Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 1: Atsumari/Gathering

[Rain Yupa]

@ Scorpion Tent:

Kojiro would proceed to unpack his things. Not far away was a Soshi woman, who had arrived very recently. Clothed in black robes embroidered with red. Despite being the middle of the spring, and it being warm, she wore her robes a bit looser than what might arguably be proper. Whether or not Kojiro would call her on that would be up to him; however, she has a very seductive quality to her. Another problem came with her mask; a veil over just her eyes, woven like black spiderwebs that made it nearly impossible to see through from the outside. 'My eyes are up here' was kind of difficult to enforce when one's eyes were completely hidden.

"Hmm?" she would ask, looking up from the chest that she was loading her things into. "Oh, dear me, no. I'm more of a lover than a fighter. I'm going to speak at the debate. Thought about playing in the Go tournament, but I haven't played since I was a child."

Closing the chest, she would stand straight up and place a hand on her hip, eyeing(?) Kojiro up and down. "I don't believe I know of you. You definitely carry yourself like a Bayushi. Not that that's a... bad thing..."

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@ Crab Tent:

By the time Kagae arrived, there was already someone from his Clan in the tent. A woman, sleeping in her bed, several scrolls and books strewn about. Upon examination, she probably fell asleep studying. In one hand, she clutches a finger of jade tightly.

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@ Daidoji Training Grounds:

"Dueling, eh? I'll be interested in seeing what the Kakita have brought to bear this year!"

Turning around, Zanzen would see a man in his late twenties, grinning broadly. Tanned skin and fair hair, the bright-eyed man clearly wore a kimono of the Unicorn Clan colors. He would bow immediately upon catching Zanzen's attention.

"My name is Ide Jiro, though you may call me friend, if you'd like. I myself am not competing in the martial duel, but I'm curious about the competition gathered here thus far. Would you care to sit down with me for a cup of tea before the festivities begin?"

A Perception/Investigation (Notice) roll vs TN 10 would inform Zanzen that not far off, there is a white-haired courtier from his Clan observing the exchange with disdain.  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae after finishing preparing his armour and also donning it except for the helmet. He had also placed his Katana to one side so he could sit down if he needed to. Noticing the nest of paper Kagae leaned in to see if he could read any of the scroll and titles of the books.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

He would bow in return. "Kakita Zanzen of the Koriyuka."

The Crane raised a brow softly. "Perhaps in a bit. It seems that you draw interest from someone. I believe I should speak with him first. As a Crane to another. I wish you well in whatever contest you participate in." Taking his leave, Zanzen would approach the Courtier.

With a bow, he spoke. "Kakita Zanzen of the Koriyuka."  

[Plainsfox]

@Scorpion Tent

"I carry myself as the Bayushi I am most suited to be. I would say you carry yourself like a Bayushi as well... Bayushi Kachiko." Kojiro bowed respectfully. "I am Bayushi Kojiro of the Trail's Respite Village. Since you have been here longer than I have, perhaps you could favor me with your observations on various contestants in the duel, Lady Soshi? I would be indebted to you, ofcourse."  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Crab Tent:

The girl would stir beneath her blankets, but not wake. The scrolls are components for shugenja to cast their spells from. The books are various subjects and topics. By the looks of things, she was up all night preparing for today.

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@ Daidoji Training Grounds:

"It is fine, it is fine. Perhaps another time, then! If you excuse me, I'll be off to see if I can track down that Lioness I saw earlier." With a playful wink, he would grin and part ways with Zanzen.

The young Kakita would make his way over to the Clansmen that was watching from a distance and introduce himself. "Well met, Zanzen of the Koriyuka. I am Doji Koan, courtier of the Crane, and I've come to make sure that one of our own wins this competition." Koan would bow in return, though the attempt would almost seem half-hearted.

The white-haired young man would look in the direction the Ide had disappeared off to, frowning. He definitely had an air of confidence and superiority about him, and right now, Zanzen was about the only thing not getting on Koan's nerves.

"Be careful who you associate with, young Kakita. The other Great Clans have undoubtably sent spies and saboteurs to sow chaos into our ranks. If we stand by our training, we won't find ourselves disillusioned by their trickery. We need to watch each other's backs, you and I."

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@ Scorpion Tent:

The scorpion woman would pull out a fan and cool herself with it, hiding a smirk behind the paper folds. "You honor me, Bayushi Kojiro. I am Soshi Maru, up-and-coming shugenja sent by our Daimyo to help us win this tournament. There is one more, but I expected him here already..." Snapping the fan shut, Maru would throw a glance(?) towards the tent's door, as if expecting someone to be there.

"You are mistaken, however. I have only just arrived. I cannot tell you much about who has already arrived; not yet, anyways. I can tell you about who I saw in Mura Sabishii Toshi that were preparing to leave around the same time I was. A Crab bushi, definitely Hida... A Dragon wielding a large polearm... and a Unicorn woman who was more patient than any Unicorn I've ever seen. There were more definitely others, but I did not get a good look at them."

She would take a few careful, meticulous steps closer to Kojiro, long clean legs protruding from beneath her kimono with every bit of distance she closed with him. "If you are truly indebted to me as you claim... whom have you observed?" Walking around the side of the bushi, Maru would whisper quietly, "If this keeps up, we may find ourselves in a... beautiful working relationship."

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@ Lion Tent:

Anything going on there?  

[Plainsfox]

@ The Scorpion Tent

Kojiro struggled fiercely to control his emotions. The bushi was sure that his face would be as red as the clan mon if he wasn't careful.

"Err..am..I saw a Crane duelist arriving. He kept one eye closed for some reason. You could tell there was still an eye in it. A..after that, I saw a Kitsu shugenja and her servant arrive. Both decidedly young." Kojiro swallowed and focused, allowing him to relay his observations without further stumbling.

"A Matsu bushi arrived after the shugenja did, and was wearing a patch over one of her eyes. She was easily taller than the Crab who followed her. I'm sure the Crab was not the same Crab you saw. I spotted the Kaiu mon on his armor as the event registration took place."

"Those were all I saw before I retired to this tent."  

[Agent Sinistra]

@ Lion Tent:

Keith Valken Lionheart

Seichiro would keep this up for quite a few minutes, doing gentle, quick strokes with his Katana, and would've kept it up if he didn't notice the woman watching him. He choked, and almost tripped and fell down. He put his katana back in the scabbard, and bowed down to her.

"I am sorry. I didn't know you were here, ma'am." He said this words with a serious, yet gentle and serene tone, one that didn't really fit a man that tall or a Matsu.

Kyumi had been startled by Seichiro's sudden break in concentration, and couldn't help but feel a bit flustered when she realized that she had been the cause.

"My deepest apologies! I-I didn't mean to disturb you!" She bowed deeply as she spoke. "I am Kitsu Kyumi... I would have introduced myself earlier, but you are... Difficult to approach." Kyumi glanced upward to the large Matsu man when she heard him speak to her in gentle tone rather than start to scold her.

"You have expert form. I couldn't help but watch while you were practicing..."  

[Raganui Minamoto]

@ Daidoji Training Grounds:

"You need not worry. I plan to win this. I will not bring shame to the Kakita Bushi school nor our name and Clan. Let them bring their tricks and dishonor themselves, I will persist with skill." He tilted his head slightly. "So, which competition are you in?"  

[Keith Valken Lionheart]

Agent Sinistra

@ Lion Tent:

Keith Valken Lionheart

Seichiro would keep this up for quite a few minutes, doing gentle, quick strokes with his Katana, and would've kept it up if he didn't notice the woman watching him. He choked, and almost tripped and fell down. He put his katana back in the scabbard, and bowed down to her.

"I am sorry. I didn't know you were here, ma'am." He said this words with a serious, yet gentle and serene tone, one that didn't really fit a man that tall or a Matsu.

Kyumi had been startled by Seichiro's sudden break in concentration, and couldn't help but feel a bit flustered when she realized that she had been the cause.

"My deepest apologies! I-I didn't mean to disturb you!" She bowed deeply as she spoke. "I am Kitsu Kyumi... I would have introduced myself earlier, but you are... Difficult to approach." Kyumi glanced upward to the large Matsu man when she heard him speak to her in gentle tone rather than start to scold her.

"You have expert form. I couldn't help but watch while you were practicing..."

"I am Matsu Seichiro, at your service, Kyumi-san." He gave her another deep bow, then would gesture for her to take a seat, if she wished to. "I am sorry, I'm not a man who is... very good with words. Plus, my height makes sure people won't approach me for conversation. It's both a blessing and a curse."

He would walk to his bag, taking out a small tea set for 2. "Would you be interested in some tea?" Regardless, he would start preparing some tea.  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae was always baffled by the spirituality needed to be a shugenja it seemed to rely on willpower rather than physics. Still it intrigued him how people could devote their lives to such things. He realised that if he let her sleep she may end up missing any events she signed up for and it would be nice to know if any other Crab clan are attending the event.

He willed the courage to wake the sleeping woman after a while, "Um... Excuse me.... I am Kaiu Kagae a Kaiu engineer and I was wondering... If you had signed up to any of the competitions going on and also that if any other Crab clan members are attending?"

He finished saying all of this and quickly remembered to bow, even if it was sudden and rigid, nearly forgetting all etiquette which was a result from his hermit ways.  

[Rain Yupa]

Everyone, while I get caught up and posts and determine which NPC is going where, can all of you give me a Raw Void Roll? That is, roll as many d10s as you have Void, and if you get any 10's, they explode as normal (roll and keep an additional d10, exploding again as long as you keep getting 10's).

This will determine lots for your respective competitions.

DM TIP: On simple rolls like this, you can roll multiple d10s (5 should do, I'd think), and just keep the first applicable, on the off chance you roll a 10. So if you normally roll 2d10, and you rolled 5 dice, you might get 7, 10, 1, 9, 5. That's 7 + 11 (10+1), the first ones in order, with an additional one kept cause of that 10. If it was 3k2, then it would have been 7 + 11 + 9 = 20.

EDIT: As Keith has demonstrated for us why I included the tip.  

[Mongooseh]

Raw void roll.  

[Plainsfox]

Raw Void Roll  

[Keith Valken Lionheart]

Void roll  

[Keith Valken Lionheart]

Exploding die roll: