EngelReise - Chapter 7

**Chapter 6 < | > Chapter 8**

With her travel to the dockyard village of Korion well underway, Tomako had been met by an unfriendly man claiming to be a samurai. After an unfriendly conversation with insults hurled toward her, Tomako decides to challenge the man's words. Fighting his claim that his horse is better than hers, the woman catches up to him for a second round of tension-filled conversation. In the end, a challenge is agreed upon that will determine whether or not she's worth his time. After looking over the promised rewards, Tomako agrees to his conditions by putting some sudden weight onto her already difficult travel...

## Chapter Reading

== Chapter 7 – *Pufferfish Pursuit* =

About three hours had passed since the Tomako-Samurai encounter. Now with the information about her that he wanted, the samurai was on with his very own travel to Korion. By his direct statement to her, he didn’t want her slowing him down.

The samurai traveled over horse at top speed; his eyes scanned left and right in a constant motion for potential threats. Considering the samurai were banned under the Viceroyalty, he could expect a Swatslandic attack at any time of the day. To his left was one of the massive forests stretching northeast. To his right were plains, some hills, and then the same long forest Tomako had been found resting by. It was a peaceful scene for the moment, though he could not deny that Tomako was still on his mind, especially the purple samurai sword she carried.

He ordered his mount to drastically lower its speed so that he could think more clearly. All he really wanted to know is if the woman he just encountered was of true honor or a samurai slayer. Her claim of being on a journey to Swatsland did help him sense the former, yet he remained questionable of what samurai would willingly concede their blade and vial to one of her low class. Nothing was making sense to him.

As fate would have it anyway, the sound of quickly approaching hooves came from his rear. His first reaction was to reach for his katana and gradually unsheathe it, expecting a daring Swatslandic cavalryman. Of course, it wasn’t a Swatslandic horseman that caught his eye, rather, it was the very woman he wondered about.

Atop her own horse, Tomako coasted by the samurai and stopped beside him. She was received with the bitter personality she could already expect from him.

“What? You again?”

Tomako’s face was of challenge with a rare sight of mockery. “As I had been told, my ‘underachieving’ horse would be unable to keep up with yours.” She added a shrug to her point. “So I was told.”

The man cracked his knuckles and replied, “Perhaps I was unclear, woman; and I do sincerely apologize for the confusion…” He pointed at her with thrusting brown eyes. “My decision to leave you behind has nothing to do with the quality of your horse. I just don’t want you around me is all.”

This was not the kind of answer she wanted, however, it was the answer she expected from him. Either way, she became slightly aggressive in face of such behavior.

“Now, just why might you not want me around?” The samurai rolled his eyes and ordered his horse forth, but only by small steps. A persistent Tomako ordered her own to move forward as well. “Would we not benefit from each other’s company?”

“No.”

She continued anyway, “We are both Imperyean by blood and Puritonist by faith. We are both looking forward to reaching Korion, further, you and I both know the countryside is dangerous under Swatslandic occupation. We should travel together to maximize our security.”

“No.”

Tomako was left speechless for a moment, left only to follow the man with low brows and a grimace.

“No?”

“No.”

The woman squinted at him, inquiring, “So, you are rejecting my offer because..?”

“Because I am a samurai… a Hero of the Imperial Court, no less. And you… you’re nothing but an honor thief.”

Tomako glanced down at her purple sword, then back up at him, “I was entrusted this blade, and I will see to it as any samurai warrior would.”

The man scoffed, “You dare compare yourself to one of the great warriors of our nation?” Tomako denied this with a slight shake. “A samurai is not made from the sword he carries or the intent he follows. The samurai is the protector of Imperyean art, culture, faith, and flesh.” He stopped his horse, as did Tomako in response. There he forced her attention with an open palm and directed her to their surroundings. “The samurai is no adventurer, they are the guardians of prosperity in Imperyea. No wealth, no treasure, no women; the samurai kills and dies only so you may enjoy the fruits society offers.” He moved to conclude his point by waving to his armor, then to her sword. “The fact you walk this journey of personal satisfaction using a protector’s equipment, it makes me want to puke.”

After all this had been said, Tomako felt it to be in her right to reply, “I respect your point but must criticize you for being foolish.”

The samurai dipped his head, “What? Foolish? What!?” He faced her with discontent hands to his waist. “What a truly belligerent insult. Were you a carrier of Swatslandic blood, I would pike your skull for all to see…”

“I am no samurai, nor do I wish to be. The duties and burdens of the samurai are unfathomable to one as simple as I. I do not possess the merit to be one of Imperyea’s sworn protectors.”

He chuckled, “This hardly proves me a fool, quite the contrary, actually.”

“You seem to forget though, we share a common adversary. You wish for the downfall of Swatslandic Imperyea and I wish to reach the Swatslandic emperor in Svatpa. My journey is not just to save my parents, it is also to speak on behalf of my Imperyean people.”

The mentioning of her quest led the man to roll his eyes and look away. “Hopefully, you will take no offense when I say that your fool’s quest cannot be compared to the ambitious rebellion I am part of.” His eyes came and remained on her. “While your bones and flesh decay to the winter attrition of some faraway land, my companions and I will be triumphing to the successful restoration of the Imperyean Empire.” Tomako was left blinking at him. “My point being that your unrealistic goal isn’t worth the thought, especially when compared to mine.”

Taking a moment to think, Tomako bit her lip and looked out to the risen sun. The samurai continued to stare at her, unmoved by her established journey and growing impatient with her presence. With passing time, she returned her attention to the man.

“You were wrong in your claim that my horse could not keep up with yours.” Naturally, the man looked aside with irritation. “With that being said, you’ve proven that you can be wrong with your claims. For all you know, I may very well accomplish a trip to Svatpa; also, I may very well prove useful to you on your trek to Korion.”

“I was incorrect about your horse; I admit this much and nothing more.”

“So, surely I can prove myself competent in some shape or form. Enough so that you would permit my tagging along.” The samurai raised a finger to respond but couldn’t beat Tomako. “What of a horse race? A duel? Perhaps -”

“Interesting.” The man crossed his arms. “Now you’re speaking in my tongue. I’m hardly persuaded by anything you can or have said; you best try and convince me of your practicality through impressive action.” The woman reached for her katana with one hand, yet, at the same time, moved a hand over her horse’s head. “But I see no point in having a race, nor do I in fighting a woman. Let me think…”

*No race? No duel..?*

Tomako sat back on her horse with skepticism, allowing the man time to think of a challenge. Ruling out these two things, however, struck fear into her soul. To make matters worse, he didn’t seem to have any idea himself what sort of challenge to issue.

It was only now, during the silence, that her stomach kicked her. Both her eyes popped as she fought back the urge to groan. To eat in front of the man would not get her far in terms of respect. For this reason, she became impatient with his search of a proper challenge.

“Hm…”

The samurai remained perfectly still with only his eyes moving left and right. Soon, his gaze came to a stop in the direction of the forest to their left. It was here that a simple yet enduring challenge came to mind.

“Alright, I’ve got a challenge for you, and I’ll even make it interesting.” Tomako sat tall with a chin up. “I just so happen to be carrying a pufferfish on me; toxins removed, of course.”

Tomako was quick to inquire, “Pufferfish?”

“It’s quite the delicacy, but very lethal if not handled correctly. Again, the toxins have been removed, so you needn’t worry on that front. The toxins do make for good assassin weaponry though.”

The woman puckered her lips and sent him a questionable face, “I’m supposed to trust that you’re offering me a non-toxic fish?”

“What? Do you really believe I’d poison an innocent Imperyean woman in exchange for accomplishing a challenge?”

She thought of the odds that this man does give her a toxic fish, but ultimately, reached a similar conclusion. “And what of the challenge?”

Pointing west, Tomako’s attention was brought to the large forest. “If you move through that forest, all the same, you’ll end up a few hills away from Korion. The problem is, the forest becomes very dark by evening, hosts Dayaking wolves, and the trees mean you’ll have to always be paying attention when directing your horse. Otherwise, your horse may take exception to the many sticks and trees in its way.”

Tomako quirked her mouth at him, “Is that it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“It is for a woman who is with only herself and a sword.”

She added, “And a horse companion.”

“I will set up camp by the forest’s northeastern exit. If you move in the correct direction, you will meet me there.” He took a moment to calculate the sun’s movement. “If you can exit the forest by the time the sun centers itself directly above us, I will go the remaining distance with you.” Tomako nodded to the challenge. “As a bonus, if you can meet me at the exit *before* that time, I will throw in the pufferfish. A fair reward for a semi-demanding challenge.”

The woman examined the dark forest with partial fear, but ultimately placed a hand on her mount and said, “I accept your challenge.”

“Admirable.” He ordered his mount forward slowly. “Now, you best get moving. The more ground you gain tonight, the less of a chance you’ll fail.”

“Wait!”

The samurai stopped his horse and turned his whole body, “What?”

Tomako lowered her eyelids and crossed her arms, “Apologize to my horse.”

His eyes widened, “Excuse me?”

“You insulted my horse recently. That horse made a fool out of your words by catching up to you.” She curled her brows at him and with a lip out. “So, apologize.”

The samurai was left blinking and looking around for a hint of a joke. There was no joke to be seen on her.

“Uh… sorry… horse.”

“That was the most forced apology I’ve ever heard.”

Soon, Tomako gazed upon the forest before her while still atop her horse. It was a city of trees containing more shadow than light. Though the challenge did not shake her while speaking with the samurai, seeing the forest up close now did have her a bit chilled. Among some of the concerns it brought her, one notable fear was that no one would be around to help her if needed; on the other hand, it also meant she was unlikely to run into crime. Wildlife and human error are what she had to fear with this task.

Despite the many fears, Tomako locked her eyes onto the forest of darkness; both eyebrows remained dropped and without movement.

*The samurai was exaggerating the difficulty. Will this route prove more challenging? Yes, but not by much. It’s more of an inconvenience than a challenge…*

Of course, her horse remained calm and ready, but unaware of Tomako’s intention to venture into the dark forest. This changed, however, as the woman ordered the horse forward, informing it that they would be heading straight for darkness. With that, the samurai’s challenge had been initiated. Assuming the travel goes well, Tomako could guarantee herself a guide to Korion—albeit an unfriendly one—plus a possible fish reward.

There existed a lot of shade but very little opening for light; even with wildlife aside, it was no wonder Yonitsune advised against entering the forests. The biggest issue Tomako came across an hour in was undoubtedly the lack of light. With the forest so wide and the trees creating a ceiling, per se, there existed no major source of light even with the day being young. This was a bad inconvenience in that the sun could not be located, which she could use for both direction and as a time indicator. Without the sun, there was no telling if she was making good time or not. A day from now, it would be her best guess if she was anywhere close to satisfying the samurai’s challenge, let alone acquire a pufferfish.

Lack of light continued to serve her primary concerns as the Imperyean traveled with a face up. The blue sky was visible through mere cracks in the ceiling of leaves, but the sun’s location remained a mystery. All she could grasp from this was that it was still daytime. This presented a much more concerning issue.

Bringing her gaze down onto the forest itself, Tomako revealed to herself a somewhat panicked expression. The forest was dark enough on a sunny day; the first moment the sun sets, what little light currently exists in the forest would go with it, and then she would be situated in pure blackness. Unlike the previous night, it would be literally impossible for her to continue traveling through the evening without a mobile light source of some kind.

“Without the evening to travel, I’ll be losing a lot of time that I could be using -”

Her voiced monologue was discontinued, for her stomach delivered a mighty blow, thus causing her to wrap an arm around herself. There continued to exist the situation of hunger, something to this moment she was still neglecting to handle. She had enough edible raw foods to get her by for now, but eventually, she would have to teach herself to cook in the wild. She would soon have no choice but to prepare an actual *meal*, and this meant figuring out how to get an impressive fire going.

Tomako, still holding her stomach, was quick to dig into a horse satchel. There was a disturbing drop in morale as she dug around for literally anything to eat. The ending result had her with an onion and radish, though this only furthered her undying desire for something warm and filling.

*I need to at least try and get a proper meal going…*

Understanding that her mission could not simply be to exit the forest in one fast move, her objectives switched over to that of camping. Somehow, given that the forest’s darkness would eventually become impossible to see through, she would need to install the perfect campsite. The first issue here came with the topic of firewood.

*Most of these trees are too tall, but some of these might be just short enough to cut…*

On this note, Tomako made a change in direction and brought her horse up to one of the few short trees in the area. It was only atop her horse that she could reach one of the branches. Coasting by the tree, the woman unsheathed her katana and readied for a vertical strike.

CRACK!

Her swing broke the large branch. Tomako further impressed herself by catching the entire branch midair before it could hit the horse. Immediately, the woman recognized a difference with the texture of this branch from the ones she had gathered the last night. No doubt, this would be far more flammable than the last.

Content with the bounty, Tomako put away the sword and ordered the horse forward while proceeding to snap the large branch into smaller pieces. This was, perhaps, enough to create a fire with. For the safest measures, she felt it necessary to overextend on wood; this would hopefully ensure a lasting fire, providing she could successfully make one.

As many hours went by, Tomako found her horse beginning to lose its burst of energy. This was understandable to her given the rough terrain and unfamiliar environment of trees. As was expected, with the sky dimming, the forest became darker and darker. At this point, Tomako knew it was time to start scouting for a camping ground. At this time, she had about thirty sticks tied to the horse, surely enough to keep a fire going for as long as needed.

With only an hour or so remaining before the darkness would become impossible to see through, Tomako gathered that it was worth sacrificing the extra hour of travel so that she could get an effective start on camp. With any luck, she would make up for the lost hours by waking up at the crack of dawn. She couldn’t be too far off from the forest’s exit; early morning travel could still find her meeting up with the samurai ahead of schedule.

With continuing minutes of travel and search, Tomako soon discovered a fallen tree. Its size made for an excellent place to rest as it would provide her with a sort of wall. If she were better equipped and educated, the fallen tree could have made for a good tent foundation.

Like with the previous night, Tomako stomped a hitching nail deep into the ground and secured her horse to it. With her mount secure and a resting place found, it was time to finally try and resolve the hunger crisis. She hadn’t eaten anything significant since her stay at Otomo’s, an event already becoming distant to her. She was long overdue for a proper meal.

Before working on the fire, a proper offering of food had been provided to the horse, then came the need to serve her own interests. There still existed the original problem of setting up a fireplace. Creating the sparks needed to ignite a fire was only part of the process, Tomako still lacked the additional knowledge of setting this up. She did, at the very least, dig a circle to work from. She skipped any setup involving stones, instead just throwing the sticks into the hole and defending this as an optimal setup.

The woman sighed nervously and held up both the flint and steel once more. This time, she knew to strike the two together rather than rubbing. She was more energized this time around while making sparks, but once more, a lack of immediate fire provoked impatience. Each collision led to brighter sparks, some of which she thought for sure would strike up a flame. Regardless, this fire making endeavor started as fruitless as the last. She continued on with this process for the coming minutes, and of course, fretted over the possibilities of success or failure.

*If I can’t get a fire going this time, I’ll have to consume what remains of the fruits and vegetables. The remainder of my trip to Korion would be spent with nothing at all in my stomach…*

High stakes brought obvious concern for the journey in its entirety. If she couldn’t even reach Korion without starving, her chances of reaching Swatsland with a full stomach would be no easier. Eventually, she would have to master this skill.

Out of desperation, Tomako got in close and began to create sparks at a faster speed. Only now, at last, did she find some level of success; though she suffered the repercussions of striking so close to the wood. While a small flame had erected, it also managed to kiss her hand in the process.

Mixed feelings came about as she partially cheered on the existing fire, but waved her burnt hand around in a panic at the same time. The burn was of no real consequence, aside from that it would redden up and likely blister in the coming days. As painful as it was, Tomako retained her best attention on the small but growing flame. Without a proper setup, it was likely destined to remain small, especially with only sticks being used as fuel.

Her horse seemed disturbed by the existence of a fire but didn’t make a show out of it. Tomako, still waving her hand, put on a showing of glee. It was nothing to brag about, but would undoubtedly be the fire she so badly needed. What mattered above all is that it was a guaranteed meal.

“At last!” Tomako crawled underneath her horse and looked up to dig in the raw foods bag. Her excitement remained as she searched for something large enough to settle her stomach. “And thank you for persevering this trip with me. You’re a wonderful—l…” She briefly glanced up. “A wonderful *stallion*!”

The utter darkness she feared would come quick, but fortunately, Tomako blessed herself with a light source that she could even say got bigger with the implementation of more wood. While still not a masterfully made fire, it would be true to say that her decision to add so significantly to it over the course of an hour gave it bigger and longer life.

The night was darker than she had ever seen, and without the fire, it would be impossible to see a thing. Scary as this was, it wasn’t enough to put her mind away from the cooked beef in hand. The woman was not so etiquette in handling the cooked beef even with the gods as apparent witnesses. The fact of the matter was that she was hungry and the road ahead a vague one. If this all ended with the Swatslandic grabbing her in Korion and putting her on a slave ship to Swatsland, she’d like to at least say that she went down on a good meal. Of course, it helped that the protein was coated in the rich additive known as pride; this was an accomplishment she could be truly proud of.

A paranoid Angel bit into her beef while suddenly eyeing up the darkness around her. There wasn’t a sound to be heard past the cracking of fire, yet she couldn’t help but wonder…

*What if this is a test in the making? Perhaps that samurai is standing in waiting, preparing for the right moment to strike and test my readiness…*

Her mind was comforted by the idea that he wouldn’t dare test her with *actual* swords, but at the same time, she knew the samurai to be so elite that he very well could test her with a real weapon. It seemed all too realistic for a samurai to give her such a test considering this challenge, thus far, only tested her bravery in the dark. Again, though, the idea of testing Tomako with a surprise attack from the dark using a real sword seemed too dangerous even for the samurai.

She bit into the beef again but stopped immediately after. She was so certain that she wasn’t alone that there almost existed a wish for sound; just a single footstep that might confirm her fears. There was no such sound, only burning wood and occasional horse sounds.

After finishing the beef, or rather everything that her stomach would hold, Tomako decided to finalize her night with some lone swordplay. In her mind, if the samurai *was* somehow spying on her right now, it would only serve her interests to show off her fight.

Just as she had been doing for days in Boshtang, the Imperyean practiced a variety of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal attacks, along with their defensive counterparts. Every bit of effort went into replicating what she had learned from Otomo, the surrounding darkness did nothing to her morale in a state of fight.

Tomako, a bit playfully, jumped atop the fallen tree she camped by and pretended as though she were in fierce combat with an opponent. With a clear vision of how an opponent may face her, she focused primarily on defensive moves and on the occasional counter-attack. One thing she picked up on was that her attacks were fast and concise. The problem, naturally, was that without Otomo around to critique her, she knew not as to whether any of these moves were flawed.

To avoiding exhaustion, Tomako soon dropped herself from the fallen tree and positioned herself by the fire. The night was young, but the utter darkness made further travel quite impossible. As it would seem, her best strategy would be to retire now and awake at dawn. Plus, by resting now, her horse would receive the best possible number of hours to reenergize.

In preparation for this day to end, the Imperyean had appropriated a toothbrush and paste from her supplies. If there was one thing an Imperyean treasured nearly as much as their pot of honor, it was dental hygiene, and Tomako was no exception.

She paced around the campsite while brushing her teeth. *What is this rebellion that the samurai brought up..?* This question was followed with narrow eyes and a shifted jaw, but she continued brushing. *Is this Council of Five he mentioned part of some rebellion? An anti-Swatslandic rebellion? Perhaps they would know if my parents remain here in Imperyea…*

The woman spat, licked her teeth clean, then put away her dental assets.

“I wonder if this Council of Five would have any way of getting me to Krucifix…”

With her stomach full, her horse asleep, and her teeth now clean, there was only one thing left for the woman to do on this night. She put herself at a safe distance from the fire, closed her eyes, and gently dropped to her knees in a moment of designed peace.

“Gather my breaths, God of Kushyrin…”

Tomako’s Puritonist prayer was not followed by speech or even mental words, in fact, it was more like meditation than prayer. In this state she put herself in, Tomako’s single most important concern was with clearing the mind of conflict and creating a spiritual connection with the god of her island. She may pray on the island of Dayaking, but her soul would always be in the presence of a Kushyrin god.

From the point of belief for this Imperyean faithful, the God of Kushyrin was who protected her, who allowed her to be born, and who responded to her pot of honor where applicable. She was unified in her worship of all Imperyean island gods, but it was the god of her very own island that she treasured the most.

In her state of prayer, it would take nearly five minutes of perfect stillness to achieve a clean mind. No pain, no joy, no desire—only a woman and her God of Kushyrin. By the time this spiritual connection reached its end, the Angel’s eyes would open with great exhaustion. It was as if she had just returned from the most exhausting task.

At last, the woman fell backward from her prayer position and ended up flat on her back. For those coming moments, Tomako looked to the sky she could not see. Somewhere above her existed a moon, yet she saw nothing; not even a star could be seen through the trees. She did have to commend herself for being so brave. This was an experience only someone independent could have, and an independence was not something she had much experience with nor would she once this journey ends. She could find her parents in Swatsland and continue to live with them, or, she could wed and start a family of her own. The fact of the matter was that it was here and now that she was alone in an otherwise cruel world; this was the one time in her life where she stood truly independent. She was independent, but also alone.

Regardless of what choice she makes for her future, the main goal on her mind right now was getting to the bottom of her family’s abduction. With this, she dozed off in the grass, discontinuing her thoughts on the matter while the thick of night finally took her…

:: ..? ::

As the hours went by and Tomako continued to slumber, she found herself in an entirely different world comprised of dreams. These dreams were not filled with the usual amount of horses and cute men; she instead found herself in the center of a very unorthodox state of mind.

Clothed in a white bathing robe and soft slippers, Tomako lowered her brows and looked around with puckered lips. Her environment was without limits, it was just an empty void of swirling colors. Red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and more. The colors swirled, moved, stretched, and changed hue constantly. The world she stood in could not possibly be one found in the real.

The woman rubbed her chin and asked, “What kind of sorcery does my mind play on me?” A further moment of study left Tomako somewhat frightened by the surreal colors. “Oh dear…”

After observing the bathing robe she found herself in, Tomako took her first steps forward. Her travel would not last long, for in the seconds to follow, she was stopped by a very energetic woman from behind. This was the farthest thing from a familiar face, too.

“Hi—i!” the young woman shouted.

Tomako forced both hands over her ears and replied, “Gah! Why do you shout at me so?”

Facing her was a strangely optimistic blonde woman with blue eyes. She was fitted with a gray tunic, dark boots, and a green knit hat of Svatpean quality. The Imperyean was confused, to say the least, but faced the dream with honor and respect.

“Uh… hello,” Tomako greeted.

The younger woman struck an optimistic pose and cheered, “Don’t worry, you’re dreaming!”

“I figured.”

The dream woman, clearly of Svatpean build, proceeded to pace around while keeping both eyes on Tomako, “Yep! I just wanted to tell you that…” she clapped her hands and beamed, “That you can’t give up on your ambitions! Anything is possible if you put your mind to it!”

Tomako pocketed both her hands and nodded, “Of course. I won’t give up on my Swatsland quest, no matter how many people call it a fool’s quest.”

The blonde stopped moving and winked, “Yes, that’s good. But I mean, your ambitions.” Tomako’s confused stare spoke a thousand words. “You see, Tomako. There are two things that lead you. Your honor is one, and your heart is the other!”

The Imperyean reached for her chest, “My heart?”

“Yeah!” The woman faced Tomako before fluttering her eyes. “Your honor desires a successful trip to Swatsland, but your heart longs for a fruitful life as a professional horse trainer.”

Tomako placed a finger over her lip, “O—Oh..! I see. Yes, I would very much like to be a horse trainer.”

The young woman blinked, “And you can make it happen! Go to Swatsland and finish your quest, then pack things in by training and selling horses!”

“Yes, yes. So as long as Father allows me to do so.”

This response led the younger woman to lower her brows, “Why would you let your father control your destiny? You know he’ll crush your dream of becoming a horse trainer by demanding that you serve him.” With a moment to think, she added, “Plus, as an independent horse trainer, you can get some cats!”

Tomako stepped back with a hurt face, “Why would you say that about Father? How do you know he’ll continue to have me serve him?”

With low eyelids, the optimistic woman gave a cold response, “You tell me. This is your dream…”

The Imperyean responded with a grunt and closed teeth.

:: Present ::

In reality, the fire continued to burn, but meanwhile, her horse constantly moved in a big panic. Tomako had been in a state of sleep for hours now, but the constant horse panic was once again enough to dispel her unconsciousness. Soon forcing her eyes open, Tomako grumbled and rolled around in a fit of panic herself; this horse’s behavior was too erratic for the thick of night, especially when he had fallen asleep before his master.

At first, she questioned whether the behavior pertained to the fire she forgot to put out, but this ended up not being the case. The darkness of the forest revealed several glowing eyes, none of which were being subtle in the slightest. The Imperyean reached for her sword and began to analyze the situation more closely. The two were being faced by wild animals, clearly, but the unusually bright eyes are what left her stunned.

“Hello?”

She rubbed her eyes, which helped reveal to her a band of aggressive wolves, no doubt in her mind angry over her intrusion into their forest. She had been warned about wolves but entered the forest anyways. It wasn’t her first ever encounter with these creatures, but these were far scarier than any she had ever seen; the glowing eyes did well in striking fear into her.

Fortunately, they were not attacking; they only imposed threatening gazes and growls. Tomako came closer her horse with a steady grasp of her sword, feeling that a sign of alliance with the horse would do her well. Unfortunately, she had no idea what to do against a clan of wolves. Two of the five wolves were sharking around a certain boundary, the others stood their ground in aggressive stances. Tomako had no intention of being an aggressor, but she would strike down each one if need be.

As time went by, it became apparent to Tomako that the wolves were acting out of self-defense, threatened by the presence of a human encroaching on their home. On the other hand, it was possible that they had come with the intention of feasting on her horse. Either way, she held the belief that they meant *her* no harm.

Tomako grabbed onto one of the burning sticks and held it up, causing some of the wolves to raise their ears.

“Go on, get away!”

She tossed the flaming stick toward the pack, which apparently did her justice, for the entire group panicked and backed away. Tomako then took slow steps toward the cowering wolves, but as she neared the burning stick, the entire pack turned and rushed away barking.

The Imperyean was left with a beating heart and nervous stature, unsure of what to take away from this encounter. Her horse began to settle as the danger became distant, but Tomako remained on edge. Given that the forest was still pitch black, sleep was still well-recommended; although with wolves now on her mind, the desire to get back to traveling had intensified.

After putting out the flaming stick, she returned to the fire with teeth gritted. Putting out the fire would be smart, yet if there was a wolf threat, it might be suggested to keep it ablaze. She mulled over this but ultimately decided to go with the risk of leaving it lit.

It was a hard decision to make, but Tomako dropped herself back onto the ground and returned to her slumber, or at least tried to.

Much later, Tomako awoke to a lighter forest, but she still hadn’t the first clue what time it was. At this point, supplies became a concern, primarily edibles that she could eat while riding. It’s not that Otomo sent her off ill-prepared on goods, only that what she had was mostly to be cooked. She was in bad need of food that could be eaten while riding.

Fortunately for the woman, quick pacing and a good sense of direction eventually led her to what she conceived to be the forest’s end. No more than a mile away existed the sight of a blue sky and lack of trees; the width of the forest was narrowing the father she went, thus indicating that the northeastern side of the forest was in the shape of a triangle.

Maneuvering past trees and fallen branches, Tomako kept her eye on the forest exit. Now came the next natural thought to have.

*My timing feels right. I should find that samurai somewhere out here…* Despite not having left the forest yet, her eyes scanned left to right in search of the man. With no sign of presence, she became nervous about the whole challenge. *I won’t get my hopes up on the fish reward, but my endurance should have at least secured me a guided travel to Korion…*

Soon, Tomako would cherish the moment when she exited the dark forest and came into the light once again. She, at last, took a break here by halting her horse; next, she looked up to the sky, where she found a fresh sun not even over her head yet.

*It is late in the morning. I’ve accomplished the challenge and exceeded his expectations…*

With this in mind, the woman scanned her surroundings for the samurai, believing this to be the point of the forest he expected to meet her at. There was a lack of surprise when discovering the absence of such a man. Curiously, there existed only a planted stick and paper.

The stick was the only notable object in the area, yet Tomako dismissed it for several seconds as she continued her search for the man. Even when squinting to see afar, there was no sign of human life.

“…the deal was that he would meet me here…” she muttered in discontent.

Now under fair frustration, Tomako dismounted her ride and walked herself over to the planted stick. She needn’t doubt that this was a letter intended for someone, but the idea that the samurai would abandon their deal for any reason came to Tomako’s mind as too dishonorable for reality.

She grabbed onto the paper and carefully removed it from the stick. For her own good, she assumed this was left behind for her eyes only. Thus, she opened it and was met with a written letter plus a quick sketch of a map leading to a location—likely Korion. This made her fairly certain that the letter was for her and written by the samurai. This was where an issue was presented.

The Imperyean’s eyes darted all over the letter at random, gazing upon the many black ink characters with confusion. The map made enough sense to her, but the actual letter itself was intangible to her illiterate mind. It was her best guess as to what the paper said. Regardless of what the letter said to her, the takeaway in her mind was that the samurai wasn’t here.

A frustrated woman closed the letter and groaned, yet she pocketed the paper for later use. The samurai owed her a pufferfish, but she was willing to be reasonable enough with the map he had drawn out for her and call this a reward on its own.

Tomako raised the letter again and pointed at the depicted tip of the forest, where she stood. A black circle had been drawn near this area to indicate her current location; from here, past two large hills and several farms, an ‘X’ existed by the shore.

While studying the map, Tomako couldn’t help but notice something else; something on the ground. Directly below her were the prints of hooves heading northeast from this planted stick. Though likely not an intended hint of direction, it led Tomako to one solid conclusion. If she wanted, she could follow the samurai’s tracks and perhaps end up right behind him. In this case, though, she wasn’t at all interested in seeing him again, she was more so interested in reaching Korion.

Finally, she pocketed the letter and returned to her horse. The animal remained still as she mounted herself over its back once more; its gaze was set on the hill directly ahead of them as if knowing where they would be heading.

Tomako ordered the horse forward, “We have one last leg to this trip. I don’t know what that letter said, but I’ll take it for what it is. Helpful enough.”

With this, the two continued their journey in what would hopefully be a simple distance through the countryside. Assuming she reaches Korion soon, there would be no rush in leaving as she’d be surrounded by merchants once more willing to provide her with food. As a bonus objective, she now had a letter to be read, and no doubt there would be someone in Korion who could do so for her.

For better or worse, her destined arrival at Korion was near, and with it, an end to her days in Imperyea. For all she knew, she could be stepping foot on the Krucifixan peninsula any day now. From this point forward, everything depended on excellent preplanning and circumstance, but especially circumstance. By the gods, she was determined to ride this journey to the end.

To be continued!

**Chapter 6 < | > Chapter 8**

## Author Notes

#### Chiya Flower's Cameo

While it is a thinly veiled easter egg I have long come to not care for, I have nevertheless maintained a cameo appearance from Chiya Flower—protagonist of F-Zero: Seppuku—in this chapter. Tomako dreams of a Svatpean (European) woman who bears near identical features to Chiya, as well as a matching personality, in what is ultimately meant to be surprise cameo. The scene was originally thrown in as a wink to the early EngelReise audience, all of whom were longtime F-Zero: Seppuku readers at that point, as well as to help get the chapter to its minimal word count needed for completion. I came to dislike this scene pretty much since the day I released the chapter to the public, but at this time have no interest in officially removing it from the story.

## Chapter Illustration

This illustration depicts Tomako and the Imperyean samurai, presumably capturing the moment Tomako caught up with the man in a semi-gloating manner. For a very long time following this chapter's release, this image of Tomako and her horse would be used elsewhere for situations where Tomako was to be identified.

Prepared entirely over Adobe Photoshop, there was a more concentrated effort to create better looking terrain as it became apparent from previous illustrations that this was an area where improvement was needed. At this point in time, horses were traced from frames found in horse videos, albeit with changes done to the saddles, manes, and colors.