Welcome to another week of the Sassy Saturday Blog Hop. Except, it's technically no longer a blog hop. Jasmine Walts, the founder, decided to discontinue it last month (December 2015) due to lack of participation and her own lack of time to promote it. However, I like the idea of it so I'm going to continue with my own excerpts.
The purpose of the blog hop used to be showcasing excerpts from our novels about kick-butt heroines. Every Saturday is a new post. If you want read more about it, the link is here.
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The monsters here put up more of a
struggle than the ones outside. The giants were badly injured regularly, but
only until Anuzat's human healers mended them. To Tiza's delight, they couldn't
work fast enough to fill the ranks so Basilard allowed her to fill in. Even shorthanded,
the giants, humans, and camels of Anuzat's Caravan fought off the monsters with
little help.
After leaving the stomach area, they
entered a zigzag with more branching paths than Eric could count. Different
breeds attacked and Basilard lectured on their abilities and the best way to
kill them while Anuzat's group provided visual aids. She told the
non-combatants to look for the southern exit. Eric struggled to track their
progress; getting lost down here would be worse than a monster attack. They
traveled deeper still and the Fog grew thicker. Eric's charm warmed his skin
and he took it off. No wonder these are so cheap . . . monsters are
everywhere in places like this.
Time passed and in the darkness the
caravan was attacked by another threat; a foul odor. An unholy mixture of
melted rock and waste and dried blood mixed with the Fog. Bird poop is
nothing compared to this . . . Another two hours came and went.
“Mercenary Leader, do I get my money
back if you don't do anything?”
“No.”
Another hour passed. Tiza let out a
long, bored, sigh and let her sheath drag on the ground. It stirred the now
knee-level Fog. She couldn't even watch the giants fight if nothing attacked.
Then she saw Eric anxiously checking pillar shadows. She grinned. Quiet as a
mouse, she sneaked up behind him and shouted in his ear. He jumped three feet
straight up, spun, and brought his staff down on Tiza. She blocked with her
targe.
“Chill, Dimwit, or you'll wear yourself
out.” Eric glared.
One more hour and the caravan entered a
wide-open chamber. No pillars could be seen nor were there any sky holes to
illuminate them. This deep in the caverns, only glowing crystals lit their way.
Anuzat's giant employees put on sunglasses and pulled large rocks from out of
their packs.
“Activate!”
The rocks lit up the area. Rocks charmed to
be floodlights; I wonder what kind of spell is used. The giants spread out
in a circle, dropped their burdens, and sat down next to them. Anuzat's human
employees set up camp: building a fire, pitching tents, and giving food to the
giants.
Basilard accepted a meal from one of
the humans and sat next to Anuzat. “You already seem to have capable guards in
your giants, so why'd you hire us? And I find this very relevant to my
job.”
“I live by rules, Mercenary Leader, and
one of them is you can never be too careful.”
“Then
why'd you hire novices?”
“Squad Five Senior for a bargain; why
pay for three regulars when their mentor is all I'll need?”
“You've done your homework.”
“As would any merchant worth their
salt.”
The novices sat nearby. Tiza dropped to
the stone floor, but didn't eat with her usual enthusiasm. “I don't believe it.
I thought escorts would be exciting, but this is even duller than mowing that
guy's lawn. At least then we were doing something.”
“You should consider yourself lucky to
be so bored,” Nolien said. “You'd be terrified if you actually met a C class.”
“Why!?” Tiza demanded. “‘Cause I'm a
girl!?”
“No,” Nolien said, surprised at her
barbed tone. “Only fools are fearless.”
“Well, I'm not a fool, but I'm still
not scared of anything!” Tiza yelled.
“All right, all right, you're not
scared of anything.”
With a look of triumph, Tiza finally
dug into her meal.
Why is Tiza so determined to be strong?
Or, at least, make others believe she's strong?
He knew he shouldn't bother; girls were complicated and even if he guessed
right, he'd have to ask her to be sure. I probably wouldn't live through
that. The question nagged. It was a puzzle and he liked puzzles. This
one's going to drive me insane. So he focused on his meal instead.
The rock lights shattered and the caravan was
plunged into darkness. In the dim light, Eric could see blue-brown wolves
rushing their position. Xethras! The pack surrounded the caravan and
attacked in groups. One engaged while a second bit their ankles and a third
ripped their throats out. The perimeter was broken at once. Monsters are
mindless!
“Looks like you won't be bored after
all, Tiza,” Nolien said grimly, his staff in hand and already glowing. The
fighter said nothing. All she did was grip her sword and stare.
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To learn more about Tiza and A Mage's Power, visit Tvtropes at http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AMagesPower.
A Mage's Power, and the rest of the Journey to Chaos series, are available for purchase at
http://amzn.to/10NsG2i
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