[ic] Kore | Kingdom Of Harmony [terminated]

[doghead]

Prologue | A Beginning

Rainy season, it seems, has come early this year. Although it is barely mid may, it has been raining, sometimes softly, sometimes hard, for the better part of the last week.

But today, at least, the sun has come out. And the town is full of people anxious to enjoy it and keen to get out of the house while they can. The streets and walkways throung with people. Some busy with errands. Some just taking their time and leisure.

The riverside is popular. Small groups of men stride and talk. Clusters of young kimono clad women glide and whisper, and occassionally burst out in giggles. Sometimes a pair of Doshin strutting, their shoulders thrown back as they keep the lords peace. The yatai stalls pulled up alongside the path do brisk business - the smells of fried beef, pork and chicken, seafood, dumplings and bowls of soup fill the air.

Likewise East-park. The paths that wind up the hill and terrace gardens at the top of the hill are busy, but less so than the riverside, thus allowing you a sence of quiet no available on the riverside. The are some yatais up amoung the gardens, but the steep slopes disuade most sellers. Why bother when most of the visitors will decend to the small fishing harbour nestled at the base of the hill and eat at one of the establishments there, stocked with seafood fresh off the boats just across the street.

For those too busy to enjoy the parks or river, there are always the tea houses in town. Large open rooms shared by many groups or small private spaces screened off from the others. Places with screens thrown open to reveal vistas of the river or snuggled away down small alleys, there is a tea house for everybody. Leave your footwear at the door, pull up a cushion and settle down on the tatami. Take a moment to admire the pottery (and the measured grace of the master if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford such service) and enjoy the tea.

ooc: A little snapshot to get you started. I'll leave it to you guys to insert yourself into the picture as you see fit. I'll be around for the next 48 hours or so. Then you're on your own til next Thursday. A completed character sheet is not necessary at this stage if you want to jump in.

 

[DrZombie]

A young monk walks the streets of the city wearing the traditional orange robes, worn but clean. Sweat gleams on his tanned shaven head as he stops for a moment, looking around at the people bustling about. They remind him of an anthil that has been stirred, although the ants seemed a little more organised. And they didn't have sweaty armpits.

He seems to glide through the thronged masses, deftly sidestepping the people that don't look where they're going, always moving forwards. As he ascends the hill the road gets less crowded, and he looks about for a quiet spot. At last he seems to find what he is looking for. In the shade of a blooming cherry tree he sits down, adjusting the plain unadorned sai in his belt. He puts his begging bowl in front of him, assumes lotus position, closes his eyes and then opens his inner eye.

My mind is like a pond. All thought will be submerged, the waves they cause calm down. There is but the still surface of the pool, reflecting evrything. Quiet. Calm. Peacefull.

My mind is like a pond. All thought will be submerged, the waves they cause calm down. There is but the still surface of the pool, reflecting evrything. Quiet. Calm. Peacefull.

My mind is like a pond. All thought will be submerged, the waves they cause calm down. There is but the still surface of the pool, reflecting evrything. Quiet. Calm. Peacefull.

Putting aside all sounds, smells, distractions, the young monk lets his mind become still as he meditates.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

A slender man in worn, dark armor with a spear over his back moves through the crowd smoothly. Despite his size, people seem to unconsciously move out of his way as he walks. Maybe it's the walk, which is an almost arrogant stalk, or maybe it's the predatory half-smile on his face, but people seem to avoid him.

Time to look for work he thinks, as he settles himself down in the park to watch the passers-by. One of them might be his next employer. He waited, and watched.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Soshi Tezune moves with an easy grace and erratic pattern through the crowd, moving seemingly at random past and through the throngs of people. There is a faint smile on his handsome face, his head is held high, and his sword is worn openly at his side in a scabbard with the kanji characters for Luck and Trickery inscribed an its enamled surface. A few people recognize the brash young ronin, and Tezune exchanges pleasantries with them as station dictates.

Hiraku Mutsouru watches the whole scene with the cool and calculating eyes of killer.

Tezune spots a pretty girl heading up the paths of east-park, and he follows her only to quickly lose her amongst the twisting paths. He passes a monk in saffron robes, and with a grin and a laugh tosses a few coins in his empty bowl. "For good luck," he explains, and keeps walking. In his head, Mutsouru gives a small prayer to the godhead.

He sees a foreign-looking man eyeing him, and Mutsouru studies him back. Tezune laughs and walks over, nodding and sitting down next to him. He is content to let the other person speak first.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Rokuro eyes the young ronin seated before him with calculating eyes, weighing and measuring. Possibly an employer. Rokuro of all people knew that even people so carefree seeming as this man could have enemies, and could be desperated enough to make a bid for their life. Possibly an old foe. Rokuro certainly had enough of them, from either kingdom. Or possibly just what he seemed, a brash young man looking for adventure.

Rokuro smiled thinly. Not likely. Nothing was ever quite that simple.

Completing his personal calculations without the ronin speaking, Rokuro opens the conversation himself.

"Do you want something, Ronin? Or am I merely part of the sight-seeing tour?"

Bait him a little. Let's get the measure of this man before I try anything, eh?

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Nothing in paticular, Foreigner," Tezune/Mutsouru shoots back. Foreigner is often a perjorative in the Kingdom of Heaven; Tezune inflects it in such a way that, like the stranger's use of Ronin, the meaning is ambivalent. "And yourself? Do you desire anything?"

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

"Do I desire anything? Isn't that an odd question? All men have desires, most prefer them to be secret. A man could make a business off some of those secret desires."

Rokuro turns slighty, looking fully at the ronin.

"And do you have a desire you wish to share?"

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"I desire an answer to my question," says Tezune in a friendly manner, still looking at the monk in the saffron robes. "Which, despite all the pretty words you spoke, you did not answer." Mutsorou must admit himself intrigued by this odd man.

 

[DrZombie]

**Look, boss, two strangers. Interesting. Why do they give you money? I'll go and see.**

Carefull, little one


WIngs flapping, a raven lands on the shoulder of Tezune. With strangely intelligent eyes it watches the two strangers. As it eyes the two Kanji characters on the scabbard it crows **"Luck... Luck... Trrrrrrrickerrry"**

He then nestles down on his shoulder, looking to see what happens.

The monk opens his eyes, takes the money from his begging bowl, and stands up. "here, little one, stop bothering these men."

Well done little one. Keep them off balance.

**Yes, boss, I will**

** = raven thinking and speaking, as you've guessed.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

"Is that not often the purpose of such language?" Rokuro replies, smiling slightly. Then he turns to view the monk, sizing him up mentally for a moment.

"That's an interesting bird you have there. One doesn't often find ravens that speak. Is there a story behind that?"