Bear Coast

by Sven Grams

  Once again, Sara wondered what Trex and her were doing there… sometimes a talent could be a curse, as well as a gift.

  Trex looked at the heavier battle equipment of the volunteers.

  All of the Anthro wolves were equipped with tall oval shields and broadswords. They had leather protectors on their forearms, lower legs and feet.

  The Anthro lion force on the other hand, had divided into two types of fighter. One group was equipped with a large round shields and had their staves transformed into a solid long spears. The other group had their staff transformed into longbows, with a very full quiver lashed to their back. Both groups carried the standard short-sword as secondary side arm.

  “Wolves to the centre, lions evenly divided on either flank!” commanded Mayor Petrice, her less used title of Major suddenly making itself more noticeable.

  The two lion Sergeants gave each other a nod. They quickly split the contingent of female and male lion volunteers into two groups. Both Sergeants choosing to lead their individual groups equipped with shield and spear.

  Sara and Trex used the opportunity to inspect some tracks in the sand further up the beach. The tide and wind had not managed to remove all of them yet.

  Sage Filfia and Mayor Petrice walked over to the two youngsters.

  Each of the two older females kept one watchful eye over the thick vegetation that bordered the small strip of sand.

  “This is only a few days old,” said Sara, leaning down to look at some tracks.

  “Was there a fight?” asked Mayor Petrice.

  “Doesn’t look like it,” replied Trex. He turned over towards Sara, who nodded her head in agreement

  “Any recent activity?” asked the Sage seriously.

  Both Trex and Sara continued to look around, moving carefully back and forth.

  “No, nothing. It looks like they destroyed the boats and then moved towards the camp a few days ago,” said Sara.

  “It was a surprise attack,” stated Mayor Petrice, her voice a little dark, “they didn’t want them to escape.”

  “Don’t get too close to the forest,” warned Sage Filfia towards Sara, the young wolf having walked further up the beach.

  Sara hesitated, her mind racing.

  “I thought you could sense if there were enemies nearby?” asked Sara, somewhat naively.

  “Only if I know the forest… or I have been within it for a while,” replied the Sage, “everything takes time.”

  Sara suddenly looked less confident, walking quickly towards the relative safety of the armed group.

  “Stay behind the main group until we know it’s safe” said Mayor Petrice as the four walked back to the forming group of solders.

  “Yes Ma’am,” confirmed Trex without hesitation.

  The tight formation of soldiers made their way off the beach. Mayor Petrice and Sage Filfia initially lead from just behind the central formation.

  Cautiously the group entered the forest, slowly working its way inland.

  “Halt,” called the grey furred wolf leader once they had moved a little inland.

  Sage Filfia closed her eyes and all of the Anthros around her suddenly felt a strong sense of curiosity and empathy.

  It didn’t take long before all manner of curious animals and birds began to appear around the military formation. The creatures sniffed the air or tried to get a glimpse of the Sage, but held a respectable distance from each other and the group of armed Anthros.

  It took a silent, nervous minute before the Sage opened her eyes again, the surrounding animals returning into the forest from which they had come.

  “There is no ambush, no immediate danger,” she said calmly.

  There was a lot of rattling of shields and lowering of swords and spears as everyone noticeably relaxed.

  “Lieutenant Rosso,” called Mayor Petrice suddenly.

  The wolf Lieutenant came to attention after putting away her drawn sword.

  “I want you to fan out your soldiers in skirmisher groups made up of three individuals each. Make sure we are not surprised, and see what you can find. But don’t go too far, and be prepared to head back to the village if you hear the signal.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” replied the Lieutenant smartly.

  “Sergeants,” continued Mayor Petrice, turning to the Lion Empire officers.

  “We are about to enter the village, secure the perimeter and see what you can find. But don’t disturb anything, particularly not the tracks you come across. Time to show us how light footed lions can be.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” replied the two lions in unison.

  The Mayor turned to Sage Filfia and the two adolescent trackers.

  “Let’s find out what happened,” she said, her tone serious. “I just hope that everything we have heard about the praised ‘Kelgorn’ family tracking skills is correct.”

  Suddenly both youngsters were very happy that they had spent so much of their youth learning from their respective guardians the finer art of tracking.

  Trex gulped involuntarily, this would be the first time that someone else was reliant on his tracking skills. This was more then just a game.

  Sara looked considerably more confident then her tracking counterpart. She nodded with determination. Sara had a sense of pride regarding her family, of her mother’s skill. Had she not been so focused, she would have laughed at the irony, considering her animosity toward her mother at this stage of her life.

  Sara, Trex, Sage Filfia and Mayor Petrice entered the small village, or what was left of it. It was a scene of almost total destruction.

  All that remained of the timber buildings and the wooden stockade were charred stumps. Piles of rocks and a ring of earth indicated a few wrecked foundations, a destroyed well… Debris and broken implements lay strewn over the ground. Everything of value had been pillaged, everything else had been wrecked or smashed were it was found.

  With the two youngsters racing ahead the two older females looked around them.

  “No bodies,” said Petrice to herself with an immense sense of relief.

  “No blood,” added Sage Filfia, looking carefully at the ground.

  Around the perimeter of the village, on top of the raised earthworks of the destroyed stockade, the lions had formed a loose perimeter, looking around them with a mixture of determination and concern.

  From the wreckage that was left, it was easy to recognize that the village had contained about six larger long buildings with numerous auxiliary buildings. Outside the perimeter fortifications, the forest had been cleared for about one hundred meters around the perimeter of the settlement. The crops that had been cultivated in these cleared fields were now burnt away.

  A small creak flowed by one side of the town, the remains of a burnt bridge and waterwheel showing how much effort had been wiped out in just a few hours of rampant destruction.

  Sage Filfia planted her staff into the soft ground and sat in the centre of the town, her legs crossed on the earth. She once again closed her eyes to meditate.

  Nearby, Trex and Sara split up. They crisscrossed the town to look at the different tracks left in the dirt. Luckily for them, it had not rained hard in the last few days.

  Mayor Petrice walked over to some timber wreckage. Nearby in the rubble, she spotted a small metal object. Picking it up, she could see that it was a family emblem. She ran her thumb over the small metal disc, clearing away the dirt. She soon recognizing a wolf family emblem, frowning slightly.

  “Sara!” called out Trex from one end of the destroyed village gates. “Come and have a look at this,” he added.

  Mayor Petrice put the symbol away in a pocket, walking over to the two assembled youths.

  “These are not signs of combat, are they?” Trex asked, leaning down at a series of tracks near a former entrance to a house.

  “I don’t think so?” replied Sara, “anyway, they are the only bear tracks I can find that seem to interact with a lion or wolf.”

  “Me too,” replied Trex.
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  “Maybe they were warned?” he then suggested.

  “I can’t tell,” said the dark brown furred female youth.

  “What have you found?” asked Petrice.

  “It doesn’t look like there was a big fight in town,” said Sara confidently.

  “Or any struggle of any kind” added Trex, “it looks almost like the bears came in and destroyed an empty village… probably only yesterday.”

  Petrice seemed to think about something for a second.

  “Have either of you seen any real battles?” asked Petrice, trying to determine the two tracker’s experience, they were still very young after all.

  “No Ma’am,” replied Trex automatically.

  “But I have seen the tracks of a fight often enough,” added Sara, not wanting to sound inexperienced, “my mother used every practical opportunity to explain the difference.”

  “My Aunt as well,” added Trex, noticing that he had probably just advertised his skills poorly.

  “What were you talking about just then?” asked Petrice suddenly.

  Trex and Sara looked at each other, still not sure themselves.

  “We’re not sure Ma’am,” started Sara, “but it looks like there were some bears here earlier, possibly just talking with a wolf it seems.”

  Petrice looked somewhat more satisfied.

  “That makes sense. The settlement was on good terms with the natives, until recently. It would not have been unusual to have received visitors.”

  Sara and Trex took in the information, waiting for any further comments.

  “Is it possible that the settlement simply surrendered and were taken away as captives?” asked Petrice.

  “It doesn’t look like it,” replied Sara, the tracks don’t correspond and look to be of a different age.”

  “It’s possible that the settlers left on their own before the village was attacked ma’am,” offered Trex.

  Trex and Sara suddenly looked past the Mayor. Petrice turned to see Sergeant Kirra and a wolf soldier run up to the small group.

  “What have you found?” asked the Mayor.

  “It appears that the bears came in from the beach and left to the west,” said the female wolf soldier. Though the wolf soldier was probably not as well trained as Trex or Sara, most soldiers had basic tracking knowledge, and bears were known for leaving very noticeable tracks.

  “And there looks to have been some blood spilt at the western gate,” the soldier added.

  A dark shadow passed over the wolf Mayor’s face. She turned to look at Kirra.

  “There appears to be nothing unusual to the east, or around the former walls to indicate a fight,” reported the tall lioness, “we did, however, find two fresh burial mounds nearby.”

  “Burial mounds,” repeated Petrice quietly.

  “Take the trackers to investigate the blood,” the mayor commanded the wolf soldier, “then check the perimeter for any sign that the settlers escaped before the village was destroyed.”

  “Yes ma’am,” answered both of the soldiers, coming to attention in their individual custom.

  “We will meet up at the graves,” Petrice added, she then turned to Kirra, “lead the way Sergeant.”

  Trex and Sara ran after the wolf soldier as Petrice walked beside the Sergeant the way she had come.

  Sometime later, Trex and Sara were out of breath. They had run all over the perimeter and had even gone to investigate a few things the scouting wolves and lions had found in the surrounding forest.

  The two youngsters panted as they rested in the shadows of some large trees. Sitting on a log, they were leaning forward, their elbows on their legs, heads down, and ears drooping.

  Overhead, the midday sun shone brightly.

  The two youths found themselves east of the village on the forests edge next to the scorched farmland. The destroyed village smoldered in the distance. Next to them sat the Mayor and Sage Filfia.

  A large number of Anthro wolf and lion soldiers stood nearby.

  Sage Filfia and Mayor Petrice were silent, thinking about what they had just been told.

  In the background, two female wolf soldiers looked on in concern at one of their exhausted comrades.

  “You’ve let your training slip,” said one of the wolf soldiers to the female wolf who had escorted Trex and Sara all day.

  “They were even able to give a report,” said a third soldier referring to the two tracking adolescents, her tone was teasing, “you look like you’re about to keel over.”

  Sara and Trex’s escort looked exhausted, she was panting like a maniac. Her shacking hand held a pouch of water unsteadily.

  “I don’t know… how they did it…” huffed the poor female wolf, dousing her neck in cool water after taking a quick swig.

  “They were… like crazed ants!”

  The two comrades chuckled.

  The ants on the Anthro world were much like ours on earth in size, activity and hive behavior. Though the ants on the Anthro world had a different body construction and number of legs.

  One of Sage Filfia’s triangular ears was turned towards the conversation in the background. She smiled momentarily.

  “Do you agree?” asked Mayor Petrice suddenly, turning to the Sage.

  “Do you agree with what our trackers think happened?” Mayor Petrice repeated.

  Sage Filfia thought for a second before responding.

  “The emotional memories of animals are even less of an exact science then tracking. Particularly considering the short memories of most smaller animals,” she forewarned.

  Petrice nodded her head.

  “Nothing I have sensed from the animals living nearby would contradict what Mr. Tristfull and Miss Kelgorn said,” said the Sage calmly.

  Mayor Petrice nodded.

  “So then,” Petrice continued, “to sum up the suspected order of events: It looks like there was an initial fight at the west gate. A surprise attack of some kind, as it lead to the deaths of two settlers outside of the stockade. But the settlers must have suspected something because they were prepared for, and beat off, an attack on the gate.”

  Petrice paused for a second, looking over at the ruins.

  “Unfortunately, the bears still managed to sabotage the larger boats before they left. The settlers must have known the attackers would soon return, so they buried their dead and abandoned the settlement. The Bears then returned, firstly destroying the damaged boats, then moved on to pillage the abandoned village.”

  “The question is, where are the settlers?” interrupted the Sage.

  “And why didn’t the bears try and find the settlers straight away?” asked Sara in the background.

  “Bear Clans don’t work under a formal military structure. They only undertake one thing at a time,” answered the Mayor, “after finding out that no-one was here they probably returned to their camp to discuss their next move with their tribal elders.”

  “The settlers could not leave via boat anymore,” continued Sage Filfia, “and they would be slow over land with the children and the injured. The bears probably thought they had time before undertaking a wider search.

  “So the bears could be heading back here right now?” asked Trex with concern.

  “We only have a short window of opportunity to find the settlers before the bears do,” stated the Mayor with determination.

  The grey furred wolf stood up. She looked over at Sara and Trex as they slowly regained their breath.

  “Are you sure that the mass of fresh tracks we saw heading out of the eastern gate was not the settlers heading along the coast?” the Mayor asked seriously.

  “We believe so,” replied Sara, sitting up, “we were taught how to falsify tracks as well as to read them, we can tell the signs.”

  “The tracks out of the eastern gate look too… unnatural,” added Trex, “and the further into the forest you go, the less indications there are that a large number of Anthros moved through that way.”

  “And the tra
cks leading north from the western gate?” Mayor Petrice interrupted.

  “They looked like well covered tracks… there are only a few signs. But there are tell tale indications that a large group of Anthros had moved through the forest recently if you know what to look for,” said Sara.

  “It would make sense to try and throw the bears off the trail,” stated the Sage, “though the bears are good trackers themselves. I doubt they would believe that the colonists went inland willingly.”

  “Hmmmmm.”

  “Do you think you can follow this trail?” the mayor asked the two youngsters.

  Sara and Trex looked at each other, seeking some sort of support. Both youths nodded with their eyes.

  “We think so,” replied Sara.

  “Good, then we’ll send you out with a small escort while we draw the attention of any searching bears that may head back this way.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” interrupted Sage Filfia.

  Mayor Petrice hesitated.

  “Why not?” Petrice asked, honestly baffled.

  “Mr. Tristfull and Miss Kelgorn should head out alone,” continued Filfia.

  “Alone!?” questioned Trex and Sara simultaneously.

  “Alone?” asked Mayor Petrice, also a little shocked.

  “Certainly,” replied the Sage confidently, “any escort will only slow them down.”

  The Sage indicated over to the exhausted soldier nearby. She was still having trouble recovering.

  “How can a wolf female be slower then Trex?” asked Sara, honestly baffled.

  The youngsters had not appreciated just how much they had been running around. Having not felt overly tired and too focused on what they were doing, they had not noticed the steady deterioration of their one wolf escort.

  “Do you remember what I said about how a lion and a wolf can share projections?” asked the Sage to the two youths.

  “Yes…” replied Trex.

  “Do you think of yourself as a team?” the Sage asked the two simply.