Hunting Black Ursus Part 1

“Hey Chancho, Fabia sent a letter saying they are coming to the city to do some work adventuring.”

“That’s great, are you planning on going, or now that Paul is gone, you will stop adventuring?”

“No. I still have Cato to train in a couple of years. I think she might give me more work with training than Paul.”

“You are right. She has always been very interested in magic.”

“Yeah, remember when she was like a year old and she kept on wanting me to read the old book on magic?”

“I do. After the kids fell asleep, you would ask me to read you the book and teach you the more academic words and their meaning, HA HA HA, such a hard worker like always.”

“Well, I didn’t have the chance to go to the academy like you. I had magic, but my parents were sick, we were in debt, we were about to sell ourselves as slaves.”

“Very convenient for me. Did you marry me because of the money?”

“Why would I marry you otherwise?”

“Hey!”

…

Oh no. It’s 3:00 am. Adventuring is so hard. Paulus looks so comfortable sleeping. Should I get back in bed? No, I already told Fabia I was going to meet them at the west entrance of the city.

“Bye, my love. Smooch.”

“Bye…..lo…u…. be careful.”

Let’s get dressed, armor ready, backpack ready, and armed with my knives and wand. Just in case, let me say a quick prayer at the altar.

“… by the gods.”

“For the gods,” Said Paulus, walking down the stairs. We hugged and kissed, and I left.

“So, what are we doing this time?”

“Someone is excited,” said Fabia.

“Hello, Nina,” said Pontius and Quintus.

“Hello, my name is Jovita. I’m the support defense. I’m a new adventurer.”

“Hello, my name is Antonina, but you can call me Nina. I have a few years of experience adventuring. Fabia, what is my role?”

“You will be supported on offense, Pontius and me strikers, and Quintus tank. We will go in a cart west to the mountain. It will take us at least three hours on the road. We are collecting materials from a Black Ursus. However, if we happen to fight anything else, we bring it too. The cart will pick us up the morning of two days from today.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go then.”

Three hours to get close to Wooden Crest to the west. From there, we will have to walk for a few hours to set camp, eat, and prepare to hunt in the middle of the night until before dawn. Black Ursus can be hard to find. They can weigh a maximum of 900 lbs. and be up to 8 ft. tall. This ferocious beast has a big skull with a large jaw. Its fur is thick and an excellent material for clothing or bags. This animal walks on four legs but can stand on two feet and attacks with its short, rounded claws. This is going to be fun.

“I thought you were not going to keep adventuring after Paul was gone.”

“I have to train Cato; she will probably want to go to the academy, too.”

“Cato? You have always been overprotective of her.”

“Have I told you?”

“What?”

“About Cato”

“I don’t think so, but we have three hours to talk.”

“This happened like six years ago when we lived in the town of Choca. Cato was still a baby…”

I was outside hanging clothes. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bathing the clothes I had line-drying in the yard. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept through the clothes I was drying, directly pointing at the house and opening the back door. It felt like someone's magic, so I immediately guarded. But then nothing happened, the wind stopped. Next, I heard Paul crying, so I quickly ran inside the house to find Cato in the bathtub, drowning. I took her out of the water. She was burning like a furnace. I grabbed her in my arms and applied First Aid, compressing her back and breathing through her mouth. She finally threw up water and started coughing. But the fever won’t go away. I took care of her, and when Paulus got home, I took Cato to the doctor while Paulus stayed home with Paul.

“It’s strange.” The doctor was examining Cato.

“I have not seen anything like it for someone her age. However, symptoms include fever, rapid breathing, sweating, glazed eyes, dry mouth and lips, and she seems lightheaded. It seems she is extremely drained of energy. If I had to guess, this is likely due to extreme fatigue and dehydration. It’s common in new adventurers and kids learning magic, but I have never seen it in a baby. Let her rest and give her milk. I will give you some solutions for dehydration.”

“Thank you, doctor...”

“Okay? She got sick when she was little, so?” Said Fabia nonchalantly.

“But the wind was strange, and then Cato was sick. It was like someone was telling me that I need it to help her.”

“I don’t know, I don’t have kids. It seems she just got sick, and her mother was worried, that’s all. What does Paulus say?”

“He thinks the gods are taking care of the family.”

“I guess you can’t blame him for how lucky he is, even though he has his condition.”

“Well, the point is. I feel Cato is special. She is also weird; she has never behaved like a normal child. You don’t understand. She is always listening, never cries for no reason, very focused, and never truly plays around; it's as if she is always in a defensive mode. I'm her mother, I know.”

“Okay, girl, don’t scare me now. Do you want to exorcise her or something?”

“No, like that. She is special. She will do great things. I know it. She will be far stronger than I am.”

“Okay, now you sound like a normal mother.”

“Shut the f*** up. Why am I even talking to you?”

We continued traveling in the cart...