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 Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 12:11 am
Yup, it was a smell she'd encountered before, if rarely, and in the midst of the worst suffering she'd seen. Not something she'd expected to see in the hands of peasants, certainly. Still, it was at the attention of a Crane magistrate now - not that she had an extent of trust for Tsuyoshi, but at least he seemed to be handling it.
"Mm. No reason this shouldn't remain a Crane problem. I'm surprised, though. I've seen Samurai use opium in wartime, a risky but tolerable tool when pain relief resources are in short supply, but for peasants to get their hands on it? I can't imagine this was easy to acquire, and to risk addiction withdrawals... they're either stupid, willing to resort to banditry to get enough money for a regular supply, or they have a benefactor who will bring them more." she peeked in and gave the motley crew a glance-over, followed by a frown of pity. "And to be so calm about it... whatever the case, you would have been far better off sticking with tobacco. Mm, but I'm just the messenger." she concluded, and turned to get back on her pony, giving the peasants a second thought but not a second glance. If this did turn into another ambush she wanted Rakurai to be at a safe distance this time.
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 12:51 am
The peasants seemed oblivious to Tsuyoshi's implications, until the request for them to bring out their opium happened. Then suddenly they got REAL nervous.
"Uh... as... as you wish, samurai-sama," the handsome one would say, swallowing deep. Turning to the young one, he'd tell him, "Soetsu, go get samurai-sama all the opium we were smoking."
The young would would take a second or two to process the request before going to do so. Tsuyoshi, you sense from the implications in the man's voice, is that they're purposely holding something back.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:05 am
As Chiharu waited quietly for the man to return, and her party seems to be only waiting she gently addressed one more question to those heimin:
—Are you farmers in this region? Where are your families?
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:07 pm
The talkative handsome one would answer Chiharu as the young one was gathering the opium flowers for Tsuyoshi. "Just us, ma'am. These were our lands before the war, but not all of us made it. We had to evacuate to Ryoko Owari. Only us four and our mother made it out, and she passed away before the war ended. We were lucky enough to be able to get our own lands back; not everyone ended up where they were before the war."
"Here you go," the young one would say when he returned to Tsuyoshi, though he would add a passive-aggressive "... sir." The parchment he held in his hands hand many flowers that Tsuyoshi would recognize as opium poppy, though many of them had been dissected and cut up. Maybe about a dozen or so in total.
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:27 pm
Chiharu semblance would be saddened by the story, while the flowers wouldn't change much to her appearance, she didn't seem to recognize how serious that was:
—I'm sorry for your loss and I shall pray to the fortunes for your family. Having descendants and honoring the ancestors is among our duties to the Empire. Now that you are back to your lands... are you in need of anything to tend to the crops?
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:08 am
Tsuyoshi bowed his head slightly as Chiharu spoke, in time with her offer of consolidation and prayer. "You have had difficulties, but all of the empire struggles to recover now. This comfort- it is not only against the son of heaven's will, it makes you slip from the eyes of Ebisu. Your lack of toil here could starve yourselves, and others who depend on this land, come winter." His mouth was tight from the embarrassment and his anger at the peasants, but he tried to moderate himself. "In light of your hardship and cooperation, I will leave you without punishment. Provided I find no other contraband within. There is nothing you need to return to deliver to me, is there?"
He asked, indicating the hut he intended to search if the peasants were done. They seemed to be hiding something more, and poorly, but cutting them down would hardly do anything to help these lands yield crops.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 12:11 pm
The handsome peasant brother would look to Chiharu, giving her a reassuring smile. "No, we are good," he'd say. "Thank you for your kind thoughts, samurai-sama."
Tsuyoshi would speak next, asking if there was anything more to find. He would be met by stares from all for a couple long awkwardly silent seconds, before they looked to each other and realized no one was answering.
"No, samurai-sama!" the weasely one would then blurt out, waving his hands in front of him. "That's everything. Eheheheh."
"Yessir, we're done our break and ready to get back to work!" the handsome one would confirm, doing a arm-pump-flex to show he (and by association, his brothers) were ready.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 1:02 am
Knowing that everything was fine and that the work would soon be resumed Chiharu allowed herself a mild smile towards the heimin.
—The heavens are to watch your efforts. I shall remember your readiness next time a visit this lands.
She seemed inclined to reward them with some coins, in hopes to encourage them to work. But Tsuyoshi made clear that they had done something wrong, against the will of he Emperor. It was no time to praise them, even if she could understand the harshness of their lives.
At least, the situation look controlled, she was hoping the Imperial would agree with it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:46 pm
Tsuyoshi collects the opiates that the peasants turn over to him without incident.
If everyone feels everything is resolved here, what would everyone like to do? Is everyone moving on? I'll post a more detailed follow-up once I know everyone's intention.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:46 am
A part of her wanted to believe that Tsuyoshi was handling this correctly. It certainly appeared so, which allowed her to simply stand back with pitying expression and watch. But the rest of her had very little trust in the man, and even less trust for the obviously deceptive peasants. Further proof of the Divine Order and why heimin had no place as courtiers. It was a strange conflict between her duty to the Empire and self-preservation telling her she shouldn't give them any extra reason to be swayed by her mysterious assassin. In the end that self-preservation won out. She was a Herald, not a Magistrate. Policing peasants was comfortably outside of her duty here, but she would make sure to ask Tsuyoshi his plans on the matter once they were out of earshot.
"Take whatever time you need here and let me know when you're ready to move on. I'll be nearby." she stated simply, giving the gathered group a little nod before hopping back up on her pony and guiding him a short ways away from the buildings, keeping in sight but otherwise staying out of the way to keep her presence from interfering with Magistrate work.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:39 am
Chiharu heard the Imperial and found no reason to delay her further. She waved a blessing to the heimin and moved along, following back to the road.
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Psychofish rolled 5 10-sided dice:
8, 1, 7, 9, 5
Total: 30 (5-50)
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:30 am
Tsuyoshi really didn't trust their manner either, but looking at the imperial getting ready to go he made his search inside quick, looking for further contraband with a hurry in mind. Assuming he didn't find any more that needed his further attention, he had just one line of questioning for the peasants before he left:
"Have there been any other strangers travelling through the area recently?"
[5k3 Investigation/Perception: 9+8+7=24 vs TN+5]
[One raise to search more quickly.]
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:41 pm
Tsuyoshi: Despite the obedience of the peasants, you make yourself right at home, kind of to their confusion and alarm (varying from brother to brother).
"S-samurai-sama, there's no need. We don't want to keep you from your responsibilities," the handsome peasant would say, trying to keep pace with you and walk where you walked.
The air in here is... well, probably nauseating. You see that they've purposely tried to seal off the windows - whether to keep out the very-early-spring cold, or for privacy, or to keep in the delicious delicious opiate fumes (or maybe some combination thereof), it's trying to breathe. The drug haze also has a mixture of human body odor, which doesn't help things much. Plus a couple other things that you'd rather not hazard a guess at.
One thing catches your eye; the table they were sitting at seems a bit out of place. There are some slight marks on the wood floor where the table's legs obviously stood (with tiny scratches when jostled), but it doesn't seem to be anywhere near those points now.
You've raised for quickness so you can get in and out without the Raw Earth roll; but if you wish to remain further, one will be required. The follow-up investigation roll will also then be Stamina-based and not Perception-based.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:29 am
The table had been moved, but that was the only sign of suspicion. Tsuyoshi honestly wasn't sure if even that was suspicious enough to have warranted searching in any other circumstance, but with as unpleasant as this place was and everything else he decided to leave it at that, exiting the hut again and trying to purge the odors from his nose.
That left only one thing before he left- aiming for that answer on if they had received any other passer-by's or not. If the answer was no, he'd be on his way. The only reason to posit the question, after all, was if it might lead to information about the mysterious figure out to get his charge.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:29 pm
"No, samurai-sama. Not that we've noticed," the handsome one would respond, quickly doing a visual check of his brothers, none of which refuted this.
Tsuyoshi, they do seem to be more forthright about this than they were earlier about their activities.
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