He wasn't quite sure what to make of that, if he was honest with himself, but he mustered a scowl all the same and kept his rifle leveled at the thing. He felt quite exposed there in spite of everything, aware of Eddie's ragged breathing, Pippa's insistent motions and the woman's nervous pacing as ...

Things were calming down in some respects, but by the Ancestors, Iolan could practically taste the fear in the air. Battles were odd things like that and he wondered, without bitterness, whether young Eddie had gotten his fill or if he'd need more stories to sate his appetite. The lad could have ...

He swore, hands tightening almost painfully over Eddie's wound, his blood pounding in his ears. Who did she think she was to talk down to him? He almost smiled as she stubbed her toe kicking the other one, wishing he still had his teeth in to feel the pain. It was a reflex and owed little to ...

He glanced up at her in anger and disbelief as she knelt beside him, his hands tensing even further from the effort of trying to keep Eddie's innards inside. There were moments in life when a person felt that the powers in the world were on their side, but right then, as ever, Iolan was quite ...

The simple fact that Deer is dangerous, inconvenient and does not heed instructions, plus the fact that Eddie was the only one who knew what he was worth. We have absolutely no reason whatsoever to put up with him.

Iolan glanced around at the sound of approaching footsteps, hoping that for once things were starting to look up. Yes, they seemed to be winning, but as far as surprises went, they had all been distinctly unpleasant thus far. His discovery of Eddie was simply the icing on that particular cake, and ...

Panicking wasn't in Iolan's nature, years of hard drinking and harder fighting having inured him against being shaken by random problems, and he generally being of the mindset that such issues could usually be solved by the application of enough force. Still, he reflected, trying to keep pressure on ...

Iolan cast a single, appraising glance at the thing from the box, several pieces clicking into place in his mind, then he dismissed it from thought. It wasn't interested in him, it has removed an obstacle and it was going in the opposite direction, which was all the cue he needed. Hugging the cover ...

If there was anything to be said for night fighting, it was that it engendered an implicit, if extremely irritating trust in the people around you. Not that one had much choice in the grand scheme of things, as above the clashing of weapons, yelling and screaming it was hard to hear who was who, let ...

Iolan silently thanked and cursed the firelight as he took aim again. It ruined one's nightvision, making it hard to distinguish friend from foe in a pitched fight, not that it was easy to tell at the best of times. Conversely, it also meant that any enemies looking in the fire's direction were ...

Thankfully, the night did pass peacefully, and morning broke peaceful onto another peaceful, boring day. Iolan rose early, ate sparingly and was generally prepared long before his employer, whom he tried to think about without frowning, had even stirred. It was an old habit, which, he noticed, some ...

Sure. What did you have in mind?

Iolan met her look blankly and said nothing as she turned in for the night. They were a team? No, they were a big mouth and an old soldier who had to do the job of three younger men. But then, he was a foreigner, so what would he know? Waiting until her breathing had evened out, he rose silently ...

"Now, why would I do that? We have to appear a team when we arrive," he said, just as quietly, shrugging. "For that we must practise our act. I must appear the big violent brute and you the quiet sharper who holds my leash, yes?"

Shaking his head as though being reprimanded, he grinned for her ...

Iolan kept his serious expression just long enough for the boy to do a double take, and then grinned, laughing hugely to show he was harmless. Honestly, it was just too easy messing with these people; they were far too serious in all the wrong ways. These trips were tense, and breaking the tension ...