Chapter 2

Soul stopped his horse and stabled it nearby as he finally arrived at his destination.

The Winter's Rest was quite full that night as he ducked under the swinging doorway. Many of the patrons turned around to see who had entered and paused briefly at the sight of him. Soul was used to this; Levin's were rarely seen this far north.

Ignoring them, he walked up to a nearby counter in the tavern and, with some effort as the counter was taller than he was, put the head of a dire wolf on top of it. On the other side of the counter stood the tavern owner, Felicia, who didn't look very pleased by what Soul had given her

"I just cleaned that spot," she complained as she examined the head.

"It gives you something to do at least," Soul responded as he climbed up and sat down on a chair.

"We're actually busy tonight, in case you haven't noticed." She reached to the side and pulled out a mug of warm mead that she put down in front of him.

"For once. What'd you do to get these people? Blackmail?" That was a reasonable assumption considering how empty this place usually was. He recognized the current patrons as a caravan of merchants that would come every few months, but they had never come to this particular tavern to drink before.

The Winter's Rest was usually a quiet place that saw few customers, it was why Soul frequented it. The other taverns where he could pick up requests for mercenary work were almost always crowded.

"They've been busy getting drunk since they had lost one of their own to that dire wolf and the other taverns are full." She started poking the head, "I'm guessing this was that wolf?"

"Two of them actually. Mating pair," Soul responded as he took a sip from his mead

"Then where's the second head?"

"Back in the cave covered in about a ton of rubble and ice."

"You realize that I can't just take your word for it?"

"I know, wasn't expecting you to." Soul put down his mug. "Just wondering where you get you info from."

"I have reliable sources... but I'll look into it though." Felicia took the head away off the counter and placed it underneath. "You can collect your reward in a few days"

"Thanks." Soul continued to drink his mead, though he couldn't help but overhear the voices behind him

"Is that a Levin?"

"I think so. How did he kill a dire wolf?"

"Heard there's a Levin in town that lives a witch, you think that's him?"

"Has to be. Why do you think she took him in?"

"Test subject?"

Soul was used to this sort of talk. It was what he had come to expect ever since he had become a resident of Foral and started living with its infamous witch.

Anyone who learned and made themselves capable of using magic, such as Soul, were called magician. A witch on the other hand was something else entirely. Among magic users being a witch or an apprentice of a witch was considered an incredibly rare and huge. For many who didn't partake in magic though witches were something to fear, and there were few in Foral who accepted magic much less practiced it.

"Why did she take you in?" Felicia would ask him having listened in on the merchants.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Soul replied as he shrugged.

Eirwen never explained to him why she took him all those years ago. Why she let him live with her rent free and took him on as an apprentice once he had realized he was interested in magic. Despite being apprentice to a witch he had no desire of becoming a witch himself at the moment though.

The title of Witch was given to those who had mastered the magic of immortality, reserved only to a witch's children or apprentices. Witches had very few children though, due to naturally low fertility rates, so they maintained their numbers mostly through the latter. In reality it wasn't true immortality they achieved, but agelessness. They could still be killed by poison, disease, or blade. Though due to their power, and oftentimes centuries of experience, they would be hard-pressed to actually be killed by a regular person.

"Think I should be worried?" It certainly made Soul wonder why she continued to teach him when there was no guarantee that he'd even carry on her work. There had to be another reason why she taught him and let him live in her home.

"If she was going to do something to you wouldn't she have done it already?"

"Maybe immortality has warped her sense of time?" Being ageless tended to do that, or at least that's what Soul would assume

"I've never met her but from what you've told me about her I don't think she'd wait around for a few years."

"True." Eirwen never was a patient person. "I'll let you know if I ever figure it out," Soul replied as he jumped off his chair and landed on the floor.

"Heading out already?" Felicia asked. Usually he'd stick around for a cup of tea or something at least.

"Got something I have to do"

Soul had much more urgent things to deal with as he stepped out of the tavern and walked to the horse he had kept reined outside. Jumping on as quickly as he could, he directed the horse to traverse through the complicated alleyways that would eventually lead to the closest road. With a snap of its reins he forced it into a gallop. The sun had set considerably and so he wanted to get home before it got dark.

The wind was frigid as he rode, but he had long since gotten used to the cold. It was a path he was familiar to, one he took constantly ever since he arrived in Foral.

It was a town built and kept running by the many hunters and mercenaries that resided in the area, though most of the power was held by the several wealthy merchants that ran the town. The town thrived through the hunters that gathered the hides and furs of the animals in the Barrens to be traded to the countries across the continent and through its mercenaries who completed various requests around the area. It was enough to make a decent living if you were skilled, but it was dangerous work. It wasn't a life for most people that weren't raised into it as children, so people from outside rarely came to reside in this town. Soul was one of those rare exceptions.

To the North was the ocean though they had no substantial port. Just a few sailboats for fishing. The reason was this was the formation the rocks that surrounded the area making it difficult for a large ship to go far. If that wasn't enough there was also an impenetrable fog that lied further norh. No one knew what laid within and most ships that tried to enter never returned. Other than this curiosity the ocean had little use for trade in Foral as goods from the ocean tended to spoil quickly. It was their source of seafood though and Soul had learned to enjoy the taste of a freshly caught saltwater fish.

East of the town were the Forests of Albastra, wild woods where the trees had been growing for thousands of years. Very few of the people of Foral ever went there, and only at its outskirts to gather some lumber. It was easy to get lost there as it was mostly uncharted and many would find their paths blocked by thorns or dense tangled roots.

To the South were a few paths that led out of the town to the neighboring countries on the continent. One road led south through a forest and into Aristol a country that had been plagued by civil war until recently. The other road which led south to a bit before curing to the East led to Zorea. It was a monarchy known for its strict rules and orders imposed on its residents and those who traveled there.

Finally, to the West were the barrens. It was an area of rocky ground teeming with hills, underground caves, and peninsulas. This place was the breeding grounds for a variety of animals, beasts, and monsters. It was this area that allowed Foral to thrive and where Soul did most of his work

It would only take five minutes on horseback before he eventually reached the house. Set next to, a now frozen lake, perfect for freshwater fishing, it was quant place made of wood that stood two stories tall. There was a front porch where the firewood had been gathered and placed to the side. The windows were covered in thick curtains making it difficult to see inside, though the smoke bellowing out of the chimney informed Soul that Eirwen had begun cooking dinner for the night. He was starving, but first he had to empty the contents of the saddlebags

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, which was pointless considering that very people ever wanted to be near this place, he opened the cover of the saddlebag and looked inside.

It was much smaller than he had expected, the wolf cub that he found within the cave, but considering it had its fur and developed eyes it had to be at least a few months old. It growled a bit as he looked at it. Damn it. It was it was too cute for something that would eventually grow into a 400-pound killing machine.

It was against his better judgement to bring back a wolf, even if it was still a cub, but he couldn't bring himself to finish the job. He had convinced himself on the way to town that he'd use it as proof for additional payment, but he hadn't done that. Instead, for some reason, he brought it with him all the way to his home. Now he was trying to convince himself that it was for Eirwen's research.

Yep, that was definitely the reason why he brought it here. Definitely.

The Levin began to wonder how much of an idiot he was as he carefully carried the infant wolf in his arms and walked toward the entrance of the house. He stopped in front of the door with his held halfway toward the door handle.

Maybe he should've just left it back in that cave or maybe he should've sold it to one of the merchants in town. It was a big town there was bound to be at least one person who would be willing to take it as some sort of strange pet.

Before Soul could make up his mind the front door swung open revealing Eirwen standing at the open doorway. She didn't look the least bit surprised by the wolf cub he had in his arms. "Coming in?"

Soul stood there for a few seconds before walking in, the warm air of the building immediately comforting him. Handing the wolf to Eirwen he walked into the living room to find a steaming bowl on the table next to the couch. After taking his fur coat off and hanging it nearby, he sat down on the couch.

He picked up the bowl and looked at what was inside. Bean soup with chunks of chicken meat. A personal favorite of his and very good on a cold day like this.

"Nice surprise," Eirwen would comment as she sat across from him on the couch. She wiggled her finger in front of the wolf. The cub began batting at it curiously.

"I went dire wolf hunting"

"I'd assume so. Tough things, aren't they?" she'd comment while looking at him with a dissatisfied expression.

She never stopped him from hunting or mercenary work, but he knew she disliked what he did. She had more than once voiced a desire for him to take on a safer occupation, but there wasn't really much he could do in town. Though the witch didn't demand rent, Soul still wanted to work so that he wouldn't be a complete freeloader.

"Yea," Soul would say as he reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out the cube she gave him. "Bit of a surprise you left me in there"

"It worked?" she asked as she grabbed and examined the now inert cube.

"If almost crushing me with a giant ten-ton boulder counts as it working, then yes. How did that even happen anyway?"

Eirwen held the cube with an accomplished smile on her face. "Dimensional pocket contained in a closed space"

"What?" He didn't quite know how to respond to that. Did she just say dimensional pocket?

"It's been something I've been working the last century or so"

Now he knew what he was going to say. "And you thought giving me something capable of breaking the laws of physics was a good idea?" Magic was supposed to be logical, there was a formula or function for every action that derived from it even for the most outlandish of spells. With witches though magic seemed to turn into something beyond what would be logically possible.

"I told you how to use it. Besides how else was I going to test it?"

Maybe those merchants were right, maybe Eirwen was actually using him as a test subject. It had been a few years already since they had started living together and he still couldn't figure her out.

"Besides you wouldn't have to have used it if you weren't in trouble," Eirwen continued to say

She had a point there, though he hated to admit it. She knew him a lot more than he'd have liked

"It caught me by surprise that's all," he grumbled to himself. "Anyway, what are we going to do with that cub?" Soul asked trying to change the subject. "It's not like we can keep it"

"Why not?"

"It's a dire wolf!" he stated the obvious fact of the matter

"And I'm a witch." She stated the other obvious fact of the matter

He should've remembered that common sense didn't apply to her. "You think people are going to let us raise a wolf on our front porch?" There was a limit to what the townsfolk would allow, even for a witch.

"They don't have to know and why would it live outside?"

Soul had to take a second to process what she just said before he answered back. "You do know how big those things get right?" There was no way the house was large enough for a fully-grown dire wolf. She knew what they were, yet for some reason couldn't comprehend the issue of a two-meter-long four-hundred-pound wild beast rampaging within their own home.

"I do know, and weren't you planning to give this to me anyway?"

That didn't mean he wanted to live with the thing.

"Fine take it, my gift to you." Not wanting to argue with her any further, Soul stopped eating and stood up to grab the bottle of pills he had left previously in the kitchen. After he popped a pill into his mouth, he took with his food with him to his room. He was dead tired, he just wanted to get some sleep once he had finished eating.

"You know," Eirwen began just as he had opened his door. "A few years ago you would've just killed it and be done with it."

Soul paused for a moment before entering his room and closing the door behind him.