Session 4 Recap

General Summary

Not an hour after he dismissed them, Miya Ansho re-summons the party. He's been meditating on the murder of the abbot of the temple of Kenro-ji-jin in Panchu Mura and has decided that justice must be served now. To that end, he orders the PCs to make haste to Panchu Mura, round up the perpetrators and the headman, obtain their confessions, and identify a new headman for the village before Ansho arrives with the 75th Legion and his traveling party mid-morning tomorrow, the 19th day of Hare.
The group are not experienced magistrates, but realize that they will likely need a torturer. They go to Toku Masashi, who takes them to Toritaka Kano, who allows them to borrow Haruto, the eta torturer traveling with him.
Less than an hour later, the group is back in Panchu Mura. It's a quiet night in the village, after midnight, with some obvious activity at the 2 sake houses, the geisha house, and the 2 gambling houses, but nothing raucous or outdoors. They visit the shrine to Kenro-ji-jin first and re-interview the remaining monk, Ippei, about the murder. Before leaving, they ask him to assemble a short list of the respectable families remaining in the village. From there, they visit the home of the 3 peasants they saved from abuse at the hands of Crane samurai on their last visit. The 3 siblings are also asked what they remember of the murder and are also asked to come up with a list of the respectable families in the village, as well as a list of what families have left Panchu Mura since it became a haven for drunken debauchery. Lastly, the brother, Kaku, is asked to bring the heads of those respectable families to a sunrise meeting with the party.
From Ippei and the siblings, they learn that the perpetrators are a pair of brothers, Yoshi and Asuka, who work at the Dry Lotus Sake Works and 2 brothers-in-law, Kenshin and Jirou. Kenshin works at the Blessed Waters Sake Works and is the son-in-law of the village headman, Isamu, while Jirou works at the Phoenix's Nest geisha house. The party occupies a pair of abandoned homes, allowing Haruto, the torturer, to set up in 1.
The group splits up to retrieve the 4 perpetrators, all of whom come quietly. Jirou had to be collected at the Phoenix's Nest, but the other 3 were asleep in their homes. The plan is for the group to interrogate each perpetrator individually before determining the necessity of torture.
Kenshin is interrogated first and admits that they killed the monk, but he insists there was no premeditation and that they didn't mean to kill him. They punched and shoved him and he fell and hit his head. He also admits that he and his friends are frequently drunk during the day. The group thinks he's holding back or lying about some part of what happened.
Next up is Jirou. He, too, admits that they killed the monk and also insists that there was no premeditation. He can't say who attacked the monk first and claims that the attack just sort of happened. The group thinks he is also holding back or lying about something.
Third to be interrogated is Yoshi, who is a refreshing change of pace. Desiring not to be tortured, he admits that they killed the monk, it wasn't premeditated, anger just boiled over because of their drunkenness, but that they punched and kicked him and continued doing so even after he was on the ground, killing him. He is sorry for what they did and fills in the group on the ownership of the sake houses and geisha house. There are 4 families together who own the Dry Lotus, 3 families together that own the Blessed Waters, and 1 family that owns the Phoenix's Nest. All 4 of the perpetrators are related to 1 of those families or another. Genjiro believes Yoshi is telling the truth, but Kitsune Sou and Togashi Chiyoko think he's lying about something.
Last to be interrogated is Asuka. He tells the same story as Jirou and the group also believes he's lying about something.
The PCs take a break to discuss what they've learned and decide their next steps. Chiyoko and Hida Haundo believe that the families controlling the breweries and geisha house probably put the men up to it in order to eliminate someone who was constantly preaching against them. The rest of the group isn't convinced of that. They decide to interrogate the headman, Isamu, and then reassess.
Isamu is collected without incident. His interrogation reveals that after the murder, he secured the perpetrators in the empty rice storehouse and dispatched his 15 year old son with a message to the Governor's Palace in Toshi No Naishou. His son reported the successful delivery of the message and that the Phoenix had no immediate response for him to return with. The headman waited 2 weeks for a response from the governor or the arrival of Phoenix samurai. After 2 weeks, with the village upset and on edge, he decided to do what was in his authority to do and had the 4 men whipped in the square. The group believes him.
The son is picked up to verify Isamu's story and the group believes him when he says he delivered the message as instructed. They have the name of the gate sergeant he claims to have delivered it to so that they can follow up later in the capital.
Back with Isamu, the questioning continues. He admits that the villagers were weak. With the huge influx in samurai (3 entire legions), they saw a way to make more while working less and he, as the headman, was too weak to stop it. When asked, he provides a list of the families who have left the village and, where known, what village they emigrated to. He is also asked to recommend someone to be the new headman of the village and he suggests the matriarch of 1 of the respectable families called out by Ippei and Kaku.
The party then reconvenes to discuss the testimony and the situation. Of the perpetrators, all but Kenshin admit and 'own' the fact that they killed the abbot. Kenshin still insists it was an accident. The group concludes that they probably weren't put up to it, that it was a heat of the moment crime by a group of drunkards. They decide that torture is not necessary. In the matter of the headman, because he did not bring up the matter of the murdered abbot during the group's first visit to the village, they have no choice but to order his execution.
The murderers and headman are left under the guard of Isawa Kazue and Shiba Daisuke while the rest of the party meets with the remaining respectable family heads. Kazue takes the opportunity to spend time with each of the 5 to try and help prepare their souls for death. All except Kenshin are graceful. Because of the headman's subsequent honesty in the interrogation and his repentance, he is allowed to write a last letter to his family.

Meeting with the remaining respectable family heads, the rest of the group informs them that the new governor will arrive mid-morning and the former abbot's murderers, and the village headman, will be executed for their crimes. The family heads are also asked to name any of the families who have left and where they've gone, if known.
Mid-morning, Ansho, the clan delegations, and the 75th legion arrive. The entire village is assembled and Ansho delivers a short speech about the law and justice and then the executions are carried out. Yoshi, Jirou, and Asuka give short statements before their beheadings. Kenshin is defiant to the end, blaming the samurai and the celestial order, and does not die well, being beaten severely before he is finally beheaded. The headman, Isamu, apologizes to the village for his weakness and urges them to refind their own strength and then he, too, is beheaded.
Post-executions, Ansho informs the village of their new headwoman and leaves a Squadron of legionnaires to maintain the peace in Panchu Mura until a magistrate can be permanently assigned.

Rewards Granted

5XP
2XP for writing reports of the previouso session

Campaign

Who Shall Rule?

Protagonists

Hida Haundo

Isawa Kazue

Shosuro Genjiro

Togashi Chiyoko

Kitsune Sou

Player Journals

Session IV - A question of justice by Shosuro Genjiro

Report Date

16 Jul 2018

Primary Location

Panchu Mura