Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Taro
Date: September 21, 2016
Summary:
Taro goes to investigate one of the 'vagrants' that have been attempting to undermine Shuuren's business within the Land of Tea.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Vagrant Uprising - Shipping Errors"
A Port
Taro was sent out on a mission for Shuuren while traveling the world to accomplish … whatever it is he wants to do. GM dun care! 8D Anyway, the task given to Taro involved a certain businessman that had been trying to woo Princess Taka before Shuuren came into the picture. Since Shuuren had 'stolen' Princess Taka, the man had been working slowly but steadily to ruin all that the Nagamura had accomplished. At this point, his small trading business has been working against Shuuren in underhanded tactics. Things shipped between Tea and other lands might get stolen or replaced by goods, but no one was able to pin down who was actually doing this. That's why someone rather unobtrusive was sent to investigate.
Taro was yawning on one of these boats. He was trying to head over to where he knew this guys business was prominent and where one of Shuuren's shipments would be passing by soon. The timing was close but he should be able to see if anything happens. Sadly it was possible it wouldn't. If that was to happen he would have to actually search for information on the case. Surely there was something around this area that he could find. Hidden in buildings or in someones head.
The boat Taro is on happens to be heading right to this businessman's place. It would dock at one of the … umm … docks >.> And then the giant ramp meant for people to use to come on and off the boat lowers for the shipment to come on. The sailors of the merchant ship would await the supplies while men that were a part of the suspicious individual's company begin to load things on.
Taro took a glance at the dock as they arrived. This would be interesting at least. He watched for a moment as the men that were loading supplies continued to do so. If he got the chance to get off without being seen he would take such a chance. More so if he could do it without coming from the actual exit. Hopefully he would be able to hop from the the side of the boat into the water and swim around quickly. Climb up the side of the dock if need be. As well as go around if that is not possible. He mainly just wanted to see what these guys were doing.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against STEALTH-II(36) attack from Taro with a PERCEPTION…29
Taro was able to successfully escape the boat without being seen. If he used his more unconventional methods of ship-hopping, it'd be for the best, though he was also simply just not noticed. He wasn't very noticeable at all. Many of the dock workers probably just took him to be some random ship worker or something. As Taro moved to get a closer look at the base of operations, he wouldn't find anything really suspicious. The packaged goods were all in their crates and steadily being hoisted onto the merchant ship and placed in their proper spots.
Taro pondered a few things before deciding he needed a closer look at things. Even more then he was getting now. He had to get into one of the packages. He would wait for there to be an obvious package being left alone even if for a moment and he would attempt to quickly grab it and move to the side. Even if just around a corner long enough for him to look inside the box. A simple dagger of sorts would be pulled out to cut into the box if he needed. For anything else nearby he would deal with it as it came. He could pass easily as someone trying to steal goods rather than have any connection to Shuuren. He just hoped no one found him looking through this until he was ready for such a thing.
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…36
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against STEALTH-II(31) attack from Taro with a PERCEPTION…34
Someone taking a crate from the masses is actually pretty noticeable because the crates are all sizable in nature. Taro would be able to sneak a peek into its contents, though, and the first thing he would notice is that the dishes that were within the crate were all cracked or chipped in some way! He wouldn't have much time to act, though, as a man would rush up to him. "Hey! What're you doing?! You're not supposed to open the merchandise!" he scolds the Fuma. Then he pauses, squinting a bit. "You don't work here… You should be back on the boat with the others if you know what's good for you."
Taro looked at the supplies and frowned before looking up at the man who approached. "Oh? And you should know that doing this sorta thing here…" He points to the dishes. "Now…. If you don't want me to go on a killing spree upon this very dock. I expected actual supplies that were worth a box and obviously I can't make anything off of this." He frowned and glared at the man before drawing both of his blades. "I won't kill you or your friends though if you just tell me how I can fix this little issue of mine." He would not attack yet but he kept an eye out for any others coming this way. "Make sure you aren't…. found if you actually want this to stay calm."
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…20
The man sighs a bit. "What do you expect if you're handling them like they're nothing," he grumbles, placing the blame on Taro. "Our goods are just fine. We'll get a replacement crate for those, if you really insist. But can you /please/ get back to your business so that we can get this shipment over and done with? Here, I'll even show you where we keep our things. Not everything is, as you say, 'worthless'. And you don't have to go all violent on our butts because this isn't an issue."
Taro eyes the man. "If they are all fine then why don't you show me another crate? Or at least let the people on the ship including me go through each crate first?" He eyes him. "Alright then. Show me where you keep everything. And not by leading me towards the place. Just tell me where it is. I can go myself and you can just give me something to show I am allowed there." He puts his swords back. "And I promise I didn't do this to the things in the crate. I would've heard it."
The man would just nod and say, "Fine, fo-…" he cuts off when Taro says that he isn't going to be led anywhere, though. -_- "Fine…" he says with a heavy sigh. The man would frown a bit, handing Taro a slip of paper that has his signature on it. "Hand this to whoever you encounter. They'll show you the right place. Okay? Ugh… They're getting more and more annoying…" The last part was muttered under his breath as he storms away. "Head that way," he would call back behind him, indicating the back of the dock area that held a number of other crates and the like.
Taro frowned a bit. "Sorry. I am very…. Paranoid." He said. Once the paper was offered he accepted it and nods towards him before heading onwards to the place that was pointed out to him. As he moved onwards he tried to not be the center of attention. Stay off to the side and such. His other goal was keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or important. Such as someone who ran all this stuff. Was his main goal here to find out information about everything here.
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…27
Taro wouldn't notice anything truly suspicious about the compound itself. Everything was operating normally. People were handling the crates and making sure to set them down with care, and they would continue on with their business like it was nothing. Truthfully, it seemed like a normal business operation. In all likelihood, none of them knew what was going on behind the scenes. A majority of the workers here were hired hands and they weren't allowed to ask many questions beyond their job of moving the goods.
Taro frowned as he looked at eveything here. This was interesting to say the least. Seeing everything going on. He had to figure that most of them didn't know anything. Not enough at least. Either way he would walk closer and looked over a few people. Once he found one that was… At least someone who looked like they knew something. He walked over to them and showed the paper note. "I just want to make sure the product is all good. Should only have to look in a few boxes to figure that out. This is permission I believe right?" He asked of the random person.
One of the workers would pause when Taro came over, glancing at the note and offering a small nod. "Sure," he says. "There are a few boxes being loaded on right now that shouldn't be too hard to open. I'll show you to them? Or did you want to look yourself? One of our guys has to open it either way… Can't have strangers messing with the merchandise and blaming it on us!" He would laugh a bit, amused at his own 'joke'.
Taro looked at him and nods with a little chuckle at his joke as well. "Of course. I understand completely. Show me to them. It is your job to keep an eye on it all right?" He asked. "If need be just go ahead and open it. I will wait slightly behind you until you are ready. That way you are okay and sure of me checking on it all." He offered a smile towards them.
The worker would nod and lead Taro away to the side so he could grab a crowbar. Then he'd move back to the box he was moving around at first, prying the top of it open to reveal a number of dishes. The dishes all seemed to be okay at first glance. Any closer inspection would reveal that one or two had some imperfections despite being packed in rather carefully. But they looked fine from afar. Taro would have to come in very close to notice the small cracks in the ceramics. "Here's one. I can show you one or two others if you like." To his eye, the goods looked perfectly fine. But he was no true expert… And he intentionally wasn't closely inspecting things…
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…28
Taro looked at the crate and got a close look WITHOUT touching and seemed to go over it a bit. Sadly he saw nothing and just moved onwards with a small frowning nod to the next one. "How does all this work anyways. I am curious to try and get in the business one day. I am young though and.. Inexperienced in running the whole thing myself. I mostly just help out. So how does it all work?" He asked of this person as they moved on to the next thing.
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…21
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…25
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…20
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…39
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…21
The man would put the lid back on the crate and wave a few men to take it up to the ship. "Ahem. Well, I really can't say much on that. All it takes is a few people to want to make a business, though, and you'll end up with something successful if the competition doesn't wreck you." The man taps his chin and offers to show Taro a few more boxes. Of the five ore that were shown, they all had minor imperfections that would not truly be visible to most people. The final crate, however, had a few visibly moldy fruit. As soon as Taro pointed this out, the man would blink and take a closer look at the fruit within. "Egad… I am terribly sorry this happened. This is one of the issues that comes with shipping fresh produce. They must have chosen to pick it too early and they didn't implement the correct procedures when packing these. It's a very delicate process. I will get you a fresh crate immediately."
Taro would continue on finding this a pretty painful. Nothing to be seen and he was gonna fail this mission. He was not good at detective work at all. "Hmmm… I sorta." He frowned a bit. "How often does this happen. I really hope they didn't do this for more." He sighed a bit. "What if.. What if more of the product is spoiled. Shouldn't we try to do a last minute check of it? Even if tedious we can pay extra for it if you like." He gave a small nod. "I can't bring back.. Supplies spoiled or it will be on my head."
"It doesn't happen too often, thank the gods. When it does, we usually ship them off, then we send in a replacement shipment so that the whole thing isn't delayed. I'll have the men look over the crates and find any that are rotting. We have a decent system in place for checking this sort of thing out, at least, so you don't need to worry too much about it. Just trust us and let us do our jobs. We won't even charge you and your boss extra. Sound good?" The man raises a brow and looks at Taro as if to make sure the plan appeared to the Fuma.
Taro raised a brow but he sadly couldn't just openly do anything yet. "Oh that sounds like a good idea. Thanks man." He said with a nod. "I think I will have to make sure everything is fit to prepare for such a thing alright? Thanks for… Getting things sorted." Of course it wasn't as simple as he acted. He would go on his ninja mode and try to find where these folks would be looking through things at and then find out if they were doing anything sketchy. He had to make sure they were actually doing something wrong first. No matter how long it took.
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…24
COMBAT: Taro attacks target 1 with STEALTH with a roll of: 26
COMBAT: Taro attacks target 1 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 28
Taro would not get to witness anything suspicious in nature. He might hear some odd stuff, though, as no one noticed the Fuma creeping along. "Why do we have to do this? We all know we aren't gonna do anything with the crates even if we find spoiled logistics." "Because it's for show, idiot. And if we don't, then we can't make as if we're gonna do as they say and have 'em let their guard down." The guards were swabbing the sides of the crates and inspecting for mold. "This one is too moldy. It'll spread too much if we let it in with the other shipments." "True. We can't make it seem like we planted it." "Even if we actually are."
Taro sighed a bit until he heard the voices. ANd that voice he heard was exactly what he was hoping for. Especially since that was basically the only chance he had. Waiting for a slip up. It was the info he needed for Shuuren but there was an issue. One in where… Well he might need to find some evidence that isn't by word of mouth. So he could either… Capture one of them. Or find paper evidence. With something like this though unless there was a message it would be hard to find. Great…. He would start looking around to see if there were anyone who could use chakra. Threats in a fight. Or anyone that just had a lot of it. Once he was done he would start looking for the weakest one a chance to quietly snatch and knock out one of them. Take a prisoner back with him if he can.
None of the people around here are very skilled in the usage of chakra, so Taro won't be able to sense anything that was particularly odd. That was probably a good thing, but then that also meant he had no real way of measuring skill level since everyone probably relied on physical fighting. That being said, they didn't use chakra… So Taro might have the upper hand.
If only Taro heavily used chakra as well. But only recently did he think about it. His focus was always Taijutsu since he was raised up in The Land of Iron." He frowned a bit before trying to find one of the guys that was speaing earlier, alone. Once he was able to he would quickly walk up on them and try to knock them out with a quick smack on the back of their head with the hilt of one of his swords. He would quickly grab him before trying to carry him out. This would hopefully stay hidden. Otherwise things could go south real quick. Hopefully this guy went down without a fight.
COMBAT: Taro attacks target 1 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 28
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…28
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(43) attack from Taro with a TENSE…5
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 524 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(41) attack from Taro with a EVASION…45
The man that Taro is targeting doesn't realize he's a target until the first strike hits. Normally, people would crumble under that strike, but the man was a brute. Probably why he was speaking so openly moments before … So he survives with blood dripping down his head and into his eyes, and he's even able to dodge the incoming attack. "What the…" he says, shaking his head to try and get his eyesight to focus. It was hard with blood dripping into his eyes.
RP: Taro transforms into BATTLE-LUST.
Taro quickly followed up that attack with another one. This attack being him as he brings both his swords around and strikes him on both sides of his head at the same time with the hilts. Hopefully that would hit. He would then aim a kick at spot behind the knee to knock him to the ground. A blade would quickly be pointed to his throat if he was still up and Taro would signal the man to not speak. Otherwise he would earn a swift death. There was still one thing Taro had not found in this. The man's location. Hopefully this guy knew something that could at least lead to him gaining that.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(46) attack from Taro with a EVASION…32
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 351 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against PHYSICAL(22) attack from Taro with a DODGE…33
The man tries to avoid the next strike, but the attack itself was too fast. Also, it came from both sides, and he was still reeling a bit from the last successful strike. This one just dazes him more, and then he ends up on the ground, legs knocked from under him. He would struggle, but he had some kind of concussion thanks to the Fuma, so he wasn't very successful.
Taro would bap him on the had with the hilt of one of his swords one more time to try and knock the guy out before attempting to tie him up. This was going to be a pain. If he could he would also gag the man. Crate… So much trouble. Brute just needs to stay down before he gets frustrated and kills him. "Shhh. I won't kill you. I won't. But I need you to cooperate and when I get back to where I come from I want you to cooperate there. If you don't cooperate you will die as well as everyone you consider a friend or family.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against PHYSICAL(27) attack from Taro with a TENSE…5
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 314 damage.
Since Taro is pretty much on top of him, the man ends up getting knocked out. He might have suffered a bit of damage to the head, but he didn't seem all that bright in the first place … >.>;; Anyway, since the fight was pretty easy, Taro now has a captive. The problem is that people are starting to wonder where their 'companion' is… "I haven't seen him." "Weird. Did you check over there?" "I can go and see!"
Taro would hook his arms somewhat under this guy and start dragging. He had to find someway to get him back to the boat. He also was using whatever means he could to avoid all thse others folks spotting him. Truthfully he half felt he should hide this guy and pull the ol' had to go to the bathroom trick, but how believable wuld that be? Anyways he kept moving and dragging this guy along trying to avoid the sight of others and to find anything he can use to stealthil move this guy as well as move him quicker. One or the other or both in one package.
RPCOMBAT: Taro defends against with a PERCEPTION…36
COMBAT: Taro attacks target 1 with STEALTH-II with a roll of: 30
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…34
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION…30
Taro is noticed by a few of the men that were looking for their friend. When they see Taro dragging around the unconscious and gagged body, he's obviously super suspicious. "What did you do?!" Gasps one of the men, and he would charge at the Fuma. The charge was to mostly knock Taro away from his 'friend', and then he would aim a roundhouse kick at Taro. He was surprisingly good at fighting, and likely grew up fighting and using underhanded tactics…
The other man would aim a kick at Taro's legs, trying to knock them from under the Fuma before punching him in the face once or twice. Two quick jabs.
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(40) attack from Rockpath with a DUAL-BLADE…41
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(39) attack from Rockpath with a DUAL-BLADE…55
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(30) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…55
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(39) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…39
Taro raised a brow and set the man down for a moment. "Sorry. Man got in my face for looking around some. I was just walking. I didn't know it was such a crime, but I sorta acted bad in return an-" He was just about to point at the downed guy but this was a fight now. The first guy tried to charge him and Taro would form an X with his blades to give him more of a defensive stance before he spun around the kick and used both blades to push the kick back. The second guy came to attack him and Taro would do a quick backflip over his leg sweep before side stepping his jabs. "Fine. I will take both of you out too. And here I was trying to take your friend somewhere to rest." LIES!!! He would charge them in return and used the blades well. The biggest thing to note was Taro was actively avoiding killing them right now. He hit them with the hilts of his swords and the sides if he could. Cuts were short and at places that wouldn't leave them in a bad state.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(38) attack from Taro with a EVASION…37
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 248 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(60) attack from Taro with a EVASION…29
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 517 damage.
With Taro only cutting the men and it trying to really kill them, his attacks only made them angrier… Naturally, they just tried to attack Taro with even more viciousness and the like. Yep. And all the fighting might draw more people in … >.> If Taro isn't careful.
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(30) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…41
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(32) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…53
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(38) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…51
COMBAT: Taro defends against NPC-C-TAI-ATTACK(36) attack from Rockpath with a ACROBATIC-DODGE…41
Taro just danced around the two of them and frowned a bit. "I don't want to kill you both. But if you insist." He would charge the first one and attempt to gut him by pushing two blades into his chest and swiftly kicking him back to remove the blades. The other guy would get a swift sword hilt aimed at his leg to knock him to his knees if able and if he was staying there Taro would get right in front of him with his blades aimed on either side of his neck. In a swift motion both blades would be moved quickly to cut into the guys neck. Hopefully both were killed and he could hurry and get out of there. He did have his mask and that was probably on by now if it wasn't the whole time. Likely was unless suggested otherwise. Either way he would have it covering his lower face right now for sure.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(48) attack from Taro with a EVASION…40
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 328 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DUAL-BLADE(48) attack from Taro with a EVASION…23
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 440 damage.
And then they are downed. Because these guys aren't used to long fights, probably. They use dirty tactics and don't have to have much stamina during them, after all. So Taro is able to drag his body with him and somehow he gets to the ship and can start heading back to the Land of Tea. Yayyyy. Of course, that doesn't entirely solve the issue of the delayed shipment, but that can be dealt with soon >.>
