(L5R) Ch 1 - The Mountain Witch, part 3

The Duel

Synopsis: Kenjiro prepares to duel Daidoji Kage.

It is the hour of the Ox and activities in the keep are winding down. Only the Unicorn are active, preparing to leave before midday – delayed only because they were not allowed off the keep grounds until now. Bayushi Ryu quickly scrawls a haiku onto parchment. He admires his calligraphy. Ryu had never thought of calligraphy as anything but a utilitarian task. He never thought of it as art. While the ink dries, Ryu finds a young servant girl with long bangs tied back with string and shells. Ryu gingerly rolls the parchment and seals it before handing it to her and telling her to deliver it personally and secretly to Bayushi Yori. The servant bows and goes to do her duty.

But Ryu’s night was not yet done. He goes to Mutsuye’s room but he wasn’t searching for Mutsuye. What he sought were the samurai-ko who stood guard in front of her room. Of the three, only two were there. Aiko was still in Shosuro Shigeru’s clutches. Just as he is about to greet the two remaining samurai-ko, he finds Ying-Lien arriving at the same time. Ying-Lien asks to see Mutsuye, but the tallest samurai-ko, Shakuko, refuses to let her enter. Ryu, seeing that Shakuko is distracted, speaks to the other samurai-ko, Akemi. He asks her about Aiko, the missing samurai-ko. What is she like? Suspicious, Akemi tells Ryu that all three grew up together and trained together before going through their gempukku ceremony together. She was honorable and would never do anything to stain that honor. Ryu then tells her that Aiko was last seen with Shosuro Shigeru, that she has obviously failed in her duty because she is not here, and that she is not to be trusted. Akemi stares at Ryu in disbelief, but Ryu’s sincerity had had its effect.

Ying-Lien finally gains entry into Mutsuye’s chambers when Mutsuye herself tells her to come in. When Ying-Lien enters, she finds Mutsuye wearing white – the colour of death. Mutsuye tells Ying-Lien that she loves Doji Kage and would love him even beyond death. But now that it has been revealed that she is tainted, her own Clan will not take her back. After the duel, no matter the outcome, Mutsuye intends to commit Jigai, ritual suicide by slitting her throat. When asked if she knew how she became tainted, Mutsuye could only tell her that she recently had illicit and erotic dreams, but that she had never knowingly been in contact with the taint.

In the meantime, she is trying to write her last haiku, but even as a child, she hated poetry. Now what she hates the most will define her last words to her family for all time. She wants those words to be wondrous, but the pile of crumpled parchment tells Ryu exactly how successful she has been.

Ying-Lien has an idea – something that could perhaps save her life and the life of the man she loves, but first, she has to speak with Kage. She leaves Mutsuye to her poetic musings and finds Kage in his dojo, practicing iaijutsu. Ying-Lien tells him what his love intends to do after the duel and he agrees that to do anything less would be dishonorable and Mutsuye is not a dishonorable woman. Ying-Lien asks Kage if he would entertain the thought of leaving before the duel. Kage tells her that he would only leave if there was no way of dishonoring is father. Ying-Lien goes to see the Daimyo himself.

Meanwhile, Ryu believes that Aiko, might be a danger to Mutsuya. Shigeru was a poison master, that much is certain. If Shigeru found a way to control the samurai-ko’s mind, she might do something to her against her will. Ryu regretted giving her to Shigeru, even though he would arrange things to allow Kenjiro to win. Ryu finds his yojimbo, Noriyaki and the shugenja Daidoji Jin and together they go back up to Mutsuye’s room to stand guard down the hall. The remaining samurai-ko are not amused, but do nothing to interfere.

Kakita Kenjiro wakes up to find a wakizashi beside his futon. It is sheathed in white and gold and sealed with the lotus flower - the insignia of the Imperial family. After staring at it wondering where it came from, he gingerly wraps it in a silk cloth and picks it up. He hides it in a closet and calls for a servant. He instructs the servant to find Noriyaki. The servant finds Noriyaki with Ryu, guarding Mutsuye’s room and returns with him to Kenjiro’s room.

Kenjiro shows Noriyaki the Imperial Wakizashi. He feels very uncomfortable being in possession of it and wonders who it really belongs to. He asks Noriyaki to summon the kami of the wakizashi to tell him who was the wakizashi’s master. Noriyaki does not think that would be a good idea, considering the problems summoning Kami in the castle was the last time. Instead, he tells Kenjiro they should simply get rid of it. They decide to wrap it up and give it to a servant to give it to Kage anonymously and see what happens.

While Ryu and Jin continue their vigil, Aiko returns to her post with the other samurai-ko. Then, Matsu Hira appears to deliver a message to Mutsuye. She sees Jin waiting down the hall from Mutsuye’s room and begins to antagonize him. Jin ignores her ranting for a while, but then looks up and asks whether her master has managed to replace the tea service she broke. Hira fumes, gives the scroll to Aiko and then storms off. Aiko goes to open the shoji door to Mutsuye’s room, but Akemi stops her, takes it from her and does it herself. Ryu smiles behind his mask.

The young servant girl with shells in her hair approaches Ryu. She hands the scroll Ryu had so meticulously composed earlier in the evening back to him. She explains that she tried to personally deliver the letter to Yori, but she was not in her room. After waiting for a long while, she was told that Yori was nowhere to be found, that she was gone.

Ryu begins to worry for the safety of his former love and tells Jin that he will return. He goes to Bayushi Daitaro’s room. Bayushi Daitaro slides the shoji door open a crack and greets Ryu by saying “hi brother. What do you want?” Daitaro is not wearing his mask. Ryu asks if he knew where Yori had disappeared to. Daitaro answers by saying he did not know where she was, nor did he care. He seemed completely indifferent to her fate. This upsets Ryu, but he leaves and begins looking for Shigeru in the castle’s catacombs.

Ryu finds Shigeru. Shigeru informs Ryu that the Ide was not a Pekkle and that the real maho-tsukai is still out there, and that their work is not yet done. This news is even more upsetting. It meant that they were wrong and had failed in their duty to point out the right murderer. It also meant that they condemned two innocent people to death. Mutsuye, despite the fact that she is tainted, should never have been accused and her love Kage should not be dueling Kenjiro. Ryu decides to take action. First, he returns to Mutsuye’s room to collect Jin, who is still waiting down the hall for something to happen. Ryu tells Jin that Aiko is not a danger.

Everyone else is discussing the nights events trying to figure out how to save the lives of Kage and Mutsuye. They agree that they have to disappear, but the question is, how to make them disappear without making the Daimyo lose honor. Ryu believes that he can get Shigeru to give the couple a different poison to make them appear to die. Then, they can make them disappear. He also tells them that Ying-Lien must not be told of this – she has proven herself to be naïve and too trusting. If she is told, she will likely tell others.

Ryu contacts Shigeru and explains the plan to him. Shigeru nods behind the mask and agrees to do it, with a price – they must hunt down the maho-tsukai who committed the murders in the first place. They will not have to bring him in, just bring evidence of the maho-tsukai’s death to him. Ryu agrees, reluctantly.

After waiting for the Daimyo for what seemed like forever, a servant informs Ying-Lien that the Daimyo will not see her. She returns to her room. She arrives to find Asako Kuhime waiting for her. Kuhime thanks her again for the kindness she showed her the night previous and then gives her a small charm. It was made mostly of wood, but the wooden shell hid something inside that Ying-Lien could not see. Kuhime tells her not to tell anyone else about the charm – that she might get into trouble if one of her clansmates found out she gave away such a prized possession. Ying-Lien is flattered and as per Rokugan custom, does the gift dance (refuse three times before accepting) with Kuhime.

When Kuhime leaves, she enters her room to find Kenjiro, her husband, waiting for her. It is dawn. The time of the duel has arrived. Kenjiro sits Ying-Lien down. He tells her a tale about when he was not Kakita Kenjiro, when he was still part of the Phoenix Clan. He tells her that he had been reborn into the Crane Clan and that his old life was gone. And now they plan on conducting a rebirthing ritual with Kage and Mutsuye. Kenjiro explains with utmost sincerity (the fact that Ying-Lien is also gullible helps) that Ryu conduct the ceremony after the duel. He asks her to arrange for the Unicorn Clan to take them away after it is over. He also asks her not to tell Kage and Mutsuye what they are planning to do. It must all look natural. Ying-Lien agrees and goes off to contact her Clan mates.

Outside the Kakita castle, it is snowing. Kenjiro arrives, katana in hand. Kage is already in the field, kneeling before a small family shrine. A small white tent overlooks the field. Daidoji Kikaze, Kage’s father, sits on a squat pedestal. On his left, Mutsuye sits crosslegged on a white sheet. She is still wearing her white kimono. In front of her sits a scroll, rolled up tightly and bound by red ribbon. In front of the scroll is a wakizashi sheathed in the colours of the Phoenix. At the far end of the tent, Shosuro Shigeru stands – his mask hiding whatever emotion he might be feeling. The rest of the group stands near the tent to witness the duel. Jin has been chosen as Kenjiro’s second, just in case something happens to justify needing one. Ying-Lien was asked to be Mutsuye’s second.

Kage stands and faces Kenjiro. Kage yells out “show me your stance, samurai.” They each enter their iaijutsu dueling stances ready to, at any moment draw their blade and strike down their opponent. Both duelists begin sizing each other up – looking for unsteadiness in their stances or weakness in their eyes. Kenjiro stares at Kage’s impassive face. It showed no emotion, no expression, no flaw. Kage’s stance was the stance of an experienced duelist hardened by dozens of encounters – some to first blood, maybe even some to the death. Kenjiro is also an experienced duelist, but finds no weakness in his stance [GM Note: Kenjiro’s roll to read Kage’s attributes was shy by 2 points. Kage’s roll was enough, and he read 3 of Kenjiro’s attributes. He chooses Kenjiro’s Agility. Kenjiro chooses Kage’s VOID – big mistake because Kage has 4 VOID].

Both duelists shift their stances and place their hands on the hilt of their katana. Once the katana leaps from their sheath, it would take a split second to have an effect – to slice air or leave the other on the ground in a pool of blood. Kenjiro focuses zen-like to build the chi in his body all the while staring at Kage looking for a sign of nervousness – a drop of sweat on his brow, a nervous twitch of his fingers, any sign that his resolve was beginning to crack – that he was ready to strike. But Kage’s face remained implacable. Instead, Kenjiro’s mind began to race. When will he strike? When will he release his energy in one final blow? [Kenjiro focuses first and both duelists exchange focuses until Kenjiro requires a TN 30 to hit]

Kenjiro thought he saw Kage’s eyes twitch. Was that the sign? Did he just show the first sign of weakness? Kenjiro gives a shout, releasing his chi in a roar and signaling that this duel was about to end [after Kage focuses once more, Kenjiro is forced to strike. Kage strikes first and has a TN of 35 …]. In one smooth movement belying a decade of iaijutsu training, Kage draws his katana from his sheath. It arcs forward toward Kenjiro – his katana leaping toward its own target. Kage’s katana sweeps past Kage, the tip arcing across Kenjiro’s gullet, missing him completely [… and fails]. But Kenjiro’s katana hits his mark, arcing deeply across Kage’s chest. Kage stands for a moment, stunned, before falling face first into the snow.

Daidoji Kikaze puts his head in his hands. He knows he has just lost his eldest son and heir. But honor has been satisfied. Mutsuye, knowing that her fate is sealed, quickly picks up the wakizashi, unsheathes it and draws it deeply across her throat. She collapses to the ground and Ying-Lien catches her, putting a white cloth on her throat trying to staunch the mortal wound. Shigeru strides over and leans over her, examining the wound. He pronounces her dead. He then walks to Kage’s still form and examines him as well and makes the same grim announcement.

Daidoji Kikaze shows no emotion as he gets off his pedestal and walks back to the castle. Honor has been satisfied.

Later that morning at the funeral, Noriyaki reads a haiku he had composed for the occasion. Kage’s and Mutsuye’s last haiku’s are also read out. The ceremony is short, but moving.

The couple wake up in one of the Unicorn clan tents to find Kenjiro looking at them. He lights afire a Phoenix Clan kimono that he used while he was a member of that Clan, and then tells them they have been reborn. Kage and Mutsuye are dead to Rokugan. At first, both of them want to run out of the tent and exclaim that they have been dishonored, but they realize that this is a second chance. They agree to travel to Unicorn lands and try to find a cure for Mutsuye’s taint – and try to make a life for themselves.

Ryu thanks Shigeru for using his skills to prevent the couple from dying. He then turns his attention to the rest of the group and tells them they have a maho-tsukai to hunt.

Ying-Lien congratulates the couple for being “reborn” before seeing the Unicorn contingent off. As she returns to the keep, she sees Shiba Yakiko approaching her, a servant guiding her hand. Yakiko tells her of a dream she had and tells her that she had to tell her this in confidence. In that dream, she is holding an Imperial Wakizashi and being attacked by Kakita Kenjiro, her husband. Kakita Kenjiro was going to try and kill her.

[GM Note: Each of the characters lost 3 points of Honor. Kenjiro gained 2 points of Honor and Glory for defeating Kage in the duel - a gain which will be negated if it would ever be revealed publically of his part in the duel. Ying-Lien loses nothing yet.]

Next: the Maho-Tsukai