Lotus Pond Dojo
(What makes a dojo? Most would say that a true "dojo" comes from the lands of the Orient, a place where, nestled between the stands of bamboo and fields of rice, students of this region sought in days of old to undertake an inward journey, a quest to find their potential through the martial arts.
In the days of old, the dojo was a place of strength, a community of fighters all learning every day, from the youngest white belt to the masters who taught them.
(But as the world grew older, the race of men grew more intelligent, building upon the teachings of their past and with the materials of their lands. Crude rafts made of sticks became barnacle-crusted vessels of wood and pitch and sail, and then powerful slicing ships of metal and smoke. The concept of a man taking to the air began as a dreamer's whimsy, became sketches of propellers and wings under the hands of a wise inventor, then turned into a rickety craft powered by the love of two brothers, finally taking flight as a biplane, and then huge commercial aircraft. With bits of plastic and wires, men became able to use the air to keep in contact with each other, and with their tools finally connected all the world together, for better or worse.
(In this age, nothing has to be stationary, or confined to one country. Connected, mankind can enjoy each others' culture, no matter where they may live. People are coming and going as regularly as the coming and going of the seasons... and, it turns out, some take their buildings with them.)
Colorado, the present, somewhere high in the Rocky Mountains. The Lotus Pond Dojo, a building the size of a Super Wal Mart. An equally large basement extends below, although no one has ever catalogued all the hidden passages...
(Tobuo Kakoemetsu is regarded by his students as the greatest teacher of ninjitsu to ever have lived, even though they usually can't name any others who hold that title.
Decades ago this old, humble master decided to leave his homelands and bring his gift to America... the gift of teaching ninjitsu. His reasons are yet unclear, although it's clear he loves to teach. His teaching manages to be both gentle yet unyielding, demanding utter obedience yet letting the spirit flourish. He is a master of his craft, and in training the most lethal assassins he instills in them the desire to preserve and protect life unless all else fails. A tall, old man, lithe and frail-looking, his eyes appear forever closed with age, but they crinkle kindly, and his gnarled hands never fail to offer whatever is needed, be it a spanking or a warm cup of saki.
(This man is your teacher. For reasons you've kept secret in your heart, you've sought his training when you were just a very young adult. For many years you have studied the arts of ninjitsu, and you don't regret a single day spent doing so.
Your belt has changed color many times, and we join you now a few days before you'll take your test to achieve the second highest rank at the dojo: the Red Belt, the Fledgling Ninja. In addition to your formal test, you must perform an act of ninjitsu.
Usually, students will go to the modern cities at the base of the mountains and perform acts of silent espionage, or a token theft from a heavily guarded safehouse (the goods are, of course, returned after you've shown them to Sensei Tobuo). You, however, have chosen a different tactic: you will sneak into the
Sensei's own storage room, nestled here within the school. Rumors among the students say your master keeps wondrous things in there: unbreakable swords that bond themselves to their masters, herbs that somehow allow a person to breathe underwater, and even nameless tools that true ninja masters used in the old days to perform nigh undetectable spy work. They say the things in there could let a man scale walls like a squirrel, slip through cracks like a snake, or even fly through castle windows. Even more the students don't know about could lie there as well. Your mission is to steal one of these tools and display it to your master the next morning.
You're not worried about his reaction; if you fail, he'll praise your initiative. If you succeed... well, you value your master's pride in you more than anything, and the vision of his proud smile fills you with hope. So, stretch your muscles and prepare, Orange Belt, and let us join you in your chambers as you prepare, on the night of your raid...)
Lotus Pond Dojo
Written by Mr.Peaches and the community of catprog.tfcentral.com
You finish tightening your black clothes down, making sure there's nothing that could get caught on anything. You're in your quarters--a small room lined with Japanese style. Your tatami mat is rolled up in the corner.
The light of a stand of candles you made yourself gives everything a warm yellow glow. Your heart is pounding; this is bold, what you're doing--very bold. Even though you tell yourself you won't get in real trouble if you're (probably) caught, you're anxious. I mean... this stuff is *bold.*
You shake your head and clear your mind of your fear, only to have the candle light catch your gaze. You're reminded of your recent dreams, off the subject of your raid but still important to you nonetheless. You were performing amazing ninjitsu feats in those dreams, but your body was... different, a little different every time you dreamt. The dreams always ended with a jet of fire streaming out of darkness and consuming you. As the dream repeated night after night, the fire went from feeling agonizing, then painful, then uncomfortable, then pleasant, then invigorating. A few of your closest friends have reported similar experiences. What does it mean? Does it mean anything? You've been meaning to discuss them with Sensei Tobuo, but you've been so focused on your studies that by the time you remember you wanted to talk with him, it's very late in the evening and he's retired to his chamber for sleep, although you half-suspect that he doesn't even need to sleep anymore. What a mysterious dream, though...
From the candlelight your eyes are drawn out the window to a tiny, tiny speck of brilliance on a hill far down the mountainside, on a totally different ridge. For days now, you and your fellow students have been secretly spying on a group of college-age people snowboarding in the mountains--six males and three females. You've gathered that one of them won some great sponsorship for something, and now they could afford to take their friends on the boarding trip of their lives. So that's what they were doing, and growing closer to the dojo by the day. Although you know they don't know it's there, vigilance is needed. The school is cunningly hidden against the boarders, although at the end of the day, people coming across the dojo aren't much of a big deal. If someone actually finds Lotus Pond,Tobuo usually treats the guest like a king and tries to recruit them to the school. More than one of your fellow students came that way.
But these players, the dream and the boarders, are distractions from your task at hand. Maybe Fate will bring them into your circle, and maybe not. You clear your mind and put out the candles. Standing in the cool night air just on the other side of your room's sliding paper door, you visualize your dojo. Both the upper and lower levels are the size of a Super Wal-Mart, filled with tight, twisting paths and rooms of all kinds.
The rooms are roughly arranged in a sort of bull's eye pattern: student rooms line the outside, a hallway runs between, another layer of rooms comes next, another hallway lies beyond those, etc. The stairs to the lower level lie in the center of the upper floor. You must make it to those stairs, down to the basement, and then search around for the room you've never seen.
Patrolling every hallway is one of your fellow students, training their senses to detect an intruder's approach. If you are seen, alarms will be raised and your task will fail. You can't, of course, use lethal force.
Most students will be trying to conceal themselves, as well. Every one that sees you will tell Tobuo that they did when you present the artifact from the Master's Room, lowering your "grade" and honor.
Thinking over the massive obstacles between you and your goal, you can't help feeling overwhelmed. But, on you will go.
[Now,] you think to yourself, [how to start...]
Written by Mr.Peaches on 18 July 2006
Hey, it's a cliche but if it works...
You grab your tool bag and climb out the window.
Your tool bag contains items such as a very thin but hard club (a present from your sensei after your third year), a bird call, your face mask and some clothed shoes to soften the sound of your footfall.
You climb up the building onto the roof to survey the area. You look around, and see no other people around the place, you also sense no-one around, but you have to cautious, or someone will see you.
You scale back down the building onto the ground, and silently run towards your goal. You see another person, but his back is towards you. You walk up behind him and give him a swift thump on the head with your club. He goes down like a ton of bricks, but more quietly. You cleverly hide the body in the bushes and continue in your quest.
You see the basement entrance, with someone guarding it. Do you take out the guard? Or do you distract him and sneak in when he has left his post?
Written by underdrag on 19 July 2006
My Pants... They are Aflame
In the lantern light like a silhouette stands a gangly figure emitting frosty puffs of breath. You gage him to be Moses Rehoboam, a disallusioned teacher/nature enthusiast that stumbled upon the dojo some five years ago, when you were just barely into your teens. Although he's quite the gentleman, he has a reknowned discomfort talking about women and women's "needs," something you decide to exploit.
Boldly, you give up stealth and approach Moses openly, jogging lightly to give the impression that you're in a hurry.
"Moses! Hey!" You call softly. He turns to you surprised.
"Oh, it's you. Hello there," he says, then grows more suspicious. "What are you doing outside this late at night?"
Going for broke, you grab the shoulders of his suit and lean him into you conspiritorily. "Don't spread this around," you say confidentially, "but me and my friend Setsa were hiding out in the Inner Gardens when, oh, how shall I put it..."
Moses starts to get an inkling of what's going on, and you feel his shoulders tense.
"...It's her 'time of the month.'" you finish.
Moses frowns behind his mask.
"That doesn't have anything to do with why you're here. Aren't there... erm... supplies upstairs?"
"Not enough," you reply, "It turns out Setsa's time hit right as we clean ran out of 'stuff' upstairs. We've got some downstairs, and--"
Throwing your voice, you place a feminine moan a fair distance away. Moses blanches.
"Oh, man!" you cry.
"She can't hold it much longer! I gotta get down to the basement, Moses!"
Moses practically breaks the sound barrier getting the door open. The basement is yours.
As you start down the steps, you turn to him one more time.
"Oh, and Moses," you say, "Setsa's kind of embarassed about all this fuss, so..."
"Nobody needs to know. Got it. Now... please go."
The door closes behind you and your extremes start un-numbing themselves. A long hallway lit with several fat candles lies before you. Your journey to the Master's chamber is half-way complete. But be careful; that little tampon trick won't work again.
Written by Mr.Peaches on 30 July 2006
Just Take a Look, It's in a Book...
The smell of cedar lightly burns your nostrils as you proceed, almost afraid to draw breath. The smoke from the candle whirls and whorls, and the flame causes you to remember your dream, if only for a second. No time for such distractions now! Luckily this lower level doesn't have the fake panels that the upper does, but it's going to be almost impossible to hear approaching students; even the lowest-ranking ninja can be tricky to hear...
Thankfully, you catch a reprieve when you reach the library. Stashing some of your more official ninja gear beneath your clothing, you pull out a book on the bo staff, which the other students know you've been trying to pick up lately. Until you can think of a better plan, you've got a water-tight alibi as to why you're up so late.
Unlike the top level, set with rooms in circular patterns, this bottom level has rows of rooms with aisles in between... long aisles perfect for fellow students to sight down. Add the large area of ground to cover and the fact that... no one really knows where the secret room is... and you've got yourself a little pickle for yourself. Of course, you are in the library... what better place to find a clue as to the hidden room's whereabouts?
Written by Mr.Peaches on 19 November 2006
The Records Room
The records room is a small partitioned-off corner of the library full of file cabinets. It isn't the Master's actual records. That is, the information in the "records" room isn't particularly useful. The records room is full of bureaucratic bric-a-brac. Despite the secrecy surrounding the dojo, Master Tobuo still had to have it built. Fortresses don't just construct themselves, you know. You dig through the files, knowing exactly what you're looking for.
The records room is by far the most boring part of the dojo, so it won't be heavily guarded. You shuffle around drawer after drawer of paperwork: building permits, timeclock receipts, elevation maps. Not what you're looking for. You do note, with some amusement, that the dojo was built in the guise of a luxury ski resort. Enlightening as it is, it's not what you're looking for...wait...you've found them! The floor plans.
Unfortunately, they don't yield any useful information. Whatever secret passages and hidden traps the Master built, he was careful to leave no record of them...but wait... near the center of the plan for the basement is a small, intricate symbol. It was definitely drawn in after the fact by hand. You squint to get a good look at it: a serpentine dragon wrapped in a spiral around a small circle. Quickly but silently, you take the floor plan over to the main library and find a book on ancient symbols. The dragon seems to be the most prominent feature, so you look in the "D" section of the book. There's plenty on dragons, but nothing that even comes close to what you're looking for. You try "circle." Still no luck. You decide that maybe the serpentine dragon is really a draconian serpent, so you decide to look up "serpent." On the way from "circle" to "serpent," you stop. There it is, buried at the bottom of the page, a tiny illustration and little more than a blurb, but you've found the symbol. The entry reads, "Heartstone Pendant symbol. Obscure cartographer's symbol from Qin dynasty China said to denote the location of the Heartstone Pendant, a mythical artifact said to bring invulnerability to the wearer. The pendant and associated symbol remained a footnote in Qin records. The pendant was forgotten entirely during the civil war following Shi Huandi's death, and the symbol devoled into a decorative mark with no significance."
It seems odd that someone would bother putting a decorative symbol with no significance on a set of floor plans nobody was expected to look at after construction was completed. So there's a chance that the symbol is used with its older meaning intact...maybe Master Tobuo has the Heartstone Pendant, and maybe it's at the location denoted in the plans! Of course, the thing might not really grant invulnerability, but hey, if it's from ancient China and merited inclusion in a set of floor plans it's got to be valuable and, thus, well-guarded...maybe TOO well-guarded. Maybe the symbol is a trap, and all you'll find at the location is a rival student. Maybe you should just explore the basement and see what else you can find. You're taking a risk either way, but...what will you do?
Written by Zodiac on 13 July 2007
Through the corridors
You work your way through the basement halls relatively uneventfully. You see nobody but, in a school full of ninjas, that doesn't mean that nobody's there. Still, you're careful to be just as unseen as your unseen adversaries as you seek out memorized location of the Heartstone Pendant. You're a little dismayed, in fact. If the pendant had been so valuable, it would have been guarded better than this, and if it was a useless trinket, why was it on the floorplans in the first place? Trying to put this out of your mind as you scope the hallway for hidden traps, you arrive at the location and find...nothing. At least, no pendant. You do, however, see that one of the floor tiles is missing. You slink over to investigate and see a hole. It's certainly large enough to fit down, which means that the pendant is under it. Is there some sort of sub-basement to the dojo? Maybe there's another maze you've never even heard about. Something troubles you, though: If the floor tile is missing, somebody must have gone down before you. Somebody else must be trying to steal the pendant too! Still, you didn't come this far to chicken out. Whoever's down there, you're confident you can take. You slip down into the hole and find yourself in a long, dark tunnel. It appears to be a natural cave...the dojo was built on top of a cavern system! This adds a whole new obstacle to your plan. Not only must you avoid traps and fellow ninjas in your quest, you must also navigate the winding tunnels of an underground cave. You find a torch on a wall rack, light it, and proceed. A short distance later, you find yourself at a dead-end. You look around for another exit, and find none. You do, however, find a carving on the wall to the left of you, along with a stone shelf containing three small bottles. The caring says,
"Your path is blocked by only stone, but surely there is more.
To meet the challenges ahead, choose one of these vials four.
If change you seek then change you'll meet here deep within the ground,
For here the darkest treasures of The Dojo can be found.
But if you wish to keep the form you had when you came in,
You'll have to cut your journey short before it can begin."
You look at the three bottles. One contains a dark brown liquid, labeled, "Earth." [A jar of dirt,] you think. [How appetizing.] The next bottle is labeled "Water" and contains, unsurprisingly, water. The third is labeled "Wind." Inside is a sky-blue liquid wiih swirling gray and white cloud-like blobs. [Of course,] you think, [the classical elements. I guess some poor sap already drank fire.] A quick glance around indicates that whoever the poor sap was, drinking fire didn't kill him, at least not right away. That means that he's beyond the stone door somewhere, and if you want to join him, you'll have to pick a vial.
Written by Zodiac on 13 July 2007
Water
Well, this really isn't a difficult choice. You can get past the door by just drinking some water! Seriously, what's so bad about that? You grab the vial. It's curiously warm to the touch, but you weren't exactly expecting water that had been sitting around in a cave for who knows how long to be icy and refreshing. Still, the water seems to be almost pulsating with an invisible energy. But then, you remind yourself, it's just water. You gulp down the water, and find that, despite the warmth of the vial, the water is cold--incredibly cold!
Whatever was in that vial, it wasn't ordinary water. You have, suddenly, become incredibly tired. So tired, in fact, that you think nothing of passing out on the hard stone floor.
You feel a pleasant, floating sensation. Despite, or perhaps because of, your unconsciousness, you can still see yourself lying on the floor of the cave. You look calm and angelic for a moment and then your features melt away. The entire process is remarkably quick, in fact. Your features distort for a moment, then whatever had been holding you in place gives way, and your entire body becomes water. With the same disconnectedness, you watch as the mass of water that used to be you drains into a small hole in the floor of the cave. It was too small for you to have noticed before, but it's more than big enough for the newly liquefied you to fit through.
After a brief but dizzying drop, you find yourself in another cave, presumably below the other one. You have been neatly collected in a large crystal goblet resting on an ornately carved pedestal. Although you can see no source of light, the cave is illuminated by an eerie blue glow. By the light of this glow, you see a shadowy figure begin to move.
It is a human figure--a girl, you realize. She is deathly pale and emaciated, and wearing a ceremonial Grecian robe that looks cut for someone more full-figured. Because of her appearance, you can only guess at her age, but she seems youngish. She'd be beautiful if she didn't look so skeletal. She had been meditating in the cave until your arrival, and is now getting up gingerly, as if she hadn't moved in years. She approaches the goblet containing you, and begins to speak, weakly, in something between a monologue and an incantation.
"The elements are gathering tonight. The forces of the universe are converging, and the time has come to take our place among them. I was chosen, long before, to be the vessel for Water. You chose, this night, to become Water, and so I am your vessel." In your less-than corporeal state, it takes you a moment to realize that she is speaking to the goblet, and therefore addressing you. She concludes her ritual: "So, now, let us join." If you weren't a glass of water, you'd swear she was coming on to you.
The mysterious woman picks your goblet up, careful not to spill a single drop, and slowly raises it to her lips. With a single, dramatic motion, she drains its contents. The world fades into nothingness.
Written by Zodiac on 01 April 2008
To Drink, Perchance to Dream
The high priestess is a decrepit old crone, but she carries herself with a dignity that nobody in the village can match. She has entered a deep trance, and is chanting in a language that only she and the gods understand. You are outside the temple of the water god, waiting for whatever may come next. To be honest, you understand very little of it. There was talk in the village of a prophecy, and that the water god needed help. The priestess had decided to sacrifice a virgin. As that generally seems to help matters. The Village Elders, for reasons that were never explained to you very well, chose you as the sacrifice, and so you were decked out in ceremonial robes and led to the temple.
The temple of the water god stands at the source of a stream that, you've been told, is a very important river further downstream. The temple has been cleverly carved into the hillside so that the spring that creates this "river" is above the entrance to the mostly-underground temple. The effect is a pleasant little curtain of water covering the entrance to the temple.
The priestess breaks from her reverie and looks squarely at you. She says, in an otherworldly voice: "Enter the temple, Sacrifice, and travel over an ocean of water and a gulf of time. Travel, child, far from here. Go, now, and face your destiny!" On the word "destiny," the trickle of water over the door miraculously become a raging torrent. The crowd of villagers murmurs briefly, but at a sign from the priestess, they are silenced. Bravely, you step through the waterfall.
You are not in the temple, although logic would dictate that you should be. Instead, you're in a cave, one you've never seen before. More surprisingly, the waterfall behind you is gone, replaced by a wall of stone. A bluish glow illuminates the space, revealing an empty goblet on a marble pedestal. The priestess' voice echoes across time and space to give you one final message: "Wait here for the water god to call you. He will choose another to bear his power, and you must be the vessel. Wait, now. When the sacrifice is needed, the water god will call." You meditate, and enter into a deep trance...but the sound of splashing water awakens you. You look at the goblet--it's been filled. You know, without really understanding why, that you have to drink this water.
You try to get up, only to find that you've apparently wasted away. Although to you, almost no time has passed since your arrival, you must have actually been meditating for a very long time indeed. You approach the goblet, and address the water inside. You have no idea how you know what to say, but you do: ""The elements are gathering tonight. The forces of the universe are converging, and the time has come to take our place among them. I was chosen, long before, to be the vessel for Water. You chose, this night, to become Water, and so I am your vessel. So, now, let us join." You drink the water. The world fades into nothingness. Your last fleeting thought is an inexplicable feeling of deja-vu.
Written by Zodiac on 01 April 2008
Waking Up
Darkness...silence...
You wake up in the same cave as before. The now-empty goblet is now clenched tightly in your hand. You are sprawled on the floor, soaking wet. All vestiges of your fasting are gone, and the robes come closer than ever to fitting you. Your skin and hair, meanwhile, have turned dark blue.
You stand. An elegant stairway has appeared in what was once a wall of rock, and you ascend it gracefully. The stairway ends at a long hallway, which you follow. You aren't exactly sure why you're doing these things, only that you're doing them. Something--perhaps instinct, perhaps the now long-dead priestess echoing in your mind--drives you onward. The hallway dead-ends...or so it would seem...
There's a small hole in the floor of the cave, like the one you fell through the last time you turned into water. Maybe you could do it again. That thought is interrupted, however, as a shudder goes through your body. You stand immobile for a moment, and then dissolve into water again.
The opening leads to large, round cavern. Instead of staying liquid this time, your body immediately becomes solid again. Your robes, you note with some dismay, are still in the chamber above you, though. Apparently the water transformation doesn't effect clothes.
You look around--the chamber is illuminated by, strangely enough, a person. His back is to you, but you can tell that he's the only light source in the room. He hasn't noticed you yet, a fact you could turn to your advantage. But then, maybe you should approach him now. Ninjitsu is nice and all, but sometimes the situation calls for a bit more boldness.
Written by Zodiac on 06 April 2008
From the Shadows
You watch from your hiding place as the stranger moves around the cave. As he illuminates more of the chamber, you begin to get a better feel for your surroundings, which will be useful if you end up needing to fight this mysterious other person. There appear to be three exits, one marked by a blue sun-like shape, another marked by a skull, and one that is unmarked. The other walls of the cavern are covered in a strange writing which, much to your dismay, your rival appears to be reading effortlessly.
The figure continues reading for a while longer before, suddenly, having a revelation: "Of course," he shouts, "the other vials." Then, in a flash, he darts down the unmarked corridor. Your first instinct is to follow him, but then again, he could have misread the markings. With your newfangled double memory, you might have a better shot at them. Or you could try one of the other two passages, just to be adventurous.
Written by Zodiac on 10 May 2008
The end (for now)