Iron Hearts: Kameyama Jima
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Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
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Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Kenzo set his mug down with a thump. "Well, that can't be a coincidence." His hands began to shake just a little with excitement. Could this be part of the lost clan, here, in this place?

But... Burning Sands? "Wait, the burning sands? Near Medinaat al-Salaam?" He repeated the name of the city he'd heard from Berena. "Surely..." Kenzo sighed. "I fear that this is more than I can make sense of. I study animals, not history."

Kenzo, after a moment's hesitation, glad he'd had a chance to clean his hands thoroughly, took one of the dumplings. His eyes widened at the strong taste, unfamiliar meat warring with his hunger. In the end, hunger, as well as a swallow of beer, won.
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
At the mention of the Jewel, Khenbish's strange left eye blazed, and glared at the foreigner, "you know the Yobanjin tongue and you know the Jewel of the Horizon. You come from a place near there," he concluded, "but you find it strange I am too."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Man of science though he was, Kenzo couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy under the glare of that eye.

Still, Kenzo sturdily shook his head. "I have never been there. I come from Rokugan.
There are no deserts there. Yobanjin is spoken by a people just outside our borders, and it's very forested there. I only know of Medinaat al-Salaam from a companion of mine; I've never been there myself."

He sighed. "This is all very confusing. I wish we could properly compare notes, or maps, but I'm not a cartographer, myself."
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 5:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Khenbish shrugged with a non-commital grunt and resumed eating in silence, pausing occasionally to take another draught of beer. He hardly faulted the man, Khenbish’s own grasp of geography was limited to the searing desert that stretched out around the Jewel. His mental map - a detailed depiction of the Sands, with some vaguely defined landmarks placed outside those borders - had no ‘Rokugan’, and he silently considered where it might lie.
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
For a time, too, Kenzo was content to eat in silence, frowning as he considered the various possibilities.

Finally, he spoke up once more. "Well, ah, Khenbish. When I explore territory I've never been in before, if someone else has, I like to consult with them, first." He spread his hands. "Do you have any words of advice for someone new to this place?"
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Khenbish finished his meal and grunted, "keep those pistols close, and your purse closer. He brought a hand up, slipping it under the high collar of his burnt orange jama and touching the left side of his neck. "The Mamluks keep good order, but caution is never a bad thing."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"I see... Kenzo frowned thoughtfully, his forehead creasing, clearly taking Khen's words to heart. "I gather that it may be asking for trouble to go about unarmed, then?" That would definitely have to be passed along.

His eating slowed, his stomach strained by the rich food after the month of more bland fare. "Mamluks." He frowned. The word was unfamiliar. "Is this city run by the Mamluks, then?"
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Stroking his neck, "Mamluks are warriors, very elite. They keep order, but do not run things." Khenbish drained the last of his beer and signalled to the girl to bring another, "if you know how to shoot those pistols, you should know going any strange place unarmed is asking for trouble."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Kenzo rubbed his chin thoughtfull. "I see. Or at least, I think I do. Mamluks are warriors, then. Are they... hmm.
Would you say they are sworn to those who run the city? Pardon my ignorance." Still, one couldn't learn without asking questions.

For his part, Kenzo was still working his way through his beer, and seemed unlikely to finish it. His lips twisted at the comment, amused. "Oh yes, I know how to use them." The smile faded a little. "Still, there's various degrees of asking for trouble. I want to make sure that my shipmates who aren't quite so armed stay safe. Would a good blade be enough to keep it away?" He gestured at his hip, where his two swords were.
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 7:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Shrugging, "I'm just a soldier. You want to know who manages things, you need to talk to an Ide." The serving girl bustled over and placed two more mugs on the table, hurrying off before the men could react, the dumpling shop was growing ever busier.

Khenbish reached for the fresh mug, taking a deep draught. "Plenty of people get by without a blade or a gun. If your friends are worried, there are always bodyguards for hire."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
A more awake Kenzo would have noted the name Ide, and reacted. As it was, the reference went by Kenzo without comment. He would only notice it later.

He grunted. "Fair enough." He shrugged. "Well, can I ask where you fit in? You're a warrior, obviously." He gave Khen a respectful nod. "Does that mean you're a Mamluk? Or, something else?
And I apologize if the question is a rude one. I don't know your customs."

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Sleepy history, unskilled, fatigue: 3d10 18
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
With only the slightest change of expression, Khenbish scoffed, "all respect to the Mamluks, but no, I'm not one of those half-men. But I also serve the Khan, and the Khan says 'sail west'. I sail west."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"Half-men? Khan?" Kenzo chuckled. "I suspect that I could go on for some time without ever running out of questions."

He sighed, smirking. "At the same time, though, it sounds as though there are similarities. I serve at the pleasure of the Dragon clan, and when my superiors tell me to do a thing, well!" He shrugged. "I do that thing, like you said."
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"Half-men," Khenbish grunted, miming grabbing something with his right hand and quick, upward slice with an invisible blade in his left. "The Khan leads all the Tarkanate, and another Khan the Unicorn. He calls himself Khagan, Khan of Khans, but we will see." He nodded solemnly.
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Without the accompanying gesture, Kenzo might have missed the significance of the phrase. With the gesture, however, it was fairly unmistakable. As a bushi, Kenzo was used to a certain amount of violence, but... he swallowed, as he found his knees suddenly involuntarily pressing together. "Oh my." He murmured, forgetting to use Yobanjin. He swallowed again, regretting his last few dumplings. Instead, he took a swallow of beer.

"Ah, goodness. I can see how that would make them... focused." He cleared his throat. "But...
as a samurai, it will someday be my duty to have children. Where do new mamluks come from? Is it an honor to become one?" It didn't sound like one...
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Wed Nov 01, 2017 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"Great honour, to hear them tell it." Khenbish scoffed, "I can think of less pleasant duties, but the Mamluks are taken from the strongest and most promising children, not just Tarkanate or Unicorn. Service is their only duty."
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"I see." Kenzo's lips twisted, amused at the particular phrasing.

He was silent a few moments, considering. "I also don't know 'Takarnate.' How do they relate to the Unicorn..." Kenzo rubbed his face. He knew the tribe of Shinjo was the Ki-Rin... he felt as if his exhausted mind was just missing some important clue.
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Wed Nov 01, 2017 11:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
Khenbish grunted, what’s with all the questions? don’t they teach soldiers discipline in roko-ghan? His hand went to his neck again, then fell away as he spoke, gesturing as he did so. “After Shinjo made her promise to always return, the Unicorn split up, cover more ground. The Ide and the Moto came to Medinaat al-Salaam, made a home there, became the Tarkanate. We were apart a long time. Perhaps it is good the Unicorn have come together again, perhaps it is a dark omen.”
Author:  Mirumoto Kenzo [ Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"Oh?" Kenzo said, his eyebrows going up. "And what do you think it would be an omen of? To my limited understanding, omens are expected to indicate specific happenings."
Author:  Moto Khenbish [ Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taking Your Lumps [D4 EA]
"Shinjo promised to return, when the need was great. The rejoining of the Unicorn could be the first step." Khenbish placed his left hand against the base of his throat and rubbed his neck with his thumb.
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