The city was in flames. Pockets of armored raiders coalesced through the carnage, stepping over a dying garrison soldier here, a bleeding boy there, stomping on a flailing woman’s head, kicking out at a struggling merchant. Small groups of living townspeople ran hard for known exits, but most were cut off from escape. I won’t die for this city. Kern and his men be damned. I’ve got my information, I’m gone. Strand Thos shoved his ring and scraps of papers into his tun...

 Strand Thos shoved his ring and papers into his tunic pocket, breathing hard. Smoke curled through the windows of his one room house from next door; his unfortunate neighbor now had less than a shell of a house remaining.   He ran from the smoky bedroom, through the kitchen, and wrenched open the front door, choking and spluttering as he took off to the left. Thos sprinted down the small street he had lived on for the past six months. The stars of the early morning sky glittered ...