Struggling, they barely dodged the indiscriminate and increasingly precise charges. Jacob, suddenly, as if having conceived something, stopped moving while looking at Íthil and Mina. They nodded, and with a movement of Íthil's magic wand, he fired more spheres, creating a curtain of snow in the middle of the forest. The adventurers disappeared into it. This time, the creature was taken by surprise and tried to locate them by sound or movement. Unsuccessfully, it struck blindly at its surroundings and on the third attack, hit its mark.
The claws pierced through the snow, hitting someone's silhouette. This emitted a mortal scream, almost a shriek. The creature, feeling its claws pierce its target, delighted, but something wasn't right. Confirming its target, the creature brought its claw closer, and in it was only a handful of snow. Looking at the silhouettes before it, it saw three snowmen, and at the tip of the one it attacked was the mottled Hurofalcon. It emitted an incessant shriek while tied to the snowman. The attacker merely snorted and threw the tied Hurofalcon over its shoulder.
Suddenly, the creature felt two ropes whistling at its sides. These successfully trapped its limbs. Íthil and Mina pulled them strongly, spinning it onto its back and to the ground, while Jacob attacked from above, falling onto its soft exposed abdomen with his chakram in hand, delivering a direct blow. It emitted a loud, heavy roar.
—Step aside, I'm going to light the area better! —Jacob shouted. With a movement of his hand, he whispered Azurism. In that instant, a ray of light appeared over the creature, illuminating the monster which, dazzled and wounded, fiercely tried to get up.
The ray of light revealed the creature and why it could hunt so well in complete darkness. In front of them, a very battered and famished Strigiursa writhed. With a powerful twist of its body, it rose again, but still keeping the ropes tied to its front paws.
—Well, now we know where all the missing goats and horses from the village are —Jacob said, recalling the farmers' complaints.
—How are we going to kill this thing? We came to scare away Hurofalcons, not to fight this —Íthil asked the others, visibly stressed.
—We have to wear it out, that's all we can do, hunt it like any bear —Mina said while Jacob and Íthil nodded.
—Wait… have you hunted bears? —Íthil and Jacob asked. It wasn't long before the animal concentrated its attention on them again.
Jacob, using his spare oil lamp, caught the Strigiursa's attention, attracting its fury. Galloping for eternal seconds, the imposing animal chased him. Jacob, with all his effort, led it to a clearing. While Íthil and Mina surrounded the target, and now in the center of the clearing, Jacob hastened to create a perimeter of lit oil. Apparently, they were in the animal's feeding area, with carcasses and putrefied remains of various animals scattered everywhere; the smell and insects were unbearable.
The Strigiursa swung its front claws, cutting the ground in front of it and creating a shower of stones and debris. Íthil waved his wand, shouting [Ferrum Secare], cutting through the debris in front of him as if with a sharp sword with his wand, while Jacob, protected by Mina, took advantage of his position and prepared a special pair of chakrams. Leaping over her, he threw his chakrams; they separated in flight into dozens of blades that stripped the face and shoulder feathers, several scales, and an eye with a shower of metallic fragments.
Roaring and half-blind, the Strigiursa staggered, covering its face with its wings. At that instant, Mina seized the opportunity, lunging as a red flame engulfed her body, turning into a dragon with long, sword-like frontal claws, tackling the Strigiursa with all her might, piercing its shoulders and pinning it to the ground. At that moment, Íthil whispered Bone Movement, creating a group of stakes from the animal remains around that rose above the Strigiursa. It immediately felt Íthil's imminent attack.
Gathering all its strength in a desperate maneuver, it bristled its feathers and concentrated all its might in its hind legs, leaping into the air. The Strigiursa and Mina rose almost 3 meters into the air, throwing Mina onto Íthil, then charging with its front claws and delivering three blows to Mina's chest, which left her breathless and immobile from pain for a moment.
Jacob's eyes turned red and a thin line of reddish energy enveloped his body; this significantly increased his physical abilities, giving him a burst of speed for a moment. He propelled himself to grab the ropes, and leaning on a nearby tree, he yanked the Strigiursa to the ground, stopping its movements and leaving it immobilized for a moment.
—I'm still asking what this thing is doing so far down the mountains and why it's so thin —Íthil asked, trying to catch his breath.
—Maybe it's hungry, but I don't know why it didn't devour all these animals —Jacob said as he saw mutilated but undevoured animals and livestock.
Mina, still transformed, awoke at that moment and furiously ran through a large puddle, parting the waters on both sides as she ran. That beast, seeing this, inexplicably shrieked in panic as it ran and took flight in the opposite direction. Under the cover of night, the team lost sight of the Strigiursa again, but this time it was already badly wounded.
For the next few minutes, they followed the creature through the cutting snow. The soft trail of blood emitted a easily distinguishable vapor against the white snow, and illuminated by Jacob's oil lamp, they followed that red trail in the white snow.
—Hey, doesn't it seem strange? It's very thin, these animals should look like rolls of dough —Mina said as they walked.
—Yes, I noticed it several times. Besides, its behavior is very erratic; it's not hunting us, it's just attacking us —Jacob said, lighting the snow.
—Strigiursa are highly specialized in eating deer and medium-sized animals, it shouldn't be so aggressive with people —Mina told them as they reached an inclined section of the forest.
—And despite being so aggressive, it just suddenly became afraid of Mina —Jacob replied. The group was going down a path.
—It doesn't make sense —Jacob said as he lit the entrance to a cave; the trail led them there. Íthil, for his part, said in a low voice: —Black moon of Nerak, grant this little one one more night—. The remains of a small badger took shape from among the earth and snow; a soft green glow filled its body, emitting a gentle ghostly light. That little animal turned to look at Íthil as if awaiting orders. Íthil stroked its head a little and told it firmly:
—Follow the trail, friend, lead us there —It was already past 3 AM by this point, and the coldest part of the night was making itself felt. Their bones ached, and the exercise and sweat only fatigued them further. If this confrontation continued, they wouldn't last, and they knew it.
—Why didn't we do that from the beginning? —Mina asked indignantly.
—Well, resurrected animals are almost always a bit less skilled. In this case, there's a good trail to follow —Íthil said, unconcerned.
Half an hour passed. The badger was reaching its last moments. Íthil felt the fatigue of his invocation as if something of himself was leaving him, while the opaque, emerald light of black magic abandoned the badger's body like crumbs of light. Finally, after a few minutes, it found rest. This time, Íthil properly buried the little one while reciting his thanks.
Mina stared fixedly at the end of the cave; there was an exit to an unfrozen meadow, and in front of it, five cadaverous and frozen Strigiursa cubs. And next to them, defeated and dying, was their objective. Violent spasms curved and broke its back backward; a horrible, frothy vomit covered its beak while the animal's destroyed eye hung piercing and macabre.
The group held their guts; the desire to end the animal's suffering urged them to deliver the final blow. Íthil raised his wand, but Jacob stopped him in a hurry.
—WAIT, NO! —Jacob shouted, urging Íthil to stop.
—What's wrong, shorty? Don't you see how it is? It's over! —Íthil said.
—Maybe, but look at it, it's not normal. Our attacks didn't defeat it, something is destroying it...
As soon as Jacob said that, Mina tackled Íthil, pushing him out of the way. The hissing, twisted beast clumsily lunged, trying to kill them, while a loud, wet, constant gurgling coming from the animal unnerved the adventurers. Fear began to besiege them. The creature stood up menacingly and, on its two hind legs, easily reached 7 meters tall. That tower of muscles and claws froze in front of them as if awaiting the outcome.
—So, what do we do? —Íthil asked.
—Let's not mutilate it, let's burn it. I suspect something bad about this animal —Jacob said while Íthil and Mina looked at each other.
—Alright, okay —they said, throwing their last flasks of oil at it.
Jacob threw his lamp. The Strigiursa ignited with the oil like a pile of dry leaves. Erect and menacing, the creature stared fixedly at them without moving or screaming, while it was slowly consumed, as if resigned. In its last moments, its empty eye sockets turned to the remains of its cubs, watching them with eyes that were no longer there. Jacob said in a low voice: –[Tallwor]– while they all witnessed that creature being consumed. The spectacle was impactful enough to leave them sleepless for several days.