1)
“Suppose, Lord Wolf, you stop scoring verbal points off your King for a moment and lead the way. I hear warhorns, and that means a charge. They’ll be down our throats like cheap ale in a moment.”#epicfantasy 2)
“And when, Sire, have you ever tasted cheap ale?”
“Hunh. Those spies of yours NEEDED replacing.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 19, 2020
1)
“Something’s happening, out in the garden. I hear swords sliding out of scabbards, lots of footfalls, and leather creaking.”
“Then I suggest you pluck those rings right quick and COME, Lady. We need to get back deep, and fast.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 18, 2020
2)
Chantratha stops talking and does so, as fast as many a lightning bolt, coming close to bowling Wolf over in her haste to join Palonder and Elvar. Close, but Wolf sidesteps adroitly to take one last look out into the garden. 3)
“They ARE missing their wizards, aren’t they?”
“A pity you got rid of all of ours. They might have winnowed the ranks of these invading armies somewhat.”
“Or allied with them, more likely. I don’t trust wizards at all.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 18, 2020
4)
“And how does that make them different from anyone else in the world? Wolf, I don’t think you even trust YOURSELF.”
“I don’t. I find myself distinctly untrustworthy.”
“Your King stands unsurprised.”#epicfantasy 5)
“Well, it’s nice to know my King stands for SOMEthing.”
“Wolf, I’ll have your head yet.”
“Promises, promises. As they’re all ROYAL promises, I’m secure in the knowledge they’ll never be kept.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 18, 2020
1)
“So where are we heading, Wolf? Northwards and deeper, I gather, but whither exactly?”
“Like so many journeys in life, that very much depends on who’s in our way, and where.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 30, 2020
2)
“STOP! Still and silent!”
In the wake of Chantratha’s sudden, urgent order, silence falls, as everyone’s startled enough to obey.
The fallen silence deepens, then stretches.
Until Wolf looks at her. “Well?”#epicfantasy 3)
“I heard someone behind us. On the move. Following us. Stealthily.”
“Isn’t this keep haunted?”
“THANK YOU, Your Majesty. SO helpful of you to raise that matter, just now.”
“Well?” Palonder demands. “Is it?”
“Yes.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 30, 2020
They buried his corpse in the last fading sunset
Too dead now for half-hearted regret— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 19, 2020
The skeleton is indulging in rattling and faux-eerie moans
That set my teeth to rattling, so I'm going to dance on its bones— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 20, 2020
If you spend your life in constant carping and critique
Your outlook for your (mythical?) afterlife is bound to be bleak— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 24, 2020
1)
“Don’t lose that coin, Chant,” Wolf warns, as he waves Palonder and the King down the privy-chute ahead of him.
“I am not ENTIRELY incompetent.”
“Good to hear. We all have our off moments.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 24, 2020
2)
“Oh? Even the incomparable Wolf?”
“Even the incomparable Wolf.”
“Admit to one, just one.”
“Choosing this profession, in this kingdom. It’s all been downhill since then.”#epicfantasy 3)
“And is that why you torment all the rest of so?”
“No, I do that because I’m an utter bastard who craves entertainment. Birds of a feather, aren’t we?”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 24, 2020
1)
“Quite likely. I can’t help but notice you sent Palonder and the King down the chute first, to clean it before YOU used it.”
“How else can I selflessly stand rearguard?”
“Oh? That’s not my role?”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 25, 2020
2)
“Lady, you are the most versatile of all of us, as well as the most decorous, so you deserve the richest roster of roles.”
“Question dodged, and you’re the oiliest of flatterers, Wolf.”
“Ah! Once more your compliments wound me!”#epicfantasy 3)
“I STRIVE to be of service to the kingdom. Whenever I can wound Wolf, Neverune benefits.”
“Your tongue remains the most deftly twisted of knives.”
“Oh? I fear there’s not oil enough in all the realm for your flatteries, Wolf.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 25, 2020
4)
“I love it when you talk dirty, Lady.”
“You fail to surprise me. Chute? Or would you rather I precede you?”
“You have the coin, and so, our radiance—so please, the chute awaits.”
“We’ve left the King in the dark long enough?”#epicfantasy 5)
“He’s been in the dark all his life. The natural state of kings, when courtiers are efficient veterans. Another few moments won’t matter.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 25, 2020
Yonder roars the monster, running amok
Here stands the adventurer, shining with luck
Who’ll be victorious?
Doth the storyteller give a flying deliverytruck?— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 25, 2020
Leadership is all about bold risks and making difficult choices
Which cause to wear, and when viciously silencing: which voices?— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 28, 2020
To stand in the ranks of chattering humanity
Is often to stand far away from creatures of sanity— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 29, 2020
1)
Wolf smiles softly, and as he waves her to the chute, corrects her gently: “Being as courtiers aren’t kings, the apt motto is: Murder your little darlings and don’t get caught at it.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 28, 2020
2)
Chantratha nods, smiles back, and takes the chute—and the light with her.
Wolf stands for a moment in the darkness, swaying, as he toys with the notion of just turning away on his own. 3)
Then he sighs, shrugs, tells the darkness dryly, “Duty,” and takes the chute.
The silence that follows lasts for two long, slow breaths ere a ghostly voice whispers out of the dark heart of it, “Aye, that’s what killed me.”#epicfantasy— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 28, 2020
