Session 9: The Shelter of Osano-Wo

Party: Hida Ganko, Yoritomo Shohei, Doji Chi, Daidoji Jinsoku, Togashi Amajino.

The group reacted to the news of the opium store raids in the best way they could: they headed to the Temple of Osano-Wo (the Fortune of Fire and Thunder) to regroup with Yoritomo Shohei, but also grabbing Isawa Nagitoro (resident inquisitor) as a useful touchstone to figure out what they were dealing with in relation to Doji Chi.

Shohei-san was put to the question, oft repetitively by Ganko-san, and Kakita Michitaka (Cousin of Naritoki) gets called in to corroborate the story of Shohei-san.
Michitaka-san from his part, eager to help those who would fill the void left by the death of Naritoki, swears the group to secrecy before revealing Doji Chi's mother was Doji Tsuki, a powerful shugenja born outside of the Asahina family and a paramour who had gotten pregnant with Naritoki's child before the man came to perish. 
Astute as they are, the party links the name Tsuki to the Moon, as it is spelled with the same kanji, putting the Cult of Lord Moon back at the fore of their thoughts.

The short version of Shohei's tale (with additions by Michitaka) which was revealed is:

When, in the dead of night, an unknown person boarded the vessel of Shohei's father (who was ferrying a senior member of the Kakita family with a cargo of goods for the man's dojo), Shohei's father drew his blade and ran through the interloper, thinking them to be a bandit or saboteur. This bandit turned out to be Doji Chi's mother - carrying her baby away from the captivity at the hands of Bayushi Korechika.
The Kakita suggested that, in order to cleanse the stain off of the hands of his old man, Shohei should bring the child to safety and ensure she could grow up the way she would have with a proper family - in Ryoko Owari, Shohei would likely find her relatives among the magistrates.

Considering all of this, and the threat of the Moon Cult looming in his mind, Shohei-san passed on the young Crane to Nagitoro-san and Michitaka-san, making them vow to keep her safe and in the gaze of the Statue of Osano-Wo at all times.

The group then headed out to investigate Watchful's warehouse (Jittu is a known merchant vassal of the Soshi family). Jittu seems ... fidgety, but takes GREAT PAINS to assure the magistrates know she's in the clear with her possession and sale of poppies and medicinal opium.
With what she told the magistrates, and what their own investigations turn up, following pieces of evidence are... evident:

*A Netsuki shaped like a coiled Scorpion with one claw raised is found trampled on the ground. (it bears striking resemblance to the Bayushi family mon)
*One of the attackers rode a large black horse with a white star on its head.
*Three guards were struck down, one from behind.
*The thieves piled a lot of the opium in a boat that was moored nearby and some of them sailed down the river to escape, while the others rode off on their horses.
*The Thunder Guard was not at the scene of the crime.

After this, the group decided to invite themselves (thanks to Doji Natsuki) to the wounded Ide Asamitsu and talk with him about the ronin Fade, whom they expected to have Unicorn Clan ties.
They did not get a lot of new information, but shared a pleasant talk with their host, leaving with the feeling that they had done well for the way the Unicorn viewed them.

At the end of day, Hida Ganko -with the party's blessing- went to place a short note at the Moon Caves for Fade to find, inviting him to reveal a meeting place to talk.

Session 8: Within these walls lies not safety

 Party: Daidoji Jinsoku, Doji Natsuki, Hida Ganko, Togashi Amajino, Yoritomo Shohei

The party rushes in to find a large Oni stained with the blood of Flower in their house. A trail of blood leads from the basement (where the suspect was tortured) to the bedroom of Yoritomo Shohei, where Flower had gone to pick up some blankets for Doji Chi (who was passed into the care of Ashidaka Michitaka, the brother of Chi's suspected father). It keeps repeating "Chi chiii chiiiiiiiiiii" over and over, causing Shohei great worry. 

They set about defeating it, with various moments of individual heroism between the samurai. As the Oni is knocked down, the group spies a red-robed individual outside and a quick split occurs: Daidoji Jinsoku, Hida Ganko and Togashi Amajino seek to capture their suspected tormentor, while Yoritomo Shohei seeks to find Doji Chi and assure himself of her safety, before bringing her back to the Temple of Osano-Wo. Doji Natsuki initially starts after the suspicious person too, but seeing as how the bushi are on it, she returns inside. There, she finds the Oni still breathing and spends some time cutting off its head.
Then she proceeds downstairs to find Itoshi (the torturer) still in the holding cell, alive but injured, and he explains when the others arrive what happened. Which is to say, the prisoner turned into the Oni they defeated.

Hida Ganko receives an invitation from Shosuro Hyobu, informing him he would be most welcome in three days at her residence for a talk about the city.
A messenger also arrives from the Temple of Osano-Wo, informing the party that Yoritomo Shohei has taken up residence there. 

And then all hell breaks loose, as apparently THREE opium locations in and around Ryoko Owari have been attacked while the party was occupied otherwise.
The Bayushi holding of Necessary Village was raided and plundered.
The Shosuro warehouse is robbed by day.
The Soshi warehouse near the river is literally attacked by people in black clothes, who sail off with a lot of the stored content...

Session 7: This is torture

 Party: Yoritomo Shohei, Daidoji Jinsoku, Doji Natsuki, Hida Ganko, Togashi Amajino

Speaking with Isawa Nagitoro, the party realize they need a torturer, so call for an Eta known as Pitiful (Itoshi).
The suspect, a peasant known as Shitzu, is interrogated by Pitiful (and shouted at by Ganko) and breaks after his toe is snapped off.
The party learns:
*the Moon Cult is involved,
*Shosuro Kimi was to be taken to a place known as "Madame Kakaru's Inn",
*the orders came from a masked figure in red robes
*the peasants were recruited at the Juniper Teahouse

There is a lot of talk of suspicions and the like, including the thought that Phoenix clan also wear red robes. 
As the party decides to start confiding in each other, Shohei talks of Doji Chi with the others.

Afterwards, they head into the Loops of the Crab Caves, busting into the Inn they heard about. 
Due to obstruction of justice, Madame Kakaru is arrested. 
Due to being a shady bastard in a dark room with a finger of obsidian on him, so is a peasant.

The party head back to their dwelling to renew interrogations and hear an old woman dying...

Session 6: Brilliant Cascade Trouble

 Party: Daidoji Jinsoku, Doji Natsuki, Yoritomo Shohei, Hida Ganko

As the party recovers from the slightly unusual night, with Jinsoku-san asking Kakita Doze to seek out new hires to replace the lost members of the household, they receive with their morning post an invitation to the House of Foreign Stories. They respond that they will visit in the near future.
Yoritomo Shohei takes it upon himself to check the merchant missives and manifestos, while requests for travel papers are shared within the party to check and stamp.

As the day starts picking up, the group head for the Brilliant Cascade Teahouse, a charming place in the Temple District,  to get a feel for what is going on. On the way there, they meet up with Isawa Nagitoro in the temple to Osano-Wo and check off some theories about the attacks from the night before.

A red-robed figure is spied observing the group, but gets away before they can catch up.
At the Brilliant Cascade Teahouse, Shosuro Kimi and Ide Asamitsu are noted as present, as well as a lion samurai-ko known as Matsu Mizuki, but before much can be said, a group of opium-addicts attempt to kidnap the daughter of Hyobu, injuring Asamitsu. They have an escape carriage outside with more of their number, but the party makes quick work of this situation through Kakita training, kama to the face and thrown Tetsubo, with Kimi asking for the surviving attackers to be taken hostage. Suicide pills are employed by the addicts, but one does not get a chance to take it and will be brought in for interrogation by the Emerald Magistrates. 

Session 5: The Investigation

 Party: Hida Ganko, Yoritomo Shohei, Doji Natsuki, Togashi Amajino 

We rejoin the party as Daidoji Jinsoku recluses himself to cleanse his blade from the tainted blood, not wanting the foul traces of Fu Leng's spawn to bring corruption to the soul of his ancestors. 
As the crane warrior heads inside, Kitsuki Jotomon spots a wandering Togashi monk in the street. 
Calling him over, she learns the man was sent by Togashi Yokuni (the Dragon Clan champion) himself, in accordance with some greater vision, and helps with the introduction to the Emerald Magistrates before heading back to her dojo.

The discussion about the oni picks up and various theories are brought forth, enabled in part by the expertise of both the monk (given name Amajino) and Ganko, but also the insight of Shohei, who find the porcelain masked undead from the Ryokan holding a spot in his mind. Both Shohei and Natsuki are rather convinced a Maho-Tsukai (bloodspeaker) is involved, a theory both Crab and Dragon subscribe to without any doubt.
Before long, the group deduces tainted nemuranai (artefacts) have likely acted as a lodestone for the oni to attack the house. They find two obsidian items in the house, both bloodied (a crow in the bedroll of Yoritomo-san and a sharp knife in the kitchen), and a rat impaled under the table (throat slashed and eyes gouged out).
Hida Ganko worries Doji Chi was the actual target of the attack.

As the party briefs Amajino on the happenings in the city, he considers their plight. As a group, they come up with a plan to celebrate the Liberation Day festival by offering the samurai guard new armour. All guards will have to come to a muster and the old uniforms will be clearly defunct, bypassing the theft. Then, the guards will have a victory parade through the city, honouring their efforts in keeping the city safe.

With the oni corpses slowing degrading into a black slush, the group seek a shugenja to banish the spirits and purify the grounds, calling Shosuro Jocho over from his patrol to arrange for one.
In little time, Isawa Nagitoro and his yojimbo Shiba Ni arrive to perform the duty.
After this, the group retires for the night, ready to face the city another day.

Session 4: An ember started rarely dims

Party: Daidoji Jinsoku, Doji Natsuki, Hida Ganko, Yoritomi Shohei

Returning from their encounter with the Kajikun, the emerald magistrates finds themselves... waylaid by folk on the street.
Firemen, in various guises, start bumping the group into a part of the street for a confrontation.
The party, however, proves very adept at dispatching the aggressors, Ganko and Jinsoku showing what warriors trained from birth to fight are able to do to the lower classes. 
Shohei, having put his body on the line to protect Natsuki, gets bandaged up a bit.

Injured, but content to have proven their martial prowess, they continue on home only to find the ringing of blade on otherworldly claw and carapace. 
Having noted some suspicious activity around the house, both Kitsuki Jotomon and Shosuro Jocho had made their way into the house while unknown shadow-creatures (presumed to be oni) were attacking the household staff.  Bassai and Dai, the twins, lay dead at the entrance, while the Kakita (Doze) was injured.
Jotomon-sensei had rushed to the defense of the young Doji Chi, eventually found there by the group as they sought to first find her. The Lightning Squad that accompanied Jocho had engaged with the attackers in the kitchen, inadvertently saving Flower and Hyogeki from them. 

As the party headed outside to escape the chaos and bring Chi-hime to safety, they noted red eyes in the shadows of the street, with more Oni approaching.
Without too much thinking, the group split in two. One set heading back inside to grab jade to combat the creatures (relying on Ganko's knowledge of the foe), the other holding the line to buy time. Jocho, having cleared the kitchen, joins up with the outside party and eventually the tainted beings from the Shadowlands are purged from the street.  

Session 3: Fanning Flames

 Party: Daidoji Jinsoku, Doji Natsuki, Hida Ganko, Yoritomi Shohei

During a slower period, time spanning about a week, the party began to explore Ryoko Owari, finding themselves drawn to places of interest alone or in pairs.

Yoritomo Shohei sought to find his center and studied the opportunities the city offered for training.
He came to Jotomon's Dojo, where the dojo's sensei (Kitsuki Jotomon) goaded him until she was pleased with the level of self-control the massive mantis displayed, allowing him to train on the grounds.
While there, Shohei met Ashidaka Michitaka, the brother of the former Emerald Magistrate, a man devoting a previously slothful life to avenging the murder of his kin. 

Hida Ganko, remembering the favour shown to him by the lady Hyobu, pondered how to gain an advantage for his companions and headed for the Shosuro palace, in the hopes of securing a strong alliance with ruling family.
While he failed to gain an audience, he did receive a carrier pidgeon that would be direct and discreet line to the Lady herself. 

Doji Natsuki and Daidoji Jinsoku, tired of the journey and seeking relaxation, went to the temple district, seeking out a teahouse (Ebisu's Grace) in the shadow of Daikoko's Temple. While seated, they were accosted by Ide Baranato. The wizened Unicorn diplomat warned them of the city's dangers, implying a strong lead for the investigation of the former Emerald magistrate's death could be found at the Juniper Teahouse. He also indicated that illegal opium was likely dealt there.

Regrouping after this, the party decided to visit the Juniper Teahouse and investigate it, but after a quick visit to the downstairs, they secured a talk with Hana, the leader of the Moment's Edge firemen. 
However, unaccustomed to the ways of Ryoko Owari, a lapse of judgement led to a conflict of opinions almost escalating into a lethal issue between Hida Ganko, Daidoji Jinsoku and the entire gang.
After Doji Natsuki defused the situation, Hana relented and implicated Bayushi Korechika as a person of interest, propping up the Strong Arm gang with illegal opium supplies.
When asked about it, he also mentioned his suppliers were the Soshi, but only strictly above the board. He offered to help the new Emerald Magistrates out with investigating the death of the previous Emerald Magistrate, after all, he is one of the prime providers of entertainment to the Thunder Guard when they are off duty...