Chapter 175 - Nature Walk

“I don’t understand.” Char Char frowned, feeling a bit overwhelmed, “That’s not what I learned at all.”

“I don’t mean to start a fight. I only wanted to point out that what Lyssa is saying isn’t completely baseless.” Reid said with a shrug. He was about to add more but thought better of it.

“Yes...” Medusa said, calming down after the intervention from Reid, “In the end, the past is the past. What you and I learned may be at odds, but what matters is what we do today.”

“I see.“ Char Char said with hesitation as she looked between the two adults. “I have a lot to learn, I guess.”

“Keep your eyes down. Don’t involve yourself in things too big for your boots. That’s my motto.” Reid said, adding sardonically, “You’ll live longer that way.”

“He’s right. There’s a lot of danger in learning the truth.” Medusa said, smiling calmly at the Kumin girl, “But also, I believe that there are things that are worth fighting for.”

“Like restoring your homeland?” Char Char asked.

“Have you ever been to Fuha?” Medusa prodded.

“Once, when I was a child.” Char Char said, “We stopped by a small village just past the south border. I don’t remember much, except it smelled bad, and there weren’t any trees at all.”

“Yes… The stench of decay. You can’t get away from it in the Fuha of today, no matter where you go.” Medusa looked around at the forest, sighing wistfully, “But in the past, Fuha used to be covered in forest just like this. Can you imagine that?”

Char Char looked around at their surroundings, not feeling particularly sentimental. The thick canopy, though it was high above their heads, blocked out most of the afternoon sunlight, casting the forest floor in shadow. The trees had grown, mutated from the familiar straight, tall oaks and beeches into twisted black-barked trees that she didn’t know the names of.

A humid mist hung in the air, thick with the perfume of earth and pollen. God rays reflecting the scattered beams of light penetrated through the canopy, lighting up the thick vegetation that covered the forest floor. Dark, looping vines hung suspended above their heads, alive with the shadows of strange multi-tailed critters and buzzing insects that skittered about.

“It’s hard to believe.” Char Char said quietly after a moment.

They continued to travel southeast, following Medusa’s lead. Though they didn’t encounter any people or large creatures on their journey, it couldn’t be described as peaceful. The forest was brimming with life, filled with chirping and cawing from many different unseen creatures. The shadows in the periphery were constantly shifting about. Strange clacking noises echoed in the distance.

Medusa continued to show a nostalgic expression on her face throughout the journey. At one point she spontaneously climbed onto a large exposed root and motioned to Char Char to come closer.

“See here,” Medusa reached out to cup a large, fist-sized flower that was hanging down from a vine. It pulsed gently with an arrhythmic beat, its deep maroon bulb glistening with a sticky, glossy red sap as small fuzzy insects crawled around it, “This is a bleeding heart flower. They used to grow in my homeland hundreds of years ago, though now it’s impossible to find them. The juices are delicious and have many medicinal qualities. ”

“It certainly lives up to its name…” Char Char said, simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by the grotesque looking flower.

She glanced over to Reid, who didn’t seem particularly interested in it. Though he was somewhat on guard, he also seemed completely at home in this strange forest. He is a hunter, after all. Char Char nodded to herself, idly wondering if he’d been in similar forests elsewhere in the world.

Medusa released the flower, licking the sticky red sap off her hand as she continued through the forest. Several minutes later she pointed out some thick vines that were hanging down in thick cords. The vines were completely black and composed of many thin sinewy strands that dangled and drifted softly, as if they were being blown by an invisible breeze.

“These vines are called hair root. Even today they grow in Fuha, although these are much thicker and full of vitality. They have many uses, from making baskets and ropes, to using in stews and soups.”

“Soup?” Char Char kept her distance from the vines, getting an uneasy feeling in her stomach, “They don’t look very appetizing.”

“It softens up quite a bit once you cook it.” Medusa said, brushing a clump of strands out of the way as she passed under them.

Char Char frowned slightly, noting that Medusa didn’t actually refute her comment. She took the long way around the tree, avoiding the vines completely.

They continued on for a bit as Medusa pointed out several other plants to Char Char. The vegetation was alien and exotic to her, and despite Medusa’s enthusiastic attitude, she couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling. In fact, the further they ventured, the worse the feeling became.

Is it just me? Char Char wondered quietly to herself. She thought about bringing it up to Reid, but decided against it. She was the one that had pushed for this excursion, and they were already quite deep in the forest. She could see Reid looking at her like she was a silly, spoiled child if she showed hesitation at this point. At the very least the Hunter didn’t seem particularly anxious or worried.

The leaves of this tree are big and leathery and often used for clothing and paper making, Brambleclaw vines are a nuisance but used to keep predators away around villages. Earwig fungus is supposed to taste just like pork… It’s very interesting… Char Char contemplated, mulling over the things she’d learned. She’d even gained some insight into Fuhanese culture.

The people of Fuha worship the God of Life. They’re deeply in tune with vital energy… Also they emphasize freedom of choice and celebrate their bodies, which is why they wear such sparse clothing.

She nodded to herself, feeling more worldly as she looked around the forest.

They were at the side of a small creek when Medusa’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Oh- look over here, Char Char.” Medusa said excitedly, walking over to a fern that was growing on a small mossy mound next to the creek. The fern’s meter-long fronds were dense and full, with many dark sporangia clustered on the bottom of the leaves like eggs.

Medusa reached into the center of the fern, pushing aside the fronds.

Char Char’s spiritual intuition fired a warning as she suddenly tensed up upon taking a closer look at the fern. Her eyes dropped down to the lumpy mound beneath the fern, spotting the bones of an animal’s ribcage poking out of the moss growing over it.

Growing on the end of the stalk in Medusa’s hand was a large disembodied eye.

“Lyssa… That’s…” Char Char halted in her steps as she subconsciously placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

“Don’t worry, Char Char, it’s not actively germinating in this stage.” Medusa said, looking down at the eye which she caressed gently, “This is a very special plant in my culture, we call it the Keeper’s Gaze. They’re said to be Prince Deka’s way of watching over us.”

Char Char trembled slightly and was at a loss for words. Though she knew that the Devileyes were directly related to the changes in the forest, she never considered that anyone would view them in a positive way.

She opened her mouth to say something but a heavy hand clasped down on her shoulder. She looked over as Reid passed by her with a serious expression.

“That’s enough sight-seeing.” Reid said, “We’re here to find the missing monk. Surely we must be getting close by now.”

Medusa nodded, “Yes, just past this creek is the place where I previously sensed corruptive energies. We need to be careful from this point on.”

“Corruptive energies?” Reid tensed up as he heard her words, “I thought you knew where the monk was hiding?”

“No, not specifically. I told Char Char that I’d sensed a disturbance in this part of the woods, and she said it could be him…” Medusa looked confused, “You didn’t know he was corrupted?”

The two adults looked over to Char Char simultaneously as a guilty look appeared on her face.

“The person who last saw Hakuya… She said he was no longer human.” Char Char said with trepidation, “I… might have left that part out when I talked to you, Reid.”

“What?” Reid asked incredulously.

“Well- I didn’t know how reliable my, um, my source was. She could have exaggerated things.” Char Char said, “I didn’t know what she meant by ‘no longer human’, and I didn’t want to make things sound worse than they were.”

“You told me you were looking for Hakuya,” Reid growled. “This is not the job I signed up for.”

“Actually, it is.” Char Char refuted, standing straighter as she looked Reid in the eye. “Even though I didn’t say that specifically, I did say I thought Hakuya might be in danger. And also I was really clear that Lyssa said the part of forest we were going to was dangerous.”

“I thought you were talking about monsters. Dealing with a potentially corrupted Exalted is a very different thing.” Reid argued.

“So you won’t help?” Char Char asked sharply, not backing down, “I never specified what kind of danger we might encounter, and I paid you a good amount of money in advance. I didn’t think we’d need to argue over what kind of danger was acceptable.”

She delivered the last line in a derisive way, as if making out Reid to be pettily arguing about the terms he’d agreed to. Though he knew the argument was a weak excuse for her intentional withholding of information, her delivery caught Reid off guard just enough that he couldn’t come up with an immediate response.

Got him. Char Char’s eyes glinted dangerously as she changed her tone, stepping in for the final blow before he recovered.

“On the night we met, you risked your life to save me. Without you and Hakuya I wouldn’t even be here right now.” Char Char said, “Hakuya is our friend, right? It’s our turn to do what we can to save him.”