TheYorianPoet

"I walked at a leisurely pace that morning. My stomach was full of potatoes and bacon, and I had stayed up most of the night, watching for Histra's sign. But none had come, and I knew the sign was just as likely to come in the morning than in the night, and so forced myself to sleep. Given that I had a warm bed under a strong roof, I can not complain, though I virtually slept on top of all of my books that night. The workers and task masters do not seem to mind me overmuch, so long as I stay out of their way, but it was not them who I worried about. The Mercenaries hired to protect them, while pleasant enough in a tavern with some ale, were h

The sun was sinking in the sky, and Astrel knew he had little time left. He was not lost. Desert maps, particularly of the kind he could afford, were not skilled at actual, proportional, measurements of distance. So even though the little red line on his papyrus map looked like a distance of maybe seven hours march from the oasis, it could, in fact, be closer to nine than he had expected. He was not lost. And how could one even mark their passage in such a desert, witch each passing dune mimicking the former in all but the most subtle ways. Yes, the sanders claimed that dunes looked different depending on where you were in the Asharis, but t

Of Castles, Cards, and Kings of Shadow Dizzy and Army would not shut up. They never shut up before a big job, and despite the fact that it was always like this, Serpent still found that she hated the routine more, not less, as time dragged inexorably past. Captain Len was silent enough as he read through the mission plan, and paced back and forth as he went over contingencies and escape plans in his mind, and Boulder never talked. But Dizzy and Army's incessant chattering filled the air as if to make up for the fact that three out of the five of them were holding their tongues. Around them the stone walls shook, shedding dust and pebbles wi