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
The Inner Garden
You decide to begin by sneaking out of your room to the left, following the building's hall eventually to the Inner Gardens. It's a tricky business; you slide open your door *ever* so softly, just a crack to reveal the candles set in the walls of the hall, every ten feet or so. You check the hall's ceiling first, for fear of classmates hiding there, practice-spying. You see nothing. Taking a breath, you silently open your door fully, creep quickly into the hall and shut the door behind you. Your door is luckily located around the edge of a corner, and you press against it. As you do, you hear the softest commotion in the hall behind you that overlooks your door--a student has just hidden themselves in the fake wall panels that are set up at the end of most hallways. Had you left thirty seconds later than you did, you would have been seen.
As scary as the panels are, there still aren't enough students to man them all, and not all students would take them anyway; it's much more fun to hang from the ceiling. You figure you've got a one-in-ten chance every time you turn a corner that you'll be seen. At that moment, you wish you had some of those supposed mystical tools; a human body feels so big and clumsy all of the sudden.
You turn three corners, which go to your right and lie at the end of hallways growing slightly shorter each time. You avoid your main traps here: the fake panels at the end of hallways, and possible vantage points hidden behind the beautiful Japanese tapestries Tobuo has hung every fifty feet. You avoid these by ducking under.
The Inner Garden lies before you. A room thirty feet square and perhaps fifty feet high with a skylight revealing the cold Colorado stars, it serves as a greenroom/place of meditation to the dojo. Plants and trees grow all the way up to the ceiling, and a cunningly made natural waterfall is centered at one end.
Although beautiful, now it becomes a ninja's nightmare. The ground is made of raked stones, clattery and noisy. The plants and brush could conceal any number of classmates. Worse, you can sense at least two students inside; one you can see; it's Yeomen, a fellow orange belt. He meditates on a stone in the center of the room. By listening to the wind slip through a hole in the glass ceiling, you hear a strap creak; at least one student is hanging up there.
These things stand between you and the stairs to the basement, which lie just past this room.
You clamber onto the hallway ceiling rafters to get some time to think.
Written by Mr.Peaches on 18 July 2006
Throught the Skylight
You carefully navigate the rafters above the Inner Garden, avoiding any loose boards or creaky spots that might give away your presence. The soft sound of the waterfall below provides some cover, but you know that any sudden noise could alert the meditating Yeomen or the hidden student in the rafters.
As you move silently across the rafters, you spot a patch of darkness near the skylight that could serve as a potential entry point. It's a risky move, but you decide to descend through the skylight into the Inner Garden, using the shadows to your advantage. Taking a deep breath, you make your way down, keeping an eye on Yeomen and the hanging student.
Upon landing, you immediately crouch and move behind a large, leafy plant. The raked stones beneath your feet make a soft crunching sound, but the constant noise of the waterfall helps muffle it. Yeomen remains deep in meditation, seemingly undisturbed.
With the skylight behind you, you're able to spot the hanging student more clearly. It's Akiko, a skilled climber known for her agility. She's suspended from a rope, her eyes scanning the room below. You know you have to be careful not to cast a shadow or make any sudden movements that might catch her attention.
Planning your route carefully, you start to traverse the Inner Garden, sticking to the sides and using the foliage for cover. The sound of the waterfall provides some auditory cover, and you move with deliberate precision.
As you approach the stairs leading to the basement, you encounter a new challenge. A thin wire is stretched across the pathway, cleverly hidden at ankle height. This is the work of Shiro, a fellow student known for his intricate traps. You're grateful for your training as you carefully step over the wire, avoiding any unnecessary contact.
Finally, you reach the stairs and descend to the basement level. The air feels cooler down here, and the dim lighting adds to the mysterious atmosphere. The basement is a labyrinth of hidden passages and secret chambers, but you've explored it extensively during your training.
Remembering the rumors about Tobuo's secret storage room, you begin your search. The faint glow of a hidden lantern guides your way as you navigate the twists and turns. You come across a door with a subtle engraving – a small lotus flower. This must be it.
Written by - on 01 February 2024
Kangaroo
You carefully enter the room marked by the lotus flower engraving, and the door creaks softly as you push it open. The hidden lantern casts an eerie glow on the contents within. The room is filled with an eclectic assortment of objects from various cultures and eras. Ornate weapons, ancient scrolls, and peculiar tools are neatly arranged on shelves.
Your eyes scan the room, searching for something that stands out. Among the artifacts, a small, intricately carved boomerang catches your attention. The engravings on its surface depict scenes of the Australian Outback, and the silhouette of kangaroos is subtly etched into the wood.
Curiosity piqued, you carefully pick up the boomerang and examine it closely. The craftsmanship is exceptional, and the wood feels smooth in your hands. There's an aura of mystery surrounding this unique item, and you can't help but wonder about its origins and purpose.
As you hold the intricately carved boomerang, you feel a sudden surge of energy coursing through your body. The room around you seems to blur for a moment, and a strange warmth envelops you. Startled, you glance down at the boomerang, wondering if it somehow triggered this unusual sensation.
To your surprise, you notice subtle changes occurring in your physique. Your limbs begin to shift and elongate, and a sensation of lightness replaces the familiar weight of your body. You quickly realize that you are undergoing a transformation, and it becomes clear that the boomerang is responsible for this mysterious metamorphosis.
The moment the mysterious energy enveloped you, a subtle dance of transformation unfolded. Limbs elongated and contorted, rearranging themselves into powerful hind legs that resonated with an otherworldly strength. The sensation was both surreal and exhilarating, a fusion of ancient mysticism and the primal forces of nature.
As your body shifted, you felt the emergence of a thick, plush coat of fur, its texture reminiscent of the Australian wilderness. The color palette transformed into earthy tones, blending seamlessly with the natural surroundings of the Lotus Pond Dojo. The air crackled with the energy of the metamorphosis, and the room seemed to shimmer with an ethereal glow.
With every heartbeat, your arms transformed into muscular forelimbs, the once human hands evolving into paw-like appendages. The fingers merged into a unified structure, forming sturdy digits capable of grasping the mystical boomerang that initiated this profound change.
As you hopped around, testing the agility of your transformed body, the rhythmic thumping of your hind legs echoed the pulse of the Lotus Pond Dojo itself. The sensation of being a part of the ancient traditions blended with the novelty of this unexpected transformation.
Written by - on 05 February 2024
The end (for now)