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Post by sprinkles on Oct 20, 2011 23:34:56 GMT -5
Sprinkles cursed himself silently. He thought no one had noticed the dagger. Luckily it was sheathed and no one could see it was made of obsidian. Sprinkles had planned to play the Crane as though he were a fool, a simple merchant,but the stakes were too high now. If this was the spirit of a Hantei perhaps he could find some means of disrupting the Celestial Order. "I refuse to wear any clothing but my own. I know nothing of this place and will take no chances. I am sorry samurai but I will not bow to your request."
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Kakita Sojiro
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When you die, will you be remembered, or will you be just another strand in the tapestry?
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 20, 2011 23:42:24 GMT -5
(OOC, sorry, I didn't know it was hidden! I can edit if you want me too!)
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 20, 2011 23:47:08 GMT -5
ooc-nope it's fine!
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Kakita Sojiro
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When you die, will you be remembered, or will you be just another strand in the tapestry?
Posts: 900
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 21, 2011 17:28:43 GMT -5
Sojiro was a bit dismayed at the man's insistence, but he also understood the idea of caution in a strange land - some would call it paranoia, but he had learned long ago that paranoia was usually a symptom of a strong sense of self preservation and survival.
"If you are so adamantly set against this, then I won't push the issue, Sprinkles-san. I only hope the Hantei will see things the same way that I do."
"So then, are we ready?"
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Yasuki Chad
Crane Clan
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Post by Yasuki Chad on Oct 21, 2011 19:04:23 GMT -5
As Ready as one can be in such unusual surroundings.
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 21, 2011 21:37:46 GMT -5
"I am ready!"
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Zeure
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Post by Zeure on Oct 21, 2011 21:38:38 GMT -5
As they assembled group moved towards the door, making any final adjustments that were needed for their outfits, the servant woman moves to the door; and she gracefully kneels to slide one side open. In an almost simultaneous action, the other door is slid open by a different servant that was sitting in the court chambers.
The opulence and grand display that was the imperial court stuns you for a second; you stand still and take it all in. Gold adorns everything and emerald colored silk hangs in various places making it all the more elegant. The room is laid out in a large rectangle lengthwise away from the door so that there is a large space between the entryway and the throne. Upon the throne sits a man wearing a golden Laurel crown, dressed in emerald green with gold accents. He is a young man, not yet old enough to have hair on his face. He has a full head of black hair, well manicured and tied in a topknot, but without shaving any part of his head. Between the group and him stood several heavily armored individuals bearing the Seppun mon.
There was only one other person on the dais, an older man who had the look of someone who was exceedingly comfortable in court, with a full beard upon his face that had long since gone to grey, he too was dressed in emeralds and gold. Upon his head, he still has the remnants of a topknot, though his hair looked to be falling out due to age.
That however is where the room ceased to bear a resemblance to the court, as you would imagine it at Otosan Uchi. The other beings in the room could be described as human, but you would loathe to do so. There were over 50 other humanoid figures moving about the room, seemingly eating and enjoying conversation, but for one startling difference. None of the other beings had faces of any sort. Just blank ovals surrounded by hair attached to a body. As you take in the sight and you begin to process it and really look closely, you realize that the figures are moving rather rigidly, as though they might be lacking some of the joints that your natural body employs everyday.
None of the "figures" turn to look at you, none of them even seem to realize that you are there. But the Emperor does, and he waves his hand to motion you forward.
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Yasuki Chad
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Post by Yasuki Chad on Oct 22, 2011 1:06:33 GMT -5
With the briefest of hesitations, from the inhuman aspect of the "figures" in the throne room, Yasuki Chad approaches the throne. Some fifteen feet from the Dais he stops and kneels, his forhead touching the floor for a moment.
"I am Yasuki Chad, Daimyo of the Yasuki. My companions are Kakita Sojiro of the Crane and Sprinkles the Gaijen of the Burning sands. A ..... man.... who calls himself Yudai asked us to present ourselves to you, although he failed to identify which of the Hantei you are."
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Kakita Sojiro
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When you die, will you be remembered, or will you be just another strand in the tapestry?
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 22, 2011 1:30:55 GMT -5
Sojiro bowed to the man on the throne as well, doing his best to not react to the figures in the room.
"It is a great honor to meet Hantei-dono and visit his court. How may we serve?"
Sojiro was assuming that the older man was the Hantei's voice, and as etiquette demanded, he avoided speaking directly to the dead emperor. He remained bowed until he was addressed.
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Post by sprinkles on Oct 22, 2011 1:49:34 GMT -5
Sprinkles stood in the door where he had entered. He had no intention of bowing to the descendant of his enemies. He remained silent and let the others handle this for now while he watched. He was hoping that he could once again used his gainjin origin to avoid proper etiquette.
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Zeure
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Post by Zeure on Oct 22, 2011 2:06:36 GMT -5
The emperor looks down on you both and he opens his mouth just long enough to hear a cough from the man to his side. At this, the emperor shuts his mouth and begins to hide the barely contained excitement that had so recently adorned his face.
The man sitting next to the throne stood and he bowed, ever so slightly back to the samurai who had approached and bowed properly.
"Samurai, you have the honor of attending the court of the most revered Emperor Hantei the 40th. We are deeply pleased to play host to a Daimyo of the Yasuki clan and his Yojimbo. It has been some time since we saw new faces in the court."
As he steps down off the dais, he waves his hand upwards in a "you may rise" gesture. And he begins to walk away, courtly manners would tell you that proper etiquette would be to follow. As he walks to another section of the room where there are various foodstuffs set out, he grabs a piece of yellow exotic looking fruit and begins to pull the outer covering off revealing a much paler, almost white stalk underneath the yellow sheathe. He eats this quickly and then turns back to face you.
"So, samurai-sans, may I inquire as to the nature of your visit? I heard you mention Yudai, a name that is not unknown here; I am curious as to your connection to him.
His tone is rigid as he crosses the final words. You can tell that he is attempting to draw information out of you and that the age that he so obviously has, has done nothing to diminish his acumen in the courtly affairs. While he is clearly paying absolute attention to Kakita Sojiro and Yasuki Chad, he pays no attention whatsoever to Sprinkles.
The imperial guards in the room, however, watch all with equal vigilance.
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Kakita Sojiro
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When you die, will you be remembered, or will you be just another strand in the tapestry?
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 22, 2011 3:12:23 GMT -5
Sojiro cast a glance at Chad upon hearing that the man on the throne was Hantei the 40th.
"Please allow me to clarify, sama. Although I can certainly see where one may draw this assumption, I am not in fact Chad-sama's yojimbo. We are allies, this much is true, and I have fought under his command before. As to our connection to this Yudai... I am afraid I know little more than you, to be honest. I believe he is responsible for our arrival in this land, but I know little of what he wants, and nothing of your experiences with him."
Sojiro took one of the strange fruits the man had eaten and examined it. "If I may be frank, sama - what exactly is this, and how does one properly eat it? I have never seen a fruit of this variety before. In fact," he cast his eyes quickly to the faceless beings, and then back to the elderly man, "there are many strange things here that I do not recognize. I would be most honored if you would humor a newcomer to your lands with a bit of education, sama."
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Yasuki Chad
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Post by Yasuki Chad on Oct 22, 2011 6:43:18 GMT -5
"Yudai Claimed the Hantei was a spirit displaced from our realm. He claimed several spirits had died and attempted to maintain themselves here. I must confess to more then a little skeptisicm with his explanations, however. The Hantei Dynasty ended with the 39th in our realm, and has only recently been reinstated by a man raised by the spirit of Hantei the 16th and who took the Hantei name as his own."
Chad eyed the strange fruit but evidenced no desire to partake in such odd fare.
"Who are you who acts as the esteemed Hantei's Voice?"
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Zeure
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Post by Zeure on Oct 23, 2011 2:23:15 GMT -5
First, the man addressed Sojiro's request: "You grab the base and then pull backwards on the stalk at the top. It will split open, and you peel each part of the "skin", they call it, and eat the white part inside. They are quite tasty, something that the mantis had brought for us.""
He then turned to Chad and bowed ever so slightly: "My apologies, Daimyo-san; I am so renowned in this area that I have forgotten to properly introduce myself. I am Otomo Kaisuke, voice for Hantei the 40th."
He pauses to think for a moment, clearly trying to process the information that had been given him quickly enough that it was not evident he struggled with the concepts.
"It is troubling what you say. It is even more troubling that our lord became emperor under unusual circumstances. You see, he is the second emperor of his generation. His brother was emperor before him, but he is no longer among the living. If what this Yudai says is true, then indeed, my lord needs to move from this place, as having your spirit eternally trapped would prevent you from taking your place in the celestial order. But how would one approach the questions...."
He stopped talking and put his hand upon his chin and stroked his beard, obviously in thought. He looks back and forth between the samurai as if asking for input. In a subtle way he casually glanced at Sprinkles; as if measuring him up in the same way that he had done before with the others.
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Kakita Sojiro
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When you die, will you be remembered, or will you be just another strand in the tapestry?
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 24, 2011 21:57:45 GMT -5
"I am unsure, Kaisuke-sama. This is certainly outside of my experience. Perhaps you have some idea, Chad-sama?"
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