The cool summer breeze lifted the canvas on the mud-stricken tents. As usual, Lady Eboshi ordered her daily tea from her servants who also brought a clean, moist rag to be pressed against her missing arm. As she fall asleep to the sound of birds and rustling grass, Eboshi had the dream. The same dream that had been recurring ever since Lady Eboshi and the monks the Forest Spirit's head had been taken by her very arm. Although the Spirit actually got her soul in return, a curse was placed upon her. The curse stole her soul so she would never be innocent and pure again.

Ebo shi stepped around the corner of the dark corridor she was in. The wooden floor creaked and the walls were stained with fake blood, most likely from kids. Eboshi dared not to linger around, she crept around the next hallway. Standing in front of her was a demon. Not unlike the kind Yoshitaka had on his arm. The dark snake-like figures crawled around Eboshi's neck, drilling into her veins and face. She staggered backward in pain and agony and broke through the wall adjacent to where she was just facing. The drywall crumbled easily with age as her weight was forced upon it. Eboshi lay there watching herself writhe with pain and frustration.

"AHHHH!" Lady Eboshi screamed unto the night

All was quiet and very distant to her as she had apparently fallen asleep for quite a while. The mistress lay there on her hammock panting and searching her face for any prevailing remnants of her dream. After she was finished and finally relaxed after the nightmare, she hopped to her feet. Lady Eboshi saw eventually that the lanterns that indicated when it is time to sleep were out which meant that she should be as well. But Eboshi couldn't sleep, no, not after what she saw in her dreams. Lady Eboshi kept walking, slow at first, then faster, then faster until she was about ready to sprint. A loud "clash" and "thunk" of the large cathedral-like doors as they opened allowed Eboshi to enter red in the face and panting. She got a silk pillow that was designated for only herself and knelt down to pray to the gods at the shrine and lit a stick of her finest incense.

"Oh dear gods, I pray to you to please give me the strength to fight this! PLEASE! I need your help now, more than ever!" Eboshi was out of breath very quickly and fell to the floor in utter exhaustion

The next day, the High Priestess came to the shrine to find The Lady fast asleep upon the hard stone-slab tiles. The birds fluttered in and out as usual as the Priestess lay down next to the fallen mistress to see if she could find a life sign.

"MY LADY! MY LADY! PLEASE WAKE UP!" The Priestess echoed throughout the temple grounds.

"Pai, please, get Ashitaka and ask him to please come down here quick!" The Priestess shouted once more, "Yes, right away." The servant girl replied.

The servant girl's hair shimmered and glimmered in the hot afternoon sun as she leapt over every blossom and toadstool until she reached the barracks.

"ASHITAKA! THE HIGH PRIESTESS IS WAITING YOUR ARRIVAL AT THE TEMPLE !" The abrupt end to the silence hovering in the air of the barracks awoke all the men screaming in frustration and anger. Although the Yoshitaka put his mat away and ran straight to the temple, the other men threw things around the room as if there was a riot about to break out. Lady Eboshi still lay still on the ground, breathing still, but unconscious. Ashitaka approached her with both of his hands outstretched to carry her to the medical tents. The Priestess still wide-eyed and weary of the situation reluctantly followed their ever footstep in such a morbid fashion that one might think she was not right in the head. Yoshitaka turned to the Priestess to find her teary-eyed and very tired and, of course, dirty.

"You may leave us now Yoko" Ashitaka said.

"But I-"

"It's going to be okay, I promise. I would never let anything happen to her and you know it. Now return to the Temples as if nothing had happened."

"Yes Ashitaka san."

With that, Yoko left their presence in an unusual silence she was not very fond of as her motto was "A man that cannot talk is a man that has no tongue", which was true as she always uses her voice, except in this situation.

Ashitaka opened the door slowly so not to damage poor Lady Eboshi and they stepped inside. The Medical Assistant was tending to another patient at the time they walked in, but turned around to open her eyes wider than anything Ashitaka had ever seen.

"We found her unconscious in the Temple, please, see if you can-" but Ashitaka was interrupted very rudely by the Nurse, "Of course we will! For Lady Eboshi, anything we can do in our humane power to help her is urgent enough for us!"

The Nurse applied every trick in her book to awaken Eboshi until she came across an herbal book hiding on the top shelf, seemingly unnoticed for several years by the dust collection atop it.

"ahhhh, here we are. I can be so stupid, honestly."

For what seemed like hours flying by, she started to slow down her finger until it came to a complete vertical halt. Ashitaka was waiting and waiting for a free moment to tell her to hurry up, but what good is yelling to the person that could be you last chance at helping somebody? Nothing good.

"HEY! SHE IS IN GREAT NEED OF HELP! Now do your job and please help her right away!" Ashitaka bellowed.

"Excuse YOU I am not finished here! How dare you scream at MY face! I am doing my best and I get no thanks! NOW WAIT!" That one kept Ashitaka furious for the next hour and a half, but before he relaxed enough to fall asleep-

"AHA! I FOUND IT! HURRAY!" The Nurse bellowed throughout the medical unit so loud that the patients began to jump and fumble in their beds, actually fell out!

"WHAT! Wha-What is it! Doctor, did you find anything! Please, ANSWER ME!" Ashitaka was quite surprised by her silence after such a loud sound of find and amazement!

"Here it is, I see, I have found it…you must save your lady before the 24th hour is finished. When did you find the girl?" The Nurse asked.

"The priestess found her first, so around four this morning."

"Hmmmmm, I see that 4 hours have passed now…yes, you have 20 hours to find the Matzamuto plant. It isn't rare at all; it is just quite hard to find…if that makes any sense whatsoever. Well, you're on your own! I have nothing else to spare you but the knowledge I just have given. Now please, I have patients that actually DO have a chance to survive to tend to. If you should be needing my service with any sprains, broken wrists or fractures, please consult the assistant over there" The Nurse began wrapping the wounds of a patient on the other bed numbered "3". The assistant still struggled to place the ones that had been quite surprised from her recent screams.