By far the most serious threat is the blatant murder of an Emerald Magistrate. An attack on a magistrate is an attack on the Emperor, and therefore an attack on Rokugan. Any city where the magistrates are not feared or respected is a cancer in the throat of our nation. Ashidaka Naritoki (P25) died, along with one of his deputies, a man called True Word (P33), between the hours of the Ox and the Hare (1 - 5 AM), on the third day of the month of the Snake. He was found in the neighborhood of the Little Gate (L15). There were no witnesses.
Naritoki was found inside the burned wreckage of his own carriage. His body was examined by an eta called Eyebrows (P53) who said that the body had been burned and stabbed through the carriage walls. The carriage itself was badly burned, and the harnesses were cut. Furthermore, the door of the carriage had apparently been blocked by a wooden pole.
True Word was found eight paces from the front of the wagon, several scrolls scattered around his body. Again, the eta Eyebrows examined the body and said that he had been beaten and stabbed by short, bladed weapons - possibly kama, yari or tanto. True Word was found clutching his katana, but he had not drawn it. The position of his body indicates that he died on his knees. The eta said that there was a strong, acrid smell around the body's face, and that True Word's face, hair and kimono were wet. It is believed that someone sprayed strong vinegar in True Word's eyes in order to prevent him from reading his scrolls, and then cut him down while he was blinded.
At the same time that True Word was being attacked, it seems likely that someone wedged the door of Naritoki's carriage shut and set the carriage on fire. The speed with which the coach burned on a wet and rainy night raises the suspicion that the coach was sabotaged earlier - coated with some flammable substance to aid the assassination. While he was trapped in the burning carriage, Naritoki's assassins struck at him through the walls. In all likelihood, they intended only to keep him trapped until the flames and smoke could finish him off.