Chapter 3: Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

Mimi's fox companion also growls at the hut.

Mimi (the moldy hut in the woods)

"Well, that's not very nice, shooting arrows at people's houses," says a toadstool practically at your feet. The toadstool turns out to be a very strange, wrinkled little person. "What do you want?

Wu Meng (the archive on Plum Orchard Lane)
Choa narrows his eyes at you, then makes another motion with his hand. If there are concealed guards or assassins, they have just been ordered to stand down.

"I may have underestimated you." The archivist steeples his fingers. "Tell me, what do you know of the Nine Unloved Demigods of Chaos?"

My studies have opened my mind to the machinations and arcana of the other worldly realms, I am not unfamiliar with the godly threat of chaos upon our world.

Mimi watches with curiosity at the mushroom person that comes out of the hut. "Oh, hi there. Sorry, I thought you might be an evil witch or something. I'm Mimi the Elf, and this here is Orengi my Fox friend. Who might you be? Also, I have been tracking a corrupted deer that seems to come from this hut. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

Mimi (the woods)

"Corrupted deer, you say? Who's been corrupting my deer?!" the mushroom person grumbles, "Shika! Where are you, girl?"

Mimi tilts her head curiously and waits.

"Shika!" The mushroom man calls again, and whistles. It seems Shika is the name of the deer he thinks is still alive.

What do you do?

Mimi thought for a moment to tell the mushroom fellow about the deer's fate, but figured that it would be best to tell a white lie first. "Your Shika... I found her dead. She seems to be struck by a large fallen branch. I'm sorry for your loss. Would you... happen to notice anything strange about your deer before she left?"

"Strange? Of course, she's strange! To the likes of you, at least. She's more than half fungus, just like me. Oh my poor Shika, now she's worm food. Speaking of which,..." the mushroom man pulls bulbous, rotting mushroom from his belongings. There are symbols carved on it similar to the ones on Shika's collar. The mushroom man gives the carved mushroom a tap, and peers carefully at the worms burrowing in and out of it. Satisfied, the man puts the smelly thing away. "You sure it was Shika? She had a collar."

Wu Meng (the archive on Plum Orchard Lane)

You know that the Nine Unloved Demigods are beings of pure chaos that forever seek to disrupt the balance of the world. Just as the Eightfold Way aspires to harmony among the elements, the Nine strive for dominance. Choa nods sagely when you tell him this.

"The scroll contains a sutra that I hope will... exert some measure of control over one of the Nine."

While pouring her own cup Feng spots Iko come in, being quiet and mysterious as he generally is. "Would you like a cup?" She asks the silent priest.

"Then this makes my dedication to the task more absolute. You have elevated the mission from larcerny to something for the greater good. Such a scroll ought to be in safe hands. I will redouble my efforts." Wu Meng spoke to offer the benefit of doubt to Choa's intentions, that the man's intentions were righteous in wanting to acquire the scroll to prevent it from being held by the wrong hands. The monk did not discount the possibility that he might use it for vile purposes, but that was something to figure out later, if Meng did manage to acquire the scroll.

The main business concluded, Wu Meng raised a different point. "Permit a tangential question. The woman in red. Would it be impolite to make her acquaintance? I am merely curious as to her presence."

The Elf Ranger tries to make sense of the situation. The fungus man does not look exactly malicious, but he is the culprit of the fungus parasite on the deer. This is reminds her of the humans in their treatment of nature...

"Do you know anything about this yellow mold that has been around lately? Was it made by you?" Mimi avoids the question. "I've seen it hurting the wildlife here, and I've been curious about its nature..." Mimi grows nervous.

"Yes." Iko accepts, sitting down next to Feng. "Thank you. I have just returned from the apothecary's shop with some news about the mold." He then proceeds to tell her about what he learned from Yao Fei.

Feng listens to his findings as she procures another cup. "Lovely, I don't suppose this was all some crazy scheme to increase profit margins in the opium business? Later I can go into the city and check in with a few people, might give us a clue for this mystery. Oh before I forget Iko: how do you feel about...demons? "

"I would not consider myself a friend to them, but I fear no creatures of the realm beyond ours." Iko tells her, calmly sipping his tea. "Why do you ask?"

Kalam quietly watches the exchange between Iko and Feng. Takes a sip of his tea before pulling out a pouch with Ikos portion of the reward. He puts it on the table and gently pushes it toward the man. "Your portion of the reward for the slaying of beast. Please, enlighten us with any knowledge that you may have of demons and oni. I find any knowledge of said creatures to be invaluable in their elimination. "

Iko takes the time to count his coin, but his mind is more occupied with the training on supernatural entities that had been given to him by the Sorrowsworn.