Michiko

A Squirrel-morph you meet in the Journey to the East who pays for your meal and knows way too much about you.

First encounter in Journey to the East

Pulling up a seat at a vacant table, you wave over a server and ask what they have to eat. The woman responds with a plethora of dishes you’ve only read about in your studies before going through the portal. Chaomian, Tangmian, Zhanjianmian, Chaofan, Huiguorou, Gongbao Jiding, Ludan, Baozi, Guotie, Jiaozi, Mantou, Bimbimbap, Japachae, Bulgogi, Kimchi.... You space out at some point, the woman’s voice fading into the background as your mind slips away.
A loud bang on the table pulls you from your fantasies and startles your waitress. Both of you snap your attention towards the source of the interruption. A small woman you’ve never seen before stares directly at you as if bewitched by your presence, a hand pressing down on a simple looking book with little outward design.

“We’ll both have some Tangmian, please.”
The waitress recovers from her slight surprise after hearing the order, quickly jots down the request and bows before taking her leave back to the kitchen. Well, at least you’re getting something to eat, and you’re not going to be alone either. Speaking of, you look over to your new guest. Quite the small woman with a human-like face, hands and her body shape is very much human, however, everything else about her is anything but.

Starting from the scalp, simple straight strands of cocoa brown, the ends of her tresses are dyed white and frame her face quite nicely. Down the center her hair is a darker shade of brown and rests between her eyes. And yet, the most prominent features that sit atop the woman’s head are two well-sized ears that share her lighter brown hair color while on the inside her ears become completely white. Coming down from her face, you’re greeted by a wide grin, her light green eyes twinkle knowingly, almost as if she’s found what she’s been looking for. The rest of her attire looks like regular clothing that matches her current colour scheme: a warm looking sleeveless sweater; white covers her chest while brown adorns the rest of the garment. Her arm coverings follow a similar style: white at the tip and the rest of the body is brown. You can’t really see her lower half due to the table but you suspect it to follow the same pattern. What really sticks out to you is her tail, it boasts similarities to the squirrels back in Ingnam. Large, fluffy and curled at the end while following the same color pattern as her hair: dark brown down the middle encompassed by lighter brown on the sides that end in white.
A squirrel-morph? It’s not the strangest thing you’ve seen in this world and you doubt she’ll be the last to surprise. Remembering your manners, you politely ask for the girl’s name, trying to play off your blatant staring. The woman seems unphased and reaches out to grasp your hand eagerly, “Oh, don’t worry too much about it, champion. My name is Michiko. And please, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the hero of our time.”
Hero? She’s getting a bit ahead of herself if she thinks you’re already a hero. After all, you’ve only just arrived on Mareth, how can she call you a hero? “Oh please, I don’t follow just anybody around, Navorn. I only keep track of the most valuable targets. It’s what I do.” ...How does she know your name? “Like I said, champion, I only follow the most highly valued targets, and you’re one of high priority. If you weren’t I wouldn’t have taken the time to start tracking you.”

Tracking you? Ok, why has she been stalking you and what makes you so special that she needs to? “Well, how about being one of the few champions to not get turned into a demon’s toy five seconds after stepping out of their portal? Quite the impressive escape you made, might I add. Like I said, it’s rare that champions make it past their first day, let alone a week, seems you’ve been doing well for yourself, Navorn.” She stares at you with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Off put by her revelation, you fail to notice your attendant returning with your meals. A bit startled and embarrassed, you thank her for the food and grab a few gems for her work. “It’s alright, Navorn. It was my request, it’s my responsibility to pay.” Michiko has already moved to pay, a large sum of gems gleaming in her hand. The waitress thanks her and bows to both of you, and takes her leave.

Returning your attention to you stalker, you begin your barrage of questions. How did she know where to look when you came through the portal? How long has she been keeping her eyes on you? What else does she know about you? Why are you the focus of her stalking? And why is she even stalking you in the first place? Isn’t this land too dangerous for someone of her small stature to be running around so carelessly?
“Slow down, champ. I do owe you some answers for watching you as long as I have, but you gotta give me some time to answer back!” She’s right and you do admit that it was rude to start flooding the person you just met with questions. You apologize and sit back, letting her have the floor.

“Alright then. First of all, it’s not that hard to find these portals, Navorn. I’m sure you’ve noticed that yours never closes and stands out. I’ve been around doing what I do long enough to know when each new champion is coming through. So, when it was time for that portal to spit out some new sucker, I was ready. All I had to do was wait in cover and see what you’d be like. And before you say anything, no, I was not going to intervene when the demons got a hold of you. I’m not the fighting type.”
Her small stature and body type makes it no surprise to you that she wouldn’t try to fight. She looks like she could barely lift a sword, let alone swing it.

“And as for how long I’ve been watching you, ever since you left the portal. I always stick close to my source. It’s mostly because it’s my job, but also because I was interested in you. Not so much the person, but more so where you’d end up. Most champs I see are captured, no surprise there, but the ones that aren’t are a little special. They warrant a closer watch. Sometimes they end up fine, and other times they don’t. I hope you prove to be a little more interesting than the previous champs. So far, you have.”
Her answers, as far as you can tell, are nothing but truth. She also answered every other question you had in one fell swoop. Seems she is just an innocent stalker. And if she’s so insistent on stalking you, it’s her decision. Judging by how long she said she’s been watching you, you wouldn’t be able to stop her if you tried. The only question that remains is, why did she approach you? She had no reason to, so why now?

“Well, champ, I had a question for you myself. You see, as I’ve said before you’re not the only one I keep tabs on. I know a lot of things and a lot of people. I hear rumors here and there, and make a living of off selling my information. Usually people want to know where the dangerous areas are or what’s going on in a certain place. And I know for a fact that you’ll need someone who has these answers by your side.”
Having a personal informant is great and all, but why does she want to go with you? Haven’t there been other champions who have been more successful than you? And what happens if you end up like so many others?

“Champ, I’ve been following you around long enough to know that that’s not going to be happening anytime soon. You think you’re not the first champion to make it far? I’ve got a knowing feeling that you’ll be going far. That feeling has never been wrong the few times I’ve had it. That’s why I want to come with you. Plus, it’d be pretty stupid to say no to free information, wouldn’t it?”
Free information is never something to pass up, but she wants to join you on a hunch? She understands the risk that comes with tagging along with a champion, she’s even said she’s not a fighter yet she still wants to come along?

“Yes, Navorn! You are literally history in the making! It’s my life’s work documenting people like you! I don’t care about the danger, not if it means I get to do my job as best I can. You don’t have to worry about my safety either. I’ve been following you for a while and you’ve never picked up on me. And trust me when I say that I know how to lay low.”
She makes a good case...and free info is always welcome. She understands the risk too. Well, there really is no other option but to say yes, is there? Fine. You’ll take her along with you.

“Great! And you don’t need to escort me, I know the way. When you return to camp and you ever want to chat, just call out for me when you’re near the forest. I’ll be there in a second.”
Right. Having nothing else to talk about, you dig into your meal. You both finish around the same time, and you thank her once more for purchasing the food for you. “Really, it’s no trouble at all, Navorn. For now, I’ll get started moving to camp. I’ll see you there.” You exit the tavern alongside her, waving goodbye as she walks down the road.

Michiko moves into your camp, setting up a tent which she fills up with books and scrolls she picks up from her bag.
Rathazul raises an eyebrow as the squirrel girl walks around and sets up her installations, though he swiftly goes back to his experiments.

While in Camp, you can got to the follower tab and ask her about different regions, including:

* Wasteland (the Explore button)
* Forest
* Deepwood
* Lake
* Desert
* Mountains
* High Mountain
* Plains
* Swamp

She also gives you an interesting little blurb on Marriage in Mareth.