Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Cave bears

The children surrounded the Burning Wall and the holes in the ground, peeking between the Earthen Walls. They were frightened, but also curious about the man who had saved them and faced that fearsome bear. He was like those who appeared in tales and stories. Could he be an adventurer?

They felt overwhelmed while looking at the Burning, Frozen and Lightning Walls that appeared in the path of the bear. At the holes that appeared in the ground. At the man drawing weapons from nothingness and setting them on fire. They saw how the bear fell into a trap and was pierced with spears. And how it was Decapitated with the huge axe that the man was wielding.

When he approached them, they were a little afraid again. Although he had become a hero in their eyes, they were used to the rough behavior of hunters in their village, or visitors. For that reason, his friendly tone caught them by surprise. And more when he crouched to reach their height.

"Are you OK?"

They nodded, being speechless, gaping before the fact that their scratches were being healed by the man's magic, something totally out of the ordinary. Those who could use healing magic didn't usually bother with children with minor injuries, but he did.

Surprised, feeling safe and experiencing the warmth in the words of the man, the children's resistance broke, crying and hugging a stranger who not only was treating them with kindness but had also saved their lives.

He returned the hug, feeling for the first time since he had reached that world the warmth of another human being, the innocent tenderness of two children, the feeling of wanting to protect them. He separated from them and gently wiped their eyes. And he was going to offer them something to eat when Bat's Hearing alerted him.

"Can you climb the rope?" he asked suddenly in a serious tone.

"Y... yes," they answered

"Then, hurry up. There you'll be safe."

To the children's surprise, Eldi picked them up and cast the Earthen Wall to elevate them, lifting them up as much as he could.

"Hurry up!" he urged them again.

The children climbed reluctantly, but when they saw the first bear appear, they began to hurry. Then they tried to look through the hole to see what was happening, but they could barely see anything. There was only the sound of grunts and blows.

One by one, the bears appeared, up to a total of six. Eldi had confidence in facing one or two of them, but six was excessive. So, he backed away, hiding behind the Earthen Walls he had raised earlier.

The bears reacted aggressively when the man disappeared from their sight, running towards him, attacking those walls that they knew were weak. So, two of them were half stuck in hidden holes, and a third managed to pierce through it completely, while the other three had stayed behind.

Far from waiting for its companions, the bear attacked, but for Eldi it wasn't difficult to dodge. He had already begun to learn their fighting patterns, skills and weaknesses. However, he was worried about their number, so he needed to weaken the bear as much as possible before the rest arrived.

He used Double Edge on the hind leg of the beast, and then Boomerang aiming at the same point, running to a huge stone after that. The bear was limping, but it didn't give up on its efforts, and the others were approaching.

He released the axe just a moment to use Javelin on the bear, and then jumped with Kangaroo Power on the stone, starting to shoot arrows to the bears that were looking at him from below. One of them used Leap, reaching Eldi, who confronted it right there. Since there was only one, he would take advantage of that opportunity.

He slid under the bear, using Double Edge and attacking its hind legs, as he had done with the other. Again a bear used Leap, but it could barely move on the platform without risking falling, or pushing its partner. Eldi took the opportunity to use Propel, which didn't have much effect on the bears, but was enough to push them to the edge of the slippery stone. It would have been easier with Lion's Roar, but it hardly had any effect on the bears.

This time two at a time went up, one on each side, but instead of confronting with them, Eldi took the opportunity to jump on the first bear he had faced, now that it was somewhat isolated. He jumped on its back and cut it with the axe and Double Edge. Then, he jumped to the ground and ran away.

It couldn't follow him fast enough with its injured leg, like another of the bears that were on the ground, while the two which were on the stone were hesitant to go down. So, it was the remaining two bears that chased Eldi, dodging the holes and charging against the Earthen Wall behind which he had had time enough to place four spears with Stand.

They were impaled and surrounded by Burning Walls, forcing the ones who wanted to come to their aid to cross those walls, while Eldi was finishing them off. Only one bear crossed the fire, but being alone in front of Eldi and scorched, it was easily defeated. Being wounded and facing someone who already knew how they fought, it had no chance.

There were two almost unharmed and one wounded, which was now surrounding the area where their companions were laying, area that the fire prevented them from trespassing without suffering damage. But not to Eldi, who used an Earthen Wall and Kangaroo Power to jump on one of the bears and to pierce a spear on its back with Perforating Impact. The bear reacted by wallowing, which caused it to crush the man, and also the spear to sink deeper.

That reaction was out of Eldi's calculations, who was forced to use Impregnable, but it also meant that there was only one bear unharmed. He dodged the attack of another bear and went back to the stone, using Earthen Walls to distract them. After what had happened to their companions, they didn't dare to cross them without care, so they took a detour around them.

One of the bears followed him on the stone, facing him in one against one that the animal felt it could win, since the difference in level. But it proved otherwise. Double Edge helped him both to stop and attack the opponent, and Dancing Axe was very effective with so little space.

When the bear slipped and fell, it was already badly injured, so the man followed after it to finish it off. The other two bears, furious, came too late to help their partner and too injured to pose a serious threat. With the axe, Vampiric Touch, Regenerate, Burning Touch and Double Edge, he had enough to kill them.