Hunting Back Ursus Part 2

The cart dropped us off North of the main road. We can see the mountains of Wood Crests from where we started walking. Wood Crests is a mountain range West of Dale. These mountains are full of different kinds of pine trees and white fir. In winter, the peaks and trees are filled with snow, and in summer, the rivers make it seem like a completely different scenery. There are a couple of rivers that originate from the peaks and flow south, while the others continue westward for miles to the coastline.

There are multiple kinds of animals in this forest, but the bigger predators are the Black Ursus, which are apex predators in this region. Ursus usually stays in a territory of around 100 square miles. They could share territory with other Ursus but hunt alone. Black Ursus are big and easy to spot, so it should not be hard for a party to hunt one down. However, we need to be careful of other sneaky monsters, especially during the night.  

We have walked for two hours into the forest, and the mountains seem to be at the same distance from when we started. The clear mountain air is refreshing. There are probably multiple adventures in the mountains, but it feels like it’s just us in this moment. If there weren’t any powerful monsters, it would be perfect for resting with the family and friends. However, most animals can use magic, so we need to be very careful.

“I found a lead. We are officially in Ursus territory.” Said Quintus while pointing at a tree that was scratched.

“Are those marks from the claws of the black Ursus?”

“You are so cute, Jovita. The Ursus did that with his behind. The tree would be cut down if it used its claws.” Said Fabia, hugging Jovita.

“Wait, what? The mark is at the height of my chest.”

“Yeah, just wait to see it standing. Try not to pee yourself.”

“Nina, don’t be like that. You are scaring her.”

“You started.”

“Don’t worry, Jovita. I’m the tank. I've got your back.”

We walk another hour to find a nice place to set camp next to a creek. We ate dry meat and the fruits we brought, and planned for the next two days.

“We sleep early today. Jovita, you will be the first lookout since there is still light; nothing should happen in the first four hours. Next to watch will be Pontious, and finally Nina. We start prepping at 10:00 pm. I will give further instructions tonight.”

And like that, I went to sleep.

…

“Hey, Nina. Wake up, it’s your turn for lookout.”

“Alright”

“I will try to sleep for a couple of hours.”

“Sure”

It sucks to sleep away from home. I missed my bed and Paulus. In a couple of weeks, it will be fall. I wonder how Paul is doing at the academy. The forest feels silent. I can only hear insects and some birds at a distance. What we need to be more careful about are wolves that hunt in packs and certain magnus insects that only attack when feeling threatened. Beast can easily hide their magic aura, so it's hard to sense their presence. The sun is setting, so I’m going to start a fire and then climb a tree to have a better view of the camp.

I’m improving in magic. It takes years for people to use magic without incantation. The only way to achieve silent enchantment spells is through practice until they just come out without saying a single word. In battle, the fastest wins. I don’t need to use spells for basic fire and water magic. However, if I want to boast or defend with water or fire magic, I do need the enchantment.

I was in the middle of my thoughts when there was a sound coming from the east.

“By the Gods, bring your presence before me, come forth and ignite from within me, fire boost,” I whisper to glide between the trees. The night is quiet, so it's easy to hear the snap of twigs.

When I take a close look at the ground following the sound, I find a tiger tarantula dragging a chancho probably to its burrow. Tiger tarantulas can be 20 inches in length and have fangs with poison that paralyzes their prey. It should not be a problem for us. Poor chancho, they are noble creatures that don’t have magic. It will be sucked alive, RIP.

When I came back to the camp, Fabia was already checking her equipment.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, tiger tarantula killing a chancho.”

“We will probably hunt a chancho for food tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, everyone, wake up, check your equipment, and get ready. The hunt starts.”

“Did you have a good sleep, Jovita?”

“I woke up multiple times. This is my first job that takes a few days. Miss Nina, were you nervous your first time on a long journey?”

“Don’t call me miss, just Nina. You are making me feel old.”

“Sorry, Ni-na.” He he he Jovita is cute

“I started adventuring at 15 and joined a well-established party. It was a friend of the family. So, I was on long journeys from the start. Honestly, adventuring was way better than working in town and staying at home with my sick parents. It gave me money to take care of them, independence, and a future.”

“What is it that you like so much about adventuring? It is such a risky job and low pay.”

“The feeling of going all out in battle, using all the magic I can. Feel the sweat go down my body. Feel my heart pounding with excitement. Know that here and now in the wild, I survive thanks to my training and efforts.”

Jovita was looking at me with excitement.

“Why did you stop adventuring?”

"Eh?" What should I say… I cannot say I fell in love and needed money, so my family made the arrangements to get married. That’s not cool at all. I’m not comfortable talking about love. I’m flushing just thinking about it.

“Why did you?” Fabia is acting like a cat, excited to play with her prey.

“I just found a good marriage arrangement, that’s all.”

“Of course, someone as powerful as you was going to find a good family pretty easily.”

“That’s right, Jovita. Ha ha ha”

“Alright, people, let’s go northwest and then come back to camp.”

We walked in a diamond formation. Fabia was leading, I was on the back, Pontious and Quintus left and right, and Jovita was in the middle. We avoided using fire magic to avoid attracting unwanted attention from monsters. However, with the moon out, we could see just fine in the forest's darkness.

Suddenly, we all stopped except for Jovita, who stepped on Fabia's feet.

“Shhhh… did you guys see it?”

“Ah? See what?” said Jovita, perplexed.

“Puma on our left,” I said

“Left? I don’t see it.”

“Up in the tree,” said Pontius

“I think it is just following us for now. Let me change position to your side just in case. I will be paying attention to its movements.” Said Quintus

“Why don’t we kill it?” said Jovita. 

“It could attract other monsters, or it could drive away the Ursus we are looking for. Let’s continue. Quintus let us know if we need to attack.” Said Fabia.

We kept on walking north through the night in the forest for two hours. We heard wolves in the distance and saw other predators, but no one was interested in attacking us. We continued west for another two hours and took a break. We were on our way back to camp when it was about to be sunrise, and we all stopped at the same time. There it was, a black Ursus. It looked like a mountain rising between the trees. It was slowly walking southwest.

My heart was racing. My prey was right in front of my eyes. The Ursus looked beautiful, almost majestic. I was salivating for the opportunity to go all out.

“Do we prepare to attack?” I whisper to Fabia.

“No, stop making that sound with your teeth. Keep your bloodthirst down. We are all tired from walking all night. We follow it from afar to see where it is going.”

We followed the beast up to a rocky hill where it stopped, and we observed it for some time.

“Now we go back to camp.”

“Okay, people, eat and rest. We continue keeping watch. I will start, then Quintus, and finally Jovita. We will begin the hunt early tonight and will come directly to where the black Ursus was. Tonight we kill it.”