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Back Bleak Seasons Save as PDF
Chapters (102)
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I sighed and shook my head, listened to the half-hearted rumble of my stomach, wondered if anybody had found a way to get some food cooked, wound my way through the maze to the ladders that would take me up to Goblin and One-Eye.

The light of day might do me good. If I had the strength to climb that far. I had not seen the sun for a long time.

76

76

I would not see the sun for a while longer. Sahra handed To Tan up through the trapdoor. He was asleep again. I guess you do sleep a lot when you are a baby starving to death.

It was daytime but a driving rain was falling. Hagop sat astride a chair turned backwards, forearms on the chairs back, staring into the rain morosely. How long has this been going on? I asked.

Day or three.

We getting any fresh water out of it?

About as much as we can being as were hiding out.

Whatre those two doing? Goblin and One-Eye were on the floor in the middle of the room, crosslegged, farthest from the moisture blowing inside. They did not look up.

Wizard stuff. Dont bother them. Theyll bite your leg off.

One-Eye grumbled, And somebodys gonna lose a set of ears if he dont stop yakking.

Hagop and I each spent one of our diminishing supply of single finger salutes. One-Eye did not acknowledge the accolade.

The lookout had a window facing each direction. I went to the biggest.

This rain was not what we called a gullywasher back home but it was strong and steady. I could barely sense the vague loom of the surrounding hills. Nearer at hand I could make out the surface of the water. It was down despite the rain. It was a grey that spoke of sickness.

I saw a Jaicuri raft out there, so loaded with people that it was awash. Men using short boards as paddles labored carefully to drive it toward shore.

I made the rounds of the other windows, studied the city. I was pleased to see our Taglians at their posts the way they had been taught.

Theyve been doing it by the numbers, Hagop agreed. And that gets them left alone.

By Mogaba?

By everybody. The fighting is almost constant.

The streets and alleys were now canals. I saw bodies floating everywhere. The stench was overwhelming. The water level, though, was lower than I had expected. I could see the citadel from the east window. There were Nar up top there, ignoring the weather. They moved around the parapet, studying our part of town.

Hagop noticed me watching them. Theyre worried about us. They think we might come sort them out sometime.

Sure we will.

Theyre superstitious about guys like Goblin and One-Eye.

Which shows you how dangerous a little ignorance can be.