For a moment Dana was paralyzed, not truly understanding what had just happened. It seemed impossible for a man to whole one moment and then dying without warning the next. Then she recovered her senses enough to duck behind the raised seat of the driver,…

“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 …

Ohmwari, the city where all things find their end. It was a place that Dana only knew by reputation. Stories first and later jokes had been carried long distances, spreading on the trade routes that made up the connective tissue from kingdom to kingdom …

A bump in the road jolted the cart hard enough to force Dana past the edge of near sleep and into wakefulness. She noted that the wheel on the right side had picked up another squeak. At the next stop, she'd have to oil it again or it would grate on her f…