Chapter 1

In Thiss’ opinion, there was nothing better than standing on top of a table, strumming the lyre, and singing a song that got the tavern guests stomping, clapping, and shouting the verses they knew as in tune as they could manage while three ales in. There was a certain charm to traveling here and there: playing in taverns, taking on odd jobs, disappearing to the next town before anyone got angry at her for stealing the work from some Mayor’s son. For tonight, however, this was as close to bliss as she could get. Thiss howled out the last verse of the melody, gasping in air as she played the final notes on her instrument. The crowd’s rhythmic clapping dispersed into applause, and after a quick bow, she hopped down onto the floor, picking up the mug full of water and taking a long drink. With the small amount of tips that she made tonight, it should be enough to buy lodging at the inn down the road. Before that, though, she needed a drink. Thiss set the lyre and the mug on the tabletop and rose, heading to the counter where the barkeep was arranging clean tankards.

“You know, that was good,” he said, grabbing a clean tankard. “It’s been a while since we had a bard show up. Can’t give you this for free, but I’ll slide it over for one ban.” He turned to the cask of ale behind him and uncorked the spigot.

Thiss grabbed the coin from her pocket and put it on the barkeep’s counter. “One ban for you. Thanks for letting me play tonight, I really didn’t want to make camp out there in the cold.”

He took the coin, dropping it into the bag of the day’s earnings. The man glanced out the window and frowned. “There’s too much howling out there. Wolves are one thing, but wargs? Well.” He turned back to Thiss. “Travel in the daytime around here.”

The door opened with a creak, distracting both Thiss and the barkeep. Thiss watched with mild curiosity as two men stepped in, the first a blonde in dirt-covered road leathers; a stark contrast to his sandy white face-- the only part of him that appeared clean. Behind him stepped in a taller, tawny brown skinned man, his messy black hair fitting the disheveled and road weary look that hung around the pair like a dark cloud.

The barkeep dropped his pensive expression and replaced it with one of hollow joy. “Hello! Welcome to The Dancing Pine! Can I help you gentlemen? An ale, perhaps?” Thiss pulled the corners of her lips into an awkward straight line, glancing from the barkeep to the new guests.

“Mm, two, please. How much?” the taller one replied.

“Four ban.”

The man rummaged through his belt pouch for a moment, pulling out four silver coins. He approached the counter, glanced at Thiss, then back at the barkeep, who was dutifully holding out his hand to receive the payment. The man smiled and placed the coins onto the counter, then headed back to the table that the blonde had sat down at.

The barkeep groaned in frustration as he picked the coins up from the counter, obviously annoyed that he didn’t just drop them into his waiting hand. “Always with the counter,” he huffed, placing the coins into the bag he’d opened previously. He looked back at Thiss. “Wargs. Don’t take your chances.”

“Thanks for the tip. I don’t suppose the Lord Mayor is offering any bounties on them?” She did her best to turn her eyes away from the two men, who were watching the conversation with a terrifying intensity.

The barkeep shrugged and motioned to the wall near the entrance with his dish towel.

“Don’t know. Any bounties that might be claimed are usually posted there. Are you looking to collect it?" He scrunched his nose up in distaste. "I thought you bards were at least a little better than common mercenaries." Despite the insult, he handed her the tankard he had filled before the two newest patrons had walked in. Thiss shrugged her shoulders as she took it in her right hand and made a sarcastically regretful expression.

"And I thought this town was at least a little friendlier than the last one. Don't refuse what the gods give you. Would you like those wargs taken care of, or not?"

The man harrumphed bashfully, but left the conversation at that, for which Thiss was grateful. She thanked him anyway and walked towards the entrance to the tavern, examining the parchment that had been lightly nailed to the wood. A reward for a lost horse, a reward for a bandit (preferably dead), a found horse, but no reward for wargs. She took a long swig of the ale in preparation to ask the rude barkeep more questions. At least their drink was delicious.

"Sorry to bother you again," she said flatly. "Is the Lord Mayor in town? I'd like to take care of that problem."

"Hm. Of course you would. Yes, he lives in the large house on River Street. You can't miss it," he said.

“Right." She finished the mug in a few sips, next to the counter while the barkeep muttered something about manners. Thiss smiled and set the mug onto the counter. "Thanks for tonight." It was late, and she was ready to sleep. In the morning, there'd be plenty of time to see the Lord Mayor and pad his ego enough to earn a reward for some work. She made her way through the tavern, back to the table where she had set her lyre. Thiss slung it over her shoulder by a leather strap on either end and did her best to avoid bumping into people as she weaved her way to the entrance. She pulled open the door and made her way down the street to the nearby inn, flashing the innkeeper's wife a smile and heading up the stairs to the room.

The other boarders were sound asleep. Thiss let her eyes adjust to the darkness for a moment, then spotted an empty bed. She padded over slowly, doing her best to keep her steps as quiet as possible. Not that it would have mattered; her roommates' snoring was loud enough to cover any sort of noise she might have made. Thiss took off her boots, placing them by the foot of the bed. Then the lyre, which she carefully put below the straw mattress. She snuggled under the blanket, closing her eyes and letting the white noise from the snores lull her to sleep.





Thiss shivered in the morning chill and drew her gambeson tighter against her. She made her way along River Street, passing a variety of smallish houses, alleyways, and people on their morning routes. Sure enough, the barkeep had been right. The Lord Mayor's house was the largest one on the street, though it wasn't the defining feature. That honor belonged to the large stone wall that surrounded the large house, though it could be more accurately described as a miniature castle. A single house soldier was stationed at the gate, more entertained by watching his breath form clouds in the air than watching the gate.

“Excuse me,” she said. The soldier jolted back to attention, surprised by Thiss’ interruption. “Is this the Lord Mayor’s house?”

“Y-yes!” the soldier replied.

“Might I ask for an audience? I have a proposal for him.”

The soldier turned his head towards the house, then back to Thiss. “I… suppose?”

She stared, waiting.

“O-oh! Right!” The man pushed open the large door that made the gate, allowing Thiss to step inside. “Giso!” he called from behind her, the yell uncomfortably close to her ear. “Giso!” A well-dressed man stepped out from the front door of the house, frowning at the shouting man across the courtyard.

“Would you please--”

“There’s another one!” The soldier cut him off. “Wants an audience!”

The well dressed man that Thiss assumed was Giso hung his head in defeat. “Yes, thank you, Matteo, I shall take her in with the others, now would you please stop shouting? I can hear you perfectly well.” Matteo turned to Thiss and smiled warmly. “Giso’s the footman. Your friends are already there, it’s not been too long, I think. Anyway, good luck, Miss.” Matteo slipped out the gate again, letting it shut behind him.

The footman hurried over once Matteo had left, and sighed. “You’re lucky that you’re not too late, Lord Mayor Arnald just began discussion. Come, come.”

She followed behind him, ogling the house. “Friends? No, I’m here to discuss--”

“The wargs? Yes, I’m aware. Now go, I’m sure he won’t be pleased that you’re wasting his precious time, showing up late.” Giso shuffled her down the short hallway, opening the door at the end. Thiss stepped in, confused, and heard the door shut behind her.

Three men stood at the other side of the hall, all with their focus solely on her. She stole a glance at the door behind her, as if Giso on the other side could help her. Thiss took a hesitant step forward, the silence of the hall providing an echo chamber for her footsteps. She looked between the three men. The blonde hair caught her eye-- the man from the tavern? To his right, the unkempt brown mop she recognized from the night prior had been pulled back with a leather tie. The both of them had apparently cleaned up from the night before. The third man cleared his throat as Thiss neared. “I’m far less likely to consider your offer now, gentlemen,” he said, examining Thiss more than she was examining him. “Not only is your companion late, they're a woman.” He brushed his embroidered sleeves, catching Thiss’ gaze as she looked up, making sure that she noticed his sneer.

She looked at the darker man on her right, his unfazed expression more off-putting than reassuring. A quick look to the left, however, showed that the blonde was struggling to contain his composure. Thiss opened her mouth to speak, unsure of whether she should play along or express her own anger at… whatever this was.

Before she managed a sound, the man on her right addressed the Lord Mayor with a sickeningly gentle smile. “My Lord, I don’t have-”

“My Lord,” the blonde interrupted his companion. “I must apologise for her late arrival.” Both Thiss and the two men looked at him. “However, she’s an accomplished fighter, and a Runian, at that.” Thiss bit her lip, a fang poking the inside. This fucking bastard, pointing that out– how did he know?

“I insist still that we will have no issues in dealing with your warg problem, and that our price of thirty ban is the lowest you’ll find in barony.”

Lord Arnald scoffed, eyeing the top of Thiss’s head as if he was expecting her kerchief to disappear. “Hm. You three are lucky that we lost a child in those woods two weeks ago, and I’ve heard that they may have lost another two days prior.” He folded his hands behind his back and strolled in a small circle in front of the three. “I’d turn you all away, if I could…” he trailed off. “Fine. I’ll hire the three of you, but for twenty ban. No more.” The dark man on her right opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by the Lord Mayor. “Don’t try to negotiate, I’m not in any mood. Get out, and don’t bother me until you’ve brought me their tails.” He studied the three of them for a moment, finally shooing them out with an audible, “shoo!”

Thiss furrowed her brows in confusion as she led the three of them towards the door that she had entered from. The two other men followed behind. Giso was waiting outside the door. “Gentlemen. This way.” The footman shot a glare at Thiss. She frowned in reply, doing her best to maintain composure. Giso held the front door for them as they left and immediately slammed it once Thiss had crossed the threshold.

“What the fuck do you think you’re--” she snarled to the other two, cut off by a harsh whisper from the blonde.

“The gate guard,” he pointed out, motioning towards the closed entrance. “Do you want the money or not?” Thiss shut her lips tightly, following behind the others as they knocked on the gate and the three of them stepped onto the street once more.

Matteo broke the tense silence with an excited, “Good luck!” and an earnest wave. If not for the two assholes that just stole her job in a whirlwind of confusion, she might have found the guard’s antics entertaining.

Thiss followed the two men until they were out of eyesight-- and hopefully earshot-- of Matteo. Finally, she could tear into them. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” She shouted. “You come in, steal my work from me by eavesdropping on my conversation,” she waved her arms. The blonde folded his across his chest. “You point out I’m a Runian, then hold the reward over my head…” She took a deep breath in. “I want that fucking reward.” The sides of her kerchief flared out, revealing ears pressed flat against her head, accentuated by lips curled around sharp teeth. Nobody spoke for a long moment, the silence less tense than before, though still uncomfortable. Thiss did her best to calm down, her heart still racing from the outburst. She pat the sides of her head, tucking the stray ears back under her scarf before brushing off some invisible dust as a reflexive motion. “You owe me that reward.”

“First of all,” the brunette led off, “that’s not ‘your reward’.” He moved closer to the blonde, leaving Thiss alone across from them.

“Yes, that is my reward! I was the one who asked about it!” Thiss stepped forward, ears out.

“It’s not,” the blonde stated, shrugging casually. Thiss took another step forward.

“Second of all,” the brunette continued, readying his next point.

“Reg, stop, I have a deal for her,” the blonde interrupted before he could get any words out. “Look, I really don’t care how you feel about any of this. Frankly, I should punch you for knocking the reward down ten ban.” Thiss planted her feet and stared at the man’s cold blue eyes, doing her best to look intimidating. “But I’m not going to deny that we took your idea for a reward.” The man named Reg muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Thiss rolled her eyes. “So here’s my offer: seven ban and you help us with the wargs. We’ll both move on from this horrible town and part ways for good.”

Thiss blinked for a few seconds, then shook her head in disbelief. “You ask me to hunt with you after threatening me, then offer less than half of what should rightfully be my reward?” She scoffed.

“It’s either that, or we take the entire twenty.”

She stared incredulously at the blonde. “And if I get to the wargs first?”

The man looked around the near distance, almost bored in his reactions. “We’re fast, I have no issues in getting rid of competition one way or another.” Thiss looked at Reg, who seemed to be more upset at the idea of Thiss joining than the blonde did. “Anyway. We’ll need to pick up our weapons at the inn and get our kits packed. Let me know your answer before we leave town.” The blonde turned to Reg. “Don’t look so offended, you’ll get less bites if you use her as bait.” Without leaving time for Reg to reply, the blonde began walking back to the main street. Reg looked at him, then at Thiss, and hurried to catch up with the blonde.

Thiss waited until they had left her vision before she let out a shout, balling her hands into fists and stomping in small circles on the dirt pathway. Assholes! She’d been insulted by the Lord Mayor, harassed by some pretty boy and the most bothersome lackey, who both had the gall to take her idea and offer her a small cut of its potential profits. She shouted once again, shoving her hands into her pockets once she’d finished. Thiss took two deep breaths in and out, willing herself to calm down as much as she could. It was unlikely that the Mayor would have given her the job anyways, judging by how he sneered at her for whatever trait he personally deemed offensive. She'd needed the two men to vouch for her, even if they had stolen her rightful reward. Fuck, those bastards might be right. It may be a better offer to join them and part ways as soon as possible.

It was a quick walk back to the inn she had stayed at. She retrieved her weapon from the innkeeper’s storage, strapped it to her hip, and rushed to the town’s northern outskirts. From here it was a short walk to the forest, so if Reg and the blonde man would expect her anywhere, it would be there. Thiss found a nearby boulder and sat down, taking the short rest to tie up her hair with the kerchief she normally wore. She gave her ears a few twitches, stretching them. It was nice to have her hair out of her face, for once, and she had already gotten past the awkward reveal since the blonde asshole had pointed it out to a total stranger. Finish this, and on to the next stop, she repeated to herself.

Her thought was cut short by the light shuffle of feet and muffled clink of mail. She wasn’t sure what annoyed her more: the fact that she was stuck working with them, or the fact that they were better equipped than her, but yet still stole her reward. She stood from the rock, patting her sides to shake off the light dusting of snow that had clung to her pants. “I’ll take the seven ban,” she said, forgoing a greeting.

The blonde smiled. “It’s easier for us both this way. Shall we?” He made a polite gesture toward the forest. Thiss nodded her confirmation, following the blonde up the worn pathway. Reg walked to their left, equidistant to the blonde man and Thiss.

“You could at least introduce yourselves before you lead me into a dark forest,” she remarked.

“What does it matter? You have a sword, can obviously fight for yourself, and I don’t like killing people who help me,” the blonde replied. “Besides, you could have introduced yourself to us at any point, yet you didn’t.”

Thiss bristled, his offenses still fresh. It wasn’t worth the trouble to reiterate how rude the two had been, but seven ban was at least enough to get her to the next town without camping along the way. “Look, I’ll make it easy for you. My name’s Thiss. Yours?”

“Varis,” said the blonde.

“Reg,” Reg offered.

“Finally,” she stressed the word. “Thank you. Now I can at least know who to avoid if we ever cross paths again.” Reg rolled his eyes, but remained quiet. Varis led the group, now silent, into the trees. While the wargs sleeping in their dens would be more difficult to find in the daytime, at least she and the other two didn’t have to risk being hunted by their prey. The introductions were the closest thing they had to a conversation for the next three hours, the trio silently stalking through the forest to hopefully come across a den of the sleeping monsters.

Hope, however, was not enough to locate their targets. Thiss groaned and sat on a fallen trunk, removing the strap from across her waist and setting the sword to her side. She stretched, then lay back, staring at the canopy of bare branches above. “We can just wait for twilight, you know,” she suggested, pulling herself back upright with her core. “It’d be better than walking around aimlessly.”

Varis and Reg sat down nearby; Reg on a boulder, Varis on the opposite end of the tree trunk. “It’s more dangerous that way, are you sure that you’ll be able to handle it? I’m not going to save you if you get injured,” Varis replied. “It’ll get me the full twenty.”

“I’ll be fine.” Thiss frowned and looked up at the sun, shading her eyes. By the position, it must be mid-afternoon. At least the last few hours of daylight would provide warmth before they had to get moving again. Reg unbuckled the belt holding the sword in the sheath and set it to his left. Varis adjusted his around his waist where he sat, but decidedly left it on.

The three of them remained quiet, letting the shadows of the trees rotate with the gradual progression of the sun. A chill began to creep across the forest, Thiss entertaining herself by blowing warm air into the fading sunlight. She heard Reg scoff at her fourth huff of breath, acknowledged him with a glance and a sarcastic eye roll, and breathed out again, watching the warm cloud of moisture fade into a light mist before disappearing. A light rustling from behind grabbed her attention. She turned to see Varis, sliding off of the log and onto the ground. He adjusted his sword on his hips, then looked expectantly in Reg’s direction. Reg pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his sword. He buckled the belt back in place while Thiss hopped off of the log, replacing her own sword.

“Let’s get moving,” Varis said.

Thiss caught up with Reg and followed behind the blonde, walking softly and slowly as they let their eyes adjust to the growing darkness. The evening star had barely risen from where the sun had set when the howl of a wolf froze Thiss in place. Reg stopped, hand on the hilt of his sword. Varis continued to walk ahead, the crunching of branches, snow, and grass the only sounds after the echo faded. Thiss and Reg shared a look of concern and remained in place.

“Varis,” Reg spoke, hushing his voice as soft as it could go without being inaudible. Another howl placed Thiss’ hand on her own sword hilt, ready to draw. Varis turned back at the two and frowned.

“Wolves,” Thiss began. “They don’t--”

Thiss was the first to see the shadows darting between the distant trees. She drew her sword as a snarl came from a nearby direction, and Reg followed suit. Varis muttered under his breath and drew his sword as well, the three forming a wide triangular formation. The first wolf lunged from the shadows, a snarling ball of teeth running directly at Thiss. She held the sword in both hands, blocking her face as she kicked the animal in the chest, sending it tumbling to the ground. She heard barking and growling from behind her and the familiar sound of metal cutting through flesh. As the wolf she’d kicked was getting back on its feet, a larger black dog charged for her face. She swung, the blade connecting with the warg's neck. It yelped as it was cut, but continued to snarl as soon as it fell. The wolf wasted no time in attacking again, and Thiss turned her blade to make contact. She caught it's leg, the creature yipping as it fell.

In the midst of the fight, she'd tuned out the grunts, barks, and screeches coming from the fight that Varis and Reg handled, but a loud "Fuck!" from one of the two men whipped her around to face a warg that had begun rabidly rushing Reg. Varis cut the two he had fended off thus far down: one dead, the other wounded. He turned as well in an attempt to assist, but was interrupted as a large wolf began to stalk closer. Thiss grunted and swung at the warg rushing Reg as skillfully as she could, grateful that it was enough to kill the monster in one blow. Reg stepped to the side and swung his blade wide, slicing into the wolf that had been creeping towards him. The animal was pushed back slightly, then fell, its feeble attempts to rise earning a sort of painful pity from Thiss, who was struggling to catch her breath.

Varis walked towards the two, kicking the bodies of the animals they'd slain as if they were a mildly inconvenient intrusion on his path. Reg softened his stance, able to relax for a moment. Thiss straightened her slumping shoulders and wiped her forehead with her sleeve, counting the number of creatures that lay on the ground. In total, there were ten roughly canid shaped things: three wolves, seven wargs. Two of the wargs snarled from the forest floor, too wounded to attack but unwilling to give up the fight. Varis stepped over one of them, the thing still gnashing its teeth. He plunged the blade into the animal's neck, tearing through to the front. The snarling hushed. Thiss felt her stomach leap into her throat, unable to pry her eyes away as he did the same to the other monster. Reg made a disgusted sound at the sight, but checked the other animals for any signs of life.

"Got them all," he said, pulling a large hunting knife from his belt. Thiss took a long inhale and wiped the sword along the ground cover, away from the soaked dirt and grass they stood on. She exhaled and looked back at Reg, quietly working on separating the tail from the animal as swiftly as possible. Somehow, the cool detachment from the gruesome task made it far more tolerable to watch than Varis' killing. Thiss sheathed her sword and crouched to look at the wolf that Reg had just finished with.

"There's wolves," she stated.

Varis made an ugly sound between a laugh and a scoff. "Very observant, I'm sure you must have marvelous eyesight."

"No, there's wolves with the wargs, Varis," she snapped in reply. "Wolves don't associate with them normally." She righted herself just a small amount to shuffle to a dead warg a few feet away. "I don't like this. It's a bad sign." Thiss stood and looked back at Varis for his reply.

"A sign of what? Hunters taking out the game, so the wolves team up with the monsters? This happens all the time." He snatched the tails that Reg had cut in his left hand.

"He's right, you know,' Reg added, cleaning his knife. "It's a little weird to see wolves and wargs, the bastards usually try to kill each other, but if there's not many deer this time of year and the village kills what's left of them…" he stood, walking towards the dimly lit smoke clouds of the village. "Well, I'd team up with my enemy if it was my only choice." Thiss frowned. It was reasonable, sure, but something still felt off about the situation. She kept that to herself, though, not wanting to be talked down to further.

"We'll meet you at the Lord Mayor's house tomorrow at midday. Good night, Thiss," Varis said, extending his arm to offer her the bundle of bloody tails. Thiss stared at them blankly, long enough for Varis to groan in frustration. "Collateral. Gods," he cursed. "So we don't take the entire reward for ourselves…?" She snatched them from his grip and yawned again.





The Lord Mayor entered the hall in a huff, startling Thiss, who had begun to let her eyes wander across the various decorations in the room. She immediately focused on Lord Arnald, whose contemptful stare was trained directly on her face. Thiss met it, determined to hold her own now that she wasn’t taken aback by Reg and Varis’ presence. He frowned and broke the stare, dismissing Thiss’ presence by addressing the two other men.

“Well, I suppose you’ve taken care of the filthy creatures judging by the disgusting tails decomposing in my cellar. I would have preferred them without the bones, but I can’t really expect much from,” he sneered at Thiss, “that.” The Lord untied a brocade pouch from his belt and painstakingly counted out the individual coins aloud, placing each into Reg’s hand. “Twenty ban. Now please,” the corners of his lips pulled up into a hollow smile. “Get out.” With a clap, Giso was summoned, the footman all too eager to escort the party out. Matteo held open the gate silently: Thiss assumed that either Giso or the Lord Mayor had laid into him the night prior.

The three walked silently to where they had argued yesterday. Thiss looked at Reg and held out her hand expectantly. Reg glanced at Varis, who shrugged. Something was up.

"We've got another offer for you, if you'll hear us out." Reg handed her seven ban.

"Fuck," she cursed under her breath, pocketing the money. "Gods… I thought we were parting ways. I don't want to work with either of you assholes after everything you've done."

"Look, Thiss. You're a skilled fighter, and we could use you," Reg replied. "We--"

Thiss cut him off, "Why should I lend you any more help? Should I go over the list of grievances again, or have you forgotten? This isn't just about the reward, this is about that bastard," she pointed to Varis, "using me as a tool for his own gain. I refuse."

The bastard in question turned his rich blue eyes to her, his expression emotionless and unnerving. "I'd give you an equal share of everything." Thiss made a mental note of his omission of her chief complaint, but considered the offer for a moment.

A moment was all she needed. "No."

"Fuck," Reg cursed to himself, "An equal share, as well as the safety of traveling in numbers." He choked out a wry laugh, "Besides, we're all in the same line of work." The joke didn't land on either of them. He folded his arms. "It's a damn good offer, Thiss."

"If you dislike our arrangement at any time, you can leave. I won't stop you," Varis stated.

She mulled it over just a little longer, considering the possible options. There was continuing on her way as she had been, wandering aimlessly from town to town and playing for just enough coin to take on more odd jobs and local bounties for just enough coin to make it to the next town; or joining up with two near strangers who harassed her, threatened her, and used her as bargaining leverage, but for a potentially more stable income. Both seemed awful, when she thought about it like that.

Thiss groaned. "Fine. Equal shares. And," she looked at Varis, "if you try anything like what you did with Lord Arnald again, I will rip out your tongue. You think I wear this for fashion?" She tugged at the tail of her kerchief. Varis scoffed, but made no rebuttal.

Reg let out a relieved sigh and uncrossed his arms. "We leave tomorrow morning from the south edge of the town. We're heading further south until we find something interesting. That is, unless you have any better ideas."

Thiss did not have any better ideas. "South it is."

"Good. Spend the rest of today getting your horse ready, it'll be a while before we can make it to the next town," Reg advised.

"Horse?" Fuck.