Eight days of the overseer’s training passed without any new contenders; eight days of grit and sweat and the crack of his many-tasseled whip; eight days of Sabit’s furious glares at Qaansoole. On the afternoon of the ninth day, the champions took to their double lines in the dusty forum grounds. The King of Rurr, … Read more
Sabit stalked back down the hall, the rising pulse of fury washing the fatigue from her limbs. The fog in her head from last night’s indulgence gave way to a crimson haze of rage. Bursting into Qaansoole’s open cell, Sabit found the archer strapping a sandal to her foot, having donned a tunic in the … Read more
Forcing her sore, weary body to move, Sabit staggered after Allamu. Hampered by the ache in her joints, she reached the exit from the champions’ quarters too late. The massive door—made of iron bars as thick as Sabit’s wrist—had already been locked. Sabit pushed fruitlessly against the cold metal. On the far side, the overseer … Read more
The harsh clang of bronze sword against iron bars stabbed into Sabit’s head like a spear point driven through the eye. Tongue cloven to the roof of her mouth, her lips felt like tough strips of meat, salted for a long journey. Every joint felt swollen to twice its proper size—Sabit would almost rather her … Read more
The night wore on. The songs praising Sabit’s prowess diminished first to ribald lyrics praising her more feminine attributes, and then faded still further to drunken snores. The overseer stalked the halls, wary of champions wandering outside their sanctioned areas. Little else moved in the darkness—except a black-cloaked figure approaching Sabit. The spear woman lay … Read more
The house of Chegwin was generous in victory. In addition to a hefty sum of silver coins awarded to Sabit for securing the favor of Verq, the head of the house arranged for a celebration throughout the forum of justice. The kegs of dark beer and the racks of roast lamb came as no surprise … Read more
“Guards! Guards!” the Magistrate shouted as he tried to back out of his chair, instead falling to a quivering heap upon the floor. Before the guards could act, Sabit leaped over the Magistrate to the third row. There, Qaansoole had drawn her bow and was already raising it, an arrow half-nocked. Her patched cloak fluttered … Read more
Illi’s mallet was carved like the head of a great fish—curling tail giving rise to spikes on the back end, gaping jaws full of jagged teeth on the front. Sabit could see every carved scale upon its surface as the weapon whistled within a finger length of her face. Before the massive warrior could adjust … Read more
By the time the sun had reached its zenith, the forum of justice boasted a small crowd. Nearly a third of the spectators’ seats were filled with the hangers-on of the rival houses, various functionaries and officials of the Magistrate’s court, and a handful of local workers here more for the spectacle of bloody entertainment … Read more
On the fourth day after Sabit’s capture, the champions were ushered to the floor of the great forum itself. The fighting area itself was oblong, more than a hundred and twenty cubits from end to end, but barely fifty cubits wide. The surrounding walls of tan sandstone were eight cubits high—too tall for even the … Read more