[D13 LE] - Preparing Final Goodbyes

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She was standing at the gates, looking out towards the Twin Shrines. Mari didn't have the heart to return there. There'd been too much damage, so she probably would just say a prayer on the road. No, she just wanted a last look around the city. She'd only been here in Nikesake for a week, but it had been more eventful than any of her time as a ronin had ever been. Quite ... interesting.

Glancing over her shoulder at the sound of footfalls, she smiled and gave a quick bow, murmuring "-sama" as much out of habit without even checking their mon. If it was a peasant, she'd just have a laugh at her own expense. Most of them were already asleep.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako had perhaps thought about visiting the temple grounds as well but the nature of war didn't exactly make that an appealing aspect. They had just begun to discover the bodies of the fallen on the field and it was likely that they might find the same at the temple, which will need some purifying by either a shugenja or a monk.

She instead made her way up to the wall to find some semblance of peace. The grounds here were known for their tense atmosphere but with the enemy gone, there was some strange quiet found here again. She perked up when she saw a familiar figure in the darkness and bowed to greet her.

"Mari-san, good evening..." she said at first, wondering if she was interrupting a meeting she might have with an important diplomat here.

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Ah... Mirumoto-sama. It is good to see you. It seems that the army has truly marched to the south. They thought the town easy meat, and for all their bluster in the end they traveled south when it did not fall immediately." That was her assessment, and probably true. They couldn't have risked remaining between this town, Toshi Ranbo and the force of the Imperial Legion. Without it as a staging ground, the Steel Chrysanthemum would have to charge into the open field.

"I ... will probably not be lingering long. Without battle, the refugees will be given homes soon. Moved from place to place once the fighting ends to the south. My place is not here." And she'd left just enough of a mark that she didn't want to tarry. "Will you be riding south?"

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"It may seem like it...I had almost thought we would wake up and they would find themselves back at our doorsteps," she said as she fully made her way up the steps to get a better look over the city walls. There wasn't very much that could be seen in the darkness but the lack of fire camps in the distance was a good indicating that the enemy army was no longer there.

"You're leaving so soon?" she asked with a bit of surprise in her tone. "I don't think this place is completely safe just yet. I don't think the refugees will find themselves in a home overnight and the locals are getting...restless, I'm guessing that we might have overstayed our welcome. We've become a sort of storm crow that brought danger to their doorsteps. I could imagine that resentment is still there...I'm not too sure what I will do next. I would prefer to see this through, even if I have no obligation to. I know more than a few of my kin have found obligations but I am a bit removed from those dealings."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"I've thought about lingering, but I'm not sure it is appropriate for me to do so. I suppose that the peasants might appreciate it, but with the armies moving south, I am less inclined to think that the Lion would feel the same." A firm shake of her head. "Some of their rank were polite to me, but I know how little they have love for ronin wandering their lands in a time of strife. Especially if my presence would imply they can't feed the people, which my preferred prayer might be seen as doing. Though I haven't entirely decided just yet."

Her real reasons were less noble, but no less survival focused. "I am not surprised to hear you might choose to stay. Your task here isn't really done, is it? Not only for their sake, but your master's."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako nodded soundly at the talk of Lion hospitality, who weren't famously known for their love of ronin. She has perhaps already pushed her luck even further from her stay, she assumed at least.

"Hai...I suppose my task is very loose but there are other Dragon here and they are committed to helping out in any way they can. I must show solidarity in that. Even if I was on my own, this lesson hereis far from over, not until I see the conclusion of the conflict. At least, until one threat is put down so that another conflict can be found. I suppose things have a way of simple continuing around here."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"In the end, the paths from this place are clear for those who bear the clan colors before them. The details may be fuzzy, but you know where your lord would stand. I hope that you emerge from the fighting relatively unscathed should you travel to the front." She knew one thing. There was no way in hell she was going down there. She might have backed Kato in court, but aiding the armies of the man who was out to kill her only days before was not on her list of things to do, not to simply prolong the conflict.

No... far too little reward for far too much risk. But by traveling away, she could fade from view, fade from memory in many eyes. Better, by far.

"I would suggest one day visiting the northern wall, but I somehow doubt that ronin just wander their way so far north in the empire, do they?"

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"There are perhaps more ronin than you realize but I do think that they typically find themselves disappointed when it comes to opportunity there. Admittedly, there are more ronin or worse made that far north. One of the roads out of the Empire is close by and often a place where some are exiled from the Empire. They sometimes do make it back, which we often are responsible for chasing out if they chose to go through the mountains."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"You had mentioned that. It makes my presence a touch more tenuous, without introduction, does it not?" she said with a bit of a smirk. "After all, the exiles are themselves ronin, and it can be hard to distinguish one or the other in such a place, and I've always been told I blend into a crowd well."

"But that's not so bad. I do have many places to visit long before I get to that point do I not?"

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"It is...I suppose it depends where you're found and what sort of answer you give to the patrols. Also, if you're wandering off the roads, or whatever passes for one there, they might think it's either you wandering in or setting up an ambush? It might have to with how much sand you have on your person too, for some reason," she nodded.

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Sand? What does sand have to do with anything out there?" she said, her eyebrows raising and some obvious confusion there. There was curiosity as well, but really she just didn't understand how sand could have much to do with it. Wasn't sand just on the seashores?

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako gave a deep shrug at the question and shook her head as she wasn't entirely sure herself. "It's a bit strange but I guess they do say that beyond the northern reaches of the Empire, there is a rocky wasteland found and the temperature is far warmer than anything else in the Empire. Some who travel up, often end up discarding their layers and return to the Empire with fewer of them. Perhaps a chattering ronin is another sign?"

Of course, the ronin could probably just not be able to afford layers too.

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Strange. I imagine that most of the empire knows very little of what lies beyond those mountains in the end. The ... Unicorn would, but they are the only ones." A shrug. The less said about the horse riders as a rule, the better. "But, in any case, I think I have decided on a route north. I will most likely pass through the Tonbo lands to the main entry into the mountains. I don't know how long I will linger, but I do wish to visit Dragon lands I think first. I'll be joining your ambassador's escort when she departs. In case there is need of a healer."

Assuming it wasn't longer than a week. She wasn't going to wait forever.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

She wasn't her yojimbo nor her official escort but in light of recent events, that did spark some curiosity in Wasako. The Dragon quirked a brow at this. "Oh...so you're going to be joining Agasha-sama then? I hope she hasn't gotten in some bumps lately to need for a healer to follow her around..."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Nothing's happened to her, to my knowledge." Well, nothing a good night's sleep wouldn't get rid of. "But I know that your clan detailed her a yojimbo just to be safe. I think she's headed to your clan's holdings to make sure of the current assignment, and it's ... convenient for me. With any luck, my services won't even be needed. If you like I'll send a letter to hopefully meet up with you after we reach the Last Step."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako nodded soundly at that. "I'm sure both of you will be good company to each other. She might be just as well-travelled, in different circles, with her Imperial tutelage. I had thought she was destined to the Imperial City but perhaps home might make the most sense after everything here. So far this conflict has just stretched out from one thing to another...or maybe that's how these conflicts are supposed to go. It would be at least nice to reunite with some familiar faces once this comes to the semblance of a conclusion, if any time soon."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"She won't likely remain long. I suspect she will be back to the task of an ambassador soon enough," she said, nodding. "But I will try to be good company when she has time for my presence."

A look towards the field and she sighed some, glancing back at Wakuso. "I should probably be on my way, I am sorry to say. Time waits for no man, and our journeys will soon part, it seems."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako had turned to look at the same field, wondering what Mari saw there. She supposed that to a ronin, there were possibilities in the ominous darkness of the night road. Then again, sometimes the current of the waves don't exactly push ronin to the kindest of waters.

She perked up from her thoughts and turned to look at Mari. "Oh! Very well, Mari-san. Fortunes guide you through the waves, or wherever you may find yourself. Hopefully, we'll see each other in the near future? I might have something to share in regards to my found lessons here?"

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Indeed. I would like that. Maybe I will have another tale for you to hear," she said softly, bowing before she waved over her shoulder. "Do try to stick around. I should like to share a few more of the old ones I know with you one day, Mirumoto-sama."

/exit

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

She watched the ronin disappear into the night, or at least from her sights, then returned to watching the fields. It was her intention to get through this but she was curious as to what tomorrow may bring.

/scene!

[D13 LE] - Preparing Final Goodbyes

Who is online