Stories with Dice
Stories with Dice is an actual-play podcast where a fellowship of everyday gamers explores fantastical worlds, distant futures, and parallel realities through tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) from Free League Publishing, Chaosium, Modiphius Entertainment, and more.
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Stories with Dice
Shadows in the Peaks Episode 3 - A Legend of the Five Rings Actual Play
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En route to the Broken Fang Watchtower, the samurai pause at a roadside teahouse and cross paths with two enigmatic travelers — a poetic duelist and a guarded stranger — sparking a tense exchange.
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This is Shadows in the Peaks, a Legends of the Five Rings actual play from Stories with Dice. If you're enjoying our actual plays, please subscribe to Stories with Dice so you never miss an episode. Don't forget to rate and review us, it really helps others discover the podcast. Follow us on social media to stay updated. You'll find the relevant links in the description of each episode.
SPEAKER_04Welcome back to uh Legend of the Five Rings with a wonderful group. Let me introduce everybody. Actually, I'll introduce myself because you know, I'm Ed, I'm the GM, you know me, you love me. I've got my wonderful co-host, Marco. Do you? Of course you do. Hello, everyone. We have Charlotte. Hi. Tony. Hola. And back from River Cruises and all good fun stuff. We have Scott. Hello, hello. Sorry you couldn't join us for last session.
SPEAKER_02He was too busy listening to a Beatles cover band. It's his favourite band in the whole wide world. Yep. Yep.
SPEAKER_04It was an experience. If ever you're in the wonderful city of Bristol, UK, check out Music River Cruises. I strongly recommend them, and they were wonderful for me and my family. I feel like we need to be sponsored by these music. This is not a paid endorsement. One day, one day they'll pay me. One day you'll pay me for this. That'll be nice. I'm never going to pay you, Scott. Right. So we're going to continue where we left off. You all decided you're all going to go off and travel to the Lower East Tea House on your first day to then go and explore and investigate. I'm not going to go through the previous stuff. Listen to the Reavers episode. If you're starting now, you're crazy, go back to the beginning. So the morning begins in Shurikitsuki. The stone walls glisten with frost and the air bites with quiet authority. The road winds through narrow mountain passes, edges softened by fresh snowfall. Each step crunches the weight of silence, broken only by the distant call of a crow or the whisper of wind through bare branches. As the sun rises, it casts pale gold across the snowfields, revealing faint tracks. Some humans, some animals, the cold deepens, but so does the stillness. The journey becomes a meditation, breath visible, thoughts slowed, the world reduced to white and shadow. By midday, the road descends, where the snow lies a little heavier, the wind carries the scent of cedar and ash. A lone shrine marks the halfway point, its offering frozen in place. Travellers often pause here, not for warmth, but for quiet reflection. You know that by late afternoon you will be able to make your way to the lower. The lower East Road Tea House. But you have currently stopped at the shrine. If there are any Shigens in the party, are you going to make any offerings or prayers?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes I will. I'll make an offering or a prayer for safe travels on the start of our journey. Excellent. Why don't you make a theology roll?
SPEAKER_04Or would you like to actually perform a ritual and actually entreat the kami, maybe, you know? Turn let's try that. Do you have commune?
SPEAKER_01I think you should have communion. Yeah, I think everyone does. Well, not everyone, but like all Shugenji do.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you should do. So it's a spell. It's a mastery level one spell. So casting spells in this game require to use your ring plus your insight rank. So it'd be one from your insight rank plus your ring. What karmic do you want to entreat? That will determine what ring you'll use. Do I have access to all of them for something like this? You have except for you you have access to all of them, but you have a deficiency in I think it's water, is it? Yeah. Because it's the opposite of fire, which is Yeah, yeah, yeah. It means that it's just harder for you to cast water spells. But I mean, an elemental, you know, this is gonna be water, air, perhaps earth. Fire is probably as far away from from this location. I mean, if it was me, I would probably say I'd go for air. Let's go with that. Can I make this rollable? You should just be able to roll your ring and then you should be able to add one dice from your from your rank. Alright, so we said air, right? It's air, yeah. So that's fine. Just add one because it's gonna be your unless it's gonna spellcasting roll. There's a spellcasting button on the air. When you click on the ring, it's a spellcasting roll, so that should automatically factor it in for you. We shall see. It did! Yes, so you you're intrigued with the air spirits and you essentially give yourself an auspicious start to the journey. The air spirits are quite mischievous and they're always just out of grasp, they're not really communicating greatly. They seem to be being dragged off, essentially, by the wind and the snow that that occasionally picks up and goes over the shrine. So it's very difficult to kind of really sort of have any kind of meaningful conversation with them. Yeah, which you which you do. The Miromoto says a small prayer, does something similar, but is more quiet about it. Whereas I guess the nature of your element is quite bulky, I imagine. So you're probably more flamboyant. Is that more of a thing to say, or are you less so? Being a fire. I'll have to get back to you. Okay, on the spot, great, I like it. Okay. Does anybody else want to do anything while at the shrine?
SPEAKER_00No, we'll just wait patiently. And perhaps use this time to meditate. Yeah, yeah, you can meditate, that's fine.
SPEAKER_04Hero should a bit of horse care, groom groom his horse. What's the name of your horse? His horse's name I have written down right here, and you'd think I'd remember that, wouldn't you? His horse's name is Biakufufu. Does it have a particular name? Uh as does it have a meaning? It means white wind. Cool. I think it's a white horse. It's a white horse. Excellent. Okay. So you and your uh the horse partner, it is actually really happy to sort of like be out, galloping, being able to get out of the stable. It's actually quite nice for you to sort of be able to ride. Okay, well, you leave the shrine, and by late afternoon the forest edge starts to come in, and you actually sort of get a sort of like a tree-lined avenue. Ahead of you you can see lanterns glowing like distant stars, and you get the scent of tea and wood smoke as it beckons you inside. Welcome to the East Road Tea House. East Road Tea House actually has another name, but you don't know what it is until you get right up to it. It is a very traditional looking tea house. It's nestled along a winding road between Early Dawn Forest and Great Falls Castle. It's called the Willow Ember and Inn and Tea House and serves as a refuge for weary travellers, monks, and samurai venturing between mountain passes. The scent of carefully brewed trees and the warmth of its hearth makes a favoured stop for seeking for those seeking respite, wisdom and quiet conversation. As you get closer, you can actually be seen for a fair distance during daylight. And I assume as it starts to get dark, your various servants and staff have dead lanterns so you can all s you can all walk you know on the path without tripping up. And as you arrive, a elderly lady comes out and she sort of bows very deep into you and says, Samurai, it is good that you managed to get here just in time. There is food and tea ready for you. Please come on in. And as you sort of like make your way towards that, she um she says, Please take off your uh your travelling shoes and here my son here can take your travelling kimonos. And essentially there's like three people waiting to sort of take off all your sort of like snow laden travel gear. There's a a small stand for each of you, in fact, there's quite a few stands, to put your daisho, your your two swords down if you wish, and there are actually even some stands for putting armour on if you want to unburden yourself from any of that sort of thing. And as you sort of like go through the motions of getting into the tea house, you're each given this small pot of tea, of green tea, which you can drink, and then you're given each a little warm bucket of water to wash your hands and your face. And she sort of like does this to each of you as you kind of make your way in. I imagine Scott Utaku Hiroshi is probably gonna be the last person's name because you'll have to sway out your horse. Yeah, his stay would be a goofy first, and then he'll be he'll bring up the rear. Yes, so you kind of go into the uh the first room. There's this large central hall which boasts polidgewood floors, low tables, cushions arranged in quiet alcoves, there's steam rising from these large cast iron kettles, filling the air with a sense of jasmine, green tea, and a toasted barley kind of smell. She offers you a space to sit and she she looks at oh who's going for who's going first? Kitsuni will go first. Kikita's like, oh get she pushes it that way. I was gonna say ladies first, but doesn't matter. In which case she says to uh Kitsuniy Akira, my lord, please have a seat. And your companions, are they sitting with you? If they wish. Pleasant, pleasant, she says, and she smiles and she says, Please, please. And she says, Oh, crane summer. It's nice to see a member of the the crane clan so far to the north. Please, please have a seat. We've got some some lovely black tea that uh actually came in just before uh winter. It's from the coast. You'll love it. Absolutely, my lord, you'll love it. And she sort of sits you down. She then sort of like wanders over to Akasha Yama and says, It's so honoured to have uh a Shigenja in the house. Especially one from the Edeemed Phoenix clan. Please, please, please have a seat, have a seat. Thank you. Could I could I could I possibly burden you to bless the the the this this house before you leave? In fact, we'd be very honoured. Absolutely. Amazing, amazing. Please, please, please have a seat. And she goes on to the the the miramito, my lady, please, please take a seat. And she kind of like takes her off and sits her down as well. She kind of looks a bit confused like by the sparrow clan and was like, mmm. She kind of like hedges her bets and says, My lady samurai, please have a seat. She doesn't mention the clan, she has no idea who she is. But she sits her down anyway and figures that she's just as important as the rest of you because she's travelling with you. Then she sort of like fussles around while you're kind of getting yourself seated. And she sort of looks, she seems a bit like out of sorts because the other samurai hasn't arrived. Um so she kind of you can see she's waiting in the wings for Takahiroshi to kind of come in after he's finished doing whatever he needs to do with his horse.
SPEAKER_03Maybe she's out of sorts because she's uncomfortable with my evil eye. Could well be.
SPEAKER_04She hasn't seemed to have well, she it could be that. She seems to have uh not mentioned it or looked you in the eye. But it's a common tactic that a lot of uh a lot of merchants and and half people will do is they they won't look you directly in the eye as a sign of respect, but also definitely in your case, Kitsu Nyakira, it's freaky as hell to most people.
SPEAKER_01Can you describe your eye again?
SPEAKER_03Sure, I have uh it's dis so I have one discoloured eye, so I have a one hazel eye and then one really icy blue eye. Okay, like heterochromia.
SPEAKER_00Gotcha. Are there any other travellers? Well, on the tea.
SPEAKER_04As you as you then look around it, you're kind of like trying to get comfortable. You can see a couple of other people. And who's in the inn? Let's have a look. You can see sitting on the other side of the tea house is a man in his late 30s, tall, lean, weathered face. He is sort of leaning over a parchment, and he has his daich on him, like to the side, on the right-hand side, so he can't draw it easily, but he does have it on it, he hasn't left it where the others would normally go. His kimono is sort of like a faded blue, embroidered with waves and falling leaves, and he's kind of got ink stains all up his hands. He's trying to write something on this on this parchment. Um, and then on the other corner, you can see a guy in robes of grey and white, and he has got like a straw hat on, which is weird on the inside, you know, being inside, but it's kind of like at an angle, so you can only see sort of like the lower part of his face. And he is slowly sipping on a drink and using some chopstips to eat some sashimi. Does he have any weapons on him? There's no weapons or anything on it. Not even a daisy on a stand or anything. Nothing. I mean, well, the the you look you look over at the stand, of which case, you kind of come in. But yes, you look around, it's your swords, and there are no other swords. So it looks like it's just you guys at the uh at the end. There isn't anybody else that's a samurai here.
SPEAKER_00I will keep my armor and everything, and I will put my katana and daisher on my right.
SPEAKER_04So, if anyone doesn't know, the the correct behaviour for for samurai is if you have your Daisho, which Yukatani along your Wakazashi, on your right hand side, most people are right-handed, so they'd be very difficult to draw and then attack. Not impossible, but more difficult. It also implies that you trust your host. If you put it on your left, it's easy to draw, and therefore you're saying that you distrust your host. It's a subtle way to uh to tell your host what you think of them. Right, Scott, at Take Yuroshi, you kind of come in and you get the same sort of thing. Oh, unicorn, unicorn summer, it's so good to see you. We haven't seen a unicorn for such a long time. Please come in. How is your horse? Is everything okay? If you need us to give it more hay or some fresh apples, we can do that. Please, please come. No, no, no, no, no, I insist, here take this, and then kind of seats you in the same sort of like general area. Uh Hiroshi takes her up on the offer of some fresh apples, throws her out to clever Zen to have them taken out to the horse, and then sits with the others again, Daicho to the right. She says, Thank you, my lord. She looks at the money you've given her as if it's the only money she's ever seen in her life, and she sort of like bows multiple times and says, Thank you, thank you, thank you. And she goes off, and then she goes off as soon as she's she thinks like she's out of the earshot, all the kind of like pleas and thank yous and stuff disappears, and then she starts shouting at the various serving people to do what they're supposed to be doing. Leaving you sort of the obligatory sort of five to ten minutes on your own to discuss whatever without being harassed by anyone. Your peasants and stuff are all being taken to various quarters, leaving you guys and these other two people alone in the tea house, or at least in this room, in the main room. It's warm, it's inviting. As you sort of look around, you can see that the style is probably overly done. There are lots of dragon motives, there is a lot of motives of willows and willow trees and sort of koi carp, that kind of thing. So all embroidered on all the walls and all the shoji screens, that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00I'll keep silent, but I will look at the the two other travellers on the tea house. I will keep a look. I actually sat facing them.
SPEAKER_04Okay, are you gonna try and do it subtly or are you going to uh just fire them up like you know, what do you want to do kind of thing?
SPEAKER_00Subtly, I'm just sitting there, but I'm mindful of the space. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Why don't you make a investigation role?
SPEAKER_00Okay, so that's I don't have investigations, I guess. So that's awareness, perception. That was a three.
SPEAKER_04So yes, you've you you you look at them, they look back at you. In fact, only one looks back at you, the one that's that's writing with the ink set, kind of looks up, smiles at you, and then goes back to sort of writing. It's like he's just noticed that you've that you've all suddenly turned up in the tea house. The other one is eating, doesn't look at you, keeps his head down, doesn't say anything, doesn't do anything else. The rest of you, just pretty much waiting, presumably, you're not really gonna make any small talk. This is not the small talk group. Hiroshi's probably happy to chat if anyone wants to discuss their journey on the road and certainly at least while we're waiting for the tea to come out.
SPEAKER_03I will definitely have someone drink the tea before I drink it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you you've got you've got that peasant that you kind of one of the half people the the more trusted of your retainers to to be.
SPEAKER_03I didn't have any retainers. Do I have retainers?
SPEAKER_04No, you don't have any retainers, I forget. Yes, you don't have any retainers. So are you gonna request for one of their retainers? Or do you want to request someone from the tea house? Someone from the tea house. Okay, so yeah, you uh you kind of.
SPEAKER_01I wanna see if I can actually help them with that. So I think I took something to detect poison. Ooh, okay. I think. I know I was looking at it. Might be in luck.
SPEAKER_03But will I trust her?
SPEAKER_01That's on you. Okay, well, while you're doing that.
SPEAKER_03No, I didn't take it. Can we see the watchtower from the tea house? Can you? You probably could if it was daylight. Is this up in the isn't it like on a it's up, yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's on a hill or something. Yeah, it's probably a couple of hours away to the south, just on the on on the side of the the beginning of the hills into the mountains. Okay. The Taki Hiroshi's making small talk. It sounds like most of you aren't really making small talk with Hiroshi. If you do that, Suzumi Nori will absolutely have a conversation with you. She says Hiroshi-san. Well she says Hiroshi Sama. She says, What what what brings you to uh to the Dragonlands? So if I wanted to elevate her to the same level as myself and make Sama irrelevant, you'd respond with Norisan. Yes. Yes. Uh Norisan, I'm here with with a delegation from the Unicorn clan. I was here merely as a retainer and now I find myself with a different purpose. How about yourself? I have come here on behalf of the uh the Sparrow clan. I wanted to come and see the wonders of the Dragonlands, and I I I heard there were many good stories told by the Takashi, and I just thought, well, why not start at the north of Rochakan and work your way south? And and I thought, well, why not? I mean I've heard so many stories about it, it would be good. And so so yes, I thought I would I would I would I would venture in. I got permission from my lord, I got permission from the crane lord who was overseeing the lands, and here I am. I just I I can't believe it. I am with such esteemed samurai like yourself and a unicorn, you have an amazing horse. Hiroshi Hiroshi laughs and shakes his head. I I am I am I I am a very little renown and esteemed. What would Hiroshi know of the Sparrow clan? Make a do you have any kind of lore clans or anything like that, if you don't? Not anything in I've got lore Shadowlands, which probably because Sparrow Clan's not a Shadowlands clan, is it? So just intelligence role for me. Straight up intelligence, let's give it a roll. Eight. You know nothing about the Sparrow or the minor clans that anywhere. I mean, um it's so far away from the unicorn lands you just never come up with. Yeah, I kind of figure it's just nothing I've I've ever encountered. Hiroshi is genuinely interested in in her story and comes across that way. And asks her a few more questions about her journeys, what she's and and and what her what her background is. What did what did she do? Did she study the dojo? Was she uh is she a bushy? Is she does she more of a courseier and a diplomat? She kind of like goes a little bit red and she says I I am merely a humble sparrow clan samurai. Toil the fields, we we we we are proud samurai farmers. Everyone's like, hang on, wait a second, samurai don't plough fields and plant rice patties, that's just not what samurai do. That's what that's what that's that's what the retainers and peasants are for. She says, we we we have a deep respect for the land, and for many, many years this is something that we were granted. It's something that we have done for generations. I have to thank um and she looks over at Kikita Renobu and says, the crane, they are the ones that have allowed us to elevate ourselves to to the caste, and of course, the emperor who allowed us to become a clan in the first place, but we're we're still a young clan and we're we're working towards it. I am followed the way of Suzumi, which is our which is our which is our bushy school. Where we where we kind of, you know, we oh well. Suzum. Yes, I I'm a busy. I I I I guess I am traditionally trained in the way of the sword, but I am also a storyteller. I I picked up many stories on the way, and I would like to think that I'll pick up more. Well, Suzumi Nori, I look forward to hearing many more of your stories, and maybe helping to write some of our own. That's so wonderful of you. Thank you so much for Takiorashi. San, she says, she kind of like says it really awkwardly. He then nods. Thank you, Nori san. Like big, big confident son. Yes, this is the way. This is She's very grateful. Why why don't you go ahead and give yourself one point of honour? Uh Would do that. Okay, the rest of you. You are sitting there listening to this conversation. The old woman comes back out, and there's a plethora of food that kind of comes out, loads of food and drink and stuff. She asks if there's anything you would like, is there anything you would listen to? Can I offer you anything?
SPEAKER_00I will ask for some music. Absolutely. Like calming music to you know put away the you know the darkness of the way. An excellent choice Kaki Desan.
SPEAKER_04She says she she's she almost shouts and she says, Hey Biki! in this like really shrill voice, and this this lady comes out dressed in this very fine kimono that's probably seen quite a few years, and she stops, she has a Sami-san, and she starts to pluck at the uh Sami san and starts to uh play some pleasant music. I'm I mean it's you know Hirinobu, it's not the best you've ever heard, but it's not bad, you know, up in these sort of like dragon lands. It's pleasant enough, it's quite quiet, it's calming.
SPEAKER_00That's right, and then I will very slowly eat. Like and not eat a lot, just bits and pieces.
SPEAKER_04Is there anything you particularly want to do in this inn, or are you happy to just let the evening go by? Other than make sure my tea is not poisoned? No. Uh no, no. The tea does not appear to be poisoned, they've they all drink and sample some for you.
SPEAKER_00Well, uh if there is a moment when the woman comes back, I would ask politely if there have been other travellers coming through here.
SPEAKER_04Green summer, of course. There's two here at the moment, and she sort of like looks sideways at the other two travellers.
SPEAKER_00I know, but okay, my meaning was more like the previous weeks, like if this is a very used route and you know, you see many people coming and going.
SPEAKER_04She sort of like sits down and sort of like next to you, sort of like kneels on her on her knees, and sort of like she's she's quite close, but without touching, and she says, My lord, there are many people that come and go. We have a fine establishment here. Many, many, many reputable people, great samurai come and go. As to what they are doing, I this is not my place to inquire, because to do so would surely be rude. And and I would I would not want to intrude in any samurai's private accounts. You see, she's starting to kind of fump over the words, and she says, I'm um sorry, not particularly useful, and I'm extremely sorry, my lord, and I should should indeed not expect anything from yourself for for not being as as attentive as I should be to someone of your status. I'm extremely sorry. Uh she bows really known next to you.
SPEAKER_00No, no, and it's like never mind. My meaning was like winter's gone, and just wanted to gather into that, you know, movement at this time of the year.
SPEAKER_04I'm afraid I'm a very simple owner of a tea house, and I I don't really understand I I don't really get involved with that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_00Very well, thank you.
SPEAKER_04I'm very sorry, and I'm I shall I shall I shall expect nothing from you when you leave as as a way of of not being able to fulfill my role, and she kind of like bows really low and she bows again and she bows again and she does that as she walks off and and dispersed stuff out like from that conversation.
SPEAKER_01I guess having any emotion behind it, like fear, like not wanting to say something. Do any of you have investigation? I do not.
SPEAKER_00Or some kind of interpersonal skill. I have investigation.
SPEAKER_04I can investigate you if you're a horse. Cool. I think that's just two of you then.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the emphasis on investigation for me is interrogation and notice. Okay, yeah, that's and search. Okay, so uh yeah, you can make your role.
SPEAKER_04I have a 34. Look at you, Mr. Investigator. Yes, sir. Yeah, so she absolutely was being was trying to be as sincere as possible, but is clearly lying. You imagine that she's a lot smarter than she actually is, but as is usually the way, visiting samurai or samurai don't particularly like smart people who are in positions where they can spot things or understand things. So they basically play dumb. And clearly, also the other probable probability is that a crane is asking in Dragonlands why the hell would she tell an enemy of her drag uh of the dragon clan anything? Or is essentially even not an enemy but a non a non-dragon. Anything.
SPEAKER_03Okay, and her name is what again? She did not give it. She did not give her name? Okay, then I will just simply say Would it be rude if I just called her woman? Probably innkeeper is probably in keeper.
SPEAKER_04You could just call her woman. I mean you're in perfect right to call her woman.
SPEAKER_03Innkeeper son. There's a I do that pause before the son, you know, like My Lord, and she comes shuffling over and she sort of kneels beside you. We are magistrates with the full authority. Yes, we are. You got your seal? I show her the seal.
SPEAKER_04Well, I am incredibly sorry. Sorry for lying to us. Yes, you should be. No, no, I I was not lying. I was merely protecting the interests of the uh of the clan.
SPEAKER_03We are operating under the interests of the clan. Now answer Kakita-san's questions with truth. My lord.
SPEAKER_04She she looks across to uh Kikita Keranobu. What was the question again? I forget these things.
SPEAKER_03Do not play dumb with us, woman.
SPEAKER_04We have not had many travellers. A few, but not many. Mostly travelling between Shi Muramoto and Sherkitsuki. I I I don't really kind of as I said, I don't really take that much attention. I mean, I obviously if it is someone that is not a regular, then yes, of course we will. But we we we try not to sort of keep any record or anything like that of them. No one's suspicious that that I would consider someone I would say is out of the ordinary. She sort of like looks over at the two that are sort of like sitting in at the moment.
SPEAKER_03I look over at them and then I look back at her with like this sort of quizzical look on my face.
SPEAKER_04She says, It's not often we get travellers who are non-samurai. If if there was someone odd, she sort of like goes in a very low voice, she says, The time will be now. And she bows and says, Oh, we'll get that right away for you. And she she wanders out.
SPEAKER_03So I'll I'll get up and I will approach those two non-samurai gentlemen as she referenced.
SPEAKER_04There's one in white robes with a uh a large hat that's kind of over half his face, or the one that's uh currently in the blue robes, sort of like writing with ink all over his hands. But they're not sitting together. They're not sitting together, they're they're they're in sort of separate corners. They clearly were obviously here before you and they both took separate corners, and then you're in the sort of central sort of table because it's the biggest table.
SPEAKER_03The gentleman with the the one who's writing. Okay. Good evening, friend. He looks up and says, Oh, hello, uh, how are you?
SPEAKER_04Might I sit down? It is there most odd, but um I mean uh sure, I mean, please.
SPEAKER_03What are you scribbling there on that parchment?
SPEAKER_04You can see he's writing looks like poetry, and uh, as you sort of like look down, you can see he's written sort of a poem that says, We stood in fog, not as enemies, but as questions waiting for answers. My blade spoke first. His silence was deeper. And it's kind of like written it multiple times in sort of this nice calligraphy, and then some of it's ripped out, and there's there's this loads of scraps of paper around, and he's got like calligraphy ink everywhere, and he's obviously trying to get the right, right type of calligraphy, and he's trying to perfect it, but he's obviously had quite a few tries and it's not done, it's not gone very well. This is very good. Thank you, sir. May I ask your name? I am Katsuni Akira. Ah, my lord, nice to meet you. I am Kaito, the Inkblade. How may I help you? I see you have come in with a large group of others. Traveling the uh the Dragonlands? Just looking for conversation on this cold night? It is a cold evening. Where do you hail from? Many different places. I wonder. I am I'm a poet. A duelist, a reluctant prophet. He laughs.
SPEAKER_03And what about this shadow you write about, this fog you write about, this mist? Oh this Is this something you experienced?
SPEAKER_04Well, this is uh I guess it's uh it alludes to a jeweling. Surely. You know, the stand in fog, I suppose you could say that that is us, like myself, and he kind of like points over towards the Kikita duelist and says Myself and say another duelist would be standing there, we would center ourselves, we would be in a fog, not not aware of anyone else. You would center and understand what you the other was doing. You'd have to wait for answers because you are sizing each other up. My plane spoke first, therefore I struck first. His silence was deeper because he was dead. It's just something I I like to mess around with. I mean, I call myself a poet, and you are very kind to say that it is good. It is just something. This is a confession. I suppose you could call it a confession, that is one way to look at it. And who was the man that you killed? He was he was uh I I don't really want to talk about that.
SPEAKER_03He says. Many people have gone missing. That is why we are here. Perhaps one of these people is a man that you killed.
SPEAKER_04The person I killed was a long time ago. A decade ago, when I was young. I should have known better.
SPEAKER_03And you have killed no one since?
SPEAKER_04No. I would not say that. I have killed many men.
SPEAKER_03Recently?
SPEAKER_04Not since prior to the winter. He looks over at the uh at the uh at the Phoenix and says, I've uh killed my fair share of uh the dragon's enemies.
SPEAKER_03We are not enemies, and neither is neither is my companion. Any of my companions. We are magistrates of the dragon.
SPEAKER_04Magistrates, please forgive me, I did not know. Perhaps if you would open with that sooner, I would uh be less suspicious. I have no quarrel with with anyone here. Of course you don't.
SPEAKER_03Not while Kitsune-san is here. Well, a great samurai like yourself, I uh should not want to do anything. I slap him on the back after he says that and smile. He is overconfident, that's one of his faults. Yeah. So I'll go over to the guy in the white.
SPEAKER_04Okay, well, while you're having that conversation. Do any of the yellow eus want to do anything else? Or are you just watching this interplay between uh Kitsumi Akira and the uh stranger? Hiroshi's watching this, trying to work out if what Akira is doing is bordering on rude and and overly aggressive. Yes, but then he's looking, he's looking at all of the others, and because they're not moving, and he's still really actually quite unsure about the way the social etiquette works in anywhere that's not the unicorn land. He's keeping his mouth shut and his swords close.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, likewise. I'm just looking and seeing what's going on. And letting him play.
SPEAKER_04Okay, what about you, Charlotte? What's a gashi ayami doing?
SPEAKER_01I'm just sitting there eating and in between, like bites, just sitting there quietly, eyes closed, head down, focusing on what's being said, I'm assuming behind me, just listening. Okay, right.
SPEAKER_04Well, uh the Miramatokami does nothing either. Much the same, right? It's the whole kind of well, no one else is doing anything, so no one's doing anything. And Suzumi Nori is not doing anything either. She is she'd follow suit if requested, but she's again just watching. Well, you go over to the uh the gentleman, hit in the white, okay? He's cloaked in layered robes that are grey and white, and he's got the straw hat thing that kind of like goes across his face.
SPEAKER_00He didn't walk with his swords or anything, right? He had no swords or anything.
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_00No, he got uh die show, no?
SPEAKER_04He's got the die show, nothing. The other one. The other one had the die show, but this guy has nothing. Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Sorry. Friend, may I sit down? Fuck off. Well, that wasn't nice or friendly. I am neither nice nor friendly. And I'm happy to be left alone. You're just the kind of man I've been looking for. I'll grab him by the does is he does he have a hood on or something? Or no, no, he doesn't have a hood on, he's just got that sort of like straw helm. I'll I'll actually rip the hat off his head and throw it on the grass.
SPEAKER_04Rip the hat off his head and you throw it. Yeah, he's probably in his late 40s. He's got bright white hair in the style of the crane. So the crane like to dye their hair white at the main clan, the doji clan, and he's got this horrible scar down one side of his face, which is why he was kind of like had the thing across his face. You grab him, you pick him sort of like up a bit, and he he he doesn't he doesn't resist, he just kind of like comes up with you and he stands up as you do that and says, take your hands off my off my kimono. No, I will give you one more chance, and I will give you none. He starts to mutter something under his breath. Charlotte. Sorry, he's casting a spell. He's casting a spell in Zushikenja. Feel free if you want to uh roll your uh theology roll. I shall do that. Are either of our companions starting to do anything at this point? Nope. At twenty-one. Okay. Yeah, he starts to uh he's casting a spell. It's an air spell. And you recognize it. Uh the spell is Tempest of Air. So it would uh it would use air to push someone away from them and knock people to the ground. He starts mumbling. I have that one. Oh, you've got that, yeah, so you recognize it. He says, and in between that he says, do not push me.
SPEAKER_01I am once I start to sound or hear what he's doing, I am going to quickly stand up and try and cover a little bit of ground between the table and him and demand that this stops inside this establishment.
SPEAKER_04Hiro as this happens, Hiroshi will stand and just stand behind Agasha, arms folded, staring at both of them. Okay. Tony?
SPEAKER_00What's that Kikita Hiro nobody can do? I will just change my sword from the right to the left.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you can see that the other two aren't doing anything other than sort of like taking a step. Right, well, Marco, I guess it's on you.
SPEAKER_03What do you want to do? Can I uh right in the throat? Is that uh what is that, jujitsu? That's jujitsu.
SPEAKER_04That is indeed jujitsu. Well, I guess it's uh no time like the present, right? Let's uh very briefly go into a little tiny bit of combat. Just to sort of stop him from casting the spell. Well, that was the initiative roll, which I automatically do for you, so don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. It's all all good and groovy. Right, so Takita Hirinobu, you have got the initiative. Obviously, you're waiting to see what happens, so you're not really gonna let Pizumi do anything. So Izumi is not doing anything, she's holding her action. Scott, what's Utaku Hiroshi doing? He'll hold his action to see what goes on. Okay. It is it is next, Kitsuni Akira. Would you like to make a jujitsu roll for me? What the difficulty to hit this gentleman is 25. 25? Hmm, because he's also sort of like he's being very fluid, like water or air as you do things.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_04Now, remind me how you can use void to get extra dice. So you can choose to use void. I mean, that's quite like a big a big step. So it's quite like you know, getting out big guns straight away. Well, it's isolating quickly. It's isolating very quickly. I mean yeah, so you can choose to use your void to roll extra dice. So it allows you to roll and keep extra dice. Now I don't know if you have with your uh your school. Some schools allow you to use void and get more. I'm just gonna have a quick look. Yeah, so uh that's fine. If you basically spend a point of void, you will get to roll and keep per point of void you spend to add to your skill. But then that's your void done until you can do a do a meditation or a T-ceremony or something like that to replace it. Okay. But yeah, I mean that's like getting out the bit guns, right? Just just for your information. But yeah, so presumably you you're not trying to grapple him, you're actually just trying to give him a good old unarmed strike. Correct. Okay. What was the target number? It's 25, you've got a 23. So close! So you basically go in to sort of like strike him in his throat. As he does that, he kind of grabs your wrist with his wrist and he pushes it off to the side. Again, it's some kind of like martial arts maneuver, takes a step back, and then Kashoyami into your go before his go.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I need one moment to see how I want this to play out.
SPEAKER_04Can I step in with my held action? You can make it and you need to make a quick uh quick roll or some reflexes? I can't remember, but make a make a make a reflexes roll to see if you can jump in before before Charlotte. Thirteen. Charlotte, do you wanna just roll your reflexes? Sure. You just need more than 13 to go before. Okay, so yes, you could jump in before a Gashiyami. Hiroshi will step in between the two of them and just go, stop. So were you actually trying to push them as apart? Basically, he just hands between the two of them, not pushing either of them. Just saying, stop, you're not engaging in any kind of combat at all. Not engaging in any combat. Okay, fine. This is unnecessary.
SPEAKER_01Stop. Charlotte, what are you doing? What is Hiroshi wearing? Particularly on his head. It would be his riding clothes, he wouldn't be fully armoured.
SPEAKER_04He's probably actually just got his hair on his hair bound in a top knot and not wearing anything. Because it's not particularly scorching sun outside, is it? No. No, not at all. It's uh No, he's he's probably just got his hair unbound.
SPEAKER_01Or bound in a top knot, but not actually wearing a hat or anything like that. Alright. I'm gonna sit back now that uh her or she has kind of gotten in between them. He foiled what I was going to do. Ah, sorry. No, that's fine. Foiler. I was gonna do the same thing, but with magic, essentially. Ah damn it, yours would have been a flash year. Literally. Well, in that case, as he moves back, he casts a spell. It's not very nice of him.
SPEAKER_03Well, it wasn't very nice of him to tell me to fuck off either.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you were being kind of rude.
SPEAKER_03If we're being honest. Was I? I just said high friend. How is high friend can I sit down rude? You're very respecting his solitude, were you?
SPEAKER_04Not really. It seems whatever you were doing has put him off his stride, nothing seems to happen. He takes another step back and he kind of goes down into a low stance. As he goes down into a low stance, he pulls out a Iguchi, which is a small dagger without a hilt, and he stops and says, he puts his hand up, he says, Back off now, or I will use this. Is he saying that to anyone in particular?
SPEAKER_01He's he's he's clearly looking at Kitsiniy Akira. Well speak up. Take a look around. You are in no position to make demands.
SPEAKER_04He takes another step back, he's edging backwards away from you all, says, I will take my leave of you now.
SPEAKER_03You forgot your hat, I'll pick it up off the ground and I'll hand it to him.
SPEAKER_04He uh he puts his hand out to grab the edge of the hat and pulls it off of you. He puts the Iguchi away.
SPEAKER_03You could have just said, please leave me alone, and I would have left you alone.
SPEAKER_04He looks at all of you and he then turns and runs, presumably out the back way, whichever that way might be. Hiroshi looks to the proprietress of the tea shop. She looks shocked and slight she's got her hands over her face. We will cover his bill, and I will glance very pointedly at Akira, as if to say, you will cover his bill.