A good day for monster hunting.  It’s what Tindra thought when she stopped at the notice board.  It was covered in various notes and messages for the village of Westbrook.

Notice

All villains must have their taxes ready on time.  If it is not possible, notify the Lord Magistrate in a timely fashion.  An extension can be given if you need more time.

-Magistrate Gunther

~*~

Notice

Does anyone know who took my pie?  It was for my aunt’s birthday, and it was cooling on the windowsill of my cottage.  When I turned around, it was gone.  I saw a set of large feet in the dirt.  I think it was one of Bruno’s boys.  Please come to me with any information.

-Grace

~*~

Notice

A monster has been sighted in the northern woods.  Do not go there until it has been dealt with.  Any monster hunters who see this notice may speak with the Lord Magistrate or one of his assistants for details and payment.

-Magistrate Gunther

Tindra took the notice down and looked it over again.  She stopped a passing pedestrian, “Excuse me.  Where is the Magistrate’s Office?”

“It’s just down the way,” the man pointed.  Just in view was a part of a larger building.  As Tindra walked, her feet sunk into the muddy road.  The town had been here for generations.  The houses were old and kept together by the care of those who inherited them.

The magistrate’s office was open to the outside, mainly to cool down the stuffy building.  The main room was large with two desks.  One was vacant, the other had an older man with thinning hair.  He was counting coins and marking them down.  Every so often, he would set them on a scale to measure them as well as check their mint.  Tindra walked up to the desk and waited for the man to stop.  He looked up from his work and set it aside.  “May I help you?” he asked.

Tindra set the notice on the desk, “I’m here for your monster problem.”  The man looked over the notice then set it aside.  “Complete the contract,” he said, “Solve the problem one way or another and return here for payment.”

“How much?” Tindra asked.  The man looked up at her, “Three hundred Shils.”

“Three hundred?  How long has this notice been up?  This job should be worth more than that?”

“This is a small hamlet town,” the man said, “Three hundred Shils are the most we can pay.  It will be more than enough to pay for a room elsewhere.”  Tindra sighed, “Fine, I’ll be back in a few days.”  She turned and left the office.

She walked around town asking questions about the monster.  She was told that it was big and had fur.  Some said it walked on two legs, others said four or six.  As she was about to leave town, a little girl approached her.

“That beast killed my brother when he was out hunting.”

“I’ve heard of brigands in the woods.  I bet that is what it is.”

“You’re not going to hurt the teddy bear, are you?” she asked, her eyes so full of innocence.  Tindra knelt down, “I’m going to go kill a monster.  I’ll make sure the bear is fine.”

“Please,” she begged, “He’s all alone out there.”

“Can you tell me more about the bear so I can find him?  I want to make sure he is safe.”  The girl nodded, “He’s this big, wear’s a funny hat.  He likes to fish a lot.  He doesn’t catch much, but he still likes to do it.”  Tindra smiled at the little girl and put her helmet on, “Then I’ll find the bear and make sure he’s okay.”

“Give him this,” the girl handed the woman a biscuit.  It wasn’t much, but showed she cared.  “Can you tell me his name?”

“Pookie Bear!” the girl squealed.  Of course.  Only a child would come up with a name like that.  But she still smiled under her helmet and nodded, “Alright, I’ll make sure the monster doesn’t get Pookie Bear.”

As she trekked north, the summer sun beat down on her.  The heat was made worse by her armor that was padded to prevent it from making a sound.  She wore a set of enchanted plate with steel greaves and pauldrons.

She found a trail some of the villagers pointed out that led to the most recent attack.  It led her to what looked to be a battlefield in condensed form.  There was blood, arrows and shattered logs.  Tindra took the time to look around and check the signs.

Several sets of feet.  The largest looked like a bear.  Others were booted feet of varying sizes.  There was one pair that looked barefooted.  They were large, the ground was singed around the edged of the foot, no, decayed.  But what kind of person or monster could have done that?  A druid maybe?  They were known to kill plants around them if they were not careful, but it didn’t really make much sense.  Their magic didn’t hurt the world they swore to protect, unless they chose to walk a different path.  There was more going on than she could see.  Her only course was to follow the tracks and see where they lead.  So she chose the large bear-like tracks and followed them.  The tracks lead to a small lake with a clearing of grass.  There was humming that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Then she saw it.  Alone, sitting under a tree and on a rock, was a small bear cub.

At first Tindra looked around for its mother.  A mama bear was more dangerous than most monsters.  But when she saw no sign of her, she waited.  She could be diving in the water or looking for food.  This thought stayed with her until she noticed something.  The humming was coming from the bear cub.  This caused her to take another look at the cub.

It was sitting up like a person with its back against the tree.  Not unusual as bears do have similarities to humans.  But this bear wore human clothes, and looked to be wearing a fishing cap.  It its hand was a fishing pole.  It was clear this was the Pookie Bear the girl mentioned.  Tindra left her hiding spot and walked out into the open.  “Hello,” she called, “A friend of yours sent me.”  The bear stopped humming and looked over.  He neither looked startled nor scared.  He just turned and went back to humming and fishing.

“Alright, I just talked to a bear cub,” Tindra said to herself, “One that is fishing with a fishing pole.  And wearing human clothing.  Where the hells did I end up?”  She sat down next to the bear who just kept humming and bouncing to the tune.  The better look she had of the cub, she could see why the girl called him a teddy bear.  His arms were the right size and length for a bear cub of his age, but the face was stubbier, more compact.  I looked more like a doll than an actual bear.  It was surprisingly cute.  “I have something for you,” Tindra said to the bear and pulled out the biscuit the little girl gave her.  He handed it to the small creature.  He looked at it, sniffed it, then ate it right out of her hand.

“Hey!” she cried and jerked her hand back.  The biscuit was gone and the bear went right back to humming and fishing.  Tindra removed her helmet and wiped sweat from her brow, “I guess you have a one-track mind then.  Do you mind if I set up camp here?”  The bear kept humming and shook his head.  She took it as a sign to start setting up her camp.

Unlike other adventurers, Tindra didn’t carry a bag with her.  Instead, she had an extra dimensional space in the form of an expandable ring on her wrist.  She dropped its expanded form on the ground and began removing her gear.  In it were all of the items she needed.  A tent, cooking pot, firewood, an ax as well as food to be cooked.  At the moment, she had the contents of the previous meal already cooked and ready to be eaten.

First, she dug a small pit into the ground and found rocks to ring it.  Then she gathered twigs and compressed them down to manageable sizes.  Using her knife, she whittled of sections of some of the stick to create kindling.  With a whisper and a snap, she cast her cantrip and lit the kindling.  She tended to the fire and added some wood.  Then she put a stand over the fire and the pot.  While last night’s stew was warming up, she went about setting up her tent.  When her camp was all set.  She took a seat next to the fire and tended to the stew.

She heard shuffling next to her.  The bear had moved next to her and began humming and bouncing again.  It was very cute to see the little smile on his face.  “Do you want some little guy?” she asked.  The bear nodded.  Tindra reached into her dimensional storage and pulled out two bowls and spoons.  When the stew was heated enough, she poured out a serving for both her and the bear.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

While the bear ate through the stew quickly and had Tindra stop every so often to give him another serving, the warrior woman took her time.  Moderating herself as she was taught.  She couldn’t help watching the bear in his woolen jacket and fisherman’s hat.  “You really are unbearably cute,” she said and scratched him behind the ear, “No wonder the kids like you.”

The sun set, letting the stars shine above.  She wouldn’t be able to do more investigation until morning.  She entered her small tent and removed her armor.  Underneath was a muscular form that did nothing to take from her feminine figure.  The clothes she wore were padded to protect her from the armor.  Just a simple gambeson shirt and pants.  She wore those still to keep her protected.  Before he turned in for the night.  She produced a small charm and took the next ten minutes casting a simple enchantment.  One that would let her know if danger was coming close.  She specified humanoids and carnivores, while setting the minimum size of the creatures that could trip it.  Once completed, she rolled out her bedroll and lay down to sleep.

There was movement at the mouth of the tent.  Tindra looked up with knife in hand only to find the bear.  He was crawling into the tent, probably wanting a good place to sleep.  It was barely big enough for the two of them, but Tindra made what room she could.  She pulled the bear close as the night got cold, using the thick fur to her advantage.  The bear pressed himself against her chest and made himself comfortable.  Soon the two were sound asleep.

The next morning was met with more investigations.  Tindra made her way to the other attack sights.  There was one that looked to be the remains of a merchant’s cart.  The body was left to decay.  Carrion birds and animals had picked away at the bones.  The tracks had been washed away with the weather, but one stood out, the large barefooted tracks.  Studying the area and even the corpse, signs of a struggle were seen.  Originally, she thought the head of the merchant had been taken away by an animal, looking back at it, it was clear it was removed by a blade.  Crushed ribs spoke of a large blunt object.  The contents of the care had been ransacked, leaving not much behind.

Another site she visited was different.  This time the bear-like tracks were back and there were bodies.  Two hunters from the village were torn apart.  They were missing arrows from their quivers, one had an arrow knocked.  But the arm for the bow lay several feet away from the body.  The lower torse of one hunter sat in a tree, entrails dangling out of it for the birds to eat.  It looked to her so far that the signs were saying bandits were involved.  One might be a werebear and using their shapeshifting abilities to create the illusion of a monster.  Though it was still not far from the truth.  Either way, it looked like the bandits were long gone and the monster is nowhere in sight.  But one though crossed her mind when she looked over at the bear.

He had followed her to every attack site.  Playing with trees and branches.  Sitting and watching.  Humming that strange tune.  At one site, one that looked like something big rampaged through the area, the bear tried doing acrobatics over the logs.  It was fun to watch the tiny beast with his stubby little arms and legs running around like a toddler.  But a thought played at the back of Tindra’s mind.

She knew of creatures that had human characteristics outside the humanoid races.  There were tales of a wolfman on a lone island in Celtica.  But, looking at the dopey looking bear that a kept following her around, it was hard to picture it being anything but a cute teddy bear that loved fishing.

What made the investigation frustrating what that every time she tried to follow the tracks; they would vanish.  It was almost as if whoever made them disappeared or teleported away.  She would look around the area the tracks stopped for any sign of someone either doubling back or jumping, but there was nothing.  She even checked the magical spectrum for traces and found some in the transmutation spectrum, but nothing conclusive.

Eventually, she had to bring her day to a close and returned to camp.  Nothing changed with her camp, and she cooked some more food.  This time she kebabbed some venison from a deer she killed while away.  Tacking a few pouches of spices out of her dimensional space, she used small pinches to season each kebab.  She prepared a few for the bear and the two ate.  When it was time for bed, the two once again shared the tent.

This pattern continued for several more days.  Tindra returned to all of the sites to see if she can fin more, but nothing new presented itself.  Eventually she came to the conclusion that the monster had left, and the forest was safe to enter again.  She looked over at the little bear that was sleeping in the sun and rubbed his belly.  He squirmed and rolled so she could rub it some more.  It wasn’t proper for her to get this attached to something, it could hinder her ability to do her duty, but she had found that it was getting harder had harder to keep those barriers up.  A sign of weakness she didn’t want her sisters to see.

She stood, took a look around the clearing before stripping her armor.  She hesitated at the straps.  There was something that was bugging her at that moment.  Something she missed.  Oh, well.  She would figure it out later.  A nice dip in the lake would take her mind off it.  The grime of her gear was felt, and it was chaffing at her body.  She stripped down to her skin and dove into the cold water.

The chill hit her and cause her to gasp.  She surfaced and shivered.  She swam out to the middle of the lake and swam back.  When she looked back at the shore, the bear was watching her while he was fishing, humming that same tune he always hummed.  Eventually, she felt clean and swam back to the shore.  Tindra walked out of the lake and over to her gear.  She pulled a towel out of the dimensional space and dried herself off.  It was when she was applying oil to her hair, did she hear it.  The sounds of muttering and footsteps.

She turned and tried to grab her knife.  It was slick in her hands from the oil, and she couldn’t get a good grip.  The group of men that emerged from the forest were smiling and laughing at what must have been a joke.  Most were humans, there was an elf amongst them and something else.  He was large, larger than a normal man.  Big, round belly and skin a bright red.  His face looked like that of a demon with large fangs and a single horn in in his forehead.  He wore only a loincloth and held a large wooden club on his shoulder.  It was an Oni.

“You were right Kensho,” one of the humans said.  He was chewing on a bundle of leaves that turned his mouth red, “Poor bitch can’t hold the knife correctly with all that oil.”

“Careful,” the Oni called Kensho said, “She is of the Ovo.  Even disarmed, she is still armed.”  The other man waved him off, “I’m sure the boys can handle her.”  With a waive, he signaled for the others to attack.

The elf struck first with a blackjack.  Tindra tore the towel off her and flicked it out towards the elf.  She smaked him in the face with it and wrapped it around his head.  She stabbed him in the neck with her dagger.  She pulled on the towel just right to get it to spin the elf into his friends.  She used the moment to clean her hands of the oil.  The second attacker came with a sword.

She caught his sword arm with the towel and flipped him over her shoulder.  She disarmed the bandit and took his sword.  Magic sparked along the blade as she spun and cut one of the recovering bandits in two, five feet away.  The blade she was using cracked from the magic flowing into it.  Out of the corner of her eye, the Oni swung his club at her with shocking speed.  She only had enough time to bring up her arm and create a shield.  The club struck and the shield absorbed most of the impact, but she was still sent flying.  When she landed, she rolled back to her feet and took stock of the group, three bandits were dead, five more remained.  The Oni was going to be tough.

Oni were large brutes that were surprisingly fast and strong.  They could also be very intelligent when they needed to be.  Their smell was almost unbearable due to the rank odor.  Because she couldn’t smell him, meant there was magic involve.  Actually, now that she thought back, she did.  The wind had shifted sightly, and it carried his stench on the breeze.  That’s why she felt uneasy earlier.  Stupid girl.  She had a moment of security and dropped her guard.  That was when they struck.  Now she was naked and without a proper weapon against a creature who could rip trees out of the ground.  Then there was the bear.  She prayed to the gods that he had the sense of mind to escape.

“Hey boss,” one of the bandits called, “I found a bear.  Look at the stupid thing.  He thinks he’s a humaaaaa- oh SHIT!”  That was followed by a mighty roar as the bear turned into a massive, humanoid beast.  Gone were his cute jacket and hat.  Now stood a monster ready to rip everyone to pieces.

The Oni turned in time to block a strike from the powerful claws.  The sound of shattering wood carried out over the clearing.  The Oni went flying into the lake and landed with a splash.  The bandit closest to the Oni tried to get in a clean hit, but was ripped in half by a single strike, his legs still standing for a few moments.  The next one in line turned to run, but was run down himself in moments.  His spine was ripped out and limbs scattered.  The one closest to the lake dove in, saving him from the continued onslaught.  The furthest bandit ran for his life, but didn’t get far.  The bear tore out the rock he had previously been sitting on and threw it at the fleeing bandit, his body turning into mist on contact.  The Oni and the last bandit were the only ones to escape with their lives.  They surfaced on the other side of the lake, panting and wheezing.  The bear looked at them and did nothing.  He started shrinking until he took the shape of a human man with the ears of a bear and a pair of pants.  “Glad, that finally over with,” he said and picked up Tindra’s shirt, “Here, you should get dressed.”

Tindra looked at the carnage around the camp.  The blood, the dismembered bodies.  The fact that the bear she had spent almost a week with was actually a person.  A person who was fit and attractive with cool tattoo and the thought of where he put his head, that he saw her naked and was looking at her right now finally clicked into place.  Tindra calmly walked over to the bear and put her hands on his shoulders.  “You’re telling me, you were a person this whole time?” she growled.  The bear shrugged, “I mean, how else was I going to lure those guys in?  All my normal tricks didn’t work.”

Blue light glowed from the woman’s eyes as she stared him down, hands moving around his throat.  “Hey… can’t… breathe,” he tried to say.  Tindra smiled and said in a sing song voice, “I know.”

~*~

Rufus sat in the field, back against a fence post and bottle in hand.  It was nearly morning, and he was already drunk.  Maybe Miram is right, I am wasting my life away.  Still, he took another sip and a draw on his pipe.  The combination of herbs and booze was the best thing ever in his mind.  Couldn’t get enough of it, he would say.  He controlled it, not the other way around.  But now, his sister had kicked him out of his own house and now he had nothing but the bottle and the herb.

A blue flash of light in the distance caught his attention.  Rufus looked up to see what it was.  He saw nothing but trees of the northern forest.  But there in the distance, a dark shape was forming.  It started as a dot and was slowly growing bigger and bigger.  He heard screaming and it landed right in front of him.  The figure stood and took stock of his surroundings.  He spied Rufus and walked over.

The man thought it was the alcohol and the herb, but he swore he had bear ears.  The man leaned down and took both the pipe and the bottle.  He drained the bottle and then took a draft on the pipe.  He hunched over and took the form of a bear, pipe still in his mouth.  AS the now bear waled away from him, it stopped and turned towards him.  “No one will ever believe you,” it said and walked away back into the forest.  Okay, now he was going to