The wind was blowing gently through the forest as the hunter slowly and patiently stalked his prey. Sniffing the air, the scent of death was ripe all around, and the hunter leisurely eased towards the odor. Gently and quietly brushing past several shrubs and ferns, he made his way over the small knoll and down to the creek, where death once again lay in all its glory.

A massive brown bear had been killed and left in the creek, and the ripe stench of rot and decay hung heavy in the air. Small minnows nibbled at the fur and flesh, but the hunter paid them no heed as he slowly leaned down to examine the wound. Poison. Once again, foul, despicable poison had been used to kill the majestic brown Kodiak.

Snorting with disgust, the hunter glanced and saw that the sun was growing low in the sky and night was starting to fall. Such an innocent and powerful beast shouldn’t be allowed to rot and pollute the forest, and the hunter didn’t feel as if scavengers should be allowed to eat and suffer the same fate from the poison which remained in the creature’s flesh and blood.

With eternal patience and a stone resolve, the hunter ignored the setting of the sun and began to dig and scrape at the ground. For several long hours, he stoically carved a hole into the earth near the massive corpse, and then with a strength born of a slowly growing anger, he pushed and rolled the remains until they fell into the shallow grave.

The rest of the night was spent covering up the grave, and when the sun rose the next morning, the hunter leaned low to the ground and began to follow a path that no others would be skillful enough to see. With a growl forming deep in his throat, he stalked the one who stalked the innocent creatures of the wild.

Though he had been delayed several times in the last few days while following the trail, the hunter refused to rest. Refused to sleep. The distance between him and the Plaguebringer was closing, and soon he would catch up to the one he was hunting for.

It was several hours past sunrise and Delvin and his guards had already broken camp and began the final leg of their journey into the mountain city, Stoneview. The sky was clear, the birds were singing, the sun was shining peacefully, and the trees were moving left and right, opening a clear path into the forest.

“Ware! All ‘ware!” The captain of the guards noticed immediately and yelled to get everyone’s attention. With over a dozen wagons in the Lord Devlin’s caravan, and over two dozen guards, no one was expecting any real trouble on the road – and yet something truly bizarre was happening! Halfway up the slope of the path the wagons were on, the forest was simply being parted in half. Trees on one small hillside slid to the left, trees and bushes on the other hillside slid to the right.

“Shields front! Archers ready!” The captain yelled, moving his horse towards the ever widening firebreak in the forest, to see what trouble his men was facing. They weren’t amateurs; Lord Devlin only hired the best to guard his wagons, and a wall of shields and swords quickly blocked the road while points of arrows gleamed in the sunlight, ready for anything.

Anything that is, except for the single hunter who slowly and lazily walked out of the forest.

Standing nearly sixteen feet tall while on all four legs, to say the bear that meandered out of the forest was oversized would be an understatement. A massive black head, nearly the size of a horse itself, yawned widely, showing a perfect row of dagger length teeth. Tilting its head to sniff the air, it turned and stared at the merchant and his guards.

“Gods be damned! Fire! Fire!” Panicking, fearing the damage such a creature could do if it charged his men who valiantly stood in front of the wagons and archers, the captain ordered for his men to attack. Dozens of arrows arched across the sky, flying perfectly and slammed into the massive creature mercilessly.

Yawning again, the bear sat down and scratched at his ear, completely unconcerned and unfazed.

Words of magic echoed in the air and several streams of smoldering fire leapt past the merchant’s guards as the wizards took their turn. The ground sizzled, trees burnt, and the stone pavement bubbled.

The bear lazily quit scratching on its ear and then turned and began to walk up the path away from the Lord Devlin and his guards. For all the damage the ground and forest had just taken, the bear was still unscathed.

And, it was still on the hunt.

Word of a demon bear reached the town well before the massive beast itself did. Slow, relentless, and eternally patient, Papa Bear had no reason to rush. Already it had been attacked dozens of times, and dozens of times it had simply ignored the attackers like a rhino ignores a flea. Swords, arrows, fire, lighting, spears and magic had all been tossed at the bear, which didn’t seem to notice.

Wizards used magic to create a stone wall to slow the creature’s progress; the wall simply split open as the trees had and opened a gap so the bear could walk through with nary a concern, and then closed back up solid once again behind it. A huge crevice was dug with magic, creating a massive pitfall to trap the beast. It simply stepped forward and the ground rose to firmly settle under its feet until it was past the gap, and then the earth returned back as if nothing had happened, leaving the newly formed gap in the road exactly as it was before the bear passed through.

Sensing that earth magic may not be the answer, an industrious wizard created a giant wall of ice to slow the creature – with limited success. The bear stopped for a few moments, licked the ice several times as if enjoying the taste of the cold moisture, and then it simply walked forward and shattered the barrier into a huge pile of frozen rubbish.

Knights gathered in mass in front of the gates of the city, and rode out bravely atop their noble companions to engage the creature. All to no avail, as the horses screeched to a halt, refused all commands to advance, and knelt before the great bear as it passed calmly amongst them. The city’s war hounds were released, and in a mass of barking, growling, and snarling, they surged forward in a wave – to bounce, roll over, and wag their tails happily as Papa Bear slowed, sniffed, and snorted at them.

A brave summoner pooled their energies with several of their fellows and cried out to the hells! “Come forth, Banerider! You are commanded!”

A shimmering portal swirled and opened, and a demon of massive proportions arrogantly strode through; hell-forged trident raised high. “Who dares to summon me!” His voice was fire and darkness. The ground smoldered where he stood, as steam and smoke smoldered around him. Shaking his trident as a sign of his power, hellfire shot forth, melting several clouds from the sky.

“Yaaaarrrwwwnnnn!” The bear half yawned, half growled, and stared at the mighty demon.

“Bear… Bear… Bear Father!!” Instantly the demon fell to his knees and dropped his head to the ground. “My apologies Bear Father! I did not mean to harm the sky, nor scatter the clouds! Forgive this worthless worm!” Face flat to the stone, the mighty demon shook and trembled, fire flaring up all around it.

“Yaaarrww.” Papa bear slowly advanced on the massive demon and playfully swatted it with one paw. Tumbling end over end, Banerider was hurled through the massive stone wall surrounding the city, through a dozen buildings, and finally bounced a few dozen times before ending up in the central courtyard of the town.

Pandemonium broke lose in the city as a roar of anger echoed from the plaza. “What damnable fools would bring me before the Bear Father’s anger?! Burn foolish mortals! Burn!” Hellfire shot throughout the plaza. People screamed in terror and buildings began to burn.

And the bear ignored it all. He was still on the hunt.

Slowly, relentlessly striding forward, the walls around the city opened as the bear calmly strode inside. The hunter could smell his prey now; he no longer had any need to follow the trail any longer. Walking in a straight line, Papa Bear trampled a fence, and then the house that was marked off by the fence. Finally closing in on his target, the bear slowly quivered and began to shake.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Lumbering forward, Papa bear began to pick up speed as he ran towards his prey. Thump! Thump! Thump! One massive paw in front of the other, echoed throughout the mountains with the force of the bear’s raw power as it surged forwards. Thump! Thump! CRASH!! A stone building shattered and erupted as if hit by a cannonball as it moved too slowly to get out of the bear’s path.

Thump! Thump! SQUASH!! A drunken begger passed out in an alley was instantly reduced into nothing more than a stain on the stone. Thump! Thump! Thump! People were screaming, trying to clear out of houses, wagons, and shops as Papa bear simply torpedoed through them all. Young or old, rich or poor, saint or sinner – it didn’t matter. Like a massive avalanche, anything that didn’t move from its path was simply washed away in the destruction the bear made in its passing.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Finally, it saw the one that it was seeking. Thump! Thump! Thump! A rough looking man in forest green leathers was screaming and running down the street like all others.

Thump! Thump! Thump! “ROOOOAOAAAOORRR!!!!” Releasing a roar so great that buildings shook so hard several fell, the bear charged forward, head lowered. Thump! Thump! Thump! Without pausing, or slowing its stride a beat, Papa bear simply ran his prey down, instantly crushing the Plaguebringer. Thump! Thump! ….

Silence descended as Papa Bear stopped suddenly and slowly turned, its massive frame knocking several already damaged buildings over as it turned in the street. Snorting, Papa Bear slowly walked back to the smeared puddle that was all that remained of the Plaguebringer. Glaring at the man’s soul as it stood there, dazed and lost, confused by its sudden rapid and violent demise; Papa Bear lifted one massive paw and smashed the dark spirit to the ground.

“Hfffftt!” Papa Bear snorted, walked forward, and began to stomp in place. Thump! Thump! Thump-thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump-thump! Rhythmically and relentlessly, Papa bear stood in the middle of the street and stomped on Plaguebringer’s spirt. Thump! Thump! Thump-thump! Right foot stomp. Left foot stomp. Right-left quick stomp combination. Thump! Thump! Thump-thump! Thump! Thump! Thump-thump!

For several hours, the ground shook and trembled as Papa Bear relentlessly danced in place, smearing the spirit and grinding it into the dust until nothing was left. The Plaguebringer had learned his lesson. The children of the forest were safe once more.

“Yaaarrrrgggghhff!” Yawning hugely, Papa Bear ignored the mayhem and pandemonium that was all around. Slowly and calmly, walking in straight line as the earth moved and parted to open a path for him, Papa Bear started his journey back to his den. Gentle and lazy by nature, the great bear was going back to rest and relax…

… Until some idiot “woke the mountain” and he needed to come teach the world his dance once more.