Jack looks around to the snow-covered landscape surrounding them. They are walking up a set of stairs that cut through the terrain, switching back and forth as they continue up the mountain. Leafless vegetation is to both sides of the path with snow clinging to their bare branches, causing them to droop under the weight of the accumulating flurries.

  Sarah adjusts her hood as the snow filled air moves past her. She pulls at the satchel strap running across her chest as a long-handled war-hammer rests against her shoulder. One side of the steel hammer head has a concave shape like a shallow ‘C,’ while the other has a protruding spike. The long handle has a leather grip that coils all the way down.

  She glances behind to see Wolf with his ears lowered as he follows her up the stairs.

  “I didn’t know how warm clothing would be with your natural coat,” Sarah says. “I’ve got blankets in the bag if the cold starts getting to you.”

  Wolf shakes his head. “I’m fine. I just don’t like the wind in my ears. What are we doing here anyways?”

  “A couple things, actually,” Sarah replies. “For starters, I’m wanting to get experience at higher elevations. While you were away with your training, the ole hag opened a portal under me and had me falling—I don’t even know where. It made me realize I may end up fighting in the air, so it would be best to get experience in thinner air.”

  Jack stops and looks back to them. “Speaking of your training,” He begins, “how did it go with the werewolves?”

  Wolf stops on the steps as he and Sarah catch up to Jack. He shrugs. “I’ve never had in-laws, but I think I can now relate to those that have. I might not have been very different from them, but at the same time, I wasn’t one of them either. I was an outsider, listening to their inside-jokes and stories that didn’t have any relevance to me. It was miserable.”

  “Dang, Wolf,” Sarah replies, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

  “It’s fine. It was what it was. Like you said, I was just there for the training.”

  She nods and lifts the weapon from her shoulders. “Should we go knock them around a bit?”

  Wolf arches an eyebrow as he glances between her and the hammer. “Why exactly do you have that thing?”

  Jack perks up, apparently interested in the answer as well.

  Sarah grins and looks down at the weapon. “I’ll be using this little guy to build up strength.”

  Jack snorts. “Little?” he asks. “Right. Looks more like you’re compensating.”

  “Ugh, yeah. It’s called strength, remember? Putting a hurtin on fools with this guy will help me get beefier.”

  “The only person you’re going to hurt with that thing is yourself. Even if this is a video game, you aren’t playing that game right now. You’re really here and you’re really using that thing. And probably for the first time, right?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  She nods.

  “If you really want the benefit from slinging it around, you need to use it on things that aren’t going to be moving. Otherwise, all you’re going to do is miss and probably tear muscles in the process.”

  Sarah’s expression sinks, her bottom lip almost seeming to stick out.

  Jack scans the landscape alongside them, then steps off their path. He pushes past the skeletal remains of nearby brush to approach a sparely covered mound. He wipes away the surface to find solid rock underneath. “Have a few cracks at this,” he says, looking over to Sarah and thumbing to the rock.

  “Really? You expect me to break rocks?”

  “Sure. If you want the experience, this is the way to do it.”

  Sarah rolls her eyes and pushes her way through the brush as Jack moves away. She squares on the rock, then casts her gaze back as she’s pulling the weapon around.

  Jack takes a position on the stairs, then turns back, preparing to observe as he finds Sarah staring at him while flexing her eyebrows.

  “What?” he asks, crossing his arms.

  “It’s hammer time,” she says with a smirk.

  “Well, get to hammering,” he replies.

  “No, it’s supposed to—ah, just forget it.” She firms her grip, then heaves the hammer over and down. The steel head strikes and bounces as splinters of rock go all directions. She forces her eyes shut as some strike against her cheeks.

  “Ow,” she says, relaxing her grip and looking at handle cradled in her wrapped palms.

  Jack nods. “How’s that hammer time going for ya? Bet you felt that in your hands and elbows, huh?”

  “Yeah, and my fingertips. They did not enjoy that sudden impact.”

  “Better you than me,” Wolf offers.

  “Not helping,” she barks back.

  “Well, all of that vibration is part of it,” Jack says. “You’re going to get that feedback every time you strike something solid. And a poorly made one is going to give it to you worse.”

  Sarah pulls the weapon back around, then down again. More pieces fragment, so she closes one eye and pulls the scarf further up over her nose. She repeats two more times, each causing slivers of rock to lance in various directions. Another swing and a fragment hits her in the eyebrow.

  “Nope,” she says, dropping the hammer. “I’m done.”

  Jack watches as she returns to the stairs, leaving it behind. He doubles back to scoop it up, then follows after as she begins climbing the stairs again. “Hold up,” he says, catching up and taking hold of her satchel. “No sense in just discarding it. We may still find a use for it.”

  She stops, allowing him to feed it back into the satchel. Jack shakes his head as it disappears into the much smaller space, only needing to widen the opening so that the hammer head can pass inside. “What happened to our other bags?” he asks, remembering. “You didn’t leave them in the chest, did you?”

  “Of course not. They’re in the satchel too.”

  Snow continues collecting on Wolf’s coat and he sneezes. He shakes his body, shedding the accumulation and causing his buckles to jingle, prompting the other two to look back at him.

  “Hey, Wolf,” Sarah starts, “this isn’t going to make you sick, is it?”

  “No, like I said, I’m fi—” His ear twitches, and he immediately looks across the face of the mountain.

  “What is it?” Sarah asks, looking with him.

  “A taunt of some sort,” Wolf says, focusing. “Something is hunting and attempting to terrify its prey—cause it to make mistakes. Whatever it is—its wings are really powerful.”

  Sarah looks the same direction, eagerly. “Can you tell if it’s coming this way?”

  Wolf shakes his head. “The sound is alternating, growing louder, then quieter, so it’s either circling or flying back and forth.” He starts sniffing at the air, exhaling forcefully when flurries pass into his nostrils. “There’s blood on the wind too, so it’s either actively attacking or it’s scavenging some other predator’s mark.”

  “Can you tell the direction?” Sarah asks. Wolf nods and stands upright to point across the mountain face. “Perfect!” Sarah proclaims, stepping off the stairs and trekking through the snow.

  “What about the elevation training,” Jack asks.

  Sarah turns around, continuing to backpedal through the snow as she waves off the suggestion. “It’s fine. I’ll get some training in while fighting this thing.” She beckons for them to follow and turns to continue onward.

  Jack and Wolf exchange a look, shake their heads, and follow.