A while later they found the bear curled up against an ash-covered tree stump.  Harold headed to the right while the rest of them headed towards the left, Niphru switching his foxfire into an illusion to hide them.  The beast appeared to be resting until Harold approached, at which point it roared as it got up from the ground.

Amilya threw balls of light towards its eyes, and Diara pulled out a lead slug from her pouch, grabbing her sling as she did so.  Harold stood his ground before the bear, roaring back at it as he pounded his staff into the ground.

The bear lumbered forward before standing on its hind legs and swiping two paws at Harold, stumbling as it threw itself off balance.  Harold however simply batted the limbs away with the end of his staff before jabbing the point fiercely into the bear’s throat and stepping back again.

As he stepped back, there was a roaring noise as Diara twirled her sling and let loose a bullet from it, striking the bear hard in the skull, leaving a trail of blood running down its neck as she cursed due to missing the neck.  The bear turned to face them, but was clubbed in the side by Harold, turning back around to the only threat it could perceive, it roared at him again.

As he stepped back again, Diara hurled another lead slug into the bear, this time striking the neck, causing its roar to sputter off as it choked.  Blood started pouring down its neck as it struck again, all four upper paws slamming together, Harold having jumped back in time.

Harold then stepped forward again, jabbing his staff point-first into the bear’s chest as it dropped back to all six legs, causing it to stagger to the side even as another roaring crack preceded a slug slamming into its neck again.

The beast sputtered out a weak attempt at a roar as it slumped down to the ground.  Harold stood back and watched it bleed out as Diara turned to speak with Niphru.  “I thought you said you could hide us from it, but I heard those cracks echoing.  What happened?”

Niphru looked down with his ears flat against his head for a moment before replying, “I underestimated how loud your sling was.  That hurt my ears, not to mention broke the illusionary silence.  I’m sorry for failing at my job.”

Diara crouched down and patted his head, continuing, “It is okay, we still beat it without any problems.  Just treat this as a learning experience.”

Niphru’s ears perked back up, hearing that he wasn’t in trouble.  He had been worried they wouldn’t want him around anymore if he couldn’t hide them properly.

As Harold poked the bear, making sure it was dead, Amilya turned to speak with Niphru, “Since your den is destroyed, you should come back and stay with Dawn and I.  The door should be finished by the time we get back too.  I was going to tell you tomorrow that you could stay with us.  This just speeds up when I tell you a bit.”

Niphru wagged his tail in excitement, this meant he could stay with his human!  He was sure Dawn would be happy to have him around in the morning and evening.

Harold handed his staff to Diara, then heaved the bear up onto his shoulders.  Amilya put out the lights on the bear’s eyes, then turned to follow Diara as she led them out of the forest.  Eventually they arrived back at town, entering through the eastern gate and heading back to the same building where the deer and snake had been dropped off.

Niphru asked, “What is this place?  I know the man here deals with monster bodies, but he seemed to pay more attention to the bones when I was here before.”

Harold dropped off the bear’s body and headed to the door as Diara responded, “This is the dismantler’s home, he works exclusively with monsters, typically he gives away the meat while selling the bones and any useful organs.  Monster bones tend to be quite strong and very useful material for tools.  Some organs can be used with alchemy, and the meat can be used to become stronger or more intelligent if taken with care.”

Nodding, Niphru thanked her for the information.  He then turned to follow Amilya as Harold and Diara both headed back to their homes.

“Thank you for letting me live with you,” Niphru exclaimed as they approached Amilya’s home.

“You are welcome, Niphru, I’m sure Dawn will be happy to have you around.  And besides, as the head of the village, this shows that I trust you, which will help the other villagers see you positively.  We will have to go over some rules tomorrow though, we can’t have you making me look bad.” she replied.

Niphru nodded, he had expected he would have to learn more things to stay in the village.  As they reached the home, he noticed the door looked quite different than before, with the lower part separated from the top.  Connecting the two segments of door was a complex looking latch.

Amilya noticed his staring and remarked, “This is what Travis and I came up with, normally the whole door is connected and opens together, but if you squeeze the latch, it will disconnect from the top of the door and let you open the bottom alone.  The door opens inward, so you will have to push from outside or pull from inside.  But it should be light enough for you to open on your own.  How about giving it a try?”

Niphru nodded before walking up to the door and examining the latch in more detail.  While it looked complex, he could see it was made to be simple to use.  As Amilya had said, just biting down on it should allow it to open, so that was exactly what he did, pushing inwards as the latch clicked.

As the door swung open, Niphru walked inside, looking at the other side of the door and seeing a similar setup there.  Without prompting from Amilya, he bit the latch again and closed the door before letting go, hearing the latch click back into place.  Satisfied he could handle it on his own, he stood to the side of the door and waited, Amilya entering a moment later.

Amilya smiled at him, remarking, “See, pretty easy to operate isn’t it?  This will let you enter and leave on your own without having to wait for one of us to let you in or out.  Would you prefer to sleep with Dawn or would you rather have a small bed for yourself?”

“I’d prefer to have a small bed as well, or maybe just a chair would be fine,” Niphru stated.

“I’ll see what I can do for you then, we have some spare chairs and the tailor can make a small bed for you if I ask them.  The snake you killed and brought in is more than enough to pay for it, and she is also thankful for your help making the village safer,” Amilya replied.