The lass hoped she would be dealing with captive bred stock. She hoped she would not look into eyes that cried out to her, speaking silently of their hope and despair.

Bugbears usually retired at thirty and they tended to live to no more than fifty or so, though those with pets could almost reach seventy.

He lifted Fiorie briefly by the hair at the back of her neck and settled her gently atop his forearm, her sleepy hands draping over the bundle, and purred slightly as she settled.

The soft races would call him armed to the teeth. The hard races would call him adequately adorned.

She presumed the owner of the voice to be one of the kalutai, the thick furred, hunch backed creatures every civilized creature feared ever to encounter.