D.D. Ward is Writing

We allowed ourselves to be recaptured, knowing we couldn’t do anything else. They eventually broke down the door and found us back in our cells with the door locked. The key lay well out of reach of us on the floor. The sheriff surveyed the mess, and then shook his head.  “What were you hoping to accomplish with this fiasco?” The sheriff asked. “Cure our duke,” I answered. “Which we did.” He looked back at the now conscious Leon, and paused. Leon waved a shaky wave at the sheriff.  “You see?” Amy said. “We were telling the truth about that, weren’t we? What else might we be telling the truth about?” The sheriff shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not a judge. My job is to hold you. Others will determine your fate.” “Indeed. That is fair.” Fiona said. “We will make no further trouble.” “We’ll see about that.” the sheriff turned and stalked away.  We were left alone after that. Although they tripled the guard. And the guards were warned not to attempt taking any liberti...

I’d been here before. The walls still walls stood bare.  The bed and chamber pot remained. The privacy screen stood in the corner. The smell of wet stone permeated the room. The cold chilled me and raised goose flesh, though it was not as cold as I had felt on the run. The sheriff and the guards said nothing. Silence hung in the air, heavy like a layer of lead dust that coated everything.  I stared at the bricks in the prison wall, counting the bricks to pass the time. Nobody spoke. I reflected that Hyperborean castles were historical anachronisms. Built in a crusader knight style, these castles hailed from the middle ages. The rest of Hyperborean architecture stood closer to the dark ages. But, of course, the world of Ossedei existed in a video game. And the game designers didn’t need to adhere to historical accuracy.  Then a thought struck me. These castles had probably been built by Brenin Arzhur’s empire a thousand years ago. That could explain their presence here. Bu...