The forest was cool in the early morning, and Britina wrapped her cloak tighter to keep warm. Prunhiline, unfazed by the chill, stared intently into the trees. Britina smiled, imagining her companion daydreaming about slaying various creatures.

“Something’s out there,” Prunhiline whispered, her tone tense.

“Animals, dear love. Maybe squirrels,” Britina replied, smiling.

“No, uh, yes. But this is big,” Prunhiline whispered again.

“Big? Like… boar big?” Britina asked, her gaze shifting as she scanned the trees.

“Not a boar.” Prunhiline leaned forward in her saddle.

Britina peered in the direction of Prunhiline’s stare. She saw only trees and leaves, nothing moving. Still, she tensed. For all her many many faults, Prunhiline was an exceptional hunter.

“A bear,” Prunhiline whispered.

“A bear?” Britina relaxed. Bear attacks on the road were rare. “It’s probably just foraging and won’t bother us.”

The attack was sudden. A roar erupted behind as a massive black bear dragged Prunhiline off her mount. She sprang to her feet, gripping its neck in her powerful arms. The two locked in a struggle. The bear roared, and was Prunhiline laughing?

Britina readied her spell, waiting for an opening to blast the bear. No way was she repeating the vegetarian zombie incident. But she hesitated. Prunhiline wasn’t using her weapons, and her laugh was ticklish compared to her typical “I get to kill something” laugh. Then Britina noticed the collar around the bear’s neck.

“Bob’s always happy to see Prunhiline,” said a deep voice behind Britina. She turned to see their old friend Randle (see Adventures of Prunhiline and Britina: Bear Wrestling for Fun and Profit).

“Randle!” exclaimed Britina. She relaxed, releasing her magical energy.

Another roar erupted, followed by Prunhiline’s laughter. She’d pinned the poor bear to the ground, forcing it to tap the ground with its paw to surrender.

“I win!” shouted Prunhiline. She released Bob the Bear, who stood and licked her face. Britina winced. “Ah! Ha! Stop it!” Prunhiline enjoyed playing with Bob.

“How are you, Lady Britina?” Randle asked, striding toward her mount.

Randle was a tall, broad man. He was six foot five and easily five feet wide. As his usual attire, he was clothed in fur and leather. He carried his bow in his left hand and had his short sword on his hip. His bearded face couldn’t hide the smile, and his green eyes twinkled with delight.

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“I am well,” Britina replied with a slight bow. “How have you been?”

“Very well, my lady. Bob and I are enjoying our spring in this forest. What brings you two out here?” Randle asked in his booming voice.

“We were sent to the Dwarven capital for a diplomatic visit,” Britina said, frowning at the memory of how well it was going. “We’re newly appointed heroes of the realm, and this was supposed to be our first official mission.”

“Congratulations!” Randle boomed, slapping his stomach with a hearty laugh. “Were you there for the dragon attack?”

Britina looked away. “There wasn’t a dragon attack.” Randle looked at her with curiosity. “We had a small incident in the capital on the first day.” Randle nodded, knowing that was code for Prunhiline did something. “My companion engaged in some, uh, dwarven jumping.”

Randle laughed. “Ah! Well, that is illegal in all dwarven settlements. But what does that have to do with the dragon?”

Britina ignored the laughter and snorting from the warrior and the bear (she wasn’t sure which was snorting the most). “We were, uh, detained in the jail,” Britina said with much embarrassment.

“Jail?” Randle said. “That’s some first mission.” He began to laugh a little.

“While we were in the jail, there was, uh, a snoring incident,” Britina said, her face red with embarrassment.

“Snoring!” Randle roared with laughter. “Let me guess, they thought Prunhiline’s snoring was a dragon!”

Britina nodded. Randle burst with a loud, deep laugh. He slapped his stomach with his right hand, and Britina saw tears forming in his eyes.

“I don’t snore!” shouted Prunhiline, now lying on the ground with her back propped against a napping bear. The bear grunted in what sounded like disagreement. Randle laughed harder.

“So you two are responsible for the Dwarves being shorthanded on guards?” Randle asked.

“Yes,” Britina whispered. “When they attacked the 'dragon,' they woke Prunhiline. It didn’t go well for everyone.”

“Well, I’d say not. I’ve seen her woken from a deep slumber; it’s not pretty. Her morning breath alone can kill a lich!” Randle laughed.

“Hey! That’s not true!” Prunhiline protested. The bear and Randle both grunted in disagreement.

“So, why are you here? Were you exiled?” Randle asked, now with concern.

“No,” Prunhiline chimed in, “We are on a rescue mission.”

“The prince is missing. Some undead may have abducted him,” Britina continued.

“That’s bad. I’ve seen a few undead wandering these woods. I don’t know where they are coming from or going,” Randle said. “They seem to be searching for something.”

“Are there any crypts or burial grounds here?” asked Britina.

“Not that I know of,” Randle said. “We tend to stay in the southern part of the forest. The north has some nasty creatures.” Randle was an accomplished hunter; Britina was surprised he would avoid an area.

“What kind?” asked Prunhiline. She needed to add more to her title.

“Mostly giant spiders,” Randle admitted with a shudder. “I hate spiders.” Prunhiline chuckled at his discomfort.

“Thank you, Randle, we will keep that in mind,” Britina said, glaring at Prunhiline. “As long as we don’t run into any squirrels, we will be fine.” The word “squirrel” caused Prunhiline to let out an eep, and Randle gave the two women a confused look. He was aware of how odd they both were and didn’t ask.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to join you. The prince missing is bad for the Dwarven kingdom. He and the king haven’t been seeing eye to eye about some things,” Randle said.

“It’ll be our pleasure to have you on our quest,” Britina said as Prunhiline nodded. “Can you show us where you have seen the undead?”

Bob stood, accidentally knocking Prunhiline over. She sprang back to her feet, stretching alongside the bear as they both yawned. Britina rolled her eyes at the pair before following Randle down the path.