Lord Tannerson & Justice for Li

[BSF]

OOC: I am making a few assumptions here based on the little we
already know about the characters. Basically, I am assuming that Li
will be following a few directives initially. If I am wrong, feel
free to correct me and we will juggle conditions around until
everything fits.)

Brother Oceas and Keldorn are led down the road toward Greerson by
two bears and two man turned back into bears. Just before a slight
turn in the road, two bears emerge with Ayla walking between them, a
small distance away, another two bears emerge, bracketing Deborah.
Li is left with the wounded man, two bears and the tall man with the
shield and the sword.

The man with the shield looks over Li carefully then gestures to the
weapons on the ground. (That would be Li's, Keldorn's and Oceas'
weapons.)
"We should move out of the road. My men will show you to a
clearing near here. You have submitted to receiving my justice, I
will trust you to carry these weapons with you. I will take care of
my injured soldier."
Without waiting for a response, he steps past Li and kneels next to
the injured man. He quickly checks him over, noting the bruises
caused by a large axe. There are no life threatening wounds, but he
definitely took a beating, perhaps some fractured bones and
definitely a great deal of soreness over the next several days. The
two bears bracket Li, wait for him to collect everything and then
guide him toward a small trail leading away from the road. Just as
is leaving the road, he sees the injured man sit up, then with a
groan he lays back down.

It is a quick walk to the clearing. The trail is wide enough for a
bear, but Li does have to duck below some branches. If he had to
guess, this is probably some sort of animal trail. Ducking below a
fairly significant branch, he steps into the clearing. The bears
guide him toward the center. The shin high grass stands out in the
pale moonlight. There is a small circle of logs and what looks like
a fire ring where the bears have guided Li. Both bears sit down on
the haunches and watch Li.

It is several minutes later that Li hears a loud whistle, some sort
of signal. A minute later, a horse darts across the clearing toward
the road. After another few minutes, the man with the shield walks
into the clearing and heads for the circle of logs.

"I am Lord Aldrich Tannerson, Honored Defender of the Eastern
Gate, Marshall of the Twenty Trees, Ranger of Greerson and Paladin of
Lune. I am empowered to administer both High and Low Justice. You
have requested that I hear your case and decide how Justice will be
served. My duty is to ascertain what laws you may have violated what
crimes you may have committed and what offences you may be charged
with. I will then decide what degree of guilt you may bear in these
allegations and determine what course of Justice will be applied. By
your appearance and manner, I can tell that you are a foreigner to
our land. Such things do not negate your responsibilities for
adhering to our laws. However, I believe in trying to understand a
person as best as I can before I pass my judgements. In short, I
want to know what manner of man stands before me. I suggest we sit
down as this seems certain to be a long night."

Lord Tannerson sets his shield down and sits on a log, gesturing for
Li to do the same.

"Now, please tell me your name, and where you hail from. What deeds
are carried with your name and how did you end up in our forest. As
well, I would like to hear what happened earlier tonight. I would
encourage you to provide as much detail as you can. One man is dead
and I need to understand your part in this incident."

 

[Macbeth]

Sitting across from Lord Tannerson, Li clears his throat, gazes away into the distance for a second, and begins: "I am Li Xian Gao, honorable warrior and Samurai. I hail from the lands to the east, where my people continue a hopeless war with the yuan-ti. I came to Stormhaven to escpae the futile war with the Yuan-ti, which I know regret. At that time I had neglected my heritage, and turned my back on the righteous war with the snake men. Now I realize that there is honor in even a hopeless battle, and I now intend to bring the ideal of the samurai to this western world.

But I get ahead of my self. when I came to Stormhaven, I found a companion in a fellow forienger named Ceru. He, like myself, was from a far away land, and I took it upon myslef to help him. After a short time traveling with him, I feel in with the rest of his companions, and we took a job investigating the island of Castinamir. I served my companions well, slaying the monsters that roamed the deserted island until we found a room full of doors leading, apparently, all around the world. Since we could find no other exit, we choose one of the doors and entered. On the other side, we found ourselves in a strange forest. This forest was like no other, as best I could tell, we no were longer in the world of man, but in some greater realm. In that forest we met the honorbale Kiminaha, warrior and guardian of the forest. He was kind enough to give us directions to leave his forest, and as we left his domain, we found ourselves walking through your land. We set camp for the night a short distance from the road.

What happened next was a blur of confusion. I was awoken in the night by two men on horseback, who accosted my companions and insulted my honor. They refused to identify themselves, or tell us what authority they had. With the obvious threat to my friends, and the blaring insult to my honor, I had no choice but to draw my weapon.

You must understand, I had no intention of killing them. If you llok at my blades, one is a training sword, made only of wood. I intended only to defend my honor and my companions, not to kill. Unfortunately, the newest member of our troupe was not so reserved, and he swung at one of the men with the intention to kill. After the first fell, he struck the second with the broadside of his axe, laying him out. To my dishonor, I did not even use my blade in battle, the brute finished the battle before I had a chance to engage.

After the battle, we found that Tormal, a fellow warrior for whom I have much respect, was gone. After some discussion, it become clear that the fight was a misunderstanding, and that we had fought against the rightfull law in this area. You see, we had no idea who we were fighting, I entered combat only to defend myself, my comrades, and my honor. With the revelation that we might have done wrong, the party split. Ceru and the pasty Felix departed while I waited for the pious Brother Oceaus, Lady Ayla, and the brute. We were on our way to find Tormal, to explain the situation, and to try to make our peace, when you found us.

And that, Lord Aldrich Tannerson, Honored Defender of the Western Gate, Marshall of the Twenty Trees, Ranger of Greerson, and Paladin of Lune, is the story. As is honorable to do, I will live and die by the law of the land. But I ask that, if you would have me die, you let me find my peace in seppuku. I will not surrender myself, but I will live by your law."

 

[BSF]

Lord Tannerson listens carefully to Li's tale. When Li finishes, the
two of them sit there in the quiet of the night. The sound of the
two bears breathing provides an odd cadence throughout the clearing.
Finally, Lord Tannerson speaks.

"I know a small bit about the Yuan-Ti. They once tried to invade our
land, back when the nearby city was founded some 1000 years ago.
Indeed, their presence plays a small part in the history of this
city. There was but a small force that tried to establish themselves
here, but those few sounded quite dangerous. I cannot imagine what
your homeland must be like if you have an ongoing war with these
creatures. However, I cannot believe in a hopeless war. Perhaps you
move to a higher purpose than you currently understand? One day,
perhaps you will return to your homeland with knowledge that will
turn the battle in your favor. But first, we must deal with the
business at hand."

Lord Tannerson slowly stands and draws his sword, though, he does not
take a combat stance. Holding the sword before him, he speaks in a
somber voice.

"I, Lord Tannerson, Honored Defender of the Eastern Gate, Marshall of
the Twenty Trees, Ranger of Greerson and Paladin of Lune, hereby pass
my judgement on Li Xian Gao. By the authority granted to me by the
Kingdom of Greerson, and the divine grace of Lune, my judgement shall
be binding and absolute."

The two bears in the clearing nod in agreement. Lord Tannerson then
looks to Li.

"I have spoken with those of my men that remain regarding the
altercation in the forest. By our laws, you are charged with
trespassing, failure to yield to authority, banditry and murder.
Having established the charges, I must now determine what you might
truly be guilty of.

By your own admission, you are guilty of trespass. These charges are
not in dispute.

You are also guilty of failing to yield to authority.

I see no evidence that you are guilty of banditry.

I also see no evidence that you had any part in the death or injury
of the soldiers you met.

Having established which crimes you are guilty of, I will now
consider how justice will best be served.

For unlawful trespass, I will consider the following mitigating
circumstances. You arrived in our nation unwittingly and through an
unusual circumstance. You did not have the same opportunity to learn
our laws that most visitors do. I will tell you now that it is not
permitted to camp within the domain of the Twenty Trees without the
permission of the local Lord or Marshall. I hereby give Li Xian Gao
permission to camp within the domain of the Twenty Trees for a period
of one month, effective 3 days ago, thus negating the crime of
trespass.

However, while visiting my lands, you and your companions cut
branches from a living tree. Though you did not hold any ill intent,
you injured a sacred tree. As the Lord and Marshall of this land, I
must seek judgement on behalf of this tree. Li Xian Gao, you will
visit this tree on the morrow to apologize for the injury caused.
You will also seal the injury and take from the tree a seed to be
planted in fertile ground elsewhere.

For the crime of failure to yield to authority, I find mitigating
circumstances. Again, you were not given an opportunity to learn
what device our soldiers bear. As well, you were awakened in the
middle of the night, in a strange land. I am not sure what insult
you were offered, but you intended to respond with non-lethal force.
I will tell you that some of your companions behaved in a suspicious
manner and refused to cooperate with my soldiers after being told
that they were seeking bandits. I believe your companions had it
within their power to avert this misunderstanding. Both the ones my
soldiers initially met on the road, and those that were awake in your
camp. However, I am disappointed that my men did not handle the
situation better. They did not violate any laws of this nation, but
I expect a higher standard out of those that serve me. In the matter
of failure to yield to authority, Li Xian Gao will undertake to learn
the devices of the soldiers, watch and guard of Greerson. Further,
Li Xian Gao will testify truthfully at the trial of his companions.

In this manner, Justice is best served. These are my judgements,
legal and binding through this land."

Lord Tannerson offers a silent prayer to Lune before sheathing his
sword once again. He then offers his sword arm to Li.

"Welcome to Greerson Li Xian Gao. I wish we had met under different
circumstances, but such are the circumstances of life. I would speak
with you further so that I can understand what a samurai and seppuku
are. Strange words from a far away land, they mean nothing to me.
Please, accept my hospitality."

 

[Macbeth]

Li trys to show no emotion as his sentence is delivered, but his relief shows lightly on his face. He shakes Lord Tannerson's hand, an gesture he considers foriegn, but he is willing to live in the western way. "Honorable Lord Tannerson, Honored Defender of the Eastern Gate, Marshall of the Twenty Trees, Ranger of Greerson and Paladin of Lune, I respect your judgement, and will abide by your law. I welcome your hospiatlity, and I will gladly tell you of my home."

Li trys to make himself comfortable, sitting down if possible, and hoping Lord tannerson will also sit to here of Li's native land. "Ah, it seems so far away now, the land of my birth. I will answer your questions as they were asked, so, first, the samurai. Samurai are noble warriors, honor bound to follow the command of their master. A samurai lives to serve, to fullfill the divine orders of his master, to perfect himself in battle and in art. A samurai is noble, even in death, which brings us to seppuku. When a samurai meets dishonor, or when he is defeated in battle, he will take his own life to restore his honor and that of his family. It is not an easy burden to take, but when he is dishonored a samurai will take his own blade and pierce himslef through the stomach, ending his life, but regaining his honor."

"And I, Lord Tannerson, am a samurai in title only. When I left the war in the East, I had no master, since I had mistakenly rejected the great fight with the yuan-ti. Now I search for a new master in this strange land, a honorable lord who I can serve in life and death, and, with his blessing, establish a new order of samurai in this western land, free of the taint of the yuan-ti. My experiences on the Island of Castinimir restired my samurai spirit, and now I long to serve again."

"Now, if I may, I would like to ask you a question, honorable Lord Tannerson. Please, tell me of Greerson, this land you serve. I know little of you, yet your devoted service to this land seems closely tied to the service of the samurai."

 

[BSF]

(OOC: Eep! OK, I never got around to really explaining Lord Tannerson's role here. That will be a good one for me to revisit. That will take place sometime before the Li at Lord Tannerson's Manor posts. I know we covered it a little bit at the table, but I think there is much more he could say.)