Nez tried to take a nap, but it was impossible on the wobbly cart they were traveling on.

On the bright side, Yronburg was far behind them and Ulfric with it.

It was all in the past.

Now Nez and his travel companions were pretty much in the middle of nowhere, on their way south.

They had been moving for three days, so they were roughly a little over halfway there to Colisburg, the city were Delilah's acquaintance lived.

Nez visited Colisburg only a couple of times in the past, but he remembered it was famous for it's fighting shows and its several arenas. They also regularly held tournaments for warriors and adventurers of any kind.

It was a loud and flashy place. Nez didn't like it at all.

“How about you keep an eye out instead of sleeping?” Bortheus yelled at Nez from the driver seat.

Nez raised his head. All around them there were a grand total of eight trees, and they were on a plain. They had clear vision in any direction, with no obstacles.

What was he worried about?

“There's still nobody and nothing approaching in a ten miles radius” Nez announced in a bored tone before laying down again.

“We need to be ready in case something comes up!” Bortheus scolded him.

Nez groaned. “Dude, not even a ghost could sneak up on us in this environment”.

Bortheus' jaw had a spasm. “You little...”.

Delilah cleared her throat. “That's enough” she said in a strict voice. “Just relax a little. We are in no danger, and Nez in right in saying we would spot it immediately” she said to Bortheus.

“But...”.

“Shush” Delilah shut him up playfully raising a finger and winking at him.

Bortheus gave up, but he didn't looked bothered at all.

They should just kiss already, Nez thought.

“Oh, we should settle down for lunch!” Delilah suddenly proclaimed. “We said we were going to have some pork belly”.

Nez's stomach growled.

“Alright, I got it”. Bortheus pulled the cart to the side, right next the shade of a tree.

The group started to set the camp, dividing the chores: Nez got on the tree and kept guard, Phisena prepared the bonfire, Bortheus worked on the food, and Delilah fed the horses.

In those few days, Nez learned that Bortheus was actually a great cook.

They managed to get almost to the end of their exquisite pork belly based meal, when a distant movement from the south caught their attention.

“Oh, come on!” Nez complained. “One of these times I'll get indigestion”.

They had no time to pack up and leave, and in any case they had to go in that precise direction.

Gulping down the last few bites in a hurry, they all prepared for whatever was coming.

“Can't you, like, conjure up a storm to scare off... whatever it is?” Nez asked to Phisena.

She shook her head. “It's too big of a ritual, I'd probably lose control and create a small natural disaster”. She sighed. “I'm still just an apprentice”.

Now that they got closer, Nez could see that a group of bear beastfolk was approaching them. There were at least a dozen of them, and they were riding horses.

Their shaggy fur was brown and black, and had big claws and round ears. They carried crude, heavy looking weapons.

“Maybe we can talk this out” Delilah said nervously.

“Doubtful” Nez replied. “They're not known to be reasonable... nor to be the kind to come up to people to chat”.

Whatever they wanted, it wasn't peaceful.

The bear beastfolk formed a semi circle in front of the group. The one in the middle, who had an ornamental headpiece made of bones and was probably the chief, growled. “Yes, this will do” he said in a low, rumbling voice.

Nez didn't like his tone.

“Listen, travelers!” the beastfolk continued to speak. “We do not come looking for a fight. Give us what we want, and we'll let you go unharmed”.

So they were bear bandits...

Delilah raised her chin, a glimpse of hopefulness in her eyes. “What do you want?”.

“We'll take one of you” the bear replied, accompanied by the zealous shouting of his companions. “They are to be sacrificed for the survival of the tribe”.

“What?”. Delilah made an outraged face. “You expect us to give one of our own to you?”.

The beastfolk nodded with a feral grin. “We'll take the weakest of you, the one you can go without”.

Nez took a step forward, thinking that he could easily get close to them if he volunteered.

“Not you, cursed one!” the chief yelled. “We do not wish to draw misfortune to our tribe”.

Just my luck...

The chief raised his meaty paw and pointed straight at Delilah. “We'll take her. She's no hellspawn, has a small body, and possesses no magic stick” he declared. “It'll be of no loss to you”.

Nez held his breath. “Oh, now you've done it” he whispered. He couldn't wait for what was coming next.

Bortheus stepped forward and stomped his foot to the ground, an enraged expression on his face. “What did you say to her highness? She's the person I devoted my life to!”. He slammed his shields together.

Al the beastfolk got agitated. “She's a ruler, chief” one of them said.

“You want the weakest one? Well, then you'll have to take me!” Bortheus exclaimed. “I can use no magic, and have no powerful words or mystical blood in me. I'm just a regular human!”.

Nez couldn't tell if he really meant that, or if he was just saying it to take Delilah off their sights.

“But I won't come quietly”. Bortheus never looked so infuriated before.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“What are you doing?” Delilah called to him, worried.

Bortheus took a deep breath. “My duty” he replied. “Don't interfere. Any of you”.

The chief scoffed. “Very well. Take him!” he ordered to his tribesmen.

Three beastfolk attacked Bortheus, brandishing big clubs. They were bigger than him.

And yet Bortheus didn't falter. He blocked the first hit without moving one inch form his spot.

He slammed a shield on one of the attackers, and moved to another one without stopping for eve a second.

Bortheus was an impenetrable wall and an unrelenting force at the same time. It was like the three beastfolk were hitting solid steel, to be then hit by the might of a whole legion right afterwards.

In a short time the beastfolk were beaten and battered, unable to keep fighting.

“You'll have to do more than that” Bortheus said. He was breathing heavily. “I'm a royal knight of the Kingdom of Enerya. A bunch of marauders like you is nothing!”.

What a showoff.

The tribe chief showed his teeth. “If you refuse to come with us, we'll wipe you all out!”.

A shot from Nez's gun hit his headdress, breaking it.

“You're welcome to try” Nez taunted him, his dagger at the ready. For a brief second, his eyes flashed. “If Bortheus is the weakest, imagine what all of us four can do”.

The beastfolk hesitated long enough for Delilah to step forward, getting in front of Bortheus.

“Stay back, my lady”.

She looked at him over her shoulder. “You've done more than enough”.

Then she raised her hands. “There is no need for bloodshed. Your tribe would suffer great losses in a clash against us”.

“That's a weak intimidation” Nez said. What was she hoping to achieve?.

Delilah turned her hands to the three wounded beastfolk. “Sanitatem” she said.

A wave of energy spread to the beastfolks, and they immediately seem vigorous. It was like their wounds and pain vanished almost completely.

The chief was incredulous. “Why would you show mercy to us?”.

“Because you said you were trying to make your tribe survive” Delilah said with a resolute expression. “That means you are facing a great problem, and I believe we can help”.

Nez shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.

What a goody two shoes.

----------------------------------------

“There, look”. A bear beastfolk pointed to the distance, and what appeared to be the statue of one of his kind.

It was way too detailed to have been made by an artisan. It almost looked... alive.

Crouched behind a bush, Nez exhaled from his nose. “Are we really about to face against a petrifying monster?”.

He couldn't believe he got dragged into the beastfolk tribe's problems. And without getting payed, at that.

“We will keep our promise” Delilah declared with an admonishing look.

“Yeah, yeah” Nez said unenthusiastically. They would get safe passage and an escort in those territories in return, so he supposed there was no harm in giving a helping hand.

If that was worthy the risk of getting turned to stone, he couldn't say.

“How long has this monster been here?” Delilah asked to the tribesmen who brought them there.

“It appeared over a full moon cycle ago” one said. “It's quick, and drove us off from our land”.

They didn't give much information about it. Apparently after ten of theirs got petrified, the rest fled. Nobody got a good look at the thing; the scouts they sent afterwards never came back.

“And you got the bright idea of snatching people and offering them as tributes to calm it down?”. Nez raised an eyebrow, piercing one of the beastfolk with an inquisitive stare.

“Well, we...” the beastfolk panicked, not knowing what to say.

The wind brought a foul stench to them.

The beastfolks started to tremble. “It's here”.

The smell was really awful already, which meant it would be even worse up close.

Nez stood up with a resigned sigh. “Time to set the plan in motion” he said.

“Are you okay with it?” Delilah asked.

He waved his hand. “I'm the one who proposed it. We need a bait, and I think I'm the perfect candidate for it”.

He wasn't thrilled about it, but it was a better idea than having everyone in the open.

Nez stepped into the opening, walking leisurely towards the statue of the beastfolk.

That could be me in a couple of minutes.

An ear piercing screech made him jump. From a small thicket, a weird creature came out sprinting.

It was half as tall as him, and it looked like a bloated, chubby, greenish chicken with a disproportionately big beak. It was running straight for him.

Nez recognized it as a cockatrice.

The beastfolks were right. It was quick.

In spite of its short legs, it caught up in a n instant.

Nez barely managed to flip over it and avoid its sharp beak. After landing, he began to back up. “Now!”.

From behind a tree, Phisena cast a spell. “Terra!”.

Jagged rocks sprung from the ground all around the cockatrice, trapping it in place. However, its tough skin protected it from most of the damage.

Delilah and Bortheus bolted to the restrained creature and started attacking as much as they could, piercing and bashing.

The cockatrice, flailing with all its strength, began to break free from the rocks. A purple mist came out of its mouth, and the creature lashed out at Delilah to peck at her.

Bortheus jumped in front of it and took the hit. He coughed. “The damn thing is poisonous!”.

Once free, the cockatrice got away from the knight and the princess and brought it attention towards Nez once again. He was the isolated target.

It went rushing for him.

Now that the plan failed, they needed to improvise.

Nez knew what he had to do, and was sure his companions would back him up.

Knowing he had his back covered was a new and pleasant sensation for him.

He stood still.

The cockatrice got to him, and hit him with its beak. It wasn't as much of a peck, as it was a light tap.

In fact Nez didn't feel any pain, but his body instantly felt heavier. It was like he got submerged by a thick substance, like honey. It was hard to move.

But he still managed to grab a hold of the cockatrice, and climbed on top of it with difficulty.

I'm so damn slow... Another hit and I'm done for.

The cockatrice tried to shake him off, and would have succeeded if it weren't for Phisena.

“Glacies!” she exclaimed.

A thick layer of ice encased the cockatrice for a moment, before breaking off.

The creature felt the hit much more than before, and started to move sluggishly.

Nez took the opportunity to stab the cockatrice right in the back of the head.

It felt to the ground, motionless.

“Nice job, everybody!” Nez said, getting back to his feet almost in slow motion.

Delilah quickly got to him and said “Purgatio”.

Nez felt instantly better, being able to move normally. “Thanks”.

“Don't mention it” Delilah replied with a tired smile. It was obvious that she couldn't use a lot of magic, and already began to feel the toll for the spells she cast that day.

Phisena arrived and placed her hands on Nez's cheeks and looked straight in his eyes. “Are you feeling alright?”.

“Yeah”.

“We need to check the point of impact” she continued as if she didn't hear him. “There might be some effects of the petrification left”. She started to unbutton his coat.

He instinctively grabbed her wrists.

Noticing his distress, she became concerned. “What is it?”.

Nez didn't want to say it.

“Come on. I have to make sure you're completely fine” Phisena insisted, with resolve in her eyes.

She wasn't about to let it go.

“Alright” Nez gave in. He took off his coat and shirt to expose his chest and abdomen.

Phisena gasped. She nervously pushed her glasses on her nose. “How did you get that?”.

She was looking and the big scar on Nez's side. It went from under the rib cage all the way to the back of the hip.

Nez lowered his head. “I got in a bad accident a while ago” he explained in a dry voice. “Nothing you should worry about”.

He hoped the argument was closed.

“Did somebody do this to you because you're a Devil Touched?”.

“No. It was... during a job” Nez replied without making eye contact. “Occupational hazards”.

Having no trace of petrification, he quickly dressed up.

A couple of beastfolks reached them and joyfully started to hug them with their big, hairy arms. “You defeated the monster! The tribe is saved!”.

“I swear, if you don't let me go I'll shoot you” Nez said, trying to maintain his patience while being smothered by a literal bear hug.

“We'll inform the chief immediately” one of the beastfolk said. “And we'll arrange your escort to the city.

After the group got back to the cart, they sat down and rested for a while.

Out of the blue, Nez burst out laughing.

“What's so funny” Bortheus asked caustically.

“Oh, nothing”. Nez tried to compose himself. “I just imagined the faces we would get if somebody saw you travel with a Devil Touched and a bunch of bear people”.

He hoped they would come across somebody on the road.