The road was nothing more than ruts worn into the plains of grass from the frequent travel between the two fortresses. While they had thought to bring a horse for her, none had considered she did not know how to ride one. About three tries to get her on the beast convinced Konal to lend the cart....
He rolled onto his back and squinted up at the black rafters of Frodi’s hall. Things melted into focus and he became aware that men were rushing around him while others shouted orders. As sleep drained away, he was kicked again. One of Frodi’s warriors hunched over him, cradling Fate’s Needle. “G...
It was like a fist pressing on his ribcage but no hand touched him. He was as frozen as ever, slouched against the wall of a building he could not see because he could do nothing more than blink and swallow. Valda sat opposite in the brown grass beneath the monstrous form of black mist that sprou...
He hardly knew these men, having been only with him for a short time, yet their deaths pressed on his heart. Einar and the others walked quietly among the slain like cloaked phantoms, bending over the fallen to close eyelids or place hands on weapons. The corpses were already cold and hardened in...
Oars formed their legs, pulling across the sparkling azure surface. Inside the ships, flesh colored dots swayed back and forth in unison with the oars. Each dot was a man and each ship held twenty men at ten oars to a side. Other men walked between the rowers or leaned on their tillers. Some sat ...
Ulfrik lay buried beneath piles of blankets and furs by the hearth, listening to the rain lash the roof and leaks spatter onto the stone floor. His eyes throbbed with fever and his body ached as if he had been twisted like a wet cloth. Voices murmured and restless footfalls sent echoes playing of...
He was also younger, with his close-cropped black hair only streaked with gray. Ulfrik did not believe a bishop could be anyone other than the most ancient priests the Christians could find. Yet standing at the center of his hall, hands upon his hips, was a bishop no older than himself. The simil...