Heading west, Ashitaka meets Jiko-bō, an opportunist posing as a monk, who tells Ashitaka he may find help from the Great Forest Spirit, a deer-like animal god by day and a giant Daidarabotchi by night. Nearby, men herd oxen to the town of Tataraba (Irontown), led by Lady Eboshi, and repel an attack by a wolf pack led by the wolf goddess Moro. Riding one of the wolves is San, a human girl. In Tataraba, Ashitaka learns that Eboshi built the town by clearcutting forests to claim ironsand and produce iron, leading to conflicts with the forest gods and Asano, a local daimyō. Tataraba is a refuge for social outcasts, including lepers employed to manufacture firearms; it was one of these guns that wounded Nago. Eboshi explains that San was raised by the wolves and resents humankind.