The Souq
Synopsis: The samurai join up with a group of Moto traders to meet up with caravans from the Burning Sands – to try and find a way to journey to the Jewel of the Desert.
The samurai stay at Exile’s Road long enough to get supplies and trade their koku for other things such as gold and jewels – things that would make it easier to trade in a foreign land.
The samurai leave Exile’s Road and within a week, they meet a band of Moto who have never returned to Rokugan since they were known as the Ki-Rin Clan. Moto Chen-Shih is delighted to have them as guests and they join the caravan until they reach the edge of the Burning Sands whereupon they will meet up with caravans from all over the Burning Sands and trade. Once the caravans have left, the Moto will return to their lands with much needed trade goods. In the meantime, Moto Chen-Shih teaches them the language of the Burning Sands.
Within a few days, several small caravans begin showing up for the Souq – Moto Chen-Shih tells the samurai that once a year, the Al-Badian meet here to trade with the tribes that live in the mountains – namely the Moto, Yobanjin and even some Rokuganese who flout the laws of their Empire by trading with foreigners (mostly Unicorn or Mantis Clan). The caravans show up with riders riding camels – strange hump-backed creatures that are overloaded with supplies as well as riders.
Chen-Shih introduces the samurai to Najib al-Nisr, a merchant from one of the many Houses of Dahab located in Medinaat al Salaam. Chen-Shih has known Najib for many years. He asks Najib to assist the samurai and guide them toward the Jewel of the Desert. Najib gladly accepts and invites them all to his tent that evening to be his guest.
Najib introduces them to his traveling companions, Haroun and his daughter Alia. Ryu notices Alia immediately – her dark, long, flowing hair, brown eyes and dark skin are very attractive to him and he begins to speak with her. Alia, of course, will have none of it and rebuffs his advances. Ying-Lien, meanwhile, asks Najib about bringing her Utaku steed with her to the Jewel. Najib is not sure if that is possible, given the size of the horse. He directs her to Alia, who is just finishing rebuffing Ryu’s advances. Alia examines Ying-Lien’s steed and tells her that it is a fantastic horse, but requires so much water it may not be feasible to ride it to the Jewel of the Desert. She should instead, ride a camel.
The samurai decide to find a way for Ying-Lien to bring her steed with her. Noriyaki can call the water kami and summon water to them (but how much in the middle of the Burning Sands is debatable). The samurai decide to pool their new “funds” together to see if they can essentially “rent” a camel. They will buy everything off one camel, give it to Moto Chen-Shih, and then request that enough water be carried on the camel for the sole purpose of allowing the Utaku Steed to join the caravan.
They discuss these things with Najib. The samurai soon discover that their bargaining powers are limited. Najib wants more than three quarters of all their available funds to buy all the exotic spices and merchandise from one camel. The samurai consider the price too steep to pay and decide to wait and see. Since Najib invited them to his tent that evening, they will see if they can do better.
The evening arrives and the samurai visit Najib’s Al-Badian tent, guarded by a mamluk of great size. Upon entering they are surprised to see a sumptuous feast and many luxuries such as pillows and blankets spread about the room. The samurai sit on the pillows provided and Alia washes each of the samurai’s hands with warm rose water before Najib passes around a bowl of salt. He takes a pinch of salt and sprinkles it on the food on his plate. Each samurai does the same. Najib tells them it is a custom in his land to engage in a bond of salt. A guest can be assured of three days of hospitality and safety. The host can do no harm to the guest and vice versa. This bond of salt ensures safety in travel and hospitality wherever one goes.
As they begin to eat, Najib’s servants pour goat’s milk wine for his guests. Most imbibe it and like it – especially Ying-Lien who takes a great liking to the milky-coloured alcohol. Ryu does not even bother. At one point, he distracts everyone and switches his full cup, with Ying-Lien’s empty one. Ying-Lien notices the newly full cup, wonders for a moment where it came from, shrugs and drinks up. Only Haroun took any notice to the switch.
At that moment, another gentleman enters the tent. He is introduced as Khalid, a merchant from a different House. Khalid washes his hands, thanks his host for the gracious invitation and then turns down the salt saying he has an “allergy” to salt and cannot ingest any. The refusal to participate in the bond of salt enrages Alia who gets up and storms out.
Najib conducts a coffee ceremony, handing out small cups of a very thick, and very potent brew, not unlike the coffee served by Ide Murai in Kyuden Ikoma, but the thick, viscous liquid was very bitter. Most of the samurai had a hard time with it.
The meal continues with Ying-Lien getting more and more drunk. Najib begins telling tales of the Burning Sands and Noriyaki, eager to try out his own storytelling abilities on the Al-Badian merchant, tells a few tales of his own. While each are spinning tales, a servant enters the tent and serves Khalid more goat’s milk wine. He drinks it, then his eyes widen. He looks down at the goblet of wine, spits it out, looks up at the servant who he now sees as Alia, and then storms out of the tent. Ryu takes the goblit and tries it. The goat’s milk wine is salty. Khalid had ingested salt and was now bonded by it. Ryu comments on how dishonorable Alia’s actions were, but no one hears him.
Later that evening, the samurai retire to the tents provided by Moto Chen-Shih. Ying-Lien drags Kenjiro back to their tent. Much rustling and the occasional yelp and frantic calls to the kami was all anyone heard from them for the rest of the night.
Ryu tries hard to get rid of his yojimbo, who is duty-bound to follow and protect him wherever he goes. Since the incidents at Kyuden Ikoma where Ryu disappeared for hours, Jin is much more wary of his charge’s habits and insists on following him. Jin is afraid that he will try and seduce Alia. Instead, Ryu wanders over to Khalid’s camp. Khalid and his mamluks sit around a fire. Unaware of his presence, Ryu finds Khalid’s House Crest attached to one of Khalid’s camel saddles and cuts it off. Ryu returns to his tent accompanied by Jin and they lie down for the night. Ryu, still hopped up on coffee, stays awake and slips out silently. He approaches Alia’s tent and slips in unnoticed, walks up to her, crouches down and strokes her hair before slitting her throat with his wakizashi. As blood pools around her body and soaks into the sand, Ryu drops Khalid’s House Crest beside her and slips out into the night.
Next: The Bond of Salt
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Ch 4 Dramatis Personae
Moto Chen-Shih – a Moto who still hails from the Ki-Rin Clan. He teaches the samurai the language of the Burning Sands so they can get along.
Najib al Nisr – a merchant from one of Houses of Dahab located in Medinaat al Salaam
Alia – Haroun’s daughter and an expert on horses and camels
Haroun – a merchant from the same House as Najib. He is getting old and wants to one day pass down his merchant practice to his daughter.
Khalid – a Merchant Prince from one of the richer Houses of Dahab
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 2 NPC's
Chapter 3 NPC's
Najib al Nisr – a merchant from one of Houses of Dahab located in Medinaat al Salaam
Alia – Haroun’s daughter and an expert on horses and camels
Haroun – a merchant from the same House as Najib. He is getting old and wants to one day pass down his merchant practice to his daughter.
Khalid – a Merchant Prince from one of the richer Houses of Dahab
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 2 NPC's
Chapter 3 NPC's
Monday, January 12, 2009
(L5R) Ch 3 – The Dragon, part 2
Exile’s Road
Synopsis: The Shrine of the Keeper of Fire is attacked. The samurai journey to the edge of Rokugan.
The next day, before the samurai can gather up supplies for their journey, they visit the Keeper at his shrine once again. This time, they present him with the Dragon Helm and hope that he can figure out how to use it. He does not know but says he will do what he can to research the Helm. The samurai leave the Keeper to do his job and return to his devotions. The rest of the day is spent gathering supplies in town. At night, they return to the monastery outside the Shrine of the Keeper of Fire. Ying-Lien believes it prudent that they watch over the Keeper, so she decides to stand guard for the night just outside the Shrine. The rest retire to the austere monastery.
As the evening wears on, Ying-Lien is visited by a group of ronin lead by two lion clan samurai. Ying-Lien recognizes the female as Matsu Hira, Daidoji Jin’s betrothed. She is accompanied by her right hand man, Matsu Gisei. They ask Ying-Lien where they can find Daidoji Jin and Ying-Lien tells them where to find them. Matsu Hira bows and thanks her and all but two ronin follow.
While the rest of the samurai are relaxing in the monestary, Matsu Hira appears and demands that Daidoji Jin return with her to Kyuden Ikoma to answer to the dishonor he has shown her family for leaving Kyuden Ikoma without warning and without the courtesy of notifying her family even after they were betrothed. She demands he return and conclude the joining of their two families. Daidoji Jin refuses.
Matsu Hira is enraged. She grabs a nearby monk and draws her sword. If Jin does not agree to return with her, she will kill the monk. Jin does not flinch and responds by saying no. Matsu Hira slits the monk’s throat. His body slumps to the snow-covered ground, his blood spraying the trees. Matsu Gisei and the remaining ronin draw their katanas and Hira grabs another monk. She threatens to kill every monk in the monestary and shrine if Jin does not come with her and, she says, their blood will be on his hands.
Noriyaki opens a scroll and begins chanting a spell. Suddenly, a kami of fire begins raining balls of flame down onto the ronin. They scatter and begin to advance toward the samurai. Jin and Kenjiro stay by the hearth and wait for the samurai to come to them. They clash briefly with the ronin, but the ronin are no match for Jin and his superior fighting skills. He easily dispatches several ronin before Matsu Hira orders the ronin to stop. They take hostages and again Hira demands that he come with her. This time, Jin tells her that while he may have returned with the Lion, Matsu Hira, he will never return with the dishonorable Hira who has disgraced her heritage by killing innocent monks. In response, Hira kills another monk, his blood spattering the statue of jizu.
Upon hearing the battle, Ying-Lien draws her katana and begins running toward the monastery. The two ronin who were with her stop her and draw their katana. She strikes first, drawing blood in one of the ronin, but the other strikes a mighty blow sending her reeling backward. Another blow and she is down on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ryu sneaks away from the carnage and disappears out the side door. He makes his way to the shrine and finds Ying-Lien about to be killed by the two ronin. He sneaks up behind one and kills him before the other is aware Ryu is there, Then Ryu dispatches the other ronin. Ying-Lien, who is barely able to move, thanks Ryu for his assistance. Ryu grabs a katana one of the ronin was wielding. It is old and not well kept. Ryu needs a katana, but decides against taking one of these.
Ryu leaves Ying-Lien and goes into the shrine. He finds the Keeper and informs him of what is going on. The Keeper asks Ryu what he should do and Ryu hands him the Dragon Helm.
At the compound, Hira and Jin are at a stalemate. Hira has murdered four monks in an effort to get Jin to return to Kyuden Ikoma. Jin has not moved away from the hearth and waits for the next ronin to challenge him. Suddenly, a dark shadow looms over the ground and a huge creature crashes into the compound, crushing several ronin. The Dragon of Fire has arrived.
Hira and the ronin scatter. The monks they were holding hostage run for cover. The Fire Dragon breathes gouts of flame at the ronin, engulfing them in an inferno. They all flee. Matsu Hira and her right hand man, along with a few ronin, make it out alive. The remaining ronin are dead. The Keeper of Fire looks down from atop the dragon and asks Jin if he would like further assistance in pursuing Matsu Hira. Jin politely refuses saying her dishonorable actions will not make her welcome anywhere in Rokugan. The Keeper dismounts the Dragon of Fire and the Dragon disappears into the night.
The samurai wait for an additional day to allow Noriyaki to pray to the kami to heal Ying-Lien. They use that day to obtain the travel papers necessary to get across the border into Unicorn territory. The next day, Ying-Lien is fit to travel and the samurai journey in to Unicorn territory without a hassle finally making it to Sorrows Path and Exile’s Road. Exile’s Road is the last bastion of civilization a person would see before leaving Rokugan. Only those exiled by decree or the rare traveler who wishes to leave Rokugan ever venture this far. This is the border of Rokugan.
The samurai find a small dusty shrine dedicated to the exiled. Inside, an old miko sweeps the old wooden floor. Many Scorpion masks, wakazashis and katana’s with colours from every clan adorn the walls. The samurai ask whether a Daidoji Kage and Isawa Mutsuye had made it this far. The miko says yes, but they had changed their names. She could not remember what their new names were. She also tells them that there were three of them. The samurai ask who the third one was. It was their unborn, the miko tells them. Mutsuye was with child.
Next: Book II: The Jewel of the Desert
Synopsis: The Shrine of the Keeper of Fire is attacked. The samurai journey to the edge of Rokugan.
The next day, before the samurai can gather up supplies for their journey, they visit the Keeper at his shrine once again. This time, they present him with the Dragon Helm and hope that he can figure out how to use it. He does not know but says he will do what he can to research the Helm. The samurai leave the Keeper to do his job and return to his devotions. The rest of the day is spent gathering supplies in town. At night, they return to the monastery outside the Shrine of the Keeper of Fire. Ying-Lien believes it prudent that they watch over the Keeper, so she decides to stand guard for the night just outside the Shrine. The rest retire to the austere monastery.
As the evening wears on, Ying-Lien is visited by a group of ronin lead by two lion clan samurai. Ying-Lien recognizes the female as Matsu Hira, Daidoji Jin’s betrothed. She is accompanied by her right hand man, Matsu Gisei. They ask Ying-Lien where they can find Daidoji Jin and Ying-Lien tells them where to find them. Matsu Hira bows and thanks her and all but two ronin follow.
While the rest of the samurai are relaxing in the monestary, Matsu Hira appears and demands that Daidoji Jin return with her to Kyuden Ikoma to answer to the dishonor he has shown her family for leaving Kyuden Ikoma without warning and without the courtesy of notifying her family even after they were betrothed. She demands he return and conclude the joining of their two families. Daidoji Jin refuses.
Matsu Hira is enraged. She grabs a nearby monk and draws her sword. If Jin does not agree to return with her, she will kill the monk. Jin does not flinch and responds by saying no. Matsu Hira slits the monk’s throat. His body slumps to the snow-covered ground, his blood spraying the trees. Matsu Gisei and the remaining ronin draw their katanas and Hira grabs another monk. She threatens to kill every monk in the monestary and shrine if Jin does not come with her and, she says, their blood will be on his hands.
Noriyaki opens a scroll and begins chanting a spell. Suddenly, a kami of fire begins raining balls of flame down onto the ronin. They scatter and begin to advance toward the samurai. Jin and Kenjiro stay by the hearth and wait for the samurai to come to them. They clash briefly with the ronin, but the ronin are no match for Jin and his superior fighting skills. He easily dispatches several ronin before Matsu Hira orders the ronin to stop. They take hostages and again Hira demands that he come with her. This time, Jin tells her that while he may have returned with the Lion, Matsu Hira, he will never return with the dishonorable Hira who has disgraced her heritage by killing innocent monks. In response, Hira kills another monk, his blood spattering the statue of jizu.
Upon hearing the battle, Ying-Lien draws her katana and begins running toward the monastery. The two ronin who were with her stop her and draw their katana. She strikes first, drawing blood in one of the ronin, but the other strikes a mighty blow sending her reeling backward. Another blow and she is down on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ryu sneaks away from the carnage and disappears out the side door. He makes his way to the shrine and finds Ying-Lien about to be killed by the two ronin. He sneaks up behind one and kills him before the other is aware Ryu is there, Then Ryu dispatches the other ronin. Ying-Lien, who is barely able to move, thanks Ryu for his assistance. Ryu grabs a katana one of the ronin was wielding. It is old and not well kept. Ryu needs a katana, but decides against taking one of these.
Ryu leaves Ying-Lien and goes into the shrine. He finds the Keeper and informs him of what is going on. The Keeper asks Ryu what he should do and Ryu hands him the Dragon Helm.
At the compound, Hira and Jin are at a stalemate. Hira has murdered four monks in an effort to get Jin to return to Kyuden Ikoma. Jin has not moved away from the hearth and waits for the next ronin to challenge him. Suddenly, a dark shadow looms over the ground and a huge creature crashes into the compound, crushing several ronin. The Dragon of Fire has arrived.
Hira and the ronin scatter. The monks they were holding hostage run for cover. The Fire Dragon breathes gouts of flame at the ronin, engulfing them in an inferno. They all flee. Matsu Hira and her right hand man, along with a few ronin, make it out alive. The remaining ronin are dead. The Keeper of Fire looks down from atop the dragon and asks Jin if he would like further assistance in pursuing Matsu Hira. Jin politely refuses saying her dishonorable actions will not make her welcome anywhere in Rokugan. The Keeper dismounts the Dragon of Fire and the Dragon disappears into the night.
The samurai wait for an additional day to allow Noriyaki to pray to the kami to heal Ying-Lien. They use that day to obtain the travel papers necessary to get across the border into Unicorn territory. The next day, Ying-Lien is fit to travel and the samurai journey in to Unicorn territory without a hassle finally making it to Sorrows Path and Exile’s Road. Exile’s Road is the last bastion of civilization a person would see before leaving Rokugan. Only those exiled by decree or the rare traveler who wishes to leave Rokugan ever venture this far. This is the border of Rokugan.
The samurai find a small dusty shrine dedicated to the exiled. Inside, an old miko sweeps the old wooden floor. Many Scorpion masks, wakazashis and katana’s with colours from every clan adorn the walls. The samurai ask whether a Daidoji Kage and Isawa Mutsuye had made it this far. The miko says yes, but they had changed their names. She could not remember what their new names were. She also tells them that there were three of them. The samurai ask who the third one was. It was their unborn, the miko tells them. Mutsuye was with child.
Next: Book II: The Jewel of the Desert
Sunday, January 11, 2009
(L5R) Ch 3 – The Dragon, part 1
The Crossing
Synopsis: The samurai leave Kyuden Ikoma and cross into Dragon lands.
Two hours earlier: Ryu has heard the news about the approaching Unicorn army. He sends a message to Yori at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder, but it is returned unopened. Worried, he returns to the Teahouse to find her but instead finds Shosuro Shigeru. Shigeru explains that he sent Yori away to keep her safe from the Unicorn invasion. Ryu is not entirely convinced. Shigeru then asks for the Dragon Helm. If he gives him the Helm, he will let him know where he can find her. It is a matter of utmost importance in the Scorpion Clan that he get the Helm. Ryu knows he is lying and that Shigeru is hiding something, but agrees to meet at the Hour of the Ox to give it to him. Shigeru agrees.
Ryu returns to his quarters and finds his wife, Kita, and his two daughters. They speak for a few moments about their daughters’ future – whether they would grow up to become Scorpion courtiers or perhaps rejoin the Crane as beautiful Crane Clan courtiers. Kita doubts they will marry for marriage brings too much sadness. Kita asks whether she has done anything to offend her and Ryu says no. Ryu tells her that the Unicorn army is approaching and that they must return to Ryoko Owari for their own safety. Kita says she will go as a dutiful wife should.
When Ryu returns to the manor with the rest, he tells his servants to go and gather things up for him, then goes to investigate the Dragon Helm when he is attacked by someone clad in black – by shurukin. The ninja jumps down at him from the roof and he fends him off with a wakizashi. He pulls out a jitte but Ryu manages to kill him just as three more ninja jump down to surround him.
Just then, the rest of the samurai arrive and see the ninja surrounding Ryu. They attack with Jin rushing to aid Ryu and the rest rushing in to pull out their katana and attack. They manage to kill two before the last climbs up a rope and tries to escape. Jin and Ying Lien rush out to follow. Ying Lien pulls out her bow and hits the ninja from a great distance, knocking him off the roof. By the time the town authorities get there, the ninja is dead.
Back at the manor, Ryu explains to everyone where he has been for the last day. He also tells them about his encounters with Shigeru and the fact that he did not believe him when he said he would give him the Dragon Helm. They send authorities to the Teahouse to find Shigeru, they explain that he is a traitor and must be arrested. The authorities return empty handed. Shigeru was gone.
Ying-Lien and Kenjiro begin to pack and they discuss what they should do. Honor is at stake. She made a promise to join the Battle Maiden but Kenjiro says their duty is more important. She eventually relents when he explains that he will tell Utaku Yaeko that this is entirely his fault. Before dawn, they venture to the Unicorn camp and find Utaku Yaeko and explain their predicament. Yaeko makes Ying Lien promise she will be there in the spring when they invade Toshi Ranbo. She has lost honor, but at least she is allowed to continue her mission.
Jin sends message to Ikoma Tadasu about using caltrops in the snow. Ryu sends Hiroko with his wife and kids.
They leave before the invasion and meet Ying-Lien and Kenjiro at the crossroads. They venture along the road that crosses the Plains of Battle for several days before arriving at a small village along the banks of the Drowned Merchant River – the border between Lion and Dragon lands. The villagers are stopping a caravan to try and get food. The others give up their provisions knowing there is a Dragon village across the wide river. One bridge is open but guarded by Unicorn and ronin – Ying-Lien has not seen so many ronin and it bothers her.
Ying-Lien goes to give food to a hungry old woman and kids when she is accosted by ronin who tries to rob her. He is part of a band of ronin who will soon become a great clan. They fight briefly but she gives her money to feed the poor. He promises to and she is convinced that he would.
The rest give food to distract the caravan and go to cross the bridge but run into bureaucracy trying to do so. They cross just as they say something about what is on the other side of the river.
They enter town and get a room from a kindly innkeeper. The town is abandoned. There is no business and no trade since the Unicorn has burned many of the bridges.
The innkeeper tells the samurai that there is a Shrine to the Keeper of Fire in the mountains. The samurai decide to visit the shrine. When they visit the Shrine, the Keeper says that he can read their fortunes if the Fire within their spirit is strong enough. Each of the samurai is told their fortune. Ying-Lien is told she will have to protect what she hates. Ryu asks about Daidoji Kage and is told there is no one by that name. Hughes asks if the Spider Clan is evil and is given no answer. Kenjiro is told nothing at all. They all return to their rooms at the compound near the shrine.
During the night, Jin has a dream. In the dream, he is caught in a web with a giant spider and the darkness is talking to him, telling him that ‘they have him.’ He discusses this dream with the other samurai. The entire group is beginning to think that this Spider Clan is more than it appears and wonder if Shigeru was involved.
Next: Exile's Road
Synopsis: The samurai leave Kyuden Ikoma and cross into Dragon lands.
Two hours earlier: Ryu has heard the news about the approaching Unicorn army. He sends a message to Yori at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder, but it is returned unopened. Worried, he returns to the Teahouse to find her but instead finds Shosuro Shigeru. Shigeru explains that he sent Yori away to keep her safe from the Unicorn invasion. Ryu is not entirely convinced. Shigeru then asks for the Dragon Helm. If he gives him the Helm, he will let him know where he can find her. It is a matter of utmost importance in the Scorpion Clan that he get the Helm. Ryu knows he is lying and that Shigeru is hiding something, but agrees to meet at the Hour of the Ox to give it to him. Shigeru agrees.
Ryu returns to his quarters and finds his wife, Kita, and his two daughters. They speak for a few moments about their daughters’ future – whether they would grow up to become Scorpion courtiers or perhaps rejoin the Crane as beautiful Crane Clan courtiers. Kita doubts they will marry for marriage brings too much sadness. Kita asks whether she has done anything to offend her and Ryu says no. Ryu tells her that the Unicorn army is approaching and that they must return to Ryoko Owari for their own safety. Kita says she will go as a dutiful wife should.
When Ryu returns to the manor with the rest, he tells his servants to go and gather things up for him, then goes to investigate the Dragon Helm when he is attacked by someone clad in black – by shurukin. The ninja jumps down at him from the roof and he fends him off with a wakizashi. He pulls out a jitte but Ryu manages to kill him just as three more ninja jump down to surround him.
Just then, the rest of the samurai arrive and see the ninja surrounding Ryu. They attack with Jin rushing to aid Ryu and the rest rushing in to pull out their katana and attack. They manage to kill two before the last climbs up a rope and tries to escape. Jin and Ying Lien rush out to follow. Ying Lien pulls out her bow and hits the ninja from a great distance, knocking him off the roof. By the time the town authorities get there, the ninja is dead.
Back at the manor, Ryu explains to everyone where he has been for the last day. He also tells them about his encounters with Shigeru and the fact that he did not believe him when he said he would give him the Dragon Helm. They send authorities to the Teahouse to find Shigeru, they explain that he is a traitor and must be arrested. The authorities return empty handed. Shigeru was gone.
Ying-Lien and Kenjiro begin to pack and they discuss what they should do. Honor is at stake. She made a promise to join the Battle Maiden but Kenjiro says their duty is more important. She eventually relents when he explains that he will tell Utaku Yaeko that this is entirely his fault. Before dawn, they venture to the Unicorn camp and find Utaku Yaeko and explain their predicament. Yaeko makes Ying Lien promise she will be there in the spring when they invade Toshi Ranbo. She has lost honor, but at least she is allowed to continue her mission.
Jin sends message to Ikoma Tadasu about using caltrops in the snow. Ryu sends Hiroko with his wife and kids.
They leave before the invasion and meet Ying-Lien and Kenjiro at the crossroads. They venture along the road that crosses the Plains of Battle for several days before arriving at a small village along the banks of the Drowned Merchant River – the border between Lion and Dragon lands. The villagers are stopping a caravan to try and get food. The others give up their provisions knowing there is a Dragon village across the wide river. One bridge is open but guarded by Unicorn and ronin – Ying-Lien has not seen so many ronin and it bothers her.
Ying-Lien goes to give food to a hungry old woman and kids when she is accosted by ronin who tries to rob her. He is part of a band of ronin who will soon become a great clan. They fight briefly but she gives her money to feed the poor. He promises to and she is convinced that he would.
The rest give food to distract the caravan and go to cross the bridge but run into bureaucracy trying to do so. They cross just as they say something about what is on the other side of the river.
They enter town and get a room from a kindly innkeeper. The town is abandoned. There is no business and no trade since the Unicorn has burned many of the bridges.
The innkeeper tells the samurai that there is a Shrine to the Keeper of Fire in the mountains. The samurai decide to visit the shrine. When they visit the Shrine, the Keeper says that he can read their fortunes if the Fire within their spirit is strong enough. Each of the samurai is told their fortune. Ying-Lien is told she will have to protect what she hates. Ryu asks about Daidoji Kage and is told there is no one by that name. Hughes asks if the Spider Clan is evil and is given no answer. Kenjiro is told nothing at all. They all return to their rooms at the compound near the shrine.
During the night, Jin has a dream. In the dream, he is caught in a web with a giant spider and the darkness is talking to him, telling him that ‘they have him.’ He discusses this dream with the other samurai. The entire group is beginning to think that this Spider Clan is more than it appears and wonder if Shigeru was involved.
Next: Exile's Road
Ch 3 Dramatis Personae
Ikoma Tadasu – High level courtier of the Lion Clan – negotiating with Daidoji Kikaze
Daidoji Chisato – Daidoji Kikaze’s envoy
Utaku Yaeko – Leader of a Battle Maiden contingent approaching Kyuden Isawa
Keeper of the Dragon of Fire
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 2 NPC's
Chapter 4 NPC's
Daidoji Chisato – Daidoji Kikaze’s envoy
Utaku Yaeko – Leader of a Battle Maiden contingent approaching Kyuden Isawa
Keeper of the Dragon of Fire
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 2 NPC's
Chapter 4 NPC's
Sunday, November 23, 2008
(L5R) Ch 2 – The Betrothal, part 2
The Duty
Synopsis: Daidoji Kikaze meets with the samurai and sends them on a personal quest.
Shosuro Shigeru greets Ryu in the room and tells him that he has a gift for him. He opens a shoji and reveals Bayushi Yori who stands, rushes to him and almost crushes him in a bear hug. Shigeru tells them he will leave them alone. Ryu tries to get to Shigeru and asks if she is the price for the Dragon Helm. Shigeru says “of course not” before closing the shoji behind him. Ryu tries to follow Shigeru, but Yori pulls him back. She has not seen him in months and wants very much to make amends. Ryu does not resist and they spend much of the night pillowing and enjoying each others company.
During the night, Yori explains to Ryu what happened after winter court. She tells him that after Ryu had rebuffed her advances, she was convinced that he no longer had feelings for her, so she ran away. Cold and half-starved, she was found by a kind ronin who helped her out and nursed her back to health. The ronin explained that he was joining his brothers at Ryoko Owari, but she said she did not want to go back there. Yori is surprised when the ronin tells her that there is a war on and explains that she would be safe there. Yori reluctantly agrees to come to Kyuden Ikoma at least – the pass into Scorpion lands is difficult to get through because the Unicorn is blocking it. Yori follows the ronin to Kyuden Ikoma where she spent her days in quiet contemplation before the ronin introduced her to the kind Shigeru. She had no idea Ryu was in the same city.
In the morning, Ryu bolts up and realizes he has spent the whole night with Yori and not with Kita. He rushes out of the Teahouse and forgets his mask.
---
The previous evening, Noriyaki hired Toshio, an artisan, to build him a small shrine to the Kami of the Dragon Helm. He asked him to build it in an area of stone overlooking the city and he paid two koku for the privilege. When he returns, Jin proposes they have a tea ceremony. He needs something to relax his mind for the duel he will have with Hira in the morning.
In the morning, Noriyaki and the rest of the samurai prepare to go up and consecrate the shrine. Jin looks for his charge and does not find him. He asks Hiroko whether Ryu had returned the night before, and she says that he had not. Jin returns to the Teahouse and tells the others to go and consecrate the shrine without him.
When Jin arrives at the teahouse, he is greeted by an elderly matron who remembers Ryu but does not know where he was. She also tells him that discretion is a major part of her business and that she cannot disclose any details about a nightly rendezvous. It would be bad for business. Jin remembers one of the geisha who took Ryu with her – she wore a light green kimono. The matron finds the green robed geisha named Tae. Tae takes Jin to the room where Ryu met Shigeru. They find a futon with blankets which had obviously been occupied the night before, and they find Ryu’s mask hanging on a hook. Tae then explains that Shigeru ordered her and the other geisha out and then shut the shoji behind them. When she returned later at night, she could hear a man and woman behind the shoji pillowing, but Tae did nothing to disturb them. The matron explains that Ryu had left quietly and no one knows where he went. Dejected, Jin leaves the teahouse.
Noriyaki, Kenjiro and Ying-Lien arrive at a small and hastily constructed shrine at the top of an outcropping of rock overlooking Kyuden Ikoma. Noriyaki places the Dragon Helm on the altar and performs a small ceremony consecrating the shrine – nothing fancy, just a simple ceremony (Theology roll just barely made it). The Kami is satisfied.
As they begin climbing down, they see dark smoke in the distance and feel the thunder of hooves approaching Kyuden Ikoma. The Unicorn have arrived and it looked like they were preparing to siege Kyuden Ikoma. The black smoke was the Lion samurai, burning crops and supplies to prevent the Unicorn from capturing anything to feed their army with.
When they returned to the city, the makeshift peasant refugee camp outside the city gates was in disarray as the peasants were busy taking down their ramshackle tents, gathering up their belongings and trying to stay out the way of the advancing Unicorn army.
Jin returns to their home. He gives Ryu’s mask back to Hiroko and delivers it to Ryu. Ryu is getting ready to go to the bathhouse when he runs in Jin. He thanks him for the mask but brushes him off saying he will be right back.
Jin prepares for his duel with Hira. Kenjiro is petitioned to be Jin’s second, and he agrees. When they arrive outside the city gates, Hira is waiting for them with her own second, Matsu Gihei, another Lion samurai as large as a Crab berserker.
Hira and Jin prepare for the duel and begin sizing each other up. Jin examines Hira’s stance and realizes that she has been working on her dueling skills. She has improved and when Hira sees the worried look on Jin’s face, she smiles.
They are about to begin focusing when Daidoji Chisato interrupts the ritual and orders them to stop the duel and attend Kikaze at his guest house in the keep during the hour of the rooster. Hira is incensed and tells Jin that this is not over. She storms off with Gihei who scowls at the samurai as they leave.
Ying-Lien decides that this may be her opportunity to join the Unicorn army. She rides out dressed in her sky blue kimono and is greeted by Unicorn Battle Maidens who take her to the yert of Utaku Yaeko, their commanding officer. When she is escorted in, she finds Yaeko sitting on a small dais. The other Unicorn samurai are busy putting up wall hangings and placing rugs and other appointments that the Unicorn like to have around them. To Ying-Lien, it felt like home.
Ying-Lien gets down to business. She wants to join the Battle Maidens in their glorious march toward Kyuden Ikoma and later to Toshi Ranbo. She also explains that her husband has a plan to try and negotiate an end to hostilities such that the Lion would simply allow the Unicorn army across their lands. Yaeko cannot speak for Moto Chagatai, the Khan, but says that she might be able to see him at a later time. In the meantime, Ying-Lien agrees to ride out with them tomorrow morning. Yaeko is only glad to have Ying-Lien on her side.
Just before the Hour of the Rooster, Jin goes looking for Ryu again. Frustrated, he returns to the teahouse to be told that he met and left with Shigeru. Jin has had enough with pleasantries. The meeting with Daidoji Kikaze, the impending invasion and his own problems are enough without having a recalcitrant charge who refuses to stay with his bodyguard. Jin finds Kita and asks her if she had seen her husband earlier. She tells him no. Jin asks about a woman named Yori and Kita says that she is Ryu’s brother’s wife. She asks if Yori is in town, but Jin does not admit to anything. Jin excuses himself and Kita tells him that if she sees him, she will let him know that Jin is looking for him.
The samurai are escorted into the grounds of the keep at Kyuden Ikoma. They are taken to a small house guarded by Daidoji Chisato and another Crane samurai. Chisato shows them in and then leaves. Kikaze is sitting crosslegged by the table and shares tea with them. Then he asks them if they are truly Crane samurai and if they would die for their Clan and their Emperor. Each respond saying yes before Kikaze asks them “then why did you betray me.”
Kikaze tells them he knows about the deception involving his son’s death. Shosuro Shigeru came to him and told him about it all. Then, he throws the wakazashi and obi that the maho-tsukai had and that Ryu used as proof of his death. Kikaze tells them that Shigeru wants something from them and then asks if they know what he is talking about. Everyone else remains silent, but when asked, Ying-Lien tells him about the Dragon Helm.
When pressed about the accusation Shigeru is making about who was complicit in faking his son’s death, everyone denies knowledge, but Kikaze sees through their lies. He calls their actions treasonous and says he should have their heads, but falls short of asking for them – he sees Shigeru’s hand in everything that happened and is not convinced that Shigeru did not just manipulate everything.
The samurai ask him why he simply does not call Shigeru’s bluff and challenge him to a duel. No one would believe such things of the Daimyo of the Daidoji family. Kikaze explains that any knowledge could compromise his position as a credible negotiator for the Crane in this war. The Lion may be desperate to gain their help, but he wonders whether they would negotiate with someone whose trusted son and samurai betrayed him in such manner. By the time things are sorted out and the truth revealed, the Unicorn could have marched on Toshi Ranbo. He cannot afford a scandal to delay negotiations.
When asked if any of them could challenge Shigeru, Kikaze tells them not to touch him. Instead, he has a different duty for them. Despite what they have done, he is convinced that they are the only ones he can ‘trust.’ Kikaze wants the samurai to find out what Shigeru wants with the Dragon Helm and to find and return his son. Kikaze explains that Kage is not his true son, but that his mother had an affair and died giving birth to Kage before revealing who the father was. Despite this knowledge, he raised Kage as his own and never told him he was a bastard. He dearly loves his son and despite the dishonor that will come with revealing him as a fraud, he wants him back.
Finally, Kikaze tells them this quest must remain a secret. He cannot afford to have knowledge of their quest get out into court. The samurai commit to both tasks and return to their home. Along with this, he cannot give them papers to travel through the disputed territory. Once they get to Dragon lands, he has a friend who will give them travel papers, but they will not have any until then.
The samurai return to their quarters, a lot on their minds.
Next: The Crossing
Synopsis: Daidoji Kikaze meets with the samurai and sends them on a personal quest.
Shosuro Shigeru greets Ryu in the room and tells him that he has a gift for him. He opens a shoji and reveals Bayushi Yori who stands, rushes to him and almost crushes him in a bear hug. Shigeru tells them he will leave them alone. Ryu tries to get to Shigeru and asks if she is the price for the Dragon Helm. Shigeru says “of course not” before closing the shoji behind him. Ryu tries to follow Shigeru, but Yori pulls him back. She has not seen him in months and wants very much to make amends. Ryu does not resist and they spend much of the night pillowing and enjoying each others company.
During the night, Yori explains to Ryu what happened after winter court. She tells him that after Ryu had rebuffed her advances, she was convinced that he no longer had feelings for her, so she ran away. Cold and half-starved, she was found by a kind ronin who helped her out and nursed her back to health. The ronin explained that he was joining his brothers at Ryoko Owari, but she said she did not want to go back there. Yori is surprised when the ronin tells her that there is a war on and explains that she would be safe there. Yori reluctantly agrees to come to Kyuden Ikoma at least – the pass into Scorpion lands is difficult to get through because the Unicorn is blocking it. Yori follows the ronin to Kyuden Ikoma where she spent her days in quiet contemplation before the ronin introduced her to the kind Shigeru. She had no idea Ryu was in the same city.
In the morning, Ryu bolts up and realizes he has spent the whole night with Yori and not with Kita. He rushes out of the Teahouse and forgets his mask.
---
The previous evening, Noriyaki hired Toshio, an artisan, to build him a small shrine to the Kami of the Dragon Helm. He asked him to build it in an area of stone overlooking the city and he paid two koku for the privilege. When he returns, Jin proposes they have a tea ceremony. He needs something to relax his mind for the duel he will have with Hira in the morning.
In the morning, Noriyaki and the rest of the samurai prepare to go up and consecrate the shrine. Jin looks for his charge and does not find him. He asks Hiroko whether Ryu had returned the night before, and she says that he had not. Jin returns to the Teahouse and tells the others to go and consecrate the shrine without him.
When Jin arrives at the teahouse, he is greeted by an elderly matron who remembers Ryu but does not know where he was. She also tells him that discretion is a major part of her business and that she cannot disclose any details about a nightly rendezvous. It would be bad for business. Jin remembers one of the geisha who took Ryu with her – she wore a light green kimono. The matron finds the green robed geisha named Tae. Tae takes Jin to the room where Ryu met Shigeru. They find a futon with blankets which had obviously been occupied the night before, and they find Ryu’s mask hanging on a hook. Tae then explains that Shigeru ordered her and the other geisha out and then shut the shoji behind them. When she returned later at night, she could hear a man and woman behind the shoji pillowing, but Tae did nothing to disturb them. The matron explains that Ryu had left quietly and no one knows where he went. Dejected, Jin leaves the teahouse.
Noriyaki, Kenjiro and Ying-Lien arrive at a small and hastily constructed shrine at the top of an outcropping of rock overlooking Kyuden Ikoma. Noriyaki places the Dragon Helm on the altar and performs a small ceremony consecrating the shrine – nothing fancy, just a simple ceremony (Theology roll just barely made it). The Kami is satisfied.
As they begin climbing down, they see dark smoke in the distance and feel the thunder of hooves approaching Kyuden Ikoma. The Unicorn have arrived and it looked like they were preparing to siege Kyuden Ikoma. The black smoke was the Lion samurai, burning crops and supplies to prevent the Unicorn from capturing anything to feed their army with.
When they returned to the city, the makeshift peasant refugee camp outside the city gates was in disarray as the peasants were busy taking down their ramshackle tents, gathering up their belongings and trying to stay out the way of the advancing Unicorn army.
Jin returns to their home. He gives Ryu’s mask back to Hiroko and delivers it to Ryu. Ryu is getting ready to go to the bathhouse when he runs in Jin. He thanks him for the mask but brushes him off saying he will be right back.
Jin prepares for his duel with Hira. Kenjiro is petitioned to be Jin’s second, and he agrees. When they arrive outside the city gates, Hira is waiting for them with her own second, Matsu Gihei, another Lion samurai as large as a Crab berserker.
Hira and Jin prepare for the duel and begin sizing each other up. Jin examines Hira’s stance and realizes that she has been working on her dueling skills. She has improved and when Hira sees the worried look on Jin’s face, she smiles.
They are about to begin focusing when Daidoji Chisato interrupts the ritual and orders them to stop the duel and attend Kikaze at his guest house in the keep during the hour of the rooster. Hira is incensed and tells Jin that this is not over. She storms off with Gihei who scowls at the samurai as they leave.
Ying-Lien decides that this may be her opportunity to join the Unicorn army. She rides out dressed in her sky blue kimono and is greeted by Unicorn Battle Maidens who take her to the yert of Utaku Yaeko, their commanding officer. When she is escorted in, she finds Yaeko sitting on a small dais. The other Unicorn samurai are busy putting up wall hangings and placing rugs and other appointments that the Unicorn like to have around them. To Ying-Lien, it felt like home.
Ying-Lien gets down to business. She wants to join the Battle Maidens in their glorious march toward Kyuden Ikoma and later to Toshi Ranbo. She also explains that her husband has a plan to try and negotiate an end to hostilities such that the Lion would simply allow the Unicorn army across their lands. Yaeko cannot speak for Moto Chagatai, the Khan, but says that she might be able to see him at a later time. In the meantime, Ying-Lien agrees to ride out with them tomorrow morning. Yaeko is only glad to have Ying-Lien on her side.
Just before the Hour of the Rooster, Jin goes looking for Ryu again. Frustrated, he returns to the teahouse to be told that he met and left with Shigeru. Jin has had enough with pleasantries. The meeting with Daidoji Kikaze, the impending invasion and his own problems are enough without having a recalcitrant charge who refuses to stay with his bodyguard. Jin finds Kita and asks her if she had seen her husband earlier. She tells him no. Jin asks about a woman named Yori and Kita says that she is Ryu’s brother’s wife. She asks if Yori is in town, but Jin does not admit to anything. Jin excuses himself and Kita tells him that if she sees him, she will let him know that Jin is looking for him.
The samurai are escorted into the grounds of the keep at Kyuden Ikoma. They are taken to a small house guarded by Daidoji Chisato and another Crane samurai. Chisato shows them in and then leaves. Kikaze is sitting crosslegged by the table and shares tea with them. Then he asks them if they are truly Crane samurai and if they would die for their Clan and their Emperor. Each respond saying yes before Kikaze asks them “then why did you betray me.”
Kikaze tells them he knows about the deception involving his son’s death. Shosuro Shigeru came to him and told him about it all. Then, he throws the wakazashi and obi that the maho-tsukai had and that Ryu used as proof of his death. Kikaze tells them that Shigeru wants something from them and then asks if they know what he is talking about. Everyone else remains silent, but when asked, Ying-Lien tells him about the Dragon Helm.
When pressed about the accusation Shigeru is making about who was complicit in faking his son’s death, everyone denies knowledge, but Kikaze sees through their lies. He calls their actions treasonous and says he should have their heads, but falls short of asking for them – he sees Shigeru’s hand in everything that happened and is not convinced that Shigeru did not just manipulate everything.
The samurai ask him why he simply does not call Shigeru’s bluff and challenge him to a duel. No one would believe such things of the Daimyo of the Daidoji family. Kikaze explains that any knowledge could compromise his position as a credible negotiator for the Crane in this war. The Lion may be desperate to gain their help, but he wonders whether they would negotiate with someone whose trusted son and samurai betrayed him in such manner. By the time things are sorted out and the truth revealed, the Unicorn could have marched on Toshi Ranbo. He cannot afford a scandal to delay negotiations.
When asked if any of them could challenge Shigeru, Kikaze tells them not to touch him. Instead, he has a different duty for them. Despite what they have done, he is convinced that they are the only ones he can ‘trust.’ Kikaze wants the samurai to find out what Shigeru wants with the Dragon Helm and to find and return his son. Kikaze explains that Kage is not his true son, but that his mother had an affair and died giving birth to Kage before revealing who the father was. Despite this knowledge, he raised Kage as his own and never told him he was a bastard. He dearly loves his son and despite the dishonor that will come with revealing him as a fraud, he wants him back.
Finally, Kikaze tells them this quest must remain a secret. He cannot afford to have knowledge of their quest get out into court. The samurai commit to both tasks and return to their home. Along with this, he cannot give them papers to travel through the disputed territory. Once they get to Dragon lands, he has a friend who will give them travel papers, but they will not have any until then.
The samurai return to their quarters, a lot on their minds.
Next: The Crossing
Saturday, November 22, 2008
(L5R) Ch 2 – The Betrothal, part 1
The Teahouse of Jade Thunder
Synopsis: Daidoji Jin is betrothed to Matsu Hira. Meanwhile, the Unicorn Clan continues to march across Lion lands.
It is the Month of the Boar in the year 1168 IC and the Empire of Rokugan has been thrown into chaos. The Unicorn Clan attacked the Lion Clan in an unprovoked and deadly winter assault. Normally, winter is the worst time to conduct a war. But for the Khan, it is an opportunity that was not to be wasted. With its mounted cavalry, the Unicorn use the winter to their advantage and flank the Lion forces at every turn. Their huge mounts glide past the Lion infantry which struggles in sometimes waist deep snow, surrounding them and cutting them off from reinforcements and supply lines. Entire Lion battalions are captured or killed as the Unicorn easily capture towns and cities that dot the Plains of Battle.
But as the New Year approaches, the Khan’s purpose becomes clear. The Khan does not just wish to attack the Lion; the Khan is attacking them only as a means to an end. The Khan is marching his troops to Toshi Ranbo, the Imperial Capital. He intends to take the Imperial Throne and declare himself Emperor. The surviving Hantai siblings, Kaneka and Sezaru, have both refused to take the throne. Kaneka is happy being Shogun and Sezaru continues his hunt of the Shadowlands throughout the empire. Neither wish to engage in courtly power politics and so both refused the Steel Throne. The Khan saw this as weak. He believed that the empire needed someone of strength to rule – someone who was strong enough to fight the tide of the Shadowlands that has ripped across the Empire from time to time over the past century. So the Khan took action.
In the hours after the initial attack, the group of samurai that had just killed a maho-tsukai in an abandoned keep overlooking Daidoji castle, arrive to find the castle in chaos. Amidst the chaos, Ryu looks for Bayushi Yori but does not find her. Finally, he ventures into the basement of Daidoji castle and finds Shosuro Shigeru. He hands him the maho-tsukai’s obi and wakizashi as proof of his death and the completion of their duty. Shigeru thanks him and asks if there was anything else there, a helm perhaps. Ryu says yes, but since Shigeru had never mentioned it, they have taken it as their own. Shigeru is somewhat annoyed, but does nothing else.
Two months later…
Year 1169 IC, Month of the Tiger
The Lion have asked the Crane for help in fighting back the Unicorn war machine. So far, the Crab Clan are not intervening, deciding that the Empire needs strength on the throne. The Mantis Clan have also refused to get involved deciding instead to sell arms to both sides. The Dragon Clan and Scorpion Clan have been silent. Only the Phoenix Clan have rushed to the Lion’s aid, but as peacekeepers, not soldiers. So, the Lion have turned to their allies, the Crane. Daidoji Kikaze, being the highest ranking member of the Crane on this side of the lines of battle, has been elected to negotiate for the Clan. The samurai have been requested to help him in negotiations at Kyuden Ikoma.
The samurai have been living in the Noble Quarter of Kyuden Ikoma since they arrived over a month ago. As a guest of Kyuden Ikoma, Kikaze has been given a guest house in the keep itself.
It is during these negotiations that Daidoji Jin receives a note from Kikaze delivered by his new envoy, Daidoji Chisato. The note tells Jin that as part of an attempt to strengthen ties between the Lion and Crane, he has been betrothed to Matsu Hira. Jin’s face goes red. He is betrothed to the one Lion who hates him. They had dueled several times in the past. Nothing good could come of this. The messenger becomes scared that Jin is about to kill him, but Jin reassures him that he will not.
The note also asks Jin to appoint a Nokado. Jin asks Bayushi Ryu who accepts the honour. Jin then goes to the market to find appropriate wedding gifts for the betrothal to take place later that day at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder.
Ryu decides that while the Crane and Lion were finding new ways to make war, he would try to make peace. He visits the Unicorn compound. It is tightly guarded by Unicorn and Crane samurai, a hedge against any possible Lion attacks. A servant shows him and takes him to a serene snow-covered garden in the back. Ide Murai, the Unicorn advisor, greets him and asks if he would like to try a delicacy from beyond Rokugan’s borders – a dark beverage known as “kohi”. Murai’s father had brought it back from the Burning Sands and they have grown small crops on the Utaku Plains ever since. The brackish liquid is bitter, but Ryu actually enjoys the taste.
Ryu speaks to Murai about the Khan’s invasion. Murai supports his Khan, of course, and he calmly states his Clan’s position – that the Khan intends to take the throne. Murai hopes Kikaze would eventually call on him to speak of those matters, but have not heard anything from him. He expects that the Lion are so desperate to get help from the Crane, they will lose the war in the meantime. As Ryu is escorted out, Murai gives Ryu a small package of kohi beans with instructions on how to brew a cup. They do a gift dance before Ryu graciously accepts.
Ryu then sends an invitation to the Lion Clan, hoping to get an idea of what it would take for the Lion to sue for peace.
Meanwhile, Noriyaki is doing research into the helm and discovers it may be a Dragon Helm. He takes it back to his compound and while the others looked on, summons the Kami in a ceremony. A steel Kami responds and answers Noriyaki’s question – that he can indeed command an Elemental Dragon. This Dragon Helm is indeed, a valuable if not legendary, nemuranai. Ryu rationalizes that this Helm is what Shigeru sent them for up the mountain – not necessarily to kill the maho-tsukai. The steel Kami requests that Noriyaki build him a shrine within one day in exchange for such information. Noriyaki agreed.
Ying-Lien, being Unicorn, has had a hard time traveling through Kyuden Ikoma without getting accosted by Lion Clan samurai. So she has a kimono made in Crane colours with the Unicorn mon and white fur trimming. It will not attract as much attention as the purple kimono she normally wears.
Ide Murai summons Ying-Lien. When she arrives at the Ide compound, Murai shares kohi with her and asks her why she is not with the other Battle Maidens. She explains that her duties with her Crane husband preclude her from being on the battlefield even though she really wants to be. She decides, however, that she really wishes to be on the battlefield with the remaining Battle Maidens. Murai says he will arrange papers for her to meet up with a nearby contingent of Battle Maidens lead by Utaku Yaeko.
Kenjiro, in the meantime, discusses the possibility of using the Dragon Helm as a carrot – to get the Lion to agree to allow the Unicorn to cross their lands in exchange for a prominent position in the Khan’s new court (such as Shogun). In exchange, they could give the Dragon Helm to the Unicorn as a token of peace – to ensure that they do not lay waste to the Lion lands.
Before they can set those plans into motion, the samurai all get ready for Jin’s betrothal party. Ryu offers kohi as a gift, but Jin wisely decides against it. They all arrive at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder. It is a large two storey structure with many rooms for both tea and more intimate activities. Many serving girls and geisha greet them and escort them to their private room on the second floor. The servant opens the shoji door. They find a breathtaking view of the Mountain of the Seven Thunders as well as Matsu Hira kneeling beside an older gentleman dressed in Lion colours who introduces himself as Matsu Shogo, Hira’s father. Ryu introduces himself as the Nokado and everyone else files in. When Hira sees the Unicorn, she bolts upward and almost draws her katana before Shogo quietly calms her down.
Daidoji Jin begins by giving three gifts – first a war fan, then a Go set and finally a sake set. Always ready to pick a fight, Hira accuses Jin of offending her by giving her a sake set and implying that she is a drunk. Jin defuses the situation by saying it is to be used to acknowledging victory in war. Unconvinced, Hira tells Jin he is insensitive and that the gift is a bad one. Ying-Lien had enough of Hira and begins arguing with Hira. The two get up and almost draw katanas right there before Kenjiro drags his wife out of the room and takes her back to their quarters.
When Shogo calms his daughter, he presents Jin with a scroll with a painting depicting the Lion victory at the Battle of Black River, despite the mistakes of the Crane. Jin politely disagrees and explains that it was the Lion who refused to listen to Crane commanders. Hira yells at Jin telling him that her grandfather was at that battle and the tales he told were the true accounts of that battle. Jin interrupts and tries again to explain the Crane side of things. Hira accuses Jin of insulting their ancestors and challenges Jin to a duel. Having bested her before, Jin agrees to a duel to first blood the next morning outside the city walls – the duel will decide once and for all who is correct about their version of history.
As they leave the Tea House, Ryu sees a small group of geisha beckoning to him. He cannot resist and tells the others to go home without him. Ryu goes with the geisha to a back room. When they open the shoji door, they find Shosuro Shigeru there to greet them.
Next: The Duty
Synopsis: Daidoji Jin is betrothed to Matsu Hira. Meanwhile, the Unicorn Clan continues to march across Lion lands.
It is the Month of the Boar in the year 1168 IC and the Empire of Rokugan has been thrown into chaos. The Unicorn Clan attacked the Lion Clan in an unprovoked and deadly winter assault. Normally, winter is the worst time to conduct a war. But for the Khan, it is an opportunity that was not to be wasted. With its mounted cavalry, the Unicorn use the winter to their advantage and flank the Lion forces at every turn. Their huge mounts glide past the Lion infantry which struggles in sometimes waist deep snow, surrounding them and cutting them off from reinforcements and supply lines. Entire Lion battalions are captured or killed as the Unicorn easily capture towns and cities that dot the Plains of Battle.
But as the New Year approaches, the Khan’s purpose becomes clear. The Khan does not just wish to attack the Lion; the Khan is attacking them only as a means to an end. The Khan is marching his troops to Toshi Ranbo, the Imperial Capital. He intends to take the Imperial Throne and declare himself Emperor. The surviving Hantai siblings, Kaneka and Sezaru, have both refused to take the throne. Kaneka is happy being Shogun and Sezaru continues his hunt of the Shadowlands throughout the empire. Neither wish to engage in courtly power politics and so both refused the Steel Throne. The Khan saw this as weak. He believed that the empire needed someone of strength to rule – someone who was strong enough to fight the tide of the Shadowlands that has ripped across the Empire from time to time over the past century. So the Khan took action.
In the hours after the initial attack, the group of samurai that had just killed a maho-tsukai in an abandoned keep overlooking Daidoji castle, arrive to find the castle in chaos. Amidst the chaos, Ryu looks for Bayushi Yori but does not find her. Finally, he ventures into the basement of Daidoji castle and finds Shosuro Shigeru. He hands him the maho-tsukai’s obi and wakizashi as proof of his death and the completion of their duty. Shigeru thanks him and asks if there was anything else there, a helm perhaps. Ryu says yes, but since Shigeru had never mentioned it, they have taken it as their own. Shigeru is somewhat annoyed, but does nothing else.
Two months later…
Year 1169 IC, Month of the Tiger
The Lion have asked the Crane for help in fighting back the Unicorn war machine. So far, the Crab Clan are not intervening, deciding that the Empire needs strength on the throne. The Mantis Clan have also refused to get involved deciding instead to sell arms to both sides. The Dragon Clan and Scorpion Clan have been silent. Only the Phoenix Clan have rushed to the Lion’s aid, but as peacekeepers, not soldiers. So, the Lion have turned to their allies, the Crane. Daidoji Kikaze, being the highest ranking member of the Crane on this side of the lines of battle, has been elected to negotiate for the Clan. The samurai have been requested to help him in negotiations at Kyuden Ikoma.
The samurai have been living in the Noble Quarter of Kyuden Ikoma since they arrived over a month ago. As a guest of Kyuden Ikoma, Kikaze has been given a guest house in the keep itself.
It is during these negotiations that Daidoji Jin receives a note from Kikaze delivered by his new envoy, Daidoji Chisato. The note tells Jin that as part of an attempt to strengthen ties between the Lion and Crane, he has been betrothed to Matsu Hira. Jin’s face goes red. He is betrothed to the one Lion who hates him. They had dueled several times in the past. Nothing good could come of this. The messenger becomes scared that Jin is about to kill him, but Jin reassures him that he will not.
The note also asks Jin to appoint a Nokado. Jin asks Bayushi Ryu who accepts the honour. Jin then goes to the market to find appropriate wedding gifts for the betrothal to take place later that day at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder.
Ryu decides that while the Crane and Lion were finding new ways to make war, he would try to make peace. He visits the Unicorn compound. It is tightly guarded by Unicorn and Crane samurai, a hedge against any possible Lion attacks. A servant shows him and takes him to a serene snow-covered garden in the back. Ide Murai, the Unicorn advisor, greets him and asks if he would like to try a delicacy from beyond Rokugan’s borders – a dark beverage known as “kohi”. Murai’s father had brought it back from the Burning Sands and they have grown small crops on the Utaku Plains ever since. The brackish liquid is bitter, but Ryu actually enjoys the taste.
Ryu speaks to Murai about the Khan’s invasion. Murai supports his Khan, of course, and he calmly states his Clan’s position – that the Khan intends to take the throne. Murai hopes Kikaze would eventually call on him to speak of those matters, but have not heard anything from him. He expects that the Lion are so desperate to get help from the Crane, they will lose the war in the meantime. As Ryu is escorted out, Murai gives Ryu a small package of kohi beans with instructions on how to brew a cup. They do a gift dance before Ryu graciously accepts.
Ryu then sends an invitation to the Lion Clan, hoping to get an idea of what it would take for the Lion to sue for peace.
Meanwhile, Noriyaki is doing research into the helm and discovers it may be a Dragon Helm. He takes it back to his compound and while the others looked on, summons the Kami in a ceremony. A steel Kami responds and answers Noriyaki’s question – that he can indeed command an Elemental Dragon. This Dragon Helm is indeed, a valuable if not legendary, nemuranai. Ryu rationalizes that this Helm is what Shigeru sent them for up the mountain – not necessarily to kill the maho-tsukai. The steel Kami requests that Noriyaki build him a shrine within one day in exchange for such information. Noriyaki agreed.
Ying-Lien, being Unicorn, has had a hard time traveling through Kyuden Ikoma without getting accosted by Lion Clan samurai. So she has a kimono made in Crane colours with the Unicorn mon and white fur trimming. It will not attract as much attention as the purple kimono she normally wears.
Ide Murai summons Ying-Lien. When she arrives at the Ide compound, Murai shares kohi with her and asks her why she is not with the other Battle Maidens. She explains that her duties with her Crane husband preclude her from being on the battlefield even though she really wants to be. She decides, however, that she really wishes to be on the battlefield with the remaining Battle Maidens. Murai says he will arrange papers for her to meet up with a nearby contingent of Battle Maidens lead by Utaku Yaeko.
Kenjiro, in the meantime, discusses the possibility of using the Dragon Helm as a carrot – to get the Lion to agree to allow the Unicorn to cross their lands in exchange for a prominent position in the Khan’s new court (such as Shogun). In exchange, they could give the Dragon Helm to the Unicorn as a token of peace – to ensure that they do not lay waste to the Lion lands.
Before they can set those plans into motion, the samurai all get ready for Jin’s betrothal party. Ryu offers kohi as a gift, but Jin wisely decides against it. They all arrive at the Teahouse of Jade Thunder. It is a large two storey structure with many rooms for both tea and more intimate activities. Many serving girls and geisha greet them and escort them to their private room on the second floor. The servant opens the shoji door. They find a breathtaking view of the Mountain of the Seven Thunders as well as Matsu Hira kneeling beside an older gentleman dressed in Lion colours who introduces himself as Matsu Shogo, Hira’s father. Ryu introduces himself as the Nokado and everyone else files in. When Hira sees the Unicorn, she bolts upward and almost draws her katana before Shogo quietly calms her down.
Daidoji Jin begins by giving three gifts – first a war fan, then a Go set and finally a sake set. Always ready to pick a fight, Hira accuses Jin of offending her by giving her a sake set and implying that she is a drunk. Jin defuses the situation by saying it is to be used to acknowledging victory in war. Unconvinced, Hira tells Jin he is insensitive and that the gift is a bad one. Ying-Lien had enough of Hira and begins arguing with Hira. The two get up and almost draw katanas right there before Kenjiro drags his wife out of the room and takes her back to their quarters.
When Shogo calms his daughter, he presents Jin with a scroll with a painting depicting the Lion victory at the Battle of Black River, despite the mistakes of the Crane. Jin politely disagrees and explains that it was the Lion who refused to listen to Crane commanders. Hira yells at Jin telling him that her grandfather was at that battle and the tales he told were the true accounts of that battle. Jin interrupts and tries again to explain the Crane side of things. Hira accuses Jin of insulting their ancestors and challenges Jin to a duel. Having bested her before, Jin agrees to a duel to first blood the next morning outside the city walls – the duel will decide once and for all who is correct about their version of history.
As they leave the Tea House, Ryu sees a small group of geisha beckoning to him. He cannot resist and tells the others to go home without him. Ryu goes with the geisha to a back room. When they open the shoji door, they find Shosuro Shigeru there to greet them.
Next: The Duty
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Dramatis Personae - Chapter 2
Ide Murai – Unicorn Clan Courtier at Kyuden Ikoma. Prides himself in the 'kohi' his family grows on the Utaku Plains.
Ikoma Tadasu – Courtier of the Lion Clan – He is responsible for negotiating with Daidoji’ Kikaze
Daidoji Kikaze – The Daidoji Daimyo
Daidoji Chisato – Daidoji Kikaze’s envoy
Matsu Shogo – Matsu Hira’s father
Shosuro Shigeru - Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures. He wants the Dragon Helm.
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 3 NPC's
Ikoma Tadasu – Courtier of the Lion Clan – He is responsible for negotiating with Daidoji’ Kikaze
Daidoji Kikaze – The Daidoji Daimyo
Daidoji Chisato – Daidoji Kikaze’s envoy
Matsu Shogo – Matsu Hira’s father
Shosuro Shigeru - Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures. He wants the Dragon Helm.
Other NPC's in Other Chapters:
Chapter 1 NPC's
Chapter 3 NPC's
(L5R) Ch 1 - The Mountain Witch, part 4
Part 4: The Maho-Tsukai
Synopsis: The group learn about the mastermind behind the murders, a maho-tsukai who lives in an abandoned keep located up the mountain.
Immediately after her waking from her nightmare, Ying-Lien talks to Kenjiro about the disturbing dream. They do not know exactly what it means or whether it is a true representation of what will happen or merely a metaphor, but now they are both aware of the prophecy.
There is still the matter of finding the true maho-tsukai. After several days of quiet investigation (which included several forays into the local bath houses looking for scars and tattoos, the samurai hear of an old peasant rumour – that there is an haunted keep at the top of the mountain overlooking the shrine. The maho-tsukai surely lives there.
After hastily making preparations, the group quietly leaves the Daidoji keep and ventures up the mountain, stopping only long enough for Kenjiro to visit the shrine and see his sister, Shiba Yakiko. Kenjiro tells her about the dream and asks her what it means. Yakiko tells him that without more, she cannot tell him exactly what it means. It may be symbolic or it may indeed be prophetic. Any more she could not say.
As the motley collection of samurai continues their short journey up the mountain, they find two sets of human footprints – both venturing up toward the old keep. Were there two maho-tsukai at work here? Who else was hidden within the castle walls? After eight hours of following the path up the mountain, they finally spot the old keep. Along each side of the path approaching the keep, they see dozens of white masks hung atop bamboo poles. The masks stared at them with eerily glowing eyes. Kenjiro knocked one of the masks off its moorings. He found an ordinary candle behind the mask.
As they approach the gates of the keep, they see one light glowing at the top of the keep. That is where the maho-tsukai is, they surmise. That is where they will find him and dispatch him to Jigoku for the trouble he had caused them.
The front gate crashes open. Three large goblins rush out to greet them, but they are ready for them. Kakita Kenjiro shoots an arrow at one while Daidoji Jin rushes up and easily dispatches another. The others move in and take the goblins out before the goblins on the wall shower them with arrows. But the goblins fail to hit their targets and the samurai rush through the open gate. The few remaining goblins try to intercept them, but are easily killed by Kenjiro’s arrows and Noriyaki’s Jade Strike spell.
Sensing very little opposition, they walk along the keeps dilapidated wall and approach the main keep. Just as they approach the stairs down to the keep itself, they hear a thunderous pounding inside. A gigantic ogre crashes through the door. Undeterred, Daidoji Jin attacks it with fervor previously unknown to him. With one strike of his katana, he slashes the Ogre across his mighty chest. The ogre staggers and notices black ichor draining from the large gash Jin had given him. The others move in and attack. The ogre strikes back, but the tides of battle had turned and the ogre falls easily.
The group moves quickly into the decaying keep. The wood and paper walls are ragged. Wind whistles through the tattered halls. As the samurai move into the keep, they hear a quiet laughter from above.
“So, he has decided that I am to die, has he?” says the disembodied voice. “Then come and try. I will enjoy the challenge.”
There is one thin staircase creeping upstairs. Daidoji Jin ventures ahead of the others – given confidence by handily defeating the ogre. As he climbs up to the third floor, he is suddenly hit by a bolt of energy. A numbing cold climbs within his body, and though he resists, it drains him of his will, stunning him. (the bolt of nothing drains 1 VOID permanently). Two large black creatures appear from the shadows and begin stalking the stunned Daidoji Jin. To Jin, they look like cats, almost the size of tigers. But their appearance keeps shifting making their true appearance a mystery. Jin does not care. They are still unnatural creatures from the Shadowlands and they will be sent back to the abyss they came from.
The others rush upstairs, but the thin staircase prevents them from all converging into the room to help their comrade. Noriyaki is behind them all and wants desperately to summon an earth kami, but until he is able to see the creatures, he cannot begin his prayer.
One of the minions rushes at Daidoji Jin with blackened claws. It strikes him fiercely before moving off evading Jin’s katana. Kakita Kenjiro rushes up the stairs, nocks an arrow and fires at one of the creature, missing. Ying-Lien rushes up behind Kenjiro but also fails to land a blow. The creature circles around and strikes at Jin, almost knocking him on the ground but Jin responds and hits the minion hard. Ryu draws his wakizashi and tries to strike at the second minion, but to no avail.
Finally, Noriyaki, with scroll unfurled, climbs the stairs into the chamber and summons an earth kami. He feels a resistance to his prayers, evidence that there are Kansen nearby, but manages to summon the kami and commands it to strike the creatures with the power of jade. The room glows green as the kami strikes a mighty blow on the minion throwing the creature across the room.
With Noriyaki’s spell, the tides of battle turn. The second minion throws a bolt of darkness at Kenjiro. It strikes him, but he resists the cold, numbing darkness that enters his body. It is the last blow the creatures would land. The minions fall and their carcasses dissolve into the shadow as if they had never been. The samurai are injured, but they live. Daidoji Jin, however, has been hit with a bolt of
The samurai venture upstairs and find the maho-tsukai sitting cross-legged inside a mystic circle of protection. There is a nebulous smoke spinning around him not venturing forth beyond the circle.
They begin to approach. Noriyaki summons an earth kami to throw another jade strike. It is blocked by the smoke, which Noriyaki realizes is the Kansen he felt earlier. However, this Kansen is wearing a mask made of the flesh of the face of Ide Keiyomi – no doubt a sacrifice the maho-tsukai had to make to summon the Kansen. The samurai know they have the right maho-tsukai – the one who murdered Ide Keiyomi.
The samurai attack. The maho-tsukai’s fingers grow long black nails and he stands, ready for them. Noriyaki, knowing an earth kami will likely not have any affect as long as the maho-tsukai stands in the circle of protection, summons an air kami instead and a tempest of air appears in the room, blowing scattered scrolls everywhere. As the witch struggles to stand, Daidoji Jin strikes an incredible blow on the witch before Kakita Kenjiro’s arrow pierces his gullet. The maho-tsukai gasps, unable to speak before falling to the floor. The Kansen dissipates, since its master was no longer of this world.
The samurai do not cheer. By gaining vengeance for Ide Keiyomi, they have done their duty. No more, no less.
Behind the maho-tsukai’s mystic circle, sits a helm with a stylized dragon on its top. They take it and the maho-tsukai’s obi and wakizashi and venture back down the mountain. When they arrive at the Daidoji keep, they find chaos. The Daidoji samurai were scurrying about mobilizing as if going to war. When they reach the gates, the find the Karo barking orders. He ignores the samurai and their disheveled appearance when they ask him what was going on. The karo tells them that the Unicorn, have attacked the Lion.
Next: The Betrothal
Synopsis: The group learn about the mastermind behind the murders, a maho-tsukai who lives in an abandoned keep located up the mountain.
Immediately after her waking from her nightmare, Ying-Lien talks to Kenjiro about the disturbing dream. They do not know exactly what it means or whether it is a true representation of what will happen or merely a metaphor, but now they are both aware of the prophecy.
There is still the matter of finding the true maho-tsukai. After several days of quiet investigation (which included several forays into the local bath houses looking for scars and tattoos, the samurai hear of an old peasant rumour – that there is an haunted keep at the top of the mountain overlooking the shrine. The maho-tsukai surely lives there.
After hastily making preparations, the group quietly leaves the Daidoji keep and ventures up the mountain, stopping only long enough for Kenjiro to visit the shrine and see his sister, Shiba Yakiko. Kenjiro tells her about the dream and asks her what it means. Yakiko tells him that without more, she cannot tell him exactly what it means. It may be symbolic or it may indeed be prophetic. Any more she could not say.
As the motley collection of samurai continues their short journey up the mountain, they find two sets of human footprints – both venturing up toward the old keep. Were there two maho-tsukai at work here? Who else was hidden within the castle walls? After eight hours of following the path up the mountain, they finally spot the old keep. Along each side of the path approaching the keep, they see dozens of white masks hung atop bamboo poles. The masks stared at them with eerily glowing eyes. Kenjiro knocked one of the masks off its moorings. He found an ordinary candle behind the mask.
As they approach the gates of the keep, they see one light glowing at the top of the keep. That is where the maho-tsukai is, they surmise. That is where they will find him and dispatch him to Jigoku for the trouble he had caused them.
The front gate crashes open. Three large goblins rush out to greet them, but they are ready for them. Kakita Kenjiro shoots an arrow at one while Daidoji Jin rushes up and easily dispatches another. The others move in and take the goblins out before the goblins on the wall shower them with arrows. But the goblins fail to hit their targets and the samurai rush through the open gate. The few remaining goblins try to intercept them, but are easily killed by Kenjiro’s arrows and Noriyaki’s Jade Strike spell.
Sensing very little opposition, they walk along the keeps dilapidated wall and approach the main keep. Just as they approach the stairs down to the keep itself, they hear a thunderous pounding inside. A gigantic ogre crashes through the door. Undeterred, Daidoji Jin attacks it with fervor previously unknown to him. With one strike of his katana, he slashes the Ogre across his mighty chest. The ogre staggers and notices black ichor draining from the large gash Jin had given him. The others move in and attack. The ogre strikes back, but the tides of battle had turned and the ogre falls easily.
The group moves quickly into the decaying keep. The wood and paper walls are ragged. Wind whistles through the tattered halls. As the samurai move into the keep, they hear a quiet laughter from above.
“So, he has decided that I am to die, has he?” says the disembodied voice. “Then come and try. I will enjoy the challenge.”
There is one thin staircase creeping upstairs. Daidoji Jin ventures ahead of the others – given confidence by handily defeating the ogre. As he climbs up to the third floor, he is suddenly hit by a bolt of energy. A numbing cold climbs within his body, and though he resists, it drains him of his will, stunning him. (the bolt of nothing drains 1 VOID permanently). Two large black creatures appear from the shadows and begin stalking the stunned Daidoji Jin. To Jin, they look like cats, almost the size of tigers. But their appearance keeps shifting making their true appearance a mystery. Jin does not care. They are still unnatural creatures from the Shadowlands and they will be sent back to the abyss they came from.
The others rush upstairs, but the thin staircase prevents them from all converging into the room to help their comrade. Noriyaki is behind them all and wants desperately to summon an earth kami, but until he is able to see the creatures, he cannot begin his prayer.
One of the minions rushes at Daidoji Jin with blackened claws. It strikes him fiercely before moving off evading Jin’s katana. Kakita Kenjiro rushes up the stairs, nocks an arrow and fires at one of the creature, missing. Ying-Lien rushes up behind Kenjiro but also fails to land a blow. The creature circles around and strikes at Jin, almost knocking him on the ground but Jin responds and hits the minion hard. Ryu draws his wakizashi and tries to strike at the second minion, but to no avail.
Finally, Noriyaki, with scroll unfurled, climbs the stairs into the chamber and summons an earth kami. He feels a resistance to his prayers, evidence that there are Kansen nearby, but manages to summon the kami and commands it to strike the creatures with the power of jade. The room glows green as the kami strikes a mighty blow on the minion throwing the creature across the room.
With Noriyaki’s spell, the tides of battle turn. The second minion throws a bolt of darkness at Kenjiro. It strikes him, but he resists the cold, numbing darkness that enters his body. It is the last blow the creatures would land. The minions fall and their carcasses dissolve into the shadow as if they had never been. The samurai are injured, but they live. Daidoji Jin, however, has been hit with a bolt of
The samurai venture upstairs and find the maho-tsukai sitting cross-legged inside a mystic circle of protection. There is a nebulous smoke spinning around him not venturing forth beyond the circle.
They begin to approach. Noriyaki summons an earth kami to throw another jade strike. It is blocked by the smoke, which Noriyaki realizes is the Kansen he felt earlier. However, this Kansen is wearing a mask made of the flesh of the face of Ide Keiyomi – no doubt a sacrifice the maho-tsukai had to make to summon the Kansen. The samurai know they have the right maho-tsukai – the one who murdered Ide Keiyomi.
The samurai attack. The maho-tsukai’s fingers grow long black nails and he stands, ready for them. Noriyaki, knowing an earth kami will likely not have any affect as long as the maho-tsukai stands in the circle of protection, summons an air kami instead and a tempest of air appears in the room, blowing scattered scrolls everywhere. As the witch struggles to stand, Daidoji Jin strikes an incredible blow on the witch before Kakita Kenjiro’s arrow pierces his gullet. The maho-tsukai gasps, unable to speak before falling to the floor. The Kansen dissipates, since its master was no longer of this world.
The samurai do not cheer. By gaining vengeance for Ide Keiyomi, they have done their duty. No more, no less.
Behind the maho-tsukai’s mystic circle, sits a helm with a stylized dragon on its top. They take it and the maho-tsukai’s obi and wakizashi and venture back down the mountain. When they arrive at the Daidoji keep, they find chaos. The Daidoji samurai were scurrying about mobilizing as if going to war. When they reach the gates, the find the Karo barking orders. He ignores the samurai and their disheveled appearance when they ask him what was going on. The karo tells them that the Unicorn, have attacked the Lion.
Next: The Betrothal
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
L5R 3rd Ed Revised Errata
There were quite a few questions about the L5R Third Edition Revised Errata in our last session. Therefore, I am putting up a permanent link to the L5R Forum Post with the latest official Errata. Here it is:
L5R 3rd Edition Revised Errata
L5R 3rd Edition Revised Errata
(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
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
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A Journey of a Thousand and One Nights Begins With a Single Step ...
The Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) Role Playing Game keeps on evolving. Recently, Alderac issued its new L5R 3rd edition Revised. This new edition fixes some of the problems players complained about when 3rd edition came out 3 years ago. The only problem with Revised is that far from fixing the problems, they created more. A comprehensive Errata is being written and AEG will likely publish it online.But along with the new Revised edition of its flagship, AEG has also published Legend of the Burning Sands (LBS). LBS also started life as a Collectible Card Game that existed in the same universe as L5R. In fact the Burning Sands are just north of Rokugan. The new LBS rule book is a gorgeous 300 page book detailing the world of Medinaat al-Salaam and its inhabitants. The Roll and Keep rules from L5R have been transplanted here, but they use a hybrid of L5R's 3rd ed and 3rd ed Revised - making it compatible, with a bit of work, with its sister game.
Hot on the heels of L5R, is Qin by French RPG company 7th Circle. Now published in English by Cubicle 7, Qin reminds me of a wuxia version of L5R - before L5R became heavily laden with CCG inspired metaplot. The corebook and its few supplements are fantastic to look it and minimalist in feel. It is still fantasy, but it is fantasy with deep roots in Chinese wuxia literature and film as well as Chinese history. It looks and feels as if it could be a primer in Chinese anthropology. It took almost 2 years before 7th Circle translated their game of fantasy China into English.
Well, 7th Circle is at it again. First, Qin gets a Kung Fu makeover with Qin: Shaolin and Wudan. This fatsplat supplement (with a stylized tiger instead of a dragon on the front cover) acts as a stand-alone game and updates Qin with rules about Kung Fu. The timeline is also updated. This one takes place in 17th Century China.
But 7th Circle didn't stop there. In a parallel move to AEG's Legend of the Burning Sands comes Caphernaum: the Heritage of Dragons (trans.). It is a fantastic version of the Tale of 1001 Nights. It is only available in French and so far there are no plans for an English translation, but it tackles the same subject matter as LBS does. It even uses a "Roll and Keep" system, but my French is too rusty to allow me to figure out how close it is to AEG's system. If my experience with Qin is any indication, Caphernaum will be fantastic. I hope we don't have to wait too many years before they publish it in North America. There is already a couple of websites for it. One is right here.
Monday, September 22, 2008
(L5R) Ch 1 - The Mountain Witch, part 2
The Trial
Synopsis: The group investigates the grisly death of Ide Keiyomi and come to a shocking conclusion in Daidoji Kikaze's court.
Most of the group goes up to Ide Keiyomi’s room on the second floor of the keep. Bayushi Ryu grabs Noriyaki before he could go and tells him “let the magistrates deal with her. I have a scroll I need to show you.” Noriyaki is too curious. He examines the scroll. Noriyaki reads it and realizes it is a prayer to the Air Kami known as the Mists of Illusion - the Air Kami would help the shugenja who prayed to it, to disguise something, but whatever is under the spell would not be able to move. Noriyaki and Ryu decide to think about this further. They both join the rest of their group at Ide Keiyomi’s room.
There is already a small crowd gathering around the open shoji door. An older gentleman in Unicorn Clan colours is slouched on the floor, a couple of Unicorn Clan are there comforting him. Two Daidoji samurai are doubled over in the corridor retching - the smell of bile and vomit wafts toward them.
Daidoji Takakana is speaking with another Crane samurai. He approaches the group and tells them they are to investigate the murder on orders from Daidoji Kikaze. He wants them to do this since they are already investigating Mutsuye. He warns them before going in that what they will see will challenge their honour.
The group opens the shoji door and they are assaulted by the strong odour of iron and death. They find a maid on the ground with her throat slashed from ear to ear – her blood covering five tatami mats. Ying-Lien gasps. The others try to show bravery in the face of such a repulsive scene. The eta will have to burn all the tatami mats.
But when they enter Keiyomi’s bed-chamber, they face the true horror. Keiyomi's body lies on the floor, naked. Her torso is torn asunder, her organs, intestines and blood scattered across the room as if her chest exploded showering gore throughout the room. Keiyomi's shattered ribs thrust upwards, exposing the blackness within her chest cavity. The group inch toward Keiyomi's body gingerly trying to avoid touching the gore when they notice one final horror - Keiyomi's face is missing - the flesh torn from her skull like bark from a tree exposing bloody muscle and sinew beneath. Only her eyeballs remain, staring blankly toward the ceiling. Before this room could be used again, it will have to be exorcised and cleansed before another samurai would be allowed to step into the room.
Jin looks down at the blood and gore. Along with the brackish coloured blood he spots a reddish-brown ichor mixed in that was indicative of only one thing - the Shadowlands Taint. He tells the group that whatever this was, was exposed to the Taint and may have been Shadowlands itself.
Noriyaki looks for a bowl with water to summon a water kami and find out what it saw, but the only bowl he finds is stained with blood, gore and taint. If he were to try and summon a water kami, he would risk summoning a Kansen instead. He decides against this course of action.
Noriyaki finds an untouched bowl of water in the outside chamber where the maid was found. He takes a moment to summon a water Kami and it shows the shugenja what it saw - the maid backing up, her arms in front of her as if defending herself and a moment later, Isawa Mutsuye approaching her with a tanto in hand and murder in her eyes.
In the meantime, Jin speculates what had happened in the room. Jin has been exposed to Shadowlands Lore and thinks that Mutsuye killed an Oni no Pekkle, a deceptive Shadowlands creature that disguises itself as a human and who has the power to seduce all manner of men. The Pekkle must have killed and replaced Keiyomi a while ago. When Mutsuye figured out that her friend had somehow been replaced by the tainted doppleganger, she killed it and in its death throes, it exploded. Jin's story could not explain why Mutsuye killed the maid nor did it explain why Keiyomi (if that really was Keiyomi) was missing her face.
The group decides that the best way to figure out what really happened was to talk to Mutsuye herself. They leave and make their way to her room where they find the three samurai-ko guarding the room. They demand entry in the name of the Daimyo and are let in. They find Mutsuye changing into an elaborate Phoenix Clan kimono; her maid is tying up her obi. Mutsuye is incensed. She is in the middle of getting ready for the party. Ying-Lien tells her that the party is over and that her friend Keiyomi is dead. Mutsuye gasps and sits on a chair, absorbing the information. When they accuse her of the killing, Mutsuye denies she had even seen Keiyomi since she arrived. Bayushi Ryu listens to her and believes her but sits back and says nothing.
Daidoji Kage barges in and demands to know what is gong on. When the group confronts him with the news that his betrothed perhaps killed a Shadowlands creature and could very well be tainted herself, Kage yells at them telling them that she is innocent and could no way be a party to such horrible deeds.
While Kage argues with the group, Noriyaki takes out a scroll from his satchel, unfurls it and silently prays to the earth Kami. The Earth Kami answer with a Jade Strike on Mutsuye. She is struck to the floor by the force of the blow and is obviously injured by the earth kami. Kage draws his wakizashi and rushes at Noriyaki. The group block his way as the samurai-ko enter, wakizashi drawn. Before the samurai-ko can rush to Mutsuye's aid and attack Noriyaki, Kage challenges Noriyaki to a duel to the death for the insult an dishonor brought upon himself and his betrothed. Jin tells Kage that his father should be brought down to decide what should be done with her, but Kage, fearing any excuse to refuse the marriage, tells them no. The group does not concur, and they leave Kage and Mutsuye as they go to seek out Kikaze.
While everyone else goes to visit Kikaze, Ying-Lien decides to take a different course of action and excuses herself from the group. She ventures out into the courtyard where the Unicorn Clan has gathered. Until the murderer is found, the Unicorn will not be allowed to return to their encampment. She finds Ide Toshimitsu, Ide Keiyomi's father, and despite protests, manages to convince him to take a walk with her. While in the garden, they converse about Keiyomi. Ying-Lien asks if Keiyomi had changed her behavior. Toshimitsu denied that Keiyomi had changed and that she was just as exuberant as always.
Ying-Lien then tells Toshimitsu about Jin's theory, that she was no longer human. This news rattles Toshimitsu and he sits down on a snow-covered bench. He tells Ying-Lien that this is not possible, that his daughter, whom he loved more than anything in this world, could not possibly have been a thing from beyond the wall. Disoriented, he tells her to leave and that he must have time to think. She bows out of respect for the Ide diplomat and leaves.
In Daidoji Kikaze's chamber, the Daimyo asks for a report. Bayushi Ryu explains the events and tells Kikaze that without a doubt, Mutsuye is tainted - that Noriyaki's spell has proven that.
Kage and Mutsuye are summoned and brought into court. Mutsuye denies ever meeting Keiyomi since she arrived and implores for the Daimyo to believe her. Kenjiro listens to her and believe she is being sincere. Despite all he has seen, he believes her. Kage backs her up and tells his father that the group has dishonored themselves and insulted their host by daring to cast such an offensive spell while in his keep. Kikaze questions Noriyaki about the spell and Noriyaki explains Jin's theory - that Keiyomi was what was known as an Oni no Pekkle. Kikaze frowns at Noriyaki's demonstration of his knowledge of the Shadowlands in open court, but does not deny that the effects of the spell have revealed that Kage's betrothed is indeed tainted - a fact that would have become a difficulty had Kage been allowed to marry her.
Kikaze demands that Toshimitsu be brought in front of him. When he arrives, Kikaze relates the facts and asks Toshimitsu if he knew that his daughter was a creature of the Shadowlands. The Unicorn diplomat is insensed and denies that she was and challenges anyone in open court to make a statement otherwise. Ying-Lien steps forward and explains to Kikaze that she would step forward. Toshimitsu, not wanting to duel a clansman, tells Kikaze that he should not believe her and that she is not of sound mind - that the death of their clansman has shocked her senses. Ying-Lien tries denying this, but Kikaze silences her. No one else steps forward to challenge Toshimitsu. But, there is no denying that Keiyomi was not human (at least in their minds). Mutsuye would not strike down another clansman that could start a war. No, Kikaze declares that Keiyomi was a kami. No one in the room challenges him on this fact.
Then, Kikaze announces in open court that Mutsuye is tainted. He then turns to the Bayushi Ryu, the Nokado, and asks if this is appropriate to deny the marriage. He agrees and Kikaze announces that there would be no wedding. Meutsuye falls to her knees and covers her face. For Mutsuye, her life is over. She could not return to Phoenix lands a tainted shugenja. She had only one way to atone - to commit seppuku.
Kage is enraged and tells his father that these are all lies that should not be believed by ones with such little Glory. Kikaze is un-moved. Kage then explains that he has challenged Noriyaki to the death for such insults. Kikaze ponders the duel and announces in open court that the duel will take place at dawn. Since Noriyaki is a shugenja and not versed in the ways of iaijutsu, someone would have to act in his place. Kakita Kenjiro steps up and volunteers for such a duty. Kenjiro accepts the duel as it stands knowing full well that any deviation from custom would be struck down by Kikaze himself. The duel would be to the death. If Kenjiro failed in his duty and Kage won, Noriyaki would be honor-bound to commit seppuku.
The group is excused from court. They begin to ponder the effects of the evening's investigation. Ying-Lien wonders if there is any way to avoid the duel so no one has to die. She even considers figuring out if there would be a way for them to elope. They go to their quarters to conduct a tea ceremony and to help Kenjiro clear his mind before the upcoming duel.
Meanwhile, Bayushi Ryu decides to take matters into his own hands. He discovers that there is another Scorpion shugenja attending Kikaze's winter court, Shosuro Shigeru. He finds him in the catacombs below the keep with a scruffy Crab samurai. They are examining a dead Shadowlands thing when they are interrupted. Ryu wants to rig the duel in favor of Kenjiro. Shigeru tells him it could be arranged - a small use of poison or some such toxin. All that would be required would be to arrange a meeting between him and on the samurai-ko who were guarding Mutsuye as well as some of her belongings and her saliva. Ryu agrees to the conditions and waits for the opportunity to kidnap one of the samurai-ko. When he succeeds at bringing the prone body of the woman to him, he tells Ryu that "it will be done - Kage will not win."
Next: The Duel
Synopsis: The group investigates the grisly death of Ide Keiyomi and come to a shocking conclusion in Daidoji Kikaze's court.
Most of the group goes up to Ide Keiyomi’s room on the second floor of the keep. Bayushi Ryu grabs Noriyaki before he could go and tells him “let the magistrates deal with her. I have a scroll I need to show you.” Noriyaki is too curious. He examines the scroll. Noriyaki reads it and realizes it is a prayer to the Air Kami known as the Mists of Illusion - the Air Kami would help the shugenja who prayed to it, to disguise something, but whatever is under the spell would not be able to move. Noriyaki and Ryu decide to think about this further. They both join the rest of their group at Ide Keiyomi’s room.
There is already a small crowd gathering around the open shoji door. An older gentleman in Unicorn Clan colours is slouched on the floor, a couple of Unicorn Clan are there comforting him. Two Daidoji samurai are doubled over in the corridor retching - the smell of bile and vomit wafts toward them.
Daidoji Takakana is speaking with another Crane samurai. He approaches the group and tells them they are to investigate the murder on orders from Daidoji Kikaze. He wants them to do this since they are already investigating Mutsuye. He warns them before going in that what they will see will challenge their honour.
The group opens the shoji door and they are assaulted by the strong odour of iron and death. They find a maid on the ground with her throat slashed from ear to ear – her blood covering five tatami mats. Ying-Lien gasps. The others try to show bravery in the face of such a repulsive scene. The eta will have to burn all the tatami mats.
But when they enter Keiyomi’s bed-chamber, they face the true horror. Keiyomi's body lies on the floor, naked. Her torso is torn asunder, her organs, intestines and blood scattered across the room as if her chest exploded showering gore throughout the room. Keiyomi's shattered ribs thrust upwards, exposing the blackness within her chest cavity. The group inch toward Keiyomi's body gingerly trying to avoid touching the gore when they notice one final horror - Keiyomi's face is missing - the flesh torn from her skull like bark from a tree exposing bloody muscle and sinew beneath. Only her eyeballs remain, staring blankly toward the ceiling. Before this room could be used again, it will have to be exorcised and cleansed before another samurai would be allowed to step into the room.
Jin looks down at the blood and gore. Along with the brackish coloured blood he spots a reddish-brown ichor mixed in that was indicative of only one thing - the Shadowlands Taint. He tells the group that whatever this was, was exposed to the Taint and may have been Shadowlands itself.
Noriyaki looks for a bowl with water to summon a water kami and find out what it saw, but the only bowl he finds is stained with blood, gore and taint. If he were to try and summon a water kami, he would risk summoning a Kansen instead. He decides against this course of action.
Noriyaki finds an untouched bowl of water in the outside chamber where the maid was found. He takes a moment to summon a water Kami and it shows the shugenja what it saw - the maid backing up, her arms in front of her as if defending herself and a moment later, Isawa Mutsuye approaching her with a tanto in hand and murder in her eyes.
In the meantime, Jin speculates what had happened in the room. Jin has been exposed to Shadowlands Lore and thinks that Mutsuye killed an Oni no Pekkle, a deceptive Shadowlands creature that disguises itself as a human and who has the power to seduce all manner of men. The Pekkle must have killed and replaced Keiyomi a while ago. When Mutsuye figured out that her friend had somehow been replaced by the tainted doppleganger, she killed it and in its death throes, it exploded. Jin's story could not explain why Mutsuye killed the maid nor did it explain why Keiyomi (if that really was Keiyomi) was missing her face.
The group decides that the best way to figure out what really happened was to talk to Mutsuye herself. They leave and make their way to her room where they find the three samurai-ko guarding the room. They demand entry in the name of the Daimyo and are let in. They find Mutsuye changing into an elaborate Phoenix Clan kimono; her maid is tying up her obi. Mutsuye is incensed. She is in the middle of getting ready for the party. Ying-Lien tells her that the party is over and that her friend Keiyomi is dead. Mutsuye gasps and sits on a chair, absorbing the information. When they accuse her of the killing, Mutsuye denies she had even seen Keiyomi since she arrived. Bayushi Ryu listens to her and believes her but sits back and says nothing.
Daidoji Kage barges in and demands to know what is gong on. When the group confronts him with the news that his betrothed perhaps killed a Shadowlands creature and could very well be tainted herself, Kage yells at them telling them that she is innocent and could no way be a party to such horrible deeds.
While Kage argues with the group, Noriyaki takes out a scroll from his satchel, unfurls it and silently prays to the earth Kami. The Earth Kami answer with a Jade Strike on Mutsuye. She is struck to the floor by the force of the blow and is obviously injured by the earth kami. Kage draws his wakizashi and rushes at Noriyaki. The group block his way as the samurai-ko enter, wakizashi drawn. Before the samurai-ko can rush to Mutsuye's aid and attack Noriyaki, Kage challenges Noriyaki to a duel to the death for the insult an dishonor brought upon himself and his betrothed. Jin tells Kage that his father should be brought down to decide what should be done with her, but Kage, fearing any excuse to refuse the marriage, tells them no. The group does not concur, and they leave Kage and Mutsuye as they go to seek out Kikaze.
While everyone else goes to visit Kikaze, Ying-Lien decides to take a different course of action and excuses herself from the group. She ventures out into the courtyard where the Unicorn Clan has gathered. Until the murderer is found, the Unicorn will not be allowed to return to their encampment. She finds Ide Toshimitsu, Ide Keiyomi's father, and despite protests, manages to convince him to take a walk with her. While in the garden, they converse about Keiyomi. Ying-Lien asks if Keiyomi had changed her behavior. Toshimitsu denied that Keiyomi had changed and that she was just as exuberant as always.
Ying-Lien then tells Toshimitsu about Jin's theory, that she was no longer human. This news rattles Toshimitsu and he sits down on a snow-covered bench. He tells Ying-Lien that this is not possible, that his daughter, whom he loved more than anything in this world, could not possibly have been a thing from beyond the wall. Disoriented, he tells her to leave and that he must have time to think. She bows out of respect for the Ide diplomat and leaves.
In Daidoji Kikaze's chamber, the Daimyo asks for a report. Bayushi Ryu explains the events and tells Kikaze that without a doubt, Mutsuye is tainted - that Noriyaki's spell has proven that.
Kage and Mutsuye are summoned and brought into court. Mutsuye denies ever meeting Keiyomi since she arrived and implores for the Daimyo to believe her. Kenjiro listens to her and believe she is being sincere. Despite all he has seen, he believes her. Kage backs her up and tells his father that the group has dishonored themselves and insulted their host by daring to cast such an offensive spell while in his keep. Kikaze questions Noriyaki about the spell and Noriyaki explains Jin's theory - that Keiyomi was what was known as an Oni no Pekkle. Kikaze frowns at Noriyaki's demonstration of his knowledge of the Shadowlands in open court, but does not deny that the effects of the spell have revealed that Kage's betrothed is indeed tainted - a fact that would have become a difficulty had Kage been allowed to marry her.
Kikaze demands that Toshimitsu be brought in front of him. When he arrives, Kikaze relates the facts and asks Toshimitsu if he knew that his daughter was a creature of the Shadowlands. The Unicorn diplomat is insensed and denies that she was and challenges anyone in open court to make a statement otherwise. Ying-Lien steps forward and explains to Kikaze that she would step forward. Toshimitsu, not wanting to duel a clansman, tells Kikaze that he should not believe her and that she is not of sound mind - that the death of their clansman has shocked her senses. Ying-Lien tries denying this, but Kikaze silences her. No one else steps forward to challenge Toshimitsu. But, there is no denying that Keiyomi was not human (at least in their minds). Mutsuye would not strike down another clansman that could start a war. No, Kikaze declares that Keiyomi was a kami. No one in the room challenges him on this fact.
Then, Kikaze announces in open court that Mutsuye is tainted. He then turns to the Bayushi Ryu, the Nokado, and asks if this is appropriate to deny the marriage. He agrees and Kikaze announces that there would be no wedding. Meutsuye falls to her knees and covers her face. For Mutsuye, her life is over. She could not return to Phoenix lands a tainted shugenja. She had only one way to atone - to commit seppuku.
Kage is enraged and tells his father that these are all lies that should not be believed by ones with such little Glory. Kikaze is un-moved. Kage then explains that he has challenged Noriyaki to the death for such insults. Kikaze ponders the duel and announces in open court that the duel will take place at dawn. Since Noriyaki is a shugenja and not versed in the ways of iaijutsu, someone would have to act in his place. Kakita Kenjiro steps up and volunteers for such a duty. Kenjiro accepts the duel as it stands knowing full well that any deviation from custom would be struck down by Kikaze himself. The duel would be to the death. If Kenjiro failed in his duty and Kage won, Noriyaki would be honor-bound to commit seppuku.
The group is excused from court. They begin to ponder the effects of the evening's investigation. Ying-Lien wonders if there is any way to avoid the duel so no one has to die. She even considers figuring out if there would be a way for them to elope. They go to their quarters to conduct a tea ceremony and to help Kenjiro clear his mind before the upcoming duel.
Meanwhile, Bayushi Ryu decides to take matters into his own hands. He discovers that there is another Scorpion shugenja attending Kikaze's winter court, Shosuro Shigeru. He finds him in the catacombs below the keep with a scruffy Crab samurai. They are examining a dead Shadowlands thing when they are interrupted. Ryu wants to rig the duel in favor of Kenjiro. Shigeru tells him it could be arranged - a small use of poison or some such toxin. All that would be required would be to arrange a meeting between him and on the samurai-ko who were guarding Mutsuye as well as some of her belongings and her saliva. Ryu agrees to the conditions and waits for the opportunity to kidnap one of the samurai-ko. When he succeeds at bringing the prone body of the woman to him, he tells Ryu that "it will be done - Kage will not win."
Next: The Duel
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
(L5R) Ch 1 - The Mountain Witch, part 1
Winter Court
Synopsis: The group arrives at a Daidoji keep for winter court and become embroiled in courtly politics.
Year 1168 IC, Month of the Boar
Bayushi Ryu, Kakita Kenjiro and Utaku Ying-Lien arrive at a small Daidoji keep close to Lion territory. It is in the mountains near the former Beiden Pass , north of the Kakita Dueling School overlooking the Lake of Sorrows . They are greeted by Daidoji Takakana, Karo for the keep. He takes everyone's katana and asks them to keep their wakizashi on them at all times or in their rooms. Then, they are shown their rooms where they will stay until the New Years Celebrations.
Bayushi Ryu has arrived to be the Nokado (marriage go-between) for Daidoji Kage and Isawa Mutsuye, an assignment he received only a week ago (to his surprise). He has brought his wife Kita and his children with him.
Daidoji Jin and Doji Noriyaki are already at the keep. Jin was given a message from his Daimyo that he was to report to Bayushi Kita when she arrives at the keep. Noriyaki was at the keep because his family's temple dedicated to Kuni Harika is only a short walk up the mountain.
After they have a chance to rest, everyone is given a notice by Daidoji Kikaze (the Daidoji Daimyo) to attend to his chamber during the Hour of the Horse.When they all arrive, Jin meets Bayushi Kita, Bayushi Ryu's wife. She introduces herself as a former member of the Kakita. Her family has been kind to gift her husband a yojimbo, Daidoji Jin.
The others introduce each other before the shoji doors open and they find their host, Daidoji Kikaze, Daimyo of the Daidoji Family, sitting on a raised dais surrounded by bodyguards. Everyone bows, but Kenjiro bows in an exquisite manner that Kikaze notices. They exchange pleasantries before Kikaze tells the players why he asked them there. Their lords have offered their services to him during winter court, and he requires them. His eldest son is marrying Isawa Mutsuye and the final arrangements are being made that evening. He trusts that after that time, there will be NO FURTHER DIFFICULTIES.
Without warning Ying-Lien blurts out "have there been many other difficulties?" Kikaze fumes and almost challenges her outright for the insult before Kenjiro apologizes for his wife’s inappropriate behavior. Because Kenjiro showed exemplary behavior earlier when bowing to the Daidoji Daimyo, Kikaze lets this one go but asks him to control his wife.
Kikaze leaves the group and the Karo steps in to “explain his Lord’s instructions.” They are to seek out and find any information about Mutsuye that may make her an inappropriate choice to marry Daidoji Kikaze’s son, Kage and report such information before the marriage can be formalized with the Nokado. Discretion is mandatory and Kage must not find out about the investigation. They have until the Hour of the Dog to find out anything.
The Karo dismisses the group and they begin by trying to find Mutsuye. They are told that she is at the temple dedicated to Kuni Hiraka, an hour away up the mountains. Bayushi Ryu overhears a conversation between Isawa Akiko and her friends. Akiko, it turns out, is a close friend of Mutsuye. Ryu lures her away from her entourage and questions her. He is pulled away from her by Akiko’s friends but he promises Akiko he will find her later.
In the meantime, Ying-Lien sees a contingent of Unicorn and their many tents and she tells the group to go ahead of her while she speaks to them. She finds out that although the Unicorn arrived recently, they are preparing to leave on orders from the Khan. They do not want to insult their gracious host, so they are leaving in the morning after the evening’s festivities.
So, Noriaki, being very familiar with the area, leads the rest of the group up the mountain to the temple dedicated to Kuni Hakira. (whom nobody seems to know anything about). His statue sits between the statues of Benten and Jizo and is crowded over in offerings. Kenjiro sees his blind sister, Shiba Yakiko praying before the alter and sits behind her so as not to disturb her ritual.
In the meantime, Ryu finds Mutsuye in a small ante chamber, the shoji door guarded by three samurai-ko. The samurai-ko will not let Ryu in but say they will let him know when she is done her prayers. Ryu relents and returns to the group.
Ying-Lien arrives and she tells Kenjiro about the Unicorn exodus. Noriaki is curious and begins talking to her about it. Kenjiro’s sister finishes her prayer and after a friendly, but surprised, greeting, she takes Kenjiro aside for a private conversation. Kenjiro tells her he has misgivings about being here because he wants the blood of the Toturi. Yakiko says he should forget the past that it will not serve him well. She asks who his rather loud friend speaking behind her was, and he introduces Noriyaki. She says she knows who Noriyaki is and apologizes. She says he can rely on her to keep the Temple running smoothly. Noriaki appreciates the gesture.
Ryu, no longer wishing to wait, barges past the samurai-ko and into Mutsuye's chamber where she is conducting her ritual. All the elements that were floating around the room while she prayed, fell to the floor. She fumes and complains, but her ritual is ruined. Mutsuye storms out of the room with Ryu following closely behind. Meanwhile, Noriyaki enters the chamber and summons a water kami to see what she was doing. It reveals nothing useful to him.
The group travel back down the mountain without Mutsuye (who tells them she will come down by palanquin). As they get to the gates of the Daidoji keep, Jin sees Matsu Hira, his sworn enemy. Jin keeps his distance and watches as they enter. By the time the group gets inside, the party is in full swing. They enter the main room and see members of many of Rokugan’s clans: Crane, Crab, Lion, Phoenix , Unicorn and a small amount of Scorpion.
The Daidoji have prepared a full slate of festivities for the evening. Daidoji Kurako, the hostess for the Winter Court, lets everyone know about the dance competition. Only a few enter. First up is Shosuro Shiko who performs an old dance entitled Song of Sparrow's Flight. She receives mild applause for her competent performance, Next, Asako Kuhime performs the Five Elements Dance and trips up. She receives a few polite applause. Kuhime is so embarrassed at her failure she runs off stage. Ying-Lien runs after her. Then, Ryu gets up to perform. He tells Kurako that he will perform the Dance of the Scorpion and the Frog. Ryu has no dancing or performing skill whatsoever, but is so Agile, he manages to pull off the performance of the night – that is until Ide Keiyomi stumbles into the room to perform The Tunnel of Quiescent Flame, a dance which is both graceful as well as provocative and garners applause from Unicorn and Crab alike.
During Keiyomi’s distracting performance, Ryu leaves the table and tells Jin not to follow. He sees Akiko and again flirts with her while her friends try and keep her from blabbing everything she knows about Mutsuye to the handsome Scorpion courtier. Still, Ryu manages to pry Akiko away from her friends and take a walk with her around the garden. Ryu sees Bayushi Yori, his brother’s wife, staring at them as they leave.
After her stunning performance, the crowd (mostly Crab and Unicorn) erupts with applause. Kurako awards Keiyomi with the prize for best dance and then she staggers up to Kenjiro and flirts with him. Kenjiro rebuffs her advances telling her that he is married to an Otaku Battle Maiden who might not appreciate Keiyomi’s flirtatious ways. Keiyomi wastes no time and sidles up to Noriyaki who, not being married doesn’t seem to mind her flirting. She lets him know that she knows Mutsuye, which makes him all the more curious. When she invites Noriyaki to her room (which she loudly re-states as “going for a walk in the garden”), he agrees to follow in a while. She tells him she is going to slip into something “more comfortable” and staggers out the door.
Meanwhile, Ying-Lien follows Kuhime back to her room and comforts the sad samurai. She appreciates Ying-Lien’s friendship and lets her know she has an ally in court. Ying-Lien, satisfied that Kuhime is not going to commit seppuku, leaves Kuhime and walks toward the festivities. She passes Keiyomi in the hallway as Keiyomi stumbles up toward her room. Before she can return to the party, Ying-Lien spots the archery contest and sees Shiba Noboru, Mutsuye’s bodyguard. She enters the archery contest to talk with Noburu, but watches as Noboru wins handily. Ying-Lien walks back toward the party.
In the meantime, Ryu has dropped Akiko like a lead balloon and snuck into Mutsuye’s room. She is nowhere to be seen, and Ryu did not see her at the party. He looks around and finds a shugenja scroll which he cannot read. He slips it under his kimono and returns to the party.
When Ryu returns, he finds Yori in front of the door. They have an argument in front of everyone before Yori stomps off. Ryu returns to his table just as Ying-Lien returns. Suddenly, a Unicorn samurai rushes into the room and announces that Ide Keiyomi has just been found in her room, dead. The snow is falling. No one is leaving the castle.
Next: The Mountain Witch, part 2 - the Trial
Synopsis: The group arrives at a Daidoji keep for winter court and become embroiled in courtly politics.
Year 1168 IC, Month of the Boar
Bayushi Ryu, Kakita Kenjiro and Utaku Ying-Lien arrive at a small Daidoji keep close to Lion territory. It is in the mountains near the former Beiden Pass , north of the Kakita Dueling School overlooking the Lake of Sorrows . They are greeted by Daidoji Takakana, Karo for the keep. He takes everyone's katana and asks them to keep their wakizashi on them at all times or in their rooms. Then, they are shown their rooms where they will stay until the New Years Celebrations.
Bayushi Ryu has arrived to be the Nokado (marriage go-between) for Daidoji Kage and Isawa Mutsuye, an assignment he received only a week ago (to his surprise). He has brought his wife Kita and his children with him.
Daidoji Jin and Doji Noriyaki are already at the keep. Jin was given a message from his Daimyo that he was to report to Bayushi Kita when she arrives at the keep. Noriyaki was at the keep because his family's temple dedicated to Kuni Harika is only a short walk up the mountain.
After they have a chance to rest, everyone is given a notice by Daidoji Kikaze (the Daidoji Daimyo) to attend to his chamber during the Hour of the Horse.When they all arrive, Jin meets Bayushi Kita, Bayushi Ryu's wife. She introduces herself as a former member of the Kakita. Her family has been kind to gift her husband a yojimbo, Daidoji Jin.
The others introduce each other before the shoji doors open and they find their host, Daidoji Kikaze, Daimyo of the Daidoji Family, sitting on a raised dais surrounded by bodyguards. Everyone bows, but Kenjiro bows in an exquisite manner that Kikaze notices. They exchange pleasantries before Kikaze tells the players why he asked them there. Their lords have offered their services to him during winter court, and he requires them. His eldest son is marrying Isawa Mutsuye and the final arrangements are being made that evening. He trusts that after that time, there will be NO FURTHER DIFFICULTIES.
Without warning Ying-Lien blurts out "have there been many other difficulties?" Kikaze fumes and almost challenges her outright for the insult before Kenjiro apologizes for his wife’s inappropriate behavior. Because Kenjiro showed exemplary behavior earlier when bowing to the Daidoji Daimyo, Kikaze lets this one go but asks him to control his wife.
Kikaze leaves the group and the Karo steps in to “explain his Lord’s instructions.” They are to seek out and find any information about Mutsuye that may make her an inappropriate choice to marry Daidoji Kikaze’s son, Kage and report such information before the marriage can be formalized with the Nokado. Discretion is mandatory and Kage must not find out about the investigation. They have until the Hour of the Dog to find out anything.
The Karo dismisses the group and they begin by trying to find Mutsuye. They are told that she is at the temple dedicated to Kuni Hiraka, an hour away up the mountains. Bayushi Ryu overhears a conversation between Isawa Akiko and her friends. Akiko, it turns out, is a close friend of Mutsuye. Ryu lures her away from her entourage and questions her. He is pulled away from her by Akiko’s friends but he promises Akiko he will find her later.
In the meantime, Ying-Lien sees a contingent of Unicorn and their many tents and she tells the group to go ahead of her while she speaks to them. She finds out that although the Unicorn arrived recently, they are preparing to leave on orders from the Khan. They do not want to insult their gracious host, so they are leaving in the morning after the evening’s festivities.
So, Noriaki, being very familiar with the area, leads the rest of the group up the mountain to the temple dedicated to Kuni Hakira. (whom nobody seems to know anything about). His statue sits between the statues of Benten and Jizo and is crowded over in offerings. Kenjiro sees his blind sister, Shiba Yakiko praying before the alter and sits behind her so as not to disturb her ritual.
In the meantime, Ryu finds Mutsuye in a small ante chamber, the shoji door guarded by three samurai-ko. The samurai-ko will not let Ryu in but say they will let him know when she is done her prayers. Ryu relents and returns to the group.
Ying-Lien arrives and she tells Kenjiro about the Unicorn exodus. Noriaki is curious and begins talking to her about it. Kenjiro’s sister finishes her prayer and after a friendly, but surprised, greeting, she takes Kenjiro aside for a private conversation. Kenjiro tells her he has misgivings about being here because he wants the blood of the Toturi. Yakiko says he should forget the past that it will not serve him well. She asks who his rather loud friend speaking behind her was, and he introduces Noriyaki. She says she knows who Noriyaki is and apologizes. She says he can rely on her to keep the Temple running smoothly. Noriaki appreciates the gesture.
Ryu, no longer wishing to wait, barges past the samurai-ko and into Mutsuye's chamber where she is conducting her ritual. All the elements that were floating around the room while she prayed, fell to the floor. She fumes and complains, but her ritual is ruined. Mutsuye storms out of the room with Ryu following closely behind. Meanwhile, Noriyaki enters the chamber and summons a water kami to see what she was doing. It reveals nothing useful to him.
The group travel back down the mountain without Mutsuye (who tells them she will come down by palanquin). As they get to the gates of the Daidoji keep, Jin sees Matsu Hira, his sworn enemy. Jin keeps his distance and watches as they enter. By the time the group gets inside, the party is in full swing. They enter the main room and see members of many of Rokugan’s clans: Crane, Crab, Lion, Phoenix , Unicorn and a small amount of Scorpion.
The Daidoji have prepared a full slate of festivities for the evening. Daidoji Kurako, the hostess for the Winter Court, lets everyone know about the dance competition. Only a few enter. First up is Shosuro Shiko who performs an old dance entitled Song of Sparrow's Flight. She receives mild applause for her competent performance, Next, Asako Kuhime performs the Five Elements Dance and trips up. She receives a few polite applause. Kuhime is so embarrassed at her failure she runs off stage. Ying-Lien runs after her. Then, Ryu gets up to perform. He tells Kurako that he will perform the Dance of the Scorpion and the Frog. Ryu has no dancing or performing skill whatsoever, but is so Agile, he manages to pull off the performance of the night – that is until Ide Keiyomi stumbles into the room to perform The Tunnel of Quiescent Flame, a dance which is both graceful as well as provocative and garners applause from Unicorn and Crab alike.
During Keiyomi’s distracting performance, Ryu leaves the table and tells Jin not to follow. He sees Akiko and again flirts with her while her friends try and keep her from blabbing everything she knows about Mutsuye to the handsome Scorpion courtier. Still, Ryu manages to pry Akiko away from her friends and take a walk with her around the garden. Ryu sees Bayushi Yori, his brother’s wife, staring at them as they leave.
After her stunning performance, the crowd (mostly Crab and Unicorn) erupts with applause. Kurako awards Keiyomi with the prize for best dance and then she staggers up to Kenjiro and flirts with him. Kenjiro rebuffs her advances telling her that he is married to an Otaku Battle Maiden who might not appreciate Keiyomi’s flirtatious ways. Keiyomi wastes no time and sidles up to Noriyaki who, not being married doesn’t seem to mind her flirting. She lets him know that she knows Mutsuye, which makes him all the more curious. When she invites Noriyaki to her room (which she loudly re-states as “going for a walk in the garden”), he agrees to follow in a while. She tells him she is going to slip into something “more comfortable” and staggers out the door.
Meanwhile, Ying-Lien follows Kuhime back to her room and comforts the sad samurai. She appreciates Ying-Lien’s friendship and lets her know she has an ally in court. Ying-Lien, satisfied that Kuhime is not going to commit seppuku, leaves Kuhime and walks toward the festivities. She passes Keiyomi in the hallway as Keiyomi stumbles up toward her room. Before she can return to the party, Ying-Lien spots the archery contest and sees Shiba Noboru, Mutsuye’s bodyguard. She enters the archery contest to talk with Noburu, but watches as Noboru wins handily. Ying-Lien walks back toward the party.
In the meantime, Ryu has dropped Akiko like a lead balloon and snuck into Mutsuye’s room. She is nowhere to be seen, and Ryu did not see her at the party. He looks around and finds a shugenja scroll which he cannot read. He slips it under his kimono and returns to the party.
When Ryu returns, he finds Yori in front of the door. They have an argument in front of everyone before Yori stomps off. Ryu returns to his table just as Ying-Lien returns. Suddenly, a Unicorn samurai rushes into the room and announces that Ide Keiyomi has just been found in her room, dead. The snow is falling. No one is leaving the castle.
Next: The Mountain Witch, part 2 - the Trial
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Dramatis Personae - Chapter 1
This is a short listing of all important NPC's from Book 1, Chapter 1 - The Mountain Witch:
Daidoji Kikaze – The Daidoji Daimyo
Daidoji Kage – Kikaze’s eldest son
Daidoji Takakana – Karo of the Keep
Daidoji Kurako – Host of the Winter Court
Isawa Mutsuye – Kage’s betrothed, a Phoenix Clan Shugenja
Isawa Akiko – Mutsuye’s close friend and motormouth
Shiba Noburo – Mutsuye’s head bodyguard
Ide Keiyomi – Daughter of a Unicorn Clan Diplomat. Provocative Dancer. Likes to drink
Ide Toshimitsu – Keiyomi’s father and Unicorn Clan Diplomat
Shosuro Shiko – Scorpion Clan Courtier and Dancer
Shosuro Shigeru - Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures
Asako Kuhime – Phoenix Clan Courtier and Dancer
Akemi, Aiko, and Shakuko – Mutsuye's Samurai-ko bodyguards
Chapter 2 Personas
Daidoji Kikaze – The Daidoji Daimyo
Daidoji Kage – Kikaze’s eldest son
Daidoji Takakana – Karo of the Keep
Daidoji Kurako – Host of the Winter Court
Isawa Mutsuye – Kage’s betrothed, a Phoenix Clan Shugenja
Isawa Akiko – Mutsuye’s close friend and motormouth
Shiba Noburo – Mutsuye’s head bodyguard
Ide Keiyomi – Daughter of a Unicorn Clan Diplomat. Provocative Dancer. Likes to drink
Ide Toshimitsu – Keiyomi’s father and Unicorn Clan Diplomat
Shosuro Shiko – Scorpion Clan Courtier and Dancer
Shosuro Shigeru - Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures
Asako Kuhime – Phoenix Clan Courtier and Dancer
Akemi, Aiko, and Shakuko – Mutsuye's Samurai-ko bodyguards
Chapter 2 Personas
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Major NPC's
NPC's in Rokugan:
Bayushi Kita: wife of Bayushi Ryu. She was formerly a member of the Kakita family of the Crane Clan. Together, they have two girls, Yuki and Miya.
Bayushi Yori: wife of Bayushi Daitoro. She is in love with Bayushi Ryu. Ryu and Yori were romantically involved with each other until each were betrothed - Ryu to a Crane courtier, her to Ryu's brother. Ryu has been ignoring her so as not to bring shame to his family, but Yori continues to pursue him.
Bayushi Daitoro: Bayushi Ryu's older brother.
Hiroko: Bayushi Ryu's oldest and most trusted servant.
Matsu Hiro: A Matsu warrior of the Lion Clan, she has sworn to destroy Daidoji Jin because of some perceived slights at a tournament. Several recent encounters have not dulled her resolve. Little do either know, but their respective families have agreed to have them married to each other.
Shiba Yakiko: Sister to Kakita Kenjiro, Yakiko is an Itako, a blind Shugenja with a skill in prophecy and divination. She has been assigned to the Temple dedicated to Kuni Hakira.
Shosuro Shigeru: Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures. He is at the centre of many devious plots.
NPC's in the Burning Sands:
none yet
Bayushi Kita: wife of Bayushi Ryu. She was formerly a member of the Kakita family of the Crane Clan. Together, they have two girls, Yuki and Miya.
Bayushi Yori: wife of Bayushi Daitoro. She is in love with Bayushi Ryu. Ryu and Yori were romantically involved with each other until each were betrothed - Ryu to a Crane courtier, her to Ryu's brother. Ryu has been ignoring her so as not to bring shame to his family, but Yori continues to pursue him.
Bayushi Daitoro: Bayushi Ryu's older brother.
Hiroko: Bayushi Ryu's oldest and most trusted servant.
Matsu Hiro: A Matsu warrior of the Lion Clan, she has sworn to destroy Daidoji Jin because of some perceived slights at a tournament. Several recent encounters have not dulled her resolve. Little do either know, but their respective families have agreed to have them married to each other.
Shiba Yakiko: Sister to Kakita Kenjiro, Yakiko is an Itako, a blind Shugenja with a skill in prophecy and divination. She has been assigned to the Temple dedicated to Kuni Hakira.
Shosuro Shigeru: Scorpion Clan Shugenja who likes to examine dead Shadowlands creatures. He is at the centre of many devious plots.
NPC's in the Burning Sands:
none yet
Prologue
The 1168th year IC, during the month of the Boar
Totori III, the Righteous Emperor, is dead – killed alongside the Emerald Champion Daidoji Hachi at the Mountain of the Seven Thunders by an army of the Shadowlands lead by Kyoso no Oni. The entire Emerald Empire is in mourning. This is the first Winter Court without a Toturi on the throne.
Normally, the Emperor sends invitations out for all those he wishes to have attend his Winter Court. This year, the Imperial Family has issued no such invitations. Instead, the Daimyos of the greatest of Rokugan’s houses are attending the Imperial Capital along with the remaining Toturi siblings, Kaneka and Sezaru, to deliberate on who will become the next Emperor. They will decide who will ascend to Emperor.
The coronation is to take place in Toshi Ranbo during the New Year celebrations several months from now…
Next: The Mountain Witch, part 1
Totori III, the Righteous Emperor, is dead – killed alongside the Emerald Champion Daidoji Hachi at the Mountain of the Seven Thunders by an army of the Shadowlands lead by Kyoso no Oni. The entire Emerald Empire is in mourning. This is the first Winter Court without a Toturi on the throne.
Normally, the Emperor sends invitations out for all those he wishes to have attend his Winter Court. This year, the Imperial Family has issued no such invitations. Instead, the Daimyos of the greatest of Rokugan’s houses are attending the Imperial Capital along with the remaining Toturi siblings, Kaneka and Sezaru, to deliberate on who will become the next Emperor. They will decide who will ascend to Emperor.
The coronation is to take place in Toshi Ranbo during the New Year celebrations several months from now…
Next: The Mountain Witch, part 1
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