Thrice Cursed

“

An elderly fisherman is looking for an able-bodied woman to assist him.

— In-game description

Steps

You are approached by an elderly fisherman who begs you to rescue a young man named Nayoshi. He has been trapped by a beast so gruesome that seemingly not even the combined strength of the Isari villagers can drive it away. Slay the sea monster before ill befalls Nayoshi.

Before Nayoshi is a shiranui. It is, however, no match for you and is quickly defeated. The danger now gone, approach the quivering Nayoshi and assure him he is safe.

Nayoshi is very grateful to you for saving him. It seems that he has a long history of reeling beasts, instead of fish, ashore. This one, however, was far worse than any he has been forced to encounter in the past. Telling you he would like to give you a gift in exchange for rescuing him, he asks that you accompany him back to the village.

As you are making your way back to the village, Nayoshi is accosted by a group of angry fishermen. They have finally had enough of the beasts he continually reels in from the sea and insist that he quit fishing. He tries to argue that this will deprive him of a means to feed himself but no one─including his childhood friend, Koruri─is willing to listen. Nayoshi turns once again to you for aid. He asks that you soothe the mob of fishermen, starting with Koruri.

Koruri begins to calm down and tells the other fishermen to return to work while she deals with Nayoshi. After trying and failing to convince him to stop fishing, she gives him an ultimatum: the next time he comes with them he must either catch half the number of fish she does or hang up his rod. The terms have been set and now Nayoshi must rise to the challenge. While terrified, and somewhat addled, he has not forgotten about your gift and asks that you meet him by the boulders that he might give it to you.

Nayoshi presents you with your gift and assures you that regardless of the obstacles ahead he intends to do what he can to remain a fisherman. With a lot of practice and a bit of help from you will the young man find a way to accomplish his goal or will he be forbidden from ever fishing again?

???