Luke’s Character - Shosuro Actor/Bayushi Courtier
Excerpt from Bayushi Tomoe’s Collection of Notebooks - Notebook: Courtly Affairs - Volume 001
*[Beautiful calligraphy borders a blandly dramatic retelling of the ghostly encounter and follow-up rendered on one side of the page. *
The margin holds intricate doodles and glyphs that make up a highly complicated and beautiful cipher. The hidden message adds more details, including a to-do list to write a letter to his sister and review Iuchi Sadako’s previous publications for any mention of their errant ghost, as well as the following:]
New (New has been crossed out) Allies
Hida Sumiko: Crab. Bushi. Impressive strength, pretty and trusting eyes, difficult relationship with staying vertical. [Doodle of chibi Sumi slamming things]
Kitsuki Niko: Dragon. Monk. Quick quick, radiates experience (with?), purpose-driven in a way that is not unattractive. Tattoos..?..! [Doodle of him sweating]
Isawa Ginji: Phoenix. Shugenja. Formidably quiet, fascinatingly insightful, would look extremely good in… [Doodle of Ginji in a currently fashionable Scorpion look for men]
Excerpt from Bayushi Tomoe’s Collection of Notebooks - Notebook: Courtly Affairs - Volume 001
*[A detailed description of the party and of every single party goer, what they were wearing, who they brought with them, and how they spent their evening, as well as ***copious **notes regarding their social standing and any perceived taboos of the evening. The entry glosses over the latter half of the evening, only briefly mentioning Niko and paying closer attention Kakita Kiyotoki’s incredible generosity. One would be very remiss not to gather from the textual evidence that Bayushi Tomoe has a huge crush on the Crane. In total this encompasses 56 pages.
The cipher in between the letters reads as follows:]
Party went as well as it could have, considering the circumstances. Duty begets all and though the knife may not be as sharp as mine, as that of a surgeon, bluntly putting oneself on the line for another’s mental and physical security is something that has set Niko apart.
Allies
Kakita Kiyotoki: Crane. Honorable. Not as useless as he looks.
Iuchi Maya: Unicorn. Incredible asset.
Annoyances
Kitsu Cho: A thorn. To be removed from the equation.
Excerpt from Bayushi Tomoe’s Collection of Notebooks - Notebook: Courtly Affairs - Volume 001
[Incredibly detailed description of joining Satoshi, every single thing he said all marked as “Words of Wisdom”, notes on the investigative method, and details about the social politics of all of the areas of the city they moved through during their meeting with the Emerald Magistrate. There is no mention of the case or the dead.
The cipher buried in the drawings reads as follows:]
Five dead, all drowned on land. Or drowned, then moved through some force of nature to locations on dry land.
[Detailed descriptions of Ruri’s body and level of decomposition]
The Wheel of Fortune. Ghosts? Something to do with the… dream? Or something mundane. Though a mechanical explanation would be convenient, something at the pit of my stomach tells me this will not be the case.
Excerpt from Shosuro Ryo’s Collection of Letters - Shosuro Ryo to Shosuro Tadako (Undercover as [Name brutally redacted])
[Rote description of travel with no indication of location, date, or any other personal indicators. Interspersed are meticulous descriptions of meals (A careful eye notes none of these are meals Bayushi Tomoe has ever eaten) that are mouthwatering in their lushness.
A very obscured cipher reads as follows:]
Tadako,
Arrived. Made connections. Finally stretching my wings. The ambassador… What am I missing?
Met a spirit at an inn on the road. A **real **one. The Fortunes keep leading me this way, I believe this won’t be the first time. More deaths are being investigated by a magistrate and I’ve been asked to assist.
Some names you may be interested in: [Names of everyone who is betting against the Jade Champion and how much they are betting]
Have you seen anyone by this description [Describes Niko, but male and prettier in extreme detail]?
Excerpt from Shosuro Ryo’s Collection of Letters - Unnamed to Dead Drop Location
[On very rough handmade paper that smells faintly of pitch and written in a sharp but perfunctory clerical hand that is easily identifiable as Scorpion trained is written the following:]
To whom it may concern, this location is being used as a dead drop by you. We take no issue with this, continue whatever business you wish. However, its location has been compromised, unfortunately. A relic was removed from this location and now the dead are rising to dig your dead drop box up. We are telling you this out of professional courtesy. Please return the relic to [a central mailbox in the middle of the city] under the name Nagano Kazuko and consider relocating your dead drop.
[Authentic Scorpion stamp that has (created) affiliations with shadowy rumors of deep Scorpion spies.]