章 228: 'Lookhir'
"Valdr... I'll ask again so you can stop wasting my time, what do you want?" Michael repeats, knocking the hunter out of his momentary stupor.
"It's Lohir! He hasn't returned, and when we went to check on his campsite he wasn't there either! We think a bear might've got him, but we have no idea where to look... You were the last to see him, can you lead us there? We'll hopefully be able to track him down from there... I won't let my friend get eaten and shit out without the dignity of a proper burial!" the man hurriedly explains, almost ranting as he gets lost in fervour.
Michael chews the inside of his cheek, having planned to check up on the girls and take them to the local priest if they hadn't woken up yet. If that failed then taking them to Zaria at the Grave Concoctions would be his next choice, despite how creepy the woman was at times.
He shakes those thoughts from his head and rubs the sleep from his eyes, "Fine, I hear you... Just give me a minute to get ready..." he mutters as he ducks back into his room and starts getting geared up, hooking his old bow over his shoulder as he does so. "So, is this a search party or something?"
Valdr nods, "Lohir was-...Is a good man, well-liked by most. A few guards have volunteered to help look for him. My friends and hunting party Ari and Niels will be coming as well. If a bear was strong enough to take Lohir down, I imagine we'll need all the help we can get."
Michael slowly nods, not personally invested in the situation by deciding to help out his new friend despite it. Besides, a giant bear should just be a pile of free experience.
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Michael left with Valdr and the search party after letting Illococoo know. The party itself was comprised of around four Falkreath guards, Valdr, and his two friends. All in all eight people in total. The guards didn't bring any shields, instead, they equipped themselves with spears, bows, and greatswords. It made sense too, an axe or longsword wouldn't do much to thick hide, and spears were basically designed to be used against large animals.
Michael leads them through the forest, backtracking to where he'd met Lohir days ago. The trail had more or less gone cold by now, but with Riki's teaching and the other experienced hunters present, they discovered some old boot prints hidden under some leaves, giving them a vague idea on what direction Lohir had gone in.
"So, I'm not from around these parts, but I'm kinda confused on what makes bears so dangerous? Surely great Nord warriors wouldn't be challenged by a beast?" he asks.
Valdr shakes his head, "Then you must not know. The Huntsman has always had an interest in our people, our way of life seems to interest him, and so he likes to send threats for us to deal with..."
"The Huntsman?" Michael parrots, having never heard of such a person, or being...
"I will not speak his name or he might feel the need to send his pets after us. The Daedric Prince of the Hunt. Us hunters are well aware of him, we are in his domain out here. We are lucky we are too insignificant for him to personally take notice of, otherwise we might never be able to step foot in the forests again."
Michael slowly nods, quickly realising who he was referring to. The Daedric Prince Hircine, from what he recalled, Hircine's domain was 'The Hunt', and everything that went along with it. That probably included every predator in the wild, and probably every hunter to a lesser extent...
Wait, was Hircine the reason animals constantly attacked you when playing Skyrim? It made sense, animals clearly had a vendetta against the player character as you couldn't walk in the wilds for more than a couple of minutes without being attacked by a Sabre Cat, Bear, or even a Mudcrab...
"So you think 'He' is responsible for what, enhancing the bear that got Lohir?"
"Aye, Lohir might've been old. But he was no slouch, I doubt any ordinary beast could have bested him." Ari adds from the side, the guards accompanying them nodding their helmeted heads in agreement.
The group continued onwards, following Lohir's tracks until they came out into a small clearing with lots of disturbed foliage, along with a couple spatters of blood. Human blood, judging by the snapped bow sitting on the ground nearby.
"Gods, it's true then, Lohir is-" a female guard utters with a gasp, but is cut off by a stern-looking Valdr.
"It's not done yet! He could be playing dead and got dragged back to its lair... Look!" he states, pointing two thin drag marks. By the looks of it, the bear had picked up Lohir in its mouth and carried him away, allowing his two legs to drag along the ground. Yeah, that didn't look good.
Valdr kneels next to the tracks to examine the bear paw left in the mud, Michael cooking a brow at just how big it seemed. "That looks way bigger than the bear I saw..." he mutters more to himself than anything else.
Ari nods her head, "Biggest one I've ever seen... Must be around... Fifteen feet tall?" she questions, glancing at Niels and nods with visible goosebumps on his arms.
"Are you sure? That's bigger than the one that was harassing the nearby villages." Valdr notes while rubbing his face in consternation. "This must be the Huntsman's doing... Just what drew his interest though? Lohir? He was a great hunter but, to draw the attention of a Daedra?"
...
Michael stays silent throughout this, inwardly scowling as he realises that Hircine must've sent the beast for him and his friends. If any of the Daedric Princes were to take notice of them, it'd be Hircine simply due to where and how they'd appeared in this world. He was thankful it wasn't someone like Molag Bal, but it didn't make him feel any better about the situation.
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