Sleep doesn't come easily, and I roll over again, wrapping myself in the blanket. The innkeeper is still moving about downstairs, heavy footsteps scuffing and thumping on the floor, metal and clay pots clicking and clinking together as she prepares the morning meal. There are still a few hours until dawn, and I should rest. My head is a ( Read more... )

It did not take long to pack. There wasn't much that she needed to take with her. Her clean shirt and the robe Violet had made for her went into the heavy canvas knapsack first, followed by her healer certification in its heat-resistant, waterproof case. The sewing kit and spools of spidersilk thread fit neatly into an inside pocket, and left ( Read more... )

There was another mouse on her pillow, neatly wrapped in strong, heavy strands of silk. The little cocoon twitched when she prodded at it with a finger--still alive. Se'ala smiled as she sat down on the hammock, knotted ropes creaking. The little spiderling wasn't quite so little any more. She had molted twice already and was now the size of a ( Read more... )

They sit by the fire, listening, and I begin.

Long and long ago, far and far away, there was a tribe that lived in the mountains. Their chief was very old, and very wise, and when it came time that he knew he would soon pass on, he gathered his three sons.

The oldest son was strong and brave, tall and wide.

I lift my good arm high to illustrate.
( Read more... )

Se'ala stared at the comb on the table. Just a few feet away, almost close enough to reach out and take. She curled her fingers inward, closing her hands into fists, and tucked them behind her back.

How dare he? He called himself her friend, but she knew it wasn't true. All day she'd been waiting for him to make his move, to turn on her. She'd ( Read more... )

His face is so very much like mine ( Read more... )

The graveyard is crowded, raucous laughter drifting up from the clusters of orcs and trolls that move among the standing stones. They're celebrating. Not death, but life, the connection of one family member to another even when flesh and bone have rotted away. I step past a group of children accompanied by a lone orc man. All different ages--I ( Read more... )