The King's Thief: Chapter 16
0 comments Published Friday, 16 April 2010 by SteveCook in centaari, centaur, thief king fantasy writing chapter magic soldier sylva elfOk, this one gets a mature warning again; no harsh language, no in-depth discussions of exactly how it happens, no gratuitous language of any kind; but it does deal with rape, frankly. I've done it as gently as I can, however. You'll see.
This one took a couple of hours to write, during some time when I should have been working for my job, but this is more fun, and I'd spent six hours the previous day planning. And this is supposed to be my holiday.
I'm sitting down to write the next chapter as I write this, with my favourite muse in my hand; I'm currently favouring Sainsburys Dark Rum, not the absolute cheapest, the next one up (I'm cheap, but not THAT cheap) then filled to the brim with Lime Diet Coke. Currently playing on iTunes: Jim Noir. This is usually how I write. Someone asked me, so that's it.
The tree branch was uncomfortable; trying his best not to cause any disturbance, Kaliss wriggled into a slightly more cushioned position. Looking down through the leaves, he could see the centaari encampment in the dawn light, and in neighbouring trees he could just about make out the forms of Ryn and Faergaldan. Although Kaliss cringed at the brutality he was witnessing, part of him knew that it was necessary to remain hidden until such time as an effective strategy could be developed to defeat them.
The horse-men had taken up residence in the clearing and, judging by the waste lying around, had been there for a week or more. No clothing lay around, as nothing was worn by the centaari, but the ground was trampled and, as Julis had reported, several piles of bones were in evidence, casually thrown aside. There seemed to be an assortment of animals represented in the bones, from small animal bones up to what appeared to be a cow’s ribs; threaded here and there were others that could only be human, one of the piles being surmounted by a grinning skull, placed as if it were a trophy. Even from the height of the tree branch, Kaliss could see scraps of flesh hanging from the skull, together with strands of hair matted with blood.
The King's Thief: Chapter 15
0 comments Published Monday, 12 April 2010 by SteveCook in centaari, thief king fantasy writing chapter magic soldier sylva elf magician bansheeChapter 15
Kinroc Faergaldan sighed in exasperation. They had watched as the strange toothless man, apparently a regular contact of the Sylva in this ‘neutral’ village, seemed to straighten up and gain confidence. He had wasted no time at all in getting straight down to business.
“You’d be here about them damned horse-bastards, I reckon?”
The Kinroc merely raised an eyebrow in response.
“Every night, they come here; we don’t dare go outside now, for fear of them. They gallop in, looting… raping some too. Burnt down a house on ‘t other side of the village just last night.”
The little man, whose name turned out to be Lorn, had then pointed at the group and said “And you’d be the unit we asked for from Sylvanasher, come to help us out, right?”
“We’re not the ones you’re looking for, Lorn; we’re on a recovery mission from Theria. We don’t have time to stop for your concerns.”
Lorn cackled. “Ah, but you’re here, so you must be the ones! Or else, why would you be here?”