Ivy awoke surrounded by warm softness. Her fingers instinctively wrapped around the fluffiness embracing her. It was…so soft. But it also didn’t make sense. The last thing she remembered was dying in a blizzard in “the Free City of Rhune,” so how did she end up in such a comfy bed?

No, that wasn’t quite right. She had gotten out of the storm just in time. And then…that stalker had saved her. It must have been him who brought her here.

She sat up and immediately found a roaring fire off to her right. The heat radiating from the brick hearth combined with her blankets was keeping her nice and toasty. A complete contrast from before she had passed out.

To the left, a small desk and chair sat, with her pack atop the desk. Between it and the bed was an empty expanse ranging maybe ten to fifteen paces, with nothing else in the room. The walls were likewise devoid of decoration. It was comfortable, but empty. It felt like the accommodations of a midscale inn.

Which begged the question, how had she ended up here? A knock on her door sent her hand reaching for her hip, only to find her dagger missing. Her heart skipped a beat, and she almost dropped into the witch world in an attempt to locate it, but her eyes darted to the desk at the same time. Of course it was just sitting there nestled against her pack. But if someone had removed her weapon, then what about…

She pulled down the blankets and took a look at herself. Her body was wrapped in nothing more than a thin white shift. Someone had changed her while she was unconscious. The traveler? He would have much to answer for.

And then the door opened, revealing the very target of her ire. He strolled in as though he owned the place, a tray in his hand supporting a bowl of something steaming. Ivy’s stomach bubbled at the thought of what lay within. A scent of chicken and garlic wafted into the room, that only made things worse.

Their eyes met and he flinched.

“Did I say you could come in?” she asked.

“Oh,” he looked left and then right, “I…uh, thought ya were still asleep.”

“Does that make it better?” She nodded toward the tray in his hands. “Were you going to shove soup down my sleeping throat?”

“Should I go, then?”

Conflicting emotions warred in Ivy’s mind about what to do about this strange man. On one hand, he had helped her, and was carrying a plate of food that made her stomach grumble. But…there was no question that there was more to him than he was allowing her to see.

She kind of wanted to be as far away as possible from him, especially if he was working for witch hunters, or even possibly one himself. But then, the closer he was the easier she could keep track of him, and figure out what his deal was. Plus…the food.

She waved him forward.

“Well come on,” she said.

He shrugged and stepped further into the room, the steam of soup wafting ever closer to Ivy’s nostrils. Her stomach started making funny noises and she gathered a bundle of blankets over herself in a vain attempt to mask the sound. How long had she been out?

She waved at him faster than before.

“Come on, give it. Hurry.”

The man sauntered over as if he was making a point to take his time before dropping the tray over her lap. Once again, the smell sent her stomach rumbling and mouth watering. Suddenly she no longer cared about the potentially dangerous stranger in the room with her, and went straight for the spoon.

The stuff was pure bliss on her tongue, and the second spoonful was already in her mouth when she heard laughter from one side of the room. Her attention flicked to the man now seated at the single chair in the room, his arms resting on the desk.

“What’s your problem?” she asked after another bite.

“Problem?”

“Who are you?” She went for more soup, unable to resist. “Why are you following me?”

The man grinned, a smugness falling over the rough features of his face.

“I seem ta remember it was you who fell into my inn.”

Ivy let her spoon clatter to the tray.

“Yeah, after you followed me through the storm for hours. How did you manage that, by the way?”

She still had no idea how he pulled off tracking her for so long in the blizzard and then somehow beating her to the inn.

“I truly don’t understand what ya mean,” the man said. Something about his accent sounded off to Ivy.

“Of course you don’t. Fine. Get out then.”

He simply nodded and headed for the door. She barely registered his exit as she finished wolfing down the stew. It really was quite delicious. Not only were there several variations of fresh vegetables, but large chunks of white meat chicken and even dumplings. It seemed a bit too good for some random inn chosen by accident.

She wouldn’t let that thought make it go to waste, however. In just a minute or two, she was staring down at an empty bowl, wishing she could send the man down for more. But really, there were more important things to do. Like figuring out why the man was interested in her in the first place.

Ivy rolled out of bed, her bare feet touching the cool boards of the floor despite the roaring fire. This place truly was just way too cold. The snow had been undoubtedly pretty, but she had come unprepared.

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A few steps later brought her to her pack of things, and she pulled out two layers of the thickest clothes she had. Her memory returned of the guards dressed like little bears, and wondered if she should purchase the same, regardless of how silly it looked. Instead, she was puffed up with multiple layers of tough leather and fabric.

Once she was finally ready to go—placing yet a third layer upon her upper body and strapping her dagger to her waist—she considered her next move for a moment. Her goal in Rhune was to find another witch, as it had been for the last year, but that was a nebulous task with no direction. For now, she had a concrete problem to deal with.

Smiling, she threw open the door to her room, leaving the fireplace unattended. Down a narrow hallway and a single set of stairs, she found the common room where she had passed out a day before. Several patrons were seated amongst the plethora of available tables, all sipping at steaming mugs, their hands wrapped around their drinks with bare hands.

Everyone shifted their attention to her when she hit the ground floor, her stalker included. Of course he would be waiting to keep an eye on her. She strutted through the room, ignoring her urge to try what everyone else seemed to be enjoying so much, and went straight for the door.

If she was right about him—and she was, certainly—it would be easy to bait him and catch him red-handed. Then he would have no choice but to explain himself. As long as the storm had passed, she would have no trouble turning the tables on him.

She pushed open the exterior door, only to wince back in pain at the sight beyond. A shining sea of blinding white assaulted her eyes to the point she instinctively rose both hands to shield them. H-how could it be this bright?

There might have been a chuckle from behind her, but she ignored the tease for now. Hesitantly, she started to lower her hands, squinting into the white world. It was just as crazy as during the storm.

Snow covered…everything. Though there were also great heaps of the stuff pushed to either side of the road, cutting a narrow path through the city. It didn’t look like enough for a wagon or carriage to fit through, but a person or two could navigate comfortably.

As she sat staring longer, more details came to her. Portions of the snow had been stained by dirt and refuse, lessening the splendor of the wintery wonderland. Yet even so, she could not deny her awe as she scanned the area before her, every tree coated in a dusting of white, every structure topped by a blanket of pearly fluff.

The only thing she didn’t like about this new world was the sun sitting high above, unobstructed by a single cloud. It wasn’t like she could even feel its presence or warmth at all. The only thing it was managing to accomplish at the moment was hurting her eyes. Every little snowflake was like a tiny miniature sun, reflecting its hateful radiance directly into her brain.

But Ivy had a job to do today, and she couldn't let a little sunlight block her path. She stepped out into the already cleared path through the snow, only for her footing to fall out from under her. Her slip landed her square on the tailbone.

She managed to refrain from crying out, but still, more laughter from inside the inn echoed out to her. Her whole body heated up despite the freezing cold, and she wanted nothing more than to dive into the witch world at the moment. But that would not serve her purpose today, and instead worked her way to one foot beneath her. Then the other.

She threw out both hands in a vain attempt to balance herself, only for her feet to go sliding backward again. Somehow she managed to stay upright though, and kept her eyes down at the ground. Stray remnants of snow had covered an invisible pool of ice right at the entrance to the inn. Once past it, the packed snow became much easier to handle.

She walked aimlessly as she had during the storm, making sure to leave a clear path of footprints in her wake. It brought a smile to her face just to be out wandering in the snow, despite the cold and brightness. In fact, dressed so snugly, the biting winds barely touched her.

It didn’t take long before she first spotted him. That same flash of a dark cloak just on the edges of her vision that disappeared every time she tried to get a better look. He probably thought she had no idea.

She took the first turn down an uncleared alleyway between two multi-story buildings and waded through the thick, knee-high slush. About halfway down the path, she finally reached for her power.

The witch world unfolded around her, its muted grays providing relief from the over-bright winter sunlight. She scanned the twisting, ethereal plane for the sight of a moving figure. Well, pretty much everything was always moving under the guise of her power, but long ago she had learned to pick out the disfigured shape of a person.

And there he was. A single figure was skulking nearby. The witch world opened up a path for her, and she took a step along it before dropping out of her power. Her dagger was at his throat before he knew she was even there. To his credit, he tensed, but didn’t make a sound or otherwise move.

“What do you want with me?” Ivy asked from where she had reappeared behind him.

“Want?” he said. His voice was so much different than before. The tone had dropped an octave and came out smooth as silk. The accent had vanished altogether. “Nothing in particular.”

“Why are you following me? Who are you?”

The man slowly raised his hands up in the air, palms facing forward.

“I don’t mean you any harm,” he said, his head dropping until his chin rested on his chest, “So, I must apologize.”

“What?”

He wrenched his head backward accompanied by a backward lunge and his thick skull slammed right into Ivy’s nose. She stumbled back, dazed, and something hard crashed into the center of her chest, sending her toppling down into the foot of snow covering the alleyway.

Her first instinct was to spring back to her feet and kill the piece of shit that had just embarrassed her, but she found that she could do little more than struggle to breathe at the moment. Her breaths came in ragged, desperate gasps, pain arching through her torso with each attempt.

Wetness dribbled down her lips from her throbbing nose, and her mind still reeling from the shock. Not many times had she been so easily thwarted. It was typically her performing the surprise attack.

Eventually, her breathing began to steady, though the pain did not lessen. He may have cracked a rib or two with that well-placed kick. Still half buried in the snow, she tried to sit up, only increasing the pain. Luckily that was something she was used to. Pain would not stop her from getting her revenge. As long as her body worked, he wouldn’t get away.

She let her power encompass her again, and the world around her transformed. The vibrating lines and curves of the witch world extended into infinity branching out from where she sat. In just a second, she would spot his fleeing form and her power would reveal the path to take.

Except, it didn’t. It couldn’t. In the time it took for her to recover, he had already fled far enough away to intermix with dozens of other moving shapes. She did not know the man well enough to identify his specific witch-world appearance. That could take days or weeks of studying him as she had done with Rose or Armond.

There was simply no way she could pick him out from the masses of the city. She needed her power to direct her as it so often chose to. There was no telling how that aspect of the witch world worked, yet so often it had aided her when she needed it most. But now? Now it fell dormant.

Ivy had no choice but to rely on herself. Briefly, she considered checking all of the nearest people one-by-one, but discarded the thought. Her body was not up for that kind of endeavor. Twice now this man had put her out of commission.

But it would not go unanswered. All she had to do was to be patient. He would show up again, that was for certain. And next time she would not be so nice.

“Meant her no harm?” She scoffed. She would teach him the meaning of “harm.”

Setting aside a plan for the stranger in her head, she began to stumble through the witch world back to her inn.