[x] Be Calm, Be Professional.
-[x] Allow them to speak first. You are approaching their lands, after all. You respond to their challenge, rather than vice versa.
[x] Be Calm, Be Professional.
-[x] Allow them to speak first. You are approaching their lands, after all. You respond to their challenge, rather than vice versa.
[x] Be Calm, Be Professional.
-[x] Allow them to speak first. You are approaching their lands, after all. You respond to their challenge, rather than vice versa.
[x] Be Calm, Be Professional.
-[x] Allow them to speak first. You are approaching their lands, after all. You respond to their challenge, rather than vice versa.
[x] Be Calm, Be Professional.
-[x] Allow them to speak first. You are approaching their lands, after all. You respond to their challenge, rather than vice versa.
As the incoming Lion samurai move closer, you kick your mount into motion and advance to the head of the column. Bayushi Kimoko is the delegation head and Yogo Hanzo a valued spiritual representative, thus by all customs and proprietary the duty of interacting with foot-soldiers falls to you. You consider your options for a moment and then opt for a calm and professional approach - the Matsu are never going to like you, but they will at least accept you as a fellow samurai so long as you give them cause to.
The Lion are dressed in full armour and bearing an assortment of meticulously maintained equipment. Given that you yourself are clad only in your kimono (for wearing armour would be to declare yourself a hostile agent) and carrying your daisho, you cannot help but feel slightly intimidated. That is presumably their intent, though, since everything from their brazen gold-hued armour to the rapid pace with which they approach seems designed to overawe and browbeat new arrivals. On every free surface the Mon of the Matsu family is proudly displayed - the katana in a lion's paw.
"Halt, Scorpion." The leader of the patrol unit, his face hidden behind an ornate helmet, barks at you once you come within range. "Identify yourself and present travel papers."
With calm and deliberate movements, you dismount your pony and retrieve the small packet from within your bags. Travel across the border between two clans is often a risky business - if the Lion believe you are here without authorization, they would be well within their rights to kill everyone and confiscate all of your supplies. Fortunately, as far as you know your travel orders are perfectly legitimate.
"Of course, Matsu-sama." You say calmly, for you will conform to the proper etiquette even if they will not (though given the military context the Lion are not technically offering insult by being so brusque). "We are the Scorpion delegation to the Winter Court at Shiro Matsu, in accordance with the invitations your lord issued us."
You present the relevant paperwork, and the Matsu takes it and reads it over with obvious care - again, close but not actually an insult, since their duty to their lord takes precedence over taking you at your word. "I see. We were warned to expect you. What are your names, Scorpion-sama?"
"I am Soshi Naoto. My companion is Yugo Hanzo, and our commander and ambassador is Bayushi Kimoko." You introduce yourself, even though you know your names are written down on the travel papers. You cannot help but note that the Lion seem entirely disinterested in your Heimin contingent - perhaps Kimoko was correct about their deliberate ignorance. A useful fact to remember.
"Bayushi Kimoko?" The commander questions, looking over at your commander and, wonder of wonders, actually developing something resembling respect and a bit of surprise in his tone. "Kimoko One-Eye?"
"So some have called me." Your superior says with a kind of languid calm, having neglected to dismount. "I'm pleased to see your bards remember me. Now, can we move along, or is there a problem?"
For a moment you feel slightly insulted, for the Lion is effectively ignoring you and going straight to your commander, which could easily be taken as a personal slight. The feeling is mitigated, though, when you consider the sobriquet he used. Kimoko One-Eye... that sounds like the sort of name a Lion would give a respected enemy or proven ally. Given that the most famous person to be referred to in such terms is Akodo One-Eye, it speaks a great deal about the respect they must hold for her. Indeed, the Lion contingent rapidly return your travel papers and stand aside without even suggesting a search of your cargo, which as far as you know is all but unheard of.
"No problem, Bayushi-sama. Please make your way to the castle directly along this road." The commander says with much more respect in his tone. "Welcome to Shiro Matsu."
With that, the Lion turn and march off again, while you pull yourself back into the saddle and rejoin the column.
"One of the most important lessons you can learn here, Soshi-san." Bayushi Kimoko comments idly. "Cultivate a reputation. There are far too many samurai for everyone to know you personally, no matter how long you live or how widely you travel, so make sure that your actions are tailored to produce a certain image that can be taken abroad by the words of others in your place."
"Of course, Bayushi-sama." You say thoughtfully. "One would suspect that a particular reputation would be of use in some places and a hinderance in others, though."
"If your reputation is a problem, travel incognito." Kimoko agrees. "It is a much better solution than trying to be all things to all people. Specialize, and your lord will deploy you in places where your speciality is called for. I am our ambassador to the Matsu because I've taken great pains to make sure that the prospect of meeting me in battle fills them all with mortal terror. For the Matsu, that's more or less equivalent to actual respect."
While you consider what exactly you would have to do to make a family of berserkers actually afraid of you, your column rounds the last in the series of small hills you've been traveling through, and the massive bulk of Shiro Matsu comes into view.
GM's note - There are very few pictures of what Shiro Matsu is supposed to be like, and the ones I found are in no way sufficient to hold the thousands of samurai they're supposed to, since the place is the base of one of the Lion's main combat forces. Instead, I've shifted the fortress a bit closer to Beiden Pass proper and gone for a slightly different aesthetic.
"Charming place, isn't it?" Bayushi Kimoko comments. "Now, we'll need to announce ourselves, but the main court event won't be until the evening. You should have a few hours to work with before then, and I won't have time to manage you directly, Soshi-san. So long as you are at our assigned quarters and looking presentable before court begins, your time is your own. Where will you start?"
I'm thinking that "overseeing" our party getting settled wouldn't go amiss.
AKA asking keeping our eyes out and having a polite look around under the guise of asking where the facilities accessible to us are located (and by process of elimination working out where the things they don't want us to access are).
I am our ambassador to the Matsu because I've taken great pains to make sure that the prospect of meeting me in battle fills them all with mortal terror. For the Matsu, that's more or less equivalent to actual respect."
So... where to start. It's time for short-term goals here. We have a small number of hours between now and the opening of court, and the opening of court will be significant. There will be a lot of information that we don't know - and in that initial clash, there will be a lot of information it would be *useful* to know. There will also be a lot of information that we'll find out pretty much on the spot that isn't available to us right now. Working hard to get scraps of info that we'll see just by looking around once we get to court isn't particularly efficient. So...
- We're not going to be able to meaningfully use information to prepare - we have what we have. The information itself might be useful, to prevent us from leaving openings early on and so forth, but if it woudl be information we'd learn before we had use for it, tryign to learn it a little earlier does nothing for us.
- Bayushi Kimiko likely already knows who our allies and enemies are, and to a much greater degree than we do. This does us no good.
- Just walking into the room will tell us what clans are present, and how deep they're rolling. This information does us no good. By extension, any deeper investigations that would first require finding out who is here are somewhat less efficient.
- We don't really have time for research, and we wouldn't know what to research if we did.
- We should set aside a reasonable, perhaps generous amount of time to cleanse, get dressed, and so forth. If we can somehow work other things into that time, that would be useful.
- There are a lot of Matsu here, and by default, they all dislike us. "Don't get into duels with any of the Matsu" is likely to be an ongoing and nontrivial task throughout the course of the season. By extension, we probably want to avoid interacting with random Matsu samurai as a general rule (unless we have some particular reason to do otherwise).
- The servants at the castle... are interesting. To some degree there's the tendeny of cultural mores to trickle down, but it's reduced here. The heimen of the Crab get pulled into the Great Duty of the Clan, and respected for the work they do. The heimen of the Scorpion are often drawn in as pawns and assistants to the schemes of their masters... and tend to scheme for themselves. For the Unicorn... well, the Unicorn focus on Compassion. That has a predictable impact on the loyalty of the lower classes. The Lion, on the other hand, tend to disrespect and mistreat their heimen, seeking to purify their honor by avoiding all contact with the impure. The Matsu add to that that they tend to be angry as well as honor-obsessed. The servants here are likely to be skittish, quiet, and overly deferential. They will fear their masters greatly, but there may not be much true loyalty. Still... that's something to cultivate over the long term. That initial fear will require trust to get past, and that takes time and care. Laying a bit of groundwork is not a terrible thing, but we aren't likely to get much of anything actionable before the meeting.
- We aren't the head of our delegation. As such, we can't approach any of the other delegations officially. It would be a bold and aggressive move anyway, but in our case it's flat out. Happening to encounter some of the junior members of the other delegations, however, could be useful if played right.
so...
[x] "First, I intend to cleanse myself and prepare. The dirt and wear of the road do no favors once court is in session. Then perhaps a walk through the grounds with what time is left, to familiarize myself with the areas open to us and maybe to encounter some of my counterparts from the other delegations. Of course, if you have advice, I am always ready to hear it."
She's asking us a question. We should answer the question.
Mind you, I'm not wedded to this plan. It's mostly "best I could come up with" level. If someone else comes up with a better, I could be convinced.
I don't disagree with anything you've said; it's certainly a serviceable vote as is and I'd vote for it. But for now I think I'll just sleep on it and see if my brain comes up with anything overnight.
One thing I'd add, is that in the long term we might want to get into a duel. A non-lethal one, preferably. One we can win, also preferably.
Since we're a Scorpion, other clans, especially the Lion, probably default to not respecting our warrior skills all that much, if not given evidence to the contrary. If we want to demonstrate that we are undoubtedly a real bushi, we're going to have to cross swords with someone for realsies. We should keep an eye out for ways in which this could additionally benefit us, like wanting someone injured so they can't participate in something, or providing a distraction, or gaining favour with someone who hates our opponent, etc. etc.
As for the vote, how about something like this:
[X] "I'll start by supervising the unpacking of our belongings and inspecting our assigned quarters and their vicinity. I want to get a feel for the lay of the land, and I want to get a look at the Lion's heimin. Then, I intend to cleanse myself and prepare. The dirt and wear of the road do no favors once court is in session. Then perhaps a walk through the grounds with what time is left, to familiarize myself with the areas open to us and maybe to encounter some of my counterparts from the other delegations. Of course, if you have advice, I am always ready to hear it."
Mostly the same as Tiny squid's except for the part about the servants. Since the heimin are going to be a factor it's important to pursue that, I think.
Although I'm not sure if we want to bathe first, or right before the important events. If the baths are communal though, we could try to time it so that we meat someone that we want to talk to there.
I just realized that explaining this in an IC post would be kind of awkward, but since Soshi Naoto is a genius with a wide ranging field of knowledge he is likely to have realized this already. OoC explanations it is, then.
Most samurai will wear the symbol of their dojo and sensei on their person somewhere, because they are proud of where they come from. Thus, with a look and a bit of knowledge you can often tell a great deal about any given Samurai's background and knowledge. Bayushi Kimoko is no exception, and her kimono bears the symbol of the Dojo of Bitter Lies. The dojo is not an especially popular one, having been founded only a few years before the Scorpion Coup and never attracting a great many students, but it has achieved considerable notoriety all the same for its unusual teachings.
Graduates of the Bayushi Bushi school are taught to focus on speed and deception, misleading their enemies and then striking in the brief window of opportunity that provides. They are subtle, menacing and possessed of a fearsome grace. The students of the Bitter Lies Dojo are all of this, while also having the dubious advantage of being utter fucking lunatics.
Bitter Lies swordsmen have been observed to dash through hails of arrows, fight ogres with sharpened knives and leap off of castle battlements to reach their enemies faster. Their techniques should by all rights get them killed in short order (and indeed a majority of the students who attempt to learn them end up getting seriously injured or killed in the attempt), but somehow those who learn to master them manage to survive in defiance of all odds and sanity. This makes them frighteningly effective warriors, because they are utterly unpredictable as well as being fearsomely skilled, but it does not exactly endear them to their saner clan-mates.
Ah! Bitter Lies. The School of Bitter Lies was named that in a moment of deep personal disappointment by its founder, who had basically gone through life thinking that he was a superhero, and a swordsman of impeccable skill. In fact, he was a mediocre bushi at best who was generally mocked behind his back by his clanmates for lack of social ability... but who was consistently and absurdly lucky. His clan kept sending him on suicide missions in order to get rid of him, without telling him that they were suicide missions. He, not knowing any better, kept coming back successful and alive. At one point, an enemy commander, despairing of having been bested so thoroughly by someone so outwardly incompetent, cried out that if the gods were going to favor his foe so utterly, then at least they could have the decency to admit it, and strike him down with lightning or something similar. He was immediately struck by lightning and died on the spot. When the founder finally realized what was going on (he was not the most aware of scorpions) he was devastated, and went off into the wilderness to live as a hermit. Of course, that's not where the story ends, but it is where the name comes from.
So, yeah. The students of Bitter Lies either get the magic, or they don't. Those that do become terrifying combatants. Those that don't, pretty much just die.
but... the timing is off on this one. Bayushi Tangen never ran a successful dojo. All of his students (save for one) failed. The Bitter Lies dojo only started as a functional thing once Bayushi Kwanchai got in on it, and that was after Bayushi Tangen went into self-imposed exile, which in turn was after the Scorpion returned from the Burning Sands. This close to the Second Day of Thunder, the dojo of bitter lies shouldn't really be a thing yet (unless you're tweaking history and/or I'm misunderstanding the timeline).
but... the timing is off on this one. Bayushi Tangen never ran a successful dojo. All of his students (save for one) failed. The Bitter Lies dojo only started as a functional thing once Bayushi Kwanchai got in on it, and that was after Bayushi Tangen went into self-imposed exile, which in turn was after the Scorpion returned from the Burning Sands. This close to the Second Day of Thunder, the dojo of bitter lies shouldn't really be a thing yet (unless you're tweaking history and/or I'm misunderstanding the timeline).
I'm tweaking the timeline a little - but only a little. As it stands, calling the Dojo of Bitter Lies successful would be rather inaccurate. It persists entirely on the strength of Bayushi Tangen's reputation, which if you've never met him is 'unconventional but wildly successful swordsman'. The man himself is still alive, but he only has a relative handful of students that have managed to successfully learn his techniques and continue to employ them - most can't master them in the first place, and of those who do a sizeable portion rapidly decide that the risk is not worth the reward.
Bayushi Tangen is almost certainly going to outlive all of his students. It will take Bayushi Kwanchai to make the technique into something viable for long-term use. But right now, Bayushi Kimoko knows the techniques that Tangen developed and has managed to not get herself killed by using them just yet - though she did lose an eye.
Bayushi Kimoko listens to your response, and nods. "A reasonable course of action. For advice... you could do well to track down a copy of Akodo's Leadership while you are here. Understanding the Lion will be greatly assisted by knowing how they think. And you, Yogo-san?"
"I believe I will accompany Soshi-san, Bayushi-sama." Yogo Hanzo replies. The Shugenja is a strange figure, and you aren't quite sure what to make of him. His mask is that of an ornate demonic visage, blood red with a pair of small horns jutting from his brow, and covers his entire face but for the smallest of gaps for his eyes and mouth. He says little and reveals even less, and while this is a perfectly acceptable pattern of behavior for a Scorpion to engage in you are still left wishing for something more to work with.
The approach to Shiro Matsu is narrow and well guarded - the main route of Beiden Pass extends off to the right of the fortress, demanding that any who seek to move through the area ride through its looming shadow, while access to the castle itself is only obtained through a series of small ravines.
If you recall your history correctly, the castle at the very top of the hill was the first portion built. The slopes on the far side that lead down into Lion territory are far gentler and less treacherous, and the original use of the castle was simply to provide an excellent vantage point to observe any major movements through the pass. The more dramatic and intimidating sections of the castle came later, as the Lion began to appreciate the strategic value of the one reliable crossing point in the Spine of the World for many hundreds of miles. They commissioned Kaiu architects to design the defenses and then spent years drilling their forces to make full use of them, determined that no one would ever be able to break their control of Beiden Pass.
Their efforts paid off - no one has ever managed to take Shiro Matsu by storm, and moving an army through the pass has always involved paying a serious toll to arrow fire and rapid ambushes from the Matsu garrisoned here. The Scorpion have long since given up on attempting direct combat in Beiden Pass, though that has not prevented them from conducting other military operations against the Lion through less obvious methods.
You can feel the Matsu studying you with unfriendly eyes as you draw close, presenting your papers to the Bushi stationed next to the large doors cut into the rockface and waiting while they check them over. Eventually they consent to your entrance, and a quiet and deferential peasant is summoned to guide you through the lower levels of the fortress and to your assigned quarters.
There are a great many tunnels inside Shiro Matsu, leading from the ground level of Beiden Pass all the way up to the very top of the mountain. Most of them seem fairly shallow, and indeed the majority are little more than an endless series of covered stairways and side passages leading to the various battlements and watchtowers. It is only when you reach the upper levels (blessings your ponies for their stamina as they carry you up a long series of switchback ramps) that you start seeing signs of more extensive construction. Barrack halls, armories, warehouses and more are cut into the rock, each designed to facilitate a defense in depth by surviving Matsu Bushi if anyone should manage to push them back from the outer battlements.
Honestly, you can't help but suspect that the whole construction is actually much less imposing than it seems at first glance. The tunnels look like they might lead off endlessly into the depths of the mountain, but you are a Scorpion - your Clan virtually invented the concept of deceptive architecture. If you were designing this place, you would deliberately build each level shallow and only extending the minimum distance away from the surface, while also making sure you built with an eye towards future expansion. Most of the rooms you can see probably haven't been used for decades.
Even so, there are a lot of Lion samurai here. It is difficult to tell how long your ascent takes, but by the time you reach the top you suspect you must have passed several hundred armed Bushi at the minimum, virtually all of whom react to the sight of your Clan mon with barely concealed hostility. Wandering off on your own in these tunnels is likely to be a foolish and possibly fatal diversion.
Fortunately, your rank and invitation to the Winter Court is sufficient to grant you quarters within the castle itself, on the surface. It appears that the Lion have set aside one of their Pagodas for visitors to the castle, where they can keep an eye on everyone in one place. Your chambers are on the second floor, and the rooms themselves are... not exactly comfortable. All the basic necessities are here, it is true, but there is nothing in the way of luxury or artwork, no reason to stay here for anything more than the absolute minimum amount of time.
Bayushi Kimoko dismisses you once you arrive and have been assigned your rooms (each bedchamber branching off of a shared common room, including a separate sub-wing for the Heimin to use). Determined to properly prepare yourself for court, you decide to go looking for a bath-house - surely there must be one somewhere...
In the meantime, you have the dubious pleasure of Yogo Hanzo's company. Perhaps you can get to know him a bit better?
GM's note - don't worry about the subterranean bits of the castle, there is basically nothing directly relevant to the court down there. Also, I apologize if any of these descriptions are unclear - I'm rather tired at the moment and halfway through jotting down a bunch of notes on your fellow delegates, which has left me somewhat scatterbrained.
Hopefully this all makes sense, and I will fill out more environmental descriptions as we go along, but for now I'm going off to sleep.
