Shinko peeks through the room in the Dragon lodgings, which are surprisingly quiet. Perhaps not, as she had been the only Dragon she had noticed at the feast.

But I thought they were supposed to send him.

"Jun? Are you there? And decent? I'm coming in" she scratches at the door in a brief warning before sliding it open.

"Decent? I..." Jun's lips quirk in a mix of mild confusion and amusement. It's the middle of the afternoon, why wouldn't I be...?

He is rather sprawled about, admittedly--half reclining against an armrest, with a cheaply bound book folded open in one hand. He sits up properly straight, brushing mostly-imaginary creases out of his clothing, as the sound of the sliding door signals Shinko inviting herself in.

"Shinko-san, right? I thought you were here. What's afoot?"

A smile curls at Shinko's lips. "Ha! I thought you were coming here." She leans into the doorway, poking her head through the gap before sliding it the remainder of the way open. "I mean, I know you're school kinda branches the being a courtier, but I'm glad they let you near a dueling tournament."

Shinko strides into the room, nodding and letting out a low whistle. "You got rooms to yourself too? I'm a bit surprised that they only sent two of us, but hey, no complaints here. Less competition. But you were asking what's afoot."

Shinko elegantly crashes into a comfortable looking couch across from Jun. "So, I don't know if the rumor mill has caught up yet, but there was a dead Ronin in the garden last night." She leans forward conspiratorially. "According to the head magistrate, someone has been sneaking into some sweet potent opium, and the poor Crane can't figure out how they are doing it. And now, I asked myself, "Self, who would ponder mysteries so great as these"

Shinko sweeps an arm theatrically to the air. "And so naturally I came to the answer of myself. But then I asked, "Shinko, you're a sweet honorable girl who doesn't know about such things, so who is the busiest busybody you know to point you into the direction to rile some things up?" And so, naturally, I thought of you...and here, a gift."

Shinko reaches into the folds of her robe, producing a pipe. "This is what the poor sod was puffing on before he bit it"

"Ah, well, Lord Togashi doesn't care as much as the Crane or Lion about this kind of contest, and the Mirumoto--"

And then Jun sits bolt upright, dropping his book. "Wait--a dead body? You mean in the garden just east of here? That garden?"

He springs to his feet, as if this news has released some kind of energetic force that can't physically be contained within the outline of a seated body. "But that's shocking! A samurai left for dead in public, on the night before the Topaz Tournament begins? Even if it is a ronin." The Tsuma clan magistrates must be beside themselves. I would be.

"And they let you walk away with the opium paraphernalia?" Quickly, he produces a handkerchief from a fold of his kimono and shakes it open to receive the suspicious item. "Who--no, wait. Did you see how this person died? Was it the opium, or were there other injuries?"

More full of questions than answers after Shinko's story, Jun seems to have no time to pay any mind to being called a busybody...

"I mean, had picked it up and sniffed it before they came around." Shinko shrugs, handing over the pipe. "And by the time that they arrived, hey, the mountain tuna had already left its tether."

"I wasn't there for the actual death, but yeah, I saw the body. " Shinko brushes the air with her hand. "No visible wounds, but the body was sickly. Now, the assumption was opium overdose, but I figure that slipping another toxin in would be a perfect cover. This, dear Investigator, is the lead I have. Can you make anything of it? "

"Something, undoubtedly."

Jun holds the pipe carefully in his handkerchief, both to keep his hands clean of any contamination (though apparently Shinko has been carrying it around without ill effects, so that doesn't seem too likely) and to keep from accidentally smudging anything interesting with his own slightly inky fingers. With long steps, he paces over to the window--large in proportion to the small room, as befits a Crane structure with a nice garden to look out at--and hooks the blinds open as far as they will go, letting in lots of sunlight to aid his inspection.

"I still have a lot of questions, Shinko-san. It's a shame I wasn't there last night," he says, with a note of regret that's simultaneously very boyish and rather professional. It's a bit of an odd combination, though less so the more familiar one is with the Kitsuki, who are one of the few families in Rokugan in which Hey, kids, wanna see a dead body? might well signal the start of an official dojo lesson.

"Can you describe what you actually saw when you found the body? As much as possible?"

Kitsuki Jun wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:00 am

"Something, undoubtedly."

Jun holds the pipe carefully in his handkerchief, both to keep his hands clean of any contamination (though apparently Shinko has been carrying it around without ill effects, so that doesn't seem too likely) and to keep from accidentally smudging anything interesting with his own slightly inky fingers. With long steps, he paces over to the window--large in proportion to the small room, as befits a Crane structure with a nice garden to look out at--and hooks the blinds open as far as they will go, letting in lots of sunlight to aid his inspection.

"I still have a lot of questions, Shinko-san. It's a shame I wasn't there last night," he says, with a note of regret that's simultaneously very boyish and rather professional. It's a bit of an odd combination, though less so the more familiar one is with the Kitsuki, who are one of the few families in Rokugan in which Hey, kids, wanna see a dead body? might well signal the start of an official dojo lesson.

"Can you describe what you actually saw when you found the body? As much as possible?"

Give me a TN 2 (Air 1, Earth 4) Medicine check.

While he listens to Shinko's account (assuming she gives one), Jun examines the pipe closely. The afternoon's cloud-filtered sunlight is perfect for this kind of close inspection, bright but without harsh shadows. Jun hasn't personally met a lot of opium-eaters in his short lifetime, but he's read a lot of other magistrates' writing about the vice. Maybe he can assemble some of the small physical details of this poor ronin's pipe together into a larger picture.

D1 EA - Medicine to Analyze (air approach) the pipe. Jun is investigating, so Kitsuki's Method should apply, effective skill = school rank | TN: 1 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2


One possible use for Air opps is "(Air, Scholar) * : Learn something about a character who created or used the item you are studying"--that would seem to make sense here, in addition to whatever Jun can figure out about the drugs/pipe itself.


Strife 2/8

Kitsuki Jun wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:50 pm

While he listens to Shinko's account (assuming she gives one), Jun examines the pipe closely. The afternoon's cloud-filtered sunlight is perfect for this kind of close inspection, bright but without harsh shadows. Jun hasn't personally met a lot of opium-eaters in his short lifetime, but he's read a lot of other magistrates' writing about the vice. Maybe he can assemble some of the small physical details of this poor ronin's pipe together into a larger picture.

D1 EA - Medicine to Analyze (air approach) the pipe. Jun is investigating, so Kitsuki's Method should apply, effective skill = school rank | TN: 1 | Success: 1 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 2


One possible use for Air opps is "(Air, Scholar) * : Learn something about a character who created or used the item you are studying"--that would seem to make sense here, in addition to whatever Jun can figure out about the drugs/pipe itself.


Strife 2/8

The pipe itself clearly was used for smoking opium. But that keen Kitsuki intellect and perception reveals something very distinct about the pipe. The style is very much not Rokugani in origin. The details intricate, and well crafted.

But it is not of any artisan in the Emeral Empire.

Kitsuki Jun wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:00 am

"

"Can you describe what you actually saw when you found the body? As much as possible?"

Shinko shuts her eyes, recalling details.

"Nothing disturbing the scene. Seated in an isolated spot, nothing disturbing the scene. Clear signs of an overdose. No physical marks, all pointing to just an accident. What does the pipe say to you? "