The walk back to their tower sanctuary took quite a bit longer than heading north had due to the fact that they now had to protect the bear cub, Yuri. While he was as large as Kazuma, he was clearly not ready to fight anything nor was he steady enough on his feet to avoid stumbling around clumsily. However, the little bear was exceedingly well-protected with everyone’s parental instincts coming into play.
If Yuri attempted to wander away during a break, Kazuma or Sanguineus were instantly there to nudge him back to the group. In one case, the little bear was almost turned into a snack by a massive crocodile-like creature when he attempted to get a drink from a lake. Yuri’s mother was too far away to help, but the crocodile creature swiftly regretted its choice of targets when Reaver seemingly appeared out of nowhere and tore the creature out of the water before ripping it apart.
Six days had passed since the group left the monastery by the time they made it to the tower. Everyone settled down to rest, with Reaver and Yuri’s mother sleeping just outside the door to the tower as they were far too large to enter due to the big bear’s bulk and Reaver’s extremely long tail.
“So, you’re really going to give that bear to Talwarg as a pet?” Liv asked in bemusement.
“I never said the bear would be the pet. If you could have felt and seen what I did when I contacted her, you would know just how averse she is to anyone else being in charge of her. Honestly, the worst case scenario is that she is grumpy and a pain in the ass until Yuri is grown and leaves. Best case scenario is that she will stick around and accept the monastery as her new home. Anyway, I don’t think Talwarg really wants a subservient pet or a mount, I think he just wants to have an animal companion to fight alongside and keep him company.”
“That does sound like Talwarg. He doesn’t really like the idea of taking anyone’s freedom. Even if you’re his enemy, he’d prefer to kill you rather than enslave you.” Ograch said as he joined the group.
“I’m relieved to hear that, honestly.” Lanek said. “I did promise the bear that no one would force her to do anything and that she was free to go whenever she liked.”
Lanek turned thoughtful for a moment before turning back to Liv. “So, do you know much about cave bears? I’m just curious how long it will take for Yuri to get large enough to be used as a mount. The bears back in my world could take up to 10 years to reach their full size.”
“It’s the same here, but because he shares experience with me and will grow as he levels like Sanguineus and Kazuma do with you, it shouldn’t take too long for him to reach a decent size if we do some leveling expeditions. I imagine the same will happen with Reaver.” Ograch nodded in confirmation when Liv looked at him.
“Shit… I forgot about that. I hope Idril isn’t going to be pissed at me.” Lanek swore before explaining to his confused companions. “Her child, the demigryph. I had to make a contract to save him. Since he is going to get larger as I fight, she is going to have a much bigger child to raise.”
Liv broke down in laughter at the thought. “Oh, I think she is going to have some things to say to you the next time you meet… If she doesn’t just carry you up into the sky and drop you somewhere unpleasant.”
“Not funny. You know damn well she could do it and there isn’t a damn thing any of us could do to stop her.” At Lanek’s concerned tone, Ograch joined Liv in her laughter as their animal companions listened in confusion at their odd antics.
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The next day, the group made their way back into Caelis. Lanek was getting more concerned the closer they came to home, worried that their estimates about the Matriarch’s moves had been incorrect. He had to resist the urge to drive his friends harder to make it home, but he knew that urge was counterproductive.
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He breathed a sigh of relief when the monastery came into view and he saw no signs of attack. However, he did see orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins with bows atop the houses around the plaza keeping watch. They swiftly spotted Lanek’s party and sent a runner off to find Talwarg. When they entered the plaza, the weary, but successful, party found the Night Arrows chieftain waiting for them.
Talwarg eyed the beasts, his eyes falling on Ograch, who had his hand resting comfortable on Reaver’s neck. “Ograch. What in all of the hells is that?”
“Like her? Her name is Reaver and she is my mount. Well, she will be once I can get some riding gear rigged up. She’s a forest raptor.” Ograch said with a smug smile on his face.
“She looks like a fearsome companion. Congratulations, Ograch. I’m happy for you.” Talwarg said as he approached Reaver cautiously. “May I?” He asked while raising his hand. Reaver, having clearly understood what was being asked and not waiting for Ograch to answer for her, shoved her face into Talwarg’s hand.
Talwarg busied himself with scratching the raptor thoroughly before turning to the rest of the party with a smile. “I see you have been successful as well, Liv. A cave bear? Truly, you have been blessed by the Great Bear with such a mighty beast!” Talwarg said with only a hint of envy in his voice as he looked at the blonde bear.
“He has, Talwarg. However, that behemoth isn’t my companion. This one is.” She said, gesturing for Yuri to emerge from behind his mother. “This is Yuri and the big one is his mother.”
Talwarg looked at them in confusion before raising an eyebrow at Lanek. “Nope, she hasn’t made a contract with me. She’s quite the independent beast and has no desire to be commanded. I invited her along to be with her cub until he is grown with the option to stay longer if she decides that she wants to.”
“I see. A free spirit, huh? I can respect that. May I approach?” Talwarg asked the bear directly, who lowered her head in response. Talwarg ran his hands through her fur, clearly enamored with the giant bear. “As Lanek said, you are welcome here. Please, come to me if you need anything.” The giant bear chuffed gently in response before sitting down next to her cub.
“So, do you think we can get these guys up to the stable?” Lanek asked.
“It shouldn’t be much of a problem. It’ll be a tight squeeze getting the mother bear up there and through the tower door, but it should be possible. Why not let her stay downstairs instead?” Talwarg asked.
“I’m worried that the spiders will be able to scale the sides of the monastery and drop into the stables in order to attack us from behind while we are fighting at the front doors. I was hoping to have Reaver, Sanguineus, Kazuma, and that bear up there to stop them. Although, I would like Yuri to hide out in Liv’s room for his own safety. He’s not up for a fight like this.” Lanek explained while Liv nodded in agreement.
“Good idea. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to complete any stairs onto the wall as you commanded since we’ve been focusing on the rest of the defenses. However, we can easily throw together a defensive position inside the stable so we can fight alongside the beasts if necessary.”
“Sound goods to me, Talwarg. No worries about the stairs, we still have time and that wasn’t meant to be a priority anyway. Liv, Ograch! Could you take the everyone up to the stables and get them settled in while I have Talwarg catch me up on the defenses?” His companions agreed and led the assorted group of companions into the monastery, secretly delighting in the shock and surprise radiating from the other residents.
“So, any signs of movement from the matriarch?”
Talwarg shook his head. “I’ve had Khurzag take a patrol near there every so often just in case, but it’s been quiet. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the matriarch had moved on after the fight with the gaunts.”
“If only we were that lucky, my friend. How have the rest of the preparations gone?”
“We managed to complete the transfer of materials. We also got a list of locations from Caelis for some useful spots to loot in the west half of the city. We managed to clean out a couple of general stores, a pair of blacksmiths, an armorer, and some clothing shops. Khurzag is targeting the homes of a few tradesmen in the hopes of getting some more tools we can use.”
“Impressive, you’ve been busy!”
Talwarg puffed out his chest in pride. “Wait until you see the inside of the monastery, my khan.”
Lanek groaned as he and the chortling hobgoblin chief made their way into the monastery.