On the evening of the third day after leaving Harrenhal, a towering peak appeared in the distance, its summit piercing the clouds, shrouded in mist, with lush, overlapping green ridges.
A small stream flowed from High Heart to the Gods Eye, winding and twisting like a satin ribbon laid upon the earth.
After discussing with the two captains, we chose a clearing by the stream to set up camp. Accompanied by the pleasant, tinkling sound of water, tents were quickly erected in the clearing.
Dora, carrying two buckets, swiftly ran upstream to fetch water. Four cavalrymen, chatting and laughing, headed towards a nearby grove, apparently to gather firewood.
While waiting for dinner, William accompanied Malora on a walk outside the camp, following the stream downstream.
"The place where we encountered that giant bear last time was much farther from High Heart," William said, scanning the surroundings. "Now that we're in the territory of the children of the forest, I fear we might receive an even warmer welcome."
Malora turned to look at the hazy distant mountain, a trace of disdain at the corner of her mouth. "Hmph, that's all the children of the forest are capable of – either manipulating animals or manipulating people."
'Is that all? And yet, they still managed to get you killed, old woman.'
Remembering how he had almost fallen to his death at Harrenhal, William still felt a lingering fear and was quite wary of the Three Eyed Raven's abilities.
However, William also found another skill of the Three Eyed Raven even more terrifying and couldn't help but ask, "Can't the Three Eyed Raven monitor everyone's movements through the weirwood trees?"
Malora touched a ring on her left hand, her tone proud. "I naturally have a way to deal with that."
William could sense the magical aura emanating from the ring. It seemed Malora had made thorough preparations to deal with her ancient enemy.
Suddenly, a tremendous roar erupted from the grove the four cavalrymen had entered. Birds startled into flight filled the sky above the trees, almost blotting it out, their sharp, frightened cries sending a chill through the heart.
Trouble!
Without a second thought, William scooped Malora into his arms and sprinted back towards the camp. Held in a princess carry, Malora's expression remained unchanged, though her eyes widened sharply. She lay quietly in William's arms, her gaze fixed intently on him the entire way.
As they rushed into the camp, the remaining men had already taken up arms, watching the direction of the grove.
Setting Malora down, William shouted, "Everyone, stay in the camp and protect Lady Malora!"
He then dashed into his own tent, quickly strapped on his plate armor, put on his gauntlets, grabbed his two-handed greatsword, and charged out.
Ser Bennard, the captain of the guard, bellowed, "Miles, Barri, with me! The rest of you stay here and follow Ser Lyman's orders!"
Knowing he couldn't stop them from following, William gave a helpless glance at the three knights catching up to him and quickened his pace again.
As William approached the grove, he saw two bloodied cavalrymen stumbling out, supporting each other. One of them shouted with surprising vigor upon seeing him, "Ser!"
The other didn't even look up, clearly badly injured.
"Where are the other two?"
"In the grove," the cavalryman had barely finished speaking when he saw William plunge into the woods. He hurriedly yelled after him, "Watch out! There's a bear!"
Following the sounds of struggle and snarling, William soon found the two cavalrymen skillfully evading the giant bear within the grove.
Their tactics were quite clever; they used the trees effectively, providing timely cover for each other. Although the bear held overwhelming advantages in strength and speed, the cavalrymen were managing, albeit perilously.
*'So it's our old friend.'*
William recognized the giant bear, and the bear seemed to recognize him, too. It abandoned the two cavalrymen and charged ferociously at William, its roar filled with deep hatred.
Last time, wearing only thin leather armor, William hadn't dared to face the bear's attack head-on. But this time, clad in specially thickened plate armor, he was utterly fearless. With a cold laugh, he swung his sword and met the charge.
Amid the gasps of the cavalrymen, the man and the bear were on the verge of a brutal collision. Yet, to everyone's astonishment, it was the seemingly savage and mindless giant bear that chose to yield, dodging the sharp edge of William's blade.
William knew this bear possessed intelligence beyond that of a normal beast, so he wasn't surprised. He showed no mercy, relentlessly hacking at the bear with powerful, continuous blows.
The bear roared madly, but facing William, who was armed to the teeth, it couldn't even manage a mutual demise; it could only retreat in frustration, dodging repeatedly.
Seeing the resentment and fear in the bear's vicious little eyes, a sense of vengeful satisfaction surged in William's heart. The humiliation and frustration of being forced into such an embarrassing state last time were swept away completely.
'Wrath of Justice!'
William's speed suddenly increased. In an instant, he moved from the bear's front to its side, his sword rising and falling. Caught off guard, the bear only had time to turn its head, watching in despair as the greatsword, carrying a chilling intent to kill, descended upon it.
Just as Bennard and the two knights rushed into the grove, they witnessed William's sword sweeping towards the massive black bear's neck. As if cutting through butter, the two-handed sword met no resistance, slicing clean through. The enormous bear's head flew off, and blood spurted from its neck like water from a hose, painting the grass and trees ahead a bloody red.
It was a good while before the headless corpse slumped to the ground. Everyone present felt the ground shudder slightly.
William shook the blood droplets from his sword, walked over to the ferocious bear's head, and looked silently at the pair of small eyes, still open but now devoid of light.
In the end, William declined the knights' suggestions to have the head taxidermied or to eat the bear paws. The bear had felt too human-like to him, and both proposals made William somewhat uncomfortable.
Back at the camp, the injured cavalryman had already received proper treatment, his wounds bandaged. It seemed the injury wasn't too serious.
Weighing his options, William ultimately decided not to use a healing spell on him. The battle with the Three-Eyed Raven was just beginning; he only had four healing spells and had to reserve them for truly desperate situations.
The injured cavalryman, wearing only his padded leather under-armor, had nearly lost his life just from a glancing blow by the bear's claw. Although William had warned everyone about the dangers of this journey before setting out, it took this bloody lesson for them to become truly alert. That night, the sentries on watch dared not slack off; they were all fully armed, treating their duty as if facing a formidable enemy.
After dinner, William went to Malora's tent. Dora wisely went outside to stand guard.
He had just sat down on a simple folding stool when he heard Malora say, "You have quite the nerve."
William then recalled the feeling of holding soft jade in his arms, the warmth and faint fragrance... His heart rippled slightly, but he quickly suppressed it and offered an awkward smile. "Lady Malora, my sincere apologies. But the situation was urgent, and I was worried about leaving you outside the camp where you might be in danger."
His intentions had genuinely been good, so he explained with conviction.
A faint smile seemed to flicker at the corner of Malora's lips, though it felt cold. "I'm talking about the bear you killed. That bear was likely controlled by the Three-Eyed Raven. Killing it might even cause the Three-Eyed Raven to permanently lose a part of his consciousness. I'm afraid you've now become the person he hates most."
William shrugged. "If it weakens his power, all the better. As for whether he hates me or not, what difference does it make? Our purpose here leaves no choice but a fight to the death, doesn't it?"
"Good, very good," Malora said, a look of appreciation in her eyes. "Remember, those who stand in our way... send them all to their deaths."
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