Chapter three: The Chimeriad and the Bear Hunters

Gaius could feel Wingul's glare on him, but he paid it no attention and greeted Jiao as he reached them at the entrance of the woods. Presa and Agria were not far behind.

"Good morning, Jiao. Did Olga give you food like she promised?"

"Right here, Your Highness," Jiao replied, showing the bag he was carrying.

"I've got some supplies as well," Presa announced in place of a greeting.

Agria was rubbing her eyes, not quite completely awake yet. She mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "'morning" and yawned.

"Are you all set?"

They nodded.

"Then we are ready to go."

There was a hesitant pause.

"Um, Your Highness…"

"What is it, Presa?"

"Shouldn't you… wear something warmer? I mean, it's going to be cold in those woods, especially if we don't come back before sunset."

He felt Wingul's glare double in intensity, but he ignored it.

"I am fine like this."

The four of them were wearing heavy fur coats—Wingul even had his ridiculous feather cape wrapped around his neck like a scarf—but he did not see the need to imitate them. The temperature was just right for him.

"At least he's wearing long sleeves…" Jiao pointed out.

"Still, isn't that a bit… light?"

"Do not waste energy, Presa," Wingul intervened. "I already tried." He shot him a nasty look. Wingul was always too preoccupied by what he was wearing.

"Let us not waste time here," he said. "We have a forest to cross, a lost hunter to find, and a demon to expel."

As they had planned the previous day, Jiao entered the woods first. From the information they had gathered, the village's hunters had cleared a path through the forest, which they could probably follow for the majority of their trekking. Since Jiao was the most experienced with forest dwelling, he was leading the way. Behind him went Gaius, with Presa and Agria on each side, and Wingul guarded their rear. They walked like that in near silence for about an hour, until Jiao suddenly signaled them to stop. Something was hiding in the bushes in front of him. They waited for the creature to either leave or show itself, but what came out of the bushes was not an animal.

"Prepare to die, eggbear!"

A human boy jumped on the path, holding a big hammer, and rushed toward Jiao, who merely stepped aside and tripped him. He fell face first into the dirt.

"Aaaah, no, please don't eat me. I don't taste very good!" he cried.

"Who the heck are you?" Agria asked.

"Huh? The monster turned into a girl? Ouch!" She had kicked him. Looking around, he realized he was surrounded. "Who… Who are you guys?"

"That's our line," Wingul said, unsheathing his sword. "State your identity."

"Wait, Wingul. It's just a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" the kid protested. "I had my dream! I'll be an adult soon!"

"You, an adult?" Agria laughed.

"Are you from the Poru tribe?" Jiao asked.

"Y-Yes. You're the new people, right? I saw you going to Eleek's yesterday. Anyway, I'm Lorak, son of… actually I don't know who my father is... But I'm a proud member of the Hunting Blades!" he said, puffing out his chest.

"The what now?" Agria asked.

"The village's hunters. I'm here to hunt an eggbear!"

"What's an ex-bear?"

"Eggbear," Presa corrected her younger colleague. "Ovo-ursus. A rare species of bear with a considerably developed mana lobe."

"I thought they were extinct?" Wingul frowned.

"There are still some colonies in the Altai," Jiao revealed, "but they are hard to find. I see, this region must be like a haven for them."

"If they are almost extinct, why are you hunting them?"

"To become an adult!"

Agria snorted.

"Man, what's with that look? You really don't know anything, huh?"

"All right, I'll bite," Presa said. "How are eggbears and becoming an adult related? And what was that about a dream?"

"It's all part of the ritual," Lorak explained. "One day, kids of the tribe have a dream where they enter the mind of a bear. After that, they must hunt a similar bear, and when they come back they officially become an adult!"

Gaius looked at the Chimeriad and knew they were thinking the same thing as he did. Those bear dreams they had been having the past few nights… Were they not a coincidence after all?

"So you dreamed you were an eggbear and are now looking for one?" Presa continued.

"W-Well…"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, it was just a brown bear. No one's ever dreamed of being an eggbear, it's usually black or brown bears, sometimes grizzlies," Lorak confessed. "But I promised Ann to bring back an eggbear!"

"Pfft, you'd better give up now. You're way too short to become an adult." Agria mocked him.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh bear…" Wingul murmured. Presa shot him a dark look before turning to the boy again.

"You must have heard about the evil spirit. The forest is dangerous now. Go home."

"Indeed," Jiao agreed, "this is not a place for a kid. Wait for us in the village."

"You can hunt eggbears after that," Gaius promised. He signaled to his companion that it was time to resume walking. They fell back in formation and got ready to move again.

"W-Wait…" Lorak stopped them. "I'll come with you."

"Did you not listen? Presa said it was dangerous."

"I know! But you're looking for Dier, right? I'm his apprentice. I can help you find him."

"This isn't a field trip," Agria objected. "We don't need a frickin' kid around."

"Agria, mind your language," Presa rebuked her. Agria stuck out her tongue in response, but her eyes crossed Gaius' gaze and she immediately straightened up. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"What should we do, Your Highness?" Wingul asked him.

"I commend your determination," he praised the boy, who swelled up in pride. "Very well. If you believe you can be useful, you may accompany us."

"Just don't get in our way," Wingul warned.

Despite Agria's protests, Lorak joined their formation and guided them through the trail. He tried to make conversation on the way, but they quickly shushed him. They needed to be aware of their surroundings. They walked like that for a couple of hours, until Lorak demanded they stopped for lunch.

They took a break in a small clearing, where fallen trunks had been arranged to provide seating, probably for hunters who ventured into the forest. There they ate the riceballs that Olga had provided. Lorak seemed to have his own lunch with him.

"Want some?" he offered, passing around what seemed to be smoked meat strips. Gaius took one and tried it. It tasted good, a little sweet even, which was pleasant to discover.

"It's bear jerky my mom made," Lorak explained proudly.

"Wait, what?" Agria exclaimed. "I thought you guys believe you reincarnate into bears? This could be your grandma!"

"My grandma wouldn't want me to starve!" Lorak argued back, as if it was obvious.

"Your tribe is full of nutjobs," Agria muttered, before biting into her jerky. "Hmm, not bad."

"Now, Agria," Wingul chided, "that's not a beary nice thing to say."

Agria and Presa groaned, while Jiao chuckled. Lorak stared at them in confusion.

"Not again," pleaded Presa.

"She's right, Wingul, you should stop," Gaius agreed. Then, after a pause, added in the most serious tone he could muster: "It's embearassing."

"Your Highness!"

"Sorry Presa, you'll just have to bear with us."

"We would appreciate your forbearance on this matter."

"All right, that's enough," she said, raising her hand. "Petition for a royal decree to ban any and all bear puns."

"Petition supported!" Agria immediately replied, jumping up with her arm raised high. "Where do I sign?"

"Rejected," Gaius answered flatly.

"I demand a vote," Presa insisted.

"You'll never get a majority here, Presa," Wingul told her.

"You never know until you try."

Gaius shook his head. "This would not pass anyway. It goes against the first article of the Royal Decree of Khan Baliq, which protects freedom of speech."

"Who cares about articles or whatever, aren't you the king? Whatever you decide goes, no?" Agria argued. Then, realizing who she was talking to, hastily added, "…Your Highness. That is how it is done in Rashugal."

"And that is what makes Nachtigal a tyrant," Wingul explained. "His Highness has established a number of safeguards to protect the population from the monarch and clan leaders abusing their authority. For example, the first article is what is allowing you to speak rudely in His Highness' presence with no repercussion. My father would have had you whipped for your earlier use of 'frickin'."

"Your dad sounds charming."

"I won't deny it. Gaius rebelled for a reason, after all."

"Would puns fall under freedom of speech, though?" Presa wondered.

"Any language is covered by the article, be it meaning or form." Wingul answered. "Wait a minute…" He suddenly turned to Gaius, eyes narrowing. "Wouldn't my song be protected by the first article as well?"

"Your song is another matter," Gaius replied defensively.

"It is not! In fact, the more I think about it—"

"We have already established the reasons why your song was rejected."

"What song?" Agria asked.

"We established nothing! You barely even looked at it before you banned it."

"What song?" Agria repeated, louder this time.

Presa sighed. This was an argument she had witnessed before. "Wingul wrote a CM song for the Gaius dumplings. I don't know exactly what was wrong with it, but it was rejected, and he's been sulking ever since."

Agria laughed. "I bet it's super shady. I wanna hear it!"

"There is nothing shady about it!" Wingul protested. "In fact, you can judge for yourself: 'A delightful something…'"

Gaius drew his sword halfway from its scabbard. "Say one more word and I will silence you right there," he warned.

"Using force, now? And here we were just discussing how different you were from a tyrant like Nachtigal. Very well. If this is the path you wish to go down, it is my duty to stop you." Wingul unsheathed his own sword.

"Planning a coup here, of all places? I thought you smarter than that."

"Are they gonna fight?" Lorak asked, unsure of what to do.

"Come on, you two," Presa tried to reason. "This is neither the time nor place. We are on a mission, remember?"

"Join me, Presa. Let us put an end to literary oppression."

Presa raised both hands. "Keep me out of your quarrel."

"I'm betting on His Highness!" Agria said gleefully. She was enjoying the scene.

"Ready?"

"No mercy!"

"Your Highness, Wingul!" Jiao, who up until then had stayed silent, watching the back-and-forth from aside, suddenly called their attention. "Please stop fighting. You are scaring the bears." He pointed to the trail ahead of them, where three bear cubs were looking at them, frightened.

Lorak immediately leapt to action. "Prepare to die, eggbear!" He ran toward the trio, who turned around and fled.

"Lorak, wait! Those are black bears!" Jiao cried in vain.

Wingul sheathed his sword. Their break was over. "Jiao, catch up with those bears and try to get information from them. Presa, stop the kid."

"Certainly."

Presa cast an ice spell on a puddle lying in Lorak's path, freezing the water. When the boy stepped on it, he slipped and fell on his behind. Jiao caught up with him in a few seconds and pursued the bears up the path, calling to them with his beastcraft skills. They quickly packed up their bags and tried to follow him, but stopped when he strayed off the trail, disappearing into the woods.

"Let us wait for him here," Wingul advised. "Jiao can find his way back to the path easily, but we might get lost if carelessly leave it."

They waited several tense minutes for their companion, their ears strained trying to hear a sign of him, when they suddenly heard his booming voice from between the trees.

"Your Highness! Everyone! Come and see this!"

They looked at each other and nodded. "I'll guide you," Lorak proposed.

They followed him into the sea of trees. Jiao had started whistling to guide them to his voice, which enabled them to find him easily after a few minutes. He was not alone.

"Dier!"

Lorak ran to the side of the red-head youth sitting on the floor next to Jiao. The three black bear cubs were there too, along with another and what seemed to be their mother, but the latter two seemed to be in bad shape. They were lying on the ground, unmoving. Gaius thought they felt familiar, but he focused his attention on the humans.

"What happened?" he asked.

The hunter, Dier, was rubbing his head and wincing in pain. "I got assaulted last night," he said. "I got hit on the head and passed out, I don't remember much… When I came to, I tried to make it back to the trail and stumbled upon those bears. Ugh, this headache won't go away," he complained. Presa crouched down next to him and took out the first aid kit.

"What about the bears?"

"The cubs told me that they were attacked this morning," Jiao explained. "Their mama tried to fight the assailant so they could flee, but this young one stayed behind to defend her. They're all right," he clarified, "just a little out of it. Those three ran into us while fleeing."

"It would appear that the demon is not far from here. We might have caught it if we had arrived earlier."

"Is it really the evil spirit?" Lorak asked, fearful.

"It must be," Dier replied. "What else would attack us like that in this forest? But…" He trailed off.

"Let us sum up what we know about this evil spirit. Wingul."

"Yes, Your Highness. Aside from a brief appearance fifteen years ago, it has come to this forest recently, beating up bears and scaring them into hiding, long enough that it might affect their reproduction, which would have severe consequences on the environment. The demon—or spirit or whatever—attacks at night as well as day. As for its means of attack…" He turned to Jiao.

"All blunt force, none fatal," Jiao pointed out.

"Now that is peculiar. From the no killing we can rule out hunters and poachers, but what does that leave us with? Blunt force means no claws, fangs or talons—nor swords, spears or bows. If it had evil intent, it would kill. So why did it just leave it to a few hits on the head?"

"Self-defense against scary bears?" Presa suggested.

"A test of strength, maybe?" Gaius added.

"Well…" Dier interrupted. They all turned to him. "I think the attacker was human."

"Human?"

"I-I'm not sure. It was dark, so I didn't see much, and anyway the hit took me by surprise and I was knocked out. But I think I saw a broom."

"A broom? Now this is getting stranger and stranger…"

"It must be a witch!" Lorak exclaimed. "Remember that book Eleek read to us? The evil witches were riding brooms!"

"But that's just a children's tale…" Dier replied.

"Coming from someone who believes in bear-carnation…" Agria muttered.

"Where were you assaulted?" Gaius asked Dier.

"Further into the woods. Actually, now that I think of it… It was just at the entrance of a cave."

"A cave?"

"Could it be the demon's den?" Jiao asked.

"I would not rule out the possibility," Wingul answered. "If our evil spirit is indeed a human, they must need a place for shelter. A cave could fit. It is worth investigating."

"Very well. Dier, could you take us to that cave?"

"Me? But…"

"Do it, Dier! These people're come to chase the witch away."

"But I just want to go home and eat Haraf's omelette…" Seeing all eyes looking at him expectantly, he gave in. "Fine, fine. Follow me."

They entrusted the bears' guard to Lorak and followed Dier through the woods. After a 30-minute walk, they reached what seemed to be a little cavern. It was empty of inhabitants, but they found camping equipment and remnants of a fire inside.

"Jiao's hunch was right," Presa remarked. "This is where they sleep."

"And those are definitely human-made items."

"Hmm? Hey, I know that thing!" Agria exclaimed, pointing to the sleeping bag. "Prinn has the same! It's made in Rashugal."

"Rashugal?"

"What would someone from Rashugal be doing here?"

"Is it an army spy trying to infiltrate our country?"

"In such a remote place?"

"You are right, it does not make any sense."

They looked at each other, feeling this discovery had given them more questions than answers.

"We will find out when they come back. Let us set up an ambush here."

Wingul directed them to conceal themselves near the entrance of the cavern. They spent what seemed to be an eternity waiting, unmoving, listening for unusual sounds. The sun set, and soon the forest was plunged into darkness.