I didn’t need that much in the way of branches. An instinct told me a bundle would be enough. I tied it to my waist and started to climb.

Free climbing a strange cliff, with a bear at the top of it. I was seriously crazy.

And the bear smelled me. I realized then that a rope would have been a bad idea, because a huge claw came swatting out of the cave.

I threw the bundle of branches at it. It swatted them, but they landed in the cave entrance anyway.
The bear roared.

“You’re a smart bear, but you should have been smarter than to eat dwarves!” I called to it.

It roared again. Not smart enough to talk. I let the fire within me flow for a moment. Ignited the branches. Then the smoky fire spread into the lair.

The bear was so surprised it fell out the lair mouth. Not that far, catching itself with a claw, but I hoped it took at least a few bruises in the tumble. Instead of going the rest of the way down the cliff, though, it came right for me.

One of the dwarves shot an arrow into it, which stuck in the bear’s hip, but didn’t even slow it down. I drew my sword, slashing at it as best I could – I’d carefully picked a side that would allow me to use my dominant hand, but the beast was big, the cliff was…and I slid a bit further down.

Getting down struck me as a smart idea. The four dwarves and Kanesha were down there to help deal with the bear.

A claw hit me and slashed into my shoulder. I dropped my sword, feeling pain go down the arm.

Crap.

I ran. Well, as best as I could down a vertical cliff with only one arm really working. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed, I was sure.

Fortunately, the bear was angry enough to follow me. It sprouted a couple more arrows before I tumbled to the path and got behind Ebba. “Sorry.”

“Let us deal with her.” She grinned and spun her axe. Kanesha had a sword she’d borrowed from Thruor. She was trying to get behind the bear, out of claw range.

It was twenty feet tall. But it was still only a bear. I found my sword, got it into my off hand. Not ideal, but I could at least do some damage. I slashed at its back, other side from Kanesha, and then Jorun actually leapt into the air and brought her hammer down on the beast’s head.

It went down like a tree. “Timber!” Kanesha yelled.

I laughed, then regretted it. “Medic, more like it.”
The second of the silent dwarves came over to look. “Let me bandage that.”

I held still while he did so, hoping there was better medical care back in the dwarven settlement.

No, I already knew there was. And the bear was dead.

“We should,” Kanesha suggested, “Take the body back.”

“I would not eat the meat,” Ebba said. “But the fur will be useful.” She produced a skinning knife.

I thought about it and decided I wouldn’t want to eat a bear that had been eating dwarves either.

“Turn it into a rug,” I suggested, wryly.
“I just might do that.”