Outsider in the End: Unpleasant Surprises

“Thank the gods! It feels like it's been forever. ” Dana stretched her arms toward the sky, reveling in the long strain on her ligaments. Bracing herself on the rim of the cart, she rose to her feet. Even a few feet off the bed of the cart, the smell got noticeably better. Almost anything was better than the wet straw that lined the floor.

“I told you that it was a long journey.” Mjer Madhin replied.

“I know, I know, but there's a difference between hearing about six months of travel and being at the end of it. Oh I can't wait to eat something other than dry meat and that leather that you swear used to be fruit.”

“It's the only way to make food last longer without rotting unless you want to invest in a cold cart, not that Beana here could pull a double. She's strong but not that strong. I told you that up front too.”

Dana patted his shoulder sympathetically. "You tried to limit as many of the surprises as you could and I thank you for that."

Mjer Madhin grunted and fell backward, an arrow in his chest.