Session 34. (18/12/09)

Yoshi and Kachamaru are fishing for Miyoshi and Mineo in the river cave, and are hauling them in against the swift current. Kokuma has now emerged from his sulk and has come to join them. He gives a hand hauling on the rope, but at that moment the great she-bear leaps from the bank and lands on Mineo's back. The shock causes Mineo to lose his grip on the rope. Miyoshi holds on, but at the other end Kokuma drops the rope and Kachamaru is pulled in. Yoshi hangs on but can't prevent it pulling through his hands as the current drags on Miyoshi. Miyoshi shouts to Mineo, "You're still carrying that bear on your back!"^† The bear, as fierce as they come, bites Mineo on the buttock and the current takes them, screaming and bellowing, out of the cavern, down the pitch black river tunnel and disappears from sight. "Exit, pursued by bear,"^† mutters Miyoshi.

Kachamaru and Miyoshi are both carried several yards downstream and Yoshi is unable to stop the rope, but then Kokuma grabs the rope and manages to pull it back a few yards. Kachamaru abandons the rope and swims back up like a salmon and leaps onto the bank, while Miyoshi is pulled back to the others. He reports on Mineo's encounter and how he was badly mauled. Kokuma's only comment is, "Mess with a bear and sooner or later it'll come back and bite you in the arse."^† "Was he actually dead?" asks Yoshi, breathlessly. "Well, he was still screaming," offers Miyoshi. "So what are we going to do?" asks Kachamaru. "Maybe we can find a way to the coast down a different valley," suggests Miyoshi. Kachamaru replies, "No, if we're going to do anything it has to be now. I'll go and look for him." "No," says Miyoshi, "You can't take on a huge bear like that on your own." "But if we all go we'll get trapped by the current goodness knows where!" says Kokuma. "Okay, Yoshi can stay here and hold the rope while we go through into the next cavern and see if we can find a way down the next bit of the river and follow Mineo." "Just hold on tight," warns Kokuma to Yoshi. "Remember your failure at the cave!"^†

Mineo was having no difficulty finding his way down the river. He was in floating rapidly down stream, occasionally drowning but kept afloat by a bear hug. After almost going down for the third time, Mineo and the bear suddenly shoot out of the cave and into daylight. The river suddenly shoals and spreads out across a shingle beach. Mineo is flung from the bear's grasp and lands, coughing and sore on the shingle. A short distance away is the sea, but there is no sign of any west coast girls, nor any sign of human activity. Ursine activity, however, is all too evident. The bear roars and charges at Mineo.

Back in the cave, Miyoshi, Kachamaru and Kokuma are lowered to the cavern where Mineo's torch, katana and scabbard lie on the floor. He isn't here. Kachamaru casts Light and examines the fissures. There are no trails of water or blood, so Mineo can't be there. Miyoshi goes to look at the place where the river flows out of the cavern. The roof is low, meaning that the only way out is to swim or wade down the river. Kokuma watches the smoke from the torch to see if it is blowing to or from a different exit, but it is just blowing straight upstream. They decide the only way to continue is to float down the river, all holding on to Miyoshi's spear to keep them together.

Out on the beach, facing a charging bear armed only with a few pebbles, which he can't throw, Mineo decides his only chance is to play dead. Unfortunately, the bear isn't fooled and it makes to bite Mineo. Mineo tries to dodge but critically fails and the bear's jaws land for 22 damage, finishing its opponent and collecting 5 budo, 5 on.

The rescue party follows on a few minutes later, carried down the inky tunnel, dark as the inside of a bear, through the back side of the rock fall (later named "Mineo's Passage"). Only Kachamaru, with his Stage Lantern eyes can see; the others bounce off the sides and hit protruding rocks, barking their heads, knuckles, sides and knees, but not their shins. Eventually they emerge, slightly drowned and lightly bruised, onto a deserted beach. The shingle and sand forms a buffer between the grey western sea and the rocky cliffs. To the north the beach narrows until the cliffs reach the sea; to the south the beach disappears as the coast curves inland around a rocky outcrop.

Kokuma looks for Mineo but finds only a large red puddle and tiny scraps of hair and what looks like fur clothing. "Well, that's what happens when you disrespect a bear spirit,"^† opines Kokuma. A trail of wet bear tracks leads up to the cliffs, where the land is not so vertical but more a vertiginous, forested slope. The tracks go up the slope and the three follow, looking for their comrade. Suddenly they spot the bear - and it spots them. It charges, but Miyoshi brings his spear up and impales it for 10 damage. Kachamaru casts Darts of Wood but only one gets through the bear's thick fur. Kokuma swings his tetsubo and scores a hit for 13 damage. The bear, slowing slightly due to the poisoned dart, rakes Kokuma with its claws for 17 damage. Miyoshi hits it with his spear for 8 damage, Kachamaru lands two more Darts of Wood and Kokuma hits for 8 damage. The bear slows further but bites Kachamaru for 15 damage. It tries to bite him again but misses, the poison dulling its reactions. Miyoshi tries to spear it but misses, then Kachamaru uses Breath of the Dragon and incinerates the bear's fur with a level 4 fire. Kokuma hits the bear for 9 damage, really enraging it. It claws Miyoshi for 18 damage. Miyoshi spears it for 5 damage, Kachamaru switches to sword, now that its lack of fur makes it an easier target and scores for 6 damage, and Kokuma finishes it of with a 7-point blow from the tetsubo. The bear expires, falling on top of Miyoshi.

When Miyoshi has extricated himself, he and Kachamaru cast about for signs of Mineo, but they find nothing definite. Kokuma decides to track the bear back to its lair, but finds that it has come straight from the river - presumably it has been hibernating in the river cavern. He looks up to see if he can see any carrion birds circling, but there is only a hawk hovering over the beach.

Back at the top end of the river cave, Yoshi is in a panic as the others have been gone for hours. He ties off the rope to a rather insecure rock, then sprints back to the village to ask Koshamain's advice. However, before he gets to the leader's hut he meets Haku, just back from his annual sojourn in the mountains learning spells etc. with his wife. Haku immediately casts Form of Bird and turns into a hawk, flies up to the cliff top and over towards the sea.

Hovering over the beach, he sees the river exiting from the cliffs and descends for a closer look. He smells blood and sees a big red pool in the shallows. Then he sees Kokuma emerging from the forest and converts back to his normal form. Kokuma tells him about the tragedy. Haku remarks, "Some days you get the bear; some days the bear gets you."^† Miyoshi and Kachamaru emerge a few minutes later dragging the carcass of an enormous she-bear. Haku casts healing spells on them all then they set about skinning the bear and removing the meat. Kokuma examines the stomach for Mineo's remains but finds only flesh and small bones. He turns the stomach into a bag for carrying some of the meat back home. A fire is built, and while some bear meat is cooked Kokuma, Miyoshi and Kachamaru explore the river cave and Haku flies high to see the lie of the land. The river has a ledge running alongside it so they are able to get quite a way upstream without having to swim. They think they are not far from the cavern before the cave roof gets too low to allow further dry progress. They retrace their steps to the beach and start to eat the bear meat. It is starting to get dark. Haku has not returned. The wind is blowing off the sea and it is bitterly cold. The three adventurers decide to find somewhere more sheltered to eat and possibly camp for the night, so they head down the beach towards the rock outcrop. As they approach it, Kachamaru notices that it looks like a great big bear with a cub. The others look up in alarm, but it really is just a rock outcrop with an unusual shape. They reach the foot of the rock and suddenly they see around the bend in the coast that there is a small town about half a mile away - a Wajin town. "Oh great, that's all we need, another battle with the Wajin for space to live and meat to eat!" complains Kachamaru. "What's the matter?" inquires Kokuma. "I thought you said there were too many teddy bears and not enough space battles!"^†

At this juncture Haku flaps down and transforms. He says that the Wajin town is at the end of a small valley that leads up into the mountains and joins up with the heads of several other valleys, including the one with their village in it. The others are alarmed that it means an imminent invasion by the Wajin, but Haku disagrees. "It's a journey of many ri," he explains, "with many different ways, and frankly I don't see why they'd go past the head of their valley anyway." Miyoshi suggests that the abundance of game in their valley is evidence that the Wajin have never been there. Meanwhile, a thought that has been jumping up and down in Kachamaru's head finally gets his attention. "A bear-shaped rock outcrop... Bear Rock... what's that in our language?... Kuma Ishi... there was a town called Kumaishi up the coast from where I was born... I seem to remember something about a bear-shaped rock... gosh, have we come all the way down here? We really have taken a wrong turn!" Kokuma also voices a theory. He thinks that the bear might have cubs in one of the fissures of the cavern. Now is the right time of year to catch a bear cub for their village, and they won't survive long in the cave without their mother. He suggests that rather than camping they need to head back through the cave this night. All agree and head back to the cave.

After the bear meat has been cut up and stored in bags made of bear skin and bear guts, and Kokuma has made some torches from pine branches, the four head up the ledge at the side of the river. They make it to the low ceiling before the cave with fissures and decide to wade once again, holding onto Miyoshi's spear. Their first attempt is a near-disaster, as Kachamaru loses his footing and drags the others back; only Miyoshi manages to manoeuvre them to the side to try again. The second time Miyoshi's strength pulls them through half way. Finally Kachamaru gets the hang of wading and the three make it through. In the mean time, Haku has transformed into a cave swift and flown through. In the cave there is a moaning coming from one of the fissures. Miyoshi leads the way, half hoping it will turn out to be Mineo, but it is a week-old bear cub. The cub is lonely and frightened and rushes up and hugs Miyoshi, who fortunately does not spear it on reflex. Kokuma calms it with Control Bear and they discuss what to do. They decide they will need a raft to get the cub back to the village, so they send Haku the cave swift up the cave and back to the village to organise the villagers. Haku does so and reports to Koshamain, telling him about Mineo's fate, the Wajin town and their need for a raft. Koshamain rouses the villagers and a raft is quickly built. Supplies are also floated down to the exhausted adventurers, and, eventually, the bear cub is floated out with the adventurers holding on to the raft and the villagers hauling ropes.

Back in the village once more, Koshamain presents the bear cub to Kokuma's wife (as the only one of the adventurers' wives currently nursing) and formally recognises Mineo's eldest son, Yoshi Yeesu (9), as head of his household.

R.I.P.^* Mineo.

† All quotations from "The Collected Wisdom of Kokuma, Wit 11¾", published by I, Witless Scrolls and Maps, 1468

* Remains Ingested by Predator

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