Empires of Ashes

Joachim: In that cause, your liege, I must bid you farewell.

"farewell brigardi"

*Joachim gathers his men and leaves.*

before they leave the city a warrior stops them
"wait"

Joachim: Why have you stopped us?

"you are heading west?"

Joachim: Perhaps.

"you are only just within our lands. I offer myself as a guide"

*Joachim inclines his head, suspicious.*

Joachim: Really? You would offer yourself as a guide to foreigners so readily?

he nods
"hai"

*Joachim sizes the man up.*

Joachim: Did your daiymo put you up to this?

"No. I do this of my own will"
*the man wears a helmet with a mask built in, the mask being similar to a skull. he's shorter than joachim, but is in full shogunite plate*

Joachim: Alright, but why? A man does not offer to join total strangers and possibly never see his homeland again for nothing.

"it is the only chance I'll have in my life to see the length of my country with assured safety."

Joachim: You realize we may not see the entirety of your country, yes? Depending on many things, we may not even see half of it.

"More than I would were I to pass up this chance. Besides you need me. I know the clans, speak the language, know the customs. With me you can resupply at towns and villages for example"

*Joachim considers this for a moment.*

Joachim: You raise fair points. Very well. You may journey with us, but I will be watching you the entire time.

"thankyou"

Joachim: Fall into formation and let's go.

he does so
note he wields a naginata

Joachim: What's your name, stranger?

"Kenshin"

Joachim: Very well, Kenshin. This is your native land. I imagine you know how the avoid the more...unsavory parts of it.

"well, to the north is the vein as you know. to the west and northwest we would have to cross a river to continue. the capitol is directly west, not too far from the river"

Joachim: I would rather avoid the capital for now. To much...intrigue in places such as that.

"easiest way then is south. there are several smaller cities and towns that way"

Joachim: Lead the way then.

he turns south and starts off that way
"we are however at least half a week away on foot"

Joachim: It won't matter to us. We've been walking since we left Brigard.

he nods and leads the way
"be warned. small skirmishes between clans are common"

Joachim: If we come across any, we'll just slip off somewhere out of sight until the fighting has stopped.

he nods
"we should be safe for now. This area is firmly in takeda hands"

Joachim: Good. Anything else I should know?

"Well, what do you wish to know?"

Joachim: How about what your people are like on the ground and not in palaces?

"....meaning?"

Joachim: Meaning what can I expect from the common folk and not the lords?

"depends on their Kāsuto. Sorry, their caste"

Joachim: Caste?

"yes"

Joachim: You're going to have to explain what you mean. We do not have "castes" in Brigard.

"well i guess another word would be *mumbling in voldamian trying to work out the word* social class?"

Joachim: Ah. I see. But there's clearly a big enough difference between the two to make you reach for a way of describing them, so explain.

"With some exceptions, you are born into your caste"

Joachim: Everyone is born into some sort of social class regardless of their nation.

he shrugs

Joachim: If that is all you can tell me, then it'll do for now.

he nods

*They continue on their journey south.*

Chapter Master Arken wrote:

OOC: The odds of that are....amazing....Holy crap Naz. The frequency with which you get the worst rolls of the dice possible is.....incredible. I'm laughing so hard right now...

Yeah, well, a meteor just hit the sleeping quarters in Base Disaster too... 6 people died, but in their sleep, so they got that going for them, which is nice....



On an unrelated note...
Instructor: "Do a rapid dive followed by a sudden stop"
/Main character proceeds to crash into the ground/
Me: .....well.... you cant stop much more suddenly than that...

/David Attenborough voice/
"Here we can see a wild german female courting her chosen mate... This is a very delicate ritual... Let us observe with care..."
/Woman charges through the wall in a mechsuit, grabs target, kisses passionately in front of everyone/ "I have decided to make you my bride. I accept no objections."
"Nature truly is wonderful...."

that night, at the campfire...
kenshin is cleaning the blade of his naginata