Books. Why did it have to be books? [Day 6, LA, Open]

[Akodo Jishaku]

Having enjoyed some weapon training back on the Half Moon, Jishaku cleaned up and quickly moved across town to the palace, arriving in the Late Afternoon. With his oilskin pouch in hand, his wakizashi at his side, and a look of determination on his face, the Cub made for the grand library for the second time in as many days. It would have made his parents proud, alas he wasn't there to learn any lore if he could help it.

With a nod to the librarian he made his way into the heart of library to continue his search from the day before.

[Rixy]

The librarian today was a different one, younger by a decade and female. Otherwise, all was as he remembered...the books had not, alas, magically organized themselves for ease of search.

[Akodo Jishaku]

That's books for you. Always sitting on the shelves instead of sorting themselves out by magic. Books...it was like his childhood all over again.

Finding a suitable place for his base of operations Jishaku once again launched into his search for further information. Today he would pursue two avenues of investigation: 1. The continued history of the vessel in the harbour and its Captain, Harimad Pashtal, kshatriya of House <blacked out so probably Rafiq> and 2. The advisor to the Maharaja that Jayant Utpal had mentioned to him that morning, one 'Devadas Indrani, of House Pandavah'.

As always, his interest in ships came first. [Roll with 2 called raises: 19... Fail] But didn't seem to help him. He kept looking though, stubborn Cub that he was. [Investigation second roll at same TN: 39, with two called raises Success?]

[Rixy]

It took a lot of looking and the use of a ladder but at last Jishaku found a very small book, tucked behind several others. One look at the first pages revealed it to be a history of lineage, written half a century ago.

It contained the records of the House of Rafiq and, likely, would have long since been burned had it not been so well tucked away. Revealing he had found it would likely have it confiscated on sight and being found with it later could be...unfortunate.

[Akodo Jishaku]

Jackpot.

Rather than cause anyone undue worry or honour loss, Jishaku simply remained where he was atop the ladder. It was actually quite good training for standing at the wheel. He flicked through the book, looking for any sign of the boat, its owner, or less likely, anything that might link the few gaijin names he knew here to House Rafiq.

[Rixy]

The man Harimad wasn't mentioned but the line of Pashtal was.

The family, it seemed, had a long history of merchant patronage that, reading between the lines, sounded suspiciously like piracy. The author, who did not himself seem to be a member of the House, seemed highly suspicious of the vast variety of goods routinely brought to port here, claiming that no one family could possibly be spread across so much of the kingdom to have access to so many things legally. Several members of the family tree are listed as 'disowned' and the author speculates this was so that they could harvest the goods the rest traded without bringing shame onto the House or family as a whole.

[Akodo Jishaku]

Pirates and cultists eh? What a delightful combination.

Making a mental note of that information Jishaku proceeded to look for any sign of references to 'Utpal' or 'Indrani', on the off chance that either of them had something nasty hidden away in their past.

[Rixy]

Of the line of Indrani, there was no mention.

The line of Utpal, however, was a different matter entirely.

To be fair, much of what was there was fairly complimentary. His line sounded rather like they'd fit right in with the Crab at home, educated about matters of demons and with more than a few members who had been lauded for venturing into the demon-infested jungles after a particularly nasty specimen and returning victorious. They also had a history of service with something called the 'Gurkha', which seemed to be the most positive aspect of the family in the author's mind.

[Akodo Jishaku]

The Lion's eyes widen at that particular revelation. Most interesting. Alright then.

Replacing the book in its spot behind the other books on the shelf, Jishaku slides down the ladder and heads over to take a seat. He scrawls a few notes before setting off to look for anything he can dig up on Devadas Indrani, of House Pandavah.

[Rolls: 18, with one called raise] [Investigation second roll at same TN, rolls: 17...fail no doubt ]

[Rixy]

Books on the living, it seemed, weren't common. If they were, they'd surely be a lot easier to find.

[Akodo Jishaku]

Somewhat exasperated, Jishaku decided to ask for the librarian's help. Afterall, it wasn't like the maharaja's advisor was a taboo subject. Well, who knew with these gaijin, but it seemed unlikely. So he approached the young woman and asked for her assistance.

[Rixy]

She was quick to bow, trying very hard not to stare at him in fascination for his obvious foreignness.

"You wish to know of the most sagacious general and Master of Defense? Certainly, I will tell what I may, for one so great deserves to have his deeds lauded."

[Akodo Jishaku]

He nods, indicating that would indeed like to hear that story. Most sagacious general and Master of Defense? We'll see about that.

[Rixy]

This Devadas, it seemed, was a member of the highest House in the Kingdoms, their version of an Imperial lineage. He had been bright as a boy, considered a prodigy by his instructors in matters of tactics and swordplay.

When the troubles with House Rafiq had begun, he had already been an officer with many battles against insurgent peasants and demons under his belt. During that conflict, Devadas had been largely responsible for the curtailing of the attempt by the Cult to take the land while another general of House Suresh had marshaled the Navy. There was some question as to which of the two would have taken the position of Master of Defense, for each man was brilliant in his own way, but the other, one Indreet Liptar, had been lost in the climactic battle when his ship went down.

[Akodo Jishaku]

Yes, he did sound like a rather impressive figure...for a gaijin. Of course Jishaku wasn't going to say that to woman's face, but he and several generations of ancestors were certainly thinking it.

Thanking her for her time the Lion was about to leave when a thought struck him. He asked if she knew of any books that might detail the previous victories against demons and House Rafiq, especially sea battles. Even a vague area of the library might help him narrow it down.

[Rixy]

She was happy to help him, though she did mention that the Temple libraries held more about demonhunting than the palace library did, it being considered a somewhat indelicate topic outside of priestly circles. In a matter of a candlemark, four books had been pulled for him, records of the naval battles of the war the Mantis had been part of during the War of Spirits.

[Akodo Jishaku]

The young Lion nodded. Demonhunting sounded like a profession for the Crab, it was their tactics he was really interested in. Carrying the books over to what had become his desk, Jishaku started going through the books looking for anything that might be of use. Any particular naval tactics used by House Rafiq, mention of the ship and its Captain, discussion of what had worked and what had failed against their forces.

Time stretched onwards.

[Rixy]

It was like reading records of one of Iuchiban's rising, only with less zombies and more 'rain of blood'. Only in this case, it was more like 'fog of blood', a dark, evil mist that swept across decks and drove the crews it captured mad or simply killed them on sight, using their death to power further dark magics.

[Akodo Jishaku]

The Lion's hand goes to the jade netsuke at his throat. That sounds bad. Very bad. His focus shifted to any discussion of how such evil magics were overcome. 'Death fog' did not sound like a fun time.

[Rixy]

The Ivory Kingdoms brahmin, it seemed, had no answer...except to kill every last enemy spell caster or to sink their ships. Worse, it seemed that the fog somehow impacted the brahmin's own ability, though it was danced around as skillfully as mentions of the more eccentric habits of past Emperors was prettied up by the Ikoma back home.