Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 2 Chapter 2: Shuuki/Cycle

[Rain Yupa]

The Players

Crab Clan
Kaiu Kagae, Kaiu Engineer (Mongooseh)
Clear Thinker, Higher Purpose; Anti-social x2


Dragon Clan
Kitsuki Masuyo, Tamori Shugenja (Paidi tou Selini)
Bland, Higher Purpose, Magic Resistance; Frail Mind, Soft Hearted


Lion Clan


Scorpion Clan
Bayushi Kojiro, Bayushi Bushi (Plainsfox)
Bland; Dangerous Beauty; Bitter Betrothal; Driven; Lost Love; Obligation; Phobia (Ocean); Wrath of the Kami (Water)


Notable NPCs
Kuni Tomiji, Shugenja of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Yasuki Namiyo, Courtier of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Hida Sozui, Bushi of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Hida Daisetsu, Bushi of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Hida Noriyori, Bushi of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Kaiu Ichizo, Taisa of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro
Kaiu Hideaki, Rikugunshokan of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro  

[Rain Yupa]

Year 1151, 3rd Day of the Month of the Horse

It has been three days since the Jade Wardens left Kuwagatamushi Mura - the heat was unbearable for the beginning of the travel, but as the group would follow the road to the destination of Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro, or Razor of the Dawn Castle, the sky would gradually darken. Dark thunderclouds rolled in and Osano-Wo yelled his arrival to the earth for all to hear. The heat broke, and the wardens would make it to the shelter of the castle only shortly after the downpour began.

Kamisori sano Yoake Shiro: The northwestern edge of the Kaiu wall is anchored here, a stout rock of a fortress squeezed between two steep hills. Shadowlands attacks are rarer at the Razor of the Dawn than elsewhere, and troops quartered here serve mainly as reservists. Samurai from other Clans looking to make a name for themselves are often stationed at Razor of the Dawn, as the Crab are loath to permit outsiders deeper into their defenses. The terrain around the castle makes it an ideal location to launch missions into the Shadowlands, so Hiruma scouts frequent it.

Denbe, Miyako: Neither of you have likely ever been in a Crab Castle before. You come from an Empire and a civilization that's very artistic, and sees beauty in almost all things. And this castle is... well...

Sparse.

It's a solid structure, no doubt, and you can see how ANY military force or Shadowlands army would have difficulty doing ANY amount of surmountable damage to this place. And it's one of the Crab's weaker positions. But what it boasts in defensive capabilities and functionalities, it lacks in any sort of decoration or commodity. It is cold, dark, dank, barren, lifeless, desolate, boring, drab, dull, and infuriatingly martial. Not to mention, one of you nearly step on what would be described in modern days as a bear trap, that is just laying armed and waiting in one of the hallways.

Kojiro: You've been to Yasuki lands, which are a lot like Crane lands except less cheery. This is nothing like Yasuki lands.

Kagae: Dude! It's friggin' Razor of the Dawn Castle. You love this place!

With the rainstorm starting, the voices of various samurai seem to quiet down as many take shelter inside. Some choose to remain outside and continue their drills, while others remain on the parapets on guard duty - one Clan enduring the rain more stoically than the rest.

There are Samurai here of all most major Clans, though most of them seem to be keeping to their own Clan-based cliques. A distinct lack of courtiers, as well. But the demographic is, without a doubt, majority Crab. Rather than ignoring you in favor of their friends, they simply seem to be focused on whatever duties they are attending to. Some are leading you in, but they are otherwise unremarkable and not particularly communicative.

Not a fan of railroad plot, I'll let all of you decide what you might want to do in the meantime. They will provide you lodging, but the Rikugunshokan (General) in charge of the castle will not be able to see your group until morning. Your penalties from the unbearable heat exhaustion will be gone by then.

Now, go off and play, lest I throw waves of NPCs at you!  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae's face lit up the moment he saw the fort and practically danced his way there merrily avoiding traps. Once inside he found somewhere safe to dump his travel pack and retrieved his wicker umbrella before continuing his joyful dance walk to the battlements.

If one could listen hard enough you could hear, "Squeeeeeee." coming from kagae.  

[Tei Kae]

Once they reached the castle, Miyako was actually using her fans for their normal purpose, fanning herself. She glanced around and sighed; she was never going to see real society again was she? Forcing a smile to her face, she was polite as ever and looked to her two remaining companions for direction. "I suppose we see if anyone knows what's going on?"  

[Plainsfox]

@Razor of the Dawn Castle

Weary shouldered, Kojiro would give an exasperated look and mutter under his breath..."We told you so, Kagae-tan...come along, it'll be fun, but no...." "A bit more brightly Kojiro would nod to his traveling companion, Shosuro Miyako, Aye. I'm willing to try the Yasuki if you're willing to try the Crane. Perhaps we should both see the resident Scorpions together?"

With that, Kojiro would turn to the final member of their party, Ujina Denbe. "Do you have anyone you can see here, Denbe-san? I don't mean to leave you out, and you're more than welcome to come with me when I call upon the Yasuki."  

[Psychofish]

"I have a brother married to one of the Toritaka," Denbe said, already expecting he wouldn't have much luck finding any Hare. "I might see if I can find anyone who might be familiar with he or his wife. If not, then I suppose I shall."

He'd start by looking for the Hare despite his doubts- but failing that, Denbe was hoping to see some sign of someone who might have come from the same village his sibling now lived in.

If he had no signs of anyone he might have had such a connection to to work from, he'd return to Kojiro.

[5k2 Perception/Investigation(Notice): 24]  

[Psychofish]

[Boom: 15]  

[Plainsfox]

"I should check amongst the Unicorn too..." Kojiro pondered. My brother, Kazuhiko is married to an Utaku. They might be willing to tell me something, perhaps..." Kojiro said before Denbe left to attempt to find his relations.


"Right..." the Scorpion bushi said as he awaited response from Miya-chan.  

[Tei Kae]

That would earn Kojiro a quirk of the eyebrows, but she supposed she couldn't be that self absorbed. There was no way he could remember why she hated Cranes so much. And she was related. So...

"I believe my grandfather might have some relatives in this direction so I can do that, but I would definitely like to see what is going on with our Clan soon as well." and with that, she moved about the room gracefully as one could as a wilted flower, her fan fluttering charmingly about her face.  

[Plainsfox]

Did he miss something? The Scorpion wondered as little Miya-chan gave him the same look he expected someone would get if they were seen eating cooked meat. The look passed though. If Denbe returned, Kojiro would inform him that they were off to see the other Scorpions. If not, Kojiro would merely follow Miyako to see their clanmates.  

[Rain Yupa]

Kagae would go out and play in the rain! Whereas, everyone else tried to dig up family roots.

However, they would learn that this was a bit out of the way, an "out in the boonies" castle, where only very martial families (with a lower-case f) send young samurai who are all too eager to prove themselves in battle. None of your backgrounds indicate that you have a strong militaristic family, so I'm going to say that you don't find any relatives here.

I'm going to make 3 Heraldry rolls for each of you, on behalf of various NPCs: 3k2, 4k2, then 4k3. If anyone gets a successful one, then they'll know someone that you know.

Kojiro (TN 65): 13, 18, 26. Failure.
Miyako (TN 65): 20, 32, 18. Failure.
Denbe (TN 50): 10, 36, 7. Failure.

After some hunting around, though, Denbe finds there is actually no Toritaka here, at all. Or, for what it's worth, no minor clan representatives at all. Sad face.

There are Scorpions present, though, like everyone else, they tend to keep to themselves. This might be voluntary, or it might be as a result of social outcasting (haters gonna hate). But they are all new faces, and no one of any great import. You do get the impression that this will be a recurring theme for almost any non-Crab samurai hanging around, though.

@ Kagae: Is there anything you want to do besides soak up the ambiance?

@ All those Not-Kagaes: The darkness from the storm clouds soon darkens further as evening begins to settle in, as all this poking around has eaten up the remainder of your afternoon. Is there anything any of you wanted to do besides just look up acquaintances? Other than learning why Glory is important?  

[Plainsfox]

@ Razor of Dawn Castle

There had to be someone here who knew something. Since there were no relations here they could presume upon, Kojiro drew upon his latent Yasuki sense to attempt to guide them. Information was a commodity, as all Scorpions knew, and there had to be someone here who controlled it among this castle.

OOC:
Spending Void Point for Commerce: 1
Rolling Awareness/Commerce 4k3 w/ 2 dice for explosions
Results: 29  

[Psychofish]

That didn't seem to leave a vast amount of time, but Denbe was already talking to people, including the Crab whom had time to see him, about various things, so he concluded he might as well use those introductions to his advantage. Where conversation sprang up beyond the short introductions and courtesies to see whom might know his name, he'd take the chance to try and find any enthusiasts of the martial arts.

He figured the Crab for the most likely targets of this, but if someone else was interested, he certainly would talk to them as well.

And once talk was going he'd move onto one of his fond memories from the tournament- the Jiujutsu Competition, expanding on the tournament as a whole, but especially his own feats, with plenty of respect paid to his personal opponents, Kuni Raicho in particular. It was fun, to talk about the Hare's unusual jiujutsu style- and he'd gladly perform a bit at any requests or remarks of disbelief, mimicking flips and kicks at the air. And while he might not have been known this time, perhaps it might make his name spread a little- or win him a few friends locally. One never knew when a friend could come in handy.

[1 Void Spent for +1k1 worth of display to go with his tale.]
[5k4 Awareness/Storytelling(Public Bragging): 23 vs TN 20]
[Subject Matter: Denbe's Victory in the Jiujutsu Competition.]  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kojiro:

Kojiro would begin asking about for Yasuki contacts, getting a lot of redirects from various (and suspicious) Crab - however, if someone wished to do business with the merchants of the Crab, they'd only be helping themselves by helping Kojiro.

Eventually, he would be turned towards a chamber of one samurai, a woman named Yasuki Namiyo - a gruff looking woman who had a slight but toned build, and a very masculine appearance. "Why, what do we have here?" she would greet him with a sly grin as Kojiro would step into the room. Hopping up upon her table, she would turn to face Kojiro, armored legs hanging off the edge and crossed. Her short black hair would not hide the piercing, bright blue gaze she gave him, as she leaned back on one hand upon her newfound sitting surface.

"Are you one of the new recruits trying to be my consort? I've never had a Scorpion try to get into my kimono before..." She would ever so casually draw out a tanto, and began to dexterously flick it between her fingers, rolling the serrated blade so casually it was like she didn't even realize she was doing it.

--------------------

@ Denbe:

Denbe finds some off-duty Crabs, and despite their generally brutish reputation, they are surprisingly laid-back! The biggest congregation of Crabs are in the mess hall, sitting down for a hot meal (which they will offer Denbe if he felt so inclined).

His story is well received by his audience, and as such, Denbe receives an additional point of Glory! He also hears tales of various samurai in their number making contributions on the wall, great battles that they have participated in and their own glorious moments. Some were of slaying oni and other shadowlands monstrosities; another had a tale of a sake house full of bog hags and his lucky survival; yet another involved saving the life of an officer of great import during an ambush; that sort of thing.

Stories that PROBABLY make Denbe a little uneasy, as such talk is generally viewed poorly by the rest of the Empire (though it's not actually dishonorable, since it focuses on them and their victories over the Shadowlands, rather than showcasing the Shadowlands itself). Whether they know these facts or not, it doesn't seem to deter them any.

--------------------

@ Miyako:

((NPC get!))

Miyako would try to track down her fellow Scorpion - and, truth be told, they were fairly hard to pin down. She is told that there are about three, all Bayushi, on premises, but apparently they don't like to be found in their downtime. No one actually seems to know where their quarters are.

Though, at one point, Miyako seems to gain a tag-along. A large, portly Hida with a fairly stupid looking demeanor and poor personal upkeep and bathing habits. He seems genuinely curious about Miyako, and seems intent on learning what she is looking for.

--------------------

@ Kagae:

((NPC get!))

While prancing across the battlements, Kagae does almost bump into one samurai donning his clan's colors. A deathly frail samurai about ten years his elder. He was unarmored, and carried both a scroll case satchel and facial kabuki-styled warpaint. With sunken eyes, his gaze remained focused on Kagae as this Kuni barred his path. For now, he said nothing.  

[Plainsfox]

The Scorpion returned her grin with a cautious one as he felt very much like he just wandered into a predator's lair and bowed in greeting. " I'm sure that's just a side effect of this castle's location and that had you been posted closer to the Scorpion border, you would be beating us off with a naginata. I 'm not a new recruit, however. I am Bayushi Kojiro, a samurai acting under the orders of the Jade Magistrate, Kuni Raicho." The bushi then struck a relaxed pose as he straightened, and hoped he could maintain cool composure. "My assignment involves a man that may have passed through here on his own mission. I've heard that you were the one to talk to regarding what goes on in this castle."

OOC:
Awareness/Courtier (Political Maneuvering) to determine Namiyo's exact place in the power structure at this castle. 5k3+2 w/3 dice for explosions.
Results: 37
Raises: 1 to help determine her unofficial place in the power structure here as well.

Awareness/Etiquette to flatter Namiyo.
Results: 30