Big Stone

As Big Stone came into Tyker’s view, she was shocked. She had never seen a place so big and packed with people. Then again, Tyker had never seen a village other than the one she grew up in.
She looked to her travel mate, a white furred yearling wolf named Mountain. Mountain looked back to Tyker with her dark yellow eyes. She took a step forward and Tyker followed suit.
The road was too crowded for Tyker’s comfort. Everyone walked in various directions, close enough to bump into each other if not mindful. A person began walking behind Tyker, so close that she could feel their shadow falling on her. But Mountain continued on, so Tyker did as well.
“Hey!” yelled a voice off to the side of the road. Tyker looked over to see a group of young giants. “You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
The giants began walking towards Tyker. Mountain growled at them as she continued forward. Tyker followed, looking away from the group.
“I heard,” another giant started. “That werewolves are the descendants of changeling wizards who had a thing for wolves.” The other giants laughed.
“I heard that too.”
“Is it true?” a third axed.
“How am I to know? I wasn’t there,” Tyker said, picking up her pace to match Mountain. The giants picked up their pace as well.
“See, I told you.”
Tyker pulled her scarf over her head. She looked down at her feet, doing all she could to ignore them.
“Is that wolf your lover, I bet it’s your lover.”
“Enough!” Tyker looked up to see an old, graying troll, waving a wooden spoon in her hand. “I’ve told youse not to harass the travelers. If youse don’t stop, I’m going to have to tell your parents.”
“Please don’t,” one begged.
“Then don’t harass people. I swear, you lot will be the death of this village. We need travelers to keep everything going.”
“We’re sorry Iry.”
“Yeah, you said that before too. Now shoo, I don’t want to see any of youse on Market Road, or you’ll be dealing with me, understand?”
“We understand,” the tall one said, taking off down the road. The others followed suit.
“You look unwell, come in my shop, I’ll get you some food and water, free of charge,” Iry said to Tyker.
Tyker looked to Mountain. Iry looked between the two. She put her hand out for Mountain to smell. Mountain gave it a sniff. She leaned into Iry’s hand. The troll pet her gently.
“We’ll take you up on your kind offer, thank you,” Tyker said.
The two followed Iry into her shop. There was meat everywhere. Tyker could see Mountain fighting the urge to eat it. “I’ve got some soup that you can have, and your fere can have some of the blood sausages over there. They aren’t selling how I’d like them to.”
“Thank you.”
Iry took them around back to where the soup was cooking. She poured Tyker a bowl and tossed Mountain two sausages. The soup was warm and rather delicious. It had a creamy base with chucks of chicken, carrot, potato, and rice, sprinkled with spices. The flavors blended together like it had been stewing for a while.
“We don’t see much of your kind around here,” Iry said. “It’s a dying practice.”
Tyker swallowed the food that was in her mouth. “What do you mean?”
Iry looked over to Mountain, who was finishing off the last of her sausage. “Alphas, not many werewolves use them anymore.” “Every werewolf in my village had one.” Tyker took another spoonful of soup.
“Had?”
Tyker looked over to Mountain, who was now laying on the floor, taking a nap. Memories of the days prior ran through her head. She could feel tears running down her cheek.
“I’m sorry I axed.”
“No, it’s, um, it’s.” Tyker took a breath. “This soup is quite good.”
“Listen, sweetie.” Iry sat down next to Tyker. “If you need a place to stay, my home is open to travelers.”
“A kind offer, but one I must refuse. I’m looking for my twin. He was drafted by Maur’s army nearly two harvests ago,” Tyker said, setting down her now empty bowl.
“If you’re twins, how come he was drafted and you weren’t?”
Tyker looked at the ground. “I had fallen gravely ill before the armies arrived, high fever, couldn’t hold anything down. The healers didn’t see me surviving until the next moon, so when they came, I was left behind. I ended up healing after a few days.” “Sounds like your ancestors were looking out for you.”
“What’s an ancestor?” Tyker axed.
“What’s an ancestor?” Iry laughed. “The dead of your family.”
“If they’re dead, how can they help me? People don’t remember their past lives, they wouldn’t remember me.”
“Oh. You’re from the mountains, aren’t you. You're one of those fighting gods' followers.”
“Do you not believe?” Tyker axed.
“In your gods, no.”
“What do you mean my gods?”
Iry looked at Tyker softly. “Child, you lived a very sheltered life. You clearly know nothing of the world outside whatever little village you came from. If you want to get by out here, learn. Learn the ways of the people you’re with, how their world operates. The world doesn’t take kindly to the ignorant.”
“I should get going,” Tyker said.
“Wait, you forgot your water, I’ll get your pouch filled for you, and choose some meat to take with you on the road, but only from that section.” Iry pointed off to the corner. “I can’t afford to be giving away the good stuff.”
“Thank you.”
Tyker handed Iry her pouch. As Iry stepped away to fill it, Tyker went to wake up Mountain. She gently shook the wolf. Mountain opened one eye to see who was there before shutting it again.
“Can we please go?” Tyker said.
Mountain didn’t budge.
“Giving you a hassle?” Iry axed as she walked back with the filled pouch.
“We’ve been traveling a while, Mountain thinks it’s best that we rest,” Tyker said, taking the pouch.
“There’s an inn down that way.” Iry pointed to the right. “They don’t charge much.”
Tyker shook Mountain again. “You hear that, there’s an inn. Come on, we can’t stay here.”
Groggily, Mountain stood up.
“Thank you for the food and water,” Tyker said.
“You’re welcome,” Iry said. “Be safe out there.”
Tyker followed Mountain out the door and down the road. A large building sat at the end that Tyker assumed was the inn. She walked up to the door and looked to Mountain. Mountain sniffed the air before looking at Tyker, wagging her tail gently.
With relief that she could rest safely for once, Tyker opened the door. A sprite sat on a stool behind a counter. Tyker walked over to them.
“Do you have any available chambers?”
The sprite looked at them. “The beast stays outside.”
“You mean Mountain?” Tyker axed.
“I don’t care about it’s name, the beast stays outside, folks don’t like sleeping under the same roof as those things.”
“I’m a werewolf.”
The sprite looked at her with a questioning eye. “You realize those aren’t the same thing right.”
“Well-”
“Oh, let the mutt stay,” said a wizard as he stepped out from a door behind the counter, an amused smile on his face. “And their wolf.” “Boss, we’ll lose customers,” the sprite argued.
“They look tired, and I know an alpha practicer when I see one, an old love of mine was one. They won’t stay if the wolf can’t.” “Fine.”
“Thank you,” Tyker said to the wizard.
The sprite pulled out a key. “That’ll be four bronze.”
“Four?” Tyker looked into her nearing empty purse.
“That’s without charging extra for the beast, since the boss likes you,” the sprite said.
“I’d offer you less if we could afford it,” the wizard said.
Tyker was able to pull together four bronze, her last four. She handed them to the sprite and took the keys. “Second door on the left,” they said.
The chamber was small. A straw bed laid in the corner with a blanket. It was better than what she had been laying on. Mountain walked over to a corner and curled up. Tyker set down her bag and did the same on the bed. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.
Dawn hadn’t even come when Tyker rose, feeling better rested than she had in days. Mountain was awake too, sniffing Tyker’s bag.
“I don’t think we should yet Mountain,” Tyker said. “That food is for our journey and we’re going to need it. I’m almost out of coin.”
Mountain whined. Tyker wanted to argue the decision, but it was futile, she knew that. Tyker grabbed the bag and pulled out the jerky she had taken. She gave a piece to Mountain and took a piece for herself before packing the rest away.
“We should get going,” Tyker said. “There’s a lot of land to cover.”
Mountain grunted and laid back down.
“I know, I’m tired too, but Massin-”
Mountain grunted again as she adjusted herself on the floor.
“Alright, let me see how long we have the chamber for.”
Tyker stepped out of the chamber and Mountain stood up, following suit.
A different sprite sat on the stool behind the counter.
“Excuse me, how long do we have the chamber for?”
“Hm.” The sprite looked over with a tired expression. “How much did you pay how long ago?”
“Four bronze midday yesterday,” Tyker said.
The sprite rubbed his head.
“I hate mornings,” he mumbled before answering Tyker. “You have it until high sun today.”
“High sun?”
“Yes.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
Tyker looked at Mountain. “And if I need it for longer?”
“It’s another four bronze.” The sprite closed his eyes briefly. “Stupid new herbalist messing up my order.”
“Is there anyway-”
“Look, you have it until high sun, just like everyone else. If you want to stay longer, pay for another day, if not, then leave” the sprite snapped. “I’ve been working since moonrise, I am tired, so please, choose. I don’t care which, but you have to pick one.”
Tyker returned to the chambers with Mountain.
“I can’t afford another day,” Tyker said, counting her coins. “We’ll have nothing in less than a phase.” She began to cry. “I don’t know what to do.”
Mountain nuzzled up next to her. They stayed like that until high sun came.
Someone pounded on the door. “High sun, get out or pay up.”
Tyker opened the door to see the sprite from the previous day.
“We’re leaving,” Tyker said.
“Is that what you’re alpha decided,” the sprite said. Tyker detected a hint of amusement in their voice she didn’t like.
She followed Mountain out of the inn. They stood there for a moment. Tyker looked at the roads before her, thinking over the options. With an unsure step, she started down a path.
“The innkeepers treat y’all well?” Iry axed as Tyker and Mountain walked into her shop.
“It was nice,” Tyker said. “Um, Iry, I um, I’ve been thinking about your offer and-”
“Say no more,” Iry said. “You have a place to sleep, food to eat, and there’s plenty work for you to help me with.”
“Thank you.”
“I can offer eight copper a phase, you can save up for your journey to find your twin.”
“Eight copper?” Tyker said.
“Including food and a bed, that’s a good deal. No one around here can offer better,” Iry said.
Tyker thought about it. Eight copper was so little, but compared to the scraps in her purse, it might as well have been gold. Instinctively, Tyker looked to Mountain, but Mountain seemed indifferent, as most wolves were when it came to economic issues.
“I accept your generous offer,” Tyker said.
“Alrighty then, there’s a bed chamber upstairs, go put away your stuff and head back down here and start sweeping.”
Tyker felt a sense of relief in Iry’s shop. Iry was a nice person, she didn’t work Tyker too hard during the day, and she was enjoyable company in the evening as they ate. She taught Tyker how to butcher various animals and how to haggle with a customer.
“You aren’t giving Tyker a hard time now, are you?” Iry said with a grin to a customer Tyker was talking with.
“Me? Never,” the customer said and everyone laughed.
“Now Tyker, what was the most important rule I taught you?” Iry axed.
“To always charge Lyda a third more than everyone else?”
“Hey!”
They broke out laughing again.
“I should be heading home, the younglings are probably hungry,” the customer said.
“May the night treat you well Lyda,” Iry said.
“And you as well,” Lyda said. “Both of you.”
Lyda walked out the door and Iry locked the door behind him.
“I think the stew is ready,” Iry said.
Tyker’s stomach grumbled. She couldn’t wait to dig into Iry’s delicious stew.
Iry grabbed an old chicken that hadn’t sold and whistled. “Mountain.” She tossed it to the wolf, who dug in right away.
Iry and Tyker sat down at the table in the back, each with a bowl of stew and a cup of ale.
“Mhmm,” Iry said as she put down her ale. “Before I forget.”
She pulled out eight coppers from her purse and handed them to Tyker.
“Thank you.”
“What are you at now?”
“Ninety-three,” Tyker said without hesitation. She had spent a few here and there, but had been saving for the most part. “Wow, you’ll be leaving me soon,” Iry said as she took a bite of food.
“I don’t know about that,” Tyker said.
“What do you mean?”
“I-” Tyker stirred her food. “I like it here, this village, this shop, you...Mountain does too. Maybe I’ll stay, for now at least, if it’s alright that is.”
“Honey, of course it is.”
“Thanks,” Tyker said. “This place, it feels kinda like home.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Tyker went to take another bite of food, but dropped her spoon as she whimpered in pain.
“Tonight?” Iry axed, seeing the pain on Tyker’s face.
“Another night I think,” Tyker said. “I started getting some pain yesterday, but nothing this-ow!”
“Maybe you should rest,” Iry said.
“No, I’m fine, it passed,” Tyker said.
“If they’re that painful, you might be turning tonight, you know how random it is for you.”
Tyker had only started turning last harvest. For most, turning became more and more routine within a harvest or so, but Tyker’s had always been sporadic, no sign of consistency. The only guess as to the when was the pain. She always got pain from her body adjusting to her wolf form a couple days before rather than the day of like other werewolves.
“I don’t want you out tonight if you turn,” Iry said. “Stay in the shop no matter what.”
“Why?”
“There's a festival tonight.”
“The Wilds Festival, right, I heard some people talking about it, what is it?”
Iry took a swig of her ale. “A dumb festival. It’s supposed to celebrate the wildness that surrounds us, but people use it as an excuse to go around, causing mayhem.”
“What kind of mayhem?” Tyker axed.
“Oh, no, I see that glint in your eyes.”
“What glint?”
“Don’t you go out there too, destroying buildings and gardens and setting free livestock.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
If Iry didn’t want Tyker to go out to the festival, why did she make it sound so fun? Tyker waited until Iry was deep asleep and snuck downstair. Quietly, she tiptoed to the door, though the ruckus being made outside was more than enough to cover her steps. As she unlocked the door, she saw Mountain out of the corner of her eye, coming closer.
“Please, Mountain, it sounds like so much fun.”
Tyker stared at Mountain waiting. Mountain stared back at Tyker, wagging her tail.
“Yes! Thank you Mountain, this is going to be so much fun.”
The outside was crazy. People were running about screaming and laughing. Animals ran amuck, fires burned everywhere. Growing up in a village of dual gods followers, as outsiders called them, Tyker never experienced a festival before. All her people ever did in the name of their gods was leave out offering to keep their fighting away from the village.
This was way more fun.
Tyker watched what everyone was doing, eager to learn what she could do. She heard some chanting and followed it, intrigued.
“Burn it! Burn it! Burn it! Burn it!” a group yelled around the fire.
Tyker made her way into the circle and watched as a troll threw a stuffed bunny plaything into the fire. The group erupted in cheers, Tyker joined in.
“Hey look,” said a giant, Tyker recognised him from her first day in Big Stone. “It’s the wolf fu-”
“Rab!” his fere scolded, jabbing Rab’s ribs with his elbow. “She lives with Iry, don’t mess with her.”
Everyone was looking at Tyker. No one was making a sound. Tyker hated the awkwardness.
“It’s The Wild’s Festival!” she shouted. “There are no rules tonight!”
Everyone around her cheered, the noise hiding her groan of pain. She really didn’t want to turn tonight. She wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the festival in her wolf form.
“Hey, hey, you!” someone yelled at Tyker.
“What?” Tyker yelled back.
“Got something to throw in the fire?”
“Like what?”
“Like anything!” shouted another.
Tyker felt around her person and found some jerky she had been carrying around. She pulled it out of her pocket and lifted it in the air.
“Burn it! Burn it! Burn it!” the crowd cheered.
Tyker tossed it into the fire and watched as the flames consumed it.
Alcohol and drugs were widely available on the street that night and Tyker gleefully took part.
Mountain didn’t like that. She growled at Tyker as began to overindulge.
“Oh, what’s the big deal, I’m having fun, tonight is fun, I won’t let you ruin my fun,” Tyker said with a slurred words. She stumbled away from Mountain, continuing to explore the village. She came across a swine farm that laid untouch and smiled to herself.
Tyker climbed over the fence, falling into the mud and laughed. She took a second, laying in the mud, staring up at the clear, starry night before standing. She opened the gate and ran to the other side of the pen, slipping and landing face first in the mud as she did so. But she got back up, and noticed two swine walking out.
She made her way to the back, behind the other swine, who either didn’t notice the open gate or didn’t care.
“Go! Go!” she yelled gleefully as she swung her arms about. “Go! Go! Go!”
The rest of the swine ran out and into the streets. Tyker giggled. It had been a long time since she had had this much fun.
There was still so much to do, Tyker had barely scratched the surface, she was sure of it. She walked towards the main stretch of road in the village, the smell of urine and smoke strong. And, something rotten, very rotten.
Someone had left a bunch of rotten food on the side of the road. Tyker watched as a dwarf picked up a molding cantaloupe and then ran with it to a nearby house and threw it against the door.
It was nearing dawn, Iry was going to be upset with Tyker for going out. Tyker figured she couldn’t get any more upset than she probably already was, so she walked over to the pile. There was a big tomato that caught her eye. She picked it up and headed towards home.
A herd of people rushed down the main road, the same direction as the shop, which was convenient, she wouldn’t have to fight the crowd to get home.
She rode with the wave of people, preparing her tomato. No one in the crowd was cheering or laughing anymore, probably tired by now. Tyker choked on the smoke filling her lungs.
She stopped with the crowd in front of a large fire burning through the buildings. Lines of people were passing buckets of water, trying to put it out. Tyker tried to absorb everything that was happening, her eyes landing on home as the realization hit her.
“Iry!” she yelled, running towards the shop.
Someone grabbed Tyker, holding her back.
“Stop,” they said.
“I have-I have-”
“No, it’s dangerous, you’ll get yourself killed.”
“Iry-”
“She probably got out,” they said. “She’s probably around here somewhere.”
It was morning when the fire was fully put out. Five buildings burned to their bones, unsalvageable. Including Iry’s shop and home. Iry was found inside, her body beyond recognition.
Tyker cried. For how long, she wasn’t sure. She sat by the ruins and cried. At some point, when the sun had passed it’s highest point, a thought had entered Tyker’s mind. She stepped towards the ruins of the shop, looking back at Mountain briefly for confirmation that it was alright.
It felt wrong, taking the shop’s coins from the ruins, like she was stealing from Iry. But Iry was dead, she wasn’t going to have any use for them now, and she would want Tyker to have it, so she could find Massin.
Tyker wondered if he was even alive. Her parents, younger siblings, feres, Iry, everyone she ever loved died while she lived on. She felt cursed, like the gods followed where she went, bringing their destruction with them.
“Ready to go Mountain?” Tyker axed and the two went on their way, Tyker determined not to let anyone else in the village be harmed because of her.