Chapter 16

The Ravager

  After a quick scare with one of the prisoners collapsing, Lykan was able to get a quick hold over the situation. There were, in fact, two cages. The first that was relatively well maintained had women. A second cage that was not as well maintained contained two men and the remnants of others who had not made it to this point.

  “Let me save them,” a woman pleaded. The them she was referring to were two males who looked to be a father and son. Judging by the appearance and reaction of the woman, Lykan guessed that the child was also her son. This second cage, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have a key. That or the key wasn’t in a pile on the ground that was easily identifiable to Lykan.

  Seeing that the group of recently freed women were now close to losing it after the ordeal that they had just gone through. Lykan realized he had just gone from the relatively easy part of rescuing everyone and onto the much harder task of keeping everyone focused on a final goal.

  One Elf seemed to hover over the slightly-tanner Elf, who collapsed. That was fine. Both were engaged. Then he looked saw that the mother was helping him get the cage open to free her family. That left roughly, a quick count later, eight. Eight females to give them a task. Seeing the way they were effectively feeding off of the emotions of each other, things could deteriorate quickly if he didn’t provide some direction. Quickly moving away from the cart, he spoke to the huddled mass of women.

  “You four,” he said, in what he hoped was the dialect most were speaking. “Go gather up all the items in the piles around the camp. Don’t stray away from the light of the camp. Just get everything you can see.”

  The women looked shocked but then quickly went about doing what he asked. Five actually went, but that was fine. Shaking his head, he let them go as they were doing something.

  “You three. Go through these tents. Find sleeping gear, food, first aid supplies. You don’t need to carry it. Just mark where it is for later if you can’t lift it. Everything of value, pile in the center. Realize the more you find, the better your future will be,” Lykan said.

  They looked confused for a second and hurriedly went off to search the tents, though they had an air of fear around them. Wait, did they think I would hurt them if they didn’t find anything? Shaking his head, he didn’t have time. They were all moving and engaged. That was all he could hope for at the moment.

  Lykan looked around and saw one item that had not been absorbed by the Great Forest Spirit was a long pike. Picking it up, the weapon spun gracefully in his hands.

  “What?” The woman who had been desperately trying to free her family gasped when she saw the movement and speed.

  Lykan, for his part, sheathed his sword on his back and began wielding the spear. Seeing that the two cages were designed in much the same way with interlocking joints at the side, Lykan decided to practice on the now-empty cage that had up until recently been a prison for the females.

  He dug the point of the pike in between one of the joints. His enhanced Strength and Mobility scores made the movement easy. Within seconds he leveraged his weight and Strength to lift upward. Before he even had time to react, the entire cage fell in on itself. Lykan himself had to duck out of the way as a giant wall of metal bars came toppling over. If not for the fact that Lykan had been off on the corner, then the cage wall would have crashed down on him. Even still, he barely managed to move out of the way before the metal bars fell to the ground with a deafening rattle.

  Clang! Clatter!

  Whinny.

  The horses, who had pulled the different wagons, cried out in fear at the sudden noise, and they were tied up at the far end of camp.

  Everyone, even the horses in the camp who had been moving about, suddenly stopped and stared at Lykan. Lykan, for his part, had a twinge of the red cross on his face as he had not expected the cage to fall apart quite so easily. He was glad he had practiced on the empty cage as part of the collapse was the way the top of the cage slammed down on the base. Had anyone been in the cage at the time of its opening, they would have been crushed to death by the weight of the bars falling.

  “Sorry,” Lykan said somewhat sheepishly as he gave a wave to everyone at the camp to let them know everything was okay.

  After a few seconds, everyone finally felt confident that danger had been averted and went back to the tasks they had been assigned. Only after everyone went back to their tasks did Lykan let out a long breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Then he turned back to stare at the second smaller but similarly designed cage.

  Realizing his fault of starting at the base of the cage and not working pieces off one by one, Lykan decided to do better. He looked to find that the woman who had desperately been pulling at the bars a second ago had run around the cart, using the last standing smaller cage as protection from the falling and clanging metal bars. Lykan saw the woman, then quickly averted his eyes in shame at almost having her crushed by the falling bars as well.

  Realizing the design a bit more clearly now. Lykan decided to climb up higher on the cage. Using the corner joint he had previously used to dismantle the entire cage. He now used it as a foothold to be able to reach the top of the cage. From there, it was a quick pop to get the roof of the cage free. He stopped for a second, looking around to make sure everyone was clear. He looked to find the mother close. A quick glance at her was all it took for her to nod and back up a few steps away from the cart. Now seeing that everything was clear. He thrust upward, letting the top of the cage slide and roll off.

  Clatter. Clank.

  The top of the cage was still held by two hinges at the far end of the cage, causing it to clatter a few more times.

  Lykan looked around to see that everyone had once again stopped at the sound. But a quick glance from Lykan was all it took to get them to go back to what they were doing. With the top removed and the only real concern about crushing the men held captive alleviated, Lykan climbed down.

  He gave one last glance at the mother, who then took a few more steps back. Once she was safely away, Lykan nodded to himself, then thrust his spear in and forced the interlocking pieces to break free from each other with a mighty creak.

  Bang! Clank!

  This time even the horses barely gave the sounds any mind as the walls of the metal cage folded away, showing two people, a man and his son, clinging to each other in the middle of the cage. The second they were free, and the walls of their metal cage stopped clattering, the mother was on them, reaching up and hugging them.

  The son was the first to move, guided by a gentle push from his father. He went over to his mother to find that a set of strong hands helped guide him down gently to the ground. The boy looked in confusion to see that Lykan had managed to gracefully walk up the bars of the cage without making a sound and then had enough balance to help him down while only standing on bars that were resting at a steep angle going up.

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  His eyes widened at the sight, but he quickly shook those thoughts of his savior's prowess out of his mind and turned to hug his mother.

  During their embrace, Lykan helped the father down as well. Rather than stop, the father just joined in the hug. Lykan watched on for a second, letting a slight smile form on his face. Then realizing he likely came across as a creeper, he turned away and began looking at the rest of the camp.

  He was about to take a second to rest when he saw a new silver dot not far from the camp.

  A mighty bear roared and charged through the woods.

  The bear seemed content, and Lykan had a hard time understanding why the lines of fate, at least that is what he began to think of these paths he could take, pointed to a spot in the woods.

  It was only after seeing the direction that a realization struck him, his pack.

  Lykan was running up over and down the cart as quickly as his feet could carry him.

  “What?” women cried out in panic as Lykan darted off past them. Most were so confused they could barely understand what was happening until he was past them, long pike in hand.

  Everyone who saw him move with the pike wondered if he was some form of weapons Master as he seemed to be both skilled with a pike and the sword.

  “GRAWH!” The bear heard the intruder coming before he saw it. Since Lykan was at full charge to protect his precious backpack, a gift from Octavia, he made no sign of hesitation. He knew that while a stealthy approach for a predator like he was hearing would be advised, he didn’t have the time. His mind already realized why the bear was there. Lykan had meat in his pack. Meat that could now be used to feed a camp of half-starved former prisoners, but meat that could be smelt by a predator like the ravager bear who called the Great Forest its home.

  The bear was massive, standing near two meters tall while on all fours and nearly twice that when it stood up at its full height.

  Hearing the approaching Lykan, the beast got up, turned, and let its full height help to intimidate any lesser creature. The ravager bear was content with the free meal that it had found and already began eating. In its mind, it knew it was in scavenger mode by finding the food and would likely have to fight off the animal who originally made the kill, which is why it was now ready to strike. To the beast, two meals were better than one after all.

  Still, the darkness of the night caused confusion as the animal in question moved quickly in the night. There was a blur of movement that the ravager bear tried to track but had a hard time focusing.

  Slice.

  A sharp jabbing pain caught the ravager bear right in its left chest.

  The beast let out a mighty roar as it shifted its weight forward and down. In a second, the spear already weakened from being used as an impromptu leaver to open two metal cages.

  Feeling the pike snap, Lykan jumped back to dodge a lunging strike from the beast. During this time, Lykan’s hand instinctively rose to pull his sword from its scabbard on his back. The moment the blade hit his hand, he felt comfort in being able to defend himself once more.

  Then the true test of strength and endurance began. Lykan was tired. He had slaughtered an entire camp's worth of mercenary bandits. Worse, he had been unable to absorb the energy from the Azani shaman as it was easier to use the power to strike down other bandits than to pull it into himself.

  Still, energy flowed into his body even now. He could feel his Meditation and Focus Skills working in tandem to both help pull in energy while letting his mind see the vulnerable spots on the massive beast.

  Unlike the ravager bear, Lykan had the Ability to see the energy around him. So complete was the mastery of this Skill that it let him see the different energies in living creatures. Even the trees around him glowed as if it was broad daylight. Compared to the trees, the ravager bear was a mini-sun glowing so brightly that its weak spots were able to be seen due to how dark they were in comparison to the rest of its body.

  ARAHHH!

  The bear made a lunge forward, but its large size made its movements slow and clumsy. Lykan darted in, slashed, then Quick Stepped away to avoid the rest of the massive body charging forward.

  It was a dance of death. While the ravager bear was the lead, it was clear that Lykan was the better dancer of the two. The bear would lunge forward, only to be hacked or slashed at by Lykan, who would quickly move away.

  The wounds were minimal in comparison to the size of the beast, barely more than annoying scratches. Or at least that was what the enraged ravager bear thought as it charged forward. The benefit of the ravager bears were their innate Ability to shrug off and recover from almost any injury. Due to this Ability to heal any injury so long as they recovered, over time, the ravager bears began to lose their pain receptors. For most encounters, this was perfect for the nearly indestructible killing machines, as it let them fight through life-threatening injuries to survive and eventually heal to live another day. The only drawback to such an evolution was that it caused creatures to ignore the warning signs of losing a battle. While most animals would run, the ravager bear stood to the very end.

  This was why the ravager bear stayed, despite repeated cuts and slashes on vulnerable ligaments and joints.

  Crash.

  The mighty ravager bear fell to the ground, its massive size no longer able to be supported by its equally impressive muscles.

  The beast let out a roar of defiance as it tried to once again rise up as if by sheer willpower alone. Given enough time, the injuries the beast sustained would be healed. Once it healed, it would come back and hunt down this predator who dared strike at him in his own dominion. It smelled the prey before it. It knew its scent and could track it for miles. Such was the rage of the ravager bear and the Skills provided to the great beasts by the Gods. Never let an enemy who bested you live. That was the ravager bear way. Unfortunately for the bear, Lykan, too, had much the same philosophy.

  Now that the beast lay on the ground, Lykan moved into position and slashed at the exposed neck of the beast.

  GRRA…

  The last roar of the beast trailed off as blood and viscera sprayed from its massive neck. The beast tried to move but, in the end, was only able to twitch wildly. Then finally, the great light source that had been the ravager bear stopped glowing. Seeing that, Lykan was sure that the beast had truly perished.

  Dropping to one knee, he prayed to the Great Forest Spirit.

  “Thank you for guiding me. I was foolish and foolhardy. I know this now. Please accept this offering as my understanding for my own stupidity,” Lykan said, his words in the ancient tongue. Two women had gone to check on Lykan. Of the two, both witnessed the miracle that happened next. The body of the ravager bear completely disappeared, only to be replaced by a mound of meat and a few large strips of leather and fur.

  Of the two who had been close enough to hear the prayer, only one truly understood the words.

  Telka watched on as the man looked at the mound of spoils from the great beast. Then went to find his pack, only to find that most of it had been destroyed. Seeing the sight of his pack, Lykan’s shoulders dropped as he carefully pulled the pack up.

  The gift from Octavia, a cherished possession, was now ruined. He cradled the backpack.

  “We can help,” Telka offered going forward to see if she could be of assistance. Lykan, for his part, nodded, then gestured with his head toward the mound of food and leathers.

  Telka looked to see that the boy walked back to camp, cradling the ripped backpack like it was a fallen loved one. She was amazed to see that his Spirit Sword rested firmly against his back. She had missed the moment he had sheathed it, but the blade seemed to glow with the same intensity as the boy proving they were, in fact, bonded.

  Telka reached down, trying to grab as much of the provisions as she could. In the end, the other Wood Elf who had followed her bent down to help. The two made it back to camp to see Lykan still walking somberly, his frame illuminated by the crackling fires.

  “What happened?” a number of the people called out.

  Lykan, for his part, could only shake his head. Tears welled up, he knew it was stupid to cry for a backpack, but it was the one Octavia had gifted him. Likely the last thing he would ever receive from her, and it was already ruined.

  Telka and the other Wood Elf came forward shortly after. Seeing them and the armfuls of food they carried, many went to help.

  During this time, Lykan went off to the side and collapsed, clutching the remains of the backpack.

  “What’s wrong?” the mother was the first to ask their savior.

  Seeing the look of concern on first her face, then everyone else who was likely watching this scenario, Lykan shook his head as he realized how stupid he was being. Worse, he was doing it in front of the people who clearly needed him to be brave now.

  “My backpack, it was a gift from a…friend I will likely never see again,” Lykan said, looking down at the pack in his hands that clearly had been torn apart by giant claws.

  “Is that all?” the mother asked.

  Hearing that, Lykan let out a soft chuckle.

  “Well, that and I am tired,” Lykan said.

  “Well, I can understand that. You rest here for a bit. When you wake up, I will have fixed your backpack up good as new,” the mother said. With that, she gestured a few of the people to come forward. In a second, her husband and son came forward with a blanket and pillow. These were nice, far too nice for him as he had been using his bedroll. He looked for the roll, only to find that it too had been torn apart by the ravager bear.

  Once he was able to relax, the woman firmly but gently pulled the pack from his hands. Lykan wanted to protest, but he was tired.

  “Thank you;” were the last words Lykan said, as he allowed his over-taxed mind and body to relax as the world faded to dark around him.