War of the Fathers – Chapter Sixteen

This week’s episode features Chapter Sixteen of War of the Fathers.  Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Jorad didn’t know how long he lay on the floor of the guardhouse, but when he opened his eyes, everything was quiet. Had he been knocked unconscious? His arm and ribs hurt from where he had hit the wall, and there was a bump on the back of his head. He got to his knees, checking to make sure he didn't have any broken bones. As he stood, he found that his leg hurt but was still functional. He twisted his head to either side to stretch his neck. It didn't help, and he still felt stiff afterward. It was painful to twist it too far in either direction.

The fire in the hearth had burned down and cast the room in shadows. He could smell oil from a lantern that lay broken near the stool where he had sat earlier. The last time he'd seen that lantern, it had been lit. It was a lucky thing that the guardhouse hadn't caught fire.

The two corpses were his only company. The bodies of Lel and Thon's friend filled him with sadness. Lel didn't deserve to come to this end. He was a decent guy who had volunteered to keep Neberan safe. His body lay in the middle of the floor, and his staff was in two pieces with a large chunk missing, either end was burned. The upper right half of Lel’s shoulder and neck were gone as well as his head. It was as if a large animal had taken a bite. The other body had a big hole in the middle. The smell from the dead made him nauseous.

How many more will die? Jorad asked himself as he turned away. We could have done a better job to warn Neberan. The thought bounced around his mind, and he did his best to ignore it.

The sound of smaller explosions peppered with much larger explosions came from outside the destroyed doorway. He walked to it, afraid to look out and see the terror that had engulfed Neberan but knowing that he needed to get moving because he had to find Soret and Adar.

People ran in every direction. Fireballs—that wasn’t quite the right word, but he couldn’t think of another term—burned through the air. A group of Hunwei was herding some of the townsfolk, prodding them with their weapons.