19. Doji Ren

Cleanse the Castle

That afternoon we here several rumours that Agasha has made an official statement, which is drawn up in the Emerald Archives, regarding the death of Doji Satsume. And the person reposible willr eceive an appropriate punishment. After digging a little deeper into the rumours, we learn that Oji has been locked up and in two days will be hanged.
We also learn that we were invited by Agasha so we could serve as scapegoats, just as I suspected, in case her assessment/our investigation into Kolat presence in the castle would've gone south. By now she has a pretty good clue about the Kolat influence in the castle and she has gathered blackmail material on the potential Kolat followers who haven't been prosecuted yet.
That night I organise a Tea Ceremony, as I have to order my thoughts and perhaps more importantly, I'm hoping the ghost of Doji will join us. And he does indeed grace us with his presence. A happy grins softening his face, he bows to us. It feels like this will be the last we will see of him.

The next day we're called into the Ruby Champions office again. We are to investigate if the Kolat presence in the castle really has been eradicated. We'll have full no questions asked access throughout the castle. But we conclude that Kitsuki Tomo was really working on his own. No other people who have shown the same interest in the Kolat scrolls, apart from us of course...

These two years went by so fast!

to school
minor assignment as yoriki to local emerald magistrate
assess kolat presence in the crane province with the team
winter court 1, all gathered there, marriage at the end and getting pregnant
topaz championship, aki to present the new winner with the armor
few minor emerald magistrate assignments and visit the school, honing skills
slowing down towards winter court 2 due to pregnancy
winter court 2, giving birth to a girl (Shosuro Shihaisha) who will serve as a political gift to the Scorpion Clan (she is to be trained in the Soshi Illusionist School)
...

Kidnapped?

We are all present in Shiro Yogasha again to receive a new assignment. A scroll with the seal of the new Emerald Champion, Togashi Gato. Goblins have been spotted in the little habour town Taimana Choryu. We are to figure out whhy they have appeared there. It turns out that the Emerald Champion learned from Agasha that we already had experience with goblins and thus were good candidates to perform the Emerald magistrate assignment there. We are to report to the local Lord.
The fastest route to the village is via Otosan Uchi and take the boat from there. We are to keep a low profile due to the village being located in Tortoise lands. That afternoon we spend in the archives researching the area, and the minor Tortoise Clan. We learn that the Tortoise Clan is relatively young and has been tasked with screening any Gajin who set foot on Rokugani land, to make sure the Rokugan Cuulture is respected by these foreigners. The island where the Toroise reside has been gifted to them by the Emperor and it contains the largest harbour of the Empire.

The next day we start our journey towards Otosan Uchi where we arrive six days later. Upon arrival we are requested to pay the palace a visit to meet up with Miya Kotsumi. When we meet up with Miya she starts out with the regular pleasantries, asking about our journey and what we have experienced in the last two years as newly appointed Emerald Magistrates.
But then she quickly goes on to explain why she has summoned us to the castle; She knows about our assignment in Taimana Choryu and she has a big favor to ask us. The son of one of her really close friends, Otomo Hiroshige, has gone missing recently over there and she wants us to find out what has happened to him. AS we want to learn more about who to look for, she hesitantly explains he's a troubled youth who has an opium addiction and because of that had been banned from his family home to the harbor village. The father hadn't heard from him for quite a while, where he had received letters (asking for money) on a daily basis in the past.
Otomo stayed in the Inn of Many Paths, and went by the alias of Doji Hiroshige. His father had send someone already to check on him, but the innkeeper had told him that he had gone away. In the letters the father had received two names often popped up: Kakita Amano and Katsuga Toro. These names might provice us with a lead while trying to retrieve the son, or at least gain insight on his whereabouts.