- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yeah, things aren't going well at all, but I definitely don't want to see any more of our cast of friends and allies dead.
They will outlive us, damn it!
They will outlive us, damn it!
In Thunder's Echo (Legend of the Five Rings Quest)
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So, basically we need two things.
We need clues, and we need help.
And, as much as possible, we need to keep this in-house. Some of our evidence for 'the supernatural is involved' could very much get us into trouble if we showed it to people.
Let's consider our options.
If Pale Oak was not present at the attack, we can probably convince him to assist us in the investigation.
If he was present and survived, it's going to be much harder to convince him to assist us because he may have seen someone looking like us do the deed.
If he was present & dead, we get a very good clue and a dead retainer. I'm against this one personally.
If Yogo Hanzo was present & poisoned, we get a good clue but no shugenja.
If Yogo Hanzo was absent, we get no clue, but we get a shugenja. The investigative potential of a shugenja is not to be underestimated. Doing things like asking "Hey, spirits, where is Pale Oak" would be an option, for instance. Also, Hanzo is one of the few people immediately likely to believe us when we tell him we didn't do it - he knows that some form of Maho (okay, it's actually the Lying Darkness, but close enough) is involved, so shapechanging is within the realm of possibility.
(As an aside, as much as the Lying Darkness is a real and present threat we should consider the possibility that this is a Shadowlands plot. A Pekkle no Oni is a notorious shapechanger, and could easily have accomplished this. I don't think it's super likely, but it is still something that we should keep in the back of our minds - and IC we might even be using it as a working assumption.)
I think we should go for:
[X] Pale Oak was present during the attack, and has gone into hiding.
[X] Yogo Hanzo was absent during the attack, and is in your new quarters.
Looking for Pale Oak is going to be much easier with Hanzo's assistance, and Hanzo can still contribute investigatively even if he doesn't have a clue to give.
We need clues, and we need help.
And, as much as possible, we need to keep this in-house. Some of our evidence for 'the supernatural is involved' could very much get us into trouble if we showed it to people.
Let's consider our options.
If Pale Oak was not present at the attack, we can probably convince him to assist us in the investigation.
If he was present and survived, it's going to be much harder to convince him to assist us because he may have seen someone looking like us do the deed.
If he was present & dead, we get a very good clue and a dead retainer. I'm against this one personally.
If Yogo Hanzo was present & poisoned, we get a good clue but no shugenja.
If Yogo Hanzo was absent, we get no clue, but we get a shugenja. The investigative potential of a shugenja is not to be underestimated. Doing things like asking "Hey, spirits, where is Pale Oak" would be an option, for instance. Also, Hanzo is one of the few people immediately likely to believe us when we tell him we didn't do it - he knows that some form of Maho (okay, it's actually the Lying Darkness, but close enough) is involved, so shapechanging is within the realm of possibility.
(As an aside, as much as the Lying Darkness is a real and present threat we should consider the possibility that this is a Shadowlands plot. A Pekkle no Oni is a notorious shapechanger, and could easily have accomplished this. I don't think it's super likely, but it is still something that we should keep in the back of our minds - and IC we might even be using it as a working assumption.)
I think we should go for:
[X] Pale Oak was present during the attack, and has gone into hiding.
[X] Yogo Hanzo was absent during the attack, and is in your new quarters.
Looking for Pale Oak is going to be much easier with Hanzo's assistance, and Hanzo can still contribute investigatively even if he doesn't have a clue to give.
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
My suspicion is that Hanxo finally triggered his curse. Don't ask why I think of this.
[x] Was present during the attack, survived, and has since gone into hiding.
[x] Was present during the attack and was incapacitated by a wound laced with poison. He is unavailable until he recovers, but may have seen who was responsible for this.
[x] Was present during the attack, survived, and has since gone into hiding.
[x] Was present during the attack and was incapacitated by a wound laced with poison. He is unavailable until he recovers, but may have seen who was responsible for this.
I would prefer not to have any clues, but to have our spy network and our shugenja ready to help us.
Of course we will havw to convince them about our innocence, but with both there it may be easier.
Pale Oak:
[X] Was absent when the attack occured, and is waiting for you at your new quarters.
Yogo Hanzo:
[X] Was absent during the attack, and is waiting for you at your new quarters.
Of course we will havw to convince them about our innocence, but with both there it may be easier.
Pale Oak:
[X] Was absent when the attack occured, and is waiting for you at your new quarters.
Yogo Hanzo:
[X] Was absent during the attack, and is waiting for you at your new quarters.
- Location
- Chicago
[x] Was present during the attack, survived, and has since gone into hiding.
[x] Was present during the attack and was incapacitated by a wound laced with poison. He is unavailable until he recovers, but may have seen who was responsible for this.
[x] Was present during the attack and was incapacitated by a wound laced with poison. He is unavailable until he recovers, but may have seen who was responsible for this.
[X] Pale Oak was present during the attack, and has gone into hiding.
[X] Yogo Hanzo was absent during the attack, and is in your new quarters.
[X] Yogo Hanzo was absent during the attack, and is in your new quarters.
6.10 - Kimoko's last stand
- Location
- London, England
QM Note - Wow, it took me way to long to get around to this. My apologies, and here is an update.
"Unfortunately, Yogo-san was also a victim of the assailant, whoever they might have been." Kitsu Ami explains, her voice a mask of calm professionalism. "He has been seriously wounded, and it appears the weapon used was laced with some kind of toxin. I have summoned Shugenja with medical expertise to attend to him, but we do not know how long it will take for him to recover."
You nod slowly. That is... unfortunate, for both personal and pragmatic reasons. You have not spoken very much to the priest, but he is a loyal and driven servant of the Scorpion Clan, and as such you regret any news of his injury. On a purely pragmatic level, that leaves you the only representative of the Scorpion Clan in Shiro Matsu. Ancestors, but the amount of work that implies, and the scale of the consequences if you should fail... having a Shugenja to assist would have been extremely useful.
As you contemplate what this might mean, you continue to follow the magistrate as she leads you up the tower allocated to the various guests of the court and towards your quarters. Here and there you can see samurai of the Lion clan standing guard, making sure that nobody attempts to disturb what might be an important clue or threaten those investigating the crime, and while their vigilance is appreciated you would have much preferred it if they had prevented this from occurring in the first place.
Not that you intend to say such a thing to any of them, of course. That would be at best useless and at worst actively suicidal.
The first signs of the attack come when you reach the door to your assigned wing. It is open, the wooden frame splintered as though thrown aside with great force, and there is one of your heimin servants lying on the ground just inside. The woman is clutching at a ragged wound in her neck, apparently delivered by some kind of knife, and the mats surrounding her are stained dark red with her blood.
"The attackers entered through here." Kitsu Ami says calmly, carefully stepping around the bloodstains so as not to dishonour herself by becoming so unclean.
"Attackers, Kitsu-sama? More than one?" You ask politely, following her. The dead servant is an affront to your Clan and a personal insult, but not something that overly discomforts you. A samurai lives three feet from death at all times, and such a comparatively clean murder is no worse than some of the things you saw growing up.
"Almost certainly, Soshi-san." Ami says curtly. "One attacker could not have achieved this, though there is some evidence to suggest that only one survived it. Having entered here, they first attacked what I believe to be your servant's quarters. It appears that this is where Yogo-san was located when the attack came."
She leads you along the corridor to the relevant room, where you can immediately see what lead her to such a belief. Two more of the heimin lie within, the placement of their wounds indicating that the enemy cut them down as they tried to flee. Beyond them there is a sharp line drawn across the floor where the tatami mats are charred and blackened, as though from exposure to intense heat or flames. Past that line the room seems halfway destroyed - sections of the walls have been torn apart or splintered under heavy impacts, desks have been knocked aside by great violence, and there are splatters of blood in many different locations.
Naoto's Investigation/Perception 5k2 = 24
You do not have time to do a full survey of the scene, but one thing immediately stands out to you - it was not just Yogo Hanzo who fought here. Someone else assisted the Shugenja against the attackers, which likely explains how he wound up merely incapacitated and poisoned rather than dead. Having done what they could, they then appear to have left at some speed, not staying to provide any kind of assistance or make any report - possibly through that window over there, which has been left open.
...you really need to ask Pale Oak a question or two the next time you see him.
"A sub-group of them then split off and made their way into the central chamber." The magistrate continues, sliding open the door to the next room. "They were met by Bayushi Kimoko coming the other way."
If the servants quarters looked like a battlefield, the main chamber is a warzone. It is as if a cyclone made of blades tore through the room, marking just about every surface with signs of severe violence. All of the doors have been torn down, the mats have been gouged or shoved aside, and there is enough blood staining the floor and walls to fill a small pond. Ancestors, some of it is even on the ceiling.
Curiously, for all the signs of violence you cannot see any bodies - or pieces thereof - left by your enemies. There are what appear to be three sets of loose black clothing abandoned and piled up in different sections of the room, which suggests that the wearers abandoned them for prepared disguises, but no actual corpses. Save, of course, for one.
There, slumped against the far wall, is the broken figure of your lord. Bayushi Kimoko looks... almost happy. Her teeth are bared in a vicious smile, and her katana is still clenched firmly in her hands. Her dark red and black clothing makes it hard to see how many wounds she bears, but judging by the sheer quantity of gore that surrounds her it must have been quite a few.
"A funeral will take place in four days." Kitsu Ami says softly, and you realize that you have stopped dead to stare. "I have already had an eta administer the last food and drink. As the only Scorpion samurai currently capable of fulfilling the task, I must check - will you be standing as part of her honour guard?"
Ah yes, the Honour Guard. Distantly, you recall hearing that the practice was started by the Crab Clan, due to the inherent dangers associated with corpses in their lands, but it easily spread to the rest of Rokugan. Kimoko deserves one, without a doubt, and observing the tradition would be the correct and respectful thing to do, but... it would still be four days where the majority of your time was spent watching over a corpse.
Do you stand as part of the honour guard for your fallen lord?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
"Unfortunately, Yogo-san was also a victim of the assailant, whoever they might have been." Kitsu Ami explains, her voice a mask of calm professionalism. "He has been seriously wounded, and it appears the weapon used was laced with some kind of toxin. I have summoned Shugenja with medical expertise to attend to him, but we do not know how long it will take for him to recover."
You nod slowly. That is... unfortunate, for both personal and pragmatic reasons. You have not spoken very much to the priest, but he is a loyal and driven servant of the Scorpion Clan, and as such you regret any news of his injury. On a purely pragmatic level, that leaves you the only representative of the Scorpion Clan in Shiro Matsu. Ancestors, but the amount of work that implies, and the scale of the consequences if you should fail... having a Shugenja to assist would have been extremely useful.
As you contemplate what this might mean, you continue to follow the magistrate as she leads you up the tower allocated to the various guests of the court and towards your quarters. Here and there you can see samurai of the Lion clan standing guard, making sure that nobody attempts to disturb what might be an important clue or threaten those investigating the crime, and while their vigilance is appreciated you would have much preferred it if they had prevented this from occurring in the first place.
Not that you intend to say such a thing to any of them, of course. That would be at best useless and at worst actively suicidal.
The first signs of the attack come when you reach the door to your assigned wing. It is open, the wooden frame splintered as though thrown aside with great force, and there is one of your heimin servants lying on the ground just inside. The woman is clutching at a ragged wound in her neck, apparently delivered by some kind of knife, and the mats surrounding her are stained dark red with her blood.
"The attackers entered through here." Kitsu Ami says calmly, carefully stepping around the bloodstains so as not to dishonour herself by becoming so unclean.
"Attackers, Kitsu-sama? More than one?" You ask politely, following her. The dead servant is an affront to your Clan and a personal insult, but not something that overly discomforts you. A samurai lives three feet from death at all times, and such a comparatively clean murder is no worse than some of the things you saw growing up.
"Almost certainly, Soshi-san." Ami says curtly. "One attacker could not have achieved this, though there is some evidence to suggest that only one survived it. Having entered here, they first attacked what I believe to be your servant's quarters. It appears that this is where Yogo-san was located when the attack came."
She leads you along the corridor to the relevant room, where you can immediately see what lead her to such a belief. Two more of the heimin lie within, the placement of their wounds indicating that the enemy cut them down as they tried to flee. Beyond them there is a sharp line drawn across the floor where the tatami mats are charred and blackened, as though from exposure to intense heat or flames. Past that line the room seems halfway destroyed - sections of the walls have been torn apart or splintered under heavy impacts, desks have been knocked aside by great violence, and there are splatters of blood in many different locations.
Naoto's Investigation/Perception 5k2 = 24
You do not have time to do a full survey of the scene, but one thing immediately stands out to you - it was not just Yogo Hanzo who fought here. Someone else assisted the Shugenja against the attackers, which likely explains how he wound up merely incapacitated and poisoned rather than dead. Having done what they could, they then appear to have left at some speed, not staying to provide any kind of assistance or make any report - possibly through that window over there, which has been left open.
...you really need to ask Pale Oak a question or two the next time you see him.
"A sub-group of them then split off and made their way into the central chamber." The magistrate continues, sliding open the door to the next room. "They were met by Bayushi Kimoko coming the other way."
If the servants quarters looked like a battlefield, the main chamber is a warzone. It is as if a cyclone made of blades tore through the room, marking just about every surface with signs of severe violence. All of the doors have been torn down, the mats have been gouged or shoved aside, and there is enough blood staining the floor and walls to fill a small pond. Ancestors, some of it is even on the ceiling.
Curiously, for all the signs of violence you cannot see any bodies - or pieces thereof - left by your enemies. There are what appear to be three sets of loose black clothing abandoned and piled up in different sections of the room, which suggests that the wearers abandoned them for prepared disguises, but no actual corpses. Save, of course, for one.
There, slumped against the far wall, is the broken figure of your lord. Bayushi Kimoko looks... almost happy. Her teeth are bared in a vicious smile, and her katana is still clenched firmly in her hands. Her dark red and black clothing makes it hard to see how many wounds she bears, but judging by the sheer quantity of gore that surrounds her it must have been quite a few.
"A funeral will take place in four days." Kitsu Ami says softly, and you realize that you have stopped dead to stare. "I have already had an eta administer the last food and drink. As the only Scorpion samurai currently capable of fulfilling the task, I must check - will you be standing as part of her honour guard?"
Ah yes, the Honour Guard. Distantly, you recall hearing that the practice was started by the Crab Clan, due to the inherent dangers associated with corpses in their lands, but it easily spread to the rest of Rokugan. Kimoko deserves one, without a doubt, and observing the tradition would be the correct and respectful thing to do, but... it would still be four days where the majority of your time was spent watching over a corpse.
Do you stand as part of the honour guard for your fallen lord?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
- Location
- madison
[X] No
on a personal level I think she would rather have vengeance than an honor guard. On a pragmatic one dear god no, there is a fucking shapeshifter out there trying to frame us. we are not giving them 4 days to run around dicking us over and covering its tracks.
on a personal level I think she would rather have vengeance than an honor guard. On a pragmatic one dear god no, there is a fucking shapeshifter out there trying to frame us. we are not giving them 4 days to run around dicking us over and covering its tracks.
[X] Yes
As I understand it, permission was denied for us to investigate along with the magistrates, and we currently stand accused by witnesses, so we're likely to be kept under close watch either way.
I personally don't see what we could really be doing, apart from covertly sneaking around the castle at night to investigate the matter against Ketsui's wishes.
As I understand it, permission was denied for us to investigate along with the magistrates, and we currently stand accused by witnesses, so we're likely to be kept under close watch either way.
I personally don't see what we could really be doing, apart from covertly sneaking around the castle at night to investigate the matter against Ketsui's wishes.
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Uh..the custom is there for a very good reason if theres Taint involved...
- Location
- London, England
Technically, only the Crab specifically do it because of the possibility of their fallen brother reanimating and trying to kill them all (and they'll usually just cremate the corpse instantly if they think there's a decent chance of that).
For everyone else, it's about showing respect to a fallen samurai and honouring tradition. Which can have practical benefits in a world where your ancestors really do watch you and your fellow samurai might very well try to kill you for failing to uphold the duties of your caste.
And given that we're in Lion territory, I'd rather give them fewer reasons to get pissed at us.
Yes, standing guard over Kimoko means we're not at liberty to do whatever we want for the next four days, but I don't see what we'd be doing otherwise. We've been explicitly refused permission to investigate the crime alongside the magistrates on the basis of them not needing our help (so if they see us trying to research it on our own we're still going to be angering Ketsui), and we're going to be closely watched on account of being the only suspect at the moment.
We've already given the name of our only witness, and any allies interested in helping us will presumably come to us rather than needing us to go to them. Hanzo's unconscious at the moment, and Pale Oak is in hiding; we can't help the former and finding the latter may be a bad idea since he's trying to avoid being found and we have a spotlight focused on us at the moment.
Yes, standing guard over Kimoko means we're not at liberty to do whatever we want for the next four days, but I don't see what we'd be doing otherwise. We've been explicitly refused permission to investigate the crime alongside the magistrates on the basis of them not needing our help (so if they see us trying to research it on our own we're still going to be angering Ketsui), and we're going to be closely watched on account of being the only suspect at the moment.
We've already given the name of our only witness, and any allies interested in helping us will presumably come to us rather than needing us to go to them. Hanzo's unconscious at the moment, and Pale Oak is in hiding; we can't help the former and finding the latter may be a bad idea since he's trying to avoid being found and we have a spotlight focused on us at the moment.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
[X] Yes
We've taken hits to our honor, to our credibility, and to our emotional stability. Now is *not* the time to be neglecting honorable customs.
Also, with Bayushi Kimoko gone, suddenly the job of maintaining good relations with the Lion falls to us. Given how close our Lord was to Matsu Ketsui, she'd likely be at least a little offended if we don't pay proper respects - and paying proper respects will help allay suspicion. Oh - and with the Crane diminished, the Crab are probably the second most important delegation for us to curry favor with while we're here, and it's a crab custom.
Finally, while this will cost us four days, it'll be four days where we're relatively insulated from the intrigues of court, where no one will be expecting anything from the Scorpion Delegation, and where Yogo Hanzo can be recovering from poison, and Pale Oak can be trying to make himself safe-ish. That's... not entirely a bad thing.
We've taken hits to our honor, to our credibility, and to our emotional stability. Now is *not* the time to be neglecting honorable customs.
Also, with Bayushi Kimoko gone, suddenly the job of maintaining good relations with the Lion falls to us. Given how close our Lord was to Matsu Ketsui, she'd likely be at least a little offended if we don't pay proper respects - and paying proper respects will help allay suspicion. Oh - and with the Crane diminished, the Crab are probably the second most important delegation for us to curry favor with while we're here, and it's a crab custom.
Finally, while this will cost us four days, it'll be four days where we're relatively insulated from the intrigues of court, where no one will be expecting anything from the Scorpion Delegation, and where Yogo Hanzo can be recovering from poison, and Pale Oak can be trying to make himself safe-ish. That's... not entirely a bad thing.
- Location
- Earth
@Maugan Ra : I am guessing that if we say yes, but later find out something really important, we can not quit our post under any circumstances or we suffer, what exaclly? Just asking ahead.
Also:
[X] Yes
Also:
[X] Yes
- Location
- Leeds
[X] Yes
I can't see us making any real progress on solving the murder, I feel that we're going to mostly be waiting for Pale Oaks minions to find the pieces for us to put together.
I can't see us making any real progress on solving the murder, I feel that we're going to mostly be waiting for Pale Oaks minions to find the pieces for us to put together.
- Location
- London, England
If you abandon your post, you need to explain why you're abandoning your post. Doing so would usually end up disgracing yourself, your family and your Clan, as well as offering insult to Kimoko's spirit.
Technically, you wouldn't suffer any punishment for it. It isn't illegal, Ketsui isn't your boss, and as the highest ranking Scorpion left here such decisions are made at your discretion. It's just that if word got out basically every samurai would view you poorly for it.