Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 2 Chapter 1: Daiippo/First Step

[Mongooseh]

Sheathing his Katana Kagae would walk over to the corpse of the woman carefully. Then with a delicate motion he would use one hand to pull out the wakizashi.

Hearing Denbe speak he kept his back to him while speaking, "Denbe-san I have a feeling you're bowing while apologising for something which is not your fault. So while I am calm... I will declare that if you are not fully upright when I turn around I will become very angry..."

Kagae would wait a moment before quickly turning around.  

[Psychofish]

That was enough for the Hare to stand again, still frowning.

"Bayushi-san went to find Shosuro-san. As to the others..." the Hare glanced around helplessly. No sign of Iwao, Kuemon, or the other bandit. Only the chaos in the village.

"We'll need to find them, but that's not all we have on our plates. What do you want to do, Kaiu-san? Are you well enough to fight?"

He'd start to look in the direction the bandit had chased Iwao, looking for signs of which direction either might have headed while he spoke.

[3k2 Perception/Hunting(Tracking): 24]  

[Psychofish]

((And the roll.))  

[Psychofish]

[Explosion: 17]  

[Mongooseh]

"No, I'm not well enough to fight. I'm pretty badly wounded but we must look after our own. You go after the scorpions because even if they are back stabbing bastards they're our bastards. I'll start getting things sorted out here." Kagae would say before wiping the blood off his wakazashi and sheathing it. Drawing his katana he would motion denbe to move on as he stalked off to the nearest crowd of peasants.  

[Rain Yupa]

GM's notes:
Kojiro: -1k0 earth/water.
Denbe: -1k0 earth/void.
Kagae: None
Seichiro: -1k0 earth/void.
Zanzen: -1k0 earth/water.
Kyumi: -1k0 fire/void.
Hisashi:None
Miyako: None
--------------------

@ Kojiro:

Kojiro backtracked to where he was sure he had come in, trying to wade through the peasants that were now idling about the entire village outside, still frightened and not sure what they should be doing to ensure their own safety.

Soon, he makes it to a set of tracks that he's somewhat confident that they belong to Miyako. Following them northward, he begins to follow her tracks into one of the fields...

--------------------

@ Denbe & Kagae:

Kagae and Denbe would speak, trying to discuss what would be necessary for their next courses of action, while the former retrieves his blades (and sheaths from Sotan the bandit).

Denbe dwells on the matter of "Iwao", and though not sure of the details, but "Iwao" is still a law breaker, and if he is indeed ronin, he is still subject to the punishments he deserves. TECHNICALLY out of your jurisdiction, but it's something you can't turn a blind eye to. Or rather, you shouldn't.

As Kagae turns his attentions to the peasants, he is faced with a scenario of a lot of scared farmers and their families, and no leadership to direct them. As they see a samurai with the mon of the samurai family that owns these lands approaches them, Kagae soon finds himself swarmed with peasants (hopefully none of them bandits), all asking for guidance of what they should all do!

Kagae, time for courtier rolls to put the populace's fears to ease! Don't forget wound penalties!

Denbe, you chase after "Iwao", and manage to find what looks like the path your quarry had taken. As you approach the headman's hut, that staff-wielding bandit stumbles out with one hand on his abdomen, a massive bleeding wound easily apparent. He takes one look at you and tries to stumble away in a different direction, apparently having no desire to engage you. From your current perspective, you do not see who else might be occupying that hut.

@ Everyone who lost honor for not grabbing Kagae's daisho: It has been recovered, so the honor loss from before is now negated!

((@ Miyako: You'll be returning shortly, don't worry.))  

[Plainsfox]

@ A nearby field

Here were Miyako tracks and yet no Miyako. This was extremely disturbing to Kojiro. The young Scorpion doubted that he would survive long enough to commit Seppuku if he was the one to tell Miya's father what had happened to his daughter. The Bayushi tried his best to maintain a calm appearance, but he was frantically looking for clues. Kojiro nearly called out, as if Miya-chan were an errant cat a couple of times....but that would've done him no good. The bushi would continue to follow the tracks, but more stealthily than he had before. If Miya-chan was in trouble, then the element of surprise might be helpful.

OOC:
Agility/Stealth 4k3 w/ 2 dice to handle explosions -5 for armor
Raises: None
Results: 6  

[Psychofish]

Gripping his blade, Denbe stalked quietly but quickly up to the bandit (closing to strike if he could) blade moving in a quick, simple arc as he called out toward the hut. There had been deception, murder, treachery, and now a dead magistrate. Denbe couldn't seem to feel any real sense of mercy at the moment, even for a fleeing and wounded foe. Perhaps if he had been sure they wouldn't pull a dirty trick or stab someone in the back even in defeat.

"Yasuki-san? Is that you in there?" his attention mostly on putting down the bandit for the moment- which would leave them with only a single threat left. THe big one.

[6k4 Agility/Kenjutsu: 30 vs TNtbH+5]  

[Psychofish]

[Explosion: 13]  

[Psychofish]

[5k2 Damage: 29]  

[Psychofish]

[Boom: 22]  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae was hoping to not be so affronted by so many people at once that his stutter begun showing through.

"C-carry on the bu-bucket line on the bur-burning house. I also n-need someone wh-o is wi-willing to travel to de-deliver a message."

(1k1 vs tn? +10 wound penalty. Result: DOES IT ******** MATTER?)  

[Rain Yupa]

GM's notes:
Kojiro: -1k0 earth/water.
Denbe: -1k0 earth/void.
Kagae: None
Seichiro: -1k0 earth/void.
Zanzen: -1k0 earth/water.
Kyumi: -1k0 fire/void.
Hisashi:None
Miyako: None
--------------------

@ Kojiro's Great Adventure:

Kojiro, with his amazing abilities of Stealth and Subterfuge, began to quietly make his way through the field. Being careful not to make his presence known as he moved through the crops, he snaked forward, undeterred by any challenges that await him. Quiet as the tiniest mouse, he followed the path he has chosen to follow, swearing to himself to find where Miyako has run off to. She must be as skilled as the first follower of Bayushi, for as not unlike a shadow as Kojiro currently was, he heard no sounds that indicated Miyako's immediate presence. Surely, she must be...

Kojiro comes out of one of the farming fields, stumbling across the same battlefield he had left several minutes before, except on the other side. It was here, that he witnessed...

--------------------

@ Kagae:

... Kaiu Kagae, swarmed by what seems to be the total population of the town sans any children, pleading for guidance from him, begging for him to be a beacon in this moment of darkness that has befallen them!

... he's not taking it too well. Looks like he can use a wingman right about now.

--------------------

@ Denbe:

Denbe rushes up behind the injured bandit, the man with the shaved head trying his best to outdistance the Hare; however, all this got him was a massive slash across his back. As katana severed tendon and spine alike, the bandit would fall to the ground, twitching before becoming still, his eyes frozen wide with fright.

As Denbe called out for Iwao, he would be interrupted before he scarcely got a word out:

"What are you doing?!" Iwao/Sanzo would bellow as he stormed out of the headman's hut, right at Denbe, sword drawn! "I spared him! I let him leave, so he could begin anew!"

Though, Denbe soon realized that he was not the target of Iwao/Sanzo's charge, but the bandit was. He knelt beside the man, not wanting to touch him but trying to gauge his state of health. Holding his breath the entire time, he would soon exhale it and hang his head low in defeat. "... damn..."

((Denbe's actions have used up less time than Kojiro's, assuming Kagae gets waylaid until his reappears. I will do a few rounds of back and forth with Denbe before the timelines "catch up".))  

[Psychofish]

For a moment, the Hare reacted defensively, drawing back. And as the Crab checked over the dead bandit and fussed, he seemed to begin to draw inward instead. Was he striking too readily? The man had been retreating, but he deserved death. Usually Denbe was tempted by feelings of kindness in what should have been clarity, like the moment before his strike. But now...

...was he being too cruel, or was Iwao a shining example of how he could be too kind?

The Hare stood silently for a moment before he spoke. "They've killed the magistrate. Kuemon abandoned them to us, but I don't think he was fleeing. I just want this done before they cost the lives of any more of the Empire's law abiding peoples." Like them, or the dying woman stuck in his mind.

Taking a cloth out to clean his blade, the Hare sighed. Kojiro would be with Miyako, and Kagae was within a shout's distance, but where was Kuemon? He didn't like it. Turning away, he looked around as if he might see signs of him, by some miracle.

"...what made you trust he wouldn't turn back to this? Be the death of more innocents?"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Denbe:

Iwao/Bayushi Sanzo would look up at Denbe as he tried to make his case. " 'They've'? Did this man attack the magistrate? I'm surprised Kuemon wasn't the one who dealt the blow - not that I think Machiko-san couldn't have won. It was a toss-up, and I'm sorry to hear that it did not end up favorably for the empire. But back to the matter at hand, this fellow chased me, and I didn't think he had the capability nor the time to harm the magistrate. All he is guilty of in my eyes is just being part of the wrong crowd. I hardly think that's deserving of... of this," he would explain, gesturing towards the man's corpse.

Standing up, he would flick the blood from his sword, before sheathing it. Speaking once more in his lower normal voice, he would explain, "Before I distanced myself from the Crab, I swore to defend the people of our lands, both samurai and peasant alike. My enemy is the Shadowlands, not any of these people. It's unfortunate that they're willing to fight... and to die, I suppose... for selfish goals, but regardless, it is my duty to protect them anyways. No one needed to die for any of this."