Any advice on story direction?

[Nagasadow81 4]

I GM for my group and last night the narrative took an unexpected turn. I'd like some advice on where to possibly take the storyline from people more versed in the lore than I am.

 

We followed the beginner box, as well as the palace of the emerald champion adventures. the last few sessions were my own take on wedding at Kyotei castle. 

So here are our players:

1.A Crab shugenja; winner of the Topaz Championship.

2. A Dragon shugenja; fiance to the crane PC. also, is a coward and a drunk.

3. A crane courtier, living at Kyotei castle for the past five years, fiance to the Dragon PC.

4. A Lion bard,  new player, half cousin, twice removed of Agasha Sumiko.

 

So, in our campaign, the wedding at Kyotei is between two players, and Maeda is having an affair with the crane's father.  During the dinner the night before the wedding, the lion bard sort of insulted the groom to be, who, being drunk, demanded they duel. the groom's father forbid it, and the groom, unmasking, yelled "the wedding is off!" and he stormed off with a bottle of sake in each hand.

the groom's father, to atune for his son's blatant dishonor, pleaded to the bride's father that he would commit seppuku. the bride's father accepted. 

The next morning, instead of having a wedding ceremony, we had a seppuku ceremony. Maeda's plan to attack the castle was still a go though, and so Itto and she attcked them. The dice were on my side and they captured the PCs.

 

I decided that in lieu of this, the lion clan had managed to retake castle Kyotei and had killed every crane person at the castle, including the PC's parents.  The lion and the crane are now officially at war.

 

So what now? it went so off the rails on where I thought the story was going(I was hoping to start with dark tides, then mask of the oni after this as they continued their careers as magistrates/Yorikis).  I was thinking of doing a prison escape maybe, except one of the PCs is a lion and isnt a prisoner, and also unlikely to betray his clan...  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[DSalazar 471]

Well, if the Ikoma character later learns that whoever ordered the attack was going against the Lion Champion, then they could feel it was in their interest to help the other players escape so they can provide testimony or something?