Editing Memories of a Stone Wall (section)

===Act V: A Shout in the Dark===
:>On the Wall there is a special duty. The Screamer.
:>A Samurai is expected to keep face at all times. Even when pierced by an arrow or cut by a blade, they should not cry out in pain, or fear.
:>Shouts of challenge, Kiai, and roars of battle rage are just fine.
:>But on the Wall some have the duty to Scream. They are placed in most vulnerable positions, so that should the enemy launch a surprise attack, they will be the first targets.
:>It is an important duty, to be the Screamer.
:>It is also a simple one.
:>Live long enough to Scream, and alert the others to danger.
:>Follow the Screamer. There you will find the enemy.
:>This Scream came not from the Wall, but up from the bowels of Kyuden Hida.
:>I bent slightly.
:>Toshiro leapt upon my back, legs clutching my waist and brandishing his Crutchtsubo.
:>I ran towards the Screamer.
:>As we neared I realized where the Screamer was.
:>It was unthinkable.
:>Somehow an enemy had managed to get to bypass the Wall, every single guard, and enter into the most secure rooms of Kyuden Hida.
:>I could hear the Screamer quite clearly, I knew exactly where he was. Three floors up from where Naomi and the others were.
:>We rounded the last corner and I set Toshiro down, reading my own Tetsubo.
:>Several Crab were lined up outside the room awaiting their turn to step in to fight.
:>A bushi came flying out of the room, crashing into the wall.
:>The bushi in the front charged into the room with a fierce Kiai.
:>Two others pulled the fallen bushi out of the way. Blood leaked from his armor like soup from a cracked bowl.
:>Toshiro and I stepped up.
:>The gunso directing the flow looked at us.
:>Nodded.
:>"It's not an Ugulu, but something is going on with magic."
:>Understood.
:>"NAOSHIGE! YASIMASU! OUT!"
:>Two bushi came out, one holding the other up.
:>They both moved under their own power, but with clear difficulty.
:>Toshiro and I stepped in.

:>A half dozen red and gold figures lay sprawled about the room. The last one standing hurled a blast of Jade energy at the Creature in the middle of the room. The Energy seemed to wash off it to no effect.
:>Fuck.
:>"SAIGANKI!"
:>One of the Crabs spread out around the Oni yelled out a code word.
:>Oh great, we've got a Rock Crusher.
:>The Crab have several words that are used to quickly convey information about various situations.
:>The Crab who spoke up just informed us this Oni was not harmed by Jade or Crystal.
:>Some other phrases let us know that we've got a large horde with multiple types of Shadowlands Creatures on the way, the various abilities of an Oni, and if the teahouse you and your friends are in is staffed by monsters in disguise who are unaware that you are onto them, and that your friends should gather up their weapons and meet your outside.
:>Yes.
:>I'm serious.
:>Toshiro grunted an acknowledgement, and fished out a scroll
:>I stepped up, taking a warding stance, and stood between the Oni and the Shugenja.
:>It was an ugly thing. Squat, all ropey tendons, with four arms ending in black claws. Ichor dripped from them and hissed where it fell, scorching the futons.
:>The top of it's head was smooth as an eggshell, with two long vertical slits where a nose should have been. I couldn't see a mouth.
:>Yep, never seen one like that before.
:>It snapped it's arms like a whip at us, and I saw it's arms had two extra elbow joints.
:>I took it's blow on my tetsubo, it was strong.
:>One bushi hissed as it's claw dug into him. I could see his armor had been melted away by whatever foul substance was coating the beasts talons.
:>A shout from Toshiro. A tetsubo, made of magical Earth appeared before me.
:>I took hold of it.
:>The other Crab struck as one, making an opening for me.
:>I Brought my Tetsubo down hard. And again.
:>And again. My limbs were invigorated. I moved with a speed I did not possess.
:>I spared a glance over my shoulder. Naomi was in the doorway, pointing at me.

:>The creature was tough, and it fought with wild ferocity.
:>My fellow Crabs protected me, as I was the one best able to hurt it.
:>It howled in frustration, then pain as I struck again, putting all my weight into my strikes.
:>Empowered by both Toshiro and Naomi, I felled the beast.
:>The other Crabs stabbed it repeatedly making sure it was dead.
:>Naomi rushed over to the fallen Phoenix scrolls of healing already in hand.
:>But only one of them was still alive. Hohiro, her brother.
:>The one that I had seen casting the ineffective spell was none other than my dear Father-in-law.
:>And there, on the floor, a long mess of intestines the only thing connecting the top and bottom half of his body, was the Master of Earth.
:>Fuck.

:>The Crab who had been tossed from the room managed to survive, thanks to Naomi's timely arrival.
:>The guards were loathe to allow her and my friends to leave their rooms. Even though she now wore my Clan's colors it was obvious to everyone she was not a Crab by birth. But when she insisted that she be allowed to serve her new Clan and informed them she was a Tensai they allowed her to come out.
:>His name was Kazuma.
:>It was while Naomi was desperately trying to get him to stop showering her with thanks, or at the very least stop trying to break a hole in the floor with his forehead that the Champion of the Crab arrived on scene.
:>I am a large man. Most Rokugani must tilt their necks to look me in the eyes. I tower over my wife. I even have an inch or two on most of my fellow Crabs.
:>My Champion loomed over even me. With biceps as big around as most men's thighs. His shoulder were the span of the haft of an Ono.
:>Ketsuen, the Ancestral armor of the Crab, had gone on a long and strange journey. It had been lost to the Shadowlands, tainted, rediscovered, purified and eventually returned to the Crab Clan.
:>The Helmet of that armor, despite it's simple design, nonetheless serves to assist it's wearer in being the scariest motherfucker in any room he cares to enter.
:>And this mountain, this battle scarred veteran who I could never hope to match up to, this man who can intimidate others with his mere presence, was very very angry.
:>And he was looking at my wife, and me beside her.
:>Now it was my turn to slam my forehead into the floor. I was of high standing, as an Emerald Magistrate, but I was still firmly within the ranks of the Buke. My Champion, however was Kuge. He was head of both the Hida Family, and the Crab Clan, and so my Lord twice over.
:>Crabs do not, as a rule, stand on ceremony. But neither do we tolerate open disrespect.
:>"And you are?"
:>"I am Hida Ishigaki, my lord. This is my wife Hida Naomi."

:>"Neither of you are stationed here."
:>It was not a question.
:>"No my Lord, we are Emerald Magistrates in the retinue of Ikoma Tsabutai-sama."
:>"I see. Why did you come then?"
:>"I had gone for a walk in the night to clear my mind, my Lord. When I heard the Screamer I moved without thinking."
:>"And you?"
:>He was addressing Naomi.
:>"I could tell where the sound of the... Screamer was coming from. I am a a Water Tensai; and I wished to be of service to my Clan."
:>Hida-sama glanced at Kazuma.
:>"You have. Continue to server your Clan well"
:>"Hai, my Lord!"
:>The Champion then entered the charnel house that was the quarters for the Master of Earth.
:>"Well? How will the Crab answer for THIS?!"
:>Isawa Shoji, my Father-in-law, was already raging.
:>He was a proud man, and his pride had been wounded severely today. So of course he was looking to blame someone else for the death of the Master of Earth.
:>"I have no words to express my sorrow at the loss of the Master of Earth. Rest assured we will conduct a full investigation as to how this occurred and those responsible will be punished."
:>I had little doubt whoever that was, the Champion would scrape their wakizashi dull on a rock first.
:>No matter how you looked at it, this was a big incident. It would have been one thing had the Master of Earth just passed on in his sleep. But an Oni, a creature our Clan existed to fight, had waltzed into what should have been one of the most secure places in the Empire and ripped the Master of Earth in half.
:>In the worst case scenario the Phoenix could raise a stink to the Emperor himself, and the Crab Champion could be held accountable.
:>This was, without a doubt, a crisis for the Crab.
:>And then Hohiro spoke out of turn.
:>"Father, please calm yourself".
:>"WHAT DI-"
:>"This is a great tragedy for our Clan, the Master of Earth and nearly all his possible successors are now dead. But this Oni was clearly a creature of singular and great power, for it to shrug off the power of so many Earth Tensai."

:>Hohiro had given his father a way out.
:>Hohiro and Shoji had both failed to protect their Master and their fellow tensai. Shoji especially, was unwounded. That was, embarrassing, to say the least
:>So, by acknowledging the power of the Oni, Shoji allowed the Crab to save some face while covering his own ass.
:>Shoji was temperamental, and vengeful, but he didn't get to where he was by being stupid about it. He knew how to pick his battles.
:>He took the way out.
:>"Yes, you have a point my son."
:>"Still, it is odd such a creature got so deep into the castle, is it not?"
:>"How was this possible?"
:>"THAT is something I would like to know as well."
:>Hida-sama's growl promised dire retribution for whosoever had shamed the Crab this day.
:>Hida-sama left the room, before Shoji could find a socially acceptable way to bitch some more.
:>He approached me again.
:>"You said you and your group were Emerald Magistrates yes? And your superior was here as well?"
:>"Hai, my Lord."
:>"Take me to him."
:>We led Hida-sama to where Tsabutai-sama was staying. We waited outside as they exchanged words.
:>Hida-sama left.
:>"Enter please."
:>We did so and knelt before Tsabutai-sama.
:>"I have heard what has happened. Hida-sama has asked me to oversee this investigation. As an Emerald Magistrate, I will have no bias in this matter. I have agreed to render impartial judgment. I shall be relying on you all to bring this matter to a swift conclusion."
:>Of course, Tsabutai-sama only sought out testimony. Since no one saw or heard anything unusual until the Oni was already upon the Phoenix, he quickly hit a dead end. And so, with a little persuasion from Kitsuki-san, he gave us leave to investigate on our own.
:>We played a game. We had all the guards go to where they were just before the attack happened, and each of us tried to sneak past them.
:>We were all caught.
:>We enlisted the aid of Shugenja that knew magic to help conceal our movements.
:>We were still caught.

:>No matter where we entered from, it was only by turning completely invisible that we could get to the Master of Earth's room undetected.
:>It was Toshiro who said it.
:>If that Oni could become invisible, then it would have been able to escape. It did not.
:>We have to consider that the Oni was summoned inside Kyuden Hida.
:>"Hida's balls, that's horrifying."
:>Mantis looked at Kitsuki-san.
:>"Think it might have been THEM?"
:>Kitsuki-san pursed his lips, tapped his fan to them.
:>"I have no idea. If we just had some idea of what THEIR goal was then maybe I could say one way or another."
:>"Alright then. Let's report to Tsabutai-sama. Since we're looking for a Maho-Tsukai we should let the witch hunters take over, right?"
:>I don't think we should, I said.
:>"Why the hell not?!"
:>"Simply because of how stupid it would be to summon an Oni here of all places."
:>Wat
:>"Look, no one is more paranoid about taint than the Crab clan. You probably don't even know how many times you've all been tested for the taint."
:>"6 for me."
:>You don't count Kitsuki-san.
:>"Anyway, there's no way a Tsukai was in here for any length of time without being AMAZING at hiding themselves."
:>"I'm talking beyond even a finger of corrupted jade or Jade Petal tea, because we look for those things."
:>"We even look out for the mood swings and odd behaviors brought on by the early stages of the taint!"
:>The others nodded slowly. We weren't looking for a needle in a haystack, we were looking for a needle with a rusty center in a stack of needles.
:>The first thing to do then, was clear away as many needles as possible.
:>So, who stands to gain the most from this?
:>Well, anyone with a grudge against the Crab, or the Phoenix.
:>The Master of Earth was largely pissing on the council.
:>I spoke up.
:>"Naomi... how many of the candidates survived the attack?"
:>"Just one, not counting my father."
:>"Do you know him?"
:>"I know of him. Some years back he was caught frequenting opium dens."
:>I could not look at Naomi.
:>I spoke.
:>"Isawa Shoji did it."

:>The master of Earth was going to appoint his successor and damn what the council wanted. This was Shoji's only chance, he wouldn't live long enough to replace the Master of Earth chosen now.
:>The attack killed the Master, preventing him from even voicing support for any one of his potential successors.
:>It killed almost all of the Shoji's rivals for the position.
:>The only ones to survive were a contender with a scandal staining his past, Shoji's own son, and Shoji himself.
:>Shoji didn't have a scratch on him.
:>And he obstinately lobbed useless magic at the Oni.
:>There is no way that Oni could have snuck past all the guards to enter the Master of Earth's room unnoticed.
:>But if it had been summoned form inside the room, or next door, that's a different mater.
:>And Shoji would have unfettered access to those rooms.
:>I knelt on the floor in the center of the room, surrounded by greatness.
:>The Crab Clan Champion, the Kuni Family Daimyo, My superior Emerald Magistrate Ikoma Tsabutai, were all present to hear my testimony.
:>As was the man I was accusing, my Father-in-law.
:>You would think I would be pleased things turning out this way. I hated that man with a passion. He had hurt my wife so badly I wanted nothing more than to squeeze his neck until his eyes popped from their sockets.
:>But this... this was too heavy a crime.
:>The crime of being a Maho-Tsukai can and often does blow back on the Tsukai's family.
:>Often they are exiled. Sometimes they are even killed along with the Tsukai. 
:>Being a Tsukai means you are a traitor to the Empire, and traitors are dealt with in the harshest of ways.
:>My wife was a Crab now. She assisted in the investigation that revealed Shoji's plot. She would be spared. But her mother? Her brothers?
:>The weight of this had sent Naomi into another fit. So bad she lost consciousness.
:>I hated Shoji for doing this. I hated myself more that I could not look the other way for her sake.

:>The assembled powers conferred in hushed tones.
:>Shoji went purple and sputtered in apoplectic fury.
:>Tsabutai-sama spoke.
:>"Indeed Hida Ishigaki-san, we can find no fault with your words. That you must speak out against your own Father-in-law makes them even more damning."
:>"WAIT! This, this, this THUG! He turned my daughter against me! Soiled her Honor! I've never approved of their marriage! He only makes these accusations out of jealousy and spite!"
:>"Be that as it may, Shoji-san, there is enough evidence to call the Witch Hunters. If you are innocent of these ghastly crimes, then they will surely exonerate you."
:>The door to the room opened.
:>"That must be them now."
:>The Witch Hunter entered.
:>Along with Hohiro.
:>Shoji looked at his son with a confused, yet hopeful expression.
:>"Hohiro?!"
:>"Be at ease father."
:>The Kuni daimyo addressed his kinsman.
:>"And? What did your investigation reveal."
:>"We did indeed find the scroll used to summon the Oni."
:>Shoji went a deeper shade of purple.
:>"As well as a pouch of Jade Petal tea."
:>"IT'S NOT MINE!"
:>"Correct."
:>What the fuck did he just say?
:>"Hohiro-san found us, and told us that he saw someone speaking with Isawa Tesai, the other survivor, shortly before the attack."
:>"He begged us to search that man's room, and while it is expected of family members to lie on behalf of their kin, my instincts told me to trust him."
:>Everyone was hanging on every word now.
:>"Isawa Hohiro-san's instincts were not wrong, as it turned out."
:>"Ikoma Tsabutai is a Maho-Tsukai!"
:>"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS! HOGHGGGHGHGHGHG"
:>Before Tsabutai could finish his outburst Hohiro had drawn his Wakizashi and cut Tsabutai open from gullet to groin.
:>Maggots writhed inside of his guts, black ichor seeped to the floor instead of blood.
:>No clearer proof of the taint was needed.
:>I had been wrong.
:>I had accused an innocent man of practicing Maho.
:>When it was MY superior who had been the one doing it.

:>"There you see! They're all in it! They framed me to cover for their superior!"
:>"Harboring someone with taint is a capital offense Hida-sama, your duty is clear! Execute them! ALL of them!"
:>Like I said, Shoji knew how to pick his battles, and he now had a major advantage in this one.
:>Cold eyes turned to me. Everything Shoji had said was terrifyingly probable.
:>My fate, and the fate of my friends, my wife, and maybe even my daughter was hanging by a thread.
:>"NO!"
:>"The truth is we suspected that there was something amiss about Tsabutai for some time now!"
:>Arched eyebrows
:>"Really?"
:>"Yes, We did not know what, exactly. So we were attempting to investigate, discreetly."
:>"One must not accuse one's superior lightly, after all, so we wanted to be absolutely sure before we said anything!"
:>It wasn't QUITE true, but it was close enough.
:>They went to fetch my fellows, none of them knew what had transpired yet there had been no time to get our stories straight, if we were indeed conspiring. 
:>The fact that everyone realized the seriousness of the situation, even without understanding why, and admitted we were investigating Tsabutai went a long way to convincing everyone I was telling the truth.
:>My notes helped.
:>We were confined to a single room, under strict guard, while they backtracked our investigation. Speaking with those we had spoken too.
:>Eventually, they were convinced that we knew nothing of what had transpired.

:>Officially, we were duped by Tsabutai. Shameful in the extreme. We were dismissed from our posts as Emerald magistrates. Though none of us was made Ronin, or ordered to commit seppuku.
:>Tsabutai's wife and two young children were executed. We all took very great pains to ensure Naomi never learned of that fact.
:>With his past scandal, and being the one that allowed Tsabutai into the Phoenix area Isawa Tessai could not be the Master of Earth.
:>The council learned that Shoji had adamantly refused to believe he could not crush the Oni with his own magic. Such obstinance is a hallmark of earth, but the overweening pride behind it was unseemly. The Master of Earth should be the master of his own earth, and so Shoji could not be the new Master.
:>In the end, the one who had fought bravely to defend his kin, who had persevered in the face of great hardship, and who had brought forth the evidence that exonerated the Phoenix and condemned the real criminal, Isawa Hohiro, became the Master of Earth.
:>Naomi was genuinely happy for her brother.
:>The rest of us knew just how terribly we were played.

:>The days and weeks following our disgrace were horrible.
:>Hohiro became the darling of the court, surrounded by courtiers everywhere he went.
:>Fans fluttered and tongues wagged as everyone pondered who the Council would appoint as the next Master of Earth.
:>Shoji was in a foul mood for the first few days. His ambitions, while not destroyed, had suffered quite a setback.
:>But when he saw Hohiro's popularity on the rise, the wily bastard fell in behind his boy.
:>I wouldn't be surprised if Shoji himself started the rumors that Hohiro would receive the appointment.
:>Some scoffed, Hohiro had suddenly been catapulted into the limelight, true, but his career up until now had been good, but not exceptional.
:>Others began tendering offers of marriage.
:>Each one offering up a better bride than the last.
:>Shoji himself talked Hohiro up as well.
:>"Yes, my son lives up to my high expectations."
:>"Due to my stern, yet fair, instruction he has become quite a fine Shugenja."
:>"Truly, it's only in comparison to me that he falls short. Had he been born another time he would be the best there is!"
:>I watched this all happen from the corner where I lurked, my stomach churning in disgust.
:>If there was a bright side to all this, at least I didn't have to bother with polite small talk.
:>The "what the fuck are you even doing here?" stares were getting on my nerves, however.
:>"How awful it must have been for you, Hohiro-san, to hear your own sister accuse your father so!"
:>"Indeed, she had stained her honor. Any proper samurai would take their blade up and cleanse their shame."
:>"No, no it was not so far fetched a thing! I believe in my sister still! I am certain she had good reason!"
:>"But she was still wrong, was she not?"
:>"Well, yes, but..."
:>"Your loyalty to your sister does you credit, Hohiro-san, but it is misplaced. She is just a Crab now, no longer your family."
:>I left before I killed someone.

:>I had grown deeply suspicious of Hohiro.
:>Of course, I had not one shred of evidence, not one link at all to support this.
:>Aside from the fact that it was all too convenient.
:>Someone had a grudge against either myself, the Mantis, Kitsuki-san or Naomi. The Shiba had left us, and both the Monkey and Toshiro were later additions.
:>That someone had ties to Tsabutai.
:>That someone was very likely a Maho-Tsukai. 
:>They were sneaky enough we called them a Ninja.
:>Tsabutai was dead, before we could finish our investigation, to try to find that someone.
:>We had been disgraced. Everyone knew that once someone with the power to revoke our status as Emerald Magistrates had a chance to review what happened we would be stripped of our rank.
:>Without that commonality, we would likely be split up. Reassigned by our clans somewhere out of the way.
:>And there he was. The Golden Boy. Hero of the hour. And now there was talk HE would be the next Master of Earth.
:>That, and I hated his guts. At the very least, he never once stood up to defend his little sister from their domineering father. More likely, he followed Shoji's lead and treated Naomi like trash their whole lives.
:>The others were unwilling to try anything based on mere conjecture. I couldn't blame them.
:>And I couldn't even suggest this to Naomi.
:>Her feelings for her father were complex, but she loved the rest of her family unconditionally.
:>She was genuinely happy for her brother.
:>She was relieved her father was not a criminal.
:>There was no way I was going to deliver another emotional blow to her so soon after the last one. She was still recovering.
:>I made my way outside, down to the courtyard.
:>I was hoping to spar some more and clear out all the clutter inside my head.
:>But none of the Crabs would so much as look at me.
:>THAT got my attention.

:>Of course. We had been the subordinates of a Maho-Tsukai.
:>A Crab must remain on alert for possession, shape shifters, skin stealers, and the Taint. 
:>Any of these things could cause a Crab to become an agent of the enemy, betraying the Clan to its enemies. 
:>It is expected you will watch your immediate superior for signs of these things, because the more responsibility a Crab has, the more damage they could do if they fell.
:>At the very least, to their eyes, I failed to remain vigilant. 
:>And when dealing with matters of the taint, my Clan's paranoia runs deep.
:>More than a few must think me a knowing accomplice. As yet untainted, but clearly a servant of Evil all the same.
:>I knew what Crabs did when there was someone they all agreed was a liability, even when they could not officially prove it.
:>I would find myself surrounded in a stairwell by bushi wearing mempos one day. 
:>Or I might lose my footing and fall off the south side of the wall.
:>They might even target my friends. Among them, my frail and sickly wife.
:>I wracked my brains, searching for any possible way to clear this suspicion off of us.
:>I realized, quite quickly, that I would need to do something drastic.
:>There is a very simple truth to the mater of failure, shame and dishonor.
:>Success needs no explanation, failure allows none.
:>To make up for our previous failure, we needed to produce a success of equal or greater value.
:>We weren't going to be given any assignments, nor trusted with critical duties, in our current state. We were going to have to MAKE a success happen ourselves.
:>But, if we screwed it up again, and compounded failure with more failure, then we would have nothing left but three simple cuts.
:>I couldn't risk that for Naomi.
:>...
:>...
:>...but maybe. Maybe.
:>I made up my mind.
:>For all of our sakes, I would Go Looking for Hida.