[L5R] Minor Clan Quest

[storybookknight]

[X] Chouko

Dangai Monastery is a beautiful place hidden away in stony hills. The monks of the monastery have carefully rearranged the landscape into gardens of rock, using the arrangements of stones and pebbles to create harmonious patterns that please the eye. In some places there are standing towers of stone, rounded rocks balanced freely atop one another in unusual configurations; in other places there are expanses of rocky gravel that have been tended with rakes to create unusual shapes and swirls that remind you of calligraphy.

The woman that you have come to speak with is easy to locate - the shugenja known as Chouko is the only person other than you in sight who still has the long hair of a samurai. You find her seated straight-backed on top of a boulder in the middle of one of the raked gardens, her eyes closed in meditation. You walk up to the edge of the garden and stop, unable to find a path that will lead you to her boulder without disturbing the artful arrangement of pebbles below her. "Saaah, It's all right Fish-sama;" she says without opening her eyes, or indeed turning towards your location. "They're going to rake it into a new pattern tomorrow anyways."

Despite yourself a chill runs up your spine. "You knew I was coming?" You half-ask, half state.

"Saaaah. A little breeze told me." there is a silence for a few seconds as you try to figure out how to approach her. Your Gift gives you a sense of peace and tranquility coming off of her, and you feel almost loath to disturb it. Then she speaks again. "Oi. Do you have any food on you?"

"Um..." you pat at your belt pouch for a second. "Yes, I have some rice balls for lunch, why?"

"Great!" Chouko says. "Give 'em here." She slowly comes out of her kneeling posture on the stone and half-crawls over to meet you, and you see with a shock that Chouko is almost bamboo-thin, eyes bright and glassy above hollow cheeks. She practically snatches the rice out of your hands, and begins to devour it in fast, efficient bites. "Saaah, salted plum?" she says between mouthfuls. "You have good taste."

You are incredibly confused - and slightly irritated - by what has just happened. "Pardon me, Chouko-dono, but is there a reason that you have just taken my lunch?"

"Look around," she replies. You do . Your eyes take in the rock gardens, the standing stones, the small monastery... and then it sinks in.

"There's not a single thing that grows here, is there?" You ask. "No rice, no wheat, no beans..."

"You forgot no fish," she says, "not counting yourself of course. And the answer is yes. Wait, sorry, you said something didn't you? The important answer is yes, the answer to the question you just asked is no." She sees the confused expression on your face, and clarifies. "Nothing grows here. The only thing the monks here eat is what visitors bring with them." She reaches into a pouch at her belt and pulls out a rolled-up cigarette, then sticks one end to her lips. After a few seconds the other end begins to gently smoulder. "Saaaaaah." She exhales a great cloud of sweet-scented smoke up towards the skies, seemingly watching the patterns that the smoke makes as it coils in the breeze.

"...Why?" You ask, your earlier irritation forgotten. "What happens if noone visits? And what did you mean, my important question?"

"In reverse order, yes, I'll join your clan, they starve, and..." she raises an eyebrow at you. "Hunger is distracting. It gnaws at your belly. It pains you. But it also clears your mind - you begin to focus on only your hunger, and eventually as you learn to move past the hunger, on nothing at all but the mushin-no-shin. Togashi-no-kami himself chose not to eat when he sought enlightenment - and then Shinsei came, and shared a meal with him, and Togashi became enlightened."

You rock back on your heels, impressed. "Is that why you came to Dangai, then, seeking enlightenment? Is that how you knew I was going to ask you to join me?"

She laughs and stretches her legs out, shaking them to remove the sensations of pins and needles from sitting on them so long. "Would've been nice, and in truth I think I learned a little, but not quite." She lets out another puff of smoke into the air. "I wanted to understand hunger. The kami have needs and desires that we can't properly comprehend, but the same is true of them - if they could understand us, practically anybody could speak to the kami, not just those of us with the blood of spirits in our veins. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized. Do you really understand humans? Do I?"

"What do you mean?" you ask. "I would like to think that I do, but something tells me that you're going to change my mind."

She grins at you. "Saaah, can you explain to me what hunger is? Why humans sleep? How foods turn into shit? What it means for the sky to be blue, and whether you see the same blue that I do?" She shakes her head, and you shake your head with her in slow understanding. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't understand these things well enough to explain them to humans, let alone the kami. How do you explain hunger to that which has no stomach? How can you beg them to help your food grow, when they do not understand the meaning of food?" She takes another puff on her cigarette, letting the smoke fill the space between you. "Anyway, we should probably get a move on. Daylight's wasting, and all that. You have important things to do for the Fish Clan, whatever your name is, and now so do I!"

"Er. It's the Catfish clan, actually." You say. "I'm Namazu Tsubaki, the Champion."

"Saaah? That explains the, what do you call them, whiskers on the chin there." She leans in close to you, inspecting your new family mon. "Right, nice to meet you, Namazu-sama. I'm Chouko, I think you knew that, right?"

You nod in agreement, bemused. "By reputation. How did you know me before I arrived?"

She smiles and pats her belt, where you see a bundle of yarrow stalks. "Attending, Conjoining, The Family, Coupling, Sojourning." she says. "The omens were obvious."

"If you say so, Chouko-dono." You have your honor guard leave the food that they prepared for the day's journey to the other monks of the temple and ride off to the West, pondering the curious effects of hunger even as your stomach slowly begins to protest even the single missed meal. After a few minutes of riding, you canter over to Chouko where she sits awkwardly atop her horse, clearly unused to riding. "Ah, Chouko-dono. I meant to ask; is there a particular path to enlightenment that you do follow, if not that of the monastery of Dangai?"

"Saaah, I follow Inari-no-kami," she replies with a smile. "The Fortunes in general, but Inari-no-kami in particular. The kami of the elements may not understand us, but the Fortunes do, and I believe that they sometimes petition their earthbound siblings on our behalf. And out of all of the Fortunes, I think it is Inari who understands us best."

To that, you have little to say, but content yourself with riding, and contemplating hunger.

Chouko has joined the ranks of your advisors as Namazu Chouko.

She brings several traditions to the Namazu, and only time will tell which of them take a permanent hold.

Smoke - the Namazu may come to enjoy the contemplative effects of various herbal cigarettes.
Divination - the Namazu may begin the practice of consulting yarrow stalks or coins for insight into the future.
The Fortune of Rice - the Namazu may begin the slightly 'common' practice of venerating Inari-no-kami.

The previous question still stands, for those who have not yet answered; who will you induct next into your advisor council?

Spoiler: A/N

Just FYI, this was a double post, so go back and read the last one if you missed it!

[ ] Hatsuyuki
[ ] Wakaba

 

[storybookknight]

[X] Hatsuyuki.

You've met all of Boss Koibu's former advisors before, and Auntie Hatsuyuki is no exception. She has been present at the various yearly celebrations and holidays, helped teach you and some of the other samurai-ko under the Boss about your monthly flows, introduced you to the butterfly boy that took your virginity... yet for all that, it is difficult to say that you truly know her. You had a special relationship with the Boss, he was like the father that you never had, and Jiro was like the older brother you never wanted, but the rest of the Boss's advisors have mostly been respected figures who you bowed to and spoke with infrequently at best. Today, you're meeting Auntie Hatsuyuki as her superior, and it's just a little bit odd.

As you approach the doorway of the Silken Smile, you notice just how cleanly painted and attractive it is, even in daylight. Many okiya in the 'flower town' have a pretty facade in front of fairly ordinary housing, or cover up the damage and dents in their doorways with liberal amounts of red paint. The Smile looks more like one of the high-class manses in the noble district, with clean lines and white walls. Only a few bits of red trim on the windows of the Smile give a hint to the building's true nature, like red lipstick on a white face.

Some of your samurai stand guard at the front gates, as is the case for most of the okiya in the district, but the post is reserved for only the most trusted among your number. The bushi let you pass through without any hesitation, though Taigen does wink as you pass by. The path into the house proper leads around one corner, then another, effectively sealing you away from the street and the outside world before it opens up into a lush inner garden. The gentle tones of a shamisen reach your awareness on almost the edge of your hearing, and it makes you wonder just how long they have been playing, waiting for you.

A pair of maiko, the geisha-in-training, bow low to you as you approach the inner doors, revealing the red collars on the backs of their kimono as they sweep the doors open in front of you. You are greeted inside by one of Auntie's butterfly boys, the careful lines of his kabuki makeup accentuating his sharp cheekbones and pointed chin. He gives you a slow smile. "Welcome, Namazu-dono." His voice is rich like heated silk, and you can almost feel that heat collect and pool deep inside of you. "Can I take your coat? Offer you any refreshments? Auntie told me to let you know that there is a cask of sake in from the Village of Cherry Blossom Snow..." he trails off suggestively.

You smile helplessly. "Ah, um... sure?" You allow the wakashu to remove your haori, and he begins to effortlessly usher you deeper into the Silken Smile.

"The Cherry Blossom, an excellent choice, Namazu-dono, though may I say that I have always been fond of Camellias myself." The wakashu gives you an outrageous wink at the pun on your name, and you can feel a blush rising in your cheeks. Almost before you know it, you are seated in what you know from prior visits must be the grand hall, but paper screens have been pulled across the room to partition it into an intimate area more comfortable for a small gathering. The music of the shamisen has followed you into the house, if it had not originated there already, and the tones of it soothe you as you sip at the sake and wait for Auntie to arrive.

"So, Tsubaki-chan. Impressed yet?" you hear from your right elbow. You start, realizing all of a sudden that Auntie managed to sit next to you while you were sitting and listening to the music, and you didn't even notice. As usual, she is made up heavily; not so much as the geisha that are still actively working as such, but still powdering her face and coloring her eyes in a way that hides most of the wrinkles of age in her face, giving her an almost timeless beauty. A few streaks of grey run through her hair, but the elaborate headdress that she wears sets off those stray grey hairs as though they were a deliberate artifice.

"I - well, yes," you say, doing your best to collect yourself. "Is this how you greeted the Boss every time?"

Auntie shakes her head. "This is me proving a point, darling. If I can put you in such a relaxed, comfortable state - you, who grew up in the flower district and has been around it all her life - imagine what I can do to your negotiating partners."

You frown. It's true that the ambiance here is lovely, but... "is such a thing really so desireable?"

She smiles in a kindly, gentle fashion that somehow nevertheless manages to remind you of a shark. "If I'd wanted you drunk and pliable, I could have had Sho refill that cup of yours a few more times, and you never would have protested. Usually if I do that, I also insist on giving my guests a show before we discuss any sort of business. We have lovely dancers, wonderful musicians... all of which make for lovely distractions from a samurai's cares, worries, and their intentions to negotiate aggressively."

You blink, then smile. "I see. Luckily for me that I came in with no such ambitions."

Auntie Hatsuyuki continues to smile, and refills your sake cup. "You're going to want to hold some meetings here, but only the important ones. If you want to encourage someone to close a deal, taking them to a lesser house when one of their friends or rivals has been here is quite the statement. Exclusivity is the key there. There are also ways to play on a man's emotions - sing him a song of daring battles and great risks taken, and he will leap forwards into an agreement he desires without truly examining what it may cost. Play a tune of tragedy and woe, and he will resist being overly risky in pressing you for additional concessions." The relaxing shamisen continues to play in the background, but as you listen to the tune it almost begins to seem vaguely sinister to you in the sheer potency of its lazy lullaby. "Often men guard their loins so well when they come here, expecting to be manipulated or seduced, that they forget to guard their hearts."

"And but some of them do get seduced," You state with an arch expression. "It seems almost curious to me that you have not yet mentioned such."

She turns her gaze on you and her eyes become almost smoky-lidded. "Of course they do," she purrs in a way that makes you vaguely uncomfortable. Another blink, and she is back to normal as though nothing had ever happened. "That's the easy part. Deciding just how much a man wants you, when the right time is to accept his offer, how to lead him on without making him feel that you make false promises or losing his interest? That's much harder."

As you continue the discussion, you realize more and more that Auntie knows a lot about samurai. Their family mon, the favorite foods of their daimyo, who is angry at who for what and why - all of the things that a geisha must know to avoid putting on a performance that will give offense, or to make sure that their patrons are served to the best of the okiya's abilities. You can only imagine that this knowledge will be quite useful to you in the future.

Auntie Hatsuyuki has joined the ranks of your advisors.

As a long-time member of the Warakkoi-gumi, she adds no new traditions, though she may reinforce some of the older ones.

The last advisor that you induct will be [X] Wakaba.

Spoiler: Author's Note

Triple update. HALP HOW DO I STOP WRITING. If you haven't read the story since yesterday, go back a few chapters.

 

[storybookknight]

[X] Wakaba

Unlike Hatsuyuki, you know Wakaba quite well; you should, since the two of you practically grew up together. What you didn't know until a few weeks ago was that she was Boss Koibu's chief intelligence officer, or any kind of spy at all, though you suppose that's rather the point. As you wait for her to arrive in your office, you look over the reports that she has submitted to the Boss in the past and find yourself becoming more and more impressed with the information that she has gathered. There are complete transcripts of sensitive conversations that nobody in their right mind would have had anywhere near where someone could hear them, pieces of blackmail and rumors on most of the higher-ups in the various organizations of the city... all in all, it's fascinating material. However, even your untrained eye can see that there are obvious gaps in her reports, most notably any kind of analysis of what she is hearing or what it might mean. Meaningless conversations about the weather are transcribed with the same fidelity as juicy gossip about an Emerald Guardsman's unfaithful husband. Still, to have gathered all of the information in the first place, Wakaba must have the ears of a bat, which is ironic because -

tap tap

Your thoughts scatter like grains of rice as you hear the tapping on the paper screen. "Enter," you call out, and the screen slides back to reveal Wakaba and Hoshi, her brother and perpetual shadow. Wakaba is short, like many of those who grew up with years of malnourishment, but she has a wiry strength about her and moves with the constant balance of a swordsman. With her hair put up under her usual bandanna and her lithe frame she almost appears as boy rather than an adult woman, as if she were her younger brother's younger brother. Hoshi himself is fairly tall in a half-grown, coltish kind of way; he has the sort of frame that gangles. You almost couldn't tell that they were related at all except for the eyes - they share the same intense, piercing expressions.

"Good afternoon, Namazu-sama." Wakaba says with a smile, bowing. "It's good to see you again."

Hoshi follows his sister's lead and makes an awkward bow. "Hyyy." His voice is almost painfully loud, and the syllables malformed, but you were expecting it and carefully do not wince or make any sign of displeasure. After all, you've known he was deaf for years.

"Have a seat," you say, and make a gesture with your hand for Hoshi to follow so that he can do the same. "Have the two of you been well?"

Wakaba grins at you. "Very well indeed, Namazu-sama. It's a big change to go from the bottom of the city to the top all at once."

You roll your eyes at her. "Come on, Wakaba-san. Hearing anything but Tsubaki from you just seems weird."

Wakaba smirks. "Eh? But haven't I teased you by calling you Namazu for years now?"

You groan. "I'm going to get Taigen back for that one of these days..."

She laughs, and Hoshi smiles along with her awkwardly. "So, Tsubaki-sama, what can I do for you?" Wakaba asks.

"First things first," you say, rifling through the papers on your desk to find an example. "How did you manage to hear something like this?" You hand her the paper and she reads over the conversation, nodding as she recognizes it. "I wouldn't have thought that anyone would speak of such matters openly!"

Wakaba smiles, a knowing expression that makes you almost feel foolish. "Ah but you see, I didn't hear it, Tsubaki-sama. Hoshi did."

You do a double take and gape at her brother. "Hoshi? You can hear?"

"Noow." He moans in direct response to your question. "Baaht ay heer wiss mah eyez." He touches his lips, and as you watch him in fascination you see that his gaze is focused on your mouth, and the movements thereof. He must be interpreting what you are saying based only on the shapes that your lips make as you speak!

"How ... far away were you when you 'heard' this conversation, Hoshi?" You ask, mind awhir with the implications.

He smiles with pride. "Ahcrozz sa plahzah, on sa rouf."

Wakaba buffs her nails idly on the front of her kimono. "Hoshi's not the only one who can do it, either." she says. "I can manage it too, and I've been teaching the kids who report to me how to do it - well, except for Blind Taro, for obvious reasons. It's dead useful."

"I imagine so!" You steeple your fingers in front of you as you consider the matter thoughtfully. "Wakaba. I mean to eliminate the opium trade in Zakyo Toshi."

She rocks back slightly, startled, but slowly nods. "All right. Can't say as I'm too fond of it either. You know it's gonna be a total slog, right? Opium's been coming through this city for as long as anyone can remember."

"Even so," you say. "I mean to try. At the very least I mean to get rid of the Brotherhood - if someone comes to replace them, I'll worry about that then. So tell me my options. What do we need to do first?"

"Um." Wakaba bites at her thumbnail as she considers the problem. "Well, nobody knows who their boss is. Seems like probably we won't be able to take them out for real just by hammering their rank and file. So, I guess we could try and find out. But, that might be pretty hard, and if we all of a sudden start watching them real close it might put them on their guard, make it harder to find out what's going on or harder to wipe them out when we do make a move. On the other hand, we could just hammer them hard right now, while we still have the element of surprise. The Firemen'd be great for that. Then we can try and figure out where the boss is and stuff by watching where the roaches scurry to after their nice little rock gets kicked over... but that's probably harder than watching them when they're still acting all normal-like. Or, I mean, you could always put the issue off a little bit. Build up a bigger hammer, get some informants in the gang, let them drop their guard. They're probably a bit nervous ever since we took over the city." She shrugs. "I think that's most of everything."

"And what do you suggest?" You ask Wakaba, and she kind of scratches her head.

"I dunno, to be honest. They all kinda have their good parts? But it's your decision."

You mull over that for a bit. "I'll have to think about it," you admit. "In the meantime, take some time to think about it - I'll want some clear suggestions by the end of the week."

Wakaba looks a bit hesitant at that, but bows in acquiescence, her brother following her example.

For the next several days, your life is a flurry of activity as you begin to get a handle on all of the problems that face your Clan and your City. There are bandits in the forest, pirates on the river, smugglers and opium dealers inside the city walls, and the day-to-day tasks of administration that a city requires. You're grateful that you resisted the urge to just remove the Emerald Guard and Otomo Genryu's administration from the city; without their expertise you would likely be completely floundering. If only they were trustworthy!

The day before your first formal meeting with your adviser's council, a visitor to the city arrives to complicate your life further. Miya Sato has returned to the city to inform you that the Emperor requests and requires your presence at the Winter Court so that he may grant you your ancestral sword and introduce you to the kuge of Rokugan. As Miya-san puts it, "I'm sure you're aware, Namazu-dono, but the Emperor's Winter Court is an important time. It is quite rare that any Minor Clans other than the Fox are even invited to it, and all of the Clan Champions and many of the family daimyo of the Great Clans will be likely to attend, along with their most expert yojimbo, courtiers, and shugenja. This winter will probably be your best chance to make a favorable impression upon the Great Clans, or to set up favorable trade deals, so be sure to prepare accordingly. Also, give a thought to what gifts that you will bring - you will be expected to bring gifts for your hosts the Yasuki and for the Emperor at the bare minimum, though preparing gifts for all of the Great Clans may provide you with an edge in negotiations."

It is good advice, and timely. Tomorrow is the first day of the Month of the Horse. You will discuss with your advisers on how best to tackle the challenges that seemingly beset you upon every side. Making favorable progress in the not quite six months remaining until you will be expected to travel to Shiro Kaotsuki no Higashi for Winter Court will give you something to boast about and provide you with an important chance to raise your Glory and possibly even your Status.

If there are any projects, plans, or ideas you have that you want to make sure get brought up at the meeting, it is best to be sure of them now.
[ ] Write-in.

Spoiler: Author's Note

So, next update will be the Turn Plan for Year 913. This will follow more of the typical CKII quest structure, each of your advisers will be capable of completing 1 major action. Some of those actions will cost Resources (koku), and because you have a Trade + Production of 6, you will get 3 Resources for the half-year. You will also get a Personal Action. I already have choices planned out for your advisers, and the obvious stuff like 'dealing with the Brotherhood' is already on there, but I want to make sure that if the players have great ideas for how to proceed that they can discuss them ahead of time. Good ideas that I didn't think of myself may receive a mechanical bonus. Let me know if you are confused or have any questions!

 

[storybookknight]

Spoiler: Author's Note

By the lack of write-ins, I'm just going to assume that people are more or less okay with seeing what I have in mind. If that's the case, let's begin! As a reminder, each adviser can pick ONE action. Also, there are few options that require funding for this intro round, but many will be more useful if you spend money on them. You can run a surplus and save money for next year. You do not yet have the ability to go into debt.

YEAR 913

The next day, everyone arrives in the small office that until just recently had served as Otomo Genryu's art display room. You pour your advisers some strong green tea, and settle down to hear their reports on the state of their respective responsibilities.

EARTH: Yu has been taking the transition from Koeru Mura to Zakyo Toshi with the same sort of stolid patience that he uses to handle everything else. Black Deer has shown him the account books of the Wakkakoi-gumi, Ide Shougo has shown him the account books of Genryu's administration, and he has been quietly and methodically getting everything under control. He mentions offhandedly that his wife Akari has helped him a great deal with the bookkeeping as well; another part of Yu's previous successes explains itself, if his wife is as skilled as he is with a book of accounts!

The bad news is that Otomo Genryu's accounts are a mess, riddled with errors and unexplained transactions that have somehow left the city with much less each year than it otherwise should have been receiving. The good news is that your men have been adapting to the necessary business of tax collection easily enough, and the profitability of the city is such that you will likely run a 'small surplus' of 3000 koku for the rest of the year. You choke at that figure initially before Yu reminds you that the city is in disrepair, your troops are underequipped - those 3000 koku will spend faster than you would like. With that said, in addition to his other efforts of running the financial aspects of the city, he has a few ideas on projects that will help the city get off the ground.

[ ] The Means of Production - Yu has a few ideas for 'humble' industries that most samurai are reluctant to consider investing in, but he will need to investigate those thoroughly to be able to judge which would be most profitable and what supplies your Clan would need to implement those changes - whether that is anvils for nails, potter's wheels for pots, or anything else that he can come up with. Having Yu focus on this right away would make it easier for you to know what you need to trade for at the Winter Court.
- [ ] Spending 1000 koku on this project will help it get much further along, and allow you to investigate possible markets for the finished goods as well as allowing you to learn about any potential second-stage complications or hidden costs to doing business.

[ ] Uncomfortable Merchants - Any disruption in the rule of a city can bring a disruption in trade, and your assumption of power from Otomo Genryu certainly qualifies. While Yu is a bit rough around the edges, he should still be more than able to convince the merchants that their businesses will remain unimpeded, and prevent them from jumping ship for more 'favorable' ports.

[ ] A Weather Eye on the Markets - Yu could devote himself to watching who exactly is buying and selling in the Zakyo Toshi markets, allowing you to accurately gauge what your trading partners need, and what they will sell most cheaply. This will grant you a great deal of advantage at Winter Court when it comes to trade negotiations, especially with the Unicorn, Crane, Scorpion, and Crab.

[ ] Unraveling Genryu's Accounts - it seems clear that Genryu's administration was riddled with thieves, and that Genryu himself was paying bribes to certain Guardsmen and other members of the city, but right now there is little to no proof of the matter. Whereas it'd be easier to just burn the old account books and start with a clean slate using what is available, poring through those old logs could prove fruitful when it comes to finding blackmail material or discovering who is known to be bribable. If you're very lucky, you may be able to arrest some of the worst embezzlers and get some of that money back.

[ ] Write-in.

AIR: Hatsuyuki is cautiously excited about the impending Winter Court and what it could mean for the city, and is doing her best to lay the groundwork for successful contacts with the other Clans. Right now she is comfortable in her ability to keep your relations with the public and the world at large steady, but that may change once the Clans meet you and get a sense of who you are. To that end, she has some thoughts on how you can put your best foot forward.

[ ] A Patron Of The Arts - Hatsuyuki believes that one of your larger obstacles to public acceptance is the Catfish Clan's public recognition and friendship with the geisha of the Flower District. Since she doesn't care to suggest that you change that in any way, the other alternative is to try to legitimize it. Allowing geisha houses to set up public theaters, music halls, and other means by which they can make their living that do not involve sex work could help to change the reputation of geisha from prostitutes to artisans - if low-class ones. More to the point, she says, if a samurai has a plausible excuse not to take notice of a distasteful activity, they will - and legitimizing geisha would give them that excuse.
- [ ] Putting 1000 koku behind the project would allow for the change to happen much more rapidly, and could lead you to see a return on your investment as a performance industry takes hold.

[ ] Noble Friends - Corrupt Emerald Guardsmen are exactly the sort of people you don't want in your city. Well fair enough, they're leaving to other assignments... and could theoretically be convinced to pass information to you, or act as allies, from those distant locations. With a combination of bribes, blackmail, and feminine or masculine wiles as the case may be, many 'diplomatic contacts' could be gained.
- [ ] Putting 1000 koku behind the project would make sure that you have funding for the expensive bribes, and possibly gain you a higher grade of allies.

[ ] Contacting the Canaries - Ukyo, leader of the Silent Canaries, is known to be a cagey individual. The fact that you excluded her gang while recruiting from the Firemen probably didn't help matters. If you want her help in dealing with the Brotherhood, you're going to have to handle the matter delicately; if you send just anyone to talk the Canaries will vanish without a trace. Hatsuyuki is almost certainly the best woman for the job.
- [ ] Putting 1000 koku behind the project will give you a powerful negotiating tool with the money-hungry Canaries.

[ ] Performing for the Troops - Right now the bushi under your banner are a disparate group from three separate traditions, and while morale is high there is already infighting between the various groups. Minato could solve the matter by cracking heads, but Hatsuyuki has another idea - shows of the Seven Thunders, the Price of Betrayal, and so on that would leave your men feeling positively inclined towards teamwork and with a common cause for conversation.

[ ] Write-in.

WATER: Wakaba is eager and willing to tackle any of the challenges that she might face, but seems a bit lost as to how to begin. After thinking the matter over from earlier in the week, her suggestions are more fleshed out, but she sounds unsure as to which of them might be the most useful. She did come up with one additional idea which she presents as well.

[ ] Spy on the Autumn Brotherhood - Using her network of children and unusual talents with lipreading, Wakaba could try to map the patterns of the Brotherhood's operations and try to figure out how they bring their opium into the city, who the lieutenants are that might know something, and what the name of their leader might be. She does point out that if the Brotherhood notices her spies, it could lead to trouble when you go to actually make arrests.

[ ] Recruit a Larger Spy Network - Wakaba's operation is mainly composed of children. If she has time, she can train additional people to greatly expand her reach and make all future operations more reliable. She also mentions offhand that discreetly looking for a hinin torturer to assist in interrogations of anyone that you arrest would make a more violent approach to the Brotherhood much more viable.
- [ ] Putting 1000 koku behind this would greatly increase the range and breadth of her operations, and allow for a much larger network of informants, possibly even among the ranks of the Brotherhood themselves.

[ ] Kick The Brotherhood's Rock - Using Minato's cadre of enforcers and thugs, it'd be pretty easy to scoop up the low-level operatives of the Brotherhood all at once, and use the Autumn Brotherhood's response to the matter to further gauge their capabilities. Plus it would look like you were doing something when you brought word of your operations to Winter Court, and would help deny your enemies resources by keeping profits down.

[ ] Spy on the Departing Nobles - Just because Genryu left town doesn't mean that the corrupt Emerald Guardsmen in the city aren't going along with business as usual. Assigning her network to watch those guys would give her spy network some targets to practice on that aren't the Brotherhood, and possibly yield some tasty blackmail for when you travel to Winter Court.

[ ] Write-in.

FIRE: Minato is self-assured as he gives his report, but also honest. Your troops are a mess. They have little going for them but numbers, and little of those in comparison to the large and hungry Great Clans lurking at your borders. Their training is shit, you don't have any cavalry or archers.... but, as he puts it, you have him. So all of these problems are temporary. He knows what his priorities are to go about fixing these problems, but he wants to know what your priorities are.

[ ] Standardize The Equipment - any kind of training program that you try to put these guys through will be worthless if you aren't training them on the equipment they're going to be using. Getting everyone armor and eku, and getting them used to using those weapons, is an important first step.
- [ ] Putting a thousand koku behind this would allow you to develop much higher standards of equipment. In particular, Yu is thinking of getting the troops eku for keeping the peace and much deadlier weapons for times of war, and on making sure that your lieutenants have something better than ashigaru armor.

[ ] Train some Archers - As honorable as samurai are, and as much as single combat is a time-honored tradition, bows are a killing weapon and Minato would feel much better if he had, y'know, any archers worth mentioning at all. Holding tournaments to figure out which of the ronin are your best instructors, then getting practice materials for your hundreds of samurai is a strong first priority.
- [ ] Putting a thousand koku behind this will allow you to get high-quality bows for a significant portion of your troops instead of just training supplies and weapons for a few.

[ ] Start a training program - The complete lack of anything resembling a dojo in Zakyo Toshi is something that is going to have to change. Just setting up a building won't be enough, though - as a first step, Minato wants to put together a cadre of potential instructors that are willing to share teachings with each other, figure out what works and what works better. Without a knowledge base to teach from, there's no point in sending anyone to a dojo to learn.

[ ] An Easy Victory - Tempers are running high in the ranks of the Namazu bushi, and the best way to get everybody to play nice together is to go find something to kill. Either the Forest Killers or the river pirates to the north would make for a good way to build espirit de corps, weed out a few of the weaklings, and earn some Glory to take to Winter Court, as well as improving your reputation among the merchants that said bandits typically prey upon.
- [ ] The Forest Killers (starts skirmish turn, easy)
- [ ] The River Pirates (starts skirmish turn, slightly harder)

[ ] Write-in.

VOID: Chouko wants some more time to get used to the city's rhythms and its kami before suggesting any major projects for enlightenment, though she does have one exception. Other than that, she is content to use her gifts as a shugenja to assist with other projects.

[ ] Pray for the assistance of the kami - Chouko is a powerful shugenja, and her effects can be well used to assist in any area.
- [ ] Assist Yu
- [ ] Assist Hatsuyuki
- [ ] Assist Wakaba
- [ ] Assist Minato

[ ] [X] Inari's Blessings - Thanks to the Miya family's gift of rice, many of the city's poor are finally eating well, and singing your praises. Chouko suggests building temples to Inari to help to distribute that grain, and to turn those thoughts of mere gratitude into thoughts of gratitude and faith. She does note that this will be easiest to do early, before people become used to the extra food and to attributing that food to the government. (Requires 1000 koku)

[ ] Write-in.

Boss Koibu: Is just breaking ground and getting started in Wave Province. You suggest that he focus on:
[ ] Earth: Getting the province profitable, and setting up a trade network to it.
[ ] Air: Taking the time to introduce himself to the peasants and all of his neighbors, to prevent unrest.
[ ] Water: Getting the pulse of the region, and extricating bandits before they become entrenched.
[ ] Fire: Getting his military functional and organized.
[ ] Void: Developing a relationship with the priests of the region. You were intrigued by Dangai when you visited.

YOU: Have time to accomplish one personal action of note, and you are feeling as though you are on the cusp of some kind of realization as your experiences coalesce in your heart. You decide to:

[ ] Assist Yu with matters of trade, particularly with those nervous merchants. Zakyo Toshi is a trade city when all is said and done, and its ruler should be competent in such matters.

[ ] Learn the ways of Court from Hatsuyuki. You are going to be at Winter Court in six months, and acquitting yourself well there would be a great boon to your Clan. You can't help but think that her abilities to manipulate emotions would come in handy...

[ ] Work with Wakaba to eliminate corruption in your own ranks. Between your gifts of emotional insight and her powers of physical observation, you should be able to make sure that those serving you are loyal and trustworthy. Plus you wouldn't mind learning to read lips.

[ ] Share your fighting style with Minato. You feel that your techniques with the oar are worth passing down, as is your nearly preternatural ability to dodge blows - and it's certain that he will have equally worthwhile techniques to share with you.

[ ] Study your inner gift with Chouko. You've never had a shugenja that you could trust until now, and you want to understand just how it is that you can read others' emotions, and see if there is a way for you to hone that gift.

 

[storybookknight]

Calling the vote closed a little early, since there's been discussion, but no additional voting.

Plan Anowack:

Uncomfortable Merchants
Patron Of the Arts
Spy on Nobles
Standardize Equipment
Inari's Blessing
Water
Study with Hatsuyuki.

Let's roll some dice!

Uncomfortable Merchants: 8k4 - 4k4 Trade 4, 2k0 Yu, 1k0 Minato synergy, 1k0 Hatsuyuki Synergy: 45

Patron of the Arts: 9k4 - 3k3 Diplomacy 3, 5k0 Hatsuyuki, 1k1 Tsubaki: 56 (holy hell...)

Spy On Nobles: 4k2 - 2k2 Information 2, 2k0 Wakaba: 14

Standardize Equipment - 9k4 - 4k4 Battle 4, 5k0 Minato: 32

Blessings of Inari - 5k2 - 2k2 Enlightenment 2, 3k0 Chouko: 17

Earth was TN 20, Pass/Fail - PASS
Air was TN 25, variable success - 6 raises
Spy On Nobles was TN 10, variable success - Pass, 0 Raises
Standardize Equipment was TN 15, Pass/Fail - PASS
Blessings of Inari was TN 15, Pass/Fail - PASS

Looks like a pretty good round!

storybookknight threw 10 10-faced dice. Reason: Earth, 8k4 Total: 55

storybookknight threw 12 10-faced dice. Reason: Air Total: 74

storybookknight threw 4 10-faced dice. Reason: Water Total: 23

storybookknight threw 9 10-faced dice. Reason: Fire Total: 48

storybookknight threw 5 10-faced dice. Reason: Void Total: 26

 

[storybookknight]

[X] anowack

You carefully consider the words of your advisers, and mull over them for a little while. You would love to have Yu find evidence of wrongdoing in the books that Genryu left behind, but the possibility exists that no evidence exists at all. In the mean time, there is definitely a threat of disruption to the merchant trade by your takeover of the city, and that is clearly the more important and pressing problem. Similarly, while you would love to develop some ties with the Great Clans, or to speak with the Silent Canaries, your biggest priority for your chief diplomat should probably be the most important diplomatic matter that you're currently aware of - Winter Court. Plus, there was a certain feeling of wariness coming from Hatsuyuki when she suggested the scheme to become Patrons of the Arts; a feeling of a dream long deferred, a fear of rejection. It is the fact that it is clearly so important to her that finally tips the balance.

For Wakaba, you're minded to give her something easy to cut her teeth on without too much in the way lasting consequences if she fails, and spying on a bunch of targets that are due to leave the city anyways is the perfect first assignment. Minato you have no such concerns about and you are almost tempted to just let him at the river pirates but eventually prudence wins the day and you decide on equipping your soldiers properly, perhaps for a battle next season. And part of the reason that you hired Chouko in the first place was for her insight into Inari-no-kami; if she thinks that the best way to serve the Goddess of Rice is to act right away, then that's what you have to do.

You let everyone know of your decision. Yu looks uncomfortable, even nervous about dealing with the merchant houses, but does not protest. Hatsuyuki looks surprised and pleased at your decision, and is practically overjoyed when you tell her that you will give the project your personal attention. Wakaba accepts her assignment with a determined nod, Minato looks a little bit disappointed and bored when you tell him that he doesn't get to pick a fight yet, and Chouko accepts your decision with an absent-minded 'okay, sure.' ... You kind of get the impression that's how she would have reacted to just about anything you asked of her.

Decisions made, you call the meeting to an end - and get to work.

EARTH

Managing the affairs of trade in a city is practically a full time job in and of itself, but Yu somehow manages to find the energy to get through that and personally speak to the leaders of the trading houses that work through Zakyo Toshi. As he describes it, "It's the same shit, same questions every day. No, we aren't raising taxes. No, we aren't raising tariffs. Yes, we still plan to continue to buy things. Yes, we'll be keeping the rivers safe. Yes, we'll be keeping the roads safe. Yes, we will be eventually getting some of our own artisans, but we're not planning on competing with your market. No, I won't tell you what I plan on making yet. Yes, I'll consider buying raw materials from you. Yes, we will be making large purchases in the future, we probably have to build a Clan Castle. And on, and on, and fucking on." You don't leave it all to him, of course - you are called many times to meet with the samurai patrons of the merchant houses and anybody else whose ego needs to be stroked by a meeting with the Clan Champion. After several months of efforts, you begin to see the positive effects; the quantity and frantic tenor of the merchants seems to diminish as the consistency of Yu's message seems to resonate with the various merchants despite its lack of eloquence. For a while it almost seems that you overreacted in focusing so much of Yu's time and energy on this task.

It turns out in retrospect that your caution was a wise decision. A samurai named Bayushi Osamu is soon seen nosing around the merchants with whom you have special relationships, suggesting that your merchants switch to transporting goods via the 'safer' overland route. While Yu would have really liked to have known about this ahead of time from Wakaba, he manages to shore up the failing relationships with your trade partners by routing the large purchases that Hatsuyuki and Minato make through them. In the end, only a few merchants jump ship, and none of them your most important trading partners. (ENEMY ACTION 1 - TN 45 - FAIL)

[Trade relationships preserved! Bayushi Osamu identified as trade rival.]

AIR

You'd always known that Auntie Hatsuyuki was a woman of some importance in the geisha community, but you underestimated just how highly esteemed she was in the world of the Flowers and Willows. Hatsuyuki isn't just the head of the Silken Smile. She isn't just a formerly successful geisha. The woman who you call Auntie was once The Yuki-Onna of Zakyo Toshi, a woman of legendary beauty and unattainability, the woman who demanded - and got! - over ten thousand koku for her first night's bride price. In the face of that staggering sum, your one thousand koku donation to her project seems somehow paltry - yet it is that donation that moves the geisha of Zakyo Toshi to act. One by one the okiya of the city, high end parlors and whorehouses all, open their purses to support the idea of a city where they can live freely and without shame. With your frankly titanic war chest, Auntie Hatsuyuki purchases an enormous former warehouse in the center of the city, and then dragoons, hijacks, bribes, or outright seduces what seems like every carpenter in the city and a few heimin who are willing to pretend at carpentry skill to construct the first ever geisha-run Kabuki House.

Your next surprise comes at the auditions. There is frankly a staggering amount of artistic talent tucked away in the brothels of Zakyo Toshi. There are talented musicians for seemingly every instrument, for what courtesan would choose not to distinguish herself from her competitors? There are talented dancers of various styles, as being able to draw a customer's eye is a necessity. You are almost surprised by how many of the geisha show theatrical skill, until it is pointed out to you just what is required to fake one's reactions to a wealthy but undesireable customer. When it becomes clear just how much talent is at your disposal, Auntie Hatsuyuki abandons any of her previous thoughts and makes the decision. The Silken Song's first play can only be the tale of Tsubaki, the woman who saved the life of an Emperor.

Though by this point you were not really expecting the geisha to hesitate when it came to supporting their new daimyo, you are once again surprised by how fervently they take to it - though perhaps you shouldn't be. For it is not just your story, but theirs. You are the daughter of a geisha, raised by a benevolent ronin to become one of the geisha's protectors. On a mission far from home, despite the fact that you risk losing your home if you are late with your cargo, you nonetheless leap to the Emperor's defense. You make it to the Emperor in time by singing river-songs. You escape from the mysterious assailants by singing river-songs. You divest yourself of your clothes in order to save your comrade's life, and walk proudly into the town of Maemikake clad in little but your honor. The Emperor is delivered safely unto the Crab, and you return home clad in newfound status and glory. It is, in Auntie Hatsuyuki's words, practically tailor-made for a play, and she will be damned if some Scorpion gets ahold of it and adapts it before she can!

So it is that you spend your every free moment speaking with the geisha performing. You sing them river-songs, telling your stories again and again in various ways so that they can be studied for the best effect, offer encouragements and praise and the simple fact that they are being acknowledged for their skill and hard work by one as far above them in the Celestial Order as a hawk above a fish, and in return you see them blossom and grow under your instruction. You have little doubt that they will be loyal to you as a person, and not merely as a symbol or a leader of a Clan. As autumn comes to a close, the curtains of the Silken Song rise for the first time to a packed theater. For many of the Emerald Guardsmen stationed in the city, this is their last week in the city before they are returned home or sent to other courts on other assignments, and you make sure that every single one of them has an invitation to see the performance.

Spoiler: Author's Note

Seriously, it's worth listening to the entire thing, but the first movement (around a minute and 20 seconds in) and the call to arms (33 minutes in) are especially good places to listen to.

From the first note you know that Auntie Hatsuyuki has created something special. The dozens of performers of the geisha district play as one in a wall of sound, biwa and drums and shamisen and flutes all playing as one, a melody not intended to stir feelings of sublime beauty, but to inflame, to impassion, to incite. The play is deliberately racy but just on the right side of scandalous; in the scenes where you row to rescue the emperor, the actors imitating your crew do so with kimono half-open and legs half-bare from 'the heat'; the scene where the woman playing you strips off her robe to bandage Gohei deliberately is accompanied by terribly serious and martial music that would be rude to interrupt with whistles - but the striking sight of the back of her neck and shoulders is doubtless seared into the memories of every samurai attending. Even the notion of women on stage is a new one, yet the subject matter and the skill of the execution makes it the most natural thing in the world to watch.

You are particularly impressed by the lead actress. Like most kabuki actors and geisha, her face is covered by white rice flour to stand out better on stage, but unlike those actors her makeup is deliberately asymmetrical. An artistic blotch of red covers only her left eye, and the similarity to you is unmistakable. Her voice rings out clearly in the crowded auditorium, a higher soprano than yours that still manages to carry the emphatic rowing-songs of the Catfish with the appropriate rhythm and emphasis. Accompanied as she is by the hidden orchestra in the background, you have little doubt that the tunes she sings will find themselves on the lips of many a worker and oarsman for some time to come.

[Musical theater invented! Stunning performance delivered! Attitudes towards Geisha significantly shifted! Geisha become personally loyal to Tsubaki! 20 Points (2 Ranks) of personal glory gained and 10 Points (1 Rank) of Clan Glory gained! Future Theater Income practically guaranteed!]

The curtain closes with a resounding crash and thunderous wave of applause, the samurai in the audience forgetting themselves with their delight to stomp and clap and shout with the heimin. You have little doubt that word of the fantastic performance will spread far and wide. Nor was that the only thing to come out of your time assisting Auntie Hitsuyuki. Somehow in the midst of everything, she and her cadre of other senior courtesans found the time to teach you their secrets.


[Tsubaki's studies with Auntie Hitsuyuki to be covered in a separate post.]

In the midst of all of this, it briefly occurs to you to worry about the potential for riots - after all, peasant heimin have been known to react with fear to changes of administration just as badly as the merchants do. Luckily for you, however, it appears that your encouragement of Miya Sato to donate rice to the city has prevented any riots by the simple expedient measure of keeping the populace well-fed and happy. The presence of a sudden influx of entertainment only further quells the populace.

[Enemy Action 4 forestalled due to Player Choices!]

WATER

Wakaba takes to observing the samurai of the Emerald Guard with a will. Though still new to her tasks, Wakaba yet manages to gather a few pieces of tasty blackmail. Kakita Okari takes Opium, and goes on your list of people to watch for contacts to the Brotherhood. Mirumoto Dosuke has an inordinate fondness for geisha. Akodo Jiroubou is badly in debt. Much of it is gossip, but some of it is useful, and it gets the various irregulars under Wakaba's employ used to working as a unit. You help out where you are able, calling various members of the Emerald Guard in for interviews and questions to your office so that Wakaba can trail them home afterwards to see where they go.

When Yu tells Wakaba about the actions of Bayushi Osamu, Wakaba decides to handle his case personally with her brother. She personally sees him visit a group of merchants that are all traveling on the same cavalcade of boats, and offer veiled threats to each of them. However, all of the merchants refuse his offer to change means of travel, and so Osamu-san leaves by boat. Just in case, you have security doubled on that particular set of shipments.

[Gossip gained! Spy network was not revealed! But, success was not achieved in time to grant a bonus to Yu's roll, and no exceptionally juicy material was uncovered.]

Sadly, not all of Wakaba's news is good. The Brotherhood of Autumn has seemingly taken the lack of oversight by the Emerald Guard to expand their operations. More and more people are being found on street corners in near-catatonic hazes. Despite your warriors' best efforts, they are unable to arrest the well-armed monks of the Brotherhood, and a quiet war of the streets take place, a war of oars against sang kauw and bisento.

The one consolation is that you do get a name to attribute to the organization - not of the leadership of the Brotherhood, but of the ambitious underling leading the push towards greater influence over the streets of Zakyo Toshi. The name is Brother Tiger.

[Enemy action 2 - 26 vs. TN 20. Enemy success with raise! Brother Tiger gains great deal of influence over the underworld and gains strength accordingly, ????]

FIRE

With the additional funds that you give Minato, he is able to get your bushi equipped thoroughly and completely. Each of your warriors now has well-fitting ashigaru armor in Clan colors, with your few lieutenants (as well as Minato and you yourself) gaining access to true samurai armor. However, it is in the weapons that Minato's expertise truly shines. The eku that he equips your bushi with are just a little bit shorter handled than a normal oar, and for more lethal weaponry he equips all of your soldiers with nagamaki. The nagamaki is an unusual weapon, with a blade the length of a katana, but a much longer hilt. The nagamaki is startlingly close to Minato's revised eku in size, though the eku has a much heavier blunt head in comparison to the nagamaki's thin steel blade. Still, it will be possible to share many kata between the two weapons, greatly increasing the ease of future training.

That is not the only thing that Minato does, of course; there are patrols to organize, training sessions to lead, and people to shout at to keep them working together smoothly. You contribute to this as the leader of the Catfish Clan, adjudicating disputes when necessary and assisting Minato with your knowledge of the Gold River's waterways.

Between Yu and Wakaba's information, you are wholly unsurprised when River Pirates make an attack in force upon your trade ships as they travel upriver past Scorpion lands. Luckily you were forewarned, and manage to easily repel the thieves with acceptable loss of life.

[Enemy Action 3: 14 v. TN 22 - failure. No damage to your caravans. Bayushi Osamu identified as probable associate of River Pirates.]

VOID

For all of her spaciness in person, Chouko is a practiced speaker when it comes to addressing large crowds. In kitchen after kitchen across the city, Chouko repeats the same few key points - that hunger teaches a greater appreciation for the gift of the kami, that it was Shinsei's gift of rice to Togashi-no-kami that led him to enlightenment, and that the kami hunger for the thanks and prayers of humans just as humans themselves hunger for rice. With what resources can be spared from Hatsuyuki's construction efforts, humble shrines to the Goddess of Rice soon go up around the kitchens distributing food to the masses, and it is soon a common sight to see the poor kneeling in prayer while waiting for their daily meal. After several months of these efforts, Chouko appears pleased by the results. "It's enlightenment of the masses," she says. "Maybe it's true that the kami don't listen to heimin as much as they do samurai, but if it takes a hundred heimin to achieve the same piety as one samurai, all you need is to educate a hundred and one heimin to come out ahead."

[Gold Province gains +1 Enlightenment, and thus +1 Void! The Catfish Clan has committed to a permanent expenditure of 1000 koku a year to feeding the poor (covered by the Miya Clan for the next 9 years) for as long as they want to keep the program running.]

WAVE PROVINCE

Boss Koibu reports that all is quiet on the Eastern Front. His troops have run into a few bandit camps, but nothing serious. For now he is basing his operations in the area around Taka's aviary, using its central location and excellent communication abilities to keep tabs on the many far-flung settlements that he is now in charge of administering. He does however ask that helping him build more permanent fortifications for himself and his men would be greatly desired in future years.

As the season runs to a close, your preparations to leave for Winter Court in the lands of the Yasuki proceed apace. You have been alotted space to bring 10 people other than yourself. 5 of these should definitely be your advisers, but you must also decide who to bring for yojimbo. Also, there is the question of whether it is wise to bring Hatsuyuki, a geisha, to Winter Court - and what have you decided on as gifts?

Who do you bring for your 5 yojimbo?
[ ] The most loyal
[ ] The most skilled in battle
[ ] The most diplomatic
[ ] The most clever
[ ] The most honorable
[ ] Write-in

Who do you bring as your chief diplomat?
[ ] Stay with Hatsuyuki. She is the most experienced person you have with dealing with nobles, and the Silken Song's recent performance should have won you the Glory that you need to get away with it.
[ ] Bring Boss Koibu. It will hurt not having him at home in Wave Province, but he is completely unobjectionable as a choice of person to bring, and you do sort of want the Emperor to get the chance to meet him.
[ ] Bring Jiro. He is the samurai who can most easily be spared from his duties, and bringing him with you to such an important event would be a show of trust that could secure his loyalty for years to come.
[ ] Write-in.

What do you bring as a gift for the Emperor?
[ ] Write-in

What do you bring as a gift for the Yasuki?
[ ] Write-in.

Do you bring a gift for anyone else?
[ ] No.
[ ] Yes (write-in).

 

[storybookknight]

[X] Learn the ways of Court from Hatsuyuki.

"Auntie?"
"Hold still, dear. If I smudge you'll have to wash it off and start all over." You dutifully hold still as Auntie Hatsuyuki delicately paints upon your powdered face with a stick of colored grease. After a few seconds, she nods in satisfaction. "Okay, hold still and try not to move too much while that sets and I get the carmine ready. You were saying?"

"Did you really sell your first night for ten thousand koku?" You ask. Ever since you heard the staggering sum you had been trying to wrap your head around the figure. Who even had that much money?

She laughs, warmly and richly. "Oh goodness no. That's an exaggeration - which tends to happen when an Ikoma gets involved. No, in the end it came out to just over a thousand koku - one thousand, one hundred seventy one koku, 3 bu, 9 zeni if I remember correctly." Somehow you have little doubt that she does. You breathe in deeply to speak, and she gives you a tch of her tongue as she takes the red paint out and hovers in front of your lips. "Hold still. I imagine that you want to hear the story?" She says archly.

"Mm." You grunt, lips pressed closed so that she can color them.

"Everyone always does," she says in a teasing tone. "Well, back in my days of glory, I managed through... various means," she says in a sly voice, "to have a young man of the Scorpion and a young man of the Crane fighting over me. Oh, there were gifts, there were poems, both of them wanting to be the one who wooed me, but at the same time it was clear that they were fighting each other more than they were fighting for me. What's worse, it had become such a matter of pride for both of those silly boys that if I picked one over the other it was practically certain to end in blood. And let that be a lesson to you, my dear." She says. She draws a thin line of red around the whole of your top lip, then begins to slowly color it in, making sure to get a firm, even layer of the pigment. "Well just as I was about to give in to the Scorpion in the faint hope that the Crane's honor would keep him from getting revenge on me, in comes this young general of the Matsu, fresh from campaign against the Ide, leading his troops in a triumph through Zakyo Toshi after sacking Shiro Ide, and just all of them are covered in gold and glory, but especially Matsu Masakawa-kun. And in the middle of this, I'm putting on my last performance of the night that I turn eighteen, and the whole city knows it, so Masakawa-kun comes to see as well, and when he learns that the Crane and the Scorpion are competing for me he comes right up to me at the end of the performance and lays the whole damned chest at my feet. Just gold koku spilling out of it, all over the stage."

She gives you a nostalgic smile, and fans herself. "Oh, but he was handsome, and famous, and just one look at him and I could tell how badly he wanted me." Your Auntie, veteran of thirty years in the world of the Flowers and Willows, giggles like a girl. "We barely made it backstage!"

You are tempted to gape, but the rice powder caked upon your cheeks reminds you not to do so. "So the ten thousand..."

"Oh, nobody but me ever got to count it, so the bards made up a suitably impressive number based on what it looked like. Stick out your bottom lip now, dear." You comply, and she draws in a much smaller area of red on your bottom lip, giving it the appearance almost of a flowerbud. "It's not as though any of them have ever seen ten thousand koku before all at once."

You just stare at her in fascination. "What did you do with all the money?" You ask.

She smiles enigmatically. "Part of it built the Smile. The other part, well, where do you think Koibu-kun got the money to start the Warakkoi-gumi from?" With that, she turns and grabs the silver mirror and hands it to you. "Well, what do you think?"

The woman staring back at you from the polished surface is a complete and total stranger. Your birthmark is completely invisible underneath the white rice powder, and somehow a few lines of black and violet around your eyes and a few lines of red around your mouth have transformed you into a creature of desire, someone who could even be called beautiful. "Is this really me?" You ask, resisting the urge to touch your face with your free hand. "I don't even recognize myself without the," you wave your hand in the general vicinity of your right eye, "the carp-spot."

Auntie Hatsuyuki smiles wistfully. "Actually, my dear, made up like this you look very like your mother." You look up at her in surprise. "She was one of mine, you know, one of my girls. She was such a little night-thrush; whenever she wasn't singing or humming she was talking, always gossiping, but never unkindly. Just sharing her life with the people around her. I almost never heard her quiet." Your heart aches in painful memory as you think back to your own memories of your mother, and Auntie flaps her hands at you as she sees your face begin to twist. "Ut ut ut! None of that, my dear. Now, stand up and follow me."

She leads you through the half-built hallways of the Silken Song and onto the stage. There are a large number of girls there being trained as dancers, musicians, and actors for the play Camellia Floats On Violent Waters. And for today, you will be one of them.

You are corrected over and over again. You walk like a sailor, not like a mighty leader, keep your balance, stride forcefully and with confidence! Who would give orders without forcefully gesturing at her troops to go forth? Don't just speak; declaim! pronounce! pitch your voice for all to hear! Don't show emotions so brazenly! A subtle detail emphasized just enough for the audience to catch is far more effective than one that anyone could see! It goes on and on, yet you are surprised at how helpful it is. Being in the environment that you are in, surrounded by other hopeful claimants to the role of Tsubaki, you cannot help be aware of exactly how your body moves and exactly how you speak, nor can you miss the various tricks that the girls use to turn songs from mere music into something that tells a story.

In the few spare moments where you are not at the Song, and during the times when you are being dressed and made up to look like the other girls so that you can secretly train with them, Auntie quizzes you on heraldry, lore, and etiquette. At times she simulates political attacks upon you, veiled insults and subtle insinuations; at other times she simulates open contempt, and lets you prepare for society's censure. Then there is the education in music and politics - what song would you sing to ridicule a Dragon? To flatter a Lion? Which songs would stand a chance of convincing the Crane and Crab not to go to war? You practice singing with desire, with heartbreak, with hope, with courage, with fear. By the end of your training, you feel as ready for Winter Court as you will ever be.

[Gained Insight Rank 5 technique: The World Your Stage. You may attempt to shift someone's attitudes by offering a suitable artistic performance (typically dance or music) and making a Contested Roll of your Perform / Awareness (or Acting / Awareness if more appropriate) against their Etiquette (Courtesy) / Willpower. With a success, you lure them into the attitude or a choice you would prefer. If they have no reason to be on their guard against you, you may also take them as an Ally with 1-point Devotion. The target will be unaware that you are influencing them in this manner. You may only use this technique against the same target once per month.

Additionally, when you spend a void point in a Contested Social Skill Roll against someone who has seen you perform, you gain additional unkept dice equal to your ranks in that perform skill. ]

Stat Increases:
[Awareness 5 -> 6
Acting 1 -> 2
Perform(Song) 5 -> 6
Perform(Oratory) 4 -> 5
Courtier 1 -> 2
Etiquette 3 -> 4
Sincerity 1 -> 2
Temptation 0 -> 1]

Spoiler: Vote Reminder

Who do you bring for your 5 yojimbo?
[ ] The most loyal
[ ] The most skilled in battle
[ ] The most diplomatic
[ ] The most clever
[ ] The most honorable
[ ] Write-in

Who do you bring as your chief diplomat?
[ ] Stay with Hatsuyuki. She is the most experienced person you have with dealing with nobles, and the Silken Song's recent performance should have won you the Glory that you need to get away with it.
[ ] Bring Boss Koibu. It will hurt not having him at home in Wave Province, but he is completely unobjectionable as a choice of person to bring, and you do sort of want the Emperor to get the chance to meet him.
[ ] Bring Jiro. He is the samurai who can most easily be spared from his duties, and bringing him with you to such an important event would be a show of trust that could secure his loyalty for years to come.
[ ] Write-in.

What do you bring as a gift for the Emperor?
[ ] Write-in

What do you bring as a gift for the Yasuki?
[ ] Write-in.

Do you bring a gift for anyone else?
[ ] No.
[ ] Yes (write-in).

 

[storybookknight]

So, here's a quick overview of some of the people who you're going to encounter at Winter Court.

CRAB: You've met these guys. The Crab are currently in a bit of a tight spot politically, as the Crane, Lion, and Dragon have been effectively teaming up against them and shutting them out of as many courts as possible. As a result, the Crab have been struggling to get the essential food, jade, and other necessary supplies that they need to continue holding the Wall. The current Clan Champion is Hida Tanaka, son of the Hida Daimyo, Hida Shonojo. He is renowned for having held a section of the Wall single-handedly during one particularly nasty siege. Either he's significantly better with a tetsubo than he is with a sword, or he went very easy on you in that spar. Unfortunately, he is new to his position, as the previous Champion recently fell in battle.

CRANE: The Champion of the Crane is Doji Ran. She is renowned for being honorable, a talented artist, exceptionally cool under pressure, and a dangerous woman to cross. While the Crane is currently enjoying an unusually strong alliance with the Lion, they are a bit on the outs with their usual allies the Phoenix due to an intense personal rivalry between the head of the Asahina family and the Master of Air. As usual, they are at odds with the Scorpion, though that enmity is slightly more active than it has been in early years. Still, with the Right Hand of the Emperor occupied, the Crane are almost unquestioned in their political might.

DRAGON: With the Champion of the Dragon in seclusion, the man currently making most of the policy decisions for the Dragon is Mirumoto Shin, renowned equally for his skill in battle and his skill at craftsmanship. It is said that he seeks to contemplate the mysteries of the sword as much through the forge as the practice grounds. The Dragon Clan in general have been reclusive in the extreme for the past few decades, and have only recently begun taking a more active role in the politics of Rokugan, though none outside of that Clan can say why. With the opening of the Dragon's borders has come a renewed interest in trade, and the Dragon are hungry for many products of the lowlands.

LION: The Champion of the Lion is Akodo Hibiki, a dedicated servant of the Emperor. He served with distinction in the Imperial Legions for many years before returning to his duties with his Clan. The Lion had been in conflict with the Unicorn for some time, with great battles won and lost on both sides; their conflict with the Clan of Shinjo has allowed them to make a temporary peace with their traditional foes of the Crane. The recent history of war has bred many heroes and martyrs in the lands of the Lion, and their battle-readiness is relatively high. Sadly with a peace treaty recently signed between Lion and Unicorn, the Lion have fallen to infighting, with the vassal Shimizu family making war upon the Akodo over a particularly fertile plain.

MINOR CLANS: With the Crab being cut off from the supplies that they need from the Great Clans, they have taken to extorting greater amounts of goods from the Minor Clans. In particular, the Yasuki and the Mantis are currently bitter rivals, and the Sparrow, Fox, Hare, and Badger clans are scrambling to find the rice that they need.

PHOENIX: The Champion of the Phoenix is Shiba Chinatsu, a talented warrior with a extreme dedication to the ideal of peace. She negotiated the current peace treaty between Lion and Unicorn, winning a great deal of respect from both Clans in the process. The Phoenix have taken full advantage of the past century of relative peace in Rokugan, and used it to solidify their claim on the title of the masters of the secrets of the kami, much to other clans' chagrin.

SCORPION: The Champion of the Scorpion is Bayushi Yamato, a man with the face of a clerk and the soul of an assassin, a warrior with an utterly pristine public record and an absolutely sinister reputation. Like most Scorpion, it is certain that he has played any number of foul tricks and done any number of dastardly deeds; unlike most Scorpion, he appears to be unusually circumspect. The Scorpion Clan in general has been relatively quiet in the public eye of late, seemingly biding its time and waiting for one of its neighbors to show weakness.

UNICORN: The Champion of the Unicorn is Shinjo Shakaguchi, a famous general with many victories on the battlefield. She is said to be instantly recognizable by her crysteel scimitar, forged in the deserts of Ashalan. The Unicorn are finally becoming accepted as equals in the courts of Rokugan, and Shinjo Shakaguchi is not afraid to fight to keep it that way. Like the Lion, the Unicorn's numbers are slightly diminished, but the Clan has been well-honed in battle and has lost little of its overall strength.

 

[storybookknight]

Winter 913 - Turn 2

Spoiler: Turn Plan

[X] The most loyal / The most skilled compromise
[X] Koibu
[X] Memorial
[X] Oar
[X] Sake

When you were told that Winter Court would be in Face Of The East Castle in Yasuki lands, you had originally expected that it would be just a nice quick sail downriver to the sea, where the majority of Yasuki lands lie, adjacent to the Crane.

That illusion was quickly shattered once you looked at a map. Shiro Kaotsuki No Higashi is in fact on the eastern slope of the Twilight Mountains, well to the northwest of most of Crab lands! To get there you will have to travel through Maemikake, then take a long horseback ride or walk around the southern reaches of Shinomen Mori, a journey of several weeks.

Luckily, you are traveling in a small party and can move fast. With the knowledge that you may only bring ten guests, your choice of delegations becomes remarkably constrained. If you had a larger party, you could have invited Hatsuyuki, but including a geisha as one of only ten delegates pushes heavily at the bounds of propriety. Instead you are bringing Koibu despite his advanced age and the newness of Wave Province. You spoke solemnly with Jiro before you left, letting him know of your trust in him by leaving him alone to manage Wave on his own, and he took your vote of confidence in him well, your inner gift letting you know that whatever lingering resentment he may have had when you first took over Namazu Province seems to be long gone.

For your yojimbo, you decide on putting your best foot forwards with Jumonji, Kuroki, and Togano, three of the strongest warriors currently among the ranks of your clan - and Taigen and Gohei, who are not nearly so accomplished, but whose loyalty to you and fame in the Crab lands as samurai who have rescued the Emperor more than make up for that small deficit. Minato, Chouko, Wakaba, and Yu make up the rest of your traveling party and largely seem happy to be seeing more of the world, though Yu seems uncomfortable being separated from his wife and Wakaba is nearly inconsolate at being away from her brother for so long.

Winter is scratching on Autumn's screen as you set out from Zakyo Toshi; despite the southern latitudes the wind blows chill and damp, punctuating your journey with clammy fogs and sudden squalls. As you ride across the rice paddies of the Northern Crab you find yourself grateful for the animal heat of the stocky pony beneath you and for the heavy haori gifted to you by Hantei-heika. Of your traveling companions it is probably Chouko who is most impaired by the chill; despite months of living away from the monastery of Dangai she still eats but sparingly, and has maintained her unusually thin frame. Despite her obvious discomfort Chouko refuses any offers of assistance, and can occasionally be seen staring at a lit cigarette as if to explain to the kami of Fire inside about what it means to be cold.

Other than the weather, however, there is very little unpleasantness to your travel. Heimin view you completely without the contempt that marked so many of your previous journeys as ronin. Hiruma bushi scouts keep the roads clear of any foolish bandits who would think of menacing any of the many important figures traveling the roads of the Crab. When you stop for the night in villages along the way, you are given food and shelter, all at the Crab's expense.

Your winning streak breaks in the Village of Oolong Tea, a minor village on the eastern edge of Yoake Province. While the heimin treat you as other heimin in Crab have, you have finally caught up with one of the other delegations traveling to Shiro Kaotsugi No Higashi - that of the Dragon Clan. While you had heard that the Dragon were contemplative, aescetic, and generally kind to those of lower status than themselves, the samurai accompanying this particular delegation seem almost an exception to that rule. You are treated quite coolly by several bushi of the Mirumoto family, and told to seek accommodations far from the best inn in town, which has been completely coopted by their own delegation.

You trudge across town in the chill, soaking rain, looking on with envy at the Great Clan samurai already beneath dry roofs. You eventually reach the village's other inn, anxious to find a place of peace and quiet - and a place for poor Chouko to get out of the rain - but even here you are not free from conflict. As you enter, you can see several younger Dragon bushi currently involved in an argument with a ronin, the three of them seeking to intimidate him into leaving 'because the inn is full', despite the fact that it is in fact nearly empty. The ronin himself appears to have been doing nothing more offensive than drinking tea.

[ ] Intervene
[ ] Do not intervene

 

[storybookknight]

[X] Intervene.
- [X] Try to avoid causing offense.

Something ugly snarls in the pit of your stomach as you look at the Mirumoto samurai harassing the ronin. You are about to shout out in anger... before you get control of your emotions. Honor demands that you intervene, but politics demand that you not be in any way rude or impolite in doing so. You have no way of knowing who these bushi are, but they are doubtless part of the Dragon delegation to Winter Court. In the best case scenario they are merely the lowest ranking of the delegation's yojimbo, but even so any one of these men and women could be an important personage in their own right - or become so in the future. Thankfully, Auntie Hatsuyuki had plenty of suggestions for what to do about obnoxious Clan samurai.

You hold up a hand to forestall any of your companions from acting and step forwards. "Ara, samurai of the Mirumoto Clan! What an auspicious occasion!" You paste a smile upon your face, masking the disgust that you feel in your gut. "And an honorable ronin as well! Please, won't you all come have a drink with us?" There is a look of surprise on the faces of everyone present as they take in your delegation, arrayed in the colors of an unfamiliar Clan, well armed and armored, and dripping wet. "We have been on the road for a while, and news from far abroad is always pleasant to hear."

One of the samurai steps forwards.

Spoiler: Kaien

He scowls. "What Clan's armor is that? I do not recognize it." You bristle at the implied insult. Not to recognize you is forgivable and understandable; to ask you who you are in such a manner is deliberately antagonistic and dismissive.

Nevertheless you persevere. "Then it seems we have news to share with you, as well. Will you sit?" You ask, inclining your head at an empty table.

After a few seconds, he snorts. "All right, fine. Just as soon as I get rid of this insect here." He says, indicating the ronin.

"Maah, maah, let him stay," you say. If Auntie Hatsuyuki taught you one thing about Dragon samurai, it was that they had a fondness for quotes from the Tao. "After all, is it not said; 'The dragonfly's buzz is no different from the lion's roar. All creatures have a voice with which they express the Way'? And this ronin looks as though like us, he has traveled far and hard this day. I would like to hear his news as well."

The Dragon takes a step towards you. "Do you know who I am?" He says, puffing out his chest to reveal his family mon. "I am Mirumoto Kaien, son of Mirumoto Shin! The son of a daimyo -"

Before he can say something about it being unworthy of him to sit and eat with a ronin or something like that, you manage to interrupt. "Oh my, how unfortunate for you, Mirumoto-sama!" He stops, completely flabbergasted as you continue. "After all, 'True Nobility comes not from being superior to another man, but from being superior to your past.' Fate has surely given you a difficult goal to strive for." You bow to him, the bow of one equal to another, and see his eyes begin to narrow as he takes the action as an insult, only to open wide in surprise as you speak again. "I am Namazu Tsubaki, Champion of the Catfish Clan." You put as much sincerity into your words as possible, and is evidently enough, for you can feel his attitude and demeanor shift as he believes you.

Grudgingly, he returns your bow, again as one equal to another. If you hadn't acknowledged him as an equal first, proclaiming himself as the equal to a Clan Champion would have been insultingly rude. Instead it's just rude. "I see. Well, Namazu-sama, I am afraid that I will have to decline your invitation. We, too have traveled long and far this day, and I was just about to take my rest."

You do your best not to sigh in relief, smile in victory, or in any way show your true feelings about this declaration, instead making an appropriate display of disappointment. "That is truly a shame, Mirumoto-sama." To your family and Clan, you think privately. "Another time, perhaps."

"Perhaps." He says. "In any case, have a care with that ronin of yours. 'Petting scorpions with a compassionate hand only gets you a sting.' " The last word had, Mirumoto Kaien returns to gather his companions. Your keen ears pick up the sound of him brusquely ordering the heimin that run the establishment to have his samurai's food and drink served in their private rooms, and sigh in a combination of relief and exasperation.

The ronin, who until now has been very wisely staying as silent and unobtrusive as possible, gives you a deep bow of gratitude. "You have my thanks, lord. Namazu-sama, right?" He has a thick, unrefined accent, sounding more like a country peasant than a samurai.

You nod. "And you are?"

"Hanzo, lord." the ronin says. "Heard the Crab were taking heavy losses, so I been hanging round the area ta see if they were calling for a Twenty Goblin Winter." With a sigh, he picks up his cup of tea and takes a sip. "But they ain't, so now I'm tryin' ta figure out what ta do next." He scowls. "Though it's seemin' like gettin' outta the way of the Great Clans is prob'ly a good start."

You nod in agreement. "Probably a good idea, Hanzo-san. Clan samurai are proud creatures, and all of them are journeying to Winter Court where the Emperor himself is in attendance. They are likely to be quicker than usual to take offense." As hear a cough from behind you, you are reminded that you yourself are now a Clan samurai, and blush. "A-anyway, these are the members of my Clan." You go through the round of introductions, and the heimin of the inn bring you food and hot tea and hot sake to warm your chill bodies. Hanzo seems grateful for the company and for the food that you generously share with him.

What do you discuss during dinner?
[ ] Write-in.