"Harvey... you did this..." Stated Isabelle, releasing me from a hug, shaking her head.

  I went to say something, but others from the village were approaching. Lis greeted me with an awkward thanks, what for, I didn't know. Lobo, shook my hand, obviously wanting to say something...

  "Harr-Veyy! Brother!" Audovald lifted me into a tight hug.

  I got my first clue what's going on, Roxie was very close behind him, looking happy. They were both in their respective wolf hide getups, over their winter layers.

  "Audovald, people are telling me something's going on?" I asked once we all got in from the cold. Still mostly yurts, the clan had made a new addition to this new area, a large long house. We were a short walk from the path that led up to the shrine of Ullr.

  "Harvey... I'm getting married! You've met my fiancé..." He grinned, gesturing toward Roxie.

  During lunch I discovered why it was my fault. I had advised Audovald, who doesn't know how to fish, to hunt something as a gift to bring to the clan. He got lucky and caught a giant boar... A MONSTER GIANT BOAR!

  He'd won over the entire clan managing to feed them all. Boar being the favourite food of Roxie, combined with people saying they'd make a cute couple due to their matching outfits, had led to them courting.

  I theorised Audovald being similar to Roxie's dad, plus a great guy, Roxie being a strong woman (Audo's type), and sharing Audo's interest in wrestling; it was an obvious match up.

  There were several faces I didn't recognise, further down the table with Juniper. As the discussions of Audovald and Roxie's engagement dyed down, Juniper stood up. Our eyes met, with a wave she summoned me to join her in the corner of the building.

  "You OK?" She asked with a nervous smile.

  "Juniper, relax, I'm fine. You have a job for us?"

  "Hmph, straight to business, that doesn't surprise me."

  The couple I didn't recognise were Amanda and Gaston Fruidor. The woman that had helped Juniper after Jorma, and her husband. Amanda had, during her adventures, gathered information and resources to aid pregnancy. Having met a new man and with the help of Juniper and Lis. Her pregnancy was far beyond any she had had before.

  The job was an escort mission. Amanda's baby was due some time before spring, both her and her husband's families were quite far away. She needed to stay here, near Lis and Juniper, plus couldn't travel over winter, and so the couple would travel with their newborn later.

  To save time, the shortest route had been mapped... it went too close to orc territory, but the alternative was so much longer.

  The others, I hadn't recognised, were Audovald and Isabelle's parents, Emilia and Johann F?rsj?ger. They'd arrived not long before me, to visit their children, plus attend their son's wedding. Audovald and Roxie would be the first to marry at the shrine since it's repurposing back to an actual shrine.

  Slap!

  "Hey!" I looked confused at Juniper who'd lightly struck my arm.

  "Why didn't you come earlier! I put this ring to use and got the vista garden blooming— It's all dead now!"

  "Oh... I'll try to visit in summer. How'd you even get to it?"

  "There's a bridge now, the loveseat is fixed up, aw it's beautiful Harvey! Couples were arguing and taking turns to go there for romantic evenings! I'm getting thanked by couples, and there are other weddings due after Roxie's- it's amazing, I love it!"

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  . . .

  After dinner, Audovald and Johann approached, between them lugging a cask of ale. Johanns peg leg thunked along as he walked. The women disappeared as Lobo, and other clan men approached.

  "... No! I'm sorry Audo, you did not beat Roxie, I don't believe you!" I said, louder than intended.

  "I swear bro, dad you were there!" Audo said with a jerky gesture to his father.

  Johann the supplier of the excellent ale intoxicating us joined the conversion. "I saw my son struggle, if he were not stronger, I do believe he would have lost."

  "Oh thanks dad! Alright, alright... So maybe my strength played a part, but I was one of the best wrestlers, not just among my fellow guards, but in the whooole town! I got skills Harvey!"

  "Ha! I should be mad, he fights my daughter! But I have never seen her happier!" Announced Lobo. "Cheers to my new son Audovald!"

  We all drank, I'd lost count of how many times this had already happened.

  "I am... I am very happy for you." I managed to say, finding it increasingly difficult to formulate more complicated sentences...

  . . .

  The next day, feeling like a pile of shit someone had pissed on, I nonetheless commit to an experience I was keen to give Layla. I'd checked before arriving, they were there, they'd respawned or repopulated.

  "Shh!" I hushed Layla as we got near, she was going to ask what we were doing, again. Signalling for her to get low, we snuck to a bush on the edge of a clearing.

  I signalled for Layla to look. She silently complied, excitement rose as she could hear muttering and shuffling about. Carefully she poked her head between the bush we sheltered behind and the one next to it.

  Grinning from ear to ear, teeth somehow appearing pointier, she stared at me, her purr growing louder.

  "So yeah, I brought you here to watch me take care of these gonks, you don't need to do a thing, OK?" I whispered.

  Her eyes were glazed over, she was slipping on her clawed gauntlets. I could have said anything, the joke fell utterly flat. I smiled, stiffling a snort laugh. Looking her deep in her eyes, I swayed my head toward the clearing. "Go!"

  "Meowrrrow!!" She leapt over the bush as the doom eternal track 'the only thing they fear is you' kicked in. Which was odd as a lot of the sounds weren't possible with the instruments of the time, plus there was no band or other source. I shrugged, it was just one of the odd things about living in a world with leveling up and stat cards.

  Two gonks got claws into their back, before being slammed together showering others around with their amber blood. They knew she was there, not that that would help in any way.

  She got low, twirling around. She kicked two away. Gutted one. Took the nose and half a face off another.

  The gonks advanced, beards opened revealing two rows of shark-like teeth. A downward punch to the head of a gonk, made its cap flare, spraying blood and brains around. Layla roared as dozens started emerging from the bushes and trees.

  Reaching into the mouth of one, then another. Layla swung their bodies, batting away advancing gonks.

  Eventually one split apart, leaving half a head on her gauntlet. She threw it, and the other with deadly force at limping gonks.

  Slashing and stomping, Layla slaughtered several gonks. Three gonks had attached themselves to her arms, doing little to her armour.

  She swiped the arm with two gonks hanging on, past a tree. The first exploded against it, the second is knocked off, she finished it with a stomp.

  The last gonk biting down on her arm geot punched so hard in its chest. Only its head was left on Layla's arm. It fell off as the brain commands to bite down ceased.

  The gonks started retreating. A small group one way, a larger group the other.

  "Harvey!" Commanded Layla pointing the way of the smaller group.

  Four total, I took one out with a throwing knife as it tried to split off. The other three were cut apart with a couple swings of my sword. I head back to Layla, sensing as did, that I was being watched. I figured it was probably just a surviving gonk hiding somewhere, I was too hung over to care.

  I followed a trail of amber blood streaks, she had picked runners off one by one. I spotted a gonk ahead and slowed. Crouching, I snuck behind, watching the last gonk running.

  It stopped, bewildered it "looked" around. As far as I could tell, gonks navigated through smell and some sort of magical sense. They had no eyes beneath their caps.

  It approached a pond, dropping to its knees to slurp up the algae ridden water. Layla appeared, with her foot she pushed and held the gonk down. A moment of bubbling passed, before she backed off.

  The gonk jumped up gasping for air, it's front covered in green specs of algae, it stood swaying.

  Layla walking slowly backward, saw me stand up, winked my way. She charged, delivering an almighty kick to the gonk.

  YAAAAaaaa... SPLAT!

  The punted gonk exploded into pieces, striking a barren winter tree several paces away.

  Well, that's one way to deal with pests...