Chapter 15
(All the shinies)
The time had finally arrived. Jarow finished cutting out the kilt shape from the denim and wrapped it around himself. He cut out additional length on each side, which he used to tie his makeshift kilt around himself. The excess material wrapped around his waist like a corded belt. If he were being honest, it resembled more of an apron than a kilt, but it covered his junk well enough for now, so he moved on, somewhat pleased with his ingenuity.
He briefly considered putting on Norruf’s old armor, but quickly changed his mind when he got close to it and detected a pungent odor emanating from it. He hadn’t noticed the smell while his friend was wearing the armor, but now that it had a chance to air out, the stench became much more apparent.
This did give Jarow an idea though, and he mentally asked Xinpo, “Xinpo, how often can you cast Complete Cleanse?”
“It requires a one-hour cooldown, suzerain,” the blade replied.
“Perfect,” Jarow said to his companion, then asked, “What is the radius of the effect?”
Beginning to get an inkling of what Jarow planned, Xinpo replied, “It is a ten-foot radius, suzerain.”
“Norruf, would you mind stepping a little closer for a moment?” Jarow asked the Quigza, who was still rummaging through the huge pile of treasure.
As Norruf approached, Xinpo activated the ability. A bright white light flashed into existence, centered on the dagger in Jarow’s hand. The light caused both Jarow and Norruf to quickly close their eyes, but there was no pain involved.
The light coalesced into a bubble that surrounded them and pulsed three times. With each pulse, waves of debris and contaminants that had covered them were expelled rapidly from the dome enclosing them. The substances disintegrated into motes of silver smoke upon exit.
The pulses were not only visible but felt as well. The first pulse covered their skin, like a quick cooling of the outermost layer of their bodies. The second pulse passed through their organs and muscles, making their entire insides quiver. The last pulse felt both external and internal simultaneously. It started in their heads but moved quickly, causing a pleasant yet strange vibration to pass through them before it expelled into the ground through the soles of their feet.
Once the pulses were complete, the light faded rapidly, leaving the entire area in a state of complete cleanliness. Jarow opened his eyes when he sensed the glow of the spell had diminished and looked around. A clearly visible circle could be seen on the floor surrounding them.
The tile hadn’t appeared dirty before to Jarow’s eyes, but after the spell finished, it practically gleamed. The area within the spell all but sparkled now, while the rest of the room remained dingy and brown. A whispered “Wow” escaped both Jarow and Norruf simultaneously.
“You could have warned me,” Noruff barked, but his demeanor quickly changed. “Thanks though, it’s nice to be clean.”
Their bodies were immaculate. Both the exterior and interior felt restored and invigorated. The air itself even smelled cleaner, with a light hint of citrus to it. Jarow glanced at the foul armor he had been standing near; it gleamed as if it were freshly polished.
“It does look as though this ability works quite well, suzerain. Should we now choose my remaining ability?” Xinpo said nonchalantly. The metal of his dagger form gleamed silver, free from the oxidation that had been covering it in places before the spell.
Jarow was still a little shocked at just how powerful the ability had been. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated feeling as though he had been whitewashed inside and out.
“Uhh… Yeah, let’s see what you have,” Jarow unthinkingly replied. A menu window appeared before his eyes, startling him back to reality.
[ Please choose from one of the available abilities ]
Enlarge - Increase Density - Dispel - Frozen Moment - Decrease Friction - Illusory Wall - Glass Door - Ultra Lock - Unlock Potential
Jarow didn’t understand what most of these abilities did, even the names looked strange. “Xinpo, you do have a sense of what these abilities do, right?”
“Yes, suzerain. Would you like me to explain them to you?”
Jarow physically, as well as mentally, nodded.
Xinpo began explaining. “Enlarge: would make my weapon form larger. Increase Density: would make my weight greater. Dispel: counteracts any magic within an area. Frozen Moment: causes time to pause briefly. This could be useful when you need to dodge or set up a large attack or spell.”
Xinpo continued. “Decrease Friction: allows for much faster movement, both of weapon as well as user. Illusory Wall: is mainly used to hide behind. It takes on the appearance of whatever substance it is connected to. Glass Door: creates a glass door that can see through walls up to ten feet thick. Ultra Lock: can lock something magically, so only magic will be able to open it. Unlock Potential: raises all attributes and boosts all abilities for a short time, but leaves a debuff once the ability is finished.”
“Wow,” Jarow said and whistled. “That’s quite the repertoire. What do you think would complement my build best?”
Jarow felt the itching sensation at the back of his neck for a moment while Xinpo pondered the question.
“I can see potential uses for all of them, but since you are focusing on a magic wielder, Dispel or Frozen Moment would be my suggestion. If you would like something to help complement your quarterstaff skill, then Decrease Friction would allow for much quicker swings and also assist in evading attacks.”
Jarow thought about the abilities. He could definitely see the usefulness in all of them but generally agreed with Xinpo’s analysis. Unlock potential: could be extremely useful, but suffering a debuff afterward could be a problem, as he had found when using Berserk before while fighting Boklojif.
He was looking forward to trying out his new spells, so Dispel would be a good choice as well. He wasn’t sure about swinging his staff around yet, so speeding it up seemed somewhat foolhardy; he figured that he would probably end up hitting himself more than the enemy without the proper training first.
He couldn’t see any downside to Frozen Moment. Even if he only gained a few seconds; those seconds could quite possibly save his life. It could also allow him to win a battle.
He made up his mind and said, “Ok, Xinpo. I think you should choose Frozen Moment.”
“Done, suzerain,” Xinpo said without hesitation, almost as though he had anticipated the choice.
Jarow figured it couldn’t hurt to activate the new ability, to test it out and make sure it did as Xinpo explained, so he gave Xinpo the signal.
Nothing happened. No spatial bubble or countdown timer, just: nothing. Jarow looked around, trying to see anything which might indicate the spell was working, but nothing had changed, at least not anything that he noticed.
Then it dawned on him; ‘Nothing changed!’ “Xinpo, is the ability still active?”
“Yes, suzerain. It will remain active for ten seconds or until you deactivate it.”
As Xinpo ended his sentence, an opaque number three appeared to the right of Jarow’s vision. It changed to a two, then a one, and then the number was gone. The spell ended while Jarow seemingly stared off into space. Finally a small movement caught his eye, there wasn’t much to notice, but he saw Norruf begin moving again as he rooted around in the treasure pile. Then the smell of the hall, and its now citrusy scented air, rushed back into his nose and Jarow knew the spell had ended.
“Ok. That was anticlimactic, but I am sure when things are moving around, the effect will be much more dramatic.”
“Yes, suzerain. I am sure it will be more useful in a combat situation. It will be ready again in one hour.” Xinpo informed Jarow.
Jarow wasn’t sure he liked the long cooldown, but it actually seemed like a fairly short recovery time for an ability that could be such a potential game-changer.
“I forgot to ask about the upgrade to Passe-partout; do you know more about what it can do now?” Jarow asked.
The itching at the back of Jarow's neck flared momentarily before Xinpo spoke again. “By consuming the key which Boklojif had, I am now able to open the large door to this place. I can also allow or deny entrance to whomever I choose. I can open the opposite side of the door either to the hallway, or to somewhere else. The ‘somewhere else’ is unknown to me though. There is more to the power’s ability, but I have yet to access its full potential.”
“It seems that is our theme lately. We know some, but less than we should,” Jarow commented.
“Indeed, suzerain.”
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There was one last duty Jarow knew he needed to perform before joining Norruf and sorting through the treasure. His dwarven sensibilities made the idea of treasure, especially the precious metals, very alluring, and although he was able to continue his discussions with Xinpo, the call of the treasure was ever-present.
He placed those thoughts to the back of his mind, though, and walked over to his last body. There was no blood or gore left around it due to Xinpo’s absorption skill. The skin and meat were torn and ground from Jif’s claws, but Xinpo had done an excellent job of absorbing the gooey parts.
He knelt down and rolled the body upright, finally seeing the face he had worn. The muscles looked deflated; cuts and scratches riddled the skin, especially on the back and arms. The face, while limp and lifeless, looked angular and rigid, but had a softness to it as well, which Jarow thought would have made the face attractive.
The two large tusks protruded from the lower gums, the pinkish flesh bulging out around them. The gums and teeth were clearly visible inside the deflated lower lip. Jarow’s curious fingers moved to touch the teeth; they were porous and rough, yet sharp and strong as well.
He knew this was just a body, a corpse, that there was nothing more he could do, and was somewhat honored that he was allowed to see this body in a way that no one else ever got to. His strange ability to move from one body to another gifted him with some very interesting opportunities.
“Suzerain, is there a reason you are interacting with this body?” Xinpo asked.
Rather than replying, Jarow closed the body’s eyelids and whispered respectfully, “Thank you. You were a great body.”
Would you like to loot your old body?
The system window appeared before Jarow’s eyes. This is actually why he had come to this body, the other had been curiosity and mourning. The text felt different this time, though, somber, mirroring his own mood, but he mentally chose yes.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
There was no other announcement, no flashing lights or mystical sounds, only the feeling that another slot had become occupied in his inventory. He opened the inventory window and saw, as he had predicted, a new soul coin floating next to the original he had found. This coin was larger than the other he had, and was made with a metal which had an emerald hue to it, somewhat resembling the color of the orcish skin. His old face, the one he still held in his arms, was emblazoned on its surface.
Before he could close the window, Jarow felt the small particles shooting out from his old body, pelting him. The small particles didn’t hurt; he could barely feel them, like gossamer webs that easily broke against his skin.
He closed the inventory window as he felt the weight evaporate from his arms. He watched the last of the motes disappear into nothingness. A tear rolled down his cheek and into his beard. He was certainly sad but glad to have the coin as a way to remember who he had been.
Not for the first time, he regretted not being able to recover his missing body's soul coins. The first had been devoured by the Shlazak, the other by Boklojif. He held no hopes for ever being able to recover either. The first one wasn’t as much of a loss as his elven body was. He had dearly loved that body and had looked forward to occupying it into its adulthood; that loss would haunt him no matter how many other bodies he had the chance to occupy.
With his humbling task fulfilled, he stood up and walked over to where Norruf continued to organize the treasure. He had several stacks now, including a large amount of coins neatly stacked in towers of what looked like twenty-five.
Jarow, being a dwarf and beholden to the dwarven love of all things metal, stone, and shiny, wanted to somehow transport the entire treasure pile to a place where the contents could be smelted or sold. Norruf also sought a way to take everything if possible, but it was Xinpo who finally talked some sense into them.
“You can fit many things into your inventory, but there is no way you can take everything here. Find out what is most useful and leave the rest. The coins should only occupy one slot since they will stack. Also, there is no use for these things in this place, so unless we can actually leave this place, there is no point in taking any of it anyway.”
Jarow relayed the sentiment to Noruff, and they disheartedly agreed. Norruf had already separated things into what he thought of as most valuable compared to most useful.
“This looks great, Noruff. Should we start with the coins?”
Norruf had a difficult time with Jarow’s inventory power, so he handed the stacks of coins up to Jarow without actually looking in his direction to avoid his eyes meeting the black crack in reality which Jarow stuck his hand into without pause.
For Jarow, the sight was a little unnerving, but he no longer feared his inventory power. He took the stacks of coins from Norruf’s paws and placed them by hand into the void crack. His power automatically arranged the coins into their appropriate slots. In total, there were nine hundred ninety-seven silver coins and six hundred forty-nine gold coins.
Jarow looked at the coins as he stowed them away. Many had different shapes and engravings. Some had faces, and all of them bore languages he had no idea about, yet they all stacked neatly into their respective slots, apparently having enough similarity to be thought of as the same.
Jarow had twenty-one slots remaining after the coins filled in his inventory.
“Is there anything we can carry easily, like jewelry?” he asked with a slight nod and wink to Noruff. He was fully aware that there was, but wanted Noruff to get the idea as well.
The Quigza looked from Jarow to the pile of jewelry and a sly smile crossed his face, but quickly turned to a frown as he said, “Yes, but even those will be too many for just us to carry by ourselves.”
“Let's take what we can then, starting with the jewelry with actual jewels. They always make the value go up," Jarow said greedily.
They dug into the pile, each adorning themselves with multiple necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Although it seemed like they had barely made a dent in the large pile. Jarow tried adding two of each kind of jewelry to his inventory, but unlike the coins, the jewelry didn’t stack by type.
Next, they moved on to weapons. There was a plethora of daggers, most so intricate as to be more decorative than practical, made to serve as waist accessories rather than functional weapons. Several small wands or scepters were also present and separate in their respective pile, some adorned with what Jarow could tell were valuable jewels at one of their ends. These he prioritized.
“Is there a way I can figure out if these are magical or something?” Jarow asked Xinpo.
“I believe that is what the Identify ability is used for, suzerain. Unfortunately, you no longer have an available slot for that,” Xinpo replied.
Xinpo was right, but Jarow did take Extra Perception. He had already grown so accustomed to the new overlay that it was easy to ignore, but now he realized that was probably the opposite of what he should be doing.
He cleared his mind and closed his eyes for a moment. The additional sense was easily overlooked. It felt like wearing a glove. If Jarow was wearing a glove, his mind would know he had a glove on, but unless he actively felt for it covering his hand, his mind could forget about its presence.
When he reopened his eyes, he allowed the new layer of Extra Perception to manifest, focusing on it. He looked at the pile of weapons, hoping something would stand out, indicating what was more precious than the rest.
At first, nothing seemed different, other than the Extra Perception layer itself. The images his eyes beheld were clear but blurry at the same time. He could see what he was looking at, but also perceived a shimmer like heat waves extending out.
His brain slowly caught up with what he had been seeing. He was perceiving auras. As he looked around, he saw a bubble of swirling grays and blues extending out from him, stopping nearly halfway down the room, with the objects beyond that giving off their own slight auras.
He understood that the bubble he could see surrounding them was Xinpo’s aura, or at least the part of it which Xinpo used to be able to ‘see’ with. The size of it somewhat startled Jarow, but the visual representation also reassured him because Xinpo would be able to sense in a 360-degree area, even behind Jarow. Xinpo would be able to alert him from anything coming from that direction much better than any of his own senses could.
Now understanding the way he could see auras, Jarow picked up a simple wand and focused on it individually. The aura of the golden stick was minimal, barely radiating any aura at all. He turned his vision onto Norruf. Unlike the wand, his aura extended out and had a vast array of colors woven into it. He radiated light oranges predominantly but also held within his aura hints of crimson and dark violet.
Some of the jewelry he wore also radiated with their own auras. He had apparently found some of the more magical items already and now wore them. One necklace in particular, which Noruff wore around his neck, caught Jarow’s eye as being very powerful.
As a final curiosity, he looked down at himself. His own aura radiated with a multitude of colors. The rainbow and its spectrum couldn’t compete with the profusion of colors emanating from his body. Shades of each color swirled through and shifted as he beheld himself. He could see as well as sense the colors, many without names and never before seen by mortal eyes, dancing within his aura.
He questioned himself for a moment. Was it the body he was in that produced such radiation and arrays of color, or was it his soul? This thought had been tickling at the back of his mind since he had first found his original body and received the soul coin.
Was his soul somehow transferring from one body to another? He had wondered previously where these bodies had come from. Now the question resurfaced.
“How do I know I will continue to move from one body to the next? Why am I so different and lucky to have this power?” he asked the universe. He knew there would be no answers forthcoming but had hopes he would be able to find answers in the future.
Jarow remembered the conversation he and Xinpo had about the aura which allowed Xinpo to ‘see.’ Now, using Extra Perception, he could see the boundaries of the bubble for himself. Jarow looked down at the dagger in his hand. Rather than a similar shade of aura to the bubble surrounding them which emanated from Xinpo; there was a tight-knit aura that surrounded the blade. In some ways, it resembled his own, and Jarow at first wondered if it were his own aura overlapping the blade. However, as he focused, the patterns and slight variations in Xinpo’s aura began to become clear, and Jarow could see the distinctness in the blade’s aura.
Jarow took this to mean that the aura each of them produced was projected not from the body, but from the core, or the person’s soul. Because while Xinpo could extend his aura in a way to perceive the world around him, it was the soul or inner core that produced the true aura of a person.
He looked back down to the pile of treasure he stood over and could tell there was something there. At least one of these objects possessed some type of soul power. He leaned down and began sorting through. He found several things that radiated with extra aura and set them aside.
Then he found the original culprit. Near the bottom of the pile was a common-looking wand. It had some writing down the side that he couldn’t understand and was thicker at the bottom than the top. It held, at the pommel, a small red ruby. He could see the aura radiating out specifically from the ruby, it was a bright and fiery red, similar to the jewel’s own coloring. He didn’t yet know what the different colors of the auras meant, but he could tell this aura, while small, was dense and considered strong. He held the wand out to Norruf. “This one has something special to it.”
Norruf took the wand and set it aside.
“Most of the rest is just pretty. I can kinda tell which things are more powerful now, due to their aura.” Jarow told the Quigza and briefly explained his ability.
Noruff raised an eyebrow, at least he would have if he had eyebrows; the look he gave Jarow was better described as one eye widening larger than the other with a slight head turn to emphasize the larger eye. The feeling of confusion and the question behind the look were the same as a raised eyebrow though.
Jarow didn’t notice his friend's confusion, and moved on to the weapons pile. He found three items there. The first was a dagger, which made sense since three-quarters of the weapons in the pile were daggers anyway, with only a few swords or other types of weapons mixed in.
This was an extremely ornate knife, one Jarow would have probably taken anyway due to its intricate inscriptions and the seven large sapphires inlaid into its hilt. It rested within a scabbard of brilliant silver with geometric designs along the sides.
Its aura was not as robust as the others, but the depth of the azure it exuded was extremely enchanting as well as impressive. The color stood out from anything else he had seen. He took the dagger and slid it into the denim tied around his waist but only after asking Norruf if he wanted the dagger first.
The next weapon he found was a small stick with a large knot at the end. The aura centered within the knot and radiated out in an almost colorless way. Its strength, or at least what Jarow considered to be strength, was impressive. The aura extended out several feet and gave off a small vibration which Jarow’s senses could feel while he looked at the small weapon.
Once again, he asked Norruf if he would like to carry this unique club. He declined, so Jarow tucked it into the fifth slot of his inventory. The last weapon was another polearm like what Norruf carried. This one had a simple spearhead at the tip, rather than the axe-like end of the one Norruf’s key transformed into. Its length was also much larger, in fact it was too large for Jarow to wield effectively, since he was now in a much shorter body than his last.
The simple spear tip had an intricately carved metal feather attached at the bottom of the blade by a ring which spun around the bottom of the tip of the spear on a track. Jarow wasn’t sure what the point of the feather was, but it gave the weapon a unique look and made an interesting sound when he spun it around.
He looked at Norruf in a way of asking if the small man wanted to carry the spear. The Quigza shook his head and rolled his eyes, so Jarow smiled and placed it into his sixth inventory slot.
Adding the larger items to his inventory was a fascinating ordeal. The rift opened, and Jarow moved the item to the blackness of the void, but once the edge of the item touched, a warping effect happened.
The item would twist in upon itself while shrinking. It made a small whirlpool-like effect before vanishing into the darkened rip of reality. It was fascinating to watch, but Jarow’s eyes always unfocused for a moment afterward. It was as if the spinning motion somehow caused his brain to lose function for a second.
There were a pair of swords and another couple of daggers which Jarow plopped into his inventory as well. Their aura wasn’t as great, but worth looking into at a later timed nonetheless.
After finishing up with the weapons, he moved on to armor. The pieces here were generally large, made for human or larger bodies. There was a set of leather bracers with steel covering the back of the hand and upper knuckles. They radiated with an unusual aura. The colors of the gauntlet's aura changed in a repeating pattern. They went from a forest green to a light yellow. Then the pattern went to an earthy brown before ending with a pale purple: the pattern then repeated.
Jarow was extremely interested in finding out what these bracers did, but they were much too large for his small thick fingers, so for now, they went into an inventory slot.
There was also a pair of boots. They looked to be made of extremely colorful leather. The patterns of the colors on the boots were not the same for each boot though. One had stripes of blues, purples, reds, and oranges, while the other started with orange on the bottom but went from there into yellow, pink, green, and finally brown at the top.
The boots' aura was nothing like the gauntlets; these radiated a a huge golden aura, which, if it could be seen by eyes, would have lit the entire room. The aura strength was impressive, to say the least. The density wasn’t a match for the sheleileigh but was definitely greater than most. They would fit neither of their feet, though, so into the inventory they went.
The rest of the armor in the pile had little to no aura strength. Jarow did find a silver helm with what looked like mountain peaks carved into the side. This helm he placed on his head. It was slightly too large, but would offer some protection to his head so he kept it there. Absolutely nothing in the pile came close to fitting Noruff.
“It’s okay, Jarow. I could wear the old armor I had, but it feels nice to be free. I think I will stick to wearing nothing but my belt for now,” Norruf said when Jarow apologized for not finding anything for him. “I would like to take the armor with me if that’s okay, though.”
Jarow nodded, completely understanding the nostalgia Norruf placed on the armor he had worn for so long. He glanced over to it, glad it had been in the range of the Complete Cleanse. What he saw amazed him. It glowed with a pure white aura. “Fascinating,” he whispered.
“What’s that?” Norruf asked.
“Your old armor. It has a beautiful white aura.”
“It does?” Norruf said and turned his head to look at the breastplate.
“We will definitely be taking that with us,” Jarow said.
There was one last pile Jarow needed to look through. It was made up of miscellaneous items: goblets, small statues, loose gems, etc. It was the smallest pile and only took a moment to look through.
The only item of significance was a figurine of an elephant. Its aura was small, the color was gray, but something told Jarow he should hold onto the item. He slipped it into his inventory along with several similar-looking jewels.
As Jarow had hoped, the similar types of jewels stacked like the coins had. He found six rubies, eight sapphires, and two diamonds. His dwarven heritage made identifying the different types of jewels easy for him. There were several amethyst and tiger’s eye as well, but those were a rather common type of jewel, so he left them.
He moved back and picked up the wand he had set aside. He asked Norruf if he would like to carry the wand, but the Quigza wasn’t interested. Jarow placed it in slot seventeen and moved on.
“I have used eighteen of the twenty-five available slots. We have a bunch of rings and necklaces on. Is there anything else you would really like to take with us?” Jarow asked.
Norruf picked up a few items that he thought looked extra nice, and Jarow agreed with his analysis. He then went over and picked up the armor Norruf had worn for so long.
With an almost full inventory, Jarow asked his companions, “I think I am ready to leave this place, what about you?”
“Wholeheartedly, suzerain!” came Xinpo’s response.
“I’ve been ready for centuries,” Norruf answered.
That response gave Jarow a small chuckle, “Then let’s see what Xinpo can do.”
They walked to the large door that had grown from the barren patch of wall where Jarow had stepped into this room. Along the way, Xinpo reverted to his key form.
Norruf held his polearm in his right hand. His sword was still strapped to his waist. He looked different, but better. The armor he had worn was a weight. Jarow knew it had an impressive aura now, but while it was attached to Norruf, it had been a burden rather than a boon.
It was just the three of them. He really wished Xinpo and Norruf could communicate directly, but he was glad to have both of them with him. He was ready to leave this place and desperately hoped this large door led somewhere nice. He was sick of The Fading Divide. He longed to meet people and to be able to feel the sun on his skin.
They arrived at the door, and Jarow lifted the key and placed it in the hole. The entire door seemed to gain a glowing radiance and vibrate, then Jarow turned the key clockwise. The silver vines quivered and began to expand and form into a large spiral.
A silvery-blue light filled the space between the keyhole and the spiraling vines; then, the wood faded from view. Now before them, a large swirling portal stood. It was impossible to see what was on the other side because of the blue water-like texture of the portal. Greens and reds swirled within, like colorful fish swimming deep within a lake of immense depth; motes of gold adorned the surface, like they floated atop the lake.
“Well, at least it’s colorful,” Jarow said. He was excited but a little worried as well. He trusted Xinpo, but was unsure exactly what or where this portal led.
Noruff moved close to Jarow and hugged onto his arm. He was quivering with anxiety. “I... I don’t know if I can do this,” he said in a small whine.
Jarow could understand the fear and hesitation his friend was having. If it weren't for the trust he had in Xinpo, he would be questioning this portal as well. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I have never lied to you, have I?”
The Quigza shook his head.
“I am not lying to you now either. I trust Xinpo; this is his power, so I trust it. Can you trust me?” Jarow asked, feeling the words ring true. He knew deep inside that this portal, wherever it led, was created from the power given to Xinpo, so it would be safe. What awaited them on the other side was a different story, but they wouldn’t know what that story held until they stepped through.
It took a moment, but a small “Yes” could be heard coming from Norruf.
Jarow smiled. “Close your eyes if you need and let me walk you through.” He opened his palm, and a small paw entered his grip. “Good boy,” Jarow said, without a hint of sarcasm.
With two quick steps forward, Jarow and Norruf entered the portal, leaving the Fading Divide behind them.