The trip down the mountain was uneventful, it just took time as Curtis had to trek all the way while Silva just flew. As he walked ideas came to him about how to deal with the monsters. The Snake was a kill on sight kind of thing, he had no idea how to domesticate them, and even if it was possible, the snake was already too mature for him to try.
The bears on the other hand intrigued him, Chaos had done it, hell he even killed one just a few days ago. Could he actually try to tame a bear? He put that idea onto the back of his head as he rushed down the mountain, he could still sprint and jump a few low drops. He'd be fine with his physical fitness. It would be like he was back in his previous world. Biking downhill, just that he didn't have the bike. He would be parkouring, that was the term.
"What was the thing that Dad taught me about snakes before?" Curtis recalled the lessons he had before.
Razorfinned Snakes were a unique breed of snakes, they can be classified as neither nocturnal nor diurnal. They sleep when they want to, and they wake up whenever they want. It must be that because they don't care about such norms that they got to the top of the food chain.
Their sleeping pattern was determined by the security of their habitat, atop the mountain it lived in close proximity with Thornback bears, the bears were part of a breed that were diurnal, and so the snake had matched its sleeping pattern with the bears. It wouldn't have to worry about being attacked while sleeping if its enemies were asleep, right?
But, like other reptiles, they were cold-blooded. They preferred warm places to nest. As Silva surveyed the top of the mountain, he took notes of what it was like up there, he even made a rough sketch of the area. The map he drew depicted a lot of useful information that they could use.
It was just a rough sketch, Silva wasn't an artist after all, but it was good enough. The top of the mountain can be considered to be like a bowl. And that bowl was filled with life. Trees littered the land, with a lake forming right in the middle of it. It had its special ecosystem in sense. The body of water had formed a natural dividing line between the Thornback bears and the Razorfinned Snake. Silva even thought he saw fish swimming in the lake.
The bears had set up in the west, digging a cave near the edge of the bowl as their home, it should be big enough for the sleuth to fit in comfortably, and have enough space to store some of their food. While the snake nestled up in a similar hole, east of the bowl, based on the number of holes in the east though, they would need to scout out which one before they implemented their plan.
"How are we going to deal with a monster like that?" Royce asked. He still wished that they didn't pick the mountain, ordinary guards like them wouldn't even be enough for breakfast for monsters like the snake. "It's going to be too strong for us normal guards." the guard was old. Curtis had to admit that he was putting them through the wringer here.
"It's going to be a tough fight, we might lose a few people." Dean pointed out. He still had a bit of an attitude problem towards Curtis, disagreeing with his plans whenever he can.
"I already have a plan. Listen up." Curtis sighed as he laid out his plan to everyone, each of them would need to play a role in his plan. He used the knowledge he had in his previous life, although he wasn't an avid fan of reptiles, he can still remember a few distinctive qualities of such animals. And coupled with the things his father had taught him, and Hjilmar and Sally's lessons. Curtis can easily make a plan of how to deal with them.
Curtis would sneak towards the Snakes habitat, being that the snake is a cold-blooded beast and prefers a warm place to sleep, Curtis will use his ice ability to lower the temperature of the Snakes habitat, agitating it into leaving its hole and looking for another place to sleep
Silva would harass the snake, and distract it from going into other burrows it might have made in its territory, while Dean would work with the others in blocking the other holes within the area that the snake might head to.
And with nowhere else to go, the agitated and sleep-deprived snake would most likely head for the bear's territory, and try to take over their hole as its own.
The plan was to have the bears fight the snake, it would save them the problem of needing to deal with both of the monsters if the plan went well. Although there was a chance that things went awry, it was still better to divert the Snake's attention to the bears.
If things didn't go according to plan. Well, Curtis did think of a few backups. The others just wouldn't like it.
"Royce get three more soldiers that are quick on their feet. We move by sunset?" Dean confirmed. Still displaying a bit of rebelliousness towards Curtis' leadership. He still couldn't figure out why he was like that. He'd decided to finally confront the man about it, he can't have any discord in his team.
"Four hours until sundown, go rest up. Dean, stay for a bit, I need to talk to you." Curtis adjourned their meeting to let the men have some rest. Especially, Silva, he had flown around the mountain for some time. Curtis needed him in top shape for the operation.
As soon as the last man stepped out of the tent, Curtis eyed the burly man. "What the hell is your problem with me?" his words cut right through him, startling the man. He regained his composure fast as he replied.
"You hurt my wife." he spat out, grinding his teeth so hard that Curtis grimaced at the sound.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" Dean shouted as he saw Curtis's expression.
"Take it easy champ," Curtis replied standing his ground. "I'm not sure by what you meant when I hurt your wife."
"Then why is she still asleep? From what Sil has told me, you were the one who last spoke to her!" Dean shouted back.
"She'll be okay, she just exhausted herself," Curtis explained still calm even after the man had shouted at him. Curti wanted to present himself as a dependable leader to Silva and the others. Might is Right. And Curtis was the strongest of them, and he wasn't just strong. He had ideas, he had training, and he had the pedigree to back it, he was raised as a weapon against Chaos, he would use that to lead them.
"Really?" Dean asked, the man's face brightened up a bit as he said it, he had been worrying over the state of his wife ever since he woke up a day ago. They had never experienced being comatose after a fight before, but maybe that was because they had never fought battles that were as hard as one they just did.
"She's still breathing right. We just need to place her in a suitable environment to heal. And she'll wake up by then." Curtis lied, he felt bad about it, but he needed to. He wasn't even sure if the man's wife was going to be okay, but based on how she was faring, she should wake up in a day or two.
He himself had only experienced a deep sleep that lasted a day, and that was after he had fought so hard that he didn't recall even half the battle, while the woman: Clara, had been asleep for three. But given that she still had color on her face, and was having no trouble breathing, she should still be ok.
"What she needs now is a warm area where she can rest. Atop that mountain is a suitable place to let her recover. After we take it as our own, we can let her rest there and she'll be fine." Curtis declared, he had already lied once, what was one more? As he explained he was suddenly wrapped up in a big hug.
"Thank you!" the bear shouted as he spun Curtis around. All aggression gone as soon as he heard that his wife was going to be fine. "Clara's going to be fine!" he boomed as he continued to spin.
Curtis was by no means small, the older man was just too big. If he had to compare the man to Hjilmar he would be half his size.
"Stop. Stop!" Curtis had to call out a few times before the bearman finally put him down.
"I'm sorry for acting like that, I just get so. Emotional." the man paused as he tried to find the right word to describe himself.
"It's ok, now go get some rest. We'll leave after a few winks." Curtis sent the man out, he felt a weird chill as he remembered the times Hjilmar had sent him to the hospital bed with a hearty hug.