Arc 3, Session 15, L5R

November 1118, Week 1: Introductions

Throughout the Empire, the Kaiu are renowned as the greatest of all architects & engineers. After all, it was they who built the Carpenter Wall that defends against the Shadowlands. It should come as no surprise that the family’s seat of power would be married to their greatest creation: Shiro Kaiu, the great Carpenter Castle, adjoined the bulwark of Rokugan.

 

Though its exterior carries the familiar utilitarian look of the Crab, its interior is a wonder of mechanical feats. Paper screen doors that move on tracks, conveyor belts powered by silent gears- there are even platform elevators to navigate its expanse.

 

Our heroes had decided to spend the cold season here, attending the Crab’s Winter Court. Having the shortest distance to travel, Kiyuki arrived first. She was greeted at the gates by Yudai. He remained at this station after welcoming her into the castle.

 

Later that day, Megumi came riding into view on her warhorse. The following morning, Hayata arrived from Slow Tide Harbor. The samurai had variously brought different gifts for their host, which Yudai arranged to be delivered properly. An introductory dinner was being held when two final additions arrived: Otomo Kuni, & an older Lion samurai escorting her.

 

The new Crystal Magistrate had not informed the group she was attending. She figured this would be a good way for the new allies to get to know one another. On her long trek South, she had crossed paths with Ikoma Takeshi: he was an experienced bushi, visiting Crab lands to survey the Lion troops “on loan” there. For both safety & companionship, they had continued on together.

 

Once introductions at the table were done, the group watched as the other attendees of the council joined the room. Most were from the various Crab families, as to be expected. Two of the Lion troops had been chosen to join as well. There was an unfamiliar delegate from the Dragon, & two familiar faces: Toritaka Ochiyo of the Falcon, & Edakumi Dayu of the Sparrow.

 

The host of this Winter Court was Kaiu Asano. The commander of one of the Wall’s guard-towers, she was also Yudai’s Lord. She welcomed all present, & expressed her faith that all would leave satisfied come Spring.

 

The food served was…serviceable. Though all of our heroes knew the Crab favored practicality, it was still a stark contrast to even the most spartan of meals in other domains. As the tables cleared, the samurai began to greet one another.

 

Kiyuki & Yudai both made circuits of the room, taking care to speak briefly with all present. The pair were harangued by the Dragon, Agasha Junji. The alchemist bemoaned the quality of the Crab’s wine, before offering the pair some from the large gourd he carried alongside him.

 

To his credit, the custom-brewed liquor within was leagues better than any either had tasted before. Kiyuki made the mistake of appearing slightly *too* interested in his area of expertise; while Yudai moved onwards, the Scorpion was drawn into a long lecture about the wonders of alchemical tinctures.

 

Kuni Enko sat alone at a far table. Seeing this, Megumi made efforts to extend a friendly hand to the witch-seeker. It quickly became apparent that the Kuni may be a courtier, but she was not a great conversationist. Instead, Megumi moved to thank the host for allowing her stay.

 

The gift the Unicorn had brought was a short, curved knife. On either side of the hilt were carved the Crab & Unicorn mons, a symbol of the clans’ close bonds. Demonstrating her appreciation, Kaiu Asano was wearing the knife visibly at her hip.

 

Hayata attempted to greet Hiruma Kazu, & was immediately mistaken for one of the serving staff. The Crab seemed to be shifting his eyes between everyone present in a scrutinizing way. Upon realizing his mistake, the courtier gave a pseudo-apology, & spoke briefly with the Tortoise. He seemed particularly interested in tales of the Crane wedding Hayata had attended over the summer.

 

Having recognized one of the two other Lion present, Takeshi stood behind the one he did not recognize. It took a moment, but his former student recognized him with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. She immediately stood at attention, which Takeshi dismissed graciously.

 

Joining their table, he asked the pair how they had found their stint in Crab lands thus far. Akodo Mokuna, the more serious of the pair, gave a succinct & generic reply. The soldier Takeshi had once trained, Ikoma Choshi, gave a much more…up-beat report. She had always been more gifted of body than brain.

 

In time, the dinner drew to a close. The guests were shown to their quarters for the winter. Much like the food, the accommodations left much to be desired. At a few points throughout the night, many of the samurai were briefly awakened by the sounds of fighting along the Wall. It was disturbing, but not enough to forbid them from Yume-do. For his part, Yudai slept entirely fine.

 

Well before the dawn, Takeshi was dressed & making his way to the guard-tower the Lion troops were stationed at. The drill sergeant entered the mess hall & waited until the soldiers took notice of him. There was a barely noticeable groan in response.

 

Takeshi ordered all of the bushi to leave their breakfast, & form standing ranks in a nearby courtyard. Picking two of the samurai at random, he had them show him every single one of the Lion bunks. At each stop, he searched for any contraband & noted who it belonged to. As a light rain began to fall, he began the laborious process of dressing down every soldier individually in front of the entire assembly.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were having a much calmer morning. At breakfast, Kiyuki & Hayata asked Yudai for a tour of the castle. Megumi decided to get some training in at one of the training yards instead.

 

Yudai led his allies around the keep, showing them what he was able. Both of his guests expressed interest in perusing the Kaiu College’s library; it was possible that Kaiu Asano could grant them writs of access for the duration of their stay. When they had finished the inside, the Crab led the group out to the large courtyards between the castle & the wall.

 

It was in one of these that Takeshi was continuing his job’s duties. At another, Megumi was sparring with a Crab bushi. When she overheard him make a snide remark about the Lion soldiers, the Unicorn could not help herself from lashing out with a bit more strength than necessary.

 

“How about sparring with me?”, shouted a familiar voice. Toritaka Ochiyo leaned on a large war-hammer of Crab design. What could have been a friendly bout quickly turned more serious. Megumi accepted the challenge, making sure to work in an insult to the Falcon’s supposed “ghost-sight”.

 

Few samurai can let an insult to their family slide, & Ochiyo was no exception. Without waiting for Megumi to gather a training weapon of her own, the Falcon brought the hammer careening into the Unicorn’s chest plate. It knocked the wind from her, but did not bring the battle maiden down.

 

A crowd was already beginning to gather. In one courtyard, foreign soldiers being verbally abused. In another, two samurai with a history meeting in the ring. Such excitement was rarely found in Shiro Kaiu! From where they were, Yudai & his guests noticed the gathering masses with curiosity & alarm.

 

Megumi wasted no time in taking up an otsuchi of her own. The warrior spun to gather momentum, before arcing the hammer up high for a thunderous bolt. Was there a bit of murderous intent in the blow? It is hard to say. Regardless, the weight of her strike shattered the haft of the Falcon’s weapon in twain.

 

Blows & insults both were traded as the volume only increased. By this time, Yudai had already begun running towards the commotion. Pushed to her brink, Ochiyo drew her wakizashi in a flash. Megumi responded in kind. Before either could make a move, Yudai grabbed a training club & leapt between them; the Crab swept out low with a tetsubo to knock both fighters flat on their backs.

 

“This is finished,” he said. And it would have been. If Megumi had not flung one final sting at the Falcon’s back. In a flush of righteous irritation, Ochiyo threw her sword like a dart towards the Unicorn. The blade stabbed into the courtyard between the battle maiden’s feet. Ochiyo was storming off before the metal stopped quivering.

 

Yudai left to report this to his Lord. After some discussion, he left her chambers with three letters: two writs of access to the library, & orders for their feathered guest. The Crab found her taking lunch, telling a recognizable skewed version of the events that had just transpired. To graciously save her further embarrassment, he insisted she speak to him privately.

 

The letter from Asano was a formal recognition of misconduct during the Winter Court: the Falcon was to spend the first two weeks of the council on the Wall as recompense. Though it was clear she wished to say more, it seemed she had cooled enough to know when to quit.

 

With this taken care of, Yudai had a terse discussion with Megumi. After realizing how serious her friend was, Megumi gave her word that she would not instigate anything further against the Falcon for their stay.

 

November 1118, Week 2: A Matter of Order

 

Off to a great start, the council meetings began in earnest. The courts are a very different sort of battlefield, but all the familiar tactics would be on display. Arguing, shows of force, cunning maneuvers, clashing of ideals- perhaps even blades.

 

The first task put before those assembled seemed largely inane. Even when all within the same Clan, everyone believes their piece should be heard first. Thus, the council was to decide the schedule for the following weeks. Asano Kaiu volunteered herself to speak last, while Yudai claimed the fourth slot.

 

The remaining families would now explain their reasoning on why they should be put before the others. Hiruma Kazu put forth an eloquent statement regarding the importance of his appeal. Kuni Enko spoke as if she had already been given the honor of going first, while Yasuki Ariko claimed that, surely, all these matters were important enough to be granted that position.

 

Once the courtiers were finished, Asano asked for the various guests to weigh in. Kiyuki pointed out that there were two representatives from the Hiruma present: might they hear from Hiruma Yori as well?

 

The young bushi looked quite out of his depth as he found himself thrust before the assembly. In an earnest way, he related that “though our appeal may not be something new, it is of the utmost importance for the Crab”. Kazu could be seen to tense in response to his retainer’s folly.

 

Surprisingly, Kiyuki seemed to take this as further proof that the Hiruma should be the first to present. She suggested that the matter was clearly time-sensitive given both Hiruma being sent. Hayata & Yudai both suggested that the Kuni should go first, given the nature of their typical responsibilities.

 

Takeshi wisely chose to not vote, reasoning that he knew too little of the contents of the petitions to judge fairly. Megumi in turn suggested letting chance decide. Perhaps a roll of dice between the courtiers to settle things? No one present seemed inclined to follow this path.

 

Asano continued asking for the others present to speak. Otomo Kuni chose to abstain, so as not to imply Imperial favor to any one family over another. Akodo Mokuna voiced his opinion that the debate served no further purpose: in Lion lands, such matters would be quickly settled in tests of might.

 

There was a chilly pause following this suggestion. It took some moments before Yudai answered unanimously that the Crab would not agree to such a thing. Mokuna seemed to care little for the clear ire now pointed his way. Takeshi took note of this for later, as he persuaded Ikoma Choshi not to weigh in.

 

Even in the council chambers, Agasha Junji had not parted with his tokkuri. He took a draught before suggesting that the council should have a fight to determine if they would follow Mokuna’s suggestion. Both his tone & the quick wink he added showed this was said in jest. In truth, he cared not which family went first.

 

Toritaka Ochiyo was not present to lend her voice to the council. Lastly, the overlooked Edakumi Dayu chimed in. He voiced support for the Hiruma courtiers. Kiyuki, Megumi, & Takeshi noticed something right before he spoke, while Hayata made an internal note regarding the Sparrow. Yudai, meanwhile, seemed like he was turning something over in his mind.

 

After allowing time for any more input, Kaiu Asano made her decisions. The Hiruma would present first, then the Kuni, Yasuki, Hida, & Kaiu. Clearly only one family was enthused about these results, but that was to be expected. The decisions of the week now drawn to a close, those in attendance could spend their time as they wished.

 

It was the next day that Takeshi made another visit to the guard-tower. This time, he sought a conversation with the Crab commander on duty, Hida Iwa. Though the captain clearly did not desire such company, the discussion began amicably. Takeshi expressed interest in ranging afield of the Wall- perhaps to see what the Lion troops have been doing while here.

 

Iwa said he could easily arrange for Takeshi to join a patrol if the Lion wished. It was then that Takeshi explained his true reason for such an excursion: his Lord, Ikoma Yuto, had instructed him to return with the head of some Shadowlands beast.

 

The Crab went silent for a heartbeat. That, he explained, was not something the Crab permitted. To bring remains of corrupted flesh into the Empire stood at odds with the clan’s very core. When Takeshi persisted, Iwa suggested through gritted teeth that perhaps he should bring this request to Kaiu Asano.

 

The drill sergeant seemed unwilling to do so. Tempers began to flare as verbal jabs were exchanged. Iwa told the Lion that he would gladly let him enter the Shadowlands alone in his pride. Why, he would even hold the door open for him. Takeshi did not hesitate to reply that he was certain Iwa was quite used to “holding the door open” while doing little else.

 

All things have their limit, & the Crab had reached his. In a carrying voice, Iwa demanded that honor had been tarnished too far: now was the time to back words with steel. A challenge was issued to Takeshi, a duel to settle what words no longer could.

 

Cloistered together in the imposing fortress for a season, the samurai had already begun to rub each other the wrong way. And this was merely the second week of twelve…