Session 30. (20/11/09)

Working from east to west, we start with Kachamaru leading the Koshamain tribe up the valley out of Yakumo towards the promised land - or at least the land he said Miyoshi promised would have prepared for them with shiny new houses and a banquet of so many meats they would have to invent new names for them. Kachamaru tries to play his flute to raise the morale of the villagers as they trudge through the endless forests, but so many people try to get away from the noise that he goes to the back of the column and makes the stragglers pick up their pace to get away. The tribe covers 2 ri in the day and a little time is left for hunting. Yoshi and Kachamaru find three hares and take them down with three arrows, providing 6 of the 10 portions of food each of their families requires, thus preserving most of the stores they will need for Starvation Gorge.

In the high mountains, Mineo and Kokuma go through the pass and head down towards the sea and the forests. Here they pick up the trail of blazes marked on the tree trunks, and Mineo takes time to build a cairn of stones on the edge of the forest that can be seen from much further away. Then they follow the blazes and find a camp that has clearly been occupied for some time. Kokuma checks the remains of the fire and determines that it was put out only that morning. He also looks for tracks leading out of the camp, but finds none. He goes hunting while Mineo makes camp and rests his leg and returns with a rabbit and a songbird. While making camp, Mineo has found the tracks of several people heading back up to the pass.

Twelve hours earlier, Miyoshi left from the very same camp heading south and this time getting it right - so right that he arrives at the head of the next valley still knowing which way to go next. He follows the narrow valley southwest through dense forest for another ri before making camp and hunting, catching two songbirds, just enough to sustain him for another day.

The following day he follows the valley downhill, not a trivial task as he has to constantly take detours around impassable rock outcrops, rapids, waterfalls, and they find his way back to the stream through trees and undergrowth so thick that he can hardly see any distance. However, as he gets further downstream the valley widens out, the river gets wider and the task gets easier. He covers two ri and reaches the junction of two valleys where he makes camp and hunts. The hunting is good and he quickly finds a wild pig. It takes two arrows to bring it down, but he is rewarded with a good amount of food. However, remembering that his brief was to collect food for the arriving villagers, and to find a good hunting location for their settlement, he spends another hour hunting. He is soon on the track of more game - but this time it turns out to be a bear. Cowardice being the better part of discretion, he keeps quiet until it wanders away and he returns to camp, much relieved.

Back up at Miyoshi's former camp, Mineo and Kokuma use the morning light to spread out and look for tracks. They find signs of Miyoshi's reconnaissance trip to the north west (tracks leading away and returning) and his tracks leading to the south but not returning. Of course, they do not know it was Miyoshi and can't work out why the scouting party (Miyoshi, Yoshi and Kachamaru) would split up. Mineo speculates that one of them must have been injured and was helped by one of the others to go back to intercept the tribe or return to Yakumo. However, they can't understand why they didn't meet them on the route (forgetting that they got lost off the route for three days). After some deliberation they decide to follow the single tracks that are heading towards the sea, and set off south. They reach the ravine that marks the head of the valley before they need to stop and hunt. Kokuma skewers another two songbirds and then finds and kills a fox. Mineo tries fishing in the stream but has little luck with bow and line. He changes tack and manages to trap a handful of tiny fish which supplement Kokuma's haul for a nice repast with leftovers for tomorrow.

Over the hills and far away, the tribe reaches the head of the valley and gets its first sight of Weathertop. They decide not to go up to the top and skirt round the top of the tree line to pick up the trail on the other side. Everyone forges on, trying to minimise their time in the high, cold, lifeless mountains and they manage to reach the start of Starvation Gorge by the end of the day. With just a little daylight to hunt, Yoshi hunts down two rabbits which he and Kachamaru take down with two arrows. The food stores are needed to supplement this, but the feel in good shape still having 22 food points at the start of the gorge.

The next day the tribe again makes good progress, Kachamaru drawing on all his resources to encourage, cajole and physically carry the slowest ones through the difficult passages. Kachamaru finds an eel in the river running through the gorge and conjures up a magical katana (so as not to blunt a real katana on the rocks) and slices it in two. Yoshi takes the more subtle approach and goes fishing in the river with a borrowed fish hook and also catches an eel. Eels and food stores keep the families happy, and the reserves are still at 16 units.

Kokuma and Mineo set off on Miyoshi's trail, following the inexpertly-cut blazes on the tree trunks. A morning's walking covers a ri and they come across the remains of Miyoshi's camp from two nights previous. Encouraged by this they press on and cover another ri before they need to stop themselves and make camp and hunt. Kokuma gets another songbird and a giant rat, but Mineo's fishing expedition yields only a bicycle wheel and a shopping trolley.

Further down the valley, Miyoshi sings to keep his spirits up: "I'm following the streamy-weamy..." for two ri before he takes a wrong turn and ends up in a narrow ravine in a side valley. Night falls and he is forced to make camp and eat his left-over pig.

In Starvation Gorge, Kachamaru is tired, lethargic and low on resolve, and this shows in the progress of the tribe, which struggles to make even half the progress of the previous day. Nevertheless, by evening they finally make it out of the gorge and can see the pass ahead of them. Yoshi finds four mice on his first hunting trip and knows how hard it is to catch them all as they are barely enough for a meal for one. Kachamaru solves the problem by casting Breath of Dragon and killing and cooking all four at once! Yoshi goes hunting again but finds nothing, so the food stores have to be raided again, leaving just eight rations for the remainder of the journey.

Hot on Miyoshi's cooling trail, Mineo and Kokuma cover another two ri, passing another of Miyoshi's overnight camps before they nightfall brings and end to their day's travel. Kokuma hunts and catches three foxes. Mineo is again unsuccessful at fishing.

Miyoshi finds his way out of the ravine and back to the now-widening and open-wooded valley. He follows it down, expecting to come to the sea at any turn, but the valley narrows again and the sides become sheer and he is suddenly confronted by a huge rock fall that blocks the lower end of the valley, sealed with an enormous rock outcrop (over 200' high) that has fallen across the valley, completely blocking it except for a narrow tunnel cut by the river. The way to the sea blocked, Miyoshi makes camp and starts hunting. The game seems to be falling out of the trees in this sheltered valley, or at least rootling about under it - he spots three wild pigs. He hits one with an arrow, but only gives it a light wound. As it runs off squealing, he puts a second arrow into it which slows it down but doesn't kill it. Gathering up his spear, Miyoshi hares after it and catches it up. Katana bias or no, he thrusts his spear into it and kills it. As he makes his way back to his camp with enough food for three days, he spies more game. He sneaks into position to fire on it - and finds himself staring into the eyes of a mountain lion!

To be continued...

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