Wasn’t supposed to be like this. Katrina wasn’t supposed to get hurt. Nobody was supposed to get hurt. It was going to be my nest egg, my retirement, my way out of this life. But it all went wrong. We found the cannister when we liberated Ix. Our very own cache of spice. Just had to smuggle it, sell it, and reap the rewards.
But it all went wrong.
What is this stuff? A plague by accident or by purpose? Something rotten was going down on Ix.
Damn the Houses and their wars. No matter who you serve, no matter who wins, the rest of us small folk lose. They’ll call me a traitor, but I did my duty. I did my time. I waded through a sea of guts. Damn the barons. Damn the dukes. Damn the emperor. I’m done squeezing stones for blood. We should be squeezing them.