Bear Coast

by Sven Grams

  The oversized axe was already on an upward swing to cut the youth in half.

  Trex had just enough forethought to retrieve his dagger. He held it in front of his bow as the axe blade came in. The metal transformed just enough not to snap and save the bow, but Trex took the full momentum of the mass and was catapulted backwards, flying a considerable distance through the air.

  Mayor Petrice and the Lieutenant immediately engaged the bear, ducking and weaving the blows of the axe wile trying to get into position to strike.

  Seven more bear warriors emerged from the undergrowth, three female and four males. They hesitated as one of the females noticed the obviously unexpected larger group of wolf soldiers preparing to rush them from the side.

  The female bear shouted something to warn the others, the leader had obviously only noticed the small group and had attacked before checking to see who else was nearby.

  Trex slowly got up from the undergrowth he had fallen into and had cushioned his fall. In front of him, he could see the rest of the wolf soldiers rush forward to engage the larger group of bears who suddenly found themselves on the defensive.

  Trex had to concentrate hard not to be overwhelmed by the flood of projections from his allies and the opposition.

  As both bears and wolves used emotional projection, it was like a heady cocktail had filled the air. Trex’s perception was influenced and his vision was affected, the fighting Anthros seemed to glow and shimmer, it was as if the air and light around them was being distorted.

  Getting up, Trex rushed back to assist his leaders and Sara with their fight against the massive initial attacker who seemed to be the leader of the Anthro bear party.

  Sage Filfia had moved between the main fight and that of the leaders. Slamming her staff into the ground, her clothes fluttered around her as a wind picked up like a tornado.

  Trex faltered for a second as her projection swept over the battlefield. With an instant increase in power and determination all of the wolf soldiers fighting the main group sprung forward, surging over their opponents like a wave.

  The bears threw their weight around and literally tore the wolves from their bodies to throw them away. At such close quarters the swords and axes were of less use, fists and hilts being utilized to overpower the massive creatures.

  Screams and shouts could be heard as one bear went down. Another was injured with a stab to the arm and a slash to its side. Even without armour, the massive muscles and thick hides of the bears were surprisingly robust to the sharp blades. The wolf weapons did not pierce too far into the flesh.

  A wolf soldier took a bad blow and a nasty slash to the arm.

  Trex lined up a shot and fired a poisoned arrow into the back of an exposed Anthro bear in the main fight. He quickly lined up another shot at the bear leader who was still holding Sara, the Lieutenant and Mayor Petrice at bay.

  The massive leader’s round ear twitched as he sensed the danger. He turned with his axe just in time to use the flat of the axe to deflect the incoming arrow.

  Mayor Petrice and the Lieutenant sprung forward.

  The bear leader was on the back foot, using his axe to deflect and his other arm to ram the Lieutenant away with the hilt of his other axe. Mayor Petrice got a slash in on the leader’s leg, causing him to roar in defiance.

  Sara had moved around to Trex to prepare her own attack.

  Trex was also looking for another shot on the leader.

  Realising that his position was hopeless, the leader took a large swipe with his axe to force the mayor back then turned to run towards the others.

  Sara wisely got out of the way as the bear came barrelling by.

  Trex dove to the side as the leader raised his axe as if to throw it. But the axe didn’t head towards Trex. Instead, it headed towards the main fight a little further on and to the side.

  One of the wolf soldiers saw the axe come in out of the corner of her eye, shouting as she sprung backwards with her sword held flat in an attempt to deflect. The sword shattered and only deflected the unstoppable axe slightly as the blade narrowly missed the lucky soldier.

  Seen by all in seeming slow motion, the axe flew on, perfectly aimed between the bears and wolves. All dove away to avoid the massive flying projectile. The hilt of the axe caught another wolf soldier in the shoulder sending her spinning to the ground.

  The heavy axe finally embedded itself into the trunk of a large tree, cutting a full ten centimetres into the tough wood.

  The bear leader shouted to his comrades as he stormed towards them. The others used the moments reprieve to fight their way away from the last wolves that were close by, running back into the forest.

  Another male bear soldier took a poisoned arrow to the back just before it disappeared into the foliage.

  Cursing, shouts and yells could be heard as the Anthro bears raced away. The massive clansmen were quickly gone, and silence returned, as if they were never there.

  Trex had enough wits about him to be impressed that the bear warriors could move so quietly through the forest at speed when they wanted to, and silently no less.

  The wound up wolf soldiers didn’t follow, simple standing there, trying to regain their breath.

  Sage Filfia was still controlling the majority of the projection and held the eager solders back as she wound down her emotions.

  The soldiers in the main group seemed to come out of a trance, blinking a few times before looking around them, regaining their orientation.

  Mayor Petrice and the Lieutenant had regained their own control due to their years of experience, while Sara had been aided by Trex in avoiding going into a trance like state. The group of five quickly made their way over to the other soldiers who were starting to tend to the badly wounded and tend to their own numerous wounds.

  Trex and Sara stopped when they saw an unconscious bear, he was badly wounded.

  “Oh…” said Sara, putting her hand to her mouth as a reflex.

  Like Trex, she was unused to seeing such battle wounds… there was a lot of blood.

  Mayor Petrice and Filfia first inspected their own soldiers. There were a few with nasty cuts and wounds, but none were life threatening.

  Seeing that the wounds of the soldiers were being tended too, Sage Filfia made her way over to the unconscious bear.

  “Is he going to survive ma’am?” asked Trex with concern.

  He was standing to the side with Sara as the Sage leaned over to inspect the bear’s wounds.

  Despite having just been attacked themselves, the high value that lions and wolves placed in a life made the two untarnished youngsters concerned for their enemy.

  Sage Filfia placed the palm of her hand in the centre of the massive brown furred chest of the large male bear. She closed her eyes and her brow furrowed in concentration.

  “Stop the bleeding,” Filfia said, her eyes still closed.

  Trex and Sara hesitated for a second, honestly not coming to the idea to provide basic first aid on their own.

  Feeling a little foolish, the two sprang into action. Trex retrieved some bandages from his backpack. Sara took some cloth from Trex and applied pressure to the nastiest open wound on the bear’s side. Trex prepared a long length of bandage while Sara exchanged a blood filled cloth for fresh bandaging material, also applying some balm to assist the wound in healing.

  “Can you help me?” asked Sara to Sage Filfia as Trex prepared to wrap the new cloth in place.

  Filfia opened her eyes, taking the pressure cloth from Sara to restrict new bleeding.

  Sara lifted the bear by the shoulders with a grunt so that Trex could get the wrap around his wide torso.

  Once Trex was finished Sara gently lay the male back down. With her hands free she suddenly noticed that they were a deep red. In fact she had blood on her clothes as well. Looking up at Trex, who had moved over to work on an arm, she could easily see blood splattered all over his light orange fur.

  “Prepare stretchers for the wounded, set up a quic
k perimeter to make sure there are no more surprises,” called Mayor Petrice in the background.

  Though Sara was no stranger to blood, coming from a farming background, this was by far the most Anthro blood she had seen. Noticing her stomach beginning to turn, Sara focused. This was no time to become queasy. She moved over to aid Trex, focusing on what needed to be done.

  A few minutes later, a small group had gathered around the now bandaged bear.

  “I don’t have much first aid material left,” said Trex, inspecting his bag.

  Sara looked down at the large bear, his massive arms and legs had twice the surface area of a lion or wolf’s.

  “It’s a waste if you ask me,” said a female wolf soldier bitterly to the side. She was nursing an arm in a sling.

  Looking behind him for a moment, Trex could see two wolves in stretchers ready for transport. A field healer was near them, having made the two unconscious to alleviate the discomfort.

  “Can you make him conscious?” asked Lieutenant Rosso to the Sage, who was still leaned over the still body.

  “It would not be without risk,” commented the Sage.

  “We can hold him down,” said a female wolf soldier confidently.

  “That is not what I meant,” stated the Sage, indicating clearly enough she was referring to the bear’s health.

  “We didn’t waste all these bandages on him for nothing” continued Lieutenant Rosso coldly, “he better have some useful information.”

  The Sage glared at the Lieutenant, unhappy with her callous attitude. Mayor Petrice was beside the Lieutenant, and though she did not say a word, her stern expression and continued silence indicated clearly enough what she wanted to happen.

  Sage Filfia gave in. Turning back to look down at the bear, she concentrated again, her hand still on his chest.

  The body of the bear jolted. Sara and Trex took a step back on instinct.

  The bear’s eyes sprung open in shock and he began to pant quickly.

  He tried to raise an arm but a moment’s concentration from the Sage caused the arm to hesitate then fall back.

  The bear murmured something in a language Trex or Sara couldn’t understand. The language of the Anthro bear clans was of a different base to that of the Anthro lions or wolves.

  Sage Filfia, however, appeared to know the language and replied in a soothing voice.

  There was a quick exchange as the two seemed to agree on a dialect.

  “I didn’t know Sage Filfia could speak bear dialects?” said Trex to Sara.

  “Sage Filfia is very well travelled,” commented Mayor Petrice, who had heard Trex’s comment.

  Sara looked on with fascination as Filfia kept the Anthro bear under complete control physically, and it would appear, mental control as well.

  The bear appeared to hesitate at a few questions, but the Sage simple seemed to concentrate even more, manipulation her direct projection.

  Sara could just barely sense what the Sage was doing, taking in every detail.

  The projection caused the male bear’s panicked expression to change to anguish, disgust and something approaching intoxication… this was more then the disorientated bear could handle and he suddenly spoke in torrents… divulging everything he knew.

  A minute later and the Anthro bear had finished. With a few final spoken exchanges the Sage suddenly let out a strong projection and the bear fell into unconsciousness once more.

  Taking a deep breath, the Sage stood back up. She turned to face the Mayor.

  “The group is one of numerous scouting parties who are searching for the settlers.”

  “So they didn’t realise that we are a rescue party here to retrieve the settlers?” asked the Lieutenant.

  “No,” replied the Sage, “they thought we were some of the settlers, as they saw Trex as well…”

  The Sage indicated over to the blood splattered lion youth before continuing.

  “They apparently didn’t notice the rest of the soldiers nearby. The leader wanting to get a kill before they had a chance to scout.”

  “Are they from the tribe near the settlement?” asked the Mayor.

  “No, apparently they are an expeditionary force under the direct orders of a Chief… Thosshen?”

  “Thoson,” corrected Sara.

  All turned towards her.

  “The settler’s leader, that halfling Carrion told us about him. He’s uniting the tribes, conquering them one by one,” she said as way of explanation.

  “Uniting the tribes… a bear expeditionary force?” that doesn’t sound like tribal behaviour to me,” said the Lieutenant sceptically.

  “Apparently so,” continued the Sage seriously, “this Chief Thoson even has a standing army made up of all the best warriors from the conquered tribes.”

  “A standing army?” said the Lieutenant, a slight edge of concern evident.

  “What we see here is only a part of it… there are various scouting groups spread out through the hinterlands while the main force moves along the coast… they are putting in a lot of effort to capture the colonists.”

  “Capture?” asked Rosso.

  “Apparently the chief wants most of them alive…”

  “You said the main force is moving along the coast?” interrupted the mayor, wanting to focus on what was tactically important.

  “Yes…”

  “How many?”

  “He didn’t say… but I suspect a lot.”

  “The lions,” said Trex, stating out loud what the mayor was thinking, “we have got to warn them.”

  “The messenger birds,” suggested Sara.

  “We don’t have any left,” replied the Lieutenant.

  “Wait,” said Mayor Petrice, thinking for a moment.

  “Can I see the map again?” she said suddenly.

  Trex grabbed for his backpack before remembering that he no longer had it.

  “Lieutenant Rosso Ma’am,” Trex stated.

  “Oh, of course,” said the Lieutenant, having hastily stuffed the map away seconds before the attack.

  “Sara, Trex, come here,” the mayor indicated as she and the Lieutenant inspected the map.

  “The lions should be about here,” said the mayor, indicating to an area just west of the destroyed settlement.

  “If the settlers are moving this way, we’ll head across to try and intercept them and provide protection from any large scouting groups. The bears we just faced will inform other groups in the area soon enough…”

  “You have to find the lion soldiers before they meet up with the bear army… they will never expect such a large force and will be overwhelmed before they know what is going on. Tell them to head back up the coast and meet us here.”

  The mayor pointed to another part of the map.

  “Hopefully we can all avoid the roaming bands and the main army long enough to leave this place.”

  Standing back up, the mayor emphasised her last point by looking around with a degree of trepidation. Suddenly, the forest looked a lot more threatening with the knowledge that there were roving bands of bears lurking.

  “You will have to be quick as lightning,” said the mayor seriously, turning to the two youngsters, “speed is your only defence. With all these bears around, you are taking a large risk. Are you prepared for this?”

  Sara and Trex looked at each other, and at the injured wolves around them. It was clear to the two that the many injuries had been caused by engagements with small groups of bears… if the lions really did run into the main force…

  “Yes ma’am,” said the two youngsters simultaneously with confidence. Their mutual projection was already starting to ratchet up.

  “Good,” said the mayor with a smile, proud at the two.

  The surrounding wolves all noticed the unusual duel projection of the two, looking on with interest.

  “I have full confidence in the two of you,” said the Mayor, handing over the map to Trex.

  He stowed the map away and prepared his belo
ngings while still tuning his mindset.

  Sage Filfia moved over to the two, the youngsters being already close to their travel mentality.

  “I am impressed with you both, you should be very happy with what you can accomplish, but I think you might need a little extra help,” said the Sage, indicating for the two to step forward.

  The Sage produced some gummy material from the bag slung over her back, giving each youth a half.

  “Eat this,” she said, “your projections take energy, just like running does, don’t underestimate how much water or food you need to eat to maintain your momentum… stop to eat and drink regularly, I sense you are both already close to dehydration.”

  “Water satchels!” ordered Mayor Petrice in the background, listening in on what the Sage was saying.

  Sara and Trex were soon exchanging their empty water bags for fresh ones, also quickly gulping down some water from other satchels they were offered from the surrounding soldiers.

  “Give me your hands,” instructed the Sage.

  Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Trex put his hand forward next to Sara’s outreached one.

  Leaning her staff against a nearby tree, Sage Filfia grabbed both hands. She closed her eyes for a moment.

  Sara and Trex suddenly went all stiff, as if power was running through them.

  As seen from the other wolves, the two were shimmering with energy. A light breeze playing with their clothes, the effect was maintained as Sage Filfia suddenly let go.

  “Wow,” said Trex, his voice deeper.

  Sara smiled devilishly.

  “We will be there in no time,” she said, her voice oozing confidence.

  Mayor Petrice nodded and the surrounding soldiers took a step back to make room.

  “We will see you soon,” said Sara with authority.

  The two turned as one and dashed away at such speed it created a noticeable travel wind on the vegetation they passed. In a matter of seconds the two were already gone.

  “Wow,” said Lieutenant Rosso, sincerely impressed with what she had just seen.

  “Can all lions and wolves do that when they work together?” she asked, disbelieving.

  “To some extent,” said Mayor Petrice knowingly with a smile.