Time was growing short, and Mumei wasn't confident that she was close to having a viable solution. She'd work with a half-assed one if that was all they had, but maybe she could do better.

There had to be some Osprey donations here, something with some more esoteric information she could use.

_________
D10 EM Research, Void for 1k1: 5d10o10k3 26

Spellcraft/Int since I forgot to type that

There was a saying about the difference between being an expert, and being a novice. A novice might think they're screwed, an expert knew they were screwed. It was with that rather bleak point of view that Tsugiharu made his way to the library. Not for answers, but out of obligation.

He bowed to the Osprey.

"Good morning, Nakauchi-san." he offered, though it felt far from it. "Have you come up with the 11th hour miracle solution yet?"

He was trying to inject a little humor, but it was hard given the circumstances.

She actually tosses the book she's holding to the ground in frustration. "Nothing. How can a Phoenix library on a planet shared with the Osprey have nothing about development of pre-NavCom multi-shugenja ritual organization?"

Tsugiharu slides into a seat.

"Well, one theory would be that the enemy is clever enough to have the foresight to remove anything that might be used to stop them from the library ahead of time, while purposefully disorganizing the library to waste our time. The second theory would be that the Phoenix sent their most expendable samurai to this planet along with a library full of bargin bin reject books." he theorized.

He slid a holoslate over to the Osprey.

"But those who pray to the wise One find answers, even if they're not good ones."

The holoslate was a very nice summarization of the ritual required to do as they wanted. However, there were large passages that were simply incomprehensible to the Osprey or the Spider. Almost as if there was a mechanical limit to what a shugenja was capable of accomplishing. Her sensei could probably make sense of it, or at least her sensei's sensei, but to the Osprey and the Spider it was about as helpful as being told that the secret to flying was throwing yourself at the ground and missing.

She sits on one of those ridiculous little scooty step things that are so useful in libraries, slumping. "OK, this means I'm not sure we could do much even if I could figure out how to tie our invocations together."

After a moment she looks up, thoughtful, "You don't mean Fukurokujin when you pray to the wise one, do you?"

Tsugiharu offered a small grin at that.

"Well, that's who most people assume I'm praying to. And Fukurokujin is quite worthy of veneration. As a shugenja, I offer veneration as is proper to all the thousand fortunes as appropriate, even Kisada and Osano-Wo, even though I'm sure neither of those fortunes would care for the colors I wear."

He picked up his holoslate.

"And if in my heart, I'm venerating the patron fortune of my family and school, I'm sure she is pleased with the quiet devotion, even if I don't shout her name from the rooftops inviting a beating from the local Phoenix."

She nods slowly. "I owe you an apology too. And don't need to type it to avoid distracting from other conversations." Her small smile is rueful. "Even if the Spider's duty is to do the Empire's dirty work without thanks, and even if I'm pretty sure a bit of distrust is a healthy thing to take into interactions with any given Spider at first, it's not fair to ask for your help while... well maybe you do your work without thanks, but it doesn't deserve scorn."

Tsugiharu considered that.

"Well, considering the cult and their spread among the influential families of this planet, I think initial distrust for anyone regardless of their colors is probably smart, as long as you're willing to learn more about them and adjust how you treat them accordingly."

He shrugged a bit.

"Like, the other day I met my first Crab at the miai, and I was honestly expecting a lot of open hostility. But while she did open with a veiled threat of a tetsubo cleaning accident, by the end of the conversation her words were honestly not that dissimilar to the advice I've given others. I'm certainly not going to expect that from all Crabs, or run out at beg the matchmaker to pair us. But if I kept treating her like a hostile force, I'd honestly being doing myself a disservice. I might not be able to make friends like a Crane, but if I can avoid making pointless enemies, that's good too."

She looks up. "The cult might be an excuse if I knew about it when I arrived." There's a pause. "Oh...and I've been warned by the head magistrate to stop spreading agitating rumors and that leaving the city is certainly dangerous. Meanwhile, she's having people flogged for discovering ...hmm dark magics and the monsters it makes would be the polite terminology?. OK the flogging was for not giving up names of the others on that little adventure, but still seems like misplaced priorities. So...yeah, my distrust of city official is fully engaged at this point."

"But I think you're ok." She offers a lopsided grin. "Though, if you're preparing an evil betrayal at the end there, do you mind passing word to Matsu Hide that she should toss the crap in my locker at Shinjo Yul after you're done? That Starlight Miko Crusader costume ought to go to one of his siblings' kids to enjoy."

Tsugiharu nodded.

"Hmm, the magistrate might be involved with the cult, it would certainly fit what we know about the breadth of their influence. Having the magistrate on your side is certainly helpful when you're going to be doing nefarious deeds. Of course, we can't discount that she might just be an incompetent reactionary, desperate to maintain appearances. Corrupt clan magistrate does seem to be a fairly popular theme in a lot of holo-broadcasts."

He takes out his densai.


"Hmm, after betraying the Osrepy, instruct Matsu Hide to give the contents of her locker to Shinjo Yul." he said jotting it down. "Hard to keep all your evil schemes straight if you don't keep them organized."

He said it wtih a straight face, but it was pretty clear he was kidding.

"Yeah, I'm not sure which it is, but I'm definitely not trusting her. And assuming she gets to review all my comm traffic." She shrugs, bending to scrape together the papers she'd tossed in frustration.

"I admit, I have never given thought to the troubles of organizing evil schemes. Really adds to the workload, I imagine?"

Tsugiharu nodded.

"Oh of course. Scheduling an evil appointment with the evil secretary, filing the evil paperwork at the evil bureaucrat's office, ordering the evil tea from the evil caterer....just packs one's day." he said, happy enough to continue the bit.

Mumei leans back against the uneven wall of books and scrolls, laughing. "Ok...ok. I guess we have evil bureaucracy to thank for evil not taking over the Empire yet. That's good to know." That was possibly a biiiit too close to some elements of reality that the Osprey was completely unaware of.

"I guess...I'm still going to go out there and see if I can do anything at all. Distract a few kami from the rituals by summoning them. Heal folks if they need it. I don't know." She shoves the pile of paper back into the stacks, not really caring if it went back in any order since the filing system was a spacewreck anyway. "I can't just sit here and wait to see if nothing happens.

Tsugiharu considered that.

"Hmm, I suppose it makes sense to do that. If there's any chance at all to tip things to not dooming us, however minor it's worth taking."

He drums his fingers on the table.

"We should probably have a fallback plan ready too. If the ritual succeeds it probably won't wipe all human life off the planet immediately. If we can hold out for a bit, a rescue is not entirely impossible. Maybe at the Temple of Kisada? Not my first pick strictly as a defensive structure, but if you're looking to hold on against a spiritual threat, it seems like the right fortune to look to." he suggests.

She considers that, leaning agains the stacks again. "Yeah, that doesn't seem like a bad choice. Or even here with a few miles of paper to huddle in, since they're, strictly speaking, sacred paper due to being part of Fukurokujin's library."

"I recall Asako Mai-Chin-sama saying that a stampede of those megadons would take the wall down in a heartbeat. So...that's something to worry about."

Tsugiharu shrugged.

"Defensive measures could be taken. You could, say plant sharped spikes of rebar around the city, or ring it with vehicles rigged to detonate." he suggested.

He shook his head.

"I mean, you'd be arrested for 'inciting panic', but that's a different problem entirely."

"I'd also have to find a lot of rebar and some extra skill at rigging vehicles." She taps his densai. "I think I have a better chance of getting this half-understood invocation to work." She shrugs. "I mean, the plains are a ways off. Even if they somehow bring them through this portal, they'll take a little while to get here. At that point city officials, who _should_ have a better idea about what kinds of defenses are available, can probably put things into action better than I could."

"hmm, warning people by shouting through the streets wouldn't last long before that arrest for inciting panic, either. "