"They may, but no one knows much except for worry and fear. But," he said, dropping his voice and stepping closer to Hikari, "if a well intentioned piece of paper makes them feel better, then they feel better. And it's not so hard to swallow as begging for food from the street merchants at the end of the day after having had to smell it for hours and hours. Neh?"

He gave her a nervous smile.

"You mentioned someone whose friend was taken. The one who heard a sound. Take us to this person, so that we might hear what *they* have to say."

"I... I don't know how to find her, so sorry," the man said with a quiver, bowing fearfully. He gulped then added, "But I-I can... I can take you to where the last attack was!"

"And they call me a liar," Akarei mused with a wide grin, "What is this woman's name, anyways?"

"Take us to the place of the last attack," she said, casting a quick glance at Akarei, "and while we're walking, try to remember about the woman."

"It's... ehh....," he said as he walked, "I don't remember, never heard. Never asked her, either. Just heard that she had said that the only reason she thought she escaped was because she bought one of my talismans."

His voice cringed and he looked down at the feet with slumped shoulders. Still, he submissively plodded his way through tiny alleys and hairpin corners until they reached a well deep within the slums of the Pan.

"Here it was. See, if you look closely at the corner, there," he said, walking over and pointing one specific point on the wooden base, "See? It's a little darkened still. Might just be blood, I heard she tripped and fell when running away and struck her head, but people have been saying that maybe it's a mark of evil.... Not that I'd know, not that I'm telling you it is. You know better, and I know nothing."

Hikari used her average powers of perception to... try and notice things. She probably didn't though.

Perception / Investigation, TN??: 4d10o10k2 13

"Perhaps this," the yoriki noted, though every time it seemed that she was offering nothing new.

---

D1 LM Investigation/Perception: 3d10o10k2 13

The dark stain on the well definitely wasn't a part of the rest of the wood, but whether it was blood or something else, it's indistinguishable. And given that the site was nearly a month old, long gone was any shred of crime scene integrity. The old man pulled a paltry string of zeni from the small bamboo container his wares are housed in and he slipped it into a catch pocket within his sleeve.

"See! See what I say is true? Or at least, as true as I know," he repeated unconvincingly, before his voice began to plead slightly, "So if you have no further need of me, may I go? I hope you find whatever this is tomorrow evening.... or else more will die."

"Not yet," she said absentmindedly while taking a scroll from her satchel; and started praying to the kami of air. It was not her strongest element to be sure, but the kami nonetheless came to her call... hopefully with good results.

"Kami of Air, I beseech you, gather that which came from the one who'se taken a life here."


Spellcasting: Gathering Swirl (TN10): 4d10o10k2 14

As Hikari produced a scroll, the old man's eyes grew wider and he took three cautious steps backwards away from her. Once the invocation was completed, a rustling echoed from behind the trio. Wind blew through dilapidated housing and sounded chimes. Once it reached them, it began quickly whipping around the Seppun's feet. Dust kicked into the air and a gust tugged at the hem of each samurai's kimono. As it settled, nothing settled in Hikari's outstretched hand. Not even a thin film of dust, which conspicuously parted around it while it wafted back to the ground once more.

"Awww nuts," she snapped her fingers as the result proved disappointing. Placing the scroll back in her satchel, Hikari's mind wandered... hoping to figure out the optimal place to perform a stakeout tomorrow night based on what was known at this point.

Lore: Spirit Realms (sage), TN??: 5d10o10k4 19

"Thank you," she stated to the air kami with her head bowed. The yoriki then popped open her own satchel and fingered through her scrolls. She then pulled out her chosen one, a favored of the Kuni, and recited it calmly. At the last line, she held her palm out towards their dear assistant and blasted him with the power of Jade.

---

D1 LM Jade Strike TN 10: 5d10o10k3 19
D1 LM Jade Strike Damage (If Applicable): 3d10o10k3 20

The old man bowed more quickly than deeply and began to depart when the Yogo's quick prayer was answered. Streaks of green flame leapt from her outstretched palm towards the beggar. His eyes widened, surprised by the sudden appearance of the gout of holy fire while emerald reflected from his eyes. He had barely begun to spin around to flee when the flames struck him, washing over his torso. Once they quickly abated, it revealed only his tattered kimono which had been harmed only by neglect and the passage of time.

Screaming, he ran down an alleyway with his arms flailing in an attempt to put out a fire that never burned him.

Hikari had thought her Yoriki would do something clever, using a spell not in Hikari's own repertoire. Perhaps she could find answers where Hikari could not...

... but no, that was of course not what she did.

She watched the man scream and run away, and when his screams started fading into the distance, Hikari's fan opened and snapped shut again, producing a loud clack.

"Right," the magistrate said with her usual levity, "very useful, Yogo-san. Of course, he's still a charlatan peddling fake magic, so even if he's not an abomination you're still going to see to it that he is brought to account for his crimes."

Akarei was, after all, the one who'd chased him away. It was only fair. Whether she did it with actual legwork or just by getting some of the doshin to scour the marketplace for him the next day, that wasn't really the magistrate's concern though.

The Yogo let out a sigh. "I will return shortly." She then ran after the man and waves her hand at him. "Come back! Fleeing from the Jade Office is far worse than what I did!"

The man continued to flee without answer, leaving unclear whether he did not hear, did not believe, or was simply too afraid of the woman to tried to set him on fire to be rational.

While she had tasked her yoriki with the ordeal of capturing the master criminal, Hikari still got out a new scroll and called upon the kami. This time, they were the kami of Earth; and she knew they had responded to her call when a giant hand made of stone pushed up through the soil at the end of the alleyway, grasping the fleeing man in its grip.

"Alright alright," she raised her voice, "enough fooling around."

Spellcasting: Grasp of Earth, 1 raise to lower casting time (TN20): 5d10o10k3 24 (Target may only move '3 as a simple action per round, is unable to move with Free Move actions, and may only break with a raw strength roll versus TN15. Lasts for 5 rounds)