Jirouzaemon

Jirouzaemon was a cook, not an adventurer. They were content to perfect their broth and serve strawberry milk to the happy locals within The Heart of the Forest. Then a massive chimper with a scarred face and the disposition of a grumpy badger started leaving rare herbs at their door. This chimper, who only grunted when spoken to, became their sole supplier. One moonless night, a child went missing in the wilder woods. Jirouzaemon, peering through their spectacles, grabbed their guiding lanterns and insisted they search. The grumpy supplier sighed, took a lantern, and led them into the darkness without a word. They found the child. Since then, their partnership is the forest's gentlest legend: one finds the way, the other lights it.