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[vishdafish]

((I think we should capture and interrogate the Crane clan dude, then kill him and frame lion/phoenix. Should we do it when he goes back by boat or in the palace? We always have the chef dude to help us poison him with paralysing poison while he is having a private meal.))

[somemildmanneredidiot]

Aaaand the post got eaten.

I have ideas and plans that I started to type but I'll just provide the questions right now.

Ask about whom we can trust to purchase from, whom we can trust to get information from and won't immediately share that we're alive and around again, what else the Crane Sailors have blabbed about, if the Nanban have any interesting things for trade especially those related to our profession,  if any major or minor political players have been making unusual moves, what the other clans have been doing politics wise, and if Tsuki is willing to pass along a discrete message to the Daiymo through Genji and if so how long that would take.

Current Plan (Do not engage action, we need to figure out where exactly Ogino is and what his relationship to our Daimyo is, as if he's in her personal circle, we don't want to reveal ourselves):
Arrange a meeting with our daiymo, letting her know that we have relevant information, that Ogino Iemochi is a traitor to the clan and is in conspiracy with other clans against Scorpion and possibly the Emperor.

Get resources from her to pursue the investigation  (and therefore our vengance) much more efficiently and with greater effect.

Wreck Face.
____
The above depends on what information we get while we scout out things ourselves.

[NRDL]

Chasing him through official channels might work, but as an addendum to your plan, have a backup strategy incase A ) The daimyo is not our friend, and B ) Ogino has informants in the Daimyo's court.  At the very least, we should have an official daimyo-sanctioned plan that would do fine if it does work, but also our own little operation that no one else knows about, that way we can strike or retreat whilst Ogino thinks he has where he wants us.

[vishdafish]

Aaaand the post got eaten.

I have ideas and plans that I started to type but I'll just provide the questions right now.

Ask about whom we can trust to purchase from, whom we can trust to get information from and won't immediately share that we're alive and around again, what else the Crane Sailors have blabbed about, if the Nanban have any interesting things for trade especially those related to our profession,  if any major or minor political players have been making unusual moves, what the other clans have been doing politics wise, and if Tsuki is willing to pass along a discrete message to the Daiymo through Genji and if so how long that would take.

Current Plan (Do not engage action, we need to figure out where exactly Ogino is and what his relationship to our Daimyo is, as if he's in her personal circle, we don't want to reveal ourselves):
Arrange a meeting with our daiymo, letting her know that we have relevant information, that Ogino Iemochi is a traitor to the clan and is in conspiracy with other clans against Scorpion and possibly the Emperor.

Get resources from her to pursue the investigation  (and therefore our vengance) much more efficiently and with greater effect.

Wreck Face.
____
The above depends on what information we get while we scout out things ourselves.

+1 to bolded action. While we are at it, ask Tsuki if she knows any trustworthy people, skilled with weapons or possesing unique talents we can hire/take into our company.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

Right, bolding actions is convenient for everyone, I keep forgetting that. Editted. Agreed on looking for notable possible companions and the caution and back up planning, though we'll need a plan more specific then the general idea plan for us to make a back up plan.

[Pancaek]

Ask about whom we can trust to purchase from, whom we can trust to get information from and won't immediately share that we're alive and around again, what else the Crane Sailors have blabbed about, if the Nanban have any interesting things for trade especially those related to our profession,  if any major or minor political players have been making unusual moves, what the other clans have been doing politics wise, and if Tsuki is willing to pass along a discrete message to the Daiymo through Genji and if so how long that would take.

+1 to bolded action. While we are at it, ask Tsuki if she knows any trustworthy people, skilled with weapons or possesing unique talents we can hire/take into our company.

((That's a lot of questions. I'll do them one by one, it's a bit less organic but we might as well get them out of the way in an effecient manner so we can move on.))

Turn 17

Sayo's snackhouse

"Tsuki, I need a place I can trust to purchase stuff from. Also someone who can get me information and who can be discreet."

"Well, there's always the Matsudaira's shop. Old man Matsudaira and his son have always been the don't ask don't tell kind of people, even back when I trained under you. As for information, you need look no further sensei. If there's one thing the Hyakka are good at, it's information gathering. Just come to me if you need any info."

"Right. Did those sailors say anything else worthwhile? And did the nanban bring anything that could be helpful?"

"Besides what I already told you? Not really. They've only been here a short while and all they've done since is either boozing the night away, or boozing the day away. Those sailors are doing wonders for the local alcohol trade. As for the Nanban, they brought some amazing things with them. Cannons that can shoot up to a kilometer away and sound like raging thunder! Portable teppo that can punch through a samurai's armour at a two hundred paces! Breastplates made from the toughest steel I've ever seen. Their crafts are really something else."

"Hmm, what about politics. Anyone made any unusual moves?"

"Most of the clans are doing the same thing as ever, really. The mantis clan throw caution to the wind and have parties like always. The Dragon clan stay on Kyushu and don't bother too much with the mainland, though they grumble a lot about the Phoenix clan's zealotry about 'good' and 'bad' magics, as always. Our clan tries to not draw too much attention to ourselves, but the daimyo has been very open about her dissatisfaction with the Crane Clan response to the bandit attack. The Crane, Phoenix and Lion clans are very buddy buddy with eachother, as usual. The Crab clan remain stoic, but like to tease and prod the Lion whenever they can. And the Spider clan remains elusive, nobody really hears from them and they are rarely seen outside of Hokkaido. So no, no unusual moves that I can see from over here."

"I see. Tsuki, can you get a discreet message to Genji?"

She smiles at this.

"Please, sensei. Can the leader of the red light district's secret police who trained under the Shogun's Shadow himself get a discreet message to the palace? Of course I can."

"Thank you, Tsuki. Before you go, do you know of any good candidates to recruit on my quest? Trustworthy people with combat experience or possessing unique talents?"

"Hmm. Well, I don't know about trustworthy, but off the top of my head I can think of two people who I'd certainly describe as special.

There is a Spider Clan warrior who has been drinking everyone udner the table for the past few weeks. Several brawls have broken out, demanding that the stranger reveal their face, but every time they just quietly beats up the loudmouths and go back to drinking. You wouldn't think that's anything special, but I've had reports pass my desk that they've beaten up 10 sailors at once, using nothing but their fists. They can often be found by that seedy bar near the docks.

And then there's a, uh, bit of an odd one out. There's this Nanban who came to Nippon due to a shipbreak a few years ago. Up until recently he was working for the Mantis clan, as a go-between and translator for other Nanban. Somehow, he's ended up in this city. More importantly, he's in jail for attempting to steal the golden buddha statue in the temple. I've heard that he's an an expert marksman. He's also very glib, and plays some good music if the local bargoers are to be believed. If you want to meet him, just go to the cells. I'll have on eo fmy people make sure the guards don't give you any trouble."

[vishdafish]

((We need cash- anybody got any plans on how to make it? I was thinking maybe raid a village, or loot a foreigners' ship. We can break out the foreigner in the prison and hire him afterwards. He seems to have a lot of contact with other foreigners, and they might know something about the Crane clan dude, since they hang out at the port frequently and dont have much loyalty to a specific faction.))

[somemildmanneredidiot]

@Pancaek: When is the banquet? That is what is going to determine our time scale.

Do we know of financial opportunities that could be had here? Anything that our particular skills would be of use of and would not take a day or two at most/can be resolved before the banquet?

How much does it cost to stay at Sayo's and are we able to do work for her in exchange for staying there? If the Daiymo doesn't work out, that will probably be our best opportunity to hide out at the moment.

The Plan part 2:

1. Ask Tsuki to quietly inquire about our target and the Crane official. We need to know where they both are, what they're currently doing, and what their poltical statuses are. Before we contact the Daiymo, we need to know that the target is not in a position of strength in regards to her in relation to us. If she could also give her the go ahead on letting us see the Nanban marksman, we'd appreciate it. Also, though it brings shame to us, we should ask her what financial opportunities that might be made that our particular skills are useful for.

2. Hit the streets. Look for fast, discrete jobs to do to fatten our purse while we make our way to, first, the Spider and then the Nanban. We might be able to secure their use for our future endeavors. Having some companions on the road will be useful. We should also catiously look into our target and the Crane while we're out and about. Afterwards we should meet with Tsuki for more planning.

3. Depending on our funds, we should shop, restock, and look into those portable teppo as well.

4. To be determined depending on the information we can dig up.

We should ask the above questions if we don't know them as well as set up 1 in the above plan.

I want to sort out all of our information that we can before making moves.

[NRDL]

+1 to the above, gathering info and making money sounds like a good idea.  As to actual money making schemes, I was thinking either blackmail or hostage taking for quickest bang for buck. Find some wealthy unconnected merchant ( asking Tsuki about his connections if any, let's avoid anyone with ties to our main targets ) and see if there's any dirt we can extract on him or loved ones to kidnap.  Just a suggestion.

[vishdafish]

+1 to above posts.

((Ransom is a good idea, pretty quick and good cash.))

[NRDL]

I just wish we had a completely non-lethal knock out poison, keep someone in a coma as opposed to awakened paralysis, that way we don't have to worry about the kidnapee trying to escape or anything like that.  If we get that accomplice, we can still pull this sort of thing of, provided he has absolutely no moral standards.

[Pancaek]

I'm going to adress some of these questions in OOC, since I've got a bit of time right now.

The banquet is early midday the next day. Since it's already evening, that gives you just over 12-14 hours or so. Enough to go shopping and try to recruit those two npc's (for example), but not enough to leave the city and come back in time.

Nothing much that you can do for finances before the banquet, I'm afraid. Though, since you've got friends in high places, I'm sure you can ask for some spending money. Scorpion clan has a little black ledger for their back room expenditures, agents in the field need gear and lodgings after all. After the banquet the world is your oyster of course.

Sayo has special rooms for official Scorpion clan business. You can rent one for free for quite a while.

Also, importantly, while I'm certainly not going to stop you murdering/kidnapping/raiding villages for money, I just want to point out that you're in the Scorpion clan province. Your home clan and probably the only people who right now have reason to be on your side. Burning bridges etc.

[NRDL]

Ohhh, nix to the kidnapping of Scorpion clan people then, there are plenty of rich people in other provinces.  Let's just do some mercenary missions for now.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

And we have significantly less time than I'd hoped. We need to act fast and act now.

Our objectives are to detain the target (traitor Scorpian), to determine if the Crane has relevant information and if so obtain said infirmation (by going through written records and abducting an aide whom would have the information we'd need perhaps).

Action: Write down a message stating to this effect:
I [name here] am still alive. I have reason to believe that [traitor Scorpion name here] caused the death of [my family] while involved with Crane, Lion, and Phoniex clan members of import. If you want me to be a deniable asset in this matter, I need to meet with a representative before the banquet concludes, preferably before it begins.

Seal the message.

Give Tsuki the message and inform her that we need to know if [traitor Scorpion] has any relation of to the Daiymo as soon as possible. If he does not or such a relationship is of limited influence or importance, get the message to the Daiymo before the banquet begins. If all of the previous can be done quietly then do so, if not, time is the limiting resource at the moment. Let Tsuki know our general travel plan as follows so she can have someone meet us. Code words are in effect.

Try to recruit the NPCs and then go shopping in that order. Personnel are of more importance than gear when we have limited funds at the moment. If the meet is set up before we finish parts of this, then so be it.

I'm thinking we'll visit the Nanban first as he'll be less of a problem for waking up in the middle of the night most likely.

In a best case scenario, the Crane's paperwork related information has already been copied and is being analyzed by our people. We cannot operate under that assumption. Right now our best asset is that we are effectively Ronin. On a poltical scale, no one gives a shit about what we do, where we go, or if we die. We can function as an even deeper level of Black Ops than Scorpion normally function as due to the fact that we've already been considered burned off from our clan and labelled traitor by our enemies. If we get caught and they know who we are (but are not involved in the conspiracy), our story of stealing from the corpses of those we've killed to afford what we have in an effort to bring ruin onto the Emperor will almost certainly get us killed before we're properly interrogated. We can use this value to get limited support to assist in our pursuit of vengeance against those who have done this.

A teppo is a firearm, correct?

[vishdafish]

+1 to above. Although we may need to break the foreigner out of prison, after recruiting him. I think a teppo is an firearm, but I am not too sure what type.