CHAPTER TWELVE

“Yumi!” Rolf called out. “You alright?”

Yumi raised her left hand and gave him a thumbs up to indicate that she was.

Sven was quick to react and move. With Yumi down with her ass on the ground, Sven positioned himself between the others and the shadow crouching between the trees, his reinforced wooden shield held high and ready in front of him.

They could not quite make out what it was, hidden as it was in the shadows cast by the trees, but they could see that it was huge. It was easily twice the size of a dire goat, which of course was saying a lot considering the typical dire goat easily dwarfed your average horse both in girth and height. It was no wonder at all that the dire goat was no match for it.

The creature was glaring at them in the darkness, its glowing eyes blazing red with fury. It hissed and snarled as it crouched even lower, preparing to lunge.

Then with a deep bellow it spurred into action.

“Here it comes!” Sven cried, bracing himself behind his shield, ready to lash out with his sword in return.

A flash of white in the dark silhouette as the light from the full moon touched upon the creature.

“Damn!” Rolf cursed under his breath as he reached into one of several hidden pockets inside his cloak. He now recognized their adversary for what it was. The creature’s shape and the white pattern on its fur and thick bushy tail were unmistakable. They were in big trouble.

“Badger bear!” he warned the others even as his hand swung out, sending a couple of needle-like throwing blades spinning into the air.

A badger bear. A Rabid Ring-Tailed Badger Bear to be exact. Oh, they were in big trouble alright. Of all the natural creatures in the world, only but a few were worse than badger bears and Rabid Ring-Tailed Badger Bears were the worse of the lot. Indeed, the capitalized letters of the name were well-earned.

Even young adult dragons, known for their brashness due to their age, gave Rabid Ring-Tailed Badger Bears a wide berth. At least according to McMillan’s Encyclopedia of Monsters of the Supranatural. While Rolf himself had never been witness to the rare interactions between dragons and badger bears, he knew one thing. There were ten experienced and skilled Axe Slayers that went in that cave that day so many years ago but only two went out and in defeat at that.

And this one was injured and that made it all that more dangerous.

The throwing knives flew straight and true but they simply bounced off, completely ineffective against the beast’s thick, tough hide. Not that Rolf expected them to do much damage, they still did the trick as he had hoped.

The knives struck the badger bear on the forehead, a little off-center to the right, and provided enough distraction to slow down the creature enough for Sven to sidestep to the left and thus avoid the brunt of the charge.

Still, it took most of Sven’s strength to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground though he did slide a couple of feet backward. Putting everything he had behind his shield, the metal-reinforced wood had groaned and creaked quite audibly under the pressure as though it was about to break but it held.

Sven then swung his broadsword and smote the badger bear on the side, several inches behind the shoulder, as it passed by. The blade dug into the thick hide and drew blood but it only served to further enrage the already infuriated beast and nothing else.

Quick as jack rabbit, Rolf was standing at Sven’s side.

“We need to close in,” he said, “keep it from charging again. It’s not ideal, I know, but the alternative’s worse.”

Sven nodded grimly, breathing heavily. That exchange with badger bear, brief though it was, had taken a lot out him. He knew what his friend was planning; it was a crazy idea to be sure but it was the only one they had. The way he was now, he could probably stand toe to toe with the beast for just one more round, two at best, and Rolf would only have one shot at it. He could only hope for Rolf’s success and for Yumi seeing their through their plan and at the very least not get in the way.

Bellowing and roaring in pain and anger, the Rabid Ring-Tailed Badger Bear plowed through two rows of blood berry bushes before skidding to a stop.

“Right then,” Rolf hissed. “Let’s do this.”

This time, it was their turn to charge.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“It’s got to be one those traps that Severin mentioned,” Rolf said as they neared the western edge of the field.

“It sounded like one of the pit traps,” Sven added. “Hopefully the spikes have done the job for us and all that’s left is the clean up.”

“We should be so lucky,” Rolf replied.

Eventually, they reached the end of the field, the far edge of the blood berry farm, which was lined with more or less evenly distributed trees. In the distance, they could make out the waters of Red Cedar Lake glistening in the moonlight.

The wind shifted, bringing with it the cool, wet air and the unmistakable scent of freshly cut cedar that the lake was famous for, or infamous depending on one’s disposition and preference.

By the light of full moon, they could make out the pit trap in question from where they were standing. It was a little over twenty yards away, situated in the space between the blood berry bushes and the line of trees, and as they drew near, they could see that it was square in shape, roughly ten feet by ten feet in size.

Rolf’s grip tightened on the well-worn handle of his axe. Something was wrong. He could feel it and he was sure that Sven, at least, felt it as well. But what?

What could possibly be so off about the situation as to leave him feeling so uneasy that he found himself breaking out it sweat, a cold shiver running up his spine?

It took him a few moments but eventually he realized what was out of place. It was the smell of blood that stubbornly clung to and permeate the air despite the wind. Blood that was several hours old. Not what one would expect from a newly sprung pit trap.

Wait. Blood?

Yes, there it was. There was blood on the far side of the pit and he could make out more blood trailing away from the pit.

Rolf paused. He shook his head after a moment’s consideration. That didn’t make sense at all. Sure it might make sense if one surmised that whatever creature they were dealing with had managed to climb out of the pit despite its injuries and thus crawled away but as far he could tell, that was not the case. The creature was still down there.

More than likely, the creature had been dragging something bloody on the ground when it fell victim to the pit trap.

“Over there,” Sven hissed and pointed with his sword.

There, around fifteen or so yards beyond the pit, was the dismembered carcass of a large animal, body parts and pieces lay strewn about the ground and upon nearby bushes.

It was a dire goat. Rolf could see its head lying on the ground a few feet from the remains of its body, partially hidden by a blood berry bush.

Rolf could not help himself a shiver. Dire goats, though not aggressive unprovoked, were notoriously tough to kill. To think that something could do that to a dire goat, something big enough and mean enough to…

A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was Yumi. She had apparently stepped up to the pit and was leaning over, trying to have a look at the creature inside.

“Yumi, no!!!” he cried out in warning but he was too late.

With a deafening, infuriated growl, a dark shadow went flying out of the pit to land between the trees to their left. It glanced against Yumi as it passed. While not strong enough to cause any damage, it was strong enough that, combined with the shock and surprise, that the blow sent Yumi reeling backward.

“Waaauuuggghhhhh!!!” she cried as she fell down on her ass. It was only by sheer luck that she managed to keep a-hold of her weapon.

CHAPTER TEN

Raising a finger, Yumi continued her explanation. “For instance,” she said, “say you’re considering that this was indeed the work of a dire goat just like Master Severin suspected. The first thing you need to do is get into the proper mind set. You need to, um, think and act like a dire goat. Yeah, that’s right! And once you have that down, you can go even deeper. And the deeper you go, the more successful you’ll be in bagging the critter.”

Keeping her hands up and close to her chest, she proceeded to hop around like a kangaroo, completely forgetting, it seemed, that dire goats were quadrupeds, even as she expounded, “Think like a dire goat. Act like a dire goat. Be the dire goat!”

Eyes watery with gleeful tears, the others exhibited a tremendous amount of self-control. They remained tight-lipped and said nothing although an amused smile did manage to escape from the corner of Sven's mouth.

Yumi stopped. She looked to the right and then to the left, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. “So here you are,” she said thus, “the dire goat. You've traveled far and you are tired and thirsty and hungry. You've been following the scent of your favorite food lingering in the air for days and there it is now standing in front of you.” She gestured to the nearby bush.

She hopped on over to the bush whereupon she grabbed a handful of blood berries and before Rolf or Sven could utter a word of warning, she crammed them into her mouth.

“Yumi, no...” Rolf finally managed to say.

“Mmmmm, berries!” Yumi went as she chewed with gusto, bright red berry juice dribbling down her chin.

Presently, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. A torrent of juice, pulp, and saliva gushed out of her mouth. “Bleeeccchhh! So bitter!”

Sven turned to Rolf and murmured, “Guess she should've put herself in the shoes of blood berry bush first.”

Rolf could not help himself and grinned in response.

Yumi then covered her mouth with her right hand and clutched at her stomach with the other. “Woooghhh,” she mumbled, “I don’t feel so good...”

“I knew it,” Rolf said. “I knew you were in no shape at all to go out on a job. You’re still drunk, aren’t you? And those berries just made things worse. If you’re going to barf, I suggest--”

Just then there was a loud growling noise, so loud that it seemed to reverberate across the moonlit field of blood berry bushes. It came from Yumi’s stomach.

Sven nearly keeled over with surprise and disbelief.

While Rolf, on the other hand, could only stare incredulously. After a moment of silence, Rolf muttered, “Yumi...”

“What?” Yumi asked. “I’m hungry. Those berries can really stimulate the appetite and I haven’t had anything to eat since, well, since the tavern.”

“Yumi, that was only a couple of hours ago!” Rolf exclaimed.

“I can’t help it!” Yumi cried. “I’m hungry! What? Don’t look at me like that! I’m still a growing girl, dang it!”

“Still a growing...? What the heck are you talking about? You’re already twen--”

Rolf was interrupted a loud crash of branches and timber breaking and rustling of leaves that seemed to sound from the far end of the field. It was shortly followed by monstrous, angry bellowing.

Whelp. They were now sure of one thing. Whatever it was, it was definitely not a dire goat.

“Say,” Sven wondered out loud as they all ran towards the source of the sound, “what the heck is a berry snake?” 

 

CHAPTER NINE

“So then if you wanna catch a blood berry bandit?” Yumi continued. “Well?”

She did not bother waiting for a response though. Her answer was out of her mouth as soon as she finished asking her question. “You gotta think like one, that's what!”

That was it? Her great idea? Rolf blinked. “Think like a blood berry bandit?” he asked.

“Yes!” Yumi cried, brandishing a leather-covered fist as though in victory.

She put her battle axe down on the ground, letting it stand on its head.

“See,” she said, gesturing with her hands, “if you can think like a blood berry bandit, you can predict what it's gonna do, where it's gonna go, and stuff. Yeah. Pretty heavy stuff. Luckily, there's a trick to it and I happen to know it!”

When Rolf and Sven did not say anything, she continued, “You see, first you have to narrow down your choices. There are different kinds of blood berry bandits, right? For instance, it could be a monster like a dire goat or a berry snake or even a, um, a fruit dragon. Yeah, a fruit dragon, that's it!”

“Fruit dragons don't exist though,” Rolf pointed out. “They're fictitious monsters created by renowned children's book author Anita Frankinson in the fifth volume of her Vegetable Vanguard series.”

“Er,” Yumi went, “um, yeah, I knew that. I was just testing you. Yeah, that's right. What I meant to say was, um, abominable bush beast? Yeah, that's it! Abominable--”

“Still Anita Frankinson, this time in the first volume of her Ballad of the Mountain Hermit Crab series.”

“Oh, you know what I mean!” Yumi cried. “Fine! Whatever! My point still stands. There are different kinds of blood berry bandits. It could be a monster that's gone berry crazy. Or it could be something else like a thieving goblin or a band of gypsies or a traveling merchant even. So which is it exactly, you ask? How do you narrow it down?”

Again she did not wait for Rolf or Sven to answer. “Well, it's easy if you think about it. It's just a simple process of elimination, that's all. You take one option, put yourself in its shoes, and then move on to the next option if it doesn't fit the evidence.”

Yumi crossed her arms, a smug look on her face, and this time seem to be waiting for questions, if any. Not that she expected any for it was a brilliant idea, one worthy of applause even and she was sure that Rolf and Sven understood her equally brilliant explanation.

But even on the off chance that there were any questions, she was sure that she could easily provide more than sufficient answers.

Suddenly she moved and pointed with an outstretched arm. “Yes, Sven?” she shouted.

Sven had sheathed his sword and was raising his hand.

“So this is where thinking like a blood berry bandit comes in?” he asked.

“Correct!” Yumi replied enthusiastically. She tapped the side of her forehead with a finger. “But that's the tricky part, see? It’s not enough that you figure out how to think and act like the critter, which is hard enough, let me tells ya, it takes a sharp, cunning mind and a twisted, devious personality to truly pull it off, but you need to really put yourself in its shoes as in you need to become the critter in both mind and body. Well, not body literally but you know what I mean.”

“You need to get inside its head. What are its motivations? What are its fears? Why did it come here? Why does it do what it does? Does it like coffee? Does it question its own existence and that of the gods?”

Sven glanced over to Rolf. “Coffee?” he mouthed but Rolf only shrugged in response.

“Those are the questions you need to ask,” Yumi was saying. “Hard questions that only certain type of mind can answer. That mind of a hunter. Fortunately, I was raised by one of the best hunters around. My father.”

“Wait,” Rolf said then. “I thought your father was a basket maker.”

“No, no.” Yumi shook her head. “Not that one. I meant my other father. He was a dance instructor.”

Rolf considered saying something but then sighed and decided to just let it go.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Rolf continued staring at Yumi's back as they walked among the blood berry bushes. She had insisted on taking point and would hear no arguments otherwise. It was clear they had little choice but to let her get her way or else they would never get anything done that evening.

And so he set Sven to watch the rear. No sense in having two tanks in the front.

Rolf wondered how Yumi was able to keep on her feet and steady at that, what all the alcohol she had consumed. He had fully expected her to fall off her horse the moment she got on it and yet here she was. She had made it all the way to Severin's plantation without any issues whatsoever.

To boot, she appeared to have make quite the remarkable recovery. Aside from the stench of the vapors emanating from the pores of her skin, she didn't look like the hopeless drunk that she was a couple of hours ago. It really was amazing. No unsteadiness. No stumbling. No slurring. No incoherent babbling. She appeared to be in complete control of her faculties.

“So, what's the plan?”

Rolf glanced back at Sven.

“Well?” the man inquired. “Do we just walk around at random and hope we get lucky or what?”

“We could do that,” Rolf replied, “but we don't have the luxury of time. Morning deadline if you recall. Plus, I really want to get this done quickly.”

Sven pursed his lips in thought. “What?” he evenually commented. “You getting one of your bad feelings again? Can't say I blame you. Even I'm getting it. That old weasel's up to something.”

“So what's the plan then?” he asked again.

Rolf replied, “I figured we'd look around for some damaged blood berry bushes and go on from there. Those things are bound to be easier to find than whatever it is we're looking for. And who knows? They might still be around.”

“Huh.” Sven paused. “Wait. I thought we were looking for dire goats.”

“That's what Severin's hoping for at least. We don't really know and that's the problem. It could be anything. Dire goats. Goblins. Could be thieves. Or economic saboteurs. It could even be thugs sent by an unscrupulous competitor for all we know.”

“Aw, not to worry!” Yumi declared. “You can leave it up to me, guys! I've got it all figured out!”

Rolf and Sven looked at each other and then at Yumi, who had swung around and struck a pose. Grinning from ear to ear, her battle axe resting against her left shoulder, she was pointing at her chest with her right thumb.

After a while, Rolf turned towards Sven and said, “So I was thinking we head on over to--”

“Oh, come on, Rolf!” Yumi protested. “I'm being serious here! I really do have a good idea. It's a great idea in fact!”

Sven chuckled and Rolf could not help but smile. Even sober, it was so easy to get a rise out of the girl.

“Fine, fine,” he said, raising a hand in apology. “We'll hear you out.”

“Great!” Yumi exclaimed. “I'll show you! I'll show you all! Mu-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!” An evil glint flashing at the corner of her eye.

She caught herself and coughed.

“Okay,” Rolf thought. “That was new.” He gave Sven a sideward glance. Sven was probably thinking the same thing.

When she had finally recovered enough composure, she said, “It's really quite simple, you know. It's so simple even an idiot can figure it out. You know the old saying. If you wanna catch a thief, you gotta think like a thief.”

Rolf stroked his mustache, resisting the urge to say anything. He may not have been that deeply acquainted with the girl but he knew enough to know that Yumi and “thinking like a thief” as she put it went together like water and oil. Honest to a fault that one, that it hurt like hell to watch her tell a white lie.

Sven opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it.