Kichiro feels anger welling up within him as the bandit shouts at him. Likely these men were robbing another, and they dared tell him to leave? Almost subconsciously he continues to stalk forward, lips pulling back in a most un-kitsune-like snarl as his body begins to change...
Satoshsi thinks to himself how those who were in the business of getting into other peoples' business so often hypocritically declared it to not be others' business, but mostly that he wasn't fond of wanton banditry. Though there was a chance this was something else, possibly.
While the bandits knew that someone was there, just what exactly was going on was something else entirely.
"Alright, you were warned!", one shouts, looking about for anyone else.
The lookout draws a weapon, facing towards the direction that the two of you were seen, a dagger now in his hand.
The individual being robbed was starting to look a little panicked, though they were held by the front of their clothes, and the one holding them had a weapon, so they were trying to refrain from making any sudden moves.
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No map at present, I'll have to get back into fiddling with Google Photos or Ye Olde Map Maker.
Kichrio drops to all fours and stalks forward, his body swelling up larger as he walks. By the time he's stopped changing, he resembles a fox the size of a bear with dark red/brown fur, a horn mid-forehead that splits in two halfway down its length, and his kitsune form's split tail.
It feels... good to change... he feels powerful, but while the anger within him threatens to overwhelm his mind Kichiro stays in control.
Satoshi bares his teeth. "Warnings aren't necessary for bandits. You already know that what you're doing could get you killed, right?"
He then takes careful aim at the bandit accosting the traveler (and thus likely distracted) and fires.
He then reloads his crossbow for the next shot.
The bandit holding their target still goes down with almost no evidence of being hit. Their arm is at an awkward angle but they are down, and do not move.
The other bandit that had threatened them does not even look back at their companion, so distracted are they by the changes that Kichiro enacts. As he stalks closer, a decision is made and they turn and flee.
For that matter, the target takes one look at what was coming, and takes off at a tear in another direction, the mule braying in fear with the rest and begins to run away as well.
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I will have to check my other games. I know I managed a link to an interactive map, but it's been a while.
With a snarl, Kichiro sprints after the fleeing bandit, his swift strides quickly closing the distance between them.
Kichiro is not silent when he is chasing the fleeing bandit, and can easily close with him despite his panicked flight. That they had fled along the road made the chase even easier, and just as Kichiro is upon him, he attempts a desperate attack, knowing that their fate is the same of their companion unless someone or something intervenes.
However, running away and then turning to fight in the midst of a panic is not the most ideal of situations, and his attempt to attack is more like a slash in the air in his general direction.
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The thought that maybe, just maybe, he didn't need to kill this bandit had been creeping into Kichiro's mind, but flinching back from the bandit's wild swing banished that thought. Enraged he bit and clawed at the man with wild abandon.
Kichiro is awkward in this unfamiliar new shape, not to mention completely unaccustomed to combat, so his attacks are far from well-aimed.
The bite is the only of Kichiro's attacks that connect, as his following attacks miss due to the bandit pulling away and a tooth catching on his armor.
Still, that bite definitely sinks home, and the bandit tastes good.
Another panicked slash misses, and the bandit probably has not realized that he's yelling, a primal sound of desperation and fear.
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The yelling only urges Kichiro on... along with the taste of blood, of course. He continues his assault in a feral frenzy, heedless of the danger of the dagger.
Satoshi took some time catching up to Kichiro .
"Umm... try not to go overboard Kichiro! It might be better to have someone to question than to just tear them apart...."
Though he was probably too late at this point.
The bandit falls unconscious at the second bite from Kichiro, and the following claw was enough to finish them. Caught in his jaws, the claw ripping across their lower stomach under the armor, the smell of their vital organs was almost overpowering.
After all, dead individuals had no need of their vital organs, and leaving them was a waste, right?
The braying of the mule could be heard still, off in a direction that was more back towards the direction that Satoshi was in, than towards town. As for the one that (had been in the process of)being robbed, they would have to be tracked down, but at least there was a pretty good chance of finding him.
—Assuming that they did not try to flee towards town, that was.
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It smelled... so good... so hungry...
No. No, what was he doing? Kichiro caught himself, jaws open, ready to tear into the dead man's chest. He'd... he... he'd just killed a man with his own teeth and claws.
He had claws.
Horrified, he scrampled backward, subconsciously shifting from this monstrous form back to kitsune form as he did. How had he done that? How close had he come to tearing out that man's... okay, don't think about that, it was making his stomach growl.
Standing up shakily he turned towards his brother, horror clear on his face. "Satoshi, I... how... what happened?"
Satoshi scratched his head. "I didn't really think about it much in the heat of things, but it was pretty clear that you shape-shifted into some kind of quadrupedal fox-monster and mauled that bandit to death. Good to see I was at least able to snap you out of it. Though I would recommend trying to figure out better control."
He hoped his matter-of-fact tone was comforting rather than troubling, partly because being emotional about the subject would probably only make it worse.
Kichiro shudders and backs farther away from the corpse. "I just... killed him," he says, shakily. "I... we... I should... wash this blood off, and change... human form, get the donkey, get away from the smell..."
He's clearly not very coherent right now.
Satoshi did his best not to think too much about how he'd also just shot a man dead with a single bolt. It had been almost too easy. He hoped that didn't mean that he was actually a sociopathic murderer or something...
"Y-Yeah, we should go someplace else and clean ourselves up. I mean, I guess I knew that there were monsters and bandits out here, but having to actually kill people is kind of distressing."
Kichiro nods jerkily, walking in a random direction, caring only that it was away from the scene. "I should have just chased him off... once he was running I should have just chased him off... but he made me so angry, and I, I... I couldn't stop, and..."
He fumbled for his waterskin and started squeezing water out over his hands, trying to wash off the blood.
"At least I stopped before I... before I..."
Satoshi did his best to be comforting. Though he wasn't sure if he should pat Kichiro on the shoulder, or look for more water, or maybe brew another of those potions just for comfort purposes.
"Yes, you stopped before things went altogether too far. Take the small victory. And... maybe we should try to avoid fighting people if we can. Though I can't help but wonder if we're going to have to at some point. I... I guess I shot someone too. I.. feel like I should be more broken up about it than I am. I hope that isn't a problem..."
Kichiro takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "I suppose... now I know I can do that. If... if we ever have to defend ourselves. Though I think... I shouldn't stand near you if I do it again."
He shudders. "Do you think... what do you think that man will say in town? Is it... safe to go back?"
Satoshi paused and thought for a long moment, processing.
"I think... that it might be a good thing we looked different right now than we do in town. Though, at the same time, we did save him from the bandits, so that should be good marks for us. Just... might want to think up an explanation about how we're not were-creatures or something like that. Hmmm, I've heard of druids who could take on the forms of beasts. Maybe that would be a decent cover story for you?"
"Well... he never saw our human forms, right? So at least that part we've got covered. Maybe we should just pretend we don't know anything about it? Still... I feel like we should grab his donkey. Just say we were walking around, heard a commotion, and came and saw his donkey?"
Satoshi thought for a moment.
"Bringing the donkey is likely to make at least the cleverer people think we were involved somehow. But at the same time it probably is the least we can do to sort of apologize for the scary rescue? But yeah, our human forms at least shouldn't draw attention as much."
Kichiro shifts back to his human form. "Well, we'll just have to be good at shifting the focus from that idea. Because I do feel bad about..."
He pauses and reaches up to his face. "There's... blood on my face still, isn't there?"
Satoshi reluctantly nodded.
"Yeah. Probably need to clean that off. Are we... going to have to get used to this? It's kind of scary thinking we've barely left home and already run into bandits. There's supposed to be monsters out on the roads sometimes too..."
"Ummm... have some water? I used all of mine on my hands..." Kichiro mutters. After a moment he shakes himself and answers, "I... really hope not. We should be able to defend ourselves without... that."
He shudders. "So I think the donkey went... this way?" He leads off in the direction he thinks the beast went.
After a minute of cleaning himself to an acceptable degree, the two of you set out to find the mule.
The tracks for the mule are easily found and followed by Kichiro. Where the grass before was a hindrance to finding the smaller creatures, the donkey is larger and weighted down. The trail that it left was wide.
In what takes barely twenty minutes to follow the trail to the beast, you only encounter a couple of items that seem to have fallen from the creature, as there is no dirt or weathering on them. The trail crosses itself a couple of times as the creature fled, but the two of you find it grazing on the younger grasses in a lower patch, not too far off. It is fortunate that it did not injure itself as the items that are strapped to its back are quite numerous and the lot of them are more than two people could easily carry.
While it spares the two of you a look when you arrive, after a tense couple of seconds, it snorts and goes back to grazing what it can from the grasses.
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Cask(small) labeled "Homoum's Hazelnut Blaze"
A wrapped fishing net
Cask(small) of oil
Kichiro does pick up the items, figuring they should return them if they could. He pauses when he sees the mule, letting it get used to his presence. He takes his time getting closer, trying to avoid spooking it.
Lacking any skill with animals himself, Satoshi stayed a bit further away to not be a detriment to the process.
Cautiously approaching over the span of a handful of minutes— and a couple tense stare-offs that seemed like it might bolt again if it thought it was being threatened– Kichiro is eventually standing next to the mule without it deciding to flee. He does get briefly examined for any treats, but finding none, the creature gives a snort and resumes grazing.
The items that fell off were nothing compared to the amount of items that still remain, a testament to the packing skill of the... merchant? Likely, since the laden saddlebags and covered mountain of items seemed far too diverse for a villager.
Regretting that he doesn't have any treats with which to bribe the beast, Kichiro cautiously tries to go for its lead.
The creature barely pauses in its grazing, though a disinterested eye is given towards the hand easing towards the lead that had fallen to trail on the ground in its grazing path. No more than simple rope, it is at least well maintained, much like the gear under all the items on the mule.
A tug is all that is needed to get it walking in the direction it was tugged, the items jostling a little bit, but still remaining secure.
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Kichiro starts carefully leading the mule back towards the village. "That... wasn't as hard as I was afraid it would be."
Satoshi nodded, still making sure to remain out of kicking range of the mule just in case.
"I guess it's well trained?"
Traveling back towards the village is just a matter of Kichiro taking a second to reorient and then setting off in that direction. If the tree in front of the shrine were larger, it would make an excellent landmark, but not yet. The hills, while what some might describe as "gentle", do raise high enough to block the view of the town.
Satoshi would note eventually, that aside from the forest being somewhat level in relation, Miumi does seem to be in a gradual depression. Though, it is large enough that only after seeing the town from their position outside of it, that it can be discerned.
The road, however is not difficult to encounter, and does make it easier to lead the mule. The taller grasses did have a tendency to pull at some of the goods loaded onto it. At the pace that the two of you appear to be setting, it will be just under an hour before you return.
After a walking a while in silence, Kichiro spoke, more just to avoid being alone with his thoughts than because he really thought it needed to be said. "So... probably we should go into the village and pretend to ask around about who's lost a mule, so we don't reveal we saw the trader."
Satoshi fidgeted nervously.
"Maybe I'll... just stay quiet... so I don't give everything away immediately."
Accustomed to walking, the distance between you and the town disappears quickly. The road contributes greatly to the reduction of any of the difficulties that you may have encounted with the terrain or its denizens. The grass itself seems to be trimmed away or at least an effort appears to have been made to keep the taller grasses away from the edges of the town.
Nearing the torii that mark the borders of the town on the road, you see the two guards paying attention to someone. It appears to be the trader that was being robbed, in the middle of speaking to the guards. From his stooped posture and unkempt clothing, looks like he may have run the entire way. Impressive, since Satoshi can recall that while the mule took off one way, they went in the other, and both of those directions were not in the general direction of the town.
The conversation can be heard as you near.
"—ran! Whatever it was went after the bandit, and after a few seconds, I heard his screaming stop... I got here as fast as I could, after that. I lost Ruli, but my goods for my life is fine. I've never seen anything like it before!"
Kichiro glances at Satoshi, but says nothing to him. Instead he strides towards the three, leading the mule behind.
"Excuse me..." he says once he's in comfortable speaking distance. "I couldn't help overhearing. We heard a commotion as we were coming back from our walk and stumbled across this mule. It wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?"
"Ruli!"
The exclamation is both one of relief and joy as the man hurries over to the mule, and greets them with scratches and a handful of dried fruit.
The guards have their eye on the scene, as well as one of the passerby, but the expressions on their face is more amusement at the way the mule is being doted on.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! I am in your debt." Looking between the two of you, his bowing more of a hasty bobble, but there is no doubt about his sincerity. Getting a gauge of the man, he was somewhere in his third decade, and his clothing was comfortable and well-worn. Black hair was short, just long enough to do something with, and while there were lines of a hat in the tan on his head, there was no hat present. In fact, it seems that besides the couple of pouches on his belt, he had little else with him until the two of you returned the mule.
Realizing he had not yet introduced himself, the merchant gave a sheepish grin. "Apologies, sirs. My name is Dara, traveling merchant. I bring a good selection of some harder to find items, and one or two choice items for the acquired taste."
There was a knowing smile as he regained himself, a bit of the show of the sale. "I... have not set up yet, but should you be interested, you'll have what you want as a discount for saving Ruli."
Another handful of dried fruit is given to the mule who seemed to enjoy the attention and the treats, not much interest in anything else.
"There will have to be a patrol sent", one guard concludes, looking at his partner, who seems reluctant, but nods in agreement.
You are not sure about what the details of the story that was told, but they both look uncomfortable at the prospect.
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Kichiro relaxes just a bit when no one questions him on his story. "Thank you, sir," he says with a slight bow. "We probably won't be in town much longer, but hopefully we'll be able to stop by tomorrow morning before we leave. I'm glad we could help."
"I will be setting up around the Tree tomorrow", Dara confirms, overjoyed and relieved.
The other guard looked over the two of you, still not keen about going out to see whatever it was that Dara had described. It was quite understandable to want to avoid something that killed two bandits in barely a minute.
Still, the two of you are not questioned, and are free to do as you like. The afternoon is upon you, and evening will be in a few hours, so there is still time left in the day. The town is much livelier than before, with people conducting their businesses, shops open and trying to entice anyone with spare coin, while the sounds (and smells) of tradesmen working are distant, but present.
Satoshi fidgeted nervously, then let out a breath as the threat of discover apparently passed over.
[/b]"T-that was nerve-wracking. But it looks like we came out good? Maybe karma really does work."[/b]
Kichiro can't help but wince a bit at the mention of karma. "Let's just hope things continue to turn out well," he says aloud. "I... still don't really want to spend time in town right now. Should we continue our little walk in a different direction?"
Satoshi thought for a moment. "Probably best to stay moving a bit. But didn't we have an appointment? We don't want to miss things when we're not planning on staying here too long."
With an eye on the time, and a disinclination to remain within the walls of Miumi for at least a little while longer, the two of you set out again. Another exit that was not the way the two of you came in was used, both the night before and just recently.
An eye is kept on the time, and your roaming about is shorter than before, returning just a little while before what would truly be called "evening". The town has quieted some, the energy from midday dissipated with the heat to more of a lull as shops prepared to close, and inhabitants were heading to their homes, if not already there. Various smells drift through the air, whether it is the cooling tang of metal from the smith, or the traces of food being cooked. Over it all is the winds that blow from the grasslands, cooling and bringing the sounds of rustling in an ebb and flow of susurration.
The welcoming light of the Candlelight's Warmth is a brighter beacon amidst all the small lights of homes and shops, and the smells of food from its direction is tempting. There don't sound to be too many people inside, much like before, but there does seem to be a slightly louder boisterous tone that was not there before.
It is not a stretch to think that it might be the voice of Kangsho-Se.
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Kichiro was happy that they hadn't run into any more 'excitement' during the rest of their walk, though he had recognized some edible plants he'd filled up on before they headed back into town. Once back in Miumi he hurries back towards the inn, not wanting to linger on the streets and really just hoping to finish their business here quickly before moving on and putting everything behind them.
Satoshi is more pleased about a full pouch of herbs that could be used for alchemy ingredients, but free food is also always nice. He hurries after Kichiro, though he does wonder if maybe they should slow down a little. Rushing things seldom was a good idea.
As the two of you enter the inn, sitting in his usual place, Tiyun gives the both of you a look that attempts to convey something. Satoshi can pick up the slight apprehension and inquiry that it conveys, and the reason for it is likely in evidence.
Kangsho-Se sits at one of the tables near the middle of the common room, two other people sitting with him. A guard and a merchant are enjoying drinks and conversation with him, though it does not look like they have yet eaten. The guard is saying something brief, likely the end of a joke, given the laughter that follows it.
There is that brief moment of everyone looking towards the doors to see the two of you, likely a habit, no doubt. The laughter and conversation resumes just as fast.
Only one other table is occupied, and that seems to be a pair of early mourners, judging by their white overclothes.
A raise of his cup and a gesture to the table was Kangsho-Se's invitation to the two of you, but otherwise the conversation does not stop.