Frank D Smith

“He dipped his finger in it and tasted. “Bitter,” he said. “That’s a good sign,” Jesper said knowingly. They all looked at him. “Medicine is supposed to taste bad,” he explained. “The worse it tastes, the better it is for you. Everyone knows that.”
― John Flanagan, The Hunters

“It was impossible to tell who it was or even what it was by the time they were finished. They tore him to pieces!” Hendel!”
― Terry Brooks, The Sword of Shannara

“I’m not one of them, Captain!” Lydia said quickly. She moved forward, her hands clasped together in supplication. “You can see I’m not a Skandian!” The captain studied her, then looked at the rest of the crew. They were mostly fair skinned and blue eyed. She was dark haired, with olive skin. She definitely didn’t look like a Skandian. “Treacherous cow!” Jesper muttered. Then he grunted in pain as Stig shot an elbow into his ribs to silence him. “Shut up, you fool!” Stig said, out of the corner of his mouth. “I’m just a passenger! I paid them for passage down the river!” Lydia was saying, wringing her hands before her. “I’m from Krall. My parents are dead and I’m going to live with my uncle in Raguza.” She glared at Thorn. “And they took advantage of me. They charged me double the going rate for my fare!” she added angrily. Not bad, Thorn thought. Then, in a loud voice, he snarled at her. “You were happy enough to pay when you came to us, girl! You pleaded with us to take you on board! You couldn’t thank us enough then, could you? I’ll wager you were in trouble in Krall and had to get away in a hurry. I told the boys you’d be nothing but bad luck, but you won them over with your big brown eyes!” “Quiet,” the captain said distractedly. He studied the warrant again. There was definitely no mention of a girl. There was no order for her arrest and her story was logical. He knew from his briefing that the Skandians were pursuing a ship that was headed for Raguza. He came to a decision.”
― John Flanagan, The Hunters

“Rikard nodded. Once Andras and the Raven’s crew members left, he thought, he’d give them time to get clear. Then he and his men would head for the Stingray, moored against the quay in the inner harbor. Let Raven’s crew do the fighting, he thought. They could keep the enemy occupied while Stingray slipped away.”
― John Flanagan, The Invaders