Arc 1 Session 0, L5R

 Arc 1- 1118, Summer

Defining the clans

All tethered by social chains

Must each walk alone?

 

SESSION 0

July, the month of the Goat, is ending. Soon, the final month of summer will begin: a prologue to the year's dying. Though some abhor the passing of the seasons, this one brings with it a brief glimmer of joy.

Doji Tsukiko is binding her hand to that of Daidoji Hansha, at a small Crane estate in Amaoto Village. Invitations have been sent to every clan- save the Lion. Some of the samurai enroute to the affair are pleased to attend what is essentially a free vacation. Some others rankle at these trappings of civility.

At any rate, the call has been issued, & answered in turn. Kasuga Hayata, a cartographer of the Tortoise, has been trekking South to this end. His steps wind along next to Kin no Kawa, the River of Gold. Unsurprisingly, he is hardly the only person on the road.

While half a day away from Kudo Village, a young woman of the Scorpion clan crosses his path from a fork in the road. She too, has been tasked with representing her clan at the coming nuptials. Shosuro Kiyuki, she calls herself, voice filtered through a cloth mask. The two shortly agree that it would be wiser to continue their travels together.

Despite some hesitancy, they share a camp for the evening. With the day's light, their path quickly takes them into Kudo. A fellow samurai is easily spotted on the single dirt road through the farmer's village. His voice is measured & warm, as he performs small presentations of "magic"- clearly just sleight of hand- to an enthralled audience of young heimin. Our traveling courtiers join the small crowd, & introduce themselves once the show has reached its end.

The samurai introduces himself as Tonbo Todori, & greets the travelers with a smile. After a brief exchange of small talk, Todori reveals that he's the Daimyō & Champion of the Dragonfly Clan. Despite his high status, he treats the lesser samurai with respect & consideration.

Kiyuki is able to discern that something clearly has the man stressed; just what, she is uncertain. An offer of leaving town together is accepted, though Todori states his wish to remain in town for a day longer. The three retire for a light meal amongst the wind-swept grassland. The mood is light for much of their conversation, until attempts are made to probe for the source of his duress.

Maintaining his calm bearing, Todori suddenly states that he must regretfully continue his trek just this moment. The shift in his disposition leaves the courtiers to wonder at just what had caused it. When Hayata reserves the pair rooms at the village's inn, he notices that the innkeeper seems...border-line afraid of being around a samurai. 

After sharing this information with Kiyuki, they retire to the veranda of the inn, the better to enjoy the last few rays of sunlight. While doing so, Kiyuki begins playing a folksy tune on her dizi, attracting the attention of one of the village's children. Through her, they are able to learn that another samurai had evidently left the town before Todori.

Whereas he had appeared to do his best at treading with compassion, the child explained that the "samurai lady" had been quite rude. Her mother had warned her against crossing the path of the woman, who the courtiers deduced belonged to the Crane clan. This information did not confirm much, but certainly allowed for the remainder of their hike South to be full of discussion.

On the other side of the river, Utaku Megumi of the Unicorn secures lodgings for her & her retinue of beasts at the Castle of the Fox. At dinner, she is plainly pleased at the arrival of a familiar face: Hida Yudai, a Crab she had once fought alongside briefly. With him is his wife, Hida Hotaru.

As the samurai catch up with each other, it becomes apparent that Megumi had been sampling their host's sake stores a bit extensively. To reduce the clear tension the Fox samurai were feeling, Hotaru asks that the trio be allowed the use of a slightly more private dining space. Safely sequestered in this manner, the warriors quickly come to the realization that they are both heading to the same event.

The evening passes without much else of note, as the guests retire soon after. Upon reaching the Fox Clan's ferry across the river, the samurai come across a pitiful sight: a lone, bedraggled samurai is futilely attempting to load a large block of stone onto the ferry. In a moment of generosity, the bushi levy their strength of arms to assist the man in his endeavor.

The block is, indeed, quite heavy- but certainly lighter than may have been gauged by appearance alone. With exhausted thanks, he introduces himself as Edakumi Dayu, a Sparrow artist. His stone, he explains, is his clan's gift for the newlyweds.

As a bit of entertainment at the ceremony, Dayu will sculpt the block into a likeness of the happy couple. Before making his crossing, Dayu thanks his fellow samurai, with an offer to gift them a painting at a later date.

Clearly, the tales of the Sparrow Clan's vows of Honorable Poverty have not been exaggerated for effect. Dayu's clothes hardly looked presentable for such a formal event, & it seemed a cheap stone must have been purchased for the clan's gift. This mattered little to our bushi. Thankfully, they could see him receive the aid of several people on the other side, meaning they would be in the clear on that front.

The trio waited for a small time, before taking their own voyage. Both groups arrived at the Summerlands upon the same, rainy evening. In the morn, they bump into each other while reserving one of the guides employed by the Crane to help guests navigate the light marsh covering the final leg of the trip.

Introductions are made all around, &, as before, the safety of numbers unites them. The wedding will be held at Ataomo Village, along the coast. And so, they set forth.

Thankfully, the light rains of the past few days did not harshen the marshes overmuch. Our heroes make good time, & set up a comfortable camp with only a day's worth of travel remaining. When they wake with the dawn, it is to find their guide missing.

A quick inspection shows that none of their belongings are gone, ruling out acts of theft. Megumi uses her keen sight to search for tracks in the surrounding area. From what she can tell, two sets of footprints had approached from the direction of Amaoto. These tracks returned from whence they came, while the guide's footprints wound back towards the Summerlands.

The impressions of the unknown visitors indicate that they had been wearing armored boots of some kind. The situation was odd, but did not seem to show signs of threatening foul play, so Hayata begins to lead the way onwards with his cartographer's skills.

There is one more day until the time of their arrival could be construed as an insult. The speed in our heroes steps stems from this, the possible admonishments from their lords practically audible. Thus, the ambush takes them all unawares when it comes: perhaps moreso for the fact that the men accosting them have no weapons drawn. Still, the armor they wear is reason enough for a mild level of alarm. Why are members of the Imperial Guard hiding amongst the reeds?

The senior of the pair introduces himself tersely as Ruko, & apologizes for having to delay the group's travels. In a serious tone, he bids the party to follow him onwards. A short ways from this point, a small clearing is found to be occupied by more guards, & an ostentatious tent. Within it, a man garbed in the Emperor's green & gold greets the samurai in an irked manner.

His name is Otomo Sorai, & he serves as the Imperial spymaster. This immediately puts the group on the back foot. Forget the question of the guards presence: what of Sorai's?

With no small amount of detached disdain, the Imperial Family Daimyō begins holding this temporary court. For reasons he is unable to divulge, the Emperor has tasked Sorai with attending this Crane wedding. His orders are to ensure that the wedding goes smoothly. Unfortunately, this is already a precarious outcome.

In a ceremony of this nature, both of the intended would typically greet each guest as they arrived to the estate. At first, this went as expected- but 2 days ago is the last time anyone has seen Doji Tsukiko. Alone, Daidoji Hansha has been welcoming the incoming samurai. This is already odd enough to warrant curiosity, especially for a clan such as the Crane.

Then, there is the other matter.

On the previous day, Ruko & his men came across the mutilated torso of a human in the greenery surrounding the town's eponymous waterfall. Decapitated & maimed, the remains lacked all limbs or identifying features. A quick survey of those in attendance revealed that no one appeared to be missing, & no one unplanned for was present.

Someone at this wedding...is no longer who they claim to be. Luckily, Sorai was able to examine the guest list. As of yesterday, the only guests yet to arrive were the samurai now standing before him. With this knowledge, he had sent some of his men to watch the path towards Amaoto. They were to delay the late guests, giving Sorai time for this very meeting.

This, then, brings Sorai to the reason for the clandestine conversation: our heroes are the only guests that were not yet on site. Therefore, Sorai can reasonably assume their innocence in the strange matters at hand. Given his own status & reputation, it is likely that lips might keep themselves closed while the spymaster is in earshot. If, perhaps, Sorai had some low-ranking samurai in his employ, they might be able to learn what he himself could not.

This duty is now laid upon their necks by his noble hand: plumb the minds of those attending the wedding. Find conclusive proof of who, or what, is behind the disappearance & murder.

A satisfactory performance brings with it promises of reward- from an Imperial Daimyō no less. Failure bears no large consequence. Though, Sorai clarifies, if the matter is not drawn to a close... he will be unable to assist them with any transgressions they may perform in their search.

In closing, Sorai tells our samurai that he is offering his Imperial guards as security under the pretense of a wedding gift. To avoid being seen reporting directly to him, the group can instead let Ruko know once they have anything concrete to pass along. There is nothing left for him to say to the party on the matter for the moment.

Thus dismissed, our heroes receive a guide in the form of one of the other guards. Their detour means they will arrive to the castle only the smallest bit late, but more than early enough for the pomp that will ensue. The sun is setting. Amaoto's small array of houses greets them as shadows begin to pool upon the ground. Somewhere in this village, a murderer wears another's face. With only a group of disparate samurai to find them...