Post by Horiuchi Jini on Jan 9, 2014 6:26:20 GMT
Imperial Mandate 1: Crane vs. Mantis
Recently, the Unicorn sent their ambassador, Ide Kofu, to help talks between the Crane and the Mantis over shipping rights. The Crane and Mantis are at each others’ throats and an equitable agreement must be reached quickly. Matters became complicated when Ide Kofu was found dead only a night after his arrival at the site of the peace talks. Both the Crane and the Mantis blame the other for sabotaging what should have been an easy conference. Who will find Kofu’s real killer and what is to be done about the Crane and Mantis delegations?
Recently, the Unicorn sent their ambassador, Ide Kofu, to help talks between the Crane and the Mantis over shipping rights. The Crane and Mantis are at each others’ throats and an equitable agreement must be reached quickly. Matters became complicated when Ide Kofu was found dead only a night after his arrival at the site of the peace talks. Both the Crane and the Mantis blame the other for sabotaging what should have been an easy conference. Who will find Kofu’s real killer and what is to be done about the Crane and Mantis delegations?
Dawn of the day preceeding the murder of Ide Kofu, we see a steed trotting along at a slow but steady pace, lazily making it's way towards the negotational talks that have gone so sour and will be even worse tomorrow. Lounging in the saddle, almost to the point of laying down Horiuchi Jini makes his way towards the estate that is hosting the affair between the crane and the mantis. He was late in his attendance to the orders that were given him by his superiors in the unicorn clan and thus missed his chance to meet the delegations head before they departed. This Ide Kofu was no doubt a skilled diplomat, Jini was not even sure why they were sending him down there. Perhaps it was his extensive network of favors and allies among all the clans, perhaps they thought he could put that to some use for Ide Kofu; but he really thought it was not needed. His thoughts were primarily on the letter he had recieved just after he had been issued his orders from his friend Kaiu Satomi, which he had to personally ignore in order to carry out this mission that he was being sent on. Though he had passed the word along to another member of the unicorn clan and he hoped she was recieving their aid.
The sun broke through the clouds overhead as he continued his trail along the long and well-worn road he was moving just to the side of; his horse had decided that it liked the feel of the grass rather than the packed earth. He was strumming his strung bow absent-mindedly when his horse came to a slow stop to eat some of the grass that was present. He too, enjoyed some of the lunch he had packed for the journey. Late into the night, he made camp and slept without incident while another unicorn not so very far away from him was the subject of some wrong-doing.
The next day, half way through the hour of the horse, Jini arrived at the estate that he was told to show up at. He was greeted with downward looks and shocked faces from all the servants that he met on the way into the main meeting room; wherein he heard for the first time that Ide Kofu was dead. The only words he could get out of either side were that the other was to blame; Jini quickly left the room again to investigate what had happened to his clan-mate.