S2E28: Unmasked

Podcast of the Five Rings

The door of the shack slid open and Kenshi stood face to face with the man described at the sake house. A large, hairy man with an eyepatch over his left eye. Kenshi pretended to be a relative of one of the dead arsonists, Yuki, who was connected to the Otomo Guest House attack. Meanwhile, Buro hid behind the shack as backup.

The large man quickly ushered Kenshi inside his meager hovel and offered him tea. While the two talked, Kenshi noticed the large man slip something into his tea before handing it to him. Feeling that he was in danger, Kenshi gave the word, and Buro launched a boulder at the man, destroying his home, and starting a brawl.

The three drew their weapons and fought on the cold hillside outside of Otosan Uchi, the sun setting and winter drawing near. Kenshi interrogated the man and tried to goad him into giving away his secrets. The man drew his knife and fought back, cutting Kenshi deep on his left arm. Buro countered, swinging ferociously at the man, swords in both hands. The man seemed incensed at the sight of Buro, and turned his attention to him. As the three fought, Kenshi’s words stung the man, and his enmity toward Buro became too much to bear. The man unmasked, and said something that injured Buro more deeply than any knife could.

“You’re a disappointment to our clan,” the man said. With those few words, Buro’s world was turned upside down. The man he was fighting was an agent of his own clan. Within moments, the implications behind this man’s identity spread like wildfire. It meant The Scorpion agitated those dockworkers into attacking the Otomo Guest House. The Scorpion used it to get Yoshi’s armor into their embassy. And the Scorpion used the investigation to further their grasp on the capital. It was all planned. His suspicions which had been mounting over the last few weeks, finally erupted from him. He cursed The Scorpion, and denounced them for their wicked machinations.

This only seemed to anger the man further. He lunged at Buro with a terrible strike, thrusting his knife deep into Buro’s thigh, and leaving a grave wound. The man now seemed hellbent on ending Buro’s life.

The three desperately striked, parried, and dodged, each one knowing their life was at stake, until finally the man felt he was at his limit. Attempting an escape, he threw a metsubushi. With a bright flash and a bang, he tried to disorient Buro and Kenshi, and hide in the cloud of smoke now rising from the ground.

Seeing through his pathetic ruse, Buro summoned a stone tetsubo and struck the man down, incapacitating him. Kenshi then slew the man, finishing him off.

The two investigated the man’s body and found a notebook filled with observations. He was taking detailed notes on the patrons of the sake house, the commoners working the docks, the interactions they have, the gossip he picks up from them, and ways he may be able to influence or manipulate them. They then searched his home and found a trapdoor hidden beneath his bed, and a small vial of poison stashed away with his cooking materials. Searching his belongings, they also found a name: Shosuro Izuki.

Kenshi and Buro stood on the hill in the cold night, looking at the twinkling lights of Otosan Uchi, the sprawling giant on the bay. They were unsure of their next move, but of one thing they agreed-- after tonight, nothing will be the same.

Credits

Album Art by Dylon Munoz

Music

"Rokugan Theme" by Brandon Spain

"RRMX WOOD METAL GLASS EXPLODE" by skyklan47 at https://freesound.org/people/skyklan47/sounds/193478/

"The Staredown" by Podcast of the Five Rings

"Interloper" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artwork by Dylon Munoz

Music by Brandon Spain & Podcast of the Five Rings