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 Post subject: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 6:27 pm 
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[For Kenzo]

Following a trail of a crawling man he had spotted at the beach, Kenzo entered a narrow path into the jungle. Soon, a small vista opened through the thicket onto a simmering and humming water run...



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 6:33 pm 
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Carefully, Kenzo moved along, his steps quickening as he followed the trail. It made sense that someone would move inland, perhaps in search of shelter. He only hoped that they wouldn't encounter some mishap before being found.

He blinked, coming out into the light. The sound of running water first gave him pause, than an idea. Shelter would not be the only need of someone who'd been washed ashore, perhaps not even the first. Clean water could be even more urgent, with saltwater having likely parched their throat. He moved ahead towards the water, glancing about as he moved, gaining in confidence that he'd soon find the person he'd been tracking.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 6:50 pm 
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The long, hurling trail could indicate that the person was crawling. So far, he or she were no-where to be found, but the descent toward the bank was challenging for anyone even without a handicap.

The life Kenzo spotted almost immediately, however, was a giant hornet. One of several. Or many.

Image



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:13 pm 
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For a moment, Kenzo was transfixed by the sight of the insect. Such marvelous joints, what a size! And that stinger... Kenzo's brows drew down in alarm. Right. The stinger. Suddenly, Kenzo was reminded why he preferred mammals.

The possibility of being surrounded by a swarm of stinging insects, especially ones of that size, did not appeal. And so, his step suddenly became much more careful, ensuring that he did not stumble into a hornet's nest.

Kenzo frowned. It seemed unlikely that a crawling person could have climbed down to the water successfully. Perhaps they went looking for an easier path upstream. He continued along, eyes wary for either a survivor, or more dangers.

-------------------------------

In Someone's Footsteps. Bees. Stealth/Agi: 4d10o10k3 26



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:21 pm 
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He deftly moved past the loci of the hornets, going upstream, though braving the thicket proved to be more and more difficult and would prove impossible if a blade was not used. However, he was approaching something... he felt it in the air. A distinct odour, now carried to his nostrils by a small gust, spiking above intoxicating fragrance of flowers.

An acrid-sweet stench of a rotting corpse.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:31 pm 
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Kenzo grimaced as the thicket grew more dense, even as he forged onward. Cursing, he pulled out his knife, using it to help cut through the bushes, reluctantly changing to his katana if that became necessary. The wakizashi may have been slightly more suited, but even a progressive like Kenzo found that idea distasteful.

For a moment, recognizing the smell, Kenzo's eyes widened. Then slowly closed. His lips moved silently, without words. When they opened, his expression was grim. He pressed onward. Even if there was nothing he could do, he had to know. And whoever it was deserved to be found, one way or another.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 7:44 pm 
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The stench intensified with each step, becoming unbearable. The corpse must have been very near. Before he could see it, to his eyes a strange flower-like plant appeared. Growing straight from a tree, it was probably the largest Kenzo had ever seen. At the same time, there was something ominous and foreboding about it, its red hue and leathery petals that resembled skin affected by foxpox...

Image



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 8:06 pm 
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Kenzo pressed a sleeve across his face, frowning. He was no doctor, but he didn't need to be to know that a body wouldn't reach such an advanced state of decay this quickly, especially since they'd clearly survived long enough to crawl all this way. Either something was greatly accelerating the pace of decay, or the smell was coming from something else.

Like that. The appearance of the strange plant caught Kenzo off-guard. It was almost unsettling, the appearance of it seeming rather like flesh. The thought that it could be connected somehow to the smell was a persuasive one.

Kenzo studied it thoughtfully. Most flowers smelled sweet; this was known. But what if a flower was intending to attract not bees, but flies, or perhaps wasps? Smelling like rotted meat could certainly attract them.

The temptation to sketch the plant was strong, but resisted by the knowledge that he'd left his art supplies behind; he didn't want to rifle through his chest until things were more secure. And so, with another glance around to judge his surroundings, he continued on, his attention only slightly divided by trying to come up with names for the unusual plant.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:40 pm 
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Corpse plant would be quite appropriate if his hypothesis about the nature of the stench was right. The trail actually picked up after leaving the plant behind; sprouts were damaged and undergrowth oared through. The tracks led toward the water.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:48 pm 
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Continuing along, Kenzo reasoned that the waterway should be easy to find and trace back from in the future. Which was good, because it would take him a while to collect samples of all the things he wanted.

In the meantime... Kenzo smirked as he saw the trail turn towards the water. "Right. More strength for the hypothesis." He murmured to himself. Still moving carefully, he continued to follow the path, continuing to keep an eye out for dangers, natural or otherwise.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:11 am 
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Someone mowed through the plants on the bank, making a passage to the water. But the person wasn't anywhere there.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:40 am 
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Kenzo grimaced. "If you came all this way just to drown, I'll kill you myself." He muttered.

He sighed. They must be somewhere. He approached the water, very cautiously, wary of creatures in the water. He would judge its depth, before peering first downstream, then upstream, trying to judge if someone might have gone one of those ways. Unless it was shallow enough to cross...



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:43 am 
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Here the water was maybe waist-deep, and the bottom was seen clearly as the bed was rocky and the fast current was taking much of the sedimentation quickly downstream. Neither up or down there seemed to be a sight of a body though.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:00 am 
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"Damn, damn." Kenzo muttered. This person was proving difficult to find. "Hellooo!" He called, pitching his voice a moderate volume.

He considered the options. Crossing seemed unlikely; they probably wouldn't be strong enough. They could have come back along the same path... Kenzo briefly checked, circling back, making sure there weren't any bushes they could have slipped under, or caves or trees they managed to climb.

But the stream did seem the most likely. Downstream would be checked first, as seemed the more logical direction once one's thirst had been quenched. Kenzo would walk along the bank that way, first.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:25 am 
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Actually, Sanjuro was hanging flat on one of the higher branches of a genus of a tree Kenzo did not recognise. His limbs were limp and he was unmoving, probably unconscious or dead. How he had got there was a mystery, or maybe not so much for a fellow Dragon climber.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:44 am 
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Kenzo choked off a sigh of relief as premature. And yet, it was a very good sign, if the man had managed to climb a tree.

Kenzo did not hesitate to climb up the tree himself, scaling it with practiced hands. He would find a good spot to brace himself before reaching out to shake the man, first gently, then a bit more roughly, holding onto his kimono as he did so.

"Sanjuro-sama. Sanjuro-sama!" He whispered, first quietly, than urgently. "Are you all right?"

-----------------------------------

In Someone's Footsteps. Climbing to Sanjuro! Athletics(climbing)/str: 5d10ro1o10 32



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:27 am 
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He wasn't all right. His lips were foamed, his face was swollen and he was pale outside of patches of rash. He remained unconscious despite shaking.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:39 am 
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Kenzo grimaced, looking at the signs of... he wasn't sure. Poisoning seemed most likely. Either the water, or something he'd found to eat, likely wasn't agreeing with him. Perhaps violently so.

Consciousness would help quite a bit. Kenzo fished into his bag, pulling out one of his two water containers. He'd splash a little onto Sanjuro's face, wiping away the foam, and hopefully waking him. That done, he'd take out the rope. Tying it to the tree, and then to the sick man around the waist should be sufficient to allow him to be lowered safely to the ground.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:03 am 
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As he was proceeding, he noticed that Sanjuro's leg was heavily bruised at the sheen; shreds of hakama stuck to the wound. The ankle was swollen and at a strange angle. Neither of those looked like reasons to lose consciousness and not regain it. However, in the middle of some of the rashes there were still black stingers stuck in.



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 Post subject: Re: In Someone's Footsteps [LM4]
PostPosted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:24 pm 
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The ankle was of some concern, and certainly explained why he was unable to walk, but it was the stingers that gave Kenzo the most concern. He grimaced, thinking of what might have happened if he'd blundered into the wasps himself. Perhaps they were still injecting poison into him.

Well, Kenzo lacked the skill to deal with either of those in anything but the most superficial way. Getting him back to someone who could provide medical care seemed like the priority. He continued his work, tying the rope to Sanjuro in two spots, around his waist and torso, the better to lower him without causing injury. That done, he tossed the rope over another branch, providing something to brace against, so it was not purely his strength doing the work.

And so, grunting, he worked to lower Sanjuro to the ground, slowly and carefully. He'd then toss the rest of the rope to the ground after him, before climbing back down himself.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In Someone's Footsteps. Lowering Sanjuro! Athletics/str, vp spent: 6d10o10k3 21



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