Lions and Tigers and Bears? Nope, just Bears...

So, in the morning I woke with the breaking of the dawn.  I packed up and set off toward the tower.  It was quite a distance away yet, but I would make it easily by midday.  Just as I started off, suddenly a Bastog jumped out of the bushes, right in front of me.  "WHERE'S STEVEN!?"  What was Lilly doing all the way out here?  Had she followed me?

"Um," I responded unsure what to say.  "I haven't seen him..."

"I know he's out here somewhere.  He has my socks.  He was supposed to bring me my socks and now I have to wrap my feet in tissues."  Lilly held up her feet which were, in fact wrapped in a soft, light papery substance.  "If you see him, you tell him to come home right away, then."  She put her foot down and wandered off.

That Bastog was crazier than a loon.  I'm sure she was really nice if you were able to get to know her.  Anyway, I was walking again toward the tower.  The sun had moved quite far in it's morning sojourn when I saw something standing off the side of the road.  As I got closer, it appeared to be a bear.

This was not a normal bear mind you.  It seemed to walk on two legs and use it's front paws as hands, much like the Furgar and the Bastog.  Curiosity overcame me and I ignored that little voice in my head that said, "this might be dangerous".  I walked right up to the "Bear".  He turned to me and looked me up and down.  Then he smiled and said one word.  "WOOF".

"Oh, I don't talk like that."  I replied.  He must have thought I spoke like a dog because of how I look.

"Silly Furgar.  'Woof' is a term of endearment.  It means 'I think you're cute'.  You've obviously never seen an Ursos before.  Totally understandable.  We were created by the Furlord a short time ago.  Well, I guess 'short' is relative.  Anyway, we were created by the Furlord as an experiment.  We don't wander far from the tower at the Furlord's behest.  He isn't there any more and has asked us to upkeep it while he's away.  So, what brings you down this way, anyway?"

"Well, I'm journeying to the cities of men, but I'm exploring along the way.  I never expected to run into anything like you, however.  Thank you for the compliment.  So I guess, 'woof' to you as well.  So, is there a tribe of you or just a few?"  I asked.

"There is a tribe of us.  In fact we are having a party tonight.  A 'bear event' if you will.  Would you like to join us?  My name is Kuma by the way."  Kuma had a very docile tone, but his voice was intriguing.

"Dusk.  Well, Dusky as most people call me.  I would love to come to this party.  So we must not be too far away then since the Furlord doesn't want you to wander."  I felt like a bit of a dork.  I wasn't sure what to say.

"Well Dusky, you sexy little wolf, we are not far.  Follow me and I'll introduce you around."  Kuma said.  There was something about the way he moved that I had a hard time looking away from.  I found that I was really attracted to him.  Well, I'll follow this hot bear then.

We really weren't far.  When we arrived, the village was built with wooden houses and each seemed to have strings running from house to house.  "What's with the strings?"  I asked, rather confused.

Kuma snickered a little.  "Those are wires.  We have invented something called an 'internet' so we can all communicate with each other from these boxes called 'computers'."

Right.  Whatever that was.  Anyway, I'm sure I would see this new magic that allowed them all to communicate.  The tower was huge.  Must have been at least 16 stories high.  Looking up to the top gave me a feeling of vertigo.  I looked down and shook it off.  As we walked through town, lots of Ursos were emerging from their houses.

I realized there was something amiss here.  "Where are all of the females?  Do they only stay inside?"  I quizzed.

Kuma laughed.  "Females?!  There aren't any female Ursos.  That was part of the experiment."

"So, how are more Ursos made?  If you don't procreate, how do you multiply?"  I was so puzzled.

"Well, it seems that every now and then, another one just joins us.  I'm not quite sure where they come from.  Maybe the Furlord just makes more over time?  I'm not sure."  Kuma chuckled.

That was an acceptable explanation.  After all, a God's prerogative is not to be questioned.  So we made it to near the center of town.  "This is an interesting place."  I stated, looking around.

"It's a nice little village.  We have a lot of parties.  Here's my house."  Kuma said, opening the door to one of the houses.  "Wanna come in?"  He smiled and it was beautiful.

"Yes."  I fawned.  So he lead me into his home.  It was not super tidy.  He needed someone like Aunt Morning Glory to come clean it up.  He showed me the "Computer" and attempted to explain it's workings.  I was so confused that I just nodded and agreed with whatever he was saying.

After that, he stopped and stepped over to me.  He grabbed me in his burly arms and kissed me deeply.  I was a bit shocked at first.  This was very forward!  But after a few seconds, I just let it happen and kissed him back.  It was amazing.  I then felt his big paws wandering all over my furry body.  Things were about to get interesting...

Just Trollin'?

So I set off up the Snake River for a bit.  I came upon a bridge.  It was a nice stone bridge and seemed safe enough.  So I got ready to cross it.  Suddenly this Furgar pops up from under the bridge and jumps right into my way.  He was kinda scruffy and unkempt looking.  He just stood there and stared at me.

"Pardon me, I need to cross this bridge."  I explained, pointing to the bridge.

"You cross, you pay shinnies."  he stated in a very trollish manner.

"Um, what are you talking about?"  I was absolutely puzzled.

"Me troll, you pay, you cross, me go back under bridge."  He retorted as if I was some kind of moron for not knowing how this works.

Right...  "So I hate to break this to you, but you're not a troll.  You're a Furgar, like me."

"NO!"  he demanded.  "Me troll, not doggy like you!  You woof woof.  Me take shinnies."

He just wasn't getting it.  I would have to show him.  "Come down to the river with me."

At first, he didn't move.  So I started toward the river.  He seemed a little nervous, but he followed after I took a few more steps.  We went down to the river and found a slow spot where a reflection could be seen.  I leaned over the water and pointed for him to do the same.  He looked over.  He sat and looked for a moment.  Then he waved his hand at the image as if to verify it's validity.  Then he made a few faces at it.   Suddenly he burst into tears and fell to the ground in the fetal position.  Something had really upset him.

"What's wrong?" was all I could squeak out.

"I'm not a troll!  I've always been a troll, but you have shown me that I'm just a dog!"  He was choking on his words, but he was speaking more fluently.

I went over and put my paw on his back.  I could feel the matter fur underneath the pads of my paws.  "It's ok.  You can always pretend to be a troll.  That way you can fulfill your life's destiny of collecting shinnies from unwitting passersby."

That seemed to pick him up.  He stood up and wiped the tears from his muzzle.  "Ok, you no need pay.  You cross.  I get more from next victim."  He smiled at the thought of double his collection fee.

"Then I must be off as I have a long journey ahead of me.  Thank you for your, um, kindness and good luck with your collections."  I waved to him as I crossed the bridge and onto the rest of my journey.  I walked on around the Forest of Mysts, right on the edge of the Swamp of Illness.  I didn't want to enter either as the forest tends to trick people into traps and the swamp makes you sick.  It was a very small path between the two.

After an entire day's walk, I saw a large tower coming into view.  That must be the fabled "Tower of the One" where the Furgar hero Razorclaw was trained by the Furlord himself!  I would have to stop and check that place out.   It was too late right now to travel that far, so I would have to camp here for the night.  I found a nice patch that wasn't in the forest or the swamp.  I set up camp and set down for the night.  I would go to the tower in the morning.