“I was trying to get a start on your training,” he told her, looking and feeling dumb. “The first lesson was supposed to be on effective ways to break free from a sudden assault. You kind of ruined that by turning around though.”

“Uh…,” she stammered. “Sorry, I guess. But how about we don’t start with surprise attacks? You almost scared me to death.”

“A fair point,” he said. “But, just to be clear, I did say no questioning me. The first rule of learning to protect yourself is that an attack can literally come at you from anywhere and at any time.”

He didn’t look happy with her but he shrugged off the whole thing and brushed it aside. Besides, he supposed she did have a point considering what happened to her.

“You seem to have a good handle on that at least,” he told her. “How did you know I was planning to come at you?”

“I don’t know,” she said, not bothering with telling him about the weird sensation she had felt. “I don’t even know if I really did. I just turned around.”

“We’ll dismiss this lesson for the time being then,” he said. “We can revisit it at a later time. Since you are still in the middle of dealing with everything that happened to you, let’s start with doing some exercises. These are crucial. They will hone your body and get it in fighting shape.”

She eyed him a little at that, her lips a thin line.

“You don’t think my shape is adequate?” she asked.

“No,” he told her, flatly. “You’re a farmer’s daughter. Your shape is built for farming. While that may have served you well in that endeavor, it is a far cry from what you will need moving forward. Understand?”

“Fine,” she muttered.

“Okay. Now let's start with pushups,” he said, that devilish grin on his face again.

This time, however, Lola didn’t find it alluring. She found it annoying.

They spent the next three hours training and by the time they were done, Lola was exhausted. To compound on the annoyance, Russel was doing just fine. He wasn’t even breathing hard even though he did every exercise right along with her. She was also sweaty, still flighty from her mud bath the day before, and achy. She decided to head down to a small pond to wash up. She didn’t love the chill to its waters but getting clean was worth the price. The filth had been just another harsh reminder of yesterday’s events and she already had enough of those rolling around her mind. She had no need for more. When she was finished, she went back to their campsite. Russel was there waiting for her.

“According to the map, there should be a town maybe three or four miles due north,” he said. “We can get there right as dusk hits if we make good time.”

“That’s right. It’s called Howlton. They’ll have what we need there,” she told him, confident. Howlton was actually a bit bigger than Gloucester had been.

He nodded to her and they spent the next fifteen minutes packing up their gear. When they were done, they headed out. Lola took advantage of Serk this time. Due to the intense exercise routine Russel put her under, she feared she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.

The trek to Howlton was uneventful. The way forward was mostly devoid of any other travelers. Even when they entered the town, there didn’t seem to be that many people out on the dirt streets. They saw a few though and the people they did find looked at the two of them with hefty amounts of suspicion.

“Is there a local tavern?” Russel asked one of them. When no one answered, he pulled out a silver coin with King Harrison’s profile on it. “I’ll make it worth it for you.”

One of them, a slender kid with lanky blonde hair, pushed himself off the wall and strolled up to them. He snatched the offered coin and disappeared it into a pocket like a magic trick.

“Got one over there a ways down the street,” he said. “Ma Tomkins can make you something to yer liking. Best cook around.”

Russel smiled, took out another coin, and offered it to the boy.

“Thank you,” he said. “We’ve been traveling for a few hours and a nice, hot meal would be just the thing to suit us.”

The kid, though, didn’t seem to care. He turned away from them and went back to leaning against the wall, eyeing them as they walked away.

“What a charming personality,” Lola muttered.

Eventually, they found their way to the tavern and headed inside. Most of the town appeared to be in there. Almost all the tables were filled and people were yelling and having what looked like very intense conversations with each other. The wall of noise was hard to separate but a few keywords kept coming through.

Gloucester.

Everyone dead.

And, most importantly…

Werewolves.