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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vanifae" data-source="post: 5267208" data-attributes="member: 58765">Session 2: Painful Regrets – Part 423rd of the Dragon, 1172 IC, Corrupted Shrine outside of North Border VillageMayako coughs, spitting up a foul coppery substance.  It is blood but thankfully not her own.  Not so thankfully her face is lying down in a pool of the foul substance, her eyes are covered and she feels that her hands and legs are bound.  She struggles against her bonds but find they do not give.  She coughs once more and cries out, “Where am I, anyone there?”“You just couldn’t leave this alone, you had to push me,” the voice shocks Mayako as she realizes what is happening.Earlier…Mayako laughs as the two young shugenja catch up on their days and nights at the Isawa Shugenja School.  She takes a sip of her sake, “I don’t like to admit it but I miss those days.  They were hard at times but they seem so much easier then… less pressure I suppose?”Tetsuo nods, “I understand, when I returned home my father was so proud, but he expected so much from me.  It was difficult to measure up, but I tried my best.  And now he is gone…”“I am sorry Tetsuo-san” putting her cup down, “I can see that you miss him very much.”“One day when I am stronger I will make the Dragon pay for what they have taken from me.  Honor demands it,” the young master sips at his cup.“Vengeance begets more vengeance, Tetsuo-san,” Mayako replies looking away.  She shifts uncomfortably in place trying to find the right words, “How does your mother feel about this?”“She does not know how I truly feel,” he replies darkly.“You should talk to her, I am sure she worries about you,” Mayako says accidently knocking her cup over.  Tetsuo quickly reaches for it with his other hand, bandaged tightly.  He quickly withdraws his hand after he replaces her cup.“You should be more careful,” he tries to joke.“What happened to your hand?” Mayako questions.“I went riding, I was careless and fell and cut my hand on a rock.  It was a rather foolish moment, I should have been more careful.  Thankfully my yojimbo saw to my injury, it should heal in a few days,” Tetsuo shrugs.Mayako frowns, “Yes… your yojimbo that was another matter I needed to talk to you about Tetsuo-san.  It is kind of awkward though.”“Go ahead.”“Well the tattoo we were looking for, he has it, Nobutada-san saw it and I think he may be involved with these missing bandit corpses, the dark magic, everything in fact,” Mayako speaks softly trying to soften the blow of betrayal.“Hiro-san?  That is troubling.  He has served my family for quite some time, he is one our most loyal retainers.  He has been my yojimbo since I returned from school.  This seems almost unbelievable, are you sure of this?” Tetsuo stammers quickly putting down his drink.“I want to question him, we could do it together if you like but I want to be there to see with my own eyes,” Mayako requests.“This seems a family matter now, I am sure I can handle it,” Tetsuo replies defensively.“Be that as it may, my father is daimyo of this province.  So I will speak to him with or without your consent,” Mayako commands with more iron then usual.Tetsuo bows his head, “Of course, should we do this now?”“Yes,” Mayako replies much softer now.Meanwhile Nobutada and Shiatari sit in another room together watching Sukime practice while Keiko reads.  Nobutada grumbles, “I hope she is okay, he better not try anything or Fortunes help him, I will have his head.”Sukime pipes in, “What do you mean cousin?”“Nothing,” Nobutada replies sourly.Shiatari shrugs barely listening when she notices something out of the corner of her eye in the hallway.  A fleeting shadow perhaps, curious nonetheless, she excuses herself and follows into the empty hallway.  She pauses before she sees something move around the corner.  She follows quickly and finds and empty chamber with a single man kneeling in the dark room.The figure is a stately samurai warrior with a traditional topknot and a plain orange, though pale, kimono.  His figure seems hazy and she can tell immediately that he is not physically present but some kind of shade or ghost.  Despite her fear the Scorpion bushi reaches out to touch the man and he turns to her and utters a single phrase before fading from sight, “Save him…”Shiatari glances around the room and see the daisho of Tetsuo’s father.  She smiles to herself her suspicion seems to be confirmed for the moment.  She quickly returns to the chamber and speaks to Nobutada who seems anxious to do something other than wait, “We should check on your cousin.”“Why she said she could handle herself, I don’t want to upset her again,” the Seppun bushi grumbles.“I am not so much worried about her but the young master,” she smiles enjoying the play on words, “it is late and I would hate to see him try to take advantage of Mayako.  I think it’s only honorable to make sure nothing scandalous is taking place.”Nobutada nods his eyes, “He better be keeping his hands to himself!”  Nobutada stomps toward the young master’s chambers but finds it curiously empty.  He turns to Shiatari, “Where is she?”“I have been with you all evening, she obviously is not here, we should check the yojimbo’s quarters,” Shiatari shrugs.  The two bushi check the other room and find it too was empty.  They check the remainder of the estate and find there is no sign of Mayako, Tetsuo, or the yojimbo, Hiro.  They return to the yojimbo’s room and search it thoroughly finding blood on the floor and a slight trail leading out of the room towards the stable.  Two horses are missing.Nobutada and Shiatari decide to mount a rescue.  Luck seems to be on their side as Nobutada can follow the fresh tracks.[Nobutada made an unskilled Hunting check and made the roll, he spent a Void point to make it a skilled roll and got some lucky exploding dice to beat a TN of 20.  – GM’s note]*****************************************************************************************************************Shiba Hiro looks up with nonchalant grace as Tetsuo and Mayako enter his chambers.  Mayako sits down across from Hiro and speaks, “This is not easy to say, so I will just get to the point, I need to see your neck, Hiro-san.”Hiro furrows his brow and glances to Tetsuo, who nods.  He does as directed and shows Mayako his neck revealing the star shaped tattoo.  Mayako frowns, “Just as I feared, we will need to-” She never finishes as Tetsuo slams a heavy vase into the back of her skull, knocking her out immediately.[I ran both of these scenes with frequent cuts to keep the suspense going.  When Mayako gets hit on the head I think I required an Earth roll or a Stamina roll not sure which but the TN was 20 and she failed.  The next scene for her was actually the beginning of this segment with her face down in the pool of blood.  – GM’s note]Back to the Present…Shiatari and Nobutada pick their way through the forest following the trail when Shiatari notices someone following the two bushi.  She turns to see a small slim frame trying to hide behind a tree.  The Scorpion bushi rolls her eyes, “Sukime why are you following us?”Sukime pokes her head out, “I wanted to help.”“Little cousin you should not be here, we need to take her back,” Nobutada commands.“We don’t have time, they have Mayako-san and who knows what twisted things the young master will do to her.  Bring her with us, if she wants to be a real samurai she might as well see what being a real one is like,” Shiatari shrugs.“If harm comes to her you will have to answer to me,” Nobutada scowls, “come on little one.”The trio continue through the woods and come upon a forgotten shrine; the structure is several centuries old with rooting wood and crumbling stone.  A fresh door has been put up on the front of the structure where two horses wait along with the kneeling form of the Phoenix yojimbo.The samurai forego stealth and approach the meditating yojimbo.  Shiba Hiro speaks without looking up, “It would be for the best that you return to the estate and forget this place.”Shiatari takes the lead, “Is Mayako inside?”Nobutada raises a slight brow at the familiar tone but focuses on the task at hand.  The yojimbo replies calmly, “She is alone with the young master.  He made it clear he is not to be disturbed.”“You won’t stop me,” Shiatari commands firmly.Hiro stands, “I will do what honor demands.”  The Phoenix yojimbo sighs heavily as if a great burden is slowly moving off his shoulders.  He adds, “Do what you must Bayushi-san.”“Show me your stance,” Shiatari challenges the yojimbo.[Now typically a true ‘honorable’ challenge would have to go through the each of their lords.  But what is samurai action without a duel to the death in the unlikeliest of places.  This was our first Iaijutsu duel so it was it a little slow while I made sure we did it right.  It was very cool and we found out that Shiatari is actually pretty good at these being a Bayushi bushi.  – GM’s note]The yojimbo nods and accepts the challenge.  Nobutada backs up while Sukime watches with great interest.  Both warriors slowly circle each other before settling into their stances and taking the measure of the other.  Neither can discern anything about the other.[Both warriors enter the Center stance, initiative is rolled and they both tie.  Hiro rolled okay and Shiatari rolled poorly.  Neither bushi succeeded in the Assessment phase.  – GM’s note]Shiatari though is well trained and spots several flaws in Hiro’s stance that she can exploit for victory.  She smiles inwardly, victory was nearly assured; her strike would be fast like the Scorpion and equally as deadly.  It may not kill him outright, but he would be crippled at the least.  For his part Shiba Hiro makes his peace with his ancestors as he stares death down, he knew these would be his last moments.[Shiatari rolls very well on her Focus roll, beating Hiro by about 15, which gives her two free raises on the Strike phase.  This will end badly for Hiro.  – GM’s note]Shiatari strikes with the grace of her Ancestors the strike is masterful and nearly fatal.  Even Nobutada is taken back by the power of the blow.  Hiro grits his teeth as her blade cuts clean through his armor and chest; he stumbles making a clumsy strike of his own that fails to find purchase.  No effort is wasted as Shiatari kills him with a final strike.  Thus ends the life of Shiba Hiro. [Needles to say Shiatari’s player was glad she invested points in Iaijutsu and now sees where she can improve.  I think she likes the idea of being a duelist.  – GM’s note]Meanwhile just moments before inside the ruined shrine, Isawa Tetsuo focuses his ire on Mayako, “You just had to push me.”“I swear I did not even suspect you Tetsuo-san.  Why are you doing this?” Mayako cries still struggling against her bonds.“You could not possibly understand you are too restricted by the laws of your Empire to see that you have been denied true power.   But not me.   I have seen through the fog of lies.  No truth shall escape my notice; I will achieve a power far beyond anything you could possibly imagine.  But you… you would try to stop me,” Tetsuo hisses.“I can try, tell me,” Mayako bargains trying to buy time to come up with a plan.“Maybe,” he calms for a moment, “I always liked you Mayako-san, and your family was always good to mine.  Maybe… maybe you would understand?  You could join me?  When I achieve this power I will be greater than the Empress, I will create a new empire in my image.  I will conquer death.  The knowledge is so close; I will bring him back… I can bring my father back… my mother’s blood can bring him back.  One sacrifice for one life.  It is enough, it must be!  This blood scroll has all the secrets, it has guided my hand!”Mayako coughs, “What kind of sacrifice?”“You cannot restore life without taking life, it’s so clear to me now.  My mother will die but my father will live and he will see how powerful I have become.  He will know that his son is the true Son of Heaven.  I will rewrite the heavens in my image,” Tetsuo rips off the cloth covering her eyes.  “You would kill your own mother?” Mayako gasps.“Sacrifices must be made,” he says gripping her by the hair, “But before I can achieve my noble goal I must dispose of you, unless you will join me?”[Now we are all caught up, and we see once again that Shiatari is one deadly samurai.  – GM’s note]Nobutada kicks in the door at that exact moment!  Tetsuo turns darkness swelling in his soul.  The Seppun bushi charges across the room and attempts to maim the corrupted shugenja with a strike to his shoulder.  His aim is true but the blow is not powerful enough to take the arm completely.Shiatari follows quickly focused intently on the foul young master.  She harnesses her connection to the Void, channeling her recent success into one supreme masterful strike.  Her blade flashes quickly.  For a moment all is still.  She hears Mayako crying out for her to show mercy, but it is a distant echo in this stillness.[I don’t quite remember the amount of damage that Shiatari did, it was in excess of 35 points of damage, and she spent a Void point on the damage for her katana.  Between her and Nobutada they did nearly 60 points of damage in the first round.  It was pretty much over.  – GM’s note]Tetsuo collapses in a spray of blood, nearly dead from the deadly assault.Mayako shrieks, “Tetsuo!”Nobutada frees the Phoenix shugenja and she quickly uses her magic to heal Tetsuo, keeping him from death but severely injured.  Tetsuo gurgles, “What have I done?”“Don’t say anything, just tell me where you got the scroll,” she bites back tears holding the young master.“My yojimbo… is he-” Tetsuo coughs.“Dead?  He died as a man,” Shiatari quips, “I suppose it was an honorable death.”Tetsuo closes his eyes, “My actions have shamed me, my family… to think I was going to kill my mother.”“You can still make it right Tetsuo-san, where did you get the scroll?” Mayako asks once more.“Junko… she gave it to me, she said… *cough* she said could not read but that it had been a gift to her mother.  I thought nothing of it till she said… *cough* that it was rumored to return life to the dead,” Tetsuo grimaces blood trickling from his lips.“Foolish,” Nobutada shakes his head.“The peasant girl is playing a dangerous game,” Shiatari cleans her blade.“We can make it right, we can take you back you can set things right,” Mayako pleads.“No,” the young master coughs, “I have become a monster, and I can feel the darkness growing within me.  It is too late for me.  All I can do now is die with what little honor I have left.  Who will be my second?”There is a long silence.  Shiatari glances at the doorway seeing Sukime peering in with shocked eyes.  She smiles, “Well since your little sister seems so eager to be a samurai why not let her do it.  It could be educational for her.”Mayako shouts, “No!  How can you suggest such a thing she is just a child.  I will do it!”  She kneels next to Tetsuo taking Nobutada’s blade, “I will do it.”Tetsuo utters a hasty death poem and then plunges his wakizashi into his stomach.  He complete the three cuts as Mayako screams and ends the life of young Isawa Tetsuo, beheading him.  Mayako cries, “Rest well friend.”[That was an intense scene that I felt was role played well by all involved.  I am glad that one of the players took the responsibility to be the Second it made the death more meaningful I suppose.   – GM’s note]The samurai return to the estate with the scroll.  They had to wrap it in something so as not to touch it, its very touch was a corrupting influence that begs one to read the blasphemies within.  They are unsure of what to do with it, but decided that for the moment keeping it was the right choice, lest it fall into worse hands.The samurai report to Lady Shion on the events of the night.  Mayako still bears blood and worse all across her kimono and face; she did not want to clean it off to show the importance of the night’s events.  Understandably Lady Shion breaks down, her family line is dead, her son is dead not more than a month after she lost her husband.  What amount of on she has left is gone as she sobs before the young samurai.“Swear to me you will find this Junko and kill her, swear it to me!” Shion-sama shrieks.“I swear it to you,” Mayako nods comforting the elder samurai.  The samurai then retire for the night ready to put the day behind them.  Their sleep brings little comfort as terrible dreams haunt them, nightmares of a sinister nature that grip them till they wake.  All of them believe that it must be influence of the scroll.Nobutada folds his arms across his chest, “I say we burn it.  Burn the village as well, who knows how far this corruption has spread.  It is the most prudent course.”“No!  We are not going to murder innocents, I won’t allow it, and I know my father would not allow it,” Mayako rejects the notion.“We need to find Junko, she is a key witness now,” Shiatari replies and the others follow suit.The teahouse is not busy; three strangers sit in the corner while Jun tries her best to get one of their attention for some easy business.  The owner does his best to make the samurai feel welcome.  The trio look for Junko but she is nowhere to be found and any inquiry about her returns quizzical looks as no one has heard of the girl or even know who the samurai are talking about.  Finally the group leaves and seeks out the eta, Knife.  Knife is sitting outside his place of ‘business’ and greets the samurai, “Good morning great samurai, what can ol’ Knife do yah for?”“Do you remember, Junko?” Mayako asks cautiously.“Of course I do, pretty little thing works at the teahouse.  At least prettier then the old lady that cooks the food, and her hair smells real nice too.  You know great samurai your hair smells real good as well… real good,” Knife grins missing a few teeth.“Thank you,” Mayako replies nervously, “what can you tell me about her?  When did she show up in the village?”“Not much to say she kept to herself, worked hard at the teahouse.  She showed up maybe two months back, nice little girl, not as pretty as Jun mind you but she had real nice hair, short though.  She lived at the teahouse, good worker, did something happen to her?” Knife asks.“You have a real hair fetish,” Mayako comments.“What’s a fetish?” Knife quips.“Never mind.  Junko is missing and we are just trying to find her.  Thank you for your time,” she replies.Knife nods with a leering smile.[I liked Knife, he was a fun off the cuff NPC.  - GM's note]The trio step outside to discuss their next move when a sudden shock rolls over Mayako, “The BOOK!”“What book?” Nobutada asks.“The book Junko gave my sister!” Mayako goes nearly white.“We better hurry back then,” Shiatari adds as they head back to the estate.[That was humorous as they finally realized that for the past two days her little sister has been busy reading the book that Junko gave her pretty much non-stop.  Sometimes I do enjoy being an evil GM.  – GM’s note]The samurai return to the estate and quickly make an excuse to take the book from Keiko.  They examine it, but it does not have the palpable evil that the scroll does.  It does have some kind of cipher or code in it butt hey cannot make it out.  They give the book to Lady Shion and she is able to make out the cipher after several hours.  One could call it a primer in the dark arts with no actual spells.  Now they had two reasons to find Junko but with her trail vanishing the mystery will have to linger on for another day.It was a somber end to their visit, but the samurai decide to press on to Sweet Plum Castle.  There was little else they could do and the events turned out to be much more physically and emotionally draining then they had realized.Keiko unhappy with losing her new book fills her spare time with writing.</blockquote>

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