Immediately, I darted through the bushes, into the forest, past the trapped halfling, - save them, there's only one way - tackled the archer, got her over my left shoulder, bypassed the bear until I was next to the armored fellow, held out my right arm in front of him in a halting motion, and then with my same hand, knocked hard on my chestplate. The noise reverberated throughout the forest.
The most direct way to stop the encounter. Two of them had pinned it between them, intent on killing it. And since beasts don't attack people unless they're provoked, simply by offering it an escape route - that was the only way to save them, the quickest way to eliminate the danger. A full on attack would have only enraged it more, elongating the fight, making it more likely for someone to get killed. But it might be too late to scare it away. It might be too angry.
The bear's head was still darting left and right, expecting the archer to still be there, but upon seeing that she no longer was, became confused. And then after hearing my knocking, and turning to look at me, ran away in the opposite direction, where the archer had been.
The archer, armored fellow, and halfling all had the same faces, asking what just happened and who the hell I was simultaneously.
"Um, could you let me down?" asked the archer. I let her down. "Thanks."
Then Margaret ran over, looking ecstatic from her face and pace. "That was amazing! It all happened in a moment! I couldn't believe it!"
"What the - who the - what just happened?" asked the armored fellow who was still processing everything.
"Could someone please get me out of this thing already?" asked the halfling, still trapped in the bear trap.
A command, it was like a constant beckoning behind my back, a whisper that would not stop until it was fulfilled. But always in the back of my mind. Could I refuse a command? Would the beckoning get stronger, the whisper louder? Would it hurt? At least I could still decide how to fulfill it. At least I had that.
The armored fellow sheathed his sword, placed his shield on his back, and went off to free his halfling companion. He called, "Hey, Serena, help me out with this." The two of them released the halfling from his binding. "Can you walk," asked the armored fellow.
"I'll try," replied the halfling. With clear trepidation on his face, he slowly descended his toes to the ground, and then eventually the whole weight of his foot. No expression of pain appeared on his face, no, instead it was one of amused disbelief. He stepped again, then again, and it became a dance. "I feel fine! I feel fine!"
"Aren't you at least bleeding?!"
"Don't sound so disappointed!" said the halfling still dancing with glee.
The halfling's leg must have been just between the teeth as it bit down on him. How lucky.
After everything had calmed down, the three of them came to meet the two of us. The humans were Soren and Serena, and the halfling's name was Perrin.
And then Soren asked who we were, more specifically, he asked me. When I said nothing, he seemed to misunderstand. "Hey, I asked you who you are!" His face got closer to mine, menace clear in his eyes, either anxious to prove himself or actually looking for a fight. Margaret cut in, "I'm sorry, my uncle can't speak. He was caught in a fire a couple years ago, his throat and skin were badly burned. So he can't talk and he always wears his armor. My name is Margaret, and his is Gallahad."
Serena said, "No, I'm sorry for my brother. It's a great honor to meet a knight." She bowed and jabbed her brother's side, prompting him to follow. There was conflict written on his face, sullen though it was, there was then an admittance of what was proper as being proper. And so he bowed as well. "If I may ask, what takes a knight and his niece on the road in these parts?" She addressed Margaret.
"Uhhh, my uncle isn't a knight anymore, he doesn't serve under a lord. He only wears the armor now out of habit and to cover his skin."
Perrin chimed in, "Why isn't he a knight anymore?"
Serena pulled Perrin back by the scruff of his neck, until they were behind a tree a little away, and hissed, "You don't ask why a man is no longer a knight! Something serious must have happened for a knight to lose their title."
He hissed back, "Jeez, how was I supposed to know! We Hin don't exactly have your sensitive social hierarchies!"
"Just don't bring it up again!"
"Okay, okay!" The two returned, and Perrin apologized, though his face showed he wasn't completely sure as to why.
Margaret asked, "What are you guys doing here?"
Serena opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Soren interjected, "We were hunting that bear, and we had him right where we wanted before you two showed up." He said you two, but he pointed his accusatory finger at me. Serena nudged him in the gut again, this time hard enough for him to recoil in pain. "What was that for?!"
"We were pinned in a corner! You know if one of us were hit, no, even grazed by one of those swipes, we would have been goners, or at the very least, in critical condition. The plan was for me to shoot a vital organ from far away, not face it head to head in an all out brawl!"
"We could have taken it! Didn't you see me dodge its swing?"
"You were lucky!"
The bother sister duo continued to bicker.
"Are they always like that, " asked Margaret.
Perrin said, "All the time. But don't worry about them. They'll tire each other out eventually. You know what I could go for right now?"
"What?" replied Margaret
"Lunch." said Perrin while rubbing his stomach with longing.
Margaret and I were now at the three's camp. It was deeper in the forest, in a clearing. They had set up their tents around a campfire and over that fire hung a pot of their lunch.
While the four ate, Serena was explaining why they were hunting the bear to Margaret. "You see, we can sell the pelt and meat for a good amount of coin, but here's the kicker, someone also filed a subjugation request for it at the Adventurer's Guild." The three were some sort of bounty hunters. But instead of hunting strictly people, they did whatever requests were taken in by their guild. "And there was no note saying they required the materials, so it's a double win. If it's alright with your uncle and you, you could help us with the quest. Sir Gallahad looks like he'd be helpful in a pinch. Of course we'd share the reward evenly." Soren made a look of such disbelief and indignation, but said nothing.
"We would love to, but we're actually already going somewhere," That's right. You tell them. We have more important things to be doing than helping this lot with their day job.
"That's a shame, we could have really used the help in carrying the meat and pelt to Antimony too."
"Wait, you're going to Antimony?"
"Uh, that's right, why?" Yeah, why.
"That's where we're going too. On second thought, we'll help you out." Wait, what?
We returned to where we first encountered the bear. Then went in the direction of where it ran off, changing direction once again when Serena noted some tracks. We found it, drinking from a stream. The water rushed forth, foaming between the loose stones that protruded out of it. Moss had grown atop the stones, where the water could never reach. It was the same emerald green moss that permeated throughout the forest, painting a picture of wild, unrestrained growth all over. And the sounds; of the stream, accompanied by the wildlife of the forest; chirps, crackles of twigs, and the skitter of small critters as they brushed past loose greenery.
As it was, the beast looked like such a serene creature. As it was, it was a still and silent thing, making the memories of that thrashing, roaring beast seem almost impossible. It made me feel wrong to hunt and kill it. But I knew that it's death would have meaning. Its meat would be used to nourish, its fur would be used to warm. In a sense, I honored it. When we were boys, it was a right of passage. We were all taught it. Though it did take me longer to learn than I'd like to admit.
Serena nocked an arrow and drew her string, an unflinching focus in her eyes.
