Scene #7063: Silk from a Jorogumo

Owner	Pose
Tamamo	In a part of the sector of the Multiverse prone to floating continents, there are smaller masses that might be better thought of as flying islands. Some of them drift slowly enough to form chains, the mechanics of their configuration not always clear. It's to one of these that Tamamo has invited Lilian, saying only that there is something she would like to acquire, and that there might be some danger involved. When a divine fox says that it 'may involve danger,' it could take some guesswork to establish a sense of scale, with 'lethal for unprepared humans' a fair end point. The destination is picturesque. A ferry operates from the closest warp gate, the ship using a very low-tech aesthetic for something that moves swiftly and comfortably through the air, but still taking some time to arrive for the distance. From afar, the underside of the island is an inverted mountain, and from closer in, it becomes clear that those far smaller on the upper side are still legitimate mountains in their own right. Though the place is heavily forested, there are buildings along the coast, forming a village with large, triangular upper stories, covered in thatch. Closer still, people appear. Rough, tanned sky-fishermen wearing only hemp trousers, stooped elders, dirty but energetic children, loggers and carpenters with iron axes, hawkers and porters carrying sacks bigger than themselves full of grain or other produce, and smiths hammering in their forges make up a thriving, if not particularly rich, center of civilization. The people are short and wiry, as a rule, muscled like those who work without days off, but not well-fed. At the dock, visitors are welcomed, but they're mostly concerned with the ferryman's shipment of goods. The obviously supernatural and the obviously foreign are given a respectful (or wary) distance, which still doesn't stop a few enterprising individuals from calling out to Tamamo and Lilian to sample the local wares, to have a hard drink after their journey, or to fill their bellies with any of an impressive variety of soups before another journey. Tamamo mostly just smiles in response, in a way that has people instantly less wary, and some smiling back, but still not approaching too closely. Personal space, at least, will be respected here. "If you would like, we might pause here awhile, but our destination is yet much further into the forests." Tamamo says to Lilian, sidling up close to her as they walk, and looking in the direction of a man loudly proclaiming the benefits of dried, salted meat (animal not specified) for long walks through the countryside. There are a few other similar options, as people on this island must do a lot of walking, judging by the state of the paths past the small farms and into the forest. Lower, "The one with whom I today wish to meet is in these woods, following a river. A solitary figure, she likely is, and no friend to these people."
Lilian Rook	Given that Tamamo had told her it might be risky, Lilian had spent quite a while (subjectively) agonizing over fashion choice vs pragmatism. Finally deciding that the elegant fox lady probably wouldn't appreciate her showing up in a combat bodysuit for a private rendesvouz, she'd compromised with the literal only kind of women's turtleneck that looks good --you know that one-- some thick stockings and reasonably rugged boots, along with some useful gloves, for the potential that Tamamo had meant dangerous in the sense of 'jagged rocks and shitty briars and cold rivers'. Her glamered pendant is stuffed down the front of her shirt, hidden from view, though not entirely from restless, lizard brain intuition, and finally, a folded rifle is slung over her back, opposite her messenger bag, in a sense that wouldn't look too out of place as a hunting weapon. "Huh. I didn't know people lived on these." she says, when slowing her walk to Tamamo. "It's so close to that huge distortion I've heard about, but they seem pretty carefree." She takes a second glance at the porters carrying back massive bags of supplies. "Well, maybe not carefree, but they're doing well enough for themselves, for an independent commune. They seem surprisingly self-sufficient on a floating island. Even if poor." To humour the locals, and be a little less uncanny by their judgement, Lilian drops a hefty overpayment on the trivial expenses of jerky and booze in small enough quantities to drop into her bag, but doesn't seem intent on staying around. "Quaint. Rustic. But if what you want is in the woods, then I'd rather get going." Lilian says with a hint of concern, becoming apparent when she says "Whom, though? Someone you know? How long have you known them?" even after already starting on the trail.
Tamamo	The locals are pretty happy for Lilian's business, however much she spends. The money might not translate to meaningful wealth right away, but if there's a ferry, they can send any broadly accepted currency back out again, with the additional cost of distant shipping. Despite Tamamo's mention of danger, the surrounding people don't seem too concerned with a pair walking into the woods, and it's only after they've been walking for a good while on the increasingly dark, canopied trail that the two no longer see locals hiking the opposite direction. Tamamo speaks as they walk, "People will live in any place they can, is it not so? Such is the human spirit, I have found. Perhaps the island itself will crumble, but you have also heard of those who lived upon the shores of a volcano, in your own world's history, no?" It's still day, even still pretty close to noon, but nature is strong here, and so the treees close in overhead. There could be more farms, and should be to support that population, but they're either further in or down one of the crossing paths that Tamamo has ignored, apparently sure in her directions. The sound of the river is heard long before it's visible, until the trail begins following its bank, raised a safe distance from the water's surface. Walking slightly uphill, and thus following upriver, one of those mountains seen from a distance must be in this direction, and toward the river's source. "I had yet to visit this place, and it is no acquaintance, but I did find such chance as to speak to the small spirits upon another island, who spoke of those I surmised to be tengu upon yet another island, who did then tell me of the haunt of a recent jorougumo. Ah, but are you familiar with these? I have not yet seen them in the surroundings of the British isles, and so I could not guess whether they yet exist." The trail is still well-traveled enough at this point, with some signs that people have made camp near the river, whether to draw it for fresh water or to help in floating goods downstream. There are signs of both, as well as the felling of some smaller trees that would have been in the way. The river gets narrower toward its sources, a little rougher, but that's already starting to be muted by the much louder, but still distant sound of a waterfall, somewhere invisibly ahead, as the path twists and curves to follow the terrain. Tamamo continues after a short while, "Come to that, you did say that none are certain as to whether gods do exist upon your own world, though there are gods like Mr. Lowell. Have you met many, or any other, such as he? Or else, as myself?"
Lilian Rook	"I'd agree with the assessment of the human spirit." Lilian muses, somewhat darkly, along the trail. "But I don't think all humans possess the human spirit. People like this have a strong will to survive. People like, for instance, those running I4 and S6's world, seem to have none. They're content to live in one place on Earth and slowly die away." "The human spirit is more of a thing you earn, than what you're born with. Do you think? I do." She finally seems to brighten up when Tamamo establishes that whatever relations she has on this island have been recently established, out of some sort of curiosity, towards some hopefully benign goal. "I'm loosely aware of them." she says. "It pays to be at least filled in on the basics when it comes to non-human Enlightened entities. Things that share the Original Template. Tengu moreso than the earth spiders. I don't think the latter tends to get involved in bigger matters." She sighs. "I'll have to see if I can get a visa to Japan, soon. I'd rather not need an excuse to get into some international joint operation just to go there." "There are plenty of claims of divine powers. Divine artifacts. Divine heritage. Divine miracles. Many of them are verifiable, though whether they can be called godly or simply very powerfully mystical is a matter of semantics, as far as anyone knows. God, or the gods, haven't revealed themselves, even now. Only if you take ancient literature very seriously. It could be that they simply can't, or have good reason not to. It might be that they're gone. It might be that they never existed. We have no way of knowing." she continues when the subject eventually changes, content with the sounds of the new surroundings of a different kind of forest between talks. "Lowell isn't like any professed divinity I've seen or spoken to, though I've had little opportunity to. People around here --Elites-- never seem to shut up about slaying or spiting or casting down 'gods', but I've never seen them back it up either. Divinity is a convenient target. Something powerful and authoritarian to rant and rail at, but which will likely never show itself before them to force one to back it up." "I'm . . . aware that Rhongomyniad is supposed to be some sort of 'Divine Spirit', but not quite a god. Someone who lost touch with their original humanity. I've unfortunately crossed paths with someone descended from some sort of demon worshiped as a god, who is a real piece of work. Otherwise, I've had far more luck running into all kinds of dark aberrations and strange demons. I don't know of much else in the way of divines you could actually talk to. Save I guess the public knowledge that the head of the Concord is supposed half and half, and the lesser 'ten thousand spirits' kind people talk about in that Creation place." "Why do you ask?" she finally finishes.
Tamamo	"Those of I4's and S6's world... I should still like to meet with them, and see with my own eyes how they fare, but the impression left by their actions is one of foolishness, it is so. There are people who must work hard to survive from the moment they may stand on their own feet, if not from the moment of their birth, and so their circumstances shape them into such survivors. Such a perspective is not wrong, though one might also say that the spirit is a thing suppressed or elevated by circumstance, rather than built by it. One would need look deep within a human to divine an answer." Tamamo brightens at the mention of visiting Japan. "I should like to see what remains of that which I knew, in a yet further era." Though on the topic of 'remaining,' "Ah, yes, the Divine Spirits. The one called Rhongomyniad being such--it is not quite a god, but more alike to the remains of one, that reduced state following the end of the Age of Gods. To say that they 'cannot or will not' intervene is, of course, correct, where they have not shown themselves. In that future history I remember, as She foresaw, there came a separation between the worlds of God and Man. You have heard some tales relating to the event, have you not?" The waterfall comes into view, crashing down a rocky cliff. It forms a wide, mostly clear pool at the base, the hard-hitting spray having washed the immediate area to smooth, clean stone. The path turns to the side to follow the cliff face away from the water, eventually seeking a more moderate path upward, but Tamamo steps carefully toward the water, stopping every steps to look about, eyes wide like a hunter. It's loud here, but not so loud that one can't speak over it, so long as the two stand close together. "For my own curiosity, for the most part," Tamamo answers, "though also for having some idea of what it means, to you, for one 'to be a god.' That some take it as a sign of 'that which must be slain' is not surprising, though for them to outnumber those who follow their gods still seems greatly surprising. Even as the true Age of Gods did end, worship of the Divine Spirits continued, whether for such small miracles as were still granted, or because some desired to become close to the divine, or else to become divine in their own right." There's what might, possibly, be a trail to the base of the waterfall and, getting closer, the hint of a cave behind it, though not without having to get through the spray and then take a five-foot-high step up to reach the entrance, followed by crouching low. It looks a bit awkward to get into. "An earth spider? Ah, the tsuchigumo. A jorougumo could be called such, considering the illusions of which either may be capable, but there is some distinction. Both are known to capture and consume humans, but the one I expect to be living here has just recently reached that age at which a spider is granted that taste for human flesh, a size that makes lesser prey unable to fill its stomach, and the power to take the form of an appealingly attractive woman. Just recently, said the tengu as I asked, but soon to be a grave danger to those others who live here." Tamamo points to the stump of a felled tree close to the water some time ago, ripped most of the way out of the ground, its large roots visible. "Do you see, there? Strings wrapped around the stump. Silk." They're there, though almost invisible. "Someone did nearly find themselves pulled to the water, I expect, but saved themselves in time. A fortunate fellow, that one must be."
Lilian Rook	"I've heard a little. About that. From the King." Lilian says, her lips slowly twisting for a minute as she says so. "I have wondered on occasion if something similar might have happened for us. Examining the history of the planet does indicate that the amount of mystical energy circulating through it has peaked and ebbed throughout thousands of years. It seems to have been at a high during the pre-Babylonian period until the early Greeks, decreased slowly throughout the Roman, early Britannic, and earliest Japanese periods, plateaued for a while around the Medieval period and middle dynasties around the one thousands, then steeply plummeted through the Renaissance and Sengoku era, and then reached a minimum towards the eighteenth century. Since the collapse of the 'modern' era, it's begun rapidly rising again. Who knows if it's the decline of modernity, the decimation of the human population, or related to whatever the Antegent did to get here." She thinks just a bit extra on the 'trivia'. "There were, of course, a number of outstanding 'modern miracles' in the same period, but whether that's a reawakening or reconnection with divine power, or simply because people were out in the open and paying attention, is debatable. Walking closer, almost cozying up, to speak over the din of the waterfall, she says "Oh no no, I was being a little cynical. The number of people who worship some god or another still far outweighs the number of people toothlessly rebelling against the very idea. It's a form of self-aggrandization. You see it with people who have gained some power, but not nearly enough. It's a well-documented effect. People assume they know nothing when they know nothing, assume they know everything once they know a little bit, and then go back to thinking they know only a small fraction of what there is to know once they start learning a lot. The people who are only just barely competent always overestimate their own competence." "What it is to be a god?" Lilian actually simmers on that one for a while. "I couldn't very rightly say . . . but I think you earn that title by creating something, or rather, adding some aspect to creation itself. At the very least, governing the parts of it handed down from a previous generation of gods, if we're thinking of familiar polytheism. I don't think simply being powerful or 'heavenly' qualifies. Those are the sort of 'gods' that semi-strong morons are obsessed with beating. You earn the right to worship, I think, when you've given something to humans to be thankful of, or, sometimes, created something fearful enough to be treated with respect, though in those cases, it's treading a fine line between god and demon, or titan, or jotun, or whatever." Upon seeing that destination, Lilian flatly remarks "A cave behind a waterfall." and no further. She'd just spent some time with that inspiration as a videogame-ism the other day, after all. "It seems to be a common theme with Japanese NHMEs that they like taking the form of beautiful women." she remarks. "Though, I suppose that'd be effective. Over in the west it's usually terrifying monsters, or intimidating and radiant figures. I think I'd appreciate some mystical hotties a bit more." she says, briefly sticking her tongue out in a moment of levity. "So, what, are you concerned about the townspeople? Are we here to exterminate it." She asks, reaching to unlimber the rifle as she ducks into the cave.
Tamamo	"As to the Antegent, that is also a matter of some curiosity, for their foreign nature. For the moment, I can only wonder." Tamamo says, not quite remarking on that certain similarity between Gilgamesh's and Lilian's views on history. "As to worship, that is another matter from divinity itself. It is not so for all spirits, nor for all of those called gods, but those like Her existed before there were humans to worship Her. This is not to say that worship had no effect. You might liken it to the act of creating a persona to match how you are viewed by others, a 'face' that allows you to interact with another group without being too shocking or unrecognizable. Even if one does not require that temples be built to oneself, millenia of contact can only pass without effect when that contact is steadfastly refused... and let us say that 'it was for curiosity's sake' that it was not." Tamamo eyes the place where it is now clear that a hidden cave exists, and reaches within her sleeves, rustling about under cloth for a particular charm. "Had the Sun merely chosen to burn forever with never a concern, perhaps you might better call Her a titan, after all?" It's not clear from her tone if that was a joke. She tosses the charm, which flies close to the cliff face, wraps around a bit of rock, and bends the spray of water away from it. Now visible, the entrance isn't the kind of clean opening Shyra's Hero would be likely to find, looking more like a natural and difficult entrance only incidentally possible for a grown man to enter in armor, but it is certainly still 'a cave hidden by a waterfall.' "Oh, no, I hope that to be wholly unnecessary," Tamamo then says to the question of extermination. "She has merely lived as an animal up to this point, no? With elevation to the status of a yokai, even a newborn of little more than four centuries, there is the capacity for reason. I would see her convinced to a pact of self-bondage, restricting her meals away from humans, with other useful activities replacing such hunting." Tamamo moves up to the cave's entrance, placing a hand on the edge. Being five feet off the path, and with a low ceiling, it's an awkward step up in heels like hers. While looking over that step, "I expect that I can ensure a long-lasting seal, if she is first so convinced. I shall rely upon your efforts to first demonstrate, swiftly, that she has not the choice of retreating until we lose all interest in her hunting grounds." Spotting something, Tamamo gestures to another sign of threads. "There, see? The silk of a jorougumo is of remarkable strength and quality. I had thought to acquire some for myself. Another name for the jorougumo is 'the golden orb-weaver,' and should she focus on her weaving, would the locals not be bettered for her presence? Enough that they might find such game as could at least fill her stomach, though the desire for human blood would, unfortunately, never leave her." Finally, head cocked to the side, Tamamo asks, sounding out the letters, "'NHME'? I know not the term."
Lilian Rook	"Fear me not. Unbow your heads, for I mean to deliver a message." Lilian quietly half-mutters to herself, thinking about that principle. "Sorry, I'm just abbreviating the previous one. Non-human Mystic Entity, or sometimes Non-human Enlightened Entities but NHEE is harder to say and sounds stupid." she then clarifies with an off wave of her hand. Conversely, however, she doesn't need to even think about the distinction between a distant and unconcerned sun-being and a sun goddess, by all accounts. "Probably. If the sun never did or said anything and was never represented by anyone, it'd probably just appear as something incidentally created in a Genesis myth, like with the Abrahamic god, or be some sort of distant, neutral, uncaring primordial thing. Such is the title of god, I believe." Hesitantly, Lilian slowly puts the gun away. "Even though she's already tried to catch someone? . . . well, I trust you'd know more about youkai than me. What other activities are there though? You said that 'lesser prey' doesn't help." She stops dead at the silk, reflexively anticipating a tripwire, or trap, straight away. Given that they aren't moving, and obviously aren't connected to some explosive stuck to a wall, she gives it an experimental little twang. "You plan to seal her in here? I suppose the point is for the villagers to come up here, drop off the goods, and trade in that way? I've heard something or other about animal youkai possibly being cured of their taste for human blood if they're taken in by a mountain hermit, or strict follower of the scriptures, but that seems a little improbable now." She finally smiles wryly at the last part. "Of course. Might as well make it worth our while, right?"
Tamamo	"Oh, such creatures can still have their stomach filled, but it something like... subsisting on gruel, while watching others feast upon grilled meats slathered in sauce and spices. An obviously unpleasant experience, to be held to for centuries, but one to which sufficient discipline can accustom one. Nor would such fasting make one physically stronger, as this is abstainment from consuming power." Tamamo smiles, only very slightly mischievously, not quite answering the question of 'sealing her in here' with a, "Something of that sort would be possible, yes. A mountain hermit would, too, be a convenient discovery, but the tengu knew of no shugenja upon this particular island, and they would likely know, being practitioners of shugendou, themselves. Such a sage would have been a good influence upon the path of abstainment from worldly power and desires, had we such a caretaker to set this task." The silk threads that are easy to spot here look to have been broken or been cut away and then fallen, wrapping around the rocks, leaving only a little space they could conceivably catch something. They don't make it any more difficult to get into the cave, which Tamamo finally does by hopping six feet straight up, bringing one high-soled sandle to the entrance, then crouching to lean forward and enter within. The waterfall continues to spray safely away it, if only thanks to the charm wrapped around the cave's upper lip.
Lilian Rook	"Well, that sounds a little sad." Lilian replies, not sounding at all sad. "But I don't have much sympathy. The time for monsters to prey on humans is already over. Human beings aren't food. Period. I won't accept it. Even if they're killed for all kinds of reasons, it should never be part of a food chain, literal or metaphorical." Pausing to let Tamamo leap straight up above her, slightly impressed by seeing it done in those geta --enough to stare for a moment-- Lilian follows her right up, not wanting to stray far. "Furthermore, I really don't get that 'abstinence from worldly desires' thing. Logically, obviously, I understand it. The concept of karma, enlightenment, transcendence, ties to the world; I'd never be able to live like that though. Seeing life as a trial to endure rather than something to enjoy is . . . I don't think I could ever embrace that. I didn't like it when it was called the 'veil of tears' either. Abstaining from the things there are to enjoy here is a waste." ". . . are you not planning on sealing her? That's the impression I got with those charms." she asks, evidently curious.
Tamamo	"Total abstinence from the world is not the path I would recommend you, nor would the Buddha. The 'Middle Way,' between addiction to pleasures and addiction to austere asceticism, is what he cautioned his monks to follow, did you know? A life of moderation between the extremes has some wisdom, though in the extremes one may still find things of value." Tamamo walks forward into the cave, soon able to straighten back up, her geta tapping loudly on the stones with each step, the sound of the water slowly receding behind. "In this case, however, it is just this worldly desire, that for the power of blood, and the pleasure of consumption, from which we would see this yokai abstain. Would you not she rather do so wholly and completely, never nibbling humans to death in even the tiniest amount?" The tone of that last definitely sounded like a joke. "So long as this rule can be followed, some freedom can be allowed, no?" Tamamo still hasn't said exactly how she's going to accomplish that, but there may not be more time to explain. There is the clear, unmistakeable sound of a stringed instrument being plucked. It happens again, forming a low, slow tune that carries well, and could imaginably make out, just barely, if very close to the waterfall. It's the kind of tune that relaxes and intrigues. The instrument is visible in the wan light of a paper lantern, there ahead in the cave, as a biwa, a style of short, round lute with prominent frets and a bent neck. The musician is much too well dressed for the area, her kimono vibrantly colorful, yet well matched against the paper screens that form at least the impression of a room around her, though the 'room' is still very much a natural cave, despite the conveniently flat, water-smoothed floor. There is an obvious strangeness to this, between the woman, the nearby furnishing, the instrument, and the music. It would probably not be a very convincing illusion to most people, even if they didn't see the hint of a fully inhuman form in the shadow the woman casts against the paper screen, by the lantern's light. That doesn't matter and, if anything, actually serves her purposes better, because all of that is a distraction in service of drawing attention away from the the threads along the cave above and behind and to ths sides of her intruders, all of which swing away from their positions at unseen tugs, flying at Tamamo and Lilian from every direction outside their immediate field of view. Tamamo is caught up immediately, though her "Oh! My, my," sounds not nearly concerned enough for the way the threads lift her off her feet and then try, straining without great success, to wrap her limbs and body together. There is an obvious effort, just not a successful one, to bend her arms behind her without giving her a chance to retrieve any of her charms. Whether or not Lilian is caught doesn't change what the jorougumo does next, springing her trap as hard as possible by dropping her disguise and leaping forward to deal with the human first, saving the caught-but-not goddess for afterward. There is still most of a beautiful woman there, but the lower body spilling out from beneath the kimono is a mass of giant, segmented, furry legs ending in pairs of hard claws, and not limited to the usual arachnid maximum of eight, but a shapeshifting chaos, possibly partly illusionary, monstrous and horrifying and only revealing the mandibles at the last possible moment, the tips slick with potent, paralyzing venom, while the human face has twisted into the hard, unpleasantly toothy grimace of a cornered fighter crossed with a hungry animal.
Lilian Rook	"Oh good. I didn't really expect it, so I'd be a little surprised and upset if I started hearing 'abstinence only' preaching coming from a Japanese woman." Lilian cracks, probably not making any sense to someone unfamiliar with garbage Christian education and upbringing. "Moderation ends up being the correct way to approach most things, but then that in of itself is almost a tautology, right? It's not too much of one thing, not too much of the other, but if it's too much it's bad by definition already. I suppose it's something meant to remind you to pay attention to your lifestyle." "No, not in the least for a monster." she ultimately replies to Tamamo, finally without humour by then. When the pair finally enter the chamber though, Lilian finally goes silent. Even with a creature of mythical folklore that Tamamo seems to not only be intimately familiar with, but entirely confident in dealing with, it's a sense of habit, professionalism, and caution, equivalent to going into radio silence, that compels her to cease the chatter. She barely manages to stay that way when the sound of the biwa reaches her, and the lonely sight of the Japanese woman at the back of the cave, surrounded by spartan yet fine accoutrements, comes into view. There's so little she can make of it, running across one of these ghost stories for the first time, straight from foreign travelers tales hundreds of years ago. She glances slowly to Tamamo for confirmation, her body casually tensing beneath what passes for her hiking clothes, literally in the sense of muscles, but also in the concentration of subtle vibration around her, faintly disturbing the air for several seconds. And then the fox woman is hoisted up into a tangle of wires before her eyes. Lilian scarcely has time to blurt out "Tamamo!", despite the woman's apparent dearth of concern, and take a single step towards her, before matching threads seemingly leap out of the rocks around her in that moment of distraction, snatching her hand inches from Tamamo's side, latching around her legs and pulling around her midriff. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the monster spill out from the woman's kimono --the slick, fanged maw of an anglerfish opening below the light of its lure. The sight is chaotic, yet perverse --a contrast of the grotesque against something far too human, in a way that she doesn't get from the alien monsters of her own world. She shudders. But there isn't time to think about it. Caught like this, those fangs coming out-- The threads seem to explode off her, as if ripped with a tremendous, repetitive force, until they fray and snap. One of Lilian's boots is anchored in place, the other is high in a full crescent at the side of the Jorogumo's human face. There's a dull, cannon-like 'kaboom' a little too late into the kick to make sense, advertising a level of force sufficient to propel the youkai a great distance away from the cave entrance. In the blink of an eye, Lilian's fingers also dive down her top, almost tear out the black iron pendant, and with a flick of her wrist out to her side, the glamer falls away in a paroxysm of pitch black smoke and dancing red firelights. Black markings scrawl to the corners of her face and the back of her hands, her eyes reddening all at once. The pressure --the bloodlust-- of the blade hits the cavern like a physical wave. Against this creature in particular --this man eating monster of fairy tales-- the fury within it pounds like a heartbeat. Yet, even if just barely, she restrains it. She moves only to try to occlude Tamamo, finally following with "Are you alright? Can you move, even a little?"
Tamamo	Had the human-seeming portion been merely a lure, there may have been little effect in striking it, even to its destruction, in terms of halting the jorogumo. Instead, the kick is partly intercepted, as Lilian's leg strikes both the head and both raised arms, the monstrous spider-woman leaning away from the strike on her numerous legs. The whole mass still flies down the cave, taking that transferred momentum as a better alternative than the full impact that would have been against the human-sized skull. The jorogumo falls, somewhere down there. Tamamo has not instantly freed herself, but she has retrieved a charm, managing to hold it close to her chest. After Lilian's kick, the threads cease to apply the same force, and the still-cheery goddess responds, "Oh, yes. Thank you, Lilian. I suspect that this would have become quite messy without your assistance." She's still suspended, but can pull her arms, some of the threads having gone slack. The talisman burns away, and then a brief burst of (what would seem to Lilian as) heatless flame consumes all of the silk within several feet her, leaving everything else untouched, yet still scorching the surrounding stone, including that to which Tamamo lightly steps down. She stamps upon some smoldering threads before the fire can spread. "My easily accessible magic might lack that combination of force and precision for all situations, as you may have seen. Nor do certain subtle methods have much effect upon some creatures. Still, perhaps you have demonstrated our point, and we can proceed to more civilized matters? I should hope so." Standing back up again, the jorogumo now has a proper eight legs, arranged to either side as one would expect, looking much less chaotic and at least marginally less monstrous, mor so for the kimono covering up how those two portions of the body connect and where those mandibles have gone. She doesn't leap again, but watches, very still, much like certain animals do before a burst of motion. "Ah," continues Tamamo, "but there would be a second exit, further in, as a means of escape, at the very least. Arrayed with traps, were I in her position. That would waste much of our time." More loudly, she calls out, "Will you not treat with us? You stand before Tamamo no Mae. I would see you named and unsealed, should you accept my offer. Will you not listen?" More quietly once more, "You must introduce yourself as well, or she might still refuse." Politeness has rules.
Lilian Rook	Lilian only barely calms when Tamamo says she's fine, and then only by another slight degree when she finally releases herself. To a jorugumo, her heart rate must be audibly over-accelerated; it's faster than a human should actually survive, but she's not breathing hard. Abnormal. But even a youkai --especially a youkai-- should recognize a 'demonic blade' when she sees one. "Don't think about it." she calls out, to the spider across the room. She hadn't intended to severely wound, or kill, a creature that Tamamo had said that she wanted to talk to, but the fact she should be glad she hadn't delivered a concussion fails to register for the time being. She's already on the lookout for any further exits, though she's confident she can beat the spider to her retreat the moment she runs for it. ". . . wait, unsealed?" That, more than anything else, finally gets her attention. She only just holds back a 'I thought the point was to seal her here in the first place'; Lilian knows far better than to blurt out something so stupid and sabotaging straight away. "Dame Commander Lilian Rook. Personal company to Tamamo no Mae. And if you would, I liked the way you looked before better."
Tamamo	After Tamamo and Lilian introduce themselves, the jorogumo responds, "I am Kanako." That much is required. She does not bow, as has no one else. She eyes the blade in Lilian's hand, almost recoiling at the sight of it despite standing so distantly. Within the deep shadows of the cave, occasionally glinting with silk in the wan light of the lantern, there certainly could be more exits, but she doesn't make for them. She might be able to get away before Tamamo could burn her, given the speed she demonstrated earlier, but after seeing (or more accurately, failing to see) Lilian move, it's a very unsafe bet for one's life. Sighing, Kanako settles down on her eight legs, hiding them two at a time beneath her kimono. "Must I admit defeat?" Her tone is not quite petulant, but after getting knocked about, certainly hurt. It has a smooth quality, but low and cool. She would make for an eery singer. "I will listen. What... offer, would you give me?" Then, still warily, "You are not hunters?" Tamamo flashes Lilian a smile, then claps her hands together. "Oh, no, I came in search of silk. You can provide this, no? Is your dress not of your own design?" "It is." Kanako's expression evens out a little farther, not outright sounding like she's looking for a trap in the question. "Might you consider trading it? Moreover, with the humans living along the coast, might you consider trading with them, as well? Might you find, thereby, a path of life that avoids preying upon humans? I am Tamamo no Mae, bunrei of Amaterasu-omikami, and in my name, I shall grant you this offer. Accept my curse, and you shall be left unsealed. You may then enjoy your freedom, and find whatever other new means of providing for yourself as you wish." "What... what curse is this?" "A curse of death," Tamamo says, evenly and without the appearance of a threat outside of the words themselves. "A curse that transforms the taste of human blood and flesh into bile, flies and wasps, that swells the stomach and gut, that stiffens the legs and arms, that rots the fingers until every limb falls off, that ends the curse-bearer's life in anguish and agony. A curse that will do this 'if you taste the blood or flesh of a human,' and should you never do so, will cause you no ill at all." Tamamo turns to Lilian, "This would be enough to set the concerns of humans as prey to rest, would it not?" If Lilian has something she'd like to change about the terms before they are mystically finalized via some power Tamamo neglected to mention she possessed, now would be a good time to say it. The matter of actually trading for silk seems to be a separate conversation.
Lilian Rook	Given that 'Kanako' has settled down, Lilian knows three things. One: she doesn't like her odds of escaping through a back entrance either. Two: She is observing whatever strange ritual of politeness between youkai that Tamamo has insisted upon. Three: She recognizes she's in no position to argue, nor pull more silk trap sneak attacks. Without the jorogumo actively menacing Tamamo, the bloodlust emanating from the sword, and Lilian, dies down considerably, reaching an equilibrium of low, background radiation. She plants the the tip into the ground and folds her hands lightly over the pommel, though it's impossible to notice the way its own weight causes it to sink several inches into the stone without being pushed. Though she has her own mind of how to deal with this --well, it was Tamamo's outing request, wasn't it? It was a pleasant little village, a nice hike, an interesting conversation, and despite being tied up and assaulted, that 'exciting' little bit seems to have passed and gone. And, then, she somehow holds a straight face throughout the entirety of the bit about the curse. Tamamo hadn't said anything about this before; she hadn't mentioned anything about curses at all in past --not specifically. The description is gruesome, to say the least, but flinching here would be a sign of weakness; more importantly, it'd be a sign that she doesn't really know what Tamamo wants here, and she would look like a hapless tagalong. Lilian knows how these situations work. She couldn't not. Fall in. Present a unified front. Don't give any opening. "You can, of course, choose a quick, clean decapitation right now, if you prefer." she adds, instead of even attempting to negotiate the terms of the curse. She knows not the slightest of how Tamamo does it, or even that Amaterasu had the portfolio to do something so contrary to Lilian's mental image, but her voice is bold, even, confident. It's the kind of tone that wouldn't second guess the fox for almost anything. Not that of a bouncer or a thug, but that of an armiger to a princess. "So? How about it? Surely living in peace has to beat that, right?"
Tamamo	As the bloodlust fades from Lilian's sword, Kanako relaxes more. Tamamo, despite the contents of her words, produces little of the same, almost like she were merely reading out standard terms. There is /some/ menace, but as if reacting solely to that factor, the jorogumo, at least outwardly, takes it in stride. She is, after all, in no position to argue. "I accept. With the... humans, I will... see if I cannot make peace." Tamamo gives an affirming nod, and takes a few steps forward, putting her in line with Lilian, and gestures Kanako to approach. The spider-woman does, this time walking bipedally, until Tamamo says, "That is close enough," and pulls out a mess of talismans at once. Like before, they fly to their targets on their own once she has released them, conveniently removing the need for more careful preparation and contact, and affix themselves onto and surrounding Kanako's body. She does make a displeased face as they burn away. "It is done," says Tamamo. That was, apparently, all it took, or else the requirements were handled leading up to the actual act. "I don't know that I should thank you for leaving after... only this much," Kanako says, rubbing the part of her face where Lilian's boot had made contact, "but if you would do me the favor of speaking to the villagers on your way out, I will. With silk for you, and more silk for them. Is that... fine?" Tamamo confirms, "Of course. I would be glad to provide such assistance."
Tamamo	A little later, outside, Tamamo clears up one point. "'Sealing,' for a spirit like her, is not much different a fate than you might think of as 'death.' An immortal, left alive within a single place, may see it as their life being robbed from them, you see? A cave is a better final domain than a single stone, tree, or tool, but it still carries that unpleasant tone of cruelty. She might still leave this island entirely, and find some village of people who are 'not human' yet equally appetizing, that path being left open to her. I should hope that she will find a more pleasant experience by remaining, but to meddle further would seem unneeded." While some time has passed, the sun has yet to dip too low, and the path back to the village is clear, the air fresh, the waterfall behind them and the slowing river the only noise.
Lilian Rook	Emerging from the cave again, it's only in the light of the sun that Lilian finally lets out a sigh of relief. Returning the oppressively uncanny sword to the only convenient form she can carry it in, and stuffing it back down her shirt, she lets the tension bleed from her body, and finally just gives up and leans against Tamamo. "Today was really quaint and relaxing until that. I mean, I'm happy to help you with whatever you need, but a little more forewarning would be nice next time, okay?" After a moment's contemplative pause, savouring the fresh air and the sound of the waterfall, she finally addresses the small pygmy elephant left wandering around the figurative room. "How does a sun goddess know curses like that anyways? And what other curses can you do? Contracts and terms and all. I grew up reading all about those."
Tamamo	Tamamo has energy to spare, and in this climate, is just pleasantly warm to be near. The extra rolls of silk hang neatly from a shoulder strap on the opposite side as she, for once, puts an arm around Lilian to support her, rather than hang off her escort's arm per usual. "Ah, did I not say it may be dangerous?" Tamamo thinks. "It seems it is difficult for me to guess these things. So strong as you are, perhaps I did forget to give proper warning. You were just as I expected you to be, and yet... still, I apologize." Her arm is just that much more warmth as the sun does begin to set, taking the long walk back. "Curses? Oh, but is that not expected? The difference between a medicine and a poison is only in the amount, no? If one can grant good fortune, then one can grant ill." Surprised at the question, she takes a moment to mull it over before answering the second part, "It was not so much a contract, but a geas. A curse that is merely delayed until the appointed moment. I could have done so without her agreement, but it would have been more difficult, less certain. I would prefer the people of the village to have some surety in my words, and so I took some care. To know her name, to have her stand close and still, to be clear that she heard every term of the curse. It would be called a contract only if both parties gained some merit, no? To tie a blessing in with a curse, I have not attempted this."
Lilian Rook	"Mmm, I guess. Just hitting her with it would breed resentment. She'd look for a way to get out of it. The villagers would see her more as a muzzled animal than a civilized, if uneasy, equal." Lilian contemplates lazily. Glad to just be out in peaceful natural surroundings again. Her heart rate is back to normal. "I know you said it'd be dangerous, I just had no idea what to expect. I suppose it's 'exciting', but there's also tension there, you know? Dangerous surprises are mixed surprises, even though I trust you to not spring unduly excessive ones." says Lilian, once again using the word 'trust' with even less fanfare or hesitance than those almost two months ago. "Still, if it's a medicine to poison thing, I'd have imagined she'd, I don't know, burst into flames, not quite that gruesome image. Are there geases and curses you do that don't kill people?" These are questions mostly asked lazily on the way back, simply appreciating the physical contact during the walk as well.
Tamamo	Tamamo nods, "I should hope they realize how much better off they would be cooperating, here on this remote island. They have not the climate for cotton, have you noticed? Their clothing was all of hemp." There's no way to know, for sure, how that will end up. Not without checking in again, by which point it could very well be too late to help. "Ahh, as you say, it is not the best of surprised to have a jorogumo leaping upon you, and little consolation that it was no tsuchigumo." Idly, she adds, "Those resemble more so a monstrous spider mixed with an oni. An 'ogre,' might you say? Though one would have had difficulty entering such a narrow cave, too." It looks like the sun might be fully set by the time they're back, though it shouldn't be too much farther before they find the crossing trails, and from there might find late-working villagers or, better yet, lanterns. "Oh, of course. I could, let us say... curse someone to trip over their own feet, fall face-first into the mud, and then be stepped upon by rambunctious children. But that is more a matter of ill fortune, which is different than used today. I could curse someone with weariness, fevers, or stomach pains. Nausea, or shortness of breath... it all sounds like some ordinary malady, no? But that is the way of most curses. I create flames through magecraft, but curses might be better called witchcraft. They are not so much divine techniques in either case, but those that anyone skilled in magic might come to know, with study and practice. That is not to say that the Sun has never cursed a land."
Lilian Rook	"I noticed, abstractly, in the sense of them wearing poor and scratchy clothing." Lilian replies near the end of the way back. Having enjoyed the walk a second time, she's back to being energetic enough to be flippant. "Well, small consolation, her playing was surprisingly good, and she looked great in that dress. I don't think I'm quite used to seeing that half-human half-monster aesthetic, but I'm sure the silk will be popular, if she can weave it into something like that." "Those sound incredibly petty." Lilian smiles. "And really funny. I like those. Things like that. The ones where you can look the other way and have a giggle about it and nobody can complain. I didn't know you were such a multidisciplinarian though, but it makes sense in retrospect. Amaterasu is the sun god, and Tamamo no Mae lived on Earth, so it's natural she'd pick up the mystical skills of the time." "I'm glad to have you . . ." Lilian tails off, briefly sounding as if she's about to jokingly say 'on my side. "I'm glad to have you, Tamamo."