some tigers and exposition

[GM]
Chisai, Futoppara, and the man you saw riding a bull earlier meet you underneath a large mushroom stalk. It feels like being in the zones where the spores fall might not be safe, but you found out earlier that the hats are too soft to stand on, save for the center.
The Jounin's eyebrow rises at the sight of two more people being brought in with you.
"I've been told you might have been around the area." Chisai starts. "How is it going?"
"Note I don't actually know what mission you're on, so maybe you're not supposed to tell me. Just, you know, asking in general."

SketchAFToday at 6:40 PM
"Well we're about two thirds done with the initial phase and have gathered some good info as we progress. Definitely have some important stuff to send back home."

ZweihartToday at 6:41 PM
Eiha: "It's been quite the entertaining little trip yes, long time no.. talk.~ " Because see was technically inaccurate. "We ended up picking up a handful of things and.. people.. not entirely related to the mission, but that the village would probably like to get its hands on either way... or back on, for at least one of them."

[GM]
"I see?" that seems to surprise the woman. "That man looks like a foreigner to me."

ZweihartToday at 6:44 PM
Eiha: "That he is."

[GM]
The wizard-man does not say anything, bound and resigned to his fate.

SketchAFToday at 6:47 PM
"Our paths crossed as part of our mission, but we felt there was enough to warrant negotiating for his life. He's a contractor to a foreign summon clan and in exchange for not killing him one of our village can be sent to attempt to form a contract with them. He also has quite a bit of knowledge about foreign practices even so far as to involve creating some form of elemental constructs."

ZweihartToday at 6:49 PM
Eiha: "Also, a number of techniques that we've never seen before."

[GM]
The ox-man fidgets, while Chisai takes it in. "Hmm."

SketchAFToday at 6:51 PM
"Though Grass would probably want him dead if they found out about what he was up to. Human sacrifices and the like. He was trying to understand how we used chakra."

[GM]
"And you can't take him into the village yet, I see. What about the girl?"
Keiko steps up, though she doesn't want to speak out of line.

ZweihartToday at 6:54 PM
Eiha's lips curls with a bit of a smirk at both the question and display. She straightens up with marginally restrained curiosity and amusement, half wondering if the genin will have the guts to speak for herself, and half finding it somewhat demeaning to speak for her.

SketchAFToday at 6:55 PM
Keisuke gives a moment of pause to let Keiko interject if she dares. If not he'll introduce her bluntly.

[GM]
Chisai takes out an ofuda, and hands it to Futoppara. The giant licks its back, his tongue as wide as the piece of paper.
"Well, I, uh." Keiko starts before coughing, to start over.
"I'm a Genin from Grass. My village kinda sold me to this guy as a guinea pig. Bad times."
"This team freed me, and now he says he doesn't have my forehead protector, and my village is going to think I'm rogue if I come back."
"But I don't want to actually be a rogue, so I've been wondering if Mist is recruiting?" she almost does it all correctly, but the tone at the end still makes it awkard.
The Jounin takes that a lot less well, now juggling with the tag, not wanting to touch the spit on the backside. "Would you come here, good sir?"

ZweihartToday at 7:00 PM
Eiha: "Not 'was' eh?" She notes, a lone finger at her chin. "That's more attachment than I expected from someone who was essentially betrayed by the people she was supposed to trust then left to rot."

[GM]
Since Keiko tied the man up in the meantime, he is not actually caspable of coming there.

SketchAFToday at 7:02 PM
Keisuke drags him over nonchalantly.

[GM]
Chisai places the tag, before walking a bit away, and doing a few seals.
Ambrosius collapses.
"A b-binding spell? In just a piece of paper?"
The woman nods to herself. "That's one. I guess he isn't going to know how to take it off."

SketchAFToday at 7:04 PM
"You should give a lot of thought of making the higher ups think you're valuable to have as an ally. Maybe you could learn some tricks of the trade."
"For what its worth" he turns back to the Jonin and points a thumb over to Keiko "she seems alright and appropriately resolute in the face of danger. Also we got this." he says pulling out the chain from the former snake contractor. "Whats his name was killed by the enemy but we managed to recover the corpse and this. What happened to the corpse is related to our mission so I'm not sure how much more we should say on that."

ZweihartToday at 7:08 PM
Eiha: "Well, I'm sure that'll become known a bit later, after it's all settled down, so it's just a matter of being patient a bit, really."

[GM]
"Oh, I knew the man who used this. Sasori, right? The thing went through the palm of his hand."
She hands it to her partner, and scratches her head, avoiding the buns.

SketchAFToday at 7:09 PM
"Yeah that was his name." he nods.

[GM]
"We can take that back too, but as for the girl, I'm not so sure. Having to transport two people with questionable loyalties is going to be hard enough, and this one could actually take the seal off." she nudges towards the ox-man.
Speaking of him, he is wearing cleaner clothes, and seems like he ate, but it's still a fairly desolate-looking person.

SketchAFToday at 7:13 PM
With the conversation turning to the Ox man, Keisuke rubs the back of his head. He can feel it in his bo- he's certain that the guy is related to all the goings on, they just need to figure out what they can learn from each other without compromising things.

[GM]
Futoppara speaks for himself, in a deep voice: "This is pretty great, by the way. If the two of us manage it, all of us are going to look good."

ZweihartToday at 7:14 PM
Eiha: "Well, I find the idea that she would help one of the people who were literally trying to use her as a live sacrifice to be pretty ridiculous... But I guess we're not in a hurry, now are we?~" She noted rhetorically more than asked, glancing back

[GM]
"But I don't know about the girl, either. Bringing in a stray makes it look like we did something entirely outside of our mission, and are pinning it on the village."

SketchAFToday at 7:15 PM
"I'm fine with dragging her along with us as a helper for a while if that would help her case." He says though he'd be surprised if Bansen agreed.

AntaryToday at 7:16 PM
"We certainly don't need that."

[GM]
Chisai folds her hands, watching the girl that's faking bravery intently. "I'm getting an idea about what your mission is, but how much does she know?"
"We don't need a loose end either."
"Not much, uh." Keiko speaks the truth. "They came here to retrieve a pelt that this guy stole, I think?"

SketchAFToday at 7:21 PM
"We've been sure to maintain operational security. If we didn't trust me, we wouldn't hear the end of it."

ZweihartToday at 7:22 PM
Eiha lets out a small sigh, bringing one hand to her forehead and shaking her head somewhat dismissively. "Honestly, I'm surprised how little you think of us." She noted at Chisai's intention with an half-dismayed half-irked tone.

[GM]
"Well, alright." Chisai nods. "Then it might not matter if she comes with us and flees midway through."
"Though if you DO run, I WILL kill you." she shoots the girl an eye.
"Most likely they'll put you in prison until these guys come back and vouch for you. Are you still alright with that?"

ZweihartToday at 7:25 PM
Eiha: "Besides, in addition to what our actual mission may or may not be, we've also encountered information about an extra threat to the stability of the lands here. She's witnessed some events related to that." Her tone seems a bit harsher and colder than her usual self, hand still on her forehead. "Did you really think I was just going soft on you?"

[GM]
"I could try my luck back in Grass if you're alright with that." she shrugs. "But then I don't know what I can say about you guys and can't and that just makes me look like more of a rogue and it gets a bit complex for me. Never been the smart kid on the team."
Chisai is clearly internally wrestling with the passing ethics at hand versus the quick and dirty Mist-patented solution.
"If you place a tag at me too, I'm not gonna be able to run." Keiko proposes.
Chisai doesn't like that. "See, now you're making yourself look dumb to be smart."
She seems to finally settle on it, and nod to herself.
"If you guys think it's alright, I will take her, but I will also put it into the report that you made this request of us, and any trouble she causes is on you. Is that fine?"
"If you're passing me a written report that actually mentions her, that would be perfect."

SketchAFToday at 7:32 PM
"Yeah we didn't really plan to leave anything out of the report anyway."

[GM]
"Good."

ZweihartToday at 7:34 PM
Eiha's arms returns to its side, hand resting on the hilt of her tanto by mere habit and not intent of use. She does seem quite annoyed either way, and her usual unsettling air is a bit more jagged than normal, as if itching. "Fine, I'll take care of that."

SketchAFToday at 7:35 PM
"With that settled, do you two have any objection of going over the subject related to Eiha's time in Konha that happened to link up with our mission?" he asks the other two in reference to the rats and their spread of filth.

[GM]
"Unless you're barred from talking about it, sure." the man tells you.

ZweihartToday at 7:36 PM
Eiha: "...What kind of drunk-ass timing is that even supposed to be?"

[GM]
The Jounin of the pair, meanwhile, seems caught off-guard, perhaps because of having an inkling what it may be about. "Konoha, eh?"

ZweihartToday at 7:37 PM
Eiha: "Are you people for real? Giving shit about our potentially having leaked information in front of people you don't trust wholly, then you're just starting to talk about other unrelated stuff -while still in front of the exact people you don't -trust- yet?"

[GM]
Chisai agrees. "Yeah. That thing we ran into in Konoha during the exams MIGHT have to do with internal politics of Kiri."
"I don't want to touch it with a ten foot pole, unless it's my job."

ZweihartToday at 7:39 PM
Eiha: "If this nonsense keeps going any longer I might need to borrow some of that sake."

SketchAFToday at 7:40 PM
Keisuke shrugs "Whatever. We'll just hope nothing unfortunate happens to the letter then."

[GM]
"Hunter-nin send in triplicate, but we don't have that luxury. You'll have to trust us." Chisai smiles brilliantly.
"Anything else I can help you with, as an authority?"

SketchAFToday at 7:44 PM
"Nothing I can think of."

[GM]
"Mhm. Safe journey, then." Futoppara picks up the mystically bound man, and is followed by the ox rider. Chisai goes last.
"...If you're able to do your job, that'd be great. Not to offend."
Keiko realizes she is supposed to come with her, and so does. So, you are left alone, with your own problems.
Presently, those boil down to the pelt you have to deliver.

。。。

[GM]
The morning sun is hidden from you by the large building, as you ascend the Blue Tiger Shrine's stairs. The courtyard is empty, save for its guardian, who is presently yawning in an entirely different pose from before.
Seeing you come up, it becomes a bit more animated.

ZweihartToday at 7:58 PM
By this point, Eiha has returned to her own shrine maiden guise, though she was still put in a relatively foul mood by the encounter with the jonins and their utter disrespect. While she's usually the.. least sociopathic member of the little group, at this time her desire to kill is practically palpable.

SketchAFToday at 8:00 PM
Having doned his disguise Keisuke lets the events from yesterday fade from his mind. He doesn't bother with much preamble and retrieves the pelt.
"We found what you requested of us."

[GM]
The tiger sits up, to take a proper look. "Well, I’ll be damned. So you did."
"I cannot leave this place, so it was a big bother."

SketchAFToday at 8:02 PM
"They said they enjoyed the walk."

[GM]
"I bet they did - wait, did you talk to them?"
It lowers its hand, reaching for it.

SketchAFToday at 8:03 PM
Keisuke gives it over.
"They seemed intrigued with the troubles facing the land and offered their insight into what we had uncovered."

[GM]
The tiger notices the harness, and softly puts the fur to its mouth. The hundred voices inside yelling profanties at him can be heard distinctly. With your luck, somebody is going to be woken up.
It bites through the leather, and the set of belts clatters beneath the pedastal.
"A moment." the tiger now stands up to its fairly impressive height, to return it to its rightful place above the pedastal, at the shrine's front wall.

ZweihartToday at 8:07 PM
The display brings some marginal amusement to Eiha, the corner of her lips tugging with the faintest hint of a smirk, rather than be annoyed. Murderous presence lessens slightly.

[GM]
There are apparently already wooden pins there, from where it was displaced. It only takes a minue or so.
"I am embarassed, really. How did they seize it?" the tiger wonders. "Was it really the merchant, as the miko says?"
It returns to face you, now to a more respectable, traditional feline sitting posture.

SketchAFYesterday at 8:21 PM
"Well a couple of important bits of news on that front. Firstly the merchant's partner was the one mostly responsible for the transgression and he in fact has a summoning contract. Secondly the changes to the land have been significant enough that Goats are now able to be summoned in these lands."

[GM]
The tiger’s tail goes straight up. "Goats!?"
"Ah, I don't really understand, but I think that's really not supposed to be happening, no."

SketchAFYesterday at 8:25 PM
"The elders gave us a very useful breakdown of the changes that were occuring. It's unfortunate that we didn't have a sealing expert with us to get the whole picture of how things were unfolding."

[GM]
"There is a lot of different shrines in these hills." the tiger ponders. "Normally you would have to go through a series of trials, but I think I will break the traditions this once, and send you straight to the Yellow Tiger Shrine."

SketchAFYesterday at 8:27 PM
"That would be appreciated."
"You mentioned there would be more to the rite of passage? Could you elaborate on that now?"

[GM]
"Locals know it as the Shrine of the Sun, found at one of the highest parts of the mountains. It looks to be just a tiny booth, where you have to do a puzzle arranging stones, to reveal the real shrine, which stands on the top of a cairn made of various rocks. Hmm." It tries to recall the procedure. "The trick is arranging certain kinds of stone in certain patterns, of which I am supposed to tell you one."
"But I will tell you everything instead."
"The procedure changes now and then, so I hope that one of my brothers did not change his own password. If they did, you can be sure that a local is watching you while you perform the puzzle."
"Mine, Blue is Spring, and you are looking for Sandstone. Note that down. There is a pattern of various shapes in front of the booth, some of them are not being used. You want to arrange sandstone into the circle."

SketchAFYesterday at 8:36 PM
Keisuke nods and notes it down.

[GM]
"Red is my northern brother’s, also meaning summer, and I don't think he ever changed it, it's always been Pyrite in the triangle. It’s a shiny, gold, yellow, red looking stone. A bit metallic-looking."
"Black stands for winter, it’s been hematite as long as I remember. A bit different from the other stones, it's black but shiny. You can tell it by being a little magnetic, drawing in metal slightly. There is also magnetite in there though, which is a completely different stone that doesn’t shine, and sticks to metal like glue."
"Completely different for the purposes of the puzzle, anyway. If you get a magnetite in between all the hematite, it won’t work."
"White stands for fall, and it’s rock salt. Plenty of it everywhere. What's tricky is the shape."
"Last I knew it has been the oval one-eh, did I skip something?"

SketchAFYesterday at 8:42 PM
"Black's shape."

[GM]
"Right. It’s probably a rectangle."
"White is either the oval, or the pentagon."
"Whichever it is, the other one represents the yellow tiger, and has to be filled with quartz. Quartz is the most crystalline thing that will be there, it looks like glass. Don’t confuse it with the salt or the pyrite."
"If you do it right, the path to the shrine should appear, if you do it wrong, they will try to kill you, and you should have a chance to explain yourselves."
"I should give you a token in case that happens." the tiger stops to consider.
After a bit of thought, it meows loudly. "When the lady comes, ask her for a souvenier. She might ask for some change for it."
"Its a talisman with a bit of my spat out fur in it. It should have my smell."

SketchAFYesterday at 8:47 PM
"..."

[GM]
With that, the tiger returns to being motionless, while some steps can be heard inside the building.

SketchAFYesterday at 8:49 PM
Keisuke sighs. If the tiger's fucking with him with his hairball talisman he isn't interested in giving him a reaction. Instead he moves to greet the shrine keeper and purchase the hairball talisman.

[GM]
The old shrine maiden seems fairly baffled to see you here this early in the morning, but quickly notices the pelt returned.
"Just the talisman?" she sounds surprised. "I can give you that for free, you deserve a lot more, if you really brought it back for us."
"A fine dinner, at the very least!"
"Granted, we don’t really have a lot of riches here, unless you are into furniture."
"A nice, glazed teapot, perhaps? That sounds more fitting for pilgrims."

ZweihartYesterday at 8:55 PM
Eiha: "Hm, that sounds good, but early morning isn't really the time for dinner. Maybe when we return?"

SketchAFYesterday at 8:57 PM
He nods in agreement with his traveling companion"My thanks to you for your kindness, however we must not tarry. I'm afraid our presence is required at yet another shrine. Good fortune to you and may your restored shrine guide yet more travelers on their path. Perhaps we shall meet again."
"Though if you insist, a tea pot would be lovely." he laughs lightly.

[GM]
She seems more happy to hear that. "Very well, give me a second then, I will bring you both."
You are later brought a trio of green teapots, and a trio of small, wooden boxes, the top of which can be slid out.
It really does seem to contain a bit of the god’s shed fur, whether it is a bit of his spitball is hard to tell.
"What shrine is it? Perhaps I can give you directions."
"Though you lot clearly are not concerned about bandits, so maybe there is not much point. I just want to help any way I can, you see?"

SketchAFYesterday at 9:00 PM
"We understand. We are headed first to the Shrine of the Sun."

[GM]
"Oh, you can see the mountain from here." she points to the horizon.
"Though I have been there, and it isn’t much to look at."

ZweihartYesterday at 9:03 PM
Eiha remains quiet at this point, her thoughts mostly consisting of 'I sure could go for some bandits right now', but that is clearly not the kind of things her guise should be saying.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:04 PM
"Whether a grand temple or humble shrine, the most valuable thing they offer us is insight into our own selves and what steps to take in the future."
"I hope to find such guidance there."

[GM]
The woman nods in understanding, and starts counting out the villages on the way.
"...Merchants normally don’t go through these roads, since the hills are a hiding spot for a lot of people. Some of them are hermits, spending the rest of their life comfortably, but the rest of them are no good."
"Stick to the villages, I say, and you should be fine."

SketchAFYesterday at 9:07 PM
"Thank you for your guidance. Then, we shall be off." he says politely with a bow, before turning to leave.

[GM]
。。。
The hills could use more tree density. Traveling through grass in the land of Grass shinobi feels fairly suboptimal.
So are, of course, your monk disguises, but you could go for a new one, or try to speed it up, and go straight for the vein.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:14 PM
When he's certain there aren't any unwanted listeners as they travel Keisuke asks the others "So do we travel the roads as we are or should we move at speed?"

ZweihartYesterday at 9:15 PM
Eiha: "Not sure what is the point of staying in disguise if there aren't any people around, but I've been having fun with this one."

AntaryYesterday at 9:16 PM
"I can't help but wonder if our mission is even a secret anymore."

ZweihartYesterday at 9:16 PM
Eiha: "What do you mean?"

AntaryYesterday at 9:17 PM
"We've been leaving more traces than we needed to."
"Let's speed up and finish this before the bosses back home get the chance to catch whiff of anything."

ZweihartYesterday at 9:19 PM
Eiha: "You do realize it's not exactly possible to form contracts without actually talking to the people you're trying to contract with, right?"

SketchAFYesterday at 9:20 PM
"I'm fine with speeding up." he says not really worrying over much about how overt or subtle they've been.
Keisuke demonstrates his willingness by shifiting into their normal overland speed and dropping his disguise when in the tall grass.

[GM]
Regrettably, any bandit hijinks that the other two may have secretly hoped for are thus skipped.
。。。
The mountain rises in front of you later that day. You could use a bit of a nap before getting onto this, but at night, identifying the stones will be harder.
With the little sleep you could get, you ascend to the barren peak. As advertised, there is a cairn of many different stones from all over, as well as a very tiny shrine, looking like the strong wind up here could sweep it up any moment.
There is indeed a large pattern of many overlapping shapes engraved into the earth around the booth. It may very well be a calendar of some sort. The stones are placed up here haphazardly.
The pattern's nature is mostly that of a channel. Filling it with stones from the cairn will be quite a bit of work.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:35 PM
"Well may as well get started. Let's start with sandstone first."

AntaryYesterday at 9:36 PM
"Enjoy yourself." Bansen squats down and observes.

ZweihartYesterday at 9:36 PM
Eiha: "Should be simple enough if you took all that down." She keeps her distances, not really intending to provide much of any direct assistance as she's still in the mindset of the Snake trials where doing so would have pretty much invalidated the Trials anyway. She's not sure it works the same here, but she assumes so anyway.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:38 PM
Keisuke proceeds to place the sandstones into the circle "yeah the tricky part will be with white and black I guess." He replies absentmindedly to the others as he goes about it.

[GM]
Even with Keisuke's strength, it takes until the dark. It turns out to be a good course of action to identify the particular stones and put them into heaps, before it gets hard to see.
In the end, only the Quartz and the Salt are left, and you realize something.
The pentagon is at the center of the pattern, while the oval is all around it. All the other symbols cut across each other, but the pentagon stands alone.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:43 PM
Keisuke takes a moment to ponder.
"Well every other shrine is a season."
"This is the sun shrine, so the yellow tiger representing the sun would make sense. If that's the case the sun could be reprsented by a single day but that would leave out the moon. However if it were related to the year, then it would make sense for the seasons to fall within it. So probably the oval then?" he wonders aloud.

[GM]
The opposing symbols do not cut into each other, at least.
The oval and the circle do not touch each other.
But they each touch the other two. The pentagon is in the middle of it all.
The triangle and the rectangle similarly do not touch each other.
The circle filled with sandstone stands appropriately to the east, opposed by the empty oval to the west.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:53 PM
"However if I change my thinking..."

[GM]
Meanwhile, the triangle full of pyrite is to the north, and the rectangle of hematite to the south.
Going by the instruction, it leaves the center or the oval to be filled with quartz, and the other with salt.

SketchAFYesterday at 9:58 PM
Keisuke fills the oval with salt. Then fills the center with quartz.

[GM]
A bit of a glow could motivate you. This is, honestly, more of a test of patience than anything else.
You spend a while filling up holes which appeared by stones later fallen from their position. It is long dark by then.
The moment you are completely sure that you have an uninterrupted line on all five patterns, and a regular person would long start complaining that it's not working, the mountain rumbles, and the cairn falls apart.
It reveals a cave entrance, exactly at the middle of where the cairn stood.

SketchAFYesterday at 10:02 PM
Keisuke dusts himself off and prepares to enter into the cave.

[GM]
Hopefully someone will rebuild the cairn. That seemed like a lot of work.

ZweihartYesterday at 10:03 PM
Eiha: "Man am I glad I got the trials that was more instinctive and intuitive. This looked like a pain."

SketchAFYesterday at 10:04 PM
"Intentionally failing and fighting probably would have been far more expedient," he admits.

[GM]
There is a fairly steep stairway, clearly meant more for cats than humans, leading down into the hill's heart.

SketchAFYesterday at 10:05 PM
Keisuke heads down with purpose. They have things to and giant cats to see.

[GM]
The stairs grow a bit more humane, while the spiral of them widens bit by bit. Eventually, a bit of light can be seen from below.
There are a multitude of loud voices here, rumbling through the mountain, but only one person in your way.
A lamp is burning there, at the end of a tunnel above a sliding door, and a humanoid tiger in a suit is standing in front of it. They carry a lot of dignity for clearly being a butler.
"Three of you?" he seems a bit confused. "It has been a while since anyone went through the trouble of reaching here, but that's a bit much."

ZweihartYesterday at 10:11 PM
Eiha gave a somewhat formal curtsie, having returned to her guise at this point, and previous murderousness mostly replaced by a slasher smile. "Ah, not a worry, I am but a traveling companion~"

SketchAFYesterday at 10:12 PM
"We are traveling together but just one of us will be trying to sign the contract." he nods

[GM]
"I see. That is not exactly the custom, but they will probably be happy for the visitors."
"Just make sure only the aspirant speaks while in there."

SketchAFYesterday at 10:13 PM
"Alright. Why's that?"

[GM]
The butler puts its paw on the door, and slides it open, revealing a sizeable, opulent cave, bordering on unreal. Lit by a dim light, a lot of it is clearly meant to be a daybreak jungle.
"We have been far from home for some time."
"A predator is foolish when fed, but smart when hungry. If you seek out the elders, you can be sure they are hungry most of the time."
"Too much prey spoils the hunter, but a life of hunt builds character." the butler steps in. "There are many kinds of hunts."
"When the elders grew tired of hunting humans and beasts, they started hunting thoughts, wisdom, hopes and dreams."
"It is better not to show them that you have any, unless you are willing to contest them for it."
This is clearly just one of many rooms, but one must wonder where it all comes from, and who makes it possible. There are even dancers in dim lamp light, who frankly seem to be human slaves.

ZweihartYesterday at 10:19 PM
Eiha quirks a brow. She was feeling pretty on board with the hunting part, but that sudden metaphysic shark jump has lost her interest. Back to quietness, especially given that's apparently the wise thing to do here... but apparently showing wisdom is bad? This is why she doesn't deal with this shit. Urgh...

SketchAFYesterday at 10:20 PM
Keisuke doesn't worry about showing his "hopes and dreams" certainly, but he does have to wonder how he earns their compliance without engaging them.

[GM]
The butler leads you through a few of such rooms, with the resident tigers clearly enlarging in size as you progress. There seems to be some sort of a caste system in here, as the flowers in these rooms are blooming, the slave girls wear more jewelry, and meat becomes surprisingly less common.
"I understand that our trials are a bit excessive." the butler-tiger says politely, "But in order to earn the right of contract, there is one more trial."
"In order to become one of us, you will have to participate in the hunt. This, in plain terms, means dueling one of the locals."
"You do not have to win necessarily, but you probably do want to gain respect in here, yes?"

SketchAFYesterday at 10:24 PM
"Naturally."

[GM]
"Well, beyond here lies the court. I would advise you to choose your opponent well." it slides the final door, revealing the throne room.
The owner of this place is clearly visible right away. Unlike the White Snake Sage, who deliberately did not look like much, the Yellow Tiger King is a massive, shining beast, wearing a many-layered crown.
Aside of the glitter from the throne, the place has a many tables where tigers can be found relaxing, and participating in courtly talks, as well as a dance floor, which is suspiciously stained with blood in some parts, but does not prevent pairs from dancing.
"I will be here. Feel free to ask me anything." the butler offers.

SketchAFYesterday at 10:28 PM
Keisuke scans those present seeing if he can find a suitable target.

[GM]
It is very gaudy and opulent in here. A few of the locals are also in human forms. It isn’t impossible that some of them are human in the first place - other summoners exist.
The smallest tigers in the room are the servants, bringing trays of raw beasts, though the Butler is clearly larger than most of the regulars. After those, the tigers can be found in the five main colours that you had described to you, which presumably have different traits.
There are tigers dressed in human clothes, tigers undressed, tigers taking over two or three bed-seats on their own, tiger ladies, and tiger jesters. Close to the king's seat must be the tiger nobles, for they are fairly large.

SketchAFYesterday at 10:32 PM
Keisuke turns to the Butler.
"Anyone offend you lately?"

[GM]
He coughs, whatever that means for a cat. "The White Duke has not been very nice to us servants, but I would not recommend you challenging him."
"Perhaps one of his heirs. They are often skilled with human weapons."

SketchAFYesterday at 10:36 PM
"Point me to the strongest and or the most obnoxious one if you will."