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Chapter 6 - Savage Fury

27th Day of Thessix

117 I.E.

Bart soon discovered what Naf meant about withdrawal. His money quickly dried up and soon he was left unable to pay for another dose of Heaven's Kiss. During the time he wasn't on the drug, he ended up lashing out at everyone, including Remi and Garen every time they tried to push him around. Bart quickly found that they were less likely to abuse him if he pushed back, and that gave him even more reasons to lash out at people. Being angry finally got him what he wanted. His behaviour got them to leave him alone, and that's just the way he liked it. He went about his daily routines as normally as he could, but he was unable to focus on his studies and he struggled in his work at Remi's shop.

However, not everyone decided to leave Bart alone. He was outside cleaning the shop's windows when some of Garen's friends walked by and began to harass the ursar.

"Oi, fatty! Ye should bathe once in a while, I can smell ye from here!" one said.

"We should throw 'im in th' river and give 'im a hand," another said in response.

The first one replied, "Do ye think we'd be able t' lift such a gargantuan ogre?"

Bart quickly looked up from his work to see who it was, and confirmed that they were Garen's friends, at least four of the many he had. The fat one he recognized as Rinad, who happened to have the biggest mouth out of the group. Bart wondered if the others realized the hypocrisy of him picking on someone else for being fat, since he was nearly as round. The other one that chimed in to respond to Rinad was Stamm, a scraggly dwarf that always had to get the last word in. His remarks were rarely all that scathing, but he spurred the others on nonetheless.

Taking a second look, Bart also recognized Nadko. He wasn't as strong as the others, but he was more intelligent than the lot and that meant he was the best out of them all at throwing out insults. The smallest one, Mos, was also the youngest. He was a year younger than the others, but somehow had found a way into their group. Bart knew there was nothing remarkable about the boy. He was just a sheep that went along with whatever the others decided to do.

It didn't make him any more innocent, not as far as Bart was concerned.

Just ignore them. Despite Bart's best efforts though, he could feel his arm tremble as he tried to tune out the laughter coming from the dwarves. He was used to listening to the taunts and jeers from others, having grown up hearing them for most of his life. However, he was in the middle of withdrawal from Heaven's Kiss, and even the simplest of insults was putting a strain on his patience.

"I think he's ignoring us!" Nadko declared. He raised his voice and shouted, "Hey, fatass! Pay attention when we're talking to you!"

A deep rumble emanated from Bart's chest, but he bit down the growl that was about to surface. "Would you leave me alone already?" he shouted angrily. His hands trembled with rage, squeezing all the water out of the rag he was using. "Can't you see I'm trying to fucking work!?"

"Don't you talk to us like that!" Garen called out as he and the others advanced on Bart. One of them hurled a rock that struck the ursar in the side of the head.

The ursar toppled forward and almost crashed through the window he was washing. He could hear faint laughter off in the distance, as if he were on the other side of a large field from the dwarves. The pain from the blow to the back of his head quickly spread until his entire head was throbbing. Bart's vision blackened and he nearly passed out. He dropped to his hands and knees, and tried to bring his vision into focus. His sight was so blurred he could barely make out the bloodied rock that lay on the ground next to him. Bart brought a paw to the back of his head and felt around until he found the bruised spot and the gash in his skin.

"Get him while he's down!" one of them shouted, but Bart couldn't tell who it was as everything was so muffled.

Booted feet kicked and stomped on his body as he tried to curl up to soften their blows. Bart tucked his face into his arms, but it was futile. Garen and Nadko, the two strongest dwarves, grabbed his wrists and restrained him so that the others could strike his unprotected mid-section and face. Their laughter and shouts pierced his ears, and never before had Bartholomew felt so weak.

"You think you can talk to us the way you've been doing and not get your face beat in!?" Garen spat. "Remi may not be as bold, but I'm not fooled by all the smoke you're blowing. You're still just the same Gods-damned coward!"

Bart cried out as a foot struck him across the muzzle. He heard a crack and there was a sudden explosion of blood on his face.

When he heard the sound of a knife being drawn, he realized that they intended to seriously harm him. Or perhaps even kill him!

With all the strength Bart could muster, he flung Garen and Nadko away while kicking Stamm in the face. The dwarves remained still for a moment, shocked. That was all the time that Bart needed.

The ursar's body ached, but his pain was quickly replaced by an entirely new sensation: pure, unmitigated rage. Never before had Bart felt so angry, and he could feel a rumbling grow in his chest as he stood back up on unsteady legs. For a moment, as his vision worked to clear itself, he could hear the deep breaths the dwarves drew. Without even looking up at Garen's friends, he could pinpoint where they stood by sound alone. The smell of his own blood overpowered every other stench in the air. Bart stood upright to face the dwarves, and their breathing became more erratic. He could smell something new, yet very familiar, and the air was filled with it.

Fear.

Bart let his hatred and anger and frustrations consume him. The rumbling in his chest grew as he opened his mouth and let out a tremendous roar. Spit dribbled down his chin as he snarled and charged at the frightened dwarves, dropping on all fours to get to them sooner. Bart had never raised a fist in anger towards someone, but his instincts and his rage took over and guided his actions.

The dwarves were not able to run very far, as they were easily over-come by Bart with his longer legs. His claws flashed out and left Rinad with four large wounds across his face. He reversed direction and backhanded Nadko with his thick paw. Bart could feel the shattering impact as the dwarf's jaw crumpled, a feeling that was accompanied by the sound of cracking bone. It was a sound that echoed in Bart's mind for but a second, and then it was gone. He found it satisfying, and somehow fulfilling. He wanted to hear it again, so he turned and grabbed Stamm's arm before he snapped it like a twig, causing the bone to sprout out from his skin.

The boy let out a scream that would have curdled anyone's blood. But not Bart's, not in that single moment. He felt electrified, like he was on fire, and every time he heard a bone snap or someone scream it only excited him further. It felt good, better than any drug he'd taken before or any sex he'd had in his short life.

Without any warning, Garen grabbed Bart's tunic collar and pulled him downwards before slamming his fist into the ursar's nose several times. The attack caught him off guard, and Bart stumbled backwards as he tripped over Mos. Garen began kicking him in the chest as he fell down. Bart was unable to recover from the attack before Garen was upon him again in a flurry of punches and kicks. Bart groaned with each impact and shuddered under the dwarf's assault.

"You think you can treat my friends that way? Huh!? Answer me!" Garen shouted before stomping on Bart's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Bart sputtered and gasped for air. His lungs burned, his face stung, and he was sore all over. The only thing keeping him from passing out was the rage bubbling just beneath the surface, threatening to erupt all at once and destroy everything in its path.

"Was your mother a brain dead gnoll or something? I can't believe my friends were taken down by a pathetic half-wit like you!"

Bart's reflexes were no longer dulled by the Heaven's Kiss, and he was easily able to grab Garen's foot as it came down towards him. He tightened his grip on the dwarf's ankle, then yanked him down and to the side, finally getting a chance to breathe again. Garen wheezed and coughed as he hit the ground. The only thing that disappointed Bart was that he didn't hear the crack of bone as the dwarf impacted the floor.

He wondered why he wanted to hear that sound so badly. His thoughts were quickly replaced by mindless instinct, and he decided to end what Garen and the others had started. If he wanted a fight, he'd get a fight.

I'm not weak. I'm not weak. I'm not weak. Bart kept repeating it in his mind. He would not let any of the insults or taunts or harassment hold him back. He no longer believed anything they said. Only one thought was left in his mind as he stood up: I will break him.

"Stand up!" The words escaped Bart's mouth before he even thought them. They were not spoken loudly, and he showed no anger in his voice, but he said it firmly. It was an order that he expected Garen to carry out; it was not a request.

"What?" the dwarf coughed. He continued to sit there, with a hand pressed against his chest as if he was trying to keep his heart from bursting out of his chest.

Growing more and more impatient, Bart roared, "Stand up!". This time he didn't wait for the dwarf to do anything. He snatched Garen by his tunic and snarled at him. Watching him flail excited Bart, and he intended to continue tormenting the dwarf.

The ursar's excitement was short lived as Garen delivered a swift kick to Bart's throat. The dwarf fell out of the ursar's hands as burning, hot tears stung Bart's eyes. Before Garen could scramble away, instinct took over and his claws were out on their own, taking the dwarf's right eye out of its socket. Garen shrieked and fell back, his hands rushing to grasp at his now exposed eye socket. With the dwarf incapacitated for the moment, Bart paused to catch his breath.

The other youths, those that hadn't passed out from the pain, stared in stunned silence at what they saw. Not only were they lying bloodied and broken on the ground, but they just witnessed their leader being bested by someone they had bullied for so long. The disbelief was almost palpable to Bart as a flood of their emotions washed over him and provided him with a brief moment of clarity.

Did I just rip out his eye? Why can I feel what they feel? Bart held a paw to his forehead and looked to the side to see the bloodied mess lying on the cobblestone road. A part of him was frightened by what he did, and that fear was fed by the emotions of the dwarves around him. He wanted to stop, to run away, but a bigger part of him was reveling in the pain he had inflicted on Garen, and enjoyed watching the dwarf clutch at his wound.

It was that part of his conscious that kicked in when he rushed forward to grab Garen by his hair, and slammed him into the ground with such force that his nose was shattered to bits from the impact. Blood flowed freely from the dwarf's nostrils, turning his beard a deep red color. As he reeled backwards, Bart delivered a powerful kick to Garen's sternum with a booted foot.

"P-please Bart... stop..." rasped Garen.

"Stop? STOP!? Did you hear me begging for you to stop when you and your friends pushed me around nearly every single day? When I'd come home and you'd continue to bully me? Did you hear me begging for mercy when your bastard of a father beat me and bruised me every day? HUH!? No, I will not stop!" Bart slammed a foot into Garen's side repeatedly. "How does it feel to be at the mercy of another, you son of a bitch?" Bart shouted. He never got an answer. The dwarf had passed out and lay on the ground in a heap, drawing ragged breaths. "Pathetic..." Bart stayed to watch as Garen's life slipped away. The feeling of satisfaction that he got from seeing someone die by his own handiwork trumped any other feeling that he had felt before. No narcotics, no alcohol, and not even the touch of another could compare. It was the ultimate state of being, and he liked it like that.

A ear-piercing shriek broke Bart from his thoughts, and he looked up to see Nariti in the doorway of the shop with Remi bolting towards him.

"You bastard!" Remi shouted as he leaped at Bart, trying to tackle him. The ursar stepped aside and sliced him with his claws as he tumbled past. Remi didn't bother to get up again.

Nariti continued to scream and shriek while standing just outside the door, pleading for someone to help her. Bart strode over to her side, rage seething just beneath his skin. He knelt down and stood face to face with her. Every time he exhaled, she recoiled from the smell of his breath.

"You're the worst of them all... you never once screamed for help when it was me lying in a bloody mess on the floor." Bart glanced at Garen's body. "You should be proud, mother, this all happened because you wouldn't help. You stood there and watched as they did the same thing to me." He raised his paw to strike, but was stopped as a crossbow was pressed against the side of his face.

"One more move, bear, and I'll put you down like a common beast!" the guard said. Bart could see the look in the guard's eyes, and he knew that the man would not hesitate to pull the trigger if he gave him reason to. "Now, drop her and come with me, hands up where I can see them."

Bart walked with a crossbow pushed painfully into his back, and did as he was told. A part of him had expected this outcome, but not even being caught managed to diminish the excitement that coursed through his body.

The guard lifted his wrist and began to talk into a gem-encrusted bracer. As he spoke, it glimmered with magical energy. "I need a team of healers down at my location now, and a mage to subdue the suspect." The gem shimmered again in response to his request, and the light faded. The guard pressed the crossbow into Bart's back. "Get on your knees!"

Bart snarled at him, spit dribbling from his maw. "I'm not your mother last night!" His claws flashed out and he began to turn to strike at the guard.

He was too slow. The dwarf responded by using the butt of his crossbow to strike Bart in the head. The ursar toppled forward and caught himself with his hands. "Any more of that and you'll find a bolt in your head instead! Now, get down!"

Bart held his head in his paws, trying to keep the world from spinning. He was feeling much more accommodating now. "Look, I can explain-"

"You'll explain nothing. Shut up or I'll put this bolt through the back of your head without hesitation."

Within moments, guards began pouring down the streets towards Remi's shop, as healers from the Lightweaver's Citadel rushed in to tend to the wounded. They quickly began to triage the fallen dwarves, beginning with Garen.

"They're still alive! Quick, we need some bandages for this one's eye," one of the healers yelled.

Bart snarled as he heard the news, but a jab of the crossbow in his back reminded him of his position. He just shrugged and sighed, resigning himself to his fate. A mage came along eventually, and soon his arms were bound by magical chains.

"Move it, we've got a place for people like you," the guard behind him said, as Bart was escorted towards the prison in the center of the city.