The riders are approaching.
Their voices are almost drowned out by the thunder of their horses’ hooves striking the ground, but I can still make out that of the old man from the stall, speaking to the others.
“Remember my instructions,” he says. “Do not draw your weapons. Whatever happens, do not draw your weapons. If you do, you will die.”
“Yes!” thirty-five other voices shout back at the same time.Continue reading
Habit is a scary thing…
I remember that, in the first hours after meeting Akasha, I was scared out of my mind.
Then, I calmed down a bit, and for the next few days, while I resolved to maintain a certain distance between us, we managed to cooperate and communicate rather effectively.
But then, I started flirting with her more and more blatantly.Continue reading
Sif was right.
Islandis Fortress is even noisier during daytime.
Annoying, annoying, annoying.
Should I just kill everyone in here and be done with it? That would reestablish silence, would it not?Continue reading
After several days of travel, the fortress finally comes into sight.
Not Jodene Fortress.
Islandis Fortress.
Sif decided to go there first, because she’s run out of her strange food.Continue reading
The monster – no, Akasha – has fallen silent, seemingly lost deep in thought, head down, looking absently at the ground.
I’m not sure if it’s safe to interrupt her. She doesn’t seem to be as temperamental as I would have expected from a devil – if devil she is – but I still prefer not to take any chances. She’s sitting too close to me. If she suddenly decides to attack, I won’t be able to react at all.
Of course, even if she were sitting 50 meters away from me, I wouldn’t be able to react, but it’s the principle of the thing. I would prefer to keep a proper distance between us.
Also, the air around her is chilly, like she’s a small pocket of winter in this late-spring forest.Continue reading
When the symbols flash, all the dead leaves that were scattered over the surface of the teleport formation are instantly disintegrated. So are the nearest overhanging branches from the surrounding trees.
Everything that was inside the radius of that circular platform at that moment suddenly disappears.
Which includes the oni.
Half of him, that is.Continue reading
The waitress leans down – not enough to give me the view down her neckline I’d been hoping for, unfortunately – and refills my glass.
In lieu of thanks, I let out a short, ill-tempered grunt, then turn my gaze to the window again, thoroughly ignoring the attractive young woman in favor of looking at the city gates standing forbiddingly shut, down at the end of the street.
I went through those gates and entered Rayyan Fortress two days ago.
Once I was in, I shapeshifted again, for safety, into my current appearance, that of a grim old woman, who, after a little investigation, appeared not to have any friends nor even, for that matter, anyone she ever talked to. She also happened to frequently patronize this bar, with a very good view of the city gates. That suited my purposes just fine, so I killed her in her home and took her place.Continue reading
Rayyan Fortress.
It’s quite a lot bigger than Hardron Fortress. I can see the great gates, standing tall and forbiddingly shut, and the high, thick walls, guards patrolling atop them, all armed and armored. Assaulting the fortress by my lonesome would be little more than suicide, obviously.
So how am I supposed to get inside?
There is a squad of guards in front of the door itself, to regulate passage, and from what I’ve seen in the past few hours, visitors need to show some form of identification to be allowed through.Continue reading