Wolves probably weren't supposed to behave like the one that attacked them. For one, wolves were pack hunters. For two, their go-to strategy was to scare their prey into running and wear them down.

  Idunnir somehow knew the beast was coming. Just before the attack, he motioned for a halt and carefully set down his end of the pole. Rolling his shoulders to loosen them but not drawing his sword, he waited patiently.

  The unfortunate animal burst from the underbrush, snarling, and charged at Idunnir's unmoving form.

  With a casual ease that looked choreographed, Idunnir brought the rim of his round shield down on the animal's head. The wolf tried to dodge, but somehow the movement resulted in it moving into the blow rather than avoiding it. As if the man had known where the wolf would end up and aimed for that spot specifically.

  A loud, wet cracking sound proclaimed the fate of the animal's spinal column. It went limp instantly. Now that it was holding still, Caius could make out a rather gruesome wound on its flank. He looked away after noticing that it was ragged and blackened.

  Out of nowhere, Idunnir drew a foot back and kicked the dying animal in the ribs. It resulted in several more cracking sounds and the soon-to-be corpse being launched off the road and into the underbrush.

  "Mad with pain and fever." Idunnir commented. His voice was raspy and emotionless.

  "I thought so. Wolves just aren't like that." Marcus commented. Clearly that comment about how dangerous Idunnir could be wasn't an exaggeration. "How about we all take a break and make some tea?"

  Upon the mention of tea, Idunnir snapped his head around and nodded. Either the man really liked his tea, or Caius was missing something. Possibly both. The routine was clearly practiced, Marcus and Idunnir cooperating without saying a word as the latter hunted for some firewood with a spring in his step.

  Marcus didn't use a flint and steel, he had an odd container made of horn that apparently held coals. With some kindling and a lot of blowing on the coals, the fire was going fairly quickly. After that it was just a matter of placing a small pot over it and melting some snow.

  Caius seriously doubted that this was ordinary tea. Marcus produced a box full of little compartments and carefully measured out quantities of six different things in them. Meanwhile, Idunnir took a bowl from their supplies and filled it halfway with snow before crouching down and waiting. He pulled his helmet off and set it aside.

  The mixture in the pot started glowing a deep blue. Soon after, Marcus carefully poured half of the still boiling liquid into the bowl. Apparently the snow was only there to cool down whatever it was to a drinkable temperature, Idunnir grabbed the bowl and started drinking the moment Marcus stopped pouring.

  Idunnir drank like he was dying of thirst. All that stopped him from guzzling the... tea... was a visible desire not to waste a drop of the liquid. When the bowl was empty, the armored man sat down and slumped against a tree with his eyes vacant and staring at nothing like a dead fish.

  Caius observed the two men. Marcus spent a while staring at his companion. Caius had his difficulties with interpreting facial expressions, but there was a deep sadness radiating from the older man.

  After a while, Marcus set about using a funnel to pour the remaining "tea" into a flask that he tucked into his tunic. To stop it from freezing? But then he built up the fire and started preparing a meal.

  Deciding not to comment, Caius set about preparing his own food. He used a fire instead of the pretty rock, not as certain about the other two as he had been an hour ago. Then again, relationships were always more complicated than they looked from the outside.

  Idunnir was almost like a different person when he woke up from his nap. Well, his actions didn't change. He stayed vigilant, putting his helmet back on and checking the immediate area for threats. It was the way he moved, with a literal spring in his step.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Marcus had to insist, sternly, before the other man sat down and ate. Then insist again before Idunnir would drink some water. Whatever else the blue stuff was, it had to include some kind of stimulant.

  Caius was so busy observing that he almost forgot to eat his own food. Which did not happen to him often.

  It was difficult to make out how old Idunnir was. In addition to premature lines on his face that might be the result of hard living, his face was more than a little filthy. Not to mention that whatever the glowing tea was, he looked and acted like a teenager now that it had kicked in.

  Seemingly unable to sit still, Idunnir cleaned up and packed up everything while Caius and Marcus were still finishing their food. All three set out again.

  About an hour in, they briefly stopped. Caius waited, watching the luggage, as Marcus was dragged off the road by his now hyperactive companion. They neglected to supply him with an excuse, not that Caius truly cared what the two got up to.

  When they came back about fifteen minutes later, Marcus was looking pretty energized as well. And the two were holding hands.

  Caius gave a little shrug and they all set off again. None of his business.

  Nothing else of interest happened. They stopped for the night at a place Marcus pointed out, which was clearly used for the purpose often. Sheltered from the wind by a small hill on one side and some dense little trees on the other, the ground was level and there was a stream nearby.

  The firepit was neat and lined with stones, with some larger ones around that were decent for sitting on. Marcus claimed it all had been there since before he first used the campsite. A bit of maintenance was necessary, of course. Undergrowth was attempting to reclaim the clearing. Idunnir was put to work clearing out the encroaching shrubs and looking for firewood.

  After that, the armored man started stringing up tripwires with little bells attached, to provide warning of any unexpected visitors in the night.

  Still in a good mood, the older man offered Caius a meal if Caius knew a story he hadn't heard before.

  Which Caius did. Who would have thought that all those novels would pay off one day? He treated Marcus to a sample of The Hobbit as they worked together to get the fire started and a pot set over it.

  Even Idunnir gravitated towards where Caius sat and told the story. It ended up being more like some old fables Caius had read, with him constantly having to go on narrative detours to explain something or other. Apparently the concept of a wizard wasn't common here, and he had to explain dwarves as well.

  So Caius didn't get very far into the story before it was dinnertime. Marcus agreed that the story so far was quite entertaining, and happily provided Caius with a portion of the meal. Not that it was particularly different from what Caius had been cooking all along.

  Like earlier, Marcus made sure that Idunnir ate a hearty meal and drank more water.

  Caius helped wash the dishes in the nearby stream. Upon discovering that there was actually a decently big pool not far upstream, he decided to go for a wash.

  Marcus seemed astonished at the idea. To be fair, spending any length of time in the stream water would probably kill the man. But after confirming that Caius would be spending some time at the stream, he headed back to camp.

  When Caius returned to the camp some time later to find a slightly disheveled Marcus emerging from the tent he shared with Idunnir, while the latter sat by the fire drinking from the flask Marcus had filled earlier.

  The effects seemed less pronounced this time. Regardless, Idunnir eventually stood up to work through some kind of martial exercise. It reminded Caius of a martial arts kata, but with a sword and shield. Though Idunnir also went through a completely different form with the sword alone.

  It looked like a pretty intense workout, leaving the man sweating and panting at the end.

  Caius could appreciate that staying clean was logistically difficult even with his apparent advantages. Marcus and Idunnir settled for water warmed over the fire and wiping down with a wet rag.

  Which Caius did not see, because he decided to go to bed. He really was completely exhausted from being around people again. The sun hadn't even been down long, but he fell asleep almost immediately.

  Like his first night in this world, he woke up briefly in the middle of the night. Just long enough to have a drink of water and relieve himself. Then he took the time to offer a proper prayer of thanks. All things considered, things were going remarkably well for him.

  He lay back down on the magical cloak and wrapped himself in the mundane one. Honestly, he'd expected to have more difficulty sleeping on the ground, normally he liked his mattresses extra soft. If hunger made the best cook, a day of physical exertion made the best bed.

  Now if only he had something to stuff in his ears to drown out the grunting from the tent, it was keeping him from falling asleep. Really, he could believe this from Idunnir after seeing how energetic the tea made him, but Marcus looked a bit old to have this much energy.

  Fortunately it didn't take too long before the night was silent once again and sleep reclaimed Caius.