The problem before them was suddenly very clear, and also much bigger than they had bargained for. Igraine had expected that they would need to contend with the Tundra Orc and whatever violent grudge he had for the people of Einsamall, but looking out at the massive white bear that trailed behind the orc, she knew that they had greatly underestimated what they were up against.
“We must go,” Bylur said and he began to scamper away. "We must go now!"
Halvard and Igraine followed, doing their best not to disturb the icy landscape or alert their quarry to their presence. They had to get back to the inn so they could figure out how they would deal with the ice bear that J’akull Ironbones had seemingly turned against Einsamall.
“How big was the bear?” Burris asked, amazed at the story that the trio told after arriving back at the Einsamall Inn & Public House.
“Best guess, 150 to 160 stone?” Halvard replied. “And solid muscle. If it attacked, we could not take the creature down with just the weapons we have. We need to find a way to incapacitate it if we hope to stop it.”
“A trap?” Igraine asked. “You want us to capture it?”
“It is our only chance. In a straight fight we do not have the strength in numbers to overwhelm it. The bear would take us down one by one before we could do enough damage to stop it. If we trap it, we can render its claws and bite useless and give ourselves a chance to strike a killing blow.”
“Are you sure the bear is our killer?” Burris asked. “I have to say that I am still not convinced that J’akull is behind all this.”
“He has a fully grown ice bear that he keeps in his lair,” Igraine replied. “You said that the orc is well known here in Einsamall, but I expect he failed to mention that he is housing a 160-stone ice bear, no?”
Burris did not reply, his silence answering the question for him.
“He kept the fact that he had this bear from you for some reason,” Igraine continued. “The victims of Einsamall were torn to shreds.The claws on this bear were gigantic. They absolutely could have made those wounds you've described.”
Burris contemplated the situation and finally nodded his head in agreement. Something felt off to him, but he had to accept what was in front of him and the likeliest answer was that the orc’s bear was the monster that had terrorized his people.
“What is your plan?” the gnome finally asked. "How will we catch this beast?"
The trap was set. Halvard and Bylur had come up with a contraption that would ensnare the bear’s feet when it walked upon the trap, rendering the powerful claws useless and making it nearly impossible for the creature to move.
With the bear trapped, they expected that the orc would immediately attack, and perhaps even the goblin would prove to be a threat if they were all together on a hunt. This meant that they would need to deal with J’akull quickly and stop him before the bear had time to break free and join the fight. To this end, Igraine had asked for every able-bodied resident of Einsamall to take up arms and be ready. Halvard was right, they were not an army, but they were defending themselves from something that had taken some of their own, and those who remained would do whatever they had to in order to end this nightmare.
“He will come at night,” Halvard said as they planned their couse of action.
They had emptied the town and brought everyone into the inn. Most of the town’s residents were there already, and the few who resisted coming over for safety were eventually convinced of the need to do so. There was no one in the streets of Einsamall and the entire town was eerily quiet.
“We have a few hours until dark,” Igraine said to Halvard, slapping him on the back. “Come, we will eat whatever food we can find and share stories of the wars we have fought, the battles we have won, and those we said goodbye to along the way.”
Commander Igraine and Halvard of Frothvar downed their fourth pints of Burris’ Wulfsbane Lager. They had both seen battle during the Second Great War and they had both bled for their kingdoms. Since the end of that war, they has found themselves sitting in debates at the Castle of Four Sides rather than wielding weapons against the enemies of the Realm. For a barbarian soldier from the colds of Bjorngar and a young knight raised on the warm coasts of Eathryoss, these two warriors discovered that they had much more in common than one would initially expect. They were both proud warriors who believed their time of usefulness had passed and that the glory of a death in the duty of battle had slipped away from them.
“Do you miss the battles?” Igraine asked, somewhat embarrassed to do so.
“Aye,” Halvard nodded.
“We fought for peace, and we got it, so why aren’t we happy ?” Igraine mused. It was a question she had quietly considered and asked herself many times, but this was the first time she had ever vocalized these sentiments to another."We shouldn't long for war. That is not natural, and it is not right."
“Such is the curse of the soldier," Halvard answered. "We fight for a peace we find that we cannot ourselves enjoy.”
Suddenly the doors of the Inn burst open and J’akull Ironbones flew into the room. Igraine and Halvard jumped from their seats and drew their blades, but the pair immediately noticed that the Tundra Orc was not wielding a weapon. They also saw that he was covered in blood, but did not have any visible wounds upon him.
“It’s attacking!” he barked. “Get your weapons! The monster is here!”
The bear’s roar came from outside the doors of the inn and the orc turned back towards the doorway he had entered from. Had the bear gone mad and attacked the orc? That couldn't be it. J’akull did not appear to be wounded, despite the blood on his chest and hands, but something had been hurt, and by the amount of blood on the orc, it had been a significant attack.
Another roar cut through the night air. It was a clear challenge from a beast trying to claim its dominance. The bear’s roar was followed by another sound, a blood-curdling howl that answered the beast's challenge.
J’akull Ironbones turned and ran from the inn, a cold fear in his eyes as he rushed into the night. Igraine and Halvard followed him with their weapons ready. They expected to see the ice bear before them, crazed and ready for a fight and perhaps caught in the trap they had set. Even if the bear was not in their trap, the heroes knew that they would need to fight the beast. They were ready to die protecting the people of Einsamall. Making their way outside of the Inn, they did indeed see J'akull's white bear, but not as they expected.
The massive ice bear was locked in a battle with something that was somehow even larger than it was. The bear’s muzzle was torn and blood had turned much of its white fur red. The great bear roared again in pain and confusion as it grappled with its enemy. This beast was an apex predator, and nothing had ever truly challenged its dominance, but now it struggled for survival as it looked into the green eyes of a creature that was stronger, more ferocious, and more dangerous than it was.
“Rawrrrr!” the Tundra Orc yelled as he rushed forward to help the bear.
The monster before them brushed the orc aside without a second thought and then sunk its teeth into the side of the bear’s neck. The wounded ice bear let out a sad wail and his grip on his opponent slowly relaxed as its body started to go limp. Igraine gasped as the monster lifted up the entire massive weight of the bear and easily tossed it aside. The bear’s body crashed into the icy landscape and slid a short distance before coming to a stop, blood seeping from its numerous wounds.It did not move any longer, and Igraine and Halvard could not tell if it was breating any longer.
The heroes from the Castle of Four Sides looked in stunned silence at the answer to the question the had sought - what was attacking the people of Einsamall? Now they knew that answer, and they held their breath as the monster turned to face them. They held their breathes as they looked into the wolf-like eyes of the towering nightmare, its terrible, blood-soaked teeth bared in a vicious snarl. The monster reared its head back and let out a howl of challenge once again. The Horror of Einsamall had returned.
To be continued...
Published on 07.26.25