Chapter Thirty-Four: Dire Wolf

After visiting some ingredients shops and procuring a few recipes, Ash spent the next day whipping up potions. First, he made a potion of fire resistance. It wasn’t full-on immunity, but it was better than nothing. Next, he made two healing potions.

He could only make one elar potion, as the ingredients for those were scarce and were so expensive he almost didn’t make the one for fear of being in debt the rest of his existence. After that, he made wolfsbane oil. This oil would work on lycanthropes and dire wolves, preventing them from healing.

He didn’t need a blessing as he wasn’t dealing with a spirit. He thought about getting scripts until he heard the price.

“Two gold?” He choked when the scripter had quoted him the price.

The scripter shrugged,

“It’s several hours worth of painstaking inscription, plus the aspect stone alone is worth a gold.”

Ash thanked him but left the shop empty-handed. There was no way he would put himself in that much debt. He was at a gold and five silver pieces already.

He bought a belt that went over his chest diagonally, allowing him to store his potions and oils.

As prepared as he could reasonably be, Ash planned to meet up with Rosalia, Nick, and Will. Lilith walked beside him, her thoughts excited about the upcoming battles. She sent him one image of her standing triumphant, breathing fire in the air over a pile of dire wolf corpses.

Glad to see your confident, he thought at her. He’d been doing that a lot lately, thinking words at her. He hoped she would pick up the tongue eventually if he kept at it.

Rosalia waved at him from a table, and he sat down.

“Look at you! You’re officially a real boy!” Will pointed at his new sword at his hip

“New armor, too. You look like an experienced adventurer, not a student. How did you pay for all of that?”

Ash rubbed the back of his neck. Lilith snickered.

Rosalia raised an eyebrow, while Will leaned in conspiratorially,

“You sold your body, didn’t you? It’s okay, we won’t judge.”

Ash jerked away from him, face going pink.

“I did not do that. I made a deal with the blacksmith.”

Nick grunted,

“Skori? He’s good people. You can trust him. Bleed every silver piece from a stone, though, light cursed merchants.”

Rosalia bit her lip, eyes worried,

“Is it a good idea? Putting yourself in debt like that?”

Ash held his hands up,

“Not much else I can do. I don’t have time to earn it any other way.”

“What does he have you doing?” Nick asked.

Ash looked away. He hated keeping things from them, but Skori had been very clear.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Sorry, I can’t say. I agreed to keep it quiet with Skori.”

Nick grunted,

“Light, course he did. May as well tell ya how to adapt then. You might need it. Also, you should know somethin’.”

Ash gestured for him to continue. Nick shared a glance with the others who nodded. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before thumbing his hammer.

“Right. People have been going missing. Just a rumor we all heard, but since you’re going off on your own, ya should know.”

Ash firmed his lips into a line.

People going missing didn’t sound good. But until he knew more, he would just have to be careful.

“What do you mean about adapting?”

It was Rosalia who answered,

“Now that you have access to your elan, you’re going to absorb elar from defeating monsters. I don’t know why it works that way, the adventuring party we were with just told us that was how it works. It’s how you advance in rank. But the elar you get doesn’t always align with your elan. You have to adapt it.”

“How do I do that?”

“Breathing,” Will said. He sucked in a huge breath, puffing out his chest, then blew it out dramatically.

Rosalia giggled, shoving him.

“Not like that. You know how to access your elan, right?”

Ash nodded,

“So, you do that, but instead of drawing your elar, you sort of grab the absorbed elar and pull it through your elan. You have to be utterly calm while doing it, which is why it doesn’t work in a fight. The group we were with didn’t tell us the consequences of trying it in a fight, but they looked pretty grim when we asked and just reiterated that we do not do it, under any circumstances. Breathing helps keep you calm, so that’s why Will said it. Even if he was being a jokster about it.”

She shot him a look.

Will gave a little bow, a huge grin on his face.

Ash noted it all in his mind. He was sure he was going to be facing lots of wolves in the mines, and knowing this would be necessary.

Lilith had tuned them out for the most part, but eventually she sent him a picture of a huge ham. She was hungry, and when she got hungry, there was nothing for it but to feed her or she would constantly annoy him until he did.

He ordered her some food.

“What monster are you all going after?” Ash asked.

“A troll. There’s one in the mountains,” Nick said before taking a swallow of his tea.

“Hobgoblin,” Rosalia added.

“A wight,” Will said.

Ash looked at him,

“I’ve never heard of that one.”

Will smiled,

“It’s an undead. A slightly more powerful zombie. There’s one by a makeshift graveyard in the forest. Someone wants it taken care of so the Ivalians can visit again. I’m just the hero for the job,” Will hooked a finger at himself.

Rosalia snorted, and Ash chuckled a bit as Nick grunted, shaking his head.

Lilith didn’t care about the conversation, eating her food with gusto.

“You’re not taking her with you, are you?” Rosalia said, looking at Lilith.

“She’s going to help,” he said.

Rosalia frowned,

“Um. Isn’t that dangerous? For a little girl?”

Ash looked uncertain.

“She’ll be okay. She’s more powerful than she looks, trust me.”

His companions didn’t look as if they trusted him, but no one said anything.

After the meal, they all said their goodbyes and departed.

Ash began his trek to the mine, trying to ensure he wasn’t followed. He was no expert, but he felt reasonably certain he hadn’t been followed.

The mine looked like a cave opening, with some discarded pickaxes out front. Warning signs of monsters had been put up near the entrance.

Ash took a deep breath, looking at Lilith.

“Try to stay out of the way, okay? If you can, call something out if you see it and I don’t.”

Lilith snorted, sending him thoughts that meant not only was his concern unwarranted, and unwanted, but that he was the one who should be careful instead.

Ash chuckled.

A slight breeze came from the cave, carrying with it the scent of bones, earth, ash, and iron.

Unsheathing his blade, Ash made sure he had everything he needed. He did.

There was no more reason to delay.

It was time.

The dire wolf den awaited.