No, you got it right. At least a day's ride.
Matsu Niko says, "As I recall, the river itself was the boundary between the two clans. One side of the river was fairly well occupied whereas the other was not. It seemed as though your daimyo was more than willing to trade that land for some mines the other clan had. Honestly, you and people who agree with you should have made a point to meet with us earlier. We could have taken your point of view into account. Sending the Shugenja to interrupt was a poor idea. Let's talk solutions."
"What do you have in mind?" she asks.
Mirumoto Dai says, "We want your village to prosper."
Matsu Niko says, "This is your village not ours, do you have any suggestions?"
"We could switch our loyalty to the Scorpion Clan," she thinks out loud.
Matsu Niko says, "If you think it is best. If you and your family want to move to the Lion lands. My aunt is always looking for new vassals that want to be treated fairly and work hard."
"Are you suggesting that we switch our allegiance to the Lion Clan, noble one?" she asks.
She says, "It will be a difficult transition but the Lion clan is fair but tough. If you are upset by the local clans, that might be an option."
She says, "It will be a difficult transition but the Lion clan is fair but tough. If you are upset by the local clans, that might be an option."
"We will consider it," says the older lady.
Matsu Niko says, "Interesting, so who was the Blood Cultist that my colleague slew?"
"My twin sister," she said.
Matsu Niko says, "Of course there is a twin sister."
"She was meeting with people. Who are they?" Dai asks the woman.
"She was meeting with people. Who are they?" Dai asks the woman.
"Shugenja, at least that is what she tells me," the woman replied.
Matsu Niko says, "So where can we find her?"
Matsu Niko says, "So where can we find her?"
"She works in the local Geisha house as a scullery maid," says the woman.
"Thank you for telling us. How much longer should she be at work?" Dai asks the young woman.
"Thank you for telling us. How much longer should she be at work?" Dai asks the young woman.
"She should be back in a quarter hour," the woman says.
Matsu Niko makes small talk until the twin arrives.
After thirty minutes, a girl arrives in the house, dressed in red and black. She looks like the other girl exactly. She sees you and says, "What's going on here?" she asks incredulously.
Dai glances at the Matsu to see if she recognizes the new woman.
Matsu Niko smiles and says, "We are having a conversation. Your mother is a great cook. Take a seat. Your family was telling me about how they are interested in joining the Lion clan. They told me that you have been playing with things that are unnatural. No one wants goblins running around. On our way to visit your Daimyo, I had to scour my ancestral O-dachi with the goop I think is the equivalent to blood. So take a seat."
She takes a seat. "You must be the samurai that left that message," she states.
Matsu Niko feeling like she just had this same conversation with her sister says, "That is correct. You wanted to meet with us, it would have been much less bloody if you spoke with us in person. Sending some half-baked shujenja to kidnap me was not very friendly of you. So, how about you state your business."
"We wanted a fair trade," she states. "We sent the Shugenja to give a message. The other bloodspeakers here felt you were trying to rob us. So we brainwashed a Kuni Shugenja to bring you to us. We feel we aren't represented in the Imperial Court."
Matsu Niko says, "We are representatives of the Emperor and all you had to do was request an audience when we arrived in the area. My colleague and I would have no problem listening to your complaints and would have involved you and your points of view into the negotiation process."
She then takes a swig of the tea she had been drinking from and continues, "You have my full attention. The two daimyos were happy with the deal we hammered out. What proposal do you have, Blood speaker, we are all ears?"
"I propose that you give the village the rights to the river," she says.
Matsu Niko shrugs and says, "Do you have any idea what position we are in? This input would have been beneficial up to any point up to last night. However, you remained quiet until now. So, I propose you either join the clan across the river or bring me to the leader of the Bloodspeakers, if that person would like to cause more problems."
"He's very secretive," she says.
Matsu Niko says, "I understand that but this is an opportunity to find a compromise that would best serve everyone: the people, the great clans and of course the emperor. Can you set up a meeting between him or her and us?"
Ettiquette for persuasion using perception of what she had said and her facial expressions 6k3+3 +3 = 25
"I can," she relents.
Matsu Niko smiles and says, "Let's make it happen."
She begins to eat dinner. She got a cooked oyster, and put it on her plate with the rice. She then puts soy sauce over it and the rice and starts eating.
Dai stays quiet and just watches the Blood Speaker for when she tries to turn on them.
Matsu continues with small talk until the meal is finished and once it is done, she says, "Thank you madam for this delicious meal."
She then says to the blood speaker, "Let's meet your master."
"If you would follow me," she says. "And be careful of his traps."
Dai rises and follows behind the woman. He watches her closely as he expects a trap at any moment.
She leads you to another cottage. This one has a shrine dedicated to Bayushi. He could have been Scorpion, or maybe he's lying.
"Follow me exactly, noble ones," she cautioned.
Matsu Niko follows the woman, walking softly.
perception 3k3
Matsu Niko follows the woman, walking softly.
perception 3k3 3d10
Make an agility test.
Agility exploding =22
Agility 2d10 ⇒ (6, 10) = 16 exploding 1d10 ⇒ 6 =22
So far, Niko hasn't tripped any traps with her deft footwork.
Agility: 3d10 ⇒ (5, 5, 4) = 14
Dai has tripped a trap. It's a sling trap, hooked on a tree. He is caught and goes about three feet into the air. His left foot was caught.
Matsu Niko cuts Dai down from the trap.
She continues following the girl, making sure to study her every move and imitating it Perception 3k3 exploding again =36
Dai shakes his head at missing something so obvious and then continues on.