Loch threw Onyx, the weapon glowing as it spun. It slammed into the giant bear’s shoulder, stopping the monster's charge. Rearing up on its hind legs, the bear swatted at the two spear wielders rushing in. Trent, or was it Brent, dodged to the side, creating an opening for the other twin. Onyx reappeared in Loch’s hand, but he didn’t rush to the fight, watching the two twins deftly working on the bear.

  DARK FOREST URSA

  Evaluate had it a couple Levels above the twins. They were growing in strength fast and Loch wanted to see how they’d handle it. To the side, he saw Randy Sager stepping forward, hands glowing. Loch held a hand out.

  “Let them handle it.”

  Randy stepped back. He’d just recently taken his oath as a Bannerman, joining Brian, Elora and the twins. Elora was ahead of the group, hunting for the Dungeon they suspected was in the area. Brian stood behind Loch, his huge new weapon on his shoulder. He’d claimed the giant axe from the Hillgrowl Berserker, as he was the only one that could use the weapon. It was too good to smelt down. Somehow the weapon had shrunk down to a more manageable size, relatively anyways as it was still huge. The axe head was wider than Brian, the whole thing as tall as he was. It looked like a weapon Loch would have expected to see in an anime.

  Growling Rock Splitter

  Level Twelve Weapon

  +3% Attack Power

  +3% Slashing Damage

  Requires Base Strength Of 60

  -Rock Split Rank One: 40 Spirit Activation. +30% critical hit chance. Deals +10% Slashing damage. Deals +10% Earth Elemental Damage. +40% Armor Penetration Chance. Frequency: Two Minutes.

  Loch wondered how Brian hadn’t accidentally cut himself, the axehead was so big. The large man had to be careful when walking through the school. When he’d first gotten it, Brian had caught the axe head on a couple of door frames. It wasn’t comically large but menacingly large.

  Brian didn’t look like he was in any rush to join the fight. The axe rested on his shoulder, one hand on the haft, the other in his jacket pocket. The temperature had dropped the last couple of days, prompting them to all start wearing more winter gear. It was hard to hold onto weapons with winter gloves, the Clan’s new leatherworkers and tailors were trying to come up with some kind of furred line glove that would make it easier. For now, they went without. Loch flexed his fingers, getting some more warmth in them, stuffing them into the pockets of his jacket.

  He watched his breath fogging in the air.

  Snow would be coming soon.

  He watched the twins finish off the bear. The large creature reared up, roaring one last time, before it collapsed to the ground. Trent and Brent gave each other high fives, walking back to Loch and the others, huge smiles on their young faces.

  “Good job,” Loch told them, holding out his fist.

  The twins looked at each other, then laughed and each returned Loch’s fist pump.

  “That’s a waste,” Randy said, pointing at the large body.

  “Huh?” One of the twins asked.

  “None of us have Harvesting Skills. Lot of fur and meat on that critter.”

  “I thought of that,” Loch said, stepping forward, patting the satchel at his side. “Probably need your help with this,” he said to Brian.

  The big man grunted, walking forward. He held his axe out to one of the twins, releasing it into the younger man’s grasp. The twin stumbled back, almost dropping the axe, barely holding onto it as he tried to get his balance back. As he walked over, Loch saw a smile on Brian’s face. Walking around to the side of the bear, Brian reached around the large body. Grunting, he lifted the massive animal, shifting it around.

  Loch grabbed a paw, holding open the top of the Spatial Bag. He put one of the large claws into the bag, turning away as the giant bear started to warp and shift, twisting as it was shrunken down to fit into the bag.

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  “That was crazy,” Trent or Brent said.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” the other twin said.

  ***

  Loch looked at the fallen trees. A pine and an oak had collapsed, crashing into each other. Broken branches lay to the sides, creating a hollow underneath. There was a gap in the coverage, off center from where the two ancient trees held each other up. Concentrating, Loch could see the slight shimmer around that gap.

  A Dungeon entrance.

  “I did not go inside,” Elora said. “But got close enough to discover it is a Rank Two Dungeon.”

  Loch nodded. Not worth it for him to go inside, but could be good for the others. They had just the right number, he would have been one too many. No healer, but this group should still be okay.

  “You all have fun,” he said, stepping back and motioning toward the trees.

  “Alright,” one of the twins said, walking forward. “Let’s do this.”

  “Team Brady,” the other said, high fiving his brother.

  The other three all turned to Loch, glaring at him. Smiling, he shrugged. At least the twins weren’t fighting. For now. They couldn’t go more than an hour without arguing with each other. Everyone liked the twins but the two could be a bit much.

  With a sigh, Elora followed the twins into the gap. They had already disappeared into the Dungeon. Elora stepped through, part of her body visible, the rest hidden in the black portal. She disappeared fully, Brian and Randy following.

  Loch looked around. The trees were deep in the woods off Harmony Road, close to the Blakes Mill intersection. It was an area no one in the Clan had gotten to yet, the houses not raided. He could see a couple through a gap in the trees.

  Might as well, he thought, knowing he’d have a couple hours.

  Using his feet, Loch cleared an area about ten feet out from the Dungeon entrance. Gathering some rocks, he made the shape of an arrow pointing toward the homes. Satisfied, Loch started walking toward the home.

  As he got closer, he heard noises. A strange skittering and chattering. It was some kind of language, a couple of voices talking. Loch slowed, summoning Onyx in its small throwing axe form. He crept forward, watching his feet, the voices getting louder. He stopped as the trees thinned out, eyes widening in surprise.

  Small creatures moved around the house. They looked like tiny bears but walked on two feet. He instantly thought of the creatures from Star Wars. The ones that looked cute but were incredibly deadly and vicious warriors.

  MOONGLOW URSINE

  His Evaluate told him that they were fairly weak compared to him. Maybe around Level Ten. But there were a lot of them. He could see at least a dozen, maybe more. Covered in fur, about two and a half feet tall, their coloring was widely varied. Browns, some grays, patches and stripes. Some were dressed in rough hide armor, others without anything. There were spears made out of branches and clubs.

  Loch wondered if the Moonglow referred to their Clan or some Ability they had. They moved around the house, talking in their strange language, pointing at different features. A couple pulled at the shrubs in the front yard. One stood on the shoulders of another, trying to look into one of the first floor windows. Another was at the front door, poking at it, playing with the knob.

  Loch wanted to laugh. The small furry creatures looked fairly comical as they explored the house. He held it in, not wanting to alert the creatures he was there. Loch wasn’t sure if they were friendly or not. He hoped they were. Piper would be extremely upset if she ended up having to kill any of the cute little walking teddy bears.

  A screech came from the far side of the house, near the garage. The Ursine jumped to attention, moving around the corner to face the far woods. A trio of Mutated Chipmunks ran out of the woods, a half dozen Ursine chasing them with spears. The Ursine hooted and growled war cries, the Chipmunks screeching in fear. The others spread out in a long line, the Chipmunks being herded to them.

  The Chipmunks tried to turn, other Ursine moving to the flanks to keep the Mutated monsters contained. The Chipmunks tried to fight back but it was over in an instance. Loch watched the slaughter in silence, not believing what he was seeing. It was quick and brutal. The Ursine didn’t waste time or energy, making quick work of the Chipmunks. They didn’t seem to care about the meat or hides, poking dozens of holes with their sharp spears.

  With the Chipmunks dead, the Ursine went back to examining the house, now with six more. They poked the siding, smacked the windows with their spears.

  Loch wondered what he should do. He had wanted to raid the house, and the one across the street, but wouldn’t with the Ursine there. Even if he went back to the Dungeon, he’d have to be quiet and keep an eye out for the little monsters. When his people left the Dungeon, they’d be making noise and would attract the Ursine’s attention. He had no doubt his people could handle the eighteen little monsters, but why bother if they didn’t have to.

  He shifted, a branch snapping under his foot.

  Eighteen furred heads whipped in his direction.

  Loch cursed, the solution made for him.