Dawn broke over Willowbrook, but Kai and the others were already awake and getting themselves ready for their hunt. An elemental bear was no simple prey; they needed to go into this with the right mindset and as much preparation as possible.

Callum and Clara had managed to locate an area rife with caves where they believed the bear was lairing, which was all that Lieutenant Silver had been waiting on. Their plan, such as it was, was to move straight toward the area and try to find tracks leading to one specific cave. If they couldn’t, they’d set an ambush for the beast and prepare the area as best they could.

With so many unknowns to consider, it wasn’t a bad plan, so Kai offered no objections as Silver organised them and their marching order. With Blane and the two hunters joining them, they numbered eighteen now, a good number considering what they would be fighting.

According to Callum, the area they’d found was a heavily wooded valley an hour’s walk from Willowbrook. A nearby stream fed into a large pool in the middle of the valley, providing an easy water source for those living within the caves that riddled the valley walls.

If the bear was indeed lairing in the valley, it was no wonder it had attacked the village; such a creature would claim miles of land as its territory, easily covering Willowbrook.

The group was quiet as they moved through the hilly woodlands of the area. There was an air of tension among them that Kai couldn’t fault; better that they went into this cautious. The weapons that Verdan had supplied would even the fight, but he doubted they’d get out of this without casualties.

“We’re about a mile from the valley entrance now, and the caves run along the full length of it. We should start to move more carefully,” Callum said, giving a pointed look to Silver and his guards. The guards were doing their best not to make too much noise, but Kai could see their lack of experience showing.

“I agree. Let’s take it slow and steady. Callum, would you and your daughter scout ahead for us?” Silver said, motioning for the other guards to match his pace.

“Of course, we’ll see what’s up ahead and if there are any fresh tracks,” Callum said, glancing over to his daughter before the two slipped away into the undergrowth.

“Blane and I will take the front, Tom. Stick with the Lieutenant,” Kai said, nodding to Blane as he jogged forward to be a good twenty feet ahead of the guards. Kai was no expert, but he’d spent enough time out in the wilderness to move quietly, unlike Silver and his people.

Truthfully, Blane was more on the level of Callum and Clara with how easily he moved through the undergrowth, but Kai wanted to keep the odd man close by, just in case.

Kai thought longingly of the armour that had been taken by the cyth when they’d captured him, he had some leather to protect him, but that would do little against the claws of a bear. Perhaps once they were back, he’d look at getting Verdan to enchant his armour or buying something better for himself.

Bringing his attention back to the task at hand, Kai kept his eyes on their surroundings as they moved toward the entrance to the valley. This area was rife with thick forest and had more than its share of hills, making it difficult for them to see more than a short distance around them.

“Callum is coming back,” Blane muttered after a few minutes, his nostrils flaring slightly.

“What do you mean?” Kai asked, glancing in confusion at Blane, who merely gestured to where the hunter was emerging from a thicket of trees.

“Disciple Kai, Blane,” Callum greeted them in a whispered tone as he moved closer, keeping low to the ground as he moved.

“Just Kai is fine,” Kai said softly, silently cursing the strange formality that Silver had developed with him. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve come across a fresh trail leading back to the valley, it’s large enough to be our quarry, and the tracks look correct. There’s certainly nothing else around here that leaves ones like that. Clara is tracking it now, but I will lead you to it,” Callum explained, motioning for Silver and the others to join them as the guards caught up.

Callum reiterated the situation to Silver, who gave Kai a questioning look, but the sorcerer spread his hands and gestured for Silver to take charge.

Technically speaking, Kai and Tom were here to support in case things went badly, not to take control of what was happening. In some ways, this could be considered a training exercise for the city guards.

Realising that Kai was taking a back seat to the operation, Silver instructed Callum to guide them forward, and they soon found themselves at the trail.

Damaged trees, flattened bushes, and large, shallow pawprints were all classic signs of an earth-aspect Elemental Bear. Their connection with the ground was so strong that they left only a slight imprint, despite their weight and size, but that connection did nothing to protect the vegetation around them.

These particular tracks looked shallow, even for an earth-aspect bear, but Kai had only seen a few examples in the past, the last of which was in a mountainous area with little soil. Without more to go on, it was hard to say if the tracks were unusually shallow or if the difference in soil and terrain was what he was noticing.

Deciding not to say anything, for now, Kai moved on with the group as they followed the trail down into the valley, where Clara was waiting for them.

“Clara, what did you find?” Callum asked as his daughter joined them.

“The tracks lead up to a pair of caves that share a single path; the tracks get difficult, though,” Clara said, gesturing off to the east at the side of the valley.

“How so?” Silver asked, raising a brow at the younger hunter.

“There are few trees there, so I couldn’t get too close without losing cover, but the tracks start overlapping, and with how shallow they are, they’re easy to muddle up.” Clara gave the Lieutenant a shrug. One hand idly played with her arrows as she spoke.

“I see. Is it still in there?” Silver asked, tapping the side of his thigh in thought.

“Looks to be, there’s the path coming in and one going to the pool, but that’s it.”

"The trail goes to the pool, then here?” Kai asked, frowning a little as he was sure that wasn’t what she had said first.

“No, it goes to the cave, and another goes to the pool and back. I think it went back and came out again for a drink,” Clara said with another shrug and a throwaway gesture, clearly not finding it important.

The explanation didn’t sit quite right with Kai, but he couldn’t put his finger on why, and he’d already decided it wasn’t his place to lead, so he didn’t push it further. There were a lot of things that he would have looked at more or done differently, but nothing that would endanger anyone. His role here was only to act if mistakes endangered the group. Simple mistakes or oversights would be a learning experience.

“So, we will set an ambush for the creature as it emerges from the lair. Are there any good vantage points nearby?” Silver was asking as Kai focused back on the conversation.

“I think so, this particular cave is quite low, so there were plenty of others that can look down on it.”

“Right, let’s move quickly then. The two of you lead us to the cave and point it out, then head up with the arbalests. Auger, you’re in command but listen to their advice, understood?” Silver said, taking swift action now that the moment was upon them.

“Yes, Sir,” one of the guards with the crossbows said, the others with a similar armament moving to gather around him.

“No problem, let’s go; it might not stay in there for too long,” Clara said, all but bouncing on her toes impatiently as she waited for them to organise themselves. It was a stark contrast to the absolute stillness of her father, which Kai chalked up to a lack of experience on her part.

“Agreed, let’s move,” Silver said, motioning for them to follow the hunters as Clara immediately set off back toward the cave.

This plan felt rushed to Kai, and he glanced at Blane, who was also frowning slightly at Silver. It was one thing to follow the creature here. It was another to set an impromptu ambush on its doorstep and simply hope that it didn’t come out before they were ready. Kai would have preferred the ambush to be further from the cave. Perhaps on its path to the water or out of the valley.

Still, they did have a few more advantages than usual, so perhaps an aggressive tactic was the right move on Silver’s part. They’d soon find out, one way or another.

Kai kept his spear at the ready and his eyes open as the group closed in on the caves that the trail led to. The valley’s centre was thick with old trees and had a good amount of cover for them as they moved. The sides, where the caves were, had far less to conceal them.

Clara pointed out the two caves in question, which were at the top of a steep incline that led partway up the valley wall.

“Okay, you go find your positions, but don’t shoot at it until it’s at the base of the ramp. We don’t want to have to go in the cave after it,” Silver said, sending the hunters on their way as he started assigning ambush spots.

As the backup in this situation, Kai, Tom and Blane were given a flank position, where they could see everything that was happening and respond as needed.

The Lieutenant split his men into two groups and gave them positions flanking one of the trails. Silver was banking on the fact that if it had already been out once today, it would likely only be emerging to go to the water. A reasonable assumption and one that might pay off for them.

If not, they would still be in a position to strike, but the guards would all be coming at it from one direction, which was less than ideal.

Watching some of the higher areas, Kai saw flickers of movement as the hunters and arbalest armed guards settled in. They were as ready as they were going to be.

“When do you think it will come out?” Tom asked quietly, pitching his voice so that it just reached Kai. The three of them were in a thicket of trees and spread out enough that they had their own sections.

“It could be in two minutes, could be two hours, nothing for it but to settle in and wait,” Kai said, not moving his focus from the two caves.

Blane didn’t comment, but from the way he settled himself against a tree, Kai could tell that the strange man was expecting quite a long wait.

Tom started to work on his Essence control, but Kai shut that down immediately. He had no idea if an elemental bear could sense Essence usage, but after seeing how Verdan could sense and examine Aether and Essence, Kai was taking no chances.

As they waited, Kai’s mind drifted to some of the things they’d seen and the odd pieces of information that were still niggling at him. There was something he hadn’t seen, something he hadn’t put together yet, and he hated that feeling.

Reviewing everything in his mind, Kai felt certain that the key assumptions were correct. This was an elemental bear, it was earth-aspected, and it was lairing nearby. The descriptions from the villagers, the tracks and the trail they’d followed proved all that.

Beyond that, he was less certain on the fact that it had been wounded, and that was how the villagers had driven it off, but nothing else made sense there. An adult elemental bear could destroy a village without even seeing them as a threat.

Movement caught Kai’s eye, breaking his chain of thought as something moved in the shadows at the entrance to the smaller of the two caves. Something big.

Tension filled the air as the creature stepped out into the sun; Kai could almost feel the attention of all the hunting party focus on it. The bear slowly emerged from the cave, shaking itself as it started to descend the path down to the tree line.

The bear was covered in rocky protrusions that moved as if they were only fur when it walked, and Kai could see how its steps seemed to impact the whole area around it, spreading the weight out enough to leave only a slight central imprint. It was hard to judge from this distance, but he’d put it around seven or eight-foot at the shoulder and twelve feet long, big by any standard.

As it continued closer, Kai caught sight of a patch across its left shoulder where the rocky protrusions had broken away, revealing the skin beneath. Instead of the healthy, healed skin Kai expected, the bear’s shoulder was covered by a large angry wound that looked incredibly painful. That must be the weak spot the villagers aimed for, but it didn’t look like a bite or claw injury.

Kai frowned as the creature started down the path, it was big, but it wasn’t that big, not for an elemental bear. If he didn’t know better, he’d have said it wasn’t fully grown.

The horrible realisation of what was about to happen hit Kai like a bucket of ice water. The bear hadn’t used any elemental attacks against the village because it couldn’t. It wasn’t fully mature. They needed to call off the ambush; if they attacked this bear, people were going to die.

“Tom, stay here, don’t attack unless it does. Blane, get up to the archers and tell them to abort,” Kai hissed to the other two. “It’s not fully grown. The mother will be somewhere nearby.”

Blane and Tom both paled at Kai’s words, and they looked back in disbelief at the huge creature. Without the time to convince them, Kai slipped back from his tree and started toward Lieutenant Silver as Blane went for the archers.

Elemental bears were incredibly territorial, which had made Kai wonder why it was out here, but they were also particularly vengeful. If something had wounded the cub, the mother would have chased down the attacker and killed it, taking the territory for herself. That wound on the young bear was too old for something Willowcreek had done, which meant that something had happened to it, and the bears had come here in response.

Kai shivered as he realised that Willowcreek had driven the bear off by shooting its injury but clearly not with enough force to wound it further. If they had, that village would no longer exist; the mother would have ripped it apart.

Hurrying as quickly as he dared through the trees, Kai closed in on the Lieutenant’s position. He was almost to them when a voice rang out into the silence.

“This is for my mother, you overgrown piece of shit,” Clara yelled at the beast, making it swing around toward the sound.

Skidding to a halt and looking over at the cub with a sick feeling, Kai watched as a single arrow shot down into the wound on the bear’s shoulder, ripping open the slightly healed wound. The bear reared back from the attack, roaring in anger and pain.

Immediately, the rest of the ambush started to unfurl, with bolts from the enchanted crossbows slamming into it and shattering small pieces of its armour. At the same time, Silver and his guards rose to come at the bear from both sides. They were out of position, but not too badly.

Kai saw all of that but ignored it, trusting that they had it under control. Instead, he ignited his Essence and went straight for the larger of the two caves.

He could be wrong. He prayed that he was wrong. If it was just this bear, the guard would be able to handle it with no issue. Its lack of elemental abilities would spell its death.

Kai blazed past the angry bear without pausing, absently noting that Blane and Tom were moving in to support the guard.

As Kai reached the halfway point up the ramp to the caves, an ear-splitting crack temporarily silenced the roaring of the bear behind him. Kai felt a swell of power within the cave and brought his spear up defensively, right as the entrance to the cave exploded outwards in a spray of shattered rock.