1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• Suiren is a court-educated member of the Scorpion clan, and a famously gifted actor. He therefore had more discretion than to scream out loud " SHINOBI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " and instantly draw his sword, but it's fair to say he was....a little guarded?...in his greetings. He (and Uiri) assumed that whatever nefarious plot Akodo Kage was hatching, Rumiko was part of it.

Game recognizes game.

To be fair, they recognised one another as fellow 'professionals' back at Kyuden Doji. The question is more one of "what the heck are you doing here !?!?!"

Oh, so it's more like "this village is not big enough for the both of us" ?

9 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Initially, Horonigai thought Otomo Kazuda was asking her to assassinate the seppun captain - and was very reassured that that wasn't the case (" although...duly noted...that access to a few books and filing some paperwork with the Office of Properties is apparently enough inducement for you to think about that" Kazuda said) - she wanted Seppun Abe gone, but didn't specifically wish him ill. If Horonigai and her colleagues could use her influence with the Emerald Magistrature, or her widely rumoured secret alliance with Bayushi Kachiko (" OH FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!!!" - Horonigai's PC) to get him reassigned, or somehow arrange to have him embarrass or disgrace himself in a way that would justify Kazuda persuading Sora to get rid of him. Discrete stabbing should be considered at worst a distant backup plan.

No doubt one of two thoughts was going through Kazuda-dono's mind: either being around scorpions has rubbed off on her OR she may be Kaito, but she has to have been born a scorpion(Auda Abu Tayi's line in Lawrence of Arabia "Thy mother mated with a scorpion!" comes to mind).

9 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• They considered asking Seppun Ishima to host the negotiations, but decided that if Seven Waves were only 'slightly less disreputable' than the average ronin, they would probably find a magistrate's station a less than comfortable place. Instead, they decided to talk to Chinoka - or more specifically, they sent Shosuro Suiren to talk to her - and ask her to use her okiya to host the negotiations.
  • The okasan was broadly very happy with the idea of sensitive political negotiations being held inside her walls, especially since the PCs would be responsible for ensuring nothing got out of hand. A successful geisha herself, she offered to serve the delegates personally to minimise the number of people in the room (the potential to eavesdrop on the discussions first-hand was obviously not in any way her motivation).
  • Suiren also - looking to keep the close working relationship - decided to give Chinoka the 'official official report' about Yoshi's death - figuring that there was a good chance she'd eventually hear some version of it anyway and this way she would keep a better working relationship with the Scorpion samurai.
  • On his way out, he was able to briefly talk to Sakura. She'd talked to some of the servants and found out that the 'guests' at Chinoka's okiya at the event Yoshi had been hired to guard were not regulars, or even anyone the servants had met before. One - female - was a Crane, the other two - male - were a Lion (an Ikoma, they thought) and a member of the Imperial families (but not, they believed, a Seppun). Chinoka was the only geisha in the room, and according to the attendants who'd brought food, she had been sat with them at the table very much as if she was an equal rather than a geisha attending them. She also noted that Chinoka had been giving her 'odd looks' in the last day and she was worried her questions had gotten back to the okasan somehow.
• Suiren also decided to use a bit of time and money to have a new mask made up for the event. He rolled extremely well on his fire and air design checks, resulting in a very spending looking ( Resplendant ) mask with a fox's face, with shimmery looking 'fur' made with fine gold thread in the rich russet of the cloth.
  • "You're not wearing that around the Lion Clan, are you?"
  • "You think it might cause issues?"
  • "We're supposed to be impartial mediators, remember."
  • "You're supposed to be impartial. I'm not a magistrate , I'm just your advisor . Besides, I think it looks nice."

Hopefully Bayushi Mei Lin's little pet at the okasan is NOT part of the staff who serve during the negotiations. That would be another.....complication for Kakita Riku. As for Horonigai's "Advisor", no doubt she wants to stab him for his "cleverness"(ie trolling).

9 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

As a result, Unoku had been dispatched with an extremely large coin purse and broad authority to pursue opportunities as she saw fit.

Riku was very happy to see her friends, and told them she'd been told by Unoku she would be temporarily released from her duties in the evening (i.e. once Unoku was ensconced in Sora's guest-house and the Seppun Daimyo's guards were responsible for the delegate's security). She hoped the PC's would visit her. When Horonigai asked where, Riku answered that "well, apparently I have a townhouse in the city - which came as a surprise to me. Obviously you'd all be welcome as my guests ..." Hor onigai was part amused and part embarrassed - since the PCs were all currently living there and had instructed Ryu to decorate, furnish and staff it.

Later that evening - after Sora had held a welcome meal for the two delegates, Riku arrived at 'her' house to have drinks and catch up with her friends - and her betrothed.

Kakita Riku is a court-educated member of the Crane clan, and has lived in the Imperial Palace in Otosan Uchi. Therefore her first words to Goriate were not and would never have been "W hat the actual **** happened to your face?", but she was clearly somewhat shocked by the nasty scar left by the Onryu of Twin Blessings Village (not to mention he was still rather pale as he was recovering from being rather heavily poisoned by "Watchful"). Goriate's response was that " We encountered a ghost that had forgotten it was dead, and I had to remind it. Twice ."

At this point there was another arrival at 'Riku's' house (a point she took a certain amusement in repeating to Goriate). The PCs weren't expecting anyone, but Riku said she'd invited someone she'd met at Sora's court to join her and the PCs for their catch-up, as she hadn't seen them in months.

He therefore - since they'd gotten on so well at Kyuden Doji, with him arranging her the part of 'Otomo' and the two taking meals and drinks together a few times - took the drastic and potentially dangerous step of inviting her out to dine as soon as her rehearsals and performance were finished the following day. Scoring well on his courtesy check, he actually got her to suggest a private, verging on slightly romantic, venue for their meal herself.

Surien's player in fact announced his intention to spend time with Rumiko " as often as possible, for as long as possible, for as long as she's in town. Because I don't trust not having eyes on her at all times ......"

Goriate's may have made a crack about the Shosuro having 'a date'.

" He becomes a Crane and suddenly he thinks he's a comedian ..."

All of that is indeed very hilarious.

15 hours ago, Diogo Salazar said:

Oh, so it's more like "this village is not big enough for the both of us" ?

More a train of thought along the lines of 'you only send a shinobi if you plan to do shinobi-like things. Since the PCs are the city magistrates, shinobi-like things happening are almost axiomatically a bad thing.'

Unfortunately there's only so much he can do. Accusing a great clan samurai of being a shinobi out of the blue is both insulting and ridiculous, and saying "she's clearly a shinobi because I can see the signs of the training and experience that a shinobi...gets....that....obviously I know nothing about" is hardly going to improve the situation.

9 hours ago, neilcell said:

No doubt one of two thoughts was going through Kazuda-dono's mind: either being around scorpions has rubbed off on her OR she may be Kaito, but she has to have been born a scorpion(Auda Abu Tayi's line in Lawrence of Arabia "Thy mother mated with a scorpion!" comes to mind).

The idea that she was born a scorpion before her adoption is not a bad theory for someone working from public rumour. Since winning the Bowman's Wager she's high enough profile that finding out she's an orphan probably isn't hard.

9 hours ago, neilcell said:

Hopefully Bayushi Mei Lin's little pet at the okasan is NOT part of the staff who serve during the negotiations. That would be another.....complication for Kakita Riku. As for Horonigai's "Advisor", no doubt she wants to stab him for his "cleverness"(ie trolling).

Chinoka is going to be the only one in the conference room, but of course a yojimbo might well stay in an antechamber in the same way you'd agree to leave swords outside - and it'd be rude not to send her some refreshments during the day.

Ikue/Sakura isn't under Mei Lin's thumb anymore, so she wouldn't be trying to hurt Riku specifically. Of course, 'helpfully' saying "don't believe the rumours about me and your betrothed" when Riku never heard said rumours has the potential for amusing misinterpretation*.

Equally, she's never actually met Riku (they put some effort into ensuring that) and may not know what she looks like, and a delegate's yojimbo doesn't normally rate a formal introduction as they're essentially just a bodyguard.

5 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

The idea that she was born a scorpion before her adoption is not a bad theory for someone working from public rumour. Since winning the Bowman's Wager she's high enough profile that finding out she's an orphan probably isn't hard.

Chinoka is going to be the only one in the conference room, but of course a yojimbo might well stay in an antechamber in the same way you'd agree to leave swords outside - and it'd be rude not to send her some refreshments during the day.

Ikue/Sakura isn't under Mei Lin's thumb anymore, so she wouldn't be trying to hurt Riku specifically. Of course, 'helpfully' saying "don't believe the rumours about me and your betrothed" when Riku never heard said rumours has the potential for amusing misinterpretation*.

Equally, she's never actually met Riku (they put some effort into ensuring that) and may not know what she looks like, and a delegate's yojimbo doesn't normally rate a formal introduction as they're essentially just a bodyguard.

* For me. Less so for Goriate.

Especially since Goriate, in addition to scars and poisoning, still has the aftermath of some slightly embarrassing burns which have, understandably, not been mentioned yet.

Either way, her life is going to keep getting more complicated when people think she is in bed with the clan of secrets.

As for Ikue/Sakura, while she may not know Riku personally, just being in the same area where gossiping occurs and then the reactions of the PCs such as sweating bullets could still create issues. I apologize to your players for giving you ideas to bedevil their character's lives. Hapless indeed.

2 hours ago, neilcell said:

I apologize to your players for giving you ideas to bedevil their character's lives.

Really not a problem. They haven't yet registered that they'll be putting Ikue and Riku in the same building...

58 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

They haven't yet registered that they'll be putting Ikue and Riku in the same building...

That "oh crap!" moment will be priceless then.

• So - in the morning, everyone headed to Chinoka's okiya for the negotiations.
  • Suiren headed directly there to co-ordinate with Chinoka.
    • He found two armed ronin outside the okiya - whilst security inside was the responsibility of the Emerald magistrates, Chinoka had hired Himari and Keinosuke again to stand guard at the doors. Fortunately neither was aware that the PCs had been following them only the night before, suspecting them of being murderous undead.
    • Inside, the geisha had prepared a meeting room with three tables for the delegates - Crane, Lion and Seven Waves Ronin - with an antechamber for their assorted aides (the Hare and Fox clan representatives and Unoku's yojimbo).
    • The space between the tables was decorated with some bonsai plants and flowers, meaning anyone at one table would have to go the long way around to reach one of the others, rather than crossing the middle of the room.
    • Each of the corners of the room had a cushion set for one of the magistrates to sit, with the fourth - by the door - also having a tea service for Chinoka to wait to serve the delegates as needed.
    • He greeted the Seven Waves representative - a ronin called Hideki, who arrived with an aide who'd be in the sideroom.
  • Riku and Horonigai headed to collect Daidoji Unoku and Kitsune Amane. Riku went into the Crane's chambers and fell in behind her in yojimbo mode, whilst Horonigai and Amane were joking. Having heard about Amane's increasingly ridiculous 'missions', Horonigai suggested as a joke sending some of Ryu's gyoza to the Crane in the Osari Plains.
    • "Good?" "Oh, yes. We've missed Ryu's gyoza so much..." "Hmm.. probably rates a full squad to protect it then. Maybe even a cavalry escort to help it get there fresh!"
  • Goriate and Uiri collected Akodo Kage and Usagi Norinaga from the mansion as well - pointedly from a different gate, with Otomo Kazuda sticking to her promise to keep the two delegates seperate wherever possible.

• Whilst the three magistrates watched the debates, Suiren would watch the sideroom.
• The PCs were convinced something nasty was being planned, so were looking to make sure no-one was served food or drink that wasn't from a communal plate or tea ceremony (so you couldn't poison one delegate without poisoning everyone) and, whilst in theory the magistrates were just impartial security, they did their best to follow the delegates' bargaining strategies.
  • Daidoji Unoku's the oddest - largely letting Kage speak and occasionally interjecting observations. She was offering very lucrative payments but with little detail and mostly seemed to be encouraging the Lion delegate to speak. She also seemed to be deliberately being provocative and borderline rude in some of her statements to the Lion.
  • Akodo Kage meanwhile was focusing more on getting a feel for the skills the various ronin within Seven Waves had. One thing Goriate noted was that the Lion delegate had brought his katana, which he hadn't worn in Kyuden Kitsune - suggesting he expected to have to fight in person. This was a little odd, since he'd dispensed with his ronin yojimbo's services.
  • Hideki was clearly leaning more to the Lion than Crane, since the former was offering more details than the latter and - despite the pay - feeding the otokodate's manpower into an unknown situation was a quick way to end up slaughtered. The Crane were offering a lot of money, though, so Hideki was doing his best not to commit to either side until he had to.
• At midday, discussions paused. Chinoka performed a formal tea ceremony for the delegates in the main room (much to the gratitude of the PCs who picked up a void point), whilst she passed word for similar refreshments to be provided to the antechamber.
  • It was, inevitably, Sakura who came and did the same for the side-room.
  • During a break in the ceremony, she asked to speak to Suiren. She said she had information and a question.
    • The information turned out to be that one of the okiya's attendants had seen the Crane delegation arrive - Unoku, Amane, Riku and Horonigai. That person had also been stationed near the okiya's doors during Chinoka's mysterious 'vip conference', and was certain that Daidoji Unoku and the Crane samurai from that evening were one and the same
      • The PCs weren't sure how to take this - but, given that the other parties had been an Ikoma and an Imperial samurai, "she's plotting something" seemed likely.
    • "And what was the question?"
    • It turned out that Sakura had heard a rumour that Hida Goriate's betrothed was arriving in the city in the next few days. She wanted to talk to Suiren to confirm this, and to see what the plan was - she was concerned that at some point an outraged kakita duellist would burst out of nowhere and decapitate her before she could explain anything.
    • Suiren's player's eye's went wide at this point and the Shosuro was rather uncharacteristically flustered as he tried to get the geisha (who didn't realise Riku was not only already in Hirosaka but was sat in the room) to drop the subject RIGHT NOW before the Kakita overheard them.
      • "If you screw this up, I will kick you so hard your testicles will fly out through your eye sockets" - Goriate's player.
      • Unsurprisingly, Suiren chose to use his newly acquired void point on the check, and - whilst it was concerningly close, he managed to pass due to a lucky resolution of an explosive success. Sakura wasn't entirely sure about the reason, but she got the hint and dropped the subject.
      • Riku didn't overhear the specific subjects discussed, being on the other side of the antechamber. But she did catch Suiren and Sakura in close discussion and is aware the Scorpion and the Geisha have a private relationship of some kind.
• That evening, the various factions headed back to their respective quarters.
  • Horonigai decided to try and talk to the Crane - all the PCs were aware her negotiating tactics made no sense based on what they knew - so she asked Otomo Kazuda to let her attend the meal at Seppun Sora's court - ostensibly to get a better sight of Seppun Abe, the guard captain Kazuda had asked her to help get rid of.
    • Unoku was happy to speak to her but was politely dismissive - she was 'acting in the best interests of the Crane and the Osari Plains' and she did not require any assistance. Horonigai noticed that Kakita Riku looked unhappy at this but said nothing.
    • She also got her first good look at Seppun Abe - and the young, expensively groomed Seppun officer cheerfully drinking himself into a stupor in the corner of the room certainly seemed to live up to Otomo Kazuda's criticisms of him.
    • After returning Daidoji Unoku back into the care of Seppun Sora's guards, Horonigai and Riku made their way back to the townhouse. Horonigai - unfortunately - realised slightly too late that leaving the court in Riku's company announced to Uiri's aunt, Mirumoto Kazuya, where the PCs had vanished to after she tried to sabotage their attempts to lease a property in Hirosaka. It was inevitable she'd have found out sooner or later, though.
  • Uiri and Goriate were home earlier, and arrived to find Ryu instructing two new heimin servants he'd hired in the town in their duties. Due to the PC's lack of funds, they'd have to deal with only the three as household staff for a while.
    • One, Fuji, would be combination quartermaster and valet, and was a Hirosaka local, whilst the other, Suki, was an experienced attendant formerly of Shiro Usagi. Since the Usagi family was largely gone from the castle, there was little need for her services, and she'd come to Hirosaka 'to find work'.
      • "Wait.....wasn't Suki the name of the maid who was obsessed with Uiri?"
      • "Yes."
      • "She's actually followed him, hasn't she? I mean; Ryu doesn't know who she is, but it's a not a coincidence, is it?"
      • "Yes, and no, respectively."
      • "Bugger."
  • Meanwhile, after their performance in Sora's mansion, the Ikoma Kabuki troupe dispersed, and Ikoma Rumiko met Suiren at the mansion's entrance for their 'date'.
    • "Oh give it a rest. It's not a date."
    • "How do Shinobi flirt, anyway? What's 'small talk'? Preferred shuriken styles? Fashion trends in the world of illegal concealed weaponry?"
    • "IT'S NOT A DATE!"
    • "Totally is."
    • (Suiren and Horonigai's players)

15 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• It was, inevitably, Sakura who came and did the same for the side-room.
  • During a break in the ceremony, she asked to speak to Suiren. She said she had information and a question.
    • The information turned out to be that one of the okiya's attendants had seen the Crane delegation arrive - Unoku, Amane, Riku and Horonigai. That person had also been stationed near the okiya's doors during Chinoka's mysterious 'vip conference', and was certain that Daidoji Unoku and the Crane samurai from that evening were one and the same
      • The PCs weren't sure how to take this - but, given that the other parties had been an Ikoma and an Imperial samurai, "she's plotting something" seemed likely.
    • "And what was the question?"
    • It turned out that Sakura had heard a rumour that Hida Goriate's betrothed was arriving in the city in the next few days. She wanted to talk to Suiren to confirm this, and to see what the plan was - she was concerned that at some point an outraged kakita duellist would burst out of nowhere and decapitate her before she could explain anything.
    • Suiren's player's eye's went wide at this point and the Shosuro was rather uncharacteristically flustered as he tried to get the geisha (who didn't realise Riku was not only already in Hirosaka but was sat in the room) to drop the subject RIGHT NOW before the Kakita overheard them.
      • "If you screw this up, I will kick you so hard your testicles will fly out through your eye sockets" - Goriate's player.
      • Unsurprisingly, Suiren chose to use his newly acquired void point on the check, and - whilst it was concerningly close, he managed to pass due to a lucky resolution of an explosive success. Sakura wasn't entirely sure about the reason, but she got the hint and dropped the subject.
      • Riku didn't overhear the specific subjects discussed, being on the other side of the antechamber. But she did catch Suiren and Sakura in close discussion and is aware the Scorpion and the Geisha have a private relationship of some kind.

Called shot, critical hit. Roll to confirm severity

Seriously, that actually went better than I expected. And the response from Goriate (or at least his player) was epic!

15 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• Uiri and Goriate were home earlier, and arrived to find Ryu instructing two new heimin servants he'd hired in the town in their duties. Due to the PC's lack of funds, they'd have to deal with only the three as household staff for a while.
  • One, Fuji, would be combination quartermaster and valet, and was a Hirosaka local, whilst the other, Suki, was an experienced attendant formerly of Shiro Usagi. Since the Usagi family was largely gone from the castle, there was little need for her services, and she'd come to Hirosaka 'to find work'.
    • "Wait.....wasn't Suki the name of the maid who was obsessed with Uiri?"
    • "Yes."
    • "She's actually followed him, hasn't she? I mean; Ryu doesn't know who she is, but it's a not a coincidence, is it?"
    • "Yes, and no, respectively."
    • "Bugger."
  • Meanwhile, after their performance in Sora's mansion, the Ikoma Kabuki troupe dispersed, and Ikoma Rumiko met Suiren at the mansion's entrance for their 'date'.
    • "Oh give it a rest. It's not a date."
    • "How do Shinobi flirt, anyway? What's 'small talk'? Preferred shuriken styles? Fashion trends in the world of illegal concealed weaponry?"
    • "IT'S NOT A DATE!"
    • "Totally is."
    • (Suiren and Horonigai's players)

And the plot thickens. I wonder what would happen if Auntie got wind of a girl dying to be the baby momma of a Dragon Samurai. Considering the clan's desires to address birth declines, an a desire to get some revenge on family, this is just too good to pass up.

And the banter between Suiren and Horonigai is hilarious!

• When Horonigai and Riku returned, Goriate and Riku had a private talk. Horonigai had noted Riku's reaction when talking to the Daidoji but decided not to press her friend as Unoku had clearly ordered her to keep quiet; she asked the Crane to warn her if she was going to have to deal with anything improper or illegal but otherwise respected her confidences.
• Goriate, on the other hand, felt the reverse - if whatever Unoku and Riku had discussed was making the Kakita uneasy he felt it was better to know about it. As an impartial magistrate he wasnt supposed to care who 'won' the debate, but he didnt intend to allow Riku to get ground up in the gears in the process. The PCs didn't have to let anyone know they knew, and didn't have to act on it, but Goriate didnt plan on leaving Riku potentially stuck in a dangerous position when they might have been able to help.
• It took a difficult sentiment check, but he was able to persuade Riku to open up. The duellist was used to fighting in honour duels to avenge a genuine insult. To deliberately trap someone in a trick of wording to justify seeking a duel over triviality, though, seemed wrong - even in a good cause.
• Daidoji Uneko had been sitting back and allowing Akodo Kage plenty of rope in the hopes he'd use it to hang himself. The 'border dispute' line that everyone kept pushing was more than just a convenient fiction for the courts: 'war' between the great clans was forbidden by edict. If she could get Kage to admit the ronin were intended for somethinh which she could argue at court was a wartime duty, she could accuse him of conspiring to violate Imperial law and challenge him with three Emerald Magistrates as witnesses. Yes, the Crane were probably doing exactly the same thing but Unoku was keeping her mouth shut on exactly what Seven Waves were being hired for for precisely this reason.
• With no Yojimbo, he'd presumably have to face Kakita Riku in person, and Unoku had instructed her to cripple the Lion if she got the chance.
• Regardless, losing a duel meant Daidoji Unoku's accusation would be legally sustained. The Lion would have to disavow Akodo Kage's actions, meaning he and Usagi Norinaga would be ejected from Hirosaka, leaving the Lion at least temporarily without any influential representative in the region, and no reputable otokodate would deal with the clan for some time. In short, this wasn't about Seven Waves, it was about choking off the Lion's ability to recruit ronin in the southern cities entirely, giving the Crane forces in the Osari Plains breathing room.
• This was....well, frankly, kind of hypocritical as it's not like the Crane wanted to hire Seven Waves to stand around looking pretty. But it was within the law, and frankly whilst Akodo Kage was presumably competent with his katana he wasn't a credible threat to Riku. So there wasn't a lot the PCs could do except stand around and watch the car crash happen.

• Meanwhile, the not-a-date was actually going pretty well. Suiren found Rumiko very affable company, and they spent a pleasant evening talking theatre. One off-hand comment left Suiren realising Rumiko had been on the Islands of Spice and Silk the previous autumn. This wasn't a secret but was something the PCs never cottoned on to during Winter's Embrace , and with that detail added into the mix they're now damned sure (correctly!) that the Ikoma were involved in the Mantis' unexpected invitation to Kyuden Doji.
• Rumiko actually offered to meet Suiren for a midday meal the following day, since there was a break in rehearsal whilst the troupe had final costume fittings, but he wasn't happy leaving the okiya - since he was the only PC in the antechamber.
• Rumiko took this pretty well - after all, a Scorpion saying 'sorry, but duty' is hardly unexpected. The two agreed to dine again in the evening instead, which was apparently the kabuki actor's last night in Hirosaka before the troupe left early the following morning.

• The following day, events proceeded pretty much as before. The Lion, Crane and Seven Waves arrived separately, talked in meaningless diplomatic circles for the morning, tea ceremonies at midday, and then settled down for the afternoon session.
• Suiren was especially paranoid at lunchtime in case Ikoma Rumiko had tried to sneak into the okiya for some wierd reason. The PCs were sure the Lion were plotting something, they just didn't know what.
• Later that afternoon, Daidoji Unoku finally dropped the hammer. A reference by Kage to 'forward garrison duty' - implying captured territory - was evidently enough in her eyes, and she interrupted, levelling her accusation of intending to violate Imperial edict at the Lion representative.
• Akodo Kage, as he had to in the situation, demanded satisfaction, which Unoku accepted. Kage suggested dawn for the duel, but after the Magistrates objected politely, the two settled on midday.
• Officially the objection was based on Rokugani tradition that duels at dawn and dusk are inauspicious. In fact it was because the PCs wanted to ensure Ikoma Rumiko was out of the city. They also suggested the 'white sands of justice' in front of the magistrate's station to host the duel.
• Unoku, obviously, instructed Riku to act for her, whilst Akodo Kage offered the use of his sword to Usagi Norinaga, who accepted.
• With that, the delegates and PCs left slightly early for the day as there didn't seem to be much point staying.

• Horonigai once again dined with Riku and Unoku and watched the last Kabuki performance.
• After the show, Rumiko and Suiren skulked off for another 'date'.
• " IT'S NOT A DATE! WILL YOU THREE DROP IT!!" - Suiren's player.
• The not-a-date went as well as the first one, with the two getting on well, and Rumiko asked if she could call on Suiren at home the following morning and the two take breakfast right before the troupe left the town. In no small part happy to walk her to the city gates afterwards and have the opportunity to confirm she'd actually left, Suiren accepted.
• Back at Sora's mansion, Horonigai and Kakita Riku were about to head back to the townhouse. As they were leaving, the Hare representative, Norinaga, came to talk to Riku. He expressed regret for the two being stuck in a duel, and offered his respects. He'd agreed to act for Kage because the Hare were Lion Clan allies, because he was younger and fitter than the elderly Kage and because he'd been hiring ronin himself for the Lion before the great clans had gotten directly involved, so he could be considered included in Uneko's accusation by implication.
• Kakita Riku was merely doing her duty as Yojimbo, so Norinaga didn't want to have to fight her - not least because in addition to the debt the Hare owed her for acting as champion to Usagi Tomoe, he'd spoken to people who'd watched that duel from the walls of Shiro Usagi. His duty gave him no choice, though. The courier's honest opinion of his chances against the Tsume-trained duellist the following lunchtime could be summed up by his only-half-joking use of the phrase " also, please, not the face... "

• The following morning was comparatively relaxed - there would be no negotiations before the duel was resolved at lunchtime. Suiren was, of course, up bright and early to meet Rumiko. Fuji had laid out his court finest.
• " What....why?"
• "Kaito-sama's instructions, Shosuro-sama. Did I do wrong?"
• "Never mind..just....normal clothes.... please ."
• "ALSO FOR THE LAST TIME IT'S NOT A DATE!!!!" - Suiren's player..
• Ikoma Rumiko arrived shortly after, and the two went for a pleasant breakfast at an izakaya that the Lion recommended, just one square over from the townhouse, which turned out to be delicious.
• " Oh...by the way ," said Rumiko, " I have a gift ." She produced a small bottle, which, she explain, was a 'health tonic' and very good for " distemper of the stomach, nerve palsy, chest pains....the apothecary who prepares it swears by it. Everyone it's given to generally swears at it, instead, because it tastes very bitter, but in a day or so they're fully recovered. "
• Suiren thanked her, but said she didn't need to offer a gift. The Ikoma actress replied that since she was only a visitor to the town, he was effectively the host and she the guest, so she felt she did. They went through the nominal refusals, but in the end - slightly bemused - he accepted it.
• As planned, Suiren walked Rumiko to the north-east gate, where the rest of the troupe was waiting. As he took his leave, he overheard Rumiko being needled by one of the other actors about how her romantic breakfast had gone......

• A short while later, back at the townhouse....
• " So...how was your breakfast? Did the two of you enjoy the sunrise together?"
• The three magistrates were being served their own breakfast by Ryu, and were all enjoying taking cheap shots at their advisor.
• Suiren told the other PCs and showed the 'gift', which didn't help.
• "Maybe she's worried you can't keep up with her if the relationship gets serious."
• "I'm keeping a tally of these, and there will be consequences, you know."
• "It's good to know she's concerned for you, isn't it?"
• All joking aside, Surien does have both the Weak Heart and (courtesy of Kakita Toshimoko) Nerve Damage disadvantages, so it made a sort of sense, which frankly made the teasing worse.
• " I...have a different question. " Said Mirumoto Uiri, interrupting suddenly. " Why does someone who's been staying at the Daimyo's mansion know where to get really good street food right next to this house? "

• " Oh."

• "....erm....has anyone seen Riku yet this morning?"

A health tonic... OR AN ANTIDOTE!? *Dramatic noises*

7 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• The courier's honest opinion of his chances against the Tsume-trained duellist the following lunchtime could be summed up by his only-half-joking use of the phrase " also, please, not the face... "

This reminds me of a scene in a Brazilian movie where a drug dealer about to be executed by a cop asks him to not shoot in the face so it won’t ruin the funeral.

By the way, is it a duel to incapacitation, first blood or death?

4 hours ago, Diogo Salazar said:

By the way, is it a duel to incapacitation, first blood or death?

13 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• It took a difficult sentiment check, but he was able to persuade Riku to open up. The duellist was used to fighting in honour duels to avenge a genuine insult. To deliberately trap someone in a trick of wording to justify seeking a duel over triviality, though, seemed wrong - even in a good cause.
• Daidoji Uneko had been sitting back and allowing Akodo Kage plenty of rope in the hopes he'd use it to hang himself. The 'border dispute' line that everyone kept pushing was more than just a convenient fiction for the courts: 'war' between the great clans was forbidden by edict. If she could get Kage to admit the ronin were intended for somethinh which she could argue at court was a wartime duty, she could accuse him of conspiring to violate Imperial law and challenge him with three Emerald Magistrates as witnesses. Yes, the Crane were probably doing exactly the same thing but Unoku was keeping her mouth shut on exactly what Seven Waves were being hired for for precisely this reason.
• With no Yojimbo, he'd presumably have to face Kakita Riku in person, and Unoku had instructed her to cripple the Lion if she got the chance .
• Regardless, losing a duel meant Daidoji Unoku's accusation would be legally sustained. The Lion would have to disavow Akodo Kage's actions, meaning he and Usagi Norinaga would be ejected from Hirosaka, leaving the Lion at least temporarily without any influential representative in the region, and no reputable otokodate would deal with the clan for some time. In short, this wasn't about Seven Waves, it was about choking off the Lion's ability to recruit ronin in the southern cities entirely, giving the Crane forces in the Osari Plains breathing room.
• This was....well, frankly, kind of hypocritical as it's not like the Crane wanted to hire Seven Waves to stand around looking pretty. But it was within the law, and frankly whilst Akodo Kage was presumably competent with his katana he wasn't a credible threat to Riku. So there wasn't a lot the PCs could do except stand around and watch the car crash happen.

The bolding was my emphasis. That leads me to believe that it is either to first blood or more likely incapacitation. But to your point, since she basically executed the Scorpion during her nominal due to first blood in front of the Castle of the Hare, I can understand the worry.

Sounds like normal First Blood, just that involves hitting people with 3-foot razor blades, so injuries are likely.

53 minutes ago, neilcell said:

The bolding was my emphasis. That leads me to believe that it is either to first blood or more likely incapacitation. But to your point, since she basically executed the Scorpion during her nominal due to first blood in front of the Castle of the Hare, I can understand the worry.

Exactly. A duel to first blood can still be to death. You just killed with one hit. Hence my question. 😃

Besides it was supposed to cripple the Lion and now it’s going to be a Hare. It’s not like Kage needs to share the injury of his champion.

1 hour ago, Diogo Salazar said:

Exactly. A duel to first blood can still be to death. You just killed with one hit. Hence my question. 😃

Besides it was supposed to cripple the Lion and now it’s going to be a Hare. It’s not like Kage needs to share the injury of his champion.

And that may be Riku's out. Since her orders were to cripple the Lion, they don't say anything about the Hare serving in his place. So she doesn't have to worry about crippling the Lion Samurai if the opportunity never comes up.

I can see Riku using the "first blood" to simply scratch him in a very glaring but ultimately harmless way(ie in a classic counting coup fashion) or even with just the back of her blade so that he collapses but is unharmed.

Got to love the cleverness of Player characters finding a solution that the NPCs never expect.

• Goriate launched himself out of his chair and ran towards Kakita Riku's room, with Horonigai and the others following.
• The Hida practically tore the shoji door to his fiancee's room off its mounting, finding Riku on her knees on the floor next to her sleeping mat, apparently trying to throw up her own toenails. The lacquered floor, and her yukata, was spattered with vomit, and for all her normal Crane reserve her face was tear-stained from pain as her stomach heaved again and again.
• Anything Riku had eaten had long been regurgitated and all that was left to bring up was stomach acid and bile. Her arms were shaking as she tried to hold herself upright and her signature black-and-white hair was wrapped around one hand whose fingers refused to grip it, in a futile attempt to hold it out of the way.
• A mortified whimper of " Don't look at me!" was all she managed between dry heaves, trying to turn her back on her friends and nearly collapsing as she did so.
• Horonigai, as Riku's close friend, went to try and help - snatching the 'tonic' out of Suiren's hands and basically shoving the men out of the room.

• Goriate was - unsurprisingly - incandescently angry. It was only once Horonigai came out and confirmed that the poison didn't seem to be a fatal one and the 'tonic' did seem to have been an antidote that he was talked down from pursuing the Ikoma.
• The contents of the bottle had neutralized whatever emetic Rumiko had used, and Riku was no longer being sick - but she was as weak as a kitten and she'd be lucky if she could either stand or hold a sword upright that day, let alone do both. There was no way she could act as Daidoji Unoku's second.
• Assuming Kage had planned this, Goriate was all for standing in himself, before it was pointed out that the person he'd be allowed to vent his rage on if he did was Usagi Norinaga, not the Lion delegate himself.
• Given his reaction the previous night, the Hare wasn't aware of what was going to happen, and hardly deserved the injuries Hida Goriate would likely inflict if allowed to draw steel on someone.
• Just as importantly, the three magistrates had been explicitly ordered to be 'impartial' by Seppun Ishima, which was hardly compatible with acting as champion to one side.
• Finally, as he realised himself, he wasn't going anywhere until he was happy Riku was out of any possible danger...

• With Goriate refusing to leave Riku's side, that left Suiren or Uiri to go and tell Daidoji Unoku that her Yojimbo was 'unavailable' and she might have to fight the duel-to-first-blood herself.
• " That's not going to go well, is it?"
• "I doubt it. She's the kind of politician who's probably never drawn a sword for real in her life. Right now she thinks she's a political genius whose sprung a cunning trap on her enemies. We've got to go tell her that not only is her plan not going to work, but someone saw it coming and one of the people supposed to be affected by it essentially gets a 'free swing' at her in the process."
• "Saw it coming?"
• "Rumiko almost certainly did....whatever...yesterday lunchtime. When she was free and Suiren elected not to meet her. That means that whatever she dosed with poison was done before the challenge was actually issued."
• "How'd they know she Unoku would make her accusations?"
• "Because Kage knew when he planned to say something 'stupid'. And sure enough, the Crane leaps to her feet yelling 'gotcha' and thinking she's in control of the situation..."
• It was agreed that the PC with the high courtesy rank (Suiren) would be better doing this than the one with the Bluntness disadvantage (Uiri).
• Meanwhile, the PCs tried to figure out what they were going to do. It was clear from their discussion they didnt really care who won the duel, but if only for Riku's honour, they had to make a credible attempt to find a substitute for Unoku's second.
• Their orders from Ishima mean the chief magistrate would be unlikely to help, and whilst as a former Miharu, Hatsue was probably close to Riku's equal as a duellist, she shouldn't be allowed to either.
• A ronin was a non-starter - either winning or losing would mean offending one of the two clans representing the most profitable work for Hirosaka's ronin community - and any otokodate depending on that work.
• Kitsune Amane had no more place in a duel than Unoku herself; unlike Norinaga, who might not be a bushi but looked like he could handle himself, Amane wasn't a serious combatant (frankly the cheerful, jokey Fox wasn't a serious anything) . If asked to take the Daidoji's place, she probably would, but all that would achieve would be for her to suffer the injury instead of Unoku; it wouldn't change the outcome and palming the injury off onto an ally might be good for Unoku personally but it was hardly an option for the Crane politically.
• That left either one of the other great clans, who weren't likely to want to stick their necks out - and, Uiri noted, Mirumoto Kazuya could be counted on to stick her oar in for the sake of making her nephew's life as difficult as possible.
• The final possibility was one of the Seppun. Sora was probably unlikely to aid one party or the other without extremely good cause, since he was nominal host to both....
• ...And that's when Horonigai had a nasty idea.

5 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• ...And that's when Horonigai had a nasty idea.

Good cliffhanger...

13 hours ago, neilcell said:

And that may be Riku's out. Since her orders were to cripple the Lion, they don't say anything about the Hare serving in his place. So she doesn't have to worry about crippling the Lion Samurai if the opportunity never comes up.

I can see Riku using the "first blood" to simply scratch him in a very glaring but ultimately harmless way(ie in a classic counting coup fashion) or even with just the back of her blade so that he collapses but is unharmed.

Got to love the cleverness of Player characters finding a solution that the NPCs never expect.

And apparently we were outmaneuvered by Magnus anyway as he already had other plans.

Bravo!

• It had just been observed Seppun wouldn't normally support either faction. But regardless of faction politics, they would if their own honour was somehow on the line.
• Seppun Sora wouldn't be seen as 'siding with the Crane' if he were providing a replacement second for Unoku because he was responsible for her Yojimbo not being available .
• Riku had no idea what had actually happened, and Rumiko's 'poison' had the symptoms of catastrophic food poisoning, the morning after she ate at a formal dinner given by the Seppun Daimyo.
• If that were the case, Riku couldn't be blamed as she was seen by the court to be restrained and not overindulging at the meal, and hence her unavailability would be Sora's responsibility, even if he wasn't personally at fault. In that case providing the services of one of his bushi as a stand-in would be the honourable choice.

• That plan, if it worked, took care of any public question of Kakita Riku's honour (the highborn Crane's personal sense of self-worth would likely take a lot longer to recover after her friends seeing her as they did).
• It also presented, as Horonigai put it, 'an opportunity'. Sora would want to ensure Daidoji Unoku had a strong swordsman as a substitute; if only to prevent any rumours he was responsible. Theoretically, the best swordsman at his disposal should be the captain of his personal guard, Seppun Abe. Who was in fact far less skilled than his position merited and whom Horonigai happened to know would at this point be fighting through a massive hangover, if he was even awake yet....
• Fighting and losing was one thing, but a truly dismal performance by Abe - which was supposedly quite likely - when the Daimyo had staked his own honour on the duel - would be shameful enough to justify Otomo Kazuda getting rid of the wastrel, as requested.

8 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• It had just been observed Seppun wouldn't normally support either faction. But regardless of faction politics, they would if their own honour was somehow on the line.
• Seppun Sora wouldn't be seen as 'siding with the Crane' if he were providing a replacement second for Unoku because he was responsible for her Yojimbo not being available .
• Riku had no idea what had actually happened, and Rumiko's 'poison' had the symptoms of catastrophic food poisoning, the morning after she ate at a formal dinner given by the Seppun Daimyo.
• If that were the case, Riku couldn't be blamed as she was seen by the court to be restrained and not overindulging at the meal, and hence her unavailability would be Sora's responsibility, even if he wasn't personally at fault. In that case providing the services of one of his bushi as a stand-in would be the honourable choice.

• That plan, if it worked, took care of any public question of Kakita Riku's honour (the highborn Crane's personal sense of self-worth would likely take a lot longer to recover after her friends seeing her as they did).
• It also presented, as Horonigai put it, 'an opportunity'. Sora would want to ensure Daidoji Unoku had a strong swordsman as a substitute; if only to prevent any rumours he was responsible. Theoretically, the best swordsman at his disposal should be the captain of his personal guard, Seppun Abe. Who was in fact far less skilled than his position merited and whom Horonigai happened to know would at this point be fighting through a massive hangover, if he was even awake yet....
• Fighting and losing was one thing, but a truly dismal performance by Abe - which was supposedly quite likely - when the Daimyo had staked his own honour on the duel - would be shameful enough to justify Otomo Kazuda getting rid of the wastrel, as requested.

The trick of course boils down to convincing (via a courtesy check) Seppun Sora that it was his formal dinner where Riku got Gastroenteritis via botulism. Might be worthwhile to pitch the idea to Otomo Kazuda so that she can lend her support. Always good to have an "inside man" as an ace in the hole should the courtesy check flub.

• As it happens, that was pretty much the plan. Kazuya wouldn't be required to stick her neck out by creating the situation, but making supportive noises from the background would go a long way. More importantly, she could secure the audience in her role as Chamberlain - keeping it entirely a matter within Sora's household and not involving his court.
  • Uiri took on the job of talking to Sora-sama; assisted by Kazuya throwing in two hoarded void points - one to Seize the moment, and one to invert his Bluntness disadvantage; essentially speaking as one of Sora's vassals and saying as bluntly as he dared "It's our [subtext: your] fault and hence we [subtext: you] have to fix it" . He rolled well (despite eating a fair amount of strife due to his Hatred of Formal Court Protocol ), and Sora - who was trying to keep at arm's length from the whole affair and didn't want to deal with this annoyance early in the morning - essentially sent him on his way with a " Yes, yes, that. Tell Abe-san to stand in for the Crane if she's not well enough by midday ."
  • At the same time, Suiren went to talk to Daidoji Unoku - who - predictably - borderline freaked out. The advisor was able to reassure her they were working on it and a suitable substitute would be found, which mollified her a lot, until they dropped the fact it was Seppun Abe. Unoku may not be an especially nice person but she was a pretty good judge of character and had seen the same display of drunkenness from Abe at the dinner that Horonigai had. Unfortunately for her, the decision had already been made by Sora - Suiren was 'just the messenger' - and she lacked the status to protest. After all, she could hardly suggest the Imperial captain wasn't up to the task without both insulting Abe's own prowess and criticising Sora's judgement for assigning him to her.

• The duel was, as previously agreed, held on the white sand square outside the Magistrate's Station. Usagi Norinaga and Seppun Abe faced off in formal robes, in a classic iaijutsu duel to first blood.
  • Uiri acted as marshal of the field - he had invigilated a duel during Winter Court, so had more than enough credentials for the role here.
  • As it happens, a judge's decision was hardly necessary. Usagi Norinaga's main quality as a swordsman - hardly surprising for a Hare clan samurai - was his speed, and the edge of Akodo Kage's sword sliced along the Seppun's forearm before even a quarter of Abe's blade had cleared its sheath.
  • Hatsue, acting as Uiri's assistant, bound up Seppun Abe's wound. It was pretty clear the former Seppun Miharu felt embarrassed by how badly the captain had done, and the handful of witnesses who didn't know Abe very well clearly felt the same.
  • Daidoji Unoku bowed and formally apologised to the Lion and the Hare in sequence, but was clearly fuming. She muttered something nasty-sounding about 'consequences' to the Usagi samurai, who looked very worried, and then withdrew from the square - leaving Hirosaka fairly shortly afterwards as it was clear her backfiring plot had basically pushed the Seven Waves otokodate - who, in the person of Hideki, had also witnessed the duel - into the Lion's waiting arms.

• That was more or less it. The PCs still stood as mediators for the remainder of the talks, but now, with only one party seriously in contention, they weren't really needed. Once the deal was agreed in principle, early in the afternoon, they left and headed back to the townhouse, where Kakita Riku - still watched over by Goriate - was finally able to sit up slightly and had cleaned herself up a little with Suki's help.
  • Later that afternoon, Usagi Norinaga and Kitsune Amane (who'd managed to maintain a more cordial working relationship than their great clan allies through the whole thing) came to the townhouse - hoping to check that Kakita Riku was recovering well. Both had heard the 'food poisoning' story from the court, and showed no sign of knowing anything else (Goriate may have asked some leading questions of Norinaga in a rather intimidating voice, leaving the poor Hare courtier very confused).
  • It turned out Sora had been as furious as expected with his relative's performance, and - needled about it behind the scenes by Otomo Kazuda - had seen Seppun Abe removed from his post as captain and demoted to a common guardsman, assigned to the city gates rather than the Daimyo's court. Which meant Kazuda (in Sora's mansion) probably got what she wanted in terms of not having to deal with him again, but he would be loitering in the city and the PCs may have to encounter him again in the future.
  • Norinaga also privately noted to Goriate (the Crab's Hero of Shiro Usagi advantage getting the Hare to open up more than he probably should have done) that in many ways, there needn't have been a duel in the first place, as clearly there'd been some miscommunication about what the ronin were wanted for.
  • "Apparently Kage-sama wasn't hiring ronin for service in the Osari Plains after all; the Seven Waves mercenaries are all being sent to a marshalling post near Shiro Matsu instead."
  • "Oh?"
  • "Yes, it surprised me too. Shiro Matsu is too far south for a force staged there to deploy to the disputed areas in the Osari Plains, let alone the Kintani Valley near Kyotei and Toshi Ranbo. But Kage's orders from Matsu Tsuko were very specific. Also, there was something else...you remember how Kage was constantly wanting to know what skills each of the various Seven Waves cadres had beyond just swordsmanship?"
  • "Yes, I think."
  • "Well, Lady Matsu has hired a majority of the otokodate anyway - evidently Kage's coin purse was deeper than he was letting on - but I did notice that they've hired every cadre that claims any meaningful experience of siege warfare. Every. Single. One. "
  • "That sounds bad..."