(D9, LM) Get out of my head! (Open)

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

While the merchants would likely do booming business selling paper to write about the huge news unfolding at the gate, a lone Yogo was wandering down the street arguing with the empty air.

"Because you're not!"

"I don't care what they told you! It's a bureaucracy like any other. Go back and tell them they made a mistake!"

Well it was certainly one way to keep from being hassled by merchants. Wander the streets like a loon. Strangely, a lot of Lion seemed to be adopting this tactic today.

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" asks a nearby voice.

Soshi Tameaki descends the stairs leading up to the city's wall, which meet the Street of Scrolls not far from Aya. He approaches the Yogo, but keeps his distance - ready to intervene if the need became apparent, but not willing to impose.

"You seem to be afflicted by the same issues as some of our hosts, Yogo-san," he says, hoping his words will break through her delirium. "The voices you hear are of another time and place...I think, anyway. Mine is real. Try to focus on that."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

He's a dirty lying Scorpion, kill him.

Aya bowed to the magistrate.

"Ie, magistrate. The voices ARE real. It seems to be some sort of mass haunting. Ancestors who were aligned with the Steel Chrysanthemum, but did not manage to rebody and join his army. Apparently, they thought that sending them to visit their descendents might sway the Lion's voices." she said.

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"Brilliant. That's just what we needed right now."

The magistrate sighs, his burdens multiplied.

"There's no point going about setting up wards or banishing them, I suppose?" he asks his spiritual consultant. "Too many spirits over too much space, I'd warrant. Still, something must be done or half the city will be too addled to fight when the army of Steel arrives..."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Draw your sword! Feel his hot blood upon your hands!

"No, he's the magistrate I'm serving, I'm not doing that." she replies.

She shakes her head.

"My apologies, magistrate. It seems I am being visited by a very old fashioned Lion who would prefer I cut you down for being a Scorpion."

She ponders the question.

"If it's still going by the time court arrives, I would assume that the governor would put out a call for all the shugenja in the city to attempt some sort of mass banishment. If there are any Kitsu, they'd probably know quite a bit about such.....assuming the Governor is still in their right mind."

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"If not, I've established contact with an Isawa in the city, and perhaps she and her kin might have an idea or two," says Tameaki, his mind spinning as he starts developing backup plans and contingencies.

"I suppose this answers our question about influence from the Spirit Realms, but it's far from a satisfying answer. At least these spirits don't seem to have any physical presence...yet..."

He waves his arm through where he thinks the ancestor Aya's speaking to is, encountering no resistance.

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

His shall be the first head upon the mighty tribute you shall forge to the true Emperor!

"Very true, magistrate. I'm sure the Phoenix will find this all a fascinating study on a little studied realm....assuming they're not all put to the sword." she says.

"Did you find any success in your visit to the Crane?"

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"The Lion decided to preemptively end the conflict," says Tameaki, shaking his head, "and the Crane's current lead - the former Imperial Advisor - either knew the decision was coming or didn't care. If it's the latter...well, I've got a plan in place for that."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

The streets will run red with the blood of the Crane!

"Yes, yes, Crane blood, sure." Aya said, distracted again.

She looked at the magistrate curiously.

"I'm surprised magisgtrate. I would have thought you would have a plan either way."

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"Oh, I do, I do," assures Tameaki. "As it happens, it's a variation on the same response I offer for the other option - conservation of energy and resources, and all that. By the end of the day, I'll get a full measure of both the governor and the Imperial Advisor."

He smiles in a way that is altogether uncomfortable to witness.

"Then we'll be in a position to cause some real mayhem, once the Steel Fool is eliminated."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

How dare he mock the True Emperor! Bite out his throat!

Aya shook head a bit.

"You might want to be a little careful with that kind of talk today magistrate. Some Lion might decide he'd rather listen to the ancestor in his head than the clever Scorpion within his sword range." she cautioned.

"Not that I'm sure you don't have a plan for that.....but the Lion are going to be on edge today. Moreso than they already were. Especially if those who love the Empress cannot resolve the conflict between what they know their Duty to be, and what their ancestor tells them it is."

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"If they are so easily manipulated," Tameaki replies, "then we shall see about incapacitating them until the matter is resolved."

He pats his side, where a jitte sits ready.

"I've trained my whole life to deal with unruly samurai. It matters not to me if they're living or dead."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Take hit jitte and shove it up his......

"Are you sure you were a Lion, because that was a very Crab thing to say." she says, again distracted by the spirit.

"I'll trust in your judgement on that magistrate. Were you looking for me for a reason, or is this just a happy coincidence running into you here?"

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"Happy coincidence - I greeted the dawn on the walls, which is where I first noticed the troubles arising with those with Lion ancestry," Tameaki answers. "The stairs up aren't far from here, and I just happened to be descending as you walked by. I'm not stalking you, if you're worried about that, nor do I have any specific assignments that would require me to search the city for you. For now, we're on 'wait and see' duty, and that's all."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Kiiiiiiil him!

She shook her head.

"Ah, well, I suppose that's the upside to Norikami being dead then. The man was like a hawk with no hood. He needed to be doing something, either killing or fucking. Now that's he's dead, he's much better at waiting, and no worse at seeing." she offered with a grim sense of humor.

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

Tameaki is silent for a moment - he hadn't known Norikami at all, and knew nothing of him save the manner of his death, so for once the magistrate doesn't have an ready response.

"Well, we'd probably have been able to keep him busy enough keeping those affected by this attack from hurting themselves or each other," he says, at last. "We've got a whole city of fights brewing, and I just hope it doesn't end up exploding."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

[i]Kill each other and open the gates! Open the gates to the True Emperor![/i]

She snorted a bit.

"He would've hated that. He would've done it, but he would've complained the whole time." she says with a wry shake of the head.

"Definitely an interesting challenge for a peacekeeper to be sure."

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"Being a peacekeeper is never boring," replies Tameaki, his tone lighter. "People are always coming up with new ways to break it, so there's a lot of adapting, on-the-spot thinking, and immediate action that seems like the right thing to do at the moment."

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Aya raised her eyebrow at that.

"Really? As your yoriki, it would be interesting to learn about some of your more unusual cases." she said, somewhat interested in the topic.

At least it might distract her from the Lion in her head calling for his blood.

Soshi Tameaki · **Joined:** Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:36 pm **Posts:** 234

"Well...there was the Incident of the Lurking Librarian," says Tameaki as he struggles to recall details of his investigations. "A murderer who specifically targeted those in possession of rare texts - original copies of Shosuro Furuyari's plays, journals of famous military geniuses and notorious politicians, that sort of thing. If you'd believe it, the culprit turned out to be a tanner in the local eta village that had taught itself to read and had become obsessed. I'd come to suspect such a thing when confronted with repeated testimonials avowing that no one had been seen in the areas around several of the scenes. Well, people would no sooner report seeing one of the hinin than they would a stray animal. No one could fathom that such a being would have any interest in the texts it stole, or would even possess the ability to make any use of them. In the end, I caught it in the act, rescuing a visiting Phoenix who was in the city - Toshi Aitate - to collect a surviving copy of one of the foundational texts of the heretical Order of the Five Rings. It's a pity - most of the scrolls and tomes we collected had been rendered too unclean to restore and had to be burned. A tragedy..."

(D9, LM) Get out of my head! (Open)

Who is online