Saturday is finally here! The week felt endless, and I'm eager to go after those bears. As agreed, Ronan knocks on my door early, before sunrise. I open it and motion for him to be quiet since my roommate is still asleep. The poor guy tries not to look at the sheet-covered lump that is Judith and follows me to the stone circle. I say the words and we appear in the village square. And no, I'm not going to my morning training. I'm playing hooky for the first time in my life as a good girl, including all my years of study on Earth. Why?

Heh.

I think I rub my hands and smile as I think about it, because Ronan gives me a strange look.

But really... who wants to train for two hours alone in an arena when they could be hunting a giant bear?

I'm certainly not waiting until tomorrow, Sunday. Besides, we already made plans for the dungeon. I think Vincent was trying to get his intermediate-level dungeon permit updated.

" You appear quite delighted, my lady," Ronan says as he tries to keep up with me through the forest.

"I need to burn off adrenaline, too much studying, too many classes," I speed up.

"My lady!"

I turn around and see he's fallen behind.

Oops. Well, no, running won't work; my agility of 6 must be much higher than the boy's, he can't keep up no matter how hard he tries. Impatient, I force myself to slow down.

"Than-"

"Shh, don't speak. Don't waste your breath. You go as fast as you can and I'll follow."

I really can't wait to get there.

When the goblin cave wall comes into view, I tell him to slow down a bit and give him a moment to catch his breath. He takes the opportunity to mention that he looked up information on bears because when I told him we fought three level 1 bears, it seemed odd to him that so many bears would be together. He found out that, as he believed, bears don't usually group together; they're more solitary creatures. If they do, it could be due to an abundance of food in the area or because there are many cubs that haven't become independent yet. Here, of course, they have food because they're the biggest predator in the forest and this mountainous area. And if those level 1 bears were cubs... well... I'm starting to feel more respectful about going to see daddy bear.

Once inside the cave, the first thing Ronan asks is to inspect the pit the goblins have dug. The totem itself accompanies us. Along the way, it tells us that the scouts sent to investigate the bear's den returned with information on the giant bear's dimensions; moreover, they spotted at least five or six much smaller ones. We arrive at our destination quickly. It's in the forest, quite close to the goblin cave.

"We followed your instructions, in size and depth," it says once we reach the hole.

There's an area around the hole that the goblins have removed the trees, creating a clearing in the forest. Ronan approaches and checks that the size is what he asked for; that is, once the giant bear falls in, it won't be able to get out. Its dimensions are thus larger than the animal standing up. According to the scouts, about three and a half meters. I see it as a huge hole, and that gives me a much more vivid image of the creature than I had before. I shudder. Was I really about to investigate its lair alone?

Bianca, this isn't a game. It's real, I tell myself. I really need to stop being so impulsive. Feeling the immense relief of having asked for help, I watch as Ronan also inspects the surroundings. At the bottom of the hole there are wooden stakes driven in with the sharpened part facing up.

" My lady, if it pleases you, we may proceed," he says when he finishes.

"Sure, go ahead. The plan is yours; you give the orders."

"My lady..." He bows slightly to me and turns to address the goblins.

As he gives the final instructions, I think about how much it bothers me when he talks to me and treats me as if I were his master. The goblins looked at him with great interest when he bowed. Then they fully focus their attention on me and the puppy I'm carrying hidden in my pocket. I don't know who they might think I am, but I certainly don't need Ronan encouraging them.

As for him, with his skinny build and those low values of his physical stats, he's not exactly an athlete. Well, he's a damn necromancer. Ever since I saw his skeletons carrying the wild boars, I imagine him as the typical emaciated wizard, striving to extend his life by becoming a lich, lurking in a shadowy corner while commanding his minions. Oh, poor Ronan. He's not like that, he's making an effort to raise his strength. But the fact that he was so emaciated the first day I saw him doesn't help. I shake my head. I get distracted so easily... The thing is, the boy has devised a strategy where his lack of physical stats is irrelevant. He wants to gradually attract the bears to the pit the goblins have dug. His idea is to catch them one by one, if possible, to make it easier to defeat them.

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Some of the goblin females, the four most aggressive ones, have volunteered to participate in the hunt. Considering that the total number of goblins doesn't reach thirty, Ronan gladly accepts them and positions them in the treetops, carefully camouflaged with leaf litter and tied with ropes to prevent them from falling in case of any shaking. (Yes, shaking—like a bear crashing into the trunk or causing it to tremble.) He places them at different distances, forming an alarm system to know when the bear will approach.

And here we go. The goblins are finishing covering the pit. They use branches, leaf litter, and thin logs that can withstand our weight but not the bear's. The totem uses its magic to enhance the strength and agility of its subjects and returns to the cave. The fastest and most agile goblin, one of the scouts acting as a decoy, stealthily enters the forest. I, staying hidden with the others behind the trees, soon lose sight of it. We've moved several dozen meters away from the pit and closer to the goblin cave. Since I've heard his instructions, I know what he's going to do. He has to advance until he spots a bear, possibly one of those Ronan thinks might be cubs. Then he'll take out his blowgun and shoot it with a dart. Without narcotic. Ronan asked if they had bows, but among the few surviving goblins we have, none are left who know how to use them. Once the decoy has caught its attention, it has to run back to where we are, chased by the bear. The dart may not pierce the animal's skin. But between its impact and the noise the goblin makes, the bear is most likely to fall for the ruse and follow, angry and ignorant of the ambush that awaits it. Before it can reach our cave, it will encounter plenty of goblins hidden and armed with spears. Basically, all the adults who are capable of fighting, including some youths who are very close to the age of majority and asked to participate. Right now, they're all ready to pounce on the bear like a pack of hunting dogs. I’m not with them, but hidden behind the thick trunk of a tree. When I start to hear sound, I peek out a bit. The decoy shouts to maintain aggro and a level 1 bear, just like the ones from the other day, runs after it. The goblins come out of hiding, surround the bear, and dispatch it quickly. Very quickly.

Of course, they caught it by surprise and it's no longer four against one; more like twenty.

The goblins, all of whom are unharmed, leave the animal's carcass in front of the cave for the females who aren't on lookout duty to skin it and bring it inside. And back to the beginning. They repeat the process with five more bears, but as the roars of the small bears grow louder and the chaos intensifies, it’s impossible to ignore the looming threat. The ground shakes, and then, from the depths of the forest, the unmistakable sound of a deep, thunderous growl echoes through the trees. The papa bear is coming. Enormous, furious, and driven by an overwhelming rage, he emerges from the shadows, a force of nature unstoppable and wild.

The goblin lookouts sound their horns to raise the alarm. We position ourselves in front of the cave, except for a few who remain hidden in their posts, the same ones from where they ambushed the small bears. The women take shelter in the cave. At the cavern entrance are eleven goblin warriors, Ronan, and me, along with three dead bears still to be skinned and another half-skinned. A sight that, if I were the big bear, would put me in a very bad mood.

And indeed, as soon as it sees us, it accelerates in a fury and charges at us.

Oh my gosh. I freeze for an instant: it's terrifying. One thing is knowing it's over two meters tall on all fours, another is seeing it. It's bigger than my father's van back on Earth. And when it stands on its hind legs... it looks like a second story of an apartment building wrapped itself in dark fur, huge white teeth that seem larger than my fists, and claws, claws that swipe promising vengeance as the king of the mountain bellows and charges at us. Ronan pulls me and I hurry to follow him. In fact, we're moving away from the cave as if we want to escape. That's the plan. But I'm truly terrified and trying to get away. How could I not be... The bear, blinded by rage, charges at everything it sees. Despite its size and weight, which are considerable, the animal is very fast and is gaining ground on us.

Then it happens: the ground it's stepping on collapses under its paws. The animal falls. The momentum carrying it forward makes it slam its snout hard against the edge of the pit, leaving its imprint in the earth full of thick, sturdy roots. The hole is deep, very deep, but even so, when the bear stands on its hind legs, it almost reaches the edge.

It looks around, searching for an exit, turning in circles and growling like the damned. Blood stains the fur of its muzzle, matting it. From above, the goblins start peering over and firing arrows at it. They're useless: all of them bounce off the bear's hide, tough as armor.

Ronan yells at them to aim for the face, where the skin is thinner. If they're lucky they might hit it in the eye. Or the tongue or palate if they catch it with jaws open in the middle of one of those angry roars. I, on the other hand, am terrified; a stark contrast to the goblins' euphoria. They're excitedly shooting poisoned darts at it, trying to hit it in the face, relishing that such an enormous and dangerous prey has fallen into their trap. The bear roars and drops to all fours on the bottom of the pit with a force that shakes the ground.

Speaking of which... weren't there stakes at the bottom? I approach a bit to look, curiosity overcoming fear. Some remain, others are simply shattered. I don't think the wood or its splinters could penetrate the bear's skin. It's not limping or showing blood on its paws.

The bear rises again and I retreat to a safer position. It doesn't give up. It starts swiping at the edge of the pit with its claws, causing dirt to fall in. The goblins gather where the bear lunges to keep shooting it in the face. The bear, angry, switches sides every so often to dodge the rain of darts while trying to destroy the pit, knock the dirt from the edges inward, make itself an exit ramp through sheer brute force. It's a tug-of-war that, honestly, I don't know how it will end. I, for one, am certain about one thing: I'm going to buy a bow and ask Catrina to teach me how to use it. I don't like just watching without participating. Sure, I need to conserve my magic since the goblins have everything under control for now, and Ronan is just giving orders... but I hate feeling useless.

Then I hear the sound of a horn, followed by another and another more. The female goblins perched in the treetops are warning us that more bears are coming. Three small ones, if I interpret the sounds correctly. Also, strange noises are coming from the thicket, from beyond the area the goblins have cleared of trees and brush.