Whatโs going on?โ Royce asked as throngs of people suddenly moved toward him from the field and the castle interior. โI mentioned that you saw the thing and now they want to know what it looks like,โ Hadrian explained. โWhat did you think? They were coming to lynch you?โ He shrugged. โWhat can I say? Iโm a glass-half-empty kinda guy.โ โHalf empty?โ Hadrian chuckled. โWas there ever any drink in that glass?
Michael J. SullivanRoyce looked back down at the stream below. "She doesn't even know me. What if she doesn't like me? Few people do." "She might not at first. Maribor knows I didn't. But you have a way of growing on a person." He smiled. "You know, like lichen or mold.
Michael J. SullivanAโrisโta?โ Degan asked, sounding horse. โWhat is it?โ โA rat bit me,โ she said, once again shocked by her own rasping voice. โJasper does that ifโโ Gaunt coughed and hacked. After a moment, he spoke again. โIf he thinks youโre dead or too weak to fight.โ โJasper?โ โI call him that, but Iโve also named the stones in my cell.โ โI only counted mine,โ Arista said. โTwo hundred and thirty-four,โ Degan replied instantly. โI have two hundred and twenty-eight.โ โDid you count the cracked ones as two?โ โNo.
Michael J. SullivanHadrian shook his head and sighed. โWhy do you have to make everything so difficult? Theyโre probably not bad peopleโjust poor. You know, taking what they need to buy a loaf of bread to feed their family. Can you begrudge them that? Winter is coming and times are hard.โ He nodded his head in the direction of the thieves. โRight?โ โI ainโt got no family,โ flat-nose replied. โI spend most of my coin on drink.โ โYouโre not helping,โ Hadrian said.
Michael J. Sullivan