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Chapter 12
Year 100 AC
POV: Denovan
Twelve days later...
During the return trip, we decided to take a shorter path. The route was dense, full of ancient forests. According to Halgar, this path was faster, but the emphasis he placed on the word thought was what led us to the current situation.
We were surrounded by a frozen pine forest. White and brown were all we could see in any direction. It had been about two days since we took this detour and, according to my escort's calculations, in three days we should come face to face with the village.
"Halgar, are you sure about this path?"
"By the Gods, Denovan, this is already the third time you've asked just today. I am merely taking a shortcut. The mammoths followed the open valleys; we are cutting through the forest. If I am right, in two or three days we should stumble upon the village. This must be what we call the North Forest."
*Sigh.*
I was bored. We just rode in silence, with nothing to do. I had no forge and I wasn't even training with Halgar. According to him, we couldn't waste energy for nothing; we didn't know how hard it would be to find food and water around these places. And well... he was right.
We continued in silence for a few minutes. Horus was perched on Breu's saddle, so we didn't have an active lookout in the skies. But we also thought we didn't need one; I doubted there was anything truly dangerous in this silent forest.
That was what I believed, but for some time now I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked back. Orion and Kali, the two young saber-tooths—now sporting an almost entirely black coat—were quiet and behaving strangely attentive. Usually, the two were playing or hunting small animals all day long. Maybe it was me passing this feeling of tension to them through the bond, or rather the opposite, they are passing this feeling to me.
Instinct it's called, isn't it, let's hope they are wrong.
"So why are you so quiet, Horus?", I asked through our mental link.
The falcon instantly opened his yellow eyes and I felt the sensation of discomfort and alertness flowing from him to me.
"Take a flight over the surroundings, Horus," I said quietly, looking at him.
He chirped and took flight, disappearing among the pine tops.
"Halgar!", I called the man riding a little further ahead.
"What is it now?", he replied, already in a bad mood.
"I'm having a strange feeling. I don't know what it could be, but the air is... heavy."
"If you need to take a shit, just go, boy. I'll wait," he grumbled, without turning around.
"I'm not joking, Halgar. There is something wrong here. The animals are agitated."
Halgar stopped his horse, turned around, and inspected me with a look. The joke vanished from his face upon seeing my expression.
"Think we are in danger?"
When I was about to answer, a horrible feeling of fear and urgency took over my body through my bond with Horus. I didn't have time to look through his eyes, but I knew he had found something dangerous.
At that very instant, it began. The sound of heavy footsteps. The ground covered in thick snow was a great muffler of sound and tremors, but even with it, it was possible to feel the rhythmic and violent vibration approaching. Something massive was coming, breaking branches along the way.
"Get ready, Halgar!", I yelled, pulling the Thenn Steel axe from my back and jumping off Breu. I didn't like fighting mounted, I had no experience with it, and the trees were too close for horseback maneuvers.
Orion and Kali appeared growling, one on each side of my legs, the fur on their backs bristling. They might be young, but they were already the size of wolves. Depending on the enemy, they would be useful.
The first to appear in our line of sight was Horus. He swooped down from the treetops, passing quickly over our heads with a warning screech.
Right behind him, breaking the pine line with the force of a battering ram, the beast emerged.
A Polar Bear. Giant.
That thing was monstrous, a nightmare creature that seemed to have stepped out of the legends of the Dawn Age. The bear was white, covered in scars, and incredibly immense. On all fours, it would easily be over two meters tall. It eclipsed everything around it; even Breu, who was an immense warhorse, seemed small when compared to the mountain of muscles and claws in front of us. Such a creature could kill an adult mammoth in a one-on-one fight.
ROAAAAR!
The sound made the air vibrate and snow fall from the branches. The bear seemed hungry, desperate, and out of control. Its small, black eyes fixed on us, and it charged, throwing its colossal weight forward.
"Fuck!", I yelled, planting my feet.
"Let's split up! Each of us goes to one side and we take turns attacking it from behind!", yelled Halgar, already running to the left, using the tree trunks as cover. His horse, Reed, neighed in terror and fled deep into the forest.
I nodded and fired rapid commands to my beasts through the bond, my mind working on automatic.
'Breu, fall back and hide!'
'Horus, stay high. Look for an opportunity to attack its eyes. Blind the beast!'
'Kali, Orion... don't attack from the front. Just surround and distract. Don't let it catch you!'
I ran to the right. The bear stopped in the middle of the makeshift clearing, momentarily undecided on who to pursue first: Halgar on the left or me on the right.
Kali and Orion didn't waste time. Agile as shadows, they flanked the monster through the soft snow, hissing and growling loudly. The bear turned its massive head, bothered by the noise and the movement of the felines that were now snapping at the air behind its hind legs, without getting close enough for a blow.
The distraction worked. The bear turned to crush the tigers, raising a paw that looked like an oak trunk.
"NOW, HALGAR!", I roared.
Halgar needed no encouragement. He stepped out from behind a pine tree with the speed of a veteran, brandishing his great battleaxe. He aimed at the joint of the bear's left hind leg and brought the blade down with all his might.
CRACK!
The axe sank into the thick flesh, but the bear barely flinched. The layer of fat and muscle was absurd. The beast roared in pain and fury, spinning its colossal body with frightening speed for its size. The back of its paw hit Halgar in the chest before he could fully retreat.
The warrior was thrown three meters backward, hitting his back against a tree and falling into the snow with a dull thud.
The bear growled and advanced to finish the job.
"No you don't!", I yelled, sprinting toward the animal's exposed flank.
The Thenn Steel axe sang in the air. I used the weight of my own body, the brutal force coming from my bonds, and the inertia of the run. I aimed for the ribs on the bear's right side.
The bluish blade bit deep. The Thenn Steel didn't stop at the fat; it tore through muscle and found bone. Hot, dark blood splashed on the snow.
The combination of good steel, a good blacksmith, and my rising strength was extremely effective.
The bear bellowed, forgetting Halgar, and turned to me. I came face to face with the gaping maw, the rotten breath of old blood hitting me like a punch. It raised both front paws, rearing up to its full terrifying height to crush me from the top down.
Time seemed to slow down. If that fell on me, no bond would save me.
A shrill chirp cut the air above us.
Like a black dart, Horus dove from the treetops straight into the bear's face. The falcon's talons sank into the monster's left eye with surgical precision, tearing eyeball and skin.
The bear roared, a deafening sound of pure agony. It shook its head violently, trying to rip the bird off, missing the blow that would have crushed me. The colossal claws only tore the air and the ground where I had been a second before. I had rolled through the snow as soon as its attention diverted.
"Kali! Orion!", I commanded mentally.
The two young tigers, taking advantage of the desperation of the one-eyed blind bear, attacked the tendons of the hind leg already wounded by Halgar. They bit hard, sinking their developing canines, and jumped back before the bear could do anything.
Halgar was on his feet again, spitting blood, but holding his axe firmly.
"It's too big, Denovan! We won't take it down just with cuts to the leg!", yelled Halgar, panting. "We have to go for the neck!"
"I'll handle its attention. Get ready!", I replied.
I had to be the bait. I held my axe with both hands. I ran to the front of the bear, right in the field of vision of the eye that still remained.
"OVER HERE, YOU GIANT BASTARD!", I yelled, hitting the side of the axe against a tree trunk to make noise.
The bear bled profusely from its left eye and ribs. Blind fury consumed it. It charged at me, jaw snapping. I started to back away, guiding the beast into the space between two thick pines.
'Kali, Orion, make it trip!'
The tigers bit the bear's heels again. The pain and the slippery ground of snow mixed with blood made the monster lose its balance for a fraction of a second. The bear's shoulder scraped violently against the pine tree on the right. But that didn't diminish the ferocity of the beast; in desperation, it threw its paw in my direction, its paw invading my safe zone; I didn't imagine it could stretch that distance.
I jumped back to try to dodge, or at least minimize the blow. But its paw scraped my chest, sparks and splinters flew from the bronze plate; it was cut as if it were paper, making me lose my balance.
But it was the opening we needed.
The bear in its desperate act only worsened its situation; I had already regained my balance and it was still getting up. I quickly look at my chest, and I don't feel any pain or see blood, the cut wasn't deep enough to reach the skin, 'the gods are with me, thanks ROB' I said mentally.
Halgar appeared from the left, taking advantage of the blind spot of the eye destroyed by Horus. He leaped, using a rock hidden under the snow as a springboard, and brought his axe down with a guttural war cry, aiming directly for the base of the neck, where the spine met the shoulders.
The blow was devastating. The bone cracked loudly. The bear collapsed to its knees, paralyzed from the neck down, but still alive, growling and trying to bite the air.
I didn't hesitate. I advanced with my Leviathan. Taking advantage of the colossal head being low, I spun my body and delivered a lateral blow with all the force my anomalous body could generate. The razor-sharp Damascus Steel blade cut the bear's throat from side to side, tearing the main arteries.
Blood gushed like a fountain, painting the white snow a bright red. The monster gurgled, its eyes rolled back, and finally, the mountain of fur crashed to the ground with a thud that shook the earth.
Silence returned to reign in the forest, broken only by our heavy breathing and the dripping of blood.
Halgar fell sitting in the snow, dropping his axe and holding his ribs.
"By the old gods...", he muttered, spitting more blood into the snow. "That thing... I've never seen a snow bear of this size."
I approached, panting, wiping the blood from my face. The tigers approached cautiously, smelling the carcass, and Horus descended to my shoulder, his beak and talons dirty with red blood.
"That was a close one, Halgar," I said, feeling the adrenaline drop and exhaustion taking its toll. I turned to him and continued: "How is the wound?" I looked at the crumpled bronze plate on his chest, that thing was worse than scrap metal.
"It was a heavy blow," he said, leaning exhausted against the warm body of the fallen beast. "But just that, it didn't cut me. But yours did... did it cut the skin?"
"The bear was falling, it didn't have the strength to cut deep, it was just the armor, I'm fine..."
"...Maybe you broke a rib."
"Take a deep breath, see if it hurts," I advised.
"I don't need to take a deep breath, of course it hurts, fuck... a giant bear threw me into a tree like a floor rag," he retorted, the pain evident in his hoarse voice.
I sighed, grateful he was alive to complain.
"At least the breastplate I made for us and our men saved our lives today, it was very useful."
"It was uncomfortable using this at first, but truly, if it weren't for it, my chest would be a puddle of blood and bones..."
"Maybe making it mandatory that all our men wear it would be good," Halgar murmured.
I nodded and said.
"I'll go after the horses, stay here and rest in the meantime."
Halgar just nodded, closing his eyes.
"Kali, stay here with him," I said, petting the young feline's black head. She growled softly and lay down near the warrior's legs, watchful.
"Come with me, Orion. Horus, look for Reed in the skies."
At this moment, I was on high alert. Who knows if there were more beasts like that bear in the region? It became clear that the feeling of "calm" and familiarity I impart to animals and that helps me get close to them was useless against a colossal predator, hungry and crazed with bloodlust.
Through the mental bond, I could sense Breu's direction. Feeling the golden thread that connected us, I sank into the sensation and touched his mind. The horse wasn't too far, and even better, he was already with Reed, Halgar's horse.
'Horus, just fly near me, we've already found them', I communicated.
I walked through the soft snow until I found the two mounts. Breu stood as tall and stoic as a pillar, and next to him, trembling under the shadow of a cluster of pines, was Reed. I stroked Breu's sweaty neck.
"Everything is resolved now."
Feeling Breu's sense of irritation, I continued:
"We have to train together, fighting mounted isn't that simple friend, it was better this way. Next time, we'll fight together."
*Vushh.* Breu answered me by letting out air forcefully.
I patted his back and went towards Reed, grabbed the reins and stroked him to calm him down.
We returned to the bloody clearing. Halgar remained leaning against the bear's carcass, eyes closed, breathing with difficulty. Kali was exactly where I left her.
"Can you get up?", I asked, bringing Reed close.
He grunted, leaning on the bear's stained fur and rising with much effort, his hand clutching his left flank. I inspected him quickly. The bronze armor had absorbed the most critical impact, preventing his ribs from puncturing his lungs, but without a doubt there was broken bone there.
"Confirmed. Broken rib," I said, helping him balance. "You won't be able to ride fast."
"And we... can't even stay here," he panted, looking at the bear. "The smell of blood... will attract even wolves from the other side of the Wall."
"We'll clean the wounds, bandage the ribs as tightly as we can and set up camp a little further ahead, away from the smell of the kill. You need to rest a bit before we continue our journey."
I helped him onto Reed, every movement drawing a contained groan from the experienced warrior.
"And, Denovan...", Halgar said, already in the saddle, looking at the sky through the trees. "Before the bear attacked... Horus flew high. Did he see anything? Any landmark?"
I looked at the falcon on my shoulder. Horus needed no words. He was already jumping and heading in the direction we were traveling.
"In a few hours we'll have news... thought you didn't need him to go ahead..." I finished jokingly.
"Don't irritate a wounded warrior brat," he said annoyed.
"While we wait, I'm going to take the pelt of this beast and some pieces of meat. I won't leave a beast this size without it becoming a trophy."
Four hours later...
It wasn't as easy to skin a large animal as games and fantasy movies showed, I was finishing skinning the bear and received Horus's vision. The image he had captured invaded my mind: the forest ending to the south and, further on, the familiar shapes of the mountains that surrounded the valley of the Thenns. We were very close.
"Yes," I said, feeling genuine relief wash the fatigue from my body. "He found it. We were on the right path all along."
"Finish quickly then, Denovan. Something scarier might appear if we stay here longer."
I nodded and increased the speed at which I skinned the rest of the body. The pelt was very large and heavy; Breu will have to drag it.
After two hours, we already had a camp set up and distant from the bear's body. I wanted to have taken the whole body, but just the head, the claws, and the pelt should be enough. Making a cloak or armor with the bear fur will turn out very good. Maybe a necklace with a claw, put one on each of my beasts, or maybe a pair of earrings, it would look really cool, the head I'll leave as an ornament.
While Halgar was in pain, I am here thinking about how to use our prize, life is truly unfair, even as I say this a satisfied smile was on my face, this trip was very good, who doesn't like these adventures, we had no losses, only gains, and Halgar had an injury, but with time, everything will be fine. It was very productive...
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