Tales From a Thousand Worlds

“Time to get up, Qosa.”

Nhaqosa woke to the comforting sound of his father’s voice. As his eyes opened, he could see the ceiling of his room, and could smell around him the familiar, reassuring scents of his parents’ house. For a fragment of a moment a strange sensation swept over him, a dichotomy of experiences, of memories of being enclosed in ice, or burning suns beating down on blood stained sands, distant and fading in the waking hours. He rubbed at sleepy eyes and shook his head. They were dreams, no more, like many others he had had before, these ones brought on by the events of the previous day. In the hills beyond the village, a terrible storm had set in and he had become lost. His solid, dependable father had found him and carried him home.

Follow this link for Part Five of Echoes of Dark Reflections

Niati knelt down beside the distraught Abasan, tentatively touching his arm, unsure as to the reaction it would receive. When nothing occurred, she pulled him back up from where he lay and took hold of his face in her hands. The man refused to look at her, tear-filled eyes desperately looking aside, anywhere but at her.

Follow this link for Part Four of Echoes of Dark Reflections

Half buried where the tower thrust up out of the ground was an opening, a cavity that led into the crystalline structure. Nhaoqsa ducked his head to look into it. Light from the outside reflected off the walls, providing an eerie dark glow down the length of the tunnel that cut its way deep inside. The tunnel itself lay a good meter lower than the surface of the ground, while the opening itself was too small to fit into. Kicking aside some of the earth to clear room, Nhaqosa widened the opening before squeezing in, dropping down to the uneven floor of the tunnel. One by one the others followed him in, crowding near the entrance.

Follow this link for Part Three of Echoes of Dark Reflections

The tower was all wrong. It had been constructed of the same dark crystalline substance that had burnt Lakach’s hands, and shaped all as facets and sharp edges, the surfaces glistening like they had been polished, yet it appeared to be a single, solitary piece of crystal, with no construction to be seen. To Nhaqosa’s trained eye, it appeared unnatural.

Follow this link for Part Two of Echoes of Dark Reflections

“That can’t be natural, boss.”

The giant white furred minotaur Nhaqosa glanced aside and down at the wiry man who had spoken, Lakach, and then back ahead of them to what had provoked the man’s words. Lakach tugged at the ends of his drooping red moustache, a sure indication of unease, even concern. Nhaqosa had to admit that he shared that worry as well.

Follow this link for Part One of Echoes of Dark Reflections

Kythias had not joined Nhaqosa as his band buried Alyan, allowing them their privacy to grieve a fallen companion and friend. After they had left the freshly dug grave, buried beneath a cairn of stones, Kythias sought Nhaqosa out.

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“He was a good man,” Nhaqosa told Kythias, “And he fought bravely in the face of evil. How can man die better?”

Follow this link for Part Eleven of The Merchant’s Legacy

The village did not stand completely empty, as Nhaqosa had first suspected. In the centre of the village, in the commons of the village green, the grass now brown around a well, a couple of unkempt men sat at a rough-hewn table, a jug of liquid between them. Their talk ended abruptly at the appearance of Nhaqosa. They stood in surprise, the benches they had sat on falling over and hands going to weapons.

Follow this link for Part Ten of The Merchant’s Legacy

Through the morning they pushed on down from the bandits lair, the land about them broken hill and forest country, dry and wilting under the fierce summer sun.

Nhaqosa kept a close eye on Katako as they walked. Not only did he seem much improved, he appeared to be regaining strength even as they walked. Whatever it had been that Kythias had concocted, it had worked beyond Nhaqosa’s wildest hopes.

Follow this link for Part Nine of The Merchant’s Legacy