Into the Merchant's House

**BOBERRE'S POV**

I could see that this merchant man had a considerable amount of wealth in his community. His home was much nicer than that of the others in this village. And it was a lot larger as well. That meant that his family was likely well cared for. That was good. I didn't want to be walking into a place that wasn't at least as nice as my own.

"They're back." I heard the woman on the porch as she yelled into the house when she saw her husband. I doubt that Mercer or the boy had heard her though. She seemed to be calling out to someone, telling them that her husband was home.

I wonder, was she telling the sick child that the cure was coming for her? Or was she telling someone else that Mercer and the boy were home? That was not something that I could answer for myself just yet.

Mercer led us straight to his store where there was a place to tie off the horses. That was convenient, I needed to tether this beast and let it rest before I returned to the city. The return trip would be quicker because I wouldn't need to travel at the slow wagon's pace. That had actually been quite the annoying trip out here.

"Erickson! Arthur!" The woman from before came running down the porch and hugged Mercer and the boy as a small little girl followed after her.

"Doesn't look to me like your daughter is sick, Mercer." I pointed at the healthy looking child.

"That is Catherine, my other daughter. Addie is still inside."

"E..Erickson, who is this man?" The woman looked frightened when she noticed me. Despite how much larger I was than her husband, she just simply didn't see me. That was quite rude of her.

"Helen, this is Mr. Boberre. He is a wolf from the city. He came to be the one to administer the medicine to Addie." There was gratitude in Mercer's voice as he spoke, he would probably revere me after this.

"H..h..he came to help?" She was obviously frightened of me. Did she know that I could kill her simply for being so rude to me?

"Yes, Helen, he came to help." Mercer nodded then turned to his son. "Arthur, quickly now, go and fetch Briar. We need to administer the medicine as quickly as possible."

"Briar? Who is that?" I hadn't heard that there was going to be someone else here. What was he playing at?

"Briar is the healer of our village. He is the one that told us what illness our daughter had. If not for him, I wouldn't have known how to cure her."

Ah, so he was just the local medicine man. That's good. I didn't need someone stepping on my toes.

The boy ran off immediately while Mercer started to unload the cart with the aid of his wife and daughter. I only needed to grab my one bag to be done and I was not about to help them with their belongings. That work was on them to take care of. However, this just left me standing around and waiting on them.

"I am sorry that it took so long, Mr. Boberre. Please, follow us into the house now." Mercer led me into the house then. The main room was a combination of a family space and kitchen. It was where they would eat their meals, sit around the fire, and spend most of their time during the winter.

There was a staircase on the wall to the right of the door. I was sure that led up to the rest of the house and the bedrooms where they slept. I could see a door or two past the main room and it looked like it would just lead to a backdoor and storage. It wasn't worth looking into. What I was here for was upstairs anyway.

"We're here. I'm back. I have Mr. Briar with me." The Mercer boy came running in through the door while yelling loudly. Behind him was a man that had a look I was all too familiar with.

The new man, Briar, had his head shaved like mine, but I could see that he had gone a day or two since touching it up, so the stubble was already forming on his head. It was pure white, like the snow in the middle of winter. His eyes were a bright, shining yellow, filled with knowledge and understanding.

That man was a werewolf, just like me.

What the hell was a werewolf doing in this village? OK, I was here, but I had been brought here by the Mercer man and his boy. This wolf here, he seemed to live here. He seemed to know these people and help them. What the hell was he thinking?

"I have heard that you have the cure? Where is-." He didn't finish his sentence when he saw me. "Hello, I am afraid that I do not know who you are, Sir."

"Briar, this is Mr. Boberre, a man from the city. He is the one that purchased the cure for me and is going to administer it. He is the one who told me that the medicine can only be given by a wolf. He was nice enough to come back and help us." Mercer was singing my praises again.

"Is that so? I am glad that he has graciously offered his assistance. Thank you, Mr. Boberre." This Briar man didn't seem like he was all that happy about me being here.

"Well, it was the least that I could do. I could hardly send them back here with a cure that they were not able to use. That would have been very rude of me, don't you think?" I was letting the man know that I knew what he was and that I knew that the humans didn't know. And it was clear that Briar knew what I was saying.

"Such kindness from someone who didn't need to show it. Thank you again, Mr. Boberre, for being so gracious."

"Yes, yes, we are all thankful and gracious. Can we just move on now? I believe that there is a child's life at stake here. Let us not delay any further."