Instead of Balt answering, the wolf bear spoke into my mind. “Our bodies are almost completely resistant to magic. If that drink is made with magic, it will have little effect on me. Natural herbs help some, but I think I am too far gone for anything, the great realm calls my soul home.”

  Balt had the poachers pinned against the cave walls, their bodies stock still under the weight of his Aura. I strode to the nearest one, a middle-aged man with a dark beard, clad in plain leather armor. I seized the back of his neck, my grip iron-tight, and forced his head toward me until his eyes met mine.

  “What did you do to that animal to keep its wounds from sealing?” I demanded.

  His gaze burned with defiance, lips pressed tight. I slammed his head against the stone wall; the crack echoing through the cave and conjured a Searing Sphere in my free hand. The sphere pulsed with heat, its glow painting the walls in flickering sapphire.

  “If you don’t feel like answering,” I said coldly, “I understand. We can simply end your existence here and now.”

  The man’s bravado shattered instantly. He stammered, words tumbling out in panic. “W-we… we laced the crossbow bolts and spears with poison. Non-magical. It keeps the wounds from closing… and attacks the heart.”

  My stomach twisted. Horror came over me. “Do you have the antidote?!” I roared, flaring the Sphere as I inched it closer to his face.

  The man’s eyes widened, but his answer was a dagger to my chest. “There is no antidote.”

  I brought the Sphere so close to his skin that I heard the skin on his face sizzle. He screamed in pain his next words. “I’m telling you, if there is one, we don’t know it or have it! I swear it!”

  I slammed his head against the stone, knocking him out cold. Turning to the others, I found only terrified stares and shaking heads. No answers came.

  I returned to the wolf bear side, at a loss of what to do. A pool of blood spread beneath her, and as massive as she was, no beast could survive such blood loss for long. I summoned some newly acquired bandages, ready to stem the flow the best I could, when her voice entered my mind.

  “I am about to leave this plane. I have a boon I wish to impart to you, champion, for serving justice on my mate’s killer. If you will allow me to search your soul, perhaps you will hear a mother’s last request as well after this boon is granted. Come closer, please.”

  I obeyed.

  Her once-strong voice faltered now. “Place your hand upon my head… and do not take it off.”

  I hesitated only briefly before doing as she asked. The cub stared up at me, golden fur around his eyes wet with tears. My heart clenched, and I pressed my hand to her head.

  The Wolf Bear closed her eyes. A warmth spread through me, from the tips of my toes to the crown of my head, like sitting beside a campfire on a winter’s night.

  I read the Lore entry, now uncertain if the trade-off was worth it. That change to reduce incoming magic damage to zero was spectacular to be sure. Lessening the damage, I would take was a powerful passive, but the thought of my ability to be healed being weakened made me hesitate to jump for joy.

  That was when I felt a presence stir within my soul. I clicked my Anchor and dove inward. My soul tree was standing tall; its sapphire glow now streaked with what appeared to be flecks of gold. At its base, the mother Wolf Bear pressed her head against the trunk. I could feel her searching my soul—her own soul brushing against mine, probing the roots of who I was.

  Only a moment passed before she withdrew, her gaze steady upon me. “You have a powerful soul, and a righteous one. A piece of my spirit and strength now intertwines with yours. From this day forward, my kind and our cousins will consider you pack now.”

  I looked up at the tree, its limbs shimmering faintly gold before fading back to sapphire, then shifting again. I turned back to her. “I feel like the boon you gave me is a double-edged sword… but I thank you for the gift, nonetheless.

  I faced her looking right into her golden eyes. "I think I know what you’re about to ask of me. I want you to know that I’ll do my best to see your cub taken to his kin. Do you know where I can find them?”

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  I didn’t know how to read Wolf Bear expressions, but I could have sworn she smiled. “I know where the last of his kin is, without a doubt.”

  I opened my mouth to ask more, but her eyes fixed on me, intent and unyielding.

  “Oh, no… I can’t look after him. There has to be someone else. I’m in danger all the time, and I have my own problems.” My voice faltered as realization struck. “Is that why you really gave me the boon? So he would see me as pack, not because I avenged your mate?”

  Her spirit body flickered, fading like embers in the wind. “I am sorry, champion. I am out of time. I must say my goodbyes to my boy. Forgive me for asking this of you, but after I am gone… he will have no one else.”

  Her presence vanished, and I followed her back out of my soul realm. My protest died on my lips when I saw the cub. He was licking his mother’s face, tears streaking his golden fur.

  Her voice entered my mind one last time, carrying both love and finality. “Watch over one another. I love you, my boy… and I will see you again one day.”

  Another voice followed, young, trembling, frightened. “Mama… please don’t leave me.”

  The mother licked her cub one last time. Her head fell to the side, her breath stilled, and silence claimed her. The cub’s mournful howl filled the cave, raw and piercing, and a part of me wanted to join him.

  I waited in silence, letting the grief settle for a few minutes, before I finally spoke to him. “My name is Riven. Your mother asked me to look after you. I know you’re hurting more than you ever have before… but let me take you out of this place. To somewhere safe. At least until you’re ready to decide what you want to do.”

  A slight nod from the cub was all I received. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his head. He trembled at my touch but allowed the contact. His fur was soft and fluffy, and I tried some soothing pets to calm him. I took out an old shirt and wiped his tears away. “There is nothing wrong with tears when we lose someone that means so much to us, but don’t let these bastards see you down when we walk out of here, they don't need to know how much they hurt you.” I looked him right in his eyes. "Fuck em, they don't deserve to see you down."

  A small but resolute nod followed my words. I looked over to his mother realizing I counted leave without taking care of her. I bent back down to talk with cub face to face. “With your permission, I want to store your mother for now in my Anchor, I pointed to it. I do not want anyone or anything to desecrate her body.”

  That little voice again came into my mind. “What does desecrate mean?”

  I thought for a moment, trying to phrase it in the least gruesome way I could. “It means that they would take from her remains. I will find her a proper resting place where that will not happen. If you will allow me to take her with us?”

  A small nod was all I received. I placed my hand on her body and stored it in my Inventory. I did the same with the ringleader’s corpse and gathered the leftover herbs scattered across the ground, the very ones that had started this whole tragedy.

  When I returned to Balt, his eyes were red. I gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.

  Turning to the poachers, an icy anger surged through me, an anger I hadn’t felt since Carson took Alice. A low growl slipped from my throat before I caught myself. Perhaps an effect of the passive? I would have to ask Master Matt tonight.

  I exhaled slowly, forcing calm back into my chest.

  “You’ve been warned what will happen if you so much as twitch or lie to the guild about what you’ve done when we get there.”

  Their silent nods were answer enough. With that, we left the cave.

  The journey back to the city took the rest of the day. I stopped several times to give the cub water, though he refused every bit of food I offered. His grief was too raw, too heavy.

  At the gates, the guards, usually impassive in my few interactions with them, tared wide-eyed, jaws dropping at the sight of me with the cub. They let us pass after I gave a brief account of what had happened and explained I was heading straight to the guild.

  One guard summoned a steel carriage to transport the prisoners. Another arranged a separate carriage for us, so we could avoid the worst of the road traffic.

  The cub climbed the carriage steps when I opened the door, moving with the ease of one who had done it before. Soon, as the light of day faded, we arrived at the guild.

  Guildmaster Aaron himself awaited us. He led me to his office, where I gave my report. I transferred the ringleader’s body to his Anchor. Instead of addressing me, Aaron walked around his desk and sat cross-legged in front of the cub. “I am sorry for your loss, little one,” he said softly. “These men will be punished. I swear it.”

  The cub looked at him, then at me, before inching closer to my side. The guildmaster’s eyes dimmed with sorrow as he turned back to me. “Outliers always bring strange times, but this is only the second time in my long lifetime I have seen a wolf bear. Just like the System description says, they are mythic creatures. May I ask, what are your plans for him?”

  I slowly placed a hand on the cub’s head, giving him gentle pats. “His mother asked me to look after him, and I plan on doing just that, until he decides otherwise.”

  The guildmaster’s Anchor flared, and a large brown collar appeared in his hand. “I know he is not a pet,” Aaron said, “but this will give him the appearance of a dog for now. If people knew you had a Wolf Bear, you and he would never know a moment’s peace.”

  I accepted the collar with thanks and explained its purpose to the cub. His only reply was a quiet. “Okay.”

  I slipped the collar around his neck, and in an instant, the Wolf Bear’s form shimmered and shifted. Where he had stood, now appeared a massive golden retriever, so much like the one I had grown up with back home when I was a boy.

  I patted him again, but his sad eyes met mine, heavy with grief.

  “Do you have a name? I can’t just keep calling you ‘cub.’”

  He shook his head, ears drooping slightly as he stared at the floor.

  “What do you think of Charlie?”

  His tail gave a single, uncertain flick, then went still. Another shake.

  “How about Ryder?”

  This time he shifted his paws, a quiet huff slipping out. "Still no huh?

  I paused longer, then smiled. “How about Tucker?”

  His ears perked, his tail lifted just a few inches, and he gave the smallest nod, shy, hesitant, but real.

  “Tucker it is.”

  Balt and I shook the guildmaster’s hand in thanks, but before we could leave, our badges flashed. A thousand points surged into both my and Balt’s badges. I froze, stunned, and looked back at Aaron.

  He gave us a small smile. Even though you did not accept the Task. “Those men were wanted by the guild for many crimes. And honestly, for saving what sounds like the last Wolf Bear in this world… one thousand points is a small reward in comparison.”

  He gestured toward the door.

  “Head to the apothecary, turn in your herbs, and complete your task. After today, you should be securely in first place, unless someone else decides to save a creature from Legend, of course.”

  I bowed slightly, and Balt did the same. Tucker, watching us, inclined his head as well, drawing a faint smile from Aaron’s face.

  We left the guild in silence, the weight of the day still pressing on us. The apothecary wasn’t far, and soon Balt and I had turned in our bundles of yarrow. Twenty-four herbs each, another 120 points apiece added to our badges.

  By then, the sun had vanished completely. Lanterns and mage-lights flickered to life along the streets, casting warm pools of glow across cobblestones slick with evening dew. Tucker padded close to my side, his golden fur catching the light, and I gave him an encouraging pat whenever his steps faltered.

  The city was alive with sound, laughter spilling from taverns, the clatter of mugs, the hum of music drifting through open shutters. Most inns looked ready to burst with activity, their doors swinging wide for patrons eager to escape the chill of night.

  When the sign of the Hungry Dragon came into view, I let out a relieved sigh. But halfway to the door, I stopped, bringing us all to a halt.

  “You think Mei will allow Tucker in?”

  Balt chuckled, shaking his head.

  “One look at that face and she’ll be eating out of his paws, I guarantee it.”

  I scratched Tucker behind the ears, and together we stepped inside.

  I expected the previous night’s bustle to greet me, tables packed, plates clattering, voices raised in cheer. Instead, the sight that greeted me froze me in place. The room was empty. No crowd, no laughter, no clatter of dishes. Just silence, broken only by the faint crackle of the hearth.

  At the long table in the back sat Mei, Jase, and Chu. They rose to their feet as we entered, their expressions unreadable in the firelight.

  I glanced around the vacant hall, unease prickling at the back of my neck. “What’s going on?” I asked, the words heavy in the quiet.