Midst Toil And Tribulation – Snippet 03
.III.
The Temple,
City of Zion,
The Temple Lands
“I hope you still think this was worth it, Zhaspahr,” Vicar Rhobair Duchairn said grimly, looking across the conference table at the jowly Grand Inquisitor.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 14
“Ah?” Sahrdohr cocked an eyebrow, and Varnaythus smiled unpleasantly.
“I don’t have all the details yet, myself, but apparently the Ghouls are going to be receiving just a bit of a reinforcement. Quite a sizeable one, actually — possibly even enough of one to give one of those damned champions of Tomanāk pause. And since the Ghoul Moor’s always been a…chancy proposition for the other side, let’s say, no one’s likely to be very surprised if this year’s expedition suffers an accident or two, even if the accident is rather more spectacular than most.”
Midst Toil And Tribulation – Snippet 02
.II.
Tellesberg Palace,
City of Tellesberg,
Kingdom of Old Charis,
Charisian Empire
Merlin Athrawes sat silently in his darkened chamber, eyes closed as he contemplated images only he could see. He really ought to have been “asleep,” taking the nightly downtime Emperor Cayleb had mandated, but he’d been following Wahlys Mahkhom’s group of guerrillas through Owl’s SNARCs for over a five-day, and the distant AI had been instructed to wake him when the moment came.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 13
“Get an assassin close enough to Kilthan of Silver Cavern? Not bloody likely! We don’t have that many dwarven dog brothers to begin with, and the security around any clan head — and especially that clan head — is far too tight for any stranger to get to him. We might be able to manage it the next time he heads out with the trade caravans, but do we have the time to wait that long?”
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 12
“You do remember what happened the last time we ‘moved’ here in the Kingdom, don’t you?” he inquired mildly.
“Of course I do.” Sahrdohr shrugged. “I read all the reports before I even left Trōfrōlantha. And I understand why we had to let things settle back down. But it’s been six years. Forgive me for pointing this out, but the original plan indicated we were rapidly approaching one of the critical cusp points, and it’s only gotten closer since. If we don’t do something soon, it’s going to be right on top of us!”
These snippets are from a rough draft of the book and will contact typos.
I will be posting them on Mondays and Thursdays.
Midst Toil And Tribulation – Snippet 01
Midst Toil And Tribulation
David Weber
March
Year of God 896
.I.
Gray Wall Mountains,
Glacierheart Province,
Republic of Siddarmark
Snow veils hung in the clear, icy air, dancing on the knife-edged wind that swirled across the snow pack, and the highest peaks, towering as much as a mile higher than his present position, cast blue shadows across the snow.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 11
Chapter Three
The small, carefully nondescript man sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes as the flickering glow died in the heart of the water-clear gramerhain crystal on the desk before him. His name was Varnaythus, or that was the one he most commonly went by among those who knew who (and what) he truly was, at any rate. He looked to be no more than in his mid-forties, yet he was actually well past eighty — there were some advantages to being a wand wizard willing to manipulate blood magic — and no one had learned his true name in at least the last sixty years. It was safer that way.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 10
Garlahna nodded and touched the gelding’s sides with her heels, heading back towards the wagons in Erlis’ wake as the three hundred looped her reins around the stump of her left arm, pressing them in against her side, and walked up to the edge of the pothole to survey the problem. The rest of the escort had already dismounted, as well, and the six of them were uncoiling their saddle ropes as they prepared to add their own horses’ efforts to disinterring the wagon. Garlahna knew all about leading by example, but she’d already done that three times today, and her boots and trousers were caked with dried mud to the knee to prove it. “Follow me!” was all very well when it came time to lead her people into actual combat, but this time, she decided, she was perfectly prepared to let the members of her detachment wade out into the mud while she confined herself to a proper supervisory role. She knew she was going to have to climb down out of the saddle and help out eventually — the hole was so deep it was undoubtedly going to take all of them to wrestle the wagons across it — but there was no point doing it until somebody else had gotten thoroughly muddy this time around, and she drew up beside Erlis on the lip of the swamp.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 09
At least her horseback perch put her high enough to see across the green sea of grass baking under the windless sun. That was fortunate, given what she was pretty sure was out there somewhere doing its best to sneak up on them, and she shaded her eyes with one hand, making a slow, conscientious sweep of her own area of responsibility. So far, so good, with no sign of trouble, and she nodded in satisfaction, then glanced back at those muddy, creaking wagons with mixed feelings. She would far rather have spent the last couple of days in one of the Kalatha Guard’s nice, shady barracks, but she did have a proprietary interest in the larger of the two vehicles, since it carried (among a host of other things) a dozen bolts of fabric in rich colors and textures destined for Tomarah Felisfressa. Tomarah and her freemate Selistra were the best seamstresses and dressmakers in Kalatha, and Garlahna had paid the better part of two months of income for the length of amber-colored silk that was going to turn into her new gathering gown. At, she reflected, the expense of another week or so of her income for Tomarah…whose skilled fingers and flair for design would be worth every copper kormak.
War Maid’s Choice – Snippet 08
Chapter Two
“Nobody better get between me and the hot tub tonight. That’s all I’ve got to say.” Garlahna Lorhanalfressa wiped sweat from her forehead with one muddy hand and glowered up at the sun. “Or the cold tub, either.”
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