"Uhm, yes we have," Aki replies.
"My name's Zhao Aki. These people are Zeng Rixin, Huan, and Yuka." Aki turns to you, Huan, and Yuka respectively as she tells the men your names.
"What happened here...?"
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Aki grins and shakes her head. "Not so sure if this 'brave' thing is as easy as you make it sound, not for most people. But I'll remember your advice, thanks."
"I have mixed feelings," Aki tells you, casting a quick glance at Yuka before returning her eyes to you. "It may sound a bit weird, but... Even though I feel the pressure to help my city, I also feel some excitement for being tasked with this mission. Like, I'm both worried and happy... You get what I mean?"
"I don't know them personally, but I've seen them around," Aki tells you. "I've heard Wang Chao has great ambitions and often volunteers for dangerous jobs to prove his worth, hoping to one day claim a high position in Muliwan or even Ordu-Aganhei. His brother, Chen, I don't really know much about. Except that he's usually found wherever Chao goes. Lee Jing used to work in the grocery store. A friendly guy, but not the type I'd imagine in a scouting party. I guess his family needed the money." Aki nods as you suggest to go talk to Huan. "We could use his skills and knowledge of the area."
Aki takes a look at the map and nods. "I know that spot, I've been there before. It takes half a day if you decide to traverse the swamps west of the forest, but if you cut through the forest and follow the lake's eastern edge it'll take less. The undergrowth is easy to traverse there." She points at a spot halfway between Muliwan and where the scouts' set up their camp. "Yuka lives there. I reckon we can find Huan there if he's not at his own home. Unless... he's out hunting somewhere..."
The doors give way to a room devoid of furnishings. Another door sits in the back of the room, and two city guards stand on either side. Aki walks up to the city guards with you. "We request a meeting with the elders," Aki states. One of the guards replies: "The elders are currently busy. They do not wish to be interrupted." "We come to provide help." "I have to ask you to return later." Aki looks a bit annoyed when she turns to you and whispers, "They'll still be busy 'later.' What do we do?"
Aki returns your smile with a smile of her own, albeit a slightly wry one. "We have a city hall where the meetings are held. If things are truly dire I suspect the elders are currently there, discussing how deal with the situation." She leads you through the busy main street and another, smaller but equally busy, street. You stop in front of a wooden port that blocks access to a small courtyard. A grind path leads up from the port to the double doors of a stately building with red walls that lack windows. Aki pushes the port open and proceeds toward the double doors, but paused in front of the doors. "If we're going to offer to do some scouting, maybe we can ask Huan for help?" she opts.
Aki seems to have noticed that you picked up on her unease. "Is there something we can do? This is where I was born and raised, I don't want to see this place overrun by oni..."
Aki then chimes in to tell you some details: "Hongal's governed by a Khanate of loosely affiliated tribes. My guess is the Khan will gather the tribes' leaders, a thing that's usually done right here in Muliwan due to the city's somewhat central position." DC 10 Sense Motive:
You notice Aki's very troubled by the news about the oni, a fact she's not able to hide very well. Fail the above check: Aki doesn't seem the least bit worried by the news about the oni.
"I have no idea," Aki responds while also looking around.
Aki points at a couple of men down the street, barely visible in the moving mass of carts and humans. "They look like tribesmen. You know, the nomads who don't live in the city. We don't see them here often." You also spot the two men, who are clad in the same hides as the nomads you met before you came to Muliwan.
Aki wakes not much later, and after she's eaten a bit and has washed her face you pack up camp. The journey back to Muliwan is uneventful, but Aki is in high spirits. "I can't wait for us to leave to Ordu-Aganhei! I'm dying to know what Avistan will be like! Heck, I'm dying to know what Ordu-Aganhei looks like! I've never even been there, or anywhere far away!" It takes several hours for you to reach the busy main street that leads into the small city. The street's as filled with carts, people, and animals as it always is, but while you walk through the street you notice there's something off. There's a tension, visible in the expressions of the people you pass.
Aki bows as well. "I'd be honored to journey to the Crown and beyond with you, Zeng Rixin from Goka!" A wicked grin shows an Aki's face when she straightens herself. "Didn't Dung say that I'd be dead weight while traveling? I'll prove him wrong!"
Aki brings her fist to her mouth as she coughs. "No, thank you!" she says laughingly.
During the next hour you try to teach Aki more, but after a minute or ten Aki ends up reading alone. She occasionally asks you the meaning of a character though, and so her vocabulary still increases.
After an hour or so Huan returns to your camp. He's quiet though, and heads straight for the campfire. After tossing some more small branches on the fire he speaks. "I think the pick-nick with the ghosts was a good experience for Yuka. She's struggling though. She never sees anyone but me, and today she met both of you and went to see the kami she's scared off." You cook some of the meat you still have from the boar you killed and eat your dinner. Huan doesn't say much during dinner, and does his best to avoid any questions you may have about pretty much anything. After dinner he gets up. Seemingly recharged he cracks a grin as he looks at Aki. "Shall we try some archery?"
Huan continues where Aki's last training ended; shooting moving targets. He throws up several objects he's apparently brought with him, ranging from a wooden bowl to a wooden spoon, and tells Aki to hit the targets. As time ticks by Aki's presented with less and less of the larger targets, but she still manages to hit almost every object Huan throws up in the air.
At the end of the training Huan lets out a hearty laugh. "That's amazing! Lass, I nothing else to teach you!" Aki grins from ear to ear and she proudly turns to you. "You hear that?!"
Aki makes very swift progress during the hour you sit down with her to practice her writing skills. It's like all the things you've tried to teach her during previous days suddenly make sense, and all falls into place.
"Starting with reading was really hard, but I feel like I'm finally moving forward!" Aki says happily, obviously very pleased by how she's progressing.
"I would." Aki reaches behind her back, gently touching her longbow. "I don't think I would've been able to learn how to do what you taught me without your help, Huan." Huan cracks a smile and raises an index finger. "Thanks, lass. See you guys in a bit." After walking for a bit you arrive back at your camp. "So... what now?" Aki asks while looking at you expectantly.
Aki cocks her head a bit while listening to you, but makes no remarks about what you said about your own intentions. "I hope to find my father," Aki tells Yuka. "He is, or was, an adventurer from Avistan."
"Hey, how do you feel?" Aki asks with a concerned voice.
Aki reads the first couple of signs. "She really doesn't like visitors..."
Once you've left the tea party, Aki whispers, "They're friendly, but a bit... special?" "What do you suggest, about the tea? It will take more than a day to go to town and buy it. You know of some other way to get tea...?"
"We could just ask her...?" Aki says, sounding like she's not really sure if that'd work.
Aki giggles a bit at the banter between the two spirits.
Aki walks over and carefully sits down next to you and the female spirit. She looks a bit cautious.
Aki blinks, a look of utter confusion spread across her face.
"I'm... not really sure," Aki answers. "They're supposed to be friendly or neutral, but I've never seen one before..."
Aki ponders for a moment. "Sounds like it could be interesting. Hmm... Yes, alright. Let's do it."
Aki appears from the tree line, stretching her arms above her head. "Went for a short walk when I saw Huan was already up," she says to you. "So, what are we doing today?"
"Alright," Aki says and nods at you. Aki sits near the fire for some more time, watching Huan build his shelter. She eventually picks up her book, checks if it's dry, puts it in her backpack, and enters the tent.
The book drops in the snow and Aki lets out a horrified screech. "Aah!" She quickly picks it up again. "No, no, no, no, no!" Luckily the book's pages are all undamaged, but the cover's now got a wet spot. Aki quickly guess over to the fire and places the book on a dry rock next to it, to let it dry.
Aki's able to learn the new letters and words a lot faster than last time you sat down with her. It helps that she's remembered everything you taught her last time. After about half an hour of studying Aki takes her book and asks, "Could you help me read the first page?"
"I'd like a break, for now," Aki tells you. "Let's try reading in, like, half an hour?" Once some time's passed Aki approaches you with the writing supplies. "Okay... where were we?"
"Thanks, Rixin!" Aki tells you, smiling broadly. She beams with confidence after the training, but you have a feeling she tries to avoid overconfidence this time.
Aki adjusts her grip on the stick you handed her according to Huan's advice, and does an excellent job in keeping her distance from him. While Huan gets a couple of taps in, most of his attempt to tap her do fail. What's more, she even even manages to counter and tap Huan twice during the training. Your distractions throw Aki off when you first start talking to her, as she wasn't expecting you to start a conversation mid-training. She adjust quickly, though, and soon is talking to you without letting this affect her training. "I expect the most dangerous part of the Crown will be the High Ice," Aki responds to you, meanwhile dodging one of Huan's attempts to tap her shoulder with his stick. "It's a huge plateau where many dangerous creatures live, and it's as north and cold as you can get. I don't really know what to expect from Avistan. I've heard there are many different cultures and, like within Tian Xia, many different nations."
"Guess we can," Aki replies to Huan. She looks at you. "You think that's a good idea?"
"Dodging and blocking, mostly," Aki responds, "and keeping a proper distance to an attacker."
"No, it's mine. I was having a bit of a hard time with that as well..."
Aki takes your hand when you help her stand, then takes her bow again. She listens to Huan's explanation while watching his example, after which she tries to shoot the branches he throws up.
This time, Aki nails it. She's able to shoot every branch Huan throws up, even the ones he throws a bit silly to catch her by surprise.
Aki casts an annoyed look at Huan, shakes her head in disdain, and turns back to you. She takes a deep breath in while closing her eyes again, holds it for two heartbeats, and lets it out.
You notice Aki's breath is fully controlled this time, and after nearly a quarter of an hour she opens her eyes again. She smiles as she nods, letting you know she was able to do it this time.
Aki sits down across of you and closes her eyes. You notice her breathing's quite controlled, but after a while she opens her eyes and asks, "What do you do when you keep thinking of things...?"
This time Huan does an honest attempt to train Aki, but Aki lacks the concentration to focus on the challenge he sets her. "You hit stationary targets just fine, but not all targets are stationary," Huan tells Aki as he throws a branch in the air. She shoots an arrow at the branch, but misses. Aki continues to try shooting the branches Huan throws up, and continues to miss. After half an hour, she lowers her bow and shakes her head. "This is a lot harder..."
Aki's clearly annoyed by Huan's rude behavior, but stays quiet. She takes her bow and tries to shoot the dead tree, figuring she may as well try to improve her archery by trying to hit it, even if Huan's not being cooperative.
Aki shoots one arrow after the other into the dead tree's soft bark, creating a perfectly symmetric smiley face with the arrows. When she's done shooting, Aki gives Huan a triumphant look. She then turns to you and smiles proudly.
Aki shakes her head while looking at Huan's back. She turns to look at you with an expression that says "What's wrong with him?"
"That's Huan," Aki confirms, looking at the man with a raised eyebrow.
You notice Aki looks at you when you start doing the exercises, but she looks away when your eyes meet. After she's spent a minute or ten staring at the sky and tree tops, Aki gets up and heads toward you.
Aki gives you a confused look. "I have dreams that guide me, things I want to do and achieve. My values are based on what I think is good and proper. I always figured that was enough..."
During the training Aki's clearly not focused on what you're trying to teach her. Her thoughts seem to linger elsewhere. Your teaching itself isn't making the situation any better. Due to the way Aki handled herself so well last time, you decide to step up the pace of your attacks, but this time she doesn't seem able to block anything at all. Your attacks don't hit Aki hard, but after fifteen consecutive times Aki throws her naginata on the ground and walks off. "I need a moment," she says emotionally, and sits down on the other side of a tree at the edge of your camp.
"A lot of people in Hongal pray to Kofusachi, the Laughing God, god of joy and prosperity. Those who live close to the Forest of Spirits often worship the kami that live here." Aki takes a look around. "My grandparents told me to worship the kami. I have seen kami in the past, but I don't worship them. They're spirits who protect various things, but they're not deities." She gives you a wry smile. "In short, I don't really worship anything."
Aki's having quite some trouble with her footwork while training in the snow, but you manage to guide her with your teachings. You temporarily have to step away from the fire to show Aki how to move around in the difficult terrain, but she eventually grasps what she has to do and is able to continue training while you tend to the food. Training's interrupted a couple of times when you've got some cooked meat that can be eaten, and the small breaks seem to do Aki good. "Can we continue on for a little longer?" she asks when about an hour's passed and she sits down for another break. "Maybe both eat some more, then have you attack me again, like yesterday?" Aki eats some more of the meat, then asks, "Which god did you just pray to, is it the god of your monastery?"
It doesn't take long before there's smoke, but due to the humid conditions it takes a couple of minutes before you're finally able to create an ember with the bow drill. When you've finally got the ember, Aki quickly puts it on the tinder and gently blows to create a small flame. She then places the burning tinder on some twigs, in a small area she cleared of snow, and puts some more twigs on it. Soon enough all the twigs are burning, and you can add some larger branches to make a proper fire. "We did it!" Aki cheers. "Oh, wow, it actually worked!"
Aki also shrugs. "He was out hunting. Maybe he went deeper into the forest, maybe he stayed in this area. If he did the latter, he may pick up on our presence and track us down instead?"
"I think I know a way to start a fire... let me try something..." Aki uses her naginata to cut of some of the lowest branches of a nearby tree. The branches appear to be surprisingly dry, probably because the snow only fell on the branches above them. She manages to create some relatively dry kindling and tinder from the branches, then takes her bow. "Okay... I've never tried this before, but I remember a traveler in the inn once told me about something that's called a 'bow drill.' Guess we'll try that?" Aki uses her actual bow and some other materials to create a bow drill. When she's set everything up, she motions for you to come. "I'll need some help here, my bow's quite big for this. If I hold everything down, can you work the bow? Just push and pull it, as fast as you can."
"I imagine it'll be a bit harder, but I can use an arrow to cut the skin," Aki responds. "If I take my time to do it properly, it should work." When you get to camp, Aki immediately starts skinning the boar with one of her arrows. She takes her time to ensure she does it properly and has the job done several minutes later. When you take a look, you can clearly see Aki did a perfect job.
"Hmm... chopping the meat up is going to be quite tedious with an arrow..." Aki uses her arrow to cut the boar's belly open and remove its organs. She then takes her naginata and starts chopping the meat into pieces with the weapon. It doesn't take long for her to finish, considering the weapon's designed to cut through flesh.
Aki picks up the arrow that missed and sees it's not damaged. She puts it back in her quiver and hesitantly nods at you. "I've skinned some small animals before, not an animal this size. I think the general idea is the same, though...? And yes, I would like some roasted pork after training." While walking back to camp Aki suddenly asks, Do you have a knife with you, for the skinning?"
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