Session 21. (28/8/09)

It is Summer in the Year of the Dog. The eight-legged threat to the Ainu of the broad plain of the Yakumo river has been defeated once and for all, a feat the Ainu never managed before the arrival of the former Wajin warriors - and Kokuma. When the warriors returned, the village celebrated like never before, and the heroes were fêted for days. But now the feasting is over and the women return to the daily grind of making millet bread and the men must go out to replenish the stocks of meat. Hunting has been poor so far this year. Privately, the Shikabe refugees suspect that the Wajin are encroaching again and killing or scaring away the game. However, it is vital to find meat, as it is an important part of the Ainu diet. All the men that can be spared are instructed by Menkakush to comb the forests - and not to return empty-handed.

So early the next morning, a hunting party of Miyoshi, Yoshi, Kokuma, Kachamaru, Mineo and Haku sets off into the wooded inland tracts of the broad Yakumo plain, one of many hunting parties setting out this day. For the first hour, Yoshi identifies a region that looks good for game, but despite everyone searching high and low, none is found. They move on and Kokuma locates a game trail, though there is no game on it at the moment. The experienced hunters in the party set traps across the trail and move on, planning to return later. During the third hour they find suitable habitats and a few signs of game, but no animals - just another Ainu hunting party from Yakumo. Kachamaru casts around for signs of other hunters but blunders into a deer trap left by another party and gets hit leg ensnared. Seizing the opportunity to practise a spell he has never used, he casts Escapology and easily escapes from the trap, to the amusement of Kokuma who demonstrates the even easier way to get out of it.

The arachnicide party convenes to discuss the lack of game. Suspecting Wajin encroachment, they decide to look for evidence of Wajin villages in the valley. They climb to higher ground, but the unending forests rule out good views, and anyway, a clearing would have to be huge to be noticeable among the sea of trees. So instead, Haku casts Form of Bird and files up as a hawk to scout the region. He covers a fair area in half an hour but sees no signs of Wajin. He also swoops among the trees but finds no game, though he can only cover a very small area once below the treetops. The hunters return to the valley floor and check their traps, only to find that they have all been sprung or mangled, by another Ainu hunting part by the look of it. They repair and reset the traps then continue away from the coast.

Yoshi is the first to spot some actual game. It is only two rabbits, but welcome nonetheless. Kokuma, Kachamaru and Haku also see them. Yoshi and Kachamaru ready their bows, Haku readies a spell and Kokuma tries to get close enough to use his tetsubo. However, before he is ready, Yoshi has fired his arrow and killed the first rabbit, a good-sized one. Kachamaru fires and wings the other, even larger, rabbit. The rabbit bolts and Haku's Arrow of Soil misses, but Miyoshi's arrow is straight and lethal and takes the big rabbit down. Kokuma tries to follow the rabbits' tracks back to their burrow, but before they reach it they are startled by another Ainu hunting party that was stalking a family of grouse. The grouse fly off. Unpleasant words are shouted. One Ainu suggests that Miyoshi has a brain the size of a walnut, but Miyoshi is unfazed - either he's confusing a walnut with a coconut, or he thinks that a walnut is a good size for a brain. The other party goes its own way - they have mouths to feed and don't want competition.

The party continues its hunting trip further up the valley. Miyoshi confides in the others that he thinks the lack of game must be due to overhunting. Kokuma says they need to move away from Yakumo, but where will they go? The reverie is cut short as he spots three hares. Yoshi and Miyoshi see them as well, and while Kokuma hurries into tetsubo range, they take aim with their bows. However, before Kokuma gets into position, several arrows fly at the hares from another direction in the forest. Yoshi manages to get his shot away and wounds a hare, but Miyoshi misses as the hares scatter. The wounded hare happens to run straight towards Kokuma who takes a home run swing and turns a small area of the forest into an al fresco serving of hare pate. The other hares disappear and a group of angry Ainu hunters materialises out of the trees and hurl insults, which the ex-Wajin return spiritedly. Kokuma tells them a tip from his mentor on how to prevent overhunting, but the other party doesn't want to know. "Who was you mentor anyway?" they ask. "Rei-mi-esep," (an Ainu name meaning "to clothe an answer in the form of someone's name") replies Kokuma. "Pah, he just tells you how to crush berries and steam fish - we prefer bear grills!" they laugh dismissively, then fade back into the forest, stopping only to eat a couple of hare eyeballs hanging from a low branch.

Miyoshi leads the party on, now circling back towards the coast as the afternoon begins. Yoshi and Miyoshi simultaneously spot some game - just three squirrels. Still, it will feed a few small mouths. Yoshi fires an arrow and takes a squirrel so cleanly that the others don't notice. Miyoshi fires an arrow, but it thumps into a tree trunk and scares the other squirrels away. Haku is determined not to let a meal get away and fires two Darts of Water which both score, killing the two squirrels. As Yoshi and Haku go to retrieve their kills, another Ainu hunting party turns up, trying to claim the squirrels as their kills. Kokuma looms into view and they retreat into the woods, disgruntled.

With a reasonable but not huge haul of game, the party heads home, still hoping to find a few more animals on the way. They are rewarded for their perceptiveness when they spot six pigeons on the ground close by. They ready their bows for point-blank shots when a hail of arrows flies out of the forest, causing minor wounds and major distractions to Yoshi, Kokuma, Miyoshi and Kachamaru. Yoshi's shot still hits and kills a pigeon, and Haku, who was unhurt, hits three with his five Darts of Water. The hunters spin round to see yet another Ainu hunting party with empty bows having just fired at the pigeons - or the ex-Wajin party. Miyoshi suspect the latter as he recognises the Ainu as the party they ran into earlier that cast aspersions on his brain, and he orders the others to return fire. Yoshi readies an arrow, but Mineo, Kokuma, Kachamaru and Haku refuse, saying it was an accident and they won't attack other Ainu. Yoshi hesitates. Miyoshi screams at them to obey but they again refuse. Miyoshi is incensed by this insubordination (though Kokuma has never accepted him as leader, being himself an Ainu and son of a village headman), but the others aren't listening - because they have spied two large deer moving quietly through the trees. They ready arrows and Miyoshi is pleased at his leadership skills until he sees there they are aiming, then spots the deer and readies his spear. Yoshi, Mineo and Kachamaru fire a volley and one deer goes down, the other leaps away, wounded. Now another Ainu hunting party stands up immediately behind the deer with cries of disappointment and frustration, vainly hurling their spears after the retreating deer. They shout Ainu expletives at the ex-Wajin. Seeing a chance, Haku casts Castle of Wood around the fleeing deer, trapping it and, incidentally, two of the Ainu hunters. Kokuma just manages to stop himself firing his arrow at the deer - and the trapped Ainu - but anyway the deer makes an 11' jump from standing and escapes the wooden prison. The two Ainu fire arrows at the ex-Wajin and Mineo is hit for 6 damage. The other four Ainu advance with fists drawn. Kokuma hefts his tetsubo, trying to look menacing, but the Ainu call him "the son of the chief of a band of refugees". Miyoshi stands ready with his spear, covering both the advancing Ainu and his own party whom he suspects of imminent insurrection. Kachamaru casts Stage Sword to create a magical bo-ken (wooden sword) and stands ready. The four Ainu arrive and aim punches at the nearest targets, who happen to be Yoshi and Kokuma. Only one punch lands, on Kokuma, and he replies with a swing of the tetsubo, clocking the offending Ainu for 9 damage. Yoshi swings and misses one of his attackers, but Kachamaru brings round the bo-ken on Yoshi's other foe and pole-axes him for 21 (subdual) damage. Having done its job, the wooden sword dispells. Mineo pulls the arrow out of himself and draws his jitte, looking for revenge. Haku tries one last go at diplomacy and pleads with the Ainu to stop fighting. One of the Ainu is affected, and steps back, but the others take no heed and continue throwing punches, though without landing any. Yoshi focuses his ki to increase damage and with his next two punches nearly floors an Ainu. Kokuma does floor one with a second swing of his tetsubo. Kachamaru recasts Stage Sword and Haku casts Arrows of Wood, but misses. Meanwhile, Miyoshi is watching the first Ainu hunting party as they look on in amazement. Four of them stay out of it, but two come forward into the fight. Miyoshi covers them with his spear, but doesn't try to stop them until he sees whose side they are joining. When he sees them going to punch the other Ainu he is content to let them continue. It is not clear whether he would have stopped them from punching the rebellious ex-Wajin. Now Mineo tries to intervene by shouting "Stop!", but the words stick in his mouth and nobody hears. Then Miyoshi sees that Charase and Teibu ("Mover" and "Shaker") are going to hit the only Ainu from the second party that was being peaceful and so he shouts "Stop!" and they both stop. Going up to the final combatant, who lands a weak punch on Yoshi, Miyoshi grabs his arm while Yoshi grabs the other. The Ainu pulls free but hurts his arm and wisely desists. As the tensions ease, Haku suggests that no-one needs speak of the incident. But Mineo points out that he has an arrow wound. "Okay, call it a hunting accident," suggests Kokuma. "What about the black eyes?" Realising they will just have to face the music, the various parties collect their kills and head back to Yakumo.

Having made their report, the hunters sit around nervously as Menkakush, Koshamain, Henke, Nishtap-Tashum and other local leaders talk in Menkakush's hut. Miyoshi and the others speculate about what kind of punishment they will receive (Ainu punishments often involve some kind of permanent disfigurement, such as being beaten with sticks, have one's nose cut or a hand plunged into boiling water). Eventually the discussion turns to the problem of overhunting. Miyoshi thinks they should move away from Yakumo, but doesn't know where to - there are more Ainu settlements along the coast to the north, the Wajin are to the south, and inland there are just mountains, though Kachamaru says he has heard that if you cross the mountains there is another sea, not too far from his birthplace. Haku thinks they just need to hunt over a wider area. Kokuma bemoans the fact that they don't fish in the sea any more, it being inconveniently far away now. Just then Nishtap-Tashum emerges from the chief's hut. He tells the ex-Wajin and Kokuma that they are to scout out the high valley, looking for game or a route across the mountains, and also scout to the south to see if the Wajin have advanced since the last skirmish. No mention is made of any punishments. No sooner has he told this to the relieved young men than a cry goes up near the village - another of the giant spiders has been seen.

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