The treetops proved a good way to travel. Ontlig search parties crisscrossed the forest floor beneath him, always a few hundred yards behind as he pushed to the northwest. When they fell too far back, he threw a stick toward … Continue reading
A pair of ontr followed it, dragging a third between them. As he had thought: the ontling being dragged was one of the ones Sif had killed the night before, going by its mangled appearance and the shining bits of … Continue reading
The camp covered more ground than it had seemed from below. It was a rounded rectangle, twice as long as it was wide, and he had approached from the narrow end. Centered within the wall was a large tent, almost … Continue reading
Falthejn inked the last few lines to form the last rune on a scrap of paper, corked his ink bottle, and put his writing supplies into his pack. He set the note on his cloak as he stood, buckling his … Continue reading
The journey wasn’t as bad as Hrothgar had expected. Alongside the river, the ground was flat, and a bed of evergreen needles kept the undergrowth to a manageable level. To their right, a hedge of shrubs and small trees, feeding … Continue reading
At the very top of the bend, just before the headland, an arch of stone crossed the river. If Alfhilde squinted, she could just make out human figures crossing it. “When did they build that?” Hrothgar frowned, thought for a … Continue reading
It developed that she had good reason not to. They crested a shallow rise, and suddenly the river lay before them, down the slope a few dozen yards, roaring rapids swirling past. The road ran through a clearing, man-made and … Continue reading
She sighed, and the real world came back into focus. Alfhilde had only just finished a sentence, and was looking at her curiously. Sif said, “He’s really gone?” Alfhilde nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you liked him.” “He … Continue reading
Sif sat, shellshocked. Alfhilde kept talking, probably saying something comforting, but Sif remained stuck on the news that Falthejn had just left. How could he? She had stood up for him when Alfhilde looked down on him. She didn’t want … Continue reading
“That much is clear already.” Hrothgar shook his head. “It’s more than that.” Looking back to the paper, he read, “‘Friends, I apologize for my abrupt departure, but I have seen what I have seen. If I do not leave … Continue reading
