โ Scribed by Cronshaw, Jon
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
THE HERMIT
I.
Kat dragged a chair from beneath the table and retrieved the strip of leather from her pocket. She separated her hair into the three distinct strands, pulling free the knots before braiding. She turned to Scram. "What should we do about all this?"
He chewed on her words for several seconds before answering, wrinkles setting around his eyes and along his forehead. "Not sure. We--" He shot to his feet as the trapdoor creaked open, his baton readied in half-a-heartbeat.
Allowing her training to take her, Kat shifted to her feet into a crouching stance, her blade already drawn. The last thing she wanted to do was kill, but if she had to defend herself, she would.
A pair of black leather boots descended the steps.
Scram relaxed and returned the baton to his belt. "It's just Max."
"Bit jumpy today?" Max's smile dropped when Scram returned to his seat. He glanced between them and frowned. "What's happened?"
"Sit with us." Scram patted
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