So, after a good night’s sleep at Belore’s palace, we headed north towards the border of Dione. There was a spot where people from Pacia and Dione could trade, but it would take a few days to get there, and we would have to pass through the west side of the Rykuo forest. In the meantime, the guys were giving me a hard time.
“Go fetch us some wood!” they would tease. I teased them right back, telling them what they could do with their request. Eventually, one of them, Petten, challenged me, and I fully learned a lot from him. For one thing, do not bring a wood cutting ax to a real battle! We dug through the woods and found a big stick. I started swinging that thing around, and we pared back and forth to pass the time.
Remember I told you the food in Pacia is quite spicy? Well, halfway through the day, it started to catch up to me, if you know what I mean. My arms were burning from swinging that stupid stick around, sweat is pouring down my forehead, and I was feeling a bit bloated. I know that in the next several minutes, I am either going to earn my rank among these fine men, or I am going to embarrass the fully out of myself!
I’m ready to let it go when Captain put up his hand, and the entire party stops walking and goes quiet. We are all looking around, trying to figure out what the problem is when we see it: ahead of us on the trail is a bear! This was not an ordinary bear. It was the largest bear any of us had ever seen! It was like seven feet tall and was foaming at the mouth. Its paws were as big as a plate, and it looked hungry. Mind you, I am trying to keep myself quiet, but my stomach starts making these terrible sounds. Everyone looks at me with a horrified look, like I was about to get us all killed.
The bear is looking right at me too. I can see Captain put his hand on his weapon. I had only seen him fight hand to hand. Imagine him with a weapon! I was worried for the bear! But then it happened. I could hold back no more and, to put it delicately, let lose the vileness within me. It was horrendous and loud. The bear heard it or smelled it and took off running in the other direction! He took like three big steps, then fell dead right there! We were saved!
From that day on, I gained my first nickname: Jack the Vile. It sounds impressive, right? They would poke fun at me, saying no one was as vile as me, given my size. One guy, Kent, insisted he went blind for an hour, but I swear it was less than a minute! Petten carved the beast up for us, and we ate bear meat for well over a week!
Beyond Arden 
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