Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 2 Chapter 2a: Akatsuki/Dawn

[Rain Yupa]

The Players

Scorpion Clan
Shosuro Miyako, Shosuro Actor (Tei Kae)
Dangerous Beauty; Bland; Voice

Notable NPCs
Heichi Tamafune, Boar Clan Courtier
Heichi Sumie, Boar Clan Courtier
Heichi Ninsei, Boar Clan Magistrate
Heichi Shizugai, Boar Clan Daimyo
Heichi Omiko, Daimyo's younger sister
Agasha Ryuden, Dragon Clan Envoy  

[Rain Yupa]

Shosuro Miyako would soon hear birds chirping, the first sensory input that pierced the darkness that she would last remember.

More sounds came next. Voices, footsteps... the world seemed very busy around her, and she couldn't place why. That is, until her eyes would be open, and a dozen spears would be pointed at her.

"Identify thyself, stranger! How didst thou cometh into the city? How doth ye evade the sentries?"

Miyako would be sprawled out at the base of the fountain in the center of a city - and not one she had left the night before, but a living, bustling one, full of very alive (and very armed) people.  

[Tei Kae]

Her head felt like what she'd imagine the pounding stone in her grandfather's house felt like after a batch of mochi being made and one hand lifted to her head as if to keep it from falling off her head only to hear a loud and authoritative voice.

Blinking, she tried to look up at the guy and hoped that the bright light would soon fade. "S..Shosuro Miyako." She had no idea what was going on exactly, but she needed to find out so she could figure out what was going on. "I'm not sure how I got here. As you can see, I was passed out..."

[Ettiquette/Awareness7k4+ 3 for sincerity + 5 on all contest social rolls
Free Raise to sound as innocent and helpless as is reasonable without being suspicious about it all. = 39  

[Rain Yupa]

"Shosuro? So ye dost hail from Scorpion lands? Prithee, what dost ye want hither, in our city?" the man, who seemed dressed like a samurai - though poorly dressed at that, as his clothes bore no resemblance to any clan you've seen nor style that anyone would ever be caught out in public wearing - inquired.

"We naught hath dealings with the Scorpion 'fore. Trow thy motivations for sneaking within... nary I mention thine sleeping habits, maiden," said a second, who seemed to have equally bizarre tastes in clothing.

Though everyone seemed to laugh. The half dozen or so spears were still present and aimed more at you than anyone else, but they didn't seem like they were going to stab you QUITE yet anymore.  

[Tei Kae]

Miyako thought quickly, trying to puzzle her way out of all this...craziness. "I am from Otasan Uchi. I'm not sure where I am now though, but I can try and figure out what I'm doing here if you can tell me where here is?" She tried to inquire politely and wondering if this is what Kojiro felt like most of the time.

"I was traveling...somewhere..."

[Acting/Awareness 8k4 to pretend she doesn't remember the exact details without actually lying =44]
Free Raise from Voice for sounding confused  

[Tei Kae]

[Second explode-y]  

[Rain Yupa]

"Hath thou taken a leave of thy senses? Doth ye fail to realize ye be in Shiro Heichi, castle and home of the Boar?" a woman would ask, seemingly unsure of this stranger.

"Nay, ye knowst how the Great Clans nary consider our existence; we are beneath them," another samurai said to her.

"What dost be wrong with thine dialect, maiden? Thou speaketh in a most unusual fashion..." a younger but no less stranger man would say to Miyako.  

[Tei Kae]

[Intelligence/Lore Boar or Shiro Heichi Void to use it as a skill= 11]

Straining her brain, she tried to piece together things. As far as she knew, that city was the same as the name as the one she'd been in before the girl came. As someone commented on her dialect, she frowned even more. Even for someone completely rustic, she shouldn't sound that odd.

"Pray pardon, good sir. I think I may have hit my head quite hard." And only hoped it was good enough to allay his fears about her accent.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Lore: Boar Clan

Miyako's knowledge of the Boar is very limited - mainly due to the facts in the history books being very limited. They were a vassal family of the Crab that had become a minor clan, and they were situated in the Twilight Mountains.

Oh, and they were wiped out completely, the entire clan supposidly eraticated, over 600 years ago.

That's about all she knows.  

[Tei Kae]

Now Miyako loved a good story as much as the next person, but the idea...the sheer audacity of this one would have had her laughing anyone who told it to her out of the room so it wasn't likely Miyako would ever share this with anyone. So for a moment, she just gaped, thankfully not slack jawed and looked more like she was about to pass out again.

So until she figured out what to do...

She just tried to get her bearings and stand, if the men would let her, keeping her weapons near for comfort but not reaching for them. "This is incredible..." She muttered, not quite as quietly as she could have. "The Boar Clan...such stories I've heard..." Still not quite believing this for reality, she was taking this for a very vivid dream in which her love of stories was making things very ...fun.  

[Rain Yupa]

As Miyako stood, the weapons, albeit generously, followed her movements, as if she was still some sort of dangerous phantom or demon or witch. That is to say, until...

Quote:

"This is incredible... The Boar Clan...such stories I've heard..."

THAT seemed to get their weapons pulled back.

"Aye, the Scorpion Clan doth trow us as worthy peers?"

"I trow the Emperor's chosen underhand canst speak obvious truths!"

A laughter from the gathered crowd.

"I nary believe she poses us danger. Let us be along."

"A confusing lass, but let our patrol taketh us to tasks of greater import."

"Nary be a nuisance, maiden, lest the Incredible Boar learn thee a few new stories."

A bit more laughter, before the armed Boar samurai would wander off. A crowd still gathered around, gawking and whispering about the strangely dressed, strangely spoken Scorpion woman who just showed up in the center of their city.  

[Tei Kae]

As usual, her truthful nature threw people off and Miyako had to smile to herself just a little. Perhaps the spirits had infected her dreams but if this was a dream, why not enjoy it a little. "Of course, good sirs." Bowing slightly in respect for their healthy number of weapons that could so very easily make her unhealthy, she managed to hide the smile when it threatened to overcome her. Besides, it would do her no harm to show respect to a past that had made it into the history books even if it was because of their death. Of course she wasn't a threat. A Scorpion was but a simple bug.

But once the show was over, she glanced around and wished she'd paid more attention to her sobo and her strange ramblings. Well, she wasn't being held anywhere, so...might as well as see how far she could get. With that in mind, she started walking, her intent to see how far up the totem pole she could get and find out about. She was polite as she walked about, seeing what she could see, and also looked out for the little girl.  

[Rain Yupa]

Well, which is more important to Miyako? Getting the lay of the land, or finding the pigtailed little girl?

Because she's right there, as part of the crowd near the fountain observing the strange Scorpion woman. Though, her garb seems to match the green and dark blue that everyone else wore, rather than the white outfit from last night.  

[Tei Kae]

Miyako of course had to do a double take. Nothing in life was that easy, was it? She'd just been planning on walking around until she figured out what she could do, but there the girl was. Thankfully, she didn't seem as 'urgent' as last night which was somewhat of a good thing if disconcerting. As much as she loved her father, he was very superstitious and as such, she knew quite a few things and with her mind not quite so addled, she could think a bit clearer.

Which meant little girl was either a ghost if this was real, but that would mean she was either in the middle of a practical joke or had managed to skip through time somehow or she was in the middle of a dream and someone was going to die. Which she really hoped it wasn't her. Once again, she cursed the fact she'd never picked up fortune telling. But there wasn't much she could do at the moment...

...with that in mind, Miyako decided instead to get the lay of the land and see if the girl 'conveniently' turned up again.  

[Rain Yupa]

As Miyako began to wander, no, she would not see the little girl again. Though every couple minutes, she would see a small group of samurai or peasants who seemed to be watching her and whispering... well, more like gossiping amongst each other. No one actually approaching Miyako yet, but she rarely went unnoticed.

Dangerous Beauty doesn't help in this regard, causing Miyako to get a bit of attention from the men of the city.

As she wanders about, she notes several buildings that would be typical to any city - shrines, inns, homes, a couple restaurants, a marketplace... none of it, in of itself, out of the ordinary. A lot of the decorations she saw were rather simplistic and crude, and would make any artisan she knew cringe.

It seemed somewhat familiar to her, though she might or might not be able to place why or how.

Though, she definitely was in the Twilight Mountains still - that view has not changed, and the same peaks she saw towards the end of her journey are still in view, almost completely unchanged.