Arc III: On the Scorpion Interrogation
-Doruma1920
Courtier roll=30 *Success*
You consider this question with all the due care that Grandmother suggests. She is your ancestor after all, caustic as she is, and she's still the only family you have left.
So why come out to Shiro Enishi? The truth is, you don't know for sure. While you had always intended to go to the Shield Cities, you ending up in Shiro Enishi and staying had been the result of someone beating the living crap out of you and then wrecking your sword.
In retrospect, you really should figure out why that happened at some point. You give a mental shake of your head. Focus on that later...focus on the Scorpion now.
"When I first began in Shiro Enishi, I was looking to repair my soul. Now that it has been mended...Bayushi-sama, I am a wander of the waves. I seek a home for I have none. Whether that home is with the Legion or I somehow prove myself worthy of a Name, I do not know. Regardless, the Legion is honourable service, and a step closer to finding a place in the Empire."
You know that your words are flawless, that the countless subtle movements of body language, the inflection of your voice, all of it is convincing. Now it comes down to whether your words find soil to take root in. Idly, you wonder if you should have paid attention more in the dojo whenever Masako-Sensei talked about this.
Sora looks you over, thinking, studying you.
Far too slowly for comfort, you hear her speak. "I see. Well, I suppose most ronin want a Name to call their own. Still, even in Shiro Enishi, you have an uphill battle on this Megumi-san. We are relatively kind to ronin, but that does not make us more accepting of them."
You shrug slightly. "Bayushi-sama, many of us don't accept ourselves. Many of us are looking for a way home, to have a name, to have a lord, to have a duty. There are some who love the freedom of the Waves, but I am not one of them."
"I suppose that settles it. For what it's worth, I hope that Mikoto-no-kami smiles on your task," Sora says.
You reach the camp at last, pondering what she meant by that. You aren't entirely sure and the question occupies you for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Caius wakes up from his wounds, looking very surprised to not be dead. To be fair, you can't really blame him for that, given the condition he had been in.
Sora orders you to tie him up so that he can be led by a rope.
Caius is less than enthused.
"I'm not going to talk, Rokugani," he says as you bind him up.
"I honestly don't care Yodotai. You have information that my lord is interested in, you're coming with us," is Sora's blunt reply.
Caius retorts hotly. "Don't be arrogant. I escaped the Sagonites, what makes you think---"
Sora cuts him off. "You didn't escape the Sagonites. The wound on your shoulder would have killed you without us. Given how fast they were, they would have caught you anyways."
"I will escape," he insists stubbornly.
Sora's voice changes becoming deeper, sombre and determined but with an undercurrent of cruelty that is all too rarely indulged.
"You know…I really think you are lacking gratitude here. It is true, you might escape, might. But I will tell you this: when you try and fail, I will cut out your eyes and feed them to the vultures. I don't actually need you to see to give information," she says.
Caius responds."Then take them, you don't have the---"
He's cut off abruptly as Sora takes out a long, thin knife and slowly brings it towards Caius's eyes. The blade glistens brilliantly in the morning light. Your eyes trace over its shining steel - it's a knife for stabbing, but the edge is still razor sharp, even if the point looks like it could punch through armor.
"In the Yodotai culture, the heir must be perfect physically, right? You leave babies out to die if they have so much as a strange eye…blindness counts for that if I remember accurately."
Caius doesn't say anything, but struggles against the bonds you've wrapped tightly around him, even attempting to fall to his knees and roll away. You pull on the leash to stop him, his body jerking at the sudden stop. You drag him over to the tree where you found the branch the other night, and tie him up against it, Caius can't escape now.
The Scorpion woman walks slowly towards him, purposefully. Her presence looms as she changes from a simple Samurai into a demon, her mask enhancing the effect as she seems to tower over Caius and you, in spite of being shorter than you. The knife comes up, it's shining form forcing him and you to focus on it, as it slides across his cheek. A thin trail of blood drips down it as she carves towards his eye, stopping only at the last second. Sora pulls the knife back flicking the blood off and drawing the Yodotai's sight to the very thing that nearly took it.
A practice blinding really, so that she doesn't get this wrong.
Sora brings the knife back up it slowly rising towards Caius eyes so that he can see it coming for his sight. No words are spoken as she lets the blade talk for her, promising pain and loss, if the eyes aren't enough, she'll keep taking until he submits, you and he both know that instinctively. Even if you aren't the target, Sora's intimidation is enough to make even you anxious. The effect that it's having on Caius...well, you don't want to imagine.
You almost feel sorry for the poor bastard.
Right as Sora's knife reaches the half inch above his temple, Caius finally breaks, sagging against you as the looming presence of the Scorpion and her promise overwhelms his psyche.
"...I'll talk, let me go and I'll talk."
Sora doesn't move the knife. "Talk and then, on my honour, you'll be let go."
His words come out quickly in what you think is Yodotai, but Sora seems to understand it all the same, stopping him and asking questions in the same language.
Finally the words stop, and Sora gives you a nod as she steps back and lowers her arm. You move around behind the tree, pulling out the knife you used to end the Sagonites.
A part of you thinks you should just slit his throat. That's probably what Sora wants. Scorpion have no honour after all...but she is a superior, and while she's not always been nice to you, you've never actually caught her in a lie.
No, assuming your direct superior is an honourless dog is definitely a bad plan. Your knife parts through the rope easily, and you give him a kick to send him away.
Sora watches him for a moment as he flees. Then she gives a shrug, and turns to you.
"Help me break camp, we need to move quickly. We're running short on time to get back," she orders.
In due course, you're again walking under the spell of the Iuchi, and making your way to Shiro Enishi. Unlike before, there isn't a lot of banter but you could try talking to one of your companions.
[] Talk to Sora (About?)
[] Talk to Yukiko (About?)
[] Just get back to Shiro Enishi
Courtier roll=30 *Success*
You consider this question with all the due care that Grandmother suggests. She is your ancestor after all, caustic as she is, and she's still the only family you have left.
So why come out to Shiro Enishi? The truth is, you don't know for sure. While you had always intended to go to the Shield Cities, you ending up in Shiro Enishi and staying had been the result of someone beating the living crap out of you and then wrecking your sword.
In retrospect, you really should figure out why that happened at some point. You give a mental shake of your head. Focus on that later...focus on the Scorpion now.
"When I first began in Shiro Enishi, I was looking to repair my soul. Now that it has been mended...Bayushi-sama, I am a wander of the waves. I seek a home for I have none. Whether that home is with the Legion or I somehow prove myself worthy of a Name, I do not know. Regardless, the Legion is honourable service, and a step closer to finding a place in the Empire."
You know that your words are flawless, that the countless subtle movements of body language, the inflection of your voice, all of it is convincing. Now it comes down to whether your words find soil to take root in. Idly, you wonder if you should have paid attention more in the dojo whenever Masako-Sensei talked about this.
Sora looks you over, thinking, studying you.
Far too slowly for comfort, you hear her speak. "I see. Well, I suppose most ronin want a Name to call their own. Still, even in Shiro Enishi, you have an uphill battle on this Megumi-san. We are relatively kind to ronin, but that does not make us more accepting of them."
You shrug slightly. "Bayushi-sama, many of us don't accept ourselves. Many of us are looking for a way home, to have a name, to have a lord, to have a duty. There are some who love the freedom of the Waves, but I am not one of them."
"I suppose that settles it. For what it's worth, I hope that Mikoto-no-kami smiles on your task," Sora says.
You reach the camp at last, pondering what she meant by that. You aren't entirely sure and the question occupies you for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Caius wakes up from his wounds, looking very surprised to not be dead. To be fair, you can't really blame him for that, given the condition he had been in.
Sora orders you to tie him up so that he can be led by a rope.
Caius is less than enthused.
"I'm not going to talk, Rokugani," he says as you bind him up.
"I honestly don't care Yodotai. You have information that my lord is interested in, you're coming with us," is Sora's blunt reply.
Caius retorts hotly. "Don't be arrogant. I escaped the Sagonites, what makes you think---"
Sora cuts him off. "You didn't escape the Sagonites. The wound on your shoulder would have killed you without us. Given how fast they were, they would have caught you anyways."
"I will escape," he insists stubbornly.
Sora's voice changes becoming deeper, sombre and determined but with an undercurrent of cruelty that is all too rarely indulged.
"You know…I really think you are lacking gratitude here. It is true, you might escape, might. But I will tell you this: when you try and fail, I will cut out your eyes and feed them to the vultures. I don't actually need you to see to give information," she says.
Caius responds."Then take them, you don't have the---"
He's cut off abruptly as Sora takes out a long, thin knife and slowly brings it towards Caius's eyes. The blade glistens brilliantly in the morning light. Your eyes trace over its shining steel - it's a knife for stabbing, but the edge is still razor sharp, even if the point looks like it could punch through armor.
"In the Yodotai culture, the heir must be perfect physically, right? You leave babies out to die if they have so much as a strange eye…blindness counts for that if I remember accurately."
Caius doesn't say anything, but struggles against the bonds you've wrapped tightly around him, even attempting to fall to his knees and roll away. You pull on the leash to stop him, his body jerking at the sudden stop. You drag him over to the tree where you found the branch the other night, and tie him up against it, Caius can't escape now.
The Scorpion woman walks slowly towards him, purposefully. Her presence looms as she changes from a simple Samurai into a demon, her mask enhancing the effect as she seems to tower over Caius and you, in spite of being shorter than you. The knife comes up, it's shining form forcing him and you to focus on it, as it slides across his cheek. A thin trail of blood drips down it as she carves towards his eye, stopping only at the last second. Sora pulls the knife back flicking the blood off and drawing the Yodotai's sight to the very thing that nearly took it.
A practice blinding really, so that she doesn't get this wrong.
Sora brings the knife back up it slowly rising towards Caius eyes so that he can see it coming for his sight. No words are spoken as she lets the blade talk for her, promising pain and loss, if the eyes aren't enough, she'll keep taking until he submits, you and he both know that instinctively. Even if you aren't the target, Sora's intimidation is enough to make even you anxious. The effect that it's having on Caius...well, you don't want to imagine.
You almost feel sorry for the poor bastard.
Right as Sora's knife reaches the half inch above his temple, Caius finally breaks, sagging against you as the looming presence of the Scorpion and her promise overwhelms his psyche.
"...I'll talk, let me go and I'll talk."
Sora doesn't move the knife. "Talk and then, on my honour, you'll be let go."
His words come out quickly in what you think is Yodotai, but Sora seems to understand it all the same, stopping him and asking questions in the same language.
Finally the words stop, and Sora gives you a nod as she steps back and lowers her arm. You move around behind the tree, pulling out the knife you used to end the Sagonites.
A part of you thinks you should just slit his throat. That's probably what Sora wants. Scorpion have no honour after all...but she is a superior, and while she's not always been nice to you, you've never actually caught her in a lie.
No, assuming your direct superior is an honourless dog is definitely a bad plan. Your knife parts through the rope easily, and you give him a kick to send him away.
Sora watches him for a moment as he flees. Then she gives a shrug, and turns to you.
"Help me break camp, we need to move quickly. We're running short on time to get back," she orders.
In due course, you're again walking under the spell of the Iuchi, and making your way to Shiro Enishi. Unlike before, there isn't a lot of banter but you could try talking to one of your companions.
[] Talk to Sora (About?)
[] Talk to Yukiko (About?)
[] Just get back to Shiro Enishi
