this, child.”
“I’m not… I’m not a child.”
The poacher merely shrugged. Then he came in close, just out of reach of Merek’s staff but close enough to put him on edge. The two circled each other, neither one looking away from the other.
Merek’s eyes narrowed after they made a full revolution around each other. What was he waiting for?
Stalling .
Merek had to hurry, before whatever the poacher was waiting for showed up. Because of that, he charged in without really thinking about it and promptly took a fist to his gut. The pain wasn’t too terrible, but the breath being knocked from his lungs made it hard to focus. On instinct he whirled his staff into the poacher’s leg, and the man shouted in pain.
Merek swung his staff straight into the poacher’s face . Surprisingly, the staff held together and the poacher hit the ground, holding his head.
He was unprepa red for Merek to hit him again, and was knocked out cold.
“Wow,” Merek said, looking at his staff, “I very much thought you were going to shatter.”
The mother bear growled, redirecting Merek’s attention.
“Right,” he said. He searched the downed poacher, and found the key to the lock. Within seconds, the bears were free and running into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them. Only Merek’s coat was left behind, crumpled and stained with blood. Chuckling to himself in disbelief, he put the coat on for a marginal amount of protection.
He considered running into the forest himself, but something held him back. There was a horse and a cart, sure. He could do something with that. But the poacher would come to at any moment, and he wasn’t sure he had enough time to get away. Maybe he should just take the horse…
The sound of commotion reached his ears, and Merek dived into the forest. Thinking quickly, he scaled the nearest tree so that he would get a look at what was happening without anyone seeing him.
He didn’t have to wait long. Five seconds after he found his perch, three other men showed up. They all looked far more terrifying than the poacher did, and all three were armed with swords. Their clothes seemed to match the original poachers and were equally as badly made. Over their backs were slung bags filled with something bloody, which probably explained why they were behind.
“What happened? Where’re the bears? ” the first one of them said when they managed to awaken the poacher. The speaker was a bald older man with a gray mustache that took up half of his face.
“There were…” the poacher stammered, but he covered it nicely by pretending to be dizzy. Or maybe he really was, Merek couldn’t tell. “They came from the forest. A dozen villagers. There was nothing I could do.”
“Damn villagers,” the bald man replied, “they must have caught sight of us. Are you hurt?”
“Just my pride,” the poacher said.
“Well, let’s get going. We can at least catch some foxes, if nothing else.” With that, the four of them got on the cart and they all left for somewhere else.
Merek stayed in his tree for a long while after that, deep in thought.
Chapter Five: Living in the Wild
A few days after freeing the bears, Merek’s wounds finally healed up enough that they didn’t bleed every time he moved. His shoulder still rung with soreness from time to time, but Merek was usually able to ignore it. It was good, because Merek was finding that there were a lot more streams in the forest than he originally thought. One such stream was deeper than Merek was tall, and wider than he could simply jump.
This is where his staff came in handy. He couldn’t go around the stream, and he certainly couldn’t swim through it, so instead…
He got a running start and jammed his staff into the very edge of the stream. His momentum carried him over, and he soared across the stream. To his credit, he almost made it to the other side.
Almost.
Merek crashed into the water, only a foot from his target,
“I’m not… I’m not a child.”
The poacher merely shrugged. Then he came in close, just out of reach of Merek’s staff but close enough to put him on edge. The two circled each other, neither one looking away from the other.
Merek’s eyes narrowed after they made a full revolution around each other. What was he waiting for?
Stalling .
Merek had to hurry, before whatever the poacher was waiting for showed up. Because of that, he charged in without really thinking about it and promptly took a fist to his gut. The pain wasn’t too terrible, but the breath being knocked from his lungs made it hard to focus. On instinct he whirled his staff into the poacher’s leg, and the man shouted in pain.
Merek swung his staff straight into the poacher’s face . Surprisingly, the staff held together and the poacher hit the ground, holding his head.
He was unprepa red for Merek to hit him again, and was knocked out cold.
“Wow,” Merek said, looking at his staff, “I very much thought you were going to shatter.”
The mother bear growled, redirecting Merek’s attention.
“Right,” he said. He searched the downed poacher, and found the key to the lock. Within seconds, the bears were free and running into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them. Only Merek’s coat was left behind, crumpled and stained with blood. Chuckling to himself in disbelief, he put the coat on for a marginal amount of protection.
He considered running into the forest himself, but something held him back. There was a horse and a cart, sure. He could do something with that. But the poacher would come to at any moment, and he wasn’t sure he had enough time to get away. Maybe he should just take the horse…
The sound of commotion reached his ears, and Merek dived into the forest. Thinking quickly, he scaled the nearest tree so that he would get a look at what was happening without anyone seeing him.
He didn’t have to wait long. Five seconds after he found his perch, three other men showed up. They all looked far more terrifying than the poacher did, and all three were armed with swords. Their clothes seemed to match the original poachers and were equally as badly made. Over their backs were slung bags filled with something bloody, which probably explained why they were behind.
“What happened? Where’re the bears? ” the first one of them said when they managed to awaken the poacher. The speaker was a bald older man with a gray mustache that took up half of his face.
“There were…” the poacher stammered, but he covered it nicely by pretending to be dizzy. Or maybe he really was, Merek couldn’t tell. “They came from the forest. A dozen villagers. There was nothing I could do.”
“Damn villagers,” the bald man replied, “they must have caught sight of us. Are you hurt?”
“Just my pride,” the poacher said.
“Well, let’s get going. We can at least catch some foxes, if nothing else.” With that, the four of them got on the cart and they all left for somewhere else.
Merek stayed in his tree for a long while after that, deep in thought.
Chapter Five: Living in the Wild
A few days after freeing the bears, Merek’s wounds finally healed up enough that they didn’t bleed every time he moved. His shoulder still rung with soreness from time to time, but Merek was usually able to ignore it. It was good, because Merek was finding that there were a lot more streams in the forest than he originally thought. One such stream was deeper than Merek was tall, and wider than he could simply jump.
This is where his staff came in handy. He couldn’t go around the stream, and he certainly couldn’t swim through it, so instead…
He got a running start and jammed his staff into the very edge of the stream. His momentum carried him over, and he soared across the stream. To his credit, he almost made it to the other side.
Almost.
Merek crashed into the water, only a foot from his target,
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