29. Doji Ren

The prisoners

Our prisoners continue to explain that the prisoners will be taken to a ship to be boarded as we speak. So we might have to hurry!

Yoshi and me will bring them to the Slow Tide Harbor Magistrate to be trialled for the murder of a Samurai. We'll most likely have to leave out opimium import and distribution as this entire town seems to thrive on that and we stand nog chance getting them convitec for that. Before we head of Tichuki wonder if we should kill one to make sure they tell the truth when interrogated at the Magistrate. Yoshi tells him to go ahead. Tichuki, ignoring the sacasm in these words entirely, beheads one of the prisoners, leaving the others trembling in fear.
I think there was really no reason for him to do that as that is not the way of an Emerald Magistrate if you ask me. It'd be their word against our truth we have unconvered...

Rescuing the Samurai

Together we walk of towards the docks where we will split up, to bring the prisoners to the Magistrate and the others will herad of trying to find the ship.
As we reach the docks we see a very busy ship crew, getting ready to leave. A huge guy is barking orders, while a few men are taking some tied up Samurai into the ships cabin. We presume those are our Samurai! And contiuning from there, the huge guy most likely is the infamous tattoo'ed Ronin we've been trying to find the last few days.
As we have to do something right now before they leave, I check if there are any Tortoise Samurai nearby who could help us. I see no peacekeepers and the only ones we do see seem to be in on Yaguro's plot as they are helpinbg out at the ship. So I decide to park the prisoners in a nearby alley. Kyo tells me he'll take care of that, so I can focus on the ship. Then all of a sudden I hear a big splash behind me. One or two prisoners apparently slipped on the dockside and as they are all tied up together, they all are almost dragged into the water, clinging on for their life. Not the cleanest way for them to get what they deserve, but they had it coming.

Tichuki yells some orders where we should stand to engage the ships crew and Aki mumbles a few words and all of a sudden a lone bolt of blinding lightning splits they sky and the mast of the ship in half. The Ronin falls over and a fire errupts on the heavilly damaged ship, which in starting to break in half. To try and rescue the Samurai in the cabin I decide to go around the crew who are engaged in a big fight with my fellow Magistrates.
Meanwhile the Ronin puts his hands on the head of one of the crewmembers who also fell down as the lightning hit them. A red glow appears and I see energy being transfered towards the Ronin. It seems that it has given him the strength again to carry on in combat!
Yaguro comes running towards me yelling "You should never have interfered!". By Lady Doji's Decree I tell him to back of, which he does luckilly, allowing for me to continue to the ship and board it. Meanwhile I see Aki jumping in the water disappearing beneath it.

As I open the cabin door, the Ronin has reached me and puts his hand on my hearth. I feel a terryfying icy chill running through me as the Ronin shouts out. But the ruckus on the docks distracts him enough for me to enter the cabin, finding hte four Samurai toed up, already disappearing beneath the water as the ship is snking. The Ronin behind me now mumbles another few words and I feel really crappy being afflicted with the Shadowslands taint it seems.
I'm glad to see the Samurai somehow manage to breathe underwater though, this might allow us some more time to rescue them!