Arc 1, Session 6, L5R

 Hida Hotaru’s Private Records, August 7th,Continued

Much has happened while I slept. Having noticed Kiyuki’s disappearance, the rest of our group tried to find her. Speaking to Kakita Nisobu let them know that the Scorpion was last seen heading to the storehouse with the groom.

Hayata & Megumi led the way to the building. In the moonlight, its door stood ajar. Megumi looked inside & confirmed the storehouse manager wasn’t at her desk. With the door fully opened, the three of them could see that a large shelf had been knocked over in the middle of the ground floor.

Various supplies lay strewn across the ground, but what caught their eye was the visible trail of blood spotting the stone floor. It seemed to originate at the back of the building, leading to the collapsed shelves, & then to a small, wooden door. When Megumi tried to pull on the door, it was clearly being held by someone.

Yudai took the stairs to the “second floor” of rafter-shelving, he spotted tabi footprints- but nothing else. Seeing no one lurking, he joined Megumi & Hayata by the small door.

The two bushi made a show of verbally announcing that the door “seemed stuck”, & that Yudai would break it open. When he went to pull on the chain, there was a brief moment of resistance- then whomever was barring it let go. Megumi had her scimitar raised in preparation, but held herself from striking as the door opened.

A smaller storeroom, full of herbs & spices in barrels, now lay before the group. Kiyuki lay in a pool of blood on the floor, unmoving. Just on the other side of the doorframe stood Daidoji Hansha: a shuriken was embedded in his torso, just above his left leg, & a wicked dagger pierced straight through his right forearm.

“Poison…help,“ was all he could say before collapsing in turn. Immediately, the group checked on him & Kiyuki. Both were alive, but breathing raggedly. There was a beat of silence as they turned Kiyuki over, only to see a shuriken buried in her face.

They needed the help of someone with medical expertise as soon as possible. Yudai & Hayata ran to the exit of the storehouse, while Megumi staunched the bleeding as best as she was able. Hayata left to get some of the Imperial Guards, while Yudai stood sentry at the door. It didn’t take long for Hayata to return, Ruko & another guard in tow. The younger guard carried a bag of first-aid supplies.

A brief examination led him to say the injured samurai would need to be moved somewhere cleaner, & with more space. Yudai took some of the broken shelving to craft make-shift stretchers for the pair. Hayata & the medic ran ahead to speak to the rest of the guards on duty, while the other 4 carefully manuevered their charges to one of the empty rooms in the guest villa.

While the medic worked, the others caught Ruko up to speed. Within the space of an hour, the medic announced that he was finished. Both samurai would live- but he noted that Kiyuki seemed to be having an adverse reaction to the poison on the shuriken. She would likely have some permanent scarring as a result.

Yudai excused himself for a moment to fetch the shuriken from the other night’s intrusion. Comparing them, the medic explained that the poison from the other night appeared to be a sedative, while the poison affecting the injured was likely a variation of Night Milk. This poison was created by the Shosuro family, & used by assassins empire-wide: a strong paralytic, it would daze its victims nigh-instantaneously.

With nothing else to be done, the medic took his leave. Ruko stayed to keep watch. Daidoji Hansha came to first. He woke with a strangled gasp, his hand going straight to his sword. A few calming breaths later, his fingers loosened. Megumi fetched some water as the Crane got to a sitting position. Once he had gathered his strength, he thanked all of those present. And then, he began to explain.

Doji Tsukiko had come to suffer from an “ailment”- though what type he did not say- that appeared to have been inflicted upon her by someone. Shortly after the wedding began, a letter was delivered to the couple. A letter with a secret, kami-hidden message: Kiyuki’s missive.

As far as the couple were aware, no one else knew about Doji Tsukiko’s current state, not even the closest staff. The pair had been seeking a way to remedy it before this knowledge could be brought to bear against them. So, receiving a letter claiming direct knowledge of their problems immediately reeked of a blackmail attempt. The fact that the message asked the bride to meet Kiyuki in a clandestine location in the dead of night only enhanced this suspicion.

Daidoji Hansha took steps to identify the culprit: tagging the “blackmailer” with an invisible ink smoke-bomb, which would only be visible under certain lighting. This explained Kiyuki’s…glowing incident earlier. Having identified the blackmailer, he then sought to have her captured for questioning- the night-time intrusion upon our villa.

Yudai interjected at this point, asking the Crane to whom he now owed apologies. With a forlorn smile, the Crane indicated his own foot. This knowledge stunned those present momentarily. None had suspected a Yojimbo to also be skilled in such subterfuge.

Continuing, he recounted how Kiyuki asked him about procuring calligraphy supplies on the 5th. Having now secured an excuse to speak to the Scorpion in private, he decided not to attempt another extraction in the night. Towards the end of the dancing today, Kiyuki approached him to re-inquire about the calligraphy kit. Daidoji Hansha then led her to the storehouse.

Yoko seemed extremely startled to see one of the current lords of Kyuden Amaoto enter her workspace. She was asked to find the needed items, & left to search for them. After a brief bit of uncomfortable silence, he told Kiyuki he should be able to lead them to the calligraphy items.

Upon reaching the back corner of the storehouse, he turned towards Kiyuki, his hand resting atop the hilt of his katana. Dropping his façade, he demanded that Kiyuki fix what she had done to the bride, & tell him who hired her. Obviously, Kiyuki professed an innocence difficult to believe in. The Crane sighed, asking in a defeated voice what she wanted in return for purging Doji Tsukiko of her ailment.

The Scorpion attempted to explain herself, but the Yojimbo cut her off after only a few sentences. He changed his grip on his sword, an air of menace radiating off of him- though his eyes looked not at Kiyuki, but towards the rafters above.

From nowhere, a shuriken spun from the darkness. It caught Kiyuki in the face, & she fell with a scream. Two more missiles came at the Crane. He managed to slash one out of the air, but the other struck true. Realizing the direness of the situation, Daidoji Hansha threw Kiyuki over his shoulder & began to run.

Overhead, footsteps could just barely be heard as the shinobi kept pace. As the Crane neared the smaller storeroom, the ninja leapt down to attack. Daidoji Hansha dodged, crashing into one of the shelves & sending Kiyuki tumbling. He yelled for her to open the small door as he fended off the attacker.

Kiyuki had just barely managed to push herself enough to do so. Seizing an opportunity, the Crane disengaged with the shinobi to make for the room as well. Not willing to give up so easily, the assassin pulled out a dagger. It cut through the air, & would have found its home in Kiyuki’s chest if the Crane had not blocked it with his arm.

He slammed the door shut, sheathed his katana, & thrust it through the door-ring. So barriered, he braced the weapon on the doorframe, using all of his waning strength to keep the door closed. The rest, the group already knew.

A bit of questioning back & forth occurred, as facts were clarified on both sides. Yudai was quick to state that he, Hayata, & Megumi had no knowledge of or connection to Kiyuki’s letter. The groom expressed gratitude once more when he learned that we have been trying to render aid to his situation. He described what he could of the shinobi, but such cowards tend to obfuscate these clues.

Shortly after, Kiyuki also awoke. Her story matched that of the Crane’s, & she likewise recalled little of their assailant. A bit more conversation followed, before Daidoji Hansha took his leave to check on his bride. Ruko left soon after.

While the rest of us went to sleep, Hayata returned to the storehouse for one final investigation. He entered the cellar, where Daidoji Hansha had recalled Yoko heading off to before vanishing. It appeared as expected, though it only took up half the length of the ground floor.

A thorough scrutinizing of the room led the Tortoise to discover a hidden door. Here his knowledge of smuggling came into play, as he was quickly able to locate the secret switch to release it: a false bottle of rice wine near the bottom of a pile. Noting this, he laid some flour on the ground, before returning to his chamber.

 

Hida Hotaru’s Private Records, August 8th

My long rest helped my strength to return. Though I felt able to attend breakfast & dinner, I had to miss the day’s main events. I went straight to the meal with our allies, while Yudai went to check on the Sparrow.

Daidoji Hansha was at breakfast: he seemed a bit stiffer than before, but was doing his best to hide the wounds he had suffered. Otomo Sorai’s mood had changed seasons. He was now in high spirits, with a smirk never far from his lips.

Megumi sat once more with the Falcon. The warrior seemed pale, & shaken. Conversation revealed that she had stayed overnight at the temple, coming into contact with a “horrible spirit”. Her descriptions matched those of both Kiyuki & the Hare. Additionally, she stated that she had been speaking with the Phoenix. The pair of them were convinced that Usagi Oda was behind the appearance of this “dark presence”.

Hayata noted that the food seemed to have declined in quality, & he was not alone in doing so. He could also tell that Kakita Nisobu seemed flustered, for reasons unknown. Kiyuki stayed in her room, putting together a mask to hide her facial scars.

Meanwhile, Yudai returned to the Sparrow’s chambers. Upon knocking, he heard the man let out a shriek of fear from within. Carefully, Yudai opened the door. Edakumi Dayu sat against a far corner with his blade pointed at the door. He looked even more disheveled than before, & was in a clear state of panic.

Yudai sat down on the floor out of reach of the sword, quietly closing the door. He spoke to the other samurai calmly, & managed to convince him to drop his weapon. It took the smallest question to get the painter to begin ranting about what had frightened him so: last evening, he had opened his door to the hallway, only to see a “hideous ghost” passing through. Knowing this was likely the bride, Yudai motioned for Edakumi Dayu to illustrate what he saw on a blank canvas.

In hurried brushstrokes, he created an image of a humanoid figure. Long hair seemed to fall from its every inch of skin- hair that seemed somehow not to be hair, but something else- while it hunched over towards the ground. The tattered blue & white robe enshrouding it confirmed Yudai’s suspicions.

Without giving this away, he convinced the artist that it would likely be safer to be around others. The Sparrow saw the sense in this & made ready his appearance. Thus, Yudai joined breakfast a bit late, with the other samurai in tow. I could sense Yudai was becoming increasingly fraught by the painter’s unceasing speech. When his eyes flicked to the groom, I knew he was hoping to seek an audience with him.

There is little I am able to do to help, but this was no difficulty for me: I engaged Edakumi Dayu’s conversation with earnest, taking the brunt of his attentions. When the time came, Yudai left to catch up to the Crane while I continued to “man the wall”.

After bringing some food back to Kiyuki, Hayata & Megumi decided to visit both the kitchens & the storehouse. Against their advice, Kiyuki insisted on accompanying them. In the kitchens, Kou was nowhere to be seen. Hayata pulled one of the clearly-nervous chefs to the side for a discussion.

Evidently, Kou & Yoko had a massive fight early this morning. After years of dealing with her negligence, Kou had reached his limit: he quit, & left for Amaoto Village. This was interesting in & of itself, but the most salient point is that this meant the absent quartermaster had returned.

Two Imperial Guards flanked either side of the entrance to the storehouse. They nodded, & allowed our allies to enter. Yoko was within, clearly still sore from whatever official dressing-down she had received for her unexplained disappearance. Megumi & Hayata wasted no time in performing their own interrogation.

Yoko attempted to lie about where she was, & why. But, between Megumi’s threats of rage & Hayata’s cold disdain, the peasant broke down quickly. She fell to her knees in supplication to beg for forgiveness. She explained that she had been hiding in a secret chamber, accessed from the cellar.

Pressing her further revealed that she had been moving various supplies through this passage, to sell them off in secret. Hayata now finally had an answer to explain the missing rats. Kiyuki entered around this time, & the three samurai forced Yoko to lead them through the passage.

The dark tunnel sloped steeply downwards, as the sound of rushing waves slowly became audible. A secret cavern soon stretched before them. The cave sat directly on the sea, at the base of the castle cliffs. A small, make-shift port had been built, & several crates lay about the area.

Near-sobbing, Yoko directed the group to her logbook of illicit sales. Surprisingly, all of her records listed one single person as the recipient: Monsho no Rumiko, the Mantis. Kiyuki & Hayata decided to keep the book for the moment.

Hayata then instructed Yoko to begin moving all of the supplies back to the storehouse. Megumi added on that, unless Yoko wanted them to have her executed, she do whatever they ask of her in the future.

Finally, Hayata told her she needed to take her ill-gotten wealth & seek Kou. She was to apologize to him, & give him the money as an apology for her neglect. Though the terms were harsh, Yoko was relieved to be given an option that kept her alive.

Back in the castle, Yudai caught up to the groom out of earshot of the other guests. He unrolled the painting the Sparrow had drafted of Doji Tsukiko. Although Daidoji Hansha kept his face from reacting, the tenseness in his shoulders showed this struck home. As a show of respect, Yudai then burned the scroll to ash in the yojimbo’s presence. Asking Yudai to join him for a walk, the Crane led them to where he had hosted us for breakfast before.

He asked about who knew, & how much they knew. Yudai answered with what we had learned thus far. In turn, Daidoji Hansha opened up a bit more. Whatever was afflicting Doji Tsukiko, it was slowly warping her physical form. It started with her feeling ill on the morning of July 27th. That evening, she began to grow coarse hair all across her skin. As time has gone on, the hair has begun to change to a different texture. Her back is now hunched, making it difficult to walk properly.

The thing that worried Daidoji Hansha the most was that this affliction was not affecting her mind in any way: Doji Tsukiko was being forced to comprehend every moment of whatever is happening to her. To the best of his knowledge, she has no known enemies likely to employ either shinobi or magic. The attack thus feels impersonal. The Yojimbo believes it likely that this was not a personally motivated attack, but a broader, political one.

When Yudai noted Kakita Maru’s behavior, the groom sighed heavily. It seems they had once been together for a small time, nearly five years ago. He broke things off after seeing things in her that troubled him. Daidoji Hansha had moved on, but this still rankled Kakita Maru.

Despite her lingering feelings, she had evidently engaged in other relationships since: as Yudai asked what could have occurred between her & Tonbo Todori to upset her, the groom actually chuckled. Evidently, the Dragonfly followed after her “as the moon follows the sun”. The Crane noted that perhaps Tonbo Todori was beginning to see the same things in Kakita Maru that he had years ago.

Both parties agreed to pass on any further information they gained regarding the issue. Daidoji Hansha bowed low to Yudai, once again thanking us for our discretion & aid thus far. From here, Yudai made his way towards the forest, hoping to find Seichū.

Having gained what they could from the quartermaster, the others attended the remaining events of the day. Unfortunately for Hisan-sa, most of the audience appeared…less than enthused with his performances. Some of the guests even got up & left!

In Kashu no Mori, it wasn’t difficult to pick up Seichū’s trail. The ronin was meditating a short ways into the forest. When he detected Yudai’s presence, he opened his eyes & offered a greeting. They talked about the rumors of a ghost within the castle, which Seichū refuted.

Yudai inquired if it was possible to detect an individual’s capability to interact with the spirits. The ronin confirmed this was possible, but noted that he lacked the ability to do so himself- perhaps a stronger shugenja could.

The pair then commiserated about their respective histories dealing with supernatural threats. Seichū’s facial scars were gained defending a peasant caravan from a nekomata some time ago. He mentioned that his connection to the spirits was sometimes more of a curse than a blessing.

When pressed to explain, he spoke of how the spirits will sometimes “speak” to him obtusely. This typically comes as an indication he should travel in a certain direction, or towards a specific location. One such instance is what led him to the nekomata in the first place. Without meaning offense, Yudai questioned what Seichū was doing at the wedding: had he perhaps previously fought alongside one of the guests?

From what the ronin said, there had been an archery competition, with one of the wedding invites as a prize for the winner. Spiritual guidance had already indicated that he should do whatever he could to attend the wedding, that some malign force would make trouble there. So, he entered the competition, & won the invite.

Having learned all he wanted for the moment, Yudai thanked Seichū for his time, & they both wished the other well. Dinner was relatively uneventful- likely for the best. The wedding has been quite exciting, so far.

Hideaki seemed to be regretting his choice to flatter the Moth. Kaikoga Ochiai seemed hardly to need to breathe between sentences, ignorant of the server’s desire to leave. Rika seemed distraught at Hideaki’s presence, moving to keep as far away from him as possible throughout.

Before we retired for the evening, our group spoke once more with Ruko. Given that three of our remaining suspects are some of the staff, we asked if Ruko’s men could perhaps question all three of them at once, separately, about their whereabouts on July 26th. Ruko affirmed that he would speak with us the following evening, to share whatever they were able to learn.

 

Hida Hotaru’s Private Records, August 9th

Today I feel the strongest I have this entire trip. Maybe the sea air is helping to invigorate me. I am also bolstered by the knowledge that our “duty” will soon be resolved. Then, Yudai & I can simply…be. For whatever time I we have left.

At breakfast, Mirumoto Hino was absent, as was Monsho no Rumiko. The food was still of slightly lesser quality, meaning Kou had not returned as of yet. Using the information Yudai had gained the day prior, Hayata once more sat with the Centipede. Over the course of their conversation, he was able to get her onto the topic of kami sensitivity. Eager to show off her keen prowess, Moshi Jukio listed everyone in attendance able to commune with the spirits.

None of our remaining suspects were in her list- not even the Falcon. With the meal concluded, Hayata spoke briefly with Kakita Nisobu. Her flustered state was due to the fact that her notebook had been “misplaced”. Hayata expressed interest in Otomo Sorai’s mood swing, & Kakita Nisobu hinted that she knew the cause.

If someone were to find & return her notebook, she would surely offer them recompense. It seems that she had last seen it shortly before another meeting she had with Warai. As a down payment of sorts, she let Hayata know that the Spymaster was happy for two particular reasons.

Our Scorpion shared another conversation with the Hare. He let her know that, after hearing others discussing the “spirit”, he had mentioned his own sighting. Sadly, the fact that he had seen such a thing & kept it hidden had seemingly cast suspicion upon him.

After this conversation, Kiyuki made to return the calligraphy set she had borrowed from the storehouse. Daidoji Hansha was still clearly wary of her. When the set was offered, he insisted she keep it, having “paid” more than enough for it. The courtier reiterated that her desire to help the couple was earnest, despite how things looked. To avoid forcing a response, she then bowed, & left.

Yudai & I decided to attend some of the day’s events. Though much of Warai’s repertoire bordered on the uncouth, it was still an enjoyable way to pass the time. I noticed that Usagi Oda had once again disappeared following breakfast- for the second day in a row. Likewise, Shizuko could not be found during the show. Hideaki seemed extremely relieved when Kaikoga Ochiai fell asleep during the performances.

Hisan-sa stood watching the plays from afar, scowl on his face. Hoping to use the actors’ rivalry to his advantage, Hayata spoke to the dramatist. After some brief pleasantries, & another rant about Warai’s performance stylings, Hisan-sa’s began to lower his voice. Tentatively, he mentioned that plenty of travelling performers have side work to supplement their main income. Some sell information they “overhear”, while other sometimes take a more direct approach.

It seems Hisan-sa has previously found some coin selling bits of gossip to members of the Scorpion clan- while Warai, he stated, was a thief. It did not take much cajoling to convince Hisan-sa to lead Hayata to Warai’s quarters, though the actor did not enter them himself.

Within, Hayata found things in a mild state of disarray. Mixed in with the mess were various items that clearly did no belong to the actress: a particularly well-made coin-purse, a delicate scarf, & more. Searching deeper quickly led him to Kakita Nisobu’s missing notebook.

The Tortoise visited Hisan-sa at a teahouse to reward him for his useful information. Afterwards, he returned to the bard what she had lost. True to her word, she shared what she knew of Otomo Sorai’s sudden shift in demeanor.

Sometime on the days of Sincerity, the Spymaster had engaged in some outright gambling with the Mantis. When he then lost a good deal of money to her, he became furious. Still, he dared not demand the return of his funds, lest rumor spread of both his gambling & his dishonorable reaction to the loss. Thus, when Monsho no Rumiko was found repeatedly trying to sneak into the honored couple’s villa, Otomo Sorai had a reason to detain her.

The Mantis was currently being held in her quarters, under watch of the Imperial Guard. The Spymaster reclaimed his lost koku: reason the first for his high spirits. Hesitantly, Hayata asked after the second reason. Kakita Nisobu leaned in closer, to ensure no one else overheard.

“It seems there’s been some issue at the wedding this whole time, that Otomo Sorai was attempting to solve. Well, now he has solved it! A low-ranking samurai, known for drunkenness & gambling- the perfect scapegoat, in lieu of the true source of the problem. I fear she will be given no mercy for whatever crime he sought to solve. None save the mercy of chrysanthemum steel.”