Three mobs crouched on the other side of the bend. Their heads were vaguely wolfish, with long snouts and pointed ears. Dark, leathery skin covered a humanoid body and slender, gangly limbs. Sparse patches of gray fur sprouted along their body like plants struggling to survive in the tundra. When Ayn came into sight, the mobs shot up on to two legs and stared at Ayn with distinctly human eyes. Under their hateful gaze, Ayn felt like one of those plants. She rode the fear, pulled her sabers free, and lunged in for an attack.

  The mobs slipped away. They were fast. Almost too fast for Ayn to track. Almost. Her blades followed her target and sunk into its side as three clawed hands came down on her head.

  AEGIS OF AGILITY ACTIVATED

  28 POINTS OF ABSORBTION REMAINING

  Ayn silenced Aisha and twisted her blades in the wolf-man’s guts. One mob jumped away as a flash of rainbow and brown heralded Kayara joining the fight. The mob skewered on Ayn’s sabers didn’t move. Instead, it reached down, grabbed Ayn’s wrists, and pulled her close. Its maw opened wide. The stench of decay washed over Ayn. Bits of red, tan, and black hung from the wolf-man’s teeth.

  HEALTH AT 160

  AEGIS OF AGILITY ON COOLDOWN

  Ayn hissed as sharp claws scraped across her back. While her target held her close, its comrade had taken the opportunity to strike. Ayn twisted her wrists, but the wolf-man held tight. She wasn’t strong enough to get free, and she couldn’t do much with her blades stuck. That left one thing. She pulled her leg back, eliciting a growl from the backstabber, then slammed her knee into the wolf-man’s groin.

  Wolf-man was a bit of a misnomer. The mob had nothing notable between its legs, and Ayn had hit it more because of frustration than anything else, yet it crumpled all the same.

  With it was incapacitated, she whirled on the next biggest threat. The mob who had ambushed her was mid-strike. Its claws grated across her blades as she parried. They jumped back, spun, and clashed in a dance of sharp-edged fury so rapid Ayn wasn’t sure she’d get the upper hand.

  A walking carpet ambled into the path of their tornado.

  Ayn saw it first. She reversed her momentum to avoid tripping over the wolverine’s bulk. Her attacker wasn’t so lucky. It lunged at her, eager to take advantage of her retreat, only to have its lower legs hit the wolverine. Its gangly limbs tangled around each other as it hit the snow with a grunt. Ayn followed it down, hacking away until it burst into glitter. She didn’t see the maw coming toward her.

  The wolf-man she’d kneed clamped its jaws over her arm.

  HEALTH AT 41

  Ayn yelled and swung with her free blade, adrenaline blocking most of the crushing pain even as blood ran from the creature’s mouth. Her blade connected at the same time as the wolverine’s jaws, and a pair of ranger’s daggers. The wolf-man was gone in an instant.

  Kayara grabbed Ayn’s arm, the motion causing a burst of pain that brought tears to Ayn’s eyes.

  “Sheyric,” Kayara said. “Get over here and heal. You shut it.”

  Ayn closed her mouth on the protest she was about to make.

  HEALTH AT 93

  HEALTH AT 144

  HEALTH AT 197

  Ayn pulled her now healed arm out of Kayara’s grasp and held it up. “That’s enough.”

  “You’re still hurt,” Kayara said.

  “And we don’t have any mana potions. Sheyric, how many heals do you have left?”

  The mage dropped his hands. “Two.”

  “Two,” Ayn repeated. “Not enough to save the three of us if we all hit Near Death.”

  Kayara stood up and scowled. “Quit worrying about me. We all know you’re the one who’s going to get hurt the most.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “I think you need to re-read the definition of tank.”

  Ayn jumped to her feet. “No—”

  “I have three fireballs,” Bren said.

  All eyes turned to him. His face darkened under their gaze. “Just thought you should know.”

  “I…uh…thanks.” Ayn shook her head and sighed. She was taking her frustration out on the person who deserved it the least. “I’m sorry, Kayara.”

  A complicated look crossed the ranger’s face, a look which grew more complicated as the wolverine brushed against her leg. “Yeah…” She sidled away from the animal. “Me too.” The wolverine shuffled closer. “Let’s just…keep going. I’ve a feeling we’re about done with this floor.” She darted around the wolverine and hurried away, the animal snuffling as it followed.

  Nothing else ambushed them as they made their way through the path into a circular cul-de-sac, yet the hairs on the back of Ayn’s neck stayed at attention.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The little area looked almost scenic. A small log house nestled in the back, smoke pouring from its chimney. Garden plots flanked the house, each plant held up by ice blue stems covered in glistening white and silver leaves, flowers, and fruit. The gardens overflowed to the edges of the cul-de-sack. A thin walking trail snaked between the plots and led up to the house’s front door.

  They all stopped to stare.

  “Do you think the owner is related to Mister Kalduk?” Bren asked.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Kayara said. She’d been grimacing at the house since it had come into view.

  “He saved you, remember? Perhaps this is a second spot to heal the curse, in case you miss the first one.”

  “Or maybe it’s a trap for gullible people like you.”

  “It’s too far for the curse,” Ayn cut in. “Even if the wolverine led us straight here, it would have taken too long.”

  Bren frowned. “What if there was a chance to get cursed again?”

  Ayn thought back to the Bakbak, and its freezing blood. After fighting it, she’d decided it was unrelated to the curse. But what if they’d just got lucky?

  Kayara waved a hand at the wolverine, who stood a few feet away with its eyes locked on the ranger. “If this is another healer’s house, how come the furball isn’t interested?”

  Bren shrugged. “Because no one is cursed.”

  Ayn glanced at Sheyric, who stood quiet and still in the back. He didn’t twitch under her gaze. Ayn sighed. “Well, we could speculate all day, or we could go look. Hidden paths aside, The System funneled us here, which meant it’s important. But keep your guard up.”

  Kayara nodded curtly and took the lead. Ayn didn’t have the energy to argue with her.

  Ayn’s anxiety grew as they walked single file between the ice-colored plants. The plants were all different heights, obscuring her vision in weird ways as light bounced between them. A mild scent of honey and lavender floated in the air. Sweet. Calming. It played on her underlying exhaustion, beckoning her to lie down in the soft snow and rest. Fog settled over her mind. She moved her tongue between her teeth and bit down. The pain cleared her head in an instant, and the smell vanished into sharp cold.

  Kayara knocked on the house’s front door before she could ask anyone if they’d noticed the smell. The door, an oddly modern-looking thing with a smooth mahogany surface and symmetrical designs, swung open almost immediately.

  A woman stood on the other side. Long silver hair flowed past her shoulders to her hips. She wore a sleeveless green dress embroidered with tiny vines and flowers of blue and white, the top hugging her slender frame even as the bottom flared out in a bell shape, its hem touching the floor. In stark contrast to Kalduk, there were no marks of age on her skin. Under the colors of her dress, she could have easily been another creature carved from ice, smooth and pale, if not for the fire burning in her burgundy eyes.

  “Oh. Guests!” she said. “Poor dears, traipsing around in this frozen wasteland. Please, come in and warm yourselves.”

  Ayn’s gut joined with her hackles to sound the alarm. Red flags practically sprouted from the woman, whoever she was.

  “Sure!” Kayara piped up in an overly sweet tone, a huge grin playing across her face.

  The woman returned the grin, revealing a pearly set of perfectly spaced teeth. “Excellent! I’ll set some tea on.”

  Everyone piled in as the woman retreated into the house. Warm reds and browns, vibrant greens, and striking purples covered the inside, from the thick fur rug in front of the red-brick fireplace, to the flowering plants hanging from almost every inch of the wall. If the outside spoke of winter, the inside spoke of deep spring. Even the furniture, a sofa and set of armchairs, spoke of warmth and comfort.

  The woman took a teapot from a smooth brown countertop and hung it on a hook over the fireplace, humming as she went.

  They spread out without discussion, putting all corners of the housed within someone’s sight. The wolverine ignored the crackling fireplace, instead opting to flatten out at Kayara’s feet. The ranger did a decent job of pretending to ignore it.

  “What might we call you, kind miss?” Bren asked as they settled in.

  “Oh, me? You can call me Irdli, good sir.”

  Irdli flashed him another grin, then pulled the teapot from the fire as soon as the first whistle escaped. She busied herself with passing out tiny teacups covered in flower designs. They were filled with dried herbs which smelled of sweet lavender and spice. Ayn glanced at Kayara. As a ranger, she had the ability to identify herbs. At such a low level, she wouldn’t be able to identify much, but any hint would be welcome. Irdli made another pass, filling each of their cups with boiling water. As soon as her back was turned, Kayara shook her head. Don’t drink.

  All four of them lowered their cups to their laps.

  Irdli came back with a cup of her own, blowing on it daintily as she settled into the last armchair. She took a sip of tea, then frowned when none of them followed suit. “Do you not like it? I could whip up a different mix. Tell me what flavors you enjoy.”

  “Nonsense,” Bren said. “Don’t work yourself so hard on our behalf. Besides, the tea smells wonderful. It’s simply too hot to drink at the moment.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “Oh.” Irdli cocked her head. Something flashed behind her eyes, but it was gone before Ayn could tell what it was. “In that case, why don’t we pass the time with a bit of fun? The snow and ice can be so draining on the spirit. So glum. Spend too long in its grasp, and you will become as cold and dull as it is. But don’t worry, I know the medicine and the cure for that.”

  Ayn’s stomach roiled harder. Irdli’s words alluded to the curse and Kalduk’s cure, yet where the old man had to be cajoled into helping. Irdli seemed eager.

  “A cure for dullness?” Kayara asked. “That sounds quite useful for you, doesn’t it, Bren?”

  Bren scowled at Kayara’s impish grin.

  Irdli clapped her hands in glee. “There! It seems I’m not the only one to know this cure. How delightful.”

  Or, Ayn thought, perhaps not the same cure. But what then?

  “Here, let me try,” Irdli said. “How does the moon cut his hair?”

  Silence.

  “Eclipse it!”

  Kayara’s face scrunched up in disgust. Bren looked confused while Sheyric played with his hands. Ayn was too shocked to move. That was the worst joke she’d heard in a couple of lifetimes.

  A hint of annoyance crossed Irdli’s face. She quickly suppressed it with a warm grin as she leaned back in her chair and took another sip of tea.

  “Poor dears are worse off than I imagined. Perhaps we’d best wait until you’ve had some thawing tea.”

  “And sit here in silence?” Kayara asked, eyes wide. “How dreadful. No. As one entertainer to another, I think you just need to get warmed up yourself.”

  Ayn raised an eyebrow at the increasingly British accent coming out of Kayara’s mouth.

  Irdli didn’t seem to notice. She leaned forward. “A skeleton walks into a bar and says, ‘Hey bartender, I’ll have one beer and a mop.’”

  Bren coughed.

  Irdli’s gaze locked on to him. Her pupils dilated like a cat about to pounce.

  The hair on the back of Ayn’s neck was about to pop off and run away. She stood up, spilling tea on to the floor as she did so.

  Irdli’s predatory gaze homed in on her. “Where are you going?”

  The words came out partially entreating, and partially a threat.

  “Oh,” Ayn said. “We’ve taken up so much of your time, and we must be on our way.”

  Clearly, she wasn’t nearly as good at talking to the refined class as Bren. Irdli’s eyes narrowed. Goosebumps formed on Ayn’s skin as the temperature dropped.

  “You would slight my hospitality?” The teacup in Irdli’s hand shattered.