Chapter 23: 7.1 Ravens

  Sarah steps back out of her portal wearing a long coat of stitched red leather. The coat has a similar red hood and an athletic fit. It’s hanging open, displaying the scarf that still wraps around her torso while loose loops drape from her neck. Her skirt abandoned; she now wears black leather pants with metallic chin guards.

  Sarah sees the other two as they approach, walking in silence on their return from the river, Wolf’s eyes wide with shock. “What’s the matter?” Sarah asks, growing concerned.

  Wolf looks over to Jack, hesitant to speak. “There…was a monster, “Wolf manages. “Down by the river.”

  “And? Did you kill it?”

  “Gods no,” Jack interjects. “He’s talking about seeing me naked.”

  Sarah stares blankly at the two of them, Wolf beginning to wheeze and Jack finding something interesting in another direction. She finally reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.

  “Anyways,” Sarah continues. “How is the new stuff fitting?”

  Wolf stands upright and turns his tail towards her, showing a small leather covering above it. It looks like the back-half of a saddle and has a small trough to one side. There is a locking mechanism that can fasten over the top of his sword as the blade rests inside the trough.

  He points to the metal locking component. “What’s this supposed to do?”

  Sarah nods. “I’m sure you’ll still want to run on all fours at times so when you drop down, your sword should rest in that notch and allow you to lock it in place. That should keep it from bouncing too much or getting in your way while running.”

  Wolf fastens the latch and drops to all fours, proceeding to bounce in an attempt to jar the blade loose. He bends his head around to look at it but ends up turning in two complete circles before realizing he can’t look any closer. He gives it a nod of approval, then lowers his haunches only to be rebuffed as the sword tip meets the ground.

  Sarah walks over and undoes the latch so that he can down completely. “It’s not perfect,” she says, grabbing at the leather plate fitted against his chest. She pulls and prods at it. It’s rigged into place using the same harness that holds his weapon saddle. “Do you think this will get in your way or slow you down any?”

  Wolf tries looking down to his chest and shakes his head. “I think it will work fine. It’ll take a little getting used to, but it’s better than having my sword slowly saw my tail off.”

  Red nods and gives the chest plate a final tug. “Good. It’s not much protection, but it’s better than nothing.”

  He nods back. “Yeah. Thanks, Sarah.”

  Jack raises an eyebrow. “On a first name bases already?” he asks. “Must be nice to be the favorite.”

  “What are you even talking about?” Red asks. “You should know that I dislike both of you, equally.”

  Jack grins, his beard visibly pulling towards his ears. His flannel shirt is gone, replaced by a dark, green-leathered tactical jacket. There is a lot of overlap where the jacket closes, one flap lying across the other and buttoning into place. He has cargo pockets on the outside his biceps.

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  A leather harness loops over his shoulders and fastens across his chest, allowing the axe to be secured on his back. He has another belt fastened over the tail of the coat where his small hatchet is tucked away. His pants are baggy and dark brown with another set of cargo pockets outside of his thighs.

  “And what about you?” Sarah prompts. “How is everything fitting?”

  Jack nods, continuing to smile. “It’s fitting great, Sarah. Their creator has my gratitude and respect.”

  “Well, you’re welcome,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Wait, what did you mean earlier by welcome back?”

  Jack shrugs. “It’s just good to have you back is all. Glad everything went well.”

  “At the blacksmith, you mean?”

  He shakes his head. “No, you had to have gone someplace else—some place further away.”

  “And what makes you so sure? Did you stop by or something?”

  “Nope, it’s because of the ravens.” Jack points to the castlewall next to them and Sarah turns to follow the gesture, finding two ravens perched on the lip of the wall. A third flies nearby and squawks at a guard that’s attempting to shoo it away.

  Sarah’s expression changes to confusion. “How does that have anything to do with anything?”

  “I’ve been seeing them for some time. They were outside the cabin that day you were meeting Wolf, and we ended up fighting our way through the undead. I watched a few of them grouping in a nearby tree while you were inside, and I didn’t think much about it back then. But I see them all the time now. They keep showing up wherever we go and only as long as you’re around, dispersing whenever you leave.”

  Sarah scrubs her forehead with the palm of her hand before returning her attention to Jack. “So you think some stupid, random birds are telling you where I am? Do you know how dumb that sounds?”

  Jack shrugs. “I guess that depends. Are those ravens native to this world?”

  Sarah’s expression goes distant for a moment. “I really don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but it’s definitely something to be aware of. If those birds aren’t native to this world, then they are crossing worlds somehow. Is this something your grandmother might be doing?”

  Sarah shakes her head. “I don’t see how that could be possible. But guessing isn’t going to get us anywhere. Just keep an eye out for them. If it becomes relevant, we’ll deal with it then. Let’s just get to the mountain.”

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