Novar’s trial was fast approaching—the Council had scheduled it for the 27th—but it was a conversation that Raya overheard on her way out of Olston for a hunt that put the first twist into her week. The guard named Tharin was on duty, speaking with one of the others. She only caught part of their communication as she strode through the opening in the palisades. The sky was grey and overcast, so she had been in a rush. Continue reading Raya 11
The sun rose over the jutting points of Tieko’s Ridge, and the muted orange glow that had hung over Sheld cleared. On his balcony patio, Lerran shared a breakfast with Tassina; they dined on scrambled eggs and sausages, with a warmed honey mead. From their balcony, they could see the north side of the Gharo estate, where a two-man patrol of their family’s guards continued their rounds. The estate had a single storey stone wall around it, with no rampart. On each corner and on the longest sides, a small tower rose, where a guard could climb up to look off the property. Continue reading Lerran 11
Much like every other day, Raya woke up before her parents and ate a fruit from the bowl on the table, today, one of the apples they had bought at market, imported from West Radregar. The house seemed more quiet without Novar; when she had climbed out of her bed, dressed, and walked through the doorway, she had half-expected to see his sleeping form on the cot outside her door. But now the cot was standing upright, leaning against the wall like an empty and abandoned frame for artwork. Novar’s trial was fast approaching. Continue reading Raya 10
Belmyre carried Vaenuth across the desert sands yet again. They had reached the Expanse a few days ago, and one of her three scouts had found the Slither tribe across the dunes. Instead of travelling west from the Nokire passes, she had kept a northern passage until her scouts found their friends. She watched the dipping horizon as she rode; at her sides, Banno and Tagg did the same, the former in a wagon, the latter in a horse’s saddle. Continue reading Vaenuth 17
Just over two weeks passed, as Dago wandered the road. A week was considered five days, a sixth of a month… and Dago counted them each morning as he awoke on top of a hill or against an old tree trunk. He’d stand up and dust off the bugs and dirt and keep walking. He could not afford the Crimson Highway, and didn’t have the patience anymore to work for them. In the Radregar Highlands, he ventured with a keen eye, for bandits roamed the countryside and beasts hid under the hills. Dago remembered when he had fought a stormsilder in the old jungles south of the Great Lake. He had earned himself a long scrape scar on the back of his legs and one shoulder that day; the scaly bear-like beast had rushed him, tossing him effortlessly against a tree. Continue reading Dago 18
Storm sailed up Comet’s Cove as the sun began to rise, the occasional dark rock jutting out of the foliage overgrown banks on either side of them. Anxious to be home at last, Lerran paced at the prow. Sheld came into view when the sun brushed the mountain peaks to the east, its black outer wall and wooden trimmings. From the water, Lerran could see the Worker’s Rise, the enormous dome that the Lord Employers ruled from. They handled most of the city’s affairs, the last that Lerran had heard, and kept Gharo out of all they could. That said, a Lord Employer visited the Gharo estates weekly to do business with the wealthiest and most dangerous man in the city. Continue reading Lerran 10
When Dago’s eyesight finally returned, more than a week later, he found himself staring into the wooden tray he’d been using. Amidst all the commoners were a few crowns. Three of them. This is what Dago’s begging had amounted to, little more than two day’s meals. He stared down at it for a long time with his fresh vision, before looking up at his surroundings. He’d managed to find his way into the city of Ith, leaving the Low Dales behind, and seemed to be calling a shop’s alleyway his home. He thought it was wider, a street. He’d been begging an alley… Continue reading Dago 17
“Tagg, Banno, and Arn, with me,” Vaenuth said, as she set out from her camp at Rainrest into the city. They had arrived late the night before, after a slow journey through the jungles. Time had become her adversary, because her people needed rest after the arduous venture. She was going to be late, too late, for the rendezvous with the Slither tribe she had given a map too. Continue reading Vaenuth 16
It was a long walk from the work site at Fork Crossing back to Master Nerlav’s estate; there were many ways to go, but the most direct route used three different roads throughout the Low Dales to the edge of the Inner City, where the businessman’s house, stable, and office were built. Dago changed directions at a crossroad surrounded by rows of farmland tended by bent over women and children. A few looked up and nodded to him as he walked along, and he nodded back without smiling. He was feeling much better than he had at the beginning of the month. Continue reading Dago 16
They let Raya in to visit her brother a few days after the crime. Her parents, thankfully, had been unaware of the course of things until Raya had brought help. Hemsten, Tharin, and another guard escorted Novar away, before Raya’s parents had a chance to talk to him. The young man was covered in blood and his eyes full of tears—he went willingly. Tella’s body was borne out in a stretcher, with a cloth to conceal it, while Councilwoman Santhee spoke quietly to the family. She said they would be holding Novar until they determined what had happened. Continue reading Raya 9