Flashbacks
Akodo
Akodo remembered the time just before leaving when he met with Emily Stark in the Scorpion Garden. He recited a poem he had written for her:
Your eyes are fire.
Their image burnt into my soul,
Scarred by beauty
and confessed his feelings, giving her a tenugui that combines the colors of the Akodo and Stark families. She reciprocated his feelings and had prepared a similar gift for him: a finely made tanto with a crest depicting a lion and bull, back-to-back.
Mirumoto
Mirumoto reflected on his last training session with Kitsuki Jotomon. She took the class out of the city to the river in order to practice fighting in less than ideal conditions. Paired to spar, Aloisio Silva suggested that they put something on the line in order to make things interesting, proposing that they wager their swords. The two fought fiercely, but Aloisio beat Mirumoto until he was barely standing before Aloisio called on him to yield and he flung his swords onto the bank in defeat.
Peasant Village
At night the magistrates noticed a young man, later identified as Juro, sneaking off into the woods. Following him it was found that he was leaving a message for someone warning that the magistrates were asking questions. Kasuga forged a new note in the same handwriting calling for a meeting a week later in order to lay a trap for the recipient.
Return to Ryoko
Word reached Ryoko Owari that the Phoenix ambassador to the Imperial Court had proposed implementing the title of Shogun, citing Makoto's Five Points and the need for a unified leader of their military forces that is above mere clan politics, akin to the Emerald Champion. The Lion Champion, traditionally the “right hand of the Emperor”, was stated as the logical choice to fill the position.
A mysterious man in the robes and basket hat of an itinerant monk approached Kasuga and warned him about Kasuga Nana. Apparently she has submitted concerns about the gaijin several times before but nothing ever managed to be proven. Maybe she's paranoid or has some sort of personal vendetta, but it was insinuated that it would be unwise to be seen as too closely associated with her.
Akodo Sakura has begun to endlessly talk about her new idol, Ikoma Yoriko.
Sakura was on the street when she heard someone disparaging Toturi as a
coward who ran from his responsibilities. She was about to make an
example of him when Yoriko stopped her, stating that “Striking him down
will only show the strength of your sword. Living to prove him wrong
will show the strength of your soul.” She has since become enamored with
the young woman, looking upon her as a role model.
Back in the Village
Returning at the appointed time to set the ambush the magistrates captured a young peasant woman, Chiyoko, the older sister of Juro. Under interrogation she eventually revealed that she had joined Fade several months ago and was able to provide information on the location of his nearby camp in an abandoned mine, apparently commanded by Saburo.The party gathered their allies and moved on the mine in force. As they entered the adjoining village some guards hiding in the abandoned houses raised an alarm and collapsed the bridge. One was killed outright while the other was incapacitated and restrained. Heading deeper into the mountains the magistrates soon came upon the mine itself as the defenders prepared to repel them.