February 22nd, 1832

    What an ordinary day. I suppose not many people would call it that, but then not many people have been sucked from a surprise volcanic eruption to a ship in the 19th century only to have lava in a different volcano turn to pudding... You can see why this day would be ordinary. Anyways, on with the story...
    I woke up early, at about 4 AM. This was not because I couldn't sleep, but because I heard clamoring and a strange explosion. After hearing this, I walked out on deck. None of the other crew was up, surprisingly, but I noticed a black shape creeping up the mast. Also, smoke was drifting from a small crater in the deck. When he observed that I was watching him, he dropped to the deck and whispered, "Where am I? One minute I was robbing a nezumi shrine, and the next I end up facing you!"
    "There is a lot unexplained. Who are you, what are nezumi, what was that smoke bomb for, and where are you from? Anyway, I'm Ignia," I replied.
    "You don't know? I'm Higure, the Still Wind, a ninja from Kamigawa. And nezumi are rats. Rats," he said, letting the last word sink in before speaking again.
    "Also, the smoke bomb was to distract the nezumi guards—as you can see, I warped here while I was throwing it. All I care about is getting back to my employer, Konda, with the head of the leading nezumi. Alas, I think you cannot help one like me; for if I cannot get out of this situation, no one can."
    "Don't be so sure. I think I could transport you back to Kami-whatsitsface easily. You warped through a portal in the time-space continuum. The portals seem to be placed in each individual plane of reality, and are collectively known as the Stofer Interface. Lately there have been sightings of a huge monster in all of the portals connecting to Kamigawa at one time or another," I said, thinking of my Stofer-triggering woodchip.
    "I understand almost none of that, but if you claim to be able to transport me back..." he said.
    "Just teach me how to use shuriken and dart guns, and you've got a deal," I replied, looking to surprise my enemies with a weapon that doesn't involve charging them head-on.
    "I don't often beg people for things—in fact, I never have—but I guess I will have to. The plain and simple truth of throwing shuriken is to throw them with a flick of your wrist. You can also use them as close-combat weapons and to carve darts. The standard type of dart is about an inch long with a half-inch wingspan. They usually have a metal tip, are either hollow with a poison chamber or have poison dabbed onto the tip, and can be shot from a blowgun. Larger varieties can be thrown. Now, take this dart gun, these three shuriken, these darts, and this poison bottle. Now, can I finish the job," he said with surprising calmness.
    I raised my hyper-woodchip into the air. In the moonless night, it shone with a many-colored brightness, emanating a pure, flowing sound.
    "Is this the doing of the Myojin?" the ninja asked with awe.
    "What Myojin? No, I don't think so," I replied. He immediately stopped being in awe of the Stofer Chip and disappeared.