Satoshi paused as he thought back and considered things.
"I think... there are patterns. Some of the steps stay the same. I always dissolve the ingredients in weak acid, then neutralize it... and at least some of the ingredients are usually medicinal. It almost feels like... like this isn't quite the recipe, and I'm just making a series of close-enough substitutions that vary based on what's available. Great, now I wish I actually knew what those plants I used back in the ruins were..."
Kichiro's answer is taken in stride, her expression turning somewhat grim. "I feared as much. Tell me, are you aware of the symbolism that those organs carry?"
Satoshi's answer at least gets more of a positive response. She points over to the bookshelf to the left of the window as she gives him instructions. "That bookshelf. Third shelf, the start of the green books. That, and the next four books are a catalogue of the plants that have been found in this region. While I talk to your brother, give them a look through and tell me if you see what you used."
The books themselves are less "books" and more "journals", that a traveler would carry, though the size is just a shade past "slim". The leather that wraps the pages is dyed a green, likely from one (or several) of the grasses, no doubt. The process seems to be thorough, as there are no spots that are unevenly dyed that wear cannot account for. The type of leather though... Interesting.
Her attention goes back to Kichiro as she takes a sip of her tea— now lukewarm– and makes a face of distaste. "...It's never as good if it isn't hot", she lamented with a glance at the cup as she set it to the side. Curious, she considered something. "You can smell the organs, but have you been able to discern anything from what you smell?"
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Kichiro shakes his head. "I was... well... I never really cared for symbolism much."
He frowns in thought a bit at Chieko's second question. "I hadn't really thought about it... I mean, I try to think about the whole thing as little as possible. So no, but I haven't tried?"
Satoshi starts paging through the books... through they were more like binders or ledgers, maybe. Still, it would be quite helpful if he could discover exactly what it was he'd used that day. A corner of his mind wondered about the construction and compilation of the collection, but he pushed away thoughts of improvements on cataloguing techniques for later.
"Well, it would be something if you craved the heart specifically, but the other vital organs are not without some significance. The liver has something to do with emotions, or feelings, which could imply that what is influencing you may have none or wants more."
Her face grows stern for her next words.
"While you may— in time– be able to discern things from the scent of another's organs, indulging in that may open yourself further to it."
She deflates with a sigh. "This is, however, beyond my knowledge. I can write you a letter to speak with someone that may know more, and I have a spell that might work in the short term, but that is about the extent of my aid."
As near as Satoshi can tell, the pages are arranged from common to uncommon, though there are a couple of notes on usage and efficacy by introduction. Still, nothing fits what you had seen in the ruins.
"That would be far more than we had yesterday, so we'd be grateful for it. Um... who are you thinking of sending us to?"
"My teacher may be some help, but I am cautious of simply referring you to someone that I do not know personally. Some solutions could be woefully short-sighted." The way she said it, the guess of how they might "solve" Kichiro's problem would not be favorable.
A long sigh escaped her lips as she looked at the table, considering. "Knowledge would be the simplest thing, so searching out a library may help... I can send you to my teacher, I suppose. He may be able to discern more, but your situation is undoubtedly unique."
Satoshi's perusal of the collections of documentation on the plant life on the area continued, having gone through the first ledger, and was on to the second. Some of the names were new to him, such as "True Sneezewort", and "Traveller's Plant", but it was seeming that they were also organized by environment as well.
"Hmmm, as I rather suspected, I haven't seen anything much like what was there yet. It would be too convenient if it were something common... and I even wonder if the ingredients I used back then were truly the whole entirety of what I might need. Hrrrmmph.. it's frustrating working with a recipe that seems to be so derived from instinct and knowledge that I wonder where it came from. I'd really prefer if I understood the principles better. Maybe I should start cataloguing what I use each time, see if there are patterns in properties, symbolism, essence, or so forth. Though for now I've got more ledgers to skim..."
Satoshi was half talking to himself, half talking to the others as he continued to peruse the volumes even as half-formed plans threatened to distract him... or was the ledger a distraction from the plans?
"Ummm... so who is your teacher? How far would it be?"
"Guoten Shuma", she replied. "He's the head priest of the temple at Sakakabe. We were in the same class when we were training."
A fond smile passed over her face for a moment. "While we both studied, he was a bit more... focused than I was. Getting him to relax was harder than many thought, and getting him to take a drink? Ha! Forget it!"
She shook her head, waving away the memories of her past, though that smile never entirely faded. "Three and a half weeks is about how long it took when we were travelling, though that was with a few more people and carts. We also took a detour to the Shuryo Onsen, since it was on the way."
She considered the two of you, and gave a shrug. "The two of you may be able to make better time, but a straight path would take you through the foothills of the Sankyodai mountains, as well as the nearby forest..." She shook her head, contemplating the possibilities. "More chance of danger, too."
The ledger that Satoshi was on got a raised eyebrow, and a thoughtful look. "Start from the other end," she suggested. "I suspect what may have been common for you is unsurprisingly uncommon for this area."
Satoshi paused for a moment before it clicked.
"Oh... yeah, I guess the Forest of Spirits is apparently a forbidden zone to most other people, rather than right out their back doors..."
Satoshi went to the other end of the books, and started looking through from rare to less rare plants.
The names are recognized as major locations, with enough prestige that people seek them out, and as such, they are quite sizable. The Onsen is somewhat self-explanatory, though for it to be mentioned in the same breath as Sakakabe means it is quite the leisure destination. Sakakabe is a coastal town that was built on an old structure, with its profits coming from mining in the nearby mountains and the bounty of the nearby reefs.
Chiyo chuckled at Satoshi's realization. "Not many dare to tread where the spirits make their home. Only those that demonstrate great respect or secure a pact with some of the greater spirits can go about their day unbothered by the smaller ones..."
If there were any pacts, the two of you were unaware of them. That does not rule out one of the other inhabitants handling some part— or all– of that, but there was not anything blatanly obvious to either of you.
One plant stands out in the pages to Satoshi, a plant called "Tread-softly", as well as another labeled as "Hound's Berry". The notations on the two have notations on ecology that match what the ruin had become, as well as some notations regarding difficulty in transplanting, and some questions about practical uses.
_______________________________________The names are recognized as major locations, with enough prestige that people seek them out, and as such, they are quite sizable. The Onsen is somewhat self-explanatory, though for it to be mentioned in the same breath as Sakakabe means it is quite the leisure destination. Sakakabe is a coastal town that was built on an old structure, with its profits coming from mining in the nearby mountains and the bounty of the nearby reefs.
Chiyo chuckled at Satoshi's realization. "Not many dare to tread where the spirits make their home. Only those that demonstrate great respect or secure a pact with some of the greater spirits can go about their day unbothered by the smaller ones..."
If there were any pacts, the two of you were unaware of them. That does not rule out one of the other inhabitants handling some part— or all– of that, but there was not anything blatantly obvious to either of you.
One plant stands out in the pages to Satoshi, a plant called "Tread-softly", as well as another labeled as "Hound's Berry". The notations on the two have notations on ecology that match what the ruin had become, as well as some notations regarding difficulty in transplanting, and some questions about practical uses.
"Right, so, to Sakakabe. We'll make sure to be stocked up... I suppose leave tomorrow?" Kichiro looks to his brother to see if he's any other thoughts.
Satoshi nods and scribbles down a few notes to remind himself of the identities of these plants.
"I think I found a couple of the plants I used, though getting more would still be tricky... and I'll probably need to be significantly more skilled to truly prepare them properly. So... that's probably all I can manage here and now. Leaving tomorrow would be fine."
Chiyo nods her head in understanding. "I will have a letter ready for you tomorrow." Her hands move in motions that seem reminiscent of a tea ceremony as her voice raised in an intoned saying. "When hungry, eat; when tired, rest...".
There was a rising sense of attention before it faded away with a clap of her hands, and she opened her eyes as her posture relaxed. "I have done what I could do for your hunger, hopefully that helps the next time that you rest."
Serviceable copies of the two plants and their information are carefully taken by Satoshi, and the journals are returned.
Kichiro exhales slightly. "Thank you... thank you," he breathes. "Anything... anything helps."
Satoshi gave what he at least hoped was a respectful half-bow.
"I-it's really kind of you to help so much, even though we're strangers."
"Not as much as you might think", Chiyo responded, bowing back. "Your parents are quite impressive for what they are doing there, and it was the least I could do to repay the kindness they showed me when I visited. I only wish that I could do more."
She does pour each of you another cup of tea if you wish, content to take a minute and just enjoy the view of the world from the window of this side room-turned-study before she took a deep breath and readied herself to step outside of the peace that had begun to sink in. When the two of you are ready, she leads you out, where you can see one of the acolytes speaking to another member of the town. Gauging by the expression on their faces it is more of a social situation than an imperative, but pleasant nonetheless.
It is now closer to mid-morning than noon, and the day still lies ahead of you.
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Kichiro thanks Chieko at least three more times before they finally leave the shrine. Once out, he looks over to his brother.
"Well, we have an appointment in the evening... maybe... we should leave the village for a bit, take a look around at what land that's not the Forest loooks like?"
The look in his eyes clearly says 'I need to get away from people for a bit' to his brother.
Satoshi looked over at Kichiro, saw the expression, and nodded.
"We could maybe look at some of the local plants and things. Or even do a little hunting, if you think that would be helpful."
"Hunting?" Kichiro is silent for a bit. "I... don't know if it would help, exactly, but... it might be... I should maybe see... what I can do, when it wouldn't hurt anyone. So... we've got everything with us, right? So... just pick a direction and walk for an hour or so?"
Satoshi thought about the town and surroundings... and how little he knew about them, really.
"Pretty. At least, as long as we're not really going for anything in particular, it doesn't really matter much which way we go."
"Well... let's just go out the way we came and then pick a direction. Maybe south?"
Satoshi shrugged. "Don't see why not. There will probably be new herbs in any direction if I look for them, and things should be safe as long as we don't stray too far from the town... and since we want to be back by evening, we shouldn't be going that far anyway. Shall we go?"
Kichiro nods and starts leading the way out of the village.
The walk out of the village of Miumi only takes a few minutes, and no one stops you as you exit. Just past the arch that marks the beginning of the village, the ground gradually comes to be reclaimed by nature, foot and vehicle transit around the immediate area of the village wearing down some of the grasses that can easily rise to calf, thigh, and chest in some places. The air is cool, a the last remnants of a light fog just barely visible over the ground and top of the grasses.
The sound of the village fades the further you walk, along with the smells, the green scent of plants and that peculiar heaviness of the moisture fading with the rising sun. As you continue away, all that remains is the road, is you, the sound of the wind through the grasses, the feel of the sun on you...
For Kichiro, there is also the Hunger, but it seems to be quieter when there are not that many people nearby.
Kichrio takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the scent of his brother and focus on the rest. "Time to go off-road?" he asks, then turns south and starts wading through the grass without waiting for a response.
Satoshi nodded, and hustled after his brother. "I wonder what things are like out here. This isn't a forest anymore..."
The area around Miumi is very much a sea of grass as the name does imply. The chill of spring is fading as the mid-morning sun continues to rise, but the growing grasses provide no small amount of insulation to its denizens. Sparsely, trees dot the land here and there, but the various grasses dominate the view. Occasional sounds of birds can be heard further out, but around the two of you there is just the sound of wind through the grasses. In the very far distance, the rise of what may be mountains— or the closest hills– can be seen.
"This is different," Kichiro agrees, with a mix of joy and trepidation.
He's not so fond of how little he can see out in the thick grass... but on the other hand, he should safely be able to do this now. He changes to his true form, giving his split tail a quick look to make sure it hasn't changed further over the last few days of human-form traveling. He's somewhat relieved to see it hasn't.
Turning forward he sniffs at the air, sorting through the new scents for anything interesting.
"We'll want to make sure we keep track of which direction is back to town," he comments to his brother as he sniffs about.
"That shouldn't be too hard, as long as we remember which direction we're going. You can see the sun a lot better out here, so telling directions should be easier."
Satoshi also took the opportunity to change back to his true form; it was nice to let his fur out at least some of the time.
Kichiro is able to pick up on the differences between the normal terrain of the forest to that of the grassy plains almost immediately. There is less to be aware of above you, which lets you give more attention to what is around you. Traces of creatures are easy to spot in the grass, that is not all chest height. It seems to be a particular type of grass that as of now is only chest height. Other types of grasses are only thigh, calf, or knee height, but there seems to be some sort of relationship between the types.
It is different, the sounds and scents— some are not as heavy as those in the forest, while others are entirely new, and take some time to adjust. The two of you spend some time ranging, some attention given to the time when Kichiro picks up on the traces of something.
Small humanoids, small four-legged mammals. The tracks lead off in a direction further away from the town, and as you follow them further, there seems to be some blood.
Kichiro frowns as he sniffs at the odd trail. "What do you suppose this is...?" he murmurs to himself as he follows the tracks, only half-conscious of his brother as he focuses on the trail.
Given what Satoshi has picked up from just listening to conversations that were able to be heard in the town, it could be a large number of things. The creatures of the plains were not specifically known, though there were some commonalities between there and the forest. The point of variance is in how much the ecology of the forest differed from the ecology of the plains, since there was certainly less of a spiritual presence.
At an educated guess, there were few things that could be found that left tracks of the size that his brother was indicating, and this close to the town, anything larger would be a cause for alarm. It was likely to be goblins, though the four-legged tracks were an uncertain thing. It could be a dog of some sort, or dogs?
Satoshi scratches his head a bit as he follows after Kichiro.
"Looks like maybe goblins? I'm not really that sure. But it shouldn't be anything too dangerous this close to town... or if it is we should probably scout it and then warn the townsfolk."
Kichiro nods silently and keeps tracking. Goblins could be bad news. They'd have to be careful. But he found himself flexing his hands, a hint of thrill teasing at him at the idea of fighting.
Following the trail is not too difficult, especially with the taller grasses having been pushed aside in some places. The tracks do continue until the first body is encountered, a feral canine that seems to have bled out from its wounds. There are no other bodies in the immediate area around it, but it is clear that there was certainly a fight involved, judging by the blood on its teeth and some nearby traces.
A poor dagger is able to be located after some searching, practically useless gauging by the rust on the blade and its broken edges. This was under some grass that had been flattened, almost unnoticeable until nearly stepped on. The knife seemed to be poorly crafted to begin with, the metal weak and imperfect.
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Kichiro frowns at the corpse. "Did the goblins kill it? Or was it fighting alongside the goblins? If it is goblins, of course..."
He looks at the tracks in the area to see if he can figure it out.
Satsoshi thought about the situation.
"It probably was killed by the goblins or whatever; dogs don't use knives, and there's no real signs of anything else here to have killed it... but why? And if they did, why didn't they take the body with them to eat?"
All that can be determined from the creature is that while it is most likely a wild dog, little more can be determined beyond that. The tracks resolve themselves into chaos as you take a closer look. There are so many going in so many different directions that Kichiro is relatively certain that there were more than just two combatants. Anything more than that is lost to the unfamiliar terrain and multiple sources.
"That's why I wonder if they were fighting something else and it killed the dog... they could have broken the knife fighting whatever it was. I can't make sense of the tracks here, though. I wonder where they went next?"
Kichiro starts searching around for signs of where the tracks went after this. Perhaps if he'd thought harder about what he was doing he'd realize it was very strange of him to be so dedicated to hunting these goblins. After all, he'd never been a warrior or anything. But right now, he was acting as much on instinct as anything else, and that instinct said to follow the goblins.
The chaos of the tracks is a mess. They seem to go back and forth, at one point over the fallen canine, other times, into the taller grass before coming back out, and when Kichiro tries to find a way forward, it makes no sense. Either the tracks were missed, or covered, or something, but all the tracks that he can find lead back to this area.
The sun is now up, and almost overhead, the slight warmth not helping the growing smell of the carcass, though there is a carrion bird flying wide circles above.
"Well... I can't make sense of the tracks from here," Kichiro says, disappointment plain in his voice. "I guess it's back to wandering for a bit longer, then?"
Satoshi shrugged.
"I suppose so. Staying around here is getting smelly, anyway. Let's just keep an eye out for whatever made the tracks. Getting ambushed by goblins wouldn't be much fun."
The trail lost in the area of the scuffle, the three of you continue to wander, Kichiro's skill at navigating the land in general allowing the two of you to find enough to sustain yourselves for the day, if you were so inclined. The sun continues to rise, and with it overhead, the day finally feels warm enough that the chill of this morning can be forgotten about. Often, Kichiro finds himself glancing up into trees that are not there, a habit from learning in the forest.
As the route you take is more wandering than it is intent on any specific destination, you do happen upon a traveler, just off of the side of the road, being accosted by two individuals in masks and cloaks!
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Instinctually Kichiro drops low, teeth bared in a silent growl. He stalks forward, both parts of him agreeing that these men have to be stopped... but for different reasons.
Satoshi was about to say something, then notices Kichiro's drop into a stealth posture. Wordlessly, he nods, and creeps forward himself, after loading his crossbow. Easy bolt-range would be close enough if he could reach it unnoticed.
It looks like there is a verbal exchange going on, though only one of the individuals has any visible weapons in hand, and they are the one that is keeping lookout. While little else can be seen of the brigands, the traveler is leading a mule that is idly chewing on grass some twenty feet away from the scene. There are packs and saddlebags secured to either side of the uncaring creature, though no saddle.
The traveler has a larger backpack that looks to have been discarded, as it lay in the dirt between the mule and their current position.
Tensions are high and while there may be some interrogation going on, both the lookout and the traveler manage to see through your attempts to hide, and it is the lookout that turns and briefly says something to the other, before calling out.
"You! Yea, you! No business of yours is here, mind your own!"
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