Satoshi dances nimbly away from the grasping plants, at least for now. He takes advantage of the moment to run clear of the area, before pulling a kunai off his belt and throwing it at the enemy hunter, a low snarl in his own throat at seeing his brother's distress.
The partial success of the spell token is emboldening enough that the assailants take a step back to pull out and snap a bone token each, exchanging a couple of sentences that might be plans, or short grim observations.
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Sh? (1)
Tr?? (12)
Es1 ()
Es3 (25)
Kichiro lunges against the grip of the vines to bite at the retreating foe.
He continues trying to pull free.
He manages to rip free and charge towards the two.
A touch of desperation is in the actions of the two assailants as the fight continues, and Kichiro is amidst the both of them again. For the one that seems like a hunter, the wounds are beginning to take their toll, not least of which was the bite that Kichiro managed as he tried to retreat. Nearby, the tree continues to burn, quite nearly the entire tree on fire now, sending a large plume of smoke to the sky and causing the horses to shy further away from the fire, forcing your escorts to try to corral them.
Gritting his teeth, the hunter sets to trying to strike Kichiro with his axe, landing a strike even though it does not land as hard as he would have liked. Even the non-armored individual attempts to just touch Kichiro, but fails miserably in the ongoing fighting.
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,
Sh? (1)
Tr?? (20)
Es1 ()
Es3 (25)
Kichiro snarls in rage at these humans DARING to continue harming him. He slashes at the hunter with his claws, suddenly jerks his head over to try to gore the other with his split horn, then snaps with his teeth at whoever's still standing.
Frustrated, Satoshi grumbles as he quickly assembles a small device, before tossing at the area behind the hostile spellcaster.
It lands there and ticks ominiously.
After that, he takes a quick moment to reload his crossbow.
Lurching out of the grass that magic made to ensnare, Kichiro erupts in a flurry of violence, his claws killing hunter who goes down snarling in defiance, and then the horn and his teeth catching the lighter armored individual easily. They collapsed backwards onto the device that Satoshi had thrown, the device detonating shortly therefter.
No other hostiles seem to be visible or in the vicinity, though the tree is still burning, though it looks like it may not spread. You would have to linger to be sure. The cart had turned itself off without anyone to direct and manage its workings, while the two remaining escorts had managed to keep the horses from fleeing, though one of them is grievously injured.
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With agonizing effort of will, Kichiro forces himself not to plunge his muzzle into the warm, delectable innards next to him and instead transform back into his kitsune form. He pants with effort, kneeling on the ground, completely ignoring his surroundings as he struggles for control.
Satoshi glances back and forth, trying to judge which situation is more urgent. Filial duty eventually wins out however, so he hustles over to Kichiro first, and holds out his prepared vial of the Satiety Tincture.
He could go and help treat their wounded escort after he made sure Kichiro didn't go on a rampage.
"Here, this should help. Though, ummm... probably also good to move away from them, I'll rummage for anything that might let us know what this was about after everyone is treated."
(...SoftandEDIBLEaFEASTarrayedoutforthetakingHOTandFRESHsuchaWASTEtonotCONS UMEitisYOURStoCLAIM...)
The sounds of the horses still making slightly distressed sounds due to the proximity of the crackle and growl of the burning tree is added to the settling sounds of the cart engine, and the scent of smoke, blood, death, and chemicals is strongly in the air. It goes without saying that your departure has definitely been disrupted, and the wiser decision might be to be to return to Shuryo after trying to gather as much information as could be done here. There were a lot of questions raised, not least of which was the motive of this ambush and its perpetrators. Their dress did not fit the local, or even regional style, save for the hunter that was with them. Even that was the most obvious of the handfuls of questions that could be asked.
Your escort has been reduced to one able individual, and of the three that arrived, one is certainly dead on the road. Injuries have been sustained, and there will likely be questions from the town guard.
Satoshi can imagine the rumor mill, and speculation as to what the rumors may be by the end of the week may not even come close.
Kichiro quickly gulps down his potion, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to banish the voice telling him to EAT.
After a few moments he opens his eyes again. Briefly he entertains the idea of searching the corpses for any signs of what these attackers had been after, but another growl from his belly tells him how bad of an idea lingering near the corpses would be.
So instead he walks back to the road. He looks back at his brother tending to the injured guard, decides *that* is also a bad idea, and so he shouts, "I'll just... keep watch for more attackers for now," and starts pacing anxiously back and forth on the road.
The fact that he's still in kitsune form rather than his human disguise hasn't even registered to him.
Satoshi hustles off to do what he can to treat their escorts.
He also does what he can to search for any signs of what their attackers were intending (and incidentally if they had anything useful)
After that... well, he'll have to talk to Kichiro at least some, because this has spoiled a lot of things...
"Ummm... well, I think at least your secret of being a kitsune is rather out. But well.... I don't really want to turn back, because that might be what's expected of us, but.... well, what are we even supposed to do now?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Kichiro snaps. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. "Sorry. It's just..."
He waves vaguely at the surroundings as if that somehow explains what he's trying to say. "I don't want to leave those two alone, but on the other hand I wasn't big on the invitation in the first place and, well... maybe just see what's on the attackers, if there's any clues? I... I don't think I should go near their bodies right now..."
As Kichiro recovers, Satoshi has a look to see if anything can be made of their attackers' intentions, starting with those that had been at the front line of the assault. The salve that was provided to the most injured of their escorts did a lot to treat their injuries, keeping them from being processed through the Celestial Court's bureaucracy for a little longer.
An examination of the brutish types that led the assault displayed a common ophidian theme, the tattoos and scarring that were not the result of conflict showing a snake or imitating scales in some places. Aside from the curious fang bone weapons thay had, little else of note was on them. The hunter or trapper that accompanied them did not share the same motifs, a pouch with lumps of gold amidst coins, indicating their possible means of payment. There were trap materials with them, though— as well as the couple of traps that had been set out and not been sprung. The weapons they had were a crossbow and axes, easily common for this region.
The robed individual that had seemed to possess some magic was the most curious. They shared the same ophidian theme with the brutes up front, various incidental materials in assorted pouches, and some darts. There was a slightly larger jar that was separated from the pouches that had markings and other preparations done to it, though what purpose it served was unknown. A couple of other items seemed to be tokens of some sort, though their significance was not quite able to be discerned at a glance, perhaps making them mystical in nature.
As Satoshi gives everything a thorough examination, the fire in the tree continues to dwindle, though the plume of smoke has definitely attracted attention, Kichiro being able to make out the sound of hoofbeats coming up the road with some haste. It seemed the guard was coming to investigate.
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Kichiro frowns as Satoshi turns up a snake-y theme among their assailants. "You don't think they're related to that weird snake thing we saw earlier, do you?"
Satoshi shrugs, even as he picks up a few items. "I'd kind of guess so? There is an awful lot of snake imagery going on here."
He also considers their position.
"It's... probably better to talk to the guards when they arrive. I don't want to deal with the trouble of them chasing us because they think we're running away.... you could probably change back before they get here though."
"Right..." Kichiro says uncertainly.
...a moment later it sinks in just what Satoshi means by 'change back'. He hastily changes back to his human form.
"Uhh... didn't realize I hadn't..." he stammers, before somewhat getting a hold of himself and saying, "Right, so... I should probably clean up a bit first, but yeah, we should talk with them. Uh... what did our escorts say...?"
It does not take long after concluding the combat for the guard to arrive from nearby Shuryo, tense with alarm at the sight of the burning tree— thankfully not spreading beyond the dwindling conflagration that it once was. Five men on hastily-saddled horses that are none-too-pleased about approaching what smells like danger and fire and are uneasy to the point where the head of the group dismounts along with one other and approaches.
"Ho! What happened here!" He is looking around at the bodies, the damage, and taking in the whole scene warily.
Your escort remains on the side of the road, the two surviving men (one whole, one reasonably mended enough to stand) and three horses, remembers his composure and nods a greeting to the guard, starting to relay their experience. While he seems relatively alright, he is still a bit shaken from what he had seen, but there is still some disbelief and fresh grief evident.
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Kichiro mostly tries to downplay the whole "turned into a monster" and "bloodily ripped apart the attackers with fangs and claws" parts of the discussion, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation, trying mostly to emphasize how he was trying to defend himself and his brother from the sudden attack.
Satoshi... isn't the most voluntarily communicative but is entirely willing to admit to setting the tree on fire, at least partly to help pull the attention away from Kichiro.
If asked about various things, he does his best to recount accurately.
There is also the wonder of why these ambushers were waiting for them in the first place though...
The captain listens to your escort, who identifies themselves as "Nakamura, tasked by Hihibo's Council of Tradesmen". The report he gives is succinct, relaying how everyone was attacked by the four individuals. From his vantage point on the far side of the vehicle, he was able to see the initial fight, but says that the fire had spooked his horse that he could not see much of what occurred once it moved from the road.
The other escort, who identified himself as "Hasegawa", corroborates how they were set upon by the assailants, and mentions little about how the remainder of the fight resolved, as he was prone and doing what he could not to die until Satoshi helped with something that helped him heal. Even as he speaks now, he is bandaged and reclining, though from the looks and smell of things, he will be a couple of weeks recovering.
Bleedingandweakthefirsttofalleasilyfreshmeatpracticallyprepared...
It seems like a stroke of luck leaves the two siblings to tell what happened once the fight moved off of the road, and what gets relayed is not challenged by your escorts, or the guards. Whether that is by debt or courtesy is uncertain, but Satoshi can tell that the two surviving escorts are not saying as much as they could.
While the brief questioning is being done, the second is looking over the area and the bodies, taking care not to pass under the tree that is starting to burn out without spreading. After enough time to look over the scene, no blame is assigned to anyone here, and questions can be asked later, though everyone is asked to return to Shuryo, at least for the day to get everything recorded.
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Kichiro is a little surprised by their escorts' words, looking at them uncertainly several times during the discussion as he tries to ignore that voice of Hunger, wiping a little drool from the corner of his mouth.
"Well, we should definitely go back, for the sake of the injured if nothing else," he admits. "What worries me most is who these people were and why they attacked us. They weren't familiar to us, though they did seem to have a kind of... snake theme?" He looks at his brother for confirmation.
Satoshi nods sharply.
"Yes, lots of snake tattoos, daggers like fangs... not sure what it means..."
Inwardly, Satoshi thinks to himself that he very well does know that this is right after the mysterious appearance of that snake-spirit twice now...
"But it suggests organization of some sort at least... we'll have to be careful, since organization means intent, and that means we probably haven't seen the end of this..."
Kichiro nods back. "Right... maybe there's a bandit gang that uses snake symbols? Or an evil cult?"
Nodding with the conclusions reached, as they were accurate in regards to the policies that were in place for the town security, the Sergeant looked to the two brothers, and then their escort. "If everyone is able to return, let us do so. A gesture has another of the five move to assist the Second, who was looking around at the area and investigating.
The return back to Shuryo does not take long, though the Transport has a wide berth around it, with one of the patrol trailing behind, the destination being a sturdier building just inside the outer area of the onsen town. From the looks of it, it was constructed on what had been the edge of the town some time back, and subsequent growth has now put it one or two streets in beyond what is now the edge of town.
The four of you are escorted in and gestured to have a seat, one of the patrol staying with you, while another writes out a note on a nearby desk and then leaves. Shortly after, the first of your escorts is called into a nearby office further into the building, the door closing behind them.
Kichiro settles into the seat with a sigh. "Well, hopefully those people who attacked us aren't part of some big... criminal organization or evil cult or something," he says to his brother, "But... I really feel like we're going to need to keep watch for more attacks like that."
Satoshi nervously sits down next to Kichiro, doing his best to both comfort and distract by patting his brother on the back.
"Unfortunately, given that they were clearly organized and almost certainly larger than that small band, I rather suspect the same. Whatever we did to get them hostile to us, they're not likely going to stop easily..."
He looks around cautiously, before speaking more quietly.
"And I can't help but feel they are going to be related to that snake creature or spirit. I think that it might have it out for us for some reason," He didn't want to mention out loud that Kichiro's current predicament might well be very related to that "and these were just some of its followers."
Kichiro nods, then sighs. "Well, nothing for it but to wait and see what the guards ask us, then maybe ask if they have any ideas who they might be."
While the initial of your escorts was in the room, it appeared that one of the guards had run off to fetch a healer, as the two of them arrive with haste, the older woman spotting the injured party with sharp eyes. While there was a bit of panic and haste with the guard, she was moving with purpose, a satchel on her shoulder, carrying supplies that the situation might call for. The situation is not able to override her calm. Her no-nonsense manner is evident when she easily picks out which of you are injured and then brusquely asks him, "You. Can you walk?"
The second of your escorts nods, having spent the majority of the time figuring out how to sit with his injuries
(weakhurtflesheatconsumepreydevourdelicious) nods, a bit of a wince coming with the action. "Yes, but not swiftly and not far", still somewhat pale from the pain.
With barely a glance, a small ball of medicine is fished out and handed to the man. "Chew. Follow me."
She turns to leave, the escort leveraging himself up, when the guard that had gone to fetch her starts to object. "Lady Shiwamo, the—"
"I am aware", she cuts him off coolly, fixing him with a look. "I cannot treat his injuries here, seated. You can come with me if you think his absence is a concern. I may need extra hands, just in case." As if his response was irrelevant, she resumes her exit, patient in tow.
Judging by the look on the face of the guard, that response and additional responsibility was not something that they were expecting, but also not something that they had the authority to refuse. They started to open their mouth to say something, and then gave it up as they trudged after, reluctance in every motion.
Not too long after, the first of your escorts exits and heads back to his seat. The patrol captain sticks his head out and looks towards one of you. "Alright, you next."
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