Turning Japanese

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> OOC: You are staying at Erin's place, no? It is necessary to know your sleeping arrangements at this point in time.
<Erin> OOC: If we're in London, then Erin certainly is!
<Erin> OOC: It's free, and cozy.
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: how many bedrooms does she have?
<Erin> OOC: Two, guestroom and her room.
<El-Cideon> OOC: down in the logs as having two guestrooms with single beds. That in addition to Erin's bedroom?
<El-Cideon> OOC: Okay.
<Erin> OOC: Or that.
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: Nadia will claim a guestroom for herself
<El-Cideon> OOC: So I suppose someone gets the couch!
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: Doesn't Erin have a double-bed she can share with Rena?
<Erin> OOC: I figured someone would be on the couch, really.
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: Yomi is a samurai who can endure such hardship with stoicism.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Okay! I will move on if that's the setup.
<Erin> OOC: No objections.
<El-Cideon> After the dangerous vampire-slaying adventure, everyone is glad to take a few days to rest up back at Erin's place in London before sorting out their next move. It's on a night like any other that... (OOC: Yomi, listen check?)
<Yomi> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20 and gets 7."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+13 and gets 20."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d4+2
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d4+2 and gets 6."12 [1d4=4]
<El-Cideon> ...Yomi experiences the most rude of awakenings! A sharp pain in her abdomen jolts her out of rest! There's a man in the room, right next to her, clad all in black. You can only see his eyes in the dim light--that and the gleam of the dagger he just plunged into your stomach! OOC: fort save, Yomi. And then, I have to assume, init happens.
<Yomi> roll 1d20+8+1d6
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+8+1d6 and gets 12."12 [1d20=2][1d6=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d4 CON damage, Hatebot
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d4 CON damage, Hatebot and gets 2."12 [1d4=2]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 50/63 (-2 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60'
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 42/55 (-2 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60'
<El-Cideon> OOC: init. You can yell for the others if you want them involved immediately.
<Yomi> "What the hell?!" Yomi screams in her native tongue, wide-eyed as she can't tear her eyes off the dagger in her stomach.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+5 assassin init
<Yomi> roll 1d20+1 ah yes, init
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+5 assassin init and gets 7."12 [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+1 ah yes, init and gets 8."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> In their bedrooms, the others hear Yomi's startled outburst--something's afoot in the living room!
<Erin> Erin scrambles out of bed, clad in a nightie and making a dash for the lounge!
<Erin> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+7 and gets 16."12 [1d20=9]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20 Rena
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20 Rena and gets 15."12 [1d20=15]
<Nadia_Chekova> Being a light sleeper who well knows the value of a nocturnal intrusion, Nadia doesn't particularly delay herself in reacting to this rival thief. Lithely slipping out of bed, she goes to open the door and then creep stealthily into the hallway, her bare feet making nary a sound.
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+7 init
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+7 init and gets 10."12 [1d20=3]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 42/55 (-2 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60 Erin > Rena > Nadia > Yomi > Assassin'
<El-Cideon> OOC: go ahead Yomi, others have to use a turn getting to the living room
* Yomi certainly can't understand what's going on, but she has honed reflexes of cutting down demons that her instructors had insisted she must be able to do in her sleep. While that is quite impossible, slaying down an opponent while wounded and disoriented is not.
* Yomi unsheathes her blade, slicing at the arm of the assailant, before pulling on the chain attaching the sword to the sheath to swipe it against his eyes.
<Yomi> roll 1d20+14
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+14 and gets 32."12 [1d20=18]
<Yomi> roll 1d20+14 surge
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+14 surge and gets 17."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: first hits
<Yomi> roll 2d6+9
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 2d6+9 and gets 16."12 [2d6=6, 1]
<El-Cideon> With a meaty rending sound, Yomi's blade shears flesh from the man's arm. Undeterred, he continues his attack, lashing out with open-palmed strikes--he has some kind of gloves with protruding metal spikes.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+14 disarm (make an opposed attack roll, Yomi? You get +8, two-handed weapon and it's larger)
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+14 disarm (make an opposed attack roll, Yomi? You get +8, two-handed weapon and it's larger) and gets 31."12 [1d20=17]
<Yomi> roll 1d20+14+8+1d6
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+14+8+1d6 and gets 32."12 [1d20=8][1d6=2]
<El-Cideon> The man grips Yomi's blade with the metal prongs on his palms and tries to tear the sword away, but Yomi wrenches it from his grasp first! Undaunted, he strikes out twice at her chest!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+14 normal attack
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+14 normal attack and gets 21."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+9 normal attack
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+9 normal attack and gets 22."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d4+2
<El-Cideon> roll 1d4+2
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d4+2 and gets 5."12 [1d4=3]
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d4+2 and gets 5."12 [1d4=3]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 32/55 (-2 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60 Erin > Rena > Nadia > Yomi > Assassin'
<Yomi> "You stab me and you try to steal my sword, too?!" Yomi exclaims incredulously. "You villain!"
<El-Cideon> Yomi is punctured, many small wounds bleeding rievously! OOC: Erin and co now.
<Erin> Erin manages to rub the bleariness out of her eyes as she stumbles into the loungeroom with all the subtlety of a drunken soldier. "Who the hell- how dare you, you ingrate!" she yells, furiosly pointing a magically-charged finger at the intruder!
<Erin> OOC: Will save, DC 16!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+3 sure, but what spell is this?
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+3 sure, but what spell is this? and gets 11."12 [1d20=8]
<Erin> OOC: Hold Person.
<El-Cideon> He freezes in place, held immobile by Erin's magic!
<Erin> "Yomi, are you alright? Hold on a second, I'll get the things," babbles Erin, soon to rush off and dig out the potions Myriam sold to them.
<Yomi> "I've been stabbed! In my sleep! Do I look alright?!"
<El-Cideon> Rena emerges into the room, sword in hand! "Yomi! Why does this sort of thing happen to ous so often these days?" She dashes right at the man, slashing at him twice!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d2012 charge
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d2012 charge and gets 1318."12 [1d2012=1318]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+12 charge
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+12 charge and gets 22."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10 surge, normal attack
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 surge, normal attack and gets 30."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10 crit, surely hits as he's helpless
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 crit, surely hits as he's helpless and gets 29."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d10+4
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d10+4 and gets 6."12 [1d10=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d10+8
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d10+8 and gets 16."12 [2d10=3, 5]
<El-Cideon> Rena's charge skewers the trapped assassin, her follow-up swing opening up his innards! Despite this, he's still alive and breathing, his eyes challenging you to do better!
<El-Cideon> OOC: Nadia
* Nadia_Chekova finally appears, looking rather frightful despite the clingy chemise she wears on account of the curlers in her hair and facial-pack covering most of her face except for her eyes and mouth. It's not hard to identify the intruder, and so she slips up behind him and karate chops him in the back of the neck!
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+11
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+11 and gets 28."12 [1d20=17]
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d8+2
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d8+2 and gets 4."12 [1d8=2]
<El-Cideon> A grunt, and the man shudders in place--al that he can do in his present circumstances! OOC: Yomi's up. He's alive but looks pretty bad.
* Yomi has awakened sufficiently to take stock of the situation, and so when she strikes at her assailant again, it is with the blunted end of her sword!
<Yomi> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+10 and gets 16."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> OOC: hit, as he's helpless
<Yomi> roll 2d6+9 are you out?
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 2d6+9 are you out? and gets 17."12 [2d6=3, 5]
<El-Cideon> That's too much for the man, finally! He slumps over, unconscious!
<El-Cideon> OOC: free act. He's down but alive. Yomi has another fort save to make soon unless the poison's cured.
<Nadia_Chekova> Now that he's out, Nadia can ask important questions. "What is going on? Who is this man?!"
* Yomi kicks the man farther away from her and settles down on the couch, staring at the dagger imbedded in her.
<El-Cideon> Rena nudges the man with her foot, apparently unperturbed by having to engage in combat without clothes on. "I think he's still alive. Should I finish him off?"
* Erin abruptly returns, armed with a medicine case full of carefully-labelled vials. "I don't know, but first, let's fix you up, Yomi," she offers, picking out one and handing it over. "Rena, um, please get dressed," she adds.
<Yomi> "Not if he's a human," Yomi weakly insists, her attention quickly stolen by Erin's arrival with medicine.
<El-Cideon> The dagger is finely-made, you can tell that much. The handle is polished black wood, with a single symbol on it: a simple, raised white circle. (OOC: you can roll K:H here if you want, anyone who has it. Yomi gets a +5 bonus if she does, Japanness.)
<Erin> roll 1d20+8 that's history, yes?
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+8 that's history, yes? and gets 11."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> Yomi's head swims as she she sits back down--there was surely something on that dagger!
<Yomi> roll 1d20+11
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+11 and gets 26."12 [1d20=15]
<El-Cideon> Rena frowns. "Very well, if I have to." She returns to her room for a moment, emerging with a dress on a moment later.
* Yomi takes out the dagger, letting it drop to the ground. "Ninja. Poisoned, no doubt," she mutters, shaking her clouded head in disbelief.
<El-Cideon> OOC: it is poisoned. Make your secondary fort save if you're not curing it.
<El-Cideon> "Ninja? He is a long way from home. But I suppose so are you."
<Erin> "Quick, drink this!" says Erin, producing an entirely mundane antibiotic and treating the poisonous wound as best she can. OOC: I'll take 10 on a treat injury check and give Yomi +6 to her subsequent second fort save.
<Yomi> roll 1d20+14+1d6 fort
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+14+1d6 fort and gets 24."12 [1d20=7][1d6=3]
<El-Cideon> Yomi shakes off the haze--with Erin's assistance, she seems to be shaking off the poison's aftereffects!
<Nadia_Chekova> "How did he find us? Who sent him?" Nadia asks, nudging his bloodied form with her bare foot and then wrinkling her nose before she rubs her toe into Erin's carpet.
<Yomi> "Assassins. Assassins sent after me." Yomi unmasks the ninja to see his face more clearly.
<El-Cideon> He's Japanese, that much is obvious. Very plain and anonymous-looking though, even without the mask.
<Erin> "Why would a... oh, ridiculous! Why are they after you, then?" asks Erin, turning her attention to the bloodied man before them.
<El-Cideon> Rena just stands guard over the man with her sword, watching in case he wakes up and wants more trouble.
<Yomi> "Since I'm the one he stabbed with a poisoned blade, they have to be after me!"
<El-Cideon> "Why would someone only want Yomi dead? Most people we meet want all of us dead."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, the rest of us have never been to Japan," Nadia points out.
<Yomi> "Yes, don't worry. Once we go there, you all might become targets for ninja," Yomi agrees in a deadpan.
<El-Cideon> Rena nods. "Well, we stopped this one, didn't we? We will just hit the other ones until they die or leave us alone. It has worked so far."
<Yomi> "Better yet, let's hit the ones who sent him. There can only be two possibilities, really. The ones who stole my sword, or the ones who lost it."
<Erin> "Perhaps he meant to kill us one by one," replies Erin. "If one failed, they may send more... is it to stop you reclaiming your sword? It must be that, but it's a long way to go... oh?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Wasn't it lost by your own family, though?" Nadia asks in surprise.
<Yomi> "It's not like I had many enemies back home, so it'd have to be narrowed down to those two," Yomi affirms.
<Erin> "Why would your family want to stop you?" asks Erin, frowning. "Well, it's not like I don't know anything about family troubles, but..."
<El-Cideon> Rena shrugs. "Family can have disagreemtns with each other just as well as anyone else can. I think most of them don't send ninjas after each other, though."
<Yomi> "They never really liked the fact that father adopted me. That's reason enough. They might also believe I was involved in the theft, which is outright stupid, but they might claim that anyway to save face."
<El-Cideon> Another nod. "What are you going to do about them if they are responsible?"
<Yomi> "They wouldn't dare go against me if I actually had Shishio. So as long as I manage to get it back, they'll back off, since they know best how strong it is in the right hands."
<El-Cideon> "Then we should go get it back." Everything is straightforward to Rena!
<Nadia_Chekova> "But until we do get it..." Nadia makes a point of nudging an unbloodied part of the assailant this time.
<El-Cideon> The assassin doesn't respond. He breathes slowly, but evenly. It looks like he'll be out for some time.
<Yomi> "We'll need to ensure he wouldn't just commit suicide. These guys can be zealots, even if this particular clan is made of pragmatists."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We can't drag him around with us. Can't we just hand him to the police as a robber?" Nadia suggests. "After finding out who sent him, obviously."
<Erin> "We stop for a rest, and get this. I suppose our arrival in Japan will be noticed, and similar things will happen," mutters Erin. "I've heard ninjas can escape from all kinds of bonds, but even so, if the police can hold him until we get Shishio back..."
<Yomi> "We can do all that," Yomi says, standing up. "But for now I'll go take a shower." She pauses, looks down at her bloodied sword, and then takes it with her.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Have any rope, then?" Nadia asks Erin as Yomi departs.
<Erin> "Yes, it's a ritual implement," replies Erin, quickly heading to her junk room to pick some up.
<Nadia_Chekova> As Erin does that, Nadia pats the man down and goes through his pockets. She also takes off those dangerous gloves he wears.
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll search?
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+2
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+2 and gets 20."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> He doesn't seem to have any weapons aside from the spiked gloves. However, you do find, sewn very discreetly into the collar of his outfit, a small blue pill.
* Nadia_Chekova sets the gloves and the pill aside on Erin's coffee table. She has no idea how to find out what the pill does and doesn't fancy trying it out herself.
* Erin soon returns with rope, and works to securely tie the man up as best she can! "I think I'll have a look at these later," she adds, procuring the dagger and the pill and taking them to her study for later analysis.
* Yomi eventually returns in a fluffy bathrobe, accompanied by her sheathed blade. "Let's see what he has to say for himself, then?" she suggests.
<El-Cideon> OOC: suppose you can make a dex check for tying him up if you want.
<Erin> roll 1d20+3 I guess I'm not awful at that?
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+3 I guess I'm not awful at that? and gets 6."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> OOC: since modern doesn't have use rope, and escape artist checks just oppose the dex roll +20
<El-Cideon> Erin thinks she has the man tied up fairly securely. It sure looks like he's not going anywhere, at least! In time, you're able to rouse him. His eyes flit from one of you to another. He looks calm despite his circumstances, and says nothing.
* Yomi asks the most important question straight away. "Who sent you?"
<El-Cideon> He says nothing. His expression does not change. He studies the ceiling very intently.
<Yomi> "You must believe I will kill you," Yomi tells the ninja quietly, picking up the dagger he was using and admiring it. "You should not hope to be so lucky."
<Yomi> roll 1d20+15+1d6 for scariness
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+15+1d6 for scariness and gets 35."12 [1d20=18][1d6=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10 level check
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 level check and gets 29."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d6 AP for RESIST! (only higher roll counts)
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d6 AP for RESIST! (only higher roll counts) and gets 4."12 [2d6=3, 1]
<El-Cideon> The only concession he's willing to make is that, yes, you probably will kill him, but he was prepared for that before he set out on the mission. He does not know who requested that Yomi be killed--it's not his role to know the client--but he does acknowledge he was here specifically for her.
<Nadia_Chekova> "How did you find her, then?" Nadia asks, practicing her Japanese.
<El-Cideon> "I was told she went to England. I came to London. Asked around. Played the lost, ignorant foreigner, trying to meet up with my sister. There are not many Japanese in this city. It was only a matter of time."
<Yomi> "Were you the only one sent? Who dispatched you?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Clever," Nadia has to grant him that much, letting Yomi take over again.
<El-Cideon> "I set out alone. I do not know if there are others, but that would not be typical." He glances at the knife. "Surely you can see who sent me."
<Yomi> "Or, certainly. But what I'm really asking is where I should go to pay back this favor."
<Erin> "If you fail, do others keep coming?" demands Erin, angrily.
<El-Cideon> "I do not have that knowledge," he says to Erin. "But if we fail to eliminate the target, we forfeit our payment. Worse, our reputation." He manages a sardonic grin. "Think about it economically."
<Yomi> "Do you realize just who it is you picked a fight with?" Yomi asks him. If the assassin is talking, he must be more afraid and shaken than he shows, and this is the time to use that to her advantage. "Losing money and prestiege would be superior to your entire clan ending with this generation, wouldn't you say?"
<El-Cideon> "It will continue without me, if it must." He shrugs, or as well as he can, bound. "The elders will move everyone I knew as soon as they suspect my failure, for the sake of safety and secrecy. You will not find them through me."
<Yomi> "And how soon would they suspect this failure?":
<El-Cideon> "Immediately. I sent word before I embarked upon this attack. When I do not return to confirm it, failure will be obvious."
<Yomi> "How would you confirm it?"
<El-Cideon> "Obviously, I would go back to Japan."
<Yomi> "So if we were to leave immediately, we could still get to someone before your elders relocated them, you mean?"
<El-Cideon> He shifts a little. "This is possible. But I have already said enough. I will be killed as brutally as you would do to me, or worse, for saying more once betrayal became apparent. Do not think I can be threatened into revealing more." Conviction and certainty are plain in his voice.
<Yomi> "You will be killed brutally by your masters," Yomi agrees. "If you tell us what you know, however, your death can be quick and painless."
<El-Cideon> "I am content to take my chances," he says, going back to staring at the ceiling. It doesn't look like he intends to speak again.
<Erin> "I can't understand why you do this work when the price remains so high," notes Erin. "Why do such coercive people earn your loyalty? Fear?"
<El-Cideon> "You have never been a part of something larger than yourself, I assume, or you would not ask the question," he says.
<Yomi> "Please don't make it sound so grand. You are no more than mercenaries, these days," Yomi notes sourly.
<El-Cideon> "Even mercenaries can help direct history through their actions."
<Erin> "Of course I have!" replies Erin, vaugely affronted. "Both an organization, and part of this world. Ah, yes, history, and the kind of groups you're in shape it through blood. Does it feel good to make a change, then, knowing it can only be for the worse? Or do you blind yourself to that with your loyalty?"
<El-Cideon> "Ah. Philosophical discourse," he says, with some apparent distaste. "It almost makes one yearn for death to escape it." A sigh. "Very well. I am supposed to report to a man I know only as Ayumu. I do not know his face; he watches for my return, sends me a message, we meet. This is really all I can tell you."
<Yomi> "Did you tell your handlers about the company I keep?"
<El-Cideon> "It was not necessary information. And I would have taken more care if I had known one of you was a witch."
<Yomi> "All that's left for you to say, then, is whether you have a specific place to return to, or you just pick an inn to stay at randomly."
<El-Cideon> "There is an apartment in Osaka, rented under the name Arata Yamada. It is a false name, the apartment is monitored. I go, stay, await orders." He gives you the address, then looks around at each of you again. "If we are finished, I would like you tp comply with your generous offer," he says to Yomi.
* Yomi looks conflicted, since it wasn't a genuine one.
<Erin> "Nonsense," replies Erin, flatly. "You are a misguided fool! But perhaps, once you understand the true place of both yourself and your inane clan, you'll be neither so willing to take the lives of yourself or others," she notes, moving to rummage around in her bookshelf before return with a carefully preserved scrap of paper. "Read it," she orders, tossing it in front of him.
<El-Cideon> The man looks at the scrap of paper, and...
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+3 he fails at will
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+3 he fails at will and gets 20."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> "What is this gibberish?" he mutters. "Stop playing games. Do what you will with me already!"
* Yomi smacks him with her sheathed blade at the prompting.
<Yomi> roll 2d6+9 sleep
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 2d6+9 sleep and gets 16."12 [2d6=2, 5]
<El-Cideon> He lapses into unconsciousness once again.
<Erin> "Damn, can't read it, can you," mutters Erin, glancing at the paper herself. "At the least, he'll have plenty of time to reflect on his actions,"
<Yomi> "Can we see if Myriam could keep him quiet for a couple of days?"
<Erin> "I'd rather leave him with the police than expose her existence to such a man," admits Erin. "Do you think they'll be able to hold him, though?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Even if they can't we'll be long gone," Nadia shrugs, unconcerned.
<Yomi> "Depends on whether they believe him to be an assassin," Yomi muses. "But we have to ensure he doesn't wake up and alert his superiors before we arrive."
<Erin> "He's not really in much shape to travel," notes Erin, eyeing the grisly wounds still leaking into her carpet. "I'll hit him with enough chloroform that he won't wake up for some time. He'll probably get picked up and taken to hospital if we just leave him somewhere. If that."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We should probably dump him before morning, then," Nadia notes with a sigh, going to scrub her face and take the curlers out before she gets dressed.
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 42/55 (-1 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60 Erin > Rena > Nadia > Yomi > Assassin'
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 42/55 (-1 Con), Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60 '
<El-Cideon> It's a long flight. Really long, a series of connecting ones across the globe. Erin could probably get in multiple lectures during such a timespan, even! But finally you land in Japan. It's a balmy spring day, a light breeze rustling green leaves on trees, flowers blooming. Probably everyone's too jetlagged to enjoy it, though.
<El-Cideon> OOC: so, what's your first move on the ground?
* Nadia_Chekova is indeed stiff and sore and tired, eager to stretch her legs and feel the sun once she's off the plane.
<Erin> Erin is saddened that she can't try out her newfound language skills upon unsuspecting natives for fear of drawing attention. "Do you know anyone we can contact for help here, Yomi?"
<Yomi> Looking utterly nondescript and average in her disguise, Yomi mingles with the departing passengers. She doesn't know the address, but she has been to Osaka before, and it's not that difficult for Arata Yamada to get transportation and reach the apartment in question.
<Nadia_Chekova> Not waving to Yomi as she goes to her new apartment, Nadia leads Erin and Rena away from the airport to find a hotel.
<Erin> Erin feels a bit sheepish for a moment, and then manages to catch up to the others in their eternal quest for better accomodations.
<El-Cideon> Erin and the others get some strange looks walking the streets--the overriding mood of strident nationalism in Japan these days makes it an awkward place for a gang of foreigners to go wandering--but no one bothers them as they settle into a room in a one-floor hotel. It's a very traditional Japanese establishment, shoji screens, tatami mats and everything. (more)
<El-Cideon> "Arata's" apartment is more modern, and decidedly more plain. It really doesn't look like anything more than temporary lodging--it seems no one bothered to even lock it. There's a bed by the window, a nightstand and an electric lamp, and a few sets of plain, working-class clothes. It's on the second floor, room 204. Downstairs is little more of note than a series of mailslots and an empty manager's desk.
<El-Cideon> OOC: Just going to wait for stuff to happen, or what?
<Erin> OOC: Quick question
<Erin> OOC: How far apart are we?
* Yomi closes the drapes by the window, and otherwise tries to ensure that while it looks as if someone is staying in the apartment, no one could actually tell that it's Yomi, once the spell disguising her as the assassin wears off.
<El-Cideon> OOC: assuming you picked the closest hotel you could find, let's say 2-3 minutes away.
<Erin> OOC: 'k.
<El-Cideon> Time passes. Lots of time passes! Day gives way to evening, then to night. It's not a very exciting day--no one comes to visit Yomi's apartment during this time. (OOC: staying up all night?)
<Yomi> OOC: I don't have a choice with the NINJA around
<El-Cideon> Yomi stays up alllll night, while everyone at the hotel monitors the orb in shifts. Nothing happens. In time, the sky lightens. Birds chirp outside, cars rumble to life, people go to work. Yomi yawns!
<Yomi> "I'll take a nap, I guess," Yomi mutters into the orb, setting it up on the nightstand while sitting with her back to the wall and trying to rest for a while, her sword close by.
* Nadia_Chekova is bored but endures while also cautioning Rena on etiquette for the more common public baths favoured in Japan.
<El-Cideon> Yomi sleeps! It's a blessed relief to be unconscious for a while after such an uneventful vigil. (OOC: how long are you going to be out?)
<Yomi> OOC: As much as I need to recover my con. If no one contacts us in that time, I'll just assume they somehow realized the trick
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Yomi: 50/63, Nadia: 58/58, Erin: 54/54, Rena: 60/60 '
<El-Cideon> After some much-needed rest, Yomi awakes in the afternoon. Her sleep is interrupted, save briefly by what sounds like a domestic dispute somewhere down the hall.
<Yomi> "Nadia?" Yomi speaks into the orb. "Since we never did find out how he would receive his new instructions, what do you think about disguising yourself and checking my mailbox?"
<El-Cideon> *sleep is uninterrupted, blah
<Nadia_Chekova> "I can do that! Which mailbox is it?" Nadia eagerly leaps on a chance to get out, now quite thoroughly rested and indeed restless. Putting Erin in charge of the main telepathy orb and taking a secondary orb for herself, she goes on a quick shopping trip for some local clothes and once back at the hotel dyes her hair black and applies some makeup to alter her complexion, donning a yukata to better appear as an unassuming young Japanese girl, at least
<Nadia_Chekova> unassuming young Japanese girl, at least from a casual glance.
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+17 disguise
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+17 disguise and gets 28."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> OOC: feel free to roll disguise to see how Japanese youc an be~
<Yomi> "Room 204. When I came in, the manager was gone, so it'd be interesting to see if that keeps as well."
<Nadia_Chekova> "I'm turning Japanese, I really think so," Nadia beams at her reflection after deeming her disguise complete, waving to Erin and Rena as she heads out and over to Yomi's residence.
<El-Cideon> The manager is in this time! Sort of. He's snoozing at the desk, a pudgy man with worn shoes propped on the battered wood. The mail slots are on the wall to his right. It would probably be short work to pry one open. Hopefully Nadia can be quiet about it!
<Nadia_Chekova> Despite wearing those silly clog slippers that seem to be high fashion around here, Nadia is always stealthy in whatever she does, casually but quietly strolling over and carefully opening up the mail slot with a minimum of noise.
* Yomi decides to dress in a lavender kimono that matches her eyes while she waits, pulling her hair up and holding it in place with a decorative comb. It appears she would be leaving this apartment soon enough, regardless of how things go.
<El-Cideon> OOC: disable device since they're locked? The actual DC here is low, but bombing it means a noisy fumble
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+13 and gets 24."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> The mailbox swings open easily--there's a brief snort from the manager, but he's still asleep. Dreaming, probably. There is a lone letter inside the box.
* Nadia_Chekova takes the letter out and closes the box before she heads upstairs to find room 204, opening up the envelope as she goes.
<El-Cideon> There is a brief letter inside, written in Japanese in careful and precise calligraphy. Although Nadia's new to the language, she can tell there's something odd about it. Read from start to finish, it doesn't seem to make any sense. It's jumbled.
<Nadia_Chekova> Well, maybe Yomi can make better sense of it. She stops before room 204 and knocks twice. "It's me," she whispers helpfully against the door.
* Yomi answers it with a smile, her wrapped sword held behind her back in preparation.
* Nadia_Chekova hands over the letter to Yomi. "I can't read it even if it is Japanese," she admits, before smiling back. "Like the disguise?"
<Yomi> "Very authentic!" Yomi says in approval, and tries to see if she can make sense of the letter herself.
<El-Cideon> The letter is no clearer to Yomi. It was obviously only meant to make sense to someone with the knowledge to decode it.
<Yomi> "Should've expected it," she says with a sigh. "Well, there's that. Got a place for one more where you're staying? If this place is still being watched, I'll achieve the same intended result by allowing to be seen here and draw more of the ninja in after myself."
<Nadia_Chekova> "It's a little cramped but we can always trade up now that we don't need to stay close to here," Nadia replies as she starts heading downstairs and out.
* Yomi pockets the letter and follows suit.
<El-Cideon> The manager's still snoozing, and no one on the street lloks twice at Nadia through her disguise--well, some of the men do, but not out of suspicion.
* Nadia_Chekova has little time for the men and makes haste back to their hotel!
<Yomi> Her choice of clothing makes it difficult for Yomi to outright rush, but she manages to keep up with some dignity as she's lead towards Erin and Rena's hotel.
<El-Cideon> The room is definitely a little cramped with four people here, but it's not like you're trying to sleep or anything. There's certainly sitting or standing room for all of you. "Nadia tells me there are publich baths in your country, Yomi," Rena announces on Yomi's return.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Yes, but you can't do the same things in them as you can do in a private bath," Nadia emphasises.
<Yomi> "Oh yes! Are you interested? Are you?"
<El-Cideon> "Of course. And Nadia, I wouldn't do something like that in public. It causes problems." She sounds annoyed at having to acknowledge this.
<Yomi> "Do what?" Yomi asks curiously. "You can bath there just as much as you can in a private bath."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Just making sure," Nadia smiles sweetly at Rena.
<El-Cideon> "Nadia taught me something very useful in Poland," Rena says. "It is not as nice as having a man, but it will suffice when none are available."
<Yomi> Quickly connecting the dots, given the obvious context of Rena, Yomi blinks. "I guess there are differences between private and public baths after all. I never knew...."
<Nadia_Chekova> "I only told her what to do, I didn't physically teach her," Nadia is compelled to point out.
<Erin> "Ah, so that's why my sheets..." mutters Erin, shaking her head as she secludes herself with the letter in a corner. "Honestly!"
<El-Cideon> "I hadn't thought of it before though, so it was a helpful suggestion."
<Yomi> "People sometimes help each other bath, so don't misunderstand if that happens," Yomi feels a sudden urge to inform Rena.
<Erin> "Ah, I see. When did this letter come in?" asks Erin, removing herself from a stack of paper. "Seems our ninja was meant to meet with someone at park near city hall, at midnight."
<Yomi> "Last night?"
<Erin> "Then it might still be good to try heading there tonight, should it not? We can persue our lead with whoever comes to meet us."
<Yomi> "It might well work," Yomi agrees. "You'll take the place of our assassin this time around?"
<Erin> "It's the simplest way," agrees Erin. "The park should have plenty of places for you two to hide nearby without being spotted... although, they *are* ninjas."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Which means they'll be better at hiding than at spotting other people hiding," Nadia observes with the benefit of her own experience.
<Yomi> "They will see what they want to see. And he never alerted them to the presence of magic. So unless I've given the game up so far, we might still make it work." She shrugs. "If not, I do have a few names to check. Any of those families might have been interested in the Shishio. We can pursue that angle tomorrow."
<Erin> "I'll try to speak with whoever shows up without letting them know, though I doubt that deception will last long," admits Erin. "After that, though, they'll know something's up. We'll probably have to change hotels, at least, and adopt more consistant disguises."
<Yomi> "We can just try to subdue whomever comes to meet you and interrogate them. We'll know better from listening in to you."
<El-Cideon> Later that day: the park is a broad area that actually houses several public building, museums and the like, but at one far end there is a notably more arboreal area--Erin thinks this is where the letter specified. It's supposed to be closed after dark, so there shouldn't be anyone else around to interfere. (more)
<El-Cideon> Paved paths wind here and there, sitting areas dotting the place. A shallow, ornamental stream runs through this area, a quaint little stone bridge crossing it at the center of the wooded area. This is the most obvious and open spotin the area, as a clearing in the trees overhead let in ample moonlight. About a hundred feet away is a low wooden gazebo in the European style.
* Nadia_Chekova has eschewed her yukata in favour of an all black ensemble to better creep about in the night, making her way stealthily through the trees about forty feet from Erin and climbing up a tree to hide amidst the foliage once she reaches the meeting spot.
<Erin> As Erin nears the clearing, she is ever-wary of hidden ninjas within the trees! She mutters out a spell that allows her to see in the dark, and then makes her way towards the gazebo, intending to wait within for her mysterious contact.
* Yomi opts for a dark cloak to wear over her clothing, ready to be discarded and free her to engage any of the ninja who might lurk in the park.
<El-Cideon> Rena, not being much for stealth and hiding, mimics Yomi's actions as everyone gets ready. OOC: just waiting for someone to show up now?
<Yomi> OOC: Yes. We'll rewards Rena with a public bath tomorrow.
<Erin> OOC: I have a familiar!
<Erin> OOC: It is also waiting.
<Erin> OOC: In a tree, ready to pounce.
<El-Cideon> OOC: noted. It and everyone else can make spot/listen checks, then.
<Erin> roll 1d20+15 I'm actually an anti-ninja
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+15 I'm actually an anti-ninja and gets 31."12 [1d20=16]
<Yomi> roll 1d20
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20 and gets 2."12 [1d20=2]
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 2#1d20 spot/listen in order
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 2#1d20 spot/listen in order and gets 29."12 [2#1d20 = 14, 15]
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+17 hide for reference
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+17 hide for reference and gets 23."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> roll 2#1d20-1 same for Rena
<Erin> roll 1d20+6 is not
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+6 is not and gets 26."12 [1d20=20]
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2#1d20-1 same for Rena and gets 30."12 [2#1d20-1 = 14, 16]
<Yomi> OOC: My only chance of knowing anything is via Erin's orb!
<Yomi> roll 1d20 listen
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20 listen and gets 15."12 [1d20=15]
<Erin> OOC: My familiar is the second check. But even a 20 does not enable it to beat me.
<Erin> roll 1d20+2 listen.
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+2 listen. and gets 9."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> The figure, spotted by Erin beforehand, rises out of the undergrowth and walks to the gazebo, approaching Erin openly once he notices her eyes on him. "You noticed me, did you?" he says, with a note of approval. "I wonder if you have improved, or I have declined." He shrugs. "Regardless, report."
<El-Cideon> Nadia and Yomi see someone dressed in black, much the same as the assassin from London, materialize out of the darkness.
* Nadia_Chekova can do that! But she doesn't just yet.
<Erin> "I was attempting to conceal it. You have shown that I remain a student still," replies Erin, quite familiar with that particular outlook. "The girl has been slain. It was done quickly, in her sleep. None noticed my presence within her lodgings, and I was returning before anyone could have known."
<El-Cideon> "Yes? Explain the circumstances," he says, with the tone of an instructor on an evaluation. "Your method of location and entry. You retain the killing blade, I presume? Let me see it."
<Erin> "I was able to locate her in London. Japanese women are rare there; it was an easy thing to find her lodgings with minimal questioning, a small hotel within the inner city. I entered via the first-story window; it was not locked, and easily forced open." Erin produces the dagger from within her coat, thankful that her disguise spell will prevent the ninja-
<Erin> -from noticing any sign of her firearm.
<El-Cideon> "Surprisingly simple for a target as reputedly dangerous as this." He takes the dagger and examines it, eventually nodding. "You left no sign of your presence this time. Good. A second such error would not have been tolerated. Your assiduousness does yourself and the organization credit. Your success will have to be confirmed, of course. (more)
<El-Cideon> "You have a week. Spend it as you wish. I will contact you again, with new orders or guidance for further training. It remains to be seen."
<Erin> "I will do as the elders require," replies Erin, bowing her head.
<El-Cideon> "As is suitable." He hands back the knife, bows as well, then turns to leave.
<Erin> Erin gives a silent command to her familiar to tail the man after he departs, but otherwise makes not a hostile move.
<El-Cideon> He exits the park without looking back, quickly melting into the undergrowth again on his way out.
<El-Cideon> OOC: another spot check to follow him? He is trying to avoid notice all the damn time.
<Erin> roll 1d20+6 from birds that see in the dark?
* Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+6 from birds that see in the dark? and gets 19."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> ~