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Courts of the Crane Clan • Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign
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Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 6:10 pm
by KakitaKaori
This is the story-style writeup for the second half of our Calls the Lightening campaign (Here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=831). I decided to start a new thread since the other was getting a little long and I need something to try to encourage myself to do this. As previously, the intent of these writeups were to share with you one possible Clan Wars Campaign, something that should be able to be run with almost any mixed group of L5R samurai with just a little tweaking. The events that occur in this timeline are different than the official Clan Wars timelines, and, indeed, sometimes quite different in event than Clan Wars. In history, civil wars and foolishness and treason generally are covered up, and history lingers solely on the actions and stories of the greatest men and women. Sometimes that means that other stories are changed and lost. These events could, sufficiently mangled by history, ended up as the official Clan Wars storyline.

I'll beg a last time for feedback here, but, lacking that, survive purely on grim determination as a writer and a desire as a Crane Player to post /something/ on this board to make it worth coming back to read.

In any event....

Previous Games in this overall story arc are:

Storm Rising (12 years before the Scorpion Clan Coup): viewtopic.php?f=3&t=825
Storm Breaking (Scorpion Clan Coup to Test of the Emerald Championship): viewtopic.php?f=3&t=827
Calls the Lightening Part 1 (Test of the Emerald Championship through the Battle of Beidan Pass): viewtopic.php?f=3&t=831

The player characters are the same as were in the first half of this game, now unofficial magistrates reporting to Kakita Toshimoko, the Emerald Champion. They have just survived the Battle of Beidan Pass, and have mysteriously found themselves with possession of the Crane Clan Sword and a mission to return it to 'The Old Man' in Western Hub Village:
Player Characters
Hiruma Izuko - Hiruma bushi
Mirumoto Kenuchio - Mirumoto Bushi
Moto Koshi - Moto Bushi
Asahina Ayame - Asahina Shugenja

Relevant NPCs
Ikoma Neiji - Ikoma Spy who used to be a magistrate with them before he was sent to spy on Toturi's Army
Matsumoto Eiko - Minor Family samurai-ko sent by Toshimoko with them to investigate current events.
Mai - 15yo yakuza eta who seems to be quite the young crime lord
Moto Tsolmon - Koshi's father
Kuni Ren - Correspondent with Izuko, Lover of Hida Sukune, and one of the leaders of the Jade Crab.

Game Background: It was the year 1127. The Battle of Beidan Pass has been won, but at great cost. The forces of Hida Yakamo nearly crushed the rebels from the Crab who call themselves the Jade Crab. It was only the timely arrival of Mirumoto Hitomi, followed by Toturi and his army, and finally the spirits of Matsu Tsuko and her legion of the sacred dead, who were able to break the Crab army. But not before Hida Sukune, leader of the Jade Crab, was terribly injured and tainted by Kuni Yori on the terrible standard of Fu Leng, and not before Mirumoto Hitomi had her hand cut off by Yakamo's corrupted claw and was whisked away to be returned to the High House of Light.

Note: This chapter is a little different, because it was at this point that our characters first got to see what was going on in the rest of the Empire, so it seems like a good place to give the readers a chance to put the rest of the timeline together.

Flight of the Crane - Part 2

The advantage of taking significant wounds in battle is that, in that short moment of peace after a victory, there is no dishonor in resting for a time.

Asahina Ayame informed the other magistrates of the letter and "gift" she had received, though she ripped the letter in half to hide Mai's "price", too ashamed of the implications to let the others know. There was much speculation, but nothing certain, and the mystery of the sword continued.

Hida Sukune, Kuni Ren and the remaining Jade Crab left as soon as Sukune was able to be moved. A palanquin carried the son of the Crab Champion. The group was headed for the Asahina Temples as quickly as possible, though the journey would certainly be dangerous. Their hope was to reach the coast near Kuyden Doji and travel by ship the rest of the way. Ren and Hiruma Izuko made a fond farewell.

Ikoma Neiji, the Lion magistrate who had been sent to join Toturi's Army at the behest of the Emerald Champion, caught up with the group he fought beside during the Scorpion Clan Coup. He managed to find them in only two days...a testimony to his ability to gather information. They were delighted to see him, and eager to hear news from around the Empire from someone they trusted...and someone so skilled at being a " discrete observer," as Kakita Toshimoko had put it.

Neiji told them that, while they were heading towards Unicorn Lands, the Emperor had hired Mantis mercenaries to harry and delay the Crab fleet headed for Otosan Uchi. The leader of the minor clan, Yoritomo, had done as bid, but Neiji felt he was holding back, using the wealth from the contract to build power and influence while not making a major dent in the Crab's forces.

His observation may have been fueled by personal anger. The Emperor had also set the Lion's primary army, in defense of Otosan Uchi, even while sending the Lion's secondary army, along with Matsu Tsuko, to Beidan Pass to 'observe' the Crab there. Without the Lion's greatest leaders, and with only half their full strength, the Lion were not able to overwhelm the Crab army led by Hida Kisada when he landed. The Emperor would also not permit the Lion army to use the fortifications of Otosan Uchi against the Crab...not allowing them in the city. Instead, the two armies were slowly chewing each other apart, and the attrition on both sides was horrendous. The Ikoma spoke his share of bitter words about it, but when he suggested that Hida Kisada would have to break the stalemate one way or another now that Beidan Pass was lost, he was more than angry. He was afraid.

On other fronts, Moto Koshi in particular was pleased to learn that Shinjo Yokatsu had finally decided to send the Unicorn armies, led by Otaku Kamoko and her battle maidens, out of Unicorn Lands to defend Beidan Pass and keep the peace in the northwestern Empire in the absence of the Lions. Toturi had begged for Unicorn help for months, but Yokatsu had refused, always citing imminent threat from the Dragon. But he had very recently responded positively and was sending his armies to reinforce Beidan Pass, allowing Toturi to move against the Shadowlands incursions more aggressively.

Mirumoto Kenuchio was eager to hear word of the Dragon. He knew of their recent interactions with Mirumoto Hitomi, but Neiji told them news of Mirumoto Daini, her brother. Daini had been travelling back from the capital, in truth, fleeing the imminent invasion, when he had been intercepted by a group of beings called the Naga. They were a strange race of half-man, half-snake beings, but surprisingly civilized. Daini was taking them to Kunden Mirumoto for further negotiations, but it seemed their goal was to fight the Shadowlands threat. Mirumoto Hitomi hadn't been seen after the battle, but Kenuchio still believed she was on her way to the High House of Light.

As to the Phoenix, Neiji knew that a small unit of Shiba, led by Shiba Tsukune, had been sent to defend Kuyden Kakita from the Crab. He assumed it was at the Emerald Champion's behest. The Crab had made well-known to the Lion that that Kuyden Kakita was their eventual target...that was why so many of the Lion were willing to stand by and watch the Jade Crab's suffering. Neiji's theory, based on rumors from Mai's allies and what information he could procure, was that somehow the Council of Elemental Masters had gotten ahold of the list of locations of the Black Scrolls the magistrates had given Seppun Ishikawa. The Phoenix Inquisitors were engaged in an Empire-wide sweep to secure the Black Scrolls, now that the Scorpion were gone. If the Masters had gotten the list, it was probably given them by Toshimoko, perhaps even in exchange for Tsukune's aid defending Crane lands. The Isawa were allowing no one to pass into their lands.

When Asahina Ayame inquired more about the situation in her own clan's homelands, Ikoma Neiji's face grew grim. "Not good. At first, when I heard that the rumors of Doji Hoturi, your Champion, leading the Shadowlands in the lands to the south were false, I was moderately...relieved...on your behalf, Ayame. But that was before we travelled here. We've received word, from very reliable scouts, that Hoturi is not to the south, but was travelling through Scorpion lands, and now he is here, in these northern Crane lands, and he is leading cast-off Scorpion samurai who have renounced their honor and allied themselves with the Shadowlands.

Ayame's face grew whiter than porcelain. "How can that be true?"

Neiji shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense. Not unless he's been ensorcelled in some fashion. I don't know. But the armor, the weapons...his appearance...they're impossible to miss. He doesn't seem to be concerned that the peasants who survive his passage see him and know him. They speak to our scouts. There can be no mistaking."

Ayame laid her hand on the blessed sword at her side. "It seems so impossible.

Hirumo Izuko scoffed softly. "Madness comes in many forms. You see it on the wall. Maybe he is one of the traitors that Koshi-san's father warned us about."

Koshi shook his head slowly, thinking. "He's too young."

"But...perhaps that explains the sword," Matsumoto Eiko offered. "Maybe Lord Toshimoko-sama sent Mai to steal it back from Doji Hoturi-sama, so he would not profane it further. He had her give it to us since we were the closest people he could trust with it, and he wants us to bring the sword back to him."

The other magistrates discussed the theory, and decided that that was the most likely meaning of Mai's mysterious letter

Neiji reported no further word of the whereabouts of Toshimoko, but speculated that it was possible that the Emerald Champion may have travelled to Kuyden Kakita to intercept the Crab. And if he didn't, maybe the Phoenix at Kuyden Kakita would know more about where he was.

We should go to Kuyden Kakita first," announced Kenuchio. "Perhaps we can get him the sword earlier, if he is also at Kuyden Kakita. He is the one who needs it. It's not safe with us. Ayame-san can't even use a blade, and none of the rest of us dare carry it. Besides, it's on the way to Western Hub Village."

Ikoma Neiji had to take his leave. But the rest of the group decided. As soon as all were well enough to walk, they would leave for Kuyden Kakita. If Lord Toshimoko could not be found there, they would follow word of him. If there was no word, they would take the risk of getting closer to Otosan Uchi and Western Hub Village, to see if, there, they could find and carry the Crane Clan sword to him.

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 8:28 pm
by Kakita Shiro
The False Hoturi is sighted!

I hope our plucky magistrates have what it takes to achieve their goals.

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 7:53 am
by Doji Pheelyp
That False Crane!

Calls The Lightning Part 2 - Flight of the Crane Part 3

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 10:10 am
by KakitaKaori
Hiruma Izuko felt a sense of foreboding before they had even left Beidan Keep. No one had noticed their departure…there were many samurai from many clans in Toturi’s army and the Jade Crab had already left. The guards were more interested in the fore-riders of the Unicorn that were just arriving anyway.

That foreboding led Izuko to suggest not taking the main road towards Kuyden Kakita. They knew the Lion who had abandoned Matsu Tsuko were traveling that way, and there would no doubt be complications in encountering their tail. But even following just the back roads in the midst of an unseasonably warm and bright late winter day did nothing to ease the Crab bushi’s mind. It had been ten years since she lit the flames of her young husband’s funeral pyre, watching stoically as he burned, victim of a goblin raid. She looked on the silly, naïve samurai of these luxurious lands with impatience, but a certain amount of fondness. Yes, they played foolish games, but they generally meant well, and wasn’t that the reason that the Crab fought, to free the children of the rest of the Empire to play their games and make their pretty pictures and polish their shiny armor and live in peace?

But maybe not now. Only a pair of desultory Daidoji challenged them on the border to Crane Lands, but barely glanced at their papers as they let them pass. The unease grew stronger, not less. The columns of cooksmoke no longer rose into the morning misty sky. The sound of birdsong no longer chorused their mornings. The very air was wrong. The land was wrong. It was not something she had ever hoped to see north of the Kaiu Wall.

One evening, they traveled off the road to an isolated farmhouse for the night, but found the farmhouse empty. A pot of half-cooked rice hung over the ashes of a cooking fire. A stench filled the air, but there were no traces of the inhabitants, only a single smear of brown across the steps leading out of the back of the house. Izuko scowled and urged the other magistrates back to the road while she scouted deeper into the rice paddies.

They met her on the road. “Oni,” she told them all, and spat on the ground as an invocation against the word. “There are goblins nearby as well. I can see their traces. Even the insects are dying. They are keeping away from the main road and large habitations…they are small and not emboldened. Maybe they are fleeing Beidan Pass, or maybe something else draws them. But we need to move quickly and quietly.”

After that, Izuko led the way. The further they traveled, the greater the number of traces of Shadowlands creatures collecting in the area there were.

At the end of the third day, Mirumoto Kenuchio frowned. “We will need to warn the Kakita. Can’t we find out what we are up against without being noticed?”

Izuko considered. “I don’t like the look of the road ahead anyway. There’s some high points along the crest line that have a view across the valley. If there are large movements of the creatures, we may be able to see the road from there for a number of miles, and the hills to either side. If we see a large oni, or a significant force of goblins, we can climb over the crest and down to the Imperial Highway north of us. That is the best we can do. We don’t have the men or the jade to fight a group of any size.”

Kenuchio assented and the group left the road to move to high ground.

The whole group began to feel the unease as they climbed, following the ridgeline parallel to the road, hidden amidst the light forest shrubs and pines. They moved quietly, Izuko in the lead. After a few hours, they reached the edge of the escarpment and followed it around a bend in the road to where the ridge opened up to a broader view of the countryside ahead. Another road intersected on the one they had been traveling. Above, a flock of some sort of black-winged bird flew by, screeching, and the eerie quiet caused the magistrates to duck down and hide at the ridgecrest, observing the roads.

The shrieking of the birds, strangely, did not die. Instead it grew louder, and from a distance they could see them, screeching and tumbling about the lumbering hulks of five large oni, a swarm of mountain goblins. All held their breath. Behind the oni and goblins came shambling ranks of dead samurai, some wearing the familiar colors of the recently-dead Crab. After that followed more disciplined ranks of samurai in red and black, their backs bearing the banner of the Scorpion. And there, at the center of the marching Scorpion army, mounted on a fine steed, they saw from afar the figure of a man in beautiful blue and white armor, his white hair streaming in the wind behind him. Doji Hoturi was marching towards Kuyden Kakita, and evil marched with him.

Not one magistrate made a sound as they withdraw, further back along the valley wall. After some difficult climbing, they crested the ridge between that valley and the next and, as fast as possible, raced down the hill toward the Imperial Road, not caring any more if they ran into Lion or Daidoji.

Kuyden Kakita must be warned at all costs. They only prayed they would make it in time.

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 8:52 pm
by Doji Pheelyp
1. What drama!!! That cliffhanger! :O

2. I particularly enjoyed this line for its insight into how the Crab think, "She looked on the silly, naïve samurai of these luxurious lands with impatience, but a certain amount of fondness. Yes, they played foolish games, but they generally meant well, and wasn’t that the reason that the Crab fought, to free the children of the rest of the Empire to play their games and make their pretty pictures and polish their shiny armor and live in peace?" Makes them personable, somehow.

3. Great description of the geography, and the building up of the tension.

Calls The Lightning Part 2 - Flight of the Crane Part 4

Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 4:05 pm
by KakitaKaori
(Thanks for the comments, Pheelyp!)

"A Dragon, a Moto, a Crab, and a maiden were traveling to the Kakita Academy..." The laughing voice hailed them from atop an artfully-placed boulder on the side of the road. "Either this is a great story in the making or an equally terrible joke." The magistrates had passed through the nearby village and were approaching the markers that indicated the academy grounds. The open gates of Kuyden Kakita lay beyond.

A man jumped with easy grace down to the road before them. He wore a well-made haori and hakama of sky blue silk, and his hair streamed from a long topknot. A sword moved at his side as if it were a part of him. He grinned. "Magistrates. My name is Kakita Hideyoshi. Welcome to our home. May I see your papers?"

Kenuchio offered the Kakita his papers, wracking his memory for the name that seemed so familiar. Hideyoshi got there first. "Mirumoto Kenuchio! I should have recognized you. Have you returned for a rematch?"

Kenuchio blinked as the Kakita's words caused the memories to slide into place. He was from a wealthy Dragon family, and as a child his father had taken the opportunity of his position to visit many of the finer gatherings in Rokugan. Once, when he was eight, he and his mother had traveled with his father to Crane lands. The Crane had been hospitable, as far as he could remember, and had arranged a children's tournament where the young students of their iaijutsu school could show off their developing skills.

For reasons Kenuchio had never known, his father was encouraged to enter his own son, who had been studying in the Mirumoto school, in the contest. Kenuchio did the best he could, of course, and did manage to win points against a number of his challengers. However, in the final round of the exhibition, he faced another child his age. The child laughed at him before defeating him completely in the duel that followed, but was serious as he lifted up the fallen Dragon and thanked him for such a good test of skill. That little boy, he now remembered, was named Kakita Hideyoshi.

How many years had he struggled to win the look of pride in his own father's face that Hideyoshi's father had shown that day?

Kenuchio gave a tired gesture of greeting. "No rematch, I assure you. We are racing here with terrible news and must speak with Lord Toshimoko or Lord Yoshi immediately, if either is here."

Hideyoshi shook his head. "I regret to say they are not. Lord Uji is in the area, coordinating our forces from an attack by the Lion, though why they strike at us now I'll never understand. Why start a war with us while Crab armies storm across the Empire? Word is that the legions of Jigoku march with them." Even as he spoke, he began leading them back into the keep.

If he glanced at Izuko's mon, he didn't make it apparent, and she pointedly ignored him.

Moto Koshi looked around. "Is that why so many have fled?" he asked. He was well aware of the signs of a group of people who have moved on.

Hideyoshi nodded. "If the Lion are attacking our borders, that meant they did not intend to fight the Crab. It seemed to us that the Crab therefore did not intend to fight the Lion either. Who else was there to attack? We cannot hold Kuyden Kakita against an army of tainted creatures. The academy is primarily a place of artists." He gave a self-conscious smirk."And a few kenshinzen."

The Crane led the magistrates through a most beautiful courtyard to a larger building on one side of it, rather than the Kuyden itself. "This is the council of the head sensei," he warned. "They are the head instructors of the Academy, and are in charge of the Academy and the keep in our daimyo's absence."

Though eager to report, the magistrates knew that decorum was important, and tried their best to be courteous in the presence of such a diverse group of masters.

They were first asked by the Calligraphy master who they were and where they had come from. Hideyoshi politely took their papers to him, and the Calligraphy master nodded approvingly. "Toshimoko-sama never took enough time on the lower cross stroke. This is his document," the master informed the others while the magistrates explained they had been sent by Toshimoko to investigate a report of problems in Unicorn lands and were returning when they were caught up in the battle at Beidan Keep.

"Is Beidan Keep still standing?" the painting master asked. "We heard that the Crab had been defeated most gloriously, so we no longer need to evacuate the Academy, but I am concerned about the keep itself. It was a beautiful structure, especially when the sun set over the western mountains from there."

The magistrates regretfully informed him that the keep was quite damaged, but still stood, thanks to the actions of Toturi and the Lion.

"Ah, Mono no aware," the sensei responded. "I will have to paint it in another season."

"Did anyone collect the Lions' final haiku?" the poetry master asked, but the magistrates had no idea.

"These Lion," one of the iaijutsu sensei cut in aggressively. "If they committed seppuku. Then who is Lord Uji fighting?" The magistrates tried to explain the fracturing of the Lion army, but the stodgey iaijutsu master just fired off more questions, unable to get past the idea that only part of the army broke off to march on the Crane, as though it were impossible that the army was sufficiently large to fight in both Beidan Pass and Crane Lands at the same time and not be easily defeated by Daidoji Uji.

The ikebana master laid a gentle hand on the iaijutsu master's arm, bringing him to a sputtering halt. "My friend," she said gently. "You have asked twelve questions already and I know you have more. But they are already wilting with weariness and still have not told us their important news." She turned to the magistrates. "I apologize. Please tell us what you have come so far to say."

Kenuchio stepped forward. "We were traveling by the back roads, trying to avoid both the Lion and your own Daidoji troops on the way here so as not to be caught in battle. As we traveled, we saw signs of corruption along the road. Thinking some oni may have escaped Beidan pass, we scouted further. We regret to say it was worse than we imagined. We saw, with our own eyes, the passing of a large army, at least four thousand strong. They are maybe a day and a half away. Oni. Goblins. Scorpion. They were being led by..." he trailed off when he saw Ayame shaking her head quickly. He thought for a moment. "We could not be certain. A man in blue and white armor." Ayame looked a little relieved.

The council erupted into discussion, and messages were immediately sent out. They could already hear the commands to resume the evacuations. Hideyoshi quietly led them away.

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 2:53 pm
by Doji Pheelyp
1. Such calm and graceful confidence that Hideyoshi had. What a personable kenshinzen. :)

2. The Calligraphy master noticing that lower cross stroke. :))

3. How frivolous some of the masters were! Glad that the ikebana master was serene and aware enough to focus on the real issue. :O

4. Wouldn't everyone else in the room have noticed Ayame quickly shaking her head though?

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 7:56 am
by Kakita Shiro

Calls The Lightning Part 2 - Flight of the Crane Part 5

Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 10:00 am
by KakitaKaori
"So...about that rematch..."

The courtyard was filled with activity, a coordinated dance that swirled around the two bushi as they walked together towards the gardens.

The magistrates had taken a few hours to eat and rest; the hospitality of the Crane overwhelming even in the midst of an evacuation. They then scattered to do what they could to help...Izuko and Eiko offering advice to the Daidoji on trapping the grounds around the keep, while Koshi helped handle the ponies and oxen that were pulling carts of the artifacts Ayame was working with the artisans to prepare.

Mirumoto Kenuchio found himself walking with Kakita Hideyoshi through the academy grounds, watching the preparations with a bleak resignation. He looked up. "I told you I didn't come to duel you."

Hideyoshi smiled. "I know. But I was hoping you would anyway. Just with boken. For old time's sake?"

Kenuchio was flabbergasted. "Now? This whole Kuyden is about to be overrun by a tainted hoard of madmen. There is no way the Shiba or the Daidoji will return in time to save it. Your people are fleeing for their lives, and you want to have a duel now?"

"Well, given all that, there won't be much opportunity to after, will there?" Hideyoshi's tone turned serious. "Please. One last duel for the joy of the art. I doubt the oni are going to appreciate my skills."

"You're staying." It was not a question.

"This is my home. Our home. We are abandoning it, now, I know. The treasures here…the skills in the hands of the artisans. The stories they tell, the works they created. These are the things that elevate us above the beasts around us. They remind us we are children of the celestial heavens, teach us to look upward, to strive to be our best selves. These things must be protected. We are fleeing to save them." Hideyoshi slowly turned in place, looking over the early springtime beauty of the garden around him. "Still...there is much that is precious here that we cannot take with us. This place is ours. We won't dishonor it by leaving it undefended. Hoturi will pay dearly for what he destroys today."

"You know it is Doji Hoturi, then?"

Hideyoshi nodded. "We guessed. We'd heard rumors. The Master Sensei know it too, of course, but your Asahina maiden was wise not to let you tell them. They would die of shame to hear it said from another clan samurai's lips." He grinned again. "You should hurry up and marry her before she decides you'll never get around to it."

Kenuchio choked a bit and blushed. Quickly changing the subject, he returned, "You'll defeat me, of course."

Kakita Hideyoshi reached a weapon rack on one side of the garden and carefully removed his katana.
Kenuchio did the same. As Hideyoshi retrieved some practice weapons, he answered, "Of course. But you'll learn from me. Only a fool fails to learn from a defeat, after all. You will take that learning with you, deeper into this great story of yours, and then I can be a part of it too. I am eager to find out where it will take you."

"Hideyoshi-san..."

"Catch." The Kenshinzen tossed the wooden boken to Kenuchio, and, after a second, tossed him a shorter wakizashi-length practice blade as well.

The two took their stance.

There are moments where time stops, when haiku can be composed between two heartbeats, when the wideness of the world distills down to a single point. Until all explodes into motion and fury and is still again.

Kenuchio's arm stung from the strike of the boken, but he knew he had heard at least one solid wooden click as his blade had intercepted his opponent's, if only for a moment. He forced himself to remember the exact move that Hideyoshi had used to circle around his guard after the first hit. He bowed.

Hideyoshi bowed in return.



The remaining hours did not stand still; they went by in a blur. The magistrates, at the politely-hinted request of the Master Sensei, agreed to help guard the last of the wagons and refugees fleeing the keep until they were a safe distance from Hoturi's army. Some of the wagons were traveling east, to Kuyden Doji, while others headed south, to the safety of Shinden Asahina.

The smell of the goblins reached them before they had traveled a thousand yards southeast of the keep, the creaking wagon beside them loaded to bursting. The magistrates could not help themselves; they had to pause and turn back to watch the end, however briefly.

The goblins and oni maintained incredible discipline for their kind, waiting as the mounted, white-haired rider approached the keep. The magistrates could not hear what was shouted, but they saw atop the walls the twenty kenshinzen who guarded the keep, flashes of white and silver and blue sparkling in the morning sun. At the center, they could see the distinctive cerulean of Hideyoshi’s kimono among them. Hoturi gestured with his drawn katana. With an obscene roar, his madmen and goblins surged forward. The kenshinzen leapt down into the fray like lances from heaven, and chaos erupted around them. Time and again Hoturi’s creatures and Scorpion samurai pulled back from the whirling death that had erupted in their midst, but always they flowed back upon the kenshinzen and overwhelmed them.

Some of the creatures, eager for the easy prey found in the caravan, came after the magistrates, and they were not allowed the privilege of watching that last battle at Kuyden Kakita. But Kenuchio, after slashing down a red-armored samurai with a scowling mempo, had a moment to breathe, and looked up to see if any trace of the kenshinzen remained. Smoke was already curling in the walls of the Kuyden. A glimmer of sky blue caught his eye. On a large rock near the road, surrounded by foes grabbing at him from every side, his childhood rival danced out of their reach, his sword flashing. Drenched in blood, he waved at the departing caravan from afar before diving into the armies before him to make his last stand.

Kakita Hideyoshi. The Last Kenshinzen.

Re: Calls The Lightning Part 2 - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaig

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 8:05 am
by Doji Pheelyp