btw, this was our answer to the challanger: "Provide me with your name, Matsu-sama, and I will have a message sent to you once she has made her decision."
So until we inform our boss, she has no reason to grant permission. Basiclly, she can not grant it untill we ask for it. So she probably has not granted it yet.
Hm... not sure if someone else already broached it, but have we considered approaching Sekawa for help with our goal of finding out about the sudden shift in the Crane's attitude? I mean, we're kinda wooing his crush, but we could argue that both of us have an interest in keeping her alive, and finding a way to keep the konga-line of murderous Lion off her back would be a good idea.
- Everyone knows that Heijiko delivered her insult in retaliation for Mariko's performance at court. She pretty much outright stated that was why she was angry. This should be remembered whenever you're trying to calculate how anyone in particular would respond to any planned course of action.
- The only way for Kimoko to be believably unable to give you permission to duel is if she's either in a coma or is outside Shiro Matsu. Neither of these are the case, and all it takes for permission is a few minutes of conversation and a command.
- Matsu Ketsui is deeply unlikely to ever get off her throne and challenge someone in person. Insults against the Lion or the Matsu as a whole can be answered by any of the literal thousands-strong army residing in and around Shiro Matsu, and once a duel is fought over a particular insult it is considered to be settled. She will only get directly involved if someone is so amazingly foolish as to insult her personally to her face. Otherwise, tradition binds her hands.
- The Matsu and the Kakita have been involved in a continuous blood feud for upwards of a thousand years. They are, in a very real sense, effectively at war. The only way this could ever cease would be if every member of one family were to die, or if their respective Daimyos were to consider the matter finally settled. Kakita Sekawa is protected by courtesy and guest right, which is why he's not already dead, but even if Mariko had been perfectly courteous from the start he would still be facing an endless succession of 'friendly' challenges.
Anyway! I'm not calling the vote just yet, but I would appreciate it if someone could help me count up the current vote tally. There's been a lot of discussion on the proper way to respond here, and since it's so important I'd like to have it double-checked.
I can see the issue. Vote tally for pages 107 to 110.
Vote tally: ##### 3.21
[x] Rook No. of votes: 1 Dirtnap
[X] Call calmly, With kenjutsu, not iaijutsu, Kakita-san.
-[X] Draw your sword, then advance in Full Attack
-[X] Burn Void on damage
--[X] If we don't connect with him, use Void to reduce any damage taken ---[X] Use Wade Garrett's Free Raise on the Attack Roll No. of votes: 1 Wade Garrett
[x] Ma, ma, Kakita-san, while I understand wanting to protect Doji-sama, after all there's a reason I volunteered to be her champion too. But, she knows both our skills, if you really want to go through with this, I'll oblige of course. But are you sure you want to insult her judgement this way? No. of votes: 2 gman391, Felius
[x] Very well, Kakita-san. Your point is well-taken. I admit that I may have been hasty when making my offer. Matsu Heijiko was just so *very* offensive to Doji-sama that I could not bear to simply stand by. I suspect you are the better duelist, and I will gladly give you a duel in which you may prove it, if that will lead to her having the best available defender.
[x] At the same time, I cannot help but notice that we are some distance from the city, up a winding rocky trail, with no Shugenja anywhere nearby. I suspect that a duel fought until one of us can no longer stand would be a duel to the death in truth, no matter what either of us might wish. That *would* require me to request permission from my Lord. Given that, might your honor be satisfied by an iajutsu duel to first blood, instead?
[x] If he accepts, then fight honorably, expect to lose, and try to learn something as you do. Burn void on reducing wounds if the wound would otherwise be severe or crippling, but having (for example), a nice large gash in a semi-visible place isn't bad. It'll be more satisfying to Sekawa, and make the whole thing look better for when we go to sell this to the court.
[X] If he insists that the duel be until one can no longer stand, and will not budge, insist that it be done in a more formal setting to avoid unintended consequences. No. of votes: 7 Sirrocco, A Nation's Virtue, The king Chad, Hydroplatypus, cokerpilot, Seventeen, noliar
[X]Sigh and allow your On to slip to show frustration. Since we have gotten this far, I do not suppose I could convince you to forget this night ever happened and repeat this performance if necessary, in, say two days? I had bought several days with the necessity of getting permission from my Lord. I doubt the Lion would grant you a similar extension. If at such time the issue has not been resolved, and the duel is still planned to go on, I will of course forfeit the honor to you Kakita-san.Would that be acceptable?
[X]Should he refuse continue:Such a wasted opportunity. If you are so convinced to go against your Ladies wisdom, then have at it. I won't waste my time in futile posturing. And I've little wish to leave you injured for your upcoming duel. My apologies Doji-sama, I did what I could to free you from this plot. But it would seem your retainers wish your death.
No. of votes: 2 primemountain, Dark as Silver
On page 106, we got 1 Accept the challenge (will begin an Iaijutsu duel against Kakita Sekawa) by Dovahsith,
1 Sirrocco by nocturn
1 Point out that the duel is Kenjutsu.
Accept his challenge as a Kenjutsu duel. by laurent
1 Forfeit, and yield your right to stand as Mariko's champion. by veekie
So sirroco wins with 12 votes. As if there was doubt.
Now that reality has crashed my plan, i guess i can look forward to Sirrocco at least integrating the parts and suggestions of my plans that he considers workable into the next one. Assuming we live of course. I'll see if I can not come up with a different alternative, but time is likely to run out long before that. Oh well, not like it would have won the vote.
You have a split second to make a decision, to balance all of the various incentives and risks of the paths before you and choose. There are many factors to consider, but thinking about them in depth is not an option available to you. With that in mind, you take a moment to focus yourself, trust in your instincts and respond.
"Very well, Kakita-san. Your point is well taken, and I admit I may have been somewhat hasty when making my offer." You say calmly, noting the flickering expression of surprise on the faces of both Crane as you do. "Matsu Heijiko was just so very offensive that I could not simply bear to stand by."
Sekawa nods cautiously, and you get the impression that this might not be how he was expecting things to go. Eventually you imagine people will start expecting you to play against type in these sorts of situations, at which point you might get a chance to indulge in some stereotypical Scorpion villainy. For now, though, you need to navigate the situation before you.
"I suspect you are the better duelist, and would be glad to give you an opportunity to prove it. If this means that Doji-sama is able to call upon a better class of champion, all the better." You gesture to your surroundings. "Even so, I cannot help but notice that we are some distance from the town, with no Shugenja to be seen. Under such conditions, a duel fought until one party can no longer stand would seem to be just as lethal in the final accounting as one fought to the death from the beginning."
Kakita Sekawa looks around you and then nods slowly. "You do make a fine point there, Soshi-san." He says warily, and you get the impression that he would not exactly be disappointed if you were to wind up dead from this.
"In which case, would honour be satisfied by a duel to first blood instead?" You seize the opportunity presented by his admission. If you can find a way to get out of this with your life intact, then there will still be an opportunity to address any lingering problems in the future. Kakita Sekawa seems to consider this for a moment, glancing sideways at Mariko, but whatever the Doji thinks is obscured behind a perfectly composed On. Eventually, he nods.
"That would be acceptable, Soshi-san."
You breath out slowly, watching the air turn to mist as it leaves your mouth, then take several paces sideways into the clearing proper. The snow crunches softly beneath your feet as you take up position, and the moon's light gleams off the length of your unsheathed sword. You could return it to your saya and try to draw it as part of the strike... but that is the Kakita style, and your opponent is doubtlessly better at it than you are. Instead, you take hold of your katana in both hands and raise it into a high guard, looking along the polished steel length at the Kakita who stands against you.
Sekawa holds himself with calm confidence, having moved to take up position several sword-lengths away from you, and his katana remains sheathed at his side with his hand resting on the hilt. His palm is turned up, as though holding a gift, and there is a kind of unconscious grace to his stance and movements which suggest that he has done this many, many times before.
Both Duelists make an Iaijutsu/Awareness test against a TN of 10+(Enemy IRx5). In this case, the TN for both parties is 20. Success reveals information about their opponent's capabilities.
Naoto rolls 5k4 = 46.
Sekawa rolls ??? = 26
You discern that Sekawa has a Reflexes of 3, an Iaijutsu skill rank of 4 and a Void rank of 3. Since you beat his total by more than 10, you also gain an additional +1k1 bonus in the Focus stage.
Fortunately, you are a Scorpion, and thus very good at studying people for weaknesses and secrets while concealing your own. It is no surprise to you that a Kakita should have evidently trained for longer and with more dedication to the art of Iaijutsu, but judging by the way he is moving... yes, you are sure of it. With the benefit of the Thunder Dragon's blessing, you are faster in thought and body than he is. That may be very important, very soon.
At this stage, both combatants make an Iaijutsu (Focus)/Void contested roll. If one duelist beats the other by at least five, they are able to strike first, and gain a Free Raise on the subsequent attack roll for every additional five they defeat their opponent by. If neither duelist exceeds their opponent's roll by five or more, then a simultaneous 'kharmic strike' takes place.
Note that you are gaining the advantages of the Centre Stance for both this and the subsequent attack roll, adding 1k1+Void to your total.
Naoto rolls 5k4+2 = 40
Sekawa rolls ??? = 67
Focusing on your breathing, you allow yourself to sink into the half-aware trance that your sensei taught you when your lessons first covered dueling. If you try to think your way through this, you are likely to be defeated, and quite painfully at that. Instead, you must clear your mind of all distractions, of all thoughts. Exist in the moment, and in that moment, be victorious.
Everything fades away around you. The trees, the moonlight, the snow under your feet... it is all meaningless. All that exists in this world is you and your sword.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Move.
Sekawa won the Focus roll, and gains an additional four Free Raises from his superior result. He rolls against your armour TN as normal, which in this case is 25.
Kakita Sekawa is directly in front of you, his sword held out horizontally to his side, and there is a rather nasty gash all the way across your chest. Scorpion colours of red and black combined with the low light mean you cannot easily see the blood, but there is a slowly spreading sensation of pain coming from that general area which suggests that you should probably seek medical attention.
Grimacing, you lower your sword and slide it carefully into the saya, biting your lip to hold back the hiss of pain that comes as the movement stretches the bleeding wound. A few drops of scarlet fall to the ground and stain the pristine snow.
"It seems you are victorious, Kakita-san." You say slowly, as your opponent backs away and sheathes his own blade. "Congratulations. I will inform my lord promptly, and the court tomorrow."
Kakita Sekawa inclines his head to you, and you look over at Doji Mariko, who is still hiding her feelings behind a frozen mask. "My apologies for interrupting our evening, Doji-sama, but I really should make that report quite soon."
She nods shallowly, seeing through the excuse to the pain and injury underneath, apparently not trusting herself to speak. You bow to them both as best you can, and then turn around to head back to Shiro Matsu.
A rather unfortunate end to the most romantic night of the year... but at least you are still alive. It seems you will simply have to be content with that.
-/-
Naoto has taken 20 wounds, and is in the 'Grazed (+5)' wound bracket. You have a few decisions to make now.
When returning to Shiro Matsu, there is a good chance that some of the Lion will notice that you have been injured. How will you respond?
[ ] Ignore the pain and make no reference to your injury, but head straight to your quarters.
[ ] Request medical attention.
- [ ] Explain what happened.
- [ ] Come up with some kind of cover story (write in)
[ ] Write in
Bayushi Kimoko will be wanting an explanation of why you challenged a Matsu to a lethal duel, why you have such a serious injury, and generally what the hell happened when she took her eye off you for five seconds. What do you tell her?
[ ] Write in
You will need to provide an explanation of your injury to the court as a whole, as well as inform Matsu Ketsui and Matsu Heijiko of your decision to step down as champion. How will you word this?
[ ] Write in
Well... We managed some rather impressive rolls there all things considered. But that 67 from Kitsuki? Damn, that was even more impressive. Looks like we both had about as much luck as we could reasonably have been expected to have.
Also, Has Naoto ever done the stereotypical thing? We seem to be consistently sending every situation sideways.
No ideas on what to say, as I didn't want to duel in the first place. Let someone who wanted it figure out how we explain things.
[-] Ignore the pain and make no reference to your injury, but head straight to your quarters.
Stiff upper lip, Naoto. Stiff upper lip now, cry into your pillow about the sucking chest wound and the Kakita betamale-ing the hell out of you later.
[-] What do you tell her? Getting that embassy in Shiro Matsu trumps the life of one Scorpion bushi, and for that you need to get close to Doji Mariko. It is possible that some of your calculations about what was required for said "getting close" were slightly erroneous.
Still polishing these, and I don't trust myself to come up with a wording for the explanation to the Matsu that isn't "Fucking Kakita! Always ruining everything, am I right?"
If we COULD swing it, it would be amazing. Especially given that Kakita's arrival was something that could reasonably be predicted based on known information - in fact several people did predict it. So it's entirely plausible. OTOH, our boss probably has the skills to see through our lies. On yet another hand, appearances matter more than truth in Rokugan, so maybe that gets us a pass anyways.
Maybe to Kimoko. Naoto can say that he offered to champion Doji as a way of getting into her good graces, hoping that she would let slip more information, which she did. But, having been informed of Kakita's love for Doji, Naoto also knew that there was no way that Kakita would allow Naoto to go through with the challenge. So, we 'purposefully' lost Kakita's duel, allowing him to go on to champion Doji while still looking reasonably good to the entire Crane delegation. So, end of the day, we hopefully rose in the Crane's estimation, didn't dishonor ourselves too badly, and got more information that might solve what the heck is going on.
- Cover Story (Write In): "Oh, this injury, Lion-san? Well, to be frank... I tripped on a blade of grass. Rather embarrassing I must admit, but I was watching a floating lily rather closely and did not deign to pay attention to my surroundings. Now if you wouldn't mind, I would wish to attend to the graze."
- Kimoko's Answer (Write In): "Oh, Bayushi-sama. Yes, there was a certain incident when I was ought with Doji-kun, and I felt involved sufficiently that I had ought make the challenge myself. As for this injury... well, I suppose I must admit that Kakita-san is rather possessive of his current mistress. He made a somewhat intelligent if biased plea regarding taking my place in the duel, and I felt it sufficiently important that it might be decided in an iajutsu duel."
- Courtly Response (Write In): "Oh hello, Matsu-sama. I must apologise to Matsu-san regarding our intended duel. A discussion followed soon with Kakita-san after our departure from one another regarding the propriety and properness involved in a Scorpion involving himself in a Crane's defense when she has been generously allocated a Kakita samurai to see to her concerns. Owing to my own involvement in the matter, I felt my withdrawal could only be justified by a duel's decision, and as you can see... the heavens seemed intent on seeing Kakita-san in my place."
In hindsight I'm pretty certain that Kakita has a decent bonus to his rolls due to a Kharmic Tie with the Doji. Would explain both the ???? for his rolled and kept (which we would otherwise have known due to rocking the assessment) and it fits with the whole Childhood friend/unrequited love thing he has going on.
Would categorically make him a better clutch duelist then us too.
Well other than immediate thoughts of revenge coming to mind, if we get ourselves healed, we shouldn't do so via shugenja immediately. Showing what lengths and lack of control over his strike the Kakita had will not only excuse us from our role as champion while muddling the waters, implying bad blood between ourselves and the crane which should hopefully stop any Matsu looking for a fight from associating us with them. [X] Ignore the pain and make no reference to your injury, but head straight to your quarters.
Our immediate duty is to report what has occurred. Bayushi Kimoko will be wanting an explanation of why you challenged a Matsu to a lethal duel, why you have such a serious injury, and generally what the hell happened when she took her eye off you for five seconds. What do you tell her?
[X] We give a truthful report of the events of the day, making note of both a possible sabotaging the cranes position via change in their instructions (though Mariko has yet to consider this possibility and is more than likely unwilling to), Her yojimbo's overprotection to the point of disobeying orders, giving the scorpion and opening if they figure out how to exploit it in future. Finally we request her advice on our next course of action.
[X] As for our excuse, depending on our superiors decision, we keep the injury unhealed via magic for now at least till after our next court appearance (could look like our superior punishing us for foolishness and probably would be) and explain that a friendly duel got out of hand then look pointily at the Kakita. We may look weak, but the point of the scorpion is to be underestimated. If asked why we originally accepted, site insult to our honor over the insult to our clan by the challenger and a breach of courtesy towards Mariko. Would play to our image of the "honorable scorpion".
Issue with my plan i think would be the Matsu wondering whether we intend to issue our own duel and that i have no idea of the current stance on events by Mariko or Kimoko
I wonder if we can get one of the heimin to poison Heijiko before the duel...or place (non-lethal) poison on Heijiko's blade somehow and cal attention to it when she duels Sekawa.
I know. I was just starting to wonder when you managed to actually beat Sekawa in the Assessment phase, but as it turns out trying to beat a Kakita duelist when you have one rank in Iaijutsu is not a particularly viable course of action.
That... would be a Sincerity roll. And possibly the help of a friendly Ikoma, who wouldn't mind portraying you as a cunning mastermind to all and sundry if it makes the Kakita look like an easily manipulated chump.
In hindsight I'm pretty certain that Kakita has a decent bonus to his rolls due to a Kharmic Tie with the Doji. Would explain both the ???? for his rolled and kept (which we would otherwise have known due to rocking the assessment) and it fits with the whole Childhood friend/unrequited love thing he has going on.
Would categorically make him a better clutch duelist then us too.
The '???' thing is actually something I'm going to be using from now in contested rolls. I think it helps lend authenticity to your actions if you don't know exactly how many dice the other guy is rolling, and can only judge by results.
Spinning it as something we planned all along to our superior is good, but I think that we should not do so in front of court. Instead in court we should maintain the appearance of a honorable samurai so that we do not put other delegations on guard against us.
We learned that Doji's orders to insult the Matsu were delivered in a letter, which thus could have been forged. We learned that she is resolved to carry out her orders, although she disagrees with them. We met Kakita, learned his disposition and that he is very much in love with Doji, to a point that he cannot even maintain his composure. The fact that he showed his emotions in front of both Doji and Naoto is a big deal, as is the fact that he disobeyed Doji's (his superior's) orders, and something that could definitely be exploited, both by us and by others.
