Why was he thinking of her now? Fool, fool, fool. The barmaid had cast the oldest spell of all on him, a cantrip requiring only alcohol, sorrow, and … - Jay Lake

Some things change a man slowly. Journeys. The passage of years. The love of a good woman. Imprisonment. The monk paused a moment. Horn sensed he was speaking from experience, looking back at his own paths. Then: Some things change a man swiftly. War. Disease. Shipwrecks. The love of a bad woman.

Horn could hear the click of the dice that made up the multiverse. Beneath the struggles of gods and men and monsters, behind the powers of magic and prayer and bared blade, chance governed all.

Sarita placed little faith in such rumors. The fears of small people everywhere could speak louder than any voice, and with less reason. Legends were just that: legendary.