[D7 LM] Making Friends

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

Dressed in his forest kimono the Dragon looked like he was a few cups short of a tea set between the manic grin and the twitchy fingers. But he bowed and didn't put on much in the way of airs, despite visiting the Badger section of the Minor Clan house. As far as Jinkan was concerned the Badgers were just swole Dragons who lived in a different mountain range. He wasn't so gone as to say that to any of them directly but it did mean he was more positively inclined toward them than say the Mantis or Fox. Perhaps being positively inclined wasn't always a good thing when it came to the Mirumoto.

"I have come to seek an audience with the Badger. I hope that someone would be willing to greet even a lowly delegate." He would announce to anyone who asked, and otherwise wait to be let in.

[Ichiro Himari]

A mountain of a yojimbo looks down at Jinkan and cocks his head slightly.

The door behind him opens, and another mountain steps through it.

"I'd be the Badger you'd want an audience with, then," he says, and he dips his already lowered head--he's just managing not to hit the ceiling beams--a little more. "Ichiro Himari."

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"I am Mirumoto Jinkan, and you are somehow taller than me." Jinkan said looking up at the Ichiro with a grin.

"It is rude to invite oneself, so I offer my apologies for the discourtesy. If you have not already eaten then I would like to discuss politics over a meal. Otherwise, I have some tea?" The Dragon lifted a small bag he had brought with him from home with an inexpensive container of pressed tea leaves in it.

He showed naked interest in the size of the Badger's hands and arms while doing so.

[Ichiro Himari]

"Tea's good, Mirumoto-san," Himari says, and he gestures towards seats with his huge, meaty hands.

"So, politics, eh? What sort?"

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

Jinkan would sit like he was thrown from the air onto the cushion after he handed over the bag to whomever was going to make the tea.

"The good and bad kind. The good kind where we discuss things that are mutually beneficial for our clan's immediate prosperity, and the bad kind that the Tao says is a distraction from the reality of nature. Thankfully the Tao says a lot of things." The Mirumoto said after he had gotten comfortable. He rubbed the sides of temples to get the blood flowing.

"Would Ichiro-sama appreciate directness or metaphors with his tea?"

[Ichiro Himari]

Himari laughs, the sound like stones falling from a great height.

Jinkan knows the sound.

"Plain speech for plain tea, Mirumoto-san," he says. "Say on."

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"As an apology for taking so long to meet with the Badger, I will show you at least one of my hands. The Dragon are looking for sake supplies for the coming year. We have a non-zero amount of rice, mountain tuna, and gold we could part with. If the Badger are willing to donate to our common cause, the Dragon are naturally willing to meet such donations with their own." Jinkan said opening his left hand to show he had nothing in it.

(4 sake is the number I think.)

[Ichiro Himari]

"I'll have to consult my notes to see what all we have and haven't promised yet," Himari replies.

The tea is served. Himari's own left hand envelops the cup entirely as he takes it to sip from it.

"But I do thank you for your candor."

(The GM has to go through posts and make sure nothing got dropped. It might be a little bit, work also being work.)

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"We might also see need for iron and arms if it helps. And, I would definitely like to hear from the Badger what their long term goals are at court this year." Jinkan said nodding. He understood not having all the details on hand immediately.

[Ichiro Himari]

"I think we have [1 unit] of sake to spare," Himari says, recalling himself. "I know it is not much. I think that our geographies are similar enough that what we have, you do, and what you lack, we do, if in lesser measure. Smaller lands.

"But I can say that we are hopeful to maintain good relations with the Lion, and the Dragon's word that way would be appreciated," he adds. "And it may be that the shipping routes we maintain could be expanded eastward, which would also help the Dragon, since I know not many fare your way, relatively speaking. The Badger know mountains, though, and we are strong enough to bear many burdens."

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"We will have a small surplus of rice [1] that could go your direction, in the hopes the rice will become sake perhaps?" Jinkan laughed. "The Dragon naturally would support any efforts the Badger make to grow closer to our friends the Lion. Perhaps we could facilitate some small trade in that direction then, as I am given to understand the Lion are seeking iron and arms. The Dragon have no need for either but would be glad to see the Lion get what they need."

[Ichiro Himari]

"What would help would be a reduction in tariffs," Himari says. "I understand that checkpoints and the like must be maintained, but the costs can be ruinous for smaller players. Being able to ship through other routes would be a help--and, as I said, it would be helpful for the Dragon to have additional trading partners who can meet them at least partway up the mountain."

He quaffs his tea.

"But [1 rice] for [1 sake] is certainly enough to start with. We can call the other a separate arrangement--one in which we would give our friends the most preferential terms."

(OOC for clarity:
Two deals on the table.
One is Badger give Dragon one Sake for one Rice.
Two is Dragon press Lion for lower tariffs on Badger goods in exchange for preferential trading terms [eg reciprocal tariff lowering, dedicated trade caravan] TBD)

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"I believe, we can at the very least, begin with the deal that I must imagine is blessed by Inari-no-kami. Rice and sake are her blessings after all." Jinkan said. The less said about the part where her curses are famine the better.

"The Badger are very far away from the center of the empire, but that doesn't mean they are unaware of things. Sometimes where they are gives them a perspective we might not otherwise get. I was hoping you might know the answer to a question that has been vexing me this entire court." Jinkan leaned forward and whispered this part over the tea. "Is all quiet with the Yobanjin?"

(1 sake for 1 rice. The other part will need to be talked about with Yuna and the Lion.)

[Ichiro Himari]

Himari nods.

"When I left, it was," he says. It is hard for a man of his size to be truly quiet, but he manages quite a lot.

"There was some activity earlier in the year, but we beat it back. Heavy loss on their side, some on ours. Usually, more loss means longer quiet.

"I can't promise that things are still quiet, of course. But I haven't heard they're not, and you know how winters are in the mountains."

(Of course!)

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"Cold. Occasionally frozen solid." Jinkan said nodding, now back at normal volume.

"Well if you have not already, I think you might want to speak to the Crane or Scorpion about rice donations. If in fact your problems and solutions mirror our own. Have you spoken to the Lion yet?" Jinkan finished his tea and asked idly.

[Ichiro Himari]

"Some," Himari says. "Could do more. Could do more on a lot of things. Alas, I am but one man--and even one of my size is but one!"

He laughs again. You'd swear you see the walls shake.

[Mirumoto Jinkan]

"Do you play go, Ichiro-sama? I expect to see a lot of Lion delegates at the go matches. I understand that one of the ways they train is by playing the game. Never made sense to me, but I never made sense to them so I figure that makes us even." The Mirumoto said after the walls stopped vibrating.

"You have my personal invitation to come and maybe find a chance to put a few words in certain people's ears. What say you?"

[Ichiro Himari]

"I might get by that way," Himari says. "I thank you for the kind invitation."

(The GMs will try to remember to get Himari over there. Ping me to be sure.)