[IC] Ventures in Veridia: The Wandering Warrior [rush99999]

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

It's a beautiful day in the sea port of Kotokoro. The sea breeze is blowing in from the Azure Seas, bringing in the fresh air and cooling down the people who are hard at work in the sea port. However, the sea port doesn't do much for the smell of the slums. Here in these slums, is where a small and shambled inn, where the shadiest of folk not only stay for the night, but also can gamble, and take part in any kind of mischief without having the guards called on them.

Thankfully, as the morning rose, you find that you are in the room that you paid for, instead of having been thrown out into the streets for whatever trouble you got into last night.

You can hear the sea gulls caw above the inn, while the smell of breakfast wafts to your room. The breakfast is definitely that of rice and eggs.

Another day of adventure has begun for you! What would you like to do now?

[rush99999]

Keiji rose from his bed and readied himself for the day. The night before hadn't been the best, all the money he'd received from his last job had been spent and gambled away save for 5 silvers and a gold piece. On top of that, there were no women at the inn to worth pursuing, so Keiji sadly had to spend the night alone. It wasn't all bad though. The Iron Shadows had yet to pick up his trail again, so his night hadn't been interrupted by an attempt on his life. With the scent of rice and eggs igniting his hunger, Keiji left is room once he was done getting ready and went to get himself some breakfast.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Keiji comes down to the lobby of the inn, the Cringing Kappa, and finds that there aren't many patrons there. There are only a couple of men there, one of them looks passed drunk from last night, and the other just looks like he has nowhere else to go. You could smell the alcohol and the body odor coming from there. There are plenty of tables and chairs open for Keiji to choose from. As soon as he picks a seat, the innkeeper, an overweight human woman in her fifties with graying hair, comes up to you and asks, "What can I get you? We have eggs and rice, and we have fried fish on toast,"

It seems that those are the only two options for breakfast at this inn. It turns out that you can also order ale or water for the beverage.

[rush99999]

"I would like eggs and rice please" Keiji said with a polite smile to the innkeeper "And some water as well". It wouldn't do to get drunk so early in the morning. If he wanted to earn some more money before day's end, Keiji would do better at it sober. On top of that, water was free and ale was an inferior western swill in Keiji's eyes. The choice would have been a lot harder if it had been sake or water. Even with the price and the intoxication making it a bad choice, Keiji would have still found it very tempting to order sake with his breakfast.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The innkeeper gives a nod and answers Keiji, “Alright. Coming right up,” The innkeeper leaves, and heads to the room behind the bar. It doesn’t take her long to come back with a cup of water, and a bowl of sticky rice with an egg on top, and a pair of chopsticks. It doesn’t taste bad, but the egg is somewhat overcooked, so when Keiji tries to break the yolk, it remains solid and doesn’t spill down onto the rice. Despite the overcooked egg, the breakfast is enough to give him energy for the day ahead.

As Keiji eats his breakfast, he notices two men come. These men stand out as they are clearly of higher standing, with clean clothes and how they recoiled at the inn and it’s patrons at first. The two of them whisper to each other before hurrying to the empty job board and posting a job on the empty board. Seems like a new job just came up!

After posting the job, the two men hurry out of the inn, and presumably, out of the slums.

[rush99999]

"Arigato" Keiji said as the innkeeper brought him his breakfast. When he opened the egg after the innkeeper left, Keiji sighed dejectedly when he saw the egg had been overdone. After a moment, Keiji shrugged apathetically. "There are worse things in the world than overcooked eggs" Keiji said as he prepared his chopsticks to dig in "Itadakimasu".

Aside from the egg, the meal was sufficiently satisfying and properly nourishing. And the water was nice and cold, which was always a plus. As he ate, Keiji's eye was caught by a pair of men in fine clothes stepped into the inn and quickly regretted it. "Well would you look at that" Keiji chuckled as he watched the two men rush to the job board to post a listing "Breakfast and a show".

Once the two well dressed men left, Keiji finished the rest of his breakfast in a good mood. Once he was done, Keiji rose from his seat and walked over to the job board to take a look at the potential work he'd just found.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Keiji reaches the job board, and the first thing he notices is a painting of a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, wearing an ornate and long kimono. Her hands hidden in long sleeves held an open fan that hid her lips, and only her eyes can be seen. The painting was clearly created with the same black ink and brush strokes used for Calligraphy.

Below that painting reads the job description,

“To all sellswords and mercenaries,
Daimyo Harukaze Yoshinobu requires your assistance. His daughter, Tsukiko, has gone missing. Your mission is to find her and bring her back home, safe and sound. Daimyo Harukaze Yoshinobu offers 500 kin pieces. If there are any questions, Harukaze will answer them at his estate,”

[rush99999]

Keiji had decided he was taking the job the moment he saw the painting of Tsukiko. If the Daimyo's daughter was even half as beautiful as the picture showed, she was worth any danger he'd have to go through. Deciding to minimize any potential competition, Keiji took down the notice, neatly folded it up, and stowed it away in a way that suggested the notice had requested he do so. With that done, Keiji exited the Cringing Kappa, looking to the world like a man on a mission as he made his way towards Daimyo Harukaze's estate with a determined stride.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Nobody looked twice as Keiji folded up the notice and put it away. It took two hours for the Wandering Warrior to make his way through Kotokoro, out of the slums, through the town square, and up the hill to Daimyo Harukaze's estate. As soon as you reach the front gates, the guards standing there crossed their unsheathed swords in front of you, blocking your path. One of the guards commands you, "Halt! Who are you?"
The second guard asks, "State your name and purpose. You would do well not to lie,"

[rush99999]

"Keiji Shujinko is my name" Keiji said in response to the guard's questions "And an audience with your Daimyo is my purpose. I seek his missing daughter and have questions I would ask of him".

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

After you answer the guards, the guards look to each other before calling to another guard nearby and calling to him, "Inform the Daimyo! We have a mercenary!" The third guard they called to ran off to the ornate home of the daimyo. It would be about ten or twenty minutes before he returns and whispers to the other two guards who were keeping watch on Keiji. After the guards nod and they turn to face Keiji once more before they inform him, "The Daimyo will see you now,"

The third guard who had appeared requests, "Follow me. I'll take you to him," He then starts to lead Keiji through down the path through the zen garden, across an arching bridge and in front of the home, where the Daimyo awaited you.

The Daimyo wears resplendid gold robes designed with cranes flying across a landscape. The elderly Daimyo greets you with a bow, and a strong, yet calm demeanor, "Brave Sellsword, I thank you for responding to my posting of distress with great haste," He then lifts himself up from his bow, and he mentions, "You have questions. That is why you are here, is it not?"

[rush99999]

Keiji smiled gratefully when the guards sent for the Daimyo without kicking up too much of a fuss. Some guards could be a lot more troublesome than the pair at the gate were. Keiji waited patiently with the first two guards until the third returned, then he followed the third through the estate grounds to where Daimyo Harukaze was waiting to receive him.

"Brave Sellsword" the Daimyo said with a bow "I thank you for responding to my posting of distress with great haste".
"And I thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Harukaze-Sama" Keiji said as he returned the bow.
"You have questions" the Daimyo continued "That is why you are here, is it not?".
"That is indeed why I'm here" Keiji said "First and foremost, I'd like to ask if you have any clues or leads that would aid in the search for your daughter".

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The Daimyo answered with a sigh, "I'm afraid there aren't much clues left behind Sellsword. Her room was spotless. There was no sign of a struggle whatsoever. No notes either, for ransom or otherwise. And the only person who could possibly know where she is...well..."

The Daimyo gains a look of dread and irritation as he looks past Keiji in recollection, "None of us can make heads or tails of that woman's words...and she nearly drank all of my sake,"

[rush99999]

Keiji raised an eyebrow at Daimyo Harukaze's answer. "A woman you say?" Keiji asked "And none of you can understand her words? Who is this woman?".

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The Daimyo answered Keiji crossing his arms, "A traveler that my daughter showed kindness to. Apparently my daughter found her on the street in desperate need of healing. She brought her home and showed that woman much kindness. And in return, when that woman returned to full health, she helped Tsukiko whenever she needed it, and she brought her laughter," The Daimyo looks irritated once again when he mentions, "But she drinks sake...all. of. the. time! And nothing she says ever makes sense!"

He sighs as he rubs his face with a hand. He then mentions, "Even now, she is in the cellars. I am just glad I carry the last bottle of sake on me, just so that she does not drink it!"

[rush99999]

Keiji wanted to ask how exactly the woman's words didn't make any sense, but the Daimyo didn't seem like he enjoyed speaking of her, so he decided to drop that particular subject and go see for himself. "Then I guess I'm off to the cellars" Keiji said before bowing again to the Daimyo "Thank you for your time, Harukaze-Sama".

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

After Keiji mentions that he is heading to the cellars, the Daimyo immediately moves forward and he tells Keiji, "Let me accompany you, Sellsword. After all, the cellars are on my estate, and I would feel better showing you where it is than to simply let you wander around,"

He clearly doesn't take 'No' for an answer, and leads Keiji to the cellars. He leads Keiji through the Zen Garden until they reach a large door in the ground. He opens the door and leads Keiji down into the dark cellars. The cellars are large, but seem to empty except for numerous empty bottles that used to hold sake lying on the ground. That's just what he can see up close. The cellars are dark and there doesn't seem to be a light, except for the torch that the Daimyo lit and holds aloft to illuminate the room.

[rush99999]

Keiji had expected that he'd be led to the cellars by one of Daimyo Harukaze's men rather than the Daimyo himself. He'd always thought that a Daimyo's day was far too busy to be wasting time personally keeping an eye on every visitor who wanders in to make sure they don't cause mischief. Perhaps Keiji was mistaken about how many duties a Daimyo had to keep on top of. Or maybe Harukaze too worried about his daughter to give a damn about his daily duties. Whatever the reason, he received no protest from Keiji. Together they went to the cellars to find the woman.

As they entered, Keiji picked up one of the empty bottles. "Oni's Smile" Keiji said as he examined the label "Well now I know why she's cleaning the place out. You need a will of iron to stop drinking sake this good". Keiji put the bottle down and looked around. "By the way" Keiji said "Is this woman liable to give us any trouble? I've dealt with my fair share of drunks, and some of them can get pretty temperamental once the drink kicks in".

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

"She doesn't just drink Oni's Smile. Any alcohol she can get her hands on, she'll drink it," The Daimyo mentioned after Keiji found the Oni's Smile. He would be able to see other brands of alcohol here on the floor as well. From "Kirin" to "Kappa River" to "Oni's Smile", all kinds of alcohol were found, and drunk, here.

When he asked about how much trouble the woman would be, the Daimyo looked to the side and he commented "Depends on your definition of...'trouble'. Suffice to say, as long as you don't try and strike her, she won't try and strike you,"

He kept leading Keiji through the cellars until finally...

"Ah. There she is,"

He points towards the shadow that leaned against the back wall. The figure was small, and it seemed to be in a crossed legged meditative pose, with the forefingers and thumbs forming circles while the rest of the fingers fanned out. The hands rested on the knees.

The Daimyo stays back as he lets Keiji approach.

When the light reveals more about her, Keiji would see that the figure is a halfling. An elderly halfling with white scraggled hair. She wears tattered and dirty robes. When he gets closer he would be able to hear...snoring coming from the halfling, as well as a snot bubble that increases in size with each exhale and decreases with each inhale.

[rush99999]

Keiji raised and eyebrow at the sight before him. He'd always thought nose bubbles were something artists made up to make sleeping characters look funny. Part of him wished that he'd remained ignorant of that fact though. The rest of him shook it off though. He had a job to do. Keiji put a hand on the elderly halfling's and shook her lightly in an attempt to rouse her.