07/01/2025 Snippet, CALL OF THE MOON-BEASTS.

Second dream down! Almost there!

…

“Where, Marsh?”

The sunsrise ululation woke him as it always did, with a start and the faintest of stings along the line of his jaw. Tobias’s hand, unbidden, briefly stroked the painful spot, feeling naught but the night’s stubble pushing back against his fingertips. No blood, but then there never was. He vaguely wondered why that was so surprising.

He sat for a moment on the edge of his bed, mustering the urge to rise fully from it. The moon-colored crystal phial and glass tempted Tobias, but… he decided that he would not seek it this morning. There were still things to do, surely. Diversions, if nothing else.

Last night’s dust from the night-fog proved to be light, but Tobias still knocked it free of the sandals before he put them on. One learned quickly to avoid braving the Friscosa with bare feet, or at least not without intent. Privately — very privately — Tobias found unsettling those who enjoyed the kiss of the fog-dust, but he idly supposed that others found him unsettling, as well. There were all sorts in the city.

The astringent chill of the shower worked its usual magic, smothering the last vestige of Tobias’s languor and giving his thoughts focus. He would visit Lakeside this morning, he thought as he dressed in robe and trousers. It would be busy until the twin noon approached, but there were much to buy there, seized from many distant lands. Perhaps he could find something for his own quest.

Tobias frowned. Did he have his own quest? He supposed he must, since he had just been thinking about it. Unfortunately, there was nobody present to ask.

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