#clayamulet

Beginning

“Wake up.”

I grumbled incoherently, and tried to swat away the hand that was shaking me awake. My head felt like someone was trying to mine a tunnel through my gray matter, and the shaking was only making it worse.

“Wake up! We have to get on the move. We need to make the most of our head start.” the annoying voice said, “If you don’t get up, I’ll be forced to leave you behind. And I won’t pay you.”

Well, that got me up.

I slid out of my makeshift blanket-bed, and took in the scene around me. We were camped a little ways under an outcropping, on the edge of a wide meadow. Our horses were tied to a small sapling, off to the side, and my employer was hastily preparing them to go.

“Eat something and sober up. We’ve got to move as soon as we can.” She paused. “You aren’t a vegetarian, are you?”

I noticed, now, that there was some sort of meat on a skewer being blackened over the fire. It smelled delicious. At that moment, my stomach very loudly reminded me that I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the previous day. I picked up the skewer and took a bite.

The meat was hot and so tender that it practically melted in my mouth. The outside was slightly crunchy, and the meat smoky and unexpectedly sweet. I swallowed and proceeded to wolf the rest of it down.