Completed [Bronze Woods/Stormhold Citadel] Tree's Revenge (Genryuu)

[Wade]

45th of Summer, 513

Wade opened his eyes and beheld a tree trunk stretching forever upward, its branches blocking the sky but occasionally rustling in the wind enough to let beams of sunlight flicker down to blind him. His whole body hurt. Every limb felt as if it were weighed down by heavy chainmail and pain crawled out of his spine and out to all of his extremities.

He spotted a snapped branch far above him. He frowned, remembering that that branch had something to do with his predicament. He thought back, trying to hold on to a chain of memories.

Wade drew a bead on a rabbit, following it carefully as it ran through the underbrush. Then, right when it crossed in front of a tree, he released! Not wasting any time, he leapt up from his hiding spot and sprinted over to the spot.

However, the only thing he would be getting out of this hunt was tree-meat. His arrow had missed the mark and planted itself defiantly in the trunk of this great tree. The rabbit was nowhere to be seen and would be running away as fast as its legs could carry it.

Wade threw down his bow and punched the tree. That was the closest he’d been to a catch all day and he could not have asked for a clearer shot. He leaned heavily against the tree, resting his head against its rough bark and staring down at his boots. He was dead tired from creeping around the wood all day. He considered trudging back home and falling down into his bed.

No, he decided. He wasn’t going to go home empty handed. He looked up into the tree, thinking that he might be able to find a perch up in its branches and hunt the lazy way. He was too weary to do anything but drag himself home but the rest might give him the energy to continue his hunt.

Wade gingerly extracted his arrow from the tree, retrieved his bow, and mustered the energy to drag himself up onto one of the lower branches. He felt a rush as he stood up on the first branch. His mind was flooded with memories of climbing trees while his father was working. Grinning, he scaled a second branch higher up in the tree, then a third.

That branch snapped.

He yelped as he fell to the ground, dragging the branch down with him. He felt a searing pain in his back, and then nothing.

Wade realized that the branch was still, after perhaps hours lying unconscious at the bottom of the tree, clutched in a death grip by his numb hands. He wondered briefly if the tree was somehow sentient, that it had responded to being shot by tossing him on the ground. He snarled and tossed the branch away.

The tree trunk swirled about in his vision, dancing to celebrate its victory. Wade closed his eyes and resigned himself to lying there a little while longer.

[Genryuu Senkou]

45th of Summer, 513 AV

Genryuu had decided to spend some time after work to explore the Bronze Woods, for he had heard from a local herbalist that there was an abundant variety of medicinal herbs there for the picking. He was sorely dissapointed though, for all he had managed to find were some mushrooms, which he had managed to acertain were non-poisonous through the use of his acupunture needles.

However, as he veered off into some less-frequented paths, he managed to dig out a fresh set of garlic cloves. These were quite useful, for he had learned from the local herbalist that they could be used to treat infections. "Perhaps this trip was not a complete waste after all..." He muttered to himself as he stuffed these into his field Medical Kit.

It was just then that a rabbit burst out from the bush towards him, running as if from some malevolent predator. Almost by reflex, Genryuu stretched his body down low and snatched the rabbit by its neck with his extended arm. This was a technique often used while training for taking down his opponents to the ground by knocking his feet out from under him, and Genryuu was indeed quite delighted in himself that he somehow managed to apply it, almost from instinct to a novel situation.

"Poor dear rabbit, how unfortunate it is for you that I have renounced my vows as a monk and now am free to eat as much meat as I desire." He said nonchalantly, unwavered by the rabbits quivering eyes. "I wonder though, why were you in such a hurry?"

It was just then that he heard a sharp loud crack of a broken branch, followed by an all-too-human scream of pain. Realizing that clearly someone required help, Genryuu hurriedly snapped the rabbits neck, ending its miserable life, and stuffed it into a seperate satchel as he rushed towards the direction of the scream.

Through the bush and about a hundred yards north, lay a young hunter, as evident from his equipment of bow and arrows. The young man's leg was cast in an awkward angle, and upon closer examination, Genryuu realized that there was clearly some dislocation on his spine as well. Multiple gashes covered the man's body with bloody slowly trickling down from them.

"My, my, my... Aren't we in a pickle?" Genryuu muttered as he rummaged around his field Medical Kit for his tools of trade. "You are quite lucky that you managed to meet someone like me at this hour."

All of the lads wounds were, although severe, common place injuries. Most healers worth their salt could have treated them individually, but presented together, in an unsanitary outdoor environment, proved challenging even for Genryuu, who considered himself till then quite skilled in the medical arts.

First, he had to create a splint on the hunter's spine, for spinal dislocations tend to exacerbate and could lead to physical deformities if left alone. He had no wooden splints large enough to cover the hunter's back, and had to search painstakingly for branches that were both strong and flexible enough to be used as splints. His efforts were not for naught though, as he had after a short scavenge found not only two suitable thick branches but also a handful of elderberry flowers and berries, which had further medicinal uses.

Genryuu managed to properly set the hunter's spine with some effort, for the man was heavy and the dislocation severe. After tightly binding the spinal area with the branches, he proceeded to splint the man's broken leg as well, this time using some of the readily available splints in his field Medical Kit.

Night was fast approaching while he was attending to the young hunter, and by the time he finished setting the broken bones, Genryuu, sweating from the required concentration, decided to haul the man back to his apartment before continuing treatment. It certainly would not do for them to end up as a midnight feast for some wild predator.

"Ommpphh!" Genryuu exclaimed as he hauled the young hunter onto his back like a sack of potatoes, all the time paying careful attention to not disturb the splints that were applied.

Genryuu had trained alot in martial combat since a young age, and hence was no stranger to physical exertion. However, this hauling of a grown man was unlike anything he had done in the past. Each step of the way added a new notch of strain unto his already exhausted body. He nearly fainted from exertion while passing through the gates of Syliras, but managed to keep going through pride, willpower, and sheer determination to help out this unfortunate young hunter.

Through some miracluous or serendipitous event, Genryuu managed to haul the young hunter all the way back to his apartment in Stormhold Castle. Upon setting the young man down, he himself collapsed against the wall... completely exhausted and dehydrated.

"I'm just going to close my eyes for a little while..." He thought to himself as he faded out of consciousness.

He was awakened soon enough, however, by moans of pain from his patient. Although every muscle in his body was screaming in pain, he managed to drag himself off the floor and hurried to attend to the patient.

"Hush now, you're alright." He said in a coaxing manner, handing the young hunter some water. "Try not to move around too much, I've only just set your bones straight. Oh and chew on this, its a garlic clove. I know it doesn't taste great, but it'll help against any infections you might have gotten in the woods."

[Wade]

Wade blinked several times, feeling that something was different about his surroundings.

He was no longer staring up at waving branches of the victorious tree, but instead at a stone ceiling. He squinted to make sure he was seeing right. He could have sworn just a minute ago he was in the wood, not in the castle. He remembered pretty clearly falling out of a tree at quite a great height.

With some effort, Wade turned his head and saw an odd looking man wearing a strange robe sleeping against the wall. He frowned when, after a few moments, he decided that he did not know this man from anywhere. He realized that the man was probably a monk, given his appearance and the typical robes.

Had this man carried him out of the forest?

That was no small feat Wade decided as he considered the man. The man was roughly the same size as him and Wade was pretty sure he had been drug pretty deep into the forest by the various game he had chased all throughout. The trip to the innards of Stormhold Citadel from the gate was even pretty far, not to mention the rest of the journey.

Wade’s train of thought was stopped the next moment as he spotted something else of interest.

The rabbit that had evaded his pursuit and dodged his arrow was hanging out of a satchel that lay on the floor. Its dead eyes were staring at Wade, reminding him that he had whiffed the shot.

Wade told his muscles to sit him up so that he could go investigate, to see if this monk had somehow managed to hunt down his rabbit before helping him when he fell from the tree. His back erupted in agony the as he tried to do so, punishing him for trying to lean up.

Wade fell back as he moaned in pain. Though he had not felt it a moment ago, pain now arched up and down his body. His extremities were no longer numb but bit at him instead. Lightning arched back and forth in his vision and he found it hard to focus his vision on anything.

The monk was on him at once, handing him some water. The monk was speaking to him, but a ringing in his ears was drowning out whatever he was saying. He took a sip of water and the ringing died down somewhat, letting the monks mouth form words that would reach his ears. He took the garlic clove and put it in his mouth, as the monk had bid him.

Wade bit down on the clove and immediately his face wrinkled with disgust. It was almost worse than the pain, but the monk probably knew what he was talking about and Wade desperately wanted the pain to go away.

He forced a few words out of his mouth, past the choking taste of the garlic. “Who are you, and how did I get here?”

[Genryuu Senkou]

Genryuu handed the young hunter another cup, filled with a tea made from elderberry flowers. "For the pain..." He said nonchalantly. He busied himself with adjusting to the splints on the hunter's back and legs as he replied to the young hunter's questions.

"The name is Genryuu. Genryuu Senkou. I was passing by when I heard you fall." He said whilst applying a poutice mixed from the elderberry leaves and the garlic cloves to the various gashes on the hunter's legs and arms. "You were quite lucky that I happened to be rather skilled in medicine ya know." He added with a slight edge of pride. "Anyone else and you might have ended up as some wild beast's supper."

"As to how you got here... well I had to carry you." Genryuu said matter-of-factly. "It was definitely not easy, but on the bright side, I probably would not need much of a workout for the next few days."

"I wish I had some milk of the poppy to help you sleep, but we gotta work with what's available. I'm brewing up some mushroom stew and I'll be adding that rabbit soon enough." Genryuu said after being satisfied with the wound dressings.

"Don't expect much, I can't really cook as well as I can heal."

[Wade]

Wade forced out a cough, moving his hand up to cover his mouth. He secreted the half-chewed clove into his hand and back down to his side, as far away from his mouth as possible. The clove might have been helping him but in no way worth the awful taste.

Wade sparingly sipped the tea the monk gave him. Ugh, he thought, I wish everything this monk had wasn’t so bitter. The pain in his body was actually fading somewhat, though he couldn’t tell if it was because of the tea or because he wasn’t ordering it around anymore. He tried to stretch a little but his spine warned him that the idea was a bad one.

“I’m rather excited to eat that particular rabbit, though I’m not sure how you caught it!” Wade said. “I’d eat him burnt at this point. I chased that bastard for quite a while before he narrowly escaped me.” Wade grinned as he embellished the rabbit’s skill for escaping rather than his own failings in the hunt. “Thank you for carrying me and attending to me. My name is Wade. I’m just a lad raised here that fancies a hunt from time to time."

“So.” Wade turned his head to both sides, trying to relieve the soreness. “Are you a local to Syliras? And do you often wander into the woods to save random youths before they are eaten by wild beasts?”

[Genryuu Senkou]

Genryuu smiled inwardly as he saw the frequent grimaces the young hunter made from the tea and garlic that had been forced upon him. "Y'know, they have a saying in Nyaka. The best medicine are always the most bitter." Genryuu told the young hunter, whose name he just learned was Wade, as he began skinning and gutting the rabbit. He kept aside select innards such as the small intestines, hearts, gizzard and liver. They were a rare commodity and good source of meat on a rainy day.

By then, the soup had begun to bubble and boil, filling the small apartment with a warm smell of cooked mushrooms. "This rabbit? Well... lets just call it a bit of good luck." Genryuu said with a grin as he chopped the meat into small chunks and threw them into the soup. He didn't really want to go into detail describing his capture of the poor animal, as he feared that would hurt the young hunter's already damaged pride.

"I have moved to Syliras recently, and I'm entertaining the idea of settling here to be honest." Genryuu replied to the young hunter's questions. "And no, I do not usually go to the forest. I was there today because a local herbalist told me that there is an abundance of herbs to be found there. Sadly that was not the case, the sparse few that I did find... well you're consuming them right now."

The smell of cooked meat began to fill the room as well, but Genryuu decided to cook the rabbit stew just a while longer. The young hunter Wade would certainly not like to have food poisoning added on top of the rest of his ordeals. "So, I take it you're a hunter here in Syliras? How's the local game? Ever encountered any wild beasts on your trips, or heaven forbid, any useful herbs?" He inquired as he ladled and handed Wade a steaming hot bowl of Rabbit and Mushroom Stew.

"Oh and you can keep the rabbit hide, I don't have much use for that and it could bring you a pretty miza from some robeweaver."

[Wade]

Wade laughed. “Haha, I’m hardly a hunter. I think my trips to the forest are more like tours, with my bow taken along for the ride. Every now and then, I accidently come home with an animal in tow,” he joked. “I wouldn’t really know what herbs are useful or not. I only hope I haven’t stomped whatever you’re looking for into the ground, though maybe I’m just saving someone from the same bitter taste I’m choking on.”

Wade shifted his weight and winced at the pain. There was a crick in his neck and it demanded attention, though he feared that stretching might anger his body once again. He considered the bowl of rabbit stew that the monk handed him and his stomach growled loudly. When Wade had set out that morning he had gone on an empty stomach, determined to feed himself with whatever he caught so as to save some coin.

“That tree did some work on me,” Wade decided. “What are the damages?” He swallowed down some stew, burning his tongue but hardly caring as he satisfied the monster in his gut. The rabbit was all the more delicious considering the snide look he imagined on its face as it had evaded his pursuit. He considered the pelt that the monk had given him, wondering if he’d just take it home and plant his axe into it a few times for revenge’s sake.

[Genryuu Senkou]

"Oh come on now, don't be too harsh on yourself, no one was born knowing how to do anything." Genryuu said in a placating manner as he said on a bench, polishing his steel quarterstaff with an oiled rug. "The only way to get better at anything is to keep practicing until you practically drop, if you pardon my expression."

"As for damages, I'm afraid you've dislocated your spine in several areas, broken a leg, and got some serious gashes which are going to scar." Genryuu said matter-of-factly as he placed away his staff after being satisfied with the polishing. "I think your back is going to be alright as long as you don't move around too much for the next few days and damage the splint on it, and as for your leg, you're going to be using a crutch for the next few weeks at least, so be ready to put aside your hunting for now."

"On the bright side though, that fur is remarkably fine, and could probably get you enough mizas to sustain yourself till you fully recover. I'll try my best to expedite the process with some bone therapy and acupuncture." Genryuu said as he helped Wade lie down on the bed. He proceeded to turn Wade around before pressing down hard with both hands just above the site of dislocation on his spine. A sharp crack produced told Genryuu that some of the spinal bones have been re-adjusted to their proper positions. He proceeded to do the same by sharply rotating Wade's leg just above the knee.

"If it's any consolation, you could also spend some time at home or around the Fighter's Pit practicing archery, or even just stick to laying traps around the forest instead of active hunting." Genryuu said as he proceeded by drawing out his set of silver acupunture needles and placing four of them carefully at various points along Wade's spine and on sections of his spleen.

"So, while i have you here, why don't you tell me abit more about the Bronze Woods?"

[Wade]

Wade felt a pressure on his back and a sharp pain. He pushed his head down into the bed, forcing himself not to cry out. Then, remarkably, his back started to feel a little bit of relief. He almost smiled, but then he felt the monk’s strong grip on his leg and another sharp pain, this one more intense. This time, he did let out a pained grunt despite his best efforts. The pain started to fade away after a few moments but every tiny muscle spasm made Wade clench his teeth.

“The wood is, ah, a rather peaceful and quiet place closer to the city,” Wade said, pausing once in a while to grit his teeth against the pain. “The Syliran Knights do their job of keeping the area safe very well, and always have. There’s less game there, and probably less of the herbs you’re looking for. As you get farther away, where less people are willing to tread, you run into the juicier stuff. But there’s more risk out there too. I guess that’s the way if it.”

“There’s some dangerous beasts in those woods. I had a childhood friend who supposedly ran into one and wouldn’t ever go back into the wood. We called him a liar, of course, but the fear in his eyes when he looked at the wilderness beyond the gate was real enough. The general rule, as my pa said; if it’s running, you’re good to go. If it’s not, you’d better get out of there or find a tree to escape into. It’s best not to go too far without company and heavy weaponry.”

Wade felt some pricks of pain on his back, and strained to look over his shoulder at what the monk was doing. “What are the needles for, Mister Genryuu? I think I’ve got enough wounds.” He felt that he could trust this monk after he had apparently drug him all the way back to Syliras and done so much to take care of him, but the needles in his back were completely foreign to him. “Is this some monk trick?”

Wade still could feel the wet mass of garlic clove in his hand. That was a medicine that, in his opinion, was not worth the cost of the healing. Then again, he thought, perhaps the awful taste was meant to distract from the pain, rather than relieve it. Maybe the needles in his back, though they didn’t hurt beyond the initial pinch, were meant to distract from the pain in the other parts of his body.

[Genryuu Senkou]

"Sorry about that," Genryuu said after he finished cracking Wade's back. "Had to make sure that everything was in good shape before I let you stand up, and if I told you that i was gonna crack almost every bone around your spine, you might put up quite the struggle and cause further damage."

"So what happens beyond the area of the Knights patrol? Is it a lawless area frequented by bandits and slavers, or do the people there establish their own laws?" Genryuu asked with a slight hinge of curiosity. He had always been bothered by how the Knights seemed to only guard the immediate regions around the city. Surely further out into the woods, where there are less neighbours and more riff-raff people, would there be any serious need for patrols.

"Well i will certainly keep that in mind, perhaps I could join you some day while you're out hunting so that I can take a look for herbs in the more dangerous areas. A helping hand never hurts anyone. Would be after you fully recover, of course." He said, hoping to help ease the distress that Wade was surely feeling after knowing that he couldn't really hunt for a while.

"The needles were to help stimulate your various pressure points. That in turn helps increase blood flow and speed your recovery. Also, a few of them were placed at select nerve endings to help with the pain, so you're right on that count." Genryuu said as he washed his hands. It was a habit he ritually performed after treating any patient, for he had seen firsthand how careless physicians could transfer even more ailments to their already sick patients just from a slight disregard for hygiene.

"Well, I guess I'm more or less done with the treatment for now, so if you would kindly point me to your apartment, I'm sure you could do with abit more rest." Genryuu said as he helped Wade up. He handed the young hunter a long thick branch that he had picked up in the woods a few days ago. Genryuu had intended to use it for firewood on the colder nights, but now the branch has been put to better use as a crutch.

"I'll be sure to drop by every other day to check up on you and provide some more acupuncture treatments for the pain." He added as they left his apartment.