Tail Underground contribution part 2
This is part 2 of the Tail Underground series. It does not have much to do with the Tail Underground here but I'm working to it. Once again I like to get some feedback. If you liked or hated please let me know.
The forest that stretched across the border between Arca and it's war torn neighbour Edinay seemed dark and deep in the morning twilight. Light flared from a small campfire near its edge.
Reamius sat facing the fire, throwing twigs at it. He was restless; the pace that he had set was too hard for the fox. How he had survived for three days in and around Arca was lost on the bear; opportunists and scavengers where everywhere. All of evil intent were scavengers, some merely scavenged on greater scales. Mori Edgar was an example of this. A supposed Warlord that prayed on small communities raping, pillaging or offering "protection", for a fee of course; usually any or all food that could be spared.
Reamius had an intense hatred for all such scavengers. He fed his insatiable anger by hunting down those evil furs whose ambitions had gotten so notorious that Arca's military had put up bounties. And his hatred fed him. Coin for heads and heads was what Reamius took off criminals. The Royal Guard didn't handle small timers or outlanders like Mori Edgar, instead they paid others to do the handling. Reamius had been apart of that elite force but he had chafed at their lack of action. Self respect took priority and sergeant Reamius turned to Bounty Hunter Reamius.
Will lay asleep on the ground at his feet. The fox stirred under his blanket. The bear's head flashed up. A noise; maybe a moving branch .There was not a whisper of a breeze in the air, it stirred Reamius' suspicion. "Will, lay still and whatever happens keep your self down." Will's eyes opened but he nodded agreement to the bear. Reamius casually untied the strap that held his buckler to his pack; his sword was nestled under the pack. He sat still and broke a twig in half flicking each half into the flames.
Two figures materialized from between the trees heading towards the camp. Both wore cloaks that hid anything that might have been a weapon. Reamius got to his feet. "Hail travellers! What's your interest with a lone bear?!" Both figures stopped dead in their tracks at the edge of the light. "Merely the possessions that you would be carrying bear. No one needs to be hurt. Just give your valuables and we'll be on our way." Reamius' eyes narrowed. He thought he saw a glint in the branches. "I don't deal with highwayfurs, get your selves away from here and THEN no one gets hurt, eh?" Reamius stooped grabbing his buckler in one paw and the sword in another. Both figures spread their cloaks, each drawing a sword. One snarled: "You'll regret a single step closer bear." Reamius laughed derisively; "Alright then, you two come here for I will be the death of you. Consider this; your friend will have to dig both your graves all on his own."
One of them shifted nervously at this. The other stepped into the light, he was an Alsatian. Quick and deadly swordsfurs in Reamius' experience. Reamius moved forward bringing up his sword. The Alsatian raised his own to block but the bear's other paw had gripped him around the neck, he swung the flat of his sword at the other outlaw fur's head and connected sending him sprawling on the grass. Reamius lifted the dog off the ground keeping it between him and where the third fur was hidden in the trees. Reamius shouted to the woods: "You coward, you let your friends do the fighting while you hide?!
Come out so I may see who it is that would rob a traveller." There was a thrashing in the trees and moments later another figure emerged into the morning twilight. It carried a crossbow and it was aimed at Reamius.
Reamius head butted the Alsatian, and threw his limp body at his already grounded companion. In that moment there was a twang and the screech of a crossbow bolt. The bear ducked and it flew clear over his head. The figure turned and made run for the trees. The bear hesitated; his gaze went to his unconscious foes then to where Will was cowering. He ran after the retreating figure.
Will sat up staring at the bear sprinting after the bandit. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His heart was racing and his paws were shaking. His gaze went to the dog and his companion lying on the ground then to the sword across from himself. 'What do I do?' he whispered to himself. He made up his mind and sprang up to take up the sword. He put all his strength into it and somehow managed to pick it up. Holding it two handed he went to the unconscious bodies; he took the outstanding sword from its owner's scabbard then dragged both swords back to his blanket. He lay atop them and pulled the blanket over himself again concealing both weapons with him. He lay beneath the blanket shaking and hoping with all his might that neither the Alsatian nor the wolf would awake and search through the camp while Reamius was gone.
A short time later he heard their paw falls. They were leaving. He breathed a sigh of relief and waited.
Tree streaked into tree and branches became the enemy, pulling at cloaks and gauging open eyes. Reamius pursued the fur in front of him with a tenacious endurance. His lungs pumped fire that burned his muscles but he was determined not to let the bandit get away.
He focused on the cloak in front of him. It weaved and swayed seemingly knowing where the forest would pop up trees, where the branch digits would poke and where stones would set up ambush. It had home ground advantage as well as a slightly better speed but it was facing something stone tough and just as weathered. Reamius did not slow down.
There was the dim sound of a river rushing somewhere.
The cloak seemed to get closer. Reamius focused on it and pushed even harder. It seemed to work. The other fur was just out of reaching range. Everything suddenly became a blur, except for the cloak and for a moment Reamius thought that it was even moving towards him. His paw groped and caught a cloak corner before it bolted to his right and the early morning sky presented itself to Reamius as the ground fell away. He tried to stop but flew over the edge of the cliff. The cloak corner was still firmly held in his grasp, it pulled taught and pulled Reamius back swinging him in a violent arc to hit the cliff face hard. He saw a grey paw sticking out over the edge and heard the fur that it was attached to grunt. The bear hung on grimly. He studied the cliff face trying to focus his thoughts. There were small crevices in the cliff face. He anchored himself firmly using the foot- and pawholds. Then... tugged viciously.
Will sat alone whining to himself. He was afraid to go into the forest to look for Reamius but the sun was starting to burn too. He pulled the blanket closer and spread it over his head in an attempt to keep the light off of him.
After awhile boredom set in, foxes didn't handle boredom too well with their small bodies and the usually inexhaustible amount of energy coursing through them. Will started fidgeting casting nervous glances at the two swords lying close to him. There was an old lightning stricken tree nearby.
Will glanced from the blades to the stump then back to the swords. A plan deviously slipped into his fox mind. Images of paladins, wizards, dragons and heroic bears flashed in his mind's eye. He remembered seeing a painting on a wagon as it passed by his grandfather's home so long ago. It showed a mighty Panda Lord resplendent in extravagantly decorated armour doing battle with an outrageously large, dark and lumbering hulk.
Reamius came to mind dressed in the same red multi layered armor. It made him seem like a god of war; large and indomitable with his colossal strength holding him up with his chin squared against any who would dare oppose him. It made him look like a protector Will thought, a haven for any innocents who had been exploited by the wicked. He smiled.
He got to his feet and tried to lift a sword again but it was still much too heavy for his small frame to lift effectively. After he had dragged it to the stump to swing clumsily at it with the sword held with both hands he dragged it back and slumped down again. It was midmorning and he was seriously starting to worry about Reamius. He squinted into the dark forest trying to make something out that was not there.
He noticed a tiny hilt sticking out of Reamius' travel pack. He pulled at it and was surprised to find five tiny diamond shaped daggers in a baldric. He pulled one out; it fit his paw perfectly almost as if it was made for him. 'Was it made for him?' There was not a mark on any of them. He took one into the palm of his paw; it was too small to fight with. He thought for a moment and decided that they must be for throwing then. He nodded briskly.
Taking aim at the stump he held one at the tip of the blade between thumb and forefinger, then let fly. It flew as a newborn vulture would have flown and just like a new born vulture it struck something hard and stayed there. The blade stuck in the wood at a weird angle. Will whooped with joy. Throwing stones was easy, but a dagger? He took another one out and took careful aim turning his body sideways a little, aiming his shoulder at the stump as he let fly. The blade whirled through the air and struck a little ways from the previous one
Without hesitation he threw another one then another and yet another... at some time he frowned unconsciously as thoughts and worries of Reamius intruded on his delight. He spent an hour with practising with them.
There was a rustling from the woods and Will felt fear creep into him as it manifested itself as bile in the back of his throat. He turned with a dagger held ready in his paw. "I am armed...' he called 'You'll regret coming any closer!" He hoped that whoever it was wouldn't notice that he shook even as he said this. A very surly bear emerged covered in leaves, twigs and blood. In his paw he held a scrap of cloth. Will stuck the dagger back into the baldric throwing it down as he ran to the bear, embracing him tightly without thinking. There was a pained grunt. "Your back. What happened? Are you alright? Did you catch them?" The bear started for the camp as the questions poured from the fox.
He noticed the daggers on the ground and spun round to face Will, sending a glob of blood in a lazy arc from his paw. "You went through my things?!?!? How dare you?!" Will stuttered at the unexpected assault. His eyes wide he took a step back shaking his head at the bear. "I saw uhhh... them sticking out of your pack Ream." Will answered, his voice shaking. The bear seemed to think for a moment, took a deep breath, sighed then offered the bloody scrap of cloth to the fox. Will extended a shaking paw and took it. He looked at it and noticed that what wasn't covered in blood was blue; it was made of silk. His gaze went back to the bruised and battered Reamius his eyes questioning.
"They weren't ordinary bandits. Not the leader at least, the other two were clumsy oafs." he said "Come on we still have 4 days travel before we reach the border town." "Your still hurt!" Will exclaimed. "Never mind that fox, I'll live, grab the knives and your pack. I'll teach you to use them as we go alright?" Will nodded and after a while the pair were off again.