When Girl found him nearly an hour later, Lucky was still sitting on the porch watching the adults work in the dooryard. Now that dawn had fully arrived, there were some adults in the yard who didn’t seem quite as terrified. Lucky had been so intent on the people in the yard, he jolted when Girl’s hand came to rest on the top of his head.

“Sorry.” She spoke softly.

“I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” He said.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Lucky turned his broad head to look up at her, tilting it to one side. “What does that mean anyway?”

She was quiet for a moment, her fingers idly scratching the top of his head. “You know, I don’t really know. I guess it’s just a way to ask what’s on your mind?”

Lucky climbed to his feet stretching his hind legs behind him as he rose, first one and then the other. “Just thinking about what we’re leaving behind. They seem so frightened.” He shook himself, loose fur flying, and then looked up to meet her eyes. “I want to show you something.”

She nodded and followed as he walked off the porch and toward the Barn where Wickett waited. “Is it something with Wickett?” She asked.

“No. I left it in the Barn.” He said, “There’s been a strange scent in the air the last day or so. Last night, it was so intense.” He stopped walking for a moment, dropping his ears and lowering his head just a bit. “I followed it. Tracked down the source.”

“Alone?” Her tone was sharp.

“Yeah. Alone.” His tail drooped. “I shouldn’t have. I know that.” He looked up at her from the corner of his eyes, “I knew it then.”

“If you knew you shouldn’t go off alone, why did you?”

Still looking at her indirectly, he crouched a little lower. “I don’t know.”

She breathed a heavy sigh and ran the fingers of both hands through her loose autumn-colored hair, putting the wild curls into even greater disarray. “Tell me about it.”

Lucky started walking again at last, his posture still slightly curled. “It would almost say that I was dreaming.” He still only glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. “If I hadn’t been there myself, I’d be certain of it. I followed the smell deep into the woods. I saw a burning cat-bird.”

“A cat-bird?”

“I think it’s called a gryphon. Everything about it was burning. It even sounded like fire.” He felt a chill go racing down his back and the fur on the back of his neck rose more than a little. “It called itself Ishtara the Avatar of Xerinos. She brought gifts. One for you, I think, and one for me.”

“But I’m not Chosen or Favored by Xerinos. Why did he give me anything?” She frowned. “What did he give you?”

“That’s where we’re going.” He said, picking up the pace a little. “I left them in the barn last night. I figured nobody would go bother Wickett so they’d be safe there.”

“Are you really worried about their safety? What are the gifts?”

Even though it was barely after dawn, Lucky felt the temperature difference as he stepped into the shadows of the Barn’s interior. Before he had even crossed the threshold, he could smell the elk. A bitter and musky scent that was uniquely Wickett. The scent of manure teased his nose for a moment before it vanished beneath the heavier scent of the anxious elk. “Good morning, Wickett.” Lucky called out.

“Sure, sure. What want?”

“I left a couple of things in here last night, very late.” He feigned indifference to the presence of the large herbivore as he walked.

There in the corner, tangled slightly together, were the two items. He lowered his nose to them, sniffing carefully as his eyes roamed over them. The scent of magic was equally potent between the bags and the belt, but those pistols were another story entirely. He let his mouth fall open slightly, tasting curiously at the magic. It was indescribable.

**DA-DING!! You have gained +1 Mana Sense!!**

The dark, supple leather of the gunbelt with its silver stitching was sinuously curved on the floor. Lucky dipped his head and licked at the leather, tasting the oil and gunpowder that clung to the leather. This time when he reached for the idea of what the item was he saw [Exquisite Gunbelt of Plenty].

**DA-DING!! You have gained +1 Identify!!**

He tried to reach further, for whatever lay beyond the name of the item, but he got no more information for his troubles. He picked up the gunbelt in his teeth, holding it carefully and padded back over to where Girl lingered just inside the door. It was clear that she was trying to be polite and give Wickett plenty of space.

“This is what they sent for you.” Lucky said.

Girl frowned down at him, searching his face for something. “How are you talking like that with your mouth full?”

Lucky tilted his head to one side, one of the guns coming to rest against his chin. “What do you mean?”

“Your mouth doesn’t move, you’re not really talking are you?” She asked.

“What do you mean? Of course I’m talking. We’re talking.” Lucky’s brows drew together in a frown, ears flicking back and then forward uncertainly. He chuffed out a breath. “Listen, can we talk about this later? This is what the burning thingy gave me for you.”

“Guns? Seriously.” She took the gunbelt out of his mouth and inspected it from the gleaming silver buckle to the ancient guns. She jerked a little bit after, “Exquisite Gunbelt, interesting. It’s a blue item.”

“Blue item?” Lucky asked.

“Yeah, magical. I got a point in Identify for studying it, but it has question marks.”

“It’s of Plenty. I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but maybe if we can find more magic items to look at.”

“That’s so freaking cool!” Girl said, bobbing up on her feet eagerly. She carefully threaded the gunbelt through the loops of her pants.

“The guns are magical too. I think they’re a set.”

“Wow. They’re gold. That means they’re like really good, right?”

“I donno.”

Girl drew one of the guns, holding it in her right hand. The mother-of-pearl grip fit perfectly in her palm as though it was specifically designed for her. She grinned at Lucky, baring her teeth in a sharp smile. “Aces and Eights, eh? Deadman’s Hand.”

**DA-DING!! You have gained +1 Identify!!**

Aces ‘n’ Eights

The Deadman’s Hand

???

???

???

2/2

“What do you mean the Deadman’s Hand? It says that on the item now.” He nudged the screen so she would see it as well. “See?”

She shook her head. “It’s a long story. Can I tell you about it while we walk? We’ve got a lot to pack up and we should probably get started soon.”

“Right. Will you help me put the saddlebags on then? They’re not terribly large, but I bet we can fit at least some things into them so I can help.”

“Sure, go grab them.”

Lucky trotted back over for the richer colored saddle bags, these colored more like earth than the depths of the night sky. He sniffed the well worn leather and let his mouth taste the magics again as he reached for the identity [Saddlebags of the Void]. It was light weight, maybe as heavy as two or three puppies. The bags themselves were large, much too large for many of the dogs to carry, but not Lucky.

Girl laid the bags across Lucky’s back with the bags on both sides, the bags covered almost two thirds of his flanks. Two girth straps went around his chest, anchoring the bags. A third strap went across his chest. The backs of the straps were padded with even softer leather and kept the straps comfortable as Girl cinched them tight.

“These seem really nice.” She said, straightening the bags on his sides.

“They don’t seem uncomfortable.” He shifted his weight from paw to paw and even shook his fur out. The bags didn’t budge. “Not bad at all.”

“Don’t say that until we fill it full of supplies. We’ll need to carry water and something to boil water with, so we can make clean water once we run out. We don’t really have bags like this for the other dogs, so I’m going to be carrying most of the gear.” She said.

“We need to get ready to go.” He said. “The longer we linger the harder it will be to leave at all.” He turned toward Wickett and looked the elk over. He seemed to be a bit more relaxed. “You join us?” He asked the elk.

“Yes.” The elk sounded resigned. “Best choice.”

“Yes. Best Choice.” Lucky agreed. “We come when ready. You wait.”

The elk snorted out a breath and turned his back on Girl and Lucky in the doorway. The big dog could still feel the elk’s gaze on him as he followed Girl out into the dooryard once more.