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The mighty oak stands on the edge of the castle plain. Several hundred acres of broken granite boulder, the castle plain has no two surfaces canted at the same angle, some blocks treacherous for their instability. Once Lofty Lion's castle had towered over the land. Now, the detritus spreads across it, a field of sterile stone reaching as far as the eye can see.—The Political Geography, by Guarding Bear.
The previous ten days had passed like a whirlwind for Seeking Sword.
Of the original twelve bandits who had gone north, only four remained. Between masterless bandits and Imperial Warriors, the surviving four considered themselves fortunate not to have lost their heads. Each day and sometimes twice a day, the party clashed with one or the other. Across the central plains of the northe
