Pain…searing intensity wracks my head. My throat crackles as burnt toast. I cough in the dry air, the motion rattling the dagger of pain in the back of my skull. Scrubbing dirt from my eyes, I reach down and pull a waterskin from my belt. Removing the stopper lets the warm liquid cascade into my cupped palm. I splash some on my face and direct the rest down my burning gullet. Soothing a salve that it may be, I know it will be temporary. Rinsing them once more, I rub my shirtsleeve in my. . .
Pain…searing intensity wracks my head. My throat crackles as burnt toast. I cough in the dry air, the motion rattling the dagger of pain in the back of my skull. Scrubbing dirt from my eyes, I reach down and pull a waterskin from my belt. Removing the stopper lets the warm liquid cascade into my cupped palm. I splash some on my face and direct the rest down my burning gullet. Soothing a salve that it may be, I know it will be temporary. Rinsing them once more, I rub my shirtsleeve in my. . .