Craobh was a proud bear. Only of her kind, the small bck's, to be allowed into the Mayuk who served as Bearbhaile's guardians. Most would not believe bears needed such things, but they did. The reaction to bears was generally ambivalent, but those who delved too deep into their nature could sometimes become hostile.

  The real truth of the Mayuk was that they maintained the safety of Bearbhailes against Nameless. Those servants who have broken the enchantments that keep them compcent, or those who willingly entered service who grew dissatisfied. They were few and rare, but they could be dangerous.

  They would often start breaking others out, and encouraging the willing to dissatisfaction and dissent. Which would start with small problems, things going missing from stockpiles and the like. Yet it would often devolve into much bigger things, true sabotage, destruction of vital centers, murder.

  Which is why they had to be hunted down, vigince must be kept and Craobh seemed to be the only one who actually cared about that! She snarled as she took the head off the Nameless Daog who tried to gore her with it's horn.

  "We should be ab-" It's protests were cut off as the maddened creature died. Craobh turned to the half dozen other creatures in the small gathering, mostly other Daog. One goblin sat, ears twitching in anger, but it took no actions.

  "What is your oath." Craobh growled, though that was a poor way to expin what she conveyed. It was Old Tongue, so it was more than just words, and the power in that statement shook the small gathering.

  "Harmony is service. Service is gratitude. Violence is not permitted." The voices spoke together, even the goblin.

  "And what is your name?" She growled again.

  "We have no name, for we need no identity. We are cared for and sheltered, that is all we need." Chorused the reply. Craobh nodded satisfied and stepped out of the small entrance to the space.

  "Good. Back to work." She growled one st time and without hesitation the small gathering left. As it should be.

  With that done Craobh happily hummed to herself and sought out Milis. She had to brag to the older Mayuk, get her appraisal of how she handled the situation to, but also brag. That was the fifth collective she'd broken up this month! She was getting gooood at tracking them down.

  After a few minutes of wandering Craobh found Milis with Honey and Craobh grimaced. She didn't like Honey, truly named he was for his words were Honey and his acts were Swete. A rare bear with two names, at his age? She was jealous- no, ashamed. He didn't fight for them, he simply talked to people and he'd somehow gotten a second name for that?!

  Pathetic, he never fought for Bearbhaile... Except for that time with the spiders. And the Darklings before that but! Never before that, he clearly did it to show off to those two stupid humans they had visiting. The otherworlders.

  Craobh growled as she stepped forward. "Milis! Guess what I did!" She couldn't keep the hostility and irritation out of her voice as she looked between the Mayuk, a brave protector of their people, and Honey. Sickeningly Honey smiled at her.

  "Ah, another collective vanquished young Craobh?" Ugh, why was he always so... Congenial, it was sickening. Have some fucking teeth coward.

  "I was asking Milis." She growled and Honey bowed.

  "But of course, I simply wished to congratute you on a job well done! Five collective's in as many weeks? Though I do feel concerned that so many have cropped up as of te."

  "Who says they have." Craobh snarled. "Maybe I'm just better at finding them then you are *Honey*."

  Honey thought about this, then shook his head. "No I don't believe that's the case, after all I told you about three of these, including this test one." He answered her and she garrumphed in annoyance.

  Sure he had been the one to let her know they were happening but she had been the one to find them!

  "Knowing they exist and finding them are different things." She pointed out.

  "Indeed." Was his only response as he thought to himself, he turned to Milis. "I must discuss with Sgoinneil and some of the elders. Perhaps Timbear even. Do enjoy your time with Craobh!" He patted the taller bear on the back as if she wasn't more important than he was!

  "Of course Honey, thank you for your time, I'll look into the rumbling." She nodded from her hind legs as Honey began merrily trotting away on all fours. Craobh stood up onto her hind paws to match Milis.

  "Well?" Craobh asked.

  "Hmm?" Milis replied.

  Craobh sat there, waiting. She grinned at Milis who blinked and then sighed.

  "Craobh, you have more than proven yourself as a Mayuk, you don't have to keep getting approval after every collective or scrap with some goblins." She said but Craobh just puffed out her chest.

  "I know that, the point is I'm keeping Bearbhaile safe! I just want to set an example that if a small bck like myself can do it, any Mayuk born should be able!" That was it, a precedent, an expectation. An example. She wanted the others to strive for her level of achievement! Not just to be satisfied with stopping danger when it happens.

  Millis nodded, having heard this same reply a dozen times. She began walking away waving for Craobh to follow her.

  "I'm sure, and some have followed your example, even I felt ashamed seeing your vigor it is why I was speaking with Honey at all." She said, leading Craobh down into the lower levels. "But many find your behavior to be... Overzealous, and braggadocios. They believe you look down on the Mayuk and do not understand us because you are not us."

  Milis held up a hand to stop the compint but Craobh went on anyway.

  "Well they're fools and old cowards, they should be doing more, cursed lethargy or not! Malkus was killed and they still do nothing!" She snapped, but not with anger, never toward Milis her idol. Especially after being told that she'd inspired Milis to be more proactive!

  Milis shook her head but did not respond to the compint, because Milis knew Craobh was right, obviously. It was also an argument they'd had before, which is how Craobh knew she was right, Milis had given up the argument.

  "Regardless, we will do more today." They reached one of the lower levels of Bearbhaile. Craobh was on all four paws again, it was hard to walk on two legs and keep up with Milis. Really any of the bigger bears who preferred the two legged walking. It annoyed Craobh, but she would keep practicing.

  "What is it you were talking to Honey about?" Craobh asked as the two wandered deeper into the lower levels. Several dens for Daog and Goblins were settled down here, out of the way of the main areas. Craobh eyed some of them, looking for the telltale signs of Nameless insurrection.

  "Rumbling. We've had several reports of abnormal quakes and rumbling in the lower levels and we are investigating it." Milis answered, her ears moving about as she listened intently.

  "Oh, not more Nameless?" Craobh inquired.

  "No, though come to think of it, speaking with those living here would probably help us." Milis answered thoughtfully, as if she hadn't already pnned on just that. Craobh knew better, Milis was a genius she'd clearly come to the dens for exactly that.

  "I can ask around, the people here know me well and I'm sure they're grateful for all the Nameless I've dealt with." Craobh pronounced. Milis gave her a funny look but she ignored it and went up to the next creature she saw, a Daog.

  "You there. Where is the strange rumbling we have heard of?" She snapped and the Daog immediately snapped to attention.

  "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-" It passed out. That happened a lot, her reputation was so strong it took a very brave person indeed to speak with her. Like a proper Mayuk, she turned and grinned to Milis who simply sighed. Even Milis was surprised by how intimidating Craobh could be!

  That time with the human, Mate, that was a fluke obviously. She'd prove it next time she saw him, if she saw him again. He went off into the woods to see the Leshy and Craobh knew how dangerous these woods were. If Milis had gone with her, maybe, she had heard the humans considered riding bears out.

  That made her angry again. Humans riding bears?! HUMANS?! There were few species who could ride bears at all, and fewer among them bears would allow the privilege, but humans were certainly not one of those. Craobh knew no bear would let any human, goblin, gremlin, or any of those small lesser races ride them.

  Her anger made her more intimidating, as it should. Unfortunately that made it very difficult to interrogate the dwellers here. No one seemed to be able to give her a straight answer as she went about asking daog and goblins about the rumbling. That was until she met a familiar face.

  A small elderly looking goblin in brown linen clothes. Symbolic of a den goblin, one who cleaned out all the refuse and brought meals to dens all over Bearbhaile. The same goblin from the Nameless collective she'd stopped earlier. She met him hours into her interrogation and the goblin smiled at her.

  "Of course miss! I know about the rumbling, I heard it myself! Come, I'll show you the way!" He grabbed her paw and began trying to lead her.

  "Let's grab Milis first goblin, she is leading this investigation." Craobh replied, looking around her for Milis, unmoved by the goblin pulling at her paw.

  "Oh, but miss Milis does not need coming with the great Craobh here! Surely you can handle it." The goblin said, looking at Craobh confused.

  That was true, Craobh thought about it. She couldn't see Milis and surely she could handle it but...

  "Still, she is my superior and she should be there to see and hear for herself." She continued but the goblin shook his head again.

  "I do not know what it is, what if it is not important? I wouldn't want to waste two great Mayuk's time!" He looked uncomfortable at that, and Craobh was quite impressed with the goblin. Earlier this day he'd been gring hatred at her, but clearly he'd realized the folly of the Nameless. He clearly respected her as well, and Craobh couldn't disappoint him.

  She nodded decisively, pulling her paw back. "Very well goblin, lead on!"

  The goblin yipped happily and ran, never too fast for her to keep up. She did have to drop to all fours though, and they ran for several minutes. The goblin was fast! And had lots of energy to boot!

  "This way miss Craobh, it was over here!"

  "Not far now miss Mayuk!"

  "Come, come, I know it's dark here but this is a goblins hall! It is always this way!"

  He led her onward, through twisting small corridors made for the den workers to move between residential areas unseen. Thankfully Craobh was small enough to fit here, and she was suddenly even more gd she hadn't brought Milis. The big grizzly would never have fit through here.

  "How much further." She gasped to the goblin as they entered into a crossroad, more open than the paths they'd been following. When she heard no response she looked around, still catching her breath, and saw... No one. The goblin was gone. She sighed and plopped onto her stomach to rest.

  He'd probably just run too far ahead, he'd come back when he realized she'd-

  "Why are you stopping miss, not much further not. Not much fuuuurther." The goblin practically sang the words and Craobh felt a weird chill down her spine. It was dark, and the goblin cackled as she struggled to her feet, gasping at the exhaustion in her.

  "W-why am I so tired?" She mumbled, dragging herself to her feet. She dug into her reserves and pulled herself up to stand on her hind legs and examine herself.

  That saved her life.

  A whistle filled the air, and a crack as something splintered against the floor where her head had been moments before.

  "Not yet! She's not tired enou-" The goblin again.

  "She's tired enough, shut up! Get her Name!" That shout! Nameless! Craobh snarled and dug into one of her few enchantments to help her move quicker. Suddenly there were a dozen forms around Craobh, jagged bdes of bone stabbed and cut at her as she roared.

  "Nameless! You cowardly bastards, I'll kill you all! You forswear through disrespect our hospitality and protection!" She snarled that loudly, her own battle cry to match the whooping and hollering around her.

  "Hospitality?" A voice sneered as a bde cut her back leg and she severed a body. She couldn't see, she had no light magic! She had to go on sound and feel alone. Goblins could see in the dark, even Craobh could tell this was bad.

  "Protection?" The voice sneered again and a bone object struck her shoulder, digging into it. Her jaws snapped around another form which screamed before it stopped struggling.

  "You take our minds. You take our choices. You take our identity and you call that a kindness?!" The voice snarled and a huge bde took a chunk from her back. It's wielder cried out in death along with others as her cws whirled catching in a whirlwind around her.

  "We are the Nameless, for we have been robbed of everything." She recognized the voice now. The goblin from before. She barreled towards the voice, cutting down what felt like a dozen goblins and daog too she noticed.

  "You gave it up willingly, or lost it through violence, you forswore that right!" Craobh growled back. It was always the same, they get everything they could ever want or need, and they compin because what? They don't have a name? Pathetic. She felt the world shake with her anger.

  "It was taken from me. But I took it back." A beady eyed goblin appeared in her vision, a crossbow leveled at her and fired into her neck. She gasped and stumbled falling onto her forepaws.

  "I took back what was taken from me." He muttered and stood over her, she cwed at him and he leapt back. A goblin came up to him and chittered happily as they watched her bleeding.

  "Malkus, who gets her name?" They asked. Craobh muttered, Malkus? That was... That was a bears name. The same as the one who... died.

  Craobh roared and the crossroads shook, she reared up and sshed at the goblin. It simply stepped out of reach.

  "That's not your name!" She snarled, dragging her bleeding form toward the goblin.

  He sneered back at hers. "And Craobh is not yours. Whom did your parents steal it from, do you even know bear?" He ughed cruelly as she smashed another goblin into a wall and pierced it's heart. Then a weight fell on her. She tried to roll it off, but a heavy thing sat on her back. So heavy.

  She was so tired.

  "Yes, you can take her name back." The goblin looked toward the creature on Craobh's back, a daog, rger than most of it's brothers. It blinked and pointed to itself.

  "Meeee, Malkus?" It buzzed, it's face one of surprise.

  "You stopped her just now, you take it. Kill her."

  Craobh snarled and tried to turn again, she was fading quickly. The world was shaking with her lost blood as it grew colder. No. Wait, the world was shaking, not her? The floor.

  The floor rumbled.

  Malkus the goblin seemed to notice as well, looking at his feet. He looked around and screeched in the goblins tongue.

  "RUN!" And he did.

  Many of the goblins did, but not Craobh. Either the bear or the daolog who sought to take her name. The ground opened up and a vast purple maw snapped at Craobh. Her fatigue faded as a sudden burst of energy filled her. Craobh's cws grappled with the maw as it pushed her back against the wall and into a bears den.

  The bears within roared in protest at first, and then in surprise. They ran over and helped push the massive purple worm off of Craobh and it smmed into the floor, leaving no hole behind. Craobh was bleeding badly, the daog who sought her name crushed between her and the floor.

  Yet she leapt up and looked toward the wall she'd come through. Still solid, though malformed. As if something had dug through it and quickly repced it. She grimaced and began to colpse.

  "AH! Demare quickly go get help!" One of the bears muttered, as she caught Craobh. The bear, heavily pregnant, sat with Craobh and hummed an old song as her mate ran off to find proper help.

  It was a good song, it soothed her aches and slowed her bleeding. Yet despite that, and Craobh's own desire to remain awake and ready to fight. Craobh had not the strength, she passed out in the arms of the soon to be mother bear.

  It didn't take long for Milis to find her, she was already in the area in fact, having followed Craobh's scent after trying to meet back up. When Demare, a brown bear with a small patch of white on his chest, found her babbling about the worm and the bear, she urged him to lead her.

  She found Craobh, and the daog, and quickly identified the Nameless as the perpetrators. She brought Craobh to a nearby healing field. Once she had done that, she gathered several Mayuk to expin what had happened and lead them to hunt the Nameless. She had believed Craobh when she said it was important, but this?

  This was bad, the Nameless were rger in scale then they'd thought if they were attacking that boldly. Two hours ter, Milis lead almost a dozen Mayuk back toward the den she'd found Craobh in and gasped. Outside the den y Demare, dead. Standing over him...

  Was a Darkling. Three in fact. One turned up, a chunk of bear flesh in it's maw and grinned. It hefted the crude stone club strapped to it's back and barked in a nguage Milis should not understand. But bears were good with words.

  "More prey here. Get others." It ughed cruelly as one of their kind bounded into the small tunnel used by the servants. Then she remembered the description of the worm creature. Both this time, and from the Seillean the first time. How it had torn a hole into the area, but not one out as it left.

  Only this time, the hole wasn't somewhere the Mayuk could easily get.

  Force2reckon