Chapter 9 – Welcome Home
White Fang by TomatoRoux
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Chapter 9
 
 
While there were no rooms on the inn's first floor to rent, Alex led Willow and me into the inn's backroom where a small residence for the innkeeper and her son was located.
 
“Natalie,” Alex called as we slipped into the family's common room. “Mind if we camp out here for the night?”
 
Natalie, the innkeeper, came out from the back looking a little worse for wear. After having the upper half of her inn destroyed I couldn't quite blame her for being out of sorts, it honestly made me feel bad that I hadn't been able to protect the whole place. “Your girl's the hero who kept us all from losing our lives, of course, you can stay here. I'll give you my own bed if you'd like.”
 
“I'm fine sleeping on the floor,” I noted. “I'm sure cuddling with Goldie and Willow will keep me warm.”
 
“Forgive me for asking, but are those fox ears atop your head?”
 
“Yeah,” I reached up and cupped one of my ears. “I'm hoping they go away soon.”
 
“I'm sure you have a lot to take care of Natalie, you can leave us here, we'll take care of ourselves,” Alex waved Natalie away before turning to me. “I'll head upstairs in a bit to collect our things, but tell me about this wolf of yours first.”
 
“I don't know if there's much to say. She and I just found one another after I took down the Thunderbird. Apparently, my earlier magical mishap drew her to my side, but she got eaten before she could reach me. It's really amazing that she survived in that thing's belly for so long, I'm impressed.”
 
“Lightning wolves are spoken of in legends as the protectors of the north. They're supposed to be the Goddess Athlary's chosen messengers. The fact that you have one as a familiar will be seen as proof of your status as the goddess's herald. I doubt you'll be able to pass yourself off as having merely received a blessing now.”
 
“Before... you said I'd been blessed by Atlary, but you've told me nothing about the goddess, why'd you pick her?”
 
“Atlary is said to grant her chosen dominion over beasts. You treating Theo like a dog brought her to mind, so I used her name believing the legends of the powers she grants would line up with what people saw you use. Now that you have animal features and a lightning wolf... you fit the image of her herald perfectly.”
 
“This is going to become annoying isn't it?”
 
“If by annoying you mean you'll have grown men crying at your feet, begging you to go live in the temple, yes.”
 
I sighed and turned to Goldie who sat obediently behind me. Her fur looked so soft, and I suddenly felt so tired. “I'm going to sleep. Goldie, do you mind letting me use you as a pillow?”
 
“Use me however you wish Master. I am pleased to be of service.”
 
“Hold on, you're still practically naked,” Alex flailed. “Let me go get you a nightgown before you fall asleep.”
 
“The roof was blown off the second floor, and it was raining. I think all of our clothes are soaked, but it's fine, I don't toss and turn in my sleep so I doubt I'll kick the blankets off, if I do, Goldie will protect my modesty, won't you girl?”
 
Knowing that Alex couldn't hear her voice, Goldie gave a soft 'woof' of acknowledgment which seemed to be enough for Alex not to worry about my present state of dress. With my adoptive father's worries sorted, for now, I instructed Goldie to lay down and then I curled up against her, with my head pressed into her soft fur. Willow joined me, and together the three of us drifted off to sleep.
 
The next morning Alex gave me a hemp dress to wear while our things dried and the three of us left Northpost in his wagon. There wasn't much reason for us to stay, not with Natalie's inn in disrepair and Alex seeing no value in staying with one of her competitors. As we left I noticed a few of the villagers cutting up the Thunderbird, both to get the massive thing out of the way, and also to eat it, probably. The thought of eating such a powerful foe made me wish we'd stuck around a little longer, but I decided there were always future enemies I could use in my pursuit to become a legend-slaying gourmand.
 
“Something got you spooked?” Alex asked as we left the village. “You keep looking around like you're expecting to see something.”
 
“Ah, you don't miss anything do you, Alex?” I giggled. “I met someone. He called himself a hero and said we'd meet again to talk things over, but I don't see him anywhere. I guess he already skipped town?”
 
“Is he someone with powers like yours?”
 
“I've not seen him use any magic, but I'm going to assume so. He apparently came running when he saw the Thunderbird with the intent of killing it. He has to be crazy strong to believe he could go up against such a thing and win.”
 
“Or crazy stupid. Never underestimate how quickly an idiot with an inflated ego and a sword can get themselves killed.”
 
“Guess I'll find out when I see him again.” Deep down I really wanted to go toe to toe with Edmond and see which of us was the superior fighter, but I knew better. In a game it meant nothing to kill other players, they'd respawn at the nearest church with a death penalty and a grudge. Here, death wasn't so easily overcome, and I didn't believe I could go all out against Edmond without at least trying to kill him.
 
“Hey, Alex.”
 
“Yes?”
 
“Have you ever heard of magic that can bring back the dead?”
 
“The goddess Moriya is said to have dominion over the dead. In stories, it is said that her herald can return departed souls to their mortal forms. There is even a legend of a kind woman who grew to a ripe old age and died with only the regret that she'd never had children. Moriya's herald heard of this and brought her back from death, providing her a new youthful body so that she could try again. The legend doesn't say what became of the children she eventually gave birth to, but those who believe it as the truth claim the royal line descends from her.”
 
“Do you believe it?”
 
“No. To be perfectly honest I doubted the gods' very existence before I met you. Now that I've seen your power and heard of your background, I'm a bit less skeptical. How can I not believe in the divine when my eldest daughter claims to be a descendent of angels?”
 
“Guess that's true. Edmond also mentioned meeting a goddess before he came to this world.”
 
“He's an outsider too?”
 
“Yes, but he's not from the same world as me.” Technically I was lying, both Edmond and I were from Earth, but my body was from a game. Physically, I was from the game's world, and so I believed what I was telling Alex was true, even if it wasn't the whole truth.
 
“Guess I should stop by the temple when we get home.”
 
The next handful of days passed without anything of note happening, then finally we arrived. Olmvyre, my new home city, stretched out before me as the ultimate fantasy-lovers destination. Its massive city walls were worn and even had scars from battle etched into its surface. A shanty town of small farms and the impoverished stretched out beyond the walls forcing us to travel past street peddlers and beggars as we made our way to the massive gate that appeared as old as it was imposing.
 
Unlike in Northpost where Theo flagged us down, nobody stopped us from driving right into Olmvyre. Once we were inside the walls I couldn't help but gasp at the weathered stone and wood structures that made up the city, all tied together by dusty cobblestone streets. Far off in the city's center, I could see towers rising up. I knew this wasn't the capital which made me curious what they could be, apparently even Alex didn't know their function. All he said was that when the royal family visited Olmvyre those towers were where they stayed.
 
I'd expected Alex to drive us all the way home, but instead, he stopped at a rather large facility which appeared to serve as a parking lot for wagons.
 
“We don't have space for the wagon at home?”
 
“If I were desperate I could store it in the yard,” Alex chuckled. “But the horses will be happier here. There are private guards nearby too, so our wares are protected. I would say this place is safer than home, but you're with us now.”
 
“True! You couldn't be any safer than with me.”
 
Once Alex paid for the protection of his goods and the care of his horses he set off for home with Willow and me walking hand in hand behind him. A few times during our journey Alex had to stop and double back, because I couldn't help but wander off to look at various things. Poor Willow, perhaps just happy to be holding hands with me, followed along with my antics without saying anything, earning us both a scolding.
 
“I'm getting lots of strange looks,” I noted to Alex as I used my free hand to fiddle with one of my ears.
 
“You're unlike any girl they've ever seen, and you have a lightning wolf at your side. Even if tale of what you did in Northpost hasn't begun to circulate here, you still look like a herald. I doubt anyone will be gutsy enough to approach and say anything, but there's nothing we can do for their stares now.”
 
“Guess even if I wore a hat, Goldie would've given me away, huh?”
 
“Which is why I didn't purchase one for you.”
 
Sighing to myself I wondered if I should've just stayed in Margaret's body. At this point, it didn't matter that she had fox ears and a tail, nothing would change. It was the memory of White Fang not obeying me that prevented me from truly believing that was better. No matter how I felt about looking so young, I was stronger in my present form. As a legendary weapon, White Fang had a plethora of high-level abilities, many of which I hadn't even tried to use yet. There were even abilities it was said to have in its flavor text that never materialized in the game, such as allowing its wielder to summon a draconic spirit to fight alongside them.
 
In the game, there were no dragons weak enough to serve as player companions. As there was a player-versus-player element to the world, allowing anyone the ability to summon a dragon was overkill and so the developers intelligently avoided it. Here however, I doubted the gods were doing any form of power balancing on this world. If they were, I wouldn't have arrived nearly as powerful as I am.
 
Still, a white dragon would be as large as the Thunderbird if not larger. If I summoned such a thing anywhere near people, there'd be no hiding it.
 
“Here we are Liz,” Alex announced, coming to a stop before a rather large two-story home. “Home sweet home.”
 
“Wow... it's bigger than I'd imagined.”
 
“I knew you'd be impressed,” Alex chuckled. “Come on girls, let's go inside. I'm sure Ange will be happy to see us.”
 
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