L5R - Cartographers - Crane Lands, Ezura Province

[Rain Yupa]

@ Tsuyoshi:

"Please, great samurai, get inside, quickly! You're in great danger!" one of the farmers said with urgency, as the peasants cleared room for Tsuyoshi to enter.

Do you enter their hut, Tsuyoshi?  

[Psychofish]

Tsuyoshi hesitated, glancing outside and around looking for whatever was frightening them. Assuming he didn't see anything immediately alarming or out of place, he'd step inside after them, frowning slightly, hand shifting on his polearm.

"What danger? What's going on?" He asked, glancing from the peasants to the doors or windows again.

[4k3 Perception/Investigation[(Notice): 16 (See OOC)]  

[GustyFox]

--I'm not familiar with the Chado, but indeed sounds like we might have the amount of time to walk a few steps into learning it. If there are any books about it, or anything else here...

Chirahu was waiting to explore the rooms, hoping some of the previous visitor had left a book behind. As much as the tea ceremony, any reading material would go along very well with the rain outside. Yet, at this very momento, her legs were still too tired of the climbing.

The shugenja sat on floor, searchig her backpack while mentioning:

--I'm glad the monk didn't seem too upset at m- us. Being welcomed in a site to Ebisu is very important.

She got some scrolls from her pack, searching if any had instructions for a Tea Ceremony:

--How do Miya-sama feel about the storm?  

[Paidi tou Selini]

"Mm? Why would she be upset? This place is clearly designed to have visitors." Ayame responded with a little laugh, before nodding her agreement to the returning monk and going to the table to sit. After the hike to get up here, the offer to sit and drink was more than welcome.

"Mmhm. Just so," she addressed the monk next, stretching and rubbing the ache out of her legs. "The Destroyers have reshaped the lands themselves, and enough has changed and shuffled around that the Emperor has granted me the solemn task of redrawing our great maps."

"Mm?" she tilted her head, turning back to Chirahu, "Well, it sounds like it's going to be a rough one. And the timing is quite unfortunate, right at the start of our journey, but I'm glad we have shelter from it. I think with the monumental task ahead of us, some delays are to be expected. No matter the hardships, I am determined to see this through to the end!"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Chiharu & Ayame:

Hanako would sit patiently by the ro, and give a dismissive wave with one hand towards Chiharu. "Why would I be upset? As Miya-san indicates, guests are the point, but only those who are willing to commit to the endeavor of making the hike. Ebisu blessed this site to ensure it graces anyone who earns it. This isn't a bad time of the year either, since the air is cool but not cold; it makes the springs that much more invigorating to experience." She would let out a sigh. "I'm just sorry that this storm arrived when it did, preventing its usage. It's equally a pity that strapping young lad you had with you earlier did not stay; I definitely wouldn't have traveled to Efude in this weather, that's for sure, but I'm sure he's well aware of the danger there."

The monk would then look quizzically at both samurai-ko. While her voice would only carry a note of confusion and not alarm, she would ask, "War? Destroyers?"

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

@ Tsuyoshi:

You do see something out of place ("alarming" I'll let you decide for yourself), so as instructed in your post, you remain standing outside the door, which seems to frustrate the peasants.

Looking where they indicate, there was a young girl, probably less than ten years of age, wearing all white and soaked completely to the bone. Her long black hair hung downward, hiding her face at this distance. Damp leaves, undoubtedly carried by the stormy winds, clung to her legs and arms.

She was facing your direction Tsuyoshi, though she remained stationary. You hadn't taken notice of her before, but you definitely see her now.

Thunder would crash.  

[Psychofish]

[2k2 Intelligence/Lore: Ghosts: 2+5=7 to determine if Tsuyoshi knows why the girl might be frightening.]  

[Rain Yupa]

Tsuyoshi, you can't tell if the person you're seeing is just someone that's an outcast, starving and destitute... or a g-g-g-ghost. You've definitely never seen a g-g-g-ghost before, so... maybe?

You're not even sure how to tell ghosts from non-ghosts, unless they're like... ending your life. It's probably been a good number of years before you gave ghost stories any serious thought.  

[GustyFox]

Chiharu nods lowering her eyes and hiding some embarrassment:

—No reason, no reason to be upset, I'm just glad we didn't disrupted her duties too much.

Back to a more formal expression Chiharu would briefly agree with the Imperial. It would be hard to foresee the duration of a taks such as the one the Miya had in hands.

The shugenja kept silent after the monk´s question.  

[Psychofish]

Tsuyoshi stares a moment, looking uncertain at the... well, that was certainly a lot like what ghosts looked like, wasn't it? He certainly wasn't trained to deal with one, and only tried (poorly) to recall the stories of how one took care of them without a monk or shugenja about. He was pretty sure he couldn't arrest it though.

Oh, and he stepped quickly back behind the door, helping the peasants close it.

He frowned a moment, reminding himself that even a samurai who knew better than to face down a ghost didn't have to be scared of it (yup, definitely not, nope), before looking at one of the peasants.

"How long has that been appearing?"  

[Paidi tou Selini]

"I- ...you haven't-? Dear Kami, how long have you been alone up here? A gaijin god was given a black scroll, and used Jigoku's power to unleash an army of metal demons we've come to call Destroyers on all of Rokugan. It was a conflict to shake the earth and reshape the heavens. Have you not heard of its conclusion either? That the Dark Kami is no more, and Daigotsu has taken his place as Lord of Jigoku, along with the instatement of the Spider as a Great Clan and promise to the Emperor that the taint can no longer be afflicted upon the unwilling?" Give a scholar the chance to expose and you were asking for a handful. She might have gone on even further, the excitement of education filling her every fiber, but her mind couldn't help but catch on a little piece of worry first. "Wait, danger? What danger?"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Ayame & Chiharu:

"Oh my, that does sound intense," the old woman would say in an exasperated tone. "Well, it's been, what, three or four years since I had anyone visit the hotsprings? It's rather peaceful here so it's easy to lose track of the time at my age. Although, the company is still appreciated."

The kettle would begin to steam and whistle as it was brought to a boil. "Oh, excuse me," she would say, getting up with surprising spryness and hurry to go get the cups and leaves for tea, which she would bring out on a tray to the table. Taking the kettle off the burner, she would place it near the cups as she would scoop the tea leaves into them. "As for your question, I've always heard that Efude was haunted, and that the specter appears whenever it rains... but that handsome Magistrate friend of yours undoubtedly knew about it, so I'm sure he's safe. He planned to leave right away, didn't he?"

Hanako would then pour the steaming water into the cups for Ayame and Chiharu.

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

@ Tsuyoshi:

"We've only been here a couple weeks, sir," one peasant would say. "It's rained twice before and she appeared each time. She's definitely not one of ours."

"No one is willing to approach her. No one wants to die," another would explain.

Now that Tsuyoshi was safe, the peasants would back away from the door and windows, instead nervously turning to the small fire they had created to help stave off the early spring nighttime chill.

"On the plus side, she doesn't come inside any of the houses. She waits outside until the rain stops, then she disappears. We'll be fine if we just wait her out," the second peasant explained further.  

[Psychofish]

Tsuyoshi didn't move away from the door when the peasants did, looking from them to the door with a frown and thinking on this for a moment. It looked like a girl to him... but then again it looked like a girl hitting each of the signs he'd always been told indicated a ghost. If there was a way to be sure, to tell them apart, he couldn't recall it. And even if it was a ghost, he thought about the storm- if it was a spring storm, there was no telling how long it might last. The rains could be gone in hours, or last the entirety of the next day. That would leave the horse and captive unfed, not to mention the latter having a chance to break free without being checked upon. At best a long storm would mean delays, and potentially not making it back to Miya-sama again on time after delivering the prisoner.

That was, if he allowed it to keep him trapped in here the whole time.

"No one has approached her, nor has anyone been harmed?" he asked, figuring terrible as a ghost could be they couldn't ALL be aggressive, and couldn't all want him dead that badly. But also it was only two weeks. As unlikely as it seemed a girl would appear only to seek shelter during the rain itself, it was a possibility...

He looked at the peasants settling down to wait the night, an odd mix of fear and calm, in their safety via resignation to being trapped.

That did not appeal to the bushi.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Tsuyoshi:

"No, samurai-sama," the peasants would tell Tsuyoshi, and repeating their answer to his second question.  

[GustyFox]

Chiharu seems suddenly curious about the ghost story, yet not exactly confortable with the idea of a ghost nearby:

—Ahn...haunted by...who?  

[Psychofish]

Tsuyoshi nodded to what they said, frowning and tapping his foot uneasily, thinking of the ghost, or girl, or probably ghost, outside. The prudent thing to do was probably to wait, to avoid the problem he was not sure he was equipped for and hope that it would sort itself out and not interfere with his duty or last too long. If, if, if. Sitting and hoping. He was trapped in here by it, like a coward, and that and the idea that he was ignoring something that could be a serious problem for his task, or even his charge, later ate at him as he sat with the peasants, slowly growing more agitated.

Tsuyoshi made it maybe fifteen minutes before he put a hand to the door.

"Stay inside, I will let you know after if it is safe."

The bushi stepped outside of the hut, closing the door behind himself so as not to put the peasants at risk by giving the ghost some manner of invitation in. With a deep breath he lowered his hand away from his hilt, trying not to make a threatening posture as he carefully approached within a short shouting distance of the ghost, enough to be clearly heard even over the rain, assuming it did not move first. He thought there was supposed to be someway to recognize a ghost, or to tell what they wanted, but he couldn't recall too well- just that they definitely wanted... something?

"Hello," he called out in greetings, trying not to think about how wet he was getting or wonder how quickly ghosts moved if he did end up needing to draw. "What are you looking for here? If you are in need of shelter from the rain, there is "