The Sound Of Despair

"So, um… I'm in unbelievable pain right now, and I can't move. Could you knock me out and carry me back?" Sturm pleaded.

He expected to be scolded into oblivion, but Reinhardt's reaction was a lot different than he could have ever imagined. Instead of getting angry at his recklessness, Reinhardt instead looked incredibly guilty.

"Sturm, I am so sorry. Please forgive me! Here, chew on this, and you will fall asleep soon. Don't worry. I will get you to Healer Kuran, and you will be back in no time!"

After chewing on a few red herbs for a few minutes, Sturm fell asleep, and Reinhardt started providing first aid. Ointments covered every single wound, and all of the bones were put back in place. Edgar had burned his arms, and Sturm broke his just a few weeks later. Kuran would undoubtedly wonder what their problem was.

The sooner professional treatment was administered, the easier the healing process would be. Soon after, a bear body and its severed head were the only things left in that particular part of the forest.

A few kilometers towards the city, a mercenary group of five, waited for an ironmaw bear to bite their bait. They had already been lying in ambush three hours, feeling their patience slowly running out. Sitting for three hours inside a bush without moving a single muscle was a lot more taxing than it sounded. Their backs hurt, their kneecaps were bruised, and they had lost any feeling in their bottoms.

"Psht, you hear that? The earth is trembling. Finally, ff this isn't an ironmaw, then dinner is on me!" whispered one of the mercenaries.

Afraid of making too much noise and alerting the ironmaw, the other group members simply nodded in excitement. Dinner sounded like paradise to them right now. Having to wait a long time for the bears to approach one's traps was normal, but the group had been doing this for years. The spot they were in was supposed to be one of the best for ironmaw hunting, but today they seemed out of luck.

*Stomp*

*Stomp*

*Stomp*

<<Oh yes, this will be a big one! I wonder if the Mercenary Association will make an exception and increase our payment for catching it? thought the mercenary that first noticed the shaking.>>

Five bodies tensed up, and their fastest runner, a tall and slim archer, got ready to use their bait to lure the ironmaw into one of the pitfalls they had dug out. He had to start running the moment the bear saw him. The moment it did, it would fall into rage and try to either drive the intruder out of its territory or devour him. In a time window of just a few seconds, the archer would have to stay ahead of the ironmaw and lead it into the pitfall.

At any point, the ironmaw would arrive, and the archer got into an open position from which he could immediately start sprinting. Finally, a massive being crushed through the bushes close to them, and the archer started running; even half a second could decide between life and death.

Their pitfalls were only approximately 30 meters away, but before the archer could even traverse a third of that distance, the beast had already reached him.

They had overestimated themselves. A bigger ironmaw bear would obviously be faster as well. If only they had retreated when they heard the heavy stomps echoing through the forest.

With no way out, the archer reluctantly accepted his fate. <<It finally came to this. Damn.>>

In one final, albeit useless attempt, he threw himself onto the ground and tried to roll away—just a second after a giant foot stepped right next to his face. He saw a leg wrapped in thick armor and a steel boot which left behind deep footprints. Instead of a giant ironmaw bear, it was a giant of a man sprinting like a demon was chasing him. The two-meter tall man had two impressive axes hanging from his hips and a 160cm tall boy thrown over his shoulders.

If the man kept running ahead, he would soon fall into the pit. The wooden stakes inside most likely would not be able to penetrate his armor, but the young boy would be impaled without a doubt. The archer was hesitating. There was a chance he and his team could kill the giant after he fell into the pitfall. Judging by his gear, he had to have plenty of valuables on him.

To not make a decision was in itself a decision, but just a few meters before the giant reached their trap, one of the archer's companions got out of their hiding spot.

Placing his hand next to his mouth, he screamed as loud as he could. "PITFALL. JUMP!"

Without delay, Reinhardt, the giant carrying Sturm, jumped as far as he could, safely landing behind the camouflaged trap. He had seen the archer throw himself to the ground, but he had no time to clear up the misunderstanding. Lucky for the archer, Reinhardt assumed he was the one that warned him. If he knew that the man's greed and indecisiveness had almost cost Sturm his life, then he would make sure to return the favor. Confronting and robbing an influential merchant could have heavy consequences, which was ultimately proven true when they found out Sebastian's backer. A few mercenaries, on the other hand, no one would care about.

It would take Reinhardt around half an hour more until he would reach Dagger's Rock Town. While he was still sprinting through the forest, doing his best to avoid angering any of the ironmaw bears, which could easily catch up with him, the group of five mercenaries he ran past were also quickly leaving their position.

*SMACK*

A heavy slap left behind a red hand mark on the archer's face. Shocked, the archer looked at their group leader in confusion. A slap like that in front of their whole team was simply too humiliating. Just because he was the leader did not mean he could act like he was their father.

"What was that for? Did you see his equipment? We have not even managed to catch a single bear today, yet you lost us dozens of silvers!" the archer said in a fury.

"Are you CRAZY? Did you not see who that was? It was the f****ng Rampage Bear! If you had enraged him, not even twenty lives would have been enough to survive that." The leader could not believe how close they had been to their demise.

Out of the hundreds of mercenaries on Dagger's Rock Island, there were around two dozen they could not provoke under any circumstances, and the Rampage Bear was one of them. When the archer realized the severity of his actions, he felt he already was lucky to come out of this with only a single slap.

*SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*

Three more slaps left three additional handmarks on the archer's face. It was not just their leader that was furious. They would have all been potentially implicated by their companion's actions. Upon seeing that their runner had understood his mistakes, the leader addressed the whole team.

"No word of this to everyone. My yelling probably attracted more than just one ironmaw bear, and there is no time to set up another trap for today. Let's just take this loss and be glad we are alive. Tomorrow we shall hunt again."

The decision met no objections. As the group of five cautiously made their way back to the town, Reinhardt had already arrived in front of the House of Herbs. Healer Kuran was shocked by Sturm's condition, but when he found out how exactly the slave teen had been hurt, his jaw almost hit the floor.

Ironmaw bears were incredibly ferocious, and even experienced mercenaries would risk getting crushed when directly confronting one. Now Reinhardt told him the boy had deflected a full power paw strike? This was simply inconceivable. The only reason he found it believable was the sight of Sturm's broken arms.

Healer Kuran inspected the injuries and came to a conclusion. "Just like with Edgar, you did a good job providing first aid. The bones already show signs of connecting again. With a week of rest and daily care, his arms will be fully functioning again."

Reinhardt breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully there would be no permanent injuries. He paid Kuran out of his own pockets, hoping to relieve some of Edgar's upcoming wrath. After receiving additional treatment and medicine to be used in the following week, they returned home.

Edgar was indeed furious, questioning his decision to let the two of them hunt such dangerous magic beasts. Sturm was already like a son to him. No matter if he was a slave and considered below humans, the boy had made him proud again and again, never letting him down even once.

Diligence, trust, and honesty were values Edgar held above anything, and Sturm perfectly personified those traits. He had already been opposing the nobles by trading for certain goods with Tibron. A person taking more steps than allowed by the Three Powers was the highest crime a slave or a commoner could commit, an act regarded as treason again heaven itself.

Even if it was close to impossible to get Sturm to a priest, it was something he planned to at least try before he departed this world. Sure, he had quite a few more years in him, but death would inevitably creep upon him. At that point, what would he have to fear?

The merchant kept scolding both his guard captain and his personal assistant for hours upon hours. Only when the night approached, and it was getting late did he stop, his throat feeling hoarse.

Before sending everyone to rest, he informed them of a new development.

"Regarding Sebastian, we finally have some news. The silkpants definitely got scared by his experience with the grassfoxes, scared of going out for a while. Well, that time is over, and he is already planning his next little adventure, but this time under the protection of several mercenaries. Sturm, I'm sure you would be interested in knowing who it was that provided us the information."

Sturm turned his head and gave Edgar a questioning look. "Who is it, Sir?"

The merchant gave him a wide grin in response. "The one who led you to me.. Did you forget Marcus got transferred to the town? He is now one of the Mayor's son's personal guards and comes into contact with a lot of information."