Chapter 4: Part 6 - Ruses and Lies
The carriage ride was cramped and uncomfortable. Erin was certain Ruby had chosen the smallest vehicle possible, just to spite her. They sat across from one another, the curtains closed and Ruby’s eyes glinting in the darkness. The girl managed to look both comfortable enough to fall asleep and yet ready to stab someone as quickly as blinking. Erin, on the other hand, was forced to pull her knees up almost to her chest.
Chapter 4: Part 5 - Foolish Moves
Chapter 4: Part 4 - Starry-Eyed Idealists
Chapter 4: Part 3 - A Loose Cannon
“What are you doing here?” Erin had spoken the words before she could stop herself.
Chapter 4: Part 2 - The Upper Hand
Marta’s office was both tiny and alarmingly familiar to Erin. It had once been a storeroom, stuffed full of unused scrolls and abandoned student theses. It had also been just about roomy enough, Erin recalled, for two norn who’d had one too many ales and ended up wearing too few clothes. They’d been a pair of drunken fools, all right. No wonder Marta had called the relationship off before it could really get started.
Chapter 4: Part 1 - The Type To Hold A Grudge
Third Interlude: Head Full Of Smoke
Spark was keeping secrets. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn’t unusual. She lived and breathed her schemes, each one more elaborate than the last. Weir was used to the engineer’s scribbled notes, her furtive mutterings, and her odd excursions in the dead of night.
Third Interlude: Opposing Sides
The message arrived at midnight, when the guild was quiet and everyone but Erin was asleep. There was no need to keep watch, but she did it anyway, standing in the open doorway and staring out into the night. Lion’s Arch seemed unusually subdued, but maybe it was only her mood that made it so. Marissa’s defection didn’t surprise her, nor Jean’s. The fact that Roan had followed them raised its own questions, but perhaps he was more comfortable with his former enemy than with a guild who were still strangers to him. Amber, though… There would be a reason for her departure ‒ there was a reason for everything Amber did ‒ but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
Chapter 3: Part 9 - A Time Of Peace
Chapter 3: Part 8 - The Family Motto
There had been times in Oska’s life when he’d questioned his choice of profession. What use was skulking in the shadows when he couldn’t show off his skills? What use were daggers and tools when his parents kept him at home? Most of all, what was the use of being a thief when he couldn’t protect those he loved?
Chapter 3: Part 7 - Weapons and Enemies
Erin wasn’t going to panic. She knew, as the camp descended into chaos, that she absolutely couldn’t let herself. The moment she gave in was the moment Light’s Memory was lost.
Chapter 3: Part 6 - The Call Of Power
Auri’s world had always been one of colour and magic. For as long as she could remember, she’d been fascinated by the energies swirling through everything around her. Rock and sky, plant and person ‒ each and every facet of existence was vibrant and alive.
Chapter 3: Part 5 - Sworn To Secrecy
Oska and Ruby barely spoke as they raced back across the Wildlands. Oska’s heart seemed to hammer in his chest, beating an unpredictable rhythm that left him gasping for breath. If Auri was hurt…
Chapter 3: Part 4 - A Thorn In My Side
Erin wasn’t used to having sleepless nights. Usually, she was asleep within half a minute of putting her head down, a trick acquired from years spent in the wilds. Tonight, though, sleep seemed elusive. She just couldn’t remember the last time she’d been plagued by so many damned thoughts.
Chapter 3: Part 3 - Playing Fair
Oska had been involved in some terrible ideas in his time; he’d even devised a few himself. Ruby’s, though, was one of the worst he’d ever heard.
“You want,” he said slowly, “to go poking around in ghost-infested ruins in the middle of nowhere, because…”
Chapter 3: Part 2 - Very Good Money
Erin wasn’t used to keeping secrets. For many years, she’d worked alone; if she’d had any secrets then, there wouldn’t have been anyone to tell. There wasn’t usually anything worth hiding from Light’s Memory, either. She was sure half her guild members were engaged in schemes of their own, but that had never bothered her. As long as Erin herself wasn’t the one with something to hide, she was happy.
Chapter 3: Part 1 - Birds Of A Feather
Oska was fairly certain that Brisban Wildlands was the most boring corner of all Tyria. From what he’d seen as they’d trekked in, the whole region was nothing but jungle and swamp and mountain. It had absolutely nothing to recommend it.