Corvin pecked his head gently.

"Bird says this one should keep counting. This one will keep counting." Kyren's hollow eyes moved along the walls, identifying guard positions. "Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve..."

He continued counting, his voice maintaining the same emotionless tone even as the numbers climbed higher and higher.

"...Forty-seven. Forty-eight. Forty-nine. Fifty." Kyren paused. "This one thinks there are more guards. This one cannot see all guards. Bird, how many guards does Bird see?"

Corvin launched himself from Kyren's shoulder, circling higher to get a better vantage point.

His sharp eyes picked out details that Kyren's hollow gaze had missed. Guards on the roof. Patrols walking the perimeter. Sentries positioned at regular intervals along the walls.

The raven returned to Kyren's shoulder and proceeded to CAW repeatedly, pausing between each one as if counting.

"Bird sees... many more guards," Kyren translated, though Corvin's actual count had been considerably more precise. "This one understands. Many guards means important building. Master wants to scout important building. This one is doing good job."

CAW!

"Bird agrees this one is doing good job. This one is pleased."

Kyren's attention shifted to something else, something that made his hollow eyes narrow slightly with confusion.

The walls themselves seemed to shimmer in places, as if heat waves were distorting the air. But this was a frozen fortress. There was no heat. Which meant...

"Magic," Kyren said simply. "This one sees magic. On walls. Barrier? This one thinks barrier."

He stood slowly, tilting his head as he studied the shimmering effect. It covered the entire structure, a protective shell of magical energy that would probably do very unpleasant things to anyone who tried to simply walk through it.

"Barrier is problem," Kyren observed. "This one cannot walk through barrier. Master can walk through barrier? This one does not know. This one will ask Master."

Corvin hopped from Kyren's shoulder to his head, getting a higher vantage point. The raven's sharp eyes caught something else, something even more unusual than the magical barriers.

The doors.

They were reinforced with something that wasn't black ice. Strips of some strange material ran across the surface in an intricate pattern, bolted into place with massive rivets that looked like they could withstand a battering ram.

CAW CAW CAW!

Corvin pecked at Kyren's head insistently, trying to direct his attention to the doors.

"Bird wants this one to look at doors? This one is looking at doors." Kyren's hollow eyes fixed on the entrance. "This one sees... metal? Not ice. Not stone. Metal. Strange metal."

He tilted his head, trying to understand what he was seeing.

The metal was silvery-gray, smooth but not polished. It looked strong. Very strong. The way it was integrated into the black ice doors suggested it was there for reinforcement, adding another layer of defense beyond the ice itself.

"This one does not understand this metal," Kyren admitted. "This one has seen ice metal. This one has seen stone metal. This one has seen demon metal. This is... different metal. New metal?"

Corvin stared at the reinforcement strips with equal confusion. In his time with Jack, the raven had seen many things, but this particular material was unfamiliar. It didn't belong to Floor 24. It felt out of place.

CAW?

"Bird does not understand metal either. Good. This one thought this one was stupid. But Bird also does not understand. This means metal is strange. Not this one being stupid."

Kyren continued his observation, noting other details with his simple but thorough approach.

"Doors very thick. This one can see doors are thick. Maybe..." He paused, trying to estimate. "This thick?" He tried to hold his hands about a foot apart. But with only one hand it was hard. "No. More thick. This thick." Two feet. "Maybe more thick. Very thick doors."

CAW!

"Bird thinks doors are very very thick. This one agrees with Bird."

Movement between the guards caught Kyren's attention. A patrol was changing, new guards replacing old ones at the main entrance. But something about their behavior was unusual.

They were nervous.

The guards kept glancing over their shoulders, their hands tight on their weapons. One of them said something to his replacement, gesturing emphatically.

Even from this distance, Kyren could see the tension in their postures.

"Guards are afraid," Kyren observed. "This one sees fear. Why are guards afraid? Guards should not be afraid. Guards are many. Guards have weapons. Guards have barrier. Why afraid?"

More movement drew his attention to the roof.

Demons in robes, mages, were positioning themselves at the corners of the building. Their hands glowed with pale blue light as they began casting something, they were all chanting something in unison.

"More magic," Kyren noted. "New magic. Mages are adding magic to barrier. Making barrier stronger? This one thinks yes. Barrier getting stronger."

CAW CAW!

"Bird sees mages too. Good. This one and Bird see same thing. We are good team."

As they watched, the shimmer around the vaults intensified. The magical barrier became more visible, more solid, as if the mages were layering protection upon protection.

"Many barriers now," Kyren said slowly. "Before was one barrier. Now is... this one counts... two barrier? Three barrier? Many barrier. Guards are making vaults very protected."

He tilted his head, processing this information with his limited but functional reasoning.

"Guards add more barriers. Guards add more guards. Guards are very afraid. This one thinks... something happened. Something big happened. Something that makes guards afraid."

CAW!

"Bird agrees. This one is correct. Something big happened."

Kyren's hollow eyes remained fixed on the vaults, watching as even more security measures were put into place.

The level of fear and preparation was extraordinary. This wasn't normal security. This was panic.

"This one thinks..." Kyren paused, his simple mind working through the logic. "Master sent this one to scout. Master went to different place?"

His head tilted slightly as the pieces connected in his slow but certain way.

"Master killed someone. This one is certain. Master is very strong. Master can kill Dumb One."

CAW CAW CAW!

Corvin bobbed his head enthusiastically, confirming Kyren's deduction.

"Bird agrees. Master killed someone important. Guards know. Guards are afraid. Guards think… he will come here next?"

The reanimated demon stood slowly, his hollow eyes sweeping across the heavily fortified vaults one last time.

"This one has scouted. This one has seen many guards. Many barriers. Strange metal. Mages making more barriers. Guards very afraid." He turned to Corvin, who was still perched on his head. "This one thinks scouting is complete. Bird agrees?"

CAW!

"Good. This one and Bird return to Master. Tell Master about vaults. Tell Master about guards. Tell Master about strange metal." Kyren began walking back the way they'd come, his movements just as mechanical as before. "Master will know what to do. Master always knows what to do."

Corvin rode along on his head, occasionally adjusting his position when Kyren's stride became particularly awkward.

The raven's intelligent eyes continued scanning their surroundings, watching for patrols that might spot them.

"This one is pleased," Kyren said as they moved through the frozen wasteland. "This one did not fail Master. This one completed mission. Bird helped this one. Bird is good bird."

CAW!

"Bird says this one is welcome. This one likes Bird. This one thinks Master should give Bird reward. Maybe meat? Birds like meat. This one has seen birds eat meat."

They continued their journey back to wherever Jack was waiting, an unlikely pair of scouts who had somehow managed to gather exactly the intelligence their master needed.

A reanimated demon with the tactical awareness of a child and the loyalty of a saint.

And a raven who was probably smarter than half the guards they'd been observing.

"This one wonders," Kyren said after several minutes of walking in silence, "if Master will scout other places. Other important places. Mages place? This one does not like mages place. Smells bad. Like dead things. But if Master says scout, this one will scout. This one always scouts for Master."

CAW CAW!

"Bird will come too? Good. This one and Bird are team. Best team. Master will be proud of team."

Corvin pecked the top of Kyren's head affectionately.

"This one does not understand why Bird pecks this one. But this one accepts Bird's pecks. This one thinks pecking means Bird likes this one."

CAW!

"This one was correct. Bird likes this one. This one is pleased."

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