The Ebony Renegades (Skyrim)

chapter twenty

Gila's eyes looked up at the spectral wolf before bowing her head with her mouth full of the dire wolf's heart after she swallowed what was in her mouth to properly greet her patron. "Thank you for sending this worthy prey, I will see that its gifts are put to use, what do I owe the pleasure of you coming to me?" Gila asked looking at the spectral wolf aspect of Hircine. "A threat has arisen that threatens the sport of the hunt, while creatures hunt for survival, Clavicus vile has made a Werebeast that I did not sire this creature kills for sport and wastes the spoils of the hunt, which is why I set up a test to see if you were worthy. and you my child have not disappointed." The aspect said as Gila nodded her head. "Where can I find this creature, I will kill it, tear the skin from its body, and make it an offering to you lord Hircine. Please tell me more about this creature so I know what it is I'm up against." Gila asked The visage of the prince of the hunt who then spoke. "A former stormcloak champion who grew tired of their cause being met with so much resistance and made a deal with Clavicus Vile, he wished for the strength of one hundred men, and the prince of deals granted his wish but in the form of a great bear. Seek out this bloodthirsty killing machine and eradicate it." The prince of the hunt ordered as Gila nodded her head and understanding." It shall be done lord Hircine, where may I find my prey?" Gila inquired before the wolf aspiration looked up into the tree line and uttered a few final words before vanishing "It's here." Upon vanishing the sound of snapping trees could be heard as a massive bear burst from the treeline and into the clearing. The fur of the monster with black as night, its eyes red, jewels from the deepest pits of hell itself, and teeth that looked sharp enough to rival the sharpest of blades. Its hide was littered with the weapons of fallen warriors, its left eye dead as foam dripped from its bloodstained teeth, and its hide was charred from the fire spells of many mages.

In the mouth of the bear appears to be the head of an elk that seems to have been ripped clean off of the poor beast's body before being paraded around as some sort of sick trophy without warning the bear upon spotting Gila let out a roar like thunder before charging. Gila pulled the glass bow of the stag prince off of her back and placed three dragonbone arrows on the bowstring firing all three into its head only for them to smash against its armor-like skull quickly holstering the bow as she rolled underneath it as it smashed into the rock she stood on turning the once large boulder into gravel. Gila's heart pounded in her chest as the severity of the situation dawned on her this was no ordinary prey. All of the prey animals she has been against and hunted even in Hircine's blood moon, and great hunt. followed the same principle of the hunt, the predator-prey relationship in an ecosystem but this creature was not of the cycle, it killed not for the sport or survival but for the sake of killing if left unchecked all animals along with people would quickly become extinct by its claws and teeth. Gila dared not change into her werewolf form and try to meet the bear in a battle of brawn as its size easily towered over her werewolf form and she could tell by its arms that it could cleave an elder tree in two with a single swipe of its claws. The only way she would beat this beast is by outsmarting it. Putting her bow back onto her back she pulled off the rueful axe from her back before chopping at a branch causing it to come down onto the bear which only proceeded to anger the bear as it charged towards her. Looking around for a way to escape or avoid being mauled she quickly jumped into a tree getting up to the top branch before firing two more bone arrows into it aiming for its eyes attempting to blind it or neutralize that sense of smell anything to give her an advantage over this powerful adversary. As the arrows missed their mark piercing one of its ears as well as embedding themselves into its neck Gila took a moment to study herself knowing that she had participated in Hircine's hunt before as well as his blood moon, but none of her past adversaries were as fast and powerful as this creature before her. Steadying her aim as she was about to loose another arrow the bear let out another vicious roar as it swiped at the tree trunk cleaving the solid pine tree jaggedly in two from its brute strength. Gila was unable to move in time as the trunk of the tip of the tree fell on her leg pinning it underneath unable to do anything more than struggle she needed to think of something quickly otherwise she would be added to this monster's kill count. Noticing how the bear was awfully bulky it wasn't slim and she knew bears were fast but they could only run for a short time if she could somehow get loose from her leg being pinned and use the same trick she used on the dire wolf she may have a chance to bring it down. First things first she needed to eliminate its ability to track her or to give it another target in order to get its attention off of her temporarily she quickly pulled out one of her lightning arrows and shot it at a tree a good two-hundred feet away on the other side of the clearing the bear seeing a potential new target wasted no time charging towards the arrow which was causing a light show as the electricity arced and danced along the bark of the tree. Gila used the rueful axe to try to chop the tree trunk that was on her leg she proceeded chopping as wood splinters flew and chipped the blade by the time she got halfway through the tree the bear was coming back with a vengeance there was no way Gila was going to finish cutting through the tree before it got to her when an idea formed in her head but it would be risky if she made one wrong move the bear would kill her but it was the only choice she had. As the bear reared its paw the strike at Gila's helpless body she fired a fire arrow directly into its face causing it to screech and pain as it turned its head and brought its paw down on the chopped tree limb breaking it seeing her chance to get free Gila pulled the rueful axe up and embedded it into the side of the bear's arm as it sent her flying as she used the axe to block the bulk of the blow her back slamming into the tree as she let out a scream of pain as she landed on her right side with the tree hitting her back and her right side. It hurt to breathe, blood was pouring out of her mouth and she more than likely had broken ribs, she picked up the handle to use the axe to steady herself only to find that the axe head was still embedded in the bear's arm and that what she was holding was nothing more than the broken shaft. The bear clawed the ebony axe blade from its arm and began making its way over to her with a visible limp but fortunately, Gila could remember that in the middle of the woods, there was a narrow nordic ruin and if she could utilize it properly she would have a chance to bring this monster down. She took a deep breath steadying her breathing pulling another fire arrow out of her quiver and firing another one at its face trying to temporarily blind it and damage its sense of smell She knew full well she wasn't strong enough to overpower it and she was absolutely not fast enough to outrun it her only chance was to get to that narrow nordic ruin and finish it there where she could hopefully outmaneuver it and get it stuck underneath the tons of stone and best case scenario make the tomb come down and crush it the bear might be strong but it's still a mortal body the fact that the arm that the rueful axe head was previously embedded was pouring blood proved that this beast was still flesh and blood and if it can bleed it can die. She shot fire, ice, and lightning arrows attempting to temporarily blind and dull its sense of smell just long enough for her to get past it and hopefully get at least three-quarters of the way to the ruin before the bear could give chase breaking through the foliage. When all three elemental arrows met the bear's face it lit up a bright light causing the bear to stagger Gila forced herself to her feet and ran wincing and agony at her broken ribs and sprained leg she wanted to scream with how much pain she was enduring but she bit her tongue as she continued running as fast as she could knowing that if she let up even a little that bear would catch her about halfway she could hear the bears thunderous roar accompanied by the crash of lightning that nearly made her heart stop in her chest. She wasn't even halfway there and the bear was quickly running after her and quickly closing in, the sky opened up as a violent thunderstorm crashed upon the forest accompanied by heavy rain that pierced her skin like arrows. She only had one chance to get there in one piece and that was to somehow slow the bear down. She turned around with her bow and fired a lightning arrow at the bear's face hoping that its now wet body would conduct the lightning and hopefully by divine intervention the bear would be struck by lightning and killed. When the electric-infused arrow clashed with the bear it let out a pained roar and stood stunned for a few moments just as Gila closed in on the nordic tomb weaving between the tall pine trees to try to lose it while firing fire ice and lightning arrows at it to try to slow it down to no avail even firing some dragon bone arrows at its feet and legs to try to hinder it's running speed even a little but to no avail, the bears endurance and stamina was way beyond any living creature she ever encountered before. Within moments she could feel the bear's breath on her neck she could hear it knocking down small trees and crashing through the foliage and she could feel its bloodlust and how it wanted to kill her and add her to the long list of victims it's claimed. About ten feet away was the opening to the tomb. She needed to move faster but all the extra weapons that she had on her were seriously weighing her down. As a last-ditch effort she turned around and threw the steel warhammer trollsbane spike first hurling it into the bear surprisingly embedding itself in the bear's neck but it didn't slow it down she pulled horksbane off her hip and hurled it at the bear's head which seemed to stun it for a few seconds now moving a bit faster without being over-encumbered by the excess of weapons she was now faster more agile and her stamina was improved. But she was still not faster than the bear with the opening a good three feet in front of her Gila took a deep breath bracing herself for the incoming impact she drove between the stone openings letting out a cry of agony as she landed on her side where her broken ribs were that she slid across the hard stone ground. The bear made short work of the opening crushing through it like it was made of thin twigs and then smashing into the Inner circle where she was currently lying holding her side as the bear closed in for the kill Gila knew without a doubt she was not going to outrun it with the injuries. She closed her eyes seeming ready to accept her fate before her highly trained ears could had faintly picked up the cracking of stone as the bear forced its way into the room her eyes widening as the beast's jaws crushed around her arm and threw her into the wall on the opposite side of the room as she fell against a nordic coffin. As the bear slowly crept towards her ready to go for the kill Gila could see the cave-like ceiling giving out. Seeing possibly the only chance to finish this she pulled out her last fire arrow firing it at the ceiling causing it to explode but not fully collapse as the bear closed in about to lunge at her. Gila quickly moved her hand around and felt a long circular shaft by her hand grabbing it and putting it between herself and the wall as the bear lunged the stone ceiling came down on top of them with a loud crash accompanied by the crumbling of the outside supports before everything went silent.