Stealth Training

[Oda Nobunaga]

Your lordship has decided he wishes to train his men in the art of stealth. Most are incompetent with these methods, but he has set up two courses, taking volunteers to test them. Those who attempt will receive recognition. Those who complete them will be granted a reward from their Lordship.

Objective: Your lordship has set up two courses, and you must complete one or the other. For both courses, you must operate stealthily, and you may not be discovered.

1) You are in a small castle with ten of your lord's men. You must take each of them out, one by one. You may not engage in direct combat. You may only take them out through means of stealth. The bodies must not be found. None of the men may be killed.

2) You are in a small castle with fifteen of your lord's men. They are patrolling, protecting a small item in your lord's chambers, where he is sleeping. You must make it past all of the patrols and into your lord's chambers, stealing the item and making it out of the castle. No patrols may be harmed. Your lord may not wake.

Reward: Up to +3 Dex.

Location: Any castle in your faction's territory.

[Sanada Yukimura]

The art of stealth. Very few were trained in it, even fewer could say they had mastered it. Yukimura... was not one of them. He was a samurai, not a ninja, but Lord Takeda-sama decided to change that. Setting up two courses through out one of the small castles in his territory, he was taking volunteers to test them out, and Yukimura was one of the first to take a crack at it. Already inside the castle, Yukimura was sticking as close as he possibly could to one of the walls of the castle, having found a hiding place just as one of the patrols passed by. His objective? Reach Lord Takeda-sama's chambers, where he was sleeping, and steal the item and make it out of the castle unnoticed. It wouldn't be easy though. There were at least fifteen men patrolling the castle, all of them highly trained, and it was going to take all of Yukimura's wits and stealth to get past them.

As the guard moved past him, his back facing Yukimura, it seemed the goddess of luck was smiling down on him tonight, as he decided to take a break. While that was happening, Yukimura slowly edged his way around the perimeter of the castle, sticking as closely to the wall as possible. Patience, was the name of the game. It wouldn't do to rush in like a mad fool, and end up losing more than just his pride. A group of three guards up ahead, Yukimura would quickly step into a nearby hallway, waiting for all three to walk away in different directions. The moment they did, Yukimura was on the move, slinking quickly but carefully through the shadows, as the time gap where all three had their backs facing him was very limited. Quickly stepping into another nearby hallway, keeping within the shadows as much as possible, up ahead was a much larger group of guards, at least six. Pulling out two kunai with tags attached to them, with a quick flick of his wrist, one kunai would fly across the length of the castle room, ending up embedded in the wall of the hallway across from him, while the other would land in the wall a bit down from where he was hiding, as the tag would activate, having thrown the kunai's at such an angle that they flew through the flame of two of the torches in the room and lit the tag up. A trail of smoke beginning to issue from the tags, the guards would immediately notice it, as three would quickly rush over and past Yukimura, while the other three would investigate the other smoke trail.

Quickly stepping out of the hallway and sticking as close to the wall as he possibly could, he would quickly cover a large distance of the castle, before spotting the final group of guards, five patrolling the area just outside Lord Takeda-sama's chambers. This was going to be the most difficult and trickiest area to get past, because he had to distract the guards without waking Lord Takeda-sama up. Watching carefully from the shadows, all five guards had different patrol paths, and not all of them had their backs facing away from him at the same time. His only option was to slowly but steadily inch towards Lord Takeda-sama's chamber doors, and get in when the opportunity presented itself. Slowly edging along the wall, the back of two guards facing him, he would quickly step in behind a corner leading down to a hallway, as the three remaining guards kept a vigilant watch while they patrolled. As one passed by, his eyes darting around, like he could see through the shadows, Yukimura would wait until the other two had moved further away from the entrance, before quickly pushing off the wall and slip into Lord Takeda-sama's chambers, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Staying crouched down low, he would take a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, before quietly padding over to Lord Takeda-sama's bed. On top of his chest, clasped lightly in his hand, was a magatama necklace, which was the item Yukimura had to take. Reaching into the inner fold of his kimono, he would pull out a necklace of his own, but to make the switch, he would have to move fast. Moving as close as he possibly could to Lord Takeda-sama's bedside, he would quickly lift his hand up and switch the necklaces, before moving backwards and into (what felt like to him), the darkest corner of the room, waiting to see if Lord Takeda-sama would wake. But after a few (and very agonizing) minutes passed, his lordship did not rise, and would continue slumbering. Though he got through one difficult part, one other laid ahead. Getting past all the guards again and getting out unnoticed.

Placing his ear up against the door, he would carefully listen for the guards footsteps, and when he was sure they were far enough away, would open the door slightly and slip out, closing the door quietly but quickly, and make a quick dash for the shadows. From there, it was simply a matter of tracing along the path he had taken, albeit in reverse, but moving even more cautiously than before. With the guards on high alert, he wasn't going to take any chances, and would stick to the shadows and move slowly, because he didn't want to risk getting caught. Though it was agonizingly slow, eventually, Yukimura managed to get out unnoticed, and once he was far enough from the entrance, would run the rest of the way.

That... was as hard as he concluded it would be...

[Oda Nobunaga]

Sanada Yukimura: +3 Dex

[Amakusa Takehiro]

Recently, Takehiro was hired to retrieve an item of importance by a daimyo. This daimyo claimed a necklace, hand-crafted by his daughter, was taken by a bandit in a fight. Apparently, it was a sort of prize, and, given the daimyo's relationship with his daughter, an item of ransom. Whatever the details happened to be, Takehiro seemed to have forgotten them. All the mercenary knew was that he needed to get in, steal the item, which was said to be in this bandit's chambers, and get out, without being detected. While he was confident he could take these guys on, he had no idea how tough any of them were, nor did he know how many they had.

Waiting till nightfall, Takehiro was hidden in the bushes outside the encampment, watching the patrols and their habits. What he'd gathered from his several hours of watching was that patrols alternated every half hour, on the outside. A total of three men were outside the gate at all times, with one watching the entrance and the other two doing rounds around the encampment. Given how few men were doing the patrolling, Takehiro had also gathered that the men's numbers were probably no higher than twenty or thirty.

Night had finally fallen, and the mercenary was ready to strike, just as patrols had changed. One man at the entrance, and the other two had already started circling the camp. Wasting no time, Takehiro took a rock and chucked it as far as he could, and it hit the brush opposite him, on the other side of the camp. The guard at the front looked around before moving to investigate. Takehiro used that chance to hurry to the entrance and slip inside undetected. Once inside, though, he had to play it by ear, seeing as he couldn't scope out the interior from his position.

Almost immediately, Takehiro crouched behind cover in the darkest corner he could find near the entrance. It gave him a decent viewpoint, but not as much as he'd like. There seemed to be a rather active patrol of three men doing rounds in one area of the camp, and another three patrolling a different side. They operated at regular intervals, both passing through the center at opposite times, giving the mercenary just enough time to pass through unseen, if he booked it. So, that's just what he did. As the right patrol passed through, he waited just a second or two before speeding down the hall as quietly as he could. Given the camp's odd layout, this wasn't actually that difficult.

So, now it looked like he'd successfully gotten past, what was it, nine guards, now? And all in about five-or-so minutes... not bad. This meant he had anywhere from ten to twenty more to get past before he got the item, and about twenty-five minutes before patrols switched up. He had to do this quick if he wanted to make it out comfortably.

Takehiro watched the movement at the far end of the next hall and, from what he could gather, the doors at the end led to the chief's quarters. There were two men at the door, and another four patrolling the area around it. Tight freaking security, but he figured he could make it work. He would wait by a stack of barrels, taking a loop of rope he'd brought from his belt. Quickly and quietly, he would tie the rope around the top barrel, and fasten it as tightly as he could. Now, this rope was tight and black, so chances of it being noticed under the cover of darkness were not very friggin' high.

Takehiro waited at the corner opposite the barrels and, when the next patrol came by, he would tug on the rope and the barrel fell right off the stack. The patrol thought they dropped it, and the two guards at the door went to go check it out. Wasting no more time than that, Takehiro made a mad dash for the chief's room and slipped quietly inside.

The room was dark, as he'd expected, and the chief was asleep in his bed. This gave the mercenary all the opportunity he needed to search for the necklace. It took him a few minutes, but he found it sitting next to a chest, and he put it in his pocket. A few steps back toward the door, he watched the chief, but listened outside to make sure the door wasn't secured again. Once he was sure the chief would not have woken, he slipped back out before the guards noticed anything.

Getting out was much tougher, given that the guards were now on alert because of that damn rope, but he would basically have retraced his steps. It all stayed under a half hour, too, so he would have waited by the entrance for patrols to switch before he would have slipped out of the camp. From there, he'd retreat into the woods, and make his way back to the daimyo. Time to get paid.

[Takeda Shingen]

Amakusa Takehiro: +3 Dex

[Shinomori Katsumi]

This had certainly been an odd request and an even stranger form of training. The man she took a job for desired to test Katsumi and both her agility and slyness, and to show that she had to... steal from him?

She had quirked a brow when he told her that, and the man had further explained that none of his guards could see her and, upon entering his room, if she made it that far, Katsumi was not allowed to wake him. A question came to mind about whether he would be able to sleep knowing this, but the mercenary kept that to herself.

And now it was the dead of the night; not even the moon was out. She was outside of the grounds of the small castle, and Katsumi was expected to slip her way in without catching anyone's attention. Dressed tonight in all black, including a hood over her head, Katsumi, with a deep breath, began her work.

Perhaps her father had been particularly cruel and neglectful at times, but she was incredibly grateful for his training. She was agile and highly athletic, and like a ninja the woman climbed up the wall of the small castle, small fingers finding nooks, and she landed softly on her feet on the other side, on the top of the wall. At seeing a guard coming her way, Katsumi slipped behind a barrel and waited for him to pass by. When the coast was clear, the petite female stood up and glanced around, formulating a plan for action.

She could have climbed up the tower where the man rested, but a rope possibly could have alerted the guards, and so Katsumi concluded she would make her way into the castle using sheer athleticism and use her rope to make a quick escape. Upon drawing nearer to the tower, the archer caught sight of various items she could use to climb up, and wearing black would result in her blending in with the darkness.

After having to hide again as two guards drinking booze and nudging one another, exchanging jokes to keep up their spirits, passed by, Katsumi inhaled deeply. She was going to have to do this just right to get past the first part and not get caught.

Keeping a good distance from the wall, Katsumi sprinted forward and, using the momentum, ran up the wall. Pushing herself, she jumped across, feet colliding onto the stone archway, and then moving to the other side again. Her wrapped hands quickly took hold of a window sill, and she pulled herself up. Hearing someone coming up the stairs, Katsumi jumped up and swiftly lifted herself up so that she stood atop the frame of the window.

After the guard made his way down, Katsumi began her work again. There was a banner right above her head and the petite woman tugged on it. Would it be able to support her weight? It seemed stable, as it was think and she weighed so very little, and with a deep breath she began to climb.

It took quite some time to climb up, due to her not wanting to make too much movement and catch the guards' attention. Her fingers tightly at the cloth, and a couple of times during the long climb the girl took brief breaks. Eventually, she reached where she needed to be and, positioning herself very carefully, Katsumi began to swing. She needed enough momentum to reach the window, the man's bedroom window. Oh, how she hoped this caught no one's attention. She swung closer and closer, and finally released.

"Umph!" Katsumi couldn't help but groan a little as her chest and stomach collided onto the railing.

Wincing a bit, the archer brought herself over the ledge and caught her breath as she sat on the stone floor. She made it, and now she needed to do the stealing part. Katsumi still found it all to be so very strange, but she internally shrugged and removed her shoes.

Cracking open the door of the balcony, the woman slipped within and stood, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darker black of the room. When she could make the outline of the objects of the room, Katsumi finally moved forward, tiptoeing her way through. The mercenary moved like a black cat in the night, crouching low and moving in utter silence.

She saw it, the medallion in the case she was told to steal. Stopping before the counter, Katsumi glanced behind her at the bed and saw that the box was locked. Was this for added fun for the man? Internally sighing over the matter, Katsumi carefully picked the lock and opened the case. Slipping the medallion around her neck, the silent woman made her way back outside. She stopped at hearing the man stir and waited a good two minutes, not moving a muscle, before slipping outside of the door and slowly shutting it.

Climbing down now would surely catch attention, as there was lights splashing over the surface of the front of the wall. Planning for a potential distraction, the mercenary slipped her bow off of her back and removed an arrow that had cloth wrapped around the end. She had doused it in fuel, and, using flint, lit the arrow. Standing up, the woman aimed at a tent where the men would take breaks and the archer fired, hitting her mark. There were shouts about a fire and, from her vantage point, she saw all of the guards scurrying like ants to the fire.

Tying the rope securely, Katsumi tossed it over the ledge and then swiftly slid down the rope. The wrappings on her hands protected them from the burn, and soon enough she plopped onto the ground. Searching either side of here and seeing the coast was clear, the teenager fled the grounds, exiting in a similar manner as she came in, and she continued to run until she reached the forest.

Panting, the girl sat on the ground and removed the medallion from her neck. She turned it in her hand and watched the gold, finger running over the ruby in the center. Katsumi sat there for a handful of minutes as she regained her breath. Closing her eyes, she laid back and stared up at the stars in the sky. Several minutes passed, the woman laying there in silence, when finally her brows knit. There was an important question she forgot to ask, and the man didn't mention.

Now what was she supposed to do?

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Shinomori Katsumi: +3 Dex

[Oda Nobunaga]

All participants receive: Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Wakeshima Shoji]

Shoji didn't like this test. Not in the least. In fact, the oddly and often charming psychopath detested it. Stealth wasn't too much of a problem. Sho was rather swift, particularly for his size, and he found it easy to hide in the shadows, often stalking his prey for periods of time.

What annoyed Shoji was the fact that he was supposed to take out his patron's guards (who knew not of the test) in the right wing, hiding their bodies and not getting caught in the process... and by take out it merely meant knocking them out cold. He was not to use his blade and carve up their measly bodies, spilling liquid rubies upon the stone floor, painting it a glorious crimson. Where was the fun in that? For this particular man, it was simply wrong on every level.

He grumbled lowly to himself as he hid in the shadows in the corner at the end of the hall. The mercenary had slipped through a window, after having climbed up the wall and knocking out three guards on the grounds beforehand by strangling them into commission, hiding them behind some shrubbery decorating the wall.  Sho wanted to help release his irritation in a disgustingly non-violent manner, and the nearest guard would have to do. Having taken a stone from the ground earlier, the mercenary tossed it once, catching it and then taking aim, the man chucked it at the guard about fifteen feet away. The rock collided into his head, and the man toppled onto the floor.

This drew the attention of his partner, who ran to the man. He was shocked, kneeling down and seeing if the other was alright, trying to figure out what had happened. Using the shadows to his advantage, Shoji swiftly, like a panther in the night, crept forward, and, upon reaching them, pounced on the man. Before his yelp of surprise could sound in the air, the mercenary slammed his head against the floor and then wrapped his arm around the man's throat. Disoriented and choking, Sho went on his back and used his strength to keep the guard against his body. Losing oxygen fast, his kicks and scratches proved futile, and Shoji grinned, quite obviously enjoying the struggling.

"Mmm. Cozy. Feels kinda nice. Ahh... I like it when you move like that," whispered the psychopath in the ear of the man. Within less than a minute, the man's struggling stopped and the guard was out, and Shoji released his hold. "Always finishing before me. Tsk tsk~"

Rolling the body off of him, Shoji stood up and proceeded to drag the two unconscious bodies in a storage room, and he used used one of their shirts to wipe off the little bit of blood from the guy's nose on the floor, tossing it back in there with him.

Five down. Five more to go, it seemed. Half-way done. Lovely.

Shoji slipped silently through the hall, eventually inching along as he neared a man guarding a door. Wearing all black and pressing his tall form against the wall made Shoji blend in, and he pulled out a cloth with ether. He got as close as he possibly could before stopping a distance away so that the other man would not hear his breathing. Sho waited and waited, minutes passing, waiting for a moment to pounce that would not give the guard the opportunity to cry out.

Stretching his arms, the guard began to yawn, and that's when the mercenary struck. Attacking from the side, Shoji slammed the man against the opposite wall, body crushing his, and he roughly pressed the cloth against his face, covering both his mouth and nose. The guard struggled, but Sho took the blows to his sides, smiling widely. Within ten seconds, the other man's lids fluttered and he slumped. Shoji caught the man and sat him in a chair. At a moment's glance, it would appear as though he were simply resting.

Opening the door, Shoji moved on and knocked out another by the armory in a similar manner, locking him inside. Using that rock from earlier, the mercenary threw it to distract a patrolling guard, taking him out with a powerful left hook to the side of the head as he tried to investigate. The body went in the armory as well, and Shoji neared the entrance to the wing where the patron's bedroom was. Two guards stood there, and the psychopath pursed his lips. How was he supposed to get these final ones?

Footsteps coming from behind, the mercenary swiftly slipped into the shadows again and saw a small female servant walking with a basket. A smirk slowly crept upon his features as an idea formulated in his head, and Shoji stayed in place. As she passed him by, Sho left his place and clamped his hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. Hand covering her mouth, a cut off cry filled the air and Shoji embedded his knife deep within the woman's throat, slitting it with immense strength, nearly to the point where it severed her head.

The patron never said anything about maids, right? Shoji smirked and released the woman, her corpse collapsing on the floor, twitching and spasming as she bled out.

Hearing the guards being alarmed, talking to one another before running their way, Shoji retreated back, slipping behind a corner. Hiding at the nearby turn, Shoji waited, hearing them panic as they saw the body and make exchanges. One began to run off to tell others about what had happened, taking the turn, and Shoji took advantage. His hand gripped the guard's kimono, pulling him near, and the handle of Sho's katana collided into the guard's stomach. As the man hunched over, the merc slammed his hands on his neck, instantly knocking the guy out. Catching him with Sho's leg before he could collapse onto the floor, the samurai gently plopped him down and moved from around the corner.

The other guard was knelt on the ground by the body, desperately trying to search for a nonexistent pulse, and Shoji fell on top of him, putting the guard in a choke-hold and pinning him down face first on the ground in the ever-growing pool of blood. The struggles made the psychopath rather excited, and he licked his lips hungrily as his tall form pressed firmly against the length of the other man's body. It wasn't long before the struggles ceased, and Shoji dragged the bodies one-by-one into a nearby room, hiding them in the back.

Coming back to where he finished them off, he stared down at the cold woman. Should he hide this one as well? He thought it through with pursed lips, and eventually made his decision. Shoji would leave the girl's body out in the open, very much like a feline does for its master. The patron's order about hiding the bodies of the guards was rather explicit. There was room to wriggle in exceptions like this.

"Yeah, fuck you too, Hayashi-sama," he said tauntingly, emphasizing the suffix in a disrespectful manner.

Shoji began to head for the exit so that he could leave, have a couple drinks, and go to his bed at the opposite wing. Whistling a jovial tune, the merc toyed with his bloodied knife in his hands, unable to help himself from grinning darkly from time to time.

All he could think was, while internally laughing, 'Don't hire a killer to do a pussy-ass thief's job.'

[Takeda Shingen]

Wakashima Shoji: +2 Dex

[Kuroshi Maki]

(ooc: I'm not with a fraction yet so I have to do it like this. Hope that its ok with you all)

A man walked up to me with a strange request, he wanted to test 15 men he was leading in a training. He wanted to see if they were able to protect a item that was in there lord's room. He thought his men were sleeping on the job and this was a test. But there was a risk for me if they would spot me they will attack me as if I'm a real enemy. This because they will not know its a test. There was some good money for me in it so why not. It was a good test to see if I was able to be sneaky like a ninja or assassin how you would call them. The man asked me to leave my weapons behind so I wasn't able to kill anybody even if I was spotted. This night will be one of the most funny yet scary nights in my life.

I was brought to a small castle by the man and told me to steal a certain item out of the room of the lord located at the center of the upper floor. The castle was small so had only two floors. I was to steal a golden box with a jade stone in it. It was supposed to be a item that meant allot to their lord.

I was not stupid enough to just walk trough the front gate, two of the guards were standing there so that meant there were 13 more inside. I would climb over the wall on the right side and dropped on enemy territory. I was wearing black so i would blend in with the darkness that night. I would crawl low to enter the castle and stick to the wall. I had no clue were the stairs leading up were so I had to scan room for room. as I was about to walk around a corner near the stairs I could hear footsteps coming straight at me. Fuck, were did I need to go. I entered the room next to me and closed the door by sliding it smooth so it didn't make a sound. It seemed two men were patrolling this hall near the stairs. They were having a conversation that kinda caught my ear. They spoke about some girls they have seen bathing nearby. These soldiers were maybe around my age and by the way they spoke they were in for some love. It was kinda weird to hear as they spoke about these girls like toy's. As they passed by I would slide the door open abit and sneak behind them to enter up the stairs.

It seemed to go easy so far.. These men didn't expected anything. As I walked up I almost bumped into a soldier that was leaning against the wall up there. Shit I was caught? Wait? He didn't move, by a closer look it seemed he was sleeping? So that man was right his men were sleeping on the job. If I wanted I could just kill this lord, but that wasn't why I was here. I would walk past him and now I had to find the room of their lord. It was supposed to be in the center. Something did fell off because there were supposed to be 15 men and so far I only saw 5. Some were probably patrolling outside as well but still. I would stick close to the walls as low as I could until I saw a room with two men watching it. They were awake but if that was the room how could I enter without them seeing me?

I had to think fast because other soldiers could be walking these halls. I entered a room to my left just a few rooms away from the Lords room. I would hide in a dark corner as I was trying to find a plan. Until I heard a sound. It sounded of that of a woman in a deep dream. As I looked up I saw this beautiful woman sleeping but moving as she slept. Who's room did I enter? It seemed it was a young girl not older then me so was it the lords daughter? What if she woke up and saw me here? They chop of my head for that. She was starting to wake up and I had to think fast and before she opened her eyes I walked up to the window and climbed trough and would hang on the ledge. She raised up from the bed and wanted to get some fresh air as she walked up to the window. I could see her as she took some deep breaths. I had to stay silent but my arms were starting to get heavy.

'Fuck what am I supposed to do now? '

I could not climb back in nor could I drop down. I had to move from ledge to ledge, it was a way to reach the room I wanted and after the woman went back to bed I would slide my way from edge to edge until I reached the room I needed to be. I would firs peek to see if nobody was awake in this room and lucky for me nobody was. With pain in my arms I would climb in trying to make no sound at all. I would take a moment to relax my arms and at the same time scan the room for the item.

Until I found it but wait, he was holding it when sleeping? Could this go more weird or what? I would walk on my toes as I came closer but how would I be able to get the item from his hands without waking him up. being a ninja seemed less then easy now and what if I did get it how would I get out. my arms hurted so using the ledge would be out of the question. Fuck it, I would just try to get it and reached out to grab it but at the time I felt the item my hand was grabbed, I looked up scared but it seemed he just grabbed my hand in his sleep. Then he mum-belt something.

" Hmm come sleep with me. "

What the fuck? Did he think I was a woman? what was he dreaming, he was holding me but released the box and with the other hand I could grab it and placed it in my pocket. All I had to do now was to remove the hand. I would slowly slide my hands from his. He move as I released my hand and I just held my breath hoping he would not wake up and he thank god he didn't. This night was giving me mini heart attacks. I never wanna be a ninja that's for sure. Now I just had to get out and not been seen and all that money would be mine.

The door wasn't a option and neither was the ledge but those were the only two options I had. Damn, I just have to use the ledge and hope my arms would keep up. I would climb back out the window and started to make my way back but my arms were killing me and my grip was weakening. Until the point came as I lost grip and fell down from the first floor just having my fall soften by a bush. It still hurted my back but nothing was broken. My body wasn't visibil at this point as I was all inside the bush and tried to catch my breath. Until I felt warm water hit me in the face. What was this? Until I heard a sound of pleasure almost and I could see a soldier with eyes closed and... wait what? he was peeing over my face but I could not yell or whatever and just tried to think happy thoughts.

'this is not worth the money! '

I thought to myself. but I was almost there, the man left to go back to his patrol and it took me a second to move again I felt really dirty at this point and my back hurt my arms hurt. I would just have to climb that wall and I'm out. So I took a small sprint up the wall and grabbed the top pulling me up with the last strength I had and landed outside the walls. I would now walk up to the man that was waiting nearby. As he saw me coming up he sight, knowing the men didn't really do there job as a guy like me could steal from their lord.

" Here you go! "

I tossed him the box as he tossed me my coin, but then he started to look at laugh telling me I was smelling really bad and looked like a mess but non the less I did a good job. I would already spent a sum of this coin as I walked to the nearest inn to get a nice bath and clean myself.

[Takeda Shingen]

Kuroshi Maki: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Yamabara Shou]

Yamabara Shou stared down at the message he received some few hours ago, watching the castle ahead of him from a distance. He still couldn’t quite believe the orders inside as he read them. “Yamabara-san I wish to test the men who I have protecting my castle, as well and see if you are capable of tasks beyond that which you are normally used to. Tonight when I retire, I want you to attempt to sneak and steal something from my room. Without alerting either my guards or myself. Also I will not accept any harm befalling those guarding me. Good luck.” Shou read the note to himself once more while keeping one out over at the castle.

“I hope the guards at least know about this test. Don’t want to be gutted if I’m spotted.” He muttered to himself as he watched one of the patrols on the wall. Actually if they knew they would be more alert and he would have less chance of actually getting pass. This was insane, he wasn’t a stealth specialist. However he wouldn’t let himself disappoint his lord. First thing first, was getting inside. The patrol he had been watching on the wall seemed to be coming pass every few minutes. However that should be enough, as there was another building closer to the walls of the castle then was probably safe.



It didn’t take much to climb the wall of the building and get on top of the roof. Laying flat on his chest, he watched the wall until the patrol had passed by once more. Holding his breath he, rose as quickly as he could. Rushing to his feet, he ran forward as fast as he could and leaped the gap from the roof to the wall and clung to the edge. Pulling himself up onto the wall he rolled to the other side and carefully climbed down into the courtyard. Eye scanned the area, for cover. A few cherry trees graced the garden and he snuck over towards them as voices, came for the other side of the courtyard. Pressing his back to the tree, he watched another pair of guards armed heavily make their way from one side to the other. Passing closer to him then he hoped.



As the pair of guard disappeared back inside, Shou finally started to breathe again. He was shaking and sweating. Those guard looked ready to kill an intruder, rather than just raise an alarm. However what other choice did he have, he could disappoint his lord. Slowly he started to creep into the direction the guards had come from. Sliding open the door a slither he peaked inside. Another guard was at the end of the hall. This was going to be hard. Quickly rushing over to the tree again he snapped off a branch, and move back over to the door.

Scrapping the branch on the door, and the tossing it back over to the tree he pressed himself agaisnt the wall. He heard the foot steps of the guard coming and opening the door, notice the brunch on the floor ahead, the guard took a step forward, before looking to his side, and Shou took the brief opportunity to slip inside as the guard bent down the examine the twig. “Damn wind, the lord isn’t going to like his tree being damaged.” The guard said, turning back to head inside. Seconds away from having caught Shou before he managed to turn the corner at the end of the hallway.


Hearing another guard coming from the end of the turning up ahead, Shou slipped into one of the side rooms. He though he was safe, but when the man’s footsteps stopped by the room. Instinctively Shou dived under the only form of cover in the room. A kotatsu. The guard entered the room but even the guard here were smart enough to investigate cover when they thought they head something. Footsteps approached the kotatsu and bend down to pull up the cover on one side, as Shou quietly rolled out the otherside. Then back under when the guard dropped the cover and look over at the back of the table. “Why did we get told to expect an intruder. It’s making me hear things.” Shou managed to hear the guard say. Shou heard the footsteps head over to the door, and slide it open and close. He was about to reveal himself, when he realised something there had been no footsteps away. Then the door opened again he final heard the footsteps of someone leaving.


‘These guards ain’t stupid are they.’ Shou thought to himself, he had almost just walk straight out in to being found. Getting out from under his cover, he creped over to the door, and put his ear against. The footsteps where making their way toward the guard position near the courtyard, and so Shou slip the door open and glanced both ways. The guard that had almost got him was walking away, and the way to the stairs ahead was clear. Glancing up to the top of the stairs, it looked clear, but he knew these stair were noising something fierce. Walking up them was sure to make too much noise. Instead he went down onto his hands and feet. Spreading his weight out as best as he could, to minimise the noises. It didn’t look good, he was sure, but he couldn't think of any better way to get by without making noise.



Eventually he reached the top of the stairs, pressed flat to the ground, and turned to look each way. He could see his goal up ahead. 2 guys posted at one of the doors, he knew to be his lords. No form of misdirection was getting past there. However who said he had to use the door. Crawling in to opposite direction of his target and the guards, he made his way to a different one of the doors and quickly hide inside. The room was luckily empty. Immediately Shou when for the window, and opened it, and looked off to the right, and the window of his target. Pulling himself out the window, he shimmed across to the other window, and pushed it up slowly. Praying that it was well maintain and made no noise.

Pulling himself up, he looked inside to see his lord sleeping away, and the target item. Not far into the room on a table. Rather than risk walking around in the room and waking the lord. He held as best he could onto the window frame and leant over inwards, attempting to grab the item. Knocking it off the table instead, sheer desperation, guide his hand after it and caught it. His finger holding the window screaming in pain he pulled himself back out, and gently lowered the window.



Hanging he could see the castle walls not far below. While it would have been impossible to reach the window from the wall, the extra height he had meant he might just be able to reach the wall from the window. Pushing his legs against the wall, he kicked off, throwing himself to the wall below with a slam. “What was that?” he heard a guard question, as he turned the force of the fall into a roll that led him to fall off outside of the grounds. The guard looked around atop the wall, but out of sight due to the angle. He was safe. Hiding where he was, he waited until the guard seemed to relax, and darted to the nearby building and into an allay out of sight. Those guards were going to be in trouble by the morning for not being up to the task. “And so am I. I think I broke a couple ribs with that fall.” Shou muttered to himself clutching his chest in pain.

[Yuy Masahiro™]

What a farce this is. What need does a samurai have such deceit and deception. To fight my enemy without being seen? I scoffed at the thought of it. I had studied with the Grand Master of the Assassin Order for all of Germany himself, and yet I had a very tenuous grasp at the art of sneaking around. I only prayed that I would be able to recall my training and put an end to this quickly.

Quickly I moved through the castle remaining undetected. My katana was left at home and I moved in my tabi rather than my regular sandals. I saw the shadow of a guard approaching around the corner. This was just perfect for me. Quickly, I turned into a room. Finding it empty, I slid the door shut behind me. Then I waited. Closing my eyes, I allowed my ears to have the task of waiting for this solo enemy to come my way.

~He’s here.~

I slid the door open quickly grabbing the man, and pivoted on my foot slamming him to the ground and shutting the sliding door in one movement. Pulling my right fist back I slammed it into the man’s face. Pulling it back, I repeated the motion four more times until the man was unconscious. I took a moment to regain my composure and catch my breath.

“Sorry for being so rough with you… But I don’t have time for games.”

I uttered quietly under my breath. I stripped the man of his armor and adorned it onto myself. After about ten minutes I had finished tightening all of the straps. I tilted the helmet down a bit to cover my face. I had ripped part of my belt and fashioned it into a face mask to further hide my identity. There was one man down. Using his own tunic, I tied the man up hiding him in the room. This wasn’t enough… I had to move faster. Now that I had cover… that wouldn’t be a problem.

I started to walk through the halls looking for my next target. I had to find a lone soldier… perfect here’s one. I put my hand up in a motion to high-five the man as I walked past, while shouting a friendly hey. The soldier would respond with a friendly hello and high five me as we walked past each other. I would simply grab his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. From there, I would wrap my other arm around his neck, flexing my muscle against his neck. I held him there until he fell unconscious, slowly moving down to my knees as to make a thud from the man’s body hitting the ground.

“HEY! WHAT’S GOING ON?!”

Tch… Another one. I had to think fast.

“Sir! It’s the mercenary! He went down that way!”

I pointed down the hall. The guard immediately started running in the direction that I pointed to. As he was about to pass me, I slid my left arm out to knock him over. The man took quite a tumble, rolling forward a few times before he stopped on his back. The last thing he would see would be my frame as I came running at him. Jumping up, I stomped down onto the man’s stomach, knocking him out as well. That made three. Once more I tied up these men and hid their bodies.

I found two guards talking with each other down the hall. I approached them unassumingly; I put my hands up as if to sling them around their shoulders in friendship. Instead… I slammed their heads together. From there, I punched the one in the left with my right fist, planting it into his diaphragm. After that, I pulled my arm back and slammed my elbow into the man on the right’s diaphragm. This put my count at five.

I ran down the hall quickly, searching for another guard. And just then, I found another three. I stumbled… on purpose. I would trick these three into helping me.

“We need help down the hall! I found two of us collapsed!”

”What?! Show us!”

I led them back to the men, running. Once there we decided to regroup. The four of us picked up the two unconscious bodies and lifted them up. Then we brought the bodies to a room at my suggestion… the one that housed the other unconscious men. The three were shocked stun. I swung the unconscious man I held by the legs, smacking all three of them around. Quickly I darted between them, punching each in the throat. That made eight. I tied up the rest of the idiots and went back out on the hunt.

This time I took to the crawl space between the ceiling and the next floor. I had already gotten rid of the armor as it would have been far too heavy for the ceiling. From there, I heard the last two guards, worrying that they hadn’t heard from their team mates. I dropped down on them…. Literally jumping on their heads from above, I smashed them to the ground. Stomping my foot down on each of their stomachs for good measure, I shouted. Heh… I guess there was a good side to all of this sneaking around… something I didn’t understand back when I was training with the Assassins.

“I think I’m about done here. You guys going to bring me my money or what?”

[Oda Nobunaga]

Yamabara Shou: +3 Dex

Yuy Masahiro: +3 Dex

Both participants receive: Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Kyoya Naotora]

Lord Masamune seemed to want his men to focus on stealth recently, and that was understandable. It seemed easy to slip by unnoticed, lately, since there were really very few people who paid any attention to anything besides what was going on with them at the moment. This was a common trait among the army, however, seeing as most of the men in this faction were mercs who finally found a banner to fight under. It wasn't entirely a bad thing, though she understood being more prepared couldn't hurt, especially when so many forces seemed to have ninjas on their sides recently.

Naotora was instructed to infiltrate Lord Masamune's castle and incapacitate his ten guards. She could not fight anyone directly, and she could not be spotted. This meant she had to resort entirely to stealth tactics, and, in turn, it meant she could not bring her trademark weapon. Not to mention that weapon would likely kill these people, and that was another rule: she couldn't kill any of them.

The woman managed to slip into the castle under the cover of darkness, since there were so few men on patrol, and they weren't very well-trained in the first place. As far as she knew, they were only told to look for an intruder, and it didn't seem like they really knew what they were doing. All in black, the woman would press herself into a dark corner once inside. A nearby patrol would pass her, not noticing because of the lighting, and simply because he did not look back. The woman reached forward, wrapping an arm around his neck and putting a hand to his mouth. She held him in a choke-hold, and he seemed to wiggle around a little, fighting it. She was stronger than he was, however, and he fell into unconsciousness. The woman would strip him of his armor and adorn it herself, dumping his body into a nearby barrel so no one would find it. Unless they were checking barrels, anyway.

Naotora proceeded in the opposite direction the patrol was headed, sure she would encounter another man and, sure enough, she did.  Two of them! The patrol stopped her in her tracks, one of the men raising a hand. "Hey, wait a second," he began. "You're messing up the patrols. What's going on here?" Naotora bowed her head in apology and began to speak in a deeper voice than usual, pretending to be a man. "I heard a noise coming from inside that room a few seconds ago. Might not be one of our guys." They paused for a moment, looking at each other and then her, but they just nodded. They proceeded into the room before her, and she followed. One of the men began looking around, while the other stayed near the doorway. She took the man who stayed behind by the mouth with one hand, and she quickly slammed the other into the side of his neck, taking him out in a single blow. She dropped his body quickly, running up to the other guy and taking him in a choke-hold before he could react. His body soon fell limp, and she would leave him in a dark corner, throwing the other guy's body on top of him.

That's three down, so far.

Continuing down the opposite patrol route, she would eventually find another group of two who would fall for the same story, allowing themselves to be ambushed inside of a dark room before anyone else could find or save them. The first five targets were easy.

The sixth man, Naotora would find leaning against a wall, coughing very loudly. It seemed he was sick, and was paying very little attention to his patrols, and what was around him. Naotora seized this opportunity to take the man from behind and choke him into submission, hiding this body into a barrel as well. These men seemed to be dropping like flies.

Naotora would not find the next patrol until she was on the second floor, overlooking the garden. The two men traveled with one in the front and one in the back, the man in the back occasionally looking over his shoulder. Naotora would position herself atop a ledge, waiting for the two to pass under her, when she would drop onto the man in the back, crushing him and immediately knocking him out. The other man quickly whirled around, and one hand covered his mouth and one took him by the shoulder. The woman's leg shot out and hooked behind his own and threw off his balance, and she slammed the back of his head into the stones into the garden. She would take the two bodies and hide them into a bush, where she would wait once she started to hear voices.

Peeking out from the bush, Naotora would notice two more patrols running into the garden, evidently having heard the cracks against the stone. They looked to each other and signaled they split up, which only worked in the woman's favor. One of the men happened to walk by her, and she shot out, wrapped an arm around his throat and covered his mouth, and pulled him into the bush. He would be out in seconds. The last man was across the garden, and Naotora had to get to him quickly if she wanted this to be over. Crouching and moving very slowly, the woman tip-toed across the stones in the garden, approaching the man from behind. In one swift move, she would take him by his side and mouth, lift him over her shoulder, and slam his head into the ground, taking him out in one motion.

The guys were all beaten, and Naotora did what was asked of her...

Now what?

[Takeda Shingen]

Kyoya Naotora: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Morei Haji]

Stealth training, huh? I definitely wasn't a ninja or any kind of assassin, so taking out ten people sounded like it was going to be a difficult task. To hide in the shadows and strike at the proper moment to ensure success, and I wasn't allowed to be discovered whatsoever. None of the targets were allowed to be killed either, which worked for me.

Gauntlets literally on hand and my sakabato at my side just in case, they would serve me quite well on this night. I moved around the castle slowly, peering around a corner and spotting a guard headed in my direction. I waited there until the man got close enough, where then I would jump out and slam my fist directly into his face. This sent the man falling to the ground in a slump, and I would grab his legs and drag him into a vacant room next to me, propping him up against the wall in the dark. I took his armor and helmet as a disguise before leaving the room and proceeding with my task. One down.

There were several sources of light, but in the dark of night none would be able to tell my weapon was a sakabato unless they were extremely close, nor would they notice the difference in my gauntlets until it was too late. And it was as such as I walked through the garden, I noticed a soldier near a bush. I walked up to him, pretending to be friendly and he returned that same friendliness. I felt bad when I punched him in the face, knocking him out too. I dragged his body behind the bush, hearing a couple guards in the distance. "Huh? What was that?" "Let's go check it out."

I stood and took the place of the other guard, standing stoically and at attention, making sure the helmet hid my face. Soon the two other guards approached, seeing me standing there. "Oh, it's only Kurashima-san. You didn't see anything around here, did you?" I shook my head, and the guard commented "Ahh, Kurashima-san. Ever the man of few words. We'll leave you to it." Phew, lucky. As the men began to walk away, I would swiftly draw my sakabato. In two strikes, their bodies would fall to the ground as well. Sheathing my sakabato, I dragged them behind the same bush, they would be laying next to each out. Would make for some hilarity when they awoke confused. Four down.

At this point, I was just really glad the task didn't require me to kill the guards, but I did feel bad for all the deceit and underhanded tactics. Nevertheless, it sure beat fighting ten at once head-on, even if that was more honorable. I would leave the garden, traveling down the hall at a brisk pace as I pretended to patrol it. Turning the corner, I ended up bumping into another soldier. As he began to apologize, I headbutt him and knocked him out. I watched as he fell to the floor as I began to rub my head in pain, thinking it seemed like a badass thing to do at the time. Regardless, I dragged his body underneath a bench along the wall. Five down.

As I saw three more men walking along the other side of the courtyard, and figured that I would try something new. Channeling light energy into my hand, I would toss a great ball of light flying way across the courtyard. The men saw it and began to chase after it, soon catching up to it. I ran up behind them while they tried to examine the light, and I brought my sakabato down on the back of one of their helmets. Before the others could react, my blade would fly up and smash into both of their faces. I sheathed my weapon and dispelled the light energy. Eight down.

I found myself quite liking my new light powers, but I couldn't use it too much if I didn't want to get caught. Walking through the castle halls, I found the last two men conversing on the far side of the castle. I walked up to them, and when they noticed me I gave a friendly wave to which they responded with. "Did you hear the latest gossip about Kuroshima? He sat in dog poop and didn't realize it for three hours straight!" They laughed. I glared. Light energy channeled into my fists and I smashed both of them in their faces, the light effectively nulling their helmets for a direct hit. Ten down.

I sighed in relief as I began to leave the castle grounds. These stealth stuff was pulse-pounding. I wondered how the Hojo did it so often. Regardless, my mission was done. But now what?

[Takeda Shingen]

Morei Haji: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

When Ryunosuke heard the news about a local landlord setting up courses for tests of stealth, he wasted no time to go there. Apparently there was some reward waiting for those who finish either course, and he definitely wanted a challenge, and so he wore his darkest set of clothes, and, placing his pistol on his holster, he set his way towards the stealth training course.

As he walked towards the course, he saw two men guarding the entrance. Seeing those two, he quietly moved towards the east wall of the castle unnoticed. He then tied his gun to a rope that he had brought with him, he then threw the gun across the wall. Tugging it until the rope doesn't budge, he scaled the east wall, leading him to the inside yard of the castle.

When he went down the wall, he immediately noticed a guard standing there! Fortunately though, the guard did not heard anything. Not waiting until the guard discovered him, he used his gun to strike the nape of the guard, knocking him out. He was about to hide the body when another guard sprinted across the yard towards the fallen one.

"Damn it, I should have looked into my surroundings," he muttered as he saw the guard. He then hid behind a tree near the fallen guard, and then, as the other guard checked on the fallen guard, he climbed the tree, still hiding himself from the guard awake. Fortunately the guard didn't see him, and focused on the fallen one, Suddenly, from the tree, a noose wrapped over the neck of the guard, and then as the noose tighten up and the guard pulled into the tree, Ryunosuke fell down from the tree, holding the other side of the rope. The guard struggled to free himself from the noose, but Ryunosuke tugged tightly at his end of the rope, causing the guard to lose air and faint. Ryunosuke then untied the guard from his hanging on the tree, and then hid both bodies in the outhouse. But it did not end there, as the two men at the gate decided to walk into the castle.

As Ryunosuke hid beneath the bushes, he saw the two walk separate ways, one going into the castle, and one going to the outhouse. As the man who was about to go to the outhouse passed by the bush where Ryunosuke was hiding, Ryunosuke quickly chucked a rock towards his head, knocking the man out. He then followed the other man, and when he got the chance, he threw a noose towards him, and as he pulled the rope with a burst of strength, the man passed out. He then hid the two bodies in the same outhouse where he hid the others, and then closed the door and barred it from the outside.

"Now that was close," Ryunosuke muttered, wiping the sweat of anxiety off his forehead. He should be careful next time, as 6 people still remain in the castle.

As he traversed the east side of the castle, hiding beneath shrubbery most of the time, he saw the front of the castle, and, as he expected, there are four guards guarding each corner of the castle. However, one of the guards, the one at the front-right, took notice of the loss of the guards patrolling the castle, and left his post. Ryunosuke took notice of this movement, and, when he was far away from the other guards, he stalked towards him and whipped his pistol at his head, felling him. He then hid the body beneath the bushes, and then walked again towards the castle, now near the left end. Beneath the bushes at the left side of the castle, he then got a coin from his purse, a large gold one, and then rolled it over to the front of the castle. Seeing the gold coin, the guard at the front-left portion chased it, and when he was about to pick the coin from the ground, a noose came flying from behind him, and before he knew it, the noose landed on his shoulders, and then he was tackled from behind into the ground, tightening the noose into such degree that it choked the guard. After senseless kicking and clawing, the guard passed out. Ryunosuke then returned the coin into his purse, and dragged the guard behind the outhouse. He then returned from where he was hiding in the bushes at the left wing of the castle, where the guard from the rear-left wing was running down the hallway, apparently seeing that the guard at his front is gone. Ryunosuke quickly moved behind the guard and struck his head, the guard falling down unconscious. He then quickly hid the guard under the hallway and then moved stealthily towards the last guard outside the castle. Using again the noose, he quickly threw it at the guard, and pulled him to the ground, knocking him out.

After dragging the guard and hiding him under the hallway, Ryunosuke walked inside the castle. What he saw was a wide hallway with many rooms, and, seeing the two guards inside, he quickly hid himself in the room nearest to the entrance of the castle. While hiding in what seems to be the receiving area, he saw a guard about to go out of the castle. When the guard reached the room where Ryunosuke was hiding, Ryunosuke swooped downward behind the guard, gagging him in the process with the rope. When the guard was about to shout, Ryunosuke held both ends of the rope with his left hand, and while exerting a pull with his left hand, felling the guard, he struck the guard's nape with his gun in his right hand, knocking him out. He then threw the guard into a chest, and then placed weights on it. He then moved room through another room until he saw a man guarding a door from the paper doors from where he was hiding. The other door from where Ryunosuke was hiding was open, revealing a view of the rear-left corner of the castle. Apparently the guard noticed the loss of the guard who was stationed there, and went towards that corner, coming towards the room where Ryunosuke was hiding. One step into that room later, Ryunosuke could be found behind the guard, smacking the guard's head with the pistol. That seemed not to fell the guard, but even before he turned around or say a word, another smack from the pistol felled him down to the ground unconscious. Ryunosuke then hid the guard in another chest, locking it.

"At last this task is finished," Ryunosuke sighed as he went out of the castle, barring the gate from the inside as he left the castle grounds. He wondered what sort of reward will the landlord give him.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Ichimura Ryunosuke: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Miyamoto Kenji]

The soldiers of the training camp were given two days' leave in order to review what they had practiced and learned thus far, as well as to rest up their aching joints. Kenji wasn't content with a break, and made plans to resume training, as that was the point of this camp. He would get his wish in a curious fashion, much different from his previous intent.

The morning following the 'battle royale' of sorts, he received a visitor. A courier from the governor, whom presented him with a message: Lord Mogami was offering additional training for those soldiers interested. It would be a stealth exercise, held in the castle at the center of town, where the governor and his family resided, as well as where the daimyo would stay when in town. There were two options, one of which involving stealing an item right out from under Lord Mogami's nose, the other to incapatitate an armed unit of soldiers without being caught. Both were curious challenges. Kenji determined that this was the perfect excuse to continue training, and went that evening to participate.

-------------------------

Silence.

Dressed in dark clothing, Kenji had slipped into the castle, and the exercise had begun. His assigned goal: take down the ten men on patrol in the castle, which had been cleared out for the purpose of tonight's training. These soldiers were not the ones from the camp, but rather, men specifically stationed here and appointed by the still-new governor. Not cream of the crop, but not run of the mill, either. It would be a fair challenge to pull this off, but Kenji had confidence in his abilities. After all, one must train in hand to hand before picking up a sword.

The first man walked down a hallway across the foyer, oblivious to his presence. Kenji crept in the shadows and kept to the walls, watching his surroundings. When he got to the wall leading to the hallway, he peered down it. The soldier was just about to turn. He predicted how long it would be until he ended up at Kenji's end, then flattened against the wall and waited, counting the footfalls in the distance patiently. Gradually, they became marginally louder, until he deduced that the man would be appearing from the hall any second. He braced, ready to spring.

Out came the soldier. He took three steps, Kenji crept two steps to his rear, and made a grab for his throat. In a swift move, he wrapped his fingers around the soldier's neck, dragged him close, and covered his mouth. The man began to struggle, but this was quickly put to rest as Kenji hauled him to the wall and unceremoniously bashed his temple into it. He was down and out. The mercenary carefully dragged him to another room and deposited him within, jammed the door, and left to proceed down the now-vacant hallway.

At the other end, he heard footsteps again and took position behind the wall. A second soldier started to round the corner, Kenji's fist catching him in the temple. It was a solid knockout hit. He slumped over, Kenji only catching him long enough to bring him down to the floor, then drag him off into a shadowed corner. Two down, eight to go. With that number in mind, he slunk around the rest of the first floor, looking and listening for more targets. He only found one, a man who had apparently fallen asleep against the wall while on break. Kenji made sure he didn't wake back up with a straight punch, bouncing his head off the wall, but otherwise causing no damage aside from silencing his snoring. He dragged the body off to another room that he jammed similar to the first one, then located and ascended the stairs to the second floor.

Two guards were posted at the top of the stairs under a lit, hanging lantern, much to Kenji's chagrin. If he attacked one, the other would spot him and the test would be over. If he tried to sneak past, the light would give him away. His only option would be to wait and see if one went on break. So, quietly, he waited in the shadow of the landing.

It took a little while, but eventually, one of the guards stretched and yawned, turning to his companion. "I'm gonna take a leak. Cover me?" His partner chuckles and nods, sending him on his way. Kenji kept to the wall as the soldier descended to answer the call of nature, vacating downstairs. Once his footsteps went silent, Kenji made his move. On all fours, he padded silently up the stairs behind the remaining man until he was immediately to his rear, then rose up to grab him about the neck and cover his mouth simultaineously. Maintaining a tight sleeper hold, he hung onto the soldier until he ceased resistance, going limp in his arms. Now he had to act fast; the man's companion could return in mere minutes, and there was a body with nowhere to stash it and illumination at the top of the stairs. Further, he could hear somebody else coming down from a neighboring hall. This would be a challenge.

After easing his victim to the floor, Kenji reached up and extinguished the lantern, immediately darkening the area. This gave him the opportunity to conceal the unconscious guard in the open, as it would be very difficult to find the body in this near-pitch blackness. Next, Kenji frisked the guard and came up with a blunt object he couldn't entirely make out, but from the feel and shape, it appeared to be a simple cudgel. A bludgeoning weapon would be useful in what was about to happen. Finally, Kenji crouched by the stairs, just out of sight of anyone coming up them, and listened for the person coming from the hall. Soon, not one, but two patrolmen emerged, talking about mundane topics with eachother. Their steps ceased, clearly registering the difference in the room.

"Hey... Aren't there supposed to be two guys here?" The first questioned.

"Yeah. Oi, you two here? We can't see a damn thing..." The second mused.

When no answer came, they cautiously approached the top of the steps, trying to make out anything in the darkness. Kenji slipped behind the both of them, having realized they were facing the landing down below, and acted swiftly. He bashed the back of one guard's head with his stolen club, then when the other started to whip around in surprise, he struck his forehead sharply. Both men were out, and out good, the first victim liable to have a concussion when he woke up. Kenji would have to apologize to the man later on if he recognized him in the light. For now, he put the thought out of mind as he guided both men to the floor, barely managing to stop the first man from falling forward down the stairs. Again, he dragged them off to join their companion, just in time to hear the guardsman from earlier ascending and approaching. Number seven was ripe for the picking.

"I'm ba--... Why is it so dark? Did the light go out?" As if waiting for an answer, the guard paused at the landing. A few tense moments went by, Kenji crouched by the triad of bodies he'd accumulated on the second floor. When no answer came, he heard the man ascend the second half of the steps and arrive up top, wandering around and reaching out for anything. "Hey, this isn't funny. Where'd you go, and why'd you snuff the light?"

By the time Kenji made his way to the man's flank, it was too late to spot him. One strike for the throat to silence him, then another strike for the temple, and he was done like dinner. The mercenary brought his body to the floor and piled him atop his companions, then proceeded to drag the lot down the steps and to the landing. It was more than adequately dark enough that, if he moved fast enough to find the last three soldiers, they would not be found.

Exploring the second floor thoroughly, Kenji soon found the last three men. Two of them patrolled back and forth along a particularly long hall, while the third stood guard in front of a door. The hall was well-lit. He'd have to draw the men out one by one for this to work. Flattening against the wall adjacent to his hall, he pondered what tactics he could use, and soon, he concocted a plan...

A sharp rap of his nightstick on the wall kicked things off. He heard one of the men inquire "What's that?" and fall silent. After a couple moments, Kenji heard someone begin to walk down toward his end of the hall, stating "I'll check it out." As he did with the first soldier on the first floor, he counted the steps and noted their increasing volume, judging how long he had... In short order, the man rounded the corner, managed not to spot Kenji, and carry on down the dark hallway in search of him. The merc strafed along the wall, waiting for the soldier to stop, which he would after a couple dozen steps away from the corner. He looked to either side, scratched his head, and started to turn when he received a cudgel to the skull. Kenji let this man fall and make some noise, then quickly strafed back to his original spot, where he could already hear someone coming. "I swear I heard something drop!" insisted what he assumed was the other patrolman. There was a body in plain, darkened sight, and yours truly was ready to add to the body count.

Around the corner came the biggest man Kenji had seen all night. He knew one hit would likely not be enough to take him down, so he decided not to let him get far. As soon as the soldier cleared the corner, Kenji stepped behind him and brought the baton around and against his neck, gripping the other end with his free hand and choking the large soldier out. Pulling hard, he managed to keep his target from making more than gurgling noises, struggling for a while before losing consciousness. Kenji eased up to keep from killing him, then set his body to the floor. One soldier left, and he would be the hardest on virtue of his position.

Or would he?

Adjusting his tone, Kenji cupped his hands to his mouth and spoke in a voice similar to the second man's. "Hey you, stop right there! We've got a runner!" When he heard quick, heavy footfalls, Kenji knew he'd done the trick. Now for the finisher...

In expectedly short order, the last man came bolting past the corner, right as Kenji thrust his arm out to clothesline him. The soldier got caught hard in the throat, bounced off of the merc's arm, and slammed onto the floor hard. He was dazed but awake, but Kenji was quick about stepping over and stomping on his forehead, soundly rendering him unconscious. By his count, that was ten men. Time to make his escape, for this exercise was successfully cleared.

Kenji didn't expect stealth to be this intriguing, but it was certainly worth trying again in the future.

[Takeda Shingen]

Miyamoto Kenji: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D

[Zhuo Jina]

Jina was excited when Lord Date announced that there would be an opportunity to be trained in the art of stealth. Jina was light on her feet, probably because she was lightweight but also because she often had to sneak up on livestock in order to catch them for slaughter when she was in China.

Most of her life, she had been preparing for this lifestyle even if she didn't know it. She was glad Lord Date had offered his men this opportunity because Jina felt that it could be more than beneficial to her. Honestly, it could save her life some day. She promptly volunteered for the training and her officer announced that the training would be ready late tonight and that she would receive more instruction then.

Jina arrived at the indicated castle at the time that her officer had told her, but upon arrival all she found was a note which was hanging on the trunk of a tree. It read: "Fifteen of Lord Date's men are patrolling the castle. Your objective is to get to the small chamber where Lord Date is sleeping and steal one of the precious items located there. Many are training tonight so take only one. If you harm any patrols, wake your lord, or do not follow instructions, you will fail the training. Good luck."

Jina was surprised that her officer had not met her there but paid little attention to it. Once she had her task, she commenced. Entrances would certainly be guarded so Jina decided to scale the wall using a small rope that she had brought. She hadn't been sure what the training would take, but she had equipped herself earlier in the day with rope, chord for tying, a small knife, padded leather shoes and all black attire.

After she climbed the wall about half way, she came to a window. Her fingers were aching from the stress so she peered inside to check if the room was clear, then she climbed inside. It was dark, there were no torches lit in the room. It appeared dusty, most of the furniture was covered. The room hadn't been used in quite a while, so when she saw footprints leading to the door, she knew someone had taken this path in front of her tonight.

Jina continued on, opening the door. It creaked slightly so she slid through with as little room as possible. The corridor that she had gone into was also unlit, but a light could be seen after a turn down the way. The light appeared stationary as if placed on the wall, so she moved toward it. When she came to the turn, she peeked around the corner, seeing no one still. She stood there for a moment, seeing if a guard would come into view. When none did, she proceeded forward. She was still on the middle level. 

Jina figured that Lord Date would be sleeping in a well guarded area and was intent on finding where that was. She crept around the castle until she found the first guard. He was patrolling, walking in front of her in a hallway. She drew her small knife and faced the hilt outward. Light on her feet and silent because of the leather, Jina was able to come up behind the guard and walk with him almost, until he reached the end. At this point, he began to turn and Jina slid the opposite direction, remaining behind him for his entire turn. He had not seen her.

Jina climbed a set of stairs, getting to the top floor below the roof. She continued on and it wasn't long before she saw three more guards. If there was a guard at each of the three entrances, two on the roof and one in a lookout tower, that made ten of the fifteen that she knew the locations of. Another guard was likely on the floor below her and two below that. That meant that there were only two unknown guards, and if there was a large group like this, Lord Date must be very close. There was a door between where she stood and where the light from the guards reached.

Deciding to find Lord Date from the outside of the castle, rather than be found by the guards for sure, she entered the room quietly, unseen. From there, she went straight to the window. The room was also dusty, maybe the whole castle hadn't been used for a long while. She exited through the window and could see another to the right. She scaled the wall over to the window and looked inside.

Not surprisingly, there was Lord Date, asleep on the bed. She looked at the floor and saw three pairs of footprints. One led to the bed and two led to a small nightstand sitting next to the bed. On the nightstand, there were various trinkets made of gold and silver. Jina slid the window open silently and climbed inside. Landing softly, she walked over to the nightstand and grabbed a small golden bear.

She didn't hesitate and climbed back out the window before closing the rope in it and sliding to the ground. She tugged and when the rope didn't give, she decided to leave it. She ran back to the Date camp and proudly presented her officer with the trinket. She bowed and smiled. I did it.

[Takeda Shingen]

Zhuo Jina: +3 Dex

Proficiency: Stealth - D