S2E30: Emerald and Topaz

After a heartfelt goodbye, Kenshi, Buro, Tomo, and Akari parted ways in the Ekohikei, with Kenshi and Buro traveling toward the Unicorn embassy to speak with Ide Makujin, and Tomo and Akari heading toward the Scorpion embassy to take Yoshi’s armor.

Once in the Unicorn embassy, Kenshi and Buro demanded that they speak with the Emerald Champion immediately. After a confused greeting from the servants of the embassy, it wasn’t long until the two samurai were seated face to face with Makujin himself. Buro and Kenshi pleaded their case, presenting all the evidence they had in order to convince the Emerald champion of the Scorpion clan’s transgressions againt the empire, their threat to the stability of Otosan Uchi, and their scheme to hold Yoshi’s armor in their possession.

Makujin— who himself harbored suspiscions against the Scorpion clan after Kachiko’s proclamtion to guard Otosan Uchi— listened to their story with great anticipation. He admitted that their story was indeed compelling, but there was one flaw with it: why would Kachiko and the Scorpion clan go to such great lengths to secure Yoshi’s armor?  It was the one thing which Buro and Kenshi’s entire story hinged upon, and yet he did not understand the motivation.

Buro weighed his options carefully, and gave great consideration to the next words which would fall from his mouth. He told Makujin that the spirit of Togashi Yoshi still lives on in his armor; that after the events of Daylight Castle, the samurai conducted a ritual to pull the Martyr Monk’s spirit from Jigoku and place it within the Topaz Champion’s ceremonial plate mail. Buro did not, however, include the fact that as a result of this ritual, the armor is now tainted and that wards had been put in place to make that taint undetectable.

Makujin was astonished at this development. He had no idea that the spirit of the Martyr Monk had been residing in Otosan Uchi this entire time. As miraculous as it may be, he still was not certain that this would be enough to explain the treachery that the Scorpion clan now stands accused of. Choosing not to divulge any additional information, Buro and Kenshi convinced the Emerald Champion that having possession of Yoshi’s spirit would give the Scorpion a huge advantage in the political realm. The Martyr Monk is a spiritual figurehead who could be used to manipulate people into doing the Scorpion clan’s bidding, the samurai reasoned.

This was enough for Makujin. He admitted that to cross Bayushi Kachiko was to commit political suicide, but he was convinced that her deeds and the deeds of her clan must be brought to justice. He ordered Kenshi to take a small retinue of Emerald Magistrates to Shosuro Izuki’s hovel in order to investigate further, while he and Buro find Kachiko. 

Meanwhile, Tomo and Akari found Yoshi’s chamber abandoned. Akari’s prediction had proven correct. The two worked quickly to don Yoshi’s armor and steel away into the tunnels beneath the embassy. Knowing that the Scorpion would be hot on their heels, the samurai tried to put as much distance between them and the embassy as possible. As they traveled, the tunnels expanded into a labyrinthine network of natural caverns and excavated passages— a sprawling system beneath Otosan Uchi. Combining a Kaiu’s knowledge of engineering and a Crab’s knack for subterannean life, Tomo led the way through the tunnels, clad in Yoshi’s armor, and equipped only with his yumi, his daisho, and his wits.

Making a break for the exit, Tomo and Akari ran at full speed through these tunnels. In their haste, they failed to notice a tripwire lain across the cavern floor. Breaking it, they sounded an alarm, and what followed was the din of footsteps on stone, and steel against steel.

Credits

Art by Dylon Munoz

Music

Clearwater Harbor by Podcast of the Five Rings

Rokugan Theme by Brandon Spain

Tomo's Dilemma by Podcast of the Five Rings

Cold Truths by Podcast of the Five Rings

Veiled Contempt by Podcast of the Five Rings

Conniving and Mysterious by Podcast of the Five Rings

The Staredown by Podcast of the Five Rings