Hob Goodfellowe

The decorations appeared first at the edges of things. The shapes crept and spread, turning into vines and leaves carved of polished rosewood and dark marble, then moving like real, living vegetation, growing and unfurling, putting out wooden leaves and resplendent flowers that were quickly dyed with inks of red and gold. Mosaic patterns unfolded…

Samakarantha walked to the windows of the room and stood in the streaming sunlight. The glass panes stretched all the way from floor to ceiling, and although the expanse was comprised of hundreds of smallish squares of glass, each enclosed in a leadlight lattice, the whole surface still presented a remarkable flood of daylight in…

“Ah. Well. As it happens–um–you do. For the price of the gold you sent, I was able to purchase the House of Hissocking Sprent in its entirety. The owner was not interested in lease-hold or rent. On the sunny side of the egg, that does mean you don’t need to part with any more coin….

The ship was brought alongside a heavy oaken wharf by use of poles and hooks and ropes. The smash of small waves disturbed seaweed and beds of tiny, shiny mussels on the pylons. A few crabs scuttled out of the shadow cast by the tall ship, hiding franticly in cracks, or plopping straight down into…

A long journey by sea is an interminable thing if a person is not born to it. There are some–men and women alike–for whom a life at sea is the only life they will ever want. Strange ports and new people. Distant cities passing on hills. Spices and rare furs to trade. The thrill of…

The next morning Caewen gathered the things she had collected from the shelves and cupboards. She had a sizeable pile of coins and precious stones, as well as a small jewellery box packed with necklaces and the like. All of these, Caewen confirmed with Fetch lacked anything magical about them, or at least, inasmuch as…

Caewen looked around, listlessly turning over dusty books and rummaging inside clay pots, baskets and small lockboxes. An awful absence had entered the place. She had an irrational desire to set fire to the house, and watch it burn like the wooden pyre of a dead pagan king. But she didn’t. She did what was…

Caewen wrapped her arms around herself. She hunched her shoulders. There was a painful need to do something. Cry. Scream. Run around madly. But she couldn’t bring herself to do anything. Half of her was gone, and the sudden hollowness was awful. She felt as if she might never dream again. Never again idle away…

I cannot do it, she thought. I will step out of the illusion and reveal myself. I will give myself to him with the bone relic in my cupped palms. But I must not. She screwed her eyes shut and felt her jaw clench. The pain in her body and mind was now beyond bearing….