"That will be ten copper. You can give me a silver coin if you have one but if you don't just hand me ten copper coins," the shopkeeper said, looking at me as if to weigh whether I was worth the trouble, or just another loss.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the pouch I had gotten from Jack, still using it as my only money holder. "Here it is one silver. That should be enough, right?"
"Yes, that'll do," he replied with a thin smile.
On the walk through town that day, my mind had been circling around a theory I wanted to test. For that, I needed a dagger. First for my own safety. Second because a weapon was something I could not keep delaying. And third I needed an extra shirt for the rest of the season, something to help me survive the coming winter and the three long months of work ahead.
Grabbing the dagger, I rolled it into my new shirt and folded it neatly before stepping back. I turned to leave, but a question lingered in me, burning. It might sound insane, even impossible, but I had to ask.
"How did you kill it?"
The shopkeeper stopped, staring at me in silence. I worried for a moment he would laugh.
"Patience and persistence," he finally said. "But I only helped. It was my father who dealt the killing blow." His mouth shifted as if he wanted to say more, but he held back.
"I want to know how to hunt one." My voice was steady, but inside my soul was trembling.
"Hunt a Lunareth Wolf?" he frowned. "Kid, they've been extinct for more than twenty years. My father and I killed the last in this region. If there are more, they live far beyond these lands."
"Please, sir," I said, looking down, my words pulling raw from my chest. "You might not understand, but I feel I'll be trapped in an eternal nightmare unless I can hunt such a thing. Maybe if I survive one night in the dream, I can win. But it won't end unless I become the hunter instead of the prey."
His eyes narrowed, then softened.
"To hunt a Titan, one must become one. To kill a Giant, one must have faith. Strength without faith is empty. Only inner conviction the will to endure can carry you through the eternal truth: that one man can do so little, but unending hope to win is what leads to victory. You must trap it, not fight it head-on. Don't let it believe you are tied to its fate. Whatever battle you're facing, kid use any method to win."
"To trap a beast such as that…" I whispered. Even though the lesson was small, the truth of his words gave me courage. For the first time, I felt as if maybe I could fight harder not just in this world, but in the endless nightmare that awaited me each night.
Before leaving, I bowed slightly. "Thank you."
"You can call me Izic," he said.
"I appreciate your help, Izic."
Walking out of the shop, the fading sunlight struck me with its golden warmth. And as the world darkened, the silver moon rose above, shining brightly.
By the time I reached my hut, night had fully claimed the sky. I counted what remained: three measures of grain for bread. Enough for tomorrow. I would use the rest of my money to buy more. The shopkeeper had told me grain cost three copper, which left me with one copper to spare. That meant I could last perhaps two weeks, just barely, until Alden's soldiers handed out rations.
I hadn't eaten all day, so I baked one portion into bread, ate half, and stored the rest. My new clothes went into the container beneath my bed. Thankfully, nothing had been stolen not the book, not the crystal. After tucking everything away, I lay down under my thin sheet, still wearing the same two layers of clothes I had worked in.
In my right hand, I clutched the dagger. I was ready. I prayed my hunch was right that tonight, I would finally stop being the prey. That even if my enemies were far beyond my current strength, they would still bleed.
Today was not the end. It was the beginning. And I would seal it to fate that I would vanquish this endless nightmare.