[Homeward 05] • The Reluctant Guardian · Homeward V

After Bieja flees her home in the village of Chemestúk, burned to the ground in a civil war, she soon realizes she has only one place left to go. Her niece, Magiere, owns a little tavern in the port town of Miiska — which is unfortunately a long journey away on the west coast. Bieja has never traveled more than a few leagues from her hut in all of her life.

Undaunted all the same, she sets off through her war-torn homeland with what she could scavenge from the blackened remains of her village. All too soon, she finds herself on unfamiliar paths and facing the risk of both deserters and conscripted soldiers who are as desperate as she is. She has always been independent, but she might not survive this journey alone… until happenstance trips her up with a most unusual guardian.

The problem is, this guardian might be as dangerous as anything else Bieja will have to face.

**About "Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga"...**

No knowledge of the Noble Dead Saga is necessary to read, comprehend, and enjoy any "tale." Readers new to this world can step right into it through any of these short works. They are independent of the saga's main plots/stories, though some minor connections will be apparent to readers of the saga.

Tales center upon minor characters, places, and events left along the way in the saga’s volumes. As well, there are some new characters, places, and certainly events never before seen in the saga.

For those who have read part or all of the saga to date, you may expand what you already know about the world, cultures, times and places, and favorite minor characters left behind. In other words, "tales" can be a little treat straight from us to tide you over in a year's wait for the next volume in the Noble Dead Saga.

—Barb & J.C.