(L5R) Bayushi Kaguya Campaign Diary 1: Prologue
Session summary I wrote for the L5R game I bullied my friend into running. This was mostly a prologue session to help us all get into character so not too much happened beyond us hanging out at an inn.
Most esteemed Grandmother,
I hope this letter finds you well, and that Kyuden-Bayushi has not felt too much excitement in my absence.
We ourselves have made roost in a most bucolic region of the country, to say the least. We have taken succor in a quaint little hamlet, so small and so deeply knotted in the boughs of the Shinomen it does not even have a name. Were it not for the reassuring presence of Todo and Kuro both, I fear my courage would have cracked and shattered under the noise of this accursed forest. I had hoped some time away from home would have given me some much needed levity, and the fresh air strengthened my all-too faltering constitution; as it was during our wandering year.
Instead I am beset every night by a soundscape I am loath to put to ink, lest it burrow and bite itself a permanent home in my ears. The leaves and boughs howl in shadows, whorling and swarming, sucking up the sounds of conversation from us three like some consuming vacuum of noise. I can’t help but fear that around every corner is still a hidden, waiting blade eager to cut my throat. The only difference being that it hides beneath the chitter and scraping of leaves and wood rather than the agitated rustling of a traitorous courtier’s robe.
The village itself has, thankfully, been somewhat less noisome. We have booked rooms at the local inn (from whence I take brush to paper and write to you these words) and while lacking in many amenities, it does possess a certain rustic charm I admit courts some fondness into my heart.
Our arrival came near the evening, and we quickly accustomed ourselves to the locality.
Among the usual, unremarkable peasants were a few characters of some note.
The first is nothing less than a Toritaka of the Falcon. An auspicious sign from heaven, given our mission. Upon my asking, she availed us of her assistance rather quickly, and has agreed to join us in traveling to Falcon Castle. I believe she will prove a crucial asset to our goals in this place, and if all goes well may be the latchkey which opens the Falcon to the influence of the Scorpion. Whether or not the rather ambitious goals of some among the Silk and Shadow Court come to fruition, the assistance of the Falcon is non-negotiable to any effort to pull more of the Shinomen into our sphere of influence; of this I am absolutely convinced having now been here in person.
The other was, to my surprise, an exile of the Doji. The exile is self imposed, it would seem, as she seems more interested in gambling with the peasantry than the courts of proper Samurai. As I listened to her little game, I was struck by that particular aggravation which inevitably strikes when a Crane opens its mouth to caw and croak. My suspicions were confirmed when, upon being pressured by Kuro’s reconnaissance, she expressed an ability to evade scrutiny far beyond that of a peasant. It was clear to me she was here under false pretense.
I confronted the false pigeon in her room, (in doing so, I learned that the keys given to us opened not just our room, but all the guest rooms! Some plot by the duplicitous innkeep, I have no doubt) and within a few minutes I had peeled away her mask of deceit and discovered the truth of her past. I am pleased to say that, by the end, the Scorpion had gained a new agent in this lost Doji.
We begin our journey to the Falcon’s nest come sunrise. When we arrive I hope to send you my next letter, permitted that my ink and paper do not run out by then.
