[Day 4, EM] Origin: A Mission from God

[Cearnach]

The message had been brief, but emphatic. Escorted by the Miya who had brought it and a pair of Seppun guards, each of you are led through the genkan and the halls to the Imperial Apartments. And not just any Imperial Apartments, but the Imperial Apartment. The guards there are clearly expecting you, and open the door to reveal the Empress' private apartments, which are...

...not entirely as expected. Most of the exquisite boxes from Otosan Uchi are still packed, stacked in a corner of the first chamber, leaving the walls largely bare and a conspicuous lack of decor. In this first chaber, you are greeted by about a dozen miharu, including a couple in robes. These watch you carefully as you are escorted past them and into the receiving room.

[Cearnach]

The receiving room is a bit of a mess. The Empress' baggage seems to line the walls, mostly unpacked and disregarded. The furniture is artfully arranged to prevent easy access from the antechamber to the doors to other rooms in the apartments, but there is a marked absence of decoration, save a few pieces in the Lion taste clearly left here as suggestions for the Imperial decorators and summarily ignored.

Here, the Miya, still unsmiling, gently invites you to wait.

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

Yasuki Ryoichi was there, answering the Imperial summons. The slim Crab waited there obediently, quietly composed, occasionally glancing at the others who had been escorted here with him.

[Ikoma Honoka]

Honoka arrived soon after the summons, making her way in. She bowed to the already gathered people and looked around the room with her eyes. Curious as to what was next but otherwise just smiling and not moving.

[Hantei Retsuhime]

We've a great deal to get through in 72 hours, so we're forging ahead. Players may understand that their characters have arrived prior to this post.

The door to an inner chamber opens, and, supported by a servant, in hobbles the Empress. She looks a fright, face florid, eyes rheumy, but she does not seem to care as she looks over each of you.

"Alright. Surprised to see the Magistrate here, but I suppose if Bokushi wants it that way."

She hobbles over to a chair--a high-backed, armed, ornately carved thing of obvious gaijin construction, and sits in it. "The facts of the matter are simple. My Uncle, Hantei Muhaki, had a son with Sadahako, who was not then, but is now, a Fortune. He has been sighted in Ryoko Owari, and it's only right that he should be here so I can assess him. That means someone's got to go down there and fetch him, and Bokushi has determined that you're it."

"Normally I'd send Hachi, but circumstances are different than usual and he might be harder to find than we want. To make a long story less tiresome, he's been living as a ronin all his life. *Cough, Cough, Cough* You're liable to encounter a lot of people asking who you are and what you're about. If you want to get out of there with an intact ronin, and I think you do on account of it being what I want you to do, then it's probably best if you play it close to the vest."

She starts coughing, loud and right out in the open. It carries on for a while.

"Sadako-san?"

[Seppun Sadako]

Seppun Sadako, her presence having been eclipsed by that of the Empress, steps forward into the light.

"We have booked passage for you on the Meadowlark, a Mantis riverboat, and we have these traveling papers for you." She hands them out. "Are there any questions?"

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"Great lady, how can we accurately recognize this person, so we can be sure that we bring back the right one?" Ryoichi asked, in a very respectful tone of voice.

[Hantei Retsuhime]

"Ah. Well, he answers to the name Tatsuya. He'll look like those two statues had a baby." She gestures at some bric-a-brac, among which is a statue of Sadahako and another of Hantei Muhaki. "Should be a handsome guy, if in need of a bath. Middle aged."

[Daidoji Sae]

Sae had nodded very slightly at the Empress' remark, but her attention had immediately been diverted by the revelation of ronin (with semi-divine ancestry) and a tenuous claim to the throne was puttering around Rokugan's largest den of vice.

She accepts her traveling papers with a quiet thanks, it would be be an arduous crossing of the spine of the world, but then the Mantis boat would shorten their travel time considerably.

"Seppun-sama, what do the Mantis know of this mission? If anything?"

[Kitsu Sayomi]

So far, Sayomi had been quiet as she bowed and listened to the mission. Inside she felt a great turmoil mixed with excitement over this mission. Maybe this was an opportunity for the Lion to show they were not weak as the Empress had said...

... but what if something happened to the Empress while they were gone. "My apologies for asking this question, but apart from us gathered here, and the monk Bokushi, who else knows of his heritage, or can confirm it?"

[Seppun Sadako]

"Seppun-sama, what do the Mantis know of this mission? If anything?"

"The are aware that they have been hired by the Seppun and that it is a matter of urgency. That is all. We...have some concern that, once Tatsuya's parentage is known, it may put unwelcome pressures on the mission."

[Hantei Retsuhime]

So far, Sayomi had been quiet as she bowed and listened to the mission. Inside she felt a great turmoil mixed with excitement over this mission. Maybe this was an opportunity for the Lion to show they were not weak as the Empress had said...

... but what if something happened to the Empress while they were gone. "My apologies for asking this question, but apart from us gathered here, and the monk Bokushi, who else knows of his heritage, or can confirm it?"

"Tooru-chan knows because he had to get your papers together. And then whoever actually did the writing. That's it. We're trying to play it cool until you're well enough down river that no one's going to pull anything."

[Ikoma Honoka]

Honoka had been listening along. She couldn't help but feel excited for this.

What a great story! And I get to star in it!

But there was questions to be asked to delay it.

"How aware is he of his lineage?"

[Seppun Sadako]

Seppun Sadako cleared her throat. "That is unknown. It is possible that he is aware of his mother, but we are not at all certain that he knows the identity of his father. I believe that we would have heard from him by now if he did know."

[Hantei Retsuhime]

Retsuhime grinned. "I don't know, maybe that just means he's smart."

[Daidoji Sae]

Which prompts another question from Sae, although she was fairly sure of the answer.

"If Tatsuya-san does not wish return with us, we are to compel his passage as necessary so that he might satisfy the order of the Daughter of Heaven?"

[Hantei Retsuhime]

A hush falls on the room.

Finally, the Empress grunts. "Yeah, I think so. You can't kill him, though, and I don't want him maimed."

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

"May I ask, have we consulted the fortunes on the likely outcome of this mission?" Ryoichi inquired delicately. "For such an important task, I think we would benefit from any guidance that the kami were willing to offer."

[Hantei Retsuhime]

Hantei Retsuhime fixed Yasuki Ryoichi with a glare.

"Kid. I am the Empress, and I told you to go do something. Are you really going to ask me whether a bunch of sticks thinks it's a good idea?"

[Yasuki Ryoichi]

The Yasuki swallowed heavily, then prostrated himself in apology.

"Of course not, Hantei-tenno," Ryoichi groveled. "I am sure you know best."

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4EM Resist compulsion Willpower +Void Point TN15 | 4k4 ⇒ 18 (TN: 15) succeeds