The rhythms of life continue at night, he thought, no matter what madness flies by day.
But if the rhythms of an Imperial Heir’s life might be thought of as regular quarter time, those of a ronin are all syncopation, and so Tatsuya could not claim to be entirely surprised when moonlight threw itself through the widening gap between the door and the wall-–leaving the blade in the assassin’s hand silhouetted against the floor. Tatsuya blinked; his hand shot out for his sword. He winced at the shriek of his saya as it dragged against the floor, but at least it woke Ryunosuke, who was on his feet, blade in hand, before Tatsuya could even exhale a warning.
The door slid open wide. Eight shadows. He did not spare a glance for his son; he knew what he would see in those cold eyes. He took up his stance, gave a great shout, and let the rhythm take him.
Event Mechanics wrote: This is a combat event. Your character may be killed. Do not join this thread if the thought of saying goodbye to your character seems wrong in this situation.
In order to successfully join this thread, you must first make an Investigation (Notice)/Perception check at TN 10 to hear Tatsuya’s kiai from inside the delegation houses. If you were intoxicated during the Winding Water Banquet Event, your TN for this roll is 15.
If you are successful, you may choose to grab one weapon and begin moving toward the sound, or you may spend rounds getting your equipment together. If you grab more than one weapon, you must spend a round doing so. You cannot put on armor and arrive in time for combat. Tatsuya and Ryunosuke are good, but not that good.
If you are in the Lion, Phoenix, or Dragon delegation houses, you begin 70 feet away from the battle raging in the shrine area.
If you are in the Scorpion, Crane, Crab, or Minor Clan delegation houses, you begin 100’ away from the battle.
If your name is Jihen, you begin 20 feet away from the battle, because you live in the Shrine Complex.
If you are within the Imperial Apartments or Lord Ikoma's Villa, you will not be able to participate in this event: it will be over before you can arrive.
Round 1 will begin tomorrow at 12:00 CST; participation will be locked at that moment. Please post your Investigation roll as soon as you are aware of your results in the Winding Water Banquet, if you are actively participating in that event, or as soon as possible, if not. If you are successful, post your initiative roll right along with it. If you choose to join this thread, make sure that your combat ghosting instructions are up to date. We will be aggressive with ghosting; this is a larger engagement than usually occurs in pbp games.
