D.D. Ward is Writing

“And Ada volunteered?” I asked.  “Ada had been volunteering since she first joined us if you’ll remember. She was downright proud to die for this cause.” Lynn said.  “Do you think they’ll notice that Ada used luckfish poison, instead of giant scorpion venom?” I asked.  “Probably. But what would that prove? Ada made claims of a massive network of people.” Leon answered. “Of women.” “Indeed.” Fiona said, joining us to stare out across the bay at the ocean.  “How many women helped her?” Amy asked. “Nearly two dozen. All of them were proud to die for the chance to get back at Hyperborean men.” “And to make Hyperborea safe for their daughters,” I added. “Were they all caught?” “Only the ones who served the wine were caught.”  “So the Husband Poisoning Society lives on,” I said.  Fiona nodded. “Indeed. And the men of Hyperborea must now reckon with a threat they never conceived before this day.”  “Now what?” I asked. Leon shrugged, “Well, the Folkmoot is can...

The Judge looked up me, eyes wide. “I moment ago you were arguing that you were innocent. Where did this come from.” I didn’t answer. I didn’t dare say anything that might implicate the others.  Duke Xander nodded. “Very well. If we have a confession, that is sufficient.” The doors of the hall swung open and Lynn marched in, fists clenched. “They are innocent. I poisoned the duke. Alone. Me. Nobody else.” The assembled crowd burst into murmurs. I looked at Leon, and saw his eyes widen. Then his face hardened and he nodded.  Leon took a step past me.  “No. She is covering for me. I killed the duke.” More gasps from the crowd.  Fiona stepped forward, “I killed his grace. I acted alone.” Amy squared her shoulders, “There is no need to protect me. I killed the duke. I alone.” The crowd burst into a buzz of conversation and activity. Talking and yelling. Muttering and chattering. The noise filled the assembly chamber.  Vanni sneered and his voice boomed above the cla...

The courtroom turned out not to be a room at all, but an open air auditorium. To my eye, the thing looked like the Roman colosseum. I felt like they were about to feed us to lions. Guards chained us to stone pillars with wide holes drilled in the tops. We stood on a small stage and looked up at the judge’s stand. Curving around from the stand lay the seats for the viewing gallery. The dawn was a hour away and the cold blue light of predawn poured across the auditorium. I’d seen this before. We were coming to the grand finale.  The prosecution team entered, a group of noblemen in traditional Hyperborean garb. I looked at the chief prosecutor. I recognized the big man. It was Duke Xander’s brother, Vanni. I grimaced, of course the prosecutor would be somebody with a grudge against us. And he had motivation to upstage his brother. I didn’t like our odds.  Amy looked as well. “Is that who I think it is?” I nodded. “Indeed,” Fiona added. “Do we know anything about his skill as a la...

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...