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 The
Stoneholding Chapter One by Mark James © 2004 (Cover Artwork by Ted Nasmith) (» Word Definitions for Chapter One) The harvest moon had come and gone, leaving only a failing crescent of light to guide them along the river. The air was chill and rife with the smell of leaf mould. The two wherries were now the sole craft on the water, their oarsmen riding the current downstream. Of the river wardens there was no sign. They were busy elsewhere, drawn away by rumours of a planned attempt to break into Tower Dinas. In the stern of the larger of the two boats, Frysan remained alert, for it would be bloody work with sword and dagger if they did chance to meet with one of their patrols. Pulling his ermine-edged cloak more tightly around his shoulders, the slight man peered into the darkness and shivered, steeling himself for the desperate night's work that lay ahead. The boatmen passed the Hangtree, the city's notorious place of execution. In the freshening wind the corpse of the river pirate that dangled from the weathered crossbeams began to clank in its shroud of chains. Downriver, in grim keeping with the mournful music of the gibbet, the distant bells of Tower Dinas tolled their final warning. It was curfew time. By now the patrons of The Three Cranes in the Vintry would long since have left the tavern to avoid being caught abroad beyond the curfew hour, which was being strictly and oftentimes savagely enforced these days. Besides being their favourite watering hole, with all its hustle and bustle it had proved an ideal meeting place for ... |
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