Recent content by Aylin Denizal

Aylin decided she had already given herself away at this point, and turned herself fully towards them, reaching out to take the dagger from Akiza. "Heck of a place to leave a knife, isn't it? Dunno how it came out of the scabbard without me noticing," she said. In fact, she did know: she had...

Aylin bristled at the mention of her name, and unsure of whether to turn around or stay where she was, she ended up only half-turning towards the speaker. She gave Nemeska a confused glance before her gaze slipped to the dagger. "Do I... know you?" Wherever this conversation was about to go...

Unusually, Aylin had come in through the front door, though it wasn't only to avoid being accosted by a client who assumed she was one of the prostitutes. She also hoped to avoid the attention of Matron Fatma, who had a policy against customers bringing weapons into her establishment. Even if...

The dagger was reasonably made out of good-quality iron, sharp and free of rust. The maker's anagram was engraved upon the hilt: RD. More interesting was the phrase engraved upon the dagger's blade: Egredere cum visione. The motto of a Beyar house, or perhaps an Insan family with illusions of...

The Market's matron had successfully run her business under the law's nose for quite a few years now, and much of that success had been in keeping snooping parties away from it. She was fiercely protective of her working girls -- of which Aylin was not. Wisely, the matron decided whatever...

The establishment's middle-aged matron appeared beautifully statuesque both in physical build and personality, although it seemed the artists had sculpted her out of pre-weathered marble. The difficult moments in her life were chiseled in wrinkles around her curved lips and in a scar across her...

A temple was probably one of the last places Caelia had expected to find sanctuary in given her position in life, especially considering the blood on her hands. As the two women stood in an overgrown garden surrounding the squat, yellow-white cement and stone structure, it was an irony that...

Crispus raised an eyebrow. "The Sanctum? That is... unexpected. Well, it is comforting to know that her disappearance has been taken so seriously. I thank you again, Nemeska-gazi." He saluted her before saluting Akiza. "And you, Akiza-gazi. I eagerly await the news. Until we next meet." He...

Crispus glanced between Nemeska and Akiza, a new anxiety on his face as he briefly contemplated that thought. His lips twitched, nearly forming a grim smile before frowning deeply. "Would she go so far just to spurn my affections? Into the harsh wilderness, or to the strange cities beyond? No...

The young man bowed politely. "Ah, yes and forgive me in my haste as well. "Crispus Domital. A pleasure, though I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. Please, do keep me informed, even if the news is..." he paused for a moment, as if fighting with himself to finish his statement...

"Salt and silver!" He returned the greeting warmly, but frowned and shook his head at Nemeska's question. "Alas, I wish I had. I may well be on the same search as yourselves. "She is my betrothed. We were to be married two weeks ago, but she disappeared before our wedding! I have been by her...

The ogre's directions led them into a neighborhood of apartments interspersed with small shops and a central square for weekly markets and gatherings. There were currently only two people in the square: a single merchant and a street dancer playing a tambourine. "Never heard of him... oh, it's...

"The Closet -- is it being used?" "All yours, honey." The bedraggled young woman tossed a copper coin on the bar and headed to the tiny room at the end of the hall. It was the cheapest of the establishment's rooms for good reason: It was barely big enough for two people to stand up in. But an...