(D2, EA, Expecting) Ronin Calling

[Dai]

Please don't let it be a joke so security kicks my ass. Please don't let it be a joke so security kicks my ass....

Dai approaches the black glass building with minor trepidation. Ronin were more welcome here than most places but that only says so much after all.

"Uh, hi, Dai here to see Susumu Sumiko-sama. She should be expecting me..."

Please don't be a joke so security kicks my ass....

[Susumu Sumiko]

Security at the Spider embassy is tight, and very foreboding....but Dai after a quick check is escorted in without any danger. He's guided through bleak and dark hallways to what looks like a very sparse common room. Inside, sat at one of the tables in front of a personal computer he can spot the small shape that is Sumiko, dressed very similar to the previous day; her black kimono with the mons of the Spider very visible. A cup of tea sat next to her, half drunk, as she had been focused on some work.

She peered up as she heard noise and smiled, rising and giving the man a bow.

"Ah, good afternoon! I'm glad you made it, please come in. Want some tea?"

[Dai]

To his knowledge the Spider as whole, nor Sumiko as an individual, had no reason to want him dead. Besides, if they had they could have just stabbed him once he was off the street... hell, they could have done so while still in view of the street. Thus the risk of poison seemed minimal.

"Thanks for havin' me Susumu-sama, tea would be wonderful."

[Susumu Sumiko]

"It's my pleasure, please come in and make yourself comfortable."

She got someones attention to bring a new pot of tea in and an extra cup, and made space on the cushions next to her as she moved her computer back a little...and Dai would be able to see that she was not alone here.

[Dai]

While not so unversed as to mistake it for real Dai's exposure to plush toys was from a very, very far distance.

"That... is certainly an interesting beast."

Dai moves to the designated space though also rather unversed with any samurai wanting him in near proximity so he settles in a little awkwardly.

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Hm? Oh you mean smiley? He's been in my family for generations, and now gets to go around with me" Sumiko smiled, petting the little Spider plush "I try to get a plushie from everywhere I go to as a memento of the trip. Smiley here is my oldest plushie though."

She paused as the tea was brought in, moving to pour a cup for Dai then one for herself, adding some sugar cubes then motioning towards them if the Ronin wanted.

"So? Is it ready?"

[Dai]

He nods enthusiastically as he sips the tea, "It is! Possibly my best one yet even if... well... no spoilers."

He hands over the datadisk for her to load it up.

"No malware, well none of mine at least, I promise and if the Scorpion are preloading their generic datadisks it's with some crazy whizz stuff if I couldn't see it."

(D2, EA: Fluff Computer Use/Intelligence - made sure the disk is clean - two raises because why not | 9k4 ⇒ 38 (TN: ?))

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Good, no spoilers!"

She took the disk, connecting it to her machine and then petting her plushie, saying "gonna watch too smiley? Maybe you'll find your cousin" with a laugh before sitting back a little and starting the program up, then collecting a notepad and pencil.

"Let's see what you found."

[Dai]

Dai once again finds himself holding his breath as the video loads up, "Uh... enjoy..."

Cue up: Click. Click. Doom!

The ronin stays silent and trepidatious throughout awaiting the critical results.

[Susumu Sumiko]

And it started up!

The episode starts with a standard intro - the holorecorder handheld to face Dai with a backdrop of the barriers and guards around the Dark Zone. The ronin had done this dozens of times and knew his angles and lighting. His wardrobe, of course, prominently displaying the White Wolf logo.

Konnichiwa Delve Devotees! It's your favorite, Delvin' Dai, back again for another deep dive into the Desolation!

Now I know that some of ya are clamorin' for me to see if Wailin' Watanabe manifests durin' daylight, and I'm sure we'll get to it, but today's delve is a special order. So let's see if we get some glimmer or if the gaki get me!

And remember, Devotees, I couldn't outrun those nasty spirits without our favorite spirit: White Wolf! White Wolf: It steadies the nerves but still gives you that boost of energy to get you through any situation. Awooooooo!

Now let's get ready to dive!

Sumiko laughed.

"You've got a really natural talent for this Dai-san" she commented as she picked up her cup to sip

I won't be wastin' your time with much travel footage this time, Devotees, as we've got a hot one! If you're a new viewer jonesin' for more reach out to to the communicator address encoded in the file and see about orderin' some previous episodes.

The b-roll clips fade into live action as Dai carefully makes his way through Ground Zero. A strange blue-white glow slowly begins to illuminate the ronin as ephemeral insects start to flit in and out of the holorecorder's view - slowly growing in numbers.

The voiceover is a smoothly edited whisper that one could easily mistake as Dai speaking while recording as opposed to having dubbed it in afterwards... not wanting to actually make any excess sound in the heart of danger. Similarly the ronin sounds confident as if speaking from deep personal knowledge when it's just confabulation based on observation and experience.

Longtime Devotees are well acquainted with these beautiful assholes - Spiritflies. We're not sure if they're mutations from the blast or from another realm entirely but they're no fully in this one either way.

She paused the video, looking thoughtful.

"They're not mutations Dai-san. They're well...they're souls of people banished to Gaki-do for forsaking their households to pursue their agendas. Shimmerflies I think their correct term is. Don't wear silk around them, if what I've read is true they'll just eat that right off your body...but what are creatures from Gaki-Do doing here? That's not right."

She reached over to press play again

More footage of the butterflies flickering around him. On repeated watches those knowing what to expect will hear the faint clicking in the background slowly growing louder and nearer. Dai had pondered editing it, looping it on itself or adding a reverb, but eventually had to admit it worked better and was far more ominous in its natural state.

They seem harmless, and on their own you'd be right in thinkin' so, but they congregate around the livin' and their light can be seen far... and through the realms. A lure to anything huntin' for mortals brave or foolish enough to dare delve the depths!

By now the clicking has grown from audible into unbearable and the butterflies disperse in a panic. The voiceover again takes on a hushed, panicked whispered tone to add immersion even though the ronin hadn't even dared breathe while all this was happening let alone speak. The smooth flow of filming changes to, somewhat choppy by necessity but with zero special effects trickery, cuts from between his two holorecorders as they fortuitously record snippets of his encounter with the monster. Not only was he lucky enough to escape with his life but he was lucky that unaimed holorecorders managed to snag enough footage of the creature to work with while he hid and ran.

Sumiko had started to lean forward, clearly having a vested interest in the production. Making small notes as she went along.

Hunters... such as this!

I've never seen anything like it! I think it might be tryin' to track me through echolocation and I sure as hell know I don't want it catchin' me. I'm always warnin' you all not to try what I try unless you're willin' to die... and this is why. I can only pray I escape to delve again... let's hope this trick ain't one it already knows cliche as it might be.

Dai's hand comes into view picking up a large piece of nearby debris and can be, briefly, seen throwing it hard in one direction before the holorecorder runs from cover to cover in the opposite. For a moment he splitscreens the footage as the backup holorecorder at his hip manages to catch a few seconds of the creature turning in the direction of the thrown rock as Dai is moving away.

Angles suggest Dai is plastered tight against a crumbled down wall for a minute as the clicking slowly recedes into the background growing fainter and fainter.

Her eyes went wide.

"A Gakimushi...here...what?" she whispered

She didn't dare pause, wanting to make sure nothing happened to Dai...the guy sat right next to her.

We did it, Devotees, we did it! We're not safe yet but we at least have time to breathe.

The holorecorder sweeps back and forth as Dai is clearly being extra cautious as he moves deeper into Ground Zero until he finally comes across a mostly intact building.

As I said today's dive is a special order so we're lookin' for glimmer. It acted kinda like shrapnel in the blast so we're going to be lookin' around outside this time... plus I think we tempted fate more than enough to go headin' into the creepy buildin' this time. But I'll be addin' it to my map for the future that's for sure. The trick with glimmer is to not get too fixated on the ground... the blast was big and most of the buildings caught the debris.

"Do the Scorpion know you're doing this?" She looked at the man with a curious and very worried expression.

The holorecorder traces the outside of the building as Dai circles the perimeter eventually zooming in to a small, strange rock impacted into the side of the building. A deft, experienced hand comes into view and carefully plucks the glimmerstone from its place and holds it up in front of the holorecorder for a few seconds from different angles.

It wasn't an amazing specimen, he had larger and clearer finds in the past, but it was of a caliber one would expect to find on the market... if they knew where to look.

I won't say 'Jackpot!' not after the risks we took gettin' here but we found our target so this dive was a success... if I make it back out alive.

Another travel montage this time designed to elicit tension. Lingering on deep shadows, strange outcroppings, and pauses at strange and disturbing noises.

"I'd love to study what you brought back, what do you do with it? Do you sell them?" she peered at the guy again, curious, but there was more to watch and something big was happening!

We're almost home free... but, wait, what's that....

This time the sound is an unearthly moaning and keening as a translucent, indistinct figure can be seen floating around in the distance - passing through debris as opposed to moving around it.

Well, here's one for you folks askin' about Wailin' Watanabe. It ain't him, he stays in his spot, but it could be kin...

The holorecorder dares to draw closer to the ghostly figure though still keeps a fair distance as it circles around recording from multiple angles as Dai passes the ghost by.

Thankfully the mournin' dead ain't the greatest risk if you leave them alone. The trick is knowin' which type of dead they are before lettin' them get near to you. Let's take a moment to give a prayer that this one eventually finds its way back to the land of the dead and it's proper fate.

The holorecorder captures the ghostly image for a minute of silence before it returns to the travel montage exiting Ground Zero and the Desolation around it.

"Kami...I didn't know they could be recorded so vividly. That the camera captures them so well is incredible" Sumi said quietly as she continued making notes.

Once outside the barrier and past the guards Dai once again pulls the holorecorder around to face him as he records his outro. It's incongruent with the 'in person' narration of the voiceover but at this point the tension and immersion have already done their job and it isn't too jarring to be pulled out of it as he wraps up.

Wow! Did ya hear that Delve Devotees? Here's hopin' I got a few clean shots so you can see it too! In all my time divin' and delvin' I ain't never seen somethin' that ugly that close. Thought this might be the final signoff - whatever that Clicker was here's hopin' it leaves this realm soon.

But, hey, we got a glimmerstone out of the run and I'm still breathin' so that's a win!

Again remember to comment and share... and enjoy the refreshing, invigorating taste of White Wolf! White Wolf - the greatest rush that won't risk your life!

Awoooo!

Sumiko reached over to stop the program, and sat in silence for a few moments as she made a few final notes.

"The Scorpion have just...left this place as it is? They've not done anything to repair or recover the land? What in the name of the kami happened? Do they know that there's a potential piece of Gaki-do right on their doorstep?" She finally said

[Dai]

There's a slight sheepish shrug from the ronin, "Can't really say what they know or think. I know they let monks go in for free to clean things up if they want... but not too many take them up on the offer what with the dangers and all. I wasn't pullin' your leg when I said it wasn't a safe place to be traipsin' around. As for the rock, yeah it's glimmerstone, apparently shugenja value it because it it holds some sort of spirit power. Not super valuable, one like I found there probably sells for a koku if you're buyin' it on the black market... though my cut ain't that big of course. Usually I make sure to get quite a few, or some other artifacts, but wasn't too keen on stickin' around after that clicker."

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Can't say that I blame you, don't think I'd want to stick around if I ended up face to face with a slaughter spirit like a Gakimushi" Sumiko said with a thoughtful nod and a frown "still, that thing being there either means there's some kinda portal to Gaki-do, or a hole got ripped open somehow. Very dangerous, can't think of many places worse than Gaki-do to get lost in. Would be even worse if things got out of there."

There was a pause.

"Still, one doesn't often get the chance to study Gaki-do either. With adequate protections, we could learn so much more about the realm and the souls that are condemned to a lifetime in Gaki-do, or even any native creatures that may live there. Would be a very educational experience."

[Dai]

Dai nods along, only partly understanding it all but definitely grasping the dangers, "Well if you ever need a guide I can help. But we're talkin' about ten koku per person you're takin' with you on the expedition just for the paperwork... and unless they got fake IDs you trust the Scorpion'll know what you're doin'."

[Susumu Sumiko]

"10 koku and a risk of death, sounds exciting" Sumiko said with a chuckle "I may have to look into that for the future, I don't think my kin would approve of me going alone when I'm here for diplomatic reasons after all."

She looked back at the video.

"Don't suppose I can get a copy of this at all?"

[Dai]

At the question of a copy he looks at the datadisc, "Oh, yeah, of course! It's kinda how the show spreads anyway. I sell a few copies here and there then the fans copy and share 'em. Uh... if you want to keep the disc though it's my last one...."

[Susumu Sumiko]

Sumiko leaned closer to the man, giving him a sweet smile.

"I'm sure I could use this to help gain you a little more fame, which in turn would be more money in the long run right?"

She then sat back and gave him a wink.

"I'll make a copy then give it back to you, how does that sound."

[Dai]

Dai is not used to to in-person attention let alone positive attention and is clearly a little flustered.

"That... that would be great!"

[Susumu Sumiko]

"Thank you" Sumiko smiled at him again, shuffling closer to her pc and petting her plushie again before hitting a few keys and beginning a copy.

"Have you been on the planet your whole life then Dai-san? Or just came for opportunity?"

[Dai]

He nods, "Born here, yeah, options to travel planets aren't common to ronin... and usually a trap."

[Susumu Sumiko]

Sumiko nodded, picking up her plushie and putting it on her lap.

"I'd heard that quite a few Ronin travel to this city, so I wasn't sure. What's it like being here all the time? It's very different to my home."