The smell of a stew being cooked roused Felan from his slumber. He was upstairs in the inn, resting on a straw packed mattress that was far more comfortable than it had any right to be. It took him only a few minutes to gather his things and make for the staircase. He’d learnt one thing since waking - if he died again he’d find himself back in the Greenest Inn.

Annie was sat by the fire, though she didn’t seem to notice Felan as he came down stairs. The same enormous man tended the bar - he was being kept busy by a surprising number of patrons lining up. Outside the door, Felan could see that it was late afternoon to early evening. He guessed that the people crowding the barkeep were the town NPCs, and soon saw a few familiar faces amongst the crowd - men he’d seen working in the crafting district when he’d first sought out Annie.

This evening however, he ignored everyone. He already had his goal for the next few hours in mind, and didn’t want any distractions. He noticed a few players milling around as he made for the door, but he didn’t recognise any of them from the druid enclave. He only knew they were players because of the icon that appeared with their name when he thought about their identities. Felan was quite impressed with the name system - it only appeared when he was actively trying to recall a name, or briefly when he first met someone new. It was simplistic, but perfect for it’s purpose.

The night air was cool on his skin as he stepped away from the warmth of the inn. The fire combined with the assembled patrons had made for a pleasant atmosphere, and the night air was surprisingly cool in contrast. A half full moon shone overhead, casting plenty of light on the township. Torches burned in sconces mounted on posts throughout the village, ensuring that it would remain bright enough to navigate on even the darkest of nights.

Felan doubted himself for a moment. He had no torch of his own and though the moon was bright, he doubted it would illuminate much of the forest. The wise part of his mind urged him to wait until morning before striking out. Felan certainly didn’t want to risk another week out of game. On the other hand, he was in a beginner area of the game. Surely the wildlife wouldn’t prove too much of a threat.

Felan decided to gamble on the mercy of the developers. He headed toward the northern edge of the town, following the dirt path that was now very familiar to him. This time however, unlike every other time he’d followed the path, Felan continued north after passing the Aetherstone.

The forest to his east definitely held wolves. He would probably be able to track the wolves there, though he had the other quest to lure him further north. The same logic excluded the west from his interests - he had no desire to stray from the Greenest safe zone. Not until he had a chance to level up anyway.

As he walked, Felan thought again of his quest log. The translucent prompt appeared as expected. He selected the Wolves at the door quest to mark it active. The map fragment showed a yellow marker some distance to the north, shrouded in that swirling grey smoke that covered most of the map. He had to kill ten wolves plaguing the farm, and he wanted to tame a wolf to be his companion.

Ideally, if he could separate one from the pack, he’d be able to tame it before fighting the others. With any luck, he might even get his new companion to fight alongside him against the rest of the pack. This quest seemed like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone - and level up for the first time in the process.

Felan’s attention was drawn from his quest log by a howl in the distance.

It took another ten minutes before Felan reached any further sign of the wolf. It’s howl had gone unanswered, and it had howled just once more during his approach. He spotted the paw prints easily enough in the moonlight, though he had no idea how to tell how old they might be. From the shape of the prints he was fairly certain the wolf was following the path further north.

A shiver ran down Felan’s spine, the sort of tingling sensation that told him he was being watched. Moving slowly so as not to surprise whatever it might be, Felan shifted his right hand across his torso to grip of his club. His shield was already fastened in place on his left arm. His weapon in hand, he spun around to face his foe.

There was nothing there.

Felan strained his ears, but couldn’t hear a single thing. It was as if the whole world had gone silent. The hairs on his arms were standing on end. He was certain he was being watched. Felan turned again, sweeping in a circle to examine his surroundings.

The old trees stood silent and still not far from the path to his right. On his left the open fields looked empty, but for a few clumps of trees casting patches into darkness. The path was wide, and stretched both ahead and behind him, leaving few places for something to hide. Perhaps the sensation of being watched was all in his imagination, prompted by the howls of the lone wolf. He had to admit that it was unnerving being out here, knowing at least one wolf was on the prowl. The moonlight saturated everything, making his vision almost seem to be in grey scale.

Something moved in the shadows under the tree line, and Felan whirled to face it. No matter how hard he studied the shadows though, nothing seemed to be moving now.

Could it have been his imagination?

He heard something from his left, and turned to look along the path to the north. He could have sworn something slipped back into the shadows of the tree line as he turned. Felan started backing up, retreating toward the field. He was no longer sure that he was dealing with a single wolf. It had been foolish to come out here at night, he had no idea what might be prowling in the shadows. This was a fantasy world, whats to say it wasn’t some sort of intelligent player-eating monster stalking him from the tree line?

Taking a gamble, Felan pulled up his quest log once more. The map indicated that he was slightly closer to Waylons farm than he was to Greenest. Though he was sorely tempted to turn tail and retreat, it made more sense to push further north - toward the farm. Surely he could find safety amongst the buildings there. At the very least, there should be other people.

Felan made his decision, and resumed his course north along the path. He kept the club clenched tightly in his fist as he walked, and his head was on a swivel scanning for further signs of movement.

He made it perhaps a dozen meters before something burst out of the darkness of the tree line and sprinted for him. He had enough time to turn to face his attacker, raising his shield arm in front of him and readying his club before it came within striking distance.

The wolf was built much more solidly than Felan expected. He’d always thought of wolves as somewhat dainty predators. This one was built like a war hound, with thick broad shoulders that were knotted with muscle. It’s teeth looked like daggers as they lunged toward him, and Felan blocked it’s jaws with his shield. His club swung down with as much force as he could muster, catching it at the base of it’s neck and knocking it away from him. The creature growled at him, slobber dripping from it’s fangs.

Felan lunged at it, charging with his shield arm outstretched and then pivoting at the waist to deliver a powerful strike with the club. The wolf sidestepped him at the last moment, revealing that it was far more agile than Felan had anticipated. His momentum carried him in a half circle, exposing himself to the beast.

He screamed as its fangs sank into his side. His vision took on a red tint, warning him that his health had plummeted. He swung blindly with the club. The thick wood caught it in the shoulder and forced it to release him. Before it could recover he twisted again, this time using his shield to swat it backwards. The wolf missed a step as it stumbled, and its front legs gave out from under it for a moment. Felan swung his club again, this time striking it’s hind quarters, and the wolf was knocked prone.

On instinct, Felan leapt onto it. He straddled its back, his shield arm pushing its jaws down into the ground. The beast wasn’t strong enough to rise up, not with all of Felan’s weight pressing down on it. It thrashed violently, but he managed to keep it restrained enough with his shield that it could only snap at him - biting chunks of fresh air frighteningly close to his legs but causing no harm.

Felan focused on the creature, trying to will his animal handling skill into working for him. After what felt like a moment of mental fumbling, he felt a presence join him in his head. The wolf’s mind reminded Felan of the smell of freshly cut grass - natural, and safe. It also felt like a tornado that was bouncing around in his skull. The wolf had gone still underneath Felan, but in his mind it was raging against his very existence. It howled and scratched, snarled and bit; and Felan felt like he was losing his mind to some insidious madness. He began to imagine a tidal wave washing through his thoughts, like an enormous moving wall of water cleaning everything away. The wolf presence sensed its impending doom and raged even harder, digging into Felan’s psyche. It seemed to sink it’s teeth in, holding his mind with tooth and claw. It continued to rage for a few moments longer, and then the water enveloped it. It was like it had been wrapped up in cotton wool - though it still fought against him, it was more like the dull thud of a pillow than sharp teeth.

And then it went still.

Felan could feel that it’s consciousness was still married to his, but it no longer fought him. It seemed curious now, rather than frightened and angry. The wolf-presence sniffed at his memories, as if to judge his character. Felan dismissed the thoughts of water, and his mind adapted to the natural scent the wolf presence carried. In his minds eye he saw a clear picture of the clearing he had first entered this world through. The wolf was lapping at the cool river water, then skipping through the soft grass. It turned to look at Felan, and it’s lips were pulled back in a smile.

Slowly, Felan lifted himself off the wolf. He kept his shield arm between them and stepped back a few steps. The wolf rolled over until it’s feet touched solid ground, and then it gently rose up. It stood as tall as Felan’s waist, and looked somewhat smaller now that it’s hackles weren’t raised. Felan watched it for a long moment before lowering his shield.

“Who’s a good boy?”

He took a step forward, hooking the club to his belt as he did so. He reached out his right hand, letting the wolf sniff at his open palm. After just a moment it nuzzled against him, pushing it’s cold wet nose into his palm.

“I think I’m going to call you Baxter, how does that sound?”

The wolf nuzzled harder, which Felan took as approval.

It took Felan and Baxter another half hour to reach the farm. They encountered no one else on the path - in fact the only sign of life anywhere was a rabbit that Baxter chased back into it’s hole in the fields. Felan hadn’t ever seen a rabbit run so fast in his life.

The farm buildings seemed empty as they approached, though it was still deep in the night. The faint smell of smoke came from the largest building, no doubt the family house. Felan didn’t want to risk frightening its occupants by approaching in the darkness, so he and Baxter took up a position outside one of the other buildings. It was a tall wooden structure that smelt strongly of silage. Dry grass cuttings were piled up against the outside wall, making a comfortable seat for Felan while he waited until morning. Baxter curled up against his shins, draping his tail over feet.

Felan woke up to a voice nearby, and opened his eyes to see a farmer standing over him, leaning on a pitch fork. Felan hadn’t intended to sleep, but the grass he lounged on had been far more comfortable than he could have expected.

“I said, whatcha doin’ there?” The farmer drawled, apparently not for the first time.

“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. Is this Waylons farm?”

“Aye, I’m Waylon and this is me farm. Who are you?”

“An adventurer, sent by the guild. You’re having -”

“Wolves! ‘Bout bloody time someone came to take care of ‘em. I put up that contract weeks ago. ‘Don’ worry’ they said, ‘someone’ll be along soon’ they told me. Codswallop, you’re the first to come.”

The farmer extended a hand and Felan was quickly pulled to his feet.

“Aw well, ain’t no use in moanin’. You’re ‘ere now anyways. Over there they were” he pointed toward the paddock nearest the woods.

“’Aven’t seen them in a day or so, but they always come back. Blasted things.”

Felan realised the farmer hadn’t said a thing about the wolf who’d been sleeping beside him. It took a long moment longer before he realised Baxter had vanished. Felan tried his hardest to hide his surprise as he looked around for his companion.

“Anyways, I’ve got work ta be doin’. My wife’ll be in the ‘ouse if you need anything else.” Apparently convinced that he’d given his new employee all the required information, the farmer wandered off toward another of the buildings. Felan watched him go for a moment, he was a tall healthy-looking man but he leaned on the pitchfork as he walked. Something about his gait made Felan think it was an old injury that gave him trouble, which was probably why he had to recruit help to deal with the wolves. Once the man disappeared out of sight, Felan studied the ground around where he’d slept. There was the faintest hint of dew on the grass around him and Felan could see a few patches where it had been brushed away, but he couldn’t tell if the disruption to it was caused by Baxter or the farmer.

Perhaps his companion had gone into hiding so as not to worry the farmer and his family. Felan didn’t really know what to expect from Baxter’s behaviour. The wolf had seemed to understand him during their travels the night before, but he had no idea how intelligent the wolf was. Perhaps he followed Felan’s orders because he was a companion animal, and it was built into his programming. Maybe Baxter was intelligent in his own right, and merely did as Felan asked because he thought it was in his best interests.

Regardless of Baxter’s whereabouts, Felan did have one last thing he needed. He’d realised it during the walk to the farm, and the farmers wife might present the perfect opportunity. He made his way toward the house, making his footsteps as heavy as possible to announce his approach. He didn’t want to scare the woman, and he’d always hated the social awkwardness of trying to get someone’s attention.

“Hello young man, what can I do for you?”

Felan nearly jumped out of his skin. He’d been so focused on making a noisy approach that he hadn’t noticed the window beside him swinging open. The woman who’d spoken looked to be pushing fifty, with long grey hair stacked up in a bun above a tanned face heavily wrinkled by smile lines.

“Your husband said you might be able to help me with my quest to cull the wolves.”

“Well I don’t think I’d be much use in a fight” the old woman laughed.

“No, no. Of course not. I just need a knife, I’ve only got this club see.”

“I can do that. You’re not thinking of eating them are you?”

Felan could honestly say the thought hadn’t crossed his mind, but now that she’d mentioned it… well, he might be able to sell the meat at least.

“Mangy things those wolves. Though I suppose they wouldn’t be giving us so much trouble if they were healthy. They seem to be hunting here because they can’t catch things elsewhere.”

As she talked she moved away from the window for a moment, and returned with a bone-handled carving knife extended toward Felan. He took the blade, tucking it into his belt. He had no sheath for it, but he didn’t think it’d cut through the belt unless he twisted awkwardly, and it didn’t seem too likely that he’d cut himself.

Felan thanked the woman, paying a few coins from his inventory, and then returned to where he’d spent the night. He wanted to try and find Baxter before going after the wolves.

Felan finally found Baxter after he’d given up the search. He’d spent half an hour following anything that could have been Baxter’s tracks leading away from the pile of hay that he’d slept in, then given up and set off to hunt the wolf pack. He’d hoped that Baxter might find him once he was further away from the farm buildings, and he’d been right.

The big wolf loped up with a goofy grin on it’s face, and a splash of red across it’s muzzle. Judging by the fur lodged in it’s teeth, Felan was fairly certain it had caught a rabbit for breakfast; a thought that made his own stomach grumble. He hadn’t considered the need for food when he’d left Greenest, so he wasn’t carrying anything edible. He’d best make quick work of these wolves, so that he could settle in somewhere for a decent lunch. Perhaps Waylons wife would be so kind as to cook him something when he was done.

Baxter quickly took the lead, and Felan fell in behind him. He’d explained why he was here, and the wolf seemed to have understood, but Felan still wasn’t sure whether they were tracking wolves or rabbits as they moved further from the farm buildings. Given his own tracking ability though, he would just have to trust that Baxter was leading him the right way. Felan decided that his companion would warn him of any trouble, and summoned his spell book again.

During his fight with Baxter he’d been so caught up in trying not to get eaten that he’d completely forgotten about the Entangle spell that he’d learnt. He was hoping he’d be able to fight these wolves one at a time, but if they attacked as a pack he should be able to stop - or at least slow - them with the spell. He kept the spell prompt ready off to one side of his vision so it would be ready when he needed it, and returned to sight-seeing. The farm buildings were a long way away now, and the trees of the forest loomed tall and foreboding. After the incident with Andross, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to look at a forest the same way again.

It was almost half an hour later when Baxter halted, his hackles rising. He started growling - a sound that started with a grumble and quickly grew into a throaty rumbling. Felan froze in place, his eyes frantically scanning for the threat. He’d been studying his spellbook again, looking to see if the prompt had any hints on how he might learn more spells. It took only a moment to see a shadow of movement off to one side. As he turned to look at it, movement flashed out the corner of his eye in the other direction.

Wolves were trying to flank him!

Felan activated the Entangle spell, and his arm began to tingle as the ethereal vine swirled from his elbow to his wrist. He counted three of them now, one from each side and one directly in front. Baxter was growling at the one directly ahead of them, so Felan turned his attention to the one on the right. It was quite a bit smaller than Baxter - it’s ribs were clearly visible, and it wasn’t nearly as muscled. It took a few steps forward, and Felan cast the spell at its feet. The bolt of green energy streaked across the distance between them, splattering over the ground just short of the wolf. Vines whipped up out of the ground but only grasped at empty air.

Felan cursed and pulled up the spell again. He checked over his shoulder, but the wolf directly behind him hadn’t come any closer. Baxter was taking slow steps toward the third wolf, crouched low and ready to charge. The spell buzzed into life around his arm again, just as his target started to charge at him. He fired Entangle between them, hitting the ground at the same time as the wolves front paws. Vines leapt up to snatch at its ankles, causing it to tumble headfirst onto the ground. More vines swept up, wrapping around it’s prone body and holding it in place.

Baxter barked - Felan hadn’t known that wolves could bark - and charged to meet his foe. Felan heard something behind him, and turned to see the third wolf barrelling towards him. He leapt to one side, rolling awkwardly as he landed, and rose to his feet with his club in his hand. The wolf was circling back around again, giving him enough time to activate Entangle in his left hand. He wouldn’t be as accurate with his off hand, but with the wolf so close he probably didn’t need to be.

For a moment Felan and the wolf stood still eyeing one another. Then the wolf pounced. Felan threw his spell in front of him. Unlike last time the spell hit the wolf directly. Instead of vines leaping up into the air, the ethereal bolt of green energy began to circle around the wolf instead. Nothing seemed to happen until the wolf landed on the ground right in front of Felan. As the wolf came close to the ground, the spell leapt from it’s fur and hit the dirt. Vines swarmed up to ensnare the beast.

That was good to know - he could target creatures as well as the ground.

Felan dealt one solid blow to the wolf with his club, and was winding up for another one when something smashed into him from behind. He stumbled forward, tripping over the vines that ensnared his prey, and collapsed onto the ground. His club slipped out of his grip, rolling to the side. Something sharp stabbed against his shoulder, and he realised the first wolf he’d Entangled had just bitten him. The spell must have worn off already.

Felan rolled onto his back, momentarily dislodging the wolf. His club was just out of his reach, but his hand met with something else that felt solid. Without having time to look at it, he grabbed hold of the object and swung it at the yellow eyes that were glaring at him. The rock scored a direct hit between both the wolves eyes, causing it to retreat.

That gave Felan enough time to grab his club and scramble to his feet. He closed the distance between them and swung the club as hard as he could, catching it on the side of it’s jaw. The wolf went still, crumpling on the ground.

Felan turned back to the other wolf in time to see the Entangle spell wear off. The vines shrivelled, darkening to black before falling away. Just as the wolf regained its footing, Baxter rushed in from the corner of Felan’s vision and tore at its throat. The wolf was already wounded by Felan’s club, and Baxter’s assault ended it’s life.

Felan looked in the direction Baxter had come from and he could see the third wolf lying unmoving on its side a few meters away. Baxter turned to look at him, cocking his head to one side with his tongue lolling out.

“Good boy”

Felan patted the friendly wolf on his shaggy head. Were it not for the adoring look in his eyes, the wolf would be a terrifying sight. A few chunks of fur were missing after his scuffle, and his chin was stained with wet blood.

“We got ‘em. Good boy.”

The combat log prompt flashed into sight, but Felan only skimmed it. It showed each of the times he’d cast Entangle but didn’t show when the spells had worn off, so he wasn’t sure exactly how long the effect lasted. It only felt like it had been a few seconds each, but it was hard to judge time. The only other entry of interest was when he’d struck the wolf with the rock:

You hit the wolf with an improvised attack for 3 damage.

So, the game noted that it was an improvised attack, and recorded it differently in the combat log. Perhaps that meant it was related to a skill? Felan wasn’t sure but the damage from the rock was lower than his club, so he wasn’t planning on discarding his main weapon any time soon.

It only took a few minutes for Felan to drag the wolf corpses together. He used the knife he’d got from the farmers wife to remove their tails, dropping them into his inventory without so much as a second look. With the quest components out of the way, Felan decided to try his hand at skinning. He’d seen the leather worker in Greenest working on some sort of animal skin, so he knew that it must be a part of the game. He had no idea what a wolf pelt was worth, but given the difficulty he’d had in fighting them, the townsfolk probably didn’t gather many themselves. The basic law of supply and demand taught Felan that wherever there was a shortage of something he could make a profit.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t like the spellbook where a prompt handled the complexities. Skinning the wolf was an entirely manual process, and significantly harder than it looked. The first wolf was roughly butchered. Felan’s knife poked through the beasts skin several times when he cut too close to the surface, leaving him with a ragged pelt he was certain was worthless. The second fared a little better. This time he started from one ankle, and worked his way up the leg. He got as far as it’s belly before making a major mistake - he drove the knife in too deep as he cut across it’s torso. He accidentally skewered its intestines, and a putrid goop came flooding out. Because he had the wolf on its back the liquid matted its already bloody fur. Not entirely useless, but much less valuable than a clean cut.

With the final wolf Felan changed tactics again. This time he started by rolling it onto its back. He pinched at its tummy and lifted the skin up, easing the knife through without nicking any of it’s organs. With the initial incisions complete he was able to run the blade from it’s genitals to it’s throat and peel the pelt back. The hardest part complete, he cut up each of the legs, and carved a ring around each ankle. The rest of the job was largely pulling and gently slicing. He made a mess of it’s tail area again, cutting it unevenly away from the body - he still had no idea what he was really doing - but this pelt was at least serviceable.

One out of three wasn’t so bad was it?

As he finished up with his gory task, another prompt popped up at the edge of his vision.

Wolf skinning failed. 10xp

Wolf skinning succeeded. 50xp

Wolf skinning succeeded. 50xp

Felan broke out in a grin, that was a good chunk of experience!

While Felan had been working on skinning the last two wolves, Baxter had eaten his fill from the first one. Cannibalism didn’t seem to bother him, and Felan couldn’t help but wonder if his body would suffer the same fate if his companion outlived him. That was a thought that didn’t pay to dwell on. Felan’s stomach was growling now but he had no way to start a fire, nor did he have any real cooking knowledge. He’d been more of a fast food guy in real life.

Instead, he left the corpses where they lay. Baxter took the lead again after just a few steps, and the duo set out in search of more wolves. A quick glance at his quest log confirmed that Felan needed to slay another seven wolves and claim their tails. If things went as well as the last fight, he should be done in an hour or two. Late enough that he’d be starving, but hopefully not painfully so.