After their encounter with the imposing white knight Abaddon had been unusually quiet. He usually had a lot to say. Levi decided to leave him be and focus on his new surroundings instead.
After leaving Aldrich alone with his father, Andrius led Levi to an inn he called the 'impromptu Order of the Wolf headquarters'. The order didn't have its own lodgings because they were rarely ever in the city for long. Apparently, while they were now recognised by the king himself, the Order of the Wolf was originally just a group of mercenaries.
They travelled from place to place, taking jobs here and there. On one such job Andrius had come to the city for the first time. He helped Aldrich's father, Alastair, quell a monster outbreak near the city. After that, even though he repeatedly stated it was not necessary, he was knighted by the king. And that was how the Order of the Wolf was recognised by the kingdom.
Levi was fascinated by the tale. And Andrius had a lot more to tell. He and his band of misfits, as he called them, had gotten into quite some precarious situations back in the day.
"We even faced a dragon once on one of the jobs," Andrius leaned in, a large scar running down his neck visible in the candlelight . "It gave me this scar."
Levi hadn't noticed it before. Probably because of all the armor he had been wearing. "A dragon... like Abaddon?"
"Well, yes. But not half as powerful or else I probably wouldn't be here right now."
Levi had heard many tales of cruel dragons that terrorised humans, but he could never imagine Abaddon doing that. "I know you guys think Abaddon is evil but... we've been together for like forever, and while he can be a handful he's really not that bad."
A small look of concern crossed Andrius' face. But he didn't say anything, so Levi kept talking.
"When I was a child I didn't have many friends, so I often wandered around the outskirts of my village alone. One night I noticed a strange glow in the distance that seemed to be calling. That's when I found him, in a dark cave. A small ball of energy. I probably shouldn't have touched it, but I did. It disappeared right after I did so I just went back home a bit confused.
He first spoke to me the next day. He was just as confused as I was. He couldn't understand how his soul hasn't pushed mine out and taken over my body. He began to accept it after a while though, and over the following years we became... friends.
But then one of his other fragments, in the body of a direwolf, found the village. It... it killed everyone. And it wanted to kill me too, and absorb the soul fragment I had. I was... so scared. I blacked out and when i came to, the wolf was dead. Abaddon had protected me. That was the first time he took over my body."
Levi paused to take a breath. He took a strand of his now white hair in his hand. "He absorbed the fragment from the wolf instead. My hair turned a little white at the end. After that I decided to help him track down the rest of his fragments. To keep them from hurting anyone else."
Andrius leaned back on the bed. "While that sounds selfless, have you ever considered he's doing this just to regain his power. After which he will probably discard you and return to his old way of life?"
Levi shook his head indignantly. "He wouldn't do that. It may be hard to believe but, we are friends. Even if he was like that, it was a long time ago and he's changed!"
Andrius sighed. He understood Levi's point of view. Dragon or not, Abaddon had been his only companion for so long. And who knows, maybe he was right. Maybe spending years in the same body as a human child had changed the dragon in some way.
But it would be foolish not to prepare for the worst. So Andrius would keep a close eye on the boy.
"So," Levi began, in an attempt to change the topic. "That knight from earlier was really strong. Just who was he?"
"That was Sir Kazuki Enya, the strongest knight in... pretty much all the lands." Andrius answered. "No one can come close to touching him. And I mean that in the most literal sense, as you experienced for yourself."
Levi nodded. He gazed down at his arms. They had already healed but he could still feel a bit of the pain caused from the burns.
"They say Yves was a much colder kingdom in the past." Andrius added. "But there hasn't been any snow since Sir Kazuki arrived."
"Judging from his name," Levi wondered. "He isn't from around here is he."
"No, he's from the kingdom in the west, Shinkoku. The king took him in when he was younger. That's all I know of the matter."
"I see." Levi replied.
Andrius let out a breath as he got off his bed. "It's late, you should get some sleep."
Levi watched as Andrius threw on a robe over his garments and made for the door. He asked where he was going but all he got back was a vague answer which left him with more question.
"It's a full moon tonight."
×
The next morning Aldrich stopped by Levi's room in the inn. He had brought him new clothes. The shirt had a wolf symbol on its chest.
"Andrius asked me to bring these to you for him." Aldrich said.
"Is he alright?" Levi asked as he pulled the clothes on. "He left in a hurry last night. Because of the full moon. Does he... turn into a wolf on nights like that?"
Aldrich stared at him curiously before letting out a small laugh. "No, no he doesn't. He does love to act mysterious though. He and a bunch of my father's other friends meet at a bar and drink themselves silly once a month. Usually on the night of a full moon. It's an old tradition of theirs for whatever reason. He's passed out on our kitchen floor right now."
"Oh." Was Levi's only reply.
Aldrich headed toward the door and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, let's have a walk around town. I'll show you around."
Levi followed Aldrich out of the inn and into the streets. It has been so quiet last night, but now the atmosphere was almost buzzing with life. They navigated narrow cobblestone streets, where merchants hawked their wares. The air was thick with the aroma of spices and the lively chatter of traders.
Stalls adorned with vibrant fabrics and gleaming trinkets lined the path, creating a sensory tapestry that enveloped Aldrich as they strolled through the vibrant chaos.
But then Aldrich suddenly stopped causing Levi to bump into him.
"What's wrong?" Levi asked, rubbing his nose.
Aldrich sounded confused. "That girl," he said. Levi followed his gaze to a figure in a cloak walking hurriedly. "I know her. But, what would she be doing in the market alone."
"I should ask her that," Aldrich continued. "Come on."
So they followed after the girl in the cloak. They almost lost her several times in the large crowd.
"There!" Aldrich exclaimed. He had spotted her turning down an alley. He grabbed Levi's hand and pulled him through the crowd till they had reached the alley.
But there was nothing at the end. It was empty, it was like the girl had simply vanished.
Aldrich was dumbfounded. "I... I don't get it. Where could she have gone? Did she use her dagger. But why bother walking all this way just to use it."
Levi had no idea what he was going on about but his senses told him there was something on the alley they weren't seeing. He swept his hands over the walls. Aldrich watched him, curious.
Then his hand slipped right into one of the walls. Or rather, not a wall at all, but a passage way concealed by some sort of illusion.
"Woah." Aldrich said. He stepped forward. "Okay, let's go in."
Levi wasn't as sure about this. "Are you sure we should go down there alone?"
"We'll find the princess then get out," Aldrich reassured him. "What's the worst that could happen."
So together they walked through the illusion and disappeared.