As I charge the bear I move further to the right making it turn away from the other one. I know without looking that Ruby will be maneuvering the other one the opposite direction. We have fought together enough to not need to communicate the plan verbally, divide and conquer.

As I get close to the bear I make a feint at it, when it swings I stop and slice its arm. Then I turn right and get some distance, it roars and chases after me. When it has moved a good fifty feet away from the other one I stop and turn to face it.

As it charges straight at me I hold my ground and wait until the last possible second before dropping and rolling out of the way. I am back on my feet and charging at its back before it can even try to turn around. Alannis was right, it is faster than it looks, but not as fast as Drog was.

My experience against Drog makes this a fairly easy fight, I run up behind the bear and jump to its back. As I land I drive Blitz down into its spine and immobilize its back pair of legs. Then I let go of Blitz and continue forward to its upper body.

As the bear roars in pain I reach around to grab its jaw and give a mighty jerk to snap its neck. I rip Blitz free and jump clear as the bear crashes to the ground. So much easier than the fight with Drog.

As soon as my feet hit the ground I am off, running at full speed to help Ruby. As the trees blur past me on either side my own speed surprises me. It only takes thirty seconds or so before the other bear is in sight.

The minute I see Ruby I know she is in trouble, her left arm is hanging limply by her side and covered in blood. The bear is right on top of her, it is bleeding in a dozen places and has one of Ruby's scimitars buried in its side. The wounds don't seem to bother it as it continues to attack Ruby, even as it swings again I ram it in the side at full speed.

The bear yelps as I hit it so hard it is lifted off the ground and slammed into a tree. With a loud crack the tree breaks off and falls, taking the bear with it. As the bear struggles back to its feet I step up onto the broken tree and swing Blitz at its neck with all my might.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Beast Slayer has progressed to level 3!

Beast Slayer

Level 3

All Stats +3

You do 15% additional damage against beasts.

"Ruby, are you alright?"

Ruby says "Yes, thank you. You got here just in time!"

"I'm glad! Head back to the others and have Leyla heal your arm. I will deal with the corpses."

As Ruby walks slowly away I clean off Blitz and sheathe it, then I pull her scimitar free and clean it as well. The fact that she forgot it tells me how bad off she is. I set to skinning and butchering the bear, only pausing when I reach its heart and core.

The core I clean and set with Ruby's scimitar, the heart I eat in a couple of bites. Not poisoned, and even raw it is pretty tasty.

Devour activated! +10 Str!

The hide, meat, and a few of the better bones go into my pouch. Then I pick up the scimitar and core and head back to the first bear to repeat the process.

Devour activated! Claw Damage Enhanced!

When I return to the others I am carrying Ruby's scimitar and the two cores. Leyla leaves Ruby and rushes over to me and starts checking me over for wounds.

"Relax, I am fine. I didn't even get a scratch."

Leyla says "Oh, wow! Okay."

Alannis says "You killed a fang bear on your own, then helped finish the other, and you didn't get a scratch?"

"Pretty much."

As Alannis stands there with her mouth hanging open I walk over to where Ruby is sitting. I sheath her scimitar on her back and drop the two cores in her lap.

"Here, absorb these and then get some rest. You did just fine."

I wait until Ruby absorbs the cores and returns to the amulet for some rest, then I get everyone on their feet and ready to move out. We resume our slow walk to the south, I hope to get at least a couple more miles before we camp for the night.

Alannis says "The fact that you killed a fang bear alone tells me just how lucky I am to be alive. Thank you for sparing me."

"You don't need to thank me, if you hadn't parried my first attack you would have been dead."

Alannis gulps and quickly drops back to walk with Leyla. I guess I was a bit blunt but it was the truth. I meant she should be proud of her skill which kept her alive, but I think she took it another way.

We make it a little over two miles before I call for the end of the day's march. We set up camp and I start cooking bear steaks for everyone. Myria proves herself useful again and starts cooking wild veggies she gathered during the day.

Drog says "We are about six miles from the edge of the forest, master."

"Good, tomorrow we will aim for the edge, and the day after we will enter the plains."

Leyla says "I for one will be glad to get out of these scary woods!"

Ruby says "Don't be too sure the plains will be better, it will be easier for soldiers to spot us once we leave the woods."

Alannis says "Normally the soldiers do not leave the roads unless ordered to."

"I'm sure if the king figures out we are in the plains the soldiers will be ordered to."

Mericel says "The fact the heroes haven't found us yet means they may have already been ordered to search the plains."

"Whatever happens we will deal with it as needed, for now eat and get some rest."

Alannis says "Who knew the fang bears would be this tasty?"

Drog says "Master! Soldiers!"

"Where?"

Drog says "On the road, moving by torchlight."

Alannis says "That is weird, traveling at night is dangerous!"

"Drog, did you see how many?"

Drog says "No, master, I rushed back as soon as I spotted them."

"Mericel, if you would?"

Mericel says "Of course!"

We wait anxiously for the three minutes it takes for Mericel to return. Leyla and the ex slaves look scared, Alannis looks ready for a fight, and surprisingly so does Myria.

Mericel says "One hundred soldiers, all mounted, and a hero."

Ruby says "Do we fight them?"

"Normally I would say no, but we could move faster with horses. And tents and things for everyone would be nice. Let's do it."