Session 28. (6/11/09)

We start by catching up with Miyoshi's adventures. After waving cheerily goodbye to Kachamaru and Yoshi, Miyoshi immediately set out hunting to provide for his daily needs and hopefully build up a reserve. However, this was his first time hunting without a trained tracker or hunter, and having learned little from them on previous trips, had to rely on his native wit to find game. Unfortunately. This meant that the first five (120-minute) hours of the day were fruitless. However, with dusk approaching, he spotted two martens. His first shot was true and killed a marten, but as the other fled his shot went wide. He had to settle for a modest repast and remain a little hungry. He felt a bit weak the following day, having lost a point of strength.

The next day followed exactly the same pattern: five hours tramping round the forests only to spot four squirrels as he returned to camp in the evening. Focussing his ki, Miyoshi prepared his bow and arrows to give a chance of two shots in very quick succession. This worked, and he managed to kill two squirrels before they scattered into the trees. Two squirrels isn't much, but it was just enough to stave off hunger for another day.

For a third day Miyoshi goes hunting, his knowledge creeping up too slowly to make any difference. This time his one success is mid-afternoon, when he spots two pigeons. Again he focuses his ki and gets two shots at the pigeons, but his first shot misses, though the second brings down a bird. He tries a third shot as the pigeon heads for the hills, but this also misses. Another day of mild hunger and a slight loss of will for Miyoshi.

Meanwhile, Yoshi and Kachamaru leave Starvation Gorge behind and make the long climb out of trees up to Weathertop. On the cold, wind-swept knoll they discover signs that someone has been here since they passed by the first time - a line of stones make an arrow shape on swept ground, pointing back to the gorge they left this morning. They ponder the significance for quite a while: who made the sign? What does it mean? They cannot work out whether someone from the village is following them, or a stranger has happened across their blazed trail, or what, but they decide that whatever the facts are, their best course is to return to Yakumo as quickly as possible. Before they leave, Kachamaru conjures a magical bo-ken and sticks it in the top of the cairn. Yoshi meanwhile constructs a second stone pointer to show the direction of the trail back towards Yakumo, having figured it out using his hunting skill, and not from Kachamaru's geographically-challenged map.

Further west, near the exit from Starvation Gorge, Mineo and Kokuma are starving, having failed to catch two rabbits at the end of the previous day. They decide to spend the day hunting. Mineo leads hunting party in the morning, and his sharp eyes quickly spot two rabbits. Unfortunately Kokuma's arrow misses and Mineo's bowstring frays and the rabbits escape. The rest of the morning Mineo spots nothing, and is completely blind to three mice that scamper over his feet as he pauses for elevenses. Kokuma takes of the tracking after a lunchtime notable for its lack of lunch, and tracks down two giant rats. Two arrows find their deadly mark and things are looking up again. Next he finds three mice and splatters one with his tetsubo. Mineo tries to jump on another, but it squirms out of his grasp and scuttles away. As the day ends, Kokuma finds another rabbit, and while his arrow hits, the rabbit is only wounded. However, Mineo's weakened shot does enough to kill it, and finally they end a day with a surplus of food.

The next day, the eleventh since he left Yakumo, sees Miyoshi trying something different. He digs some pits to catch game and makes some snares. However, any trained hunter would look on with amusement or derision as the snares are too stiff and feeble to hold anything, and the pits are too shallow to stop any animal that might fall in from getting out again. Still, Miyoshi is satisfied with his work and sets out to spend the rest of the day hunting in a good mood. Almost immediately he spots four squirrels. His first shot misses but as they flee his next arrow pins one to a tree. It's enough for half his daily needs, but unfortunately he finds no more game and is hungry once again, causing him to lose deftness and health.

Not far away, Mineo and Kokuma are following the trail of blazes and approaching Miyoshi's camp. When they stop to rest for the night they are only one ri away. They hunt and find that game is widespread but few in number. Kokuma spots a squirrel and Mineo puts an arrow through it. On the way back to camp Kokuma sees a pigeon and takes care of it himself.

On the other side of the watershed, Kachamaru and Yoshi are heading for Yakumo as fast as they can, but pause for a while in a spot that Yoshi sees is good for hunting. Quickly he finds a flock of five grouse, and simultaneous arrows quickly thin them by two. As the other grouse fly away, two more arrows find their deadly marks and brings the haul to four, or two whole days' food. With this they can push on to Yakumo without having to hunt again.

The next day dawns, but the sun is hidden behind thick, snow-bearing cloud. If Miyoshi could learn from his mistakes at hunting he'd be a master by now, but unfortunately his learning is painfully slow. His first (and last) success comes in the fourth hour when he finds two foxes. One fox is killed by Miyoshi's first arrow and the other is badly injured by his second. As it limps off Miyoshi's third arrow finishes it and he is rewarded with enough food for two days.

Just a ri away, Mineo and Kokuma set off looking for the others, but soon lose the trail of blazes. Realising that they will be lucky to pick them up again, they start heading for where they think the sea is, but the way ahead climbs more and more and by late morning they reach a high mountain ridge, covered with snow and are forced to retrace their steps. However, even this is not as simple as they though and the terrain rises and falls at a high level until, near the end of the day they find a sparsely-vegetated valley with a half-mile-long lake that they have never seen before. How can they have got this far off the trail?

Meanwhile, Yoshi and Kachamaru are jog-trotting down the valley back home. Now fit, well-fed, and with the downhill slope to help them, they make good time, covering one ri in the first hour and three by lunchtime, but there is no stopping to eat. The exertion starts to tell and the speed drops in the afternoon, so dusk falls with them still a few miles from their homes. However, Kachamaru casts Stage Lantern and by its light they trudge on until they finally reach the glad sight of their huts and the open arms of their wives. Word is sent to Koshamain, but for now they eat, sleep and will report to Menkakush in the morning.

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