Bugaisha

Outsider Keep

The Outsider Keep (U9) in the Bugaisha province was where the Unicorn stationed their dishonored samurai, removing them from the public eye. Any samurai sent here might as well shaved his head and retired to a monastery. There was no way to be transferred from Bugaisha, and until the recent destruction of the Dark Moto it served as the Moto Bushi school, which had since been moved to Shiro Moto.

Location

Bugaisha (U9)

The keep was located at Ki-Rin's Path, the route that Shinjo used to take the Ki-Rin Clan out of the Empire. As such it was out of the public eye, and few outside the Unicorn were even aware that it existed. Besides the Unicorn, it was occasionally visited by a Scorpion caravan, and on rarer occasions, Mantis or Crab might visit. The fortress was a haven for ronin, who were tolerated much better than in regular society.

Gaijin

At any one time nearly half the people in the city were gaijin. They were mainly traders and came from the Senpet, Sultanate/Caliphate, Ashalan or elsewhere. Gaijin were not permitted in the city after sundown, at which time they must pack up their wares and took down their stalls. A huge tent city existed outside the city walls, and that was where the gaijin slept. An oasis lies between the city and the tents, but it was only used by the gaijin.

Colonies

Bugaisha was considered the starting point of the Ki-Rin's Path, the overland route to the Colonies. After the Empire began the colonization of the Ruined Kingdoms, regular caravans departed from the Keep, crossed the Western Wastes, and reached the Second City. The original walled fortress was now surrounded by a sprawl of permanent buildings. Outsider Keep had grown considerably in importance, becoming a bustling metropolis, though it remained a “hardship post” for Unicorn samurai.

Layout

Layout

Outer Keep

Bugaisha is not a traditional military installation. While most Rokugani fortresses are centered around a tall, narrow torid-e, or keep, Bugaisha is more spread out, with the keep itself being only two stories tall, as opposed to the normal four five, and much wider. The reason for this is that Bugaisha is located in very open terrain with it's back to a massive cliff side.

The fortress' wall is shaped like an octagon, but with the three northernmost sides missing, cut off by the cliff face. The wall is thirty feet tall, twenty feet deep and made of stone taken from a local quarry. At each corner stands a forty-foot watchtower. The walkways on the wall are covered with shades for the guards with slits to fire arrows through.

The main gate is made of two wooden doors about twenty-five feet wide and can be locked from the inside by a large wooden bar. One of the doors has a smaller postern door that is wide enough to admit a single man or horse. The gate has a portcullis, a gaijin invention seen nowhere else in the Empire. During the day four guards are posted at the gate, while at night there are only two. The gatehouses in the watchtowers next to the gate are always staffed with four guardsmen, and are slitted to fire arrows through.

The outer keep also features guard barracks near the gate, the Seargeant of the Gate's office, two armories, the Stable Master's office, stables, a well, tack storage, two granaries, troop quarters, officer's quarters and a large bazaar featuring gaijin merchants and their bodyguards selling exotic goods from around the world. There was also a dojo, which has three sensei, each of whom rotated duty. This dojo was the main training ground for the Vindicator, where they trained for their never-ending fight against the Shadowlands.

Inner Keep

The main hall of the inner keep was richly decorated in Unicorn style, with a large tapestry depicting many scenes from the Unicorn's history. Other rooms included, two kitchens, a pantry, a dining hall that served primarily gaijin food, a war room, a dojo overseen by the same sensei of the outer keep, a temple, officer's dining hall, an armory, commander's office, commander's private dojo, shrine and bedroom, guest bedrooms, foyers, and sitting rooms.

The Qolat

Shinjo Khubutai, and Shinjo Zhen-Ping were Qolat agents, These two and Qolat Master Ruqayah had access to several hidden rooms in the fortress. There was a secret room next to each of the granaries, one of which held the possessions of assassinated samurai so that anyone familiar with them might not see them and grow suspicious and the other holds enough gaijin powder to level half of the base. There was one area behind the inner keep's pantries that housed thousands of koku worth of fine items taken from assassinated samurai. A similar room was hidden behind the inner keep's armories. The only difference between this room and the one behind the pantries was that Khubutai secretly constructed a passage that went one-half mile out of Bugaisha.

Leadership

The following were the leadership of Bugaisha in the Four Winds era:

• Shinjo Khubutai: Keep commander and Qolat agent
• Shinjo Zhen-Ping: Stable master and Qolat agent
• Shinjo Kinzo: Sergeant of the gate
• Shinjo Umaji: Iaijutsu and kenjutsu sensei
• Utaku Shen-Zhan: Naginata and yarijutsu sensei
• Moto Shatsu: Bojatsu, jiujutsu and sumai sensei
• Issa: Head monk
• Ransetsu: Acolyte

Other Eras

• Shinjo Sukhbataar: governor in the late 12th century

External Links

• Outsider Keep (Empire at War)

References

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