Chapter 10:
The Man With Many Furs
Return From Sacrifice
It was only an hour after his departure that something crossed Sasaki’s path. The thick foliage bursts aside, and a large, boar-like creature with tusks the size of trunks barrels toward Sasaki. It seems to be in a fit of rage, stumbling over due to its speed and size; unfortunately, its sights land on Sasaki, but unfortunate for who?
Sasaki quickly reaches towards his binder and pulls out a ready-made ritual circle. In his other hand, he flips his ring to reveal the needle hidden within. With both hands ready, he pricks his thumb with his ring and brings it to the ritual circle.
With a touch of blood in the middle, the page begins to glow.The light darts out of the page and burrows into the dirt before Sasaki. Just as it comes one step too close, large metal spikes sprout from the ground and shoot upward with extreme speed, impaling the boar that towered over Sasaki.
It squeals in pain, but quickly slumps over, its organs ravaged beyond repair.Sasaki clasps his hands in prayer.
“Thank you for your sacrifice. I needed some food for the journey.”
He grabs another page and follows the same steps. Once blood hits the page, it glows and transforms into a paring knife. “I forgot to take one with me, thank goodness for these ritual circles.”
Sasaki scrunches his nose at his own words, unable to believe he just said that.
The boar was far bigger than what he could carry. So he only sliced about a quarter of the flesh off its body.
“I’ll leave the rest for a lucky predator.”
Sasaki sets the carved flesh close together. He once again pulls out a page from his binder and activates it with his still-bleeding thumb. The page begins to glow, and he lightly tosses it onto the stack of food, sticking his thumb in his mouth to stop the bleeding.
As soon as it hits the meat, an explosion of steam erupts from the flesh. Sasaki bats away the fog that gathers around his head. With the steam cleared, the effects are revealed. The meat, once dripping with fat and blood, has dried to a tough yet chewy texture, visibly reduced in size and salted to perfection. Sasaki sniffs the air.
“Mmm. That smells good! Hopefully it’ll last until I reach a town.”
Sasaki sat during one of his meals and began to feel thirsty. During his time in the cellar, he devised a ritual circle to summon water, which he’d been using to hydrate so far, but like the rest of his spells, it takes blood.
Sasaki feels he’ll die from anemia first if that’s all he used, especially since he needed to take many breaks to catch his breath. He realized at that moment that years of using his blood may have caused him to physically weaken. Changing gears, he decided to look for a source of water. He reaches into his binder for a blank piece of paper and his ink pen.
The brushes were too messy to bring, so Sasaki made a fountain pen to draw his ritual circles while traveling. He jots down a quick circle and pricks his finger for it. The page glows and floats up towards the sky. The ritual circle emits light particles that spread out far and wide to take in the environment.They then combine and pop! An arrow appears pointing into the distance.
This spell takes in the moisture in the air and points towards the largest source of it. Though of course, like most things, it has its range. Sasaki is happy that his first check is already leading him to a body of water. He walks in the direction of the arrow, which begins to fizzle away back to nothing.
It didn’t take long for the musky smell of a nearby river to assault Sasaki’s nostrils. The clearing parts, and crystal-clear water shimmers before him. His thirst kicks into full gear as he picks up speed. He drops to his knees on the riverbed, cupping his hands into a makeshift bowl. He slurps up the water, reveling in its refreshingness.
Sasaki had been collecting rainwater during his studies, but something about the river's taste brought back memories of home. He felt a pang of homesickness. Sasaki wondered if the children at the orphanage were doing alright and became lost in thought. So much so that he didn’t realize that he was being watched.
A bleat shocks Sasaki out of his thoughts, turning his attention just in time as a creature charges at him with blinding speed. Sasaki dodges. The river water splashes into the air from the beast’s large hooves. Sasaki scrambles to prepare for a fight, evaluating the beast before him. It was three times Sasaki’s size! At first glance, one might call it a goat, but despite its horns and hooves, its teeth were razor-sharp, suggesting its diet would 100% include Sasaki.
He grabs an appropriate page, pricks his finger, and swipes it onto the paper. Sasaki prepares for the activation, but notices there was no glow. He looks at his page, and his heart drops. Scuttling near the water, Sasaki had inadvertently splashed his binder, and the page he’d chosen had become soaked, causing the ink to run into illegible smudges.
Sasaki reaches towards his binder to find a dry spell, but the goat monster was quick. The clomps of his hoof pick up for another charge. Sasaki finds and pulls out an intact spell, but he couldn’t bring his blood close enough in time.
The horns were inches from his face. Sasaki thought that, despite everything he’d been through, his journey would end before it even really began. Maybe it was fate never to leave this forest after all. Sasaki closes his eyes, ready for impact. And an impact he did hear.
A large gust of wind whooshes past Sasaki with an audible thud. He opened his eyes, and the goat was no longer in front of him. The goat had been thrown into a nearby tree, causing it to collapse from the impact. The goat shakily got back on its feet, but its weight betrayed it, and it collapsed to the ground. A voice comes from the direction of the wind blast.
“Ah, I was a little rough there. Good thing I missed ya, or you’d be smooshed!”
Sasaki turns towards the chuckling voice. At first he thought he was looking at another beast of the forest! Furs of different colors were tangled tightly together, but on closer look, he saw they were skinned pelts wrapped around a humanoid figure. When it spoke again, he could pinpoint where its face sat in the mangled mess.
“I hope you don’t mind. It didn’t look like you had the strength to take on such a beast, so I’ll be taking it instead.”
The fur ball leaps into the air with grace, removing one of their dozens of pelts. They fan it out, revealing its full form. The humanoid creature drops onto the goat monster, which has finally managed to keep its legs underneath it. The fur man spreads the pelt flat on its back and slams his hand onto its back. As if remembering something, his head perks up and turns towards Sasaki.
“Oh. You might want to close your eyes for thi-”
Sasaki quickly reaches towards his binder and pulls out a ready-made ritual circle. In his other hand, he flips his ring to reveal the needle hidden within. With both hands ready, he pricks his thumb with his ring and brings it to the ritual circle.
With a touch of blood in the middle, the page begins to glow.The light darts out of the page and burrows into the dirt before Sasaki. Just as it comes one step too close, large metal spikes sprout from the ground and shoot upward with extreme speed, impaling the boar that towered over Sasaki.
It squeals in pain, but quickly slumps over, its organs ravaged beyond repair.Sasaki clasps his hands in prayer.
“Thank you for your sacrifice. I needed some food for the journey.”
He grabs another page and follows the same steps. Once blood hits the page, it glows and transforms into a paring knife. “I forgot to take one with me, thank goodness for these ritual circles.”
Sasaki scrunches his nose at his own words, unable to believe he just said that.
The boar was far bigger than what he could carry. So he only sliced about a quarter of the flesh off its body.
“I’ll leave the rest for a lucky predator.”
Sasaki sets the carved flesh close together. He once again pulls out a page from his binder and activates it with his still-bleeding thumb. The page begins to glow, and he lightly tosses it onto the stack of food, sticking his thumb in his mouth to stop the bleeding.
As soon as it hits the meat, an explosion of steam erupts from the flesh. Sasaki bats away the fog that gathers around his head. With the steam cleared, the effects are revealed. The meat, once dripping with fat and blood, has dried to a tough yet chewy texture, visibly reduced in size and salted to perfection. Sasaki sniffs the air.
“Mmm. That smells good! Hopefully it’ll last until I reach a town.”
He gathers the now-dried meat and wraps it in a cloth bag. He deposits it into his bigger bag and hoists it over his shoulder. Sasaki gazes at the sun, noting its position. If he keeps going in one direction, he should eventually be able to exit the forest.
Sasaki sat during one of his meals and began to feel thirsty. During his time in the cellar, he devised a ritual circle to summon water, which he’d been using to hydrate so far, but like the rest of his spells, it takes blood.
Sasaki feels he’ll die from anemia first if that’s all he used, especially since he needed to take many breaks to catch his breath. He realized at that moment that years of using his blood may have caused him to physically weaken. Changing gears, he decided to look for a source of water. He reaches into his binder for a blank piece of paper and his ink pen.
The brushes were too messy to bring, so Sasaki made a fountain pen to draw his ritual circles while traveling. He jots down a quick circle and pricks his finger for it. The page glows and floats up towards the sky. The ritual circle emits light particles that spread out far and wide to take in the environment.They then combine and pop! An arrow appears pointing into the distance.
This spell takes in the moisture in the air and points towards the largest source of it. Though of course, like most things, it has its range. Sasaki is happy that his first check is already leading him to a body of water. He walks in the direction of the arrow, which begins to fizzle away back to nothing.
It didn’t take long for the musky smell of a nearby river to assault Sasaki’s nostrils. The clearing parts, and crystal-clear water shimmers before him. His thirst kicks into full gear as he picks up speed. He drops to his knees on the riverbed, cupping his hands into a makeshift bowl. He slurps up the water, reveling in its refreshingness.
Sasaki had been collecting rainwater during his studies, but something about the river's taste brought back memories of home. He felt a pang of homesickness. Sasaki wondered if the children at the orphanage were doing alright and became lost in thought. So much so that he didn’t realize that he was being watched.
A bleat shocks Sasaki out of his thoughts, turning his attention just in time as a creature charges at him with blinding speed. Sasaki dodges. The river water splashes into the air from the beast’s large hooves. Sasaki scrambles to prepare for a fight, evaluating the beast before him. It was three times Sasaki’s size! At first glance, one might call it a goat, but despite its horns and hooves, its teeth were razor-sharp, suggesting its diet would 100% include Sasaki.
He grabs an appropriate page, pricks his finger, and swipes it onto the paper. Sasaki prepares for the activation, but notices there was no glow. He looks at his page, and his heart drops. Scuttling near the water, Sasaki had inadvertently splashed his binder, and the page he’d chosen had become soaked, causing the ink to run into illegible smudges.
Sasaki reaches towards his binder to find a dry spell, but the goat monster was quick. The clomps of his hoof pick up for another charge. Sasaki finds and pulls out an intact spell, but he couldn’t bring his blood close enough in time.
The horns were inches from his face. Sasaki thought that, despite everything he’d been through, his journey would end before it even really began. Maybe it was fate never to leave this forest after all. Sasaki closes his eyes, ready for impact. And an impact he did hear.
A large gust of wind whooshes past Sasaki with an audible thud. He opened his eyes, and the goat was no longer in front of him. The goat had been thrown into a nearby tree, causing it to collapse from the impact. The goat shakily got back on its feet, but its weight betrayed it, and it collapsed to the ground. A voice comes from the direction of the wind blast.
“Ah, I was a little rough there. Good thing I missed ya, or you’d be smooshed!”
Sasaki turns towards the chuckling voice. At first he thought he was looking at another beast of the forest! Furs of different colors were tangled tightly together, but on closer look, he saw they were skinned pelts wrapped around a humanoid figure. When it spoke again, he could pinpoint where its face sat in the mangled mess.
“I hope you don’t mind. It didn’t look like you had the strength to take on such a beast, so I’ll be taking it instead.”
The fur ball leaps into the air with grace, removing one of their dozens of pelts. They fan it out, revealing its full form. The humanoid creature drops onto the goat monster, which has finally managed to keep its legs underneath it. The fur man spreads the pelt flat on its back and slams his hand onto its back. As if remembering something, his head perks up and turns towards Sasaki.
“Oh. You might want to close your eyes for thi-”
His words were cut off as a blinding light burst from the draped pelt. Electricity bursts from underneath, illuminating the whole forest floor and creating something so bright it might have been seen from the sky. The goat bleats in pain! Its voice shakes with coursing energy. All of its limbs straighten and convulse until life leaves its eyes. The goat monster collapses to the ground, defeated without a drop of blood. The furry man jumps off its back triumphantly.
“Oh yeah. This is gonna be a good one.”
He grabs a large skinning knife from underneath his collection of pelts and gets to work. He cuts open the goat’s neck artery and allows a large stream of blood to flow out. As it runs over into the river, Sasaki couldn’t help but think what a waste. He wondered what magnificent structure he could make with that much blood.
“Ha. What a disturbing individual I’ve become, huh?”
It became clear that the pelted man had forgotten about Sasaki’s presence, as he happily carved away, separating the skin and fur from the muscles. Sasaki sensed no hostility or bloodlust from the man, so he decided to dry his pages while he waited for him to finish his work. This was the first person he’d seen in years who hadn’t been after his life, so Sasaki was a little giddy at the prospect of conversation.
Not many pages were wet, so Sasaki cursed the odds of him picking out one of the few damaged ones. He had made these pages from grass fibers so they could withstand a little weather, but he didn’t think the ink he used would run so much. He had to rethink his spell book only a few days into his adventure.
Sasaki was so deep into devising a circle to create new ink that he didn’t even notice the pelted man had already successfully skinned the goat monster and had folded it onto his back.
“Yo.”
The man startles Sasaki out of his thoughts.
Sasaki jumps up and prepares a page. Just as he’s about to activate a smokescreen, the pelted man holds out his hands.
“Whoa. Let’s not get hasty. Look.”
He takes a pelt off of his back and flips it over to reveal the skin side. Sasaki’s eyes widened. A ritual circle was seemingly carved into it.
“No,” Sasaki replies. “I was held captive by them. I only recently escaped.”
“No shit! Same here!” The man chuckles.
“I’ve never seen a ritual circle like that.”
“I devised it myself,” Sasaki says, remaining suspicious.
“Ha! That’s hilarious. I didn’t think there would be any other geniuses out here, but small world, huh?”
He re-drapes the pelt on his back, as if re-draping it defuses all hostility. Sasaki was still wary, refusing to put his only weapon away like the pelted man.
“I’m Ryoushi! I’m not from the city, so no last name. What’s yours?”
Sasaki chuckles a bit, noting that his name literally means ‘hunter’. Ryoushi obviously has the means to kill Sasaki, so the fact they aren’t intertwined in battle means that at least, for now, there is peace between them.
Sasaki relaxes and introduces himself.
“Sasaki, I’m a village pastor. Or was a village pastor. I’m not sure the gods would accept me anymore.”
Ryoushi gives out a whistle.
“A man of god, huh? Couldn't be me. I’m all about the hunt, so that whole no-killing thing isn’t for me.”
Sasaki realizes that this Ryoushi doesn’t realize the church teaches against the killing of humans, not animals. Becoming more comfortable with Ryoushi’s presence, Sasaki continues.
“That ritual circle you had…”
Ryoushi perks up and smiles, retrieving it from his back again to display it before Sasaki.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
Sasaki gazes at it, deciphering each sigil.
“That is an interesting spell. I never thought of harnessing lightning. Could I see?”
Sasaki inches closer to the displayed pelt, reaching out his hand, but Ryoushi quickly pulls it away sheepishly.
“I, um… well, each one of these are pretty special. I caught and treated each one myself, and your hands might have something on them, so…”
Suddenly, an idea flashes across his face.
“Oh! But you can look at this one!”
He turns his back towards Sasaki, disrobing himself of many layers down to his skin. When the last layer falls, Sasaki gasps. Upon Ryoushi’s back was a ritual circle carved deep into his skin. The wounds were long healed, but the scars left divots that were similar to the carvings on his pelts.
But the biggest shock was from a large claw mark slashed deeper across it, disrupting the design. Sasaki instinctively reached out and touched the scars, his fingertips tracing the designs.
Ryoushi giggled.
“Hey, that tickles a bit.” Sasaki noticed his actions and pulled back.
“What happened?” He asked.
Ryoushi redressed himself, then leaned back on his hands, reminiscing.
“Ah, well, that’s a loaded question.”
Sasaki gazed at the sky. The sun began to dip behind the mountains, painting the horizon a reddish-orange.
“Well, it’s about to get dark. I’ll need to set up camp for the night and eat, anyway."
Sasaki realizes that he didn’t need to be convinced to stay. Sasaki lays a page down and activates it, creating a large hovering flame above it.
“Whoa! Now that’s handy.” Ryoushi exclaims as he trims the fat off of a slice of meat.
“It’ll only last a few hours, though. Not as long as a normal campfire.”
“Oh, then how about this.”
Ryoushi retrieves a squirrel pelt from underneath his robes and lays it on the ground. The pelt's skin was completely blank. In his other hand, he held a V-shaped blade. He looks at the fire-summoning page’s design and swiftly carves the pattern into the pelt.
“Done!” He exclaims, holding it up like a child showing off their family drawing.
Sasaki feels a foreboding as Ryoushi lays his freshly carved ritual circle before him. But before Sasaki could act upon it, Ryoushi activates his spell.
“With my spell, this should last us through the-” Suddenly, fire erupts from the pelt, creating a large ball of flames. It roared with a fury, climbing upward toward the sky before fizzling out, leaving a charred spot in the ground where the pelt once lay.
They both pause for a moment before Sasaki speaks up.
“I think we should exchange our research before attempting each other’s spells.”
“Agreed.”
It became clear that the pelted man had forgotten about Sasaki’s presence, as he happily carved away, separating the skin and fur from the muscles. Sasaki sensed no hostility or bloodlust from the man, so he decided to dry his pages while he waited for him to finish his work. This was the first person he’d seen in years who hadn’t been after his life, so Sasaki was a little giddy at the prospect of conversation.
Not many pages were wet, so Sasaki cursed the odds of him picking out one of the few damaged ones. He had made these pages from grass fibers so they could withstand a little weather, but he didn’t think the ink he used would run so much. He had to rethink his spell book only a few days into his adventure.
Sasaki was so deep into devising a circle to create new ink that he didn’t even notice the pelted man had already successfully skinned the goat monster and had folded it onto his back.
“Yo.”
The man startles Sasaki out of his thoughts.
“Are those ritual circles?”
Sasaki’s eyes go wide in terror. The only reason Sasaki knew what ritual circles were in the first place was because of his studies after his pastor’s sacrifice. To be in possession of these without the church's backing would just seem like indistinct scribbles.Sasaki jumps up and prepares a page. Just as he’s about to activate a smokescreen, the pelted man holds out his hands.
“Whoa. Let’s not get hasty. Look.”
He takes a pelt off of his back and flips it over to reveal the skin side. Sasaki’s eyes widened. A ritual circle was seemingly carved into it.
Studying it, Sasaki concluded it would send out copious amounts of electricity into its target.
“I’m not a cultist, are you?” The pelted man asks.“No,” Sasaki replies. “I was held captive by them. I only recently escaped.”
“No shit! Same here!” The man chuckles.
“I’ve never seen a ritual circle like that.”
“I devised it myself,” Sasaki says, remaining suspicious.
“Ha! That’s hilarious. I didn’t think there would be any other geniuses out here, but small world, huh?”
He re-drapes the pelt on his back, as if re-draping it defuses all hostility. Sasaki was still wary, refusing to put his only weapon away like the pelted man.
“I’m Ryoushi! I’m not from the city, so no last name. What’s yours?”
Sasaki chuckles a bit, noting that his name literally means ‘hunter’. Ryoushi obviously has the means to kill Sasaki, so the fact they aren’t intertwined in battle means that at least, for now, there is peace between them.
Sasaki relaxes and introduces himself.
“Sasaki, I’m a village pastor. Or was a village pastor. I’m not sure the gods would accept me anymore.”
Ryoushi gives out a whistle.
“A man of god, huh? Couldn't be me. I’m all about the hunt, so that whole no-killing thing isn’t for me.”
Sasaki realizes that this Ryoushi doesn’t realize the church teaches against the killing of humans, not animals. Becoming more comfortable with Ryoushi’s presence, Sasaki continues.
“That ritual circle you had…”
Ryoushi perks up and smiles, retrieving it from his back again to display it before Sasaki.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
Sasaki gazes at it, deciphering each sigil.
“That is an interesting spell. I never thought of harnessing lightning. Could I see?”
Sasaki inches closer to the displayed pelt, reaching out his hand, but Ryoushi quickly pulls it away sheepishly.
“I, um… well, each one of these are pretty special. I caught and treated each one myself, and your hands might have something on them, so…”
Suddenly, an idea flashes across his face.
“Oh! But you can look at this one!”
He turns his back towards Sasaki, disrobing himself of many layers down to his skin. When the last layer falls, Sasaki gasps. Upon Ryoushi’s back was a ritual circle carved deep into his skin. The wounds were long healed, but the scars left divots that were similar to the carvings on his pelts.
But the biggest shock was from a large claw mark slashed deeper across it, disrupting the design. Sasaki instinctively reached out and touched the scars, his fingertips tracing the designs.
Ryoushi giggled.
“Hey, that tickles a bit.” Sasaki noticed his actions and pulled back.
“What happened?” He asked.
Ryoushi redressed himself, then leaned back on his hands, reminiscing.
“Ah, well, that’s a loaded question.”
Sasaki gazed at the sky. The sun began to dip behind the mountains, painting the horizon a reddish-orange.
“Well, it’s about to get dark. I’ll need to set up camp for the night and eat, anyway."
Sasaki looks expectantly at Ryoushi, who suddenly perked up at the sound of food.
“Sounds good! Let’s roast the goat I caught, then.”Sasaki realizes that he didn’t need to be convinced to stay. Sasaki lays a page down and activates it, creating a large hovering flame above it.
“Whoa! Now that’s handy.” Ryoushi exclaims as he trims the fat off of a slice of meat.
“It’ll only last a few hours, though. Not as long as a normal campfire.”
“Oh, then how about this.”
Ryoushi retrieves a squirrel pelt from underneath his robes and lays it on the ground. The pelt's skin was completely blank. In his other hand, he held a V-shaped blade. He looks at the fire-summoning page’s design and swiftly carves the pattern into the pelt.
“Done!” He exclaims, holding it up like a child showing off their family drawing.
Sasaki feels a foreboding as Ryoushi lays his freshly carved ritual circle before him. But before Sasaki could act upon it, Ryoushi activates his spell.
“With my spell, this should last us through the-” Suddenly, fire erupts from the pelt, creating a large ball of flames. It roared with a fury, climbing upward toward the sky before fizzling out, leaving a charred spot in the ground where the pelt once lay.
They both pause for a moment before Sasaki speaks up.
“I think we should exchange our research before attempting each other’s spells.”
“Agreed.”
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