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Post by Soshi Kiso on Nov 7, 2011 21:03:18 GMT -5
Kiso looked at everyone around the table. Thinking it better for their situation to go outside without causing any undue trouble, he proceeded out the door. He wasn't sure if any of his fellows followed, for he did not hear their footsteps, but that meant little.
The street held many men, but it took but a second to recognize who was in charge. The one who called himself Yoriki Kuro looked every bit the part, and from his stance, Kiso knew he did his job well. The body of Tonma before him did little to lift his spirits. Kuro did not hold the same value of life as him. He would have to be careful with how this proceeded.
Yoriki Kuro-san, I am Soshi Kiso, Daimyo of my family. By what need do you have to interrupt the revelry of my men? Granted, he had a good idea, since by now it was well known his clan had marched to Hantei's banner. It would be natural for anyone here to think him the enemy, not knowing his Champion had permitted him to continue under Toturi the 3rd's regime. He only hoped that Kibo's map would make it worth the hassle.
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Shosuro Kyo
Scorpion Clan
*Magistrate *Loyal *Paragon of Duty *Lord of Dance
Posts: 123
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Post by Shosuro Kyo on Nov 9, 2011 14:48:13 GMT -5
Kyo stood back an assessed the damages, overall, he thought things were going well. Although he had a feeling that Kiso-sama was going to have a long talk with him when it was over. He took the time to obviously readjust his jitte as he stepped out from the building.
Kyo merely stands there and stares at the yoriki. He gets a quick assessment of the man, this one wasn't one that would easily be intimidated, but he would fall in line with those higher up on him in command. Kyo merely holds his tongue for now and lets Kiso-sama do all the talking.
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Post by Ikoma Kibo on Nov 9, 2011 21:46:57 GMT -5
Kibo walked quietly out of the inn behind Kiso, looking about carefully to make certain no one was going to try another attack now that they were drawn outside in the open. She hoped that they would quickly get to the bottom of this mess and get moving. The longer they stayed here, it was more certain that more individuals would try and stop them....
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Akodo Taiyo
Lion Clan
Lion Clan Hero ? Samurai ? Tactican ? Shireikan ? Honorable ? Loyal
Posts: 196
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Post by Akodo Taiyo on Nov 10, 2011 17:12:59 GMT -5
Kuro surveyed the group with a keen eye as they entered the street, a smile spreading across his face as he recognized Kibo-san. Bowing appropriately, he addressed the Soshi Daimyo. A thousand pardons, my honored visitors, for the disturbance this evening. That dimwitted peasant indicated that there were assassins inside, but I am pleased to find he was mistaken. Please let me offer you the humble apologies of the Lion clan. It has been too long since we enjoyed the company of Scorpion friends, and our hospitality may have grown lax in your absence. Straightening up from the bow and appraising the Scorpion once more, Kuro dove straight into the difficult questions ahead.
Unfortunately there has been a murder this evening, and in close proximity to our esteemed guests. Did you by chance have horses stabled here? If so I must inform you that they too have been slain. A most unfortunate occurrence to be sure. The Magistrate, however, is away in the south on business at the moment and cannot attend to your needs. Therefore, in his stead I offer you all the hospitality and protection that he would wish for you in such a dark time as this. It is my belief that you may have been the target of this vicious act, as there are no other samurai of such stature here today.
Kuro scratched his chin as he spoke, and pondered the situation for a moment while he considered whether or not to inquire about their travel papers. Clearly something foul was afoot, and he was sure the Scorpion were the targets. Even though they had openly declared for Hantei, the long relationship and brotherhood that was shared between their champion and his own was well known, and Tomatsu's strong desire for continued peace between the two clans was well known to all of his agents in the Lion's Shadow. Better to let this play out, and only intervene in order to avoid any more unnecessary unpleasantness.
It turns out that the Magistrate recently acquired several new horses as part of a trade treaty with the Unicorn. These gaijin horses would be a more than suitable replacement for your own, and will speed you on your way from the danger here. What say you?
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Post by Ikoma Kibo on Nov 16, 2011 16:07:45 GMT -5
Kibo looked over at Kiso and nodded. She looked back at the yoriki and had a rather curious look on her countenance.
"Yosh! A good response. But, I at least wish to see what we're facing, or you need to tell me the nature of what opposes us. We all need to be prepared. I have my guesses, but knowing is most of the battle. One who knows their opponents as well as themselves will never lose."
Kibo smiled innocently as she looked over at Kiso's companions. One of the reasons the Scorpion were far more formidable in a fight than many cared to appreciate was the fact that their opponents didn't know them. It threw the odds well in their favor. All that she knew is that Kiso's companions were likely more than they appeared to be, which was all well and good as far as she was concerned. No need to pry and ask questions. It was as it was, and it was fine. They were the kind of people who had no need to fear the dark, which were the kind of people they'd need to protect Kiso-sama, and admittedly, herself. She could hold her own in a stand-up kind of battle, but outside of that- not as well.
In the back of her mind, she realized they'd all need some things she'd managed to accumulate from her time working with the various Crab families along the wall. She remembered a conversation awhile ago with Kiso-sama about making sure one had a good stockpile of Jade and some of the various by-products around. She kept that in mind, and indeed she did.....
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Shosuro Kyo
Scorpion Clan
*Magistrate *Loyal *Paragon of Duty *Lord of Dance
Posts: 123
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Post by Shosuro Kyo on Dec 20, 2011 0:07:37 GMT -5
Kyo left around the time after the yoriki made it clear that he was not going to try and hold them up. Kyo walked the city looking for the signs that Asoka-san had pointed out to him. He mentally laughed, when he learned them, she specifically said, "Only use them if I'm dead, so that we still can communicate with the Master." He kept on wondering looking out for any out of place signs.
His best bet to find her, and give the new information was to... bend this rule a little. After all, she wasn't there, and couldn't have the information. Kyo smiled as he felt that his excuse was going to be met with little liking. His eyes snapped to a mon of a nightingale. Nodding to himself, he walked inside and took a seat at a table.
He decided to play a few games Fortunes and Winds while trying to keep his eye out for any of the potential contacts there are in the buildings.
After a long space of time he starts to think that maybe he misread the sign. Kyo didn't think so, Asoka-san made it quite obvious which mons to look for. He shook his head and continued to play, watching and betting in the best way to walk with the most money.
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Shosuro Honzo
Scorpion Clan
Scorpion Clan * Shosuro Daimyo * Ninja* "Master of Shadows"* Loyal * Unique
Posts: 194
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Post by Shosuro Honzo on Jan 6, 2012 4:22:44 GMT -5
Shosuro Asoka saw Kyo-san enter. She watched him as he played Fortunes and Winds and seemed to be non-chalantly scanning the room, most likely looking for her. She smirked a bit, enjoying the one way exchange of discovery. She studied his body language. He seemed tense, but not overly so. Things back at the inn must have turned out for the best, though tempers may still be smoldering.
She decided to invite him to the back room where she had met her contact. She slipped a couple zeni to a serving girl and whispered her intent. With a nod she moved off in Kyo's direction.
Her arrival at the safe house had been most opportune. Since she had been off the streets, the patrols had dispersed and the alarms had died down and gradually went silent. Had she been any slower, she may just have been stopped and questioned. She had been given a change of garb in the safe house and her hair she styled differently. She also decided to make her report there, and she was given fresh instructions.
Kyo likewise was also given instructions on the next course of action, though Asoka knew not what they were. The scroll was sealed with her master's chop and she had been forbidden to pry. Asoka was nothing if not a snoop, but she knew better than to disobey. Most likely, the scroll was spelled against prying eyes, so all the better that she did not.
She watched as the serving girl approached Kyo and whispered into his ear. She then surreptitiously glanced in Asoka's direction and Asoka made eye contact at last with Kyo-san before she ducked behind the curtain that hid the back parlor where she intended to debrief him.
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Shosuro Kyo
Scorpion Clan
*Magistrate *Loyal *Paragon of Duty *Lord of Dance
Posts: 123
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Post by Shosuro Kyo on Jan 6, 2012 12:17:58 GMT -5
Kyo looked up after he got the signal and saw Asoka-san across the room. He was momentarily stunned by her figure before seeing that she sent a subtle signal to meet her in the back room. That threw Kyo off for a long minute. After another whisper from the serving girl brought him out of it he nodded to the serving girl and stood up.
Kyo stood a quietly crossed the room to the back room. He did it kinda of slowly as he tried to get his head back under control. He was thrown off by the thoughts that crossed his head. By the time he reached the curtain to the back room he had mostly got his thoughts under control. A quick meditation ritual helped him to regain his composure as he crossed the threshold to the parlor.
Hey Asoka-san, it's good to see that your doing well, and manage to avoid the issue. Kyo decided to not address the issue at the inn much more in case there are more than just the scorpion birds trying to overhear them. Thank you for the help back there.
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Post by Soshi Kiso on Feb 7, 2012 17:54:45 GMT -5
(ooc: sorry for the long delay, but it seemed rl hit everyone about the same time. I haven't seen the return of Hisa to play Hiro, and it looks like I'll need to take over his role when needed...but alas...)
The debacle over the dead bodies troubled Kiso. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew some of his people were involved. It wasn't long before he was able to clear up matters with the local law and looked forward to moving on. There wasn't as much love for Scorpions in the Lion's den at the moment, having declared for opposing Emperors. They still had to travel through Lion territory for a few days, but they would be able to take faster routes once the group reached Permission City.
Originally he had planned to take back roads and use natural coverage to mask their movement, but if it went anything like tonight, it would end up costing them more time then he cared for. Fortunately the presense of Ikoma Kibo would expedient their path on enemy ground, but they would have to do something to mask her presence when they passed the Imperial Legions.
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Shosuro Honzo
Scorpion Clan
Scorpion Clan * Shosuro Daimyo * Ninja* "Master of Shadows"* Loyal * Unique
Posts: 194
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Post by Shosuro Honzo on Feb 8, 2012 5:55:54 GMT -5
Asoka gesured for Kyo to have a seat. When they were comfortable and Asoka was sure that they were alone with no one eavesdropping, she said, It's good that you found this place. We will have to wait until tomorrow before we can leave here. For now though, you should probably update me on the situation. I do apologize for not helping with the local authorities, but seeing as how I was covered in blood at the time, I couldn't exactly give you any lip service to the local authorities without getting us all detained for questioning.
Asoka cursed her luck. Spider agents following them was not good. Her Master had saved her and then left without a word. What was he doing here? Did he not trust her to handle the situation? Or was he merely shadowing her, only interfering because he had to? She fervently hoped that whatever the case was, she was still his most trusted and talented student in his eyes.
Putting her face back on as the ruthless Shinobi agent, she listened as Kyo-san made his report.
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Shosuro Honzo
Scorpion Clan
Scorpion Clan * Shosuro Daimyo * Ninja* "Master of Shadows"* Loyal * Unique
Posts: 194
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Post by Shosuro Honzo on Feb 17, 2012 1:07:19 GMT -5
[OOC-In the interests of speeding this up (b/c we really do need to actually GET to Otosan Uchi), I'm going to speed things up so that the Fellowship is back together and about to depart the city we are currently at, en route to our next destination. So, to get us going, how about Kiso doing the honors and posting first? Then we can get Kyo, Kotaro, myself (as Asoka) and Hisa (if he can) and anyone else who might wish to join in and get going!]
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Post by Soshi Kiso on Feb 17, 2012 6:08:32 GMT -5
[ooc- I agree Honzo, hopefully Otosan Uchi will get some of the player involvement back in this, as much as I didn't want to jump ahead, I think we need to at this point. (especially since months have gone by since characters were involved in this arc and don't need anymore "missing gap" in recent history) I will post something new either at work (if time permits), or once my co-workers leave my place tonight from a party.]
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Post by Soshi Kiso on Feb 18, 2012 7:53:24 GMT -5
The road to Otosan Uchi was rather uneventful due to the skills of the Scorpions of the party. They managed to skirt problematic check points to arrive to the ruins of the once great city.
With careful consultation to Ikoma Kibo's map, they were able to pin point the location of the Carp Clan Temple to Soshi Saibankan. There was nothing left standing of the structure that once hosted a small training facility for young and upcoming imperial magistrates wishing to refine their craft. It took awhile, but between Yogo Hiro and Kiso, they were able to communicate with the spirits of various rumble to find a few broken rocks which had been part of the structure.
It grew eerily quiet as the two Daimyo began a ritual to rival the best illusions ever made, and after hours of concentration before them stood the smoke and mirrors of the temple Koi Kiso had built.
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Yogo Hiro
Ronin
Daimyo * Shugenja * Air * Water * Ward Master * Hisas RP Yogo Alt.
Posts: 12
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Post by Yogo Hiro on Feb 18, 2012 8:08:39 GMT -5
The ritual was grueling. He might have had an easier time of it in his younger days, but the level of concentration to keep an entire building together out of smoke was nothing less then miraculous. Sweat beaded up on his wrinkled forehead, but he dared not wipe it away in chance it would sever the ties the two shugenja had so delicately woven.
He never would have attempted such a feat without the young Soshi, knowing his own power while great, could not match this without a death spell. The next part is what scared him though...Kiso would need to enter the illusion, and its sole continuing existence would ride solely in his care.
Alright boy, get what you need and fast! Kiso nodded to him and began walking to the temple. As he left the ritual circle, he could swear that the weight of three castles had been added to his head. He could do nothing but shut his eyes and tune everything out except the temple, while a headache grew...
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Post by Ikoma Kibo on Feb 27, 2012 0:52:56 GMT -5
The ride was quick and unecventful, which Kibo was silently thankful for. She's hoped that they might get to the Western Hub villiage where she grew up, but that could wait- if they survived. She knew her task from working witn Scorpions before- be the obvious focus for the enemy while the Scorpion attacked from the shadows. The trick was to not let the bait get eaten. It was an issue of trust. If Kiso-sama trusted these people, it leant their loyalty towards him and the mission was unquestioned. There was another side to the issue as well. For the hidden to work, the obvious needed to remain standing as a distraction.
As for the ritual, that wasn't her issue. It was to stand by and wait, and be ready to act correctly if anything happened. The first order of business- protect the shugenja....
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