Rokugan in the Shadows Ch 1: Gathering Dark

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

The False Swordsman is not especially off put by a mortal penetrating the facade; it seems to know its place, at least, and mortals who do not mindlessly run their mouths off are a rarity Yhrashnal would prefer to not drive extinct. Besides, he should show some face to the Vasuki family. Since this artisan was recommended by them he will treat the man with a measure of civility.

"This one desires protection for this piece of art." He states as he places said art down for the first time since he received it. "Mortal or not, my task is not a simple one. There will be many trials. Trials mere paper and ink would not survive.

State your price for this to be done."

[Swami Monsoon]

Jade thanks the servers for the meal. She no longer needs food, but she can certainly still consume it, like she can now consume many other things. Her senses, including taste, are more acute than they were... although these offerings are on the bland side. Still, good and plentiful food brings back memories of better times. She continues with small talk, waiting for the socializing to be over and a chance to talk to the rest of the group alone. They need to figure out just what their goal is and how to achieve it...

[~Corvus~]

Retired Artisan's quarters

Yhrashnal
This one desires protection for this piece of art. Mortal or not, my task is not a simple one. There will be many trials. Trials mere paper and ink would not survive.

State your price for this to be done.

The man nods his head and looks at his pieces, then looks to Yrashnal, instructing him to meet his gaze. The man looks for a long time, and you feel yourself unraveling before him. Anger, superiority, a bloodline steeped in tradition; a thrill for a hunt...it all collects in Yrashnal's mind as he peers into this elder's eyes. Finally, the man agrees. "Yes, you are a powerful one, and your trials will need something strong. A simple and effective piece. He wanders over to mat on the floor of his simple shop and pulls open a trap door. Below the shop is a dry cellar, with both more pieces and what seems to be fine bottles, with labels that display modest but elegant designs of their regions and timelines. Some have printed ages well into fourty years before your current time.

He spots what he's looking for, and a small case of what appears to be thick wood flies out of the hole and smacks against the wall of his hut. As it falls, it scatters a few objects to the floor, and one of them, a fine piece, cracks. The case follows suit, but it is not in the least bit damaged. The man emerges and cackles mischievously at the sight of some broken...well, art. "That case ought to do the trick. Now, let's talk price." He solemnly turns to an area of his hovel with a small stove and--shockingly--a current fire. He puts on a pot and it soon boils, and he takes a modest collection of tea leaves, pours them, and serves the two of you.

Finally, he speaks up, but in the careful way of a man both making both a bold request and point to guide and influence one whom is learning the ways of living in society. "There are some that pretend to be of high station. A pretender and a fool only benefits himself. A worthy pretender, a man of honor and power, will use that position to leverage benefit to others along their path. Should he acquire a...marker of position...a signet ring or amulet, a bearing of a house, then he could leverage an easement of a few taxes on a modest town that gave his entourage comfort and resources. Perhaps with these extra funds, the town would find a way to prepare itself for harsh times..." The man trails off, no longer seeming comfortable looking into Yrashnal's eyes. He wordlessly picks up the case and hands it to Yrashnal. "I'm sure, in time, whether a savory man or not, he will remember the kindness shown here, and will find a way to meet his sense of duty."

Art Room and Village

Jade thanks the servers for the meal. ... Still, good and plentiful food brings back memories of better times. She continues with small talk, waiting for the socializing to be over and a chance to talk to the rest of the group alone. They need to figure out just what their goal is and how to achieve it...

As other roll up the tatami mats that had been provided to enjoy tea and food, and as Jade exits the house, the villagers engage in their own gossip.

Spoiler: Listen for Jade

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(1d20+1)[3]

She hears little of consequence before they move on, and Jade becomes witness to the ship-building going on around her. Specimen rests on the ship, its meal eaten, too, and Kyorlin is not to be found. However, as the Incarnum encounters Jade he tells her "I am finished with training Kyorlin for the time being. I'm satisfied he can do things himself. I wonder if it's best that I find a means to support myself and keep my head down in a place you can contact me later. Perhaps this village. What do you think?"

[Swami Monsoon]

Jade nods. Being far away from their group will likely be much better for this man's health...

"Avoiding attention is a good idea, but how would you support yourself here? Is anyone in this town interested in magical training? Are there any likely candidates? If that's not an option, do you know any more mundane trades?"

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

The False Swordsman does not move to accept the case, his eyes locked onto the artisan's with resolution and unwavering focus. "I have already stated this to the others: what has been done here will not be forgotten. A glass of water begets a a deep wellspring; this place has offered aid, this place has offered favors, this place has offered respect. This Yhrashnal does not forget.

If fate provides opportunity to ease a burden then it will be done. If opportunity does not arise then one will be created. Fate must oppose this for such repayment to not come to pass."

Yhrashnal drinks the tea down to the last drop, returns the cup gently and resumes his statuesque stance. "That was that. This is this. State your price for this to be done."

[~Corvus~]

Retired Artisan's Quarters
The old man starts at the bluntness of this...so-seeming Samurai...before him. "The humility and sincerity displayed here is enough to humble me. If I must be blunt...find a way to reduce the tax burden on our town. We are asked to build ships, and yet we aren't given enough resources to build great ones. With just a bit more money, our ships could last longer and need less repairs as they age. Please, do this so that we can be proud to do better for our clan!

Every magistrate belongs to a family, and markings of the family carry weight. Surely, if this band is going to be magistrates, someone of...Yrahnal's company has a signet ring. Otherwise, he cannot pretend to be a magistrate when it comes to political matters."

The Docks & ship
The man nods and makes the briefest of puns: "I'm good with my hands. The townsfolk might let me be a worker in the dock-yard. I can carry heavy loads and I may even be able to prepare for extraordinary or magical means to help them."

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

His head adorned with opaque green spikes, rises has he does from his trance. Donning armor over his fancy outfit, green chitonous patterned besides the pauldrons of pearly white alabaster. He takes a step in knee high Leather boots tipped an enormous claws. As walks to the jade and his teacher he looks as if was born upon a ship, exhibiting the most grace and confidence any has seen abroad any vessel.

He leaps to the docks There are many things he can do for this town maybe teach their guards and hunters the ways of incarnum. That would greatly further our cause he looks around What is this? No massacre, panic, alarms? Was I not the only one sleeping

Spoiler: ooc stuff

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soulmelds shaped: mantle of the storm[bound], pauldrons of health and landshark boots. Entering stance of the step of the wind. Jump(1d20+17)[30]

[Ellowryn]

Specimen lifts its head and turns towards Kyorlin Yhrashnal seems taken by these particular morsels, not unlike with the old woman and this man here, so their execution has been stayed for now. It turns it head back to looking off the bow of the ship into the distance, And we are still too near that accursed lord and i do not wish to fight him yet.

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

Looking back toward the creature, Leaps back to have a more private conversation.
I'm curious as to his reasoning, I keep humans alive if I believe they are more useful to me than something to sharpen my claws on. The old lady served well and even saved us from that Lord you have already fought. For now she has earned the right to live and with how short human lives are will likely die on her own before she has used up her gratitude from us. Anyway why would you want to feast on something so weak and likely foul tasting....nevermind I have seen you eat the undead, obviously those things matter little to you.

I am surprised he got attached to these people but if they let my teacher earn his keep here, I'll be able to find him here the next time I have use of his lessons and potentially he can further our cause of our benefactor, then this for the best. Also this can be leverage we can exploit, as any one of us could likely threaten the accuracy of this place being on any maps.

Spoiler: leap

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(1d20+17)[23]

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

"...So be it." The False-Samurai claims the case and stores the gift away within it. Without another word he rises to his feet and departs for the ship. There is much to do.

[Ellowryn]

Ah but humans truly are delicious, especially when spiced with fear and terror, Specimen turns its head towards the human on the boat, You must try and see, and your "teacher" is conveniently nearby and currently without any use to be had for us.

Beyond that it is simply in my nature to hunt and kill humans, it is what i was made for, and i need food like any other living being so why waste resources?

[Swami Monsoon]

"That makes sense... but do you have a plan for if the fighting reaches here? And a way to contact us if you need to?"

[~Corvus~]

The man shakes his head. "I don't suppose I can stay in contact easily, but is there a need, really? As far the people go, I suspect there's a garrison nearby the ship builders can go. After all, they are great artisans, and ones of their like are likely valued highly. I'm not so convinced I should be worried about them."

He remains unaware of the private conversation between Specimen and Kyorlin, and instead nods his head towards the returning Yrashnal. "Did your other meeting go well?"

[~Corvus~]

Specimen feels a tingling on the wind. The scent of a past creature tickles its senses, and it spots the man instantly; he is at a nearby pier, seeming to be taking a break from shipbuilding work. He doesn't look Specimen's way, but as its memory serves, this man had been spotted observing them at the (now ruins) of Kyuden Hida.

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

"It did. These humans...should be preserved.

They are respectful. Eager to learn. Eager to live. I will ensure their success among other humans as thanks. They will ensure their success against the invaders...or they are not worth my effort." Yhrashnal finds a quiet nook to put his gift aside before returning to his peers to issue a more complete report and ensure everything he brought in is accounted for; the wand will surely be useful to one of the 'delicate' voice-called but Yhrashnal has no more need for it than he does for the map. Oddly enough he can read and navigate by map should he be so inclined, but there is a limit to how well the skills of a devil-dog could be applied at sea...

"We have supplies and a map. Is there anything else we need?"

[Ellowryn]

Specimen raises its snout, taking in a few good long whiffs of the scents drifting about. We seem to have a follower, It announces just loud enough for the group to hear, Mixed in with the dock workers, i remember his scent from the castle that fell to the Oni and his undead.

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

Let us tell the others quick. walks to where Jade, the beast and his teacher are at We have been followed, if this individual reports back it will likely bring ruin to this town. The question is do we attack him immediately or chase him away from town to get information out of him? We could ask the people if they have any other travelers here?Hmm, he could visit here regularly and it's a coincidence that we have been at the same locations so it may slip their feeble minds. If he can identify us from that event then this place won't be safe for any of us if they believe him over us.

[~Corvus~]

The man sighs. "Hmm... I haven't been in this country long, but I was rescued from imprisonment by Nezumi that turned out to be terrorists, and I narrowly escaped capture by a shifty and wild-eyed furry goblin who rode atop a large bat. He claimed to be collecting a bounty. If there's any reason for this town to have reprisal, it would be if they gave me shelter and that...Snich thing came along to take me, too."

He sighs. "I don't know if I have any choice but to come along with you all."

[Swami Monsoon]

"We should try to catch him as he leaves. Starting a fight in the middle of town sounds like a bad idea..."

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

I agree, fighting with these people around would likely blow our cover. Most of us can't fight in our disguises without people figuring out we aren't what we seem.

Worst is we don't know what he is capable of. If he can turn the people here against us we'll lose valuable resources.

The question is how do we remove him from town. I'm not a big fan of waiting as I imagine most of aren't. Any ideas or are we simply going to try and track him through a crowd where we stock out more than our target? I like a challenge but there would likely be collateral damage.

[Avatar_Image]

Midday- off the shore of Earthquake Fish Bay

???

Saionji Naoshige Nagamatsu of Mantis Guard Fleet was exhausted. A week ago the world made sense, the tides were kind, the storms were calm and the Crane were actually being reasonable for once. It should have been obvious something horrible was about to happen.

He and his flotilla had been charged with defending the Crab clans coast while their main fleet and the Crab's were to engage the dreaded death fleet of Jigoku-hen. Five days ago everything seemed to be fine. And then his spotters spotted an immense smoke pillar on the horizon. In the direction of the Empire.

The only place that could produce such smoke, was Kyuden Hida, the anchor of the Kaiu wall.

They made good time, the seas seeming to speed them toward their destination, but they were too late. Kyuden Hida was breached, and swarms of monsters were invading the now burning city, some flames growing taller than it's great walls. They made to rescue their kin-blood but were repelled four times. After the defeat they spent the following days rescuing any survivors they could find on the water, from city barges and transport ships to overladen family Junks.
There were thousands of people crammed into these tiny ships, but still to few for what once was the greatest of Kaiu cities.

Offloading those desperate people to safe harbors had been desperate affair, especially once the Shadow finally had it's fill of picking over Kyuden Hida's corpse. Swarms of rotting ships only able to sail thanks to the dark powers of the Shadow hounded his now expanded flotilla along with the damnable sea trolls of cursed Fu-Leng. If that were not enough the skull-tide rose up once more and began attacking his ship in mass forcing him to abandon some to their depredations.

The men of those ships were true Samurai of the Mantis, they did the Storms proud and died so others might not. Their sacrifice was not in vain, their deaths allowed the fleet to escape, and now they mere hours from port, hopefully reinforcements and repairs could be found. But he was wary. An unnatural darkness had set and an ill wind was blowing.

Saionji Naoshige Nagamatsu was not a pious man, but he prayed all the same.

[~Corvus~]

A man descended the town watchtower in the outpost near the Fundai Mura docks and approached a septagenarian whom is supervising and instructing the construction of several ships on the drydocks.

"Elder Han, Mantis ships are on the horizon, and approaching our town!"
<<How many?>>
"Seven that I counted. "
<<Hmm...Any ideas about their purpose?>>
"They look pursued by a dark, pulsing cloud. Oni, perhaps?"
<<They must be in dire need of repair.>> The elder speaks firmly to a few others and orders a few other dock workers: "Make sure there are ten dock spaces available for our Mantis allies. Hurry now, and make space if we need it!"

Several people in nearby piers (away from you; your craft seems to not need moving) begin to untie their boats. The man that had been covertly observing your ship from the dry docks starts, looks up, and walks to the other side of your pier. He begins to unfasten a small craft--a single-sailed roverboat--and takes a single long oar out from the boat and puts it my the sail.

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

"Why bother waiting? We should simply approach now and talk. Declare our intentions. Ask why he is here. Kill him if we must, negotiate if we can. If he is hostile then the town will suffer more when he escapes than if our fight is destructive.

If they do not give me face and overlook how we are then..." He shrugs and ends the sentence there. Yhrashnal has taken a liking to the town, yes, but it is not in his nature to bend knee for the sake of mortals. He would prefer not to lose any of these clever humans, but sacrificing one or two for the sake of killing off a threat is a trade he'll take any day.

"Art is nice. Honor is appreciated. But we have a purpose."

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

Side glances at the change of pace in village people. Something got the humans moving urgently steps to the side towards the nearest villagerExcuse me, what has happened?

[~Corvus~]

The bustle near Kyorlin involves boat-worthy workers that are moving around ships. One young man, involved in guiding a large ship (along with several others) by ropes pauses for a moment to answer the imposing Kyorlin. "Um...we were asked to move these ships?" His momentary hesitation involves the rope slipping from his fingers and he's yelled at by a few other workers. The boy blushes and scurries back to the pier to continue his task.

Another dock-worker approaches you all. "Magistrates...of course, your will is not to be questioned, but if it pleases you to know, there are some Mantis ships approaching the port. They are pursued by agents of Fu-Leng, and our scouts report a terrible cross between fish and bird. If it's not too much trouble, there may be need for your aid..." The man, of course, does not request you move your ship, despite it being in the middle of efforts to clear the central dock area. Work is, of course, proceeding around you.

Spoiler: A voice in your heads - for all to hear

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See, my agents, the devastation wrought by Daigotsu, the traitor-Lord of Rokugan, and Fu Leng, his dark patron. This is but a sample of the enemy the Rokugani face, a threat they do not take seriously enough. Taste of their corruption...

[Ellowryn]

Specimen bristles at the thought that this unknown, and unseen, entity thinks of it as its minion, but focuses on more important decisions at hand. Well this is an interesting conundrum, It says to the group, More worthy opponents for us to face and humans to slaughter but with the lord so close by do we have to time to enjoy our fill of combat and leave before word gets to him and he brings an army? Specimen then gets up and begins stretching its body to ready itself for whatever task is to come, Also this might make finding out about our follower more difficult.

[Doxkid]

Yhrashnal

This is unfortunate. While this fight would be a good chance for Yhrashnal to hone his skills and sharpen his instincts, Yhrashnal does not really believe this battle will go well. Technically speaking Yhrashnal is probably no weaker in this form while armed with this ruined Katana if compared to his natural form; if anything he's probably at least a little stronger because of it. Unfortunately, slightly strong isn't enough. He has not done well in battle for quite some time.

He sorely needs a chance to either awaken just a little bit more of his inherited power, or time to create something entirely new and unique for himself. Just a few dozen rounds of practice fighting, just a few battles against his equals and not his betters, just a little bit of time...

The false swordsman draws his blade. "...We should not let them land. Board them. Fight on deck. Destroy the ship if we cannot win."

[WarHunter]

Kyorlin

My dear "Swordman" why would we fight an army fleeing from our Enemies? The enemy of our patron is flying after them if I heard correctly, sound like we should either leave before the battle shows up or bide our time until they are wound enough for either us to join the fight or leave on land.

I'm pretty sure they would rather sink their own vessels if they had a serious threat abroad. So what will it be? Stay and face 1 or 2 forces we can't fight be ourselves or sail away possibly diverting some of the airborne hoard our way?

[~Corvus~]

The dock-worker gasps. "Not let them land...of course! The shadow-creatures might start to devour other ships! Do...do you need a few deck-hands? We...we can help guide you out to the battle!"

[Swami Monsoon]

"We need to choose a target and focus on it... whatever is the biggest threat to this place."