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Raya 40

A feeling of dread spent all morning building up in Raya’s abdomen as she walked along the Crimson Highway. The grey walls of Ith, looming over the scattered copses of trees and bumpy hills, seemed to signal it. Like them, the sensation grew as they got nearer. Her mind wandered, but she did not want to accept any of the solutions she considered, nor even to get give them purchase.

There was a Crimson Highway checkpoint a mile out from the city; they said nothing as Raya and her four friends crossed their line. They didn’t even bother checking their red coin and their signed documents. Highwaymen a few miles up the road had checked the day before.

Then they reached the front gate of Ith, and found it utterly abandoned. Continue reading Raya 40

Renado 44

Renado stood up slowly. He had fallen asleep beside Virn. The resolute warrior had survived to tell the tale of their assault, but his recovery would be a bumpy adventure of its own. The mental disturbance cast upon Virn by the late Mage King Pretar had faded after an hour, with a brief moment of lucidity to reveal Virn’s surviving mind. The wounds the somber man had received were still be treated daily by the healer, an old man named Aganim. Continue reading Renado 44

Renado 43

The sun rose over Ith like an enormous crown, shifting from horizon shades of red to a pale salmon, and becoming a finally a radiant orange that sliced through the hazy clouds on the bumpy horizon. Renado glimpsed it through the windows of the tavern as he strolled through the empty drinking room. When he followed Virn down the steps out front, the heat was against his back, casting his shadow twenty feet tall in front of him. Continue reading Renado 43

Aralim 91

If Aralim had thought the First Tower was busy during his initial visit, half a month ago, it was nothing compared to it was now. With the quiet army of risen still surrounding Tal’lashar, the Quebs spent their days in full-tilt activity. The guards at the gate of the tower were even more hesitant about permitting his lantern staff inside, but it entered nonetheless. Continue reading Aralim 91

Renado 42

Once again, a tiny inn room on the second storey of the Verdant Drinkhouse in the Norzeen District became a ring of chairs and a den of schemers. The chairs were varied—some were battered and stained with soot from a chimney. Others were built with sturdy arms and freshly washed cushions. The schemers were the same; Renado felt worn out by the echoing streets and weeping citizens of the city, while Woodro leaned forward, eager for the plots to be determined. Continue reading Renado 42

Arn 51

Sand scrunched between Arn’s toes and wind whipped at his stiff black hair. His parched lips parted uncomfortably. All he could see, on any side of the sandy bluff, was a bleak, straight horizon. His left foot was lifted, set on top of the beached log—one of the only things Arn had left of Razaad. He had dragged it out of reach of the tide.

“This one is ready.” The other inhabitant of the island spoke with a gruff voice. Arn turned around. Continue reading Arn 51

Aralim 90

The undead came to Tal’lashar in scattered groups, slowly striding down the slopes of the mountains towards the city. The guards at the edge of town had plenty of warning after the return of Lord Rionar’s soldiers. The men had never reached Vishol Kim’alu—instead they had seen the approaching army of reanimated men and women and turned back for home. The dead followed. Continue reading Aralim 90

Renado 41

Ren could hardly keep it straight. He’d asked Karsef to start keeping a notebook—and, thankfully, Sarno did too. King Turim attended a sort of gladiatorial games each week with King Aggo and Novilo occasionally attending as well. King Ulren, on the other hand, more or less lived in a brothel called Statha’s Girls. Ren would have been concerned if other Mage Kings had shared that routine in the same whorehouse. Meanwhile, Lotha remained a prisoner in King Turim’s cells. Continue reading Renado 41

Raya 39

Eight months. Eight months had passed without Raya experiencing a minute. Ailo and Benn told them when they returned from that first supply run. Raya had lost a twentieth of her life, nearly. Even now, on their third day in Elpan, Raya could scarcely comprehend what that meant. Her parents were a year older each—they must have missed her, worried about her. Continue reading Raya 39

Farek 46

Of course, coordinating a meeting between three major Houses of Soros was a tediously complicated affair. Farek spent a few weeks continuing his investigation of Lord Reeyan’s death—of which there seemed no leads save Lord Thrane’s supposed inside man in the Organization. During this time, he frequently patrolled the streets in his downtime. Without Silea around, his free time felt more oppressive than ever. His sham attendance of parties continued, but he found his days working in the financial division of the Bank to be dreary. Farek always felt he could be doing more. Continue reading Farek 46