Moriko took out her comm, she would have to remember to thank Hoshiko later, the older twin had made a splash at court and now they were all benefitting, "I know someone we can contact." All communications were likely being monitored, but as both locals and Phoenix, the twins would be under the least surveillance of those present. Making room for the healers, Moriko stepped closer to Ryuu and put in The Call.


---
Handwaved a contact within the governor's office as per Tassu.

Izumi stood up from examining Saneyuki.

"Damnit. NothingIcandoherewithoutknowingwhattheygavehimandeventhenI'dneedtheantidote. Youdon'tknowtheprayerforbalancingoutpoisonsdoyou, Mumei?"

It was an outside chance she knew it . . . with her liking of _substances_ it would be good to know in case of accidental overdoses.

Mumei shakes her head, not even aware enough of that one to realize that with her complete and utter deficiency for reaching the earth kami, she can't even try asking them for it. "I don't, and without knowing what they gave him, I'm not even sure how to speed things. If they fed it to him, rather than say something smoked, purging it wouldn't hurt. Or at least it wouldn't for any of the stuff I've used in the past." She looks to the Spider medics questioningly. Given what she's heard of their worlds and duty so far, a knowledge of poison treatment doesn't seem unlikely.


There's some anger in her as she pokes one of the miko with her foot. It's unconscionable to go setting people on drugs they're not planning for. "What have you been giving him to leave him like this?"

On a Fox planet Izumi would have left them for the wolves . . . lizards . . . . wolvards, but this was Phoenix territory.

"YougetthroughtotheGovernor?"

Then he considered what Atsumori had asked and reached for his spellslates. A few moments of quiet and slow (for him) chanting and he spoke to the Earth Kami once again.

"Is the portal here still closed?"

--

D10 EE Commune Earth FOXEH ASK IF WE'VE WON!!! 1 CR for clarity TN 15: 5d10o10k3 23

The peacock lizard would appear as before, swinging its tail even as it rustled its dorsal spines, chittering with a voice only Izumi could hear. "The gates are barred."

For the others, Izumi suddenly looked quite relieved and carried on to his second question.

"Where is the Gilded King?"

"In the realm of his own!" With its obligations filled, the enigmatic and rather wonky lizard scuttled back into the undergrowth, slowly fading out of sight.

Izumi let out a sigh.

"The portal is closed and the Gilded King is still in his own realm."

The importance of the information slowed the usual rapid fast Fox speech.

Mumei looks up, breathing a sigh of relief, releasing the tension of just waiting for the angry, hungry spirit to show up and demand what was no longer being given. "Thank the Fortunes."

Tsugiharu did just that, offering silent prayers of thanks to the appropriate fortunes, which may or may not be Dark. Still, it honestly seemed like the appropriate time to do that.

"Phew." Atsumori huffed in relief. "That's good news, Kitsune-sama. Really good." He rolled his shoulders as if a weight had just come off them. "I guess... if the King stays in his Kingdom and not in ours, that's good enough? Just so he isn't knocking on our doors, or us on his."

He rubbed his jaw and regarded the blissfully unresponsive Saneyuki, then ambled over toward the formerly-masked younger priest. "Well, answer the lady. What did you give that fella? Otherwise we'll just turn out your pockets and find it out that way."

"Pfft. He's fine." the young priest spat at Atsumori, shaking his head. "Just some high with blues."

Moriko glanced up from her call to the governor’s office, wishing she could kick the belligerent priest in the ribs. The thought was unworthy of her, but it seemed like such small punishment for what they’d been planning to do with Saneyuki. You sweet idiot, was all she had time to think before the voice on the comms took her attention once more. A few moments later she said her thank you’d and goodbyes, and put the comm away.

Sometime later a small ornitopher appeared on the sky, the samurai well able to hear the vehicle before they could see it. The rather elegant craft landed smoothly on the clearing, three security officers and a medic dashing out as they assessed the situation, lowering their guns as they approached the gaggle of samurai.

The eldest of the three security officers, a middle aged man with the insignia of senior yoriki, looked rather baffled as he scanned the scene, muttering obscenities under his breath. Huffing, he reached for a tabako-inhalator and inhaled deep, shaking his head as he exhaled.


"Asako Korunbo at your service, samurai-sama." He looked at the stoned Saneyuki and then at the tied miko, only to take a second huff from his stick. "Kasei, Mokubo, secure the perimeter. Akaju, check everyone and then page for medivac." Having told his underlings what to do, Korunbo spoke again. "Could someone explain to me, what in the name of the Kami and the Fortunes happened here."

"We came here to investigate the opening of a portal for the Gilded King of the Forest. We found one of the miai participants, Asako Saneyuki-sama, was drugged and bound to that rock by the others." Hoshiko spoke up. "We rushed to assist him. That one ordered the others to 'kill' us and 'protect the gift'. We defeated them in combat."

"And Shiba-san would be?" Korunbo asked, his eyes seeking out the woman that had spoken. "And you know that you are giving a testimony, yes? Uh... what portal?" he kept looking around as if he was looking for a door.

"My apologies, Asako-sama. I am Shiba Hoshiko." she bowed apologetically. "In the past week, many of us here have visited the Shrine to Mori no Reiou. My sister, Shiba Moriko, witnessed a ritual there, involving the opening of a portal and an entity that came from beyond it. We've had questions regarding the nature of the portal and the entity. However, I believe we interrupted them before another one could be opened."

Izumi let the Phoenix talk this out first. There would be plenty of time for him to explain the portal later if needed.

Mumei does her best to blend into the scenery. Her only testimony is the words of the kami, and the obviously nefarious setup they have going here. But the former is inadmissible and she has nothing much to add to the latter.

"Uh-huh." Korunbo nodded. "Shiba Hoshiko-san, right." Biting to his inhalator, the officer dug out a worn and beaten densai, poking it with his stubby fingers. "Yes, local. Good, good. "Entity." the middle-aged man sighed. "We are going to need a priest-magistrate on this, aren't we?" It was a rhetoric question. "Uh.. do we know if this portal is now closed?"