[L5R] Minor Clan Quest
- Thread starter storybookknight
- Start date
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
Ugh, with Kolat. Edited. Probably thought about something else at the same time. Shouldn't post with headache... if there was time when I don't have one.
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- Location
- Washington
I'm a little concerned that we'll overestimate the regard that being a scorpion's bastard will get us, that's part of why I want the scorpion marriage, to remove any ambiguity about where we stand with them.
[X] Mingle with the Unicorn
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Okay, the Kolat is going to be messing with the Catfish. They already are messing with us, right "Brother Tiger"? And they're a giant conspiracy that has people everywhere and they put a lot of hurt on us.
The thing is...they're a giant conspiracy organized in cells and Sects and the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, magic cell phones or not. Which means the thing to do with the Kolat is cause them to get in their own way.
You have Unicorn husbando Kolat trying to subvert the Catfish to the cause of Rokugan Cerberus, you have Brother Tiger Kolat trying to burn our city down with his army of criminal scum, and then their superiors start squabbling over whose way is better, you know, "my guy's got this", "no, you shut up, MY guy's got this", and while they're tangled up bickering we get some breathing room.
Or possibly they both team up and wipe us off the map, I admit this plan runs off unknown unknowns and meta-gaming, and those rarely end well.
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Unlike the Great Clans, as far as your knowledge of the rumors go the Minor Clans are the only ones with a recent reason to be mad at the Crab - the Crab has been having to basically extort the Minor Clans in order to feed the samurai on the Wall. The Minor Clans are... less than happy about that, y'might say.
Was it that the Crab couldn't afford it?
I could see at least something worth a lucrative trade if we can make more flour and sell excess rice to them at least.
But even so, Minors flipping off a Major clan HOSTING them is nearly to the point of finding excuses to duel them...
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Partially that the Crab couldn't afford it, partially that the Minor Clans can't always grow enough food for themselves to begin with, never mind trying to help feed someone else.
As to the level of insult... there's a difference between an insult and a message. The Crane/Lion/Dragon bit was a deliberate attack. The Minor Clans were more like 'well gee, if you hadn't screwed us so hard this year, maybe we'd have brought you something better.' FWIW, the Crab don't look too bothered by the Minor Clans' offerings.
Winter 913 - Turn 2.8 - A Precious Gift
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Mingle with the Unicorn
Well, at the moment you have three Clan delegations near to you, and two of them hate your closest allies. With that thought in mind, you move to strike up a conversation with the Unicorn.... only to be interrupted by well-wishers coming to congratulate you on your new Clan Status. And then additional well-wishers. And then a few more. Seemingly everyone in the room is coming over to demand their two minutes of time with the hero, and the Unicorn drifts further and further away. Finally you manage to catch Shinjo Shakaguchi's eye, and she smirks, then heads back in your direction.
"Oi, Namazu-dono," she calls out. "How've the rains been fer ya? I hear it's been dry in th' south this year."
You smile politely in inward relief. "They could be worse, Shinjo-dono. The farmers of the Wave Plains are quite used to having inconsistent rains from year to year, and planted crops that do better in dry weather than rice does. I understand that the Unicorn often do the same, having vast territories of open plains that are often dry?"
She waggles a hand in the air in a side-to-side fashion. It's an unusual gesture that you haven't seen before, but the meaning of ambivalence behind it is fairly obvious. "Well, summat. A lot've those lands we use for pasturage, y'know? You would not believe how much fodder an Otaku warhorse can eat... an' our other horses ain't too far behind."
"I admit, I have never seen one of the famed steeds up close," you reply, "but their size and strength are indeed well known. It only makes sense that their appetite would be in proportion." Inwardly, you grin as the useless hangers-on of the court sort of hover around you hopefully, unable to interrupt a conversation between their social superiors without being rude, and thus forced to wait while you and Shakaguchi talk about weather, horses, and whatever else crosses your minds. "As it stands, most of my time has been spent on riverboats, rather than horseback."
Shakaguchi raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? Never been much've one for boats myself, which's a shame, cause I bet someone could probably take a boat alla way up Three Stone River to th' City of th' Rich Frog if they'd a mind to." And if that wasn't an invitation to discuss trade agreements at a later date, you'd eat your oar.
You try not to look to pleased as you respond. "My understanding is that the river is often a hazardous one, full of rapids and narrows, so it would likely take truly seasoned navigators to sail all the way upriver from the ocean, but with a team of skilled rowers, such could potentially be accomplished." Your eyes pointedly flick over to the enormous tetsu-eku that Minato currently carries slung over one shoulder as though it were a normal oar, carefully keeping the flat end pointed high into the air so as not to accidentally hit a foreign emissary in the back of the head.
Just as it looks like Shakaguchi is about to respond, you are finally interrupted by someone who does have the authority to join a conversation between two Clan Champions. "Ah, Namazu-dono, congratulations on your momentous achievement!" You turn to see the grandmotherly Doji Ran, smiling as though grinding you beneath her heel was the furthest thought from her mind. "You have the sincerest thanks of the Crane Clan for your efforts in saving the life of the Emperor with your courageous retreat." Behind her are a Crane Courtier, a Lion, and a Dragon; you note with unease that they are all bearing covered gifts.
Despite your trepidation, you smile politely. "Truly, Doji-dono, there is no need for thanks. I have only done as any servant of the Emperor would."
"You are too humble by far, Namazu-dono." Her voice is as sweet as honey, her smile as venomous as a bee's sting. "The Crane, and indeed all the clans, owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude. It is only just that you be compensated for your actions appropriately." You aren't quite sure how she does it, but somehow the intonation of her voice makes it clear to everyone listening that she considers your actions to have been motivated by profit, rather than a true desire to serve the Emperor. "Let none say that the Crane are not capable of adequately recognizing the deeds of another." And again - with just a few words, she has painted your future actions with a brush of greed. If you refuse her gift, whatever it is, it will be seen as a statement that the Crane did not offer enough; refusing her would not only insult the Crane, but cast you as a total mercenary.
Then she unveils the gift, and the other jaw of the trap swings closed. It is a teapot, gorgeously carved. It is covered with fine etchings of catfish swimming in and around camellia flowers, and accompanied by four teacups of similar decoration. It is a gift worthy of an Emperor, not a mere head of a newly founded Minor Clan. It is a powerful insult to you, because it is an item so fine and expensive that you will be unable to come up with an equal gift in return. It is also a powerful insult to the Crab, because it is carved entirely from a single block of jade. You hear an actual hiss of air through clenched teeth as some of the Crab samurai in the room see what has been unveiled. "Doji-dono," you say, trying to find a way out of the trap, "This is much too fine for a humble servant of the Emperor such as myself."
Doji Ran smiles so sincerely that you would be completely unable to detect the spite in her heart without your inner gift. "No gift is too much for one who has done so much, dear." The perverse old bat is practically grandmotherly as she seals your fate. "The life of the Emperor is surely worth any price." The teapot and cups practically have a lambent glow around them in the lantern-light that illuminates the room.
You grit your teeth for a second and take a deep breath, struggling mightily not to break your on. "I did not save the Emperor with the expectation of reward," you say, pouring as much honesty as you can into the words. You don't know how much good it will do, but you want to make that as clear as possible to anyone who might be listening.
"I am certain that you did not," Ran says, though her tone does not sound so certain as her words. "In any case, I have decided that you merit such a reward, and I am certain that you will not insult me by refusing." Kakita Kei, you note, is not terribly far away.
In the end, there is nothing else for you to do but hide your anger with a polite smile and bow to accept the gift. With the gates opened by Doji Ran's assault, there is similarly no way for you to refuse the gifts of the Lion or the Dragon, leading you to find yourself burdened by a magnificent jade-inlaid sword display stand and a beautiful necklace of jade prayer beads. Even an untrained eye would note how similar in meaning the three gifts given to you are to the three gifts the delegations gave to the Crab. All at once, Doji Ran has implied that even a Minor Clan is more fit to defend the Emperor than the Crab, implied that you are for sale, implied that you are so far beneath the notice of the Great Clans that you can be given expensive gifts without insult, and probably sown some seeds of resentment between you and the Crab. You would almost admire the move if it wasn't so personally problematic for you. You do at least take the opportunity to return the favor by presenting them with bottles of sake, though in comparison to the gifts that you received, your humble offerings look paltry. You look for Shakaguchi to give her her gift, but she appears embroiled in tense discussions with some members of the Lion and Dragon clans, and it seems better not to disturb her for now.
As you look around the room, you try to decide what to do next.
[ ] Try to find the Crab, so that you can smooth things over and maybe plan some kind of counterattack.
[ ] Seek out the Scorpion, perhaps Bayushi Yamato will be able to offer advice or information.
[ ] Go speak to the other Minor Clans; it'd let you lay low for a bit, and they are your southern neighbors.
[ ] Go talk to the Phoenix, they're the only Great Clan you haven't really come into contact with yet.
[ ] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
[ ] Write-in.
Well, at the moment you have three Clan delegations near to you, and two of them hate your closest allies. With that thought in mind, you move to strike up a conversation with the Unicorn.... only to be interrupted by well-wishers coming to congratulate you on your new Clan Status. And then additional well-wishers. And then a few more. Seemingly everyone in the room is coming over to demand their two minutes of time with the hero, and the Unicorn drifts further and further away. Finally you manage to catch Shinjo Shakaguchi's eye, and she smirks, then heads back in your direction.
"Oi, Namazu-dono," she calls out. "How've the rains been fer ya? I hear it's been dry in th' south this year."
You smile politely in inward relief. "They could be worse, Shinjo-dono. The farmers of the Wave Plains are quite used to having inconsistent rains from year to year, and planted crops that do better in dry weather than rice does. I understand that the Unicorn often do the same, having vast territories of open plains that are often dry?"
She waggles a hand in the air in a side-to-side fashion. It's an unusual gesture that you haven't seen before, but the meaning of ambivalence behind it is fairly obvious. "Well, summat. A lot've those lands we use for pasturage, y'know? You would not believe how much fodder an Otaku warhorse can eat... an' our other horses ain't too far behind."
"I admit, I have never seen one of the famed steeds up close," you reply, "but their size and strength are indeed well known. It only makes sense that their appetite would be in proportion." Inwardly, you grin as the useless hangers-on of the court sort of hover around you hopefully, unable to interrupt a conversation between their social superiors without being rude, and thus forced to wait while you and Shakaguchi talk about weather, horses, and whatever else crosses your minds. "As it stands, most of my time has been spent on riverboats, rather than horseback."
Shakaguchi raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? Never been much've one for boats myself, which's a shame, cause I bet someone could probably take a boat alla way up Three Stone River to th' City of th' Rich Frog if they'd a mind to." And if that wasn't an invitation to discuss trade agreements at a later date, you'd eat your oar.
You try not to look to pleased as you respond. "My understanding is that the river is often a hazardous one, full of rapids and narrows, so it would likely take truly seasoned navigators to sail all the way upriver from the ocean, but with a team of skilled rowers, such could potentially be accomplished." Your eyes pointedly flick over to the enormous tetsu-eku that Minato currently carries slung over one shoulder as though it were a normal oar, carefully keeping the flat end pointed high into the air so as not to accidentally hit a foreign emissary in the back of the head.
Just as it looks like Shakaguchi is about to respond, you are finally interrupted by someone who does have the authority to join a conversation between two Clan Champions. "Ah, Namazu-dono, congratulations on your momentous achievement!" You turn to see the grandmotherly Doji Ran, smiling as though grinding you beneath her heel was the furthest thought from her mind. "You have the sincerest thanks of the Crane Clan for your efforts in saving the life of the Emperor with your courageous retreat." Behind her are a Crane Courtier, a Lion, and a Dragon; you note with unease that they are all bearing covered gifts.
Despite your trepidation, you smile politely. "Truly, Doji-dono, there is no need for thanks. I have only done as any servant of the Emperor would."
"You are too humble by far, Namazu-dono." Her voice is as sweet as honey, her smile as venomous as a bee's sting. "The Crane, and indeed all the clans, owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude. It is only just that you be compensated for your actions appropriately." You aren't quite sure how she does it, but somehow the intonation of her voice makes it clear to everyone listening that she considers your actions to have been motivated by profit, rather than a true desire to serve the Emperor. "Let none say that the Crane are not capable of adequately recognizing the deeds of another." And again - with just a few words, she has painted your future actions with a brush of greed. If you refuse her gift, whatever it is, it will be seen as a statement that the Crane did not offer enough; refusing her would not only insult the Crane, but cast you as a total mercenary.
Then she unveils the gift, and the other jaw of the trap swings closed. It is a teapot, gorgeously carved. It is covered with fine etchings of catfish swimming in and around camellia flowers, and accompanied by four teacups of similar decoration. It is a gift worthy of an Emperor, not a mere head of a newly founded Minor Clan. It is a powerful insult to you, because it is an item so fine and expensive that you will be unable to come up with an equal gift in return. It is also a powerful insult to the Crab, because it is carved entirely from a single block of jade. You hear an actual hiss of air through clenched teeth as some of the Crab samurai in the room see what has been unveiled. "Doji-dono," you say, trying to find a way out of the trap, "This is much too fine for a humble servant of the Emperor such as myself."
Doji Ran smiles so sincerely that you would be completely unable to detect the spite in her heart without your inner gift. "No gift is too much for one who has done so much, dear." The perverse old bat is practically grandmotherly as she seals your fate. "The life of the Emperor is surely worth any price." The teapot and cups practically have a lambent glow around them in the lantern-light that illuminates the room.
You grit your teeth for a second and take a deep breath, struggling mightily not to break your on. "I did not save the Emperor with the expectation of reward," you say, pouring as much honesty as you can into the words. You don't know how much good it will do, but you want to make that as clear as possible to anyone who might be listening.
"I am certain that you did not," Ran says, though her tone does not sound so certain as her words. "In any case, I have decided that you merit such a reward, and I am certain that you will not insult me by refusing." Kakita Kei, you note, is not terribly far away.
In the end, there is nothing else for you to do but hide your anger with a polite smile and bow to accept the gift. With the gates opened by Doji Ran's assault, there is similarly no way for you to refuse the gifts of the Lion or the Dragon, leading you to find yourself burdened by a magnificent jade-inlaid sword display stand and a beautiful necklace of jade prayer beads. Even an untrained eye would note how similar in meaning the three gifts given to you are to the three gifts the delegations gave to the Crab. All at once, Doji Ran has implied that even a Minor Clan is more fit to defend the Emperor than the Crab, implied that you are for sale, implied that you are so far beneath the notice of the Great Clans that you can be given expensive gifts without insult, and probably sown some seeds of resentment between you and the Crab. You would almost admire the move if it wasn't so personally problematic for you. You do at least take the opportunity to return the favor by presenting them with bottles of sake, though in comparison to the gifts that you received, your humble offerings look paltry. You look for Shakaguchi to give her her gift, but she appears embroiled in tense discussions with some members of the Lion and Dragon clans, and it seems better not to disturb her for now.
As you look around the room, you try to decide what to do next.
[ ] Try to find the Crab, so that you can smooth things over and maybe plan some kind of counterattack.
[ ] Seek out the Scorpion, perhaps Bayushi Yamato will be able to offer advice or information.
[ ] Go speak to the other Minor Clans; it'd let you lay low for a bit, and they are your southern neighbors.
[ ] Go talk to the Phoenix, they're the only Great Clan you haven't really come into contact with yet.
[ ] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
[ ] Write-in.
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Wow... not sure what to vote on yet.
But anyway a question is there any reason why the Falcon aren't present? Because I thought they were quite close to the Crab lands.
But anyway a question is there any reason why the Falcon aren't present? Because I thought they were quite close to the Crab lands.
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
They're relatively close, but still pretty far away - probably another 200 miles further away than you are. And they're currently a really minor Minor Clan that is sort of struggling to survive and grow. The Crab decided they weren't really worth bothering to invite.
Diccccckkkkkkksss.
I am absolutely furious.
Too mad to vote.
Too mad to vote.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[X] Seek out the Scorpion, perhaps Bayushi Yamato will be able to offer advice or information.
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Thoughts:
[ ] Try to find the Crab, so that you can smooth things over and maybe plan some kind of counterattack.
This seems safe, but will solidify the impression of us as being on the Crab's side. Which is more or less true, but will probably encourage their enemies to see us as obstacles more than they already do.
[ ] Seek out the Scorpion, perhaps Bayushi Yamato will be able to offer advice or information.
This is risky, maybe, but not necessarily a bad idea. The Scorpion didn't seem locked into opposing us earlier. Even if Bayushi-sama doesn't provide any real help (and it might be better not to ask for it), the mere fact that we're seen chatting amicably with him may make the Crane et. al. worry that the Scorpion are backing us.
On the other hand, people may worry that the Scorpion are backing us. And it may irritate the Crab.
[ ] Go speak to the other Minor Clans; it'd let you lay low for a bit, and they are your southern neighbors.
The safest option, probably? It's something we need to do at some point, but I think doing it now will look like an admission of defeat.
[ ] Go talk to the Phoenix, they're the only Great Clan you haven't really come into contact with yet.
I'm inclined to think that they know where we are if they want to talk to us.
[ ] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
The Emperor would probably appreciate this, but the Great Clans and possibly the Imperial Families might see it as presumptuous.
Of the options presented, I'm leaning toward the Crab or Scorpion, depending on whether we want to take that risk. If write-ins are an option, and assuming it's not an enormous etiquette fail, I'm wondering about something like:
[ ] Write-in: Since we've started exchanging gifts, circulate and present the sake bottles to everyone. Apologize for the humbleness of the gift in some terribly witty way that makes the Crane et. al look bad for giving us such expensive gifts.
But someone would need to come up with that terribly witty apology, probably.
[ ] Try to find the Crab, so that you can smooth things over and maybe plan some kind of counterattack.
This seems safe, but will solidify the impression of us as being on the Crab's side. Which is more or less true, but will probably encourage their enemies to see us as obstacles more than they already do.
[ ] Seek out the Scorpion, perhaps Bayushi Yamato will be able to offer advice or information.
This is risky, maybe, but not necessarily a bad idea. The Scorpion didn't seem locked into opposing us earlier. Even if Bayushi-sama doesn't provide any real help (and it might be better not to ask for it), the mere fact that we're seen chatting amicably with him may make the Crane et. al. worry that the Scorpion are backing us.
On the other hand, people may worry that the Scorpion are backing us. And it may irritate the Crab.
[ ] Go speak to the other Minor Clans; it'd let you lay low for a bit, and they are your southern neighbors.
The safest option, probably? It's something we need to do at some point, but I think doing it now will look like an admission of defeat.
[ ] Go talk to the Phoenix, they're the only Great Clan you haven't really come into contact with yet.
I'm inclined to think that they know where we are if they want to talk to us.
[ ] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
The Emperor would probably appreciate this, but the Great Clans and possibly the Imperial Families might see it as presumptuous.
Of the options presented, I'm leaning toward the Crab or Scorpion, depending on whether we want to take that risk. If write-ins are an option, and assuming it's not an enormous etiquette fail, I'm wondering about something like:
[ ] Write-in: Since we've started exchanging gifts, circulate and present the sake bottles to everyone. Apologize for the humbleness of the gift in some terribly witty way that makes the Crane et. al look bad for giving us such expensive gifts.
But someone would need to come up with that terribly witty apology, probably.
- Location
- England
Ha! So much for Crane honour. Someone saves the Emperor, and their first act is to undercut them for spite. They might not have done anything you could call offensive, but this is definitely dishonourable in the colloquial sense.
Obligatory:
The Crane are Diccccckkkkkkksss
Honestly, when you look at Rokugan, the Crane really do stand out as useless bastards, don't they? All they seem to do is manipulate and belittle literally every clan that actually contributes something to the empire while hiding behind their duelists and their social skills. They're supposed to keep the peace through diplomacy, but they usually do the opposite.
I really do get why the Crab tend to hate them so much.
Obligatory:
The Crane are Diccccckkkkkkksss
Honestly, when you look at Rokugan, the Crane really do stand out as useless bastards, don't they? All they seem to do is manipulate and belittle literally every clan that actually contributes something to the empire while hiding behind their duelists and their social skills. They're supposed to keep the peace through diplomacy, but they usually do the opposite.
I really do get why the Crab tend to hate them so much.
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
Fucking Crane.
How buthurt of them to try to undermine our relationship with the Crab this way. Granted, is all they can do to justify their existence.
How buthurt of them to try to undermine our relationship with the Crab this way. Granted, is all they can do to justify their existence.
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
Well, the Crane are dicks for everyone, but their issue with the Crab starts with "Y" and ends with "asuki".
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Crane are the Greatest of Clans. From them come the Empire's greatest villains, and also their greatest of heroes. They're frequently the only Clan that is capable of getting enemies to reconcile - take a look at the Dragon and Lion cooperating! They're some of the greatest artists in Rokugan - that teapot is amazingly gorgeous. In their minds right now, they aren't so much attacking and undercutting you as using you to take a swing at their perennial enemies the Yasuki, in whose court they currently stand. If you roll over and make nice to them, they will probably gladly take you under their wing, treat you wonderfully, and gloat about stealing you from the Yasuki for generations.
However, it is one way to get out of this mess without smashing into Crane interference or outright flipping them off.
See what we did here with talking to someone of enough social status to get the courtiers and the like to buzz off? Talking to the Emperor essentially means nobody gets to interrupt us, and the Emperor himself HAS given us a gift of great value and liking.
Basically, it lets us go around the whole mercenary business, by going to the top and declare that we share common cause with the Crab because our priority is the Emperor and Empire.
It also flips the Crane off a bit, but everything except withdrawing in defeat would do that.
- Location
- That light in the sky with a decaying orbit.
The crab are one of the few clans that appreciate honesty. I think we should try to make the Crab champion laugh by complain about the insult the Crane and their allies made with their gifts.
But we can do that later.
[X] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
But we can do that later.
[X] Talk to Hantei-heika. He's surrounded by people from the Imperial Families and looking bored, maybe he needs another rescue?
Dovahsith
Lost on the road of life
- Location
- Manchester
[X] Go speak to the other Minor Clans; it'd let you lay low for a bit, and they are your southern neighbors.
Smile, bear it and note every face in victory whilst plotting vengence. We will honor our ancestors by doing as they do and look weak.
All animals may be magnificent but when drowned the catfish still feasts.
Smile, bear it and note every face in victory whilst plotting vengence. We will honor our ancestors by doing as they do and look weak.
All animals may be magnificent but when drowned the catfish still feasts.