Rhydian;
I've repeated the words over and over in my mind. And every time, it's harder to believe. I keep waiting for someone, or something to tell me that it's not true...but a part of me doesn't believe that.
That part of me is the very reason I'm almost at Jaggered Valley now, not at Howleroot, or Gravemaw...
Liandria is dead...
The words repeat so loudly that I can barely hear my thoughts. I stop at the gate, and the witches don't ask my business. They look at my face, then at the ground, and one of them steps aside to let me pass.
Do I look that bad? Maybe I do.
The ward has been gone for days now. I thought the grief would come in one wave, and I could brace for it the way I'd brace for a blow. It doesn't. It comes in small pieces. I wake up and reach for my sword belt and my hands shake. I sit down to eat and can't lift the spoon. Someone mentions "Gravemaw", and I have to leave the room.
