Despite her lover's absence, Drexelica took a leisurely toilette, enjoying the silky feel of the costly balms and perfumed essences on her softening skin. Already, she felt she was leaving the squalor and deprivation of the slums of Griven behind her, and she felt safe and content.

Grimm would come back to her, she felt sure, and, with a demon and an army to protect her, what could go wrong? She would wait for her man, no matter how long it might take.

What can go wrong? The thought reverberated in her head and would not go away, like an annoying moth in the night, scurrying around a candle-flame.

She finished her nightly ritual and went to her large, lonely bed. For several hours, she tossed and turned before she found sleep, but it was not the blessed relief she sought when it came to her. Something felt awry, but her dream-self could not focus upon it. Vague, disturbing images and feelings tainted her as she slept, and taunted her. As if only moments had passed, she awoke, soaked in perspiration, to the early morning rays of sun that shone through the window.

She chided herself for her foolishness, knowing she was safe and secure within the well-protected city of Crar, but she could not pin down the cause of her anxiety; perhaps it was the knowledge of the danger her young lover might be facing.

Whatever the cause of her worries, one thought was ever-present in her mind: Come back soon, Grimm!

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Chapter 2: Healing

Guy Great Flame, his spirit still ensconced in the aged Necromancer Numal's body, threw down his armful of firewood and winced, clasping his hands around his spasming lower back.

"I've had it with this damned, worn-out body!” he shouted to nobody in particular. “It creaks and grates whenever I walk, and this bloody spine is a disaster area!"

General Quelgrum sat cross-legged by the wagon, applying needle and thread to some of his clothes with surprising dexterity.