Beldren was first aware of the pounding in his head, as if someone smashed a hammer to his skull in time to his heartbeat. He blinked swollen eyes against the darkness. His vision adjusted and he blinked at planks; some kind of wooden building with a dirt floor and scattered hay. Slats of late sunlight splayed across one corner. From their color he could tell the sun would soon be gone. Had he slept all night and the next day?
With the question came self-awareness. He wasn't horizontal as a sleeping man should be, rather vertical. Small agonies began to filter through the pain of his head. His shoulders. His arms. His legs. His wrists. His neck. He fought them and forced his mind to concentrate. His wrists were shackled above him, and he hung from heavy chains suspended from the ceiling s
