Bearclaw Valley they are the force between

They weren’t going for the babes, then. Aventus made note of the direction Astara led him. It wasn’t to the rendezvous or the hole in the ground where she’d hidden them. What excitement crept through him withered. He wanted her to take him to the weaklings, present them to him, watch and watch with pride as her son tore them to pieces. Instead, she led him away.

He was of a mind to leave her, return to the rendezvous where he might hunt them from the shadows, but the smell of something else twisting through the air caught his attention. It was a rank musk that wound through the foliage and air alike. Aventus tipped his muzzle into the air and sniffed, parting his lips to better draw it in. He could almost taste it.

He wanted to direct his gaze to her in a question, but he was mad at her. Instead, he sought to brush past her, seeking the trail of the aptly named skunk bear.