Bear and I III
Chapter 4
Rick had to be careful. He'd been warned when he got the black hole to hold most of his worldly possessions. A black hole was a different dimension. So was his backpack even if it was smaller. And the bag that was tied in place at his belt was as well. No two dimensions could ever be inside another. If he did the two would rip themselves to pieces and everything in them would be destroyed along with the items.
Worse, say he was in the black hole looking for something. It would rip his body to pieces and scatter what was left to different dimensions. It would be painful and permanent.
So Rick was mostly naked as he climbed down into his black hole. He needed to go through what he owned so he could clean away whatever it was that Max had found.
Finally finding some things he could use he threw them out, climbed out, and folded it back up into that little square of cloth. Then he got dressed for the cold that was outside. The temperature had dropped last night.
Now while he was very nice and comfortable inside his tent, he didn't have anything magical to keep him warm outside. So he'd dug out his thick insulated boots, layered on clothes, followed by a nice, thick, heavy coat that was mostly fur.
He had found it in town and damn near came close to killing the merchant that was selling it. Yes, it was warm to wear it but it was made from the skin of a polar bear. To think that someone had killed a polar bear just to get its skin had made his blood boil.
He killed only to feed himself and his best friend. What they didn't eat he offered to his god and made sure some animal found it and feasted on what was left. He didn't kill just to kill or because he wanted the skin.
Instead of killing the merchant he had bought it and cherished it like it was still a live polar bear. He even brushed it to keep it clean and supple.
"So let's see what you found, shall we?" Rick had a chisel to cut away the build up of loose rock and ice. He also that this small broom that he used when necessary to clear the tent of debris before he folded it up.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Rick stopped for lunch and pulled out his cloak and turned it into a small tent with a fire pit right out front so he could cook his lunch. "You want some?" Rick handed over some of his raw meat for Max to nibble on.
"You definitely found something even if I don't know what." Rick had found a set of rock that had some kind of symbols chiseled into them that was about a foot wide. Though the marks all varied a little so far. However, he had no idea what the symbols meant. None at all.
Rick heard him growl. "We need a wizard first, you know, and unless you're holding out on me I have no idea where one's located. So we can't sacrifice one." Rick had thought they had covered this yesterday.
"Besides if we can't read what it says we might end up with the wrong wizard. What if we need a dwarf and we sacrifice a human?" Rick tried to argue and hopefully get him off this topic.
Except Max had an answer for that. "Do you know just how many races there are out there? Orc, Half-Orc, Elf, Human, Goblin, Gnoll, and Halfling just to name a few. Troll, and do you even have any idea how many different sub-races of Elf there are? Wood, Silver, Winged, Drow—" Thankfully Max interrupted him by growling at him a little louder.
"Thank you." Rick went back to eating in silence save for listening to Max chew his meat. "So what is it?" Rick twisted his head to look at what little he had exposed so far. "Just activating magic can be a pain in the ass. I don't want to be here too long. We stay here too long we'll have to go back down to get more food." That also presented a problem.
They had hunted that area out so they would have to go much further out to find something before coming back.
Max growled softly at his disgust of that idea. It had been hard enough just to get here. He wasn't all that interested in going back down.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Rick was done with lunch and went back to clearing away what he could so he could see the symbols and try and figure out just how big this thing was.
Rick heard Max snort and sniff and then growl. "You found another one?" Rick was shocked. He didn't even know exactly what this one was and now his buddy had found another one?
Rick already had a wooden ladder out of his black hole and was standing on it since he was working on an area that was above his head by now. So down his ladder he went and joined his buddy to see what he had found.
Now Rick was sitting on the cold ground chipping away till he got a little bit chipped away. "The markings are the same, I think." That had Rick looking up and then looking over at what he had exposed already over there.
"You know I'm starting to wonder." Rick looked up. "I'm starting to wonder it this goes up and they join at the top somewhere. If it's as high as I think I'm afraid I'll never reach the top." Rick continued to look up.
"You want to help me? Try using your claws and clear away the bottom from that side to this side," he asked Max. "If there's nothing in the middle we'll know there's no door." Rick went back to clearing away more old rock and mostly ice.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
The problem with all this chipping away with a chisel was that he didn't want to damage any of it. He didn't think destroying anything magical was all that easy but he couldn't take the risk. That meant taking his time.
Rick and even Max only took breaks to get some water and take some down time before going back at it. The sun was starting to set yet again while Rick stood back with Max sitting next to him.
Rick had both sides exposed up to the same height which meant he needed his ladder to get up that high. And if it went as high as he feared he was never going to reach it.
"You got pretty far, buddy." Rick reached down and petted him. Max had made it all the way across three times so he had exposed the rock about three feet high. "We might finish as good as we're going to get tomorrow. Hopefully we're not wasting our time." They only had just so much food before going back down.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Kate had finally gone to sleep even if it wasn't easy. She was the filling in a sandwich. Roz on one side and Lanie on the other. Her little tent wasn't made to handle three grown adults plus backpacks, even as small as they were. Two adults maybe, but three was really stretching things. It meant both Roz and Lanie were literally on her a little. Her poor tent was bulging on each side.
"Please tell me you two are awake. I need some freedom." That had Roz moving and tried not to kill Kate as she attempted to get out of her sleeping bag and instantly regretted it.
"It's cold out," Roz complained.
Kate groaned at her. "Then hurry up and get dressed."
"OW!" Something hit Lanie on her leg.
"Sorry." Roz apologized since it was her fault. Roz managed to get on her last boot and got on her knees. She put on her coat and closed it up and then rolled up her sleeping bag, tied it in place, opened the flap and crawled outside. "IT SNOWED!" Roz shrieked as she stood up.
"Two, maybe three inches," Roz said excitedly.
"You're next, Lanie." Kate tried to roll over into Roz's vacated space.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Kate was finally dressed for winter. She crawled out with her backpack and sleeping bag and did indeed see snow. "As if hunting on a mountain side wasn't bad enough now it's snow covered." It meant seeing where to step was going to be a challenge.
Kate removed her tent stakes and folded up her tent. She tried to not fold up snow with it but it was difficult. "You two see anything?"
"There." Roz pointed far above them. "Wait till it moves again." The goat was white and the new snow was white. "It's too far for my little sling." She and Lanie were not meant for far away fighting. They were close-in fighters. They could even shape shift thanks to being Druids to a few various animals plus their swan form.
"I see it. Might be a little far for me." Kate was willing to try. If she at least hit it it would slow it down and make it easier to hit it again.
Kate got her bow ready, pulled out an arrow, and aimed at the unmoving goat. It just stood there. They all watched her shot hit it in the front shoulder. That in turn caused it to try and jump to another rock to get away. However, thanks to its injury it stumbled and tumbled wildly down the side of the mountain till it came to a stop.
"That one is the two of yours so go get it. I'm going to look for another one and then we can gut them, skin them, cut them up, and go home today." Kate was happy to have one so soon.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Kate didn't keep track of her friends. Besides they could take care of themselves. She was busy watching the mountain for movement of another goat. If there was one there had to be more. What she needed was moment thanks to the all white.
When she finally saw one after moving just a little she raised her bow but decided against it. Right next to it was a baby. If she killed the mother for meat she would kill the baby and she couldn't do that. She just couldn't. "Sorry."
Kate kept moving and searching. Finding something in this was turning out to be harder than she thought. She was so busy concentrating that she didn't feel the cold. Then it happened.
Kate was trying to be careful but her next step didn't have a solid base and the next thing she knew she was the one tumbling down the hillside till she finally came to a stop.
She lay there till finally she saw Lanie's face. "Are you okay? We saw you tumble down half the mountain." Lanie was exaggerating a bit but it felt like a lot to her.
"I'm fine I think." Kate moved and felt the pain from doing that. "Ow! That hurt."
"Don't move." Lanie began feeling her to check for broken bones.
"Will you stop." Kate thought she was just bruised.
"No! Because if you've broken something this trip just came to an end and we're going to need all day to get back through those caves dragging our dead goat and you. So shut up and let me look." Lanie knew Kate was stubborn but this was important.
Kate lay there and let Lanie feel her till she was done. "Nothing I can find. I bet it hurts, though. Come on, up with you. If you feel like it we need one more goat and then we'll go home." Lanie helped her to stand.
Lanie went over to Roz to help finish their one goat while Kate trudged uphill before finally stopping to look for movement.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Roz was pulling her goat inside its own skin while the blood and guts were left behind for some animal to find and help itself. She was headed for the cave entrance for the trip home. Lanie was going toward Kate who looked to be down yet again.
However, the closer Lanie got she finally realized that Kate had a goat and was preparing it all alone. So she trudged up to her and helped her to speed up the process.
Eventually Kate was out in front making sure her steps were secure so Lanie could walk in her steps since she was dragging their goat.
"Ready to go home?" Kate asked both of them since Roz had been standing there with her goat waiting for them. "Give me yours and I'll go first. Lanie is the best at hand to hand so she's second. Roz can drag the other goat behind her. We should be home by the end of today."
Roz thankfully hadn't been totally idle. She had cleared the opening of snow and actually made it bigger for them to enter.
Kate realised dragging a dead goat in its own skin over rocks, dirt, and debris while bruised was not very comfortable. She had to keep stopping and catching her breath and willing for the pain to subside before starting again.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Kate had one light and Roz had the second when Kate finally stopped. They sat around in the same spot as last time to eat another cold lunch.
"How we doing with time?" Roz questioned.
"The goats are slowing us down. I'm slowing us down. I'm thinking it will be dark by the time we make it home," Kate responded.
"I just want to get home in one piece. I'm a Swanmay, not a damn gopher. I should be in a lake not crawling around in the dark on my stomach. My tits are going to have scratches," Roz complained.
"I wouldn't know about that," Kate lamented since she was sure her tits were too small. She had been flat for far too long till finally she blossomed. It was just in her eyes she hadn't blossomed enough.
"There's nothing wrong with your tits, Kate. You wear as little as the rest of us. You have something Gina doesn't." Lanie didn't see where she should complain.
"Besides a mate?" Kate hated Gina for more than just that but yes, that was one of them.
Lanie defended her. "You're still young and yes, you may yet find yourself a mate. I mean you have a good head on your shoulders. Gina's is full of air. Or have you failed to notice that among us all she's the weakest? Yes, she's a Druid but her Swanmay skills are limited. Very limited."
"She only caught him because of her tits. He just happens to like women with nothing above the shoulders." Roz grinned and Lanie broke into laughter followed by Kate and finally Roz.
Kate went back to moaning about their situation."Yet here we are because her mate pesters her who in turn pesters me."
"We're here because we do need the extra meat. What we could really use is another female goat so we could increase the production of goats' milk. Those two kids we have are going to take years to grow up enough," Lanie pointed out.
"We'll be fine. It will take years for our children to grow up and need milk. No one gets in so we're safe." Kate knew her job and that was to make sure their place was safe, healthy, and prosperous.
"Ready to go? I want to stop dragging this damn goat. Next time Gina can go get her own damn goat." Kate gathered up her goat skin to start dragging.
"More than ready." Roz wanted this to be over with.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
Kate more felt it than saw it. "Torch!" She yelled since all they were using was continual light spell. That might scare away some things but not everything.
A moment later Kate watched a lit torch go flying off to one side followed by another to the other side. All three instantly heard it. More than one was now scurrying away from them and their burning torches.
"Let's move," Kate called out and tried to pick up speed. They were scared now but that might not last.
+x+ [-O-] +x+
"Move, move, move." Kate saw what she thought was the end and they could get out.
"Something has hold of my goat!" Roz yelled since she felt someone pulling on it the opposite direction.
Then a lit torch came flying past her and what Roz saw made her scream. She had no idea what it was. It was all white, like sickly white. It had almost all eyes, a bit of a nose, and its mouth was round and full of teeth. But it had arms attached to a body and she thought she saw legs.
The light from the torch forced it to let go of the goat, cover its eyes, and shriek very loudly. The light from the torch really hurt a lot. It lived in darkness and didn't need its eyes so the sudden bright light hurt.
"GO, GO, GO!" Kate scrambled as fast as she could followed by Lanie and then Roz.
Neither of them really quit crawling as fast as they could even once they were outside and out of the cave complex.
Lanie crashed into a goat and then Kate followed by Roz crashing into her.
Now they were all just lying there panting heavily. Then Lanie began laughing her head off and finally got the others to start laughing.
"I'll tell you one thing. I'm never, ever doing that again. I don't know what that thing was but I don't ever one to meet it again," Roz managed to say after she finally stopped laughing.
"I know one thing, too," Kate said firmly. "Gina's going to pay me for this. I'm not doing this for free." That had Lanie laughing again.
Then Kate groaned. "We still have to get these two to the kitchen and fast. It's not cold here." She knew they weren't done yet.
"And as our protector and leader you're definitely closing up that opening. What if that thing comes out looking for the goat it didn't get." Roz looked at Kate. "Don't look at me like that. You didn't see it up close and personal like I did. I'm going to have nightmares tonight and the second I set eyes on Gina I'm kicking her big titted ass," Roz informed them which had all of them laughing again.