William crouches low in the brush, heart pounding in his ears. Eight brigands already lie dead, his arrows in their backs, their stomachs, their heads. All because they hadn’t seen him coming. Hadn’t known where to look. But now they do.
2025-08-28 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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For a heartbeat, the world holds its breath as my eyes linger on Hamza's broken form.
Hamza...?
I charge, snow spraying underfoot, the screams of the dying drowned beneath the pounding in my ears. Brigands stand between me and...
2025-08-27 10:00:08 +0000 UTC
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We approach the road by midday, the narrow, frozen trail winding ahead through thick trees. Hamza leans in, voice low. “Did you find out which way the merchants are coming from?”
I shake my head. “No. Yurik got distracted before he wou...
2025-08-26 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Yurik’s company gathers beneath Fort Gaelin’s iron gates, the towering doors creaking in the early dawn wind. A horse-drawn wagon waits near the path, its wheels half-buried in snow. Yurik stalks the line of men, about fifty in total, most bar...
2025-08-25 10:00:07 +0000 UTC
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I wake with a jolt of pain in my right arm, sharp as it drags on the stone floor. Blood seeps through the bandage in dark threads, sticky against the skin. The barracks is still. Most of the bedrolls lie empty; those still filled housing Yurik’s...
2025-08-22 10:00:04 +0000 UTC
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The days bleed together in Maldor's laboratory, each one a haze of tedium and revulsion. The horrors of this task and place have worn off somewhat, dulled by repetition. I spend hours etching runes into severed flesh, arms, torsos, faces, Maldor h...
2025-08-21 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The feasting hall stinks of smoke, sweat, and spilled ale. Firelight flickers from the hearth, casting shadows across the stone walls. I sit hunched over some bread, chewing slowly, surrounded on all sides by brigands jostling for food and drink.<...
2025-08-20 10:00:10 +0000 UTC
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I leave Maldor’s laboratory with a furrowed brow, thoughts crawling like his spiders. His magic still lingers in my mind, what he did to that creature... I don't fully grasp it, but I know I want no part of being on the other end of such a spell...
2025-08-19 10:00:14 +0000 UTC
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The minutes crawl by slowly under the old fort. In the laboratory proper once more, I wait as ordered by Maldor. The smell still hangs in the air, sickening, almost literally so. I try to get accustomed, but my throat tightens with each breath and...
2025-08-18 10:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I look to Two, eyes wide, heart pounding. But he's already released me, striding ahead without pause. I hurry to keep up as he stops before a large, weathered wooden door. I'm about to speak, to demand answers, but he lifts a finger to his lips, s...
2025-08-15 10:00:07 +0000 UTC
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I follow Two through the dark halls, our footsteps echoing against the cracked black stone. His quarters are larger than I expected, spacious. Though the stone remains chipped and crumbling in places, the furnishings are surprisingly refined. A so...
2025-08-14 10:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The next morning, a boot slams against the post beside my head.
"Up! On your feet, dogs!" Yurik's voice booms through the barracks like a warhorn.
Bran is already pulling blankets off men still groaning in their sleep, tossing them to ...
2025-08-13 10:00:09 +0000 UTC
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The hall buzzes with life, torchlight flickering against rough stone walls. The long tables are already packed, wood groaning under the weight of trenchers piled with thick cuts of steaming meat, greasy legs of mutton, pork, loaves of coarse brown...
2025-08-12 10:00:15 +0000 UTC
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I follow Hamza back to the alehouse, the door creaking on its hinges as we push inside.
Yurik stands among the brigands, sleeves rolled up, barking orders as they haul the loot from the past few weeks to a battered table at the center of the...
2025-08-11 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Work under Yurik is bleak, but easy. Shaking down merchants for coin. Accosting men on the road. I've not had to shed blood since that day, but Yurik seems satisfied with my work. And as the days go by, a small amount of trust is fostered. The bri...
2025-08-08 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Morning comes slow and ugly.
The alehouse reeks of smoke, stale ale, and unwashed bodies. Half the Knives are passed out in corners or slumped across broken benches. The rest nurse hangovers with greasy meat and bitter cider.
Yurik sta...
2025-08-07 10:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The alehouse groans under the weight of too many bodies.
The brigands of the Bleeding Knives crowd the room shoulder-to-shoulder, filling it with pipe-smoke and drunken shouting.
Yurik holds court at the center, a keg tucked beneath on...
2025-08-06 10:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The days pass slowly and as Luna predicted, no one comes to recruit us.
So, we spend our time harassing the village in small ways, pilfering unattended goods, knocking over carts, frightening livestock, enough to cause a stir, but not enough...
2025-08-05 10:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The night is brittle with the cold. We huddle around the fire beneath our cloaks and the scant blankets we brought, now stretched thinner with Luna among us. The moon hangs low and pale, barely illuminating the trees above. Dawn approaches, but it...
2025-08-04 08:21:00 +0000 UTC
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William shoves past me with an eager grin, thrusting out a filthy hand.
"Evenin', m'lady," he says brightly. "Name's William, what could we do for a beautiful lass like yourself? I'd be more than happy to help you with anything you need."
2025-08-04 08:20:00 +0000 UTC
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We make our way to the south gate, where a battered wagon waits. The old horse shifts impatiently in its harness, its breath misting in the chill air.
Seated atop the wagon is a familiar figure, Old Bram, the same carter who once ferried me ...
2025-08-04 08:19:01 +0000 UTC
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I pack as Zaenith instructs, carefully tucking each herb into its designated satchel. Dried wormwood, powdered bark, and sprigs of feverfew, all sorted with methodical precision. When I'm done, she hands me a tightly sealed leather costrel, thick,...
2025-08-04 08:18:00 +0000 UTC
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I return to the gaolhouse beneath grey morning light. The heavy oak door groans on its hinges as I push it open, stepping into the fetid dungeon. The gaoler sits behind his splintered desk, nursing a mug of something steaming.
He grimaces wh...
2025-08-04 08:17:00 +0000 UTC
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We're led down a hall to a broad dining chamber. A long oak table at the center of the room, set for a meal. Roasted duck, buttered turnips, crusty brown bread, bowls of barley pottage, hard cheese, and a jug of watered wine, humble, but rich enou...
2025-08-04 08:16:01 +0000 UTC
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In the weeks that follow, I do not speak to or even see Luna or Ren. Whether they’re avoiding me or tending to business of their own, I can’t say... and I don’t seek them out either. I've my own pursuits to focus on.
I pore over Lucien...
2025-08-04 08:15:02 +0000 UTC
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I step out through the heavy double doors of the counting house, the night air chilling my skin. Outside, beneath the half-lit sky, Luna and Ren wait near a frost-covered wagon, the wind tugging at their cloaks. Luna spots me at once, arms crossed...
2025-08-04 08:14:01 +0000 UTC
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We hurry through the smoldering streets. One by one, the fires are put out, the cold and wet wood aiding the efforts of the women, along with the plentiful snow. Men stalk the alleys with makeshift weapons, hunting for any brigands who remain. Ord...
2025-08-04 08:13:01 +0000 UTC
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I trudge through the snow, each step slow, heavy. Smoke stings my eyes, and the air reeks of blood, piss, and ash. Women dart from house to house, tossing buckets onto flame-caught rooftops. Men pour from their doors, axes and farming tools in han...
2025-08-04 08:11:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 43: A Town In Flames
Screams rip through the air like tearing cloth. The square erupts in chaos, families trampled beneath fleeing crowds, children lost in the crush. The obelisk stands untouched, but the ground arou...
2025-08-04 08:09:00 +0000 UTC
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“Of course you lost, fool boy. What did you think you’d accomplish in just a month?” Zaenith says as she wraps a length of boiled linen around my skull, binding the salve in place.
I grind the herbs, slow and steady, mixing more of the...
2025-08-04 08:08:01 +0000 UTC
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