The trip back was uneventful. You and Trent arrive in town well into the night.

“Get some rest,” says Trent. “All that forging must have taken a toll on your body, and we still have those wolves to take care of.”

Wolves. You hate wolves. Their frost breath was something that gave you trouble and their relentless attacks make battling them quite tedious.

Facing them is like getting rid of a hornet’s nest — with a club.

You know the wolves won’t be able to do much damage — but they can get a few painful hits in and you need to keep striking the bastards lest you get overwhelmed.

“Yes, the wolves,” you respond.

Trent makes a gesture of farewell as he turns towards his house.

He seems to be in no hurry, probably because his wife might give him a thrashing for making her worry.

You continue walking until you find yourself in front of the Hungry Cat.

Forging the four daggers and battling the demon depleted a significant portion of your strength and you need to replenish what you can.

The inn isn’t as busy, but it still has a few patrons having dinner — even at this hour.

You take a seat at the counter.

“The usual,” you say.

“The house special with double the portions of meat and a round for everyone?” Alice asks with a smile.

“No drinks tonight Alice,” you reply. “Maybe just one for me.”

Alice heads to the kitchen and returns with your food after a couple of minutes.

“Your friends were here earlier,” she says as she serves you your plate. “Eomer was here too. They were discussing something about wolves.”

She grabs a clean mug and fills it with ale from the keg.

You notice the slight tone of reverence when she mentioned Eomer’s name.

“Drink up,” she says as she puts the mug of ale in front of you. “Wolves against wolves,” she murmurs under her breath.

“Frost wolves,” you say.

You immediately note the look of confusion on Alice’s face.

“Wolves that breathe out ice and cold,” you explain.

“I’m not much learned of those magical beasts or whatevers,” she proclaims. “All I know is meat is meat and ale is ale.”

“Good for you Alice!” cries a passing patron. “Meat is meat and ale is ale!”

“Pay your tab Morris!” she cries back. “Don’t let it get past 10 gold like last time.”

A few of the inn’s dining patrons laugh.

Morris heads to the door. He raises his hat and bows to Alice before leaving.

“They’re good people,” Alice explains. “God knows we lost a lot of them with those pesky quests.”

You see her eyes beginning to tear up as she seems to recall the people she lost.

“Which is why I admire Eomer and Trent for staying in town and taking care of those kids.”

“I understand,” you say honestly. “Trent has been taking care of me lately, but I know Eomer is an irreproachable fellow.”

Alice merely nods.

She heads to the kitchen, presumably to hide her tears, before coming back to attend to the other patrons.

You leave a gold coin at the counter before you head back to Thomas’ place and then head straight to your room.

The words of the smith about you not having a trace of magic you confuses you and pleases you at the same time.

Perhaps your abilities do not count for magic in this strange foreign land.

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You sleep — conflicted about the coming day and your adventure with the hunters.

Daytime.

Even before he knocked, Thomas’ steps already roused you from your slumber.

You hear him knocking on the door, and you feign a few seconds of sleep before getting up.

“Cal,” Thomas cries as he bangs on the door.

“Wait up,” you say from across the room.

You unlatch the bolts and open the door.

“We have a job,” he says the moment you open the door.

“I know,” you reply. “I’m the one who told you guys.”

“No,” he says sharply, “I mean for today.”

“Eomer scheduled the hunt for the frost wolves and we’re leaving today,” he explains.

“But… his wife?” you ask, remembering she was about to give birth any time soon.

“Oh that,” says Thomas. “She gave birth yesterday morning. Eomer’s wife is already pushing him out of the house to get more coin for the baby.”

“Haha,” you tried to suppress a snicker but couldn’t.

“We’re meeting at Eomer’s house at noon,” he says. “Get some rations, we’ll probably be out for a week at the latest.”

“I don’t know where that is,” you remind Thomas. “I can get supplies on my own, but I’ve never been to Eomer’s house.”

“That makes you unique in this town,” he says as he grabs you by the shoulder and walks you out of the house.

“Everyone in this town knows about Eomer,” he says, gesturing with his other hand to encompass the whole of the town. “He is one of the old guards and everyone in this town owes him one way or another.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you reply. “But I still don’t know how to get to Eomer’s house.”

“Just ask anyone,” he answers. He lets go of your shoulder and starts walking backwards to the gate. “I’ve been here 16 years, and I still don’t pay attention to street names.”

“Very helpful,” you say with a hint of disappointment.

“Pleasure to be of service,” he says with a bow. “Now I’m off to see Alice about some breakfast. Are you coming?”

“No, but give my regards,” you reply. “I have business with Glenn.”

“Aaaahhh, you rich bastard,” he says upon hearing the name Glenn. “I’ll be gong then.”

He turns and swaggers his way to the Hungry Cat.

You shake your head at the silly figure of Thomas as he leaves.

“Noon,” you can’t help but say the word. “Noon it is.”

You start preparing for your week-long excursion.

You pack a few sets of clothing into your bag as well as the coiled 50-feet of rope. You realize that you don’t have much for supplies and make it a point to buy a few packed rations, a couple of waterskins, and maybe a tent or at least a warm blanket. In the meantime, you strap Skybreaker into your pack. Perhaps you can find a belt of sorts so you can carry the heavy hammer on your back.

Done with preparations, you decide to head to a few of the general stores to get supplies.

A week’s worth of rations cost you four gold, and you spend another gold for two exceptionally made waterskins. The blanket and a few bandages cost another gold. You decide to buy an extra waterskin, and this time, you fill it with the strongest spirit you can find in town — it took a bit of effort and another five gold.

Satisfied with your supply run, you make your way to Glenn’s shop — hoping he has your armor ready.

Triing!

The familiar sound of bells greets you as you enter the shop.

Glenn looks up and puts away the book that he’s reading.

“You’re a bit early,” he says. “It’ll take my craftsmen around half an hour to finish the details of your armor.”

“I have time,” you say. “We’ll be off to hunt frost wolves, so there might be more pelts in the future.”

“Use the guild next time,” he advises. “That way you can save a little extra.”

“I see you have a weapon,” he gestures at your hammer. “One of Torm’s unique creations?”

“Yes,” you reply. “About that… do you have a belt that I can use to hold Skybreaker?”

“Ohhh… the weapon has a name,” he turns and searches one of the cabinets, finally pulling a two-inch-wide belt.

“Just place the hammer under the belt and turn it,” he says, gesturing all the while so you can better understand. “That should be enough to hold your ha- Skybreaker in place.”

You do as Glenn advises and indeed, the hammer stays in place.

“That belt costs five gold,” he says without batting an eye.

You give him a dumbfounded stare — clearly not agreeing to the price.

He rolls his eyes in exaggerated frustration.

“That belt is made from dragonhide,” he says with a bit of flair in his words. “That belt would last for ages, dare I say — it’ll be the last belt you’ll ever need.”

“Fine,” you agree.

Although the chances for the belt to be made from genuine dragonhide is unlikely — the belt seems strong and tough.

He gives you a smaller strap that you can attach to your belt to fasten your hammer more securely — this time free of charge.

“I hear Eomer’s wife gave birth,” you say to pass the time.

“Ah yes,” Glenn starts, “That’ll be their third.”

“Another boy to rival the firstborn and irritate his sister,” he laughs.

“I was wondering if I should bring them something — anything,” you say.

“Just bring Eomer back safely,” he says with a grim voice. “I heard the Wolves were hunting wolves — there’s always a danger when hunting packs.”

“I’ll make sure he comes home,” you assure him, but you feel a sense of emptiness once you say the words.

A few minutes later, an aide brings out pieces of the leather armor you commissioned.

“Try it,” Glenn says gesturing at the armor pieces.”

You strap on the leather vambraces and the leg guards. An assistant offers to help you with the cuirass, but you wave him off and don it yourself.

“You even lined the cuirass,” you note, appreciating the extra effort.

“There was enough pelt,” he replies. “I kept the rest so I’ll still be making a profit.”

Like in Torm’s words, you feel a bit of magic in the leather pieces. You are unsure of their properties — but they are undoubtedly there.

The matching pieces make the armor a little more eye-catching and a bit more elegant. Lining it with frost wolf pelt gives it an arctic feel and color. It won’t be difficult to mark you out in a crowd.

Glenn beams as he sees your satisfaction.

“Anything else?” he asks.

He probably knows a satisfied customer means more business opportunities — and more opportunities to sell his dragon-made products.

“No,” you answer. “That will be all.”

You strap your bag and head to the door.

“Buy a few bottles of milk from Peter’s shop,” Glenn says just as you reach the door. “Pay him extra to bring a few bottles each day to their doorstep — that way they can’t refuse while you’re gone.

You give a nod of thanks to Glenn for the advice and leave the shop.

You make the arrangements with Peter, paying him 3 gold to deliver 2 bottles of milk at Eomer’s doorsteps for the next few days.

You remember to ask for directions to Eomer’s house and surely, he points the way.

You make your way to Eomer’s to start your first real adventure with the Wolves.