Oriental Adventures (Restart)

[Cyrus112]

((Heh, then let Vrishma know either vocally or with gesture. Don't say out of game that your character doesn't know something. Say it in game :))

The inn is easily found as it stands out, shining brightly in the afternoon sun. The inn is deserted save for two old men sitting at the bar, in heated debate. Despite the words they are using, smiles are on their faces. The bartender has a look of annoyance and acceptance on his face as the two argue.

"I'm telling you, Akio," the one says. "Genki was a man of the Empire. He didn't just help villages and towns in need, he lead great warriors into battle against the mighty foes of the Shadowlands."

"He was a man of the people, Daisuke," Akio responds. "After helping out our meager town, for free I might add, he went into the mountains to live a life of conclusion and contemplation, far away from the vices and machinations of the Empire and that serpent General Kyo."

[androgial]

ikeira

ikeira motions to the barkeep signaling for a full round of drinks. he also flashes the inkeep gold coins from his purse. then he takes a seat at the table with the two old men.

(i ment me personally dont know so i cant have ikeira say he tells virishma without knowing if its positive or negative or both)

[Cyrus112]

The two old men look and you and bow politely.

"Pull up a stool, young un's," says Akio. "May I ask what has brought on such an appreciated and welcome act of charity?"

[Ozzy_G]

(I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but I got hit by a van. Assume that Bayushi Masaya has been following the other two, keeping silent, and he sneaked into town using his, um, Monk skills ;) so as not to bear the dishonour of being questioned by the guards. BTW, Heimin is the peasant caste, as opposed to the warrior/noble caste, most people in Rokugan are Heimin. As a member of the warrior caste, in his case of the Bayushi family of the Scorpion clan, Masaya is unlikely to call either of the two spellcasters by their names until he knows them better.)

[tonberryking]

(Holy crap dude, are you okay? ...Well, I mean, assuming that you;re posting and all that means you're not grviously hurt.. I think. You doin' allright?)

[androgial]

Ikeira

retro: answering virishma

" it means peasant class, roughly. he is using it in terms of respect though which is a statement that he doesnt know us well enough to use our names."

in the inn

" a bit of freindliness never hurts, especially since the two of you happen to jjust have been discussing something we are very much interested in. that being where we can find genki."

[The_Shaman]

((Ouch... I hope you recover well. Anyway - I'm back))

Hmm, it seems a little... disrespectful, that it does. One's name is a precious thing, not to be sidelined lightly, Vrishma said.

Once in the tavern, he looks around curiously. No matter how long he is aroung humans, they never stop being interesting. He opens his mouth, but Ikeira beats him to it.

[Ozzy_G]

(I'm reasonably OK. I got back from hospital today. Not much I can do but sit and use the ol' computer. Thanks for asking though.)

[Cyrus112]

((Yeah dude, I hope everything goes well. Speediest recoveries to you, sir.))

The two old men look at each other as if Christmas has come early.

"Where he went after he left here is pretty easy," Akio says. "Whether Genki is still alive or not is something else. Not to mention tackling the mountain. Genki was ancient when he came to save our town, and I was no more than fifteen at the time. His last known location was an abandoned temple up in the mountains, about a four days journey almost due north of here. The temple is actually a lot closer than that, but scaling the mountain in this cold weather is...tricky at the least, deadly at best."

"I believe Nobutada takes people up that way. He usually mines for gold near there," says Daisuke. "He's a bit of a scoundrel, but he can be trusted to take a group to where they want to go...for the right price. He knows those mountains better than anyone in town right now."

[The_Shaman]

Vrishma

Vrishma listens to the old men with interest, and pops with a question as soon as they stop speaking.

Abandoned temple, you say? Most strange, this is. What would the sage Genki want with an old ruin?

Edit: ((Damn, I forgot to mention it: Vrishma left the kitten out of the village so as not to freak everyone away. He tends to do so unless he has a good reason to believe he will need her.))

[Cyrus112]

((That's fine))

Akio and Daisuke look at each other. Akio speaks up.

"No one truly knows the mind of Genki. We think he traveled up there to live a life of solitude among books and spirits, but we disagree as to why he chose to live in solitude. That is what we were discussing when you two came in and spread some money around most generously."

[androgial]

Ikeira


"well then it appears our next move is to find this gold hunter and convince him we need to get up the mountain."

[The_Shaman]

Vrishma

The Vanara is still not persuaded, apparently. He pouts - a strange gesture for his face - and lets out a prolonged "hmmm," before nodding to Ikeira.

Perhaps, sage Ikeira, but there may be something else to do. We should inquire about where this guide lives, we should. Not to mention stock up on supplies. But first thing first. He turns to the old men agian. Please excuse me, elder Daisuke, and elder Akio, but could you remember someone in town to whom the venerable Genki spoke?

[Cyrus112]

"As we said, we were young lads at the time, so any town elders Genki spoke to are long gone by now," Akio says.

"I believe Nobutada doesn't come back until tomorrow," the innkeeper speaks up. "We have open accomodations at a cheap price here, if you wish to wait for him."

Akio and Daisuke chuckle to themselves.

[Ozzy_G]

(BTW, Masaya is here, he just isn't saying anything. Talking to Heimin is the job of Heimin after all.)

[tonberryking]

The swishing of the curtain over the door heralds a new patron to the inn as she enters.

A woman, hardy and stout looking shows up wearing hakama and a dougi of a samurai, but unlike respectable bushi hers are threadbare and well worn. Her sandals are even *worse*, looking as if they were made around the same time this lady was born. The hakama are black (and dusty) but the woman's tunic looks to be of dark gold that has faded with the wear.

As undignifiying as it seems, she apparently doesn't give two shakes about it, strolling into the inn with a samurai's (or at least a swordsman's )practised gait, head held high...

...and in one hand she's carrying a pair of fresh rabbits that look to have been slain recently. Quite an odd woman, who doesn't appear to have qualms about getting her hands dirty.

"Oy, Innkeeper! I've come to barter for food and lodging"

[Cyrus112]

Akio and Daisuke look to one another and then turn back to the three of you, trying very hard to ignore the woman. The innkeeper eyes the woman, mistrust plain on his features, yet he approaches her.

"Certainly. What kind of room and drink will you be needing? And do you need to kitchen to cook those up for you?"

He asks this last part with a tone of disgust as he watches the rabbits.

They'd better not drip onto my floor. My servants spend a long time making this floor spotless.

[tonberryking]

The woman adjusts the katana strapped on her back with a shifting of her shoulders... and while you'd expect a cheap blade like the rest of her accutrement, it's stunningly beautiful. Burnt Red silk is wrapped over the grip and the hilt looks to be of gold and silver; amazing that she's kept something like it despite the rest of her appearance...

However that may only interest those with a good eye or another warrior, and she's not interested in it either, more concerned with something else.

"A simple room with enough space to lay down is all I want-- and some tea-- but you can make do with the rabbits yourself if you wish to give me just rice and vegetables; I've had my fill of their meat for days now..."

[androgial]

ikeira


ikeira pays for the lodgings for the night.

as the warrioress enters he smiles.

"oh look mayasa-san someone you would consider worthy of talking to."

[Cyrus112]

((Alright, if you want some interaction, go ahead with it now. Otherwise, I'll be moving this along))

[Ozzy_G]

Masaya flashes a quick grin at Ikiera, at odds with his normal character, and turns to the woman.
He gives a small bow, suitable for a samurai not sure of another samurai's station.
Good day to you, lady...?

[tonberryking]

Hm?

The woman looks confused as she hands off the rabbits to the reluctant innkeeper and then towards Masaya, with the look of someone who rarely, if ever, is treated as an equal or superior.

She's quick on the uptake, however and returns the bow, possibly a little lower than his, however in turning to face him, the Scorpion may note that she only has that one magnificent looking katana, and not a daisho.

Oh, hello. It's been an age since I last saw another samurai...But I can assure you... Honorable Scorpion--" she took an oddly long moment to refer to him by clan, as if she'd forgotten which were which... I'm no lady of import. I am called Masumi, and my trade is instruction of swordsmanship...

[The_Shaman]

Vrishma

Vrishma pays for his lodgings and asks where he can get some extra rations for the journey ((How much would a night and 3 extra rations cost?))

As he does so, he asks the innkeeper. Master innkeeper, is there anything going on with this town, is there, that we can be of use with? Quite late it may be, it may, but until tomorrow it would be good if we could keep ourselves busy with.

((Basically, I want to see if there is some small-scale matter which he could do - healing, small excorcism, the like which can be solved without too much fuss and could earn a meal or two. A shaman's work is never done, alas.))

[Ozzy_G]

Well, allow me to introduce myself, I am Bayushi Masaya.
(In case you're not too familiar with Rokugan, the Bayushi are the warrior family of the Scorpions, famed for their lack of honour.)

[tonberryking]

Masumi seems to not register the factoid as she takes a seat at a nearby table, calling for a basin of water to wash her hands with of the innkeeper politely and motions for Masaya to join her. She looks evenly at him yet what her tone implies with her next hopeful statement seems to imply that she's in need of information..

"Well, Bayushi-san, I must admit I haven't seen another samurai for sometime. Anything interesting happening in the capital these days..?"

[Ozzy_G]

Well Masumi-san, I hear General Kyo returned from his invasion of the Shadowlands. His entire army was decimated, only a handful of survivors.

[tonberryking]

The real surprise comes up, as Masumi's reaction indicates that she's been away for QUITE some time...

General..*Who*? What's been going on that such an attempt would be made?"

[Cyrus112]

((I'm liking the character interaction, so keep it going if you like. Story progression will move on when all are ready.))

The innkeeper brings over a basin of water.

"Your rice and vegetables will be out in but a few minutes, Lady Masumi," the innkeeper says, bowing slightly.

The innkeeper comes over to Vrishma next.

"If you are a holy man of sorts, there are many who could use a few comforting words, maybe a little healing if you have the skills to do so. I'm not trying to imply that you are inept, I just have little knowledge of Shamans."

The innkeeper bows to to Vrishma and then proceeds into the back to check on the food. Akio and Daisuke continue to drink at the bar, very obviously trying hard to look like they aren't paying attention to the conversation happening between Masaya and Masumi.

[The_Shaman]

((What's the time of day at the moment?))

Vrishma

The spirits have seen fit to lend me their power, they have, so they expect me to use it, Vrishma says, quietly. Is there anyone in particular that would be in need of healing here?

[Ozzy_G]

Masaya lifts one eyebrow, but otherwise gives no expression of surprise.
Kyo was one of the Emperor's best generals. I don't know if you have heard how the Crab lands have been shrinking, there were more and more raids from the Oni, so they raised a huge army. I'm surprised you weren't approached by any recruiters, all the noble houses were sent messages asking for representatives to fight for their honour. The army set off for the shadowlands, carrying some sort of secret weapon, which the Imperial Shugenjas believed would be able to cleanse the taint completely. I admit I had doubts about this, even after Fu Leng was killed the taint remained, how can it be cleansed? But anyway, the army fought its way into the Shadowlands, and was not heard of again. A few weeks later the general and a handful of soldiers were found, the rest of the army presumably destroyed.
Masaya looks away.
This army was huge, I fought in the Spirit Wars and it was bigger than the forces brought to bear then, and those were not by any means wiped out. All those men dead... it will have a severe impact on the Empire. How many of my clan brothers lie dead, or risen in the form of the tainted undead, there bodies never to lie in honour with the ancestors?Masaya stares into space.
I haven't talked about this before, I've been holding it in, I'm afraid I haven't been good company to my two companions. But it hits you hard... I'm sorry to tell you like this, but you need to know. I presume you've been travelling or something, when yuou return home you may well find your clan brothers and sisters gone, never to return.