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In Thunder's Echo (Legend of the Five Rings Quest)

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That still seems like we are keeping a lot of the details out of the story. So, something of another vote:

[X] Plan Testify
-[X] Void point the Sincerity roll.

"I met Asako-sama by the primary stables, about two hours before noon. We were provided a couple of stout mountain ponies and set out, intending to visit the Bishamon shrine in the nearby mountains. The company was pleasant and we spoke at length on a variety of topics, touching upon a number of the more mysterious elements of Rokugan's landscape and the myths and legends that have grown up around them.

We were quite engrossed until I noticed that something was wrong. We had traveled for a while yet not reached our destination. When we looked about us the path had disappeared and heavy snow began to fall. We had drawn the notice of a spirit and as we pondered what to do a horror beset me. To my shame, I could not see past the spirits trickery and so it fell to Asako-sama to break the spell. This seemed to anger the sprit and the winds howled. The wind picked me up as if I was but a toy and threw me against the trees, where I fell into darkness.

When I awoke the horses were gone and Asako-sama lay unmoving in the snow. My shame grew for I failed to keep her safe. And the spirit stood between us, a yuki no onna.

I asked after my companion's health and the spirit said she yet lived, but that she did not care for the Phoenix. She said I was touched by thunder and wind and seemed undecided whether to keep me "safe" there, or let me leave. I argued that my life was not mine to spend. I am a Samurai of Rokugan and if there is a foe it is my Duty and Honor to die fighting it. She informed me of a threat, but as the head Magistrate and daimyo of Shiro Matsu you deserve to know.

I hope you are very carefull with whom you share these news. Also, Kitsu-sama you know the dangers of listening to testimony from spirits. That said, she mentioned that keeping me there would protect my soul, as the enemy, one she named "The Shadow of All Things" was capable of snuffing out the very soul of a samurai. The yuki no onna was convinced to let us leave and offered advice saying to :"Trust in the tears of the sun." Whether that means the strength and honor of the Samurai, or Jade and Crystal, I am unsure, but I would advise to have some of the blessed materials at hand Matsu-dono, Kitsu-sama. Afterwards we returned to Shiro Matsu without the mountain ponies given to our care and I was beset upon by the guards.

What has happened?"

****
And there. Bits hidden:
-That Asako-sama flirted with us
-What form the horror took.
-Why we set out to visit the shrine.
-That the reason we could not see past the spirits trickery was that we were scared out of our mind.
-That Asako-sama tried to decive the spirit by pretending to be unconcious.

TheLaurentRevised plan hides:
-What we talked about entirely, including the flirting.
-Everything about the spirits assault, except that we were assaulted and its name. If pressed reveals the bit about touched by thunder, but if she decides to press us it will be with torture so that is probably useless.
-Everything the spirit told us of the ongoing threat.
You really want to try and hide all that? They are calling for testimony. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to inform the daimyo of a potential threat to her city. Why wouldn't we tell her? If she is already corrupted we are probably doomed anyway.

@storybookknight : Care to reconsider?

PS: Only Laurent can choose if he wants to spend his Free Raise on a plan.
 
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[X]With Asako Tani-san, of the Phoenix, Ketsui-sama. We had intended to venture to Bishamon Seido, but were waylaid upon the way and had to return to the castle.
-[X] If pressed/asked as to what waylaid you, say truthfully that it was an Ice Kami.
-[X] Do we have a void left? If so, void it.
 
primemountain said:
You really want to try and hide all that? They are calling for testimony. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to inform the daimyo of a potential threat to her city. Why wouldn't we tell her? If she is already corrupted we are probably doomed anyway.
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I'm pretty sure that people dying doesn't free you from orders they've given you in rokugan. Bayushi Kimiko told us to zip tight on the threat until scorpion higher ups got back to us on how to react, honor demands that we continue to do just that.
Now, does the threat, which Kimiko may very well have been killed because she was sending letters out about bringing into question whether those letters will ever arrive, possibly merit our own personal dishonor for the safety of rokugan? Possibly. But the other side also has merit, so, that's why we wouldn't tell her.
 
primemountain said:
That still seems like we are keeping a lot of the details out of the story. So, something of another vote:

[X] Plan Testify
-[X] Void point the Sincerity roll.

"I met Asako-sama by the primary stables, about two hours before noon. We were provided a couple of stout mountain ponies and set out, intending to visit the Bishamon shrine in the nearby mountains. The company was pleasant and we spoke at length on a variety of topics, touching upon a number of the more mysterious elements of Rokugan's landscape and the myths and legends that have grown up around them.

We were quite engrossed until I noticed that something was wrong. We had traveled for a while yet not reached our destination. When we looked about us the path had disappeared and heavy snow began to fall. We had drawn the notice of a spirit and as we pondered what to do a horror beset me. To my shame, I could not see past the spirits trickery and so it fell to Asako-sama to break the spell. This seemed to anger the sprit and the winds howled. The wind picked me up as if I was but a toy and threw me against the trees, where I fell into darkness.

When I awoke the horses were gone and Asako-sama lay unmoving in the snow. My shame grew for I failed to keep her safe. And the spirit stood between us, a yuki no onna.

I asked after my companion's health and the spirit said she yet lived, but that she did not care for the Phoenix. She said I was touched by thunder and wind and seemed undecided whether to keep me "safe" there, or let me leave. I argued that my life was not mine to spend. I am a Samurai of Rokugan and if there is a foe it is my Duty and Honor to die fighting it. She informed me of a threat, but as the head Magistrate and daimyo of Shiro Matsu you deserve to know.

I hope you are very carefull with whom you share these news. Also, Kitsu-sama you know the dangers of listening to testimony from spirits. That said, she mentioned that keeping me there would protect my soul, as the enemy, one she named "The Shadow of All Things" was capable of snuffing out the very soul of a samurai. The yuki no onna was convinced to let us leave and offered advice saying to :"Trust in the tears of the sun." Whether that means the strength and honor of the Samurai, or Jade and Crystal, I am unsure, but I would advise to have some of the blessed materials at hand Matsu-dono, Kitsu-sama. Afterwards we returned to Shiro Matsu without the mountain ponies given to our care and I was beset upon by the guards.

What has happened?"

****
And there. Bits hidden:
-That Asako-sama flirted with us
-What form the horror took.
-Why we set out to visit the shrine.
-That the reason we could not see past the spirits trickery was that we were scared out of our mind.
-That Asako-sama tried to decive the spirit by pretending to be unconcious.

TheLaurentRevised plan hides:
-What we talked about entirely, including the flirting.
-Everything about the spirits assault, except that we were assaulted and its name. If pressed reveals the bit about touched by thunder, but if she decides to press us it will be with torture so that is probably useless.
-Everything the spirit told us of the ongoing threat.
You really want to try and hide all that? They are calling for testimony. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to inform the daimyo of a potential threat to her city. Why wouldn't we tell her? If she is already corrupted we are probably doomed anyway.

@storybookknight : Care to reconsider?

PS: Only Laurent can choose if he wants to spend his Free Raise on a plan.
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Click to shrink...
While I believe that we should reveal what we know I don't think this is the right place to many ears.
 
[X]With Asako Tani-san, of the Phoenix, Ketsui-sama. We had intended to venture to the shrine of Bishamon, but were waylaid upon the way by a Yuki no Onna and had to return to the castle.
-[X] If pressed/asked as to the details of the encounter, say that you would prefer not to speak much of it, but that the kami revealed that you have been 'touched by the storm' and therefore caught its interest.
-[X] Do we have a void left? If so, void it.
-[X] The Laurent is calling in his free raise. The Godfather approves.

Also, that speech is way too long. And reveals way too much in public when we OOC know that there's something horrific afoot. Like, I assume that if Ketsui-sama wants to know the details about what happened, we'll tell her.

@Maugan Ra , am I right? Like, if Ketsui-sama asks, "When were you at the primary stables?" we're not going to clam up and say nothing just because a write-in that literally implies we tell everything will suddenly have us acting secretive and not giving details, will we? I was assuming that being at least somewhat brief was a virtue when Ketsui-sama was so thoroughly pissed, and that if we needed to we could totally write-out the full story of what we did or where we've been, and that she wasn't necessarily asking for a speech, so much as checking us for an alibi.
 
primemountain said:
TheLaurentRevised plan hides:
-What we talked about entirely, including the flirting.
-Everything about the spirits assault, except that we were assaulted and its name. If pressed reveals the bit about touched by thunder, but if she decides to press us it will be with torture so that is probably useless.
-Everything the spirit told us of the ongoing threat.
You really want to try and hide all that? They are calling for testimony. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to inform the daimyo of a potential threat to her city. Why wouldn't we tell her? If she is already corrupted we are probably doomed anyway.
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Hiding what we talked about? We simply don't mention it, I'm sure the Ketsui can work out that we didn't spend a days ride in stony silence.

Frankly I think the big difference between these plans is that you are assuming that Maugan Ra will not include anything not mentioned in the vote whereas storybookknight gives broad strokes and trusts him to fill in the details.
 
The Laurent said:
@Maugan Ra , am I right? Like, if Ketsui-sama asks, "When were you at the primary stables?" we're not going to clam up and say nothing just because a write-in that literally implies we tell everything will suddenly have us acting secretive and not giving details, will we? I was assuming that being at least somewhat brief was a virtue when Ketsui-sama was so thoroughly pissed, and that if we needed to we could totally write-out the full story of what we did or where we've been, and that she wasn't necessarily asking for a speech, so much as checking us for an alibi.
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My default assumption is that you will be reasonably open and cooperative with the rank seven combat monster unless the vote specifically mentions otherwise.

I usually flesh out and tweak write-in votes as I'm putting together an update anyway.
 
@primemountain I really don't want to full testify.

This is what the Lying Darkness did to us when it didn't know for sure that we were a threat.

We need our ducks firmly in a row before we bust out with the confessions.
 
@storybookknight : Sure, let's hoard secrets and die with them. No. This is what it did to Bayushi when it thought she was a threat. That is after, probably, trying to assasinate the Otomo. We are allready on its shit-list for stopping that, and just exsisting as Scorpion. That part of your argument is invalid. If you want to reveal this in a more intimate enviroment that is fine, but not telling them when you have the free pass of:"I did not say that, I am merely repeating what the spirit said Matsu-sama" seems silly. As for getting our ducks firmly in a row, what exaclly would you like to do?

How does one get his ducks firmly in a row? What is your plan for that? Mine is to inform people of a threat when the warning is not tehnicly coming from us so the enemy has a harder time going around pulling shit. What's your plan? For this mythical time of having "our ducks firmly in a row"?

We were ordered not to talk about the letter and the Taint we belive is behind that. Nothing says we can not relay a warning from a spirit that is new information while waiting for orders from above.

There is a three centance lead in to mentioning the Shadow, so they have time to clear the room or interupt us if they want a more private setting. They asked for the testemony.

@The Laurent : As for it being long winded, we are the child of magistrates. That is how a profesional testfies. If she is unhappy, she can interrupt us and instruct us to only hit the high points.
 
I don't think anyone thinks that Ketsui is an agent of the shadow so telling her isn't a problem, therefore the problem lies in who might overhear us.
Would this change satisfy both parties?
-[ ] If you need to spread details about the spirits prophecy thing, ask to move to a discrete location before doing so.

Also we might want to consider;
--[ ] Also mention what Yogo chan read from the spirits regarding Marikos letters.

Edit: Also the problem with long windedness, from where I sit at least, isn't that it's long or out of character, more that it can be quite inflexible for Maguan.
 
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primemountain said:
@storybookknight : Sure, let's hoard secrets and die with them. No. This is what it did to Bayushi when it thought she was a threat. That is after, probably, trying to assasinate the Otomo. We are allready on its shit-list for stopping that, and just exsisting as Scorpion. That part of your argument is invalid. If you want to reveal this in a more intimate enviroment that is fine, but not telling them when you have the free pass of:"I did not say that, I am merely repeating what the spirit said Matsu-sama" seems silly. As for getting our ducks firmly in a row, what exaclly would you like to do?
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The main reason that I didn't include the info that the Yuki Onna shared with us on the Lying Darkness is twofold - first, looking like anything other than a clueless victim is likely to put us a few notches up on the LD's threat radar. An appearance of weakness would be really helpful to us here. Secondly and less importantly, Matsu Ketsui is currently much more concerned with a murder than a mysterious spiritual threat. I think it is unlikely that she is willing to be distracted from that, and will possibly brush off our concerns. Telling her at a later date (and telling someone else, Yogo Hanzo maybe, all about it in the meantime) seems like the best plan. More to the point, right now we are under suspicion. Anything that we say is likely to be tarred with the same brush.

The reason for not talking about what we talked about, or the details of the yuki onna's assault, is partially IC reasoning and partially just brevity. As Maugan stated, he's willing to fill in around the edges if they ask.

The question of 'what do we need to be able to come forward with our information' is a good one, and I think we should come up with a plan for that, but 'while we are currently being accused of murder' does not seem like the best time to me. At the least, I'd like to see if Kimiko shared anything about her plans to communicate with the higher-ups with Hanzo. Presenting the yuki onna's information together with sworn testimony that the instructions were tainted and your expert opinion that they were counterfeit... may help our case.
 
storybookknight said:
The main reason that I didn't include the info that the Yuki Onna shared with us on the Lying Darkness is twofold - first, looking like anything other than a clueless victim is likely to put us a few notches up on the LD's threat radar. An appearance of weakness would be really helpful to us here. Secondly and less importantly, Matsu Ketsui is currently much more concerned with a murder than a mysterious spiritual threat. I think it is unlikely that she is willing to be distracted from that, and will possibly brush off our concerns. Telling her at a later date (and telling someone else, Yogo Hanzo maybe, all about it in the meantime) seems like the best plan. More to the point, right now we are under suspicion. Anything that we say is likely to be tarred with the same brush.

The reason for not talking about what we talked about, or the details of the yuki onna's assault, is partially IC reasoning and partially just brevity. As Maugan stated, he's willing to fill in around the edges if they ask.

The question of 'what do we need to be able to come forward with our information' is a good one, and I think we should come up with a plan for that, but 'while we are currently being accused of murder' does not seem like the best time to me. At the least, I'd like to see if Kimiko shared anything about her plans to communicate with the higher-ups with Hanzo. Presenting the yuki onna's information together with sworn testimony that the instructions were tainted and your expert opinion that they were counterfeit... may help our case.
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...Are we actually being accused of murder, though? Ketsui is pissed, yes, but she was surprisingly civil to us for a pissed off Matsu. "Bring the Scorpion in for questioning about his master's death" can easily become something similar yet significantly more sinister in the minds of bored guards, especially if they're already biased against the Scorpion.
 
GilliamYaeger said:
...Are we actually being accused of murder, though? Ketsui is pissed, yes, but she was surprisingly civil to us for a pissed off Matsu. "Bring the Scorpion in for questioning about his master's death" can easily become something similar yet significantly more sinister in the minds of bored guards, especially if they're already biased against the Scorpion.
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We don't know yet. I think we have to assume the worst, though.
 
Time to throw my 2 cents in:

We don't even know how our superior died or why suspicion is on us. Poison? Knife in the back? Convenient accident? Did our superior try to write our name or use her last dying words to accuse us? What witnesses? All we know is that we are being accused of it. Having an alibi about our position only excuses us from directly being involved but not from planning it and using an accomplice (our other Scorpion, ninja maid, meechant spy). I'm not so sure we should be going all in on this one TN. There will probably be more to come today.

That said, do we want to tell everything to everybody in the room? I understand if we could tell it to Ketsui but who's to say we don't have other spies or Nothing agents there? The walls have ears and such. Let's get ourselves out of this problem first before we reveal our entire hand to people we can't trust. Need to know info and such. We're Scorpion; shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
 
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