He was hoisted onto a wooden platform, the rushing of the River Dire suddenly thundering in his ears. He sucked up the misty air in great inhalations, trying to coax breath back into lungs newly shrunken. A handful of men followed him onto the platform, their boots pounding the boards like drums, and by the time he realized what was going on, they had already shackled a great weight about his ankle and had begun forcing him out along the plank. He spun upon them without hesitation, driving his shoulder into the point-man’s breastplate and toppling him against his fellows. They all shuffled back like a single giant centipede, retreating to the platform. He moved toward them in spite of his weakness, dragging the ball and chain, and had c****d back a bony fist to strike when an entirely new
