Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 2 Chapter 2b: Mahiru/Midday

[Rain Yupa]

The Players

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


Hare Clan
Ujina Denbe, (Psychofish)
Clear Thinker; Bad Fortune (Allergy); Sworn Enemy; Unlucky x2


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 and Ujina Denbe would soon hear birds chirping, the first sensory input that pierced the darkness that they would last remember.

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

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

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

Miyako, you have a strong sense of déjà vu.  

[Tei Kae]

Miyako glanced around and noticed the Hare, and if it hadn't been for the dozen spears pointed at them, she might have even as gone so far as to hug him, a familiarity that she quite reserved. Instead, she glanced up and started putting things together in her own haphazard fashion. As well as their part in it. However, surprise was always one of the best advatages for a Scorpion to have.

"Minest name tis Shosuro Miyako and my companion tis my yojimbo, Shosuro Denbe who has lost his mask on our journey. We are here to see Heichi Shizuga, Daimyo of the Boar Clan." She smiled, standing as best she was able. "If he isth not immediately available, then Heichi Ninsei will do."She paused long enough for Denbe to gather himself together and gave him a look that said he better not argue with anything she said or she'd slit his throat herself. Women can do that without an intimidate roll on those they know, after all. xp

She paused, thinking. "Actually, if we could refresh ourselves first, that would be most appreciated."

Courtier/Awareness (Manipulation)= 7k4+3 +1k0 + 5 = 8k4 + 8 =41 with Free Raise to convince him they were supposed to be here and nothing was untoward.  

[Psychofish]

The Hare expected fire. Shouts or panic. He expected something of urgency or importance. His mind was on edge like dancing along a knife, until the black overwhelming him turned everything into a softly fading nothing, that little girl's face and the last of his thoughts becoming the final backdrop as he seemed more to slip to sleep than be suddenly swept off toward Miyako.

A bird chirped.

His senses swam, a small throb between his eyes as the world suddenly flooded in around him in a growing cascade, like he'd passed under a waterfall separating waking from sleep, and his eyes snapped open. What had happened? Hadn't the girl been meant to lead him toward Miyako? Had he been attacked from behind after all?

His hand clenched, looking for her hand and instead...

She was gone.

Oh.

But he'd found Miyako.

And lots of spears.

His shoulders snapped upright as he pressed the rest of himself to the ground, looking around at all the spears (and the men holding them) and wondered if perhaps he'd just had a particularly feverish dream about what they'd found at the top of the mountains. He opened his mouth to speak, unsure what he was going to say until he caught a brief glare from Miyako, and closed it again, deciding upon nothing. Knotting his brow in confusion, he Hare trusted the courtier for the moment and looked around for some sign of just where he was and whom these might be- a mon on someone, or some other sign to indicate what clan or group they held allegiance to.

[5k2 Perception/Investigation: 14]  

[Rain Yupa]

When Miyako would go to stand, the spear tips would close by an inch, focusing a little more now on her and less on Denbe.

"Shosuro? So ye dost hail from Scorpion lands?" the man, who seemed dressed like a samurai - though poorly dressed at that, as his clothes bore no resemblance to any clan Denbe has 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, sir and 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.

"Divulge the truth; how didst thou arrive here? Our lord hath not instructed us on expecting visitors from the Scorpion." A few of the bushi seemed to relax a bit after hearing Miyako's explanation. Two of them even backed off and lowered their spears, and another lifted his spear to use it to lean upon. But they still seemed a little too unsure, as if something wasn't adding up, like some key fact was missing.  

[Tei Kae]

"Well, I'm not quite sure how we got here. There was one turn and then another." She seemed quite put out and perplexed, but it was the truth after all. They were in the same spot she'd been in before and she'd gotten there after following the girl who was so much like Omiko-sama. A girl who was alive again, she hoped.

"As for your lord, no, he would not be expecting us. We come on behalf of others who would do him a service." She smiled with a friendly tilt to her lips. "But my companion and I would greatly prefer to refresh ourselves before speaking to either of them. We are not so magnificent as to be able to withstand this environment without wear."

Etiquette/Awareness (sincerity) = 8k4+ 1k0 + 4 + 5(Rank) = 9k4 + 9 = 28 + 9 = 37 with Free raise(voice) +1 to make them think that someone was sleeping on the job without directing saying anything and not to be critical.  

[Psychofish]

Shosuro? He didn't even look like a Scorpion, and he was wearing more white than red. But Miyako seemed so far beyond just portraying confidence and weaving a story, that whatever this was must have been something she'd planned through. He trusted that she simply was very much more informed than he at the moment, and not simply mad.

He slowly stood beside her, keeping his hands well away from his swords, and wondering how, if at all, he should hide his mon. There seemed no easy way that wasn't suspicious, but he couldn't identify these people at all. Perhaps being known to not be of the Scorpion could actually turn out well for him.

Whoever they were though, they spoke and dressed very, very oddly. He could only guess that perhaps they were some long left behind portion of the Unicorn that had never come back to Rokugan to recover from their new barbaric habits.  

[Rain Yupa]

Denbe, it's that these people are more overdressed than strangely dressed, especially for the summer. It makes the garb of samurai you are accustomed to seeing appear disrespectfully lax in comparison.

"I see," said the man apparently in charge, apparently scrutinizing something, but not saying what.

A woman, one with her spear still pointed at you, gave a curious look to her companions. "Thou cometh into Shiro Heichi, castle and home of the Boar, slumber at the base of the city's fountain, and not drink upon its water? Hath thou taken a leave of thy senses?" She would ask, apparently unsure of the two of you.

"Nay, ye knowst how the Great Clans nary consider our existence; we are beneath them. This must be an insult to us, that the water we consume ist unworthy to them," another samurai said to her.

"If thou art both Scorpion, what dost be wrong with thine mismatched garbs? Doth thou not share the same pride for thy Clan?" a younger but no less stranger man would say aloud, paying close attention to Denbe.

The first man would raise his hand to silence the others. "Thou art the second unexpected visitors to arrive upon our doorstep," he would explain, eyes narrowed. He looked like he was about to correct himself on the location, but thought better of it. "What doth the Scorpion want with such a trivial clan? No offense to thine kinsmen, my lady, but we've naught been worthy of such attentions before. Please understand our uncertainty in the matter, we've had our share of political troubles as of late." he would explain.

A whopping 16 to be inoffensive.  

[Psychofish]

Denbe looked back and forth confused. These people were bizarre, and their mention of the Boar, with such fervor. Could he really have stumbled upon some group that believed itself to be the remnants of the clan, hiding away? But then... why the strange accusations after bringing them here?

"I can assure you, we meant no disrespect..." he said, glancing with a small bit of confusion between them all, the fountain, Miyako, and back. "And whatever may have been done in past times, no clan should be beneath notice. We all are by the blessing of the emperor."

The fact that he said it as a 'Scorpion' carried a sort of bitter irony for him. If only they had held such opinions, perhaps Shiro Usagi might have been a grander place today.

[3k3 Boar Clan Lore: 7 vs TN Probably Pretty High]
[1 Raise made to help them all save face.]
[5k3 Awareness/Etiquette: 24 to calm them.]

((And an OOC raise for the unknowing irony of Denbe's train of thought.))  

[Tei Kae]

"No clan is trivial. Each Clan has their own place in the Kami's plan." Miyako asserted calmly, not as frightened as she had been. "But each person has a different position within the Clan. Even this one's clothes are but garb he had needs to take for this journey." It was true enough, one did need to wear clothes to be out in public. And the Hare didn't exist in this time. But she was trying to infer that he'd lost his own clothing and this was the only other available alternative; to persuade them this wasn't a big deal. "We have lost most of our possessions on this trip to visit with the Boar Clan Daimyo, Heichi-sama. We mean no insult."

Deceit/Awareness 7k4 +1k0 +5 + =8k4+5 for females = 34 and 10k4 + 5 for the males = 37
Free Raise (Voice)to make them accept the explanations  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Denbe's Lore check: What? You're pretty sure there's no 'Boar' clan. They're like, a fairy tale, like the Snake clan! Something told to young minor clan samurai so that they will remember their place and not risk getting themselves stamped out!

As Denbe spoke to apologize, the samurai before him would exchange a few curious glances. One of the young men spoke up: "What dost be wrong with thine dialect, sirrah? Thou speaketh in a most unusual fashion..."

They didn't seem aggressive, but now it was obvious that they were more on the defensive than anything else. They didn't seem to want to skewer you, but felt obliged to keep a few weapons trained on you due to protocol or duty or orders. For what reason, you can't really gleam why. At least, Denbe cannot.

"Thy seems to have thy weapons; doth that not be enough?" the woman would ask Miyako, when she explained about the troubles they came into.

"What art thy connections to Doji Sh-" started one, though the apparent commanding officer would give him a stern glance.

"Forgive us; thy story doth ring of many suspicions and coincidences. We cannae rule out the possibility that thou art spies for an enemy. I cannae bring thee, unexpected visitors on the eve of a great battle, directly to mine Lord; however, thou knowest our magistrate? If thou agree to wait here, we can fetch him hither."

The guards would lighten up, but remain in a semicircle around your positions. Only one would hold onto his spear with both hand, whereas the rest would rest their spears by the bases on the ground. If Miyako and Denbe agreed, the man would nod to a colleague, who would bow his head briefly and run off.  

[Psychofish]

He was speaking strangely? How long had these people been hermitted away from the rest of the empire? Denbe frowned and decided it was probably better not to answer that question, there probably wasn't anything right he could say to it. Instead he absently touched his katana with one finger as it was mentioned, half surprised to find it still there.

The Hare nodded slowly at the suggestion of seeing their magistrate instead, but turned to look at Miyako, unsure what her take on all this was. He was completely confused and beyond his element. The Scorpion however seemed to know exactly what to say.

That or it was important to her clan to make sure everyone always thought you did.  

[Tei Kae]

Miyako nodded, and thought about everything she knew about the Boar Clan and such from her last visit. "Yes, that is quite acceptable. Thank you." She sighed and looked over at Denbe, wishing she knew what to tell the Hare to help him believe. Now that she had an idea of what was going on, she hoped it would help, but she was afraid they were doomed no matter what help they would give, or if the Kami wanted them helped at all.

Once the first man was gone, she would turn to one of the others who seemed most in charge. "I assume you mean the Empire's forces who are here to destroy the Boar for their presumed insult to the Empire." Her tone making it clear that she did not truly believe it was so.

[Etiquette/Awareness(Sincerity) + Mastery + Rank + Voice + Tech = 9k4 +9 = 55
Two raises to make everyone more agreeable.  

[Rain Yupa]

"I see word gets around thine courts swiftly enough," the woman would remark to no one in particular.

"The Imperial Legions cometh hither for our blood," the Boar in charge responded to Miyako, idling about as he waited for his fellow sentry to return. "I trow that thou must be either metsuke for the Emerald Champion, or a pair of souls that wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, I trow the next 12 hours will not be kind to thee."

"Dost thou believe these facts false?" the youngest Boar would ask. "The Legions already march; the Dragon have even sent an emissary hither to aid us in our time of crisis."  

[Psychofish]

"The Dragon have sent an emissary?"

The Hare asked, sounding confused as he looked about them. Not that he could exactly ask if they really thought they were Boar, or whom they were in fact. Because whatever was going on was insane, and the fact that they believed imperial men marched their way either made them all mad, very gullible, or cast a rather distressing credibility to their bizarre being. Though it made him worry what precisely they were if those men did march their way. Certainly not likely honorable, faithful servants of the Empire.

"That is.... good. He lends the Dragon's voice to disarming the situation?"

None of it sounded right, and honestly he found it hard not to be terribly incredulous. So he erred on the side of polite, to avoid provoking any dangerous responses. The Dragon might be the one way to determine what was really going on here, and get a proper perspective.

...not that Denbe would trust a Dragon he had not yet met to carry too much excess in sanity or ability to restore normality, but reason, reason they could do.

[1 Raise to make an estimate on their sanity.]
[6k3-5 Awareness/Investigation: to determine if they are being truthful.]
[Clear Thinker applies if they are trying to fool him.]