Memnalar

Mar 1 From the Jenny, they watched an icebreaker from Elsagrod churn past, #exuding white smoke from twin stacks. "Leotin will cast off soon," Tan said around his pipe, "And Kloette cabled. Liliut's bringing a sleigh for us." Igrid bit her lip. "Tan, I'm not going back." #vss365 Mar 1 For a moment, only Tan's pipe smoke moved. "You aren't coming home?" Tan said. Igrid thumbed her old compass, the needle holding to Karn's #magnetic northern pull. "Leo's going back to whaling. Offered me a job. Said I've a good arm 'for a lass.'" Her smile was forced. #vssdaily Mar 2 Igrid cut off Tan's questions by turning her back on him and pumping a crank, #extruding water from the bilge. A task she'd easily done many times. Now, she struggled with it. Leotin, Tan could see, pretended not to notice. Tan couldn't do that. #vss365 Mar 2 Tan spoke gently. "You don't look well." Igrid answered with a coughing fit. "Nothing's too #subtle for you, huh?" "You need help." "What I NEED, Tan, is for

Feb 20, 2021 Igrid took the crossbow, turned it over and inspected it. Tan had cared for it well. "I figured yew'd know how to use it. I'll do the drivin', the loadin', the unloadin', the hagglin', and the cookin' over campfires. You got to do the killin'. I took vows." #slapdashsat Mar 3, 2021 Three days out from Elsagrod, Igrid found #paw prints the size of her shield. Four days, a mangled elk carcass. On the fifth, a grisly scene at a trapper’s cabin. Dire bears killed out of rage as often as hunger, and something drove this one from the mountains. #vss365 Mar 10, 2021 Tan's schooner rested at a jaunty angle, #stuck to the axles in grey-green mud. "Told you to avoid the bottoms," Igrid said around a mouthful of turkey jerky. "Elsa flooded her banks just last week." Tan muttered something rude. Typhoon, unconcerned, munched on bulrushes. #vss365 Jun 9, 2021 Igrid tapped the map. "What's this outlined here?" "Blood River Valley," said Tan. "Old forest surrounding its namesake.

Feb 20, 2021 Igrid took the crossbow, turned it over and inspected it. Tan had cared for it well. "I figured yew'd know how to use it. I'll do the drivin', the loadin', the unloadin', the hagglin', and the cookin' over campfires. You got to do the killin'. I took vows." #slapdashsat Mar 3, 2021 Three days out from Elsagrod, Igrid found #paw prints the size of her shield. Four days, a mangled elk carcass. On the fifth, a grisly scene at a trapper’s cabin. Dire bears killed out of rage as often as hunger, and something drove this one from the mountains. #vss365 Mar 10, 2021 Tan's schooner rested at a jaunty angle, #stuck to the axles in grey-green mud. "Told you to avoid the bottoms," Igrid said around a mouthful of turkey jerky. "Elsa flooded her banks just last week." Tan muttered something rude. Typhoon, unconcerned, munched on bulrushes. #vss365 Jun 9, 2021 Igrid tapped the map. "What's this outlined here?" "Blood River Valley," said Tan. "Old forest surrounding its namesake.

Since the day they destroyed the lighthouse, there were always fresh pickings on the beach. Tan's shoulders strained as he pulled the dragging-litter across the sand, leaving deep grooves over his footprints. He glanced back at the litter as he shifted the straps. A big haul, and not even two hours past daybreak. There must have been a battle at sea. Tan glanced at the horizon over the water, and wondered. Leader came stomping toward him, hit him in the jaw. Tan tasted blood. "You fall behind!" Tan could smell Leader's breath. He had eaten meat, and recently. Tan and the other Draggers had only hard, wormy bread and filthy water. "Keep up, or it's the whip." Leader grinned with red teeth, as he patted the black, oiled length of twisted roel-gut, wound into a tight coil at his belt. He loved that whip, like an extension of him. "Or," Leader's grin widened even more, so much that Tan thought the top of his head might split off, "Will you turn Killer today?" By now, the

Since the day they destroyed the lighthouse, there were always fresh pickings on the beach. Tan's shoulders strained as he pulled the dragging-litter across the sand, leaving deep grooves over his footprints. He glanced back at the litter as he shifted the straps. A big haul, and not even two hours past daybreak. There must have been a battle at sea. Tan glanced at the horizon over the water, and wondered. Leader came stomping toward him, hit him in the jaw. Tan tasted blood. "You fall behind!" Tan could smell Leader's breath. He had eaten meat, and recently. Tan and the other Draggers had only hard, wormy bread and filthy water. "Keep up, or it's the whip." Leader grinned with red teeth, as he patted the black, oiled length of twisted roel-gut, wound into a tight coil at his belt. He loved that whip, like an extension of him. "Or," Leader's grin widened even more, so much that Tan thought the top of his head might split off, "Will you turn Killer today?" By now, the