Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Mitama
Feb 28, 2011

Iuchi Hino

Being mostly metal and fake skin, Hino doesn't look the least bit bothered by the rain. Still, she puts on a hood to keep her head dry.

"Ikoma-san, Shosuro-san, we should be off as well." Her artificial lips purse into a wry smile. "I don't suppose either of you knows a fellow here who knows a fellow who knows how to forge credentials for our man?"

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

Having the embarrassed look of the only person unprepared, Hanjiko looks to Tsuriko and Misaki, saying, "Well, if I could simply borrow space under an umbrella, that would be enough.", with a quick, apologetic bow. "I, too, though, tend to use local transportation. Memorizing the local driving codes is a real bother, isn't it?" Well, it is, considering it's a fairly mad thing to contemplate as a traveling magistrate.

Looking to Masaru, she nods. "You as well, Ikoma-san, keep your eyes sharp.", before turning to Tsuriko. "Well then, shall we call for autoricks to take us on our way, then?"

MollyMetroid
Jan 20, 2004

Trout Clan Daimyo
Shosuko

The Scorpion woman doesn't seem to care much about a bit of rain, either. "Of course not...but it won't take too long to find that kind of person when we start asking the right kind of questions. Leave it to me."

[11:07] <Ridley>: .roll 5k2 lore: underworld
[11:07] <Morphball>: Ridley: lore: underworld: 18 = 5k2(8,3,9,8,9)

Trying to determine the best place in this city to start that search.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Shosuko

You know of a couple of places in this city that are purported to handle forging of passports, ID cards and similar accessories - possibly even money, to an extent.

The first one is called The Golden Koto and presents itself as a legitimate business on the surface - an inn with gaming rooms and some light, perfectly legal (on the World of Dreams) gambling, its patron is Rokugo Datai - though being a samurai (even in this day and age) he doesn't dirty himself with the day-to-day business and instead leaves that to a heimin named Bita, an older woman who has a reputation for being a harsh bargainer. It's found in the Upper City, near the eastern-most elevator down to the Lower City and is said to command some impressive views of the bay, well, as impressive as they get without being too costly (being in the Upper City notwithstanding). Suffice it to say you have heard rumours of back-rooms in this place that might well be a source of fake passports and IDs, something that Rokugo Datai would naturally deny.

The second is... a little harder to explain. Word down the grapevine is that a particular registration booth found in the Lower City, in the blocks surrounding the southernmost elevator to the Upper City stopped working entirely recently. Yet you've heard rumour of people still using it for some reason. You can't verify much more about it but it's obvious something is going on and this might well be the source of fraudulent IDs or passports.

MollyMetroid
Jan 20, 2004

Trout Clan Daimyo
Shosuko

Easier to start with a name than with a vague lead. All Shosuko needed to do was put the fear of herself into this Bita, then go deal with the other issue.

She saunters in to the Golden Koto, therefore, like she owns the place.

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

Misaki silently handed Hanjiko her umbrella. "Indeed. I will follow behind. Oh yes. My commcode, just in case. My helmet has integration if you need to speak with me while we travel."

Striding out from under the overhang, she mounted a nearby jetbike and pulled on a helmet, ignoring the downpour. After the training she'd been through prior to her gempukku, a little rain didn't bother her in the least.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

By whatever means that are at your disposal you make your way through the narrow, eternally-raining streets of the Lower City. Occasional spats of bright, colourful lights contrast with the general gloomy darkness that seems to pervade this place. Swiftly you arrive at your destination, an alleyway amidst a relatively dilapidated section of town, on the edge between a commercial district called (possibly heretically-named) Daikoku's Smile, and a rather unimaginatively named warehouse district Shorushi WD-511 (Shorushi WD being the name of all warehouse districts in the Lower City). The alleyway itself lying between two disused warehouses, and across the street from some shops (however only one seems to be in current use).

Someone is already here, namely a Scorpion magistrate vehicle. Dim lights are visible from within the alleyway. As you enter the scene a muscular-looking Scorpion in armour is inspecting the scene at a distance before turning to you upon your entrance. Given the state of his dress he doesn't seem to care about the cold that seems in from the rain.



He is flanked by several, rough-looking doshin.

He bows, his doshin doing similar (as appropriate for their station). "Many thanks for your timeliness, oh honoured magistrate." he speaks, his voice calm and collected.

Upon getting closer you realise the lights coming from the alley are a form of large area equivalent to a RainBuddy, such devices are commonly used in such circumstances.

The Golden Koto, Upper City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Soshi Shosuko, Ikoma Masaru, Iuchi Hino]

You swiftly move through the rain-splattered streets on your way to the eastern-most elevator to the Upper City. The lights of the streets dance with the rain before the water drains off to elsewhere. Soon you arrive at the 'elevator' unperturbed and fortune smiles upon you as one of the many elevators in this spire that stretches forth until it pierces the 'ceiling' is free and you step inside. Immediately a wave of desiccation draws the rain off of you and it begins its ascent, granting you an impressive view of... the Lower City. As dark and gloomy as it is it is quite impressive at this height as you see the many lights shine off in the distance.

The lit darkness gives way to nothing as the lift passes into the 'ceiling'. Calming but repetitive old fashioned music playing this entire time. Soon however the nothing gives way to an impressive view! Warmly lit vistas stretch off, the morning sun of Bayushi's Eye as orange as it always is. The elevator stops suddenly the doors open, fresh air entering your lungs as you step out into the sunlight.



Sunny skies with seemingly carefully manicured clouds drifting lazily by, overlooking this rather clean-looking place. In fact much cleaner-seeming than the Lower City, the rise in spirits is almost palpable. The plaza that surrounds the elevator-spire having impressive views of the Upper City, looking eastwards you can even see the bay from here, the Upper City seemingly sloping towards its edge for the express purpose of giving an impressive view. Eccentrically there seems to be a fad for lighter-than-air ships this high up, the decadent and exotic designs lazily float through the sky to wherever it is they are going, being avoided by more conventional air traffic entirely.

However you came up here (as rightful as your presence here is) for business! Rather than spending any appreciable time admiring the views you head for The Golden Koto.

You find it quickly, the place being clearly signposted (even if you weren't using your various devices to locate the place) and subtly advertised. Even in the morning, the doors seem welcoming.

You enter the open doors, and the sound of traditional music heavily featuring the koto enters your ears. The reception is fanciful, with a golden-looking sculpture of a geisha playing a koto dominating the room.

As you enter a young woman, dressed impeccably (for a servant) greets you from behind an ornate desk. "Many greetings, oh honoured guests. How may we at the Golden Koto assist you today?" she inquires, bowing deeply as she does so.

Infinite Oregano fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Mar 23, 2014

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

Tsuriko gives the Scorpion gets a bow in return and shows her badge.

"Kitsuki Tsuriko, Emerald Magistrate. This case is now under our authority. My eta will be assisting me with any tasks unsuitable for samurai hands."

She quickly moves into the alley, eyes open for anything that stands out, approaching the RainBuddies with Mei in tow.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

Hiding under her umbrella as if slightly terrified of the water, Hanjiko hunches a bit, as if hiding behind Tsuriko. She blinks, though, coming around, and after realizing the water's no longer coming down, closes the umbrella and bows with it in both hands. "Asako Hanjiko.", she adds, and then looks over. "Is the body still present?", she asks plainly, shaking the umbrella lightly and placing it against the wall.

Then, there's a moment as the umbrella starts to fall. Catching it, she focuses on trying to find the perfect spot to balance it, seeming a bit distracted.

Epicurius
Apr 10, 2010
College Slice
Ikoma Masaru

"Greetings", Masaru says, smiling at the servant. "Might we have a table, a round of drinks, and an audience with the manager of the establishment? We have some...special requests that we hope she will be able to fulfill."

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

Following behind her companions, Misaki surveyed the scene dispassionately. She inclined her head politely to the Scorpion, though seemed to look right through his doshin. Paying no further attention to social niceties, she pulled out her mobile and began taking shots of the surroundings.


Investigate, with a void point: [15:29] <+Morphball> Shardix: 35 = 4k3([10,8],2,[10,3],4)
Checking for bullet holes, and getting a complete capture of the crime scene for later review.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

The Scorpion nods grimly to Hanjiko's question before he introduces himself. "It is appreciated how quickly you have arrived, no-one wants to leave a body lying around for any longer than necessary. I am Nanbu Tadao." He allows you all to pass to the scene, proper.

The scene in question is fairly simple. The body of a ronin lies before you, his daisho still in their scabbards, a look of surprise etched on his dead face - his eyes open but looking at nothing. He is lying mostly on his front, a clear wound is visible in the 'corner' of his left side and his back, at a glance his body does not appear to have been disturbed since it fell. To the right (and 'ahead' of the body somewhat) of him there is a sizeable bullet hole in a nearby wall.

Tsuriko: How do you wish you and Mei to proceed?

Misaki: You carefully capture any and all details that you believe to be necessary of this crime scene, without moving the body yet (which you will do a more precise capturing once it has been readjusted, however Tsuriko intends for it to happen). You take special care to examine the shot of the entry wound and the bullet hole in the wall, the exit wound seems to be probably on the corpse's front side somewhere, necessitating it being moved to capture it.

There is little to no blood present, especially since the body was seemingly made wet by some of the rain before the scene was secured, however it would seemingly be unlikely for it to wash that much away given the nature of the wound and its appearance - combined with what limited anatomical knowledge you possess, indicates that it was cauterised by a hot solid projectile round, given the size you would imagine that it would likely be a relatively small round projected with significant force - a magnetically-accelerated round most likely. The bullet-hole in the wall corroborates this, given the size, shape and the depth and surrounding deformations caused by its impact suggesting a relatively small round propelled at an intense velocity. In fact you find what remains of the round deeply embedded in the wall, however your careful analysis of the scene and the nature of this round can allow you to remove it without risking any damage, should you wish to do so.

There do not appear to be any signs of a struggle and given the expression captured forever on the dead ronin's face you would imagine this would indicate that this was a surprise, the attacker presumably involved themselves via stealth or guile, either way it seems their action was totally unexpected.

The unfortunate nature of the everpresent rain in this place would make footprints difficult to find, but nonetheless you capture and analyse places where you might expect an attacker to flee, prior evidence indicating that they would not have fled back out of the alley the way they came or they would have been captured on camera - not that cameras are irrefutable and you take the precaution of cataloguing that area too, although notably it has been contaminated by the Scorpion magistrate and his doshin, presumably unintentionally.

However luckily it does not seem that they used some form of invisibility to leave via that direction as you find very very faint evidence of footprints heading away from near the body. These footprints seem relatively interesting, they are plain and irregularly-shaped, either the 'feet' of a humanoid robot or possibly someone sporting leg prostheses. Nevertheless the footprints head off spaced far enough for someone of average height to be at a speed away from the scene, straight down the alley - any further tracking would require removing yourself from the scene.

Even without the assistance of the Kitsuki you do notice certain details that might otherwise require a less perceptive samurai have the body moved. Notably the ronin also possessed a standard sidearm of some kind, holstered in his clothes. His corpse is also wearing slightly concealed armour, perhaps he was expecting danger, or he was paranoid, or maybe that is the fashion here? A more noteworthy detail that you notice is that on the leftside of slightly below the base of his skull he has a tattoo depicting two tanto crossed, with the kanji for 'iron' above them. Roll Lore: Underworld, Ronin, or Heraldry to find out what that means.

Additionally he has at least two tanto stashed on his person, one at his waist and one concealed on his left leg.

All the photos you take are of course kept, just in case for future analysis when you are less in the field.

The Golden Koto, Upper City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Soshi Shosuko, Ikoma Masaru, Iuchi Hino]

At your request the servant seemingly takes it in her stride as she bows in greeting. She turns to her left and gestures, another servant (this one is similarly dressed and appearing). "Please show our guests to a table, with a round of drink." she says before turning back to you "Please feel free enjoy our hospitality. The manager should be with you shortly." she replies, the servant bowing to you and silently leading the way into the place.

Corridors seem to stretch off as far as the eye can see but it isn't long before she reaches a specific door amidst these halls of many doors and opens it, granting you a private room, with a large table and appropriate seating around it. These corridors and rooms seem very.... traditional. Although there are presumably touches that are far too modern, you get the impression that this place is maintaining the façade of being an old tea house, albeit with all the modern amenities.

"I will return with your drinks presently, kind guests. In the mean time feel free to avail yourselves to the various amenities that these rooms provide." she states, allowing you to enter, before bowing again and closing the doors.

For the moment you are left alone in this place. Do intend to do anything before she returns?

A quick look around the room finds holoscreen availability, as well as sets of go and shogi, under the table.

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

As Mei prepared to show the body, Kitsuki gives the alley a look over. Mostly this is to assist Misaki in her own investigation of the alley, the spider having already given the alley a good shake while the Kitsuki readied with her assistant.

"Mei, prepare the body. Oroku-san, Asako-san, I hope you don't mind forensics investigations."

The eta begins turning over the ronin's body, showcasing the wound and generally giving the others a chance to look it over, moving limbs or manipulating the corpse as needed and as requested. The body's belongings are reverently laid to the side during this affair, giving the samurai a chance to examine them at length, as well.

Mei: Lore (Anatomy): 5d10o10k2 17

Investigation: 6d10o10k3+5 29

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

Mei dutifully examines and manipulates the body as necessary.

Deceased's possessions are as follows:
- One (1) Daisho, radiant, apparently generic-pattern specification, any further examination requires effort.
- One (1) Standard energy-projection sidearm, markings indicate one of a pair of Twin Radiance pattern specification. Still holstered, no sign of other sidearm in pair or holster - deceased may not have used it. Last use was not recent.
- Two (2) Tanto, mono-blade classification, possess unique markings of twin-tanto with 'iron' kanji above, may have been locally produced. One blade was concealed.
- One (1) set of Ashigaru-classification concealed armour, classically worn by battle-shugenja, battlefield bureaucratic adjutants, and miscellaneous paranoid or underhanded persons who do not wish to present themselves as combatants. Suit is of irregular make, seemingly being made of several pieces worked together, a common occurrence with ronin. Damaged in two places opposite, one in the middle-height, back-left of armour, other in middle-height front-right of armour.
- One (1) standard quality communications device/portable computer/etc. Scuffed case, faded markings.
- One (1) set of sturdy clothing. Style is relatively street-level in nature.
- One (1) standard encryption-algorithm quality credit stick.
- Miscellaneous effects deemed non-noteworthy.

Tsuriko: From your own observations and from Mei's anatomical knowledge you draw the following conclusions:

Given how the body has fallen (with no evidence to indicate that it was moved whatsoever after he fell) and the direction of the entry and exit wounds and the consequent endpoint of the bullet in the wall you would say that he was killed with a small-arm, probably magnetically-accelerated solid projectile weapon from behind and to the left, the shot directly passing through the heart and out the other side, killing him instantly. The wounds were cauterised by this shot, leading to minimal blood-loss given the circumstances - many models of magnetically-acceleration-based guns and similar vent excess heat from their power packs into the projectiles as a quick way to expel without any danger to the user, additionally the magnetic-acceleration process can result in heating the projectile to an extent.

Given the lack of struggle it appears that he did not expect this assailant. Indicating a use of stealth or guile to get the opening (and closing) shot. The assailant did not take anything as far as you can tell, nor is there any evidence of anyone disturbing the body after death.

Daisatsu possesses a tattoo on the area beneath and to the left of (but near to) the base of his skull, of a pair of tanto crossed with the kanji of 'iron' above the tanto. This matches the symbol that is marked on his tanto. Roll Lore: Underworld, Ronin or Heraldry to find out what this means.

Unfortunately you are having difficulty estimating the time of death for the ronin, however evidence thus far agrees with the video evidence provided by Nazo earlier. You do get an estimation based on the current battery life of his communications device/etc., however this is partly based on assumptions of recharging a reasonable time before the murder.

It is uncertain but either this man made a habit of wearing concealed armour, he was paranoid, or he was expecting an attack.

There is no sign of the murder weapon. However the bullet fired by the gun is still deeply embedded in the wall it struck.

The health of the body prior to the murder as can be ascertained in this capacity seems normal. There are no signs (as far as you or Mei can tell) of poisoning or other deleterious effects that could have killed him instead.

You can't find any clear footprints but this is to be expected since the scene was rained on for a while before it was found and there is no detritus or blood to otherwise cause a trail. You think you might be able to find something if given enough time but on this occasion you cannot be sure.

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

As Misaki filed the information, she ran over the pertinent details to Hanjiko and Tsuriko. "Cause of death appears to be a magnetically accelerated ballistic round to the lung or heart from behind. That and the fact that his weapons remain sheathed suggests he was taken by surprise; if his automaton did not do this, we are dealing with a coward." The distaste is obvious in the way she spits out the word. "I may be able to extract the bullet fragments for analysis if you wish, Kitsuki-san."

She typed a bit more and continued. "There are footprints leading away, and the gait suggests a medium size individual. The prints themselves are irregular, again suggesting an automaton, or else someone with prosthetic legs."

Glancing over at the Scorpion, she nodded politely again. "Nanbu-san, the victim appears to be wearing concealed armor. Is this typical?" In The Hive, armor was just practicality, and she doubted it was much different here. Nevertheless it didn't hurt to ask.


Untrained Lore: Underworld regarding the tattoo: [20:51] <+Morphball> Shardix: 23 = 3k3u(6,9,8)

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko, Unnamed Alleyway

"Mmm. Not a whole lot of surprises... everything seems to be meeting certain suspicions, doesn't it?", Hanjiko says thoughtfully. She sniffed, wrinkling her nose, and then looks to Tsuriko, "I trust in your methods as an investigator." She glances around, looking thoughtful, as if trying to take it all in at once rather than focusing on anything on particular. She puts her hands to her obi, hooking her thumbs in as she leans over to peer at the corpse, making a face, but then just standing up straight and closing her eyes. "I wonder where he came from... and where he was headed to?" She looks to the Nanbu, trying to distract herself a little from the corpse. "Do we have any idea if he was seen or met recently before this?"

Investigation roll is 20, for what it's worth. Other investigators, if you could let me know what you are / aren't sharing, I can throw Lore rolls off that kind of thing. Speaking of which, I'll toss a Lore roll on those tanto to try and identify a crafter, whatever's appropriate, since Sage: 33 on that.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

Tadao looks to Misaki as he replies. "In the Lower City, it is common for ronin, criminals, and even more reputable samurai to wear armour, especially in the areas that are regarded as 'rough' by some, Oroku-san. Concealed armour like this is more common than more heavy duty or otherwise visible armours, for myriad reasons as you might imagine for less... salubrious individuals."

Hanjiko: Mono-blade tanto are common empire over, unless a craftsman or artisan is willing to go beyond the norm, or it is seen as an appropriate gift (as one might find with especially-engraved tanto), most tanto are monomolecular blades rather than being radiant or more extraordinary in nature. However this piece is well-crafted for a mono-tanto.

You think you vaguely remember the relevance of the symbol that is engraved on the mono-tanto. You read this on the way over while doing research on various topics regarding the City of the Splintered Oar, but it is a symbol associated with a specific otokodate known as the Tanken, who operate in the Lower City (and the Undercity). You recall that their signature fighting style (when given the opportunity) is to fight with twin tanto, supposedly there are some among their number who employ an even more exotic fighting style with their tanto, allowing them to pierce even the greatest of armour - no matter how empowered - but this probably be purely hearsay. They sell their services to the highest bidder, but their activities are largely concentrated in the City of the Splintered Oar.

Misaki: Hmm. You think for a bit and it comes to you, this tattoo is of the symbol of a specific otokodate called the Tanken. They operate out of the Lower City (and the Undercity). Their signature fighting style as you might expect is (when they have the opportunity) to fight with twin tanto. Their members bear these tattoos.

Edit: Actually now that you've gotten a proper look at the tattoo thanks to the help of Kitsuki-san, you can make a special Lore roll if you want, untrained.

Infinite Oregano fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Apr 1, 2014

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Untrained Lore: [19:24] <+Morphball> Shardix: 8 = 3k3u(5,1,2)

Misaki has no reason to hide any of the findings. If I forget to mention something and don't specifically say that she's keeping it to herself, go ahead and assume she's letting you know.

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

Tsuriko turns towards the scorpion.

"Have the eta who will be preparing the body for cremation sign it in for a toxicology test, if possible. No detail can be overlooked; if he was drunk, it means he might've been seen before the crime at a drinking establishment.

ALL THE LORES: 4d10o10k3 16
SAGE, bitches!

"Yes, best get the shards out. See if you can re-assemble enough to get any sort of info on the firearm used. Note the missing sidearm; we'll want to run up on the weapon's ID to see if we can find it's matching pair. Cred stick was left behind, so the attacker wasn't interested in money. One shot kill with no delay, so we're also dealing with a marksman. We'll need to look up on the history of past cases to see if they were as accurate. Member of a ronin gang; we'll want to question some of them. But first, that bullet, and second, the footprints."

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko, Unnamed Alleyway

Hanjiko nods, looking at the bullet hole. "If he was an expert with those blades and not just a lay member, he could have been the sort one would hire to eliminate an automaton.", she says as she loads up iScroll. "Just supposition, though!" The "i" is for Isawa. It contains commonly-used scrolls, not valuable ones - those are still done by hand, like Fire Kami's Blessing or Gathering Swirl, unless you're a shameful scroll pirate. iScroll is enough for Commune With Earth, though, as she crouches near the bullet hole, putting her hand close but not upon it as she mutters her way through the spell.

There's no need to be florid with earth kami, after all. "So, who scarred you, little stone?"

Presuming it's a stone, concrete, or brick wall, given that it stopped a hyper-accelerated bullet. Dropping a Void Point and casting Commune with one raise to try wake up quiescent spirits (which I figure may be appro if it's part of construction). If that's not enough to wake them up, then I'll just be taking enough raises to do that, usually two. If that's not necessary, I'll just raise for an extra question. Casting Roll: 23, enough for my one raise, or two raises if necessary.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

"If that will help with your investigation, then very well." replied Tadao before he pulled out his personal device and began tapping a message into it.

Tsuriko: Looks like a tattoo symbolising this ronin's otokodate, since it matches the symbol on the tantos that seems to confirm it. You can't say you're too familiar with this one in particular but it sounds like they are defined by their knife-fighting skills. Misaki's knowledge otherwise eclipses yours in this regard, but still...

Since you've been scrutinising the tattoo especially closely can you give me a special Lore check, untrained but since you have Sage that still applies.

Hanjiko: The wall shifts, and your vision focuses on it forming a large bricken face near the bullet hole, although no one else seems to see. The sound of the grinding of brick against brick fills your hearing as its expression grows more realised, its eyes open and it regards you, before speaking finally, its voice born of a low, almost distant rumble.

"Yo ishiken, you wanna know what's up?" it asks rhetorically before swiftly moving on to what you actually asked, its tone is excessively familiar and somewhat crude "There were two...." it pauses for a moment as it tries to come up with a word before it finally settles on something "... man-shapes, one empty and metal, the other full and flesh. They walked down here, metal following flesh, near here they stopped, the flesh stared at nothing and the metal one drew its weapon and felled the flesh, who didn't notice. I noticed though, metal screwed up my sweet-rear end surface! That rear end in a top hat had a 5.57% nickel impurity throughout its main body. Then the metal un-drew its weapon and moved away until I could not see it. Flesh just lay there."

After finishing this description it paused for a bit, before its expression changed again and it spoke once more. "So what else you wanna know?"

Misaki: Nothing comes to mind about this tattoo that you don't already know.

Infinite Oregano fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Mar 27, 2014

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

Done!

Unskilled Lore!: 4d10o10k3 26

Mitama
Feb 28, 2011

Iuchi Hino

Hino ignores the glass next to her. Instead, she watches the servants disappear behind the doors and frowns.

"If they have every reason to be suspicious of magistrates, they could be hiding evidence of their crimes as we speak." She speaks this in a low voice, then raises her tone for the benefit of anyone nearby. "If you don't mind, I'm going to walk around a little." She stands up.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

"Ishi-", Hanjiko almost starts to correct out of habit, but stops herself. Trying to point out the mistakes of kami doesn't generally go over well, and she'd be arguing with a rock. So "Five-point-five-seven percent... you know about metals, right? Do you know what the metal... um..." She touches her lip for a moment in thought before holding up her finger. "... the rest of the metal fella was made up of?", she says with a forced casualness to her tone, but honestly not too forced. She's pretty easygoing as far as those who can perceive beyond space go.

Willpower to resist Contrary, I figure 13 should be fine over a little thing like that.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

Tsuriko: Hmm. After a close enough examination (as you can get without personally touching the body) you realise that part of the tattoo interacts weirdly with the light (and shadow) in the scene. This brings to your mind something you read before, a while ago, something... archaic? esoteric, perhaps. But you cannot remember any specifics. Just that you felt that you've read about something like this before, though you cannot say anything particular. Perhaps some more research is necessary. Maybe someone else is more informed?

Hanjiko: The face looks at you, unblinkingly taking in your question before it finally answers. "You wanna know that sorts of stuff? Alright. The metal 'fellow' consisted off... [it lists off a string of metals (alloys and elements) by percentage composition, including aluminium, stainless steel, copper, nickel, gold, tantalum, cobalt, gallium, kaiuium (that's germanium for you folks at home), silicon, lanthanum, and a few relatively trace metallic elements that would be expected in the high-tech robotics of the far far future], with some non-metallic trace impurities of carbon, crystal, oxygen and chlorine." it rattles off, this is fairly lengthy as it takes its time to mention the composition of the metals involved to uncomfortable accuracies, at least percentage-wise and does not seem to be in a rush, it still remains uncomfortably familiar but this becomes increasingly hard to make out because it is listing statistical information.

Having done its duty, it seemingly smiles contentedly before speaking once more "Well see ya around then, one-girl." it muddles, slurring the words a little. Then its face seems to recede into the brickwork with a quiet rumble before it seems as though it was never there. No-one else is the wiser, or possibly they are being polite.

Also yeah, 13 was fine for that example.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

Her fingers flying to her pocket scribe, Hanjiko tries to record down the pertinent details as best she can, but it's a lot to take in. Still, she has a mind burning with fire, facts boiling up from the recesses of her mind easily, and... well, it's aided by the iZaku Library available to Dragon and Phoenix samurai through their Pocket Scribes™.

She tries to work through the facts given before she presents her findings to the other magistrates, trying to make sense of things and try and sift through for the important bits of data.

Trying to figure out what elements might be unusual, notable, or traceable (if Kaiuium is difficult to acquire, for example). Dropping a Void point for Lore: Earth with one raise for increased quantity of useful information. The roll is 31.
Spells / Void Remaining: 3 Air Spells, 1 Earth Spell, 2 Fire Spells, 2 Water Spells, 3 Void Spells, 1 Void Point.

Epicurius
Apr 10, 2010
College Slice
Masaru

"Good idea.", Masaru answers. "But br careful. If they think we're snooping, they'll just get more suspicious."

Lazarus picks up a shogi piece and moves it from finger to fingerof his right hand. Shogi is a popular pasttime among the Lion, but he was never any good at the game. You could tell this place was high quality, though, because it had physical boards and pieces. Most places would just have game terminals.

Masaru also wonders who's monitoring them right now and how free fingerthey are to speak.

"So, did you watch Heroes of the Wind this week? I missed it and had to record it. So please dont give away any of the episode's secrets."

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

Tsuriko points the tatto's properties out to the others! She also instructs Mei to...just sorta...move the body around a bit to see how it changes in the light.

Look I'm sure the body is fine.

It's not gonna be mad we're jiggling it around.

Mei's probably gonna be irritated she has to swing this corpse around a bit but she'll be less grumpy after a nice hot meal (which will happen after she cleans right the gently caress up of course). Plus she's an eta so it's not like anyone else would notice or actually care she's getting grumpy.

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

Misaki removed a small kit from her pack and began carefully tweezing out the bullet fragments and depositing them in an evidence bag.

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

Hanjiko: You think about it for a moment, assisted by your Pocket Scribe to visualise the information that you have been given. Without acceptable boundaries you work out what would be expected within the main body of a robot or similar form of artifice (ignoring its computational components for the moment), deducting it from the remaining information in order to ascertain what would be more expected to be found in the processing regions of an automaton.

Keeping this in mind based on the data given by the earth kami you believe that most of the materials involved would be relatively expected either in the chassis or the CPU of such a machine. However some are unusual. Crystal, when referred to in this manner is almost always used to mean the crystal that resulted from the tears of Amaterasu, which you were not aware of any electronic applications involving the material. What you do know about crystal is that it has uses in weapons against tainted and jigoku-infused things much like jade does, additionally showing use especially against minions of the Nothing/Shadow Dragon. Supposedly crystal also has a less combat-intensive use for the purposes of detecting said minions, although the specifics of such information in this day and age is relatively esoteric.

Other than that information you believe that kaiuium, lanthanum, and tantalum to be the most conspicuously rare metals present in this make-up. Given the current scale of development in this part of the galaxy, these materials are most cheaply imported from the 'southern' border or thereabouts, Yasuki (and their vassal) merchant fleets are a significant source.

Edit: Also since you got a good look at the corpse's tattoo you can make a special Lore roll (untrained but since you have Sage that applies).

Misaki: Given your prior training in munitions and similar fields you easily manage to extract the deeply impacted fragments from the wall, depositing them safely away for future analysis.


The Golden Koto, Upper City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Soshi Shosuko, Ikoma Masaru, Iuchi Hino]

The drinks having been dispensed the servant girl bows, indicating that the manageress will be coming 'presently' (however long that takes), and you are left alone again.

Hino: You carefully exit the room, making as little fuss as possible. You find yourself in a set of 'classical'-looking corridors, all wood and paper (at a glance), fine (but not too expensive) carpets cover the floor giving it a soft touch (and might well be an element that is unlike how it used to be). There is no-one about currently.

How do you intend to go about this and what are you looking for?

Masaru, Shosuko: With Hino having left you are now left alone. Do you do anything while you wait?

Infinite Oregano fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Apr 2, 2014

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

Going over her data, Hanjiko seems a bit surprised by some revelation. "Oh. Oh my.", she starts aloud, looking up without explanation, and crouches down by the body, peering at the neck, perhaps too close for comfort to the corpse, her eyes wide as she touches her cheek in thought, clearly going through some revelation before looking back to the Scribe™.

The Lore: ?????? roll should be 40 with a Void point spent.
Spells / Void Remaining: 3 Air Spells, 1 Earth Spell, 2 Fire Spells, 2 Water Spells, 3 Void Spells, 0 Void Points.

Epicurius
Apr 10, 2010
College Slice
Masaru

Masaru picks up his drink and swirls the liquid in the cup, watching the waves undulate across the surface. Maybe it's just paranoia, but he's pretty sure they're being monitored, which limits his freedom of action. After giving it more though, he decides it isn't just paranoia. If this were his establishment, he'd record the patrons, himself. So, while appearing not to, he scans the room looking for recording devices. First, though, he finishes his drink. No use letting that go to waste.

Observing the room for cameras and recording devices, Investigation/Perception, 4k2, Notice specialization

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Apr 3, 2014

Infinite Oregano
Dec 31, 2007

I'm going to make my friends eat infinite oregano and they'll have to do it because the recipe says so!
Unnamed Alleyway, Lower City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Kitsuki Tsuriko, Asako Hanjiko, Oroku Misaki]

Hanjiko: You come to a stunning realisation regarding this tattoo, or part of it at least. The way a part of it (one of the 'tanto' depicted in the tattoo) interacts with the light is similar yet different from something that you read once, during the dark hours when you accessed something that was relatively restricted - but then the Phoenix's archives on all sorts of magic are legendary, even if that magic might be untoward.

Namely this resembles, somewhat, a working of tejina also sometimes called kage-do. Shadow magic - magic that draws from the power of the Lying Darkness - or since the War Against the Darkness it would draw upon the power of the Shadow Dragon. In particular this appears to be a kage yakiin also known as a Shadow Brand, although it seems to resemble a slightly different version of the the traditional brand - which records state that they have no set form and are immediately visibly disturbing to behold - rather than this form which appears to be some measure to disguise and hide its presence - perhaps a more advanced working - or maybe this is a consequence of the Shadow Dragon being the progenitor, rather than the Lying Darkness?

Nonetheless, Shadow Brands are (or were, at the least - supposedly the practice was abandoned after the work of the Lying Darkness became evident) practised by the Soshi family of the Scorpion - and require a complex, lengthy, and painful ritual - permanently branding the subject. Although scholars in this day and age can only speculate (and then not in polite company due to the distaste for this subject) on the rationale, it is believed that the Soshi back then thought that it was a means of exercising control over the Nothing, but the reverse in fact seems to be true - and the Lying Darkness used the Shadow Brands in the past as another method of working its insidious corruption into the world, and the Shadow Branded were the ones who were being deceived and controlled. This fact came to light during the aforementioned War Against the Darkness and since then it has (as far as you know) been discontinued. There are rumours of there being some faction of the Soshi that studied the nature of Nothing after this but supposedly even they did not dare use the Shadow Brands.

The existence of this Shadow Brand in particular poses a mystery, coupled with its different design suggests that it is either an advancement of theory, a more refined Shadow Brand perhaps due to experimentation - or otherwise it is an independent development by some other faction who have managed to foolishly grasp the same power. The powers of the Shadow Brands inherently grant an amount of preternatural stealth, alongside (depending on the number of brands or how infected a given creature is by shadow) other talents bestowed by Nothing.


The Golden Koto, Upper City, City of the Splintered Oar, World of Dreams [Soshi Shosuko, Ikoma Masaru]

Masaru: Nothing is immediately apparent to you, but this might just be a testament to how well hidden such devices are, if they indeed exist.

Infinite Oregano fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Apr 4, 2014

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

There's an audible gasp from Hanjiko as she stares at the body for a moment, and then starts up. There's a pause as she holds her breath, and then seems to exhale more deliberately, relaxing. "False alarm.", she says, smiling at the other two. "Feel free to complete your investigations... the smell is starting to make me a little faint." She gives an apologetic smile, making her way back towards their arrival point.

As she walks away from the alley, she dashes a quick message with her finger through the Scribe™, sending a quick text to Kitsuki. It reads ~Make sure the body is secure when the investigation is complete. Consider the Scorpion suspect.~ Quickly putting the scribe away for the moment, she gestures her hands into a meditative position, trying to clear her mind despite newfound, worrying revelations.

Making a Sincerity roll of 38 to hide her shock and surprise at the revelations, particularly from Tadao and his associates. Also, taking a moment to cast Drawing Upon the Void, with three raises to gain an extra Void (one of them free) making it TN 20, with a roll of 21 recovering two Void points.
Spells / Void Remaining: 3 Air Spells, 1 Earth Spell, 2 Fire Spells, 2 Water Spells, 2 Void Spells, 2 Void Points.

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

Misaki studiously ignored the shugenja. It was hardly surprising she would be squeamish around a corpse; the Phoenix were second only to the Crane in breeding weak-stomached individuals.

"Kitsuki-san, I'm finished here. Whenever you are ready."

She gestured slightly to the footprints.

ProfessorCirno
Feb 17, 2011

The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!
Kitsuki Tsuriko

[@Asako-san unless you want to take the body with you, we have to leave it with the Scorpion.]

"Right. Let's trace these tracks."

Kitsuki leaves with Mei in tow, following the footprints.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Asako Hanjiko

Feeling the buzz of the communicator snaps Hanjiko out of her standing meditation, she squints at the communicator. ~The tattoo contains forbidden technology originally devised by the Scorpion.~, she types out with quick strokes, hitting send before tapping the communicator against her chin. She leaves all the implications for the Kitsuki to work out easily, of course.

MollyMetroid
Jan 20, 2004

Trout Clan Daimyo
Shosuko

Shosuko leans back and waits, idly tapping her fingers and ignoring the tea set before her -- and her companions for that matter.

After Masaru speaks, Shosuko waits just long enough to let the silence become uncomfortable, then says -- apparently in response -- "It's generally a bad idea to keep a Soshi Magistrate waiting too long. We tend to get bored easily...and we can be downright creative when it comes to finding ways to alleviate our boredom."

if we ARE being monitored, they'll hear the threat implicit in her tone.

Shardix
Sep 14, 2011

Don't have a fire cow, man
Misaki

With a nod Misaki strode next to Tsuriko, quietly pointing out the trail as they went.

"Asako-san. Have the kami anything to say?" A blunt question, and the tone bordering on sacrilegious.


Hunting roll: [19:15] <+Morphball> Shardix: 30 = 4k2(5,5,[10,2],[10,8])

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Mitama
Feb 28, 2011

Iuchi Hino

Hino isn't exactly the master of stealth and subterfuge here, but she forces her body to make quiet steps as she explores the tea house. Maybe she can find the center of whatever illicit operations they're hiding in here. It would be enough leverage to get information about their target, if he has passed over here for passports.

She recalls that the servants that the servants come to and from a certain hallway here, probably where the staff-only areas are. Hino heads out to find them, hopefully her strength and her authority enough to brute force her way through.

  • Locked thread