I just stood there with my mouth opening and shutting as she trundled past me leisurely.
“Coming?” Thayron chuckled as he bumped my shoulder with his.
I sighed and transformed into my panther form and took the lead. I didn’t know for sure if she knew how to get to Sunrise, but I did know that anyone seeing a group of bears coming toward the village was going to shit themselves. I beat feet, so I was well ahead of them, then left my scent along the path so they could follow me. Once I arrived in the village, I sent a call to my friends to meet me in the square. Then I sent a Message to Sir Dillon to bring whoever was in charge of the village to the square to meet with local royals. I took his chuckle in return to mean he would cooperate.
“Make way, folks!” I hollered as I shifted back into my normal form. “A bunch of important bears on the way through. Road’s gotta be clear for them. Big meeting about to happen!”
The people seemed confused for a second but then began to line the sides of the street I had chosen to use. My friends arrived—all but Yohsuke who was busy perfecting his craft—and began to help call people out of the center of the roadway. Children cried out in wonder at the first sight of them—this pack of bears led by their queen, Kyra.
“Ma! That’s a bear! A real, live bear!” a small human child whispered a little loudly. Her mother watched in both wonder and horror as Kyra looked directly at the child and began to sniff loudly.
“It’s okay, ma’am,” I advised her softly. I saw her clutch the child closer. “That’s Kyra, she’s Queen of Bears and has a cub much younger than your daughter. She would no sooner harm anyone in this village than I or my friends would without provocation. I swear it.”
To help prove my point, I stepped over to her and knelt formally. Kyra chuckled, able to understand me since I had made it a point to top off my Nature’s Voice spell when I got there, and nuzzled my forehead affectionately. “See?” I asked.
The child giggled uncontrollably and another, smaller child escaped his mom’s shocked hand and toddled over to us. His eyes never left Kyra, even though his mother began to follow and whisper his name fiercely when she realized where he was heading. The human boy, probably two or so, mumbled at Kyra unintelligibly as children are wont to do, and she rewarded the child with a loving lick. He smiled and clapped after I snatched him up gently in my hands. His mother, a kindly looking woman, no longer seemed worried about his safety. She did her best at curtsying to Kyra. Kyra stood and bowed her head for a second in recognition and then motioned for me to relinquish the child to his mother. I did so.
She took the boy and began to whisper furiously at him. He began to make sorrowful noises, but they were out of earshot by the time he actually began crying in earnest.
I chuckled, thinking of all the times my son had started bawling when we took him from something he was enjoying. I returned to the present and began to move just in front of the procession, the other members of my party falling in around them as we went. The crowd gave a respectful berth as we moved through before closing in the gap behind us. After a few moments, we stood in the now-closed market square with what seemed like the whole town as witness.
“Tell me, travelers,” said a humbly dressed man in his early thirties, “why are there bears in this humble village?”
He broke away from the crowd with Willem following closely behind with a sly smile. His features were handsome enough—chiseled jaw and brown eyes with long brown hair in a ponytail behind his head. His boots left almost no impression on the ground as he walked, though he was a well-muscled man.
“Forgive me, sir, I’m not familiar with you,” I spoke respectfully. If this was who I thought it was, I wouldn’t want to piss him off.
“You asked Sir Dillon to grab me,” he smiled at my discomfort, “but no, you don’t know me. My name is Sam Wildheart. I’m a hunter and trapper, but I’m also the mayor here in these parts. I try not to do too much in the way of ‘governing’, though. I find that people will treat each other well if you let them. And despite one unpleasant Gnomish man a while back—they’ve proven me right. Now, why is the Queen of Bears in this neck of the wood?”
“She has a… request for you,” I said quietly. “If you would like, I’d encourage you to hear her out. Though privacy may work best, given the current happenings in the area around the village.”
“I am aware, thank you.” He clapped me on the shoulder and nodded to my friends. Then he looked to his citizens. “Sunrise! Blood of this village. I would ask that you trust me to work for your benefit as I always have. I will speak to the queen and see what is happening. Please, treat her and her retinue with the utmost respect. If you would, send for the butcher to bring fine meat and see about some honey. Berries too! Let us show our guests the hospitality of the people of Sunrise.”
The crowd cheered and whistled as they sent runners this way and that. The bears tensed, but I waved them down a bit.
I motioned for them to follow me as I followed Sam to where he wanted us to go. It was just outside the village where we were alone near a small home with smoke coming out of the chimney. The windows inside were dimly lit, and I could see shadows moving around inside, but they made no move to come to the window.
“Here should be quiet enough for our purposes,” he stated and turned back to the rest of us. “I understand you wanted to speak, Majesty? How can I help you?”
Through me, she expressed what she had in mind.
“She wishes to offer a mutually beneficial arrangement,” I translated. He looked interested. “She says that her people will patrol the area around the village and protect your people if you will do her the favor of helping feed her people. She knows that you have people who hunt and fish. If you would help her people prepare for the winter, then she will see to it when you have need of her aid you shall have it.”
“I think that can be arranged.” The mayor smiled. “I would be more than happy to help with that myself. How about as a sign of good faith, we feed the bears we have here with us tonight, and I will see you back into the woods at first light?”
“I should like that greatly, friend Sam,” Kyra said with a nod. So I continued speaking as she did, “We would be honored to receive your hospitality.”
“Then let us go back to the square. Preparations should be well under way.” Sam clapped his hands and motioned back for us to move along. “Derkaly, Shinda, and Sam Junior, come on out!”
The door to the small home opened, and two wild-looking Bear-kin children and a Bear-kin woman came outside. The older of the three came to Sam’s side and curtsied to Kyra before telling her children to mind their manners. The children stopped and stared in open wonder at the bears before them. They were bear-like but had slightly more human in them. Their fur was shorter and their ursine features less defined.
“Hello, Your Majesty. I am Derkaly,” greeted the elder Bear-kin. She pointed to her children, the eldest first. “This is Sam Junior, and this little ball of energy is his sister, Shinda.”
Thayron was the first of the bear company to move toward the children, his hulking form easily dwarfing their own. “Do they speak our tongue Derkaly?”
She looked to him and nodded. “They are young yet, but they understand some. I have been teaching them where I can, but common is easiest for them. If you want to talk to them, I can translate for you.”
“Please,” he said gently. “I see you, little cubs, and I understand who and what you are. Your father seems a good man, and your mother a good woman. Tell me, do the others tease you? Make light of your heritage?”
The little boy listened as his mother spoke and he tried to respond in the language of the bear speaking to him. It was halting, but the meaning came across.
“Other children… not know,” he said, trying to think of the words he would speak next. “Mother teach us bear ways, but they do not come easy. Other Bear-kin children call me… ‘short-face’. Tease sister.”
“I see,” rumbled Thayron
. He stood on his hind legs and towered over all of us. “Then they shall learn that that is not tolerated in bear society. That shall not do at all.”
“No, it shall not,” Kyra joined him. “Derkaly, you and the children are welcome among us and of course you, Sam. Let us go and make our hearts known to all. Shall we?”
“Come on, you two,” Thayron grunted as he fell to all fours. “Hop on Uncle Thayron’s back. I’ll give you a ride.”
The children made sounds of wonder, and Derkaly—with tears in her eyes—smiled at Sam. He nodded to the kids, who began to climb deftly up the Dire Bear’s side and smiled at Thayron.
“Thank you,” he said with a tired voice.
I passed the sentiment on to Thayron who was too busy trying to get the children to speak to him in bear to care about anything else.
We walked back to the sound of a fiddle being played lightly but lively in the center of town. Lanterns had been brought out, and a heavy table laden with meat, cheese, fruits, nuts, and all kinds of food stood in the middle. Kegs had been tapped, and a celebration looked ready to be underway.
Sam stood on a chair that was brought out for him to address the people.
“Let those of you gathered here today bare witness to a new union and a treaty between the Village of Sunrise and Queen Kyra, leader of the Bears to the East. For their protection from the dangers of the forest and the outside world, we will offer them food in preparation for their hibernations each year. It’ll be good hunting, I’m sure! So, as we drink and feast tonight with our new-found friends, let us give thanks to them and to our older friends, those who rid the world of one of War’s minions and Generals!”
As he finished speaking, all in attendance shouted in joy and began to clap.
“Let us not forget the one who was taken, though,” Sir Dillon shouted from his place by the kegs of ale and mead. “Balmur fell for his friends and all our peoples. Let us share a moment of silent prayer to the Gods that they will see fit to bless him with strength until Zekiel, Yohsuke, Jaken, Bokaj, and James can rescue him from the depths of the Hells.”
Every joyous face fell. Every clapping hand stilled. All around us stood in silence in memory of Balmur and his unknown sacrifice. Bokaj, to his credit, kept himself in check. He stood stock-still beside me. I put an encouraging hand on his shoulder and looked at him. He knew what was on my mind.
We would get him back somehow.
After a moment, Sam cleared his throat and raised a mug. “To Balmur.”
Before everyone could lift their mugs, I stood solemnly and raised my own, raising my voice so that it would carry. “To those whose lives were lost in the fight with Rowan, and to the little boy whose life was taken in vain by an evil asshole. May they know peace.”
We all lifted our various mugs, cups, and containers in the air and drank together. I saw some familiar faces in the crowd but didn’t join them in their revelry after the toast. I needed to get away for a moment after that toast.
It was absolutely fucked what happened. Losing one of my friends like that, then coming back to this shit show? Rowland in a coma, someone taken and missing, and who knows what other fucked-up situations.
I watched the festivities from the shadows, just sulking a little. I watched as Thayron, still playing pony to the children, meandered over to a group of children, mostly Beast-kin with a few humans. I heard him grunting and growling angrily at them—saw their faces downcast in shame and fear—and felt that there was some hope for them still.
I continued my sullen vigil a while longer before I looked out into the night sky and saw an owl watching, which gave me an idea. I cast Nature’s Voice again and called to it.
“Hey!” I whispered forcibly. I knew the owl could easily hear my from its spot a hundred feet away. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
It eyed me a moment longer before it fell from the branch it sat on and flapped my way. I held my hand out to it as a perch, but it landed on the roof to my right.
“Druid,” came the light, breathy reply. “You called. What brings you to interrupt my hunt?”
“I was wondering if I could assume your form?” I asked. Now that I was closer to him, I could see him better.
His head, with feathers that looked like horned eyebrows over light yellow orbs, began to swivel back and forth as if searching for something. His small body of feathers looked almost solid in the darkness.
“What makes you think you are worthy of flight, Druid?” he asked with his head cocked to the side. It was a curious look on an owl.
“Because I don’t want to hurt you to acquire it, and flying is the best way to hunt,” I answered in a terse tone through my teeth. “My best friend, Kayda, is a Storm Roc, and she’s taken me on a flight. It was lovely. I also used to fly where I came from. But mainly? It’ll get you back to your hunting sooner.”
“I suppose that is true.” The owl sighed, then zoned in on something and looked back to me. “That’s much too large. Never mind.”
I looked and saw a large vole the size of a dachshund foraging in the tree line. I smiled and cast Ensnare on it. It squeaked in distress at not being able to move.
“Trade?” I motioned to it. “I caught you a meal. All you have to do is let me touch you for two minutes while you pick it clean. Hell, if you can’t clean it yourself or don’t want to, I’ll tear the flesh off and feed you by hand. Does this seem agreeable?”
He seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his feathers and flapping over to land near the vole. “If you will assist me, yes. This is more than I can eat myself, though.”
“I’ll find someone to help you out, don’t worry.” I summoned Kayda from the collar around my neck. The black gem pulsed once and dark smoke began to pour out of it until Kayda stood next to me in all her glory.
The owl fluttered his wings gracelessly, and the vole screamed, begging me to let it go. Kayda, hearing what was going on and seeing the animal snared acted first. She flared her wings and brought a talon down on to its head—killing it instantly.
“Mr. Owl, this is Kayda, my good friend.” Kayda trilled and bobbed her head at him.
“I see you spoke truth, then.” His voice quavered slightly. “Feed me and keep her from eating me—I will give you my form.”
True to his word and mine because I had to feed him the vole, he gave me his form. A relatively good way to end the evening if I could say so myself. The festivities lasted a little longer, but I just headed back to my room after that. I was drained from the events of the day, and I needed to rest.
* * *
The mid-morning sun blazed high in the sky by the time I woke up. I stretched and washed my face and some of the more sensitive areas of my body with a basin of water that had been brought in at some point in the night. Feeling refreshed, I stepped out into the familiar hallway of Willem’s tavern and toward the scent of food.
I walked out to find patrons in various stages of eating and daily life. I could smell eggs, bacon, toast, and other foods. As soon as I walked into the room, Willem shepherded me to the mostly-empty bar and gave me a tall mug of cool water and shouted for a large plate of food.
“You missed quite the celebration last night, Zeke,” he said with a concerned look.
“I know,” I grumbled. “Just couldn’t get my mind off the goings on around here and on our mission. I needed the time away to clear my head.”
“Aye, and your heart.” Willem clapped me affectionately on the shoulder. “I understand. Everything seemed to go over smoothly, though the mayor’s wife did say that Kyra missed you when they were leaving this morning. She would have waited, but there was business to attend. Tell me, what will you do today?”
I thought for a moment. Yohsuke brought his and my own food out of the kitchen, and we bumped fists in greeting. He sat down next to me and dug into his own plate.
“I think today I’m going to go stock up on some mana and health potions of my own. I know the others were supposed to, but
it never hurts to over prepare. Maybe grab some jewelry and other accessories to try and work on getting my enchanting leveled up some more. That free level will be helpful. Then see about scouting. If there’s something to worry about in the forest, we need the intel.” I shoveled another bite of the scrambled eggs Yohsuke had made for me into my mouth and chewed before asking, “You level up you cooking again?”
He grinned and nodded with his mouth full in reply, so I continued speaking and pointed from myself to Yoh.
“Besides, we don’t know who is involved, and not everyone knows what animal forms I can take right now, so I could blend in better. I think I can handle that while you guys all prepare and Jaken gets Rowland taken care of.”
“Well, I don’t know how sneaky we can be when everyone here knows who we are, but I’m certain no one knows James. Other than the fact that he was with us.” Yohsuke posed with a bit of bacon in hand. “Druid or not, you go outside, you’ll have eyes on you, man.”
“I acquired a form that may help with me being able to move about relatively unnoticed.” I took a swig of water and stifled a yawn. “I found an owl last night and took that shape to use. It’s just going to be a matter of whether anyone is looking for something minutely out of the norm, but I will have that covered. It’ll be a simple in and out thing. If I find anything, I’ll come back and let you all know what’s going on and we can plan from there.”
“Sounds good, man,” Yohsuke said. He put his fork on the plate and slid off the chair. “I’ll see if I can’t figure out if anyone else has gone missing or just left without reason.”
“Cool. I’m sure the others are doing what they can. I’ll see you guys later. I’ll send a Mental Message when I can to let you know I’m good.” I handed him my plate.
“Sounds good, dude.” He took the plate and walked it into the kitchen.
Willem was busy with another patron, so I left without a goodbye. If all went well, he would likely be helping us plan whatever happened next.
Into the Dragon's Den (Axe Druid Book 2) Page 6
