once I knew I was not magnificent.

[singmod]

THE HUNTED, PART THREE

A hunting party in Lakeside with Young Bill for company ends up being cornered by Old Bear, a deadly game of cat and mouse within a caving system and a fight ensues.

WHEN: Late-April.
WHERE: Lakeside
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural creature; themes of hunting, being hunted/stalked by an animal; bear attacks; potential gore/maulings; potential injuries; claustrophobic sitations; themes of terror; themes of peril; eye injury; neck injuries; mentions of blood/gore; NPC death.

THE HUNT

Having lived in the Lakeside area for years and being native to Milton, Young Bill is a wealth of knowledge of the deeper parts of Lakeside. It’s provided invaluable when the wildlife has been scarce and usual hunting trips have ended up with poor results to return to Milton with. He’s accompanied Interlopers before on these hunting trips, using the knowledge of the land and his hunting and trapping knowledge to help Interlopers finds food in a world where everything is certainly less bountiful.

With the Old Bear’s hauntings and attacks still very much in full swing, he continues to join Interlopers on their hunting parties and when they travel through the region. An extra set of eyes, ears and hands isn’t a bad thing, and of course — when it comes to Old Bear, things are personal.

With the recent revival of quake activity into the month of April, things are definitely being a little more precarious. There’s been nothing too bad as of yet, but the ground has shaken and one’s footing can’t help but seem a little more precarious than usual. But there’s mouths to feed in Milton, and hunting trips can’t be put off by Old Bear or quakes.

A light fog hangs in the air, biting and clinging. It’s quiet. Until it isn’t anymore. The party will get that familiar feeling, that prickling at the back of their necks that makes them all pause, peering into the fog with apprehension. And there it is: the thuds of its paws in the snow approaching you, low grumblings of a great, angry beast seeking you out.


“We’ve got company.” Young Bill says quietly. He’s already swapping out his hunting rifle for his own spear. “Keep your spears ready. Looks like our ‘friend’ wants to say ‘hi’.”

With a furious roar, Old Bear storms into the group — scattering the party. Previous encounters have been particularly fearsome, but there’s a fresh kind of vitriol from the beast this time. Move quickly, or Old Bear’s claws will soon fight the softest fleshy parts and tear it open. Or worse yet, without a spear planted ready for a charge — there’s a risk of being sent flying and viciously mauled. Hopefully someone else can manage to fight Old Bear off before it’s too late.

Even Scout and Nova will quickly and desperately nip and swipe at the beast, trying to help the hunting party the best they can. And while Young Bill might not have the gifted abilities like the Interlopers, he fights with a careful fury to help defend the Interlopers best he can.

But despite the spears and numbers, Old Bear can still inflict serious damage. The party will fare better than most, at least — managing to fight the beast off.

And then there’s a rumbling to quake, and it’s not just the thundering noise of the fight.


The ground quakes hard, and there’s an odd sense to one’s feet. The whole fight is thrown off balance. Old Bear isn’t frightened off, still trying to take swipes where it can. Something gives way from beneath, and with a strange groan — the earth opens up and sends the party below.

The drop isn’t far, and the snow cushions the landing. Tumbling down into what appears to be an old caving system, there’s potential for further injuries in the fall. There’s little time for property recovery, the Old Bear is stalking straight down into the pit after them.

HIDE AND SEEK

The way out is climbable, but there’s no way of getting out without facing Old Bear head on. Scout and Nova buy precious time for the Interlopers and Young Bill to get themselves on their feet again, trying to keep Old Bear’s attention on them. But the bear won’t dwell long as it clambers down. Young Bill hears the snarls and barks from above and stares with wide-eyes as the two dogs trying to follow.

“No—! Stay—!” he roars, trying to help an Interloper up to their feet. “C’mon, we need to move now.”

Scout and Nova heed his warnings, but continue to whine and bark from above. Young Bill’s glancing around them. The air is cold and damp, not stale as one might think. It means one thing: there could be other openings to this place to allow air flow.

“We can’t fight it in this place, it’s too confined.” he yells, “Come on, we need to try and find a way to get around it.”

He leads the way. Sure enough the system isn’t as closed off as one think: in places above one’s head, there are small openings that allow light to filter through — along with a soft, strange glow along the rock walls. There’ll surely be another way out, or at least some way to circumvent the creature.

The system itself isn’t entirely huge, a few short tunnels all seem to loop back into a large, main atrium — a small half-frozen stream trickles through part of it. It’s big enough to try and lose Old Bear in. There’s ledges to climb up to get out of the way, and even spaces to crawl into. Large enough for Interlopers to squeeze themselves under to get out and away from Old Bear’s jaws and claws, but small enough that Old Bear can’t squeeze through.

And while large enough for people to move around the space with ease, Old Bear is much slower down here. But it doesn’t make it less determined as it chases after the Interlopers. Hopefully no one gets separated. Even with the light and air, one might get disorientated.

Old Bear can still catch you, but maybe if you’re quick and smart enough — you might just make it.

Or not, and find yourself in close quarters with the beast who will do anything to destroy you.

WHAT ONE MAN CAN DO

The Interlopers aren’t the only one who might find themselves trapped and attacked. Perhaps you see it, perhaps you might only hear it: the air fills with a man’s screams. A struggle. Young Bill finds Old Bear upon him too, and he will fight as furiously as he can to keep the beast back.

In the main atrium of the cave, under cold half-light, Young Bill fights against Old Bear in a deadly dance. Old Bear charges and Young Bill drops to a knee, spear ready — piercing the ancient bear’s softer underbelly and wrestles against its heavy weight. Old Bear still tries to swipe and bite at Young Bill — the man growing more and more exhausted as the fight goes on but he’s certainly holding his own.

Interlopers can try and help, giving Young Bill a little breathing space as he staggers back to catch his breath. He’s bleeding, his brow slick with sweat and gore, but he’s standing — eyes alive with adrenaline and determination. Even when he catches his breath, he’ll throw himself back into the fight with Interlopers. He doesn’t have the strength or the stamina like the Interlopers might do, but he’s a formidable force in his own way.

But a fight cannot go on forever.

“Get out of here!” he yells to the Interlopers. “I got it, just get out of here. Circle back and head out the way we got in here!”

The words barely leave his mouth and Old Bear charges for him, knocking him off his feet. He yells for Interlopers to go, Old Bear’s jaws closing down the man’s shoulder and neck. Young Bill roars, his spear twisting and piercing Old Bear’s eye.

The sound is deafening — shrieks and moans as Old Bear and it tries to dislodge the spear from it, crashing and staggering around. Young Bill rolls to get on his feet, heavily injured, one last burst of energy as he moves to drive the spear deeper. With his injuries, he manages to grab the spear, and screams as he pushes with all his might—

but Old Bear shakes him and the spear loose — sending him flying. He crashes against the stone, blood pools around him.

Young Bill struggles to get up again, he pulls himself onto his hands and knees with ragged, shallow breaths. There’s a look on his face, a strange one.

It’s the look of a man who’s going to die.

But there’s something else, too. Something almost indescribable. Understanding. Old Bear, half-blind and furious, comes to a strange calm.

Young Bill was a young boy once. He lived with his parents in Milton and grew up on stories of how his great-grandfather hunted down a ferocious bear who grew angry at the settlers upon the land. How he chased the great beast through the woods and snow, out onto the muskeg — never to be seen again.

A young boy who grew up listening to his father and mother arguing on long summer days. How his father would disappear for weeks at a time, chasing ghosts he was so sure would catch him when he wasn’t aware. A young boy who returned home as a young man to find his father, reclusive and paranoid of those ghosts.

His father had been right. Magic was real. The Old Bear was real. His father said it would come for him, and so it did. Young Bill looks to the Interlopers around him, wherever they may be — perhaps watching from the way to get out of this place.

They were all interlopers, of a sort, in this place.

“Alright.” Young Bill utters.

He twists the spear in his hands and places it gently but decisively upon the stone. With laboured breaths, he sits back, hands resting on his knees and lifts his head to the Old Bear’s drooling maw. Young Bill stares the beast in the eyes, sweat dripping from his face and expression wan. Blood continues to blossom outwards from his injuries, clawed and bitten — staining the fabric of his clothing dark red.

Surrender.

“You win.” he whispers. “It’s done. It ends with me.”

Young Bill bows his head. Old Bear stares, motionless. There are only sounds of breath, man and beast. Even wounded, the creature doesn’t look any less ferocious and or weak. It stares at a dying man, recognising something there. Old Bear had always watched them all with a keen intelligence that seemed almost inexplicable.

There’s a strange shifting in the air. A wind from nowhere blows and flecks of the beast begin to crack and peel away like a soft drifting of snow up into a sweeping breeze. By the time Young Bill lifts his head again, Old Bear has gently filtered away, the flecks dissolving into a dance of dust and then to nothing.

Young Bill stares into the empty space for a long moment before his body slumps to one side with an exhale that sounds like relief, collapsing in a heap upon the cave floor.

By the time anyone reaches him, he is gone.

In the spot where Old Bear stood are five, singular bear claws. They shimmer with a strange mother-of-pearl sheen: The Old Bear's Claw.

FAQs

GENERAL FAQS

1. Interlopers with Old Bear's Blessing will fare much better compared to other Interlopers and will be less critical injured compared to other party members. Teaming up with fellow Interlopers with Old Bear's Blessing will prove a particularly ferocious fight that will eventually have Old Bear giving up on you — but may turn on attacking someone else instead.

2. This mini-event marks the end of Old Bear, along with the end of Young Bill. Old Bear will not be seen again following this event.

3. Young Bill cannot be saved or brought back to life.

4. There will be a final letter from Young Bill in due course detailing his last requests and a final message to the Interlopers. Scout and Nova will now become ownerless.

OLD BEAR'S CLAW

Congratulations on surviving the final encounter with the Old Bear! You have been gifted with a unique item: The Old Bear's Claw!

1. The Old Bear's claw grants the ability Armoured, a form of protection. Old Bear was known for its particularly thick hide which couldn't be penetrated by arrows or bullets in its story. With its Claw, while not completely immune, the Interloper will find themselves less vulnerable to projectile weapons and puncture wounds, along with any slashing injuries. What might be a fatal wound sinking deep into the body will be only shallow thanks to the Claw. In addition to this, any wounds sustained will less likely to bleed, meaning they will survive wounds which can potentially cause a huge amount of blood loss and keep standing for longer until they can find medical assistance.

2. The Old Bear's Claw must be kept on the Interloper's person. They may choose to fashion it into a pendant or bracelet, or simply keep it in their pocket for it to work.

3. The Old Bear's Claw can be given to anyone and they will receive that ability as long as they keep it on their person.

4. The Old Bear's Claw can be lost or destroyed.

Comments

[meadqueen]

“You use your abilities well. I'm pleased that you were with us.” Randvi had been very worried at the time of course, because of his injury, but he feels like a brother in arms now.

[wingbound]

He did have second thoughts about it a couple times, but he wouldn't have gone if he didn't feel able to handle their expedition. And outside necessity, he wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to try to get back at the damn thing -- or at least make sure it wasn't going to hurt anybody else.

Failed on both accounts, that. But at least it wasn't going to hurt any more people.

"Thank you," he mutters, unsure of what else to say, not quite flustered but perhaps feeling a little undeserving. If only he were actually able to do more. But then, who knows how things would have gone if any of them were not there. "I can say the same to you."

[meadqueen]

Randvi nods. “When this happened to me, the injury, I thought that I would never be this strong again. It pleases me that I can continue to contribute to the community.”

[wingbound]

He wants to say that there are ways to contribute that don't include strength, but he understands her sentiment all too well, he thinks. He would never call another person useless for surviving a devastating injury that leaves their options limited. But him? He's been defined by his strength for so long, he's not sure what value he could possibly have if he could no longer fight. He's aware his friends disagreed with that, but it would be easier to believe them if they stopped fucking dying.

"I'm glad," he simply says.

[meadqueen]

Randvi does feel that her strength is the only way she can contribute to this community. She’s learning, but still knows much less about the world than most here, and the strategy and planning that she does at home holds little weight without Sigurd’s power behind it.

“Thank you,” she says. “Be well.”

[wingbound]

It's probably why they understand each other as well as they do. It's an unfavorable matchup for both of them, and they're doing the best they can with it.

"You too," he mutters. "Take care."

There might no longer be the bear to worry about... but there are plenty other dangers around, both natural and not.