The characters have arrived in the town of Tsuma in the Crane lands. All have been invited to attend the Topaz Championship, the most prestigious gempukku in the empire and the ceremony that would initiate young samurai into adulthood.
After helping a peasant whose cart had become overturned on the road into town, everyone split up. Kasuga Osamu visited a strange shop called The Merchant House of the Exotic selling various gaijin goods imported from outside of Rokugan, primarily via the nearby port town to the north, Taimana Choryu, also known as Slow Tide Harbor. There he found a stuffed beast so absurd and terrifying that words alone fail entirely. Thankfully he not only purchased this abomination, but made a sketch of it.
He also happened to find a strange packet in a statue. After the clerk seemed unwilling to hand it over he took the unopened parcel to a magistrate at the nearby docks, informing him of what had transpired.
While at the docks, the Imperial Barge arrived in town carrying not only the Emperor and his son, but his trusted friend and advisor Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Shoju, his wife Kachiko, and her niece, and fellow competitor, Bayushi Sakue. She had apparently been entered into the competition past the deadline.
Elsewhere, Doji and Akodo Tadashi had gone to pray for good fortune in the tournament where they met Agasha Hanori. The friendly Phoenix shugenja was able to defuse some of the tension between the two members of opposing clans. No doubt a reflection of the growing tension between Lion and Crane that many are speculating may lead to war. Though he prevented the matter from escalating it seemed he was most interested in finding companions to spend the afternoon drinking.
When checking in at The House of the Laughing Carp the party encountered Hitoshi, a young Mantis Clan bushi. He was in the midst of a fierce argument with the innkeeper who apparently had no record of him having booked a room. Akodo's offer to share a room resolved the initial situation, but did nothing about the chip on his shoulder about his lack of status, being only a member of a minor clan and without even a family name.
On the next day the tournament itself began with a series of _sumai_ matches.
Mirumoto Tetsuzae was so focused on his ki that he and nobody else can even recall his opponent, but his inner strength and mighty Dragon Claw and Dragon Coil techniques were powerful enough to handily win the match. Kasuga, on the other hand, was not nearly as lucky being bested by the friendly Agasha Hanori, the shugenja proving a surprisingly challenging opponent. Akodo fought well against Soshi Denbe , but truly showed his honor when he graciously helped the Scorpion back to his feet after the match. Doji unfortunately was bested by Moto Xuren, probably due to some brutish gaijin techniques. A Crane would rather lose with honor than have resorted to using such things.
Next, in the Heraldry test, everyone showed their knowledge commendably. Except for Mirumoto who had looked inward so deeply that he was unable to even recall his own family's mon. Meh. More enlightened than _you_. Such worldly matters are beneath a Dragon.
Rounding out the morning's events was a test of athletics with a running of an obstacle course. All conducted themselves well, but the wall was too much for most. Of particular note was the match between Akodo and Kasuga. Kasuga took off to a slight lead with Akodo following closely on his heels, but the Lion climbed the wall with all the dexterity of a cat and was victorious. It turns out that Crabs are better at building walls than climbing them.
With that the tournament broke for lunch and a period of rest for the contestants. At present the standings are as follows:
* Kasuga Osamu: 1 point
* Mirumoto Tetsuzae: 1 point
* Akodo Sanjuro: 3 points
* Doji Toshiro : 1 point