The crowd thunders its disapproval at my intervention, hollering jeers and curses as I square off against the enraged dire bear. From the corner of my eye I spot Order Knights beginning to gather at the edge of the fighting pit, drawn here by the disturbance. The bear paws the ground cautiously, the aura of my magic warning it that I'll not be an easy meal.

As my fingers begin to move in the required arcane patterns to weave magic into the blade of my sword, I feel a sudden wave of pressure slam into my shoulders. Looking up at the source of the discomfort, I realize that the Order Knights are all staring remorselessly at me, their hands placed meaningfully on weapon hilts. Getting the hint, I immediately abort the spell and the pressure on my shoulders lifts in return.

I get it. Can't hurt the bear. Its the ringmaster's property. The Order has been hired to protect this racket, meaning if I throw caution to the wind, they'll have justifiable cause to put the hurt on me, my status as a magic knight of House Robeur be damned. The ringmaster himself is looking on with an undecided expression, not sure how my presence is going to affect tonight's show.

"Thank, Mac." Ramon groans while nursing his wounds, "I really mean it."

"I'm debating whether or not to break your jaw once this is over." I snark, "There better be a good reason for your stunt."

"I needed to do it." Ramon whines, "Amanda -"

"Save it for later." I grunt as the bear breaks into a stumbling charge toward us, hindered by the heavy manacles binding its legs. With a guttural roar, the slavering jaws of the beast shoot straight at my neck. The iron strands of the Rhino Skin spell tense in harmony with my muscles, coiling around them, letting the tension within build painfully.

And in a single instant, my hand lashes out in an open palm slap, striking the bear on the side of its face. The bear's head snaps backward, lolling about as a thin trickle of blood drips from the animal's mouth. I stare hard into the beast's eyes, hoping to establish my dominance. The crowd cheers again, getting into the spirit of the fight.

"What are you waiting for?" I urge Ramon, "Start getting out of here!"

My fence nods and begins to scale the steep sloping edge of the fighting pit to freedom. The bear snarls as the stunned look disappears from its face, but begins to slowly back away from me. The ringmaster has other ideas however, and pulls a cloth bag from the hands of one of his associates. The bag is then pitched straight into the head of the bear where it explodes in a cloud of fine powder. The bear breathes the powder in and staggers about snuffling, its eyes glassy.

"The show will continue!" the ringmaster blares from his place in the stands, to the approval of the crowd.

"To the death! To the death! To the death!" the crowd screams, their bloodlust roused.

There's a groan from behind me and I turn around, just in time to see Ramon being pelted with stones by the crowd. The hail of rocks sends him tumbling down the steep slope, and he rolls all the way back into the fighting pit.

"They're going to kill us." Ramon groans, his face bruised and bloody, "We can't leave."

"The crowd wants a show." I affirm grimly as the bear howls in fury, the powder causing its aggression to spike dangerously.

The cords of muscle that line the bear's body start to swell, making it look like the animal would burst apart by the seams. A harsh panting comes from the bear's mouth, as if it badly needed a drink of water. The manacles bite into the bear's engorged limbs and the beast pulls at them frantically, muscles bulging from the titanic effort. There's a tearing noise and worn pieces of metal fall away like shreds of rotten fruit. The dire bear now free of its bindings, stands on its hindlegs in victory as the now useless chains clatter to the ground.

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"I don't think that was meant to happen." Ramon says nervously as he cowers behind me.

I grit my teeth and bolt forward, swinging my sword straight at the bear's torso. But without magic backing the blade up, it feels like I'm striking a boulder. My sword bounces off the bear's rock hard pecs but I keep slashing away without relent, not daring to give the beast any breathing space. Above the arena, the crowd begins to thump their feet in unison, cheering for the killer animal that's trying to rip my face off.

And now that the bear is free of the manacles, its chances of doing just that have risen substantially. The bear moves with new speed, its body almost fluid and graceful. I just barely manage to evade any swipe of its murderous paws and chop down hard with the sword right on to the beast's skull. There's a flash of sparks but the edge of the sword fails once again to do any damage. The bear brings both paws down in an attempt to maul me and I raise the sword to perform a parry. Not prepared for the massive increase in the bear's strength, the sword is torn out of my hands.

"Shit!" I snap in annoyance, grabbing both incoming paws with my bare hands while focusing on the Rhino Skin spell, trying to wring every last drop of artificial strength I can out of it. Both the bear and I wrestle, our bodies chafing against each other. My magic allows me to fight on somewhat equal terms, but I already feel the effects of the bear's greater strength. I am slowly being driven to my knees, no matter how I try to fight back.

"To the death! To the death! To the death!" the crowd yells, those bloody vultures.

The bear's hot breath brushes against my cheek as sweat rolls down my forehead. Ramon never had a chance against this animal. Was this caper an attempted suicide? I really shouldn't stick my nose where its not welcome.

Then the bear's grip slackens and it distractedly glances to the side. From the corner of my eye I see Guy by the edge of the pit, his pendulum held unconstructively slightly below the belt, away from the eyes of the crowd and swinging with a kind of irresistible momentum. A minor cantrip, used to help maintain concentration. Not particularly useful in most situations since its effect is minor and takes time to work, but I'll accept any kind of help right now.

Shifting my arms to secure a more secure grip over the bear, I channel the last of my strength and begin to lift. But the bear retains enough of its wits to realize something is wrong and struggles half heartedly against me. My entire body trembles with the effort, but the bear is slowly and surely prying its way free from the clinch.

"Help me!" I shout to Ramon, who has been staring wide eyed at the fight.

Ramon's mouth opens and closes like a guppy, but he soon makes up his mind and rushes to the rear of the bear. Before I can ask him what he's about to do, Ramon bends over and grabs the bear's legs, lifting as well with all his might. A dire bear is heavy, and Ramon can barely manage to budge it a few inches off the ground. Its an effort that's worth almost nothing.

But that tiny bit of effort is all I need.

The dire bear releases a confused grunt as it loses all traction with the ground, causing its own grip on me to slip. With an explosion of power, I sink my fingers into the furry body and channel all the magic coursing through me into both arms.

"Yeaaaaahhh!" I shout to the sky, my arms lifting the enormous animal in a military press.

The crowd becomes deathly silent as the animal is hoisted over my head, my entire body soaking with sweat from the effort. I feel the magic about to give out at any moment, but I'm not done yet. There's still our escape to consider. And getting back at those bloodthirsty assholes who want to see us get chewed up by the beast.

And in a single motion, I send the bear flying out off the pit and straight into the crowd.

"See how you like it." I snort under my breath as the crowd begins to flee in panic at the enraged monster in their midst. I pick my sword off the ground and dust the blade off. It might not be worth much, but its a gift from my parents. My eyes blink involuntarily, something must have gotten into them.

I should go back and visit Springvale one day. I really should.

The Order Knights immediately begin charging at the bear to keep it contained as confusion begins to spread in the square. Ramon tugs tiredly at my sleeve and the two of us scale the pit's slope unmolested where Guy is waiting for us, worry lining his face. Guy picks up all the luggage trunks without a word and nods at Ramon.

"Lead the way." Guy murmurs, his eyes casting about, keeping track of the bear. Ramon takes the lead, wincing from his wounds.

Without any further ado, the three of us disappear into the pandemonium, the roaring of the bear at our backs.