I spoke to him aloud, with the occasional echo of my voice being the only reply I got. “Remember the last time we were here? Pretty fun ambush. I do prefer to be on the side that knows an ambush is going down. Better than getting stuffed with arrows and nearly killed.”
I had never been much of a talker, Tejón made the silence into a chore. Even though I felt we’d been through so much together already, he wouldn’t Mind Speak with me at all. Our Pet Bond level stubbornly remained at 1.
I rambled on, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll bet you never mind, though. You’re such a freaking badass you could probably stumble in and out of an ambush without noticing.”
I’d had to extend the stirrups from my saddle on one side, so that I could climb up his back. Though he wasn’t anywhere near as big as his mother had been, my buddy was at least as big as any bear back in the real world could be. If he stood up, I’d guess he would be over ten feet tall, though for now, he simply trodded along, the crest of his shoulders just above my head. Que chico tan grande!
We drank from the creek where our party had ambushed the squad of ratkin, and I washed my face in the cold water. Even more satisfying was soaking my sore feet in the water till the swelling went down. After a quick snack, we were back on the trail again.
Alysand said I could make it to Bridgerun in three days, but I was hoping to beat that time. It was odd, traveling alone for a change. After the constant companionship of Hana, Pachi, and Alysand, only having silent Tejon with me made me feel lonesome, though the silence was nice. Still, there hadn’t been much of a choice, apparently.
The road rose over passes and dipped back down into shady copses of trees. I wasn’t a nature girl, but the pristine beauty of EO was enough to convert anyone. At one point, I had to stop Tejón so I could stand and gawk at a series of valleys sprawled below the steep cliff. And I wondered, was this world intentionally made by Eternal Online employees, or had some vast AI simply gone nuts? I preferred the second answer, somehow. This just seemed too much for human hands.
I alternated between riding and walking beside Tejón throughout the day, and despite the lack of two-way conversation, time passed pleasantly enough.
The road had become narrower as it led up into another pass, this one devoid of plantlife. The wind came in gusts, and it seemed like the weather had become too harsh to support any substantial trees in the area. The soil was rocky and thin.
Remembering that we’d finished our work in Gilsby, I reviewed the latest quest in the chain.
Stop the Rat King Part 3: Epic Quest. Your journey has taken you to the sea itself, and you’ve witnessed the breaking and reforming of one of the few bullet bards left in Mariandor. Now you have been tasked with traveling to Bridgerun and gaining allies for the war to come. Gain at least ten player allies. Each additional ally beyond ten increases reward XP by 10%. Rewards: Information on the Rat King’s plans, better odds in the war, access to further quests in chain, 8000 XP.
I mulled over the information and decided this was something I could handle. Though I wasn’t good with people, convincing ten players to sign up for a quest this rich shouldn’t be too challenging. Then again, I had no idea how many players were in Bridgerun.
Pushing the doubt aside, I dismounted, deciding to lead my friend. Though the path was still wide enough for a modest-sized cart, the bear took up most of that space and I did not feel like scraping along beside him.
It was a marvel to think of how much time it must have taken to chisel the road through the mountain. Rather than bend around, as it had done so often before, this portion of the road cut through the hard stone of the mountain.
I was running a hand along the smooth wall, wondering what kinds of tools had been used to make such a pass, when Tejón chuffed behind me.
Normally he walked in silence, with only the crunch of the gravel or soil beneath his huge paws marking his movements. I stopped and turned to him. He chuffed again and shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a sticky cobweb.
“What is it, buddy?” I asked. Of course, I got no reply, but he took a few steps back. I walked to him and pet his head and face. “Listen, we can’t go back. There is no other way to Bridgerun, at least not that I know of.”
I tried to pull him along, but he stood firm, unyielding.
I sighed and considered my options. Scanning the road ahead, I realized there must be some danger that Tejón could sense that I simply couldn’t.
Pulling one axe from my hip and the other from my back, I lifted them up for him to see. “Something bad is up there, yeah? We will be careful, but we have to keep going, okay?”
Tejón stared at me with his black eyes. I pet him on the brow and scratched the velvety fur that lined the bone plate on the top of his head. I’d come to find that he always appreciated a scratch there. He nudged me with his huge nose, pushing me off balance.
I laughed and said, “Okay, then. We’ll go slow. I’ll keep an eye out.”
We kept walking, and I rested an axe on each shoulder. I thought absently how absurd it might look to see me holding such massive weapons so casually.
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