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Back Forsworn
Chapters (53)
  1. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
  2. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
  3. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
  4. Important Trigger Warning
  5. Prologue
  6. PART I
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Interlude: The River of Life
  20. PART II
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Interlude: Fallow Fields
  29. PART III
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Interlude: Of Man and Monster
  37. PART IV
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Twenty-Eight
  41. Twenty-Nine
  42. Thirty
  43. Thirty-One
  44. Thirty-Two
  45. Thirty-Three
  46. Thirty-Four
  47. POSTLUDES
  48. Postlude 1: Lana Vica
  49. Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
  50. Postlude 3: Cainan
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
  53. PART I

The room was well-lit by a lantern, revealing the most boring, basic room that ever existed in any inn ever. The walls were brown to match the floors and ceiling. The lantern hung from a hook, as there was no desk or table to be found. There was, however, a small bed. It would have to do, even if his legs hung over the end.

Ludo still felt warm from the ale, so he didn’t bother with the blanket, dumping his satchel on the floor and then eyeing the light for some way of reducing the flow of oil. There was nothing. In fact, now that he looked closer, the lantern had no wick or even a flame. There was no source for the light, and yet it glowed yellow just the same.

Just another oddity of this already odd place.

With no other option, he lay on the bed and closed his eye, which did little to block out the lantern’s bright glow. But then the light faded, darkening to a deep black. He opened his eye to darkness. He snorted and closed his eye once more.

It was only when he’d reached the very edge of the precipice between wakefulness and sleep that he realized the dwarf had called him “Mister Vica” when he’d never told him his last name. Sleep took him.

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Bryony

I must be a damn fool, Bryony thought as she tried to find a comfortable spot to settle down for the night. The area tucked between the hill lands was stony, and no matter how much she rolled around or changed position, there was always something poking into her. Eventually, she was forced to fold Ludo’s blanket into a sleeping pad of sorts and curl up on her side.

Just beyond the edges of the nearest hillock she could barely make out the lights of Slough. Was Ludo tucked in a warm, comfortable bed right now while she shivered in the cold with rocks stabbing her ribs? She felt the ghosts of his arms wrapped around her. “For body warmth,” she reminded herself.

Anyway, he probably wasn’t in bed right now. He was probably sidled up to a bar in some tavern, drinking himself blind and flirting with any creature of the womanly persuasion that had two legs and a suggestive smile. That is, if he wasn’t fighting. She’d count herself lucky if he showed up at the agreed upon time the next morning. More likely than not, she’d need to pay off some lawman to release him from jail.

Or she could just leave him to rot.