Hiroko-chan,
I trust my missive once again finds you well, and dutifully advancing your knowledge within the libraries of Kyuden Isawa.
I have some important news—Our Champion has decided to reassign me from Ryoko Owari; I am now attached to Kitskui Kage, an Emerald Magistrate of some importance. We are currently with him, visiting a local Seppun daimyo in the Imperial lands. I wish you could join us here—the lands are quite beautiful in the autumn, and the elegant festivities remind me of the event at the Scorpion embassy when we first met. In fact, just as on that occasion, there is a cadre of youngsters who are just beginning to experience the wider world. Their innocence is a refreshing reminder of the purity of youth; I look forward to interacting with them throughout the coming week and helping to…expose them to the finer points of being an adult. Perhaps with the appropriate influence, they shall become very close friends and allies, drawing our clans ever closer together in the service of the Empire.
Our travels from Ryoko Owari to the lands of the Seppun were also quite eventful. My colleagues and I uncovered a conspiracy among the peasant villagers of Doji Hoji. They had already murdered two samurai—a Crane and a Phoenix—and a number of other deaths were sure to follow. But we have forestalled their evil machinations, and I have fulfilled my duty as a Shiba, ensuring that the untimely death of the Phoenix for no good reason whatsoever will soon be met with the Doji daimyo’s justice. The matter of restitution from the Crane to the Phoenix for the murder of their samurai was broached, but the precise details shall be settled by the official representatives of the Clan, rather than by your humble servant alone. Furthermore, in addition to uncovering the debt incurred by Hoji-sama due to the actions of his heimin, we have also earned the gratitude of the ronin Goku, whose position as Protector of the village we have solidified with our glowing report to Doji-sama of his investigatorial prowess and zeal for justice. As a consequence, Goku would certainly be favorably disposed to any who would refer to Shosuro Hiro, Akodo Kimiko, or Shiba Shunsaku, should they seek favors from him.
I shall write again with further news. I keep you always close in my heart, even as I travel close to the heart of the Empire.
Your Shunsaku