The coming of the next morning brought with it the first winter chill, leaving a coating of frost over the ground.

As Toland went about his chores, wrapped up in his fur coat, he noticed that the saltseller had arrived. He was a broad man, thickset and used to a life on the road. His coat was ill fitted to him, which made it look like he was wearing the animal itself rather than a piece of clothing. He was currently in the process of negotiating prices with Ir Shan, who still wore the bruises and red scars of the battle, but was nonetheless proving to be an even match with the merchant.

However, it was not him who had captured Toland’s attention, it was the magnificent volshbear that pulled his cart.

The volshbear was a four-legged beast from the northern lands, with a flattened face, a short, stumpy tail and a thick coat of fur. Its legs were oddly jointed, like those of a lizard. They stuck out from its body to provide the widest base possible and they ended in feet with splayed toes set evenly around its circular paws. In the relatively mild climate of their valley, the beast didn’t have its claws out, however, if it felt the need to hang on to an icy rockface or snowy field, it would extend its three-inch-long claws like spikes to give it extra grip.

At rest it lay on its belly, munching on the grass around it. To the traders it was simply a beast of burden to take their wares safely through mountain passes and across the frozen wastes, but to Toland it was what the heroes of legend rode into battle against the ice giants, what Cerneres rode up Mount Freskar to rescue the goddess Mishtal and it could have been Virik, the legendary steed of Awera that had dragged her unconscious body across the wastes after her defeat at the hands of the sorcerer Malipher.

He took a moment to walk over to the beast and put his hand on the top of its shaggy head reverently.

It gave a contented snort and lifted its head up, startling Toland into jerking his hand away.

As it relaxed back to the floor again, he smiled wondrously and returned his hand to petting it, dreaming about riding it.

“What is that thing?” said a voice from behind him.

He turned to see Katrina standing just behind him, looking suspiciously at the volshbear. She was wearing a new blouse made from a single piece of blue fabric. It had obviously been put together in a hurry, but his mother was skilled with a needle, and it still fitted her well, it even had white accenting around the hem and sleeves.

“It’s a volshbear,” Toland said, as though that explained everything.

“It looks like someone tried to make a horse with only half the parts and a third hand description.”

Toland looked at her horrified, “The volshbear is the greatest steed in the world. It was the mount of choice for all the heroes from the legends, it doesn’t tire, its super intelligent, it can walk up cliff faces and its super strong.”

Katrina raised an eyebrow at him, “Which legends? I thought you were Esterian?”

Toland scratched the back of his neck, “Well, I am, but, Mum’s not, she’s Garashian, so when we were kids, she would tell us the stories she grew up with.”

She nodded understandingly and took another look at the volshbear, still unconvinced.

After allowing her to examine the volshbear for another few seconds Toland asked, “Did you need something?”

Katrina’s gaze locked back onto him, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Well,” she began, “I enquired with your mother if she required any assistance with her daily activities in reparations for the inconveniences and demands we have placed upon her, however, it was a short-lived endeavour as apparently such tasks require a great deal more skill than I anticipated. In the end she suggested I go and offer my assistance to you instead.”

Toland bit his lip, desperately trying to hold himself back from laughing.

“What did she have you doing?” he asked as innocently as possible.

Katrina bristled, “I was aiding in her cooking and shortly after I was set the task of repairing a damaged coat.”

She then added, at seeing his supressed smile, “I will have you know I am… there is little need for such skills in my line of work. I assure you I possess many skills in a host of other areas.”

Toland laughed good naturedly, “I’m sure you do? What is your line of work then? Maybe we can find an opportunity for you to show off.”

Katrina stiffened, “Well… I am… I am a wizards assistant.”

Toland blinked in surprise, “You mean, an actual wizard? So Jaran’s a wizard?”

“No, of course not,” Katrina started, then backtracked, “Sort of, he is a purveyor of simple spells. You people have a word for it… It’s…”

“A hedge wizard?” Toland finished for her.

“Precisely.”

“Well, I would have thought that the first step in being an apprentice hedge wizard would be learning the name of the occupation.”

“I do. It simply slipped my mind. And I am new at it so I cannot cast spells of my own yet.”

Toland nodded, “I guess that puts us in the same situation then, I’m expected to choose a profession by the end of the year too.”

Kat nodded.

“Anyway, I’ve finished all my jobs for the morning so there isn’t really much for me to give you and my jobs this evening are all in the forge so I don’t think there will be much to give you there. Are you not cold by the way?”

A cold wind blew across them and he drew his fur coat tighter around him, but she just stood there, unconcerned, wearing a blouse made from a single piece of cloth.

“I am perfectly fine, thank you for your concern. What jobs would you be doing in the forge?”

“Just sharpening swords, polishing the displays, but the main thing I do is the decorations and the charms, the fine detail work, stuff like that.”

She nodded regretfully, “Very well, I shall return to check on Jaran, leaving you with the request that if you do find something that you allow me to aid you.”

Toland nodded, “Sure.”