However, just as the conversation starts to pick back up, and people finish absorbing that tid bit, someone comes running in, throwing the door open. The man stands in the doorway, panting, before yelling “BEAR” loudly and taking off again. “What was that about? Bears are dangerous sure, but why make such a fuss? Even if he was being chased, a simple bear would be no trouble for the town itself.” Rayne whispers to Daku, sounding confused. Why the fus? Of they were alone in the woods this would be a concern sure, but… Before Rayne can even finish that thought, a colossal roar echoes from the edge of town. “That is no bear…” Daku says to himself, before grabbing up his thing and running outside.
Rayne springs out the door, her cat hot on her heels. The sounds of screams draws her to the scene, Daku, being faster than her, slowly fades away. The sound seems to be moving away from her, and as she reaches the spot a strange sight meets her eyes. Claw marks in wooden doors nearly an inch deep, tracks too big to be a bear. Daku has stopped momentarily as well, and Rayne catches up. “Oh… dire bear… why didn’t…” Rayne says, emphasizing the second word. Daku is off again and Rayne runs as well, not necessarily following, simply going in the same direction.
Not much further on, a chilling sight meets their eyes. While on all 4 legs, the bear’s shoulders look roughly 18-20 feet off the ground. Now that… Is something to panic about. Rayne thinks to herself, have in shock. A door stands ripped nearly in half, bisected multiple times by claw marks, all the way through the wood. It’s ripped off its hinges and lying against a wall. Blood is splattered on said door and wall, and a small, bloody, and fleshy chunk of something Rayne doesn’t feel up to concentrating on enough to be sure what it is
The dire bear let out another earsplitting roar, and stands, before grabbing onto a roof and ripping it off, crushing it to bits in the process and sending large wooden shrapnel flying in all directions, injuring itself somewhat, but ignoring it, making Rayne wonder just how thick it’s skin is, if that’s inconsequential to it.
Daku was muttering something under his breath, so quietly Rayne couldn’t make it out. Something about a bow she thought. Perhaps he had left it somewhere? Regardless he clearly wasn’t unarmed, for he pulled a concealed knife from his clothing. This was no pocket knife, it was clearly sharp, the blade 6-7 inches long and with a deer horn handle. A valuable knife, clearly the kind a hunter would use for dressing his prey in the field, or for general purpose uses. With an annoyed sigh, he jumped and grab the ledge of a roof, and pulled himself up.
The clay shingles were more dangerous than many roofing materials. If he broke a clay shingle it could form a sharp edge, people had died from falling from building with such roofing. Not to mention the smooth clay was more slippery. Despite this he ran relatively smoothly, wreathing his hunting knife in blue spirit flames as he ran.
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He jumped into the air, further than a normal man probably could, but not suspiciously so, and managed to throw one leg over one of the bear’s protruding shoulders, and sink his flaming knife into it’s hide. With a grunt he grabbed it and pulled himself up, dragging the knife down with his weight, slicing deeply into its hide as the knife slid slowly through the hide.
Meanwhile, Rayne, unarmed at the moment, sprints while looking around, and ducks into a hunting supply store, and emerges with a hunting spear, yelling “I’ll return it in a minute” as she runs, wreathing the spear head in spirit flames as well.
The bear roars as Daku’s flaming knife stabs into it, and swats back and forth with one paw, breaking the roof Daku had jumped from. It roared and swatted again, before raising up onto its hind legs. Daku, struggling to hold on to both his knife and the bear, grabs deep into it’s matted fur and stabs into the bear again.
Rayne, terrified for Daku, stabs the spearhead deep into one of the bear's upper hind legs. A hunter, perhaps wanting some glory or to help, races forward and shoots at it’s face. This proves to be a bad move, as it rolls back into all fours, slashing with 1 claw as it does, turning the hunter’s head, shoulders, and neck into a bloody stump, sending shards of skull flying and making a horrifying mess.
The great bear flails and roars, and crushes a stall, sending furs flying all around, and leaving deep gouge marks in a nearby building. Daku pants wearily, and takes the opportunity to climb further up the bear, before stabbing deep into the back of the neck with his flaming hunting knife. Another earsplitting roar is let loose as it again tries to shake him off, moving sharply side to side, forcing Daku to once again grab a fist full of matted fur, and try to hold on. Rayne pulls back, looking at the kicking legs and backing off quickly, just in time as it’s read paw kicks backwards.
Wounded and tiring, the bear tries to dislodge Daku by rolling over, attempting to crush him with its sheer size and weight in the process. But Daku manages to pull his knife out and jump at nearly the last second, rolling away as he lands. Another hunter shoots, and with perhaps the most terrifying sound Rayne will ever hear, blinds its eyes. The bear seems to scream and roar at once, flailing around, rolling and crushing stalls and buildings. The loss of its sight seemed to have done little to actually harm it, but succeeded in driving it into a blind rage unlike perhaps anything any of the townspeople had ever seen.
Daku, now further away, looks pissed. Had the bear been calmer her could have slit its neck, but now, as it rages and rolls, slashing and crushing, it’d be foolish to try. He makes an attempt, manages to climb onto its upper leg, and has to jump just after stabbing it, as it tries to blindly roll onto him. Rayne stabs with her borrowed spear, leaving a deep gouge in it’s backside, but accomplishes little else. Meanwhile the destruction mounts. Rayne climbs onto a building and jabs at it’s neck and face, before nearly falling from the roof as it retaliates.
Daku slips up under it’s swipe, and drags his knife over it’s leg and into it’s neck, and twists as he rips it out. But he can’t stay, he barely managed to jump and roll over it’s paw as it snaps at him blindly. Rayne once again tries to stab upward at it, and slices I it’s nose open. “Just give me that” Daku says slightly harshly and urgently as the bear nearly knocks her through a window. He grabs the spear, and throws it, full force, into the side of the bear’s neck. A howl is let loose and the bear slashes, breaking off the shaft but driving the spearhead in deeper.
Rayne, Daku, and the town finally retreat, hoping that, with 2 wounds in it’s neck, it will bleed out. It only takes a few minutes before, enraged as it is, blood loss and exhaustion slow it, and Daku gets in far enough to slit its neck cleanly, and drive his hunting knife between 2 vertebrae in it’s neck, killing it.