So...that happened...

• The PCs met up back at Seppun Tatsuko's estate, and had a planning session, before meeting Seppun Ishikawa at a guard office inside the Necessary Gate.
• They passed on Koharu's name, and were quickly provided with a potted history and her address in rooms in a fairly respectable district just outside the Ekohikei. They confirmed she was still working at the palace rather than having disappeared, and asked Seppun Ishikawa not to act - since he still wanted to keep things discrete, having her arrested in the palace seemed a bit blatant, as did having a cadre of palace guard storm her rooms. Ishikawa also told them he'd meet them there the following day to escort them to the former Empress' quarters.
• They hit on a rather clever pretext: since they'd been tasked to sort out irritating minor problems for the Imperial Delegation at winter court by Miya Satoshi - and a palace servant tied into the local gossip grapevine could confirm this - they sent a message that they'd been asked to organise a half-dozen heimin servants from the palace to help staff the Imperial Guest House at Kyuden Doji*. This is unusual but not inconceivable, and they asked to have Koharu - plus a group of other sensible suggestions they weren't really interested in - asked to attend Tatsuko's estate that evening one-by-one to be 'interviewed'. The dummy interviews were conducted by Ryu (who was, after all, formerly a confidential servant to the Emerald Champion and for those who vaguely recognised him probably made the plot more convincing), whilst Horonigai sat in the room, not speaking and being all magisterial. Uiri and Goriate positioned themselves in adjacent rooms to intercept any attempt to run.
• After Koharu had been 'interviewed', Horonigai went 'off-script', dismissed Ryu - but not Koharu - and called the servant over to speak to her directly. Koharu was a fairly shy and retiring looking middle-aged woman who projected an air of competent deference. Essentially a stereotype of a good noble family's housemaid - pretty much what you'd expect from a palace servant.
• On being confronted and accused, she dropped to her knees and confessed immediately. She had, she claimed, developed an opium habit despite her professional demeanour and desperately needed the money. She had taken the opportunity to slip into Hantei Noguchi's rooms when the Seppun guard was distracted and grab the netsuke to sell it. The PCs arrested her and locked her in the cells at the estate.
• " Like heck she did that. " Said Uiri's player. " One, sneaking in whilst the guard was 'distracted' sounds like it would be an achievement in and of itself. Sneaking out again would be miraculous, unless she's a middle-aged slightly arthritic cleaner who moonlights part-time as a master shinobi - and if she is I'd like to think the Seppun would have noted that at her job interview. Two; if she needed that much money to feed an opium habit, how did she afford to develop that habit? I can't imagine even palace wages are that generous. Three; if she's stolen more money than a small town would see in a year, why would she go into work the following day? Four; after all that, and knowing we are legally empowered to decapitate her immediately, she...just confesses?"
• They decided to hold Koharu, and - whilst they got ready to attend the palace (good thing they'd had ceremonial robes made up....) Suiren decided to go for an 'evening walk' which -purely by coincidence, you understand - ended up outside Koharu's tenement. By even more curious coincidence, the door was not locked** and he took the opportunity to search the room. Unsurprisingly there was no sign of the netsuke. Equally unsurprisingly there was no indication of Koharu being an opium user, either; no drug paraphernalia and a carefully hidden money box with (for a heimin servant) some respectable savings neatly organised.
• The following morning, bright-eyed and as bushy-tailed as their new outfits could make them, they set off for the Necessary Gate to enter the Palace. They'd been through the gate before - visiting the Crane Guest House and the Ruby Champion's office. But this was the first time they were going into the palace itself: the ten-storey colossus that looked over the entire city....
• Ishikawa escorted them personally to the eighth floor, leading them through back corridors to the late Empress' chambers, along a lacquered corridor whose walls were decorated with beautiful murals. He let them in the door of the apartment - not a Shoju screen but a solid door, set in a solid wall, into a combination reception room and guard post where two Seppun bushi were waiting. He made it clear they were free to investigate the rooms beyond. If they needed anyone or anything, one of the guards would go arrange things whilst the other stayed. If they needed to go elsewhere for what would have to be a very good reason, the guard would fetch him . They did not leave Hantei Noguchi's rooms except with him.
• With that, he left.

* Yes, the Crane will hear this rumour. Yes, Kakita Ryoku will probably take umbrage at the suggestion the Crane's staff need 'help' coping with winter court. That's not today's problem, though.

** "I often find doors curiously unlocked. One of the mysteries of life." "How long were you stood outside this door that was unlocked?" "A few minutes. I had to put away some tools I had accidentally dropped as I walked past, that by complete coincidence fell into the keyhole. " - Suiren and Goriate.

3 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

** "I often find doors curiously unlocked. One of the mysteries of life." "How long were you stood outside this door that was unlocked?" "A few minutes. I had to put away some tools I had accidentally dropped as I walked past, that by complete coincidence fell into the keyhole. " - Suiren and Goriate.

I guess that's why he is famously lucky?

• The other rooms consisted of a grander reception room, a stone garden on an outside balcony, a storeroom (much less grand that the other rooms!), a shrine to Hotei, fortune of Contentment, and the Empress' personal rooms - bedroom, wardrobe room, and bathing room.
• A moment's though revealed two things; one - there was no way into the inner rooms - even the reception hall - without passing the Seppun sentry, and since the entrance hall had been designed as a defensive-choke-point-slash-guardpost, there was no realistic way to 'sneak past'. Even some putative shinobi somehow making it onto the eighth story balcony and trying to slip in via the stone garden still had to pass through the Seppun's field of view. On the other hand, the guard would need to see round two corners or through a solid wall to see into the wardrobe room, so once in and out the act of stealing the comparatively small netsuke wouldn't be that hard: any bundle of cloth, box or pouch someone invented a pretext to carry through the palace corridors could easily conceal it. However, they were able to confirm Koharu hadn't cleaned these rooms in some time - she'd been promoted and was one of the servants who cleaned the occupied rooms on this floor - i.e. Hantei Hochiahime and her sons.
• " Secret Passage?" "Secret Passage." Horonigai to Goriate.
• The players spent some time searching with no luck, despite a flash of insight from the siege warfare-minded Goriate (How does the water get to the bathing room? Turns out the Seppun thought of that too, and the water is fed by a channel too narrow for even a child to pass, there are stone grates a few metres down the inflow and outflow, and a Seppun guard is stationed where they can watch at the access point. The low-ranking Seppun guards on the door knew no more details but enough to discount it - they were mildly impressed he'd thought of it unprompted, though)
• Goriate's main discovery was that in addition to the netsuke there were a few other items of jewelry on the late empress' dresser. The first one to come to his eye was a hairpin made of solid carved jade bound in coiled silver, and that looked like the least expensive item on the shelf. If Koharu really had been after money, there was no logical reason not to have taken them.
• Eventually, Uiri decided to take a different approach, asking one of the guards to go and fetch a list of servant who had been cleaning the rooms over the last few days.
• Horonigai asked the guard to convey at the same time that she planned to use Commune with the Spirits whilst searching the shrine. On the off-chance this tripped some sort of 'magical alarm' she wanted to make sure she'd told someone first.
• She stepped into the shrine and started performing her ritual. As she did so, she was elated to suddenly notice a door on the left wall of the shrine. It was a fairly simple shoji door - it didn't clash outrageously with the wall but she was certain it hadn't been there a few moments before...
• She stepped over to it and slid it open, feeling an odd sensation as she did so, revealing a rather elegant corridor tiled in the same marble as the shrine. She asked Goriate to come and look.
• She followed the corridor to where it branched - in front was an imposing looking heavy door, which was clearly locked and which appeared to have been so for a long time. It wasn't armoured per se, but there were a few discrete wards on the frame that she reckoned meant that if Goriate had been allowed to carry his tetsubo he could have pummeled the door all day without making much of an impact.
• Down the side branch, which she reckoned would run back toward the corridor, she encountered another shoji screen door. She slid it open, and was confronted with a sight few people get to see: the captain of the Seppun Palace Guard in a state of genuine, utter shock.
• Seppun Ishikawa had just passed the concealed door, heading to the apartment entrance to observe Horonigai's ritual, when he heard Horonigai opened the screen door behind him. He span on his heel, jaw dropped, in a movement that couldn't decide between jumping out of his skin with shock, falling to his knees and bowing and unsheathing his sword to decapitate an intruder. After a moment, his imperial samurai's reserve dropped over his expression and he glared at Horonigai with an odd, intense expression as she responded by going " eeep !", bowing deeply indeed, and sliding the door closed again.
• By the time she made it back to the shrine, Ishikawa was waiting, having come the long way around and stormed strait past the Seppun guards and Uiri.
• " I...um....think we may be able to prove Seppun Hatsue-sama's innocence? " Horonigai managed.

• Rather to their surprise and disappointment, Ishikawa-same didn't appear impressed.
• He told them 'it was not possible for Koharu to have opened the passage to bypass the guard post ', and therefore its existence did not exonerate Seppun Hatsue. He also ordered them to seal the passage on leaving it, and to mention its existence to no-one at all .
• He said he needed to speak to ' Seppun Toshiaka of the Hidden Guard ', excused himself, and left. Rather swiftly.
• Horonigai was at this point expecting to be dragged off by the 'magical secret police' for breaking their hidden door, so was understandably nervous.
• Goriate pointed out that whilst they had been told to leave, they hadn't been told to leave immediately . Ishikawa, he suggested, was the kind of person that said exactly what he meant (and Horonigai passed a sentiment check to correctly judge Ishikawa wanted to help but his duty meant he was forced into 'I can neither confirm nor deny' mode).
• So they might as well search the corridor before sealing it up again. They found a loose thread of extremely expensive green silk which had been snagged on the fretwork of the corner.
• After closing up the door, Horonigai could still see it, but Goriate couldn't, even knowing it was there. The PCs decided to - as an experiment - ask the two Seppun guards, one at a time, to step into the shrine and 'help' with some questions. Both showed complete obliviousness to the secret door, so Hatsue probably didn't know about it either - she must have been pretty junior in the palace guard or she wouldn't have been guarding abandoned rooms.
• The PCs pretty much fell to theorizing at this point, and - realising they didn't need to be in the palace for that, asked to be shown out to the gardens.
• As they left, they passed Seppun Ishikawa showing a senior-looking Seppun Shujenga into the rooms. The Shujenga introduced himself as Toshiaki, bowed very respectfully, and went into the Shrine to Hotei. The PCs saw him leaving the former Empress' rooms very shortly after (they'd only gotten to the end of the main corridor) so he was only in there for a minute or so: too short a time to have 'cast' or 'repaired' a ward...

Meanwhile.......

....Shosuro Suiren, back at the estate, decided to question Koharu again.

• He decided to do his usual trick of impersonating a servant, bringing the not-exactly-a-prisoner food. Since the other samurai had gone for the traditional samurai-heimin interrogation tactic of "imposing cop/terrifying cop", he figured someone ought to try being polite.
• Koharu changed her story not one whit (despite being fully aware the story meant her death and everyone else knowing significant bits of it were lies), but he was able to snag a few extra details.
• First; without specifically asking about the robbery, that her duties at the palace largely revolved around cleaning the princes' rooms - also Hantei Daisetsu's but primarily Hantei Sotorii's as, as Crown Prince, his rooms were more extensive (and, reading between the lines, he made less effort not to make a mess in them).
• Second, he realised no-one had actually asked where the Netsuke was now . It wasn't in her rooms (though he didn't say he knew this) - so where had she stashed it? The answer turned out to be under a stone in the palace gardens - Koharu hadn't trusted Tamanegi not to ransack her rooms after meeting her.
• Feeling slightly smug, Suiren set out for the palace. He was of sufficient status to get into the Scorpion Clan Guest House, which meant he could get into the outer palace gardens without needing an invite.
• As it happens, making his way along the paths through the elegantly shaped grounds, there was a bit of a surprise. A gentle wet splat came from underfoot as he trod on a berry that hadn't been there a second ago. A second later, another half-chewed berry hit the sleeve of his kimono leaving an ugly stain (that fortunately Ryu was later able to get out). This time he saw his 'attacker'....a crow, sat in the thickly leaved branches of a nearby tree. It spat one more berry at him, rattled throatily, and hopped sideways behind the leaves.
• This left him slightly perplexed. As he was trying to process this, he saw Horonigai, Goriate and Uiri heading down the path toward him the other way.
• "I...think I want to look at this." He said, and asked the others to wait. Taking a trivial honour hit for inappropriate behaviour I the palace, he slipped behind the tree, and - making sure no witnesses could see him, slipped on a pair of tekagi and swarmed up the trunk (putting rather more dirt on the kimono!).
• He was slightly startled by the crow, who started from behind the leaves and flew off. Stuffed rather carefully in the fork of two branches was a small silk bundle. Bringing it to the ground and showing it to the others, it turned out to contain the netsuke. The others were duly impressed.
• Suiren was confused and led them to where it should have been hidden - under an artfully arranged 'mountain stone' in a nearby garden. A stone which wasn't huge but which was clearly far too heavy for a crow to lift.
• As they looked at the stone and tried to wrap their brains around the concept, they were interrupted by a young female courtier (who was very attractive despite a slightly prominent nose), who walked up and bowed to the four of them, before fixing Suiren with a quizzical look.
• "I don't believe I know you." She said, in a surprisingly familiar voice. Suiren agreed, puzzled. " You see, the thing about being old is that everyone reminds you of someone else. You don't remind me of anyone. That's good, I suppose, if you're the fifth ." And with that excessively cryptic announcement, she bowed again, and walked off - no sooner turning out of view behind an ornamental tree than there was a flutter of feathers and she was gone.
• After that, there was a long session of theory-bashing in the gardens:
• The magistrates explained who and what Airi the Tengu was and where they'd met her before. No, they didn't know what she was on about this time either!
• Goriate figured out the purpose of the secret door - if it was a connecting passage between the Emperor and (then) Empress' rooms to allow discrete visits, the security and it's current abandoned state made sense, as did the fact the Seppun knew it was there but didn't guard it.
• Horonigai's player made the very good point that if you look at the traditions associated with the netsuke, it was essentially the imperial equivalent of an occidental engagement ring. Who wants to steal a family engagement ring other than for money? Which - whilst it was legally meaningless without testimony, tied in nicely with the loose green thread.
• They realised they needed a better insight into the Imperial family itself. Talking to Seppun Ishikawa was out as he'd probably be obliged to be awkward, and telling anyone else why they were asking was also out. So they needed someone well informed and helpful, who knew the Imperial family well, whom they had a pretext to talk to about something else.
• A quick chat to some mid-ranking Miya contacts later, and for the second time the PCs were taking tea with Doji Shizue, the Imperial Storyteller.
• Officially, they were there to provide draft notes on the raid on Shiro Hiruma in advance of winter court but took the opportunity to ask a few discrete questions about winter court and the imperial family at the same time.
• They like Shizue, but they are aware she's a crane and hence telling her anything is presumably telling the crane so they avoided adding context to the questions.
• First, Goriate did well at a composition check to flesh out Kuni Yori's 'official' version of events to include enough gripping detail without contradicting anything. Battlefield Experience helped - all story elements were true, they may just not have happened where and when he said they did.....
• Uiri and Suiren asked questions during this. They established the following:
• Sotorii is....Sotorii. The somewhat remote impression they'd got of him from his injuring Sumiko during a sparring match seemed pretty accurate- though Shizue was far too courteous to actually say anything that could be a criticism if repeated out of context. Also, whilst it was unlikely to be publicly announced, at Winter Court the backroom agreements and private introductions were supposed to be taking place between Hantei Sotorii and Doji Chiyoe, who the crane were pushing as the next empress.
• The PCs thanked her and left. They were pretty sure they knew what had happened and why - Sotorii ordered Koharu to take the netsuke, letting her in through the hidden corridor (and leaving a loose thread in the process). When it became apparent that people did notice and did care, he ordered her to take the fall and sell it.
• Koharu was (1) loyal, (2) had family in a nearby village and (3) it hardly mattered if her testimony contradicted the crown prince's anyway, so she wasn't going to shift on her story.
• Even if they did find testimony, it would hardly matter because they couldn't accuse a Hantei Prince.
• They kept coming back to the fact that they couldn't prove Seppun Hatsue wasn't negligent using evidence they were allowed to acknowledge existed.
• Then Uiri had a bit of a brainwave.
• The PCs had found the netsuke. So no missing treasure.
• If Hatsue was 'officially' negligent, no security flaw other than her, so once she's removed there is no problem with Seppun security (and Ishikawa isn't worried about the passage if he privately knows the breach happened because Sotorii opened the door for Koharu).
• So Hatsue needed to be guilty. The problem was not of exonerating her but of finding a reason that guilt =/= dead.
• Ishikawa had refused her offer of seppuku initially but based on what he was 'allowed' to admit he knew, would have to accept it post-investigation if (when!) she made the offer again. Unless he was overruled.
• The problem was, not many people can overrule the captain of the Palace guard without needing to offer a reason. In fact, there were three. One knew nothing of the whole affair, so the rule of 'keep it discrete' made them off-limits. One probably didn't care and would actually benefit from Hatsue's blame-accepting seppuku, so was unlikely to help.
• That left......
• " Oh, bugger ." (Goriate's player)
• ....all social rank and rules aside, it left a father who deep down knew his son was a nasty piece of work.

• So, after a bit more discrete research with the same Miya friends they'd been speaking to a few days before, they reported their findings to Seppun Ishikawa at the Necessary Gate.
• Koharu the chambermaid was the thief, but the netsuke had been recovered from where she had hidden it whilst escaping Hantei Noguchi's rooms. She was handed over - inevitably to be put to death.
• Seppun Hatsue had been unforgivably negligent and should be punished.
• However, they said, it was possible someone might just intercede, perhaps to order leniency or perhaps to order an even harsher punishment, so he should not go to speak to Seppun Hatsue yet.
• Instead, they recommended that Ishikawa's priority should be to return the netsuke to the Son of Heaven, as Ishikawa could now report the crime and announce it solved at the same time.
• With that, they handed him the silk bundle containing the netsuke.....and the loose thread of green silk wound round the cord.
• With that, they bowed and went to excuse themselves.....except... apologies, Ishikawa-sama. This is almost demeaning. But when we asked servants to attend Seppun Tatsuko's estate yesterday, we took them away from their duties. We gather one of them was due to collect this kimono from a seamstress in the Miya palace. A loose thread in the sleeve was being repaired for His Highness, Crown Prince Sotorii. Apologies for such a trivial request, but could you arrange to return it to his rooms after your meeting with the Emperor?

• It was another day or so before they heard, second-hand, what happened. Apparently the Son of Heaven had been so outraged at the news of the theft that he had immediately ordered the expulsion of the offending guard from the Imperial Household as a family-less ronin, before Seppun Ishikawa could even say she had offered her seppuku, rendering her offer irrelevant since the Emperor's orders took precedence and as Ishikawa was no longer her Lord she had no business to accept.
• On a completely unrelated note, skilled and honest ronin are valued by imperial officials as aides since they are impartial in disputes between clans. As a result, due to the support of an anonymous benefactor's recommendation, the ronin Hatsue secured a rather enviable position almost immediately as chief yoriki to Seppun Ishima, magistrate of the town of Hirosaka......

The PCs did pretty well. There were no huge glory or honour shifts to be had, but they did all pick up the Ally (Seppun Ishikawa) advantage, something that could prove very useful in the future.....especially with Winter Court looming on the horizon!

1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

apologies, Ishikawa-sama. This is almost demeaning. But when we asked servants to attend Seppun Tatsuko's estate yesterday, we took them away from their duties. We gather one of them was due to collect this kimono from a seamstress in the Miya palace. A loose thread in the sleeve was being repaired for His Highness, Crown Prince Sotorii. Apologies for such a trivial request, but could you arrange to return it to his rooms after your meeting with the Emperor?

Ohhh, that is BEAUTIFUL. I always struggle with these veiled phrasings, as do my players. Nicely done, whoever came up with that.

Honestly, that was amazingly well-handled by your players. Sucks to be Koharu...
Actually, is that a thing you tackle at all in your game and group? She's heimin and therefore she just gets thrown under the bus and everyone is just okay with that?

One of the players of my group has Ebisu’s blessing, so he is usually more worried about the plight of the commoners than the average samurai, but mostly, the characters treat them as furniture.

4 hours ago, Myrion said:

Honestly, that was amazingly well-handled by your players. Sucks to be Koharu...
Actually, is that a thing you tackle at all in your game and group? She's heimin and therefore she just gets thrown under the bus and everyone is just okay with that?

Okay with it....no. As a rule, my players don't like heimin getting dealt a cruddy hand.

But the unfortunate fact is that once a serious crime is officially recorded, someone has to end up paying for it. It's much like Seiki - he really shouldn't have been thrown into the ring for Tomoharu to turn him into hare sashimi, but it was that or have the scorpion burn Shiro Usagi down to the bedrock....

But unlike Hatsue, who was literally just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Koharu was at least aware of what she was doing and was lying to imperial magistrates, even if she felt she had no choice. They did genuinely think if there was any way to help her but they drew a blank; even if they'd 'mislaid' their prisoner she'd have to be hunted down, and as a middle-aged heimin with little money, early-onset arthritis and an easily found family it's not like she could realistically disappear.

Oh yeah, in-universe I completely agree. I was just wondering because there are groups who just won't care or get into the in-universe mindset strongly and there are also groups and GMs who'll try and deal with it in some manner. The Shadow of the Cabal guys f.ex. didn't hide their disdain for Rokugani customs, f.ex. and called their characters bad guys for it (which always felt utterly hamfisted to me, but hey).

Thanks for the answer!

14 minutes ago, Myrion said:

The Shadow of the Cabal guys f.ex. didn't hide their disdain for Rokugani customs, f.ex. and called their characters bad guys for it (which always felt utterly hamfisted to me, but hey).

Thanks for the answer!

I think ours is a group with a bit of cognitive dissonance - I try to make it clear when quotes are I or out of character, but I don't think they feel their characters are bad guys, just that sometimes - a lot of the time- there is no good option, just a least worst one.

They do take bushido seriously for their characters, but simultaneously they're aware (at least out of character) that it's a good theory that causes a lot of problems when it comes into contact with reality and real people.

"How do I un-feth this situation without actively breaking one of the rules?" is probably the most common thought process.

Obviously in-character, the fact that gods, spirits and ghosts are actually, probably real adds a fundamental difference to real-world ethical arguments. The celestial order isn't just a bunch of customs: supernatural beings you can realistically meet demand that that's how the world should work.

Don't you mean, ought to work? 😂

13 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• It was another day or so before they heard, second-hand, what happened. Apparently the Son of Heaven had been so outraged at the news of the theft that he had immediately ordered the expulsion of the offending guard from the Imperial Household as a family-less ronin, before Seppun Ishikawa could even say she had offered her seppuku, rendering her offer irrelevant since the Emperor's orders took precedence and as Ishikawa was no longer her Lord she had no business to accept.
• On a completely unrelated note, skilled and honest ronin are valued by imperial officials as aides since they are impartial in disputes between clans. As a result, due to the support of an anonymous benefactor's recommendation, the ronin Hatsue secured a rather enviable position almost immediately as chief yoriki to Seppun Ishima, magistrate of the town of Hirosaka......

Nice touch! Yes, disappointing they could not save everyone, but their skill at subtle manipulation is worthy of an Otomo's envy.

I'm thinking the best way to use Sins of Regret and Path of Waves is to move the campaign setting to Hirosaka in a while. It works however Winter Court turns out - either they're rewarded with a 'development opportunity' (they're learning to hate that phrase) to be magistrates assigned a formal posting in a small Imperial-held town, or it's a convenient place to stash them whilst people's temper cools off (or both!). Plus it's close enough to twin blessings to drip feed that stuff.

Having Hatsue there gives them at least one friendly face to get them started...

Don't forget to find an opportunity to have them visit Kawacho and enjoy the fun in nominally Scorpion lands. Considering their.....distaste for the clan of secrets, just the build up to the recently released 2019 GenCon adventure should be immensely entertaining. And Goriate having a wrestling match with "Lord Kenta" should be a hoot.

Well, the other point is that the nominal location for the adventure is the shinomen boundary, which - if you pair it with Sins of Regret - puts Hirosaka and Twin Blessings on the shinomen border too.

Having them get a posting to a ronin-friendly town in the southwest seems like a nice 'in' because sooner rather than later there's one particular ronin around there they're going to want to find...

I would be interested to see how Sins of Regret would work with non-ronin PCs - I would imagine they would have easier access to the castle and Lord, for example.

Imperial Winter Court At Kyuden Doji

The political and cultural fulcrum of the entire Rokugani empire. Fortunes and reputations are made and broken here and a discrete whisper or careless choice can make or break a clan's destiny for years to come.

And if there's anywhere the PCs wanted to be less , it's hard to think of. Staked to the walls of the Great Festering Pit and covered in /barbeque seasoning, maybe, but it's a close-run thing...

• The PCs arrived early, with Ryu and Kakita Riku in tow, following an 'advance party' - Satoshi, as Master of Ceremonies, along with a bunch of junior attendants, including a trio of very familiar Emerald Magistrates, looking to make sure everything was prepared, especially at the Imperial Guest-House, before the main flood of dozens of guests that night and the welcome ceremony.
• The PCs were shown to their respective clan guest-houses. This was an unusual experience for them and they weren't totally happy being split up. On the plus side, with the Imperials and the Emperor's Chosen accomodated at the Imperial Guest-House, and the Crane arriving early (like Riku) staying in the castle itself, they essentially had their guest-houses to themselves for the day.
• There was an initial argument debate, since they were all accomodated seperately, over who would retain Ryu's services. This was - for once - resolved by the heimin servant himself. He would, he said, be at the disposal of any of his masters who asked for his time, but unless they ordered him otherwise, he would be staying with none of them. He was, he reminded them, crane-born and a former private servant to the clan champion, and still had a small private room in the servants' quarters in the keep which he planned on using rather than a guest-house servant's dormitory. Furthermore, he would be busy for the rest of the day - again unless they wished him to do anything else instead - finishing up cleaning some mysterious berry juice and bark stains out of Suiren's court finery. The scorpion had the decency to look a bit sheepish.
• After he left, the PCs settled in. Horonigai and Uiri quickly noticed the servants were being a bit awkward and standoffish; answering questions but not volunteering information, storing their gear awkwardly and putting them in the least comfortable rooms their status would permit. Eventually they realised that rumours that they'd "tried to bring in a load of outside servants to ' help the Crane cope' with Winter Court " had made it to Kyuden Doji ahead of them. That wasn't strictly true, but it was the cover story they'd used and it would make any interaction with the local serv/ants harder until they got past it.
• Shortly after, an attendant in Miya colours turned up and asked the Magistrates to join Miya Satoshi-dono at the Imperial Guest House. Apparently the developmen opportunities were starting early...

• The PCs were nodded through by Seppun Ishikawa himself, the Captain evidently having arrived during the day. Around them, small groups of Seppun guards were stationing themselves at the walls and gates of the Imperial Guest-House. The PCs were happy to see a broadly friendly face, but Horonigai in particular was craning her neck to watch out for Seppun Toshiaki of the Hidden Guard, who she's convinced has it in for her for 'breaking the ward' on the secret passage in the Empress' quarters.
• Satoshi met them in the Imperial Guest-House Gardens, and told them their first task for him; the welcome and gift-giving ceremony.
• By now, they knew the Mantis were attending as a full delegation in their own right, and Satoshi knew they knew, so rather than beat around the bush, he instructed them to figure out how to include the Mantis in the traditional gift-giving ceremony. He wanted " No repeat of the 'incident' you witnessed at Tsuma, especially with a Clan Champion and the Son of Heaven himself present ."
• He gave them omamori marked with Imperial emblems as a limited seal of authority, and said he'd give them more or less a free hand; he wanted them to come up with the new protocol, agree it with him, and smooth over any ruffled feathers amongst the delegates.
• Goriate passed a check to realise that this wasn't a one-off, Imperial protocol being what it was, once it was agreed the odds were it wouldn't change so they were in essence being asked to write a new court procedure that would remain precedent indefinitely. So....no pressure?

• They debated a few ideas, after getting the story of the first Celestial Tournament and the traditional reasoning. In the end, they decided to go with creating a new 'minor clans' slot (how precedence within that would be determined was 'Not Our Problem!' as the Mantis were the first and only minor clan delegation) after the last traditional slot (The Lion Clan), but in order to avoid stealing the last-to-go limelight from the Lion (who, it's fair to note, are occasionally touchy about perceived slights), that there would be a break, featuring a performance of some kind. They eventually hit on the idea of a historical story from the early days of the Empire; essentially drawing a line between 'new' and 'old' clans, and handing the Imperial Storyteller a formal role in the ceremony.
• It would require Satoshi's sign-off, but it worked in theory. It would also need Shizue's help, and - once they arrived - the head Lion delegate, Ikoma Anakazu and the head Manti delegate, Yoritomo, would need molifying - the former convincing to see it as almost 'two seperate ceremonies' and the latter exactly the reverse, preferably in a way that wouldn't fall over like a house of cards if the two compared notes during the following fortnight.

• Horonigai spoke to Satoshi - Passing her check, he seemed happy with the suggestion, on the understanding the PCs would deal with the consequences. Getting a one-on-one meeting with the Miya daimyo, Kaito Horonigai was left with a distinct impression of how heartless Satoshi could be if he felt someone moved from 'resource' to 'obstacle' or 'irritation'.
• Uiri, on the other hand, succesfully screwed up his courtesy check to talk to Doji Shizue. Bluntness adversity + Hatred of Formal Protocol anxiety is going to be great fun to watch, I feel, and he ended up with not a single success. Shizue was not happy at having something like this dropped on her at short notice - but she was professional about it, and would do her job; the PCs would just have to deal with the Imperial Storyteller nursing a slight grudge. They're already trying to figure out how to make it up to her, in fairness.
  • One thing he did manage to do that might come in useful is make a new friend who was in Shizue's rooms at the time - Doji Chiyoe, the Crane Clan's intended prospect for the prince and presumably the next empress.
• Goriate took on the job of talking to the Ikoma once Anakazu arrived. It went better than expected; Goriate managing to get the Lion to focus on the 'break' in the ceremony rather than the fact the Lion clan was losing the prestigious last spot.
• Which just left Shosuro Suiren - whom the PCs had sold Satoshi on using as a fourth aide on their recommendation - to talk to Yoritomo. Suiren was the best diplomat of the four, so that'd be okay, wouldn't it?

• No. No it would not.
• Suiren flubbed his courtesy check just as badly as Uiri had. On the plus side, he got to make the acquaintance of Susano-O no Izen, who seemed a useful man to know.
• Surprisingly, Yoritomo didn't kick off; essentially following the Lando Calrissian approach of " I don't like it, I don't agree with it - but I'll accept it " - however he had a condition. He wanted the PCs to do their best (he knew they couldn't garuantee it but they had clearly Satoshi's ear) to arrange him and...say two people from his delegation?, Izen, his captain, and Magami, his niece?...a private audience with the Emperor and the Princes. No, no, he didn't mean private like that. Yoritomo accepted there was no way he'd be allowed to bring people into the Imperial presence without the usual phalanx of seppun on hand. But he didn't want the other great clans sneering down their noses at him, and it sounded like the ceremony was going to be just that.
• He was, in fairness, a Clan Champion, whilst the other delegation heads were 'just' daimyo, so it wasn't that unreasonable, was it?
• The PCs - knowing it wasn't ultimately their say but not losing anything by trying - agreed.
• Satoshi - surprisingly - accepted.

• With that, everyone rushed off to change. High-status samurai were pouring into Kyuden Doji by the dozen, and it was time to get ready for the welcoming ceremony itself...

The opening of Winter Court was held in the main hall of the Greeting House, packed out with nearly a hundred nobles from every great clan.

• In the centre, on a five-step dais, sat the Emperor himself, accompanied by the two princes.
• On the step below were the Emperor's Chosen and the Jeweled Champions - Emerald, Ruby, and - in the highlight of holding the role - Topaz. Bayushi Mei Lin stood as a (temporary) peer to Akodo Toturi, Kakita Yoshi, Agasha Sumiko, and the other high officials of the Empire.
• The PCs had a chance to meet their respective delegations - most importantly in Horonigai's case the equally young Kaito Kosori, the newest Clan Family Daimyo, representing the newest Clan Family.
• Togashi Ume - rather than the Kitsuki nominally leading the Dragon delegation - kicked matters off, presenting a rare and beautiful copy of the Tao of Shinsei.
• The ceremony proceeded as normal, with Hiruma Yoshino representing the Crab, Ide Tadajii the Unicorn, and Bayshi Dairu the Scorpion.
• Then Horonigai was discretely tapped in the foot by Kosori as the Kaito daimyo removed the silk wrappings from a beautiful hunting bow. She remembered Haji telling her that the family's new daimyo couldn't speak above a whisper, so she'd have to speak for her at public events.
• Like this one.
• " Squeeble!" - Horonigai's player.

• Kaito Kosori started walking across the long empty stretch of floor toward the Imperial dais to present the Phoenix clan gift. Trying very hard not to freak out, and mentally reviewing the list of invocations she knew to see if "having the ground open up and swallow her" was actually a realistic option, Horonigai followed, prostrating lower than she'd done in her life to date.
• She used a void point on her performance check, and managed to get through the ceremony without screwing up.
• Safely back in the anonymity of the crowd, she watched Doji Kuwanan present gifts from the Crane hosts and finally Ikoma Anakazu offer tribute from the Lion - a selection of finely crafted swords taken as trophies in honourable battle by the Lion. Goriate, with his passion for Armament, identified nearly half of them as Mantis-made weapons. Apparently the Ikoma were still taking the opportunity to poke the Mantis a bit.
• After this came the planned interlude. Doji Shizue regaled the court with the tale of the First Empress, Hantei Mioko - the 'original' version, so that the audience to The Tale Of The Fisherman's Daughter can compare and appreciate the re-imagining.
• Finally Yoritomo presented the Mantis Clan gift - carved ivory sets of go and shogi.
• Ceremony over, the Imperial party withdrew, and the floor of the hall exploded in a blizzard of invitations.
• Uiri noticed a Seppun flunky bowing deeply to Yoritomo and the Mantis champion and his retinue depart in the direction of the Imperial Guest-House, before he was collared himself by a representative of the Chancellor, Kakita Yoshi, who wanted the services of one of Satoshi's aides.
• Goriate, meanwhile, was met by Kakita Riku, who told him he had an invitation of his own - or rather they did: Kakita Ryoku had asked to meet him informally before the hubbub of court proper began - time, Horonigai's player noted, to meet the future in-laws...
• Horonigai was slightly amused by this turn of events when hearing Seppun Toshiaki's name snapped her back into the room. But it turned out the invitation was for Kosori, her Daimyo, not her. Still convinced the Seppun Hidden Guard have it in for her, she decided to find somewhere private to freak out when an attendant came over to offer her an invitation to take tea at the Scorpion Clan Guest House.
• Obviously the NEVER TRUST THE SCORPION CLAN EVER reflex swung into action here (Shosuro Suiren hasn't, to be honest, done much to dispel it!).
• " Thank you. From whom?"
• "Bayushi Kachiko-sama, the Imperial Advisor, Magistrate-sama."
• "Squeeble."

2 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• Then Horonigai was discretely tapped in the foot by Kosori as the Kaito daimyo removed the silk wrappings from a beautiful hunting bow. She remembered Haji telling her that the family's new daimyo couldn't speak above a whisper, so she'd have to speak for her at public events.
• Like this one.
• " Squeeble!" - Horonigai's player.

• Horonigai was slightly amused by this turn of events when hearing Seppun Toshiaki's name snapped her back into the room. But it turned out the invitation was for Kosori, her Daimyo, not her. Still convinced the Seppun Hidden Guard have it in for her, she decided to find somewhere private to freak out when an attendant came over to offer her an invitation to take tea at the Scorpion Clan Guest House.
• Obviously the NEVER TRUST THE SCORPION CLAN EVER reflex swung into action here (Shosuro Suiren hasn't, to be honest, done much to dispel it!).
• " Thank you. From whom?"
• "Bayushi Kachiko-sama, the Imperial Advisor, Magistrate-sama."
• "Squeeble."

Okay, if Horongai is suppose to be the mouth of Kosori, how does it work that the two are separated? How does the Kaito Daimyo not be embarrassed, even if in private?

As per Sword and the spirits, Kosori can whisper. What she can't do anymore is sing, shout, or do public oratory. Horonigai has to be present whenever she's required to do public speaking, not for private meetings or whatever (like a private conference with Seppun Toshiaki). Essentially, she'll be told in advance when required for definite and expected to lurk in the vicinity of the Phoenix guest-house when not if she has no other task in case something comes up at short notice.

The first time, as noted, that was the player's response rather than the character Horonigai 'herself'. The second - I asked if that wasn't in-character again, and the response was "you know, this time I'm not sure..."

" Squeeble!" is a wonderful expression. Out of curiosity, what was the TN of the Performance check? And for the flubbed Courtesy checks?

Horonigai's performance check was only TN 2 - it was, essentially, follow the woman in front, bow a lot and repeat what she said in a clear, non-wavering voice and try not to be intimidated by a rough combined status value somewhere north of seven hundred staring down at them from the dais. She used sieze the moment because she just really, really didn't want to risk screwing up (her Fear of Failure anxiety may have come in in spades).

Shizue's courtesy check was only TN1 - they get on well with her and it is, broadly, her job - but turning up to a professional and saying "plan's changed" at the last minute causes ill-feeling unless phrased right. This....wasn't.

Yoritomo was the higher TN of 3. The PCs have essentially gone with a solution of 'underscore the fact you're not a great clan' which plays straight to the chip sat squarely on the Son of Storms' shoulder, so whilst Izen may like them it's fair to say Yoritomo is not impressed.

He's only been molified with the 'private audience' - Which, feudal obligations to one's Lord aside, as the PCs will figure out shortly, had very little to do with him meeting the Emperor and rather more to putting Hantei Sotorii and his rather attractive niece Lady Magami in the same room without any interfering Crane courtiers present....

...not that them arranging this for the Mantis will subsequently bite the PCs in the backside, you understand.

Not at all.

So, in summary, the party has been split to go meet some of the most important people they will likely have access to, who definitely don't have any grudges or ulterior motives or indeed rivalries between themselves, and who are all deeply enmeshed within the Rokugani political scene. And who most definitely won't prevail upon them to perform mutually exclusive tasks in their capacity as Emerald Magistrates.

Also! They may have possibly already messed up in ways they don't yet understand, and the Seppun Hidden Guard Clearly don't have an interest in the parentage of Horonigai. Not at all.

Things can't possibly go wrong!

On the upside, I get the feeling though that Kakita Ryoku and Goriate might actually get along, somewhat, depending on how terrifyingly hilariously innappropriate Ryoku decides to be. The fact that he has a potentially fascinating tale of delving deep into the shadowlands (depending on how much truth he decides to share) would certainly warm Ryoku up to him personally, with it being something she wouldn't be likely to hear from any other source.

Pretty much!

Plus, three of them - Yoshi, Kachiko and Yoritomo - collectively control the three biggest pots of gold on offer to contribute to those hundred thousand koku the Crab, Phoenix and Dragon delegations are supposed to raise...

48 minutes ago, Hydraxus said:

the Seppun Hidden Guard Clearly don't have an interest in the parentage of Horonigai.

Walking casually through a bloodline ward in the Imperial apartments, and being able to invite someone else through as well will do that.

But, for one fun thought, possibly not just them. Ryoku sent for Hida Goriate specifically because it's about him and Riku, whilst Kakita Yoshi's messenger just grabbed the first of them he could find.

Bayushi Kachiko, however, asked for Horonigai specifically, by name (hence " squeeble ").

46 minutes ago, Hydraxus said:

On the upside, I get the feeling though that Kakita Ryoku and Goriate might actually get along, somewhat, depending on how terrifyingly hilariously innappropriate Ryoku decides to be.

Well, it's got to be more promising than 'first contact' being the stuck-up snob's stuck-up snob, Kakita Yoshi...

12 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

He's only been molified with the 'private audience' - Which, feudal obligations to one's Lord aside, as the PCs will figure out shortly, had very little to do with him meeting the Emperor and rather more to putting Hantei Sotorii and his rather attractive niece Lady Magami in the same room without any interfering Crane courtiers present....

...not that them arranging this for the Mantis will subsequently bite the PCs in the backside, you understand.

Not at all.

The more I read and think about Magami of House Gusai, the more I feel.....disappointment? Sympathy? Sorrow?

I do not wish Sotorii on her; it would be a miserable life only the fact that she is deeply loyal to her family and her uncle in particular would justify her being hitched to that SOB.

Oh, and if you have not watched the movie "Crazy Rich Asians", I have a sneaking suspicion that the Cranes will behave as obnoxiously as the Singaporean elites in that movie, particularly the catty women. I am kind of rooting for Megami to be somewhat akin to Constance Wu's character Rachel. I hope your magistrates could be to her what her Astrid and Goh Peik Lin's family were.