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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tuerny" data-source="post: 62336" data-attributes="member: 674">Adventure 1, Session 1: The Court of Bayushi DochiriThe Scrolls of Asako Inoshi, Inquisitor of the Divine Brotherhood The first day of Sun, 1158    This morning seemed like most others. I awoke and, after performing my morning rituals, was summoned to the Audience Chamber of Ibinjan-sami. To my surprise, my brother Segashi was also in attendance. As I had not seen my brother in some time, I was curious as to what would have brought him to the Temple of the Divine Brotherhood.    After honoring Ibinjan-sami, he told us of the recent attempts by the Dragon to court the favor of the Scorpion. He said that he was sending us to serve the Scorpion clan in attempt to have them see the wisdom of joining the Phoenix and Lion. We were to set off for the city of Beiden and offer ourselves to the daimyo, Bayushi Dochiri. He wished us the favor of the Fortunes and warned us of the deceptions of the Scorpion.Our mission brings to mind the saying from the Tao,“Petting a scorpion with a compassionate hand only gets you a sting.”Ninth day of Sun, 1158    The journey to Morikage was pleasant, if uneventful. This being Spring, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. My brother seems to have developed some distaste for their lovely scent.    We stayed at a cousin’s in Shiro Shiba for a day while waiting for the Aji Kuron to sail. The Captain, Natoshi, was an able enough man and we sailed without any delays for eight days. On the eighth day, we arrived at Koeru and it was there that I was left with little doubt about the differences of the Scorpion. Shinsei teaches acceptance of all, but the lands of the Scorpion were not a place of acceptance.        My first impression was of a place of sadness. The masks worn by all; the quiet purpose they seemed to have-from samurai to bonge; the suspicion that abounded. I knew that my training as an Inquisitor would be tested fully.    After only a few minutes of wandering about, we approached by a group of Bayushi. They were sent to escort us to Beiden. We set off without delay and the journey of many days passed quickly and solemnly.Twenty-third day of Sun, 1158                      “Kharma and shadow follow us all.”                                          Shinsei    Our arrival in Beiden was a mixture of wonder and questions. The city seemed to be built upon itself-crowded, aged, dirty. We were swiftly borne through the city to the kyuden - This is the Bayushi kyuden of the Spring and Summer. Everyone we met or passed gazed at us with-Curiosity? Contempt? Amusement? I could not tell.    Upon our arrival, we were introduced to Bayushi Dochiri. He greeted us and asked of our journey. After exchanging gifts, we offered our services to the Scorpion clan. He graciously accepted and then introduced us to his son and two daughters- Ogami, Kamisuri and Iushi. Ogami is samurai-powerful and a man of few words. Kamisuri and Iushi are courtiers-Kamirsuri of exceptional beauty and elegance. After exchanging gifts, we were escorted to our room to prepare for the evening’s festivities.    Oh, I almost forgot. I do not know what possessed me, but when Bayushi-sami told of the haiku contest that evening, I spoke of my brother’s talent in the art. Now, I do not know if Segashi had learned the art of haiku since last we saw one another, but I felt he was up to the challenge. More so than I…           “A diversion is just that and nothing more.”                                    Shinsei    The evening began with courtly talk; although I am somewhat learned in the area, I felt as if I was being examined throughout the evening. There were two other guests aside from my brother and I-Doji Kiniri, a samurai of the Crane; and Shosuro Betujiku, another Scorpion courtier. I believe there is some history between Shosuro-san and Bayushi Kamisuri as the two engaged in a not-so-friendly sadane that left Bayushi-san quite angry.A kabuki troupe performed the “Tales of the Scorpion” for the assembled guests. The troupe was very skilled - However, I do not recall the tale being told with the Scorpion being the obvious victor in each case. Perhaps my recollection of the tale is faulty.The dinner was quite magnificent. The haiku competition was most pleasing; Bayushi Kamisuri proved to be quite skilled in haiku-much more so than Segashi or I.  I offer her piece so that the reader may experience the joy of her skill:<insert haiku here>Asako InoshiThe Twenty-fourth day of Sun, 1158GM's note: This was a very good first session for the campaign. It was a little rough at first as two of the player's had never been played in Rokugan before, but by the time they arrived at Beiden it had gotten much better.           I was particularly pleased by the interplay between Bayushi Ogami and the Phoenix. After seeing Inoshi's playing up of the skills of his brother while his brother appeared vaguely bewildered, he went and comissioned a haiku for them to use. When he presented it to them they refused it entirely (and even approached being unintentionally insulting at times). Ogami replied to this by hiring a kabuki troop for the dinner part that night to play the previously mentioned Tales of the Scorpion.      The player himself went through and told a portion of the tale, including the one that related directly to the event at hand: the Phoenix's refusal of the Scorpion gift. It was classic. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />   Also of note was the Scorpion PCs making their first enemy. Bayushi Kamisori won the poetry contest, so Shosuro Betujiko challanged her to a sedane contest. Betujiko proceeded to use her abilities to send Kamisori into a rage and force her to use her lowest ability scores for the contest of skills. Kamisori proceeded to lose poorly and embarass herself. Ogami did not take this well. He challanged her to a game and when she sent off her first insult he leaned over and attempted to intimidate her. I decided to resolve this with an opposed intimidation check. Betujiko rolled a 1. So Ogami was able to successfully intimidate a charachter many levels higher then himself. She was last seen leaving with Dogi Kiniri..... It will be interesting to see how this develops. </blockquote>

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