"Shoot it before it attacks!" someone shouted.
"NO!"
That voice did not belong to a member of the crew.
A traveler appeared from the opposite side, from the shadows of the forest. His beard was long and his clothes were dirty, but he was carrying a book. He looked very much southern.
He walked up to the pirates, speaking softly in his native language, and Serenica realized that he was actually talking to the bear.
Slowly the animal turned away, and when it had retreated a few steps back into the wilderness and the shadows of the trees, it ran and no other signs of it appeared during the tense minutes the pirates just stood there.
"I am thankful for you doing as I said," the traveling man said. "My name is Karani. You were about to commit the greatest sin known to man, and I am so thankful that you refrained from doing it. You never kill a bear."
