“Beware the monster with one eye!”


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    Saluti Maestro Claudius.


    Ah, Leo della Guardia Grifone! Come sta il capitano?


    Leo and Giovanni had been hired along with other rag-tag mercenari to defend the village of Venci. It was a poor venture. They stood no chance. The town was destroyed, and their forces routed. The ravagers outnumbered them. Their arrows were as numerous as raindrops, and their lances were swift.


    Giovanni was dead, pierced by a giant arrow the size of a tree trunk. His body lay at the feet of a monster. He had the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a man, covered in scale and mail. A long, intricately braided black beard rained from his chin. He had only one good eye, which glowed yellow like a parody of the sun. Flames surrounded them. Smoke trailed up into the heavens.


    All Leo could do was play dead. He’d pressed himself against the ground, was appearing to have been crushed by rubble. He struggled to hold his breath and fought hard to avoid whimpering or crying. All he could remember was that eye.


    That cursed eye.