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

[Agent Sinistra]

@Shogi Competition

Kyumi would pout at that. "Just had to do that before I could promote, huh?" Her eyes would scan the board to find whichever piece she had that could intervene the quickest. Kyumi would take her gold general and bring it in to protect her king.

"There!"

((Rolling Awareness, 3k3; 13 vs TN 20))  

[Rain Yupa]

@Shogi Competition:

Ide Jiro has (6) 0 banked raises.
Kitsu Kyumi has 7 banked raises.

"Of course I did! There's a prize at stake greater than any victory. I'd be a fool to not do everything in my power to win it." He would casually move his rook to a position complimenting his positioned bishop. "Like so." {5 sweatdrop vs TN 5, 6 free raises to Check again. Kyumi, your TN is 30!}

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe both this game, and my opponent, are mine. I'll be seeing you after the competition, Kyumi-san," he said, folding his hands before himself and staring deeply into Kyumi's eyes.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

@Athletics Competition

Figures. With a grunt, he turned and started after the group. Raicho-sama wouldn't like this, but he would rather have checked on a potential person under his clan's protection than ignore them and continue on.

3k2, tn 20

... 20.  

[Agent Sinistra]

@Shogi Competition

Kyumi would meet Jiro's gaze for a moment before looking away. She would quickly scan the board once more, searching to see if there was someway out that of the check. While she potentially saw that there were some moves she could take to get out of check for a round or two... Perhaps if she hadn't lost her bishop and knight, or if her rook wasn't currently on the other side of the board, there would be the possibility of eliminating the "threat", but... From what she could see, the loss was now inevitable.

The shugenja would, almost a little nervously, take her king and offer it up to Jiro.

"I surrender..."  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Athletics Competition, Endurance Race:

Horiuchi Sayoko would round the corner first, exhaustion getting the better of her. Her legs seemed to become sluggish, but her lead was great. But regardless, she would place first out of all the Samurai, reaching the bored-looking Kuni Raicho first! {1 Raise, 15 vs TN 25}

Yoritomo Susumu would NOT tire, however, as he actually came around the southeast corner in a hurry! He sprinted the last distance, and almost caught up to Sayoko, but had to settle for second place. {1 Raise, 30 vs TN 25; if he had raised twice, he would have won!}

Yoritomo Hisashi and Bayushi Kojiro would, humorously, stay shoulder to shoulder for the final leg of the journey. Though the latter originally had a lead, the former's tenacity allowed him to catch up, and they finished simultaneously! Good job, guys!

A minute after they rounded the corner, Ujina Denbe would come bounding along the perimeter. There was no way he could catch up, but he made a good attempt at it, actually finishing not long after the two exhausted samurai ahead of him!

Kakita Zanzen seemed to be doing remarkably well, having a second wind that empowered him forth. This was not the bushi's competition, yet he found an inner drive that compelled him to push beyond his limits, and he finished 6th!

Two samurai would round the final corner, almost at the same time: Mirumoto Sozen and Isawa Sosuke. Both were exhausted; Sosuke had been wiped for over half the race, and stopping like he did had caused Sozen to start resting and he was never really able to regain his pace. They were neck and neck, stumbling forth, when one of them would win by a nose. It was...

...

...

...

Sosuke?! The completely untrained athlete managed to beat out the Dragon at the very last possible moment, a testament to the durability of the Shiba family! {no raises, 16 vs TN 20 and 15 vs TN 20}

MIRUMOTO SOZEN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!

Kuni Raicho would stand there, arms crossed, looking cross at the two bushi that came up last. "I gave specific instructions to focus on the race, and stop for nothing. Apparently, some of you think your own judgment is sounder than my own. Look what it has cost you. Luckily, all but one of you will be getting off easy, this time. But who knows what your failings would have caused other samurai who had placed their faith in you. Mirumoto Sozen-san, get back in the compound and don't let me see you for the rest of the day."

Sozen was exhausted, but clasped his hands together and managed a bow as best as he could, his body shaking the whole time. He would then turn to Bayushi Kojiro, nodding to him, then headed back inside the gate.

"Sayoko-san, the next competition is yours to decide."


ATHLETICS, SOUTH/EAST CORNER
Group 1 (the lead!)
Horiuchi Sayoko 15

Group 2
Yoritomo Susumu 30

Group 3

Group 4
Yoritomo Hisashi 13
Bayushi Kojiro 13

Group 5

Group 6
Kakita Zanzen 24
Ujina Denbe 20

Group 7

Group 8
Isawa Sosuke 16
Mirumoto Sozen 15

 

[Rain Yupa]

@ Shogi Competition:

Ide Jiro would graciously accept Kyumi's king... before doing something a bit odd. He would also take Kyumi's hand lightly in his own, bowing his head as he lifted the back of her palm to his forehead, then once to his lips.

"It has been an honor dueling against you, fair Kitsu maiden. Next time we meet, we will see how passionately we can make your heart beat. I eagerly await the opportunity with great anticipation." He would smile to her, and wink. "In the meantime, I have a competition to win. I will see you afterwards." After exchanging temporary goodbyes, he would head off, leaving Kyumi... and Rokujo... at the table.

Was this a stroke of good or bad luck for our Kitsu protagonist? That would be for her to decide. Though her decision might be altered after she checked Benjiro's bracket board.

 

[Keith Valken Lionheart]

"Actually, I chose to come here, I was never asked to. After I lost my eye, I thought of myself as a weak bushi, and it kinda made me depressed. I thought that by giving it my all on these competitions I could clear my mind of all this negativity and be the man I once was. I got to say, it's working. Not only that, I'm discovering that I seem to have many hidden talents under my sleeve! I thought my only purpose as a Matsu-born Bushi was to swing a sharp piece of metal and end lives. It seems I was wrong. I am naive, I can say that for certain. This has been a good learning experience for me."  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Athletics Competition:

After giving the samurai a chance to catch their breaths and rest their bodies, Kuni Raicho and Horiuchi Sayoko would return. "After a rather brief discussion, the next competition has been decided. There will be a little longer until the course is ready, but the next event will be a Horsemanship competition." As she was no doubt met with a series of dissatisfied groans, she turned and gave a hand signal to Urako and several other servants within the Training Grounds.

"An obstacle course will be set up within about fifteen minutes, in which you will take turns guiding your horse through. However, this isn't as simple as 'leading a horse to water'. Confidence and ability will be measured by how masterfully you can control your mount. I will leave the decision of how to prove that to me, in your hands."

Quote:

Horsemanship. You will make a series of 5 rolls as you navigate the mount you are given across an obstacle course; each obstacle will have a varying TN. The rolls will be made using Agility/Horsemanship [Pony]. You will receive either 2 points if you succeed, or 0 points if you fail. Each raise you (successfully) make on each particular obstacle will grant you an extra point. But be sure to describe how you are demonstrating your raises!

After a period closer to 20 minutes has passed, and everyone is rested and re-hydrated, you will finally be led back into the Training Grounds, in a section you haven't seen yet. There lays a series of 5 lanes that weave back and forth, each about 80 meters long.

• The first lane had a series of logs set up, requiring the horse to leap over them in succession. BASE TN: 10
  
• The second lane had some practice staffs set up at higher elevations, threatening to clothesline you if you didn't navigate them safely. BASE TN: 10
  
• The third lane had a series of ditches that had been dug, which required better perception and focus to ensure your horse does not trip. BASE TN: 15
  
• The fourth lane was actually occupied by several daidoji body guards, all wielding bokken. You must navigate their attacks and try not to get too many bruises. BASE TN: 20
  
• The fifth and final lane is an open stretch, but you are expected to run it as quickly as possible. This is your last chance to show off! BASE TN: 5

"Who will be the first to test your mettle?"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Shogi Competition:

As the next rounds were starting, Kyumi would be directed to the table she no doubt was dreading sitting at. Soshi Maru was sitting there, half-scowling, as she watched(?) Kyumi approach.

"Kyumi," she would simply say, as if the very name was poison to her lips.

"You may go first. Let us just get this debacle over as quickly as possible." Maru would point to the seat opposite of her, waiting for Kyumi to sit.  

[Plainsfox]

@The Athletics Competition

Kojiro sighed as he stepped timidly stepped forward. Atleast if he failed first, he could quickly go off and tell Sozen what happened and make his apologies to Kaori.

The Bushi tried to quell his nervousness and gently petted the pony's nose as he mounted the horse. He desperately wished he had taken his sister-in-law's offer of riding instruction the last time he visited her, but....

As he approached the first course, Kojiro whispered into the pony's ear. "Help me out, ume-chan and there's apples and sugar in it for you!"

First Obstacle!
TN: 10
Agility/Horsemanship (Untrained)
Results: 17  

[Agent Sinistra]

@ Shogi Competition

"That's fine with me, Maru." Kyumi would reply flatly as she sat. She would quickly start off simply enough, moving one of her pawns forward.

((Rolling 3k3 + 1 raise, banking; 19 vs TN 10))  

[Plainsfox]

@The Athletics Competition

Kojiro breathed a sigh of relief as his promised bribe seemed to work. As he cautiously guided the pony through the next obstacle, he whispered in the horse's ear. "That's an apple. If we make it through this unscathed, I'll toss in a lump of sugar!"

OOC
Second Obstacle!
TN: 10
Agility/Horsemanship (Untrained)
Results: 15  

[Plainsfox]

@The Athletics Competition

"An apple and a lump of sugar thus far." The Scorpion continued whispering. "Another apple if we make it through this!" Kojiro said as he tried to navigate ume-chan through the dug up field.

OOC:
3rd Obstacle!
TN: 15
Agility/Horsemanship (Untrained)
Results: 17  

[Plainsfox]

@The Athletics Competition

Kojiro looked over his wife's cousins as he brought ume-chan through the pitted terrain. "These are just Daidoji. You know them better than I. I'll bet you can traipse through them without even trying! Still, how does two more lumps of sugar sound?

4th Obstacle
Agility/Horsemanship (Spending Void Point to count as trained. 4k3. Two additional dice to handle explosions)
TN: 20
Results: 20  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Shogi Competition:

Kitsu Kyumi has 1 banked raise.
Soshi Maru has 0 banked raises.

Maru would let out an audible huff, before she too began to move her pawns forward. {1 raise, 18 vs TN 10, raise is banked.}