The fabled tattooists of Utretope demand payment both excessive and exotic for their services. Baza the slave-catcher had never once regretted the years of labor and fortunes of gold they had required of him. Even the scars upon his soul he had considered to be a worthwhile investment for the boon of that tangled mass … Read more
“I’ll see you dead before you chain anyone else,” Sabit roared as she charged Baza, water flying from her strides like wings. With her spear point leveled at the slave-catcher’s chest, Sabit closed the distance in a matter of heartbeats. Baza kept his gaze locked on Sabit’s eyes. At the last moment, he shifted his … Read more
The slavers on the shore turned to see their leader collapse into the water beneath the newcomers’ boat. Qaansoole capitalized on their lapsed attention to kick the nearest slaver in the knee. Before he could recover his balance, the scab-faced bandit was upon him, swinging his bound fists to strike the slaver in the jaw. … Read more
Illi was the first one into the river, trudging forward into the ford. Behind the mountain of a man came a long line of slaves, bound by thick ropes. Nearly two dozen shambled in bondage toward the water, Allamu and Qaansoole further back in line. Between them staggered the bandit that had kicked Qaansoole last … Read more
The sun had set and the sky’s inky blackness had bloomed with the unconquerable light of a thousand stars when Baza called for a halt. Allamu, at the head of the line of captives, had given up on testing the ropes that bound his wrists and circled his throat. He had been walking since the … Read more
The sounds of the forest settled over the funnel-shaped pit of loose stones. The churn and rumble of the water over the falls. The calling of birds seeking mates.The creaking of trees flexing with every shift in the breeze. Qays had listened to the quiet sounds for two hundred breaths after the last human voice … Read more
Baza the slave-catcher found himself at a dead end. The two large boulders that had offered him shelter from Qaansoole’s arrow leaned close together—too close for his muscular shoulders to fit through. Without a moment’s hesitation, he pushed against both boulders with al his might, pulling himself off the ground. Using the slightest textures in … Read more
Qaansoole moved swiftly, but did not hurry. Her senses—honed over a childhood spent hunting game both large and small—swept over every pebble and blade of grass as she moved along the rough pathway between boulders. Although Qays was a different quarry than she was used to, and this a far different place than her forestland … Read more
Allamu mounted the muddy path to the top of the rise where he had last seen Sabit. The area was strangely quiet. The distant rush of the waterfall and the huffing of his own breath were the only sounds Allamu heard on his climb. Reaching the ridge of the hill, Allamu looked over the far … Read more
Qaansoole launched a kick at the tall bandit’s face. He moved Sabit’s spear to block her foot, but the kick was merely a feint. Striking low, the lithe archer landed a solid punch in the man’s gut. Doubled over in pain, the bandit lost his grip on the spear. A moment later, Qaansoole grabbed the … Read more