The Beast was easily the size of a wagon, it’s broad hairy shoulders standing at least nine feet high.

It’s eyes were lit with a primordial glow that filled me with a sense of dread.

“Back!” I shouted to Draxus even as I brought my sword upwards. The Cursed Bear was breathing heavily, it’s head canted to the side as it watched us scramble back towards the tunnel.

With a sinking feeling I realized it was unhurried, as if it knew that we had no where to go.

Blood dripped from it’s maw and unto the cave floor.

“It looks rabid.”

Kato had his own blade out and at the ready his face set.

“It’s Cursed,” he called. “Tainted by Arcane magic. Don’t let it bite you Will, you won't survive it."

At the sound of his voice the Beast growled and began loping forward.

Giant dark metal claws scrapped across stone as it came for me.

I ducked aside, slashing for it’s face as it passed. My sword blade opened a cut under it’s eye but the creature either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

Kato lunged forward into a strike, spearing it in the side. Despite having scored a direct hit, the bear showed no reaction.

Kato withdrew his blade and tried to dance back. He was to slow.

In a movement that shouldn’t have been possible the bear twisted it’s neck all the way around with a sound like suction.

It managed to clamp it’s jaws around the blade of Kato’s sword and bite down. Metal creaked, blood sprayed, and Kato cursed, forced to let go of the hilt and dodge aside.

I could hear the rattle of plate against rock a Draxus and Seth propped Lord Dacon up against the wall. His breathing was labored and his eyes hooded as he tried to stay conscious.

“He can’t climb through like this!” Draxus shouted. “We’ll have to hold our ground, I see no other option.”

The bear slashed for me and I jumped aside, stumbling as the tips of the claws bit into my leg.

White hot pain lanced through the wound and I looked down to see the leg of my trousers torn. The skin of my thigh was hanging off in ribbons.

The beast spun, turning towards a now unarmed Kato.

Swearing, I did the only thing I could. I threw myself forward, putting my momentum and body weight behind the slash as I brought the blade down on it’s head.

The bear shifted at the last second and my sword bit deep into it’s shoulder.

It didn’t so much as flinch. Instead, the beast shook itself, like a horse ridding itself of a fly. My sword was wrenched from my hands as it came free.

It slid across the floor and for the second time I cursed my lack of shield.

The beast turned on me, the glow in it’s eyes sinister and mocking.

I tried to dodge around it, and it lazily batted at me with a paw, knocking me to the ground.

I tried to crawl on my side to get away but it was no use. Claws bit into back and made me scream. The bear dragged me slowly backwards as if toying with me.

It opened it’s jaws, and I saw several rows of sharp and bloody teeth.

It’s head came down and I threw up my arms, catching it’s neck as those razor teeth snapped inches from my face.

“Hold it Will!” shouted Draxus from somewhere to my right but I couldn’t see him.

Hold it? Hold off a fucking bear?

What would happen if it bit me? Would my amulet of minor poison resistance save me? Somehow I doubted it.

The bear shoved itself forward. With a grinding of bone and a sharp pop, my right shoulder dislocated.

I let out a noise then, somewhere between a scream and a roar of rage as I struggled to keep the beast at bay.

Then Draxus blade bit into the bears neck. Once, Twice, and the pressure was gone. The beasts head collapsed onto the ground by my knees. The body flopped sideways, hitting the ground with a wet thud.

I panted as my vision spun. Draxus’s face appeared above mine.

“Will,” he said urgently. “Did it bite you?”

It took a moment for my racing heart to calm. I let my helmet drop back against the stone.

“No,” I said. “No I don’t think so. Fuck Draxus, I just looked death in the jaws.”

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Draxus pulled a minor health potion from his inventory and called Kato over. He carefully gripped my uninjured shoulder and helped me roll forward unto my stomach.

“It got you pretty good Blackbriar,” said Kato. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

“Hold him still.” Draxus ordered.

I sucked in a breath and nearly passed out when the cool liquid of the health potion hit my wounds. It felt as if my skin was trying to crawl off my body.

“It’s enough to stop the bleeding, but not much more. We need to get him to a healer.”

Kato helped me stand, though putting any weight on my shredded leg felt like stepping on hot pokers. I was able to limp over to my sword and pick it up off the ground. Every movement made the wounds in my leg and back shift.

“We should go,” said Draxus. "Whatever else could be in these tunnels I have no desire to meet it."

I nodded.

“There’s only one thing I have to do first.”

I dropped to one knee, wincing as the wounds in my back stretched. Carefully and without ceremony I cut away the Beasts gleaming metal claws. There wasn’t a time to do a proper harvest, but I’d be damned if I left these.

Item: Cursed Iron claw x10

I put the claws into my inventory, and leaned on my sword hit, preparing to stand. A glimmer of something beneath the bear caught my attention.

Grunting, I placed my good leg on the carcass of the bear and shoved. The headless body rolled to reveal a set of chain mail. It was a long hauberk made of steel links. The metal was clean and had a soft blueish tinge that seemed to shimmer slightly as I regarded it.

Item: Godforged chain mail, Legendary. + 85 armor.

Item details: Unbreakable, provides the wearer a 10% chance to deal critical damage

I let out a soft whistle.

“It’s a legendary Item. Draxus, the drop should be yours since you got the killing blow.”

Draxus snorted.

“I only ran in when the opportunity presented itself. You were the one that tried to wrestle a Cursed bear, you maniac. The drop is yours.”

With a feeling of awe I lifted the item and placed it into my inventory. It was my first Legendary drop and it was well worth it the pain. Or at least, I'd think so once I got to a healer.

Together we made it through the cavern and into the tunnel system Lord Dacon had described. These tunnels were much larger and it wasn't long before I felt the caress of a fresh breeze.

I limped ahead with Kato while Seth and Draxus helped the Count’s son out of the tunnels and into empty air.

It was a relief being back on the surface, where the constant semi-darkness and the smell of death weren’t ever present. Dacon lifted a hand to shield his face from the sun.

“I was beginning to think I’d never see it again,” he said. I nodded.

"I know the feeling my Lord."

We found the trail that had led us to the cave. Following the path our footsteps we made our way back towards the Kadian Army.

After only a half hour of shuffling, the sound of hooves made me look up.

A dozen armored knights came around the bend at a canter. When they spotted us, the leader made a signal and they came to a halt in a spray of dirt.

The lead knight swung down from her saddle and removing her great helm.

“My Lord,” she said, reaching out to catch Dacon as he stumbled forward. She took in his wounds in a sweeping gaze.

“You need a healer. Try not to move.”

The she raised her head to look at us.

“We are in your debt,” she said. “Thank you for finding our Lord. When the news arrived that Lord Dacon was attacked and taken we feared the worst."

She slid Dacon's arms around her shoulders, and, with the help of several other dismounted men, she led him to an empty horse that had been tethered to he others.

“No problem,” called Kato after her. “You don’t have to reward us. But if you do, coin is acceptable.”

***

“Agh!” I grimaced as my skin on my leg began to crawl, knitting itself back together.

“Hold still.” The Healer gave me an annoyed look. It was the same Healer who had healed my wounds on the battlefield.

Her face was a mask of careful concentration as she held her hands over the torn flesh of my leg.

“You really ought to be more careful,” she said.

“Throwing yourself into the path of bloodthirsty beasts seems like a dangerous pass time.”

“They just,” I said through gritted teeth. “Seemed so friendly.”

She dipped a clean cloth into a bucket of water, and dabbed at the fresh pink skin now growing on my leg.

“You should be fine once you sleep. Remember as always that your body will use your own energy to heal you. You’ll wake up tired and hungry, and it will be your responsibility to meet your needs.”

She rose to her feet and beneath her cowl I caught a glimpse of sharp blue eyes. She squeezed the linen cloth into the bucket and gathered a small satchel of supplies.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Let’s not meet again.” She turned for the door and then seemed to hesitate. For a second I thought she might say something but the moment quickly passed. I watched her disappear through the tent flap, leaving me alone.

I had been given a tent of my own to recover in.

Lord Blackthorne had issued orders for me to rest and attend him in the morning. I would have to report the skirmish with the Cursed bear. And then there was the matter of what we had found in that cave.

Whatever it was, it had been enough to frighten even Draxus. The memory of the Captain nailed to that wooden slab, his sightless eye sockets gazing unseeing. Unable to talk, Unable to move. It was enough to make me shiver.

I dropped my hand from the edge of the cot and felt for the hilt of my sword. It was there, laying among my pack and helmet. I closed my fingers around it, feeling the reassurance of it's weight.

I had come closer to death today then I ever had, and yet I still lived. It was better than many of the soldiers caught in today's battle could say.

As I lay on my back, a notification popped into view. I opened the Quest Window and paused.

Quest Complete: perquisites met. 10/10 Quest’s completed.

The window blinked, and even as I watched it expanded. A new category had formed on the right most window of my stats.

Alert: Skill protocol unlocked. Skills 1/4

Skill protocol? I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to rub away the exhaustion. A line of text began to appear and beside it was a tiny icon of a sword.

Skill unlocked: Iron Blooded. Damage increases by 8% when you are injured

I blinked at the words as my mind struggled to catch up. I had unlocked a skill… but that shouldn't have been possible. Unless...

Excitement warred with caution in my mind.

Unless I was now a gifted.

The ability to unlock skills could change the course of my career as a soldier. But it was also entirely possible that gaining power would put a target on my back.

I thought of the dying man, of his warning to keep the Quests a secret.

"They'll kill you for it." He'd said.

Was this the meaning of his warning? I couldn’t be sure.

I examined the skill more closely. There were several sots next to the small sword icon. Upgrade slots? That might mean that each skill could be scaled according to the users power. Useful.

One thing was certain, completing Quests was the key to unlocking more skills. When I could, I would need to make it a priority.

I made to close the window and as I did a new Quest blinked across my vision.

New Quest: Find the Book of Souls

I stared, wondering if I'd misread. The what?

I tried to focus on the Quest, even going so far as lifting a hand and trying to touch the words. But my fingers only passed through the window as if it were incorporeal.

As usual, there was no additional information or explanation.

Great, another cryptic Quest. And this time, I had no idea where to even start.