Short Stories — Peter Austin

  Chapter One: A Matter of Honor    Or    The Really Foolish Things Honor Gets You to Do.        World of the Whispering Forests: Town of Rolling Hills. Winter-Tears Hector, often called the Jarl of Tears or the Snow Leopard, entered the Underhill Inn and Tavern.  He paused inside the door to rack his lance, shield, hand-lance, battle-stone pouches and short-sword under the watchful eyes of the door-warden.  House Andromeda, the owners of Underhill, had a business to maintain.  Fights with the full array of Viking weaponry tended to destroy furniture.  The door-warden scanned Hector for weapons, verifying that he was...