"Perhaps you are right, Kakita-sama," Bayushi replies, sheathing his katana.  He does not release the hilt, however, and moves to interpose himself between the Imperial envoy and the approaching ashigaru.

"Miya-sama," one of the ashigaru bows, awkwardly, from horseback, "this is an unsecured area, please allow us to escort you and your...allies," the Lion soldier says finally, looking distrustfully at the rest of the group, "to the road where you will be safer."

"Allow me to consult with my defenders first, Lion-san," Miya Shiko nods, "I will have an answer for you shortly."

"Well now," the Miya shrugs, "do we allow them to escort us to the road or do we insist on pressing on?"

"As far as we've come" said Shiko, taking the appropriate courtly tone, "it would take too long to return to the road now. We should press on."

"The Lion are far too skilled to allow any harm to come to an Imperial messenger while under their jurisdiction, even if the area is 'unpatrolled' ..."

 And all along the road, the soft-voiced Ronin known as Kedo (insofarasmuch as he is known by anyone for anything, being a lowly wave-man) has walked in companionable silence, stilling when the party stops, moving when it chooses to resume travel - during the earlier excitement he moved to a side and lay his hands upon the seemingly unworn hilt of the katana at his hip, but never drew more than a fingernails span of steel from its wooden home - and that only to loosen it against need.

 At the gate too, he was as silent and watchful as he has been most every morning of the trek - where he has spent no small amount of time in contemplation or meditation when the opportunity has allowed, seeking some measure of insight in the fall of rain on barren stone or the steam rising from stirring horses in the morning chill.

 And now again he reacts in his accustomed, understated fashion by moving unhurriedly forwards to place himself a little to the side, a little back from Bayushi Kenji on his offhand side, allowing that honourable Clan Bushi the distinction of leading any conflict that may develop and taking care not to imperil himself within the sweep of the lightning-fast Crane's blade. And not of course, allowing his own steel to stir a breath from its scabbard before hostilities commence.

 Manners after all, maketh man.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Tue 20 Nov 2007.

"We will continue with our chosen path, Lion-san," Miya Shiko announces, "though, if you wish to escort us to Toshi Ranbo, we will not take your presence amiss."

"I-I think not," the Lion Ashigaru replies nervously, "we shall report your presence to our superiors and they may send you an escort."

With that, the Lion Ashigaru turn their horses and gallop north--in the direction of Toshi Ranbo.

Kenji releases his sword and stands up fully.  "We should get moving," he says simply.

 The road-dusted figure in Ronin gray alongside the Bayushi swordsman lets his posture too slip from that subtle calm that marks the preparation to kill and die and into the equally subtle contentment of a traveller with many miles behind him, and many more to walk.

 Turning, he offers a slight but polite bow of acknowledgement and appreciation to the other Bushi, obviously conceding his place as the foremost sword in the midst of the group before he moves to rejoin Daidoji Sakura and settle in a little way behind and to the side of the young woman.

 Obviously, he's ready to go when anyone else is.

Sakura fell in beside the Imperial messenger, keeping her eyes on their surroundings.

"Kedo-Kun*" the young Shugenja quietly asked her Yojimobo, "What do you make of this so far? Do we have enough information to judge what draws the Lion's attention?"

'Reminder' she thought to herself'I ... no, we must make sure to educate Kedo-Kun on what to look for in Shadow creatures ...

[-Kun, in this case familiar-respectful, as if addressing a friend. Can also be used to a subordinate.]

 "No Daidoji-sama." replies the dust-gray Ronin simply as he paces in that same steady, distance-eating stride that's served to keep the footsore Bushi alongside his companions horse these many miles past, though he does so only after a moments thought.

 It's a short, simple answer of course - and nothing if not polite, but it does not seem to be one that despairs of ever understanding. Ashigaru of course are not likely to be trusted with deep secrets, nor would they intervene on their own authority with the passage of such as those with whom you travel, and there has been little to suggest that the true motives of the Lion in these parts are any more than they ever are and have been.

 Should that change however, no doubt so will his answer.

"I believe that this portends that we ought to travel with more stealth," Miya Shiko says thoughtfully, looking after the departing Lion, "even if it means sacrificing speed.  If nothing else," she grins, "it means that we know for certain that the 'honest' Lion really do sometimes have something to hide."

With that, the Miya urges her steed into a ground eating canter as you move forward deeper into Lion lands.

make a steath/perception check TN 15

 [ Whilst waiting upon something to reply to, '18:46, Today: Kedo rolled 15 using 3d10. Perception & Stealth, keeping Perception.' in the event that we are needing to move silently. ^_^ ]

[18:50, Today: Daidoji Sakura rolled 35 using 8d10, dropping the 6 lowest rolls, rerolling max. Perception/Stealth.

Man, I hope this roll was important -- this is the first time I've ever had two dice explode.]

Sakura looked at the Miya, a question clear on the Shugenja's face. Finally she looked forward, in the direction of their travel. It appeared that she had decided to hold her tongue, however events would undoubtedly change this appearance.[Private to Kaze no Kage: Waiting to see the results of the roll before Sakura actually makes her statement/question .... FYI: I had to assume that this was not a "move dishonorably" stealth roll since it involved Perception ....]

Kenji looks to the rest of the group, then moves to the front, hand still on his katana's hilt.  His eyes constantly rove the countryside, keeping watch for the next surprise.


OOC:
Perception/Stealth-53

No, I am not joking.  One of the dice exploded 3 times.  :D  Fricking awesome.

Less than two hours after the departure of the Lion ashigaru, Bayushi Kenji catches sight of several squads of Lion fanning out through the grasslands--presumably to find you.  Though Kenji's eyes are apparently the sharpest, all of you manage to see the searching Lion and get below their line of vision before they see you.

Sakura looked around at the small party. She was not concerned for herself or her Yojimbo, neither was she concerned with the Scorpion nor the Imperial. But she knew the honor of her "fellow Crane" would not likely stand up to this. And, as all Crane knew, it was the Daidoji that were supposed to deal with things like this.

"I am curious" she finally said, "why is it that the normally honorable Miya command such a dishonorable course?"

"It makes no difference to me" she continued, "but I must ask none-the-less."

 Of course, that leads to an interesting question (muses Kedo, as from his rather lower perch he traces the flight through the air of a small flock of birds disturbed by the actions of one or another of the searching parties), whether it is inherently dishonourable to avoid a confrontation that neither party truly wishes when ones purpose is neither shameful nor base, but merely one requiring speed.

 "Reputation is what others know of you. Honour is what you know about yourself." he then states after some moments, putting his thoughts into words in a way that, depending upon the listener, could either be seen to chide Sakura, chide Miya, or merely be a philosophical commentary with no particular significance.

 The gray-glad Bushi doesn't always live in the same world as the rest of you, after all.

"Quite true, Kedo-Kun" Sakura replied in a quiet tone meant for the whole party to hear, "my mistake. I apologize Shiko-Sama."

The question that remained was clear, though subtle: did Sakura make her 'mistake' on purpose?

[Private to Kedo: ROFL! I love it!]

"No offense taken, Daidoji-san.  After all, interesting times," Miya Shiko whispers wanly, "often call for...creative measures.  I would be most pleased to discuss this further, but I believe that we have trouble to avoid.  Should we attempt to forge ahead or wait for these searchers to clear out?"

OOC:  moving will increase the TN of your stealth rolls; staying will increase the number of rolls you'll have to make; your last rolls will lower the TNs of your future stealth rolls

 Kedo of course, has a certain advantage in the matter of not being seen - unlike most everyone else, he not only is not riding a horse, but in fact actually lacks one altogether, and is therefore by some six or so feet shorter than the tallest members of the group just now.
 That helps when people are looking for you, does that.

 He looks very, very mildly surprised when Daidoji sakura responds to his words as though they might have had some relevance to the situation, though is quick enough to simply nod and trust to the Kami to know what's going on, though since he's been woken from his reverie, he pays some attention to the discussion developing, and this time answers it in a slightly more pertinant fashion, though carefully, so as not to suggest he has ideas above his station. "When one loses a thing... does one stop looking before it is found?"

"Indeed, Kedo-san, and they have indeed lost us; at least for the time being," Kenji says.  Watching the search partys' patterns, he attempts to discern the best way through.  "But until we know where we can go, it would be prudent to stay out of sight."


OOC:
Intelligence/Stealth-24
Agility/Stealth (Sneaking)-32

"Stay it is then," Miya Shiko says, giving her steed a signal to sit--effectively concealing the Rokugani pony from sight.

The first pass of the searchers does not reveal your position and you can hear several of them inquiring loudly how they might find you hidden among the tall grass.

Agility/Stealth TN 10

[19:04, Today: Kakita Ukyo rolled 33 using 4d10 with rolls of 9,8,6,10. Unskilled Stealth Roll; Agility only 4k4.]

Ukyo worked hard to stifle back a cough that threatened to give away his presence... he managed to do so.

 And as various others start to take cover, Kedo does likewise, flexing with the smooth agility of a Bushi to lay himself flat upon the earth between the stands of tall grass, trusting to its embrace and the unexceptional gray of his armour to hide him from those who seek the group, despite his lack of formal training in the arts of shadow.

---

19:58, Today: Kedo rolled 29 using 4d10. Agility & Stealth, keeping Agility.

Looking at the others and himself, Ukyo wondered how the bright blues of the Crane clan were going to keep him hidden.  Normally he wouldn't hide.  He felt cowardly and dishonorable.  Given the circumstances of his assignment, it wouldn't do him any good to die here in a pointless fight.

That wouldn't further the goals of making it to Toshi Ranbo or hlping the Miya reach her destination.