The kobolds were a lot more hospitable after the tall ones had saved the lives of not just their hero, but all five of the pups that the dire maggot had attacked.

The sewer junction they'd been taken to was home to a village of kobolds.

Arden's face became impossibly still, betraying absolutely no emotion.

“What happened to her?”

When Arden stated his intentions to his students, List found herself wondering, not for the first time, if the man lived in the same world as the rest of them.

"Look, I get he's your teacher, but he's not infalli—what in the seven hells is he doing?"

King's Dawn had come to Shadefall, and the town was the most alive any of the outsiders had ever seen.

“Now, tell me everything you think you know about your abilities.”

"That . . ." List struggled to find words to adequately convey the mixture of anger and utter befuddlement she was feeling. "That's the worst fucking educational rhyme I've ever heard."

“GORPMORP!”

Valerie felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. Unless he'd lived a prodigiously unlucky life, this was bound to be the worst day of his life.

Daniel Shen was going to die, alone and bleeding in a stinking hole in the ground.

“This is Xykesh. The day we got here, this town had just come off the back of a week-long landshark problem. There’s got to be something that needs killing around here.”

She had to admit, it was a pretty good secret entrance.

“Where are you folks from?”

Everything was going perfectly fine right up until they were robbed by bandits.

“It’s so good to finally meet you, brave hero!”

Valerie's voice was like a child who'd just brought in a stray, and was now desperately pleading with their parents to keep it.

“Sorry to interupt, everyone,” Dr. Arden Lee Siren apologized. “But I’m afraid I can’t abide a lynching in good conscience.”

Valerie coughed once, her face a mixture of relief and embarassment. “Dr. Siren. You’re here.”