Itami Castle

The Ao troops marched for days to reach the castle they had learned about from Salam. It was just how he said it was, abandoned and damaged, but it would do nicely. The area is soon secured and they move inside the castle to survey what must be done. In honor of the late Empress of Katashima, Lord Nishida names the Castle after her, the Katashiman refugees appreciate this.

"This shall be an excellent place to raise our army and start building. It is a shame those Shinobi had to leave, but they served well. Ram Jam! How are the troops?"

"Of course, we shall move into the castle and make sleeping arrangements and fire pits for food and warmth. They shall rest in shifts for now, those who are up to it shall patrol and watch for potential hostiles. I will employ Kenjin Uesung to begin training exercises as you suggest, and I grant you permission to go out recruiting. Take a couple of your best men with you and ride swiftly. I wish you good luck my lieutenant." Shintaro gives out the orders. Most of the Soldiers move inside the castle, in the courtyard there is room for some camps, and the outside of the castle also had room for tents. Shintaro explores the castle with a few men and his manservant Exim. He discovers the area that was once used for food storage, long empty.

"Have this cleaned out and move our provisions inside. Make sure it is cleaned well, I don't want our grain to become spoiled."

"Yes sir!"

Much of the castle was dusty and had plant overgrowth, in time this would all be cleaned up and the broken walls would be repaired. Shintaro saw great potential in this castle and the land around it. The first town of Aozora shall be established around this castle!

Shintaro approaches Dimitri, "Not bad at all, just as Salam said, it's a fixer-upper but once we fortify this place it will be a great fortress."

The lord seems pleased to have finally made it here, without any trouble. "Hm, just need to acquire a quarry for stone, the nearby forests are plentiful for lumber, and Salam told me of a mine as well that could be valuable if it's not tapped out of all it's riches. To have a source of ores would allow us to make new weapons, ah, I'm overexcited. One thing at a time. What do you think, Dimitri?"

"Hmm, well said." Shintaro nods and moves on to Dimitri's question about becoming an officer. "I see you as a man of considerable valor and skill in battle and I've come to trust you over the months. Even if you haven't shown leadership qualities yet, you have gained respect among the men and I believe you have the instinct to take charge. You were recommended when I sought to recruit you, and now I've gotten to see how valuable you really are."

The lord smiles and turns to the side, looking at the men working for a moment before turning his eye back to Dimitri. "You may petition me to remove the rank from you if you truly do not feel worthy of it."

"Hm, of course, I had actually forgotten you were a mercenary with our time together. Very well, you are not an officer then." Shintaro gestures with his hand and that's that. "I'd like to go back to something you told me when I first found you though. You wanted to make a home for your people or something along those lines. Well, a town will be built in front of this castle, not sure if it's what you're looking for, but you can feel free to make your home here. I'll be receiving even more conscripts in time and we'll always be able to patrol and protect this place."

"Understandable, perhaps a suitable location will be found in the future."

Shintaro listens to his subordinates, if there was a giant monster roaming the land, it was his responsibility as a leader to do something. He questioned the men further and found that the creature was heading north out of their lands. Most people would just let it go and not bother since it's leaving, but Shintaro was a man of valor and duty. "Send people on our fastest horses to ride north! They must send word to the other lands. You say this thing is lumbering, we may be able to send someone to Isra before it gets there."

And so the order was given, swift riders would set out to warn the Israns and the Land Tiller's whom the Scar Harvestman was heading towards.

Shintaro had been perusing the latest updates to the maps by his scouts, standing by a desk. The interior of the keep had been recently cleaned and looked much better than when Aozora first moved in here. On either side of the room were shelves full of books and scrolls. Kun Exim, Lord Nishida's faithful manservant was standing right at the entrance. Since the warlord is facing the left of the room, he sees the robed man come in and sets his map down.

Lord Nishida was dressed in his usual outfit, armor, blue greatcoat, and of course his eye patch over his right eye. "Konbanwa, good evening. I was not expecting anyone at this time, you don't look like the usual conscript or a civilian coming to bring me plans to approve. Who are you, stranger?"

The lord stood waiting for the man's introduction. Shintaro may be younger than expected, but still had the presence of a warrior and leader.

"You've heard right. I do indeed have a task involving a certain mine, one I wish to acquire for resources. I've sent a couple scout to the area but none have gone inside to assess its worth, I'm only going off of hearsay. They have reported though that a group of creatures appears to have taken refuge inside." Shintaro explains the situation. "I've been planning to send people over to secure the mine, but the logistics of getting good men there who won't screw up requires me to grab resources from elsewhere. If you are indeed a capable man perhaps you could do this for me."

The warlord crosses his arms, "Before we continue though, I would request the name of one who offers service to me, and I like to look a man in the eye when I make a deal."