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The sun was directly above thee, log cabins dotted around rather than built in rows, plenty of space between each one The village was surrounded by woodland on three sides Several large pockets of trees had been cleared A few stone-built buildings stuck out against the rest, the biggest one of the the tavern

Silas settled down in his new room, his hoerly tried to clean it, but it was too painful to do a decent job A skin full of ale would take the edge off But he couldn’t do that Not while I’m… like this Whatever this is Not while I have to work I’ll be fine now I have so Toet started

Silas left his room and sat at a table in the tavern hall “Ale” Just the one

Silas woke up the next day with the faod’s sake, why? What has becoh to say that he hadn’t got himself in any trouble, caused a scene, or had any botched attempts at sex

He rehter ast his friends Fat slob The fat irls as they had passed hiust Even some of his so-called friends looked to whisper their distaste to each other Then again, there was a chance he’d iined it all What’s real and what isn’t? Silas felt sad, almost tearful He sat up The pain in his head sharp, the pain in his leg sharper still “This is no good Pull yourself together, Silas”

Silas fought the hangover for , cleaned the wound, and headed to the forest on foot He had an hour before darkness, then an hour until the fat man, Gerald Curtis, should make his appearance He made himself a low hide and waited, belly down

He watched the sun fall and cast the village in darkness S up outside so could be heard in the wind, no words, just the drone of ether, sharing their ale, singing of the women they love His own situation, laid in the mud and covered with old branches, felt all the more miserable Alone

The horse’s heavy breathing could be heard before its silhouette appeared on the trail, the unmistakable blob that was Gerald Curtis balanced on top Like clockwork

Silas welcomed the relief that the detail passed on by the Shadows had been accurate – second-hand information was usually unreliable in his experience But this was as far as the information went, so it was into the unknown from here The taste for ale had led out of the hide

The forest dark, Silas had no choice but to stick to the trail until Gerald lit a torch in the distance The fat man stood next to his horse, then walked deeper into the trees Silas took a wide berth around the horse so as not to spook it I ought to cut you free, let the fat bastard walk back

It didn’t take long to catch up The fatmeant even without the torch Silas could have found hie patch of briars, easily fifteen feet tall, retrieved his torch, and ducked into a tunnel A h the trees, and the torchlight disappeared What the hell has he got in there? A cabin?

Silas approached and stared into the pitch-black tunnel Too risky Gerald could coht Silas listened hard to auntil it was replaced by a soft knocking that gradually got louder and faster Gerald’s grunting filled in the blanks So, who or what have you got locked up in there, fat man?

Silas’s wound ached He had a good ive the poor thing a break But he didn’t, instead taking the slow, painful walk back to the tavern

Several hours later, Silas nursed his second ale Sht, only a couple to take the edge off

Gerald sat a few tables away, belloith laughter I can see why he’s been chosen for Mara’s first Only a threat if he falls on hi an ani Silas looked over at Gerald’s friends Multiple possibilities of people that have paid for your death, one of thes Or ardless