Mister Andersen
Shinobi 16
Mister Andersen
Mister Andersen
(Mar 15 - Arp 11, 2011)
(GM OOC: In the interest of not getting held up much longer, I'll let the scene with Takao and Toshibia play out a little longer, but let us assume that they at some point finish murdering seagulls at the docks and return home. Hence, we fast-forward...)
It's quieter now in Kargbeck, the fervor of the masses having died down a little in favor of simply waiting for results. The streets are emptier, too. Either the city watch got things under control better, or people are starting to realize that these are not safe times to be out and about. Nevertheless, it makes it easier to move mostly unnoticed, and eventually, you all find your way to a neutral meeting spot - a warehouse of some description. Some, like, Kasumi and Yukio, received a personal invitation from the Messenger. Others, like Takao and Toshiba, simply follow in their wake, having been concerned with more practical things than waiting on a foul-tempered ninja to deign to communicate how their grand plan should proceed. And still some others, like Aiko and Kagemaru, follow in the shadows; Kagemaru because it suits him, Aiko because she's not, you know, officially on the team yet.
Eventually, however, everyone has to enter the warehouse. Cards on the table. Looks are exchanged. There are six of you now - Toshi is still safely at Knut's home, holding down the fort. Only when you are all assembled and start wondering whether Ms. Ninja Princess is going to show does she do just that. Dropping down from the crossbeams up above, she lands gracefully and gives a silent gaze to all of you.
Man, those ninjas. Always with the dramatic entrances.
After her eyes have swept the warehouse, her hands slowly reach up, and she pulls the mask off her face. Not an easy gesture for a shadow warrior. She holds the mask in her hands, kneads it, then looks up and speaks.
"My name is Nagani, Fourth of the Ayami clan. I have called you here for a singular purpose."
She sinks down to her knees and bows deeply.
"I beg of you to lend me your aid in saving my brother!"
"I thought he was getting better, that you had found him a proper healer," Toshiba wonders aloud. He looks to Kasumi and Nagani and Yukio, all those who had been with Sadatsugu recently.
Kasumi looks to Nagani with concern. "I thought he was getting better," she says. "Is Sadatsugu all right?"
The Messe-- Nagani collects herself off the ground. She seems slightly annoyed that you did not directly engage her plea, and with that, some of the familiar haughtiness is back.
"He is as well as can be expected," she mumbles, "but not if he had his way." She casts her eyes downward. "As his strength grows, so does his capacity to do something stupid. And he's set his mind to proving himself all over again. He would assassinate the whole of the city guard to secure us passage out of the city, had he the strength to stand. I have tried to tell him that we are handling the matter, but...he suffers most from his wounded pride. And I do not wish to see him attempt something stupid, nor to raise a hand against him in restraint."
Kasumi smiles and shakes her head. "It can't ever be easy." She returns Nagani's bow. "Of course, I will honor my promise, and help you save your brother. Even if it's from himself."
Takao first musters the two new people he hasn't met yet, especially Kagemaru. What started out as a simple musha shugyo has become a rather strange tale: foreign weapons of power, and now mystical black-clad ninja, or at least people who think they are ninja. The shadowy ghosts called shinobi don't exist after all, or do they? The bewildering feeling is amplified when another one of the ninja drops from the ceiling. Takao looks briefly at Toshiba and raises a questioning eyebrow, but the look that Toshiba gives him feels more like "Business as usual."
Listening to the woman who calls herself Nagani, it sounds to Takao like the problem is a petulant boy, who needs a sound thrashing, or maybe bandaged to his bed, but he is new to this group, so he will let the others do the talking for now, and instead just observe. Listening with only one ear to the conversation, he lets his attention wander through the warehouse. Who knows what kind of folk these people might attract?
Aiko absorbs the conversation taking place in front of her, quickly coming to the conclusion that she stands in the company if not of the assassin of the gaijin official then at least in that of those who have aided and abetted that heinous act. Oh in the Emperor's name how she yearns for the sage advice of her lord in this troublesome and desperate hour!
Her first instinct is to act to bring them to justice. For all her dedication, there are simply too many of them them, their qualities too unknown, to simply strike them down. And even though she believes Herr Adler's claims as to the self-serving nature of the city's chief constable, these ninja do still have his ear while she remains an unknown factor and possibly a target in her own right.
And yet, these people with their strange honour that places the continued well being of their immediates above higher obligations... are they a lesser evil that she can tolerate, let alone truly trust? By the Emperor, she prays that it is so!
"I'll help you," Yukio says. Aiko's eyes scan her quickly. She has the broad shoulders of a powerful warrior, and the well-worn scabbard of her blade reveals that it is frequent used. But that is to be expected in a group of rogues. What draws Aiko's attention much more is the frequent looks Yukio gives to the other woman - Kasumi. Frankly, they look like they should affix a "Just Married" board to the back of their wagon, and neither has gone to much effort to hide it.
"Our fates seem to be intertwined thus far, why not a little farther?" Toshiba mostly-agrees. "I just hope they are not twisted round into a hangman's rope..." Toshiba trails off as he raises an eyebrow as he realizes hey, new person.
He bows to Aiko. "It is always a pleasure to meet new people in shady locations on shady business," he says. "Who are you and why are you here?"
Aiko regards Toshiba, recognising in him certain similarities to herself. "Vendetta," she answers. "It appears that we may well share common enemies whom owe us debts of blood."
"Mysterious friend / Our foes learn this lesson well: / Payback is a bitch," Toshiba haikus in response. "Now, to action," he suggests to the assembly. "Nagani has explained the problem. What would you have us do?"
"I've run into a coincidence," Nagani says. "After some initial reconnaissance, my instinct was to implicate the Count of Champagne. He's a local attraction, and from what I've gathered, high on the list of suspects for the magistrate's murder. But when I looked into him, I found that he has already involved himself in the case - by hiring another ninja clan to search the city for the assassin. I'm not sure why he's acting that way, but he's still the strongest candidate. Apparently, he's hosting a celebration at the city theater this evening - he claims he wants to give something back to the city, and to put the collective mind at ease. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of trap, but I also think he's expecting just the assassin to show, not us. That's as close as we're likely to get at such short notice. I have heard that the Count essentially lives in his private box seat. If we could simply get in there, hide the murder weapon there, and get out undiscovered - you could lead Van Synt there, 'discover' the weapon and have him arrest the Count."
Nagani shrugs.
"But that's just my first thought."
Aiko's jaw clenches. It's not the first fit-up she's participated in, but still... In the end, she just can't help herself.
"Is the murder weapon truly so unique that only you possess it?" she asks. Well, challenges really. "Blood is blood, a blade is a blade. Unless the gaijin possess the power of divination -- which the very need of this plot suggests is not the case -- why should their constables and magistrates believe any weapon planted on this Lord to be proof of guilt, especially when it is meant to be an Imperial citizen responsible for the assassination?"
The former Inquisitor shakes her head, in her element and hating herself for it. "You must either link him in the eyes of the gaijin to this other clan, these 'Killer Bees', as the instigator of the plot, or else invalidate the testimony of those who placed a ninja at the scene of the murder either by proving them unreliable or by demonstrating they did not see what they thought."
"Exactly," Toshiba agrees. "Certainly any hairy devil who would ally himself with ninja is clearly up to no good. What use could he have with assassins except to, well, you know, assassinate people? And who's to say it stops with one dead magistrate?" Toshiba grins evilly. "No need for evidence - just get the mob convinced they've got their man and you are sitting pretty."
Takao's attention returns to the conversation on short order. He expected this group to have shady business, given the measure of suspicion he encountered thus far, but this goes further than he expected. The group is somehow involved in the murder? Isn't that what Nagani implied? And now someone else is to be implicated? At least the target is not an honorable official or daimyo, but instead one of the foreigners. Of course, tales abound how daimyo use every measure at their disposal to defeat their enemies, stooping even to treachery and deceit, but those things are beyond a normal samurai. The woman with the blue eyes seems to share this discomfort, yet her mind appears capable of conceiving treachery just as easily as the "ninja" appear to be. Takao is clearly discomforted at the fact that he agreed to help this group. He continues to follow the conversation intently; perhaps there is an honorable solution, or at least a less dishonorable one.
Kasumi shakes her head. "No, it is bad enough that we are framing someone for this crime. We're not inciting a riot for the purposes of covering our tracks. We will find out what proof we need, we will plant it on this magistrate's person, and we will let Van Synt do what he needs to do, and that is all. Anyone with a bloody Imperial weapon near the magistrate's booth will be very likely put to death no matter what weapon it is, so we might as well use the right one. Van Synt is lazy, but not stupid. I would rather not have to bet against him figuring out that we substituted a fake."
She then turns to look at this new woman. "Unless you know something that we do not. You suggested that we prove that their witness is unreliable. We might need to do that, independent of planting the evidence on this 'Count of Champagne'. How do you suggest we do that?" She takes a step forward, eyeing the stranger and sizing her up. "And who are you, anyway?"
Aiko keeps her place, returning Kasumi's scrutiny unflinchingly. She bites back her initial answer, the one that would have faulted the ninja for failing to offer his life for his failure and for the benefit of his comrades. Instead, she simply introduces herself with a curt bow of the head and repeats her claim of vendetta.
"Simply having a vendetta does not explain how we might prove their witness is unreliable," Toshiba calls Aiko out on her misdirection. "As for names, well..." he shrugs. "My name is Toshiba Shiretoko, and I am a simple woodsman." Toshiba falters a step on the last bit, as if he knows it's not accurate anymore but the man in the suit of ornate oni-styled armor doesn't have a name for what he is now. "We can make up a name for you, it matters little."
"She does have a point," Nagani says. "I have studied the foreigners' legal system, if it can be called that. They place their faith in grandiose accusations and eyewitnesses, not more factual evidence. If we can deprive Van Synt of his witnesses that saw the assassin flee, one way or another, he will have to at least change his angle -- he will have to plead with the judge that only an Imperial assassin could have gotten close enough to the magistrate, but that is a far weaker argument than having a man on the stand who can point a finger at my brother."
Takao takes measure of the speakers as each has his turn, gauging their attitude to the problem at hand:
(Sense Motive: 1d20+20 = 40
(GM OOC: Holy crap! Wanna activate that?)
(Takao OOC: Yep. I'm assuming no one is holding any treacherous thoughts at this point, but everyone is focused mostly on their own priorities. Please edit if I'm mistaken.)
Takao senses the strong ties of loyalty between the ninja, the kind of loyalty that has little regard for anything else. He admires this strong chugi, but such imbalance in the virtues of the bushido is not the way of the samurai. The newcomer? She also is driven by loyalty, a loyalty that is causing her to seek revenge. Of all the people present, she seems to be the most honorable, and Takao is certain she disfavors the setup.
As Nagani finishes speaking, Takao take a step forward, and says in his deep voice "Suntzu-roshi writes: an entire army can be made invisible if the opponent faces a greater and more immediate threat. He also recognizes that a man who raises an army likely intends to use it, unless he is wealthy indeed. I cannot fathom the resources required to keep a clan of ninja on retainer, but one should think he intends to use it soon, and it won't be for the good of this city. If the Count could be exposed for the danger that he is, would not the assassination of one minor magistrate fall by the way?"
"He was not a minor magistrate," Nagani says by way of objection. "The city is whipped in a frenzy over this event -- I do not believe we can create a scandal big enough to fully distract Van Synt. Besides, such exposure will lock the city down further. I am a ninja, not a soldier, and in my opinion, it is better to work on putting out one fire than to start a bigger one next to it and hope it consumes the original blaze."
Kasumi looks back to Nagani. "Go back a bit. What did you mean, deprive Van Synt of witnesses?"
Takao looks at Nagani: "The embers of this new fire may already be glowing, and it could blaze any time. Would you not rather be prepared for this blaze, and able to direct its course, than be surprised? Who can tell two fires apart after they have finished burning?"
"I've no interest in this city beyond delivering my brother from it," Nagani says. "Your counsel would be well-considered, if I wanted to keep working here. But I do not."
She looks to Kasumi.
"We could impugn the character of those witnesses, make them seem unreliable or in the pocket of another master. Or we could make them disappear." She pauses for a moment. "That does not necessarily require killing them."
"But it probably will at some point," Kasumi says. She looks between Nagani, Takao and...new girl. "What if there was a way we could handle all issues at once?" She looks back to Nagani. "What do you know about these Killer Bees? Are they boisterous, or desperate to make a name for themselves?"
"They are bold, but not in the way of the Red Dragons... Killer Bees are shock troops. Their individual skill is limited, but they work together well. Their clan does not encourage its members to brag about their achievements." Nagani shrugs. "As far as clans go, they have always struck me as one of the more... economical ones. A better breed of bandit, not much more. But they come cheap."
"Could they conceivably have committed the assassiation, to foreign eyes?" Kasumi shrugs. "Far easier to convince them that a ninja clan committed the murder than one of their own magistrates. And then, we link the magistrate to the clan, and to the murder. Simple, direct, and doesn't require killing any more people."
"That should be easy enough," Nagani says. "To the foreigners - most of them - the ninja hold a mystic appeal. They are fascinated by the idea, but hardly conversant on the different clans. One shinobi should be as good as any other to the masses here."
"Then we just slip the murder weapon into their stores, and reveal their location to Van Synt. Maybe leave something linking them directly to the Count - that is, if we need to. They might be sloppy enough to have such evidence lying about." Kasumi looks back to Takao and New Girl. "The Count goes down for killing the Magistrate and for his ties to the Killer Bees, their operations are disrupted in this city, and we avoid any further bloodshed. Yes?"
Aiko rolls her eyes. It's bad enough she has to ally herself with these people, but do they have to be such tools?
"Oh, for the love of the Emperor! What did your bro--, what did the killer use that was so unique that it and only it could have caused the Magistrate's death?" she snaps. "Is there even still a body with wounds they could compare the difference between a dagger and a katana against?
"Yes, some sort of shocked amateur might keep the bloody autograph of their crime in their possession, but professional mu-- killers would discard the weapon altogether or at the very least clean the damn thing. This obsession you have with planting the crimson blade is foolery out of a kabuki and will only end in your exposure as both guilty party and blithering idiot."
Takao nods: "The plan is a good one."
Nagani looks to Kagemaru and Aiko. "Perhaps your friend Adler can help us locate the Killer Bees?"
Kasumi shrugs. "I don't know. But whether or not we have the genuine article in our possession, they're still going to kill whoever goes into their base and gets caught in the process, and if, by some miracle, they are able to compare it, then we're screwed. It eliminates a complication. Why take the chance at all?"
She takes a few steps towards New Girl. "And again, who are you? You're awfully bossy for someone who hasn't said their name or what they're doing here beyond some vendetta, and you're awfully keen on us keeping a murder weapon in our possession."
"Aiko Inaba," she says, beginning to seriously doubt her sanity. "And for ninja you seem woefully inept at both the commission of crime and handling its aftermath. Why for the love of the Emperor do you still have the incriminating blade, presumably still covered in its victim's blood? If nothing else, it shows a poor regard for the tools of your profession; even a lowly bushi makes an effort to wipe his blade clean before sheathing it. But if you're truly trying to cover your trail, it should either be at the bottom of the harbour or melted down in a forge by now given you've been skulking about for a week since the incident."
The former inquisitor's personal distaste for the situation she's in combined with what can only be professional assessment combines in a withering tone. The sort she'd blast the constables that had once been under her command for a truly inept performance in apprehending a felon.
Kasumi sees the incoming storm brewing after those comments, and simply stands to the side of the line of sight between Nagani and Aiko.
Aiko however is in full flow, months of anger and grief and frustration finally finding an outlet. She's never been the most tactful person, and it's frankly stressing the very limits of her personality that her loyalty to her fallen lord is stopping her from simply walking out and grassing the lot of these fools to the authorities.
"Since you brother's honourable death is not an option open to us, the most expedient solution of gifting the gaijin with a week-old body is denied us. Placing a bloody weapon within the gambit of the foreign lord is both recklessly self-endangering and largely pointless because any blade could be responsible for the death and would only succeed in making it look like the true killers were desperate enough to attempt to implicate the wrong person; even if he might be somehow connected because there is no conceivable reason that a Lord who commissioned a crime would so foolishly claim the weapon with which it was committed only to leave it where it might be found to incriminate him."
As this tirade thunders out, she doesn't even move, her arms kept forcibly crossed against her chest.
"The only option left to you is either removing the testimony of the guards from the equation, and in a manner that doesn't leave further blood on Imperial hands, or allowing the Gaijin to think they've caught the same criminal committing another act. For example, how easily could you apprehend one of these Killer Bees? Specifically, wearing the uniform of their clan?
"With one of us wearing that uniform, another crime is staged, designed to be interrupted before it is completed. A chase ensues, which either ends with the discovery of the ninja having fallen to their death while escaping justice, of unmasked to reveal a gaijin beneath the costume."
"Then it is settled," Toshiba finally says. "I intend to infiltrate the Killer Bees' refuge and discover a link between them and the Count of Champagne. With such evidence, we can have Van Synt arrest the Count and be done with this felonious ballyhoo we've gotten tied up in. Who amongst us feels like trolling for Killer Bees before lunch?"
Toshiba raises his hand and looks around, mostly at Kagemaru. The ninja's fought the Bees before and he's either just as or more silent than Toshiba.
Kagemaru lifts his hand too, with a smile under his mask. "I can't wait Toshiba."
(GM OOC: So, I think that's enough information to get to planning. You have the party at the theater later today for social-fu applications, and locating the Killer Bee hideout. Who's going where? Is someone doing something else?)
(Toshiba OOC: I'm going after the Bees, which is kind of obvious but I figured I'd state it explicitly.)
(Kasumi OOC: Kasumi will feel out the party at the theater, and maybe get what we need from the Count to incriminate him, if we need anything. Also, she's there in case things go south and it's time to cut some bitches.
)
(Aiko OOC: Aiko is a walking Investigate/Sense Motive machine, so point her in the right direction)
(GM OOC: In the interest of not getting held up much longer, I'll let the scene with Takao and Toshibia play out a little longer, but let us assume that they at some point finish murdering seagulls at the docks and return home. Hence, we fast-forward...)
It's quieter now in Kargbeck, the fervor of the masses having died down a little in favor of simply waiting for results. The streets are emptier, too. Either the city watch got things under control better, or people are starting to realize that these are not safe times to be out and about. Nevertheless, it makes it easier to move mostly unnoticed, and eventually, you all find your way to a neutral meeting spot - a warehouse of some description. Some, like, Kasumi and Yukio, received a personal invitation from the Messenger. Others, like Takao and Toshiba, simply follow in their wake, having been concerned with more practical things than waiting on a foul-tempered ninja to deign to communicate how their grand plan should proceed. And still some others, like Aiko and Kagemaru, follow in the shadows; Kagemaru because it suits him, Aiko because she's not, you know, officially on the team yet.
Eventually, however, everyone has to enter the warehouse. Cards on the table. Looks are exchanged. There are six of you now - Toshi is still safely at Knut's home, holding down the fort. Only when you are all assembled and start wondering whether Ms. Ninja Princess is going to show does she do just that. Dropping down from the crossbeams up above, she lands gracefully and gives a silent gaze to all of you.
Man, those ninjas. Always with the dramatic entrances.
After her eyes have swept the warehouse, her hands slowly reach up, and she pulls the mask off her face. Not an easy gesture for a shadow warrior. She holds the mask in her hands, kneads it, then looks up and speaks.
"My name is Nagani, Fourth of the Ayami clan. I have called you here for a singular purpose."
She sinks down to her knees and bows deeply.
"I beg of you to lend me your aid in saving my brother!"
"I thought he was getting better, that you had found him a proper healer," Toshiba wonders aloud. He looks to Kasumi and Nagani and Yukio, all those who had been with Sadatsugu recently.
Kasumi looks to Nagani with concern. "I thought he was getting better," she says. "Is Sadatsugu all right?"
The Messe-- Nagani collects herself off the ground. She seems slightly annoyed that you did not directly engage her plea, and with that, some of the familiar haughtiness is back.
"He is as well as can be expected," she mumbles, "but not if he had his way." She casts her eyes downward. "As his strength grows, so does his capacity to do something stupid. And he's set his mind to proving himself all over again. He would assassinate the whole of the city guard to secure us passage out of the city, had he the strength to stand. I have tried to tell him that we are handling the matter, but...he suffers most from his wounded pride. And I do not wish to see him attempt something stupid, nor to raise a hand against him in restraint."
Kasumi smiles and shakes her head. "It can't ever be easy." She returns Nagani's bow. "Of course, I will honor my promise, and help you save your brother. Even if it's from himself."
Takao first musters the two new people he hasn't met yet, especially Kagemaru. What started out as a simple musha shugyo has become a rather strange tale: foreign weapons of power, and now mystical black-clad ninja, or at least people who think they are ninja. The shadowy ghosts called shinobi don't exist after all, or do they? The bewildering feeling is amplified when another one of the ninja drops from the ceiling. Takao looks briefly at Toshiba and raises a questioning eyebrow, but the look that Toshiba gives him feels more like "Business as usual."
Listening to the woman who calls herself Nagani, it sounds to Takao like the problem is a petulant boy, who needs a sound thrashing, or maybe bandaged to his bed, but he is new to this group, so he will let the others do the talking for now, and instead just observe. Listening with only one ear to the conversation, he lets his attention wander through the warehouse. Who knows what kind of folk these people might attract?
Aiko absorbs the conversation taking place in front of her, quickly coming to the conclusion that she stands in the company if not of the assassin of the gaijin official then at least in that of those who have aided and abetted that heinous act. Oh in the Emperor's name how she yearns for the sage advice of her lord in this troublesome and desperate hour!
Her first instinct is to act to bring them to justice. For all her dedication, there are simply too many of them them, their qualities too unknown, to simply strike them down. And even though she believes Herr Adler's claims as to the self-serving nature of the city's chief constable, these ninja do still have his ear while she remains an unknown factor and possibly a target in her own right.
And yet, these people with their strange honour that places the continued well being of their immediates above higher obligations... are they a lesser evil that she can tolerate, let alone truly trust? By the Emperor, she prays that it is so!
"I'll help you," Yukio says. Aiko's eyes scan her quickly. She has the broad shoulders of a powerful warrior, and the well-worn scabbard of her blade reveals that it is frequent used. But that is to be expected in a group of rogues. What draws Aiko's attention much more is the frequent looks Yukio gives to the other woman - Kasumi. Frankly, they look like they should affix a "Just Married" board to the back of their wagon, and neither has gone to much effort to hide it.
"Our fates seem to be intertwined thus far, why not a little farther?" Toshiba mostly-agrees. "I just hope they are not twisted round into a hangman's rope..." Toshiba trails off as he raises an eyebrow as he realizes hey, new person.
He bows to Aiko. "It is always a pleasure to meet new people in shady locations on shady business," he says. "Who are you and why are you here?"
Aiko regards Toshiba, recognising in him certain similarities to herself. "Vendetta," she answers. "It appears that we may well share common enemies whom owe us debts of blood."
"Mysterious friend / Our foes learn this lesson well: / Payback is a bitch," Toshiba haikus in response. "Now, to action," he suggests to the assembly. "Nagani has explained the problem. What would you have us do?"
"I've run into a coincidence," Nagani says. "After some initial reconnaissance, my instinct was to implicate the Count of Champagne. He's a local attraction, and from what I've gathered, high on the list of suspects for the magistrate's murder. But when I looked into him, I found that he has already involved himself in the case - by hiring another ninja clan to search the city for the assassin. I'm not sure why he's acting that way, but he's still the strongest candidate. Apparently, he's hosting a celebration at the city theater this evening - he claims he wants to give something back to the city, and to put the collective mind at ease. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of trap, but I also think he's expecting just the assassin to show, not us. That's as close as we're likely to get at such short notice. I have heard that the Count essentially lives in his private box seat. If we could simply get in there, hide the murder weapon there, and get out undiscovered - you could lead Van Synt there, 'discover' the weapon and have him arrest the Count."
Nagani shrugs.
"But that's just my first thought."
Aiko's jaw clenches. It's not the first fit-up she's participated in, but still... In the end, she just can't help herself.
"Is the murder weapon truly so unique that only you possess it?" she asks. Well, challenges really. "Blood is blood, a blade is a blade. Unless the gaijin possess the power of divination -- which the very need of this plot suggests is not the case -- why should their constables and magistrates believe any weapon planted on this Lord to be proof of guilt, especially when it is meant to be an Imperial citizen responsible for the assassination?"
The former Inquisitor shakes her head, in her element and hating herself for it. "You must either link him in the eyes of the gaijin to this other clan, these 'Killer Bees', as the instigator of the plot, or else invalidate the testimony of those who placed a ninja at the scene of the murder either by proving them unreliable or by demonstrating they did not see what they thought."
"Exactly," Toshiba agrees. "Certainly any hairy devil who would ally himself with ninja is clearly up to no good. What use could he have with assassins except to, well, you know, assassinate people? And who's to say it stops with one dead magistrate?" Toshiba grins evilly. "No need for evidence - just get the mob convinced they've got their man and you are sitting pretty."
Takao's attention returns to the conversation on short order. He expected this group to have shady business, given the measure of suspicion he encountered thus far, but this goes further than he expected. The group is somehow involved in the murder? Isn't that what Nagani implied? And now someone else is to be implicated? At least the target is not an honorable official or daimyo, but instead one of the foreigners. Of course, tales abound how daimyo use every measure at their disposal to defeat their enemies, stooping even to treachery and deceit, but those things are beyond a normal samurai. The woman with the blue eyes seems to share this discomfort, yet her mind appears capable of conceiving treachery just as easily as the "ninja" appear to be. Takao is clearly discomforted at the fact that he agreed to help this group. He continues to follow the conversation intently; perhaps there is an honorable solution, or at least a less dishonorable one.
Kasumi shakes her head. "No, it is bad enough that we are framing someone for this crime. We're not inciting a riot for the purposes of covering our tracks. We will find out what proof we need, we will plant it on this magistrate's person, and we will let Van Synt do what he needs to do, and that is all. Anyone with a bloody Imperial weapon near the magistrate's booth will be very likely put to death no matter what weapon it is, so we might as well use the right one. Van Synt is lazy, but not stupid. I would rather not have to bet against him figuring out that we substituted a fake."
She then turns to look at this new woman. "Unless you know something that we do not. You suggested that we prove that their witness is unreliable. We might need to do that, independent of planting the evidence on this 'Count of Champagne'. How do you suggest we do that?" She takes a step forward, eyeing the stranger and sizing her up. "And who are you, anyway?"
Aiko keeps her place, returning Kasumi's scrutiny unflinchingly. She bites back her initial answer, the one that would have faulted the ninja for failing to offer his life for his failure and for the benefit of his comrades. Instead, she simply introduces herself with a curt bow of the head and repeats her claim of vendetta.
"Simply having a vendetta does not explain how we might prove their witness is unreliable," Toshiba calls Aiko out on her misdirection. "As for names, well..." he shrugs. "My name is Toshiba Shiretoko, and I am a simple woodsman." Toshiba falters a step on the last bit, as if he knows it's not accurate anymore but the man in the suit of ornate oni-styled armor doesn't have a name for what he is now. "We can make up a name for you, it matters little."
"She does have a point," Nagani says. "I have studied the foreigners' legal system, if it can be called that. They place their faith in grandiose accusations and eyewitnesses, not more factual evidence. If we can deprive Van Synt of his witnesses that saw the assassin flee, one way or another, he will have to at least change his angle -- he will have to plead with the judge that only an Imperial assassin could have gotten close enough to the magistrate, but that is a far weaker argument than having a man on the stand who can point a finger at my brother."
Takao takes measure of the speakers as each has his turn, gauging their attitude to the problem at hand:
(Sense Motive: 1d20+20 = 40
(GM OOC: Holy crap! Wanna activate that?)
(Takao OOC: Yep. I'm assuming no one is holding any treacherous thoughts at this point, but everyone is focused mostly on their own priorities. Please edit if I'm mistaken.)
Takao senses the strong ties of loyalty between the ninja, the kind of loyalty that has little regard for anything else. He admires this strong chugi, but such imbalance in the virtues of the bushido is not the way of the samurai. The newcomer? She also is driven by loyalty, a loyalty that is causing her to seek revenge. Of all the people present, she seems to be the most honorable, and Takao is certain she disfavors the setup.
As Nagani finishes speaking, Takao take a step forward, and says in his deep voice "Suntzu-roshi writes: an entire army can be made invisible if the opponent faces a greater and more immediate threat. He also recognizes that a man who raises an army likely intends to use it, unless he is wealthy indeed. I cannot fathom the resources required to keep a clan of ninja on retainer, but one should think he intends to use it soon, and it won't be for the good of this city. If the Count could be exposed for the danger that he is, would not the assassination of one minor magistrate fall by the way?"
"He was not a minor magistrate," Nagani says by way of objection. "The city is whipped in a frenzy over this event -- I do not believe we can create a scandal big enough to fully distract Van Synt. Besides, such exposure will lock the city down further. I am a ninja, not a soldier, and in my opinion, it is better to work on putting out one fire than to start a bigger one next to it and hope it consumes the original blaze."
Kasumi looks back to Nagani. "Go back a bit. What did you mean, deprive Van Synt of witnesses?"
Takao looks at Nagani: "The embers of this new fire may already be glowing, and it could blaze any time. Would you not rather be prepared for this blaze, and able to direct its course, than be surprised? Who can tell two fires apart after they have finished burning?"
"I've no interest in this city beyond delivering my brother from it," Nagani says. "Your counsel would be well-considered, if I wanted to keep working here. But I do not."
She looks to Kasumi.
"We could impugn the character of those witnesses, make them seem unreliable or in the pocket of another master. Or we could make them disappear." She pauses for a moment. "That does not necessarily require killing them."
"But it probably will at some point," Kasumi says. She looks between Nagani, Takao and...new girl. "What if there was a way we could handle all issues at once?" She looks back to Nagani. "What do you know about these Killer Bees? Are they boisterous, or desperate to make a name for themselves?"
"They are bold, but not in the way of the Red Dragons... Killer Bees are shock troops. Their individual skill is limited, but they work together well. Their clan does not encourage its members to brag about their achievements." Nagani shrugs. "As far as clans go, they have always struck me as one of the more... economical ones. A better breed of bandit, not much more. But they come cheap."
"Could they conceivably have committed the assassiation, to foreign eyes?" Kasumi shrugs. "Far easier to convince them that a ninja clan committed the murder than one of their own magistrates. And then, we link the magistrate to the clan, and to the murder. Simple, direct, and doesn't require killing any more people."
"That should be easy enough," Nagani says. "To the foreigners - most of them - the ninja hold a mystic appeal. They are fascinated by the idea, but hardly conversant on the different clans. One shinobi should be as good as any other to the masses here."
"Then we just slip the murder weapon into their stores, and reveal their location to Van Synt. Maybe leave something linking them directly to the Count - that is, if we need to. They might be sloppy enough to have such evidence lying about." Kasumi looks back to Takao and New Girl. "The Count goes down for killing the Magistrate and for his ties to the Killer Bees, their operations are disrupted in this city, and we avoid any further bloodshed. Yes?"
Aiko rolls her eyes. It's bad enough she has to ally herself with these people, but do they have to be such tools?
"Oh, for the love of the Emperor! What did your bro--, what did the killer use that was so unique that it and only it could have caused the Magistrate's death?" she snaps. "Is there even still a body with wounds they could compare the difference between a dagger and a katana against?
"Yes, some sort of shocked amateur might keep the bloody autograph of their crime in their possession, but professional mu-- killers would discard the weapon altogether or at the very least clean the damn thing. This obsession you have with planting the crimson blade is foolery out of a kabuki and will only end in your exposure as both guilty party and blithering idiot."
Takao nods: "The plan is a good one."
Nagani looks to Kagemaru and Aiko. "Perhaps your friend Adler can help us locate the Killer Bees?"
Kasumi shrugs. "I don't know. But whether or not we have the genuine article in our possession, they're still going to kill whoever goes into their base and gets caught in the process, and if, by some miracle, they are able to compare it, then we're screwed. It eliminates a complication. Why take the chance at all?"
She takes a few steps towards New Girl. "And again, who are you? You're awfully bossy for someone who hasn't said their name or what they're doing here beyond some vendetta, and you're awfully keen on us keeping a murder weapon in our possession."
"Aiko Inaba," she says, beginning to seriously doubt her sanity. "And for ninja you seem woefully inept at both the commission of crime and handling its aftermath. Why for the love of the Emperor do you still have the incriminating blade, presumably still covered in its victim's blood? If nothing else, it shows a poor regard for the tools of your profession; even a lowly bushi makes an effort to wipe his blade clean before sheathing it. But if you're truly trying to cover your trail, it should either be at the bottom of the harbour or melted down in a forge by now given you've been skulking about for a week since the incident."
The former inquisitor's personal distaste for the situation she's in combined with what can only be professional assessment combines in a withering tone. The sort she'd blast the constables that had once been under her command for a truly inept performance in apprehending a felon.
Kasumi sees the incoming storm brewing after those comments, and simply stands to the side of the line of sight between Nagani and Aiko.
Aiko however is in full flow, months of anger and grief and frustration finally finding an outlet. She's never been the most tactful person, and it's frankly stressing the very limits of her personality that her loyalty to her fallen lord is stopping her from simply walking out and grassing the lot of these fools to the authorities.
"Since you brother's honourable death is not an option open to us, the most expedient solution of gifting the gaijin with a week-old body is denied us. Placing a bloody weapon within the gambit of the foreign lord is both recklessly self-endangering and largely pointless because any blade could be responsible for the death and would only succeed in making it look like the true killers were desperate enough to attempt to implicate the wrong person; even if he might be somehow connected because there is no conceivable reason that a Lord who commissioned a crime would so foolishly claim the weapon with which it was committed only to leave it where it might be found to incriminate him."
As this tirade thunders out, she doesn't even move, her arms kept forcibly crossed against her chest.
"The only option left to you is either removing the testimony of the guards from the equation, and in a manner that doesn't leave further blood on Imperial hands, or allowing the Gaijin to think they've caught the same criminal committing another act. For example, how easily could you apprehend one of these Killer Bees? Specifically, wearing the uniform of their clan?
"With one of us wearing that uniform, another crime is staged, designed to be interrupted before it is completed. A chase ensues, which either ends with the discovery of the ninja having fallen to their death while escaping justice, of unmasked to reveal a gaijin beneath the costume."
"Then it is settled," Toshiba finally says. "I intend to infiltrate the Killer Bees' refuge and discover a link between them and the Count of Champagne. With such evidence, we can have Van Synt arrest the Count and be done with this felonious ballyhoo we've gotten tied up in. Who amongst us feels like trolling for Killer Bees before lunch?"
Toshiba raises his hand and looks around, mostly at Kagemaru. The ninja's fought the Bees before and he's either just as or more silent than Toshiba.
Kagemaru lifts his hand too, with a smile under his mask. "I can't wait Toshiba."
(GM OOC: So, I think that's enough information to get to planning. You have the party at the theater later today for social-fu applications, and locating the Killer Bee hideout. Who's going where? Is someone doing something else?)
(Toshiba OOC: I'm going after the Bees, which is kind of obvious but I figured I'd state it explicitly.)
(Kasumi OOC: Kasumi will feel out the party at the theater, and maybe get what we need from the Count to incriminate him, if we need anything. Also, she's there in case things go south and it's time to cut some bitches.
)(Aiko OOC: Aiko is a walking Investigate/Sense Motive machine, so point her in the right direction)
Mister Andersen
(Kasumi OOC: *cough* that's not what the plan is. I mean, what you described up there is not the same as the actual plan as stated. We're not leaving the weapon with the Count.
And digging a nice, deep hole.
Do you actually have a problem with the plan as stated? Because this doesn't seem simpler to me. The whole "plan the weapon on the Killer Bees, link them to the Count and then turn them in" plan.
Proof of death, it's a nice blade, there's a bunch of reasons that I'm sure Nagani will explain when she's controlling the urge to kill Aiko.
And this method certainly is cleaner, less complicated. It can't get out of the city, city is locked down. And who's to say it isn't clean? We haven't looked yet. And if it isn't, then they have a pretty good reason, trying to keep her brother alive. We don't know that it can or cannot be incriminating by itself. That largely depends, and again, making assumptions, not such a good idea when death is on the line. Easier to assume they can tell and if they can't, then we've just been cautious. No, but who knows? I don't want to have Van Synt roll out some kind of mystic who can see into the recent past when he touches an item, or whatever. This way is clean, simple, and covers all the bases and doesn't involve putting on a complicated show for the benefit of the police.
Why are you so hung up on the blade, anyway? Is there anything functionally wrong with the plan as presented? That, more than anything, is what Kasumi finds suspicious at the moment. Aiko is really focused on us keeping the weapon that she insists is red volcano hot on us.
If the blade is so dangerous to keep around, why is planting it on the Killer Bees such a bad idea? It's dangerous if we keep it, but useless if we give it to them, according to your logic.
Well, yeah, but the end result is the same, they try to kill us.
But none of that says why the plan is a bad idea, and why you're so fixated on the blade.
And that's what the plan specifically addresses. It gets rid of the one thing that does link us and puts it on the Killer Bees.
That's angry Nagani rant territory, right there. I'm sure there's a good reason.
And it's not really better, because then we have to put on this complicated show, when sneaking in and out of places is something that we're actually pretty good at.
That, they wouldn't believe, unless we somehow prove that they have the skills to pull this off, which is doubtful. It really was a ninja-specific job.
But that's really, really complicated. Where do we get the dead white guy who was also on his retinue? And why would they believe that any more than they would believe that the Killer Bees are associated with the Count?
A letter in their papers would do. We could leave it while we're in there. It's pretty simple.
*Kasumi bows* "You apparently don't know what my specialty is." She can talk him into giving a signature on something.
That's assuming we have to fake anything, really. If they really are his personal army, there's probably a ton of incriminating stuff in there already. We just have to slip one more thing in there. And who's to say it's going to say "kill this guy" when we get him to sign it?
Kasumi can get him to sign something without giving it too close of a look, that's not a problem. )
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: She's just making sure to cover the bases and exterminate any lingering thought on the matter)
What plan?
Again, why would anyone with any sense
keep a bloody incriminating weapon around for a week? The blade should be out of the city by now, or very very clean given that it can't actually be incriminating if it isn't covered in blood: a blade is a blade. This isn't CSI Japan; if there's a mystic who can see into the past, then you absolutely don't want the blade anywhere near them given he'll likely be able to tell straight out that the blade doesn't belong to the bees.
No, the plan, as pointed out, is deeply foolish, and she's actually focused on the stupidity of keeping that blade around hence the bit about a competent killer disposing of the weapon at the first opportunity.
1. Your putative mystic, if exposed to the blade, will twig it doesn't belong to the bees
2. We'll still have it in our posession upto the moment we successfully leave the Bee's enclosure, which leaves us exposed to discovery on several fronts; being caught planting the blade is even worse than simply being caught with it
3. Given the tech of the period, I kinda doubt the body is still above ground, so it's debatable just how capable authorities would be of matching a particular weapon to a particular wound
4. The authorities want to hang an imperial for the crime. Giving them any reason to link us with the crime is suicidal, so giving them an imperial scapegoat or a gaijin impersonating one is the only sensible option
5. You're keeping Nagani's brother in the back of blacksmiths. Throw the damn sword in the forge and be done with it.
6. Better to abduct and utilise a single bee than venture into the heart of the hive. Hell, I seem to recall that you guys have already offed a bunch of them. We don't even have to go anywhere near them to finger them for the death.
7. Fingering imperials in favour of a gaijin stil makes all imperials look bad. Fingering a member of Champaign's retinue as the killer OTOH...
Hence the "chasing the ninja to discover it's actually some white dude in costume" plan. It's actually far less complicated than discovering where the Bees are holed up, given that I'd at least half of us are vastly superior parkourists than the gaijin
Because they have the evidence of their own eyes. The whole plan is to frame someone who deserves it, we think the Count is one such person, and there's no way he operates alone.
If you do successively plant the sword with the Bees and they don't find it before van Saint does, what's the next step to then link the bees to the count?
Oh, you have a sample of the count's handwriting? A signature? You're gonna need a bunch of letters he's written in order to convincingly fake a letter, and why would he be foolish enough to place a signature or a seal on a commision of murder?
Why would he sign a blank document? Why would his signature be at the end of a document that isn't in his handwriting or that of his secretary?
It's a huge problem, because assuming she can pull it off, successfully infiltrate the Bees HQ, make the drop and get out, he's going to know he was set up by us.
Why would th ebees kill him, when it's clear there's another ninja clan involved, because only they could have pulled off the plan. They're more likely to kill him if it's revealed he's running blackops in their colours.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
No, it's really not. He'll be way too busy trying not to get killed by the Killer Bees. Loose end.
Look, I don't know why you have such a problem with this plan. It works just fine, from both the players and the GM. I'm seriously confused as to where these objections are coming from, most of them don't make much sense to me. I don't get the obsession with the blade, and all these assertions that things won't work. Why not just wait for a response for the GM before trying to shoot it full of holes?
Actually, the blade suggestion wasn't even from me. I just prefer to not have to worry about it. Unknown shit happens, and instead of having to worry about it, it's just as easy to plant the real thing on them. That's all. I'm not trying to apply 21st century anything, it's just simpler.
I'm honest to God just confused.
No, I don't. The idea behind that plan is simply to just get everyone's objectives complete. Takao brought up stopping the Killer Bees, the Count is obviously a bad guy, and it successfully puts the blame on the Count and the Killer Bees in the most direct way possible. That's all.
Again, assuming things. If he really is using the Killer Bees as his own private army, as was said in the game before, then there's going to be plenty of incriminating evidence. We just have to link the Killer Bees to the hit.
Maybe, maybe not. Let us worry about that if that is the case. It's a simple enough fix.
Look, I'm not trying to piss you off with this. I'm still honestly just confused as to what you're basing these objections on. Oh, I see where you're coming from, it's just that there's a gap between what's been stated as fact so far in the game and the conclusions you're drawing.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: Look, you asked my what the thinking behind Aiko's objections were and I've given them to you, at length, in bullet point form. It seems to me that you just want to do do sneaky ninja shit for the sake of it. Which is fine, because you guys are ninjas and Aiko's a trained imperial inquisitor.
Yes, because when Van Saint has a bunch of easily fingerable imperial ninjas, he's going to try and bring down Champaign who's not just going to simply buy him off.
Its insane to think that this evidence of conspiracy is going to be kept anywhere near the Count. If the bees do possess this stuff, they're going to keep it safe outside the city where he can't find and remove it
If you can't look at what I've written and see where I'm coming from, then I'm not going to be able to explain it to you even if I spend a year doing it.
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
Hey guys, how about doing what Kasey suggested and wait and see what the GM says. An RPG is a story that works on internal logic, which can conflict with real life, so what "makes sense" and what doesn't is kind of consensus basis, with the GM being the final arbiter. How many times have you watched a movie where you thought "wow, why are those guys doing this, they must be idiots?", and the bad plan just sets stage for cool action (at least it does if the movie isn't utterly horrible). My solution to such problems in the past has been not to judge a plan on real-world merit, but have the highest skill character (or whoever leads the activity) describe what they want to do, and then roll, and have the roll figure out if it would work. We all come from different backgrounds, after all.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
I'm really more concerned about the animosity more than anything at this point. I don't see anything wrong with the plan Aiko's proposing, it seems a bit complicated but doable and it's not like I haven't proposed an overly complicated plan before. This whole thing with trying to figure out where these OOC objections are coming from and Golem getting more and more upset about it is what's really concerning me more than anything at this point. I'm trying to understand his objections from that perspective more than anything in-character at this point, because you're a great player and I don't want to piss you off into leaving when you just got here.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: Aiko's a cop, she knows how cops work, she isn't a fan of ninjas even though atm she's compelled to work with them. You keep going "what's the objection to the cool ninja plan" and I keep trying to tell you from her POV that it's overly complicated and not geared to the way cops think, especially in this time period)
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It was made into an issue before, about matching the blade or having the blade in his possession could be incriminating. I'm simply working off of what had happened before, I don't know the specifics as to why, but it's been noted as an issue before.
Look, I get Aiko's objection, what's concerning me is how it's pissing you off personally. That's what I've been trying to understand.
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
That's what I was referring to. Das Golem obviously has an idea how cops should work, and from the character background _should_ know, but I'm not sure it matches with how Robert thinks they should work.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
My problem is that Aiko's... presentation... was being questioned OOCly and basically queried along the lines of "Why aren't you metagaming" instead of just being accepted that she's an outsider and thinks differently.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It wasn't metagaming, it's been made into a problem previously with the blade. And my OOC questions were, again, trying to understand the problems stated with the plan.
Oh, I completely accept that, and that's cool. That's why I was asking the questions, to try to understand how she thinks differently and what's being seen here.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
And I've been at lengths to point out the reason for her thinking, and you still didn't seem to get them. That's intensely frustrating
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
OOC: FWIW, I understand Aiko's reasoning, and I agree that that's the better plan. Takao will, however, currently be more likely to support Kasumi's plan, because he doesn't have enough intrigue-smarts to judge which plan is better, and Kasumi is presenting her plan more level-headed right now and potentially bloodless. All that Takao wants is to stay as honorable as possible, which means staying within the law, not killing innocents (or, for all that matters, killing people outside of fights), and preferably saving imperial lives.
Aiko's main point is that the murder weapon _shouldn't_ be identifiable, because there are no technical means for doing so. So planting a weapon just makes things more suspicious. Plus, I think he's worried that the Count is well insulated from any evidence linking him to the Bees.
Instead, Aiko suggests to catch a "ninja" in the act of doing something bad, and reveal him as a gaijin, which does a much better job (by the standards of the time) for framing the, even though obtaining a dead body doesn't sound entirely trivial to me, either.
Yes, I got your objections, Kasey, and that's why I think we should wait for a GM call, because Robert may be of different opinion what does and what doesn't work in terms of evidence in the game. He's running it, after all.
So, can we agree on that Das Golem is describing how real life would work, but it might not be cinematic reality in this game?
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Okay, then what is her reasoning? For the slow kids in the class.
Well, if that is the objections, like I said, before, it was made into an issue with the blade. I don't know why, but it was. Oh, not that you made an issue out of it. Even before this scene, Robert made an issue out of the blade being possibly incriminating.
I don't know why, I do know that you're right about there really being no reason why it could be matched, but hey, I just work here.
It's happened before in the game. But I did get that, but it's predicated on the assumption that there's no other rational reason to hang onto the blade, and since literally every single time, they have hung onto the blade, again, I'm assuming there's a reason for it besides collective stupidity. That's why Kasumi got out of the way.
We don't know if it's bloody or not. It was referenced that way, and that's the way I kept referring to it as, but we don't know if it's bloody or not. Probably not, but I don't know.
I know that, but like I said, at some point Robert made a point about it being bad if we get caught with the blade, and so apparently there's some way that the blade itself is bad to be caught with.
Look, I don't have a problem understanding your point in terms of the real world. It makes sense, I agree. But somehow, the blade itself is bad to be caught holding. That's the original suggestion, as presented by Nagani, who presumably would know. I'm simply working off of that suggestion. The GM NPC said that planting the blade on them is bad, I'm gonna assume that getting caught with the blade is bad.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
The issue of the blade is that amateurs retain bloody weapons and hide them away. Professionals remove the evidence, either by cleaning it or disposing of the weapon all together. As a cop, she would find a professional acting in an amateur manner to be suspicious and their guilt not assured, which sort of defeats the purpose of the exercise.
The problem isn't keeping the blade, the problem is keeping it bloody. Amateurs keep it bloody because they can't cope with reconnecting with the evidence of their misdeed. Same here: the only point in using it as evidence is if it either retains the blood of its victim or leaves an utterly unique and identifying wound.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It's getting a bit late and I'd like to eat at some point tonight, so, for my own sanity, I'd like to apologize for my half of the misunderstanding (or 3/4ths or whatever). I got fixated on looking at it from the perspective of in-game logic, and never acknowledged that the plan is conceptually good in the real world, where, in feudal Japan, they didn't really have a good way of identifying blade characteristics.
Okay? Truce?
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
Fine with me
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Good, because on top of avoiding friction in this game, I'd really hate to piss you off enough that you leave.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
I'm in return simply rolling with Robert's telling me that mystic stuff is unusual in the extreme to the point that being half-saurian is simply mechanics with different fluff. Aiko's gonna freak when she sees that shadow suit in action.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Heh. We'll see what happens when Kasumi's upgrade kicks in.
Mar 27, 2011
Robert:
A few points of clarification:
1) There is no CSI:Shinobi thing going on. The court will not be able to tell the murder weapon from any other Imperial blade, nor be able to determine whose blood is on it. The magistrate's body is currently being embalmed to be shipped home, but there won't be an investigating or trying to match weapon shape to the wound - that would be disrespectful.
2) However, there is a very strict control on which weapons enter the city. Everyone who enters through the main gate has had his or her weapons logged and sealed with a wax patch. Therefore, the court will lend strong credence to any unregistered Imperial short blade being presented as the murder weapon. There's blood on it? Even more damning! The idea is that anyone who went to the trouble of smuggling an Imperial weapon into the city - rather than procure a foreigner weapon, which they'll admit are rather more available - is gonna be using it for something bad.
3) The eyewitness will happily confirm that the assassin was a ninja with an Imperial blade. Could they have seen it that clearly? Probably not, but that objection won't fly, as it would be an enormous loss of face to be proven to be mistaken or actively lying about what they saw. If you don't have rock-solid proof that they couldn't have seen it, the court will slap you down for trying to undermine the witness's character. So if you want that witness to change their story or become unavailable, a confrontation in court is the hardest way to do it.
4) The ninja do not regularly destroy their tools. It would be needed in case capture is imminent, but if they can, they will keep their finely-crafted weapons with them. It's kind of clan-dependent, but the Ayami (to which Sadatsugu, Nagani and Kagemaru belong) do take a certain pride in not using "tossable" weapons. In Sadatsugu's case, he kept it with him for the reason that he might have to defend himself if he's found, and they haven't gotten around to disposing of it yet. If a plan is agreed on that does not require the original weapon, then it would be possible to destroy it in the blacksmith's forge, yes, but that presumes you're still worried about being caught with it and can't simply smuggle Sadatsugu out with the blade once the storm dies down and the lockdown is lifted.
5) In light of that, I don't think it's too difficult to believe for the court that the Killer Bees would keep the blade as a trophy of the kill, or even present it to the Count as such. Yes, you can convince the court that this was a stupid risk, but in the context of making them seem of low criminal mind. Of course they didn't think about being caught. (It's easy enough to play on the court's prejudices and present the Bees either as simple-minded thugs or as diabolical master schemers, just as needed.)
6) We have seen with the Red Dragon clan that they do keep assassination contracts in their HQ. If the Count of Champagne signed one, it might still be in the city, waiting to be transported out when the Killer Bees leave. Then again, the Killer Bees are kinda amateurish, maybe they don't have written contracts. Either way, it's a minutia the court doesn't know. You're Van Synt's chosen "ninja experts". Give testimony either way it's convenient. Hell, you could fake a contract - analogous to the CSI thing, there's no graphologist in the court. You'd have to also fake the Count's seal, but those are both doable tasks. What can the Count possibly say when you present such proof? That there's an incredibly well-organized conspiracy against him? Well, yeah, but the court won't buy it. Van Synt already figured him as a prime suspect, it's easy enough to sprinkle some seemingly solid evidence on that and get a conviction.
I hope this information is helpful in planning your moves.
Mar 28, 2011
Adam:
The way I see, this is less about evidence and has everything to do with reputations, motivations, and politics. It doesn't matter how we link the Killer Bees to the Count via disguised white people or planting bloody ninja-tos or whatever. Van Synt and Van Synt's masters need to have reason enough to take down the Count, preferably even before he's implicated for the murder. AND we need to put a little effort into making sure we've got answers for the inevitable counteraccusations of "hey, those guys you hired to investigate? THEY'RE Imperials and they seem to know a lot about assassins. Did THEY do it?" -"No, but this one bitch's idiot brother did...."
All we need to do is provide an excuse. Hell, if we can go out and cajole the Bees into attacking us, that seems like a weapon in our arsenal to me. "We, the duly appointed contract investigators for this case, were attacked by ninjas. How suspicious! A clan of ninjas operating within Kargbeck, running around trying to kill people! I wonder if they could be responsible for the magistrate's death?" At that point, all we'd need is one of their swords if people are hung up on swords. ...And not to hide the Bee bodies so well next time.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate that the point isn't to "solve" the murder, it is to get the city out of lockdown. Robert, is that (do we even know) contingent on having a suspect in shackles or is it contingent on sentencing/etc? If the former, then I would say we don't need to hand over an airtight case, just enough so we get their legal ball rolling. If the latter, then... yeah, maybe this 60+ post debate has some merit, I guess. A quicker conviction means we can get along with our _actual_ mission sooner.
Mar 28, 2011
Robert:
Well, let me put it this way, the actual lockdown won't be lifted until after the suspect is in custody and sentenced. However, from the time you give Van Synt the Count and the Killer Bees as your main suspects, things will ease up enough that you'll be able to smuggle Sadatsugu out. The trial will be fairly short - everybody wants somebody dangling from the gallows ASAP so the city can get back to normal.
Mar 28, 2011
Adam:
Right, cool. So that's another avenue of pressure Van Synt and his people are feeling (that we have nothing to do with but benefit from nonetheless): all those merchants, some of whom no doubt have political connections and such, will all be pushing these guys to come up with someone they can blame too. w00tlescakes.
And digging a nice, deep hole.
Do you actually have a problem with the plan as stated? Because this doesn't seem simpler to me. The whole "plan the weapon on the Killer Bees, link them to the Count and then turn them in" plan.
Proof of death, it's a nice blade, there's a bunch of reasons that I'm sure Nagani will explain when she's controlling the urge to kill Aiko.
And this method certainly is cleaner, less complicated. It can't get out of the city, city is locked down. And who's to say it isn't clean? We haven't looked yet. And if it isn't, then they have a pretty good reason, trying to keep her brother alive. We don't know that it can or cannot be incriminating by itself. That largely depends, and again, making assumptions, not such a good idea when death is on the line. Easier to assume they can tell and if they can't, then we've just been cautious. No, but who knows? I don't want to have Van Synt roll out some kind of mystic who can see into the recent past when he touches an item, or whatever. This way is clean, simple, and covers all the bases and doesn't involve putting on a complicated show for the benefit of the police.Why are you so hung up on the blade, anyway? Is there anything functionally wrong with the plan as presented? That, more than anything, is what Kasumi finds suspicious at the moment. Aiko is really focused on us keeping the weapon that she insists is red volcano hot on us.
If the blade is so dangerous to keep around, why is planting it on the Killer Bees such a bad idea? It's dangerous if we keep it, but useless if we give it to them, according to your logic.
Well, yeah, but the end result is the same, they try to kill us.
But none of that says why the plan is a bad idea, and why you're so fixated on the blade.
And that's what the plan specifically addresses. It gets rid of the one thing that does link us and puts it on the Killer Bees.
That's angry Nagani rant territory, right there.
I'm sure there's a good reason.And it's not really better, because then we have to put on this complicated show, when sneaking in and out of places is something that we're actually pretty good at.
That, they wouldn't believe, unless we somehow prove that they have the skills to pull this off, which is doubtful. It really was a ninja-specific job.
But that's really, really complicated. Where do we get the dead white guy who was also on his retinue? And why would they believe that any more than they would believe that the Killer Bees are associated with the Count?
A letter in their papers would do. We could leave it while we're in there. It's pretty simple.
*Kasumi bows* "You apparently don't know what my specialty is." She can talk him into giving a signature on something.
That's assuming we have to fake anything, really. If they really are his personal army, there's probably a ton of incriminating stuff in there already. We just have to slip one more thing in there. And who's to say it's going to say "kill this guy" when we get him to sign it?
Kasumi can get him to sign something without giving it too close of a look, that's not a problem. )
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: She's just making sure to cover the bases and exterminate any lingering thought on the matter)
What plan?
Again, why would anyone with any sense
keep a bloody incriminating weapon around for a week? The blade should be out of the city by now, or very very clean given that it can't actually be incriminating if it isn't covered in blood: a blade is a blade. This isn't CSI Japan; if there's a mystic who can see into the past, then you absolutely don't want the blade anywhere near them given he'll likely be able to tell straight out that the blade doesn't belong to the bees.No, the plan, as pointed out, is deeply foolish, and she's actually focused on the stupidity of keeping that blade around hence the bit about a competent killer disposing of the weapon at the first opportunity.
1. Your putative mystic, if exposed to the blade, will twig it doesn't belong to the bees
2. We'll still have it in our posession upto the moment we successfully leave the Bee's enclosure, which leaves us exposed to discovery on several fronts; being caught planting the blade is even worse than simply being caught with it
3. Given the tech of the period, I kinda doubt the body is still above ground, so it's debatable just how capable authorities would be of matching a particular weapon to a particular wound
4. The authorities want to hang an imperial for the crime. Giving them any reason to link us with the crime is suicidal, so giving them an imperial scapegoat or a gaijin impersonating one is the only sensible option
5. You're keeping Nagani's brother in the back of blacksmiths. Throw the damn sword in the forge and be done with it.
6. Better to abduct and utilise a single bee than venture into the heart of the hive. Hell, I seem to recall that you guys have already offed a bunch of them. We don't even have to go anywhere near them to finger them for the death.
7. Fingering imperials in favour of a gaijin stil makes all imperials look bad. Fingering a member of Champaign's retinue as the killer OTOH...
Hence the "chasing the ninja to discover it's actually some white dude in costume" plan. It's actually far less complicated than discovering where the Bees are holed up, given that I'd at least half of us are vastly superior parkourists than the gaijin
Because they have the evidence of their own eyes. The whole plan is to frame someone who deserves it, we think the Count is one such person, and there's no way he operates alone.
If you do successively plant the sword with the Bees and they don't find it before van Saint does, what's the next step to then link the bees to the count?
Oh, you have a sample of the count's handwriting? A signature? You're gonna need a bunch of letters he's written in order to convincingly fake a letter, and why would he be foolish enough to place a signature or a seal on a commision of murder?
Why would he sign a blank document? Why would his signature be at the end of a document that isn't in his handwriting or that of his secretary?
It's a huge problem, because assuming she can pull it off, successfully infiltrate the Bees HQ, make the drop and get out, he's going to know he was set up by us.
Why would th ebees kill him, when it's clear there's another ninja clan involved, because only they could have pulled off the plan. They're more likely to kill him if it's revealed he's running blackops in their colours.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
No, it's really not. He'll be way too busy trying not to get killed by the Killer Bees. Loose end.
Look, I don't know why you have such a problem with this plan. It works just fine, from both the players and the GM. I'm seriously confused as to where these objections are coming from, most of them don't make much sense to me. I don't get the obsession with the blade, and all these assertions that things won't work. Why not just wait for a response for the GM before trying to shoot it full of holes?
Actually, the blade suggestion wasn't even from me. I just prefer to not have to worry about it. Unknown shit happens, and instead of having to worry about it, it's just as easy to plant the real thing on them. That's all. I'm not trying to apply 21st century anything, it's just simpler.
I'm honest to God just confused.
No, I don't. The idea behind that plan is simply to just get everyone's objectives complete. Takao brought up stopping the Killer Bees, the Count is obviously a bad guy, and it successfully puts the blame on the Count and the Killer Bees in the most direct way possible. That's all.
Again, assuming things. If he really is using the Killer Bees as his own private army, as was said in the game before, then there's going to be plenty of incriminating evidence. We just have to link the Killer Bees to the hit.
Maybe, maybe not. Let us worry about that if that is the case. It's a simple enough fix.
Look, I'm not trying to piss you off with this. I'm still honestly just confused as to what you're basing these objections on. Oh, I see where you're coming from, it's just that there's a gap between what's been stated as fact so far in the game and the conclusions you're drawing.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: Look, you asked my what the thinking behind Aiko's objections were and I've given them to you, at length, in bullet point form. It seems to me that you just want to do do sneaky ninja shit for the sake of it. Which is fine, because you guys are ninjas and Aiko's a trained imperial inquisitor.
Yes, because when Van Saint has a bunch of easily fingerable imperial ninjas, he's going to try and bring down Champaign who's not just going to simply buy him off.
Its insane to think that this evidence of conspiracy is going to be kept anywhere near the Count. If the bees do possess this stuff, they're going to keep it safe outside the city where he can't find and remove it
If you can't look at what I've written and see where I'm coming from, then I'm not going to be able to explain it to you even if I spend a year doing it.
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
Hey guys, how about doing what Kasey suggested and wait and see what the GM says. An RPG is a story that works on internal logic, which can conflict with real life, so what "makes sense" and what doesn't is kind of consensus basis, with the GM being the final arbiter. How many times have you watched a movie where you thought "wow, why are those guys doing this, they must be idiots?", and the bad plan just sets stage for cool action (at least it does if the movie isn't utterly horrible). My solution to such problems in the past has been not to judge a plan on real-world merit, but have the highest skill character (or whoever leads the activity) describe what they want to do, and then roll, and have the roll figure out if it would work. We all come from different backgrounds, after all.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
I'm really more concerned about the animosity more than anything at this point. I don't see anything wrong with the plan Aiko's proposing, it seems a bit complicated but doable and it's not like I haven't proposed an overly complicated plan before. This whole thing with trying to figure out where these OOC objections are coming from and Golem getting more and more upset about it is what's really concerning me more than anything at this point. I'm trying to understand his objections from that perspective more than anything in-character at this point, because you're a great player and I don't want to piss you off into leaving when you just got here.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
(OOC: Aiko's a cop, she knows how cops work, she isn't a fan of ninjas even though atm she's compelled to work with them. You keep going "what's the objection to the cool ninja plan" and I keep trying to tell you from her POV that it's overly complicated and not geared to the way cops think, especially in this time period)
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It was made into an issue before, about matching the blade or having the blade in his possession could be incriminating. I'm simply working off of what had happened before, I don't know the specifics as to why, but it's been noted as an issue before.
Look, I get Aiko's objection, what's concerning me is how it's pissing you off personally. That's what I've been trying to understand.
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
That's what I was referring to. Das Golem obviously has an idea how cops should work, and from the character background _should_ know, but I'm not sure it matches with how Robert thinks they should work.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
My problem is that Aiko's... presentation... was being questioned OOCly and basically queried along the lines of "Why aren't you metagaming" instead of just being accepted that she's an outsider and thinks differently.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It wasn't metagaming, it's been made into a problem previously with the blade. And my OOC questions were, again, trying to understand the problems stated with the plan.
Oh, I completely accept that, and that's cool. That's why I was asking the questions, to try to understand how she thinks differently and what's being seen here.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
And I've been at lengths to point out the reason for her thinking, and you still didn't seem to get them. That's intensely frustrating
Mar 27, 2011
Michael:
OOC: FWIW, I understand Aiko's reasoning, and I agree that that's the better plan. Takao will, however, currently be more likely to support Kasumi's plan, because he doesn't have enough intrigue-smarts to judge which plan is better, and Kasumi is presenting her plan more level-headed right now and potentially bloodless. All that Takao wants is to stay as honorable as possible, which means staying within the law, not killing innocents (or, for all that matters, killing people outside of fights), and preferably saving imperial lives.
Aiko's main point is that the murder weapon _shouldn't_ be identifiable, because there are no technical means for doing so. So planting a weapon just makes things more suspicious. Plus, I think he's worried that the Count is well insulated from any evidence linking him to the Bees.
Instead, Aiko suggests to catch a "ninja" in the act of doing something bad, and reveal him as a gaijin, which does a much better job (by the standards of the time) for framing the, even though obtaining a dead body doesn't sound entirely trivial to me, either.
Yes, I got your objections, Kasey, and that's why I think we should wait for a GM call, because Robert may be of different opinion what does and what doesn't work in terms of evidence in the game. He's running it, after all.
So, can we agree on that Das Golem is describing how real life would work, but it might not be cinematic reality in this game?
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Okay, then what is her reasoning? For the slow kids in the class.
Well, if that is the objections, like I said, before, it was made into an issue with the blade. I don't know why, but it was. Oh, not that you made an issue out of it. Even before this scene, Robert made an issue out of the blade being possibly incriminating.
I don't know why, I do know that you're right about there really being no reason why it could be matched, but hey, I just work here.
It's happened before in the game. But I did get that, but it's predicated on the assumption that there's no other rational reason to hang onto the blade, and since literally every single time, they have hung onto the blade, again, I'm assuming there's a reason for it besides collective stupidity. That's why Kasumi got out of the way.
We don't know if it's bloody or not. It was referenced that way, and that's the way I kept referring to it as, but we don't know if it's bloody or not. Probably not, but I don't know.
I know that, but like I said, at some point Robert made a point about it being bad if we get caught with the blade, and so apparently there's some way that the blade itself is bad to be caught with.
Look, I don't have a problem understanding your point in terms of the real world. It makes sense, I agree. But somehow, the blade itself is bad to be caught holding. That's the original suggestion, as presented by Nagani, who presumably would know. I'm simply working off of that suggestion. The GM NPC said that planting the blade on them is bad, I'm gonna assume that getting caught with the blade is bad.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
The issue of the blade is that amateurs retain bloody weapons and hide them away. Professionals remove the evidence, either by cleaning it or disposing of the weapon all together. As a cop, she would find a professional acting in an amateur manner to be suspicious and their guilt not assured, which sort of defeats the purpose of the exercise.
The problem isn't keeping the blade, the problem is keeping it bloody. Amateurs keep it bloody because they can't cope with reconnecting with the evidence of their misdeed. Same here: the only point in using it as evidence is if it either retains the blood of its victim or leaves an utterly unique and identifying wound.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
It's getting a bit late and I'd like to eat at some point tonight, so, for my own sanity, I'd like to apologize for my half of the misunderstanding (or 3/4ths or whatever). I got fixated on looking at it from the perspective of in-game logic, and never acknowledged that the plan is conceptually good in the real world, where, in feudal Japan, they didn't really have a good way of identifying blade characteristics.
Okay? Truce?
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
Fine with me
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Good, because on top of avoiding friction in this game, I'd really hate to piss you off enough that you leave.
Mar 27, 2011
Me:
I'm in return simply rolling with Robert's telling me that mystic stuff is unusual in the extreme to the point that being half-saurian is simply mechanics with different fluff. Aiko's gonna freak when she sees that shadow suit in action.
Mar 27, 2011
Kasey:
Heh. We'll see what happens when Kasumi's upgrade kicks in.
Mar 27, 2011
Robert:
A few points of clarification:
1) There is no CSI:Shinobi thing going on. The court will not be able to tell the murder weapon from any other Imperial blade, nor be able to determine whose blood is on it. The magistrate's body is currently being embalmed to be shipped home, but there won't be an investigating or trying to match weapon shape to the wound - that would be disrespectful.
2) However, there is a very strict control on which weapons enter the city. Everyone who enters through the main gate has had his or her weapons logged and sealed with a wax patch. Therefore, the court will lend strong credence to any unregistered Imperial short blade being presented as the murder weapon. There's blood on it? Even more damning! The idea is that anyone who went to the trouble of smuggling an Imperial weapon into the city - rather than procure a foreigner weapon, which they'll admit are rather more available - is gonna be using it for something bad.
3) The eyewitness will happily confirm that the assassin was a ninja with an Imperial blade. Could they have seen it that clearly? Probably not, but that objection won't fly, as it would be an enormous loss of face to be proven to be mistaken or actively lying about what they saw. If you don't have rock-solid proof that they couldn't have seen it, the court will slap you down for trying to undermine the witness's character. So if you want that witness to change their story or become unavailable, a confrontation in court is the hardest way to do it.
4) The ninja do not regularly destroy their tools. It would be needed in case capture is imminent, but if they can, they will keep their finely-crafted weapons with them. It's kind of clan-dependent, but the Ayami (to which Sadatsugu, Nagani and Kagemaru belong) do take a certain pride in not using "tossable" weapons. In Sadatsugu's case, he kept it with him for the reason that he might have to defend himself if he's found, and they haven't gotten around to disposing of it yet. If a plan is agreed on that does not require the original weapon, then it would be possible to destroy it in the blacksmith's forge, yes, but that presumes you're still worried about being caught with it and can't simply smuggle Sadatsugu out with the blade once the storm dies down and the lockdown is lifted.
5) In light of that, I don't think it's too difficult to believe for the court that the Killer Bees would keep the blade as a trophy of the kill, or even present it to the Count as such. Yes, you can convince the court that this was a stupid risk, but in the context of making them seem of low criminal mind. Of course they didn't think about being caught. (It's easy enough to play on the court's prejudices and present the Bees either as simple-minded thugs or as diabolical master schemers, just as needed.)
6) We have seen with the Red Dragon clan that they do keep assassination contracts in their HQ. If the Count of Champagne signed one, it might still be in the city, waiting to be transported out when the Killer Bees leave. Then again, the Killer Bees are kinda amateurish, maybe they don't have written contracts. Either way, it's a minutia the court doesn't know. You're Van Synt's chosen "ninja experts". Give testimony either way it's convenient. Hell, you could fake a contract - analogous to the CSI thing, there's no graphologist in the court. You'd have to also fake the Count's seal, but those are both doable tasks. What can the Count possibly say when you present such proof? That there's an incredibly well-organized conspiracy against him? Well, yeah, but the court won't buy it. Van Synt already figured him as a prime suspect, it's easy enough to sprinkle some seemingly solid evidence on that and get a conviction.
I hope this information is helpful in planning your moves.
Mar 28, 2011
Adam:
The way I see, this is less about evidence and has everything to do with reputations, motivations, and politics. It doesn't matter how we link the Killer Bees to the Count via disguised white people or planting bloody ninja-tos or whatever. Van Synt and Van Synt's masters need to have reason enough to take down the Count, preferably even before he's implicated for the murder. AND we need to put a little effort into making sure we've got answers for the inevitable counteraccusations of "hey, those guys you hired to investigate? THEY'RE Imperials and they seem to know a lot about assassins. Did THEY do it?" -"No, but this one bitch's idiot brother did...."
All we need to do is provide an excuse. Hell, if we can go out and cajole the Bees into attacking us, that seems like a weapon in our arsenal to me. "We, the duly appointed contract investigators for this case, were attacked by ninjas. How suspicious! A clan of ninjas operating within Kargbeck, running around trying to kill people! I wonder if they could be responsible for the magistrate's death?" At that point, all we'd need is one of their swords if people are hung up on swords. ...And not to hide the Bee bodies so well next time.
Finally, I'd like to reiterate that the point isn't to "solve" the murder, it is to get the city out of lockdown. Robert, is that (do we even know) contingent on having a suspect in shackles or is it contingent on sentencing/etc? If the former, then I would say we don't need to hand over an airtight case, just enough so we get their legal ball rolling. If the latter, then... yeah, maybe this 60+ post debate has some merit, I guess. A quicker conviction means we can get along with our _actual_ mission sooner.
Mar 28, 2011
Robert:
Well, let me put it this way, the actual lockdown won't be lifted until after the suspect is in custody and sentenced. However, from the time you give Van Synt the Count and the Killer Bees as your main suspects, things will ease up enough that you'll be able to smuggle Sadatsugu out. The trial will be fairly short - everybody wants somebody dangling from the gallows ASAP so the city can get back to normal.
Mar 28, 2011
Adam:
Right, cool. So that's another avenue of pressure Van Synt and his people are feeling (that we have nothing to do with but benefit from nonetheless): all those merchants, some of whom no doubt have political connections and such, will all be pushing these guys to come up with someone they can blame too. w00tlescakes.