Fortune’s Favorite by C. L. Schneider EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author:C. L. Schneider
- Language: English
- Genre: Dark Fantasy Horror
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
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AIan Troy
TWITCH RAN ACROSS my shoulder blades as I stood on the deck,
taking in the view. I told myself the ominous sensation was nothing but
the breeze. Visually, the place was a natural wonder. A feast for the eyes.
What land I could see from here, at least. Much of it, even the city, was
hidden on the far side of soaring bluffs and untamed jungle, giving it an air
of mystery—one that put my instincts on high alert. One I could have done
without.
The Port of Maldarehm wasn’t at all what I pictured. Not that I knew
what a haven for pirates should look like. The pier was certainly
impressive, bigger than any in Mirra’kelan with sturdy, wooden slips filling
a large horse-shoe shaped bay.
A variety of sailing vessels rocked alongside us in waves as blue as uncut
azurite. Their construction bore enough design differences from mine to
make it apparent we were far from home. As did the appearance of the men
and women bustling about the well-appointed wharf: dockworkers, sailors,
fishermen, travelers, roaming merchants, and local customers. Their
clothing was distinctive, vibrant, and colorful, their accents mesmerizing.
Some chattered in languages I’d never heard before.
Even the terrain was diverse. Towering sea stacks rose from the shallow
water offshore. Intricate rocky formations and arches decorated a winding
beach edged in jungle and thrown into shadow by sharply rising cliffs.
The mouth of a high tunnel broke the center of the bay’s open arms. The
sea flowed gently through the passage and exited behind the bluffs not far
from the city’s main entrance. Enormous, sculpted figures occupied the
outer walls of the tunnel, one on each side. Their bodies stretched up into
the sky, past the edge of the bald inclines, at least a thousand feet in height.
Time and weather had eroded their details, turning the pair into featureless
sentries with long, wind-swept hair and flowing robes. The crumbling form
of a giant serpent coiled around each, giving the graceful figures an
intimidating air.
Age had done nothing to diminish the craftsmanship or the striking
spectacle of what the harbormaster reverently referred to as “The Twins.”
Their position wasn’t accidental. The ferry was the direct, and most
popular, way to reach the city. It ran through the tunnel, dozens of times a
day, carrying passengers underneath the statues. “Under their watch,” the
man called it, with the same respectful tone as before. His voice, and the
unfamiliar sign he drew in the air, implied the statues represented religious
figures.
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