Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 1: Atsumari/Gathering

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kyujutsu Competition:

After Hisashi would vacate, the unicorn woman would begrudgingly return to take her turn. Not paying any of the other contestants any heed... except one.

Out of the 7 other archers competing, she seemed to make it a point to roughly push her way past the Mantis, Hisashi. Everyone was giving her space, so there was no doubt that the gesture was intentional.

Stepping up to the next empty lane, she would lift her bow, firing at the target... and miss completely. {9 vs TN 15, miss}

She would grit her teeth, focusing harder on the next shot to score better than the previous, if it had hit. {17 vs TN 20, miss}

This seemed to make her fume even more. She would spend a void for a Free Raise, and try to hit the bulls-eye, the only way she would salvage this round! {22 vs TN 20, hit!} Focusing her anger, she unexpectantly hit the bulls-eye when both previous arrows had failed her, allowing her the opportunity to continue on! Growling, she would force herself through the crowd - and, given the opportunity, Hisashi - if they did not give her her space.

Bayushi Naizen would step forth, ready to take his next turn. He would lift the bow, somewhat shakingly, and attempt to take aim. He would lower it and try to recollect his wits for a moment. When he was ready, he would lift it again, but seemed unable to focus. He would hold his breath to steady his aim as best as he could, but was apparently unsuccessful.

Turning away, he would approach Doji Kita and inform her, "I concede." She would nod, having noticed the difficulty he had in the first round as well.

"Shosuro Naizen is unable to continue. Bayushi Kojiro, you're the next one up!" she would inform the Scorpion's ally.  

[Sutiiven]

Hisashi would politely applaud again, this time genuinely impressed by Sayako's reclaiming of the score required to continue on to the next round - though he seemed to be the only one. He would see her approach, and wondered if he should say something. Against his better judgment, he decided to do so.

"Well done, Sayoko-san. A valiant -"

At this he would be forcefully pushed aside.

"...recovery."

Apparently his better judgment was right on this one. Curse his curiosity getting the better of him. Still, a courtier was supposed to be courteous whenever possible and appropriate.

"I wish you continued success during the remainder of the competition."

He didn't know if that would make things better or worse, but it was worth the shot anyway. If nothing else he felt that he should probably keep his trap shut for the rest of the round - if not the rest of the competition!

(Etiquette [Sincerity] Check, 4k3)  

[Plainsfox]

@The Kyujutsu Tournament

Kojiro would applaud politely for each of the contestants thus far...and a bit louder when Sayako made her bull's eye. I would be happier if the crowd of contestants were thinning, but many of them are managing to stay in. Kojiro could not help but look a little disappointed in Naizen, but he managed to hide his facial expression as he walked up to the lane for his turn on at the target. Time to find out where my limits are.

Kojiro took in a deep breath and carefully aimed his yumi at the dead center of the target and let the arrow fly!

OOC: TN=5+5(Range)-5(Mastery)+15 Three Raises
Result: 15
Score: 0  

[Plainsfox]

The Bayushi grunted inwardly. Am I losing my focus so easily?

Kojiro again focused his aim. This time he decided to concentrate on the bracket next to the bull'seye. I will not fail the clan here. Even if I have to settle.

There was a loud *thunk* as the arrow landed exactly where Kojiro had directed it. If only that had been the first arrow...

TN: 5+5(Range)-5(Mastery)+10 (Two raises)
Result: 32
Score: 60  

[Plainsfox]

Explodey Die  

[Plainsfox]

Kojiro again took aim at the inner white ring. This was not a flashy round for him, but it would hopefully allow him to advance

OOC: TN 15. Same reason as last time.

Result: 28
Score: 120  

[Plainsfox]

Explodey  

[Plainsfox]

The Scorpion had hoped to remain in the lead point wise, but he had fell behind this round. The Asahina and the Isawa both were skilled. While the Asahina had yet to make a bullseye, he was consistent in his shooting. The Matsu seemed favored by the fortunes, but Kojiro wondered how long their favor would make up for his lack of depth perception.

Kojiro had viewed the Kakita as a contender until he recognized that the Crane used the short Hankyu as his bow. The weapon didn't have enough pull to hit targets much further beyond these.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kyujutsu Competition:

Doji Kita would nod solemnly at Kojiro's return. "You performed adequately, Kojiro-san," she would tell him, smiling politely, before making her way over to be closer to Isawa Sosuke. {Etiquette (Sincerity) of 65 to shut Kojiro down}

Kakita Zanzen, you're up!  

[Plainsfox]

Kojiro bowed in response to Lady Kita's words. He held his bow a little longer than necessary to prevent acting brashly, his fingers gripped his yumi tightly as he withdrew back towards Naizen.  

[Psychofish]

Denbe blinked in shock and tried to mask the dismay from his face. He hadn't expected that kind of a reaction.

"No, no... that's quite alright, thank you."

He looked down mournfully at the prepared food, wondering if he'd have to spend the rest of the tournament buying and preparing dishes himself. Not that he was too unused to it by now.  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae felt immediately uncomfortable as eyes were brought onto him and he became a lot more interested at looking at his dinner than gazing into the eyes of the other competitors. Taking a quick bite of the food to try and calm his shaking nerves he would quickly glance up and say,

"...Well... Rather than bragging I would like to continue the theme of fables. This will be a tale of the crab..."

Kagae would take another bite of his meal and quickly eat it as to taste it before it becomes cold while he tells his story. Though he would not make eye contact with anyone around him he would stare at his dinner to make it seem like he was keeping concentration.

"On a beach side one day a scorpion decided to visit the land of the crab to find out what they were doing and why they never seemed to visit. He approached the crab settlement on the beach the only significant thing of interest was a large wall built of sand which had many crabs on the top of it. The scorpion decided that he would start his journey in crab lands there and he would be greeted by a VERY big crab possibly the biggest crab in the crab lands. The scorpion asked who was he and why he stood on this wall. The crab replied,

"I am Hida and I stand on this wall because no one else will! Now leave me scorpion your presence only brings trouble!"

The scorpion a little dismayed by the attitude of the Hida crab would crawl somewhere else. He spotted a normal looking crab but he noticed that this crab was very fast and unlike the rest of the crab his shell blended into his surroundings very well. This pleased the scorpion and thought he might find a friend in this crab. The scorpion also asked who was the crab and why he was trying to be fast and undetectable. The crab turned to the scorpion and replied,

"I am Hiruma and I am this way so that I can gather information for my brother on the wall! Now leave me scorpion you are bringing attention to me!"

The scorpion was starting to think badly of the crab they were rude and impolite. So the scorpion looked elsewhere for crab members. He then spotted a crab who was writing things into the sand and was making weird lights. He approached this crab and also asked who he was and what he was doing. The crab glanced at the scorpion and replied,

"I am Kuni, I provide the magic my brothers lack! Now Leave me scorpion for I have much to study!"

The scorpion was assured now that the crab were just impolite and rude for no reason. Still he soldiered on in hope of finding a crab who broke this mould. To his surprise he would not find a crab on the sandy beaches of the crab but a falcon who stood there with a glazed look in its eyes. The scorpion sidled up to the falcon and asked him who he was and why he was here. The falcon would lose the glazed look and turn his head to see the scorpion before replying,

"... I am Toritaka and I am the crabs eyes in the spirit realm. Now leave me scorpion for I must look for astral threats!"

The falcon would return to seemingly looking into nothing and its eyes would glaze over again. The scorpion annoyed by now left the falcon to its business but as it turned around it would be confronted by a Crab with a fish. Before the scorpion could even ask the crab he was interrupted by afore said crab.

"I am Yasuki! The face for the crab and also its merchant! Would you like to buy a fish to quench your hunger? It is the best fish you'll find on this beach!"

The scorpion fled from the crab with the fish not just because he didn't want to buy it but because he would never to be able to eat such a big fish. The scorpion nearly gave up on the crab before he saw something he didn't see before. A crab who was shuffling sand around building a small fortification which when finished was immediately occupied by a warrior crab. The crab who was building would then move on to start another structure as the scorpion asked him who he was and what he was doing. The crab seemingly pleased to have someone interested in his work carried on working but answered,

"I am Kaiu and I am building fortresses for my brother Hida to help with his defense of the wall. I provide the weapons to all of the crab and give them shells which are better at protecting them. Without me the defense of the crab's wall would not be possible. Little scorpion although I am sure you have met my brothers and I suspect they have not treated you as well as I have. This is because we are constantly busy and have not much time for visitors such as yourself. So I am sorry if they have treated you as such but you won't find much in the crab lands other than a lot of busy crabs. So tell your friends of what you saw today."

The Kaiu crab would finish another fortification and as last time another warrior crab would immediately occupy it, the Kaiu crab turned to the scorpion and said loudly,

"A LAND OF BUSY CRABS"."

Kaiu would finish and quickly eat some more dinner before talking, "I hope you enjoyed that I couldn't think much of a story so I thought to express the crabs purpose through a fable."

Finishing completely Kagae would completely divert all of his attention to his dinner as he waited for the criticisms to come.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Storytelling Competition:

{The Critique DC is 8}

The Mantis warrior Susumu would be the first up to critique this tale. "It lacked excitement and adventure. A little too dull for my tastes," he would confess dismissively. {Critique of 20 vs TN 8}



Hida Hogai, Kagae's fellow Crab, would come next. Surely, he would support his companion's story, right? ... Right?

"Zzzzzzzzz..." Hogai apparently had a little too much excitement from Denbe's story and Kagae's story was too long for him to handle. Jiro would lean over and poke the Hida with a chopstick, causing him to snap awake. "GOBLINS ON THE WALL!" he shouted, and after some laughter, and a disappointed look, he realized he missed his cousin's story. {Critique of 14 vs TN 8}

"What I think my lazy neighbor here means to say, is that, while a good tale, it really doesn't teach anything that all of us don't already know." Taking a quick bite of rice, he would look to Kagae and shrug. "Sorry." {Critique of 24 vs TN 8}

"But what happened to all the justice?!" Wazuka would exclaim loudly, clearly disappointed with the direction of the tale. {Critique of 21 vs TN 8}

"Perhaps the crabs should know their role: To stay on the wall, not to lounge on the beach." Doji Koan said plainly, eyes closed as he sipped his tea. {Critique of 16 vs TN 8}

"There is no real educational value of that fable. Isn't that the whole point of a fable in the first place?" the tiny Asako Sumi would speak herself as she delicately ate the rice, seemingly one grain at a time. {Critique of 18 vs TN 8}

Kan would be last up, and apparently let out a disparaging sigh. "I... wish I could see more redeeming value in your tale, Kagae-san. The build-up started strong, but it was a little too repetitive, and the climax fell short. I could instruct you in the ways of storytelling sometime if you'd like, however." It was the best the monk could offer at this point. {Critique of 14 vs TN 8}

Ujina Denbe, your critique is last!  

[Psychofish]

[2k2 Storytelling/Perception: 8 vs TN 8. Denbe forfeits reroll out of good manners.]

Denbe paused after the story, not certain for a moment if he was supposed to be sympathizing with the scorpion or the crabs. It was hard not to be amused by a LAND OF BUSY CRABS however, and he decided that competition or no he'd rather be polite than make a feeble attempt at pointing out anything wrong with it.

"Interesting to have some insight on how the crab see themselves."

He started conjuring a joke about Hida's earlier comment to include the other Crab in the conversation as well, but trailed off and thought better of it, looking at the dozing bushi.  

[Plainsfox]

@The Kyujutsu contest

Kojiro looked over to the lone Unicorn and thought on how to get close to her without getting hurt in return...and an idea struck him. "I'll be right back, Naizen. please watch over the contest for me."

While the remaining Crane lined up for his shots, Kojiro carefully walked over to the Unicorn woman. He would bow politely and say, "Good morning, Sayako-san. Have you been enjoying the tournament thus far?"


OOC Etiquette roll: Using last kept die in case of 10s
Result: 16