On the cobbled gatepost, there sat a skull. A human skull, set in a divot midst the stones. Brown and crusted. A fresh wreath of dried daisy pixies, their heads torn off, crowned it. A lump of clay was tied in its gaping jaw, traced with runes. On the road, two Ward Rangers stared at […]
At the hearth, there sat a man weeping. A man with a farmer's brown hide and the grey-green eyes of a Southerner. His lips, quaking, traced silent petitions. Rosary beads passed between his rough fingertips. * Tears rolled over the worn knuckles, over the stone beads, dashed themselves to steam on the ashy hearth. Another man neared, placed […]
A coin clattered on the polished bar top. A stool scraped. A pair of bandaged palms clasped beside. "What's this?" said the barback. She plucked up the coin, turned it round. It was old, thick. Dented, but cleanly cast with bas reliefs: Some runes on the obverse; and on the reverse: the cruel-eyed face of a woman […]