Masaaki perched atop the steep cliff overlooking the the ambush spot. His light brown cloak camouflaging him perfectly with the rocky background, and keeping out any unwanted moisture. He surveyed the traps he had set. Just some basic caltrops on the road and some simple wires. Nothing too complicated on their first ambush, just enough to stop the horses in their tracks. He hadn't even bothered to hide them. In fact he made them quite obvious to one looking out for such things. He didn't want the horses to get caught in them. How would he transport the metal back to his village then? He had specifically picked this ambush spot because it was the narrowest point in the treacherous mountain path, so that the cart could not safely turn around. If they spotted the traps in the path they would have to stop, and then he would strike.

Seeing everything was set he crept silently back to his small camp hidden in the trees Going over everything in his head again put him at ease, at least for a while longer, and his thoughts drifted elsewhere. He wondered how his apprentices were doing. If training was going fine on their own. He hoped they weren't too mad he did not bring them with him, but the village needed metal and two kids would really only slow him down. Noboru would be. He'd insist that he was ready. Hell he wouldn't be surprised if he had to be tied down. He chuckled a bit to himself as he poured himself a cup of tea and sat down to wait for the merchant.