Aki bows and steps out of his lord chambers and calls for a guard or servant. He orders whichever comes to tell  Kakita Tsutomu, Daidoji Kumi and Doji Kanisai to report to the diamyos offices armed and prepared for guard duty. After witch he steps back into the office.

"I will remain here with you until they arrive my lord. It seems prudent that lady Sakura and Kedo remain as well." Then looking to Satoru he says, "I would like to speak to you in privet at some point sencei."

Aki's "on" is surface deep at beat. He is a doji after all and does know how to conduct himself but more than a decade of constant fighting has whittled that away to the bear necessities. Being publicly chastised by persons of lower station is not something that he normally tolerates but he will not disgrace his clan in front of his lord. So his intense ruminations are all to obvious to those who care to notice.

The lying darkness, what evil have we done to deserve this. Surely our ancestors have forsaken us. And this girl she parades herself as the center of all this. no one person is that great, even the great kami had to work together to change the world.

"At the risk of sounding repetative shall we not get rid of the bodies before we have people brought here?" Gyatso regarded the still forms with disdain but was worried by the idea of bringing more people in for this job. Every person who shared a secret had a chance to reveal it, the more people involved the more chances there were.

"We should at least cover the bodies. We can tell those who need to know that our lord was attacked and that his yojimbo where slain in the conflict. The source of the attack is under investigation and as of yet there is no logical suspect, but certainly it must be connected to the other attacks in the castle."

"Hai, cover the bodies for now. Once the Lord has his new yojimbo in place they can move on and we can tie any loose thread from this investigation." Satoru said to the Moto & the commander. "And when the yojimbo arrive I would be honored to speak with you, Doji-sama." he added.

Sakura watched the duelist for a long moment.

"I see ..." she finally said quietly, her thin veneer of honor fading once again. She was no mind reader, but she did not need to be -- Akibieden's choices spoke volumes about where she stood in her mind.

'He chooses a harrier ....'

Pushing the thoughts aside, Sakura turned her attentions to the two outsiders. "That would be a tremendous service" she replied to Suleiman with a bow.

Finally she turned to the governor, speaking with a deep bow. "I will perform my final duty here from outside the room." She then turned and walked to the door, turning momentarily, looking at Akibieden once more, before exiting.

"I should have known better than to speak the truth" she told Kedo as they walked out the door.

It was a Courtier's trick, but one that would serve her well in this instance. Akibieden would have to be dealt with -- one way or another.

Sakura then sat in meditation, awaiting the arrival of the three Bushi.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:40, Thu 16 Oct 2008.

 That is, as Kedo would no doubt be amongst the last to whisper softly into the ear that needs to hear it, the burden of being convinced that one is both right and better informed than all others - it leads to assumptions based upon ones own knowledge, which always opens one to being caught unaware by the insight - or ignorance - of those with whom one must deal.

 And occasionally both at the same time.

 He's not, so far as anyone is aware however, gifted with the ability to know the innermost thoughts of a trained courier and returns some few minutes after he departed, glared at suspiciously by several guards not directly privy to their Lords generosity to the wandering Yojimbo, his gait somehow far more natural now that the subtle weight of his daisho is once more upon his hip.

 "There are truths in the mountains which are falsehoods amongst the valleys." he replies simply, again not seeming to really pay attention to the words addressed to him and yet producing a simple truism from one of the more obscure commentaries upon the Tao, though getting him to explain just how it bears upon this situation might take some of the needles that are being heated to deal with that remaining assassin.

Able to sense the aggravation of oncoming politics Gyatso shrugged and bowed to Kasarugi.

"I will leave you in some semblenece of peace lord. I am at your disposal whenever you need me but I doubt now is the best time for us to talk on how I can be of service. I will await your convenience outside for now."

Stepping out of the room Guatso turned a not unfriendly but assuredly wary gaze upon Sakura. "Madam, may I ask how you are able to say with such assurance whether our enemies are present or absent?" A proper courtier might have found a more tactful way of saying things, a more wise man may have found a more roundabout way of gathering the information. Gyatso was neither.

Suleiman bowed to Sakura, and without another word, left the offices bound for... wherever it is that he seemed to think he could obtain crystal weapons...

[Private to GM: So here's the rolls I made...

00:19, Today: Asako Suleiman rolled 18 using 6d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2,4,6,7,5. Awareness+Courtier TN 35.
00:19, Today: Asako Suleiman rolled 45 using 6d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 2,8,2,(10+5)15,(10+10+1)21,9. Awareness+Courtier TN 30.
00:19, Today: Asako Suleiman rolled 34 using 6d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 9,(10+3)13,(10+2)12,3,3,7. Awareness+Courtier TN 25.
00:18, Today: Asako Suleiman rolled 23 using 6d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 9,3,5,2,1,9. Awareness+Courtier TN 20.
00:17, Today: Asako Suleiman rolled 16 using 6d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2,3,6,3,4. Awareness+Courtier, 5 Free Raises.

I'm taking on a 4-point Obligation to my Ally for those first five free raises.  That will get me 2 Wakazashis.  The next three successful rolls are for 1 knife each.

So in the end I should have a 4 point obligation, 2 crystal wakazashi, and 3 crystal knives.

Additionally, I'm keen to find out what - if anything - he is willing to tell me of the Khayel (aka Lying Darkness).

Also I will be going by the merchant's quarter in hopes of finding crystal.  Should I find it, I will instruct the merchant to forward the costs to the office of Doji Kasarugi.]

Kakita Tsutomu, Doji Kanisai, and Daidoji Kumi enter with little fanfare and stop at the doorway, looking around at the battle torn room.  Their shock lasts only a moment as they all reach for their weapons.

"Kedo-san," Tsutomu says, turning to the Ronin, "what happened here?  Is my lord safe?"

"Captain," Kanisai says, turning to Doji Akibieden, "what are your orders?"

"Sakura-san," Kumi says, turning to the Shugenja, "is this room secure?"

"I was attacked by assassins," Doji Kasarugi interrupts, "but survived thanks to the intervention of these good samurai who assure me that I am safe and secure, for the moment.  You three have been selected for the singular honor of becoming my new yojimbo, as Daidoji Kanna, Daidoji Mari, and Daidoji Macchi have fallen in the line of duty.  Come forward now, and accept the blessing of Daidoji Sakura in your new position."

The three of them step forth, surrendering their weapons, and bow, touching their heads to the floor in front of Doji Kasarugi.  He gestures Daidoji Sakura forward to offer the 'blessing' and Kedo and Doji Akibieden to be ready with their weapons, just in case.

Satoru looks on as the shugenja casts her spell.

Aki stands at rest behind the three men.

Some time after he left, Asako Suleiman returns.  Green and blue silk bundles in his arms clash rather boldly with the orange and red of his robes, and clink gently as he moves.  He carries two such bundles; one some three feet long lays below the other, which is considerably smaller.  He bows after he enters - first to to lord of Toshi Ranbo, and then to Daidoji Sakura, his temporary commander.  "I have all I could find," he announces when he had Sakura's attention, but waits for her to respond before proceeding.

Sakura looked to the Unicorn, pondering his question for a moment.

"That is a family secret" she finally replied in a soft tone, "Be assured, however, that the range -- as well as the usefulness -- is quite limited and that there is no danger of tainting myself or others."

'This is not good'

She then stood as the three chosen arrived. Approaching the area, she bowed to the Governor once again. Then, taking her place in front of the warriors, she drew forth a scroll and began to sing softly once again.

[Waiting on results before she says anything.

I'm feeling like I'm wasting my good rolls! Called two raises, +1 free, for mastery. TN 25; rolled 52 for two added free raises. One for range, one for precision.

00:19, Today: Daidoji Sakura rolled 52 using 7d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of (10+5)15,8,(10+5)15,1,2,(10+4)14,4. Sense (Nothing; mastery two raises +).]

 With Sakura either unwilling to consider his reply or, more likely, setting it aside as some sort of Taoist mental exercise to be teased at when she's got nothing better to do, Kedo is free to simply stand outside the Lord's door alongside his ward as the trio of summoned Crane arrive.

 He opens his mouth to answer the question addressed to him after offering a slight (but respectful) bow of greeting, only to be overridden (and quite rightly so) by Doji Kasarugi in almost the same breath, whereupon Sakura turns right around and walks straight back into the room she's just left, drawing a very, very faint sigh of vast and mountainous patience from her stoic Yojimbo.

 Inside or outside people, please do make up your minds.

Sakura continued to sing, though her spell was over most would not be able to follow this. She walked over Suleiman and, with a formal bow, respectfully took the long package into her arms. She then walked slowly to Akibieden, as if it were a procession proffering the package.

"For your inspection ..." [Private to Doji Akibieden: "Kumi-San is a Harrier" she added with a whisper so light that it almost could not be heard, "but pure."]

After Akibieden inspected the package*, she then regally walked to the Governor, proffering the package to him as well. "For your inspection ..."[Private to Kaze no Kage: "Kumi-San is a Harrier" she added with a whisper so light that it almost could not be heard, "but pure."]

She then bowed and awaited any response from the governor.

[For expedience, I posted the part with the governor here. Sakaura will wait for any reply and (naturally) for the package to be given back to her.]

Aki looks into the bags and is somewhat confused as to how these decorative blades can be of any help.

Glancing at the bladesw Gyatso whistled quietly, impressed, before nodding in appreaciation to the Phoenix. "Don't know who you do business with but they appear to have the right idea. Worryingly convenient is it not?" His tone lacked any sort of accusation but hsi curiosity was evident. This much crystal would be out of the price range for the average family never mind a single samurai.

"Worry not, Moto-sama," said the Phoenix.  "It is not convenient circumstance, but constant readiness which saw these blades forged.  The craft is fine, also.  I am assured that these will hold an edge as well as folded steel."

 Now that he has permission to go armed in the house of the Crane, Kedo seems more determined than before to follow at least the spirit of good manners and declines to enter Doji Kasarugi's actual office, instead calmly placing himself just outside the door with both blades of his Daisho worn edge-down in the position of a man who has no intention of seeing them drawn in a hurry any time soon.

 Permission to go armed after all, is not the same thing as the permission to insult a thousand years of honoured ancestors.

"Very good," Doji Kusanagi says to Daidoji Sakura, acknowledging her efforts, "you may rise and assume your new duties," he says to his new yojimbo, "thank you all for your efforts on behalf of Toshi Ranbo," he bows to each of you in turn, "please resume your tasks, there is much to prepare for and much to deal with.  I will arrange for the cremation of these bodies myself, you all have more pressing matters to manage.  I will be moving my offices over to the Imperial Wing if you need to report."

If ever there was a dismissal, you've just heard it.

With a deep bow, Satoru steps outside his Lord's office. He manuvers to the side to let others exit, awaiting Doji Akibieden.

[Private to Kaze no Kage: "Saoturu-San discovered two servants missing" Sakura whispered softly to the governor, "it would be very useful to the investigation to know if these are the missing servants. He knows who can identify them."]

Sakura rose and showed the bundle to Satoru.[Private to Satoru: "We need to know if these two are the missing servants that you discovered" she whispered softly to him, "I told the governor ... I suspect he will allow it."] She waited a moment for his blessing and then returned the bundle to Akibieden.

"I suspect you will have better knowledge of who can use these than I ..."[Private to Doji Akibieden: "please see me outside ..." she whispered as quietly as she could manage.]

Then, having been dismissed, she headed for the door.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:37, Thu 16 Oct 2008.

Satoru gave a bow, to the shugenja. [Private to Daidoji Sakura: "I never saw the servants myself for they were never located."]

Satoru looked to Doji Akibieden to see where he would like to discuss things.

PM[Private to Satoru: "You can find the servants that can ID the missing ones, ne?"]