CHAPTER 74Henk held the lantern high as he picked his way along the narrow alley that led to the courtyard over which the Beacon shone — the Keep’s lighting did not extend along the alley and the ground was uneven. Grunting to himself, he rehearsed the old complaints about the access to the Beacon, but it was simply a habit — something familiar for him to cling to amid all this confusion — all this... fear.
When he emerged into the courtyard he looked up. Enough snow was falling to mark the bright line of the light from the Beacon and even within the limited confines of the small courtyard he could see that it was curving.
It was a sight that unsettled him in ways he could not begin to find words for. The response it invoked felt ancient, primitive. The one word that did come was ‘madnes
