Mark's thoughts turned to Samara, the rumored tracker. Was she around this area? She had to be. He needed to assume the worst and prepare for it.

Escape wouldn't be easy. There existed a cavern with an open field, which was probably the best place for him to fight off a stealthy hunter. It had a heavy outgrowth of bushes to the side, a good place to hide him and his skeleton mage.

But waiting patiently for Samara's arrival was also not the best of ideas. If he was setting up an ambush, she could naturally do the same. And he had no ideas on how to improve his powers right before the fight while remaining in peak condition.

With only one sacrificial wolf placed as a sentry, it would be easy for someone of her caliber to sneak past it. And what if he couldn't win the fight? His only choice would be to run, but he already expected her to be faster than him. He needed a battlefield more chaotic than an open field ambush. The only place which fit this description was the clearing with the Light Infused Bear.

Mark quickly turned and ran down the tunnels again, sneaking into the nearest clearing to the bear before Samara appeared. His minions came out of his portal and he outfitted them with defensive equipment. Shortly afterwards, he heard footsteps appear from behind him.

"Found you," a voice growled. Samara, in the flesh, was a rugged and muscular woman who carried a massive longbow. She was currently pointing an arrow in his direction, and a bright gleam appeared.

Mark immediately ducked behind his skeletons. The arrow pierced through two and almost blew through his warrior's shield.

"Coward," she mocked. Another arrow slipped out of her hands, which also glowed with magical energies. Whatever enchantment it had, Mark was sure he could not take it again. Not without a powerful shield.

He half-stumbled, half-ran into the clearing and immediately alerted the bear. Twin beams of light accompanied its roar to strike him down, but Mark blocked it with the last of his fodder. Then he hid in a bush and sent out an Eyeless Wolf to try luring the bear away.

Samara did not follow. She also seemed nervous at having to enter. Instead, she stayed at the entrance to the cavern, waiting for an opportunity. While Mark carved a brief period of respite, she continued scanning the area for a way to sneak in.

Mark saw her silhouette disappear from the tunnel and knew she was coming for him. He tried to deduce a plan. Going by his previous classifications of threats, she was at her core a Fighter who had Thief skills as well. The third combination of basic classes.

He only had one chance to survive: find her location, and send the bear her way. His eyes strained for any signs of movement or mistake which might reveal her location in the torchlight.

There! Catching a slight flicker in the corner of his eye, Mark immediately ordered his wolf to go there, but he also planned around that being her lure. After he rolled out of the way and dodged an arrow, he ordered the wolf to retreat.

Then he continued to duck and cover behind the trees and bushes. Torn leaves and branches stuck to his clothing as magic flowed from his hands. Against someone of her caliber, only magic could give him the advantage.

His Raise Dead morphed into another form, splintering into a multitude of paths. They shot into the corpses hidden among the trees and Mark's mind with an immense amount of information.

This new 'radar' technique used the brief period of sensory awakening from Raise Dead to detect movement near dead bodies. Though it could only last for a second, it allowed him to tell which areas contained possible enemies. Fortunately, this area was littered with the bones of dead animals who dared get too close.

There was one movement bigger than all the others, and one much less so. That had to be Samara.

He had his wolf circle back around and run in her direction, causing the movements to pause, and then back off. But his skeleton mage was still around. Its spell tore through a chunk of vegetation, immediately enraging the bear who ran in its direction. Then his minion crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Mark had ended the magical connection. The bear, seeing nothing in front of it, immediately swung its attention to the baying wolf in the distance. Its eyes narrowed and blasted another beam of light, which was dodged.

But instead of emerging, Samara had disappeared. Even his new technique could not find her. Either she was staying completely still and using some kind of ability to hide herself, or she had left the area.

The bear would follow any movements his wolf made. Mark currently held the advantage. If Samara tried to attack, the bear would notice her as a threat and turn its attention towards her. He was safe for now.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

But it wouldn't be good if he had to spend the entire time waiting for her to leave. It was also impossible for him to keep the bear at bay for so long. And he had a feeling she might never leave until she saw his corpse.

But why? Mark asked himself. That hatred in her voice couldn't be faked. Why would she be so angry he killed those three if she was going to use them as pawns anyway?

Unless that Mage-Thief is doing things on her own, he realized. Samara was clearly not the owner of the magical artifact. She probably didn't know its effects, and had trusted the wrong person.

So he tried to break the stalemate. "I didn't kill the three kids," he said. "Something else did. I tried to help them," he emphasized. "I really did."

There was no response. Mark kept talking, though. "I gave them a sip of wine in exchange for some information. They warned me about your tracking abilities, and told me about that leader of yours. An invisible mage."

"I think she was the one who killed them. After they spoke about her, saying they were going to lead me to her, they exploded. I can take you to the crater if you don't believe me."

Then a voice appeared right next to him. "Do it," Samara commanded with a short sword in her hand.

Mark stared at her then glanced at the bear. "How," he mouthed.

She sighed and shot out an arrow. It exploded, sending the bear into a frenzy again. It crashed into the brush, searching for the noise while making plenty of its own. "Go," she repeated.

Mark led her to the crater. At first her expression looked to be in turmoil, but then it hardened. Samara took a while to just stand there, eyes closed, before they opened up again with a forlorn look.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't..." Her voice choked up. It seemed like she had harbored suspicions against the Mage-Thief before, but had only now confirmed it.

They sat there in silence for a while. Mark did not mention how close he came to killing them, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"What will you do now?" he asked.

Samara blinked. It took her a while before she decided to speak again. "Avenge them," she said simply.

"We can work together," Mark said. He hesitated but said, "I have friends who have been targeted by her. Then when I went to...your friends for an explanation, she did this. I can't forgive her either."

Samara stared at him. Then, she nodded. "You can follow. I will lead you to our base," she said.

"Wait." Mark stopped her. "Can we try fighting the bear? It'll be very useful for me." He also needed to retrieve his skeleton mage as well.

She gave another nod. They went back to the bear's cavern and she led the bear away, letting him reanimate the skeleton mage again. Then he slipped away like they had agreed beforehand, for him to "find" more corpses.

Samara had no problems with guarding the bear's cavern while he reanimated more minions. Though they were mostly fodder, he doubted anything could fight the bear in melee. So he tried one of his previous tactics: two groups of three undead wolves each to harass the gigantic creature.

Then he returned, where Samara was lining up her shot at the gluttonous bear. Its insatiable hunger kept it constantly eating, and when no more fruits grew on the trees, it would return to slumber in the middle of the clearing.

"Got six wolves here," Mark whispered to her. "Can you kill it without taking out its eyes?"

She nodded her head. Samara notched another enchanted arrow, pulling it back all the way until her entire body glimmered. Then she loosed the arrow straight into the bear's neck. It shot forward like a rocket, puncturing a deep hole into its throat. Blood gushed, but its skin was much harder than they thought, and it continued to rampage.

He sent the six wolves to encircle the wounded beast. Light rays blasted out and killed two of his minions. But they were many, and each wolf took turns nipping at the bear's heels and evading its attacks. A swipe took one out, then another, before another arrow came again towards the hole in its throat. Though the bear was prepared this time, attempting to protect its throat, the arrow somehow swerved slightly and opened the hole up wider.

Four of his undead wolves had been destroyed from a single skirmish. Though two were enough to slow it down for a third arrow to hit its neck, every other part of the bear carried an immense resistance to damage. Samara needed to hit it perfectly to kill it.

So she slipped away into the trees, leaving Mark to deal with a very angry bear on his trail, whose eye rays were about to strike him at any moment. But he had made sure to lodge a few Death Bolts into its body, especially its legs. It found itself less nimble, and couldn't catch up to them.

They ran circles around the monster, staying just out of range but managing to annoy it with every encounter. It took a while, but the bear eventually began stumbling around. Withered patches of skin around its body weakened its defenses enough for Samara's third arrow to open up the weak spot, and then a fourth finished the job.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 21.

Mark Winters - Level 21

Class: Mage (Common)

Stats

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 5

Endurance: 11

Vitality: 12

Intelligence: 43 -> 46

Wisdom: 17

"Thank you," Mark said, dumping his points into Intelligence. Then he walked to the monster's body and cast Raise Dead.

She gave him a slow nod once he finished.

"Yeah." Mark nodded. "We'll have a much easier time now." Behind him, the bear stood up and roared. Light burned a hole through a tree.