[OA/FR] Rokugan - Updated 12/13/03

[Black Omega]

Toshiro took the rose and read over the haiku. And he was thrilled. He was sure O-Hisa must have been responsible. A wonderful prelude to their date coming tonight. Though it was unusual enough he did let everyone else living at his house know about the poem and the rose.

And the rest of the group was far more suspicious of Toshiro’s ‘gift’. “Do you know how hard it must be to buy at rose at the edge of the empire? In the middle of winter?” Verick commented.

“Magic can create a rose easily. The right magic, at least.” Volar assured. Though the rose came up negative to detect magic, Volar assured that the type of magic used would not linger once the rose was complete.

‘I’m really not sure about that poem though.” Volar continued, “That sounds pretty sinister to me. Mingling of love and blood? And it just appeared by you?”

Toshiro was willing to listen to his friends concerns, but his mind was firmly made up. It must have been O-Hisa. Who else would be leaving him a poem and a rose?

Volar asked if he could have the rose so he could pursue his investigations, and Toshiro agreed. But he was keeping the poem in a spot close to his heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Volar went out to check local flower shops. In fact, he could buy a rose. But it was take a good amount of time to arrive in Bugaisha, and would be very expensive indeed. But if he really wanted a rose, there were a couple flower vendors who could arrange it…

An hours investigation let Volar convinced the rose was not bought by anyone here in Bugaisha. He was also convinced the flower vendor he sold the rose to was probably going to get quite a bit more than the 150 gold Volar got for it, but gold is gold, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mindra and the other carpenters he worked with went out to Mir’s grove, the silver haired Aasimar still shaking her head in disbelief as the watched Mindra scurry up the tree to work on her tree house there. But as the foreman in charge explained “He’s one of our best new workers. Got a real way with wood, he does. A real way with wood.”

And from a long distance away, a pudgy figure was hidden into the overgrowth. His telescope fixed on Mir, watching her every move.

And just a little further back from there, two other men watched. Gyo patted his partner on the shoulder and gestured to the pudgy figure. Then he took off back toward town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Volar had reported back to the group his findings on the rose and then set off to his ‘mage tower’, the shack behind Toshiro’s house he used for lessons. He had a new student today, a clever girl named Kaosu, from the gamblers. She brought golden ‘presents’ in unmarked pouches. She didn’t fit in perfectly smoothly, though. She was far more willing to question Volar than his other students.

Volar also received a visit from Shinjo Yuji, rather surprisingly. He had some scrolls wrapped up in a neat package. ‘These scrolls were recovered when O-Hisa-sama lead the attack on the rebelling village and a spell caster was encountered there. I’m afraid no book was recovered from his body but these scrolls were. If you could work out what the scrolls do, that would be very helpful. As repayment for your work, you may keep the scrolls, of course. We simply need to know what capabilities these people have.”

Volar agreed readily and set to work on the scrolls. All but one of the scrolls was readily identifiable. The other…was unusual. He didn’t have time to figure it out before he had a visitor, though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Verick was just on a break from training when Gyo found him with the news. Someone was following Mir wherever she went. He didn’t know who the man was, but there was no doubt it was Mir he was following. Verick had been hoping for a chance to relax after training, a chance to let the bruises heal. But he couldn’t let this chance slide. A fast trip over the house found Volar studying scrolls, but the research could wait.

A fast ride into the frigid winter’s afternoon brought them near Mir’s grove. Mindra and his crew had already packed up and left. But according the Gyo’s partner the man was still in his spot, still with his telescope trained on the grove. Verick and Volar hatched a plan quickly. Gyo and his friend would return to shadowing and remain well back, while Volar rode up along the rode to draw the man’s attention, Verick stealthily crept up on the man’s hiding place.

The plan worked even better than they could have expected. The man barely even noticed Volar was there and the elf was trying to be noticed. Instead, his attention was focused fully on the Mir’s grove. Right up until the moment where he hear Verick step into his hiding place. Seeing the young man with the drawn katana, he wasted no time running away. Despite his pudgy form, he found the energy to leap up onto his horse. And slide right off and fall with a heavy thump on the other side as he found Volar’s grease spell.

Stunned by the fall, he had no time to recover before Verick had his katana at the man’s throat. Volar and Mir joined him quickly and the man was tied up tightly. After his nice warm winter kimono was removed. Not a pretty sight, a pudgy, sweaty man shivering in the cold air, but it certainly made him more talkative. He was eager to confess all. His name was Buka, an utterly unimportant clerk from Bugaisha who had time off during the winter months. He was approached by a man, someone important. He didn’t know the man’s name, he only knew he was instructed to follow Mir wherever she went and then report back at regular intervals.

He was to report to the Golden Carp teahouse every couple of days, late enough in the evening Mir had usually gone to sleep. He simply was keeping track of everyplace she went. The next meeting was tomorrow night, around 11:00.

Mir just shook her head ‘I’m surprised someone is bothering to do this. It must have been so boring following me around.”

Buka said quickly, his eyes getting daydreamy “Oh no, not at all! Watching you move from place to place, the way the silk clings to your supple…”

“Enough, Buka!” Verick growled, the point of his katana bringing Buka back to reality. We’re turning you loose here. Mimura is a days ride. If you running really fast maybe you can make it. If you return to Bugaisha again, I’ll kill you.”

And in a flash Buka was off running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Late in the afternoon, Verick returned to his sensei, ready for training to resume. To his surprise, Akodo Setei was seated comfortably, regarding a fresh, red rose. “I have a special project for you. Find who cut this rose.”

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Notes from Mir

Now really, why would anyone want to follow little o'l me around. It's not like my life is all that interesting. I head into town in the mornings to keep in touch with people around town and for my tea ceremony lessons with Toshiro's little old lady. Afternoons are spent working around my grove trying to learn everything about it. Sometimes those squirrels tell the funniest jokes. Evenings are then spent in meditation and prayer. Its amazing how often I have to make the trip back into town though because someone invited me to some court function or other at night. The people around here are so nice to me.

Ok I am not really that naive, but its helps with my long term goals if people think so.

 

[Black Omega]

Akodo Setei glanced from the rose to his pupil, “As a monk I looked after the garden at the temple. I often tended the rose bushes there. I have a friend who thought I might be interested in this rose. Look at it, how it is cut. It’s not crimped like cutters would do. A normal cut by a knife would bruise it here. See? This rose wasn’t just snipped, this is a nearly perfect cut. I could do a cut like this. As inadequate as most Unicorn training is, Shinjo Jyaku-sama probably could. But few others in town could manage a cut like this. It’s not a matter of the blade, it’s a matter of the spirit and how you cut.”

Setei-sensei presented the rose to Verick “Take this. Find out where’s it’s from and who cut it. Don’t challenge them to a duel. Whoever it is would kill you at this stage in your training.”

Verick relayed what he knew about the origin of the rose already. Setei simply nodded “Curious. I doubt it’s a she, though. He’ll be a master. The link to Toshiro is important though. Who gave him the rose must know who cut it.”

And with that, Verick was spared the cane for a day while he went out to investigate. Asking around, it wasn’t difficult to find out who people thought were the best swordsmen in town. Shinjo Jyaku. Shinjo Fujinami. Hiro, the leader of the White Fan ronin brotherhood. And O-Yuki, leader of the Fubuki-tai dojo.

But there was on other thing worth investigating. Where –did- the rose come from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group visited the Temple of the Seven Fortunes with the new that their roses may have been raided. The head monk on duty was a little dubious. “The roses are in a garden maintained in the temple’s inner sanctum. An area reserved for meditation and silent contemplation. There are monks and shugenja going in and out of the area quite often. And the perimeter of the temple has very strong magic protecting it. No one enters or leaves without our knowing. Even so…I suppose it can’t hurt to check.”

The group was guided deeper into the temple, past a few guard points where monks were on duty. The garden was lovely, even more so after months enduring the snowy wastes around Bugaisha. Bright and colorful with flowers and plants. And roses. A quick inspection of the rosebush revealed two places where roses had been snipped. A fact that did not sit well with the monk. Guards on the garden area were immediately posted. Verick and Yukiyo checked the glass dome over the garden but there was no sign someone broken in through there.

Verick asked permission to meditate in the garden that night, which was granted with the additional provision there would be a monk with him at all times. Volar also had an idea for guarding the roses. An alarm spell that would tell if anyone came near the plants. That offer was accepted as well. After all, it would give certain curious shugenja a chance to study Volar’s arcane magic more at their leisure.

While the group discussed various ideas, Mir was approached by a temple shugenja who Mindra knew well. Iuchi Nagatori, scholar of the Naga, among other things. Smiling, he invited Mir aside for a moment.

“I spoke to Mindra about you, I couldn’t help but notice that to spirit sight you have a certain glow. I’ve never seen such a thing in someone from outside the empire. I have my duties in the temple for a few hours yet, but I was wondering if you might care to talk later, perhaps after taking in a play with me.”

Mir was understandably wary, and very clear that it was NOT a date. Which was evidently fine with Nagatori, since he simply wanted to talk about Mir’s background, so finally dinner and a play was agreed upon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the additional safeguards in place to protect the roses, and hopefully capture anyone sneaking in to steal them, the group dispersed for the night. Verick to his practicing, and preparations to spend the night in temple meditating. Toshiro to prepare for his date. Mir to prepare for her ‘date’. Though theoretically Toshiro and Verick were prime targets for kidnap by the Bloodspeakers for their sacrifice, Verick wasn’t the only one assuming Mir was probably the foremost target. A spell caster but physically less trouble, Mir was understandably wary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiruma Toshiro and Shinjo O-Hisa’s date was handled in the appropriate, proper fashion. Toshiro stopped by to pick her up quite publicly. They were never alone the entire night. From going to a teahouse for drinks, to the kabuki theatre later. Pleasant as the date seemed, there was tension throughout it that never went away. O-Hisa was still smoldering over her previous meeting with Toshiro, as well as his sudden interest in the cultural things. O-Hisa was enthralled with a Crab and Toshiro was slowly becoming more and more a Crane.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mir’s ‘date’ with Nagatori went rather smoother. The temple scholar seemed very content to enjoy the kabuki, then talk over tea. He did have an avalanche of questions though. Where was Mir from? The Highforest? Where is that, and what’s it like? Oh, you are an Aasimar, what does that mean exactly?

If there was a problem it was Nagatori’s insatiable curiosity. A more subtle conversationalist would have know the boundary where a few questions turned into an interrogation. The bookish shugenja was polite at least and willing to answer questions as well. He had asked to be assigned to the temple in Bugaisha precisely so he could learn about the world outside the Emerald Empire.

When the date was done, Nagatori escorted Mir to Toshiro’s place, thanked her for her patience, and departed for the temple, no doubt eager to write the evenings conversation down, seemingly completely unaware of Mir’s suspicions regarding his motives for the date.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toshiro whistled on his walk home. With all due propriety, he had seen O-Hisa home after the play, the evening ending there. It wasn’t perfect, but Toshiro’s evening had been pleasant and he thought things were still going very well. Walking home alone, his thoughts were far away from the world about him. Until he was surprised by a young woman with white hair, bound loosely back in a high ponytail. She was clad in a blue kimono decorated with snowflakes, smiling as she waves to catch his attention. “I need to speak with you a moment, please.” Gesturing to a side alley as she spoke to him.

Toshiro was suspicious of course, but he followed he before asking “So, what is this about?”

The white haired girl looked back to him and he saw her eyes glimmer, turning almost red black before she vanished from view. Well, that was all the hint Toshiro needed and he turned to run back to the street but before he had taken more than a couple steps something slammed into his back, a chill energy searing him and knocking him flat on his face. As he recovered his wits he suddenly realized something, he was totally alone. Not simply no people around, but the link…the feel his ancestors were watching over him, had been cut as well. He barely had a moment to consider this before he felt someone pin him from behind, a feminine voice whispering in his ear “Fool! Don’t go out alone and unwary! I can’t protect you all the time!” Then a nibble to his ear before she was gone.

In a flash Toshiro was up and running. Out into the street. Past the surprised guards asking what was wrong. Up the hill and into his house without pausing even a moment.

The group was more than a little surprised as Toshiro joined them in the sitting room of his house at a run, only when he was there did he come to a sudden stop, panting and looking around quickly “I was attacked!”

The old lady who cared for Toshiro’s house assured the guards who had followed Toshiro that there was nothing to worry about, while the group listened to Toshiro’s story. There was no doubt he had been attacked, he still had the sear marks where that energy had hit him. But the rest was puzzling. Verick and Volar both agreed if it had been a real ambush to capture Toshiro, it would have succeeded. They weren't the only one's wondering just exactly why Toshiro fled in the manner he did.

"So, there was one girl there?" Verick asked.

"Well, yes but she disappeared and I was hit by that attack." Toshiro replied.

"And that was it? No one else, no other attacks? Why did you keep running when the attacks stopped?" Volar added.

Toshiro couldn't explain really why he ran so far so fast. But he certainly did seem rattled by the ambush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Mindra healed Toshiro’s wounds, the group reviewed the situation. Toshiro had been ambushed. Someone had been following Mir. Someone speaking in a way that reflected badly on Toshiro had been killed. Someone with access to a well guarded section of the temple had given Toshiro a rose. And behind it all, someone was seeking a good candidate to use in a ritual to summon an oni. But the group had two leads. Toshiro gave a good description of the girl who helped ambush him, so to sent around town and see who recognized her. And the meeting the next night with whoever had sent Buka to follow Mir.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With plans in place, the group retired for the night. Volar studied the scrolls left for him. Pretty normal stuff except one scroll. A few hours work finally cracks the spell. Something unusual, a conjuring bolt. A combination summoning spell and energy attack. Most interesting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toshiro wasn’t sleeping well at all, however. From the date with O-Hisa to the ambush he had a lot on his mind. Then suddenly the absolute silence around him was broken by a soft whisper “Toshiro!”

Sword in hand, Toshiro slipped to his feet, moving warily to the window and sliding the wooden slats aside. And he found himself face to face again with Shinjo O-Hisa. Before Toshiro could speak he was greeted with a deep, enthusiastic kiss. Then a playful “Mind if I come in?”

Toshiro got his breath back then whispered urgently “No..yes..I mean…it’s not proper!”

“Crabs don’t care about being proper…” O-Hisa grinned and pushed her way in through the window aggressively. Toshiro’s reluctance didn’t last long….

Awakening in the morning, Toshiro felt great, the scratches left barely felt. But he was surprised to find himself alone. Where O-Hisa had lay beside him was left a single rose and a haiku.

Blood and passion meet
Two shadows in the darkness
I will be waiting

 

[Black Omega]

Thanks to thin paper walls, no one was surprised to see Toshiro looking so cheerful in the morning. But when Toshiro produced the rose and the poem everyone’s guard went up. Toshiro wasn’t very talkative about who his visitor had been, but privately he was convinced it had really been O-Hisa. The others were convinced it was something more sinister, but Toshiro was still walking on air and not really listening. He did at least let the group keep the poem and rose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Verick took the rose straight to Akodo-sensei, presenting it to him to confirm what Verick himself was already sure of. The rose was cut by the same swordsman who has cut the first rose. Verick also reported everything he had discovered so far. As well as his own strong suspicion Mir was the target of the Bloodspeaker plot. Akodo-sensei listened carefully, nodding at the appropriate times. His only words of advice where from Akodo’s Leadership “When facing the enemy let him see only what you want him to see. Show him your right hand, strike with your left. Hide all he does not need to see, for the sting of your slap will ease the pain of a sudden blade in his side.’ You are doing well, Verick. But be careful. If their leader is good, they won’t give any clue who the real target is until they make their move.”

[DM note: The quote is from Way of the Lion, but like many things in WotL it paraphrases the Art of War. I had told my group previous some of my villains were planning using the Art of War. When Akodo Setei made this quote Volar’s player pulled out a pocket copy of the Art of War with the comment “I’ve read that before…here it is!” So now at least one of my players is reading the Art of War to get a step ahead of me. We’ll see how well it works later.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before Toritaka Kazuyuki had a chance to report to duty, he had an early morning visitor. A concerned looking Shinjo Yuji. After polite but brief conversation over tea he asked somberly “Has Toshiro-san been himself lately? I mean, has he been acting unusual in any way?”

Kaz gave it a moment’s thought before replying “Well, maybe a little. But he’s getting pretty serious about O-Hisa now and that’s been getting to him.”

Yuji blinked “Toshiro and O-Hisa? I’d…not heard about that. I’m always the last to know…” he muttered “That makes this more important then. Could Toshiro have been replaced by someone else? Or maybe even...cracked? He’s been under a lot of pressure…”

Kaz shook his head “I’m pretty sure Toshiro is Toshiro, no one else. Why are you asking this?”

“Well, I heard about him running from...well..something last night. We’re not really sure who or what. And just to make sure everything was covered, I had someone check the temple’s records. Toshiro has visited the temple several times, during periods where he would have been on duty. Either someone can look like him, or he’s been sneaking away. It’s possible, the Hiruma are famous for being stealthy. Once inside the temple it’s possible he could have sneaked to the garden area. The strongest defenses guard the perimeter.”

Kaz did have to give that some thought. “No, I’ve never seen him sneak anyplace. I doubt he’s capable of that. But we’ll check into him and the temple and see what is going on.”

“Excellent.” Shinjo Yuji nodded “I’ll put Toshiro on some special training.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toshiro was walking on air as he dropped by O-Hisa’s residence, gift in hand. Much to his surprise, O-Hisa’s servent revealed she had already left on a patrol. All very sudden. Evidently O-Hisa had been troubled the previous night, not sleeping well, pacing constantly. Then just before dawn she’d gotten into her armor and included herself into one of the early patrols. It’s not like anyone would tell the daughter of Lord Jyaku she couldn’t come along…

And now Toshiro was truly confused. Who –was- leaving him the roses and haiku. Well, on second thought haiku didn’t sound very much like O-Hisa. And whoever came to the house have been very stealthy, something O-Hisa was not. The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to think about it.

Which was just as well. When Toshiro reported for duty he was met by Shinjo Fujinami, chief training or Lord Jyaku’s samurai. Clad only in a kimono despite the chill temperatures he greeted Toshiro with a hearty “Good morning! I understand you’ll be training with me today! You don’t know how hard it is to find someone with the same enthusiasm for training in freezing temperatures! The crunch of the snow, the cold air, invigorating! Let’s start with a run through knee deep snow to warm us up, then move on to dueling tactics for icy surfaces! I love training in winter, weather like this lets you know your alive!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That afternoon when the group got back together, there was some good news from Kaz. Asking around guards had turned up someone who recognized the white haired girl who had met Toshiro. Koyuki, a member of Fubuki-tai, the Blizzard Group. Their dojo was evidently in the barbarian sector of Bugaisha. The group decided to visit there later. But first, the temple.

At the Temple of the Seven Fortunes, the group was shown where Toshiro had signed in the two times. Both within the past week, and neither time had it been the real Toshiro. Reluctantly, the monk admitted if someone got inside and was stealthy enough, the person could have gotten to the garden. But he was clear, no one tainted could have done it, the magic protecting the temple would have detected whoever it was and destroyed, or at least injured them. But Toshiro by his own admission could not sneak to save his life. It was certainly not a skill for an honorable samurai.

While the rest of the group was checking out the registry book with the monk, though, Toshiro got this impulse. And slowly he started edging to the side…silently moving back and away. He would have stealthed away with no one the wiser if Mindra had not caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and asked loudly “where are you going, Toshiro-san?”

All eyes turned to Toshiro, just a step away from being out the door. And only the monkey had been alert enough to notice. The monk nodded to the rest of the group “You see? The Hiruma are famous for their stealth. He –could- have done it.”

As soon as they were out of the temple Volar looked over Toshiro “Why did you do that? We were trying to show you could not sneak and were innocent, and there you went and proved to everyone that you –could- have snuck into the garden!”

Sheepishly Toshiro admitted “It was just an impulse, I have no idea why I did it. Everyone seemed to think I could sneak…but I’ve never tried before. I just wanted to see if I could…”

With a groan the group decided to postpone this discussion, preferably until a time when they had some clubs handy..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visiting the barbarian quarter of town, the group had little trouble getting around but drew a lot of stairs. The only samurai seen around were on duty, and the group had the look of looking for trouble of some type. They found the Fubuki-tai dojo easily enough. The sign was in Rokugani only, along with the sign of a snowflake. A young man with closely cropped hair was on guard outside, watching people distractedly as they walked by, and often sneaking looks into the dojo to see what was going on there.

The group watched for a time, but they decided to save this confrontation for later. As they headed back to the gate, Mindra noticed the young man seemed to listen to something, then nod and jump up, jogging over to catch up with the group.

With a flourish, the young man clapped his hands and announced dramatically “I am Kuroiyuki, the Yellow Snow of Fubuki-tai!” as he did so, he jumped up in a one legged pose, his arms held out in different directions.

The group simply stared, not quite sure how to react to the sheer silliness of it.

Kuroiyuki was about to say something further but as soon as his mouth opened, Kaz held up his hand “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch all that, could you do it again?”

Kuroiyuki started over again, the clap of hands, the goofy posing and the overly dramatic announcement. And once again the group just stared. Overly serious, the young man nodded ‘I can see you are truly impressed by my introduction.”

“Actually…” Volar smiled “We are trying not to laugh.”

Kuroiyuki looked a little crestfallen at that but rallied quickly “I’m new to the group still, I’m still getting the hang of doing it right. Please excuse me.” He said, bowing quickly then looking to Toshiro “I’m here to deliver an challenge from my…”

Volar stepped in quickly ‘I’m afraid Toshiro-sama doesn’t deal with people directly, you’ll have to speak to me first.”

A surprised Kuroiyuki replied “But, this is a challenge to Toshiro and…”

Volar cut him off again “And you will have to speak to me first. Toshiro’s very busy and doesn’t have time for just anyone.”

Kuroiyuki as about to start in again when Kaz asked “Who is trying to challenge Toshiro, anyway?”

“O-Yuki, my master, the leader of Fubuki-tai!” Kuroiyuki answered, “He’s a great admirer of the Crab Clan. I am as well, see?” and then he squatted down just a little, making pincher movements with hisa fingers before doing a shuffling sidestep “My dance for the Crab Clan!”

Again a few stares but laughter as well, the two Crab Clan samurai especially seeming amused by the display.

Before Kuroiyuki could go on Mir stepped in to ask, “You don’t have a Lion Dance, do you?” Her eyes sparkling mischievously as she glances to Verick.

And sure enough, Kuroiyuki had a Lion Dance. A comical pounce with hands held high in a clawing position and a silly sounding growl. Verick was no so amused, however, that vein on his forehead starting to pulse as his eyes narrowed.

“Are you going to stand for that? Should you be insulted over that Crab Dance?” Verick asked over to Kaz.

Kaz shook his head with a chuckle “Yes, but it really is funny also, so I’m not offended. I might show it to a few friends back in Crab Clan lands.”

“Remember that Lion Dance as well!” Mir chimed in.

“I know a Unicorn Dance as well, but some samurai don’t appreciate…” Kuroiyuki started again.

Volar interrupted quickly “Didn’t you have some business with Toshiro?”

“Ahhh, I’m sorry, I got distracted! Toshiro, I’m here…” he started.

“To me, it has to go through me.” Volar broke in again, trying to keep the flustered young man on track “Tell you what, Toshiro, may I write a letter for him to take back to answer this challenge?”

At Toshiro’s agreement Volar jotted down a fast note.

O-Yuki,

Toshiro will accept your challenge, but regret he is a very busy man and must answer challenge in order of worthiness, so it might be some time before he can get around to you.

Cheerfully, Volar handed the letter to Kuroiyuki for him to deliver before the group moved on..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still shaking their heads over the encounter with Kuroiyuki, the group went on to the Golden Carp Teahouse to meet with whoever Buka’s contact was. Volar carefully disguised himself with a spell to look like the portly peepingtom, Mir creating a disguise with magic as well. Verick and Yukiyo went with more traditional, mundane disguises. Kaz and Toshiro settled for finding a dark corner where they might not be noticed. The group filtered in over time and then finally just before the appointed time Volar made his way into the teahouse, finding a spot right in the middle where he could sit and see everyone. And then he waited.

Not long afterwards a boy entered, carrying a small box, wrapped in white and light purple. He walked
right up to the disguised Volar “I was told to give you this…” the urchin said, obviously waiting on some sort of payment. Volar just gave him a glare and a brush off before looking at the package. Lacking any thief skills and not wanting to call attention to any of his disguised friends, Volar finally decided “What the hell…” and opened the package. He had a split moment to see a gem swirling red and black, then it exploded, an eruption of fire that filled the entire teahouse, blasting out through the door and windows with a red hot FOOOSH!

Next! The player’s new PC’s…just kidding. Next! Violence! Bloodshed! Fubuki-tai posing!

 

[Kamard]

Can't wait for another update... just found this storyhour when you posted the latest update, now I've read it all the way through.

Great work!!

 

[Black Omega]

Next update in the next day or so. With the holidays i'm going to try to catch the storyhour up with the game again. We're about four months behind at this point. Heh. I've been so lazy with that.

Thanks Kamard. Plenty of action on the way. Slowly but surely the PC's will be figuring out what is really going on.

 

[Black Omega]

The flames burst throughout the teahouse, bits of wood falling in flames to the ground outside. Few survived the initial explosion of flames ands from there the fire spread quickly through the building. Yukiyo, clad in silk kimono smoldering in places, dived through the front window to escape the flames. Outside were waiting five figures. Three men and a woman were armored in dark blue armor with white snowflake symbols, The other was Kuroiyuki in simple, sleeveless kimono, the young man looking a bit beaten up. Apparently the letter Volar had written was not well received.

Mir spied the figures out front at the same time, but she trusted in her disguise and kept busy helping survivors from the growing flames. Kuroiyuki also ran forward, patting down Yukiyo’s body, putting out the flames as he said “Don’t struggle, just relax, you’ll be ok! The fire didn’t catch you badly.” He even helped pull her away from the building, well clear of the flames.

Volar had been burned badly by the initial explosion but he kept his wits about him, focusing past the pain to protect himself with a haste, then improved invisibility before he raced from the fires. Verick, Kaz, Mindra and Toshiro chose the back door to escape the flames, rushing to the back room first, then Verick and Kaz lead the way out the door. They were immediately confronted by more figures in the dark blue armor with the snowflake, including an imposing figure in samurai great armor and a girl Toshiro recognized, the white haired girl who had ambushed/warned him previously.

Verick and Kaz had time to clear the doorway of the burning building, katanas at the ready. Toshiro and Mindra were too late to get through the door, however. The girl in white hair had time to cast a summoning and they found the door blocked by a fire elemental. Toshiro looked behind to the fire spreading in the room behind and wondered “Why did it have to be a fire elemental, why not water? Some water would be nice about now…”

The big ronin in great armor gestured to Kaz with his sword and yelled out “I’ll take Verick, you handle Kaz! Remember, Toshiro is NOT to be killed!” then Fubuki-tai was upon them. Oyuki, the man in charge, rushed in quickly and landed a hit on Verick with ease while dodging the young Lion’s return strike. The other Fubuki-tai attacking Kaz had less success against the Crab Samurai’s heavy armor.

In front of the teahouse, the four Fubuki-tai fighters there heard the battle in the back and with a overly dramatic “Fubuki-tai to the back!” they started running around the tea house to get involved in the action. They didn’t get far, though. Invisible and moving with blinding speed, Volar evocated two Scintillating Spheres, electricity crackling over the four warriors, killing two while staggering the others. Then before the survivors had a chance to do anything more than run away from the blasts, a hail of magic missiles dropped the other two fighters.

[DM Note: This was really the first time Volar had stepped up and played a major, direct role in combat. Previously he’d buffed, used illusions and generally supported. From this point on Volar plays a much more explosive role in combats.]

Still disguised, Mir was focused on saving those few in the burning tea house still alive, dragging another man out and healing him quickly before moving to help another. Yukiyo allowed Kuroiyuki to put out where her silk was smoldering while she deviously palmed a blade. A sudden stab to Kuroiyuki’s shoulder drew blood, clearly surprising the young man. “Hey, stop that, I’m trying to help you! I’m sorry about this…” he apologized before his left hand grabbed Yukiyo’s wrist to pull the knife away and opened the way for a fast elbow to the ribs, then another strike, the point of the elbow to the solar plexus, a critical strike that nearly KO’ed Yukiyo, Kuroiyuki precisely striking to subdue rather than injure. A deft switch of the knife to a downward position allowed her to slash along Kuroiyuki’s arm but then two more lightning fast elbow strikes was enough to render Yukiyo unconscious.

Back behind the burning teahouse with everyone else so busy, Verick found himself face to face, one on one with Oyuki. For all the goofiness of certain people in Fubuki-tai, Oyuki was deadly serious and supremely focused. The first two exchanges of strikes clashed sparks off their katana but Oyuki was the one scoring, two fast, bloody hits to Verick’s arms. But something was wrong here, Verick was sure of it. He’d trained as a Lion samurai and learned their special techniques for attacking foes in armor. And it wasn’t working here. Oyuki simply wasn’t moving like someone weighed down by the heavy Great Armor. Verick had no time to consider this before Oyuki was attacking again with a blindingly fast series of strokes.

For Kaz the situation was starting to get serious. The white haired spell caster had turned invisible and summoned another flame creature and sent it after him. Mindra had summoned a dire ape inside the room with he and Toshiro, setting it to battling the fire elemental as smoke seeped into the room from the burning teahouse, fire starting to lick out around the door.

His big spells mostly exhausted, Volar resorted to pelting Oyuki with two Acid Arrows then following up with a grease spell, but with deceptive agility Oyuki danced out from the grease after only being hit by one of the acid attacks. Kaz tried to run past the Fubuki-tai fighters to get at Oyuki but he slipped in the grease and before he recovered, a Fubuki-tai katana found a weak spot in his arrow for a critical hit. Mindra healed Toshiro as he and the Dire Ape fought the elemental but the fiery creature was somehow holding it’s own.

Invisibly, the Fubuki-tai spell caster was working hard to keep the other fighters up and going while Kaz made his way to his feet, killing the fire elemental on him then wading into the others again. Toshiro killed the fire elemental blocking the door but Oyuki made a sweeping gesture and the door slammed shut in their faces. With the read wall of the room already on fire, the assumption was made the door was now magically locked and Mindra set the Ape to breaking through the wall.

Verick took that crucial moment of distraction to get in a stroke on Oyuki, drawing blood for the first time. But he was clearly fading, only a few more seconds before Oyuki’s precise attacks would kill him. Then something unusual happened. Oyuki attacked, a sweeping stroke to knock Verick’s katana out of the way, then a vicious hammering blow from the butt of the katana’s hilt staggered Verick back as Oyuki struck to subdue.

And suddenly everything was clear to Verick. Taking a fast step back and gathering himself, he looked Oyuki in the eyes…then turned around and ran as fast as he could into the night. Oyuki just stared for a moment then took off running after him, much faster than someone weighed down by heavy armor could normally run.

With this tide of battle turned. One Toshiro and the Ape had broken through the wall they were able to help Kaz. Mir was on the scene to heal and cast magic missiles from her wand. Volar tried to catch Oyuki in a Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere but he avoided it with a nimble forward roll. Then Volar summoned a Dire Wolverine to help finish off the other Fubuki-tai fighters before polymorphing himself into a Pegasus and soaring into the air to try and rescue Verick before Oyuki caught him.

His pulse pounded as Verick sprinted away from the burning teahouse, his sword held out to the side. A fast look of his shoulder revealed the silhouette of Oyuki closing on him…closing on him fast, in fact. Verick tried to push himself even faster but Oyuki followed him relentlessly, no matter how he tried to loose the big samurai in the dark. Verick was almost prepared for a last stand when he heard the sound of horses galloping close by. Unicorn guards who had noticed the fire and was riding in to investigate. Running toward them and waving his arms, Verick flagged the samurai down and started to explain what had happened.

Faced with five samurai on horseback, Oyuki finally stopped. In a booming voice he yelled back to the teahouse “Fubuki-tai Dispersion maneuver, Blood on the Snow!” Then he gestured and smoke boiled up, obscuring him from sight. When the smoke cleared 30 seconds later, there was no sign of him.

The group mopped up the remainder of Fubuki-tai, the fighters surrounded and systematically cut down. The white haired spell caster, still invisible, simply quit casting spells and slipped away into the darkness. Kuroiyuki was not so lucky. At Oyuki’s order, he looked up from bandaging Yukiyo, then he took off running as well. He might have escaped had not Volar picked up Verick and the two of them cut the young man off, the Pegasus flying far faster then Kuroiyuki could run. Tightly bound, he was turned over to the guards as more people arrived to help put out the fire and heal the survivors of the attack.
The group gathered back together, Volar, Mir, Toshiro...most everyone in fact staring at Verick. Verick looked around “What? I didn’t run away, it was a tactical move!” He protested.

“Of course it was…” Mir teased.

“No, you don’t understand.” Verick insisted, “Oyuki was all wrong. He didn’t move like someone armored. And you saw how he closed the door. He’s a master of the katana but there’s more to this than that. He was trying to capture me! As soon as he tried that, it hit me. I’m the target. Mir and Toshiro were distractions so he could try and capture me!”

“Why you?” Mir asked, looking puzzled.

“I’m...not sure.” Verick admitted. ‘I don’t have that part worked out yet. I have the proper bloodline, though.”

Toshiro frowned “How did they know to attack us there?”

“They knew about the meeting!” Mir exclaimed. “They could only have known from Buka, though. He must have come back.”

“I’ll kill him!” Verick snarled, “You’re right. He had to tell. They arrived to ambush us. So the person watching Mir is linked to the group after me. And I strongly suspect Oyuki was the one who cut the roses. He’s skilled enough.”

“And he gave the roses to the girl? She sounded like the same one who ambushed me before, I didn’t see her before she turned invisible though.” Toshiro commented, frowning now.

“Maybe you were getting the roses from Oyuki.” Verick teased, “He might know illusions.”

Toshiro shook his head quickly “Oh no, I’m sure it was not an illusion!” he started firmly.

Volar bit back a thought about the Alter Self spell, he was still in Pegasus form so he as just listening. The group decided to head straight over to the Fubuki-tai dojo and catch any stragglers before they could escape. They could question Kuroiyuki later. They had questions and the Fubuki-tai dojo seemed the best place to start.

[DM Note: In another thread recently, PirateCat commented 'Use subdual damage, it makes the PC's sweat' (loosely paraphrased). This is so true. Kuroiyuki doing subdual damage was no big deal, it made sense with his other actions and words. But Oyuki out of the blue suddenly making the last couple of attacks on Verick subdual had people a little worried. It was unexpected. they didn't know exactly why he was doing that, but it couldn't be good. Even so Verick running was a surprise to me. Verick's player has a reputation for his characters never running from a fight. Even if he's playing an archer in hand to hand combat with only 10 HP left, he'll still do a five foot step and keep shooting. My PC's do manage to keep me on my toes.]

Next! Fubuki-tai's Last Stand!(?) Someone is Finally Kidnapped! And the GM Dice from Hell!

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Notes from Mir

A good rendition of the events that transpired, but I must make a small correction or two along with an elaboration on my situation.

After helping the last of the survivors out of the burning building I noticed the end of the altercation between Kuroiyuki and Yukiyo. Knowing that Yukiyo was disguised but also recognizing Kuroiyuki from our earlier encounter I figured that Yukiyo had probably been recognized, but just to be careful I intentionally did not use her name. Hoping that the Samurai could take care of themselves for a little bit I chose to stay and help Yukiyo. "Leave her alone" I yelled and began casting a Hold Person spell. Kuroiyuki had a stronger mind than I had anticipated from our earlier encounter and shrugged off the spell. He turned his attention on me and then rushed to attack me. At least Yukiyo was safe for the moment.

Having seen the results of his attack on Yukiyo who was trained to fight I knew that I had to think fast. While I hang out with these Samurai I am not trained to fight myself, I heal and support them with my spells. The Oak Father was looking after me though as I heard him say "I was just trying to help her, why are you attacking me?"

I suspected then that neither Yukiyo or my disguises had been pierced, and that I might just yet talk my way out of this, but first I had to confirm this. "It didn't look like you were helping, I saw you beating on her."

As we talked we danced around each other both still being suspicious of the other.

"I was trying to help and then she attacked me" he replied, continuing "I was just protecting myself, and then you attacked me."

"I was just trying to protect her."

"Then let me tend to her wounds." was his response.

Being a good judge of character normally, and from our earlier run in it seemed that he was not a bad person, but rather just someone who was too trusting who might have fallen in with the wrong crowd. I was fairly confident that he was telling the truth and that my suspicions were correct, so I decided to back off and give him a chance. "Alright, I'm sorry. you tend to her and I'll go see if anyone else might need some help."

I wasn't lying exactly. I was going to see if anyone needed my help, it was just that those who might need my help were Toshiro, Verik and Kaz. I backed off and headed towards the side of the building. Watching for a little bit to make sure that he was helping and not hurting Yukiyo. Seeing that everything was ok here I then dashed around the corner to help out in back.

Little did the three of us (Yukiyo, Kuroiyuki, and myself) know at that time just how much our decisions here would impact our lives and bind our lives together in ways we could not possibly have imagined. But that is something that will be revealed later.

Mir

 

[volar]

Ah, the first time Volar became an offensive caster. It was so exciting. Course this was the beginning of Volar's change.

This was also Volar's first battle after getting 4th level spells (7th level). This meant more 3rd level spells and I was planning the haste, imp invis, cast a lot tactic for a while. But couldn't do it that well until I got a good quanity of 3rd level spells.

Look to the future when Volar gets caught by surprise. Talk about offense spell casting.

 

[Black Omega]

The group rushed straight over to the Fubuki-tai Dojo, accompanied by five Unicorn samurai. An unusual sight in the Barbarian Quarter, to say the least, the guards for the various merchants in town going on alert and watching carefully. But the group marched straight up to the Dojo. The Unicorn samurai were sent around to cover the rear and make sure no one escaped. Volar was still in his Pegasus form, circling the Dojo from above and keeping watch.

Once the Dojo was surrounded, Toshiro and Kaz walked up, Toshiro hammering on the door before yelling, “I’m Hiruma Toshiro, serving Shinjo Jyaku-sama! Everyone inside come outside and surrender to our authority!”

From inside came the swift reply “Fubuki-tai Surprise Attack, Type 2!” And then the door was suddenly yanked open, five archers letting loose with arrows at Toshiro. Two of the arrows struck Toshiro solidly and then the door snapped back shut before the samurai could even think of getting inside.

With Mir and Mindra both low on spells after all the healing they had done, it was up to Kaz, Toshiro and Verick. A couple swift kicks bashed the door in and the three fighters rushed in, but the six Fubuki-tai inside had already switched to katanas as well. Kaz and Toshiro both scored hits on their opponents, but then the leader yelled “Fubuki-tai Cuisine Attack, Shell the Crab!”

A fighter took Toshiro and Verick each, fighting defensively to keep them busy while the other four rushes around, flanking Kaz. With miraculous luck, three of the four strikes found critical spots in Kaz’s armor, nearly finishing off the tough Crab samurai in seconds. Kaz yelled “Healing!” and made a strategic retreat back out the door, taking another strike as he escaped being surrounded.

Toshiro retreated to block off the door so Fubuki-tai could not chase Kaz to finish him off. But then the leader shouted “Fubuki-tai goes Hunting! Pile on the Lion!” The one on Toshiro stayed there, on the defensive as he tried to block the door while the other five surrounded Verick now, one going sword to sword with the young man while the others piled on to grapple him down.

Verick resisted mightily but the numbers were too much and he was dragged down and held by three while the other two started bashing him with the hilts of their swords, trying to subdue. Mir and Mindra both lent the last of their healing to get Kaz back in action and from the air Volar knew Kaz retreating from any battle was a bad sign. He flew over the house and landed on the roof before returning to his natural elf form.

“You need to get inside, Toshiro and Kaz need help!” Volar yelled down to the Unicorn samurai behind the house. The samurai didn’t move, though. They had their orders and if Toshiro or Kaz needed the help, they would be the one’s yelling. Fake orders were one of the oldest tricks in the book and they weren’t falling for it.

Kaz and Toshiro had regrouped by then though and the two Fubuki-tai trying to hold them off were losing ground fast. Verick was fighting back with his wakizashi but a couple critically placed strikes finally knocked him unconscious, just as Kaz and Toshiro hacked down their opponents. The others had no time to try and escape with Verick’s body before Kaz and Toshiro were on them.

Volar pried up a bit of the roof and slipped down into the roof, starting to explore as the combat got ugly below. No longer underestimating Fubuki-tai, Toshiro and Kaz worked together as a team to cover each other’s backs and finally the battle turned in their favor. One after another the Fubuki-tai fighters were cut down, until only one was left.

He tried to flee out the back, but stopped when he saw the Unicorn samurai guarding the rear. With no chance of escape, he turned his katana on himself, stabbing himself through the belly. Toshiro simply watched this, then he stepped to behead the man before the pain got to be to great. Barely conscious, Verick staggered up to try and join the fight, too late.

“Why did you finish him off?” Verick growled angrily “He deserved to die slowly.”

Toshiro shrugged “He fought bravely and refused to surrender. I can respect that in an opponent.”

[DM Note: This was a very tough combat for the group. Even considering the spellcasters were nearly down to nothing. But for this combat I rolled seven confirmed criticals to the PC's one. This and the next combat was the best I've rolled for one night.]
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Volar had already gotten a head start exploring the dojo by now. Entering from the roof had certain advantages, he had bypassed the Alchemist’s Fire trap at the door and was able to warn the others. Verick managed to disarm the traps on the other doors and the group set to searching. Two of the rooms were basic dorms where the students evidently lived when not training. The other room had a pleasant, feminine style with ink paintings and a soft scent of roses, and was clearly lived in by only one person.

“This must have been the white haired girl’s room.” Toshiro commented.

But Volar looked around, puzzled “Then where did Oyuki stay?”

“The sensei would not sleep in the dorms.” Verick agreed. “Maybe this says something about Oyuki. Maybe the roses really –were- from him.” He teased Toshiro again.

Between Volar’s and Mindra’s searching skill and Verick’s trap disarming, they located a secret compartment in the rose scented room. Hidden inside was a box, containing 1,000 Koku and a map showing Bugaisha as well as four points around the town. North, south, east and west. The point to the east Mir recognized as her grove. Kaz and Toshiro had been on enough patrols by now to remember the other areas as groves of trees as well. Most curious.

Searches of the dorm turned up pocket change in Koku that Volar pocketed. As well as a diary. Speed-reading through the dairy, it was obvious it belonged to a woman who had worked previously as a courtesan at the Glorious Jade Teahouse, an establishment Kaz had heard of, quite the sleazy dive. The diary covered her time there, her intense hatred of the samurai class, her recruitment by Oyuki, his arrangements with the owner of the Glorious Jade teahouse, and her training in Maho. Armed with this diary, the group left the Dojo in the hands of the Unicorn samurai and headed back to question Kuroiyuki.
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The young monk was tightly bound to a pole by the time the group got back. On the authority of Toshiro and Kaz, the group was let in to speak to him. After a fashion. Mir was the one who did the talking, and only after successfully Charming the young man.

It turned out Kuroiyuki’s real name was Kong-sang, an unusual name for Rokugan, though those in Unicorn lands were known for unusual names. He had chosen the name Kuroiyuki ‘Yellow Snow’ because...well...what was the one snow everyone was told to beware of? Listening in, Kaz had to admit there was a silly form of logic there.

Kuroiyuki had be training at the Temple, but he had a talent for getting into trouble and his careless over exuberance sometimes caused problems. After a particularly memorable misunderstanding, a shugenja named Nagatori had suggested his place might lie outside the Temple. Soon after he’d been recruited by Oyuki to Fubuki-tai.

He had only been with Fubuki-tai a short time but was impressed by their team spirit. He confirmed the room with the feminine feel had indeed been Oyuki’s room. In any case, Oyuki had often been absent from the Dojo for ‘special individual training’. Oyuki and his top students often had meetings at the Glorious Jade teahouse.

He didn’t know a thing about the fireblast at the teahouse being an attack on the group. But he had been told the elf might be planning some sort of attack like that. After Volar had given him the insulting the letter for Oyuki, he could believe it. They had gone there to confront the group but obviously it hadn’t gone as expected. If things went badly, they were to disperse and meet back at pre-determined locations. Normally he could not reveal that…but he trusted Mir needed to know. The locations matched what they had found on the map. Depending on where they were, they were to meet at the grave closest to where the order was given.
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While Kuroiyuki had been giving him all the information he had to his trusted friend Mir, Toshiro had heard O-Hisa’s patrol had returned that evening. The moment Mir was done he was determined to go over and visit her. Though he didn’t admit it out loud, he had started to have doubts about just his visitor of the previous night had truly been.

On the way back home, the group stopped by O-Hisa’s house. The patrol had not treated the Unicorn lady well, she looked tired and pale, though she waved off any questions Toshiro had about it. Volar had grown suspicious though and excused himself to do some checking around. The conversation went on politely, but Toshiro’s pressure was building, like a teakettle about to overflow, until finally he exclaimed “So, did you visit me last night?”

O-Hisa just looked at Toshiro puzzled “Um...no. The last time I saw you was our date. Why do you ask?” she added on with great curiosity.

Toshiro froze. He had his answer, but it wasn’t the answer he’d been hoping for and he hadn’t thought ahead to what to say if O-Hisa did say ‘No’. Now he was stuck.

While Toshiro tried to talk his way out of his predicament, Volar had been prowling around O-Hisa’s house. In the moonlight it was almost as bright as day for him and he had something particular he was searching for. Along the underedge of a window he found it. Magic. A fading magic engraved beneath window in symbols Volar didn’t recognize. But he could smell the dried blood there. And he knew only Maho used blood here in Rokugan.

Volar’s arrival back in the house with this news was just in time to save Toshiro. O-Hisa was reluctant to talk about what it could be but admitted she’d been having bad dreams. VERY bad dreams. No one in the group could detect taint, but that was the concern now. Reluctantly, O-Hisa agreed to visit the temple to be checked on.

At the temple it was decided she should spend the night, just to be safe.
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The next morning at the crack of dawn Shinjo Yuji was visiting again, looking even more out of sorts than previously. “Terrible news from the temple. Several monks have been killed and Shinjo O-Hisa has been kidnapped!”