[Between Duty and Honor] The adventure begins

A

Alkalannar

New Member
Autumn in Rokugan. The campaigns of spring and summer are over, not that there really are any in this time of peace, and samurai are retiring to get ready for Winter Court. Not that Winter Court means much in the Castle of the Matsu. The building is stark, no luxuries, and training, noisy training that lasts from dawn (or before) until Lady Sun has retired from the day. But among the Lion, and especially among the Matsu, there is a sense of self-sufficiency. And so it is with some surprise that there is a message sent to the Emerald Magistrates, requesting their presence for an immediate meeting with Matsu Moriko, one of the Lion Army Commanders. A blunt message by the standards of the Crane, certainly, but well in character for the Lion. Of course the messengers are also to bring the magistrates back with them.


Moriko is an older woman, at least 30, and when the others are brought, she looks up, and nods. "Thank you for coming so quickly. Please have tea and rice if you desire. Now please forgive me for being blunt: I'm a soldier, not a courtier. However, I have just received word from one of my vassals who has had problems with banditry in his territory. Normally, of course, this would be a purely internal matter. However, there is an accusation that the Scorpion are behind this. If so, it means war...unless that's what the Scorpion want. And so I request that you exercise your office, and find the truth behind this." She smiles a bit, "I know this is sudden, but I ask nothing of you I would not ask of my own army."
 
Bao Yu bows the appropriate amount, so as not to give offense, but for now remains silent. This is her first mission with the others, and she knows that when it comes to social grace she is out of her depth, especially in relation to Agasha Kachiko. But the matter is grave, if it is the work of the Scorpion, though she was not sure how her knowledge of magic would be useful, but she had faith that her superiors knew better.


In the mean time, she held her staff in such a way as to not appear to be leaning on it, but do so enough so that some weight will be off her bad leg, a trick she learned from her long studies.


She was very thankful for the Lion's direct approach, at least in this matter, and for the horse they provided. She nearly lost her balance several times, but they gave her a docile animal, and it certainly was better than limping her way to here.


Watching her fellows thinking up a polite response, she takes a sip of her tea, so as not to give offense, and says "I am not a courtier either, but I appreciate your approach. We will do out very best to get to the bottom of this, and present our findings."




Am not too familiar with things here, so if I'm doing anything wrong, something my character should know about, please let me know, after all, my character does have Etiquette 1, and Lore: Lion 1.
 
Kachiko kneels before Matsu Moriko and delicately raises the tea cup to her lips. In the few moments they have been in the room, she has already made note of several pertinent details; the young bushi standing in the background with her Daisho slightly misaligned, the single tea cup that is newer than the rest, and the expertly repaired marks in the wall where a sword has cut into it.


"We will of course do everything in our power to find the truth of the matter," she says to the Lion commander. "For the good of the Empire, the truth must come forth, and for the good of its people, the perpetrators will be brought to justice." She puts down the cup again, and regards the woman before her with great care, her eyes finding clues as to the other's real thoughts and state of mind, "the plots of the Scorpion are as notorious as they are plentyful, but we must not jump to conclusions. Perhaps you could do us the honor of telling us everything you know about the affair in question, your vassal and their Scorpion neighbor."
 
"It shall be as you say Moriko-sama we will dutifully investigate and if we find it warranted then Shizuka and Jinsoku will have Scorpion for dinner, they are growing still and get hungry. We shall take care not to lay blame where it does not belong, but we will get to the bottom of this."


Sasumi says with a deep bow of deference, even as she does the Lion girl is nearly bursting with excitement of the prospect of the mission ahead.


"What authority will we have in this matter to act on your behalf? And do you have any further instructions or shall we act upon our own discretion?" Sasumi asks finally, her mind ever trained in the Lion arts, running of ever possible scenario she can conceive.
 
Suzuha's a bit leery about setting foot in Matsu lands, given the long-standing feud between the Kakita and Matsu. Oh sure, she has the Doji surname, but she's a duelist - and proud of it. Plus, it's not as though the Matsu would make that distinction, anyway.


Of course, that didn't mean she had to flaunt it. She's chosen to wear neutral colors today, and leave off the white hair dye (technically, she's been doing that for the two weeks it took her to reach Shiro Matsu, in order to let it wear off). She adapts her body language to suit what she knows of the Matsu from observing Sasumi; curt and subdued, with no wasted movements. Finally, she wears her Emerald Magistrate's mon close to her heart, beside her own Kakita mon; she won't hide who she is, but she'll remind anyone who looks about what she is.


"The tea is much appreciated, Moriko-san. Will there be a liaison we can speak to, somebody you trust to carry our words to your ears?"


She omits "and nobody else's" - that would probably insinuate that there were actually bushi under her command that she didn't trust.


"Our investigations might take us far and if we do find the perpetrators, it may be necessary to call upon the might of the Lion to properly stamp out these vermin. Certainly, we would rather defer to you when it comes to military operations in your land."
 
Moriko nods at the questions, apparently not offended by anyone's words or deeds. "Matsu Latomu is the vassal presiding over Touhoku Mon Machi, and is the one who has requested assistance, not in dealing with the bandits, but in the proof of Scorpion influence. As you are Emerald Magistrates, you deal with matters beyond the scope of a single Clan, such as treason. As for messages, you do of course have couriers to report your findings. As for what I know of the situation..." Moriko takes another sip of her own tea, then continues.


"Latomu first reported bandit attacks after the latest Scorpion hostage arrived." She stops and smiles a moment, "Ah, forgive me. The official title is 'envoy.' And we have one in Seinan Mon Machi as well. The first ones disrupted planting, killing some peasants and ruining some fields that we were able to re-plant in time. Since then, they have come...sporadically. Irregularly. Scraps of black and red cloth have been found--Scorpion colors--and Latomu has....talked with Shosuro Yasashii, who has consistently denied that his Clan has anything to do with these attacks. Without credible testimony, we cannot be sure. And Yasashii himself has not done anything that would allow us to compel his testimony. So, honorable magistrates, I would have you go and see. Determine if this banditry is from another Clan and is thus dishonorable war, or if it is something purely...internal."





(OOC: If you have any questions, you can put them in OOC asides in the posts, or I'll start an OOC question thread.)
 
Bao Yu considers the words. It could well be the Scorpion, and they are denying so the blame doesn't fall on them, or it could be someone else trying to foment war between the Scorpion and the Lion. They will need to tread carefully here, to get to the bottom of this. Having classified that, she begins considering what she knows about the people involved.

Lion Lore, TN 19


[dice]6008[/dice]


Scorpion Lore, TN 26


[dice]6009[/dice]


[dice]6010[/dice]


Hope I did this right, not sure whether calling for a Raise on this could have helped gain more info, but ok for now.
 
OOC: Removed, mostly because I was too slow to fix it to something appropriate. Very silent courtier we have here...
 
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OOC clarification: The Scorpion have a hostage--er, envou--at Touhoku Mon Machi: Northeast Gate Town, the town at the Northeast end of Beiden's Pass. This is in Lion lands. The Lion have a hostage in Seinan Mon Machi: Southwest Gate Town. The Scorpion town in their lands at the sw end of Beiden pass. And if the Lion get up to no good, the Lion hostage dies. Similarly for the Scorpion hostage. Sorry. I thought that was clear. @Esbilon, you may edit/change your post accordingly if you wish.


@Red Shadow Claws, yes. As for your lore rolls, Latomu would not have been assigned to his station if he were not competent. As for hostages, they must be valuable enough that a Clan would not break peace and so cause the hostages' deaths lightly.. Shosuro Yasashii is a name that the Phoenix courtiers passed on: slick and cunning to be sure, but...if not honorable, then honest.
 
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"Then I must ask the council of mt fellow magistrates and ask where they would like to begin our investigation. I myself would like to check the area of the most recent bandit attack to see if it yields any information." Sasumi smiles looking around at the others in the room as she awaits and answer, a keen eye can tell she is eager to begin but not so foolish as to act on those impulses before everyone else is ready. "Perhaps some of the people in the region may offer some insight as well."
 
Bao Yu nods at Sasumi as she sips from her tea. It did taste wonderful,, with just a hint of cherry flavor. "I agree, it will likely hold a greater detail, though we might want to check several of these places, and talk to the Kami there, to see what information we can get from them."
 
"Then may I suggest we start with the most recent first and work our way backwards, such a method may even reveal a pattern of there is one?"
 
"That seems like the wisest course of action," Suzuha nods. Privately, she has her doubts about whether the Scorpion are involved. Scraps of red and black cloth left behind? If this were truly something premeditated, she doubts a competent adversary would make such an elementary mistake like leaving positive proof of their presence behind. Although it hardly mattered how competent one's enemy was, if they were dangerous... but that was Kachiko's call.
 
The discussion seemingly concluded, Bao Yu relaxes a little, and sips on her tea, enjoying the flavor, and warmth, and trying to fathom the other ingredients.
 
"I can be ready to set out shortly, when would we like to leave?" Sasumi says with a bow to Moriko as she rises.
 
"We might as well get started, as this is a grave matter. I am all for setting out as soon as possible." Bao Yu responds, as she knows she'll likely be slowing the group, so they might as well get started.
 
"Very well I will gather my things and meet you outside in a few minutes." Sasumi stands and moves off to get her gear.
 
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