the front of the castle and part of the interior would come rushing out after the alarm was sounded, gathering in front of the castle, katanas already drawn and raised, before they would all charge as one at the group, in total ten.

Yori: Yori's speech would rouse half the villagers into fighting back against the tyrannical ronin leader and his ronin followers, and they would make it not too far behind Akataru and Hana's group, before they would find their path barred by two ronin, their katanas already drawn, whom had been guarding the side of the castle, preventing them from joining up with the other group. Eying the group of villagers warily, the pair of ronin would not make the first move, but instead hold their katanas in a defensive position in front of them.

Ryunosuke: Ryunosuke would manage to scale the side of the castle, but before he took even one step onto the castle ground, he would find his side being kicked in, knocking him to the side, as a ronin that had been guarding the higher exterior of the castle would then rush towards him, his katana raised and would bring his blade down at Ryunosuke's head, to cleave his head in half!

Nobutoyo: Nobutoyo would incite the remaining half of the villagers that had stayed behind, wary of fighting back, into a rage, and they would take off after the other half of the villagers that had gone ahead of them, angry and intent on fighting back against their unwanted oppressive ruler. However, Nobutoyo would hear cries of pain ring out as some of the villagers would end up cut down, as he would see up ahead, three ronin charging through the villagers, cutting them down without hesitation, before he himself would feel pain coming from his back, as behind him, another ronin had slashed him in the back with his katana, and would go to strike with another slash, to cut the nephew of Lord Takeda Shingen down!

Villagers: 20 total

Str: 20 (25)
Dex: 15
Con: 15
Wis: 15
Spr: 10

[Sanada Yukimura]

Wincing slightly from the shallow cut to his left upper arm, he would immediately engulf his left arm in fire to cauterize the wound, and as the ronin charged towards him, Yukimura would swing his whip sword in its whip form at the ronin, aiming to wrap it around one of the legs of the ronin and yank it back towards him, to trip the ronin and send him to the ground, before going to knock him out with a quick punch to his head, hopefully knocking the ronin unconscious so Yukimura could steal his clothes and get into the castle undetected.

[Zeruko Akataru]

Seeing the wave of men running toward him Akataru licked his lips. While he might have been a bit worried about the fight he was more then ready to clash swords with his opponents. He stood completely still before raising his dual katana in front of him. As soon as the enemy line reached him he took a step forward and blocked to his right. While he hoped to block an attack it didn't really matter, if he blocked an attack or not he would still spin to his right and sent both of the blades in a downward slant from the top left to the bottom right. He was hoping that the simple yet effective strike would at least send one of the ronin into a defensive stance.



As Akataru sent both of his blades toward one of the ronin he let out a shallow chuckle. The young males lust to spill blood could be clearly felt in the air as he followed the spinning strike up with a more complex attack. He quickly pulled the blades away from each other and sent them back down in an 'X' shape as he went for a killing blow. Akataru would then return to a defensive stance to block any counter attacks the ronin would send at him. The sound of steel clashing could be heard through the battlefield as the two forces meant head on.

[Fujii Yori]

Yori and the villagers march him would come to a halt, do to the two ronin blocking their path with weapons drawn. They did not advance nor did show hostility, they merely stood in the way to keep them joining the main strike force. Yori ready himself as he walked between the ronin and villagers, looking at the ronin with a quizzical expression and indifferent tone.

"Trying to stop us from assisting are allies, seems pretty desperate. It's almost like you know you'll lose if we manage to team up. Since you know your going to lose how about you give up and save us some time or to improve your moral standing, join the winning side. It's better then bleeding out in the dirt or being capture and parade around before you swing by the neck like leaves on a tree. It matters not to me, however the villagers would prefer seeing you beaten to death".

While Yori was making small talk with the ronin whose attention focused on Yori and his words. Yori motioned the villagers to surround the ronin and at the end of their talk. The ronin notices that they were now surrounded. Yori seemingly disinterested in the ronin now, places his left hand on the grip of his sword and advances forward. As Yori advances forward so do the villagers raising their, sickles,hoes,shovels and so on.