the merchant said, aside from the City-State there’s only a stronghold to the north. For a hundred-fifty miles in any direction it is just small independent communities and tribes of non-Humans.”
“I’m surprised the Ultimate Master hasn’t expanded his borders,” Jeff observed as they trudged along. “Looks like all he would need to do is send out a few troops to establish security. I bet the locals in the boonies would be glad to see fighting men.”
“Good point.”
The four trudged on, ignoring the peasants in the fields who were carefully ignoring them.
“How far today?” Fred asked.
Shad glanced at the sun. “I figure we’ll camp out-that will give us a little edge on things. Get as far past Havenhall as we have light. Eighteen miles from Havenhall to the Plains, but ten of that is cross-country, so I figure that’s a full day.”
“At least we came in with boots that were broken in,” Jeff observed. “Small favors.”
Havenhall was laid out in a square, surrounded by a palisade of clay-covered timbers on three sides and a stone wall on the fourth. The fighting towers at each corner were stone, as were the gatehouses on the north and south sides.
The four bypassed the town, cutting through fields.
“Well, now you know why the Ultimate Master hasn’t pushed out further,” Shad told Jeff. “There’s a lot of gold going into that place.”
“What an idiot,” the handsome ex-Ranger and present Night-grifter shook his head. “He already has a castle overlooking this place.”
“I’m feeling a little better about our chances for taking him out,” Shad grinned. “If it was me, I would have put the money either into troops to secure more land, or to build a fort on the edge of the Direwood so loggers could push the trees back faster.”
Discussing the options of a ruler with a city-state at his dispoal they slogged on.
As the miles trudged by one step at a time the Talons found themselves relaxing, and resuming the bickering that had characterized their years-long relationship. Derek was hazed about fictional sexual oddities, Shad was mocked for his abrasive and dismissive personality, Fred for his slovenly living habits, and Jeff for his habit of running corrupt characters and a tendency to say things that came out horribly wrong.
“What are you doing?” Jeff asked as he approached Shad, who was sitting next to his pack.
“Working on a charm. I put in two hours last night, and am about an hour in today, and I’m almost done.”
“Three hours per? That’s rough.”
“It will get better. All we have to do is survive a few more levels.”
“Yeah, same old story. Here’s some sort of stew we concocted. We flipped for watches, you got last watch.”
“Good, I can work on another charm.”
Jeff sat on the grass, sitting off-set and facing so his field of view covered Shad’s blind zone. “Man, this feels too much like Iraq.”
“Worse than Iraq; there we had the firepower and a multi-layered organization. Here we’re very small fry with no one watching our back. The only advantage we have is that no one is gunning for us specifically, so all we have to worry about is the stuff labeled ‘ to whom this may concern’ .”
Jeff snickered. “No IEDs or RPGs, at least. I can’t say using cold steel is easier, but a spear-thrust is less scary than incoming tracers.”
“Or mortars. And I have to say, Goblins are easier to kill than people, even if the people are firing AKs at you. Mentally, I mean.”
“The stars look the same,” Jeff stared up. “Of course, I have no idea what our stars should look like, other than the Big Dipper and the North Star, which are still here.”
“Welcome to the Silvermist Plains,” Derek announced as the four crested a small rise in the late afternoon sun.
“How can you be sure?” Jeff surveyed the expanse of rolling highlands. “It’s just a little flatter than what we’ve been crossing.”
The Shadowmancer
“I’m surprised the Ultimate Master hasn’t expanded his borders,” Jeff observed as they trudged along. “Looks like all he would need to do is send out a few troops to establish security. I bet the locals in the boonies would be glad to see fighting men.”
“Good point.”
The four trudged on, ignoring the peasants in the fields who were carefully ignoring them.
“How far today?” Fred asked.
Shad glanced at the sun. “I figure we’ll camp out-that will give us a little edge on things. Get as far past Havenhall as we have light. Eighteen miles from Havenhall to the Plains, but ten of that is cross-country, so I figure that’s a full day.”
“At least we came in with boots that were broken in,” Jeff observed. “Small favors.”
Havenhall was laid out in a square, surrounded by a palisade of clay-covered timbers on three sides and a stone wall on the fourth. The fighting towers at each corner were stone, as were the gatehouses on the north and south sides.
The four bypassed the town, cutting through fields.
“Well, now you know why the Ultimate Master hasn’t pushed out further,” Shad told Jeff. “There’s a lot of gold going into that place.”
“What an idiot,” the handsome ex-Ranger and present Night-grifter shook his head. “He already has a castle overlooking this place.”
“I’m feeling a little better about our chances for taking him out,” Shad grinned. “If it was me, I would have put the money either into troops to secure more land, or to build a fort on the edge of the Direwood so loggers could push the trees back faster.”
Discussing the options of a ruler with a city-state at his dispoal they slogged on.
As the miles trudged by one step at a time the Talons found themselves relaxing, and resuming the bickering that had characterized their years-long relationship. Derek was hazed about fictional sexual oddities, Shad was mocked for his abrasive and dismissive personality, Fred for his slovenly living habits, and Jeff for his habit of running corrupt characters and a tendency to say things that came out horribly wrong.
“What are you doing?” Jeff asked as he approached Shad, who was sitting next to his pack.
“Working on a charm. I put in two hours last night, and am about an hour in today, and I’m almost done.”
“Three hours per? That’s rough.”
“It will get better. All we have to do is survive a few more levels.”
“Yeah, same old story. Here’s some sort of stew we concocted. We flipped for watches, you got last watch.”
“Good, I can work on another charm.”
Jeff sat on the grass, sitting off-set and facing so his field of view covered Shad’s blind zone. “Man, this feels too much like Iraq.”
“Worse than Iraq; there we had the firepower and a multi-layered organization. Here we’re very small fry with no one watching our back. The only advantage we have is that no one is gunning for us specifically, so all we have to worry about is the stuff labeled ‘ to whom this may concern’ .”
Jeff snickered. “No IEDs or RPGs, at least. I can’t say using cold steel is easier, but a spear-thrust is less scary than incoming tracers.”
“Or mortars. And I have to say, Goblins are easier to kill than people, even if the people are firing AKs at you. Mentally, I mean.”
“The stars look the same,” Jeff stared up. “Of course, I have no idea what our stars should look like, other than the Big Dipper and the North Star, which are still here.”
“Welcome to the Silvermist Plains,” Derek announced as the four crested a small rise in the late afternoon sun.
“How can you be sure?” Jeff surveyed the expanse of rolling highlands. “It’s just a little flatter than what we’ve been crossing.”
The Shadowmancer
Similar Books
